Gonzo annihilated a supposedly healthier version of Kneedal in 2007. He absolutely destroyed him. Del Po did the same but RN was not in the form he was in 2007. Shot against shot, Gonzo and Del Po's FHs from those two tournaments are comparable and it's not just about power.
True. But while it might sound exaggerated, JMDP basically became a top player by hitting FHs to the middle of the court again, again and again and seeing opponents inevitably either being unable to cope or just leave a short ball. It is a strategy that works against everyone bar a handful of players, which imo is a testament to what a great shot it is. It doesn't need to be a super offensive almost 'all or nothing' shot to win matches/be dominating.
True, but on a regular basis, his FH wasn't that reliable or error free. It tended to leak a lot of UEs sometimes, it was spectacular and very powerful but in a way an all or nothing shot too, JMDP's can be dominant while being extremely consistent because he plays with big margins most of the time.
1.Federer (a lot of variety and acceleration, he makes a lot of damage with it)
2.Del Potro (definitely the strongest and heaviest FH on tour, his main weapon, he can win a GS with his FH but kinda inconsistent when doesnt get angles).
3.Berdych
4.Tsonga
5. Nadull
6.Djokovic
7.Ferrer
8.Tipsarevic
9. Monaco
10.Mugray (we know how he will be remembered :haha
PS: God, Gonzalez's FH was an UE machine, you can NEVER compare it to Delpo's
At his peak, Federer's forehand was the best by far. Nadal was afraid of it as well. Fed's inside-out and inside-in FH were simply awesome back then.
At the moment I find it hard to separate Fed and Nadal and Delpo (although Delpo's pure power shots down the middle bores me to death and Nadal's FH isn't as reliable on fast/slow bouncing surfaces).
When Del Potro gets into a good position, he can hit his forehand with tremendous pace, but he can´t really create that position as well as Federer. There still isn´t anyone better than Federer at moving around the backhand to hit an inside out forehand. That´s why he is still so dangerous, unless the ball is hit well to his backhand side, he will come up with an aggressive forehand.
Delpo's FH is definitely the best 'mug repelent' I've ever seen. Against low ranked guys ie beyond top 8/10, he basically only needs to get a full swing on a FH during a rally and the point is his, even if he hits it down the middle. It's basically why he keeps beating players ranked lower than himself even while injured/in poor form. 99% of the tour fit this bill which is why I give Juan the edge.
Against the top players, I'd take Nadal's now and Federer if we consider his prime FH. Del Potro's usual FH patterns (hard, down the middle), although impressive, tend to come up short vs the top 4/5 (Ferrer deals with it very well too) who can redirect his power, he needs to change it up and is not always completely comfortable doing so. Nadal is the exception here, JMDP's FH is actually perfect to trouble Nadal, but vs Federer, Djokovic, Murray... it'd definitely be more helpful to have Federer's insane variety or Nadal's wicked topspin, they are usually not fazed by pure power.
Del Shitro's forehand is overrated. It's a very basic WTA-style flat drive to the middle of the court with no variety. He just relies on overwhelming his opponent with pure power. Lame. His FH DTL is almost as bad as Mandy Mugray's.
Del Shitro's forehand is overrated. It's a very basic WTA-style flat drive to the middle of the court with no variety. He just relies on overwhelming his opponent with pure power. Lame. His FH DTL is almost as bad as Mandy Mugray's.
He succeeds in that endeavor tho :shrug: His FH is the best mug repelent on the ATP on tour, no matter how bad he's playing/if he's injured low ranked mugs simply can't cope with the pace/weight of shot and he keeps advancing through draws until reaching the top guys.
Yup, that and the fact his strokes aren't very compact, he can be rushed on very fast surfaces. The one player that would benefit greatly from super fast surfaces is Berdych imo, he's a beast in such conditions, Tsonga too to a lesser extent (his BH remains a weakness).
On those very fast surfaces, I'd agree that Federer has the best FH. Both Nadal and JMDP can be rushed in those conditions, Federer's the best weapon on such courts.
On the slow conditions we have currently, I'd take Nadal's insane spin or Delpo's unique consistent power though.
On fast HC Nadal's forehand isn't neither in top 5. if those courts still exist number of his shanks would top number of winners. wrong technique, wrong strings intensity, wrong arm swing... wrong everything to attack those balls from point to point
I saw Del Potro playing live in Bercy and now on TV in the WTF and I don't understand why his forehand is so overrated comparing to ... his backhand !
Del Po is powerful and solid on both shots when he's not injured, he's better on his forehand but not that much, and I fully disagree that "it's his forehand that makes the damage".
I rated his backhand low in the backhands thread primarily because of his wrist problems in the summer which made him play bad backhands during that period ... and because there are such good competitors in the top-10 that it's actually tough to rate them, esp. in the middle section.
Besides, by seeing Del Po live, I can say he has a great talent in his shots imo because it's not easy at all to play such great baseline shots when one is that tall and hardly flexes knees.
I still think the ideal size for tennis is much smaller than that, between 1.85 m and 1.90 m.
1- Nadal 2- Federer 3- Djokovic 4- Del Potro 5- Berdych 6- Ferrer 7- Murray 8- Tsonga 9- Tipsarevic 10-Gasquet EXPLANATIONS-Tsonga is only 8 because he makes a lot of unforced erors, Murray forehand is much better than before and he is not making a mistakes with it but it is not destructive like Tsonga,same story with Ferer but it is a little bit better than ANDY's in offense,little advantage to Rafa against Federer forehand because Roger is making more unforced erros.
Bump - two players have entered the Top 10 since creating the thread, and it'll be interesting to see any changes in opinions:
1. Nadal (most consistent and produces huge amounts of spin)
2. Del Potro (most powerful but lacks variety)
3. Federer (best variety but is declining)
4. Tsonga (huge when on and covers his BH/ROS weaknesses, but not great at returning serves)
5. Djokovic (not as huge as some of the others but has good variety and is pretty reliable)
6. Ferrer (not a big shot, but is very reliable and can punish those off their game, his main attacking weapon)
7. Berdych (huge when on, liability at times)
8. Murray (improving and can be strong but lacks the bite of those above him)
9. Wawrinka (meh, there's worse but it's a bit of a liability)
10. Gasquet (less said about this shot the better)
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