At the same time, it is a surface-oriented game and the playing conditions can vary a lot. A tennis match can be played on a slow clay court, a much faster grass court or a more neutral hard court, and the requisite skill-sets also keep changing according to the playing surface.
Therefore, it is not possible for a player to have all the qualities needed to excel on all the surfaces. However, we can hypothetically come up with the idea of an ideal or ultimate tennis player by taking and combining the best attributes of different players. Here goes the list:
- Serve (Pete Sampras)
Pete Sampras indisputably boasted of the greatest serve of all time. It was so lethal that even a returner of the caliber of Andre Agassi found it difficult to handle.
More importantly, Sampras had the uncanny ability of improving the quality of his serve according to the demand of the situation. The more important a point was, the more clinical his serve would get. The 2002 US Open final against Andre Agassi was a glorious exhibition of Sampras’s supreme serve.
It was not very extravagant in terms of motion - a slight crouch at the beginning, a quick throw into the air, a swift stretch of the back and then the perfect execution. Sampras’s strong shoulder and wrist helped him dish out those great serves one after another. The simplicity of his service action added to the disbelief of the spectators when they saw the ultimate effect of it.
2 .Return (Andre Agassi)
If Sampras had the best serve, Andre Agassi, his arch-rival, had the best return of serve. Like Sampras’s serve, Agassi’s return also did not consist of any extravagant action. It did not involve a high swing of racquet.
Also, Agassi did not have to move too much to make those returns. With minimum effort and apparent ease, he consistently nullified the best of serves. The 1995 Australian Open final could be taken as an example when Agassi mastered the great Pete Sampras with his awesome returns.
It seemed that Agassi could send his service return to any part of the court as per his desire. Needless to say, he hit loads of return winners throughout his career.
- Forehand (Roger Federer)
The greatest player in the history of the game also has the best forehand of all time. It is as breathtakingly sweet as it is effective.
Federer typically likes to hit his forehand on the up, unlike someone like Novak Djokovic who prefers to hit a high ball. At times, it seems that Federer does not quite hit the ball but rather caresses it to the other side of the court with a bit of swing mixed in. He can also alter the speed of his strokes at will to dictate the pace of the rally.
What sets Federer apart is the way he watches the ball until the moment it touches his racquet. His match against Rafael Nadal in the 2017 Australian Open final was a fantastic demonstration of his forehand prowess.
- Backhand (Gustavo Kuerten)
Gustavo Kuerten’s single-handed backhand was a marvelous sight to watch and equally effective. He did not usually lean into his backhand and had a relatively erect upper body while playing the stroke, which made it look even more incredible.
Kuerten hit a lot of backhand winners to end the grinding rallies in his multiple clay-court conquests. His backhand contributed immensely towards his French Open titles in 1997, 2000 and 2001.
Federer’s single-handed backhand, especially his down-the-line passing shot, is wonderful as well, but Kuerten’s backhand wins this battle because of its overall effectiveness.
- Passing Shots (Rafael Nadal)
Very few players, not even Roger Federer, come to the net frequently when they are playing against Nadal. The Spaniard’s forehand passing shots, almost always containing a lot of deadly top spin, usually find their way past his opponent. His triumph against Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon final was testimony to that.
Nadal’s vicious forehand top-spin makes his passing shots incomparable. His double-handed backhand passing shots are awesome, too. Agassi also had great passing shots but Nadal’s are better in terms of clinical accuracy and potency. Moreover, Agassi needed more time to play his shots whereas Nadal can hit them instantly.
- Volley (Stefan Edberg)
One of the most successful exponents of the serve-and-volley game, Stefan Edberg had a beautiful volley. He had great control over his wrist movement; his volleys seemed to stick to his racquet and were very rarely misdirected.
Edberg had a great drop-volley as well.
His net skill was the primary reason behind his success at the Wimbledon. The three consecutive finals he played against Boris Becker at Wimbledon were visual treats for the spectators because of the superb volleys played by those two players.
John McEnroe also was a brilliant volleyer and so was Pete Sampras, but because of his sheer elegance and class, Edberg wins this battle. Becker, as mentioned earlier, also had some outrageous diving volleys.
- Court coverage (Rafael Nadal)
It is pretty obvious that the greatest clay court player of all time would have the best court coverage of them all. Nadal’s legs have helped him in achieving an unparalleled clay court record. It is very difficult for any player to play a shot past a running Nadal as the Spaniard is able to get to the ball most of the times.
Even when Nadal is surging towards the net to catch hold of a drop shot played by his opponent, he rarely misses the ball. He is quite possibly blessed with the greatest pair of legs in the history of tennis.
Nadal’s 10 French Open titles emphatically prove that. Novak Djokovic also deserves a mention in this category because of his outstanding court coverage. His win against Nadal in the epic 2012 Australian Open final is a good example of the Serb’s brilliant foot speed.
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