The French Open is on and it's made me think its time to put up an entry on my favorite sport. This is not my favorite tournament. All the top players are out of the tourney in the first week. Still a great tourney to watch. Coria and Kuerton are fun to watch on the dirt in Paris.
Here is a list of players I feel who have dominated at what they do best (again, this is from MY era. I'm not that old so Bill Tilden, Ken Rosewall and Roy Emerson will NOT be on this list):
Best Serve: Pete Sampras. He could put it anywhere whenever he wanted. First or second serve, didnt matter. Roger Federer has a serve that rivals Pete's.
Best Volleys: Stefan Edberg. Smooth as silk. (Pat Rafter would be my 1a)
Best Overhead: Pete Sampras. Forehand and backhand overhead were sweet. (Johnny Mac would be 1a)
Best Overall Net Game: John McEnroe. Nothing he couldn't do at the net. His half-volley's were magical.
Best Groundstrokes: Andre Agassi. Just awesome from the baseline. (Jimmy Connors would be next in line)
Best all around player: Pete Sampras. Never seen anybody who could dominate like Pistol Pete. (Federer could follow Pete if he can win 10 more majors....)
My Top 8 Favorite Men's Tennis Players:
1. Pete Sampras -- What can I say? I grew up with who I feel is the best tennis player to ever play on this earth.
2. Boris Becker -- Loved Boom Boom's game, yet he was a TOTAL prick when I wanted his autograph in Indianapolis. Still love him. Won Wimbledon at 17. Now thats crazy.
3. John McEnroe -- Strolled to the Wimbledon semi's as a frosh at Stanford. Surprisingly enough it will be his personality that will never be forgotten.
4. Jimmy Connors -- His run to the semi's at the US Open at age 39 beating Pat McEnroe, Aaron Krickstein and Paul Haarhuis, all in FIVE sets mind you, was amazing.
5. Andre Agassi -- Rose to the top of tennis, fell back to # 171 in the world then came back to win a bunch of majors.
6. Jim Courier -- Never in a million years would this guy have gotten to number 1 without all the hard work and dedication this guy put in. Worked harder than any player I've ever seen.
7. Mark Philippoussis -- He's been injured constantly and his talent will never be lived up to, but I love watching him play.
8. Aaron Krickstein -- Ever heard of him? Probably not. Just loved his game.
Who are your favorite tennis players? Why? Need a good tennis book to read? 'You Can Not Be Serious' by John McEnroe.
ry
2 comments:
Best Serve? hmm...its a toughy, however i'm surprised that Andy Roddick wasn't in the picture. wasn't it only a couple of months ago that Roddick was clocked having the fastest serve ever recorded? i can see why pete was number 1, but i feel Roddick has the serve that rival's Pete, not Federer.
Best Volleys? haven't you seen tim henman's serve and volley? honestly, i've never heard of Stefan Edberg, but i stand behind tim henman 100% with his soft touches and accuracy.
Best Groundstrokes? Lleyton Hewitt gets my vote. Andre does know how to make someone run with his accurate groundstrokes and i can see him being the best, but how did Hewitt get to where he is now? for being as short as he is, his serve is one of the weakest in the top 20 in the world and his volleys are just above average. It's all about his groundstrokes and i can see him being #2 or #1 in the countdown.
"YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS" is one of my FAVORITE autobios of all time...that and "Living History" by none other than Hillary Clinton. Bet Bill's book coming out in a few weeks will be even BETTER. As they say..."no one died when Clinton lied!"
Ha ha...
Jenny
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