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Top 100's Playing Styles

3K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  Sombrerero loco 
#1 ·
Yeah, we've done this before. But under the following criteria, I'd be interested to see how you rate these players:

From Tennis Elbow Documentation - forgive the bad English as the guy who wrote this is French

Defender: this kind of player stays several meters beyond the baseline, running all around, and waiting for his opponent's faults; he will attack only when he has a very easy ball, and will go to the net only when he's forced
Power baseliner: this kind of player likes to dictactes the game from the baseline using powerful attacks, usually from his forehand, but if he's skilled enough, also from his backhand, trying to do winners or forcing his opponent's fault as much as possible; he will go to the net and volley only of the most obvious and easy occasions or when he's forced to, even if he can do great attacks on a regular basis
Puncher: this kind of player is similar to the power baseliner, except his final purpose can be to win the point at the net, doing easy volleys, when it's needed
Varied: this kind of player likes to construct his game, play on baseline, where he can hit some winners, as well as try to create some good occasions to run to the net, and finish the point there; he will also play serve and volley sometimes, especially on fast surfaces
Volleyer: this kind of player runs to the net whenever is possible, and doesn't like to play long rally on the baseline; he will play server and volley whenever it's possible, even on 2nd serve
Counter: this kind of player uses his opponent's power to counter him, he likes to exploit his opponent's weakness, let him make the game, winners and faults, till he has the occasion to hit a winning passing shot, lob, drop shot, or even finish the point at the volley when it's needed

Top 100 as of today:

1. Rafael Nadal
2. Novak Djokovic
3. David Ferrer
4. Andy Murray
5. Juan Martin Del Potro
6. Tomas Berdych
7. Roger Federer
8. Stanislas Wawrinka
9. Richard Gasquet
10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
11. Milos Raonic
12. Tommy Haas
13. Nicolas Almagro
14. John Isner
15. Mikhail Youzhny
16. Fabio Fognini
17. Kei Nishikori
18. Tommy Robredo
19. Gilles Simon
20. Kevin Anderson
21. Jerzy Janowicz
22. Philipp Kohlschreiber
23. Grigor Dimitrov
24. Ernests Gulbis
25. Andreas Seppi
26. Benoit Paire
27. Jurgen Melzer
28. Feliciano Lopez
29. Dmitry Tursunov
30. Fernando Verdasco
31. Gael Monfils
32. Vasek Pospisil
33. Ivan Dodig
34. Jeremy Chardy
35. Julien Benneteau
36. Janko Tipsarevic
37. Marin Cilic
38. Marcel Granollers
39. Jarkko Nieminen
40. Florian Mayer
41. Carlos Berlocq
42. Juan Monaco
43. Robin Haase
44. Radek Stepanek
45. Denis Istomin
46. Sam Querrey
47. Pablo Andujar
48. Lukas Rosol
49. Joao Sousa
50. Nicolas Mahut
51. Bernard Tomic
52. Edouard Roger Vasselin
53. Nikolay Davydenko
54. Albert Montanes
55. Daniel Brands
56. Federico Delbonis
57. Alexandr Dolgopolov
58. Michal Przysiezny
59. Roberto Bautista Agut
60. Adrian Mannarino
61. Lleyton Hewitt
62. Marinko Matosevic
63. Guillermo Garcia Lopez
64. Horacio Zeballos
65. Pablo Carreno Busta
66. Yen Hsun Lu
67. Mikhail Kukushkin
68. Dudi Sela
69. Santiago Giraldo
70. Lukasz Kubot
71. Igor Sijsling
72. Benjamin Becker
73. Tobias Kamke
74. Viktor Troicki
75. Daniel Gimeno Traver
76. Victor Hanescu
77. Lukas Lacko
78. Ivo Karlovic
79. Albert Ramos
80. Kenny De Schepper
81. Jiri Vesely
82. Julian Reister
83. Marcos Baghdatis
84. Alex Bogomolov Jr.
85. Tim Smyczek
86. Aljaz Bedene
87. Somdev Devvarman
88. Michael Russell
89. Teymuraz Gabashvili
90. Filippo Volandri
91. Jack Sock
92. Guido Pella
93. Donald Young
94. Evgeny Donskoy
95. Matthew Ebden
96. Oleksandr Nedovyesov
97. Sergiy Stakhovsky
98. Ryan Harrison
99. Andrey Golubev
100. Blaz Kavcic
 
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#2 ·
Code:
Defender = Red
Power Baseliner = Blue
Puncher = Green
Varied = Brown
Volleyer = Purple  (not all of them do it EVERY point, but enough)
Counter = Black
Turquoise = Never seen play (Nedovyesov)
1. Rafael Nadal
2. Novak Djokovic
3. David Ferrer
4. Andy Murray
5. Juan Martin Del Potro
6. Tomas Berdych
7. Roger Federer
8. Stanislas Wawrinka
9. Richard Gasquet
10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
11. Milos Raonic
12. Tommy Haas
13. Nicolas Almagro
14. John Isner
15. Mikhail Youzhny
16. Fabio Fognini
17. Kei Nishikori
18. Tommy Robredo
19. Gilles Simon
20. Kevin Anderson
21. Jerzy Janowicz
22. Philipp Kohlschreiber
23. Grigor Dimitrov
24. Ernests Gulbis
25. Andreas Seppi
26. Benoit Paire
27. Jurgen Melzer
28. Feliciano Lopez
29. Dmitry Tursunov
30. Fernando Verdasco
31. Gael Monfils
32. Vasek Pospisil
33. Ivan Dodig
34. Jeremy Chardy
35. Julien Benneteau
36. Janko Tipsarevic
37. Marin Cilic
38. Marcel Granollers
39. Jarkko Nieminen
40. Florian Mayer
41. Carlos Berlocq
42. Juan Monaco
43. Robin Haase
44. Radek Stepanek
45. Denis Istomin
46. Sam Querrey
47. Pablo Andujar
48. Lukas Rosol
49. Joao Sousa
50. Nicolas Mahut
51. Bernard Tomic
52. Edouard Roger Vasselin
53. Nikolay Davydenko
54. Albert Montanes
55. Daniel Brands
56. Federico Delbonis
57. Alexandr Dolgopolov
58. Michal Przysiezny
59. Roberto Bautista Agut
60. Adrian Mannarino
61. Lleyton Hewitt
62. Marinko Matosevic
63. Guillermo Garcia Lopez
64. Horacio Zeballos
65. Pablo Carreno Busta
66. Yen Hsun Lu
67. Mikhail Kukushkin
68. Dudi Sela
69. Santiago Giraldo
70. Lukasz Kubot
71. Igor Sijsling
72. Benjamin Becker
73. Tobias Kamke
74. Viktor Troicki
75. Daniel Gimeno Traver
76. Victor Hanescu
77. Lukas Lacko
78. Ivo Karlovic
79. Albert Ramos
80. Kenny De Schepper
81. Jiri Vesely
82. Julian Reister
83. Marcos Baghdatis
84. Alex Bogomolov Jr.
85. Tim Smyczek
86. Aljaz Bedene
87. Somdev Devvarman
88. Michael Russell
89. Teymuraz Gabashvili
90. Filippo Volandri
91. Jack Sock
92. Guido Pella
93. Donald Young
94. Evgeny Donskoy
95. Matthew Ebden
96. Oleksandr Nedovyesov
97. Sergiy Stakhovsky
98. Ryan Harrison
99. Andrey Golubev
100. Blaz Kavcic
 
#4 ·
I did it because he likes to finish at the net ;)
 
#5 ·
The list really needs hybrids, especially when 'defender' alone doesn't really describe a player. As it's written up, it really only applies to some anonymous clay courter pushers in Latin America and the Mediterranean. The 'several meters behind the baseline' line is also inappropriate with the amount of defense that can now be achieved at the baseline itself. Among top players alone, Nadal warrants defender/power baseliner; Djokovic should also be defender/power baseliner and maybe also puncher; Ferrer defender/puncher; and Murray should be defender/varied.

This is one aspect of Tennis Elbow that I don't think is executed very well. I'd actually prefer they do way these categories altogether and just make a more detailed points rating system for various abilities and skills.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Shamelessly stolen from Freakyman

Defensive baseliner = Red
Power baseliner = Blue
Grinder = Green
All court = Brown
Net rusher = Purple
All serve = Black
Turquoise = Never seen play
1. Rafael Nadal
2. Novak Djokovic
3. David Ferrer
4. Andy Murray
5. Juan Martin Del Potro- can be power baseliner or grider
6. Tomas Berdych
7. Roger Federer
8. Stanislas Wawrinka
9. Richard Gasquet
10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
11. Milos Raonic
12. Tommy Haas
13. Nicolas Almagro
14. John Isner
15. Mikhail Youzhny
16. Fabio Fognini- has been everything at one point
17. Kei Nishikori
18. Tommy Robredo
19. Gilles Simon
20. Kevin Anderson
21. Jerzy Janowicz
22. Philipp Kohlschreiber
23. Grigor Dimitrov
24. Ernests Gulbis
25. Andreas Seppi
26. Benoit Paire
27. Jurgen Melzer
28. Feliciano Lopez
29. Dmitry Tursunov
30. Fernando Verdasco
31. Gael Monfils
32. Vasek Pospisil
33. Ivan Dodig
34. Jeremy Chardy
35. Julien Benneteau
36. Janko Tipsarevic
37. Marin Cilic
38. Marcel Granollers - Varies enormously by surface
39. Jarkko Nieminen- A bit unsure, really. Doesn't really fit anywhere
40. Florian Mayer
41. Carlos Berlocq
42. Juan Monaco
43. Robin Haase
44. Radek Stepanek
45. Denis Istomin
46. Sam Querrey
47. Pablo Andujar
48. Lukas Rosol
49. Joao Sousa
50. Nicolas Mahut
51. Bernard Tomic
52. Edouard Roger Vasselin
53. Nikolay Davydenko
54. Albert Montanes - has evolved as he's aged a lot
55. Daniel Brands
56. Federico Delbonis
57. Alexandr Dolgopolov
58. Michal Przysiezny
59. Roberto Bautista Agut
60. Adrian Mannarino
61. Lleyton Hewitt
62. Marinko Matosevic
63. Guillermo Garcia Lopez
64. Horacio Zeballos
65. Pablo Carreno Busta
66. Yen Hsun Lu
67. Mikhail Kukushkin
68. Dudi Sela
69. Santiago Giraldo
70. Lukasz Kubot
71. Igor Sijsling
72. Benjamin Becker
73. Tobias Kamke
74. Viktor Troicki
75. Daniel Gimeno Traver
76. Victor Hanescu
77. Lukas Lacko
78. Ivo Karlovic
79. Albert Ramos
80. Kenny De Schepper
81. Jiri Vesely
82. Julian Reister
83. Marcos Baghdatis
84. Alex Bogomolov Jr.
85. Tim Smyczek
86. Aljaz Bedene
87. Somdev Devvarman
88. Michael Russell
89. Teymuraz Gabashvili
90. Filippo Volandri
91. Jack Sock
92. Guido Pella
93. Donald Young
94. Evgeny Donskoy
95. Matthew Ebden
96. Oleksandr Nedovyesov
97. Sergiy Stakhovsky
98. Ryan Harrison
99. Andrey Golubev
100. Blaz Kavcic
 
#7 ·
Agree with almost everything.

Only don't know how Dodig and Haase can be grinders. They're more like power baseliners.

Also don't agree with Feliciano. He is not all court, he's more like a servebot-pusher hybrid.

Tipsarevic algo is not all court, more of a grinder.

Tomic and Montanes are not all court, both are defensive baseliners.

No idea who is Oleksandr Nedovyesov: :lol:

Shamelessly stolen from Freakyman



1. Rafael Nadal
2. Novak Djokovic
3. David Ferrer
4. Andy Murray
5. Juan Martin Del Potro- can be power baseliner or grider
6. Tomas Berdych
7. Roger Federer
8. Stanislas Wawrinka
9. Richard Gasquet
10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
11. Milos Raonic
12. Tommy Haas
13. Nicolas Almagro
14. John Isner
15. Mikhail Youzhny
16. Fabio Fognini- has been everything at one point
17. Kei Nishikori
18. Tommy Robredo
19. Gilles Simon
20. Kevin Anderson
21. Jerzy Janowicz
22. Philipp Kohlschreiber
23. Grigor Dimitrov
24. Ernests Gulbis
25. Andreas Seppi
26. Benoit Paire
27. Jurgen Melzer
28. Feliciano Lopez
29. Dmitry Tursunov
30. Fernando Verdasco
31. Gael Monfils
32. Vasek Pospisil
33. Ivan Dodig
34. Jeremy Chardy
35. Julien Benneteau
36. Janko Tipsarevic
37. Marin Cilic
38. Marcel Granollers - Varies enormously by surface
39. Jarkko Nieminen- A bit unsure, really. Doesn't really fit anywhere
40. Florian Mayer
41. Carlos Berlocq
42. Juan Monaco
43. Robin Haase
44. Radek Stepanek
45. Denis Istomin
46. Sam Querrey
47. Pablo Andujar
48. Lukas Rosol
49. Joao Sousa
50. Nicolas Mahut
51. Bernard Tomic
52. Edouard Roger Vasselin
53. Nikolay Davydenko
54. Albert Montanes - has evolved as he's aged a lot
55. Daniel Brands
56. Federico Delbonis
57. Alexandr Dolgopolov
58. Michal Przysiezny
59. Roberto Bautista Agut
60. Adrian Mannarino
61. Lleyton Hewitt
62. Marinko Matosevic
63. Guillermo Garcia Lopez
64. Horacio Zeballos
65. Pablo Carreno Busta
66. Yen Hsun Lu
67. Mikhail Kukushkin
68. Dudi Sela
69. Santiago Giraldo
70. Lukasz Kubot
71. Igor Sijsling
72. Benjamin Becker
73. Tobias Kamke
74. Viktor Troicki
75. Daniel Gimeno Traver
76. Victor Hanescu
77. Lukas Lacko
78. Ivo Karlovic
79. Albert Ramos
80. Kenny De Schepper
81. Jiri Vesely
82. Julian Reister
83. Marcos Baghdatis
84. Alex Bogomolov Jr.
85. Tim Smyczek
86. Aljaz Bedene
87. Somdev Devvarman
88. Michael Russell
89. Teymuraz Gabashvili
90. Filippo Volandri
91. Jack Sock
92. Guido Pella
93. Donald Young
94. Evgeny Donskoy
95. Matthew Ebden
96. Oleksandr Nedovyesov
97. Sergiy Stakhovsky
98. Ryan Harrison
99. Andrey Golubev
100. Blaz Kavcic
 
#8 · (Edited)
I don't really like TE system so I'll add some others styles when needed. A better name for players that I tagged under Def basliner/Power Baseliner would be baseline controllers. These players are pretty much complete but most of the time they like to dictate play or defend from the baseline. They are not the most defensive even if the name suggest so. Counters are the most defensive.


1. Rafael Nadal - Defensive Baseliner/ Power Baseliner
2. Novak Djokovic - Def. Baseliner / Power Baseliner
3. David Ferrer - Defensive Baseliner
4. Andy Murray - Counter/All Around
5. Juan Martin Del Potro - Power Baseliner
6. Tomas Berdych - Power Baseliner
7. Roger Federer - Puncher/All Around
8. Stanislas Wawrinka - All Around/Power Baseliner
9. Richard Gasquet - Varied
10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - Big Server/Puncher
11. Milos Raonic - Big Server
12. Tommy Haas - Varied/All Around
13. Nicolas Almagro - Power Baseliner
14. John Isner - Big Server
15. Mikhail Youzhny - Varied
16. Fabio Fognini - Varied/All Around
17. Kei Nishikori - Def. Baseliner/Power Baseliner
18. Tommy Robredo - Defensive Baseliner/ All Around
19. Gilles Simon - Counter
20. Kevin Anderson - Big Server
21. Jerzy Janowicz - Big Server/Puncher/Varied
22. Philipp Kohlschreiber - Varied/All Around
23. Grigor Dimitrov - Power Baseliner
24. Ernests Gulbis - Power Baseliner
25. Andreas Seppi - Def. Baseliner/Varied
26. Benoit Paire - Puncher/Varied/Random
27. Jurgen Melzer - Puncher/All around
28. Feliciano Lopez - Big Server/S&V
29. Dmitry Tursunov - Power Baseliner
30. Fernando Verdasco - Power Baseliner
31. Gael Monfils - Counter
32. Vasek Pospisil - Power Baseliner
33. Ivan Dodig - Puncher
34. Jeremy Chardy - Power Baseliner
35. Julien Benneteau - All Around
36. Janko Tipsarevic - Def Baseliner/ Power Baseliner
37. Marin Cilic - Power Baseliner
38. Marcel Granollers - Def. Baseliner/All Around/Varied
39. Jarkko Nieminen - Def. Baseliner/Varied/All Around
40. Florian Mayer - Varied/All Around
41. Carlos Berlocq - Own awesome style/Def Baseliner/All Around/
42. Juan Monaco - Defensive Baseliner
43. Robin Haase - Varied/Puncher
44. Radek Stepanek - All Around/S&V
45. Denis Istomin - Power Baseliner
46. Sam Querrey - Big Server
47. Pablo Andujar - Defensive Baseliner
48. Lukas Rosol - Power Baseliner
49. Joao Sousa - Power Baseliner
50. Nicolas Mahut - S&V
51. Bernard Tomic - Counter/Varied
52. Edouard Roger Vasselin - Puncher
53. Nikolay Davydenko - Def Baseliner/Power Baseliner
54. Albert Montanes - Def. Baseliner
55. Daniel Brands - Power Baseliner
56. Federico Delbonis - Power Baseliner
57. Alexandr Dolgopolov - Varied/Power Baseliner
58. Michal Przysiezny - Power Basliner/All ARound
59. Roberto Bautista Agut - Def. Baseliner
60. Adrian Mannarino - Varied
61. Lleyton Hewitt - Defensive Baseliner
62. Marinko Matosevic - Power Baseliner/Puncher
63. Guillermo Garcia Lopez - Def. Baseliner
64. Horacio Zeballos - Power Baseliner/Varied
65. Pablo Carreno Busta - Varied
66. Yen Hsun Lu - Power Baseliner
67. Mikhail Kukushkin - All ARound/Varied
68. Dudi Sela - Varied
69. Santiago Giraldo - Power Baseliner
70. Lukasz Kubot - S&V
71. Igor Sijsling - Big Server
72. Benjamin Becker - Big Server/Power Baseliner
73. Tobias Kamke - Power Baseliner
74. Viktor Troicki - Power Baseliner
75. Daniel Gimeno Traver - Def/Power Baseliner/Varied
76. Victor Hanescu - Def. Baseliner/Varied
77. Lukas Lacko - Power Baseliner
78. Ivo Karlovic - Big Server
79. Albert Ramos - Power Baseliner
80. Kenny De Schepper - Big Server
81. Jiri Vesely - Varied/can't tell yet
82. Julian Reister - don't know he sounds like a Power Baseliner
83. Marcos Baghdatis - Varied/All Around
84. Alex Bogomolov Jr. - Power Baseliner
85. Tim Smyczek - Power Baseliner/Varied
86. Aljaz Bedene - Varied
87. Somdev Devvarman - Counter
88. Michael Russell - Varied
89. Teymuraz Gabashvili - Power Baseliner
90. Filippo Volandri - Varied/Def Baseliner
91. Jack Sock - Power Baseliner
92. Guido Pella - Power Baseliner
93. Donald Young - Power Baseliner
94. Evgeny Donskoy - sounds like a generic baseliner
95. Matthew Ebden - All Around/Varied
96. Oleksandr Nedovyesov - Varied/ can't tell yet
97. Sergiy Stakhovsky - Varied/S&V
98. Ryan Harrison - Def. Baseliner/Varied
99. Andrey Golubev - Power Baseliner
100. Blaz Kavcic - Puncher
 
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