Swingmaster
Hall of Fame
After getting angry about something that happened on court or off. Permanent anger shouldn’t count I guess.
Who’s the best ever player when playing angry?
- Thread starter Swingmaster
- Start date
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Definitely Djokovic, it actually helps him. Nadal is like Vegeta, he can't focus when he's angry lol
vive le beau jeu !
Talk Tennis Guru
Mcenroe?
Swingmaster
Hall of Fame
Yeah, McEnroe and Djokovic are good ones. How about some lesser players? I need to stop bringing up this guy, but still, Kyrgios? Some guys have no motivation outside of anger. Just saw Rosol. Ha. Yeah, Rosol.
Im(moral) Winner
G.O.A.T.
Swingmaster
Hall of Fame
In Youzhny’s defense, he started out using the strings, which is a rather enjoyable feeling on a frontal head crown. His last swing twisted a little, which was probably still pretty satisfying but the ensuing blood caused him to look like a madman. Really not too bad what he did, in my opinion, though I’m insane.
alexio
Hall of Fame
the true king of tennis, the man!..not that other two little boys (at wimby 18+19 it was shown very nicely)
Nole Slam
Legend
GOAT
Clay lover
Hall of Fame
Berdych
Djokovic in the later part of Set 2 here
Red Rick
Bionic Poster
That hurt my feelings.
Slightly D1
Professional
Kyrgios but there's a fine line between highly motivated and distracted melt down.
WYK
Hall of Fame
aldeayeah
Legend
Nah, sure Nadal plays looser when he's angry, but that has gotten him out of some holes too. Similar to Djokovic.
Maybe because they're a bit defensive minded so the occasional offensive onslaught can actually help them.
Oval_Solid
Rookie
the hulk
shamaho
Professional
That's not even a contest
Johnny Mac There may be others that's don't outwardly show anger but inside are seething.... - we don't really know about them... Borg might be one of them we don't know...
NatF
Bionic Poster
Nadal tends to have a good ratio of winning points after being given time violations lol.
Backspin1183
G.O.A.T.
He proved he was the real deal in RG 2020 final too. Made of steel. What a man!!
BeatlesFan
Bionic Poster
The only two players that played better angry in big matches were Mac and Djokovic. Some of the other people being mentioned (Safin, Nick) don't play any better angry, they just might not play any worse. Connors also falls into this category. He sometimes played better when angry, other times just quit, like he did against Chang at the FO (anger and fatigue) and when he just got furious and then defaulted against Lendl in a big match at the Lipton:
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-22-sp-10650-story.html
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-22-sp-10650-story.html
alexio
Hall of Fame
you missed
You must be a lot older than I figured.
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
i dont know the best but the worst playing hungry was nalbandian
boredone3456
Legend
McEnroe may be the obvious choice, but I think he was baseline 60% angry anyway so its always hard to tell when looking back at him.
I would also throw out Chris Evert as an option. I feel like if you beat her or got a set off her she became obsessed with making sure it would never happen again.
I would also throw out Chris Evert as an option. I feel like if you beat her or got a set off her she became obsessed with making sure it would never happen again.
King No1e
G.O.A.T.
Nah that's Labadze
Backspin1183
G.O.A.T.
I didn't. Saw the match from start to end. What a fighter!
alexio
Hall of Fame
you did, coz it wasn't about match
junior74
G.O.A.T.
Of course, but he and they want it all ways. He is, after all, The Chosen One.
Backspin1183
G.O.A.T.
I'm a huge fan.
DSH
G.O.A.T.
Ronaldo
Bionic Poster
Recall a player who ate his way into shape
BackhandDTL
Hall of Fame
PETE
TennisaGoGo
Semi-Pro
Stan. His biggest wins were in matches he was pissed about something. Probably why he’s mediocre against his friends.
ibbi
Legend
I don’t know where this idea that Djokovic is great when mad came from exactly. Because he beat Kyle Edmund? Remember Dimitrov in Madrid? What about the Roland Garros final in 2014 where he was so pissed off he gave the crowd a sarcastic clap after double faulting the title away?
Like surely his best performances have come in matches like the 2015 Wimbledon and particularly US Open finals and the Wimbledon 2019 final where he bottles up the urge to get wound up and controls himself and channels whatever he’s feeling into beating his opponent rather than furiously assaulting poor innocent lines people.
Serena has proven to be pretty good when mad, though she too has a fair few examples of losing the plot and going off the deep end leading to her own downfall as well. Though I think on most of those occasions she already had one foot out the door when she had her meltdown.
Like surely his best performances have come in matches like the 2015 Wimbledon and particularly US Open finals and the Wimbledon 2019 final where he bottles up the urge to get wound up and controls himself and channels whatever he’s feeling into beating his opponent rather than furiously assaulting poor innocent lines people.
Serena has proven to be pretty good when mad, though she too has a fair few examples of losing the plot and going off the deep end leading to her own downfall as well. Though I think on most of those occasions she already had one foot out the door when she had her meltdown.
Roger Federer. Nobody in tennis history can channel anger more productively than him other than maybe Chris Evert or Bjorn Borg.
To my eye, he gets angry on the court pretty often; it just doesn't manifest itself in the usual ways. He doesn't let anger drain his energy like some other players.
To my eye, he gets angry on the court pretty often; it just doesn't manifest itself in the usual ways. He doesn't let anger drain his energy like some other players.
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Sudacafan
Talk Tennis Guru
He did not get angry after 40-15?
mbm0912
Hall of Fame
Winners or Errors
Hall of Fame
Um, the match was over. That'd be the proverbial crying over spilled milk.