The Next Great Player

J

Jay fishpaste

New User
I don't see any second tier players of the calibre necessary to displace joker or rafa. I am however, lately impressed by Dominic thiem. Not a flash player like nasal, but solid and forcefull. Haven't seen any hardcourt action from him, and he is young...so a little streaky...but surprisingly fun to watch.

The fed will continue as the new Connors / Agassi so long as a young blood doesn't show up any get in the mix. I think Murray is done, as is ferrer. Dog is not focused enough.

I wonder if injuries will take the entire game down a step. When all the tops are broken there is usually a streak of lesser talent that makes a shooting star appearance. Happens often, but then they burn out and you get the long reign champs like Connors, Lindell, Sampras, Agassi, Federer, etc. I am looking forward to the cycle soon.
 
Defensive Tennis

Defensive Tennis

Rookie
I like Garin quite a bit. Kokk and Thiem are nice looking players too. I don't know if they will be great, but they seem to have bright futures.
 
chjtennis

chjtennis

G.O.A.T.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Rankings/Singles.aspx

3 players under 25 are in the top 15 of this week's ranking. Raonic is no. 9, Nishikori no. 12, and Dimitrov no. 14. Janowicz has dropped to no. 21, but I think he'll climb back soon. This will give other young guns confidence. These 3 guys have improved rapidly in recent months and I expect them to be factors in slams soon.
 
N

Nathaniel_Near

Guest
FreeBird said:
Nathaniel, You received my mail? :-?



Late bloomer ? Not in this era. Nishikori's woes are more related to his injuries unlike Ferrer. Arguably, Nishikori would have been a Top 10 player (missed by a whisker) already if there were no injuries.



Ferrer is a counter-puncher and relies on moving players side to side to draw a winner or an error. While Nishikori is an aggressive baseliner who goes for his shots. Both have similar FH and serve though (Ferrer's serve is better). But, Nishikori's BH is one of the best BHs today. Nishikori is an excellent volleyer (much more natural) , Ferrer isn't.IMO, Kei has the best aggressive return of serve today. The parallels can be drawn because of their heights and not because of their game. One more thing, from today onward, I want you to observe Nishikori's passes. :) You will be amazed.

Wake me up when Ferrer hits a flat BH like this one. ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V-_AU97LYQ
Click to expand...

OK I can finally respond to this now. My account had no privileges for a while because I changed some settings..

Sure, he can hit some nice shots but so can Ferrer. Ferrer's forehand can be a brutal shot and highly efficient. His I-O forehand is immense.

I don't think Ferrer is the player who is most like Nishikori, I just don't think it's ridiculous to compare them. Both are fast as hell, have good returns of serve, have strong strokes but no stand-out weapon/relatively balanced off the ground. This doesn't mean they have weak strokes or that they don't do damage, but are excellent at outmanoeuvring their opponents with mobility and strong strokes. Nishikori may have had injuries that have delayed his rise and that is why Ferrer matured slightly earlier than Nishikori, probably. Ferrer stagnated for a while though before then making yet another leap in becoming a regular top 5/6 player. Hopefully Nishikori doesn't have such a period of relative stagnation and becomes a staple top 10 player ASAP.

Great results for Nishikori and Dimitrov this weekend. Much happiness was had. :)

If Nishikori wins a Slam somebody was suggesting that we'd suddenly realise he has the best backhand in the world. Somehow, I doubt this. Also, I think people tend to vastly underrate Ferrer's forehand.
 
B

Bendex

Professional
Nathaniel_Near said:
OK I can finally respond to this now. My account had no privileges for a while because I changed some settings..

Sure, he can hit some nice shots but so can Ferrer. Ferrer's forehand can be a brutal shot and highly efficient. His I-O forehand is immense.

I don't think Ferrer is the player who is most like Nishikori, I just don't think it's ridiculous to compare them. Both are fast as hell, have good returns of serve, have strong strokes but no stand-out weapon/relatively balanced off the ground. This doesn't mean they have weak strokes or that they don't do damage, but are excellent at outmanoeuvring their opponents with mobility and strong strokes. Nishikori may have had injuries that have delayed his rise and that is why Ferrer matured slightly earlier than Nishikori, probably. Ferrer stagnated for a while though before then making yet another leap in becoming a regular top 5/6 player. Hopefully Nishikori doesn't have such a period of relative stagnation and becomes a staple top 10 player ASAP.

Great results for Nishikori and Dimitrov this weekend. Much happiness was had. :)

If Nishikori wins a Slam somebody was suggesting that we'd suddenly realise he has the best backhand in the world. Somehow, I doubt this. Also, I think people tend to vastly underrate Ferrer's forehand.
Click to expand...

Have you really watched many of Nishikori's matches? They are about as different as two top 20 players can be (they're all quite similar). Ferrer is an unrelenting, grinding beast of a player who is happy to run side to side for as long as it takes. Nishikori bales out of rallies early with blistering shots.
 
N

Nathaniel_Near

Guest
I've watched an awful lot of them. I am perfectly aware that Ferrer grinds a lot more than Nishikori and never actually said that he doesn't. Contested different aspects.
 
N

Nathaniel_Near

Guest
Defensive Tennis said:
I like Garin quite a bit. Kokk and Thiem are nice looking players too. I don't know if they will be great, but they seem to have bright futures.
Click to expand...

Garin is super duper young right now, like Kyrgios and Quinzi. I think the generation is clearly talented, though.
 
N

Nathaniel_Near

Guest
SpinToWin said:
Alliteration level over 9000!!!
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Lol.


It's really hard to tell who will break through in a big way though from that generation. They seem like less sure prospects as things currently stand but there are still the likes of Janowicz to consider and also this Thiem guy is making some fast ground and does have a very expressive and enjoyable game... Dolgopolov also.
 
J

jg153040

G.O.A.T.
Only great movers can be great players. There isn't any great player who is a bad mover.

So, we only need to include great movers. Nishikori, Dolgopolov.
Only great movers can dominate consistently.
 
N

Nathaniel_Near

Guest
Supertegwyn said:
Nishikori, Dimitrov, Raonic (maybe), Kyrigos, Kokkinakis and Thiem seem like the most talented to me.
Click to expand...

Just sayin'.

The two young Aussies got the chance to show their stuff at the Australian Open, but they are only two of many talented youngsters in their age bracket.

I do think Kyrgios is legit. I mean, we've had a chance to see them but the others will get some wildcards or make it through some qualifications this year and we'll get a proper chance to take a look at them as well.
 
N

Nathaniel_Near

Guest
Kyrgios did just win two challengers in the space of two weeks, beating Krajinović and Sock in the finals. Sock has a world ranking of #74.
 
B

Bendex

Professional
Nathaniel_Near said:
Kyrgios did just win two challengers in the space of two weeks, beating Krajinović and Sock in the finals. Sock has a world ranking of #74.
Click to expand...

Kyrgios is very fast twitch, so cramps up badly in long matches. We don't have special doctors in Australia that can turn a sprinter into a marathon runner, so it will be interesting to see if he will be able to attain the endurance.
 
Supertegwyn

Supertegwyn

Hall of Fame
Nathaniel_Near said:
Just sayin'.

The two young Aussies got the chance to show their stuff at the Australian Open, but they are only two of many talented youngsters in their age bracket.

I do think Kyrgios is legit. I mean, we've had a chance to see them but the others will get some wildcards or make it through some qualifications this year and we'll get a proper chance to take a look at them as well.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah it was more that I ran out of names than I had any issue with other young players. There are a lot of upcoming 17 - 20 year olds and we don't know which ones will be champions and which ones will be duds, but those are the ones I am most familiar with.
 
N

Nathaniel_Near

Guest
Bendex said:
Kyrgios is very fast twitch, so cramps up badly in long matches. We don't have special doctors in Australia that can turn a sprinter into a marathon runner, so it will be interesting to see if he will be able to attain the endurance.
Click to expand...

Mhm.



Well I certainly like the guy.
 
chjtennis

chjtennis

G.O.A.T.
One thing that goes against Kyrgios is his height, but he is a super athlete, it seems, so we'll see. Safin is the only no. 1 ever who was taller than 6'3". Kyrgios is the same height but he is growing still. Very tall guys will inevitably experience some disadvantages in tennis. However, that doesn't mean he cannot be inside top 5. He may become one of the top guys of his generation.
 
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