Top 5 Best Tennis Servers Of All Time (My Bias Opinion)
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- čas přidán 20. 06. 2024
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5:46 #1
7:03 My Favorite Tennis Server Of All Time
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Pete Sampras, his serve had tremendous disguise.This combined with the power and spin very very effective. I think Federer is in the same category. Both had aesthetic serves, but Pistol Pete was the real deal in this department.
Thanks for your comment and contribution to the video. That is why Pete was my number one pick!
Must also mention that Sampras second serve was lethal.
Yannick Noah, probably the purest serve I've seen. A thing of beauty, and extremely efficient too!
Thanks for your opinion and contribution to the video. Yannick definitely had an effective serve, although his arms up together style is outdated in today’s game.
Good to have the shoutout to Gonzales but my humble opinion is that Roddick should have made this list. He served not only fast with good targeting but he got a very high % of 1st serves in, the guy hovered around 70% 1st serve percentage some years. Some experts didn't like the look of his abrupt motion but it turned out to be very mechanically sound and it showed in his consistency as well.
Yes, I've seen both Roddick and McEnroe live and I agree that Roddick was a much better server. I love McEnroe's game too but if I could have one their serves, I would take Roddick's.
Yes, I totally agree! He was right on there on my list!
Mike Sangster, Richard Krajicek, Michael Stitch
The most unique thing in Boris's serve was that he landed on the wrong foot in his follow through. He landed o his right foot instead of his left! This was more common in the old days, when you had to keep one foot on the ground when serving....BJ King and Rod Laver also did it. But Boris leaped into the serve and still came down on his right foot....maybe it had something to do with the different grip he used.
No one notices that, thank you. It's actually perfect when Serve and Volleying. Time to keep moving forward.
@@radiohead2206 yes other people do notice that especially now that I tell them
Hi John, one small trivia note, McEnroe's large upper body turn was developed after he injured his back, he switched to this motion you have on video which felt better for him in terms of comfort. Everyone who copied it probably ended up with back aches at some point haha.
Thanks for your feedback and contribution to the video. As I understand it, Mac started to bend over as part of his ritual but I think his feet were always positioned so he was very sideways to his target… At least, as far as I remember.
Roger's average serve was considerably slower than Pete's, but equally effective. The reason Pete's serve was more consistent, especially his second serve (regarded by many to be the best second serve of all time), was that he imparted more top spin than the others on his serve. All players impart more side spin than topspin on their big serve (not a kick serve), but Pete contacted the ball at an angle that was 20 degrees more vertical than anyone else's serve of his time. This allowed him to have more margin of error on his second serve, so he could "go for it" with more abandon.
nice video, thanks! boris becker is the only player i know, that landed his "serve-jump" on the right foot, instead on the left like all others do.
Thanks for your comments and feedback. I agree that Boris had a unique landing along with his unique Grip. Best, John
John Yandell studied Sampras' serve and discovered his first serve had enormous spin and the spin angle was steeper meaning it was closer to topspin than side spin. I believe his first serve spin rate was around 2,700 rpm and his 2nd serve spin rate was well over 3,000 rpm. It kills me when I see a 5' 8" rec player trying to hit a dead flat 1st serve with zero spin as hard as they can. It isn't going in unless you bend it in the air. There are 2 ways to bend it. You can bend it with gravity but you have to hit it slow, or you can bend it with spin and hit it fast as can as long as you load it with spin.
So very well said! Thanks for your contribution to the video. I am good friends with John Yandell of tennis player by the way.
Hi John,
I liked the video very much.Your one favourite, Pete Sampras , the movements , the coil , stretch and the unexpected way th eball would land on the othe rside... excellent comment.
Thanks! Best, John
Thank you for adding Pancho, Gonzales to the list , a true artist with a tennis racket🎾🎾🎾🎾 also and his brilliant heyday McEnroe had the best serve also good spin, good depth in a beautiful touch on the volley 👍
Thanks for your great feedback and contribution to the video!
After Rod Laver won his first grand slam, he went on the pro tour for a year, and was dominated by a 32 year old Pancho and to a lesser, but still serious, degree, by Lew Hoad. Always the gentleman, Rod said, "It's nice to know where you REALLY stand in the world." If you go to the US Open, you will watch matches in Arthur Ashe stadium in the Billie Jean King tennis center......but you will see no statue of the two most important people in creating the pro tennis tour....Pancho Gonzales and Jack Kramer, who sweat blood and tears touring the country with a fledgling tour that barely survived, for 20 years. THEY are the two heroes of tennis who are not remembered like they should be. Each was the best player of his time, and Pancho is arguably the most dominant player of all time. Jack made serve and volley tennis the main strategy for 20 years.
I had to add one more comment. There is the Pancho, Gonzales foundation and at this time we’re trying to bring more intercity kids into the game just like Pancho, just like Rosie Casals and I like and it’s so unfortunate that we don’t have anything in Pancho,‘s name at the U.S. Open, because he was the true architect of pro tennis, he learned from Rod labor took his licks and came back to become a champion with very little to no support other than him own his own belief in himself. What a great champion bravo Pancho,.
Even before Poncho, Big Bill Tilden utilized ISR and pronation on his serves.
I think all great servers used a continental grip and ISR and pronation since the beginning of tennis. It is a natural throwing motion used by baseball pitchers/throwers and quarterbacks throwing a football.
And before Bill?
The popular pictures of Pancho Gonzalez reveal the movement quite well along with his very feared delivery!
hard to disagree, respect for calling out Pancho, we don't talk enough about his dominance, but also if we are talking lefty server, Goran Ivanisevic won a grand slam and made it to 3 other finals with no real weapon that wasn't a serve- for a pure server, nobody has ever maximized the weapon more imho.
When it comes to pete, what we don't discuss enough is the 2nd serve. Think we should divide servers into 1st and 2nd. pete has the greatest 2nd serve of all time.
Yes, absolutely Pete had the best 2nd serve! Thanks for contributing to the video! Best, John
Pancho's serve was so good, they had a 1 serve tournament because he was dominating everyone. You only got one serve in the tourney and if you missed the only serve you had, you lost the point. Pancho won the tournament easily. His serve was so much better that allowing only one serve gave him a bigger advantage. The source of this story is Vic Braden's book Tennis for The Future.
Thanks for your comments and contribution to the video!
We train pressure serves by playing TB's that allow only one serve. Each player gets to serve for the entire TB, then switch roles.
Most players hate it because it exposes just how unreliable and weak their serve actually is.
I would probably include Roddick and Isner instead of McEnroe and Becker. McEnroe was a great serve but by today's standard, I don't think he can hang with Roddick or Isner. Same for Becker. Roddick could hit a 125 mph serve with so much spin it would bend and dive into the court like a 2nd serve.
Isner is over 6’3”
I don’t disagree with you, although this list was for players under 6 foot three. Roddick was right in the mix.
Was there any truth in Sampras's "flexible" shoulder? I remember reading once that his shoulder flexion/flexibility was surprising and a possible reason for his deadly serve.
He certainly had a very mobile shoulder, and no doubt contributed to his performance
I started playing in the late 90's and even then pronation and ISR were not mentioned or taught in detail, if at all. Baseball pitching instruction then also didn't mention them. I remember "discovering it" looking at Pete's iconic finish and wondering what he was doing with his arm and why nobody on TV talking about the serve was saying a damn thing about it. I was actually pissed off, having no one to turn to for answers and found no answers on the internet.
Vic Braden's book Tennis for The Future was published in the mid-1970s and talked extensively about pronation. It included stop action photos showing how the palm turned outward and face the right side fence for a right handed server.
@@CJZM7777Yep. I learned in the early 90s from a Vic Braden video and he talked about pronation being a big source of power. I also read articles in Tennis Magazine about pronation. I never remember not being taught to do it actually.
I agree it’s very frustrating that most coaches have no idea… even today! Fortunately, I learned from a coach in the late 70s who knew exactly how to create and teach the motion. Best, John
Vic did show pronation, but he emphasized the forearm and wrist. He did not understand that the power originated in the shoulder. I know this for sure, as I worked for him for 3 years.
One thing worth mentioning about Federer is that he watches the opponent for a little while he tosses the ball, just in case anyone is cheating to the left or the right, and then of course switch the direction accordingly. Is that unique or has anyone else done that too?
That is a great observation! He takes that one last look before he rejects his eyes to the point of release of the ball. I think he is unique, and that I have not seen anyone else do that. Thanks!
Great presentation of the Best servers. SORRY in my 40 years in the game I have seen some top serves. Roscoe Tanner had the most feared serve in the game. Hitting the ball on the rise so we thought but Vic Braden did a study on it and it was proven that Roscoe made contact right at the peak of the toss. Don't forget about Rocket's lefty slice serve.. All the Best.
Thanks for your comments and feedback. Certainly, Roscoe was on the list. I just thought John McEnroe had a more unique serve, although Roscoe was very unique as well!
Absolutely agree Sampras had the best first and second serves of all time, with very little difference between the two.
That’s why I picked him!
nice bench in the middle of the court :)
It’s easy to move! Thanks
Pete’s finish has every orthopedic doctor worried 😂. From an aesthetic standpoint Federer is the best IMO.
Hi Jack, I think Pete’s finish confused more people than orthopedics. Thanks for your perspective and contribution to the video! Best, John
Becker also jumped and landed on same foot! Very difficult to copy, I don’t think ANY other player did that. He was groomed to land on his dominant foot so he could drive off it to get to the net!
I guess you mean he landed on the other foot, not the one he jumped off with...
...depends on what you consider his dominant foot. I understand now that you mean his right foot is the dominant one. Still I believe in the moment he jumps most weight is on his left foot. In any case he lands on his right foot which really is not the case with most right handed pros nowadays.
Great point! Thanks for your contribution to the video!
i pick Boris
I can’t disagree! A great serve indeed!
Is there any particular reason these are all platform servers? 🤔
Why no nick krygios in this list? 😅
Rod Laver .....best server
Interesting that you only chose platform servers.
That is interesting because it was not intentional! Thanks, John
For me, It's Dan Evans, at only 5 feet 9 inches tall, he has hit 140 mph serve, got to have a good technique for that.
Serena Williams
I will get to the ladies in a separate video.
Too bad Pancho Gonzales played like what seems so long ago. So many times when he was just younger than and then over 40 he had wins over Laver, Ashe, and Newcombe when they were in their early twenties. Too bad tennis didn't become open sooner. Pancho based on the limited equipment and his tremendous longevity should probably get the nod but because so much time has passed he won't. He would have to come over more backhands but other than that Pancho with his great flowing athleticism and fierce competitiveness would be fine today. With this equipment and the rules allowing players to jump into the court that would have been fun to watch.
Not trying to play historian here but Pancho like my mother used to say, was something else.
I totally agree! Thanks for sharing your perspective!