ATP World Tour: Top 5 Serves

In the modern era, the advancement of racket technology has heightened the level of significance of serving. This pattern holds especially true on the men's side of the game.   

It is often the case that the player who obtains the initial break in a set will go on to win the set.

If you are not able to pack a punch with your serve, don't expect to be competing with the top guys. 

In the last several years, if you examine the players who have established themselves in the top 10, they all have the potential and ability to overpower their opponents in various aspects of the game including the serve (except for Ferrer). 

Guys like Tsonga, Berdych, Del Potro, Fish and Soderling have really given the big four a run for their money.

In this slideshow, I am going to evaluate the five players I believe have the most powerful and intimidating serves on the ATP World Tour.   

As I anticipate a possible debate on the last player, please feel free to comment and leave your opinion on any aspect of this list.

NOTE: Since many people have been wondering why I do not have Federer on this list, I will clarify.  The reason Federer is not on here is because the primary consideration I gave was power.  In regards to this, while Federer does possess arguably the most varied/effective serve on tour, other players compensate with tremendous injections of pace.  Guys like Berdych, Karlovic, Roddick, and Dent all possess serves that are more powerful than Roger's.

1. Ivo Karlovic

Standing at an intimidating 6'10", Ivo Karlovic not only possesses absurd height differentials over almost every opponent he faces, but he also has a dynamite serve to back it up.

Karlovic is one of the few players who is literally swinging down into the service box when he executes his serve.  

Utilizing a technically flawless and physically effortless motion, the Croat leaves his opponents off balance and guessing on nearly every first serve.   

As a noble testament to Karlovic's lethal serve, on March 5, 2011 in Davis Cup play, Karlovic hit the fastest ever recorded serve at 156 mph (251 km/h).

In a separate Davis Cup match against Radek Stepanek in 2009, Dr. Ivo hit an unprecedented 78 aces to give himself sole custody of the most aces in a match record.

Unfortunately for Karlovic, his ground game is far inferior to his serving prowess, thus explaining his lack of major success.  

2. Andy Roddick

Andy Roddick beautifully combines all of the necessary elements in producing a world-class serve.   

Roddick possesses a consistently well-placed toss in regards to direction and height.  In addition, Roddick is able to generate a significant amount of racket head speed.  

In contrast from the serves of Federer and Djokovic, Roddick is not making the classic full loop that most players make on their serve.  Rather, Roddick sets the racket above his head, proceeds to finish the loop and goes on edge, whereas Federer and Djokovic take the racket across their feet, make an "L" in the back and then go behind their heads.   

It is impressive that Roddick is able to produce a serve of this caliber considering his motion requires a far greater injection of energy than that of a Federer or Djokovic.

If you ever hear Andy Roddick discuss his serve, he is always keen to discuss his legs and frequently sights his lower body strength as a key factor in being able to obtain the power he has on his serve. 

Speaking to that end, if Roddick failed to implement his legs in his serve, a 30-40 mph decrease would be seen, which truly speaks to the importance of the legs in the serve.

Andy Roddick's serve has propelled him to multiple Grand Slam finals in which he captured his lone Grand Slam title at the 2003 U.S. Open.  

If it weren't for a guy named Roger, chances are Roddick would have more Slams to talk about. 

3. John Isner

One would be extremely hard pressed to find a tennis fan who doesn't remember the historical encounter between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut at 2010 Wimbledon.   

Spanning the course of three days and over 11 hours, the heart and grit demonstrated from both players undoubtedly presented itself as one of the greatest spectacles ever to take place on a tennis court.

The fifth set score was 70-68.  This means John Isner held serve 69 straight times. 

In the context of an assumed six-game set (the winner of the set wins six games), Isner held serve for 11.5 sets.  This is the equivalent of two five-set matches and the first set and a half of another match. 

And he did all of this while attempting to break Mahut's serve for the equivalent of 11.5 sets.

Isner's 6'9" stature allows him to swing down onto the court as he maximizes spin, pace and direction.  

Breezing through service games allows Isner to focus on breaking serve, and as many of his opponents have learned the hard way, a break against Isner will often cost you the set.  

In supplement, Isner's serve prevents his opponents from developing a pattern or rhythm as the points are augmented and there is no consistency in terms of where Isner is hitting his serve.

4. Juan Martin Del Potro

Vicious.  Unrelenting.  Fierce.  

All of these words come to mind when describing the game of Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro.  

After winning four straight tournaments in 2008 and dropping only two sets, Del Potro continues to strive and fulfill his abundant potential. 

A key element of the Argentine's game is his cannon serve.  Del Potro, like Isner, is able to effectively use his height and swing down onto the court.   

Del Potro has an exceptionally high ball toss and brings his feet together as he serves, propelling himself into the ball.    

Spin and variety are not lacking from Del Potro's serve as he is able to effectively mix it up, giving his opponents various looks on the serve.  

The serve of Del Potro has proven a demon to the likes of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, most notably seen in the 2009 U.S. Open where Del Potro took out Federer and Nadal en route to his lone Grand Slam title.    

5. Carsten Ball

I am sure I will get a lot of dissent and odd looks with this selection, but I am fully prepared to defend Carsten Ball.

For most who are unfamiliar with Carsten Ball, he is a 6'6", 24-year-old Australian who has seriously underachieved throughout his career thus far.  

If you were to watch several games of one of Ball's matches, you would be astonished at the amount of speed and flare this lefty is able to produce off his serve.

Ball consistently tests the resolve of the radar gun, packing in serves over 130 mph on a regular basis.   

After recently watching Ball's 7-6 7-6 victory against former top 10 player Robby Ginepri at the Dallas Challenger, I am convinced this guy has one of the most fluid, powerful and intimidating serves on the ATP World Tour.

Unfortunately for Ball, the rest of his game falls far below his serve.  Often looking to get to the net, Ball is uncomfortable grinding points out from the baseline—especially from the backhand side—and fills the stat sheet with exorbitant amounts of unforced errors.  

In addition, Ball's first serve percentage often dips down to undesirable levels at which his opponents begin taking advantage of every second serve they can get.   

If Ball is ever able to put all the pieces together, watch out.