Building the Perfect Tennis Player - Best Serve

As promised people. Get your votes and let's get some discussion going

I think you have forgotten someone. Lot's say Sampras was good although I wouldn't know Zzzzzz... But Federer should at least be in the poll even if some have the opinion that Sampras was better (and obviously because of my lack of evidence it's not something I could argue Zzzzzz... )

From the ATP site both players career service stats

Sampras

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Sa/P/Pete-Sampras.aspx?t=mf&y=0&s=0#

Federer

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Top-Players/Roger-Federer.aspx?t=mf&y=0&s=0#

And anyway didn't Sampras have an advantage? Wasn't all the tennis back in the 90's played on the equivalent of fast shiny wooden courts? I reckon even my ace count would have been higher back then!

I'm afraid HE if no-one requested his presence on the poll, then I can't make exceptions.

I am sure he will feature heavily in the upcoming categories.

Anyway Pete wasn't always doom and gloom HE. His serve at times was phenominal. The best server up the T I have seen

his serve motion was beautiful to watch even if his bh wasnt

Federer's serve is (was?) excellent and very underrated, but he's nowhere near Sampras in that department, surely.

All good first serves up there, but for me it's got to be Pete due to the uncanny second serve.

Pete's second serve was not as effective as Rogers (53% of second serves won compared to 56% - from the stats posted above) Pete also had to rely on it a bit more than Roger too as Pete's career 1st serve percentage was 59% compared to Rogers at 62%.

hawkeye wrote:Pete's second serve was not as effective as Rogers (53% of second serves won compared to 56% - from the stats posted above) Pete also had to rely on it a bit more than Roger too as Pete's career 1st serve percentage was 59% compared to Rogers at 62%.

To me, those statistics show that Federer simply had a better all-around game to back up his second service; Federer has absolutely dominated the 'second serve points won' stats for nearly his whole career, including in 2012 when he was a frankly baffling 6% better than the next best by the end of the year - he uses his serve very well. No doubt he heads nearly anyone in history in that department, but that's only one facet of the serve.

Sampras had a lower serve percentage, yet outclasses Federer on most of the serve stats (aces, etc), and that's without Federer's all-round game to bolster his % points won. At any rate, Fed's not in the poll. You should have seen Sampras' serve in action, hawkeye, it was a very potent weapon.

Ivanisevic would probably be my second choices, despite the lack of consistency...

much about a good serve though isnt always in the statistics, its about the action, whether its easily repeatable and fluid to prevent injury, whether it had a good ball toss disguise, the ablility to hit a big serve when needed, the intimidation factor.
Rogers and Petes both had this, buts Petes was somehow more intimidating

I think the only way you can take bias out of it, and its what I use for myself is if you had to build the perfect player to play for your life. I love Federer's serve, and do think there is a case for it but I would want Pete serving for my life

I am personally as biased as I can be, but do echo Bud's comments...

A 1999 Sports Illustrated article about the magazine's 20 "favorite athletes" of the 20th century said about Gonzales: "If earth was on the line in a tennis match, the man you want serving to save humankind would be Ricardo Alonso Gonzalez." The noted tennis commentator Bud Collins  echoed this in an August 2006 article for MSNBC.com: "If I had to choose someone to play for my life, it would be Pancho Gonzalez."  A portion of the film is provided (see below).

http://heritageofamerica76.com/pancho.htm

This is before the advent of Federer, but Sampras and Agassi were around.

Also, Federer is supposed to have modelled his serve on Pancho's server.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oaZ-49eebo

(It is an opinion, and subjective a bit).

Silver wrote:Federer's serve is (was?) excellent and very underrated, but he's nowhere near Sampras in that department, surely.

All good first serves up there, but for me it's got to be Pete due to the uncanny second serve.

Pete wouldn't have got that many first serves won % and aces on slow courts of today against players of caliber Rafa, Djoko, Murray and Del Po.  

HE was on the button, Pete played on fast conditions compared to slow conditions for Fed, I won't say Sampras could completely excel Fed in this case, 2001 Wimbledon is again a proof of it.