Top 3 Favorite Players of All Time

zorroman said:
2) Pete Sampras - He had a beautiful game with classic strokes. Without a doubt, he had the best 1st and 2nd serve combination in history. Also, his running forehand was scary and left the opponent no chance. He was definitely vulnerable on slower surfaces, where his serve was not as big a weapon, and his backhand tended to crack under pressure. The most frustrating thing about Sampras, as mentioned by newnuse, was his refusal to fight hard when the chips were down on clay.
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Yeah I agree about the greatest serve combination in history. The first serve was great, but nothing you have not seen with other big servers. His second serve is what really stood out. It was as good as some top player's 1st serves. It was a weapon not a liability. When he was in the zone, I've never seen anybody as good, but I do not consider him the GOAT due to his lack of fight. The GOAT cannot lose in the 1st or 2nd round at the FO on a annual basis. That and a guy by the name Laver.
 
1. Sampras. Well he was the man when I was growing up. Memories like the 1995 AO, 2002 US Open, 1999 and 2000 Wimbledon finals are very special and his silky strokes made him an easy Number 1.

2. Rosewall. He didn't have much power but the touch and finesse was amazing. Just shows that you don't have to hit every shot as hard as you can.

3. Becker. Yes the dodgy service motion doesn't aid his cause but his all round game was stunning to watch. His groundstrokes were perfectly acceptable in an age when emphasis was more on volleying, he was a unique player to watch.

Maybe in a few years some of todays players will take over my views, but at the moment these are my personal favourites.
 
Top 3
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Edberg was my 1st idol. Hard to get that kind of excitment especially when he competed against Becker for 3 straight finals with his nice adidas shirt, cool blond hair, no-look serve, arching back, fluid volleys and backhand. Every point I will cheer and shout when he won Becker. Especially those backhand low-volleys that he picks up at his shoe-laces and then strutter step gracefully towards the net, makes me eager to go onto the tennis court and emulate him. And when I managed to hit the same low-volley, I get that immense joy. Really my very 1st idol.
I supported Edberg when he played against Sampras at the US open final.

When Edberg retired, Sampras was my next idol. I always supported Sampras when he played Agassi. But if Agassi played against other players, I will support Agassi. However, Agassi was not my idol. Sampras was because of his dominance at Wimbledon, just wanted him to win. Maybe because I loved Edberg's serve and volley game and when Edberg was at his prime, Sampras could not win Edberg at the net. So naturally Sampras was kind of a substitute idol for me. But I grown to like Sampras for his running down the line forehands and backhands and little flicks of the wrist for his backhand and pin-point accuracy disguise serves.
I loved Sampras all-court game and always wanted him to win French Open but he can't. But Edberg will always be my no. 1 favourite for Serve & Volleys and Volleys itself. Edberg was also my no. 1 favourite for his kick serves.

So you can guess it, my third idol that has both elements of Edberg and Sampras....Federer.
Federer is the successor of both Edberg and Sampras for me.
Federer has Edberg's coolness when he walks, talks, serves, moves, runs,....
He has a very good kick serve like Edberg and Sampras. Federer is also one of the dying breed that at least know how to serve and volley respectfully.
He gives me the same level of excitement as Edberg (Edberg vs Becker) and Sampras (Sampras vs Agassi). I wont get bored viewing re-runs of Federer dominating Hewitt or Roddick. Federer vs Nadal & Federer vs Safin were the 2 best matches in a long time which kept me glued to the TV, but it can never reached the epic excitment of Edberg vs Becker...
Federer is the one most likely to overtake Sampras' Grandslam record and Wimbledon records. He has a similar game to Sampras and his dominance over opponents are like Sampras. In additional he is the new HOPE to do what Sampras cannot achieve and that is to win the French Open.
Federer is my no. 1 favourite for his gifted talents of mixing defence and offence so well, reading & anticipating the ball so well, able to play touch shots like mcenroe, blast balls like Roddick, hit on the rise returns & half volley groundstrokes like Agassi, run as fast as Hewitt with same tenacity. There is nothing he cannot do and he seemed to have all the great qualities, mastery, magic from all the great players I know from the mid 80s till the present day. In fact he does shots that I have never seen before. Eg. a full lunge, almost diving, at full stretch, totally out-of-position, in mid-air, flick of a wrist, pass someone at the net CROSSCOURT with his backhand. Sampras was able to do this shot but I only saw Sampras do it when his feet was set and was not as fully stretched like Federer.
I supported Sampras when he played Federer in 2001 when Federer was quite a new player to me with long hair and a pony-tail. If I knew he would become so good or we can turn back the clock now, I would have supported Federer over Sampras.

To rate:
Co-No. 1 favourites: Edberg & Federer
No. 2 favourite: Sampras

All 3 players were/are dominant players over their peers when they were/are in their prime.

All 3 players can serve and volley well.

All 3 players are cool in their temperment.

All 3 players used/uses Wilson Pro Staff rackets or its successor
 
-> Maria Sharapova
-> Tezuka Kunimitsu
-> Ryoma Echizen

lol, ok so the last 2 aren't real...(Ryoma's the chibi in my avatar)

-> Maria Sharapova
-> Andre Agassi
-> Roger Federer
 
another great category-thread

Always like seeing these. Definitely a tough call. Especially taking both genders into consideration, a little easier to do the best 3 men and best 3 women that I liked.

Well I'd have to say above all

1st) Stefan Edberg - Not only was he an enjoyment to watch every match, with his serve and volley techniques. But this guy won the best sportsmanship award 5 times. I think at one point they were toying with renaming the award after him, not sure if they did. His 3 finals in a row with Becker were classic.

2nd) Martina Navratilova - The queen who reigned for many years at Wimbledon, both at the net, and the lefty's famous hook shot that she nailed so many with. She probably didn't have the greatest personality, and wasn't always happy with her, how she just left some of her doubles partners. But she's still the queen with the most wins in wimbledon.

3rd) Stefi Graf - The other queen who dethroned the first queen preventing her from a record 7 in a row. Her court coverage was amazing, her run around forehand was a cannon, and she reigned on each surface at least 4 times. She also seemed to always pull herself out of any rut that she was in. Only one time I can think of in all the years where she just fell apart was the 1st round exit in Wimbledon, other then that, what a player.

People who just missed the cut. Because both genders are represented.

4th) Roger Federer - With so many years left in him and the mastering of the grass, he's always an enjoyment to watch. The only reason he wouldn't crack my top 3, is because Edberg is always going to be my favorite, and Martina and Stefi are to close together of my favorites to split up.

5th) Ivan Lendl - He was always a joy to watch, and a solid all around player, yet he just couldn't quite get that one taste of the Wimbledon trophy. He even moved to England and built himself a grass court at his house to try and capture this elusive trophy.

6th) Jana Novotna - She always played from the heart, and finally in the end was able to take the Wimbledon trophy. Was never so happy for a player. She always had a great game, but appeared at a tough time in tennis history. Her game was at her top a few years before Navratilova started to fade, and then Graf came along and she was around pretty close to when Graf retired.

There are other great players on the rise like Nadal who will probably make the list. The were other great players who were off my list for various reasons. As much as McEnroe was a great player, and was usually right when he complained about a call, after a while it was just to much. Sampras always came across to me as way to cocky, and I'm probably the only one to feel that way. Henin-Hardenne's botch up at the French Open when she held up her hand to stop play and then didn't admit to it to the head judge really pissed me off, and will never be on my list because of that. Hewitt will also never be on my list because of his prejudice towards Blake.
 
ctbmar said:
Top 3
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Edberg was my 1st idol. Hard to get that kind of excitment especially when he competed against Becker for 3 straight finals with his nice adidas shirt, cool blond hair, no-look serve, arching back, fluid volleys and backhand. Every point I will cheer and shout when he won Becker. Especially those backhand low-volleys that he picks up at his shoe-laces and then strutter step gracefully towards the net, makes me eager to go onto the tennis court and emulate him. And when I managed to hit the same low-volley, I get that immense joy. Really my very 1st idol.
I supported Edberg when he played against Sampras at the US open final.

When Edberg retired, Sampras was my next idol. I always supported Sampras when he played Agassi. But if Agassi played against other players, I will support Agassi. However, Agassi was not my idol. Sampras was because of his dominance at Wimbledon, just wanted him to win. Maybe because I loved Edberg's serve and volley game and when Edberg was at his prime, Sampras could not win Edberg at the net. So naturally Sampras was kind of a substitute idol for me. But I grown to like Sampras for his running down the line forehands and backhands and little flicks of the wrist for his backhand and pin-point accuracy disguise serves.
I loved Sampras all-court game and always wanted him to win French Open but he can't. But Edberg will always be my no. 1 favourite for Serve & Volleys and Volleys itself. Edberg was also my no. 1 favourite for his kick serves.

So you can guess it, my third idol that has both elements of Edberg and Sampras....Federer.
Federer is the successor of both Edberg and Sampras for me.
Federer has Edberg's coolness when he walks, talks, serves, moves, runs,....
He has a very good kick serve like Edberg and Sampras. Federer is also one of the dying breed that at least know how to serve and volley respectfully.
He gives me the same level of excitement as Edberg (Edberg vs Becker) and Sampras (Sampras vs Agassi). I wont get bored viewing re-runs of Federer dominating Hewitt or Roddick. Federer vs Nadal & Federer vs Safin were the 2 best matches in a long time which kept me glued to the TV, but it can never reached the epic excitment of Edberg vs Becker...
Federer is the one most likely to overtake Sampras' Grandslam record and Wimbledon records. He has a similar game to Sampras and his dominance over opponents are like Sampras. In additional he is the new HOPE to do what Sampras cannot achieve and that is to win the French Open.
Federer is my no. 1 favourite for his gifted talents of mixing defence and offence so well, reading & anticipating the ball so well, able to play touch shots like mcenroe, blast balls like Roddick, hit on the rise returns & half volley groundstrokes like Agassi, run as fast as Hewitt with same tenacity. There is nothing he cannot do and he seemed to have all the great qualities, mastery, magic from all the great players I know from the mid 80s till the present day. In fact he does shots that I have never seen before. Eg. a full lunge, almost diving, at full stretch, totally out-of-position, in mid-air, flick of a wrist, pass someone at the net CROSSCOURT with his backhand. Sampras was able to do this shot but I only saw Sampras do it when his feet was set and was not as fully stretched like Federer.
I supported Sampras when he played Federer in 2001 when Federer was quite a new player to me with long hair and a pony-tail. If I knew he would become so good or we can turn back the clock now, I would have supported Federer over Sampras.

To rate:
Co-No. 1 favourites: Edberg & Federer
No. 2 favourite: Sampras

All 3 players were/are dominant players over their peers when they were/are in their prime.

All 3 players can serve and volley well.

All 3 players are cool in their temperment.
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Great analysis!
That's exactly my taste!!!
Edberg-SAMPRAS-Federer
volley-serve&OH-groundstrokes&special shots
Coolness-humility-correctness
Dominance
Elegance-classicity-smoothness
...


They are definetely my models!
To teach a boy I think Roger is the perfect model, the most complete and well balanced player of the three. The one and only without weaknesses.
(while Edberg lacked on the FH side and Pete on the BH's consistency). The key that IHMO allows Federer to be more competitive (among the three) on clay is his more modern, extremely versatile, anticipated, unreadable forehand.
 
I have always admired the great pro players of the pre open era, although i only read about them. In the very old days there were some interesting people like 'St. Leger' Goold (a murderer) and Dick Williams (who survived the Titanic and was the protagonist of all Bill Tilden's novels). I would like to see Gonzales vs. Hoad at their peak. The first Wimbledon Champion i saw on tv as a kid was Roy Emerson. Laver was something else, the complete package. Connors was always fun to watch, his style more imitable than the complicated game of McEnroe. Panatta, Mecir and Leconte had nice shotmaking games, Rios and Arazi, too.
 
1.Nalbandian-Winning ugly thats what it's all about
2.Ivanisevic-Best personality in tennis and the only guy who would break every racquet in his bag.
3.Santoro- The 2handed bandit. Who's more fun to watch?
 
1. Pete Sampras - the first guy that I admired, and I always will for the greatness he achieved throughout his career, maybe becoming the greatest player ever, a classic guy who let his racquet do the talking
2. Andre Agassi - another of the first legends I got to see, definitely contrasting a lot from Pete, but he made his own way into the record books also, and Andre is only one of the top 3 I got to watch live! I noticed even at Agassi's "old man" age, he still hits the crap out of the ball, and I still see a bounce in his step. :)
3. Roger Federer - what he has done so far is just amazing. He's an artist with his racquet as his paintbrush. When you watch this guy, sometimes you got to pinch yourself and ask, "did I just see that?"

Honorable Mentions

McEnroe - Though I didn't get to see this guy really, the clips I saw showed enough. He looks so fun to watch, and arguably the player with the best hands and touch at the net ever.

Connors - this guy is definitely one of the best "fighters" in tennis ever, I loved to see him use his whole circus of tricks

Henin-Hardenne- great athleticism, and as beautiful of a game as Federer, and usually just as effective, if not for injuries...

Wilander - similar game to mine, as cool and calm as Borg, with his focus/concentration/mind as his weapon, as quick as cat which led to exploit any weakness, plus won on every surface

Nadal - I like his game for how energized he is and just run here, run there
 
i find it hard to listen to some peoples ignorant and crass way of putting their opinion over, Andy Hewitt, but i guess its not worth it.

there have been some fantastic reasons giving and it is amazing how these people have effected so many peoples lives over the space of a life time. anyway to pick a top 3 is a hard task,
1) Boris Becker. he hit fame just as i was old enough to appreciate tennis in its full form. the fact he was so young and was taking the world by storm i think made him popular with the youth of the time.
2)Pete Sampras. his sear dominance through the 90s just blew me away making the game look so easy.
3)Lleyton Hewitt. the fight he has to win every point he plays and again the fact he came on to the scene at the age he did. shows a diffiance in his game and kind of rebelious nature that sets him apart from the norm.

Mac, Borg, Cash, etc all run close and were envolved in fantastic battles and famous matches over the years which make it hard to pick between them. i think though the fact that they were a little before my time they would never really endear themselves on me as i could never full appreicate them over a long period of time watching them at their prime.
 
Today: Roger Federer - best player from the last 4 years and probably on course to be the best tennis player ever. Perfect style and technique to watch/learn. Too fluid and graceful to be called 'robotic'...

Then: Bjorn Borg - regardless of the non-emotion, no-power-game this guy I grew up watching and got me into tennis. Hardly boring and dominated in an incredible era over Connors, Ashe, McEnroe, Vilas, etc
 
1) Amanda Coetzer

2) John McEnroe

3) Andre Agassi

*Disclaimer: I enjoy nearly all Tennis Players and matches and as such it is nearly impossible for me to boil down and condense all the player's I admire into a top list of three.
 
TenAce_m17 said:
I loved watching Agassi get whopped by sampras, he made him look so small, hilarious\
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Isn't that the same way Federer is making all the other male pros look small now?

Plus Agassi did put up good fights.
 
sort of amazing to see how many votes jmac is getting. talented yes, but, the guy was a complete basketcase and even needed anger management classes. and often bent the rules to distract his opponents. and really was a has been at 26, mainly because of poor training habits, and just a bad attitude.

and borg, who simply quit the sport and his fans, perfectly healthy, at age 26, because he lost his #1. i dont see a lot of loyalty there. not to mention his bilking of investors, suicide attempt, bankruptcy filing, failed marriages, and drug use. soft spoken and saintly on the outside, but underneath? hmmmmmmm?

top 3:

steffi graf-the princess of cool. a true champion. never got upset or hung her head when she lost. helped retire mn. and not to bad to look at.

sampras- aside from his many acheivements, a consummate professional on and off the court. managed to fly under the radar even with his great success.

connors-greatest fighter ever. has records that may never be broken. played in several eras; with pancho gonnzalas, laver, newcombe, borg, mcenroe, lendl, agassi, and sampras. was the first mega-star of tennis. his exciting style and personality brought tennis into the spotlight in the early open days and fueled the tennis boom of the 70's. contraversional, but also loyal to the sport and his fans. played til he dropped.
 
1. Amanda Coetzer - Mental fortitude. All-courter/baseliner. After Hingis, she is one of my main models that I base my tennis game on. Almost always outgunned, she could win any match that she could turn into a track meet and is the model for showing what can be done with limited firepower, blazing speed, and gritty determination. Known for her sportsmanship, she was also nicknamed the "Little Assassin" for some of the big upsets she pulled off.
A fighter.
2. Chris Evert - Mental fortitude. Power baseliner. An implacable foe, she re-introduced the big baseline game that had been so successful for Mo Connolly 25 years earlier and that now dominates the WTA today.
A fighter.
3. Pancho Gonzalez - Mental fortitude. S&V. A dogged competitor who would never make it easy on anybody to defeat him.
A fighter.
Honourable mention - Mo Connolly, a fighter.
Other fighters I admire: Trabert, Sanchez-Vicario, Chang
 
Watching borg and mcenroe wimbly matches definitely puts them at 1 or 2 in any order. probably safin no.3 he can beat the hell out of the ball in any situation, even if it requires touch.
 
1. Lew Hoad. For his unsurpassed gifts, flair, easygoing Aussie attitude, and for the manner of his dying.
He was the fastest, he was the strongest. On the pro tour, while in a bar with the diminutive Pancho Segura, he put paid to a racist by picking up the guy's chair, by the leg, and dropping it.*
2. Pat Rafter. Not supremely gifted. For the excitement of his game and presence. For saying publicly that he choked.
3. Lleyton Hewitt, grudgingly, on the eve of Australia playing Argentina in the DC QF. If he were asked to play doubles by himself, he would.

(#3 is subject to change;) )

* For a good account of the Pro Tour:
Golden Boy: The Life and Times of Lew Hoad
Larry Hodgson and Dudley Jones
 
Interesting thread . . nice to fellow posters respecting replies . . .

MEN (All-time): (these are favorites, not how I would rank them in history)

1. Mats Wilander - smooth, CLASS ACT (never offered excuses), won four slams and worked on improving his game (BH slice, first volley) and then won three more.
2. Jim Courier - underdog at the beginning (under Agassi's shadow) and could grind out matches if he wasn't playing his best. Never gave up (see Davis Cup vs Safin/Henman/Guga/Rusedski)
3. Nicolas Kiefer - has all the shots, blazing speed, hits the ball a ton and is pretty fiesty on the court. Good comeback summer of '04

Women:
1. Chris Evert - 150 straight matches on clay, best passing shots (M or F), most mentally tough player EVER, class act on and off of court
2. Steffi Graf - got to see her bludgeon Evert and Martina back to back in under an hour each, utterly fearless on court in pounding shots and incredible athlete
3 - Martina Hingis - didn't care for her attitude, but her shot selection and ability to make opponents look slow and stupid was always fun to watch


FYI - all-time greatest very different list!
 
ROD LAVER and ROY EMERSON.....Anyone who writes a book titled "TENNIS FOR THE BLOODY FUN OF IT" (Optimum. c1976) gets my vote!!!!
 
McEnroe - the intensity and style of his play made him great fun to watch

Laver - Perhaps the greatest of all time

Nastase - so much talent, never knew what would happen during a match...
 
Laver - He got me into it, he got my generation into it. No question.

Borg - Seriously, what's not to like? Great to watch.

MacEnroe - Great style, lots of feel. And honestly, those arguments were quite amusing to watch. Wonder why in the 70s everyone watched tennis? The people would argue, produce action even between points. Or with some players then, occasionally raise the middle finger. All about the show.


Top all-time greatest, and top men. If just for the females, then...

Navratilova - New age, baby. Revolution in conditioning, athletics. EXTREMELY athletic, as evidenced by her competitive play...at 48 years old. Would any other person this old be able to produce such great points?

Evert - Another revolution. While the 2HB existed before, she was the one that led it in. And who can argue with her passing shots? Great all around.

Henin-Hardenne - Fun to watch, just because she's so smooth on the court. Beautiful game.
 
Connors - The most mentally tough player in history. He never gave up. He could be down 2 set love match point and somehow come back. In contast young Agassi was the opposite, he tanked many sets. Connors never said die. Even when he was older he was still getting to the quarters and semis of tourneys. If you like rooting for the underdog Connors was your man. Slow serve or no serve but somehow he could win.

McEnroe - Just fun to watch and a wizzard at the net. Very exciting and volatile player. Would have hated to be a ref in his matches. :)

Pete Sampras - Maybe boaring but he had the best serve in the game, fun to watch him crush opponents with his unpredictable serve.

Runners up.

Borg
Federer
Lendl
Rod laver

Federer is great but I don't think he has the same competition as the old greats had. When I see an old man Agassi barely getting beat by him. Actually Agassi gives him more problems than roddick. Even in his prime Agassi could not beat Sampras so how would have federer fared with better opponents?
 
Nadal - My game is modeled after him, and I would love to have an exact copy of his game(I'm a righty among other things). I love the way he sprints back to the baseline after that coin toss. He's like an energizer bunny that keeps going and going. Not as flashy like someone as Safin, but has safe, heavy topspin strokes that I like. He also has those great wheels which he uses every single point. He wants every point and will scramble to the limits to reach a ball. Watching him play on clay is a dream, and I hope I can play like he did during this year's RG.

Federer- how can you not like this genius? His dominance is continuing to reach new heights. He plays the game like a tennis god with such beauty, and when it's all said and done, who knows how many records he'll set in the book?

Lopez- A different kind of Spaniard, which intrigued me. He has a great serve and volley in his game which paid dividends at this year's Wimbly, and his game is pretty smooth like Federer's; I would love to see him be a contender in the future at the slams.
 
Best of the Rest

#4 Jim Courier - never really cared much for Pete or Andre
#5 Safin
#6 Haas
#7 Gonzo
#8 Schnyder
#9 Gaudio (on clay)
#10 Clijsters

(my top 3 are on page 5, #70)
 
Men: Jimmy Connors Björn Borg John McEnroe

Women: Chris Evert Martina Navratilova Serena Williams Venus Williams
 
Thanks to Yours! for luring me over to this thread.

By default my all-time fav is PR of course, so the next three for the men are:

1) Roger Federer: Two words: CLASS ACT. Feddy is a role model to everyone and anyone, even Hewitt and Roddick look up to him. The guy is a genius not only in tennis, but also: public relations, charity, language, humour and humility.
2) Michael Chang: He da' man who got me into tennis. In fact, the first match I ever saw was Chang at the French Open in 1990 and we all know what happened that year! ;)
3) Daniel Nestor: Canada's golden boy. I have more sentiments for Nestor than any other because I met him personally. A few years back, I went to watch him practicing for a DC tie. I was satisfied just watching for free, but Nestor kindly approached me and talked with me, and then gave me an autograph. I just wish I could catch him playing doubs with Knowles more often - even if it's under the new scoring system.

Honourable mentions:

  • Nadal: Sans the sometimes over the top grunts and pumps, I love Nadal's tenacity, grit and determination. I don't think he knows what the definition of, "never" is!
  • Arazi: I haven't seen much of his play, but the matches I have witnessed were a joy to watch. Arazi is an example of a human being enjoying life. He always has that grin on his face, it's a pity his game didn't take him farther up the ATP ladder.
 
raftermania said:
Thanks to Yours! for luring me over to this thread.

By default my all-time fav is PR of course, so the next three for the men are:

1) Roger Federer: Two words: CLASS ACT. Feddy is a role model to everyone and anyone, even Hewitt and Roddick look up to him. The guy is a genius not only in tennis, but also: public relations, charity, language, humour and humility.
2) Michael Chang: He da' man who got me into tennis. In fact, the first match I ever saw was Chang at the French Open in 1990 and we all know what happened that year! ;)
3) Daniel Nestor: Canada's golden boy. I have more sentiments for Nestor than any other because I met him personally. A few years back, I went to watch him practicing for a DC tie. I was satisfied just watching for free, but Nestor kindly approached me and talked with me, and then gave me an autograph. I just wish I could catch him playing doubs with Knowles more often - even if it's under the new scoring system.

Honourable mentions:

  • Nadal: Sans the sometimes over the top grunts and pumps, I love Nadal's tenacity, grit and determination. I don't think he knows what the definition of, "never" is!
  • Arazi: I haven't seen much of his play, but the matches I have witnessed were a joy to watch. Arazi is an example of a human being enjoying life. He always has that grin on his face, it's a pity his game didn't take him farther up the ATP ladder.
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I don't know if Hewitt and Roddick look up to him, but that would explain the beatdowns he gives them.

No Rafter???
 
Newer players:
1. Roddick(not the best, just my favorite)
2. Federer
3. Nadal

Older:
1.Sampras
2. Agassi
3. Borg
 
Top 3 (Females)
----------------
My top 3 females players that I liked are ranked below my top 3 male players.

1. Steffi Graf : always supported her when she played monica seles. Hated monica seles grunts, but sympathised with her after her stabbing and tried very hard to regained her form. Steffi dominated the tennis world by winning 22 Grandslams, just wanted her to break Navratilova's Wimbledon record but she fell short by 1 Wimbledon and retired. Really disappointing...Steffi Graf's slice, forehand and serve were her trademarks. She wore Adidas apparels like my idol Edberg. When she won Wimbledon in same year as Boris Becker, that was really special, a double win for Germany. In the 80s & 90s, she was one of the better looking female players until Anna Kounikova came along.

2. Anna Kounikova : damn sexy, nice to watch her serve...drool...
Supported her to win at least one tournament, but who cares? with such a face and body like hers.

3. Chris Evert : supported her when the muscular Navratilova keep making her run elegantly around the court.

Just missing out:
4. Sharapova : The successor of Anna's in terms of looks and the successor of Monica Seles in terms of Grunts.
 
Andy Roddick- Modeled my game after his ( minus the vollying probs)

Marat Safin- He is fun to watch because of his antics (I can relate)

Rodger Federer- He's so incredibly good at everything
 
gotta make it 4

4. Gustavo Kuerten - that down the line backhand is a stroke worthy of Da Vinci.

3. Patrick Rafter - relentlessly making himself the underdog by going to the net all the time, and winning, was spectacular.

2. Goran Ivanisevic - enough talent for 10 slams but the head of a drama queen. But what drama it was!

1. Pete Sampras - the warrior who would let absolutely nothing stand in his way. Greatest athlete of all time: Greater than Gretzky, Jordan, Schumacher, Ali and Armstrong.
 
Maureen Connolly -- no one was younger better. You can look it up.

Arthur Ashe -- as important off the court as he was on. One of the last gentlemen in a gentlemen's game. 1968 was a remarkable year for him.

Pancho Gonzalez -- no one played harder.
 
raftermania said:
Joe, what do you mean, "no one was younger better"?
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I meant that young phenoms may come and go, but none will be achieve what Connolly achieved. She won every Grand Slam tournament she entered, with a 9-0 record. And achieved the Grand Slam of tennis in 1953. A horseriding accident ended her career in 1954 at the at of 19. I never saw her play. (Although I did take lessons from a guy whom she coached. She, in turn, was coached by the great Harry Hopman.) But respect for the game should include respect for its history. Connolly died of cancer at the age of 34.
 
Sad story...

Here's my 3 favorite players of all time. Well it's really hard to say and list players like this. There are so many talants, so many players you can admire. But these 3 are the ones I really liked to watch playing. The first 2 I remember when I was a kid, when I started to play tennis.

1. Yannick Noah.
He was really cool. He played with a cool style. Not too serious it seemed, joking around, he was really entertaining. I guess a true crowd pleaser.

2. Stefan Edberg.
He had a smooth style. Very stylish in his serve&volleying. One of the "good guys" of tennis. Never argued with the umpire (that I can remember). Good role model.

3. Roger Federer.
A little time gap there, but I must include this guy. His graceful style is really nice to watch. He has a good variety of strokes that he more or less masters, which in turn enables him to play any way he wants is rather fascinating. I'm always curious to see how far he can take his game.

So I guess you can find similarities in all 3. You could say I'm about aesthetics, but that's how I like tennis game to be played. With style, fair play, and a sense of humour.
 
I would say three top players of the era is Pancho Gonzales, Patrick Rafter, and Pete Sampras.

Three used to be superstar are Marcelo Rios, ivan Govanseic, and Kaylvenisko from russia
 
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