Entertainment For Lively Minds
One for tennis fans
Posted by Rosbif on 9 September 2011 - 7:40pm.
A couple of the Eurosport commentators were talking the other day about how'd they'd construct a mythical tennis player using those who were best at particular shots. I thought that's a fun game, and for the tennis lovers here, let's play. I've added a couple of categories (you can probably tell which ones). And I've only mentioned players I've actually seen, on telly or in real life, so no legends like Laver, Rosewall, BJK etc.
My choices are in the comments.
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Here are mine
Men
Serve - Karlovic
Return - Agassi
Forehand - Federer
Backhand - Safin
Volley - Edberg
Fighting spirit - Nadal
Favourite to watch - Federer
Least favourite to watch - Lendl
Favourite underdog - Miroslav Mecir
Fittest - Safin
Women
Serve - Serena Williams
Return - Sharapova
Forehand - Graf
Backhand - Henin
Volley - Navratilova
Fighting spirit - Schiavone
Favourite to watch - Henin
Least favourite to watch - Seles
Favourite underdog - Carla Suarez Navarro
Fittest - Andrea Petkovic (it's that smile)
Good game (set, match)
Men
Serve - Ivanisevic
Return - Connors
Forehand - Federer
Backhand - Nadal
Volley - McEnroe
Fighting spirit - Borg
Favourite to watch - Becker
Least favourite to watch - Murray
Underdog - Henman
Fittest - Borg
Ladies
Serve - S. Williams
Return - Evert
Forehand - Graf
Backhand - Henin
Volley - Natratilova
Fighting spirit - Sanchez-Vicario
Favourite to watch - Evert
Least favourite - Pierce
Fittest - Navratilova
Oh, I say!
Hooray! A reply
Interesting choices, quite a lot in common. And I originally had Arantxa Sanchez Vicario on my list for her fighting spirit, eventually plumping for Schiavone as I really love her, and have actually seen her play in person. My only big "huh?" would be Nadal's backhand. Is that really the best??
I also think it's just possible you might have used a different meaning of the word "fittest" to the one I intended...
Ah, I see....
but as it was in the male categories as well, in the context of sporting prowess, it was an easy mistake to make. My choice for your interpretation of 'fittest' would have to be the gorgeous Gaby Sabatini.
Re: backhands - there seems to be arguments in favour of lots of players, and the choice is clouded by whether two-handed backhands count. I think Nadal's ranks amongst the best, and frankly I had to fit him in somewhere... :-)
Gotcha
A double handed backhand certainly counts (Safin's was, after all), although personally I wouldn't rate Nadal's that highly; and aesthetically it's no contest. Perhaps the most stylish one-hander around today is Richard Gasquet. Federer's isn't too shabby either, when he's on form.
As to "fittest", I can appreciate a male hunk too. Pat Rafter was a pretty magnificent specimen too. As for Sabatini, well, I can see the attraction. Someone once said of her "she's stunning - but she walks like Robert Mitchum." This may of course be a good thing.
Don't feel qualified to argue too much with your choices, Rosbif
Although I wondered why you picked Lendl, rather than one of the 75-aces-per-game-but-not-much-more-to-offer merchants as your least favourite player to watch. Care to elaborate?
I used to love watching the curiously fragile genius of Mecir. (He reminded me of the skilful kids who were overlooked by football teams for more impressive physical specimens).
If I undertsand you correctly this is what you meant by fit..
(Daniela Hantuchova)
Strewth!
That picture is spectacular. Sorry, what was the question?
Ah yes, Lendl. Perhaps a rather arbitrary pick, to be sure; there was something particularly joyless about his stony-faced, relentless, attritional playing style, which has stuck in my mind, although I wasn't as much of a tennis fan then as I am now. Monica Seles was a much easier choice: utterly horrible style, no finesse, virtually no variation, only ever came to the net to shake hands with her crushed victims - and there was that hideous shriek accompanying every shot, which has proved to be an especially doleful harbinger of the many shriekers in the women's game today, Sharapova being the worst.
Glad we agree on Mecir. I love Fabrice Santoro too; and Hana Mandlikova was a joy to watch, though not so much of an underdog.