Best of the Best?

[jimlosaltos]

Does Jannik Sinner have the best serve, return, forehand and backhand on the ATP now?

You can argue about each or all of these claims in my image, and I don't think any are definitive. Still, that only one player can be arguably called the best in all four of these categories makes a statement. Sinner is threatening to become the first since these records were kept to lead the ATP in both percent of service games won and percent of return games won for the year. The forehand and backhand "quality" are harder to measure. I'll posit that the main measure that drives La Carotta's success on hard courts is his ability to "steal time" but holding the baseline ala Fed and Novak, while hitting with constant pace and depth so his opponent can't get one swing "off". No one can just play a neutral rally ball or two. A simple, deep groundstroke up the middle and be put away. There is no safe place to go.

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[stotty]

Late in his career, Agassi played Federer and got beaten handily. In the press conference afterward, he said: ''The problem with playing Roger…there is no safe place to go.’’

So it’s something that’s been said before. Personally, I wouldn’t put Sinner in Roger’s category just yet no matter what stats are thrown at me. The problem we have at the moment is we only have two great players on the scene. And the problem I have with Sinner is he's well down in head-to-heads against Carlos, who is the closest player we have to Roger in terms of artistry. So he’s vulnerable to a creative player - this we know for sure.

I like Sinner but he’s probably the most robotic player in the history of tennis. And there has been a few!

[stroke]

Late in his career, Agassi played Federer and got beaten handily. In the press conference afterward, he said: ''The problem with playing Roger…there is no safe place to go.’’

So it’s something that’s been said before. Personally, I wouldn’t put Sinner in Roger’s category just yet no matter what stats are thrown at me. The problem we have at the moment is we only have two great players on the scene. And the problem I have with Sinner is he's well down in head-to-heads against Carlos, who is the closest player we have to Roger in terms of artistry. So he’s vulnerable to a creative player - this we know for sure.

I like Sinner but he’s probably the most robotic player in the history of tennis. And there has been a few!

I love Stotty's take on this stuff, he knows what he is talking about. I do disagree slightly with him, but I certainly see his take.

[jimlosaltos]

But my question is not best at everything nor best of all time. It's best overall in those four big categories today?

Vulnerable? Yes, fitness seems his biggest issue. Can't match Alcaraz's touch ( who can? ) At net? Mechanical as stotty wrote.

Overall serve, return, groundstrokes. Nobody else playing today has such a complete game.

Alcaraz: Serve is good, can be great at times, but not topflight.
Zverev, Frtiz? Huge serve, power, not same complete game. Forehand powerful but error prone.
Shelton: Weak return almost at Isner level ( so far ! )
Fonseca: Maybe ? ! Early days, but more rounded game than the rest of this list and he's only, what, 18 years old?

[jimlosaltos]

Right on cue, both Tennis Data Institute and Tennis TV have shot quality metrics to at least partially address my question of whether Jannik Sinner is the best in each of four, critical categories. I'll repeat that I'm not making that claim; It's debatable. But consider this: There is no other player, nada, rien where this is even a question. Carlos Alcaraz? His serve has moments of greatness but is nowhere near the top. Zverev? Forehand leaks too many errors. And so on for everyone else but, as Andre Agassi once said about Roger Federer: ""I've played a lot of them over the years, but there's a safety zone, there's a place to get to, there's something to focus on... Federer... has no weaknesses and a seemingly endless variety of options to swing a match in his favour." Agassi added that anything an opponent tries, Federer has a potential answer for, and that he plays the game in a very special way that Agassi hadn't seen before."

Five infographics, first four from Tennis TV put him at best in 3 of 4 categories from this top flight group. And I love that Singapore Lucky Loser to Champ Vacherot is in here. Individual shot ratings for all quarterfinalists in Paris by Tennis TV

SinnerBackQual.jpg SinnerReturnQual.jpg SinnerServeQual.jpg SinnerFhdQual.jpg

[jimlosaltos]

And here is another set of ratings, these to TDI, for SInner during his final win over FAA in Paris. Also via social media.

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[stotty]

There is no question that Sinner is the best player out there. He just has a little trouble with a certain player who can throw more things at him than anyone else. The Sinner/Carlos match-up is not dissimilar the Novak/Roger. Now, what you don’t want is the robot getting the better of the artist, which is what, in all honesty, happened with Roger and Novak.

What I like about Sinner is his honesty…honesty about performance. Straight away he will admit being outplayed and tries to fathom why. He seems to have no ego and never offers excuses, which ultimately only serve to obscure the truth anyway.

Interesting that his backhand is always at the bottom of the quality pile. So there is at least something for his opponents to hone in on.