Fernando Gonzalez, dont you think he has the hardest forehand on the tour?

Question

I enjoy watching Gonzalez play very much, he puts so much power on his shots, its unbelievable!! I just read Federer saying that he thinks Gonzalez has one of the hardest forehands on the tour. What do you think about his game, and do you think he has chances today??

Answer 1

He stands a great chance of winning. If he keeps his head and plays his great clay court game,then Fed could find himself in trouble.

If Fed comes out of this one alive(assuming that Gnzlz.plays well),he wil be a formidable opponent for the Final!

It's not only his forehand - he plays well on this surface!

Answer 2

ya

Answer 3

Yea Gonzalez has one of the hardest forehands on tour, no doubt.  I still like Federer's better though because of the sick angles and spin he creates. Oddly enough, I just read that Gael Monfils struck the single fastest ever forehand recorded.  Gonzalez has a great opportunity against Fed, but he has to play his A+ game to knock of Fed.  Fed can beat him playing his B game.

Answer 4

I think he does have chances today. Roger better play his best he cant afford to make mistakes against Gonzalez. I say this Roger`s first real challenger in this tournament. Fernando has a brillant forehand if he can keeps his errors to a minimum then sure why not, he could take roger. I mean anything is possible in tennis. Although i do see Roger coming through maybe 3 tight sets or 4 sets.

Vamos Rafa x*x

Answer 5

No, I think James Blake has the hardest forehand in the men's game.

Answer 6

he definitely has the fastest/strongest hit forehand.

Federer and Nadal have the best forehands though.

I think his game is hot hot hot when it goes off, and is exciting to watch. I think he will lose:)

Answer 7

Federer has also said the same thing about James Blake. The bottom line is there are certainly 5 or 6 players on the tour that could make the claim for best forehand, but under what criteria do you judge exactly what "best" means.

The reality of the situation is Gonzalez and Blake might hit the ball harder than Federer off the forehand side, but neither of them is as consistent with it nor can they hit winners from as many angles and positions as Federer with that stroke. Plus they all use different techniques for hitting the forehand with such power.

Federer uses an extreme eastern grip and has such great reflexes and racket head speed that he is able to generate power from positions that other players couldn't. Gonzalez has a much larger backswing than the other players and winds up to hit the forehand which allows him to throw all of his weight into the shot. So even heavy topspin shots from Gonzalez still come in at a high pace which results in a devistating shot. Blake combines brute physical strength with his ability to take the ball early (on the uprise). This not only gives his shot extra power but also takes time away from the opponent to react to it.

Hardest hit forehand could be either Roger Federer, Fernando Gonzalez or James Blake. We would actually have to see the radar speed gun results for them to determine that however since they all seem to hit it incredibly hard. There are also players like Jo Wilfried Tsonga, Fernando Verdasco, Gael Monfils and Andy Roddick who also have killer forehands (but less consistently). If it's speed combined with consistency and technique, then Federer easily has the best forehand in the game.

Arguments could also be made for Rafael Nadal who has the "heaviest" forehand in the game with the most extreme topspin and is very consistent or even Nikolay Davydenko who doesn't hit the ball as hard as some of the others but takes the ball so early and hits with such good technique that his forehand can end up being a more forceful shot than a more powerful player can muster. Pound for pound, Davydenko probably has the best forehand in the game.

About Gonzalez's game: I think he is a tremendous talent but I also think that he is hit or miss in terms of overall consistency throughout the year. He is definetely a "zone" player meaning that when he is playing his best tennis, very few people can beat him (particularly on clay and slow hardcourts). Gonzalez has enough all-around talent that he doesn't have to depend on playing "high risk" tennis like players like James Blake. But when he is not in the zone, he becomes very inconsistent and thus can be easily beaten by inferior players. I do think that his game has come along way in recent years though. He has added much more variety (particularly in his backhand) that has allowed him to go from more of a high risk player to someone capable of constructing points. The question is, can he do this over an extended period of time during a typical season. So far, the answer has been no.

Answer 8

You know, I always said he seemed to have the hardest, most powerful forehand, groundstrokes, in the game, and should have won more.

For some reason when certain players hit, watching them, it seems they hit it so very hard, but if their opponents are gettign it back and winning points, matches, goes to show whacking the ball means nothing. Many players, leisurely players these days feel they have to whack the ball to succeed, but if they cant keep the ball in play what is the sense. As for Gonzalez, as well as Ferrer, they seem to really pound those balls though. With his ability, power, shot making, I think he can certainly beat Federer, being he is totally on his game.

Answer 9

Oh yea, the guy have one of the biggest forehands out there.

By the way i'm watching his game and he already is a set ahead.can he really pull an upset? U bet..