Who had better volley skills; McEnroe or Edberg?

pmerk34 · Dec 13, 2014

USS Tang said:
What is a "can opener" serve?

It refers to how John went the the service line and stood parallel to the baseline with his back to the opponent. He then would uncork himself on the serve and open his body up 180 degrees like a can opener motion. Basically no one uses this motion and it would never be taught.

jaggy · Dec 13, 2014

Edberg was classic but McEnroe had amazing hands and touch

hoodjem · Dec 13, 2014

Ano said:
In his semi final match against Nadal at this year Australian Open, Tsonga hit so many perfect stop volleys off of Nadal's passing shots.

I think Tsonga's stop volley is as good as McEnroe's.

That was 2008.

Has Tsonga played like that since?

PMChambers · Dec 15, 2014

Personally I think Tsonga's problem is his birth date. Today's game does not suit him. He's be a monster in the late 80 and early 90's. He is bigger and stronger than Becker, faster, serves as big, volleys as well, moves better and can general more pace. But he does not seem to like rallying, he needs value for his risk and he does not get it. He could even get through the mid to late 80's on natural physic without training super hard. Lendl would hurt him, but I think he'd prefer the shorter points and all court game. Even playing Mac would be better than today as he'd be forced to go for his big shots more and i think that he'd prefer that style even if loosing. I saw him live against Nishikori in the SF/QF? at AO and after 4 hits he just gunned something that was not on. He seemed to hate the baseline deep rally's, during the point he was easily going with Nishi but just wanted the point to finish whether win or lose. I think against Chang he'd be able to get to net and finish easier.

pmerk34 · Dec 15, 2014

PMChambers said:
Personally I think Tsonga's problem is his birth date. Today's game does not suit him. He's be a monster in the late 80 and early 90's. He is bigger and stronger than Becker, faster, serves as big, volleys as well, moves better and can general more pace. But he does not seem to like rallying, he needs value for his risk and he does not get it. He could even get through the mid to late 80's on natural physic without training super hard. Lendl would hurt him, but I think he'd prefer the shorter points and all court game. Even playing Mac would be better than today as he'd be forced to go for his big shots more and i think that he'd prefer that style even if loosing. I saw him live against Nishikori in the SF/QF? at AO and after 4 hits he just gunned something that was not on. He seemed to hate the baseline deep rally's, during the point he was easily going with Nishi but just wanted the point to finish whether win or lose. I think against Chang he'd be able to get to net and finish easier.

In short, the same factors that are killing American players also hurt Tsonga.

vive le beau jeu ! · Dec 15, 2014

i liked mac, but edberg's my favourite.

speedysteve · Dec 15, 2014

Different packages, both very effective. I can't call it!

Have a watch of this if you've not seen it, it is a treat, going at it hammer and tongs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs2MPHxAmxg

tennisdad65 · Dec 15, 2014

Equal volleying skills overall.

Edberg (and everyone else) volleyed primarily with his legs.
Mac (and no one else) volleyed primarily with his hands.

Edberg had better movement, better net coverage, got to the net quicker, better speed and flexibility, and had better technique.

Mac had better hands, better reflexes, better hand eye, better half, drop and stop volleys, and more 'oh my god, how the **** did he do that!' volleys.

Who had better volley skills; McEnroe or Edberg?

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