Stefanos Tsitsipas - how great will he be?

[AnonymousFan]

Using El Dude's poll options from the Zverev thread! See: https://www.tennisfrontier.com/tennisforum/threads/alexander-zverev.5833/

If we combine the two - peak and career - then I'd probably use these groups:

A) Federer, Nadal, (Laver)
B) Djokovic, Sampras, Borg, (Rosewall)
C) McEnroe, Connors, Lendl, Agassi
D) Becker, Edberg, Wilander
E) Courier, Murray, Ashe, Vilas
F) Wawrinka, Kuerten, Safin, Hewitt, etc
G) Ferrer, Davydenko, Nalbandian, etc

 

[El Dude]

I think Novak now deserves to be in category A, but no biggie. That poll was done in Dec of 2017 when it looked like he was in serious decline.

Anyhow, I voted for D--"lesser great"--but that might be optimistic.

In the previous thread I voted for Zverev to be in that category as well, but now see him more in E.

 

[Moxie]

This one's even harder to call that Zverev, but I have high hopes for him. Ambitious, thoughtful, lots of skills. Maybe he and Zverev are a rivalry of the future. I think so. The tennis world wonders if Nick will be in there, and if Shapo will find some discipline. But they look like the top 2 to take over, when Big 3 give them some breathing room. I'd like to vote, but I honestly don't know how...sorry.

 

[isabelle]

hard to say, he won nothing big for the moment but he's only 20, hope he can stay injuryfree and motivated

 

[El Dude]

I really like Tsitsipas and see him as having higher upside than Zverev, or maybe I just like his game more.

 

[atttomole]

I like his game too. His single-handed back hand could be a weakness that may be exploited by opponents.

 

[Moxie]

I like his game too. His single-handed back hand could be a weakness that may be exploited by opponents.

He's 6'4", though, which will help.

 

[atttomole]

He's 6'4", though, which will help.

His height can help, but it is not always about height. A single handed back hand is not as powerful as a double handed one, which means that the shots can be weak and not angled enough. Nadal showed that the Greek's backhand is vulnerable in the AO semi finals.

 

[Moxie]

His height can help, but it is not always about height. A single handed back hand is not as powerful as a double handed one, which means that the shots can be weak and not angled enough. Nadal showed that the Greek's backhand is vulnerable in the AO semi finals.

One exception is the powerfully-built Stan Wawrinka. I know you can't teach shoulders that strong, but maybe the inclination to hit the 1HBH through the court. Am I wrong, or isn't that what Federer supposedly took so many years to learn? I'm no expert in the 1Hander, as I don't belong to the cult.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I like his game too. His single-handed back hand could be a weakness that may be exploited by opponents.

No, you are generalizing. His back hand is good enough for most opponents not named Beast. Given that Ralph will be fishing full time in a couple of years, Perseus will have a bright feature.

 

[Carol]

I don't know how far he will go but he seems to be Adonis's relative.....

 

[Federberg]

No, you are generalizing. His back hand is good enough for most opponents not named Beast. Given that Ralph will be fishing full time in a couple of years, Perseus will have a bright feature.

funny... I don't see his backhand as a weakness. I think his serve needs a lot of work. He needs to develop fall back patterns of play, and he can do a lot more work on his forehand. I didn't see enough point enders from him. He got away with it with Federer because he was able to outlast the old man in base line rallies. But he needs to develop elements of his game that opponents fear. I don't think he's there yet. I think for example that Sascha has that with that backhand of his. But it seems to me that it will be such an easy thing for Tsitsipas to develop that. I have no concerns about him whatsoever. He has the tools already, he's got the mentality. Unlike some others of the young guns I think he's at most a year away from taking it to another level. This is why I favour him over Sascha because what ails him is more... mental/ physical. And that might never come

 

[atttomole]

No, you are generalizing. His back hand is good enough for most opponents not named Beast. Given that Ralph will be fishing full time in a couple of years, Perseus will have a bright feature.

His back hand may improve but it is still a liability. Nadal exposed during their semi final match. He was able to hit it, but it was weak and was mostly mid court or out. I think Djokovic can expose it too, especially if he can not move well laterally.

 

[mrzz]

One exception is the powerfully-built Stan Wawrinka. I know you can't teach shoulders that strong, but maybe the inclination to hit the 1HBH through the court. Am I wrong, or isn't that what Federer supposedly took so many years to learn? I'm no expert in the 1Hander, as I don't belong to the cult.

You were never invited to begin with.

 

[Moxie]

You were never invited to begin with.

I thought you said if I drank blood out of that monkey skull, I was in.

 

[The_Grand_Slam]

Atrocious ROS

 

[mrzz]

I thought you said if I drank blood out of that monkey skull, I was in.

Good gosh, everybody knows that is merely the first task...

 

[Horsa]

Good gosh, everybody knows that is merely the first task...

Gosh! You're a very hard task-master I must say. Oops! I'm very sorry for interrupting your conversation. It was very rude of me.

 

[mrzz]

Gosh! You're a very hard task-master I must say. Oops! I'm very sorry for interrupting your conversation. It was very rude of me.

So you will have two extra tasks just because of that, if you ever get invited to the cult... what do you people think, that this is the checker's club?

 

[Horsa]

So you will have two extra tasks just because of that, if you ever get invited to the cult... what do you people think, that this is the checker's club?

O.K. Gosh! You're like an ancient Egyptian slave driver. Lol. I never know what to expect from you. I prefer scrabble to draughts actually. Draughts are a bit cold when you don't have a draught excluder so aren't good in Autumn/Winter but can be very nice in Spring/Summer. Lol.