"Can I have a career do over?"

[El Dude]

I vaguely remember starting a thread like this a year or two ago, but I think it was pre-Tennis Frontier and it is always a good topic to revisit.

Very simply, which players would you have liked to see a "career do over?" The ones that come to mind:

Marat Safin
David Nalbandian
Mario Ancic
Robin Soderling
Juan Martin Del Potro

All have had good (Ancic) to excellent (Nalbandian, Soderling) to borderline great Safin, Del Potro) careers, but all could have had substantially better careers. Safin and Nalbandian could both have been multi-Slam winners (I know Safin won two, but he could have at least been in the 4+ club, if not 6ish).

Ancic is the least known of the group and probably not even known to the casual fan, but he finished 2006 #9 at the age of 22 and looked like he would at least be a second tier Berdych/Tsonga type for years to come, but instead faced the dreaded mono that also struck Soderling at the peak of his career.

And then we have Mr. Del Potro, who won a Slam at the age of 20 and then was injured and then, when he came back, was never quite the same - although still probably the most dangerous non-Big Four player on tour in 2012-13. And of course he's been out for most of 2014.

Anyone else? What about going back further?

 

[Front242]

Nice thread. Tommy Haas for me first and foremost. And great choices with the above. I'd love to have seen Haas play his whole career relatively injury free (everyone has a few after all) without all the time off for his shoulder and every other bone he's broken. The guy has had disastrous setbacks.

Also Paradorn Srichaphan, who if it wasn't for his motorcycle crash in 2010 would likely have been a force a few more years. His crash left him with no choice but to retire with 2 broken hands and a wrist. Marcelo Ríos retired pretty young at 28 from constant back pain and was an exciting player to watch.

Fernando González knee problems left him with no choice to retire but he probably had 2-3 more years left if not for that. Nikolay Davydenko's wrist injury left him a mere shell of his former self which was a terrible loss to the tennis world. Mardy Fish was for me the most exciting US tennis player of recent years and his heart problems were a real shame as he was playing very well before they happened and I enjoyed his very aggressive all court game. Andy Roddick sadly ended his career pretty early too. James Blake's knee injuries were a shame as his brute force forehands were something else in his prime and even well after that but his movement was nothing like before since the knee problems so he was toast.

Janko Tipsarević has lost a lot of time with foot problems and though he's due to return last year it's gonna be very tough and he was a good player to watch a few years ago. Like Djokovic-lite. Hopefully he can come back and play a couple of years decent tennis still. Juan Caros Ferrero's career was destroyed by injuries and though he played till 32 he was nothing like his pre-injury years for a long time.

Gustavo Kuerten's career was cruelly ended and even with a dodgy hip he managed to beat Federer on clay which shows how good he was. Would love to have seen him play a good few years longer without all his injuries and finally Igor Andreev was once a pretty good player but injuries ruined him sadly. There are likely loads more but it's late here so I'll add more later on as I think of them.

PS: No doubt Nadal fans will say him but I'm not feeling too sorry for a guy with 14 slams compared to many above there who won either none or a fraction of that because of their injuries. But of course he's welcome in the list and may have won more too.

 

[Front242]

Before I go (definitely going to bed now) I'd add Nicolas Kiefer and Lleyton Hewitt in there too. Kiefer's late years were full of wrist and back problems and while Hewitt's still around he's all bashed up with bilateral hip replacements, multiple foot/big toe surgeries and its taken its toll on his movement which was always his asset.

 

[El Dude]

Good stuff, Front242.

The thing about Nadal is that he seems to play his best when he's struggling from behind and making a comeback, so we don't know if he'd actually have done better with fewer injuries as he might not have been as driven. In 2013, for instance, he was a man possessed - and I think it was because he had something to prove--to himself, to the world (probably to dad)--and also because he was smarting from Novak's dominance in 2011, and wanted to reclaim the title of Best Player on the Planet. He did and, not long after, started softening and dealing with injuries. It may also be that his injuries are a direct result of just how hard he plays, and that if he was less injured it could only have been at the expense of some of his intensity.

(Just so people don't accuse me of being biased, by a similar logic it is easy to think that Roger would have 20+ Slams by now if not for Rafa, but we don't know the effect having Rafa out there had on Roger's game against everyone else; knowing there was a young Spaniard who had his number might have actually inspired him to greater heights against the rest of the field. I'm not saying this is what actually happened, but my point is that we simply don't know. I think in both cases their records speak to their ability).

But I digress...

 

[Federberg]

^I think the greatest criticism against Roger is that he didn't adjust to counter Rafa, so I think that if Rafa had never been there it would all be gravy for him. I wouldn't wish that though. Even I would have found all the winning boring after a while!

Haas and Delpo are the two that spring to mind. Honorary nod to Soderling

 

[isabelle]

Nalby, Kuerten and Gonzalez

 

[brokenshoelace]

David Nalbandian.

 

[DarthFed]

Safin, Rios and Nalbs to me. Safin was way too talented to only have 2 slams to his name. If he got a do over and wasn't a party animal his career could've looked a whole lot different. Rios and Nalbs for obvious reasons. Honorable mention to Coria but it wouldn't be a career do over, more like a one match vs. a certain one slam wonder do over.

 

[Kieran]

Yeah, Coria is a good call - for that one match.

Safin, to get his head together, he could have been Federer's big rival until Rafa came along.

Nalbandian? I'm not sure what could be done, he just wasn't the guy who'd deliver big.

Haas, and all the guys Front mentioned who had injuries, it would be nice if they had careers without injury - obviously - but like Nalbandian, Haas, Kiefer, Shrichaphan etc, were never going to deliver big.

Agassi could have done with somebody strong in his corner earlier on, and Roddick blew it when he ditched Gilbert, IMHO. He was never going to be a multi-slam chap, but he was doing as well as he could hope for under Brad...

EDIT: Likewise Hewitt, for all his injuries - he was never the same after he inexplicably deserted Darren Cahill... :nono

 

[brokenshoelace]

Nalbandian? I'm not sure what could be done, he just wasn't the guy who'd deliver big.

Win a major. He was going deep in many of them, and blowing matches he had no business in losing. I don't think he would have ever had a stellar career, but the guy couldn't have won ONE slam? I think with a different mentality and dedication, he was definitely good enough to rack up at least two.

He didn't lose to Roddick at the US Open semi in 2003 because he wasn't good enough, he lost because he blew it. I definitely would have fancied him over Ferrero in the final. Losing to Baghdatis in the AO semis in 2006 was shameful, especially on the heels of winning the Masters Cup. I would have loved to see him against Roger in the final. I really think 2 slams is a fair projection for a motivated, healthy, dedicated Nalbandian. I still don't think he would have won more as, despite challenging Federer in most of their meetings and getting his fair share of wins, he was still playing in the Federer era and he was never going to be a serious threat to Roger's dominance, but he could have at least made more noise.

 

[shawnbm]

Safin with two and Kuerten with three (majors) should not be included. A do over for me is not to fix mental mistakes or to change your diet or dedication--you are stuck with that. So, for me it is injuries that sideline you in your prime where it looks like you really could've wrecked many on the tour. Thus, guys like Tommy Haas, Mario Ancic and Robin Soderling spring to mind immediately. All of them could have and likely would have done a lot more.

 

[Kieran]

I really think 2 slams is a fair projection for a motivated, healthy, dedicated Nalbandian.

I think if Nalbers had a big heart and a tighter backbone, he had the game. But the more I read the litany of failures - as you say, the Baggy match was criminal - he'd need a good psyche coach to get him to the level of winning majors. I absolutely agree with you that he lost matches not because he wasn't good enough, but just because he couldn't handle the consequences of winning them...

 

[Front242]

Whatever about slams at least many of the guys mentioned in this thread could've helped spread out the winners at the Masters events if not for injuries. As impressive as it has been for the same guys winning all the masters for what seems like forever, I'd have welcomed more diversity there.

 

[Haelfix]

Rios, Coria and Kuerten for sure b/c they happened to be coming into their prime in a power vacuum, yet b/c of injury and general foolishness, missed their golden opportunity.

The others mentioned are good ones.

I'd add Roddick to the list. He was a 3-4 slam talent that had the misfortune of playing against the worst matchup ever created for him, particularly with that early 2k forehand.

Patrick Rafter is another one that isn't often appreciated, b/c he missed the majority of his early years due to injury.

 

[tented]

Thomas Muster. He had a terrific career, of course, but it could have been better had he not been hit by a drunk driver, and sidelined for half a year.

Nothing is a given, but it's a fair bet that he would have won more titles in '89/'90 than he did. And who knows how that would have affected other aspects of his career, especially since the accident was relatively early? Greater success at that stage could have translated into greater success later on.

It's all speculative, of course, but doesn't a guy who got hit by a drunk driver deserve a do over?

 

[DarthFed]

I'm surprised to see Kuerten mentioned here. Yea injuries hurt a bit but he did win 3 RG's and I don't think he was ever going to win one off clay.

 

[Front242]

^ May have won more at Roland Garros though I reckon if not for the hip.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I'm surprised to see Kuerten mentioned here. Yea injuries hurt a bit but he did win 3 RG's and I don't think he was ever going to win one off clay.

I think it was because of his (and other clay courters from SA) complaints that Wimbledon
and all slams went to 32 seeds instead of just 16.

Actually his complaint was about the seeding pattern of Wimbledon that does not respect
the rankings. But, Wimbledon decided to accommodate him by extending the seeds to 32
instead of stopping playing around with seeds.

 

[Omair]

Would love to see Marcos Baghdatis do a career do over. He reached a career high ranking of 8 at just 21 years, I wonder what his career would have been like had it not been for nagging injuries.

Another player I would like to see is Gael Monfils. He is too talented to end his career without a grand slam title.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Would love to see Marcos Baghdatis do a career do over. He reached a career high ranking of 8 at just 21 years, I wonder what his career would have been like had it not been for nagging injuries.

Another player I would like to see is Gael Monfils. He is too talented to end his career without a grand slam title.

I don't think Baghdatis's career was derailed due to injuries (although he had his fair
share of injuries). The main problem was that he became a party animal and let his
career go down the drain.

Gael Monfils surely had lot of injuries that disrupted his career almost routinely, but
being a clown also played a role there.