Re: Lendl vs other greats....(head to heads)

> Makes me think of
> Lendl hitting that beautiful running bh roper up the line.  Beautiful.
>  Then he would strut around like a turkey, bobbing his head and
> plucking at his eyelashes while looking at his strings.

He beat Mac at the 82 USO with that shot - time and again Mac would be in
good position at the net with Lendl seemingly dead-meat having to hit a
running backhand, and he'd win the point with a frozen-rope shot by him down
the line. And even when Mac started to anticipate it and get his racket on
the ball, it would have too much pace on it for even 'asbestos hands' to
handle.

That was the match where MN, sitting in the stands, said "i feel sorry for
John, Lendl looks so much bigger".

Hey, even coming from a lesbian, it's never a good thing when a female
describes another guy as so much bigger...

;)

> > > Ditto Courier, and Stich was an allcourt magician more than a
> > > power player.
> >
> > Stich had a huge serve, and i never saw anyone overpower him off the
> > ground...
>
> He was awesome.  Gangly guy like that with all that ability.  Although
> he could hit w/good power, I don't recall that being his primary MO.
> He could keep guys off balance with great variety.  He could hit any
> shot.  And yes, his serve was both huge and a thing of beauty to
> watch.

Yes - Stich had near-perfect form on his serve. A beautiful motion. Very
'classic'. And he had a great 'whip' backhand as well. Outstanding volleyer
(some of the volleys he hit in the 94 USO finals loss to Agassi were
unbelievable. Andre was playing at peak  form and ripping passing shots with
perfect accuracy left and right, and Stich was getting to and volleying
winners off a lot of them - far more than you'd expect anyone to be able to.
His height and wingspan sure helped).

All he lacked was Sampras's commitment to the sport. He'd have won 5-6 slams
if he could have just mustered sporadic high-commitment, like Andre...

> > > Becker had big power from the ground, but he also got
> > > his ass to the net rather than beating Lendl strictly from the
> > > backcourt. Nobody was taking out Lendl playing just backcourt tennis.
> >
> > No doubt - Becker could generate big power off the ground, but if he
used
> > just that vs. Lendl he'd have lost because his groundies lacked the
> > consistency. Becker used his huge serve to bludgeon Lendl...
>
> Agreed.  Becker took out Chang pretty much from the baseline in that
> AU final, but that would have been a bad strategy vs. Lendl.  I
> thought he was nuts doing it with Chang, but he pulled it off.

Becker played great tennis from the summer of 95 through the AO at 96 - made
the W finals, the USO semis, won the Masters Cup and won the AO. He was 'in
the groove' during that event and when everything was clicking he could play
like Sampras - confidently go for broke off the ground because he knew that
his serve games were safe...

-- 
"if federal judges have the final word over its meaning,
the Constitution would be a mere thing of wax in the hands
of the judiciary, which they may twist and shape into any form
they please".

- Thomas Jefferson