Okay, let's take the recent threads a step further on the men's side: Best ever strokes! My opinions: first serve - Sampras, 2d serve - Sampras, maybe McEnroe or Gonzales; return - Connors (some will vote for Agassi but technology helped him), or Rosewall maybe; Forehand - Borg; Backhand - Laver; volley - Laver; will to win - Laver or Gonzales.

Was this intended to be a male only thread? I am going to be a rebel and cover the women as well.

I agree that Mr. Sampras has probably (perhaps had at this point) the best first and second serve in the game. Totally dominant with that serve when he was clicking. Jimmy C returned everybody off the court. I think that Jim Courier had some of the best groundies the game has seen (he really put the wacky grips with all the pace in the #1 ranking for the first time). John M had the prettiest volleys, though his piss-poor attitude made him difficult to watch for me.

On the women's side of the game, I actually think that Lindsay has the best serve when she is healthy and playing regularly. She can do pretty much anything with her serve, and it is the one serve that can hold the Williams sisters at bay when it is on. Chris E had the best return in the game. Monica is very good as well, but Chris was amazingly consistent and could really come up with the goods. In terms of groundies, it is difficult to assess on the women's side. The power game has changed things. Chris certainly had the most consistent shots and made some incredible plays. Her two-fister should still be copied today. Jennifer and Monica have amazing groundies on both sides. Serena and Venus (with Lindsay) have incredible power. Lindsay strikes the ball so clean, it is amazing. In terms of volleys, I think you have to go with Ms. Navratilova who could do so much with the ball at her prime.

Sampras definitely had the best serve on the men's side. He lacks confidence now. I also loved Stefan Edberg's serve for it's consistency. I would put him down as the best volleyer. I think Johnny Mc had great feel, but his mechanics were, too me, hideous. But it worked for him. Best return would be Agassi. Best forehand (and I can only speak of players from my era that I have seen) may have to go to Sampras as well. Backhand would go to Agassi. On the women's side, no woman has ever had a forehand like Steffi's. And I thought that Gaby's backhand was a thing of beauty. But Serena's is just pure power. I think Lindsay's serving mechanics are wretched. Her serve is effective, but hideous. I will return to Serena for the serve. Best volleys goes to Martina N. though.

Best second serve of all time: Gabriela Sabatini

Sampras' serve...Steffi's forehand...Evert's crosscourt backhand...Seles' return of serve...Rafter's volleys...Martina N.'s approach shots and volleys...Hingis's two-handed backhand down the line (early in her career)...Venus's mid-court out of the air winners everywhere...and finally Serena Williams's serve, which will likely go down as the greatest female serve of all time...

Can't forget Goolagong and King's backhand or Billie Jean's imagination at the net.

Lets not forget about Jimbo!!!!! Alias: Jimmy Connors. What a tiger. Loved his backhand.

Men:
Serve: Sampras for 2nd serve definitely, but for first, Ivanisevic is tempting.
Volleys: I'll take McEnroe. Phenomenal touch.
The groundstrokes are tough...the best have probably been mentioned already, though Lendl had a nice forehand. Kuerten has a good backhand, as does Hewitt.

Women:
Serve: Last year I would have said Venus, but Serena seems to have the edge now. Serena has a great return of serve, too, as does Davenport.
Volleys: Overall, Martina. But Mandlikova's touch could be amazing when she was on.
Forehand: Graf. That one shot changed everything in women's tennis.
Backhand: So many possibilities. Hingis is the nearest thing to Evert today. Davenport has terrific groundstrokes on both sides--if she had the speed of a Williams, she'd be nearly unbeatable. Henin has a wonderful variety of shots on a one-handed backhand.

Oh my god, can't forget Henin's backhand; it's truly a thing of beauty. Imagine if this girl were a couple of inches taller?

Wouldn't it be fascinating if someone took a poll of all former or current top ten players men and women and asked them for a list of all time best strokes, say listing three players in each category? Let's make it happen!