Best clay court player ever in tennis
Clay tennis is a very special business. Endurance and Topspin are essential. Who are the ten best players on that surface in tennis history?
12. Stanislas Wawrinka
One French Open victory in amazing fashion against Djokovic and another final in Paris, which he lost to the clay court GOAT. Not bad!
- Topspin score: 80%
- Stamina score: 95%
- Movement score: 80%
11. Gaston Gaudio
Great run for his only Grand Slam title in Paris. A sloppy genius.
- Topspin score: 90%
- Stamina score: 85%
- Movement score: 90%
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10. Carlos Moya
Another one of the Spanish clay court armada that dominated Paris in the 90s…one time slam winner, of course in France.
- Topspin score: 90%
- Stamina score: 90%
- Movement score: 90%
9. Jewgeni Kafelnikov
The Russian won the French Open in 1996, Melbourne in 1999 and Olympic gold in Sydney 2000. His tennis game was very nice to watch, powerful and accurate groundstrokes on both wings.
- Topspin score: 80%
- Stamina score: 90%
- Movement score: 90%
8. Sergi Bruguera
Two-time Roland Garros champion in the 90s, not much else on other surfaces, but two slams ain`t that bad.
- Topspin score: 95%
- Stamina score: 95%
- Movement score: 90%
7.Novak Djokovic
Insanely strong baseline player and already a hall-of-famer. For many years he was chasing the French Open to make his career complete. Not too easy, thinking about his main rival. He was close to beating him for three consecutive years and in 2016 he finally accomplished his dream and lift the Roland Garros trophy!
- Topspin score: 90%
- Stamina score: 100%
- Movement score: 100%
6. Juan-Carlos Ferrero
The Spaniards nickname was “Mosquito” due to his quick movement. His game on clay was a joy to watch, very clever and precise shots. Won his favourite slam in 2003 and reached the no. 1 spot shortly after that.
- Topspin score: 95%
- Stamina score: 95%
- Movement score: 95%
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5. Roger Federer
He might actually be the second best clay court player of all times, we´ll never quite know. In his prime he basically just lost to one player on that surface. So he only won the French Open once, which -given his overall resume- is not that much. But his clay court game is probably underestimated because of that.
- Topspin score: 95%
- Stamina score: 95%
- Movement score: 100%
4. Thomas Muster
The Austrian player was the strongest clay courter in the mid-nineties, won the French in 1995 and could win the record number of 12 tournaments that same year.
- Topspin score: 97%
- Stamina score: 97%
- Movement score: 90%
3. Guillermo Coria
Its a shame he never won Roland Garros. The Argentinian was so talented, in fact was called “El Magico”, had such a creative game. I remember a fantastic duel against Nadal in Rome…choked away the slam against Gaudio.
- Topspin score: 98%
- Stamina score: 90%
- Movement score: 95%
2. Gustavo Kuerten
Guga with his admirable one-handed backhand won Roland Garros three times, he was just born for that tournament. Would have been so interesting to see him against a certain Spaniard there…
- Topspin score: 99%
- Stamina score: 95%
- Movement score: 90%
1. Rafael Nadal
The clay court MONSTER, clearly the undisputed GOAT on that surface. Ten French Open titles and only one defeat in Paris speak volumes here. His crazy topspin simply cannot be handled in Bo5 matches.
- Topspin score: 100%
- Stamina score: 100%
- Movement score: 100%
I guess you`ll agree with the number one. But do you think there are others that should be considered amongst the best clay court players ever?
