Who was the best player: Berdych, Gasquet, or Monfils?

Who was the best player of these 3 players?

  • Total voters
    108
R

Robert F

Hall of Fame
Berdych just hit the ball so cleanly. Does anyone do that now? Well driven with just enough topspin.

He was fierce and determined. Pity he couldn't grab a slam.
He's only 33. Why isn't he still in the picture? Ranked 102.
 
skaj

skaj

Legend
AnOctorokForDinner said:
Overwhelmingly Berdych. His serve+FH combo, while below ATG level, was much better than that of Gasquet or Monfils, so Gasquet's BH and Monfils' athleticism were far from making up for it.
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If the criteria is their games, which I think is the case in your post, then it's far from overwhelmingly. He has a good serve+forehand combo, and that's about it. Monfils on the other hand also has a dangerous serve and forehand(not as consistent as Berdych maybe, but still a huge weapon), plus he is overwhelmingly better at movement, has a better touch. Gasquet can't compete with Tomas in forehand/serve department, but neither can Berdych with him when it comes to backhand, volleys, footwork and brains. So, when it comes to their games, it is certainly not overwhelmingly Berdych.
With results it's a different story of course.
 
V

vaillancourt

Rookie
skaj said:
If the criteria is their games, which I think is the case in your post, then it's far from overwhelmingly. He has a good serve+forehand combo, and that's about it. Monfils on the other hand also has a dangerous serve and forehand(not as consistent as Berdych maybe, but still a huge weapon), plus he is overwhelmingly better at movement, has a better touch. Gasquet can't compete with Tomas in forehand/serve department, but neither can Berdych with him when it comes to backhand, volleys, footwork and brains. So, when it comes to their games, it is certainly not overwhelmingly Berdych.
With results it's a different story of course.
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Serve and forehand are the two most important shots in the game by far though.

Gasquet's backhand is overrated. It is a pretty shot, but people overrate its effective. Berdych had a very good, powerful, and consistent backhand. I am not sure it is much worse than Gasquet's which is far from a Wawrinka one hander.

Brains? I would say Gasquet's biggest weakness is often his brain, not a strength. Not that Berdych is any better there.
 
BeatlesFan

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
Berdych not only was the better player, but had the better career. This is not always the case. Connors had the better career than Lendl, but Ivan was the better player. Many such examples in tennis history.
 
V

vaillancourt

Rookie
BeatlesFan said:
Berdych not only was the better player, but had the better career. This is not always the case. Connors had the better career than Lendl, but Ivan was the better player. Many such examples in tennis history.
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Not sure Connors had the better career. Both have 8 slams. Both are amongst leaders in time at #1 stats. Lendl though has 7 WTC titles to only 3 for Connors. Lendl has more slam finals (19 to 15). The only edge for Connors looks like tournament titles (109 to 94).
 
G

Goof

Professional
This isn't even close. Perhaps Gasquet vs Monfils is an interesting question, but Berdych is above them by a country mile and then some.
 
skaj

skaj

Legend
vaillancourt said:
Serve and forehand are the two most important shots in the game by far though.

Gasquet's backhand is overrated. It is a pretty shot, but people overrate its effective. Berdych had a very good, powerful, and consistent backhand. I am not sure it is much worse than Gasquet's which is far from a Wawrinka one hander.

Brains? I would say Gasquet's biggest weakness is often his brain, not a strength. Not that Berdych is any better there.
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If you put it that way, Del Potro is better than Djokovic(or Murray) because his serve-forehand combo is better. Or on the women's side Ivanovic and Stosur were better than Clijsters and Hingis for example, and so forth...

Gasquet's backhand is not overrated, one of the technically best one-handers we have seen it is an amazing shot. If anything it is underrated, because people seem to confuse the overall success and strokes/elements of the game(notice how before Wawrinka started winning big Gasquet was considered to have the best one-handed backhand, while after his is widely consider to be the second best).

By brains I meant "tennis IQ" - shot selection, tactics - not mental toughness(both are quite poor there).
 
V

vaillancourt

Rookie
skaj said:
If you put it that way, Del Potro is better than Djokovic(or Murray) because his serve-forehand combo is better. Or on the women's side Ivanovic and Stosur were better than Clijsters and Hingis for example, and so forth...
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I did not say serve-forehand were the only things that matter, but they are the most important shots. And Clijsters at her best has a better forehand than Stosur and atleast on par with Ivanovic. Hingis is the smartest player in history besides Evert so analyzing shots fo rher is almost pointless. Obviously Gasquet isnt that level of mind.

Djokovic has a better serve than Del Potro, and overall nearly as good a forehand probably even though it is less punishing but that isnt the only thing that matters. Del Potro probably doesnt even have a better serve and forehand combo now that Djokovic's serve has improved to the point it is clearly superior.
 
R

Robert Baratheon

Guest
Basket and Guru are both weak sauce compared to Birdman.
 
Federer and Del Potro

Federer and Del Potro

Bionic Poster
I Am Finnish said:
He could had won the USO if he was not screwed by the typhoon
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Very disappointed in how he played Nadal in the 2010 Wimbledon final. Berdych's mental fragility is the only reason he didn't bag at least 1 slam, probably more like 2-3. There were tournaments right there for his taking and he didn't do it. Didn't even put up a fight really which is the worst part.
 
skaj

skaj

Legend
vaillancourt said:
I did not say serve-forehand were the only things that matter, but they are the most important shots. And Clijsters at her best has a better forehand than Stosur and atleast on par with Ivanovic. Hingis is the smartest player in history besides Evert so analyzing shots fo rher is almost pointless. Obviously Gasquet isnt that level of mind.

Djokovic has a better serve than Del Potro, and overall nearly as good a forehand probably even though it is less punishing but that isnt the only thing that matters. Del Potro probably doesnt even have a better serve and forehand combo now that Djokovic's serve has improved to the point it is clearly superior.
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Ok some strange statements here. Clijsters at least on a par with Ivanovic and better than Stosur's? Stosur at her peak had probably the best wta forehand ever. Ivanovic is up there too while Clijsters, even though she had a very good forehand was never in that league.
Gasquet is not only smart, but great at other things too, I mentioned them earlier(nobody is as smart as Hingis, but Richard is a very intelligent player himself).
Djokovic has a better serve than Del Potro? nearly as good a forehand? Not sure which Djokovic/Del Potro you are talking about then...
 
V

vaillancourt

Rookie
skaj said:
Ok some strange statements here. Clijsters at least on a par with Ivanovic and better than Stosur's? Stosur at her peak had probably the best wta forehand ever.
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Haha is this meant to be comedic. Graf's forehand >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Stosur's forehand, and there are many others as well. When Serena is playing her best (not in her few losses to Stosur, each which apart from maybe the closes RG one she was badly off) her forehand is easily better than Stosur. Sharapova and Venus who both own Stosur have better forehands easily when they play her, just watch the matches, and that isnt even the stronger side of both, especialy Venus. Stosur's forehand like every best part of her game, even her kick serve, is overly dependent on the height of her opponent, and whether they can handle the kicking topspin. If they can she is in big trouble.

I knew when you said Seles and Safin werent overrated your tennis knowledge was crap so I should not be surprised.
 
skaj

skaj

Legend
vaillancourt said:
Haha is this meant to be comedic. Graf's forehand >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Stosur's forehand, and there are many others as well. When Serena is playing her best (not in her few losses to Stosur, each which apart from maybe the closes RG one she was badly off) her forehand is easily better than Stosur. Sharapova and Venus who both own Stosur have better forehands easily when they play her, just watch the matches, and that isnt even the stronger side of both, especialy Venus. Stosur's forehand like every best part of her game, even her kick serve, is overly dependent on the height of her opponent, and whether they can handle the kicking topspin. If they can she is in big trouble.

I knew when you said Seles and Safin werent overrated your tennis knowledge was crap so I should not be surprised.
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No, it's just being analytical and not following the opinions of the masses. Graf of course had an amazing forehand, but she was equally amazing at moving around the tennis court, which was not the case with Pierce, Ivanovic and Stosur. The forehands of those girls were not lesser than Graf, she just moved better , could hit it more consistently and from almost everywhere on court because of that - superior speed and footwork. I said that peak Stosur probably had the best forehand on the women's side because apart from power, placement and disguise she had that incredible nadalesque top spin with a deceiving loop and very hard to handle bounce.

And please stop with your ad hominem comments, you are just showing how little real arguments you have. And speaking of crap tennis knowledge, Venus having a better forehand than Stosur? I rest my case...
 
V

vaillancourt

Rookie
skaj said:
No, it's just being analytical and not following the opinions of the masses. Graf of course had an amazing forehand, but she was equally amazing at moving around the tennis court, which was not the case with Pierce, Ivanovic and Stosur. The forehands of those girls were not lesser than Graf, she just moved better , could hit it more consistently and from almost everywhere on court because of that - superior speed and footwork. I said that peak Stosur probably had the best forehand on the women's side because apart from power, placement and disguise she had that incredible nadalesque top spin with a deceiving loop and very hard to handle bounce.

And please stop with your ad hominem comments, you are just showing how little real arguments you have. And speaking of crap tennis knowledge, Venus having a better forehand than Stosur? I rest my case...
Click to expand...

Start a poll if Stosur has the best WTA forehand ever and watch the results. She will get 1 vote (from you) and "no" will get over 200.

Now start a poll if Stosur or Venus has a better forehand, it will probably be close, but I would guess Venus wins it. Watch some of their matches and you will see why it is possible Venus has a better forehand, she regularly outhits Stosur off both sides whenever they play.

I would be happy to create both polls if you like. I dare you to give me the go ahead.

:-D I am sure that would only be since most people dont have your epic knowledge on the sport though. Also if you knew anything about tennis you would know Stosur's topspin is both an advantage or disadvantage. For people who can time it well and hit on the rise, as many top players can, it is a huge disadvantage at times, especialy if she isnt really cracking it can sit up. And no her topspin is nowhere near as heavy or consistently effective as Nadal's. That is why any top player 5 foot 11 or taller thoroughly owns her, even the excellent but not totally remarkable players as Azarenka and Kvitova.

And keep the entire rest of Graf's game and replace just her forehand with Stosur and you think she suddenly wins more than 22 slams? I am sure you will say yes, but ROTFL at that in reality. Either that or you will say with her improved forehand (due to now having the greater Stosur forehand) the Seles stabbing no longer happens as she no longer has the same success in 91-92 with Graf's improved forehand, and she still winds at about 22 due to that or something. I guarantee you in reality she doesnt any longer win 22 slams with a Stosur forehand rather than a Graf forehand in fact.
 
ChrisG

ChrisG

Professional
Gasquet and Monfils are incredible players until they put a foot into a tennis court. then the outcome is always the same : a loss with some flashy moves.
 
Tshooter

Tshooter

G.O.A.T.
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