A fixture in the ATP Top 100 for almost ten years, Victor Hanescu (who reached the last 16 at Roland Garros a couple of weeks ago) has found himself on the opposite side of the court to all the major players in recent years. Rather than asking him who was the strongest, we asked him to create his perfect player; a tennis machine.
Forehand:
“I would say Fernando Gonzalez’s for its strength. Roger Federer's is perfect technically, but Fernando's had so much power. On a good day, he was almost unplayable just with his forehand alone.”
Backhand:
“I will give two names. Amongst one-handed backhands, I’d nominate my friend, Andrei Pavel. He had such a pure stroke, typical of Romanians. Marat Safin had the best two-handed backhand. It was amazing what he could do. He could hit winners without even being set correctly.”
Service:
“John Isner has the serve that bothers me the most. His ball bounces high and has great variation. And, most importantly, he has a second serve that many players would be happy with as their first.”
Volley:
“Not easy to say, all the best have a good volley. But if I had to choose a volley specialist, then I would choose Michael Llodra. He's someone I enjoy watching; he's very spectacular.”
Mental:
“We often speak of Rafael Nadal, but I would say Roger Federer. I'm almost the same age than him and I have watched him evolve over the years. It's impressive to see this very nervous kid become such a quiet champion.”
Physique:
“Rafael Nadal. No need to look anywhere else. Just look at his matches. Playing against him, we feel it’s impossible to overwhelm him, physically.”
Intelligence:
“I would say Andy Murray, but I’m not sure. There are many other players who know how to manage their match tactics very well.”
Creativity:
“I loved Fabrice Santoro. He had moves that were his very own. Fabrice was a magician.”
Looks:
“No idea… I’d say myself. I have a pretty classic look but I think it suits me well.”
Girlfriend:
“Tough question. My wife isn’t going to like that (laugh)… Ok, Janko Tipsarevic’s wife is very pretty. And also, he hasn’t played as well since he got married.”
Interview by Alex Pedro
