Waldner or Ma Lin
Discussion
Julio Torres Asked 11 years ago
Hi Alois and Jeff
Not too much days ago i see a question about the best players talking about specific strokes and i noticed most of the readers think JO Serve is the best serve. Why his serve is considered so good?? And why isn't considered as better, for example, Ma lin's serve that is too much spinier than JO's serve?
Alois Rosario Answered 11 years ago
Hi Julio,
I like the subtlety of Waldner's serve and the way he can change the spin and direction with ease.
Ma Lin's serves are definitely great as well but they don't have the flair of Waldner.
Thoughts on this question
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Ji-Soo Woo Posted 11 years ago
I was one of those who also voted Waldner as the best server. He had just such a smooth action, like an artist...so many variations as well with exactly the same beginning meant the opponent had no idea what was coming next.
As good a server as he was, however, he was an absolute god of serving back in the days when players were allowed to hide the ball.
I had no idea how dominant he was until I bought the DVD set for the 1997 World Championship in Manchester (where Waldner famously went through the entire tournment without dropping a set). I've never seen so many world class players look like hapless div 4 players in my local club as they tried in vain to return Waldner's serves - it was like they were seeing spin on a serve for the first time. One serve return pops up and goes long, the next into the net, and so forth. At times, his opponents seemed to just give up. Never seen anything like that before.
Ma Lin has a great serve, and in particular it complements his hyper-aggressive third ball killing style perfectly, but I doubt we'll ever see a server as dominant as Waldner again.
Julio Torres Posted 11 years ago
So, isnt spin the most important aspect in a good serve (and of course keeping ball low)??