Joined
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Most of us are big 3 fans on here , whether it be a die hard Spartan warrior Djokovic fan or the "I'm glad Federer can still hit a dropshot" Federer fan or the vamos'ing Nadal fan convinced RG #2025 is in the bag....
They have brought much joy to us as tennis fans and even if you hate, despise ,etc. any of the guys , you can't help but at least respect the effort each of them puts into not only the match , but the sport as a whole. They have carried the sport for more than a decade and still seem to carry the sport , whether its through their tennis, scandalous tournaments or instagram posts.....
Its hard to forget that we have a tour for the one thousand best tennis players (technically more, but you get it) on the planet slugging it out everyday, whether its in an empty challenger in South America or on court one in a packed stadium at Indian Wells or court 10 ... in the 5th set tie breaker at the French Open.
So with that said , which tennis players do you truly respect, that are not named Federer, Nadal , Djokovic?
My picks are as follows.
Dominic Thiem- Really a rags to riches story in comparison with many of the young guys out there. The humble kid back in 2013/ 2014 was posting on his small facebook whenever he lost 3-6 , 4-6 in the R1 of a 500. He really never gave up though and became a physical specimen training with a Bear Grylls like coach and worked every year to get better and better and improve himself from being a nobody , to being the favorite at slams and tournaments. He got to see the big 3 in his younger years and watch in awe at what they could accomplish, but he himself is now getting to contest with them for a place in tennis history.
While Thiem tempers and can be hot-headed when his balls are wizzing into the fence. You can't say he doesn't give his 100% effort in almost every match he plays. You don't really hear him complaining as he just goes out there and wails on the ball and commits to doing so win or lose. Really humble too, guy doesn't fly in his private jet or give some big scandalous press conference, he just goes out there to play tennis and he is on the brink of breaking through.... and he deserves to break through.
I will ignore Del Potro , nothing more needs to be said.
Stansilas Wawrinka- Wawrinka should be a motivating sight and story for any athlete-
"Ever tried , ever failed, no matter. Try again , fail again, fail better"
The man went from a random journeyman Swiss player who people probably thought would never amount to anything , especially with graceful and dominant Federer living in the same country... not only that but Wawrinka had mental demons and realistically they should have won. Realistically he should have just faded into nothingness after barely losing to Djokovic in 2013. Any other player might have just said , yeah I guess I'm really not good enough and faded into obscurity. Djokovic was reaching god like levels in spurts from 2013- 2016 and Wawrinka was one of the few people to stop Djokovic from just becoming the GOAT right then and there....
Wawrinka really makes you re-think yourself too... as the statement is not, " I don't think I can..." but "Why can't I?, I can". What is stopping you from doing what Wawrinka did, overcoming the greatest challenges in front of you and conquering that which held you back for so many years?
David Ferrer- one of the shorter guys to be playing tennis , who wasn't gifted with yoga flexible legs, or perfectly measured arms , or the body of a body builder or the legs of a gazelle.... he did have legs of a terrier though. Really maximized his game and play style. The question for Ferrer is , "Can you ever really recall a match where he tanked or just didn't put in 100% effort? " I can't and that is what is so respectable about him. Of course he was never going to beat Nadal 2013 in a French Open final... and maybe he challenged a ball and lost himself a Miami 1000 trophy, but still he always put in the effort and the hours to be as successful as he was.
Those are my three for now.
Who do you respect MTF that is not named , Federer , Nadal or Djokovic?
They have brought much joy to us as tennis fans and even if you hate, despise ,etc. any of the guys , you can't help but at least respect the effort each of them puts into not only the match , but the sport as a whole. They have carried the sport for more than a decade and still seem to carry the sport , whether its through their tennis, scandalous tournaments or instagram posts.....
Its hard to forget that we have a tour for the one thousand best tennis players (technically more, but you get it) on the planet slugging it out everyday, whether its in an empty challenger in South America or on court one in a packed stadium at Indian Wells or court 10 ... in the 5th set tie breaker at the French Open.
So with that said , which tennis players do you truly respect, that are not named Federer, Nadal , Djokovic?
My picks are as follows.
Dominic Thiem- Really a rags to riches story in comparison with many of the young guys out there. The humble kid back in 2013/ 2014 was posting on his small facebook whenever he lost 3-6 , 4-6 in the R1 of a 500. He really never gave up though and became a physical specimen training with a Bear Grylls like coach and worked every year to get better and better and improve himself from being a nobody , to being the favorite at slams and tournaments. He got to see the big 3 in his younger years and watch in awe at what they could accomplish, but he himself is now getting to contest with them for a place in tennis history.
While Thiem tempers and can be hot-headed when his balls are wizzing into the fence. You can't say he doesn't give his 100% effort in almost every match he plays. You don't really hear him complaining as he just goes out there and wails on the ball and commits to doing so win or lose. Really humble too, guy doesn't fly in his private jet or give some big scandalous press conference, he just goes out there to play tennis and he is on the brink of breaking through.... and he deserves to break through.
I will ignore Del Potro , nothing more needs to be said.
Stansilas Wawrinka- Wawrinka should be a motivating sight and story for any athlete-
"Ever tried , ever failed, no matter. Try again , fail again, fail better"
The man went from a random journeyman Swiss player who people probably thought would never amount to anything , especially with graceful and dominant Federer living in the same country... not only that but Wawrinka had mental demons and realistically they should have won. Realistically he should have just faded into nothingness after barely losing to Djokovic in 2013. Any other player might have just said , yeah I guess I'm really not good enough and faded into obscurity. Djokovic was reaching god like levels in spurts from 2013- 2016 and Wawrinka was one of the few people to stop Djokovic from just becoming the GOAT right then and there....
Wawrinka really makes you re-think yourself too... as the statement is not, " I don't think I can..." but "Why can't I?, I can". What is stopping you from doing what Wawrinka did, overcoming the greatest challenges in front of you and conquering that which held you back for so many years?
David Ferrer- one of the shorter guys to be playing tennis , who wasn't gifted with yoga flexible legs, or perfectly measured arms , or the body of a body builder or the legs of a gazelle.... he did have legs of a terrier though. Really maximized his game and play style. The question for Ferrer is , "Can you ever really recall a match where he tanked or just didn't put in 100% effort? " I can't and that is what is so respectable about him. Of course he was never going to beat Nadal 2013 in a French Open final... and maybe he challenged a ball and lost himself a Miami 1000 trophy, but still he always put in the effort and the hours to be as successful as he was.
Those are my three for now.
Who do you respect MTF that is not named , Federer , Nadal or Djokovic?
