Who do you think was/is the tennis player with the most will?

Question

to me i think pete sampras : us open 96 QF

Answer 1

No doubt! Rafael Nadal!... you can see his focus just when he enters the court. His eye is just on fire and you can never see him budge a bit.. even the scoreline is against him his body language and state of his mind which is to win.

Answer 2

I'm not just listing those who showed most will during a match, but always in their tennis and are known for it.

Men:

Agassi, Muster, Rafter, Nadal, David Ferrer, Fernando Gonzalez

Women:

Sanchez Vicario, Graf, Henin, Navratilova, Coetzer, Capriati, Dementieva, Jankovic

Answer 3

For active male players, I think Rafa.

For female players, Sharapova!

Answer 4

I think it was Arthur Ashe.

Please read his biography and you'll see why.

Answer 5

It changes throughout the seasons. It really depends on which year you are talking about because different players are motivated by different things at different times. I think some players are more natrually talented than others but other players have greater will and drive to succeed. There are few players that actually have both. Serena Williams is a good example of one though.

But right now, I would say the player with the most will to be the best that they can is Rafael Nadal. Clearly he is the best in the world on clay (as he completely dominated Roger Federer at the French), but that's not good enough for him. He really wants to win Wimbledon and the fact that he puts in so much effort at Queens and can make it to the finals two years in a row is a testiment to how important it is for him even though grass is not his best surface. Though he hasn't come out and said it yet (because he has so much respect for Federer), I think he also really wants to overtake Federer as the number one in the world.

You can tell that Nadal has more drive than any other player just by watching his playing style and how he never ever gives up on a point. About 5 or 6 years ago, I would have said the same thing about Lleyton Hewitt, but now that isn't so much the case with him. I do think that Roger Federer has a lot of drive in him still but I also think he fears Rafael Nadal particularly on clay which hinders his performances against him. Novak Djokovic is determined to prove that he should be considered as good as (if not better than) Nadal and Federer but also fears Nadal. Roddick fears Federer and plays with no confidence against him.

On the women's side the player with the most will varies from season to season. Last year it was Serena Williams for the first part of the year, then rotated to Justine Henin. Towards the end of the year, Serena became intimidated by Henin (after her loss at the French) and it showed up in her performance at the US Open later in the year. This year I would say that most of the top women are intimidated by another and therefore the players that showcase the most will and drive are always going to be shifting.

Right now, I would say that Maria Sharapova is the player who most wants to be world number one, but Serena Williams is the player who most wants to win slams. Venus Williams seems to have the most drive at Wimbledon (where she thinks she is the best in the world and can beat anyone) but she is intimidated by Serena at the other events and the pressure and expectations placed on her to last long enough in a tournament to meet her sister is great enough (not to mention the pressure of beating her). Now that Henin is gone, I don't think that Serena fears any other player in the field, however Sharapova is intimidated by both of the Williams sisters because she has lost to them on many important occasions.

As long as a player can be intimidated by another player, will and drive are thrown out the window. But overall, the players with the most will are Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova.

Answer 6

i agree with gabriela v's answer.

i'd also put justine into that mix as well. dealing with her mother's death....her family's estrangement i think it made her so mentally strong to win. and then getting beaten so much by the williams sisters and davenport the prior years,she made it a will to get herself into top shape and to get stronger so she could handle the overwhelming power. and what followed(particularly that us open win)was somebody who became one of our best competitors. somebody who had such a disadvantage in height(as vicario) and natural power the 'big babes' had,that had overtaken tennis,speaks much will to me.

Answer 7

For me, will is not necessarily relentlessness on the court or not giving up on a point.  I'd say that it is ability to make yourself do your best when there is adversity.  I'm less inclined to count the adversity that is an opponent to beat.  Everyone has to have an opponent.  

Nadal's style is to go out there and grind every point.  That's just how he plays.  That doesn't mean will.  Now if he came in to the French open with a serious ankle injury and managed to win the first few rounds while he was in agonizing pain I'd call that a lot more will.  To make that effort and show the world that you can fight not just when everything is going fine.  

But to answer your question I'd say of all the people that I've been able to watch so far it would have to be Sampras.  I've seen a highlight of him vomiting on the court from exhaustion or sickness and then coming out and winning the match.  When his coach passed away we saw him break into tears on the changeover.  The next serve he hit right after that was an ace.  How about 2002?  Sampras was beaten by George Bastl of all people and he was written off.  Everyone including myself figured that he was done winning Grand Slams and would retire shortly.  Then in spite of all that negativity, Sampras found a way to win that one more grand slam at the US Open and retire on the best note he could.  

I can't speak to older generation players like McEnroe or Arthur Ashe but of the ones that I've seen I like Sampras' will the most.  

Others with strong wills: Agassi, Justin Gimelstob(believe it or not but I've seen him play live...), Nadal, Federer, Navratolova(came out of retirement for a year or two recently!)

Answer 8

of all the players i've followed since i knew about tennis, the ones who really left an impression on me were agassi and seles...  at some point in their playing careers they went through very tough times because of injury/personal struggles.. but they were able to make it back up. even in the matches they played, they showed a lot of courage. i found the two of them to have the toughest resolve on and off court

Answer 9

david ferrer.he may not be the greatest tennis player, he is fairly short and lives in the shadow of nadal. he almost gave up tennis for good when he was 18 because he didn't enjoy it anymore (his coach used to lock him up in the supply closet for hours) but after a week of working in construction he came back. ferrer dosen't have any spectacular shots but when the match goes to 5 set he will be able to win fro his mental ability and his will to succeed

Answer 10

in recent times i would have to say justine henin. she was, as was her game, unique. in the first sense of the word, any tennis player fortunate enough to make the top ten is unique. justine herself epitomized uniqueness. her relationship with her coach was like no other, her relationship with her family until recently was like no other. she let very few people into her innermost life and for those who she let in, they were very fortunate. she never gave up. she was a fighter, a winner. her will to win was for herself and for herself only, she had nothing to prove to anyone else. i believe that helped her. and as great as it was for her to reunite with her family i believe that in the end it tainted her tennis. tennis was no longer #1 in her life. i've never seen a player like her. last year especially she was the player with the most will to win and to win big.

Answer 11

with no doubt , Rafael Nadal , the guy IS amazing , i'm a big tennis fan for so many years , yet no one showed relentless in the field as this man , i mean u think the game is over but out of no where he reaches the ball and win the point , pete is good and believe it or not roger federer is the best player of all ages , but for the most will no one can beat nadal

Answer 12

In women I would say that possibly Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. She became a formidable tennis star(even making it to the number 1 spot) in the era of tennis greats like Graf and Seles,even Navratilova. In her day women in Spain didn't do sports all that much and she had no role models to follow.Tennis was strictly a minority sport in her country.

She was quite short with short arms and legs in a sport where this is a definite handicap. She overcame everybody's scepticism(Navratilova said someone like her would never make it !) to become a real champion,winning her first Grand Slam at 17 against Steffi Graf!! She was famous for her doggedness and sheer will power - her willingness to go after every ball and fight back from behind were legendary.

In men,I'd say that Arthur Ashe's personal history was a story of overcoming a lot of prejudice and circumstances that stood in his way. He's my choice for men.

That's for the past. Of today's players the ones who show the most will power ON COURT are Nadal and possibly the NEW Safina we have seen at the FO last week.