which one-handed backhand player has the best return of serve

[THE FIGHTER]

OWNER OF
THE BEST ONE-HANDED
BACKHAND RETURN OF SERVE
AMONG PROS
-a public poll-​

Federer: comes to mind as the clear one to beat for his effectiveness at returning both first and second serves neutrally, with the added option to hit aggressively (as of late). he has the highest return of serve numbers of all ohbh players, #headandshoulders.

but obviously ROS numbers include both forehand and backhand throughout the length of a rally, so let's look a bit deeper.

Wawrinka: not so much, he starts the point defensively, almost always, if hitting a backhand

Gasquet: I've seen him hit remarkable ROSs, but his return position minimizes the offensive nature of the shot.

Almagro: on the other hand, he is also able to hit quality returns, the majority of his backhand returns are hit with topspin and he's practically on top of the baseline. he's by far the most aggressive, but concedes a lot of points by being too aggressive with his positioning, relative to his ability to get strings on the ball

Haas and Youzhny: oddly enough, they are the closest to having Federer's return stats numbers of all the one-handers, and return with a good balance of defense to offense on the bh side. just the right amount. #goldihaas

 

[President]

The data makes sense, Haas and Youzhny have more old school flat one handers, it's really hard to take those big topspin rips that Gasquet/Wawrinka/Almagro do off of a 120+ mph serve.

 

[Andres]

James Blake would be my choice, if we would be picking on retired players as well.

 

[MarcusInKensington]

If you're talking about who hits the best backhand return then it's Almagro for me.

If you're talking about returning in general then it's Federer.

 

[Sysyphus]

In any case, the answer is not Dimitrov :lol:

Haas, Youzhny and Almagro are probably of the better ones.

Federer is tried and tested—how he stacks up in terms of isolated return against the aforementioned, I don't know.

 

[Rubens]

Garcia Lopez's is pretty darn solid.

 

[Coolio]

Garcia Lopez's is pretty darn solid.

Stats show it is Garcia Lopez that has the best return. He is winning as many return games as Nadal and we all know his base game is not near as strong.

 

[Inanimate_object]

If best means, returns the most serves, Federer's a safe bet - however even now his returns leave something to be desired, especially seeing what Djokovic has done with the return.

 

[THE FIGHTER]

Stats show it is Garcia Lopez that has the best return. He is winning as many return games as Nadal and we all know his base game is not near as strong.

Like i said, return game stats dont show the whole story, but garcia lopez's stats are impressive for a one hander as is his actual backhand return. I should have included him. Very clean, neutralizing, and smartly hit. He isnt up to par with nadal or djokovic, but comparable to haas, youzhny and federer.

 

[THE FIGHTER]

If best means, returns the most serves, Federer's a safe bet - however even now his returns leave something to be desired, especially seeing what Djokovic has done with the return.

I agree. Merely neutralizing serves doesnt make you a good returner anymore. Djokovic is like a hybrid of federer and agassi at returning serve, not too safe, not to reckless, just right. I think federer still neutralizes first serves as good as if not better than djokovic.

the first serve return points won stat is very telling in how good a player is at not only getting strings on a ball but making sure that ball isnt a sitting duck.

But dominating second serve returns puts so much pressure on the server, more pressure than placing first serve returns well.

 

[Noelan]

Kohlschreiber

 

[tipsa...don'tlikehim!]

easy answer: Nadal

 

[Russeljones]

Federer's ability to block the fastest serves and turn those blocks into set-ups for winning the rallies in 2-3 shots is unrivaled.

 

[SpinToWin]

Haas takes the best consistent offensive one hander return I can think of.

Federer has the best slice/chip/defensive/block (getting a serve back) return.

I didn't see that it was a multi choice poll...