5 Greatest hardcourt players of all time
Hardcourt is said to be the most neutral surface in tennis, which means that it is the surface where a player’s true quality can be gauged. A genuine great will always perform well on hardcourts.
They tend to balance out the extreme characteristics of grass and claycourts. They are not as fast as the grasscourts, neither are they as slow and tiresome as clay. Therefore, a player has to have a well-rounded game to excel on hardcourts.
Two of the four Grand Slams in tennis, the Australian Open and the US Open, are played on hardcourts. The Australian Open used to be played on grass till 1987, but has been staged on hardcourts since then. Moreover, six of the nine prestigious ATP Masters tournaments are held on hardcourts.
Almost every great tennis player has won major titles on hardcourts. Here, we take a look at the top 5 hardcourt players of all time:
5. Jimmy Connors
The flamboyant Jimmy Connors was a brilliant all-round player and therefore, had no problem excelling on hardcourts. He was quite possibly the greatest hard-court player of his generation.
John McEnroe had a better serve-and-volley game, whereas Ivan Lendl was patient and fit enough to grind out matches on clay. But Connors’ game was more complete and as a result, he was more successful on hardcourts.
Connors had a great return of serve and very potent groundstrokes. He also had great court-coverage, which enabled him to stay in rallies for a longer duration.
He had a very strong forehand and a decent double-handed backhand, which allowed him to hit passing shots from the baseline. He was a strict baseliner, but quite capable of winning points with his volleys too.
Connors won 5 US Open titles on hardcourts. He also won 17 Grand Prix Super Series titles in his career, most of which were held on hardcourts.
Overall, he had a winning ratio of 83% on hardcourts, and his record is even more impressive considering the fact that he had to contend with the likes of Bjorn Borg, McEnroe and Lendl in his career.
Connors' triumph over Aaron Krickstein at the 1991 US Open was a classic in every sense of the word.