Who are the 10 greatest tennis players of all time after Nadal won the US-Open? part 2

By 

FOLKERT HESSE

Of course this is not a new discussion, but after Rafael Nadal winning the US-Open, I am sure he changed the previous line-ups in many peoples opinions.

I also disagree with many others who put a lot of old names in the top 10. I don't think that 30 or 40 years ago the competition was nearly as tough as it is in today's men's tennis. Back in the 60's and 70's there were only a handful of professional players travelling around the world and tennis was an exclusive sport that only the rich people could afford. And not all of these players were training properly or even on a consistent basis. And I don't think that Roger Federer could afford to party the night before a match like Ilie Nastase. He would be beaten by a player outside the top 100 already. To put it in short words; back then they were players, today they are athletes.

Borg and Lendl were the ones who started to make tennis an athletic game and today every player is a highly trained athlete with a body-fat percentage of 10 % or less. Every player on the men's tour is 100% dedicated to his profession and faces thousands of players training as serious as they do.

That's why I don't think that we should compare players like Rod Laver, the 3 French Musketiers, Ken Rosewall, Ilie Nastase or Gillermo Vilas with today's modern athletes. And if we do so, we have to take in consideration, how much competition each generation of tennis players or athletes were facing.

So, here is my list of the 10 greatest Tennis Players of all time:

No. 9: Mats Wilander !

My no. 9 is Mats Wilander!

The Swede won 7 Grand Slam titles and the only one he did not win was Wimbledon.

He was 20 weeks the no. 1 player in the world and also won the Davis-Cup twice for Sweden.

He was not as flashy as Boris Becker, but he for sure was one of the classiest players of all times and one of the best baseliners in the business.

Today he is a commentator for EuroSport and a good golf player.

No. 10: Boris Becker !

Boris Becker is my No. 10, because he changed the game of tennis. His big serve, the blocked returns and his diving volley were new to the game and raised it to another level. 

But most of all he deserves to be in the top 10, because his game was so exciting to watch. There was never a match he won easily. So many of his matches went to the 5th set and an emotional roller coaster for himself and his fans.

He still is the youngest Wimbledon Champion ever and won 6 Grand Slam titles in total. Only the French open were missing for him to complete a career Grand Slam.

He held the No. 1 ranking for only 12 weeks, but he was facing a lot of big players throughout his career.

Sampras, Agassi, Courier, Edberg, Lendl, Wilander and even Mc Enroe were all fighting with him for the big titles and no. 1 ranking. That's quite a competition.

He also won the Davis-Cup title twice for Germany.

In my ranking he left Edberg behind to make the top 10, but it is very close between the two. 

Come back tomorrow to see who is no. 8  …

FOLKERT HESSE

HESSE TENNIS TRAINING

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Folkert Hesse Tennis

Who are the 10 greatest tennis players of all time after Nadal won the US-Open?

By 

FOLKERT HESSE

Of course this is not a new discussion, but after Rafael Nadal winning the US-Open, I am sure he changed the previous line-ups in many peoples opinions.

I also disagree with many others who put a lot of old names in the top 10. I don't think that 30 or 40 years ago the competition was nearly as tough as it is in today's men's tennis. Back in the 60's and 70's there were only a handful of professional players travelling around the world and tennis was an exclusive sport that only the rich people could afford. And not all of these players were training properly or even on a consistent basis. And I don't think that Roger Federer could afford to party the night before a match like Ilie Nastase. He would be beaten by a player outside the top 100 already. To put it in short words; back then they were players, today they are athletes.

Borg and Lendl were the ones who started to make tennis an athletic game and today every player is a highly trained athlete with a body-fat percentage of 10 % or less. Every player on the men's tour is 100% dedicated to his profession and faces thousands of players training as serious as they do.

That's why I don't think that we should compare players like Rod Laver, the 3 French Musketiers, Ken Rosewall, Ilie Nastase or Gillermo Vilas with today's modern athletes. And if we do so, we have to take in consideration, how much competition each generation of tennis players or athletes were facing.

So, here is my list of the 10 greatest Tennis Players of all time:

No. 10: Boris Becker !

Boris Becker

Boris Becker is my No. 10, because he changed the game of tennis. His big serve, the blocked returns and his diving volley were new to the game and raised it to another level. 

But most of all he deserves to be in the top 10, because his game was so exciting to watch. There was never a match he won easily. So many of his matches went to the 5th set and an emotional roller coaster for himself and his fans.

He still is the youngest Wimbledon Champion ever and won 6 Grand Slam titles in total. Only the French open were missing for him to complete a career Grand Slam.

He held the No. 1 ranking for only 12 weeks, but he was facing a lot of big players throughout his career.

Sampras, Agassi, Courier, Edberg, Lendl, Wilander and even Mc Enroe were all fighting with him for the big titles and no. 1 ranking. That's quite a competition.

He also won the Davis-Cup title twice for Germany.

In my ranking he left Edberg behind to make the top 10, but it is very close between the two. 

Come back tomorrow to see who is no. 9  …

FOLKERT HESSE

HESSE TENNIS TRAINING

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Folkert Hesse Tennis

10 Reasons why Roger Federer can't beat Rafael Nadal...

By 

FOLKERT HESSE

Roger Federer is the greatest tennis player of all time and holds almost every record in the history books of tennis. But why can’t he beat Rafael Nadal and has a 7-14 record against the Spaniard?

Now it looks like the two tennis giants will meet in the final of the US-Open tomorrow. It would be their first meeting at the US-Open at all and for world no. 1 Rafa Nadal it would be even the first over all appearance in the finals of the US-Open, while Roger Federer has won the tournament for the past 5 years.

But still, I don’t think that Roger will be the favorite for this match.

Federer crying after loss at Australian Open ...

Tomorrow I will give you the top 10 reasons, why Federer against Nadal is a very, very bad match-up for the Swiss …

I think he will lose the final against Nadal, and I will tell you why.

FOLKERT HESSE

HESSE TENNIS TRAINING

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Folkert Hesse Tennis

Monte Carlo Preview

BY


FOLKERT HESSE




The clay court season kicks off in Monte Carlo this week and will give a first indication who will be among the contenders for the French Open title this year.

Even though 5 of the top 10 players (Federer needs more rest, Davydenko out with broken wrist, Del Potro also wrist injury and Roddick and Soderling because of ‘ clay allergy…’) are not in the field we will see exciting ATP clay-court tennis.

Djokovic seeded No. 1 and Nadal at 2 are the defending finalists, with Nadal trying to get his 6^th consecutive title in Monaco. Murray and Cilic are the othe 2 players who are in the top 4 seedings and should go to the semis.

So, with Federer, Del Potro, Davydenko and Soderling there are 4 players not in the draw who are capable of giving Nadal a hard time on clay. A great opportunity for him to get a good start into his clay-court season and finally winning an ATP-title again after nearly one year of empty hands.

But even with these players out of the draw, there is plenty of competition for Rafa. On his way to a potential final he has to eliminate a few Spanish clay court specialist and maybe Andy Murray in the semi-final. Ferreo, Ferrer, Almagro And Monaco are all in his section of the draw. If he gets through these players he will gain a lot of confidence, but also lose a lot of energy, before he probably faces Verdasco or Djokovic in the final.

In the top half of the draw Djokovic has his hands full as well and will have to battle his way through Wawrinka, Nalbandian or Robredo, before he meets Verdasco, Cilic or maybe red hot Berdych in the semi-final.

If Verdasco is completely recovered from his back injury, I see him as the favorite to reach the semis, and if he gets there he will go through to the final as well.

But it will be very interesting how Berdych will handle he recent success in Miami, where he beat Federer and only lost in the final to Roddick. Was it just another flash of his great talent or was it a final break-through. We will know after this tournament.

Here is my prediction:

Nadal wins in the semis against Ferrer and Djokovic loses against Verdasco. In the final Nadal is too strong for Verdasco again and Nadal will get a record 6^th consecutive title at Monte Carlo.

It will give him a lot of confidence back, but it won’t be an indication that he will win the French as well. I still see Federer winning in Roland Garros and getting his first Grand Slam this year. Rafa’s career is slowly going down due to his physical way of playning, his injuries and his tournament planning, but for sure this title will give him a push for the next tournaments.

Let’s see if I am right

FOLKERT

 HESSE

HESSE TENNIS TRAINING

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Men’s Favorites Drop Out Early In Miami

BY

FOLKERT HESSE

Like in many other years already, a lot of top players drop out of the men’s draw at an early stage. In other years the strong winds at Key Biscayne had a big influence on many frustrated players unable to control their shots. But this year the surprise upsets were real surprises, since the winds have not been strong at all.

And the player who benefits the most from these early exits is Andy Roddick again, who had a good draw at Indian Wells already, with Tipsarevic, Monfils, Federer and Murray going out of the tournament before meeting Roddick.

Now he avoids potential match-ups with Blake, Djokovic, Robredo, Querrey and Ljubicic before he would reach the semi-final with Nadal or Tsonga. On the top half of the draw it is Soderling and Federer who still have a tough draw, but will not have to face Andy Murray anymore.

Nadal has probably the toughest draw, with Nalbandian in the 3^{rd round} (he won in 3 sets last night) and many other top players to come before he can reach a potential semi-final against Roddick. Even though difficult opponents like Isner and Karlovic fell to Ferrer and Ferrero. But Ferrer in the next round and Ferrero or tsonga in the quarters will also give him a hard time for sure.

With Federer waiting for Berdych and Cilic or Verdasco, before he will meet probably Soderling in the Semis, who will have to battle Gonzales, Youzhny and wawrinka, it looks like the safest pick for the semi final is Andy Roddick.

I think it will come down to Tsonga and Roddick in the bottom half and Roger and Soderling in the top half. In the final we will see Roger and Tsonga, for sure an exciting ending of the hard court season, before the guys will grind it out on clay. If Fed wins this one, he will secure his No. 1 spot for a long time and go with good hopes into the clay court season aiming for a grand slam this year.

I think he can do it and it will all depend on Nadal and performance on clay this year.

FOLKERT HESSE

HESSE TENNIS TRAINING

High Performance Training and Coaching for Top Juniors and Professionals

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Folkert Hesse Tennis