Stan has the sweetest 1HBH?

At this point, who has the best 1HBH at the top level

  • Total voters
    64
ChaelAZ

ChaelAZ

G.O.A.T.
I just thought it was time to revisit this.


Although in my opinion Stan always had the strongest one handed backhand, I have always given the edge to Federer because Roger had a bit more versatility and still finishing power, especially in the last few years with being able to take the ball on the rise more. However to me, watching Stan recently I think he has sured-up his consistency and variety and has at least equalled, but more surpassed Federer now. So for me, he is currently the top 1HBH.
  • Thiem is kind of where Stan was years back, but even more powerful, just not consistent enough and not much finesse.
  • TisTsi is decent, but not nearly the power of versatility as others.
  • Shapavolov is the next iteration of Gasquet, with such beautiful fluid motion, but more power. And that jumping 1HBH is fricken awesome,. He may top others, but needs quite a bit of honing on consistency.

  • Kohlschreiber has always had beautiful technique, but not the power or versatility as top guys.

  • Dimitrov...I don't know what to say there. He does versatility and CAN have power, just never consistently.


So what say you?
 
D

Deleted member 765728

Guest
It's all about preferences. Stan, Gaudio, Guga... my favorite topspin backhands in the last 30 years or so. And it's interesting all these guys posses what is called a "clay backhand". The power, the smooth motion and the ability to handle high balls (though Stan is not particularly great in this department) is what makes me adore these shots.
 
Cabeza del Demonio

Cabeza del Demonio

Professional
Wawrinka has the most solid rally shot, and handles high, heavy balls better. Pinpoint accuracy on par with Federer.
Federer has an infinitely better slice, but even as far as the regular backhand goes, he's got more variety, a better block return, and doesn't need as much reaction time.

I'd take Wawrinka's backhand over Federer's. It's been a consistent weapon while Federer's is only a weapon when he's on form. Plus it's the sickest looking shot in the entire history of tennis!
 
TheGhostOfAgassi

TheGhostOfAgassi

Talk Tennis Guru
Cabeza del Demonio said:
Wawrinka's serve relies purely on power - no flow, no explosion, very little leg movement, all-round technical weirdness.
His backhand is the exact opposite: beautiful, fluid yet explosive.
Click to expand...
Wawrinkas serve is the ugliest serve on tour, even worse than Tiafoes. Makes him almost unwatchable imo. The few BH flashes here and there doesn’t make up for it for me.
 
ChaelAZ

ChaelAZ

G.O.A.T.
stingstang said:
Second, but only to Petes slam dunk smash.

Stan can generate so much weight on that shot, even out of position. BAM. So satisfying to watch. The others aren't close.
Click to expand...


Watching the match against Tiafoe yesterday, that backhand pass down the line and then some blsiting cross court angles...fricken gold.
 
Cabeza del Demonio

Cabeza del Demonio

Professional
ChaelAZ said:
lol. I actually think Stan's serve is a great model for rec players. Very simple and less contorting the body to get good pop.
Click to expand...
Not unless your rec player in question is a bodybuilder. Stan's serve has very little fluidity - all the power is brute-forced, not from the swing momentum. Your average club player wouldn't be able to get any power on that.

Best serve motion for rec players would be Federer. He gets insane pop on the serve, although it does utilize a lot of body movement.
 
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TheGhostOfAgassi

TheGhostOfAgassi

Talk Tennis Guru
ChaelAZ said:
lol. I actually think Stan's serve is a great model for rec players. Very simple and less contorting the body to get good pop.
Click to expand...
It looks like a “tranny serve”. Such a huge difference to his BH and the movement in his back. I find his game disturbing to watch.
His serve looks unnatural and something that can cause injures from the way I see it. But I am maybe extra sensitive to this stuff, bad techniques is just painful to watch. Tiafoe for example serve and FH is a reason I rarely chose to watch him play,
Cabeza del Demonio said:
Not unless your rec player in question is a bodybuilder. Stan's serve has very little fluidity - all the power is brute-forced, not from the swing momentum.
Click to expand...
101 injury causing technique.
 
ChaelAZ

ChaelAZ

G.O.A.T.
Not to derail my own thread, but Stan has a brilliant serve and excellent technique that ticks all the boxes. he just doesn't exaggerate the knee band and arching, but he uses good leg drive and his more upright postion is easier to do for about any rec player. He also doesn't need as much rotation, but still has great racquet drop and contact point with follow through.

 
RaulRamirez

RaulRamirez

Legend
Best one-hander may still be Stan's, but for fluidity/aesthetics, I'll take Gasquet's - possibly the most beautiful shot in today's game. He just never had a great serve or forehand. Henin's reminds me most of Gasquet - or vice versa?

All that are listed are fun to watch.
 
King No1e

King No1e

G.O.A.T.
Technique: Wawrinka, Federer, Shapovalov, Gasquet, Thiem, Tsitsipas
Consistency: Wawrinka, Federer, Gasquet, Thiem, Tsitsipas, Shapovalov
Power: Thiem, Gasquet, Wawrinka, Shapovalov, Federer, Tsitsipas
Spin: Gasquet, Thiem, Federer, Tsitsipas, Shapovalov, Wawrinka
Placement: Wawrinka, Federer, Shapovalov, Tsitsipas, Gasquet, Thiem
Variety: Federer, Tsitsipas, Wawrinka, Shapovalov, Gasquet, Thiem
Return: Federer, Thiem, Wawrinka, Shapovalov, Gasquet, Tsitsipas
Reaction Time: Federer, Shapovalov, Tsitsipas, Wawrinka, Thiem, Gasquet
On the rise: Federer, Wawrinka, Gasquet, Tsitsipas, Shapovalov, Thiem
Appearance/beauty: Wawrinka, Federer, Shapovalov, Gasquet, Thiem, Tsitsipas
Defense: Thiem, Wawrinka, Federer, Gasquet, Shapovalov, Tsitsipas
As a weapon: Wawrinka, Shapovalov, Gasquet, Thiem, Federer, Tsitsipas

Overall: Wawrinka, Federer, Thiem = Gasquet, Shapovalov, Tsitsipas
 
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junior74

junior74

Bionic Poster
I am a huge fan of Wawrinka and I love his backhand. It's a phenomenal rally shot and a deadly hammer.

But overall, I think Federer's is better. He returns a lot better, despite all his errors...

From behind the baseline, I believe Stan has the best one hander.
 
jm1980

jm1980

Talk Tennis Guru
junior74 said:
I am a huge fan of Wawrinka and I love his backhand. It's a phenomenal rally shot and a deadly hammer.

But overall, I think Federer's is better. He returns a lot better, despite all his errors...

From behind the baseline, I believe Stan has the best one hander.
Click to expand...
Wawrinka has a flashier BH and it can be really good in a good day and on the right surface. But overall, I'd take Fed's any day of the week.

You can even see that in their H2H matches if they go BH to BH
 
1stVolley

1stVolley

Professional
I think I could make a pretty good living pointing out that many "who has/is the best..." has no objective answer whenever there are no criteria accepted by all for evaluating the question. In the present case, one could count the number of winners made with the BH, the average or peak speed of the BH, the consistency of the BH, the number of forcing shots resulting from the BH, etc., etc. And to make matters worse, even if we agreed on a seemingly objective criterion like "number of winners" made with this stroke, one could argue that the quality of the opponents is not constant between any of these comparisons.

My counter question is: why are we not satisfied with a list of pros with BHs which are effective in winning points while keeping the number of unforced errors with that stroke low? And even here, we may argue about whether a given player should be part of the list, so no end to the discussion anyway. Good for the forum business.

Sorry the throw cold water on anyone who has "THE" answer. :-(
 
Born_to_slice

Born_to_slice

Legend
I always liked Wawrinka's BH. He was making beautiful and impossible shots but couldn't do it consistently. He couldn't do it consistently on a yearly basis even when he started contending for slams. Sweetest BH? Federer, Kohlschreiber, Gasquet, Wawrinka, Cuevas, Almagro...
 
sredna42

sredna42

Hall of Fame
Cabeza del Demonio said:
Wawrinka's serve relies purely on power - no flow, no explosion, very little leg movement, all-round technical weirdness.
His backhand is the exact opposite: beautiful, fluid yet explosive.
Click to expand...
Take a close look at how fast and violent wawrinka's shoulder snap is on his serve (from being at right angle to being parallel with net) It's hard to notice unless you're trying to pay attention to it.
 
sredna42

sredna42

Hall of Fame
Gotta go with wawrinka. There is nothing else like it. Fed has an elite bh, but people have strategized attacking it to defeat him.

NO one has ever, or ever will, gone into a match thinking "i know, I'm gonna attack stan's backhand today, that's sure to work"

Stan's backhand is the only backhand ever IMO to be psychologically like a forehand to the other player
 
J

Jonesy

Legend
BenC said:
Not the "best" until he wins more with it, but Shapo is mesmerizing to watch.

Click to expand...
If he keeps improving and show the level he displayed at the atp cup consistently he might overtake Wawrinka/Thiem spot. Probably that match against Djokovic was the highest level of his career.
 
Mediterranean Might

Mediterranean Might

Professional
Aretium said:
Fed is the only one handed I've seen that succeeds at taking the ball early. Everyone else is a clay court shot
Click to expand...
That's because he was forced to in order to deal with Rafa at all. Years and years of high bounce, high pace forehands to his backhand... necessity will breed functionality.
 
skaj

skaj

Legend
King No1e said:
Technique: Wawrinka, Federer, Shapovalov, Gasquet, Thiem, Tsitsipas
Consistency: Wawrinka, Federer, Gasquet, Thiem, Tsitsipas, Shapovalov
Power: Thiem, Gasquet, Wawrinka, Shapovalov, Federer, Tsitsipas
Spin: Gasquet, Thiem, Federer, Tsitsipas, Shapovalov, Wawrinka
Placement: Wawrinka, Federer, Shapovalov, Tsitsipas, Gasquet, Thiem
Variety: Federer, Tsitsipas, Wawrinka, Shapovalov, Gasquet, Thiem
Return: Federer, Thiem, Wawrinka, Shapovalov, Gasquet, Tsitsipas
Reaction Time: Federer, Shapovalov, Tsitsipas, Wawrinka, Thiem, Gasquet
On the rise: Federer, Wawrinka, Gasquet, Tsitsipas, Shapovalov, Thiem
Appearance/beauty: Wawrinka, Federer, Shapovalov, Gasquet, Thiem, Tsitsipas
Defense: Thiem, Wawrinka, Federer, Gasquet, Shapovalov, Tsitsipas
As a weapon: Wawrinka, Shapovalov, Gasquet, Thiem, Federer, Tsitsipas

Overall: Wawrinka, Federer, Thiem = Gasquet, Shapovalov, Tsitsipas
Click to expand...

Gasque's backhand has plenty of variety, probably more than anyone. Not sure what you mean by reaction time, preparation for it?

As for beauty, Wawrinka's is robotic, Federer's rather awkward, probably the only part of his game that isn't pretty.

Federer at number 2 for consistency is ridiculous.
 
King No1e

King No1e

G.O.A.T.
skaj said:
Gasque's backhand has plenty of variety, probably more than anyone. Not sure what you mean by reaction time, preparation for it?

As for beauty, Wawrinka's is robotic, Federer's rather awkward, probably the only part of his game that isn't pretty.

Federer at number 2 for consistency is ridiculous.
Click to expand...
It's a helluva lot more consistent than Tsitsi or Shapo, and Thiem's BH bashing doesn't make his shot very consistent. Only debatable one is Gasquet. Wawrinka clearly ahead of everyone else
 
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