In no particular order, here is my unofficial complilation of the nicest professional tennis players…
Grigor Dimitrov: The mild mannered Bulgarian looks you in the eye during a one on one interview or press conference and is, not seems, IS genuinely interested to answer your questions. There is no sense of being forced or getting it over with, because of ATP obligations, Dimitrov likes fans and he likes media. He takes selfies and thanks the person who asks. He even thanks the media. After his press conference after the Pella match at Citi Open, as he walked out of the room in front of me, I heard him say softly, “thank you.” But no reporter heard him. You won’t find a nicer man in pro sports.
Ricardas Berankis: Very similar to Dimitrov, when you approach him or talk with him, you can see he brightens, he’s happy to meet you, whether you’re a stranger or someone who spoke with him years ago. Very approachable, friendly and always nice.
Michelle Larcher De Brito: A fireplug on the court and a tenacious competitor, she’s a sweetie off the court, with an easy smile, engaging, happy personality, and always nice with fans and media.
Benjamin Becker: Another player who could qualify as the nicest guy in pro sports. He’ll walk around the grounds of a major or challenger, and if he’s not busy or in a hurry to practice, or whatever, he’ll engage in conversation and share interesting tidbits. You almost feel like you’re talking with another fan, not an established successful ATP pro.
Gilles Muller: Might be perceived as a bit intimidating given his height, serious expression, and powerful lefty attacking game, Muller is just a normal regular guy, approachable, friendly, nice, cool.
The Bryans: The brothers take seriously their role as ambassadors and value their relationship with fans. They will sign autographs for as long as it takes, even if it makes them a half hour late for a press conference. Have covered the Bs for over a decade and never once seen even a hint of arrogance from them. Approachable, kind, inspiring, friendly, they are truly a great credit to the sport. I witnessed them do a clinic in Delray Beach and schmooze and hobnob with fans on the court for long after the event ended – and they enjoyed every minute of it. They also are known to thank reporters for doing interviews with them and saying, “Thank you for all you do for tennis.” With their historical records, The Bryan Brothers will be an impossible duo to beat not only in terms of achievement but in the way they treat fans and media.
Sam Querrey: Sam’s a throwback gentleman from the bygone eras of tennis. Just a regular pleasant guy who happens to be able to play world class incredible tennis. You can’t say a bad word about Big Sam, who is always approachable and has a natural embedded grin on his face.
Dudi Sela: Another gem of a guy, well liked by all on the circuit, always straight forward and friendly, and appreciative of his fans. Four shirtless Dudi fans with big blue letters on their chests cheered Dudi on vs. Chung this week at Citi Open. Down a set and four to one in the second, the Dudi fans tried to pump up their man as he walked back out to the court, with a Lets go Dudi Let’s go chant. Dudi smiled and looked at them for a good fifteen seconds, before the first point, a look of appreciation and wonder and awe in his demeanor. A simple yet touching moment of pro tennis theater. Inspired by a special guy. Only a special person could inspire such an action from his fans.
Xavier Malisse: Always found X man to be super nice and friendly, every single time I approached him for an interview or quick chat, he always was friendly and hospitable, every single time. To a degree that he made you an instant fan, on the spot.
Christina McHale: Just a really really nice simple friendly girl from New Jersey. No drama, no BS, just a cool sweet young lady.
Kei Nishikori: Always a perfect gentleman, seems physically and mentally incapable of showing anger or saying a bad word. Especially nice with kids, but nice and easy with everyone, from selfie asking adult or deadline pressed reporter.
Ivo Karlovic: Has a somewhat scary countenance, but it’s a misperception. Dr Ivo is another good friendly respectful superstar who can convey a look of being too serious but he’s funny and witty and in my experiences, always been obliging for any interview request, whether scheduled or not.
Stan Wawrinka: Have interviewed Stan one on one at all stages of his career and he’s never changed despite the superstardom, still the same Stan now that he was in his early years, straight shooter, friendly, nice, a gentleman. And very well liked by the tennis media contingent, never heard even a remotely bad word said about Stan.
Alexander Dolgopolov: Another star player who is always nice to fans and media, win or lose. I once even had late dinner with him and a Japanese photographer at the US Open media cafeteria. Dolgopolov ate and chatted with us because the player’s café was closed before his late match ended. I have never seen a star player in the media cafe, in 20 years of covering pro tennis. What was Alex eating for dinner, you may ask? Yes, I still remember, a turkey sandwich.
Tim Smyczek: Just a class act, as fine a sportsman you will ever come across, on and off court, always has time for fans, media, whoever. Completely approachable, accessible, friendly, easy going, down to earth, gives the impression he is grateful and privileged to be a part of pro tennis and does his utmost best to be an ambassador for the sport. Just a natural good person, well liked and respected by everyone in the game. Even Federer gave Tim a personal acknowledgement of congrats when he qualified for his first US Open.
Honorable mention: Gilles Simon, Gael Monfils, Robby Ginepri, Denis Kudla, Mikhail Youzhny, Mike Russell, Milos Raonic, Caroline Wozniacki, Yen Hsun Lu, Alejandro Falla, Juan Martin Del Potro, Marin Cilic, Richard Gasquet, Leander Paes, Fernando Verdasco, Rafa Nadal, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Ana Ivanovic, Garbine Muguruza, Peng Shuai.
(Note: The author of this article has not met or interviewed every single player on the ATP and WTA tours, though he has interviewed hundreds of players since the 90s. This list is completely unofficial. Also, Scoop’s latest book “Facing Nadal: Symposium of a Champion” is available at amazon for $9.99.)
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Dan Markowitz · August 7, 2015 at 9:46 pm
Who are the mean guys and gals on the tour? I mean, how well do you really know these guys? When I interviewed Kyrgios at Indian Wells, I thought he was a real nice respectful guy, but obviously we’ve seen a more irascible side of him that he seems to be embracing.
Sock v Johnson playing a real close first set here at 9:45 pm EST.
Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2015 at 10:04 pm
Matosevic can be rough. Rosol and Janowicz have avoided fans at the US Open but that was years ago. Hewitt is not exactly engaging but he does take time to oblige all fans who seek a photo, the times I’ve seen him recently. No player can get away with being openly mean, not in this media age.
Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2015 at 10:06 pm
Sock vs Johnson figured to be close. I saw them play first round at Sarasota Challenger three years ago, they went to a tiebreak and Johnson eked it out somehow from being down, then Sock retired suddenly early in the second set, because it was hot. Both have improved very much since. They used to be practice partners training together but that’s changed, Sock trains in FL now with Isner and Johnson is LA based.
Dan Markowitz · August 7, 2015 at 10:49 pm
Sock just doesn’t have it, Scoop. He can score a nice win like the one over Gasquet yesterday, but his game doesn’t have enough strengths. His serve is not an ace machine. His backhand is solid but not spectacular. He doesn’t volley real well and his forehand has such a big windup he has to resort to chipping it at times.
I don’t think he has a burning desire to be great either. In Newport, he responded to a question I asked him about being so laid-back and carefree, saying he was “goofy.”
Goofy doesn’t win big titles. Also, he hires a coach who no one’s ever heard of, Troy Hahn. He’s not cut out for greatness. He’s nice player, good personality, but he’s not an outsized talent. He’ll be lucky if he has a Blake-like career.
Scoop Malinowski · August 8, 2015 at 7:46 am
He’s a Wimbledon doubles champion – that’s greatness right there. Even Lendl wishes he had a doubles title at the big W. Sock looked and played unbelievable vs Gasquet, I saw most of the match. Didn’t see vs Johnson, must’ve been some letdown. He’s an up and down player, capable of magic and dud losses. Johnson is no joke, he’s a solid #55 now and does well in DC, beat Isner last year. Johnson has shown he can beat Sock. Tough loss, also nice win for Johnson.
Coach Skelly · August 8, 2015 at 9:26 am
How you gonna leave Federer and Spadea off yo list!That whipping you took in DC must of dulled your senses!!:)
Scoop Malinowski · August 8, 2015 at 9:31 am
Fed is on the list as honorable mention ) and Spadea is an ex player, because he did not play Newport qualies. Yes I did lose to your Futures player, after playing an hour and a half of six baseline games earlier that morning with JG on har tru at Georgetown Prep, but I did beat you by default in our three month long hyped showdown, with your double ammo excuses of neck injury from a sleep walking fall and head cold issues. Coach Skelly knew he was gonna get smoked by Scoop )
Scoop Malinowski · August 8, 2015 at 9:36 am
I definitely rate Fed as super nice, he’s pulled in so many directions now as a global icon it’s hard to see him in a natural normal situation, everything is superstardom and centerstage now. But I do remember his younger days when he used to take the media out to eat or for a beer (according to biographer Rene Stauffer), when he treated the workers at US Open kindly (as one woman told me which I put the anecdote in my Facing Federer book), was told by ATP insider he does about 30 one on one interviews after winning a major, never complains or shows frustration, and treats every interview like it’s the first one, also talks with the interviewer off camera, not just all business, let’s get this over with ASAP. Fed is definitely very nice.
Hartt · August 8, 2015 at 10:11 am
Thanks for this article. Enjoyed reading these positive comments about the players. We fans don’t get many opportunities to see the players behind the scenes.
EddietheEagle · August 8, 2015 at 3:07 pm
These two (ex)-players are quite approachable in that they’re happy to throw a match for you if you ask (pay) them nicely.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/08/italian-tennis-players-banned-life-match-fixing-150807103733513.html
Dan Markowitz · August 8, 2015 at 3:11 pm
Cilic is looking like the 2014 US Open Cilic in taking 4-1 lead over Nishikori. He is such a fluid player for a big guy. The thing about Cilic is applies continual pressure. He’s not like a Murray who hits soft second serve. Cilic keeps on slinging arrows and that’s not easy to do against Kei who also is a constant supplier of pressure.
Cilic will even throw in a serve n volley which you won’t see Murray do. Courier on TC is saying his toss is significantly lower now than before Goran was his coach. I just like the way Cilic smothers his opponent by playing close to the baseline and hitting steaming ground strokes. He doesn’t play around. He’s not a defensive player the way Murray is at heart.
Scoop Malinowski · August 8, 2015 at 7:25 pm
Well, looky here, Stefan Kozlov and Tiafoe are in the finals of Kalamazoo, Tiafoe beat Opelka QF and Paul SF and Kozlov beat Fritz. Stefan will play Cincy qualis after Zoo. Harrison fell in Montreal qualies to Kudla in straights. The struggle continues for Harrison.
sharoten · August 9, 2015 at 6:12 am
No player is as accommodating these days as Rafa Nadal. Doesn’t matter if it’s after practice, after games, after press, in his hotel lobby, on the street, in airports and on planes, wherever, he will sign autographs and take selfies with fans for ages and ages. Both Federer and Djokovic practice off site as much as possible because they don’t like dealing with the crowds but Rafa is always there.
The backstage people love him too because he is so down to earth and friendly and respectful to everyone. I can’t tell you how many articles I’ve read which have interviewed the transportation people or the court booking people or the maintenance folks and they all say Rafa is so pleasant and polite. He still books his own courts and carries his own bags and whatnot so the staff at tournaments have an opportunity to interact with him and he gets rave reviews from them all. The ones that have been around for years say he hasn’t changed a bit from the young shy kid he was 12 or 13 years ago and celebrity and fame haven’t gone to his head at all.
Dan Markowitz · August 9, 2015 at 7:27 am
That’s not true he hasn’t changed. He seems to be a good guy from the interactions I’ve had with him, but starting a few years ago, he’s gotten much more wary of the press. I remember a press conference I attended at the US Open a few years ago just before the start of the tournament where I couldn’t believe how non-responsive he was. His answers were basically non-answers so it was very frustrating. It wasn’t that his command of English wasn’t so good because it’s improved. He just refused to say anything interesting. I remember Murray came in after Nadal and was much more civil and interesting.
Scoop Malinowski · August 9, 2015 at 8:41 am
Rafa is definitely an amazingly nice person. He once practiced on Armstrong at US Open during qualies and signed everything for everyone circling the court, then he didn’t sneak out the tunnel, he went over the barrier and went through the crowd, with no security or no entourage with him, by himself, and he signed more and took more photos. I still can’t believe he did that and would not believe it if someone told me, but he really did do that. I’ve seen him many times with chances to dodge kids but he waited for them and signed. Also very well liked by media. Thanks for sharing those details Sharoten.
JG · August 9, 2015 at 6:08 pm
Scoop, good hitting last week, look forward to next time. Did anyone see the Tiafoe-koslov match, 5 sets, koslov falling over with cramps but doesn’t give up, Tiafoe in 5 sets and gets direct entry to US open. Koslov is a fighter, most players would have given up ( he was down 2 sets).
Scoop Malinowski · August 9, 2015 at 8:09 pm
THanks JG, yes that was some excellent hitting, you were a lot tougher than Dan advertised lol, I saw the end of the fifth set from 2-1 on, what a compelling captivating battle it was. Very dramatic, won by a whisker by Tiafoe who seemed the physically stronger at the end. I feel both players deserve WCs after this, maybe Kozlov will get one too but his dad texted me that he has a WC into qualies. Who knows, maybe they will make exception, I think Kozlov deserves it more than someone like Ginepri or Russell who has never won a main draw US Open match.
Eric · August 10, 2015 at 1:13 am
Scoop I know your speaking of Russell but let’s not overlook ginepri making it to semifinals of 2005 open
Scoop Malinowski · August 10, 2015 at 7:39 am
Eric, I just mentioned last week about Ginepri making SF in 2005 where he lost to Agassi 64 57 63 46 63 in the fifth set. It’s a tough call, Ginepri’s done little in the last year and is pretty much done, while Kozlov can really use a WC and deserves it. But Ginepri was a quality classy American and also deserves a nice send-off, maybe a doubles main draw WC would be fair. Welcome to the site.
Dan Markowitz · August 10, 2015 at 8:31 am
Now wait, I haven’t played tennis with JG since high school so I don’t have any idea how he progressed as a player after that. As you say, Scoop, JG is now a tennis machine, very steady. I’m glad to hear it and would love to get on the court with JG sometime in the near future.
As for Kozlov getting a wildcard into the Open main draw, I say no way. I don’t even think Tiafoe should get one. This is pro tennis. Why should the 18’s junior champ in the U.S. get a wc into the main draw? Tiafoe had already turned pro as have Kozlov. In the true nature of amateurism, I don’t think either should have even been allowed to play Kalamazoo. We’ve all seen what happened to DY and then Harry because of all the wc’s they received early in their careers.
Let these guys get entry into the Open Qualis and see if they can qualify. By all means, I give a wc to Ginepri on his last Open and then I give the others to American guys who are showing good Challenger results, maybe Buchanan and Frantangelo.
JG · August 10, 2015 at 12:49 pm
Dan-maybe we can hit some at Harbor Island later this summer! Koslov and Tiafoe were essentially playing a money match–winner gets at least 40k for the chance to lose in the first round of the Open. Curious to know how many Boys 18’s Nationals winners have actually won a first round match in the Open, and also how many NCAA singles champs?
Dan Markowitz · August 10, 2015 at 1:48 pm
I’d love to get out on the Harbor Island courts, Jon. Let me know when you’re in town. I’m going to have to ask Sharko if he can give me a list of the Kalamazoo champs who’ve won first round Open matches. The NCAA champ doesn’t get a wild card into Open Main Draw I believe.
Coachskelly · August 10, 2015 at 3:40 pm
Russel deserves a wild card!At least into the qualies!
Scoop Malinowski · August 10, 2015 at 10:25 pm
Coach Skelly deserves a wildcard – into a match to get his behind whooped by Scoop )