Will Federer be the last attacking player to reach no1?

Taking the homogenisation of the conditions into consideration ,the game is taylor made to favour strength and stamina over technique and hand-eye coordination
It will take a supremely gifted and incredibly dedicated practitioner to play attacking style tennis at the highest level of the sport
I think Federer could very well be the last of his kind to dominate the game playing such high risk attacking tennis
The conditions just dont favour that style which will make it even harder for attacking players to be consistent enough to be at the top

he,he,not sure about the atacking bit, but definitely the last one with single backhand and what a backhand at that!

Veejay,

I heard from another Federina that Rogers *********************************.

Well judging by the current crop, it is looking very likely we won't see another player of such flair and talent as dominant as Federer.

I think however taking the strength of the current players, you might see short bursts where an attacking player could be no.1 in the world, but not for the same sustained period of Federer.

If for arguments sake that Murray and Djokovic are to dominate the next couple of years and say Nadal and Federer are out of the equation, it does make the rest of the field seem more interesting. It might promote further confidence for the rest of the field.

But in this time period, I doubt we will see one for some time.

I agree there was with Federer something special is that typically attacking players don't break records cause they rely on skills that are very fragile. A player defending, with much less talent is likely to do as well if not better. Take Borg v McEnroe. Or McEnroe v Wilander. None of those defenders had Mc's talent but they were less subject to lose the odd match. McEnroe coudl have a bad day and get beat by a Bill Scanlon. Sure there is the case of Pete doing extremely well but Pete in my view was helped by an excellent serve on very fast conditions (12 of his 14 titles come on grass and USO). He was teh "consistent" one of the fast surfaces.

Federer, and that is for Johnnn , is an exceptional player in that he has produces extremely skilled tennis consistently.

I however do not think he will be the last one. SOmeone will come along soon if the pool of young players keeps increasing.

Delpo I see as a good young player. Reaching #1 is difficult for him. He on his day can beat anyone including the ones above him. But that really needs to be his day especially if he has to deal with the likes of Djokovic and more dangerously Ferrer. He is very attacking with those powerful pacy ground strokes off both wings. But he lacks variety and some guys can make him looks absolutely powerless ( like Djokovic this USopen and Ferrer some time back this year).

The #1 ranking will not move to anyone outside the current top-4 at least for the next 2 years. But I'll be glad to be proven wrong.

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:The #1 ranking will not move to anyone outside the current top-4 at least for the next 2 years. But I'll be glad to be proven wrong.

Happy to take the bet on. I am pretty sure we will get a new number 1 within the next 2 years....out of the top 4.

Tenez wrote:

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:The #1 ranking will not move to anyone outside the current top-4 at least for the next 2 years. But I'll be glad to be proven wrong.

Happy to take the bet on. I am pretty sure we will get a new number 1 within the next 2 years....out of the top 4.

Oh, this sounds exciting!!!!! I'm all ears

noleisthebest wrote:

Tenez wrote:

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:The #1 ranking will not move to anyone outside the current top-4 at least for the next 2 years. But I'll be glad to be proven wrong.

Happy to take the bet on. I am pretty sure we will get a new number 1 within the next 2 years....out of the top 4.

Oh, this sounds exciting!!!!! I'm all ears

Is it Tenez? . Who do you think it could be. I won't counter your guess or try to bring out a bag of reasons why he won't. No won't do it.

Among who all do you see a potential to reach #1? even if he reaches only for a week its fine. Need not dominate.

It's clear that Rao has the game to blast anyone off court. He beat Murray twice this year. But it could simply be an existing player hitting a purple patch and finally slightly faster conds (faster balls) coudl suddenly brings lots of changes. I think the ATP is very keen to ending those 4 and 5 hours marathons.

They are looking into this now and It woudl be a good time to do it cause the current top players (Murray and Djoko) are not captivating the crowds so it's good conditions to mess a bit with the top seeds.

It's harder to do when people want to see 2 super stars, then everything is done for them to meet at the end but as Roger and Nadal are on the decline, it might be good to "built" or check a few other potential "heroes".

Oh Te-neeez!
I knew you had Raonic in mind....I say he's never going to beat Nole in the next 2 years, how's that for prediction

As for the talent in the next 2 yeras, how I wish I could say Paire, but no, he's too much of a tennis poet and bohemian spirit to be gunning for number one, that's why I like him so much

Raonic for me is too tactically inept to be a number 1. Yes he beat Murray in BO3 format, but at the US Open played one of the most strangest matches I have seen. The only player I know to stand behind the baseline on the Murray 2nd serve.

He does have weapons. He has the mark of a Tsonga. Not in the same extremes, but has the weapons, but not the know how in how to use them.

I can see Jack Sock being a number 1 prospect for the future. Lovely striker of the ball. Not quite there with his movement mind you.

legendkillar wrote:Raonic for me is too tactically inept to be a number 1. Yes he beat Murray in BO3 format, but at the US Open played one of the most strangest matches I have seen. The only player I know to stand behind the baseline on the Murray 2nd serve.

Maybe there is another one, Gasquet . But thats not my point. Raonic was playing totally unlike himself in the US open, and the few tournaments before that. He was looking to stay back 4m and run and chase balls. Of course this move was always going to fail. And good he realized it sooner than later ( his comments from his Tokoyo tournament shows it).

#1?? I'll not debate it as I said I won't. Lets wait and enjoy tennis and see how it goes.

Rao is still learning...and his match v Murray at teh USO was very bizarre as for me as Murray played his best match of the tournament. A player like Rao is going to improve exponentially in teh next 6 months. Not many at the beginning of the year had predicted youngsters would end up in the top 10. I did say I woudl not be surprised if they were to (on v2) and Rao has now a good chance to finish close to number, if not inside.

Rao is only 135 points away from the number 10 spot. A good tournment this week could do the trick.

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:

legendkillar wrote:Raonic for me is too tactically inept to be a number 1. Yes he beat Murray in BO3 format, but at the US Open played one of the most strangest matches I have seen. The only player I know to stand behind the baseline on the Murray 2nd serve.

Maybe there is another one, Gasquet . But thats not my point. Raonic was playing totally unlike himself in the US open, and the few tournaments before that. He was looking to stay back 4m and run and chase balls. Of course this move was always going to fail. And good he realized it sooner than later ( his comments from his Tokoyo tournament shows it).

#1?? I'll not debate it as I said I won't. Lets wait and enjoy tennis and see how it goes.

Well Gasquet is quite special I have seen it on Clay, but not other surfaces IIRC.

Raonic was out of sorts at the US Open. His first round match dragged on and on when he was in control. He is a clean striker of the ball. He is the best mover of the big hitters. 2013 may well see a change in fortunes

Tenez wrote:Rao is only 135 points away from the number 10 spot. A good tournment this week could do the trick.

I'll eat all my hats if Roanic gets to number one. I really will. And I've got qute a few. In fact bough a vintage mink one last night

Raonic is a sophisticated version of Soderling.

Sock (or Pospisil or Copil) is the raw version of Soderling.

PS: ... or Rosol, Isner, Karlovic, .... take your pick...

Im with Tenez on this...we will start seeing the Tommic,Roanic,Dimitrov generation start to dominate the game in the next 2-3 years,who will break through first is the what will be interesting.My pick would be Roanic too,but will he be no1?

I'm hoping for someone we don't know yet, a real prodigy, coming out of nowhere!

Veejay wrote:Im with Tenez on this...we will start seeing the Tommic,Roanic,Dimitrov generation start to dominate the game in the next 2-3 years,who will break through first is the what will be interesting.My pick would be Roanic too,but will he be no1?

Yes...cause though they currently lose to the top players, they are already pretty close. Taking a set there and then. They just need to improve a tiny bit to reverse the trend.

But also like SPhair says a new real prodigee might come along.

For people interested in following the progress of youngsters:
http://www.606v2.com/t35312-v2-youngster-watch

Tenez wrote:
But also like SPhair says a new real prodigee might come along.

The last player I think who came out of almost no where was Nadal. And before that it was Becker. Maybe Ivanisevic too but those days were different. Those things are rare and with tennis moving towards more physicality its almost impossible for a young player to match just on the terms of sheer power and stamina. So I don't expect a surprise new-comer. Who ever it will be, it will need him some years on main tour, before he can do anything substantial.

@Veejay... Tomic was bagelled today the Colonel in Basel, IIRC. The Roddick match was also very strange.

I was hoping Rosol was the next big thing.

Anyone following Carlos Boluda? He is perhaps the next Ferrer.

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:

Tenez wrote:
But also like SPhair says a new real prodigee might come along.

The last player I think who came out of almost no where was Nadal. And before that it was Becker. Maybe Ivanisevic too but those days were different. Those things are rare and with tennis moving towards more physicality its almost impossible for a young player to match just on the terms of sheer power and stamina. So I don't expect a surprise new-comer. Who ever it will be, it will need him some years on main tour, before he can do anything substantial.

But it's like Federer. We knew he was talented but we were far from thinking that one day everything will click in. I agree that the physicality of the game makes it less likely for a talented player to pierce through. However some have real genius, they are rare but they come along. In football we have had quite a few. I think in tennis we will too. Look at someone like Dolgo. He is not far from turning into an unplayable player. He is not "talented" enough but someone slightly more than him and that's the end of the top 4.

Tenez wrote:

But it's like Federer. We knew he was talented but we were far from thinking that one day everything will click in. I agree that the physicality of the game makes it less likely for a talented player to pierce through. However some have real genius, they are rare but they come along. In football we have had quite a few. I think in tennis we will too. Look at someone like Dolgo. He is not far from turning into an unplayable player. He is not "talented" enough but someone slightly more than him and that's the end of the top 4.

It breaks my heart when I see how easily Murray dispatches Dolgo

noleisthebest wrote:It breaks my heart when I see how easily Murray dispatches Dolgo

Dolgo also lost to ERV in Moscow, despite having MPs. He can be fun to watch, but may never be consistent.

Perhaps his medical condition precludes it. Murray, at least, is using his abilities to the maximum.