Who in your opinion had the greatest backhand shot in tennis history?

I voted Kuerten just cause he's cool but I don't have a definitive answer.

Dunno if FEderer/Pavel shoudl really make the list.

Haven't seend alot of the old guys although I must assume that Laver Tilden etc. had great backhands.

Safin/Nalbandian probably the best of this generation but Safin didn't have enough variety I feel and Nalbandian I don't think could make it as best ever.

Hmm. Great thread

If there was an "OTHER" option I'd vote for that because my answer is Stefan Edberg, by a long distance.

vote away gav :ok:

Good man Liam :ok: ;)

I find these comps hard to answer because I haven't seen half of those players in action. And I imagine their backhands are very good for different reasons. So stuck! Although I fancy going Gasquet cos his can be fab.

Btw wasn't Kohlscreiber's rather good at the AO :ok:

Used to be a member of tennisone.Saw a few of the clips of a certain Don Budge.

There's a famous one where he is running diagonally back behind the baseline and in one ballet like movement plays the most beautiful topspin backhand you have ever seen.

For the modern day choice I go with Gav too,Edberg,but he isn't on the list.

Please speak to me Gav :pray: (sucking up big time)

Oh and here is the famous clip,just pure silky movement and the most graceful flourish ever with this shot.Tennis is sport,but sometimes it becomes poetry.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/public/champio...plearticle.html

I agree there is something beautiful about Kolhscribers BH. He hits it flatter than Federer and therefore pacier, yet it has a secure feel to it which strangely adds some beauty to the move.

Feliciano Lopez's is great to.

I voted for Gustavo Kuerten, Edberg's was great too.

A question for the administrators - are guests allowed to vote on these polls?

No - if guests wish to vote they would have to become members.

:admin:

I think that guests should be invited to vote, otherwise this seems like a closed shop. Plus there are just not enough votes on these polls to have any value or meaning at the present time.

That's just my opinion.

the problem is that if we open up forums to guests we just end up getting spammers posting. :shrug: I'd hope that if guests wanted to vote and discuss this topic that they'd register. However, I'll see what the rest of admin think and we could perhaps trial opening this forum to guests and see what happens. :ok:

This is a tough poll as there isn’t -like there is in the history of ladies tennis (Henin)-one that topples it all.
I’m not a fan of the DHBH, a shot that seems to become more and more a double handed forehand. Personally i still believe there’s a future for the SHBH but I won’t deny, with todays powerplay, where it’s more about power and consistency rather than variety/versatility, the DHBH is extremely effective. With very little time preparation time or having to deal with extreme topspin the double hander has an advantage over the single hander.
An outstanding DHBH is the one of Nalby, on a good day it’s unstoppable; Hitting astonishing ankles and crazy down the line winners out of nowhere.
No matter how the ball’s coming at him, he’ll find a way to respond (his short backswing helps him with that) , even so, he’ll use the quickness/slowness of the court or the power of the opponent to his advantage. Again; on a good day that is!

The SHBH is more my cup of tea.
We have the obvious favourites; Kuerten (my vote), Edberg, Gasquet
The artistic ones; that almost mysterious BH shot of McEnroe, the one without the slightest wrist action, he seemed to push the ball over the net with every inch of his body; perfect example of soft hands.
Federer’s crosscourt flip over (set point Wimbledon final 2006) can also be a piece of art.
And the stylish ones; Youznhy and in 2004/2005 Gaudio’s Backhand didn’t look that bad either, did it?

That's very true about spammers.

Invision technical support may be able to advise on how to take this sort of idea forward and avoid the spammers.

Hi Laurie,

We've done a bit of playing around and we don't think it's possible to allow guests to vote in polls - which is strange :unsure: If you know of a way to do it could you PM me or trisco please? Otherwise we could let them post, but it won't bump up the poll votes at all. :shrug:

:admin:

I will contact Invision Technical support later on today and ask them if there's a way. I'll get back to you in a few hours.

oh, no worries- we can contact the support team, I just wondered if you knew of a way :shrug:

Well, I just spoke to Invision. There is a way, so I'll send you a pm right now.

i voted Guga, i was a big fan, it wasn't just that his backhand was a great weapon, or that he had so many possibilities with it-it's also the way his body moved-twisted into the shot that made it look so great-kind of strange yet wonderful.
It wasn't as effective on faster surfaces because of the huge back swing, but still great to watch.

I voted for Richard :clap: :clap: ..

Ok Guga was great, Edberg also, Safin..

But in term of a pure one hand BH..well.. I do not know, I consider the one of Richard just so beautiful to watch: He can do whatever he wants and last year Wimbledon quarter against AROD, he was able to produce such a splendid series of shots..What a demo of his skills..

Once again, Guga was great..But might be the fact that Richard is able to produce his best on Grass : the ultimate Tennis surface IMO (i.e. the surface where Tennis "flair and natural skills" are exalted the most IMO) well .. :bow: :bow: to Richard..

Lendls noted more for his forehand , but his backhands still pretty awesome :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHaqmWrrA_I