Why Is Carlos Moya Not In The Hall of Fame?

[scoop]

By Scoop Malinowski

Carlos Moya was ATP World No. 1 in 1999, he won the French Open (1998) and Davis Cup. Moya won twenty ATP World Tour singles titles overall.

Moya’s last major appearance was losing in the first round at the 2009 Australian Open. The five year period has lapsed but Moya has still not been nominated for the Newport Hall of Fame election ballot.

Moya’s credentials and accomplishments compare or exceed inducted Hall of Famers like Michael Chang, Andy Roddick and Gabriela Sabatini, among others.

Is it just an oversight – or is there some sort of subconscious bias against clay court titans, particularly Spanish Grand Slam champions? Juan Carlos Ferrero (one Roland Garros title, No. 1 in the world), Sergi Bruguera (two Roland Garros titles) and Alberto Costa (one Roland Garros title) have not yet been nominated to appear on the Hall of Fame ballot.

Carlos Moya was a super champion and a credit to tennis. Richard Krajicek, the 1996 Wimbledon champ said this about the exceptional sportsmanship of Costa and especially Moya: “In general, he’s very disciplined. That’s also what I saw with Costa, Alberto Costa, he’s also very mature for his age. Even now, sometimes I go crazy on the court. Then you could see my emotions much better. These guys are unbelievable. I don’t know about Costa, but Moya I’ve seen before. He’s a very fair player. When I look at him, he says the ball is wide, I really believe him. Very fair. He would never, no matter what the score is, would never take a point. The way he behaves on the court, I think that is a very big plus for the Spanish, those two. I don’t know about the other ones very well. But, those two, I really see how well they are on the court. That’s a very big plus for them.”

Carlos Moya deserves to be honored with a Hall of Fame ballot nomination.

 

[britbox]

Chang tends to get called out pretty often in these debates, rightly or wrongly. I don't think Moya had a better career than Chang personally. If one's of an opinion that Chang shouldn't be in then neither should Moya. However, I don't have a problem with Michael or Roddick being in and Moya will probably get in at some point

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

I think every player who has held the world no. 1 ranking should be in the Hall of Fame. The BEST in the world in anything and especially tennis is an incredible achievement. Moya and Chang were credits to the sport and they both belong in the Hall of Fame.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Dan, are you saying there is Asian privilege to help a player get into the Hall of Fame? Does that mean there is a slight bias against Spanish clay courters by the Hall? Is there also a South American privilege? And would that advantage help Marcelo Rios be nominated to the ballot? Roger Federer said he would elect Rios to the Hall of Fame. Does Roger Federer support privilege outweigh Asian privilege? If Sabatini is in, Moya should be in. Case closed.

 

[Haelfix]

Pretty sure it's just a matter of time. Moya gets unfairly grouped with a lot of the spanish clay courters, who were viewed as athletic guys who weren't necessarily pure tennis players. Just grinders...

The problem with that is that he was a hell of a good hardcourt player too, and could go deep on the fast stuff as well. The big back injury derailed his career a bit, so he didn't quite have the sustained longevity of someone like Chang, but his early career was definitely HOF worthy.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Moya was lethal in IPTL last year he dominated. Also saw Moya hit at US Open on court 17 with his IPTL teammate Melo and Moya looked better. Could still be top 50 now, super fit, moves well, no sign of age. Moya absolutely should already be in the Hall of Fame.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Yes Joe my secret agenda is to get Rios into the Hall of Fame. I bribed Federer at the US OPen press conference to say he would vote Rios into the Hall of Fame. Next up I'm going to start bribing members of the nominating committee and also Djokovic, Nadal and Murray and Serena to also say they would vote Rios into the Hall of Fame. You have uncovered my scheme

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Duke, Kafel must go in to the Hall soon. He did it all, two majors, Davis Cup, Olympic gold, doubles majors...but no Masters Series titles which is surprising. Kafel is the most glaring omission and he should get in within the next five years.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Chazz, bad loss for Fritz. He is really hungry and determined to win a title, any title, even going to Asia to try to get one for his confidence. He's with his dad this week, no USTA coach. Fritz is struggling with his confidence.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Disagree Catherine. You have not been to Newport. It's a special place and the highest honor an athlete can receive. Safin said in his speech that he made a lot of mistakes in his career and one of them was never having gone to Newport before. There is no greater honor than a tennis figure being recognized and honored with induction to the Hall of Fame.

 

[El Dude]

There is no clear line as to what a Hall of Famer is, except for those who are already there. So you start with the question: Are there inferior players in the HoF?

I would also add the caveat: That the Hall of Fame should be primarily--if not solely--based upon career accomplishments, not how good a given player was at their very best.

Also: Let's put aside "Masters Players" that were inducted decades after playing, and look only at recent players. Let's also ignore those players who were clearly greater than Moya and Rios (e.g. those with 6+ Slams). Let's also only look at men, and those who primarily played singles.

The only players in recent years that I think are comparable or inferior to Moya is Yannick Noah. I'd rate Roddick, Safin, Kuerten, Chang, Rafter, Courier, Nastase, etc, all as superior. To find other players who were equal or lesser, you have to go back to players like Ralston, Osuna, McKinley, etc - all of whom were partially--if not largely--elected for their doubles careers.

So the question: Were Moya and Rios greater players--in terms of career accomplishments--than Yannick Noah? I think Moya probably was, but maybe not Rios. That lack of a Slam is just too large. But Moya matches up pretty well.

Does that mean Moya should be in? Maybe. But it does water down the Hall of Fame. Maybe a Hall of Famer should be clearly better than Noah, and while I think Moya's career was greater (he was #1, in addition to similar titles), it wasn't substantially better.

And Rios? He is a bit of a tricky one, because he was a much better player than what he actually accomplished. But as good as he was for a few years, it was only a few years. I don't see him as a Hall of Famer; there are just too many players that his election would open the door to.

 

[Front242]

Rios will mostly be remembered for this shot.

 

[Haelfix]

Rios is definitely not HOF worthy. Moya and Kafelnikov probably are though, but yes like Chang they are edge cases.

I can see why it’s hard to vote them in. Moyas injury and Kafelnikovs weird inconsistency are definitely part of the reason.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Roddick's career is definitely better than that of Moya.

 

[Moxie]

Rios will mostly be remembered for this shot.

That shot makes me think of Kyrgios. "I can do anything and look like I don't care. Oh, and I kinda don't." Hope Kyrgios makes more of his talents.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Catherine; If the Hall of Fame was in Anchorage Alaska I wouldn't care either but it's in Newport and few places in this planet are nicer than Newport RI.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

I guess Moya's presence with Rafa makes those Rafa vs Fog matches more interesting

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Catherine; Lots of very good restaurants in Newport and outside Newport. I saw Carol out and about at tennis tournaments but never met her. It's hard to meet with photographers at a tournament as everyone is always hustling. But I have gotten to know and spend time talking with Bob Strauss, Mel Digiacomo, Al Bello, June Harrison, Angelo Tonelli, Luigi, and the Polish guys Andy Kentla and Wojciech Kubik. Also Benjamin Woods who has attended over 100 majors in a row.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Quite a hefty and important win for Caro Wozniacki who has struggled and battled her way back to being an elite player when it was beginning to look like she might be washed up. Just goes to show you that it's folly to count out any great champion. Now you have to consider that Wozniacki could use this big win as a springboard to her first major like Mauresmo did. Beating Venus has always been a major difficulty for Caro but now she has solved this puzzle which could help her to solve the Serena puzzle next year.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

It does have to happen Duke. And when it does she will be the first Polish born person to win a singles major title. Lukasz Kubot this year became the first Polish player to win a Wimbledon title (doubles).