Who is the most talented of the French players?

[Federberg]

I strongly believe that Gael is far and away the most talented of the French players, that's probably a controversial view, but if he would only get his head down and concentrate on the 'W's he would be a world beater. I know most would probably say Jo-Willie, but I'm not so sure. When he's on, he's awesome but he is severely limited on the backhand side. Gael doesn't really have technical weaknesses, just not focussed. I wouldn't even characterise it as mental frailty. Thoughts?

 

[GameSetAndMath]

It is amazing that France is blessed with so many mediocre players who are in top 50. They have a stranglehold on that for the last 10 years or so. :snicker

 

[Federberg]

It is amazing that France is blessed with so many mediocre players who are in top 50. They have a stranglehold on that for the last 10 years or so. :snicker

I wouldn't characterise Gael, Jo-Willie, Simon or Gasquet as mediocre in the talent department :blush:

 

[GameSetAndMath]

On a serious note, I would rate Monfils first, Tsonga second and Gasquet third. Although Simon has results, I really don't like his style of play. All the rest are definitely mediocre, but they do have so many of them.

 

[Federberg]

^I agree with that list

 

[Puppet Master]

Monfils' talent goes well beyond what his ranking and career achievements tell us, however in addition to his bad focus, he also can't sustain his best level for a long period and this is precisely why we see him playing out of his mind and taking a set off of Djoko or Nadal and then completely losing the plot. And is he still coach-less? This would be a big issue for a man that wants to win big.

 

[Federberg]

If he actually listened to a coach I honestly don't believe there would be a problem for him to sustain his level. How many times have we seen him just loop the ball back in when he has one of the most powerful shots in the game. He needs a Lendl type figure to frighten him into obedience. If he finished points as quickly as he could there would be no issue at all :nono

 

[brokenshoelace]

Tsonga, easily.

 

[Riotbeard]

Julien Benneteau! Well, he is my favorite at least.

I would say Tsonga. Monfils is a more elite athlete, but none that makes up for his mental weakness. Jo has a more natural mental talent for the game. Plus, Jo's attacking, power game is far more dangerous to the top players.

 

[Federberg]

I agree that Jo is closer to maxing his potential, but I'm not sure we've seen more than 60% of what Gael can do. It's crazy but when we look at Jo and Gael, we think of Jo as having more power, but I haven't seen Jo hit the ball like Gael can when he's in the mood. I hope that someone comes along that helps Gael approach his potential

 

[Haelfix]

It's somewhat close, but I have to go with Tsonga. He has a rare mix of power and finesse from almost anywhere on the court as well as pretty good movement/size ratio and a ridiculous serve. He has the talent to be a slam winner.

 

[Federberg]

The problem for me with Jo is that he has an exploitable technical weakness. I don't see that with Gael. Gael's problem is that he is more focussed on entertaining than winning. And he seems to take no strategic guidance about how to win a match. It's extremely frustrating to watch sometimes

 

[Fiero425]

The problem for me with Jo is that he has an exploitable technical weakness. I don't see that with Gael. Gael's problem is that he is more focussed on entertaining than winning. And he seems to take no strategic guidance about how to win a match. It's extremely frustrating to watch sometimes.

Agreed; not to mention he injures himself with over-exaltation of winning points, games, and matches! You would think he would learn by now he's contributing to his absences from the tour! :nono :angel: :dodgy:

 

[Denis]

The problem for me with Jo is that he has an exploitable technical weakness. I don't see that with Gael. Gael's problem is that he is more focussed on entertaining than winning. And he seems to take no strategic guidance about how to win a match. It's extremely frustrating to watch sometimes

Federer has the same issue. But yeah, the backhand is pretty mediocre, also Jo can be a bit of a headcase. I like all of the French players listed except Gasquet for some reason. And yes I actually can enjoy Simon's matches, he can hit some great defensive shots with his backhand.

 

[Federberg]

The problem for me with Jo is that he has an exploitable technical weakness. I don't see that with Gael. Gael's problem is that he is more focussed on entertaining than winning. And he seems to take no strategic guidance about how to win a match. It's extremely frustrating to watch sometimes

Federer has the same issue. But yeah, the backhand is pretty mediocre, also Jo can be a bit of a headcase. I like all of the French players listed except Gasquet for some reason. And yes I actually can enjoy Simon's matches, he can hit some great defensive shots with his backhand.

I'm not sure Roger's backhand "weakness" is the same. In fact I would go as far as to say that Roger's backhand is a relative weakness (or used to be), while Jo's is an absolute weakness. Short of Rafa, I'm not really sure that anyone else is able to exploit Roger's backhand. He's obviously not the same player he used to be, at his peak I would actually argue that hitting to his backhand was less about trying to get to his weakness, rather to keep the ball away from his strength.

I do agree with you about Gasquet though. As beautiful as that backhand is, the take back is too extreme for him ever to be a real threat. Clay is the one surface where he can theoretically get away with it. And that's not even talking about his main problem. A total mental midget. What is it with the French men?

 

[DarthFed]

The problem for me with Jo is that he has an exploitable technical weakness. I don't see that with Gael. Gael's problem is that he is more focussed on entertaining than winning. And he seems to take no strategic guidance about how to win a match. It's extremely frustrating to watch sometimes

Federer has the same issue. But yeah, the backhand is pretty mediocre, also Jo can be a bit of a headcase. I like all of the French players listed except Gasquet for some reason. And yes I actually can enjoy Simon's matches, he can hit some great defensive shots with his backhand.

Roger's backhand isn't anywhere near as bad as Tsonga's. And in Roger's prime his backhand was very good against anyone not named Nadal. Tsonga's backhand and ROS are the main things that have kept him back. I get what Federberg is saying about Monfils but the problem is he has never shown the ability (or maybe it's just willingness) to consistently go after his shots. Monfils can come up with a laser here or there but he is most comfortable just getting the ball back in play and running all day with the occasional idiotic/hilarious shots he comes up with.

 

[Riotbeard]

The problem for me with Jo is that he has an exploitable technical weakness. I don't see that with Gael. Gael's problem is that he is more focussed on entertaining than winning. And he seems to take no strategic guidance about how to win a match. It's extremely frustrating to watch sometimes

But the highlighted part is part of Gael talent or lack thereof. He doesn't have the mentality for it, even compared to Tsonga who is far from mentally perfect. Mentality is a talent as much or more potent than physical talent. I would Jo is more talented in the mental part of the game...

 

[Federberg]

The problem for me with Jo is that he has an exploitable technical weakness. I don't see that with Gael. Gael's problem is that he is more focussed on entertaining than winning. And he seems to take no strategic guidance about how to win a match. It's extremely frustrating to watch sometimes

But the highlighted part is part of Gael talent or lack thereof. He doesn't have the mentality for it, even compared to Tsonga who is far from mentally perfect. Mentality is a talent as much or more potent than physical talent. I would Jo is more talented in the mental part of the game...

I can concede that mentality is an aspect of talent. My issue is that I'm not so sure it's mentality that is his weakness. His problem is that he has never taken his career seriously. He makes terrible decisions. If he allowed himself to be guided he could dramatically reduce his time on court. He's still playing junior tennis which is attritional after all these years. I contend that his tendency to fade away is more physical than mental. A more effective game plan would eliminate that

 

[Riotbeard]

The problem for me with Jo is that he has an exploitable technical weakness. I don't see that with Gael. Gael's problem is that he is more focussed on entertaining than winning. And he seems to take no strategic guidance about how to win a match. It's extremely frustrating to watch sometimes

But the highlighted part is part of Gael talent or lack thereof. He doesn't have the mentality for it, even compared to Tsonga who is far from mentally perfect. Mentality is a talent as much or more potent than physical talent. I would Jo is more talented in the mental part of the game...

I can concede that mentality is an aspect of talent. My issue is that I'm not so sure it's mentality that is his weakness. His problem is that he has never taken his career seriously. He makes terrible decisions. If he allowed himself to be guided he could dramatically reduce his time on court. He's still playing junior tennis which is attritional after all these years. I contend that his tendency to fade away is more physical than mental. A more effective game plan would eliminate that

Maybe, I am not sure he has the temperament to be guided, but it's impossible to say for sure.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Julien Benneteau! Well, he is my favorite at least.

Julien will probably get the recognition of being the most talented player who has never won a title of any kind, not even an ATP250.