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Hi everyone tonight I wanna go in depth and compare some of the very key shots and techniques between the top boys.and I will give a score to every player for every shot.the scores start at c then c+ b b+ a and a+
SERVE:
The most fundamental shot in tennis.its true that you cant win a slam by mere a big serve (ivo karlovic/john isner).but it seems you cant win a slam without it as well!
the reason why stan wawrinka always plays his best tennis at aussie open is perhaps because he serves very well at that particular tournament
.nadal never won us open until he changed his sevice toss a little bit at us open 2010 and with less back bending.that particular change caused him his maiden title at flushing meadows.(though since then he has came back to his usual service motion)federer was invincible on his serve at 2012 sw19.
For me roger has the best serve maybe in tennis history.they always say about him that maybe he doesn’t have the biggest serve but surely has the most precise one.though in recent years he has decreased his 1st serve speed to go for 1st serve percentage.and im one of those guys who disapprove this decision totally
.this caused the likes of murray attack his first serve very often(never forget shanghai masters at 2012 murray had so many return winner on roger's 1st serve.this shows lack of confidence in case he misses his 1st serve and be subsequently be under pressure on the second delivery.
While earlier in his career he had a very bigger 1st serve and going for ace a lot.i don’t think he had 2 or 3 aces against joe willy at roland garros 2013.
in recent years he is afraid in case he loses a 1st serve and be under pressure on the second .so he gets the speed off the 1st serve
Still he served so well against murray this year while last year when he lost in a 5 setter he was quing for percentage and murray had so many more aces.this year murray was not serving good because of his back surgery.i remember during the tournament they compared andy's serve speed to last year against rog and it was awfully lower.(aussie open)
Nadal maybe doesn’t have a big serve but he mixes things really well with that particular shot.he usually uses his 1st serve as a weapon for combination.to get a short return and use that huge inside in or inside out forehand
A very simple plan but very effective .with that sort of gameplan he has amassed so many clay court title.that works esp on clay courts though novak's deep return from both sides esp the backhand return caused rafa's so many poor losses.
I liked the way he served esp at cincy last year using the serve and dominating with the big forehand and he was immediately at the net to finish it off maybe to save his energy and his left knee from endless baseline battles,and of course north american hard courts helped his top spins to be more troublesome for the like of djokovic.(nadal didnt have this advantage at the tail end of the season e.g at atp world tour finals,the courts were not like those of north amertican hard courts.
I like his service variety.sometimes using that body serve very effectively esp on clay.
Novak had so many problems with his serve some years ago.i remember him making 20 double faults in a match and swearing at everything!(before his resurgent form in 2011)
So he hired todd martin for quite a while and now he has a decent serve.serves particularly well at beijing where he plays his best tennis.thats a fast court.
Berdych and juan martin regarding their height their serves are not that spectacular though sometimes in some particular tournaments they are rock solid.
Roddick used to serve bullets very well!i really miss him one of my favotie players.novak had always problems against him when returning sometimes moving from side to side while a rod was serving!thats why roddick had a winning head to head record against him.roger was the best returner agaist him blocking those bullets with incredible backhand slices.thats why the head to head record is so embarrassing!!!
Federer seems to have the best kick serve and also second serve while djokovic seems to have a good slice serve (the one he uses on the wide side so wisely)
Isner versus raonic? I remember robby koening picked raonic as the best server in the game.but I will choose isner because his second serve esp the kicker is much more dangerous than that of milos,and sometimes he has negated that theory that a player with a mere big serve cant make it through to the final stages!maybe on day he can win a prestigious title with that serve.milos second serve is not good and he doesn’t have good volley like isner,and he doesn’t have john's consistency on serve during a match.
though even isner has proved that he cant have consistency on serve during a 5 setter match in a slam esp if he is jaded because of the last round's match( he may now say i played for millions of hours against nicolas mahut at wimbledon and the serve was rock solid!!!)
Nadal B+/djokovic B+/wawrinka B/ferrer C+/berdych B+/delpotro B+/murray B/federer A
FOREHAND
Seems the second most important shot in tennis.its so hard to compare nadal's spinny forehand to that of roger's .about roger they usually call it the million dollar forehand.he has earned a lot of money via that
particular shot.murray has a poor forehand when compared to his backhand.delpotro has the most ferocious forehand I have ever
seen.
considering his height its incredible.never forget that longest wimbledon semi final of history between delpo and novak.the forehand of the lanky argentine was sometimes ridiculous.and I was laughing at the power of that shot.novak sometimes didn’t even follow those monsters!!
Berdych has a very good cross court forehand , that is his favorite shot.joe willy has a classy forehand too .resembles roger's somehow.one of the best the frenchman.gulbis has the most unusual one.though a couple of years ago it wasn’t like this he changed it and though not very fun to watch! it wa so effective against rafa at rome master's last year taking the first set 61.
Novak didn’t have a good forehand some years ago but now it’s a major weapon.nadal's forehand was very vulnerable if attacked to. 4 or 5 years ago(a lot of players roger,berdych who had won their initial encounters,used this strategy,to attack rafa's backhand and then hit hard to his forehand)
still novak usd those backhand cross courts to rafa's forehand so effectively.even last year at us open he was doing this at some point and nadal was in a lot of trouble.
nadal's down the line forehand is always said as a barometer for nadal's confidence.if he uses it a lot in a match then he is confident .during those seven losses to novak it was simply off.at the start of their wimbledon final at 2011 he was hitting that shot very well till 4-4(nadal hits that shot in the best manner at wimbledon beating a very in form delpo that year 3 sets to one)but he wasn’t able to use that agaist djokovic anymore.
djokovic shouted in anger as nadal hit a forehand down the line winner(its not decent to shout at another player's winner,players usually shout at their own unfored errors )and since that shout nadal was a coward!
You may think I was hallucinating but no!it happened exactly during their indian wells final in 2011.he shouted at rafa's inside out forehand winner and nadal started playing short forehands since then in a verty strange manner.and toni nadal had quoted that nadal's losses to djokovic has mental origins!
That’s why djokovic is never good at sportsmanship and hasn’t had roger's popularity.winning at every price is not the creed of a champion.as roger never forgets about sportsmanship and has won the edberg's sportsmanship award numerous timrs at the tail end of every season.
One of the best forehands and most ferocious ones belonged to the retired chilean fernando gonzales.he had a very awesome style.at roland garros 2009 QF against murray he was hitting the forehand merciless than ever.murray who never gives up on any point and is always looking at every nook and cranny,and sometimes he is out of tv camera!couldn't follow those merciless forehands and gonzales bagelled him in that 4 setter encounter.
Again another fernando,this time fernando verdasco is one of the other masters at this particular category.roddick called it the best forehand in the game.never forget the aussie open 2009 semi final match between rafa and verdasco.that match took 5 hours and 14 minutes the highest quality match I have ever seen in my life.all aggressive gameplan from both players throughout that thriller.
Again he had a 2 sets to love lead against the eventual champion murray at last year's wimbledon.the forehand was simply ferocious.
one of the worst forehands of a slam winner and year end ranking world number one beloned to american andy roddick.
Rafa was asked by jim courier at aussie open 2012 that what particular shot would u like to have that of maestro.and he said the forehand.when courier said this to rog,he said that I will take rafa's forehand too!he has a very good forehand
.i think rafa didn’t say roger's serve in order not to admit roger's superior serve,and he mentioned the forehand which is a powerful component in his own game(if rafa had roger's serve ,he wouldn’t struggle on his service games for 10 minutes and he could finish his games and subsequently matches in an easier fashion,and woudnt suffer so much physical battles,and stay healthy.
Nadal A+/djokovic B+/wawrinka B+/ferrer B/berdych B/murray B/del potro A/federer A+
I imagine and have abad feeling this post is getting really long!! ,so If you liked this post I will continue next nights with other categories:
backhand,slice,volleys,drop shot,passing shot,footwork,power,speed,mentality,stamina,smash,and of course most importantly twinners!!
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