The 6 Greatest Hard Courters of the Open Era | Thebigtip

The heart of the North American tennis season is apon us, so I think it's time to take a look at the greatest hard court players of the Open Era.

I will take a look at the greatest male champions first, analyzing their achievements, games, and what made them great. In the next article I will focus on the great women hard court players of the Open Era.

There have been some dominant players during the Open Era, especially since the late 1970s to mid 1980s, when most grass tournaments were pulled up and replaced with low-maintenance hard courts. The rise of hard court tennis coincided with the introduction of graphite rackets and the transition to the modern power game.

The Australian Open is the most high-profile example of this. They switched from grass to rubber 'rebound ace' hard courts in 1987 and then switched to a medium-paced plexicushion hard court in 2007. These are the six men that made the hard court their own.

Ivan Lendl

Ivan Lendl is a player that has consistently been presented as the 'Father of Modern Tennis' throughout the media in recent times. I can say for sure that the way hard court tennis is played today can certainly be traced back to Lendl.

Lendl won over 20 hard court titles in his career. He’s up there with the very best of the Open Era. Ivan got to eight consecutive US Open finals between 1982 and 1989, winning three straight between 1985 and 1987, defeating John McEnroe, Miroslav Mecir, and Mats Wilander.

It's also fair to say that Lendl’s losses in US Open finals were to some of the best players of the Open Era in Jimmy Connors, McEnroe, Wilander, and Boris Becker. 

Lendl also won two Australian Opens on rebound ace and was a regular winner on the American hard court circuit.

Most important of all is Lendl’s influence on how tennis is played both tactically and technically, particularly on hard courts. Lendl had a very strong and big first serve that he used to set up his points very well by getting a short reply, which he could use to dominate the rally or end the point with a short ball he could attack. Lendl also scored many aces with that serve.

Lendl also changed his game significantly early on in the pro tour. When Lendl came on the circuit, he was initially known for a very good slice backhand—similar to many players from the 1970s who used wood racquets.

However, Lendl soon developed a superb topspin backhand, which he used to stay in rallies and to hit as passing winners when attacked by the many attacking players of that era.

With that topspin backhand, Lendl was able to cover mainly the backhand side of the court because Lendl possessed great athleticism and had the best running forehand during the 1980s and early 1990s, which he used to go down the line or crosscourt.

It’s the forehand that Lendl was most famous for, as it’s considered one of the best strokes in history. With the tactic of covering the backhand side of the court, Lendl could run around it and hit punishing inside-out forehands crosscourt or forehands down the line.

Basically a good length ball could become a fairly short ball in those circumstances, and it’s that level of tactics which made Lendl stand out as a superior tennis player. It’s also a tactic that was adopted by many great players after Lendl. However, the key to that strategy was his athleticism to quickly cover the right side of the court should the opponent go down the line to his forehand.

Lendl was also credited for taking fitness and training methods to a new level in tennis and was one of the first players to get a freshly strung racquet every time new balls were called by the umpire to take advantage of fresh strings.

Andre Agassi

Andre Agassi holds the record of the most hard court titles won with 46. In his career, Agassi won 60 titles, so three-quarters of his titles were on hard court! That ensures Agassi is one of the very best in the business.

In 1995, Andre won seven titles, all on hard court (including rebound ace).

Agassi won the Australian Open four times. In 1995 he won it in his debut there, defeating Pete Sampras in the final (who was defending champion). Agassi then won the title in 2000, 2001, and 2003.

Agassi also played in six US Open finals, winning in 1994 and 1999 and getting to the final in 2005 as a 35-year-old, losing to Roger Federer. Agassi also holds the record of winning Miami five times.