Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Can Del Potro be an all time Great Tennis player?

I know it's too early to make such a statement but i found this article written by rob York and i want to hear the opinion of knowledgeable tennis fans, please not childish opinions.

"DELPO certainly appears to be an evolutionary leap in the sport; at three inches taller than Boris Becker and Pancho Gonzales, he’s the tallest major champion the sport has ever seen. Also, in a game rife with Big Forehands, his may be without peer on a day like Monday.

However, he lacks the complete game that we have seen among the GOAT candidates from Federer to Sampras to Laver. Those guys had careers that spanned decades and won majors in the double-digits because they were world-class in all areas, be it the groundstrokes, the serves, the movement, and the volleys. This gave them more options and gave their games a timeless quality

Del Potro isn’t phenomenal in all these departments; it’s just that the weapons he brought to the table in this event were bigger than what had been seen before him. Players who represent evolutionary leaps, hitting and/or serving harder and/or better than those who came before them can have highly distinguished careers: Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, and Andre Agassi are all good examples.

Those who lack dedication (like Marat Safin) or who see the game evolve past them (like Andy Roddick or Jim Courier) achieve less. The quality of del Potro’s career victories from here on really depends on how bad he wants it, and whether or not there’s another evolutionary leap while he’s active.

The second factor is unknowable; regarding the first, his career progression seems a lot closer to Connors than to Safin."

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