Which tennis pros enjoys playing tennis the most / least?

[Gabs011]

Pro players play tennis for a living - its their full time job. So just like in any job you will get some people who highly enjoy it and on the flipside some who really hate it.

Are there any generalisations that can be made? I.e. ATP top 50 enjoy their job more than those ranked 50-200?

I hate to say it but I honestly don't believe Federer enjoys everything as much as some others out there. Just think of all the pressure that is heaped on him every time he steps on court in a masters series tournament let alone a GS final. I think he will have tremendous satisfaction once he finishes it all - but I think while he's playing - he has a unnaturally high amount of stress/pressure on his shoulders. Of course after every match he is very happy - but while he's playing I very very rarely see him let out a smile.

Maybe the best position to be ranked is between ATP top 20-30. You are high enough to earn a good living but not so high that you are always expected to win.

So here is a list of those pros who in my opinion seem particularly happy on court;

- Guga
- Agassi
- Baghdatis (before he got to 2006 Aus Open final)
- Blake
- Stephanek
- Monfils
- Tursunov

And here is my list of pros who don't seem all that happy on court

- Nalbandian
- Safin
- Gaudio
- Henman (I don't think he could stand the constant pressure from the British crowd)

What are your thoughts on this??

All replies are appreciated....

 

[Aonex]

Jankovic, Hingis, Chakvetadze are always smiling on court... I'd say they enjoy playing the game.

 

[2 Cent]

Tommy Haas looks like he hates playing.

even when he's winning.

 

[2 Cent]

Jankovic, Hingis, Chakvetadze are always smiling on court... I'd say they enjoy playing the game.

lol Chakvetadze looks scared to death out there!

 

[phoony]

Hewitt, Jankovic, Sharapova, Justine and Nadal all seems enjoying play on court.

Coria - MIA mission

 

[Aonex]

lol Chakvetadze looks scared to death out there!

Haha... yeah, I think that's just how she looks. I think she has those Hingis moments though when she screws up or the other player hits a winner, then smiles about it. Either way, she makes funny smart *** comments whenever they interview her on court after the match.

 

[Fee]

Looks can be deceiving sometimes, but I can tell you without a doubt that Justin loves playing tennis, talking about tennis, watching tennis, whatever. He's an intense jerk on court most of the time, but I know he loves being out there.

I think Djokovic loves to play tennis too, but I get that impression more from stuff he says off court than the way he acts on court. I also wonder about Haas sometimes, but I think he's still out there because he either loves it or believes he still has a big win left in him before he ends his career. I think the Bryan Brothers love to play tennis, and sometimes I wonder if Robby Ginepri hates it with a passion.

 

[djsiva]

Lendl and Becker loved playing.

 

[Pete Semper]

Roddick, Monfils, Nadal, Djokovic love playing
Gasquet, Safin, Gaudio hate playing.

 

[Nuke]

Before she "retired," I thought Lindsay Davenport always looked so unhappy on the court, but she came back after having a baby, so she must love it. Hard to know whether they love it or hate it by looking for smile.

 

[fuzz nation]

I worry a little about Rafa. He's actually said that he prefers team sports like soccer to the relative solitude of tennis.

I also worry about Anna Chakvetadze. She often plays as if the fate of her nation is riding on her shoulders (Win or they starve!) - rarely seen her happy.

Anyone who ever saw Martina Navratilova play the game has witnessed a rare and passionate legend in our sport. She would really breathe life into a match whether it was singles or doubles and her incredibly long and successful career is a direct result of her love for tennis.

 

[Nadal_Freak]

Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Monfils, and etc. love it.
Davydenko, Nalbandian, Safin, Gaudio, and etc. don't like it.

 

[David L]

Pro players play tennis for a living - its their full time job. So just like in any job you will get some people who highly enjoy it and on the flipside some who really hate it.

Are there any generalisations that can be made? I.e. ATP top 50 enjoy their job more than those ranked 50-200?

I hate to say it but I honestly don't believe Federer enjoys everything as much as some others out there. Just think of all the pressure that is heaped on him every time he steps on court in a masters series tournament let alone a GS final. I think he will have tremendous satisfaction once he finishes it all - but I think while he's playing - he has a unnaturally high amount of stress/pressure on his shoulders. Of course after every match he is very happy - but while he's playing I very very rarely see him let out a smile.

Maybe the best position to be ranked is between ATP top 20-30. You are high enough to earn a good living but not so high that you are always expected to win.

So here is a list of those pros who in my opinion seem particularly happy on court;

- Guga
- Agassi
- Baghdatis (before he got to 2006 Aus Open final)
- Blake
- Stephanek
- Monfils
- Tursunov

And here is my list of pros who don't seem all that happy on court

- Nalbandian
- Safin
- Gaudio
- Henman (I don't think he could stand the constant pressure from the British crowd)

What are your thoughts on this??

All replies are appreciated....

I don't think you can judge how much someone is enjoying the game just from the way they look on court. Enjoyment is something internal, whereas you are taking you cues from how expressive players are. When I'm enjoying something, I don't always smile or indicate in any way the level of my enjoyment. As a rule of thumb, I would say being a successful pro, as opposed to an unsuccessful pro, helps one enjoy the game more, as well as being able to consistently play at what one considers a high level. When you're playing an important match, you have to concentrate. It's probably not the right time to start being all smiley and euphoric. The enjoyment comes from being able to play well and beat opponents. The enjoyment is silent and personal.

 

[Commando Tennis Shorts]

Santoro and Stepanek are both extremely fun to watch on the court because of the fun you know they're having

 

[quest01]

I would say Davydenko loves playing seeing that he plays almost every week. I would say Gaudio at this point hates playing because of his poor play over the past few years. Safin also is another player that seems to hate playing for a living.

 

[Alex132]

Davydenko loves tennis more than his hot wife

 

[Deuce]

I would say Davydenko loves playing seeing that he plays almost every week.

Davydenko loves tennis more than his hot wife

Davydenko doesn't like Wimbledon. If you don't like Wimbledon, you don't like or respect the game of tennis.
I'd say that Davydenko likely wouldn't go anywhere near a tennis court with any even slight frequency if there weren't so much money involved.

And maybe that's the best way to phrase half of the question here: Which players seem like they'd play for free?

Kuerten and Nadal are the ones who jump out at me as being the most obvious who possess a genuine love for the game.

And, although he often looks like he's undergoing some sort of torture on the court, even if you take the money out of the game, Safin would still play.

 

[andyroddick1]

Roddick is always joking around if he isn't playing against Fed. Then he looks like the most angry person on Earth.

 

[domovoi]

It seems to me that Safin has somewhat of a love and hate thing going on with tennis, sometimes he looks like he wants to choke everything tennis and sometimes he's just so on his game that it seems like it's meant to be. I think I've seen it in other players too, some that have been mentioned, but it seems most obvious in his case....

 

[North]

Andy Murray never seems to look like he's enjoying playing.