Who are your top five favorite players, 5 male, 5 female from anytime that you have been watching tennis? I'll start:

Male
Federer
Lendl
Guga
Rafter
Hewitt


Female
Seles
Hingis
Graf
Hantuchova
Venus

edited to add Giuga(how could I have forgotten those summers in Paris?) and sadly pushed Muster to 6(ah, those legs).

[ December 02, 2005, 06:55 AM: Message edited by: shore ]

Men:
Andre Agassi
Jonas Bjorkman
Pat Cash
Olivier Rochus
Henri Leconte

Women:
Chris Evert
Justine Henin-Hardenne
Zina Garrison-Jackson
Lindsay Davenport
Martina Hingis

WOMEN:
1. Chris Evert
2. Gabriella Sabatini
3. Martina Navratilova
4. Evonne Goolagong
5. Monica Seles

MEN:
1. Roger Federer
2. Stefan Edberg
3. Arthur Ashe
4. Patrick Rafter
5. Bjorn Borg

Men:

1. Boris Becker
2. Andre Agassi
3. Rafael Nadal
4. Arthur Ashe
5. James Blake

Women:

1. Steffi Graf
2. Serena Williams
3. Venus Williams
4. Monica Seles
5. Lindsay Davenport

Men:
1. Thomas Muster
2. Mark Philippousis
3. Stefan Edberg
4. Nicolas Lapentti
5. Roger Federer

Women:
1. Jennifer Capriati
2. Monica Seles
3. Chris Evert
4. Gabriela Sabatini
5. Mary Joe Fernandez

andre agassi
marat safin
mark philippousis
james blake
thomas muster

steffi graf
monica seles
martina hingis
jennifer capriati
lindsay davenport

Men:
Pete Sampras
Roger Federer
Andre Agassi
Jimmy Connors
Stefan Edberg

Women:
Monica Seles
Lindsay Davenport
Chris Evert
Serena Williams
Venus Williams

Gabriela Sabatini!


But y'all knew that already. After Gaby, who soars so high above all others that she must remain in a category unto herself [ wink ], a collection of flashy and headcasey players that I like to call "the best of the rest" ...

Amelie Mauresmo
Anna Kournikova
Kim Clijsters
Evonne Goolagong

Marat Safin
Guga Kuerten
Stefan Edberg
Olivier Rochus
Fabrice Santoro

[ December 02, 2005, 06:49 AM: Message edited by: Gaga4Gaby ]

Rafter
Federer
Lendl
Wilander
Hewitt


Graf
Evert
Davenport
Henin
Mauresmo

I can't quite decide, simply because there's a disconnect between the players I enjoy watching and the ones I really like. For example, I've always enjoyed the games of Hewitt, Coria, and Hingis, but their personalities are less enjoyable.

Seles - Of Course!
Evert
Hingis/Venus
Navratilova
Cljisters

Rafter
Federer
Guga
Safin
Courier

Blake/Lopez-(my current favs)

[ December 02, 2005, 11:43 AM: Message edited by: Bryan ]

My thoughts too, actually, especially on the men's side. Had to go with the all classy list there. Although McEnroe was the most brilliant player at the net, his on-court antics always turned me off. Don't pay any attention to Hewitt when the ball is not in play, so I can enjoy his effort and skill, just like with Connors.

And five is too few on the women's side for me...Graf is one of my favorites, but five is five, so cut it off there.

Hey JC, let's say you're standing on a busy NYC corner, and you're hungry, and there is a fine Mexican restaurant next to a really good Japanese restaurant, and across the street is a charming french bistro next to a sports bar. Where would you satisfy your hunger?

Men:
1. Jimmy Connors
2. Rafael Nadal
3. Marat Safin
4. Bjorn Borg
5. Andre Agassi


Women:

1. Chris Evert
2. Venus Williams
3. Monica Seles
4. Martina Navratilova
5. Suzanne Lenglen
...just kidding...
5. Serena Williams

Not surprisingly Seles and Federer are leading the popularity contest, but I'm surprised to see Evert doing so well(having 5 mentions) and Stefan Edberg with 4. Please add your favorites if you haven't yet voted.

Shore, My lists are a bit weird, in terms of favourite players and not necessarily being the best at any given time. I have limited it to players I have actually seen live and beside being in the Top 100 Singles and Top 10 Doubles, have said or done something interesting plus being intriguing to watch:

Men:
Mariano Zabeleta
Fabrice Santoro
Patrick Rafter
James Blake
Kenneth Carlson


Women:
Martina Navratilova
Dally Randriantefy
Rennae Stubbs
Monica Seles
Ai Sugiyama

What I find even stranger is I'm the only one having voted for Sampras! I'm pretty surprised by that.

This is favorite players only, and not necessarily the greatest (although a few are).

Women:
Chris Evert
Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
Jennifer Capriati
Kimiko Date
Pam Shriver

Men:
Andre Agassi
Roger Federer
James Blake
Stefan Edberg
Patrick Rafter

Kimiko Date must be the most surprising favorite player. Why do you list her? I love the inclusion by the way.

I just loved everything about her. Her composure, her ability to maximize what she had and the ability to walk away when she wanted to. She retired in the mid-90s (i think it was '96) while still being in the top 5. I think she could have won a slam, given the top players at the time but she didn't. To this day, I truly believe she would have beaten Steffi in the 1996 Wimbledon semis if the rain hadn't pushed the semi to Friday, but Steffi beat her 6-2, 2-6, 6-3. I remember that match well. Play was called after the second set after Steffi begged like hell for it to be stopped. Steffi regrouped, like the champion she was, during the overnight and waxed Kimiko in the third. I think Kimiko would have beat Arantxa in the finals cause Arantxa would be too overconfident at being the favorite. Oh, the game of what ifs!

FedererEx, thanks for the history--I really do not recall any of that. Wonderful to read.

Men

1. Tim Henman
2. Lleyton Hewitt
3. Andre Agassi
4. Marat Safin
5. Anyone who ever played Pete Sampras

Women
1. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
2. Monica Seles
3. Kim Clijsters
4. Martina Hingis
5. Anyone who ever played Steffi Graf

Men

1. Jim Courier - Great fighter, and super hot despite that an article I once read described his face as looking like it was reconstructed from a bad driver's licence photo
2. Marcelo Rios - Bad attitude, but great player to watch
3. Andre Agassi
4. Raphael Nadal - Maybe not one of my favorites ever (yet), but right now he's great for the game
5. Andy Roddick - But go buy yourself a better backhand

Women

1. Elena Dementieva - Even with *that* serve, she beat Davenport in the U.S. Open quarters. She's gotta be doing something right, and I love her athleticism
2. Martina Hingis
3. Anastasia Myskina - Great personality, on court and off
4. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
5. Kimiko Date - The reason I'm posting here at all, to second what FedererExpress said! I think the Wimbledon match was actually suspended due to darkness, but whatever, Kimiko had Steffi's number. It seemed like every ball that came off her racket painted a line. She definitely would have won the match, and she completely won me over that day.

Wow, thanks for those reminders about Date: I don't remember that match but it's cool to hear about it.

A tangent: Who do you think are the top five most talented players of all time? Not favorite or most slams or anything like that...but MOST TALENTED?

Even I have to think about that one...

Three of the top five most talented off the top of my head: Roger Federer, Gabriela Sabatini, Hana Mandlikova ...

I would add Marcelo Rios to my list as well and maybe Hicham Arazi, but I'll reserve the right to replace him at Number Five.

Interesting question. Most talented tennis player (not necessarily results). Here's my first stab:

Women:
1. Martina Navratilova
2. Hana Mandlikova
3. Gabriela Sabatini
4. Amelie Mauresmo

Men:
1. Roger Federer
2. John McEnroe
3. Marat Safin
4. Henri Leconte

Pretty much agree with Good Hands list but are we talking about the most talented of the open era or of all time? I presume it is from the open era and therefore I would have to include JHH in a Top 5 and perhaps Hingis.

In the men I would always have to include Sampras in a Top 5.

[ December 09, 2005, 03:13 PM: Message edited by: xanthos ]

G'day Xanthos (it's actually evening here...what do you all say at night?). Sampras was one of my first thoughts, but forgot him somehow as I was deciding on whether I'd rate Federer over McEnroe. So very good catch. Also did limit my choices to Open era. Couldn't decide about JHH or Hingis. Was also thinking about Goolagong. I always loved to watch her play for the beauty of her movement.

Good to see another Kimiko Date admirer on here (The Lob).

I loved Kimiko, back in the day. During that Wimbly semi, I remember the commentators saying that she was a slow starter because her coach didn't warm her up pre match or something and it took her about a set to get settled in. By the second set Kimiko was on fire and really taking it to Graf. I loved that cause no one gave her a chance at all. Too bad about that match delay, because she was really on fire.

So, are all of these favorites for everyone going to be added up to see whom the top five male and female players are for OutSports?

Sorry... I posted the same thing twice .

[ December 10, 2005, 03:02 PM: Message edited by: Cattledog ]

My top tennis pros are #1.Guillermo Vilas, #2.Pete Sampras, #3.Roger Federer, #4. Andre Agassis, #5. Brad Gilbert, #6. Chris Evert, #7.Virginia Wade, #8. Tracy Austin, #9 Monica Seles, and #10. Steffi Graf

I like that Vilas pick Dudsor. I've often wondered if it was a mistake to rate Connors and leave him off my list. In a lot of ways I think Vilas is a prototype for Nadal -- the muscularity of the body and the muscularity of the topspin.

[ January 19, 2006, 12:28 PM: Message edited by: Two-hander ]

Women:

1. Seles
2. Navratilova
3. Graf
4. Hingis
5. Capriati

Men:

1. McEnroe
2. Edberg
3. Agassi
4. Becker
5. Santoro - his style

I reckon I was the only one alive who always wanted Navratilova to beat Evert - far more exciting to watch than that tick tock bordeom with blonde hair.

Not at all Mike. Navratilova has always been one of my heroes.

Hey... board newbie... interesting topic, and here's my two cents...

My favourites, in no particular order, and based on a whole load of subjective factors rather than on overall results.

Men
***

Boris Becker - I'm too young to recall him first hand in all his scary ginger teen glory... but watching him in his later years I was always impressed by his athleticism and attacking play. Seems an interesting fellow off court also, which is a factor.

Goran Ivanisevic - So passionate and humorous on court... weight of personality highlighted by his long overdue Wimbledon win; I lived at the time with people who NEVER watched tennis yet every one of us were glued to the screen and cheering him that day, a feeling echoed in the UK press. Plus he's quietly sexy, in a strange, gawky way, which always helps.

Roger Federer - Obvious choice, but he's just fantastic to watch; has the same appeal as the Brazilian football team; he can win again and again, but does it with such style that people don't turn against his dominance.

Xavier Malisse - Love to watch this guy. Horribly moody and unpredictable, but when he's firing his game is flowing and beautiful. If he can find a way around his own brain and does not retire early, I predict a surprise one-time Grand Slam win in the late stages of his career... (ok, nobody will agree, but hey, am willing to take a gamble!)

Marat Safin - Even more of a loose cannon than Malisse... obviously has achieved much greater success, but still a terribly frustrating combination of brilliance and self-loathing. Perhaps the most interesting (to me) male character off the court, and pretty compulsive viewing on it. Personally, I think he'll never win another major... but it won't stop me watching every lunatic on-court combustion with great anticipation.


Women
******

Anastasia Myskina - Where to start... improbably, she's my all-time favourite player... perhaps in part because I've followed her career from such an early stage and watched her progress. Although she has a *major* case of Russian Head Trauma far too often of late for my frayed nerves to suffer; watching her look like a lost little girl while she destroys her game with hideous errors is painful viewing; I support her doggedly to the end. Often (I feel) unfairly represented by some negative news coverage (misinterpreted fed cup comments, etc,) she has continued to give a lot of time to good causes, fans and fellow players - even in the midst of 2005, where her game and family life often publicly unravelled. Her press conference after her 1st round loss at Roland Garros highlighted her dignity. I am, of course, a biased fan, but hey... the girl deserves some breaks

Martina Navratilova - Record speaks for itself and then some... superb player, great ambassador for gay sportsmen and women, unearthly athleticism, et al; praise, praise, praise, etc.

Arantxa Sanchez Vicario - The queen of the hustle! Frequently criticised for being (mostly) the dowdy bridesmaid, or merely the default challenger to Graf in a time of minimal depth to the women's game - I viewed her very differently. In my mind she stands out as a bright, sunny woman who made the very best of her talents and frequently found intelligent ways to win with comparatively limited weaponry. Hopefully history will appreciate her doubles and fed cup achievements in addition to the singles!

Martina Hingis - Ok... so Chucky is, perhaps, evil incarnate. But oh-so fascinating to watch! Prodigious technical talent without doubt, but it was her mind that I watched for (and thankfully, can do so once again) - the way she dissects her opponents and finds ways to mentally torture them is both cruel and brilliant. Also, if there is an award for "best" press conference quotes, she wins hands down. She will win another major (I vote the French) within 2-3 years IF she maintains the comeback and does not hide from the time and effort it will require from her.

Jenifer Capriati - My wildcard entry... can't put my finger on it, but there's an amazing, car-crash quality to her life and career that becomes compulsive. Not sure if she has another comeback left in her... but she's the sort of hard-headed creature that is capable in adversity. Hell, despite all the irate sulking, I like her a lot!

And there we go... I talk too much wink

B

Women:
Evert (started my love for Tennis)
Graf (Just amazing to watch)
Davenport (Followed since she was a kid)
Capriati (Great comeback, fun to watch)
Sanchez Vicario (Great fighter)

Men:
Edberg (Perfect in a lot of ways)
Connors (Pure entertainment)
Agassi (Amazing talent)
Wilander (Caused so much trouble and calm)
Courier (Ran forever and a good kid)

Honorable mention:
Keifer (fit)
Schuetler (just because,mmm)

Another topic we should have is best and worse tennis commentators. Does anyone else thing that Ryan (not sure of his name) ESPN other guy, looks a lot like Billy Jean King? At leat he did the other night during the LD v JHH match.