06 September 2009

most enjoyable tennis players to watch

I'm not a big fan of the top few players in tennis, for a variety of reasons:

  • They are generally bland and emotionless, lacking real personality.
  • I like to see players that really look like they are having fun. Smile!
  • They take forever to serve the damn ball. I almost need to fast forward as they bounce the ball 27 times before hitting a serve. Get on with it already.
  • They don't run down every ball and play every point like it's the last. I don't want to watch lazy players, even if they are really adept at winning.
I like players that look like they have real enjoyment for the game, play their hearts out, and seem to be playing more for the love of the game and entertaining the audience than their ranking or endorsements.

Having said that, here's who I like (with their current world ranking after their name):
  • Andy Roddick (5): A completely transformed player that I'd love to see make it back to the top. Well-rounded, fun to watch, great foot speed, and also gets bonus points for not taking forever to serve (one of my pet peeves).
  • Marin Cilic (17): Seems on the verge of being among the top players in the world. Great serve, great speed for a really tall guy.
  • Tommy Haas (21): Great scrappy player, intense, never gives up.
  • Lleyton Hewitt (32): Same story here, great scrappy player, intense and determined.
  • John Isner (55): Recently beat Roddick at the US Open, very cool and collected, great serve, will be interesting to see where he goes.
  • Daniel Koellerer (62): Always fun to watch, even when he's losing badly. The on court theatrics are something that's great to see in tennis as it gets the crowd into it.

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