Worst movers on tour?
- Thread starter BER256
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tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
Used to be Soderling. Now it's probably Isner. But he's tall so it's a good excuse.
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Tomic
10char
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Federer20042006
Banned
Isner, Raonic, Berdych...Baghdatis doesn't cover the court well enough.
Berdych actually moves very well considering his size. It's one of the reasons he's been such a consistant top tenner.
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
Berdych is actually a decent mover, especially given his height. He's improved a lot in that regard through the years.
Lol exactly. You don't get into the top 10 being one of the worst movers.
He's definitely better than a guy like Querrey, who's the same height. Del Potro makes all the other tall guys look embarrassing, though. It's actually quite astounding how well he moves considering he's 6'7". Cilic I think also moves better than Berdych. Berdych isn't a bad mover considering his height, but I hate how the commentators say of every single tall guy, "He moves great for his size." No, most of them do not.
Isner says otherwise.
Relinquis
Hall of Fame
Isner easily the worst mover. Karlovic is up there as well.
Querry is a bad mover. His legs are so skinny. I wonder if he even trains for movement/athleticism.
I would not add Berdych to this group. Nowadays the guy is fast and has clearly worked on it. Especially his lateral movement. He's playing an aggressive baseline game and is rarely out of place. Good footwork, court positioning and athleticism.
Del Potro only has better movement to Berdych on clay because it is different footwork. On hardcourts and grass Berdych is as fast, if not faster. Granted, neither are going to be in David Ferrer territory, but surely good enough not to be in this thread.
Querry is a bad mover. His legs are so skinny. I wonder if he even trains for movement/athleticism.
I would not add Berdych to this group. Nowadays the guy is fast and has clearly worked on it. Especially his lateral movement. He's playing an aggressive baseline game and is rarely out of place. Good footwork, court positioning and athleticism.
Del Potro only has better movement to Berdych on clay because it is different footwork. On hardcourts and grass Berdych is as fast, if not faster. Granted, neither are going to be in David Ferrer territory, but surely good enough not to be in this thread.
mightyrick
Legend
Mayer actually has pretty good movement. They had a lot of long rallies that required excellent movement and micro-steps.
The worst movers are: any North American male tennis player and Karlovic.
It is a pre-requisite to be a crappy mover if you are male tennis player from North America.
So bad.
Wrong. Gasquet's court positioning isn't appropriate on the FH and his positioning on the return doesn't help, but in terms of efficiency and coordination is pretty good, especially on the BH side (it has to be).
People on this board don't really know what footwork really is. I've seen people write silly things like 'Monfils is the best because he's the fastest' or 'Nadal's fast around the court hence he moves well'. Yes and no. Foot speed and foot work are completely different things. Isner and karlovic lack coordination, flexibility but make up with efficiency; Whenever do you see these guys with injuries due to inefficient footwork (Monfils says hello!).
Swings and roundabouts. I'd actually take Raonic's movement over someone like Monfils just because of efficiency and energy resources (Monfils tends to waste a lot of energy getting to balls which are dead or pointless rallies in matches, say 40-0 up on his own serve).
Having said that, Soderling's movement was pretty bad. His movement also hindered him at the net (most great movers can volley well due to the technique starting from the legs, this is where you essentially volley).
I really disagree with this. Berdych might be fast, but he's not nearly as good at changing directions as Del Potro. If Berdych is pulled wide, he's got to go for a big shot or he's lost the point. Del Potro has much more room to work with in that regard, which is why he can afford to play a lot more conservatively than Berdych while maintaining a similar level of success.
DAT PHISH GUY KANT MOVE!!!
Wait, what? A logical post regarding footwork? On the pro player section?
heninfan99
Talk Tennis Guru
It's gotta be one of the doods over 6 foot 7".
Gasquet only looks slow compared to the top guys in the world but he moves fine.
Gasquet only looks slow compared to the top guys in the world but he moves fine.
nethawkwenatchee
Professional
James Blake - Lightening Quick
Jesse Levine - Very Quick
Donald Young- Quick
Alex Bogomolov - Fairly Quick
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Lukhas
Legend
Read the thread. Being quick =/= being a great mover. For example, Agassi was incredibly slow. He moved greatly anyway.
nethawkwenatchee
Professional
The poster I quoted stated that: "The worst movers are: any North American male tennis player and Karlovic. It is a pre-requisite to be a crappy mover if you are male tennis player from North America"
The players I stated have all made a living off of their great movement, and all reside in North America
Lukhas
Legend
He didn't say "not quick" he said "bad mover". Nadal is very quick, he had broken foot and knee injury. He also has made a living of running left and right. Would you say he's a great mover? I wouldn't. You can be the quickest possible, it doesn't mean you're a great mover. Look at Monfils' latest matches. He's very quick. But moves awfully and is constantly chasing the ball 3 meters behind the baseline.The poster I quoted stated that: "The worst movers are: any North American male tennis player and Karlovic. It is a pre-requisite to be a crappy mover if you are male tennis player from North America"
The players I stated have all made a living off of their great movement, and all reside in North America
mightyrick
Legend
The poster I quoted stated that: "The worst movers are: any North American male tennis player and Karlovic. It is a pre-requisite to be a crappy mover if you are male tennis player from North America"
The players I stated have all made a living off of their great movement, and all reside in North America
The only person in that list I will grant exception to is James Blake.
Wasn't Isner in the top 10 last year for a few weeks?
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
I should've said top 8. We've had a lot of various players make the top 10 in he recent years like Isner, Almagro, Monaco, Fish, Melzer, Isner etc..Whoever had a string of wins got to the top 10 for a brief period and Isner was one of them.
I think they're all good movers. I say you don't become one of the best 100 tennis players in the world with bad movement. "Worst" movers is only relative to the gold standards - Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Ferrer, et al.
The big guys are the obvious ones, but in all honesty, many of them move very well for their size.
Berdych has improved greatly in that area.
Raonic is getting better each year, IMO.
Delpo moves pretty good when the ball is in play. Between points he looks like a sloth.
I think Janowicz has the best potential of all the big guys though. He moves great - still has some improvements to make and work to do, but his movement is very smooth and quick for a guy his size. He's going to be a force in a few years.
Isner is probably the worst, IMO. Definitely looks less natural in his movements than the others - to me anyway.
The big guys are the obvious ones, but in all honesty, many of them move very well for their size.
Berdych has improved greatly in that area.
Raonic is getting better each year, IMO.
Delpo moves pretty good when the ball is in play. Between points he looks like a sloth.
I think Janowicz has the best potential of all the big guys though. He moves great - still has some improvements to make and work to do, but his movement is very smooth and quick for a guy his size. He's going to be a force in a few years.
Isner is probably the worst, IMO. Definitely looks less natural in his movements than the others - to me anyway.
Not a big deal - I get your point.
My point, primarily, is that being the "worst" mover is relative to whoever the best is. These guys aren't bad, they're just the worst of the best players in the world. They are good movers in reality, or they wouldn't be playing ATP event all year long.
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