Underrated One Handed Backhands

ghostofMecir said:
Leconte was super talented, but as was the case with many of his French compatriots, he was a head case and was concerned with a lot of things other than tennis.
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I was always impressed by Leconte's tiny, circular swing motion off both sides, as though he needed almost
no preparation time. OTOH JMac beat him every time they played, so..
 
Why is it so flippin' difficult for a commenter to delete a flippin' post here- like this unintended-duplicate one?

Trump - Vance 2024. "Banish Wokeness [brought to you by our tiny Ruling Class], and the People will Benefit a
Hundredfold."

The CIA and their ancillaries run it all now.
 
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blackfrido said:
so, you judge the backhand technique based on how many majors the player won?
I don’t that, Clerc had much better backhand than Vilas period. I respect your opinion as anybody’s else but I grew up in Argentina, I played tennis while these players were still playing. I saw Clerc spanking Vilas really bad in an exhibition indoor match. Vilas fans were booing Clerc, I was having the best time of my life witnessing that. We have no room to have two idols among us, not admitted. I took Clerc’s side, the underdog.
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I couldn’t disagree more and I saw them both play in person a lot. Just about every time I saw Clerc he lost. Most memorably when Bruce Mason kicked his a&& at the ‘81 USO. Vilas was a much better tennis player with a much better BH. How the heck Clerc ever hit #4 is a mystery but then Gene Mayer hit #4 as well and Ruud hit #2. Vilas and Clerc shouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath.

PS, exos mean nothing.
 
RSJfan said:
I couldn’t disagree more and I saw them both play in person a lot. Just about every time I saw Clerc he lost. Most memorably when Bruce Mason kicked his a&& at the ‘81 USO. Vilas was a much better tennis player with a much better BH. How the heck Clerc ever hit #4 is a mystery but then Gene Mayer hit #4 as well and Ruud hit #2. Vilas and Clerc shouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath.

PS, exos mean nothing.
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Bruce Man-Son-Hing, I think. And Gene Mayer caused many players trouble, IIRC.
 
Vincent-C said:
Bruce Man-Son-Hing, I think. And Gene Mayer caused many players trouble, IIRC.
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LOL. No. Different person. And not nearly as good a tennis player as Manson.

I’m familiar with both Bruce’s and Gene’s games.
 
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Vincent-C said:
I stand corrected, having been confused when you referred to the player above as "Bruce Mason".
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I’m confused about what was confusing. I mentioned a particular match that made an impression on me where Clerc lost badly to Bruce Mason.

“ Most memorably when Bruce Mason kicked his a&& at the ‘81 USO.”

Not sure how you got from that to think it was a different and futures level player that I never mentioned (and never heard of.)
 
Bruce Mason

Bruce Manson

Bruce Man-Son-Hing
RSJfan said:
I’m confused about what was confusing. I mentioned a particular match that made an impression on me where Clerc lost badly to Bruce Mason.

“ Most memorably when Bruce Mason kicked his a&& at the ‘81 USO.”

Not sure how you got from that to think it was a different and futures level player that I never mentioned (and never heard of.)
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I'm pretty sure it was Bruce Manson- not "Mason", as you had it directly above- who d. Clerc at the '81 USO,
though correction is welcomed. I'd rather watch Eliot Teltscher than any of 'em, myself..
 
Vincent-C said:
Bruce Mason

Bruce Manson

Bruce Man-Son-Hing

I'm pretty sure it was Bruce Manson- not "Mason", as you had it directly above- who d. Clerc at the '81 USO,
though correction is welcomed. I'd rather watch Eliot Teltscher than any of 'em, myself..
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100% it was Manson. Sorry for typo. Now I understand the confusion. I know Bruce. Manson. :giggle:

I liked to watch Teltscher as well.

What is your feeling on Clerc v Vilas BH. I don’t even understand how it’s a question let alone someone telling me Clerc has a better BH than Vilas. o_O Clerc doesn’t even have a better BH than Teltscher. :giggle:
 
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Aleksandar Kovacevic
Viktorija Golubic

Would love to put Eubanks on this list, because he absolutely rips it, but unfortunately it breaks down when put under pressure.
 
RSJfan said:
100% it was Manson. Sorry for typo. Now I understand the confusion. I know Bruce. Manson. :giggle:

I liked to watch Teltscher as well.

What is your feeling on Clerc v Vilas BH. I don’t even understand how it’s a question let alone someone telling me Clerc has a better BH than Vilas. o_O Clerc doesn’t even have a better BH than Teltscher. :giggle:
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I didn't see Vilas play that much, so can't compare to the others.
 
How about an up and coming..

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard!

Pretty solid all round, can rip it. Great wrist strength and versatility of shot demonstrated.

He's going places.
 
socallefty said:
1HBHs are usually over-rated.
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This is a bit true. At one point you would have heard someone say "He has one of the best one-handed backhands in the top 50" about everyone with a OHBH in the top 50. Federer, Gasquet, Wawrinka, Almagro, Kohlschreiber, Dimitrov, etc. There wasn't anyone who had a OHBH that didn't have it praised as a great shot.
 
Steffi had The Greatest Slice Backhand ever. It was low, skidding and hit with pace. Commentators and players alike always said it was her only weakness, but because of that it just got better + betterer over time, More skid, more punch.
It was also The Single Most Defended/Attacked Shot in History. Did any other player have 85% of their baseline shots directed obviously only to their backhand? It started out great, she floated it more than really leaned into + skidded it in the early years. But it was an effective aggressive shot due to the low skidding bounce/uncomfortability for her opponents, especially tall players that didn’t bend well (Seles, Davenport, Pierce etc). Obviously it was no where near as One + Done Deadly as her forehand, but it was a singular + unique weapon. Even fast as lightning Venus could barely handle it in their last match at ‘99 Wimbledon.

I loved Becker’s booming flat backhand when he was confident. It was a joy to watch.

Obviously Warinka, Fed, Henin, Goolagong, Sabatini when she flattened her bh out and hit down the line to Steffi’s forehand.

My favorite was Hana Mandlikova’s beautiful bh drive. I saw her marvelous match against Navratilova in Jan 1984 in person and I have never heard so many collective audible gasps in the packed arena as I did that afternoon. And I was one of them gasping. When Hana was on and swinging freely, her backhand was a thing of joy + awe. Not unlike Federer’s when he was loose and confident. Just beautiful.
 
EvonneFedererBorgster said:
Steffi had The Greatest Slice Backhand ever. It was low, skidding and hit with pace. Commentators and players alike always said it was her only weakness, but because of that it just got better + betterer over time, More skid, more punch.
It was also The Single Most Defended/Attacked Shot in History. Did any other player have 85% of their baseline shots directed obviously only to their backhand? It started out great, she floated it more than really leaned into + skidded it in the early years. But it was an effective aggressive shot due to the low skidding bounce/uncomfortability for her opponents, especially tall players that didn’t bend well (Seles, Davenport, Pierce etc). Obviously it was no where near as One + Done Deadly as her forehand, but it was a singular + unique weapon. Even fast as lightning Venus could barely handle it in their last match at ‘99 Wimbledon.

I loved Becker’s booming flat backhand when he was confident. It was a joy to watch.

Obviously Warinka, Fed, Henin, Goolagong, Sabatini when she flattened her bh out and hit down the line to Steffi’s forehand.

My favorite was Hana Mandlikova’s beautiful bh drive. I saw her marvelous match against Navratilova in Jan 1984 in person and I have never heard so many collective audible gasps in the packed arena as I did that afternoon. And I was one of them gasping. When Hana was on and swinging freely, her backhand was a thing of joy + awe. Not unlike Federer’s when he was loose and confident. Just beautiful.
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I loved Hana's BH, too. And Eddy's, of course..
 
The Harkleroad said:
My personal favorite was Gaudio's. So pretty.

No mention yet of Haas?

Not the prettiest but Schalken had a great down the line ba
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Two of my favorites

And one of my favorite backhand gifs
haas.gif
 
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