Who is the best returner?

[FromThailand]

Andre Agassi used to be the best returner of the game. Now that he's close to retirement, who's gonna get the title of "Best Returner" ?

 

[J-man]

i'd go with federer. he always keeps that ace count low and can place his slice returns in good places in the courts

 

[Andres]

My call would be Federer and Nalbandian.

 

[Head_Rocketman]

Federer himself admits the worst part of his game is the return. Did you guys forget about Blake? His returns are bazooka shots from a sniper rifle haha

 

[Andres]

Federer himself admits the worst part of his game is the return.

Because he's just too good about everything else

 

[lucky leprechaun]

I still say fed, I don't care what he says about himself

 

[Head_Rocketman]

Because he's just too good about everything else

Haha I guess. But I have noticed some frequent net shots from returns by him, especially against Blake.

 

[sandiegotennisboy]

FEDERER no doubt. if you can be #1 for as long as he has with the tour like it is right now, you must be doing something right with your return. I think most people here would probably rate how GREAT you are as a returner based on winners or whatever, a la BLAKE, SELES, AGASSI..etc.

 

[breakfast_of_champions]

best returner was passed from agassi to hewitt. with hewitts decline, i suppose fedex.

 

[Head_Rocketman]

best returner was passed from agassi to hewitt. with hewitts decline, i suppose fedex.

Fedex is soon going to be shipped by Blake, make that Priority Overnight Mail

 

[127mph]

federer, safin, nalbandian

 

[ATXtennisaddict]

What about Coria?

 

[RiosTheGenius]

i'd go with federer. he always keeps that ace count low and can place his slice returns in good places in the courts

that's exactly what I wanted to say...... Max Myrni also has a very low sliced BH return, they look sweet.

 

[Head_Rocketman]

Boom shakalaka! hahaha all the commentators could do was laugh:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWNPa...tralian open

 

[EclipseRydr97]

If Hewitt could figure out his game, my vote would go to him

 

[hoosierbr]

Federer, Nalbandian, Hewitt, Blake, Bjorkman, Henman, Grosjean, T. Johansson. Those are a few of the best.

 

[superman1]

I still go with Agassi, he hasn't retired yet. It sort of depends on your game, doesn't it? If you're a serve and volleyer, you're going to prefer playing against Federer's return much more than Agassi's.

 

[FromThailand]

Federer, Nalbandian, Hewitt, Blake, Bjorkman, Henman, Grosjean, T. Johansson. Those are a few of the best.

I guess that if someone can't pick a player who deserves the title, it's probably because no one at the moment has the skills that Agassi had taking the ball so early on the rise that the opponent doesn't even have time to react. That was a natural shot for him but you have to be exceptionally talentive to attempt these kinds of shots and getting a winner over and over again. He was so good at it that he was by far the best returner of all.

 

[sandiegotennisboy]

can someone pull up the stats from the atp site on this and put this issue to rest.

 

[ShcMad]

I would say Safin's return game is underrated. The guy can really crack the ball and takes his chances no matter what. He might produce a few unforced errors by being too aggressive on a good serve, but I think it's better than blocking the ball back.

 

[federerhoogenbandfan]

I still go with Agassi, he hasn't retired yet. It sort of depends on your game, doesn't it? If you're a serve and volleyer, you're going to prefer playing against Federer's return much more than Agassi's.

Then that would mean you would prefer Agassi's return since almost nobody is a serve-and-volleyer now anyway.

 

[J-man]

Federer himself admits the worst part of his game is the return. Did you guys forget about Blake? His returns are bazooka shots from a sniper rifle haha

he's a good returner and takes the ball early. but that can cause mis-timings

 

[TennisRules]

Who is the best returner? ATP Stats

can someone pull up the stats from the atp site on this and put this issue to rest.

Sure, but somehow I don't think it will put anything to rest, because a lot of people won't like the facts and so will ignore them. Also the facts can't compensate for many factors, such as differences in quality of opponents. And how do you determine which of the returning stats are the most important? No one player leads in all of them. Regardless, it is worth looking at to try to get rid of some of the subjective biases that aren't necessarily well substantiated and see if there are some players being unduly overlooked.

To see the ATP stats, don't bother to look at the matchfacts page, because for some inexplicable reason certain players with high returning stats are left off of it. On the ATPtennis.com page, go the the PressRoom off the menu -

http://www.atptennis.com/en/media/

Choose Top 200 matchfacts [middle right of the sections under ATP Facts & Figures]. The table for the top 200 players shows these players in the lead for returning stats so far this year (pre-MC MS):

POINTS WON RETURNING 1st SERVE:

(limited to top 100 players due to small match samples for some players with higher %s like Adrian, Gremelmayer)

36% TIE: Kiefer, Wawrinka,
35% TIE: Coria, Ferrer, Hewitt, Hrbaty, Nalbandian, Santoro

POINTS WON RETURNING 2nd SERVE:

62% Coria
59% Acasuso
58% Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo
57% Davydenko
56% Spadea
55% Ferrer, Nalbandian, C. Rochus, O. Rochus

BREAK POINTS WON:

57% Berlocq
56% Monfils, DiMauro
54% Vanek
52% Rusedski, Santoro
51% Bjorkman, Grosjean

RETURN GAMES WON:

40% Coria
36% Nalbandian
35% Ferrer, Ramirez Hidalgo
34% Grosjean, Hewitt, Spadea

To choose the best returner based on these stats, IMO you'd have to select Coria due to his overwhelming dominance in return games won and return of second serve, and near top % in return of first serve. When you think about it logically, Coria must be about the best returner on tour, because what other player could win matches with so many double faults? His incredible wins this week in Monte Carlo demonstrate this. Other players rely on their serve, or at least on their serve not being a liability to win. Imagine if Coria can keep returning this way and improve his service game at the same time.

Sorry in advance if I made any mistakes or missed any players in making up the stats.

 

[darkhorse]

How can you guys say Blake? Sure, he hits winners sometimes but more often than not he goes for a winner and misses.

 

[Grimjack]

How can you guys say Blake? Sure, he hits winners sometimes but more often than not he goes for a winner and misses.

Blake has an absolute beast of a return, for serves hit right to his forehand, with no real movement needed.

His overall return game, however, I wouldn't place among the current top 10.

 

[AAAA]

The best returning display I ever saw during a single match was when Hewitt man-handled Pete's serve while on his way to a 7 - 6 , 6 - 1 , 6 - 1 victory in the 2001 USO final.

 

[FuZz_Da_AcE]

as an offensive returner, it wouldve been hewitt, but im going to have to give it to blake. but on the other hand, as a defensive returner, u simply cant go past fedex.

 

[Alexandros]

I agree with the poster above me, this needs to be broken down.

Best offensive returner has to be Agassi, and failing that, Hewitt. Hewitt doesn't get aced easily and when he gets his racket on the ball he can typically reduce (moreso than other players) the server's advantage.

Defensively speaking, Federer is far and away the best. He neutralises the ball and relies on his spectacular ground game to get his breaks.

 

[Turning Pro]

The best returning display I ever saw during a single match was when Hewitt man-handled Pete's serve while on his way to a 7 - 6 , 6 - 1 , 6 - 1 victory in the 2001 USO final.

I liked the way he handled Henmans serve at Wimby 02 and Roddick at Housten.

 

[TennisRules]

Sure, but somehow I don't think it will put anything to rest, because a lot of people won't like the facts and so will ignore them. Also the facts can't compensate for many factors, such as differences in quality of opponents. And how do you determine which of the returning stats are the most important? No one player leads in all of them. Regardless, it is worth looking at to try to get rid of some of the subjective biases that aren't necessarily well substantiated and see if there are some players being unduly overlooked.

To see the ATP stats, don't bother to look at the matchfacts page, because for some inexplicable reason certain players with high returning stats are left off of it. On the ATPtennis.com page, go the the PressRoom off the menu -

http://www.atptennis.com/en/media/

Choose Top 200 matchfacts [middle right of the sections under ATP Facts & Figures]. The table for the top 200 players shows these players in the lead for returning stats so far this year (pre-MC MS):

POINTS WON RETURNING 1st SERVE:

(limited to top 100 players due to small match samples for some players with higher %s like Adrian, Gremelmayer)

36% TIE: Kiefer, Wawrinka,
35% TIE: Coria, Ferrer, Hewitt, Hrbaty, Nalbandian, Santoro

POINTS WON RETURNING 2nd SERVE:

62% Coria
59% Acasuso
58% Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo
57% Davydenko
56% Spadea
55% Ferrer, Nalbandian, C. Rochus, O. Rochus

BREAK POINTS WON:

57% Berlocq
56% Monfils, DiMauro
54% Vanek
52% Rusedski, Santoro
51% Bjorkman, Grosjean

RETURN GAMES WON:

40% Coria
36% Nalbandian
35% Ferrer, Ramirez Hidalgo
34% Grosjean, Hewitt, Spadea

To choose the best returner based on these stats, IMO you'd have to select Coria due to his overwhelming dominance in return games won and return of second serve, and near top % in return of first serve. When you think about it logically, Coria must be about the best returner on tour, because what other player could win matches with so many double faults? His incredible wins this week in Monte Carlo demonstrate this. Other players rely on their serve, or at least on their serve not being a liability to win. Imagine if Coria can keep returning this way and improve his service game at the same time.

Sorry in advance if I made any mistakes or missed any players in making up the stats.

Just an UPDATE, since ATP has updated matchfacts at this link:

http://www.atptennis.com/en/players/matchfacts/

Here are the stats for the top 5 players of each return category in matchfacts post Monte Carlo MS:

Points Won Returning First Serve:

1. Coria, Guillermo 37% 12 matches
2. Ferrer, David 36% 22
3. Nadal, Rafael 36% 20
4. Nalbandian, David 36% 17
5. Federer, Roger 35% 35

Points Won Returning Second Serve:

1. Coria, Guillermo 60% 12 matches
2. Acasuso, Jose 58% 18
3. Davydenko, Nikolay 57% 25
4. Spadea, Vincent 56% 22
5. Rochus, Christophe 56% 17

Break Points Converted:

1. Monfils, Gael 57% 12 matches
2T. Grosjean, Sebastien 50% 18
2T. Santoro, Fabrice 50% 18
4. Mayer, Florian 49% 16
5. Melzer, Jurgen 49% 13

Return Games Won:

1. Coria, Guillermo 42% 12 matches
2. Ferrer, David 36% 22
3. Nadal, Rafael 36% 20
4. Nalbandian, David 36% 17
5. Hewitt, Lleyton 35% 20

 

[MasterTS]

Who ever thinks fed has the best return is an idiot. Fed has a "safe" return. It gets the pointed started. Other players can easily get back as many returns as fed if they just want to dink it back..

Good returners:

Hewitt, Nalbandian, Ollie Rochus, Coria, Ferrer and so on

.. All these guys have one thing in common: Their serves are weak but their return is great. It balances out their game and makes up for what height they don't have.

 

[MasterTS]

Blake has a good return too, its very xplosive but its not reliable.

Getting back to the point: whoever thinks fed has the best return needs to get a clue.

Anyone ever see Fed try to hammer a return? The results arent good. Tahts why he dosent do it often.