Why did you become a fan of your favourite?

[George Turner]

For me it started with Feds first Wimbledon final, Federer-Phillopousis. I was 14 years old, Before this time i was like many other Brits; followed tennis for two weeks a year until Henman went out. During rain delays they would show either McEnroe-Borg 1980 final, McEnroe-Connors 1982 final or Boris Beckers 1985 win, so i knew who those guys were at least.

I didn't know anything about Federer. I had watched Phillopousis beat Agassi with a lot of aces. The Aussie was getting a lot of hype, he was a Kyrgios type underachiever. These forums would go into meltdown if Kyrgios got to a final; this is what happened here. The Scud was finally coming of age!

But Fed was too good. After the second set it was clear the Scud had no chance. On the British coverage i remember an interviewer speaking to Aussie fans on Henman Hill, who said the Scud would come back and win. But they were bad actors, they plainly didn't believe what they were saying. Federer duly won and became dominant, the Scud virtually disappeared from tennis afterward.

After this i was intrigued. I followed Federer, i watched as he routinely destroyed Roddick and Hewitt. I thought Hewitt was too much of a fist pumping screaming brat and liked seeing him lose. As i followed Federer i followed other players aswell and got more and more interested in professional tennis as a whole.

So for me Federer was the man who got me interested in the sport! Why do you love your favorite so much?

 

[The Green Mile]

Hated Hewitt, watched Fed layeth the smack down on him at Miami 02. Fan ever since.

 

[Sysyphus]

I was lukewarm for Fed until a fateful* day the summer of 2009: the Gold Purse Gate™. I immediately thought, only a man of supreme confidence and endless self-deprecation can pull off something that bold. Been a huge fan ever since.

 

[Fedforever]

I was a McEnroe fan and after he retired thought that no-one else was ever going to play tennis in such a beautiful way again. I liked Edberg and Mecir but Rusedski and similar flinging down millions of aces - Nah. Then I heard a journalist on the TV talking about Federer and saying "This guy is an artist" so I watched and that was that.

 

[TripleATeam]

Grandpa started talking to me about a young upstart named Djokovic who was making a ruckus on the scene. This was before he was really doing much in majors. Of course, I saw his name on the draws back in 2005, but I didn't really pay much attention. I was paying much more attention to Roger and how he was faring in those years. He was really making an impact, and I was eager to see how much he'd win (4 majors already).

When I finally listened to my grandpa and watched Novak play, I was hooked. This guy was gonna be great. When he made the 3rd round in Wimbledon and the US Open, and made it past qualifying in all the majors, I knew he had it in him to play a lot stronger. That came out in the French of 2006, and I've been cheering for him actively since then.

 

[zep]

Because he saved tennis from multiple calendar grand slams in his teenage/early 20s when everyone else was bending over backwards to take it.

 

[George Turner]

deleted

 

[mike danny]

After seeing Fed cry after he won the FO.

 

[axlrose]

Because he's Greek.

 

[George Turner]

I was lukewarm for Fed until a faithful day the summer of 2009: the Gold Purse Gate™. I immediately thought, only a man of supreme confidence and endless self-deprecation can pull off something that bold. Been a huge fan ever since.

Ironically some criticised him for showing off like that, mostly non fed fans

Grandpa started talking to me about a young upstart named Djokovic who was making a ruckus on the scene. This was before he was really doing much in majors. Of course, I saw his name on the draws back in 2005, but I didn't really pay much attention. I was paying much more attention to Roger and how he was faring in those years. He was really making an impact, and I was eager to see how much he'd win (4 majors already).

When I finally listened to my grandpa and watched Novak play, I was hooked. This guy was gonna be great. When he made the 3rd round in Wimbledon and the US Open, and made it past qualifying in all the majors, I knew he had it in him to play a lot stronger. That came out in the French of 2006, and I've been cheering for him actively since then.

Djokovics first ever major match. Your grandpa must be a genius to see Noles potential then!

 

[Jackuar]

As someone from a cricketing nation, as a kid, we're inspired by speed. Shoaib Akhtar in Cricket was our arch rival. Javagal Srinath for us was our answer. And then people spoke about Paes and Mahesh, they're not fast but they won something. So tennis came under my radar. Soon, I found Sampras was fast, he's awesome! But one day Hewitt started winning. And there was Rios and Rafter and even Rusedski won something. Everytime someone won something, I thought he's a great player. Coria was going to be a great champion, that's what I thought. When Roddick came, he was faster than anyone else ever before. For a brief time, he was the Champion. And then one fine year, he was eaten alive by one man consistently. By this, its been almost 5 years and I started recognizing what is brute force vs beautiful force. And I chose beauty over the beasts.

 

[metsman]

Became a Sampras fan when I started following tennis (93 Wimbledon final). Federer really got on my radar after he beat Sampras at Wimby obviously.

 

[TripleATeam]

Ironically some criticised him for showing off like that, mostly non fed fans



Djokovics first ever major match. Your grandpa must be a genius to see Noles potential then!

Somewhat of a devoted Serb, my grandpa. He follows sport especially closely when he's got a Serb to see. I don't think it was the Safin match, though. I think it was the double-bagel of Ginepri in the French Open that really attracted him. Also seeing him win a set against Coria surely didn't hurt.

 

[Steve Williams]

I have a few favourites but one of them is Michael Youzney. I just like his game and my impression is that he gets down to work and tries his best even though he usually gets beaten by the best.

It was a great story in 2002 when he became the only player to come back from two sets down to win the fifth set of a Davis Cup final and so win it for Russia in the very last match of the rubber against France.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...ssian-victory-with-epic-fightback-134252.html

 

[Shaolin]

Been a Bill Johnston fan since I saw him play Davis Cup back in '22 or '23. Memory is a little fuzzy.

Really compact strokes, took the ball early, great forehand.

 

[TheAssassin]

I was lucky enough to witness a big part of my favorites' careers. Agassi's Wimbledon win in 1992 was my first tennis memory. I noticed Safin during his very first Slam appearance when he beat Agassi and Kuerten at the French. The first time I got interested in Djokovic was in his 5 set Wimbledon loss to Ancic, another player I enjoyed to watch. Why do I like these three guys? Because they are stunning.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

I was lucky enough to witness a big part of my favorites' careers. Agassi's Wimbledon win in 1992 was my first tennis memory. I noticed Safin during his very first Slam appearance when he beat Agassi and Kuerten at the French. The first time I got interested in Djokovic was in his 5 set Wimbledon loss to Ancic, another player I enjoyed to watch. Why do I like these three guys? Because they are stunning.

Because you like glory hunting.

 

[swordtennis]

Two words: Fedal.

Also not a fan of headbands.

 

[TheAssassin]

Delete

 

[swordtennis]

Because you like glory hunting.

Better than glory holes!

 

[Poisoned Slice]

I've explained before using diagrams and so on. I was not ready for Andre's tears in 1991.

I'm a Brit that likes Andy Murray.

Better than glory holes!

lol Indeed. jk TheAssassin has stayed loyal with Man United. That proves a lot to me.

 

[swordtennis]

lol Indeed. jk The Assassin has stayed loyal with Man United. That proves a lot to me.

Wow that is loyal! Keepin it reelz.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Wow that is loyal! Keepin it reelz.

Good stock.

 

[TheAssassin]

Because you like glory hunting.

Though I appreciate them too, I didn't hop on Pete or Fed/Nadal bandwagon did I? You should have seen Agassi's 1996-98 and like 80% of Safin's career.  Most of other players I like didn't even win a Slam. Rios, Ancic, Coria, Nalbandian, Davydenko, Nishikori... Nothing. Thank God for Djokovic, I finally got someone to consistently bring me joy.

 

[Pete Player]

Björn Borg was my fav because his humble arrogance after winning his first Wimby. It was first devastating to see McEnroe win him the first time in Wimbledon. But later liked his playing style, could't tolerate his menace though.

When Becker won Wimby, I got buzzed. Had to get Puma rackets and all. And McEnroe before that, had ST-shorts and polos as well.

Now I’m still rooting for Federer, who I think lifted the level of tennis big time.

And I really admire his movement and capability to challenge the next two - three generations still in his senior years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BVSlam]

I basically became a fan of Federer during the Wimbledon 2003 semifinal against Roddick. I was 12, never watched tennis in my life and literally thought "heck, why not?" when turning on the television and coming across the match when zapping. Especially after hearing things here and there about Dutch players doing good things (Verkerk reaching the RG final, Schalken having some grass court hype here as well).

I saw Federer and thought he looked funny with the ponytail, seriously the main reason I started rooting for him during that match. But as it went on, I saw how nicely he played tennis and it made me interested to see more of the sport. I also heard the commentators say he hadn't won a grand slam title yet, so I hoped he would win the final as well, which I think I watched for the most part. After those two great performances and him winning that Wimbledon trophy, I instantly became a fan of tennis and of Federer, and started playing tennis myself a year later.

 

[Red Rick]

I was lukewarm for Fed until a faithful day the summer of 2009: the Gold Purse Gate™. I immediately thought, only a man of supreme confidence and endless self-deprecation can pull off something that bold. Been a huge fan ever since.

No, seriously, Fed with the golden accents on his Wimbledon kits is still the single most over the top arrogant thing I've evern seen in tennis. It pisses me off so goddamn much.

 

[Spencer Gore]

It was Borg's preternatural calm, in an era of brilliant bad boys (Nasty, Jimbo and later Superbrat) that made him stand out. I will never be more devastated than the day he lost the 1981 Wimbledon final. We had started to think he was invincible on that court.

 

[Red Rick]

When I started watching tennis I immedately became a big Hewitt fan, but I think that was late 2001/early 2002? After the El Aynaoui match I became a huge fan of Roddick as well. Australian Open 2012 made me a big Murray fan.

 

[Spencer Gore]

I was lukewarm for Fed until a faithful day the summer of 2009: the Gold Purse Gate™. I immediately thought, only a man of supreme confidence and endless self-deprecation can pull off something that bold. Been a huge fan ever since.

The moment when any sensible person stopped being a fan.

 

[tennisaddict]

McEnroe defeating Borg at the 81 finals after the heartbreaking defeat in 80.

 

[David Le]

Grew up watching tennis since ‘00. Didn’t really get into it until my Dad took me to the USO in ‘01. The first player I laid my eyes on that I enjoyed watching was Agassi. From his groundstrokes, to his ROS. From a 6 year old perspective, all you could imagine is how hard he must be hitting the ball and why he had to yell when hitting. From then on I was hooked. Started playing at public courts in NY, and now I barely play because of school. Since Agassi retired in ‘06, I had to look for a replacement. I liked Fed as much as the next person, but I liked Nadal a tad bit more. Since ‘05 I’ve been a fan of Nadal and ‘06 For Fed.

 

[Shaolin]

Björn Borg was my fav because his humble arrogance after winning his first Wimby. It was first devastating to see McEnroe win him the first time in Wimbledon. But later liked his playing style, could't tolerate his menace though.

When Becker won Wimby, I got buzzed. Had to get Puma rackets and all. And McEnroe before that, had ST-shorts and polos as well.

Now I’m still rooting for Federer, who I think lifted the level of tennis big time.

And I really admire his movement and capability to challenge the next two - three generations still in his senior years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

wtf is humble arrogance?

 

[toby55555]

French Open 1987 Graf defeats Navratilova and Evert. Loved watching her for her athleticism, booming forehand (with no accompanying grunt) and her general demeanour.

 

[boredone3456]

Davenport- Her pure ball striking and amazing control in winning Wimbledon, defeating Graf no less, was spectacular. Add to that her being just a genuinely nice person just makes her loveable.

Agassi- his evolution from a rebel youth to very much an elder statesman is truly iconic. Plus I used to love watching his goofball "matches" at Arthur Ashe kids day prior to the US Open, he was always a riot.

Clijsters- so nice to the point she was labeled to nice to ever win a major. Amazing groundstrokes and her movement and everything else is just amazing.

 

[True Fanerer]

Watching Federer defeat Sampras at Wimbledon. It felt like Pete was passing the torch to Roger. I couldn't believe this kid had beaten him there. Been a fan since that day .

 

[jaggy]

His country

 

[heninfan99]

The best.

 

[KINGROGER]

Anytime watching Federer at Wimbledon. Always liked Roddick too.

 

[Pete Player]

wtf is humble arrogance?

Didn’t you see the interview after the 1976 final against Ilie Năstase, Borg defeating him 6–4, 6–2, 9–7?


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On pain meds - all contributed matter and anti-matter subject to disclaimer

 

[King No1e]

The first match I watched was Aussie Open 08, Djokovic vs Federer. I already heard about how dominant Federer had been, so I watched in awe as Djokovic matched him step for step and outplayed him completely and thoroughly. From then on, I became a huge Novak fan, and although I respected Federer as a master of the game, I got used to a rebels-vs-empire narrative in which Djokovic and Nadal were the relentless underdogs fighting to overthrow Federer's tennis empire. As Nadal started to rise I became his fan too, especially after watching him play Nalbandian in 2009 Indian Wells.

 

[vex]

I was god awful at backhands and Djokovic's mechanically perfect backhand was mesmerizing.

 

[Fabresque]

The match against Federer at the 2011 Aussie Open put Wawrinka on the map. His backhand was firing, even though he still lost. Decided to follow him a bit and I became a devout Wawrinka worshipper after the 2013 Australian Open.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Venus, 2003 Wimbledon
Roddick USO 03, I watched his whole run.
Nadal, early 2006, when he was LITERALLY the only person that could beat Federer and make you actually wonder what would happen in a match.

 

[Zebrev]

Zverev has a drive, ambition and humility that we don't see in young players anymore.

 

[mike danny]

I was attracted by the Federer FH from the get-go.

 

[George Turner]

Zverev has a drive, ambition and humility that we don't see in young players anymore.

I always like to see players with drive, too many only care about money.

I'm not a fan of a guy like Gulbis, who has no drive whatsoever. He was born with alot of tennis talent but hasn't really tried to do much with it. He's like a guy who inherited his millionaire dads fortune and spends the rest of his life sipping champagne and buying prostitutes.

Hard, driven workers are often underappreciated, Lendl was the hardest worker in the 80's and got titled "the champion no one cares about!"

 

[Surecatch]

The 2005 US Open was first time I really saw Roger Federer play and I recorded it because I wanted Andre to win....Agassi was my rooting interest at that point. As a sports fan, I knew who Roger was but really didn't know much about him at all other than he was one of the top players. Anyway, I had the beans spilled to me before I could watch the playback but watched anyway and was completely mesmerized by Roger's game and way of playing.

 

[BeatlesFan]

I've rooted passionately for three players: Lendl, Agassi and Fed.

I became a fan of Lendl solely because I hated McEnroe. But I lived and died on every one of his matches until his retirement, even after he was beating Mac like a drum post-1985.

I became a fan of Andre because I watched him in the juniors and knew he was going to be a big deal if he could get his fitness and attitude together. His FH was better at 15 than many pros are now, and he didn't have the modern technology. Anyone with two functioning eyes could see Andre at 13 or 14 and know he was going to be a monster player.

I first saw Roger on TV when he played Andre in Basel in 1998. I liked his game and especially his footwork and thought, "hmm, I'm gonna have to follow this Swiss guy!" I first saw Fed play live at the 2000 USO where he lost to Ferrero in the third round. I knew then he was going to be a great player, and most of the people in the stands around me thought so too. Many were saying, "wow, that kid with the long hair is incredibly fast." The next time I saw Fed play live was 2001 IW and he lost in the first round to Kiefer and he didn't impress much at all. But... the rest is history!

People who claim Fed isn't fast just never saw him play live or saw him when he was young. Chang beats them all, but Fed is right up there with the fastest players I have ever seen. Monfils is blisteringly fast, sure, but lacks anticipation. Raw speed is nothing in tennis if you don't pair it with anticipation.

 

[Pete Player]

I always like to see players with drive, too many only care about money.

I'm not a fan of a guy like Gulbis, who has no drive whatsoever. He was born with alot of tennis talent but hasn't really tried to do much with it. He's like a guy who inherited his millionaire dads fortune and spends the rest of his life sipping champagne and buying prostitutes.

Hard, driven workers are often underappreciated, Lendl was the hardest worker in the 80's and got titled "the champion no one cares about!"

Could it be, that he and alike are not that extroverts, but concentrate on their own progress more than the rivals or media?

What about Martina Navratilova? She had really a tough life as well, but never really welcome.


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On pain meds - all contributed matter and anti-matter subject to disclaimer