who do you think is the most powerful player?

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c32b1nsx

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which pro do you think has the most powerful strokes? serves not included cuz we all know who that throne belongs to. forehand, backhand, overheads, whos got the most explosive shots?
 
If memory serves correct, I think the hardest I've ever seen anyone hit was Safin against Davydenko in their second match. I guess Davydenko's balls were right in the perfect strike zone for Safin to tee off on. Some of Agassi's older matches when he was faster and more aggressive also come to mind. No one could rip the ball quite as early and consistently as Andre.

But I'd say Blake has the biggest forehand right now. He can't do as much with it as Federer, but he can pummel it. Backhand, I dunno. Pavel hits a pretty heavy backhand. Overhead I would think is also Roddick.
 
I'd say Baghdatis or Blake or Federer on the forehand currently. Blake can just pound the ball as we've seen. Baghdatis during the Australian Open when he had his chance, he'd pound it. Federer's forehand is the best and has a lot of power and spin behind it.

Backhand 2hbh Nadal when he flattens it out, Gonzales for the 1hbh.

Overheads is Roddicks (duh).
 
I think Sampras had the hardest forehand while Federer would be a notable second. I would go with Agassi and Nadal with the hardest backhands. Overheads id go with Sampras and Roddick.
 
Safin can pummel it from both sides. Fernando Gonzalez with the forehand really gives it the business, as does Blake. I agree with Magiclessmarker about Tursonov, except you don't seem him go for it as frequently anymore. I remember the first time I saw him was when he played Kuerten at the US Open back in '03; I thought the ball was going to break apart. Fernando Verdasco hits a pretty mean forehand also.
 
Sampras has the sickest overheads.
not too thirlled about his backhand slice though.

agassi's forehands and backhands are just insane. the way he just slaps that abll and with his feet off the ground and swings and uncoils so freely..

Blake is very athletic.. Allen iverson athletic
 
kaiotic said:
Blake is very athletic.. Allen iverson athletic
Click to expand...
I think I read that his trainer, who also works with NFL and NBA athletes, sheepishly admitted he's not at the level of football and basketball players.

Safin probably hits the hardest overall. But if you got a bunch of pros, and had like a homerun contest where guys were fed whimpy little balls, Roddick, Berdych, Federer, Tursunov, and Blake would probably kill it in the forehand contest. But overall, in a match, I think Safin hits the hardest.
 
Marat Safin seems to be totally different animal to the rest of the big-hitters.
Not for nothing is he known as 'The Safinator'.

Whereas someone like Roddick can blast serves and forehands, he looks like he's putting so much effort into everything.

Safin just stands there and crushes the ball: serves, forehand, backhand - effortless delivery yet incredibly powerful result.
 
I dont watch safin a lot but Gonzo has a mean forehand. A few times I've seen him run to his forehand off a serve and return it harder than it was hit at him. Then again in one match with federer and nadal, fed just slammed one at nadal while they were rallying. I think he hit it at something like 103mph.
 
Fernando Gonzalez hits the biggest forehand in the world. End of story.
A few other players can let the ball rip now and again but more consistantly Gonzo will crush the ball harder then anyone else, on the forehand side anyways.
 
JBennett said:
Fernando Gonzalez hits the biggest forehand in the world. End of story.
A few other players can let the ball rip now and again but more consistantly Gonzo will crush the ball harder then anyone else, on the forehand side anyways.
Click to expand...

I agree. Gonzo can really crush the forehand at times. I would sat federer would be next for forehand.

I saw somebody say Sampras had the hardest Forehand. Are you kidding me ?
 
We need to have a tennis all star competition, which would include stroke speed, slice rpm, top rpm, accuracy contest(any/all strokes), etc.

I'm serious, including star doubles and other rare quality player exos.
 
I believe that Safin and Ivanisevic are the most powefull players with modern equipment. Goran was more remembered for his serving and unorthodox S&V play, but he actually had very powerfull ground strokes, particularly on the forehand side.
 
JBennett said:
Fernando Gonzalez hits the biggest forehand in the world. End of story.
A few other players can let the ball rip now and again but more consistantly Gonzo will crush the ball harder then anyone else, on the forehand side anyways.
Click to expand...


How did you find this thread? :-) But I do remember that match against Pete in Miami back in 2002, was where I saw how powerful Gonzo was especially on the forhead side.
 
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In terms of raw power on the forehand, I'd have to hand it to Fernando Gonzalez. I think guys like Andrei Pavel and Youzhny can hit the most powerful(relatively "flat") backhands, while Gasquet just owns the heavy topspin backhands. Djokovic can also pack a punch with his two hander, probably the most powerful two hander in the modern era. I think Blake can smash harder while he's taking the ball straight out of the air, but Roddick smashes harder when the ball has bounced once already.
 
Safin and Agassi by far. Their match at the 2004 AO was just ridiculous. And I agree with the comment about how effortless it is for Safin. It's like he doesn't even even need to try and he can unleash a 90 mph bh dtl. I remember Roddick made a similar comment this year before their AO match, how the racket looks like a toothpick in Safin's hand and how he barely swings for the ball. Often times it does seem like he just bunts his backhand with such ferocious power.
 
Another Safin-Agassi vote, although both Gonzo and Blake are incredible. But Agassi just hit so darn flat on both sides, that the ball just transported itself through the air. And that Safin backhand...whew! Someone mentioned Gasquet, whose backhand is superb, but I think that goes with Fed's forehand. Those two shots are hit beautifully and hard but aren't necessarily hit out of a canon the way the other shots I mentioned are.
 
I believe that Hewitt can return to his best. He just really needs to go for his shots more like he use to… go for the lines… instead of hittingg it through the middle all the time. His a smart player… but needs to take more chances. Hewitt will climb up to Top 10 next year.
 
This is about all-around power. Gonzo may have the biggest forehand, but that's about all he has. Safin hits huge off both wings AND has a huge serve. I think Nadal after their match said that Safin hits a little bit harder than everyone else. Problem with Safin is he can't keep the ball in the court; maybe most guys could hit that hard if they didn't care about winning matches.
 
superman1 said:
This is about all-around power. Gonzo may have the biggest forehand, but that's about all he has. Safin hits huge off both wings AND has a huge serve. I think Nadal after their match said that Safin hits a little bit harder than everyone else. Problem with Safin is he can't keep the ball in the court; maybe most guys could hit that hard if they didn't care about winning matches.
Click to expand...

Yes Safin hits huge,but the guys whose power also impresses me big time is Philippoussis,I'll never forget the way he hit Sampras off court in AO 1996 that match he was on fire and he was crushing the ball.
 
Boris Becker was probably the best oncourt diver of all times, but that's not the same thing as most powerful. Also, his first name is not Benjamin.
 
In my opinion, Safin and agassi hits the ball earlier on the rise that they could generate flatter shots, while Blake, Hewitt and Gonzo swings are huge but the contact is not as early as compared to Safin and Agassi.
 
Tursunov is maybe the most powerful Ive seen. I remember a FH winner he hit vs Roddick in Davis Cup that was basically down the middle of the court, from the baseline (not a short ball) and Roddick was only 3-4 feet away from it, not pulled out of the court....it was scary.

BTW its spelled TURSUNOV. Its spelled Tursonov, Tursenov, every way possible but the right way in this thread. I swear some of you should be wearing helmets.
 
A lot of votes for Safin and Tursonov. I would hate to be their doubles opponents, having to deal with both at once.
 
gonzales hits hard, if youve seen him play live you know what im talking about, i guess it may come through TV a bit as well. his problem is that he sprays everyonce in a game lol.

safin ive seen him hit hard, an not when ive watched him live.

they all hit quite hard if you think about it. there isnt a huge difference like from a 3.0 to 5.0.
 
in today's game... James Blake. off both sides he smacks the **** outta the ball.
unfortunately, that's the only way he knows how to play.
 
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