Any tennis fans here?

[SGT]

Heya, any people that follow tennis a bit?

 

This was a pretty epic performance from Alcaraz!

 

Any picks for RG?

Nadal is obviously the favourite, with Alcaraz and Djokovic a close second maybe?

 

Any people that follow amateur tennis as well? Mark Sansait, Winston Du etc?
Imho pretty fun to watch, a while ago I played my first youtube match as well. Any other peeps here that have done that? I love watching that stuff!

 

[TiScape]

I’m a fan of Grand Slam Tennis. Look forward to Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open every year. That’s about the extent of it for me though. 

[SGT]

Roland Garros is not too far away!

[Conrad1953]

I was a big fan in the 70s and 80s, then fell away for 3+ decades, and then started following it

some early in 2021. I mainly follow the grand slam events but also sometimes follow some of

the other important 1000 events. Sometimes, late at night, I will tune in to the tennis channel

and catch a random match here and there of whatever tournament they are showing.

 

I can't watch it while my wife is up or in the room as she hates all the grunting. While I'm not

a fan of the grunting I can tolerate it. The near screaming I cannot and so when the screaming

players are on TV, think Aryna Sabalenka, I turn the volume way down.  

 

BTW, RG is still the French Open to me, lol. I guess I was away when that changeover in the

what the tournament is called took place. To me it would be like calling the Masters, the "ANGC"

or the "Augusta National". Oh well, I doubt that matters to anyone else.......and it doesn't really

matter to me all that much. Tsk Tsk.

[SGT]

Cool that you started watching again! Good time too, with Alcaraz, Sinner and Rune. The future is looking bright!

[SGT]

Wawrinka coming in clutch!!

[SGT]

Any fans of amateur tennis btw?

^This kind of stuff, more relatable haha!

[iBanesto]

🇸🇰

 

 

[SGT]

The game sure has improved compared to that haha

[SGT]

 

39 first serves in, in a row by Stefanos! Wow!

[huskydawg]

This camera angle never does it justice how hard and fast these guys are actually hitting.

[SGT]

@huskydawg So true!

 

39 first serves!

[golfortennis]

On 4/28/2023 at 2:59 AM, SGT said:

The game sure has improved compared to that haha

 

I'm not sure I agree with that. Serve and volley has pretty much gone away.  Look how far back the guy is playing in the video on Tsitsipas.  The court surfaces have basically been homogenized.  Look at Wimbledon.  In the Wilander video, you see the grass worn up at the service line.  Nowadays, by the final, it still looks like the tournament is about to begin.

 

Federer was able to bring some of that to life, but really, it's become a bit like golf:  yes power should be an advantage, but it's become way too big a factor on results.  

[iBanesto]

On 5/5/2023 at 8:45 AM, golfortennis said:

 

I'm not sure I agree with that. Serve and volley has pretty much gone away.  Look how far back the guy is playing in the video on Tsitsipas.  The court surfaces have basically been homogenized.  Look at Wimbledon.  In the Wilander video, you see the grass worn up at the service line.  Nowadays, by the final, it still looks like the tournament is about to begin.

 

Federer was able to bring some of that to life, but really, it's become a bit like golf:  yes power should be an advantage, but it's become way too big a factor on results.  

 

The game has changed with court speed being homogenised which has made Wimbledon slow and Roland Garros quicker.

 

This in conjunction with improvement in racquet technology has made serve and volley obsolete. Players just return much better now because of larger racquets and better strings.

 

Mecir was one of the most graceful players ever and anyone who really knows tennis would know he is held in high regards.

[golfortennis]

4 hours ago, iBanesto said:

 

The game has changed with court speed being homogenised which has made Wimbledon slow and Roland Garros quicker.

 

This in conjunction with improvement in racquet technology has made serve and volley obsolete. Players just return much better now because of larger racquets and better strings.

 

Mecir was one of the most graceful players ever and anyone who really knows tennis would know he is held in high regards.

 

Polyester strings are also a culprit.  In the past, you could try to pass down the line when someone came in, but you risked sending it long if you hit it hard enough to get by him.  Now the strings allow you to put so much spin you don't have to worry, it will drop in.  And I think it was in Flushing Meadows where McEnroe couldn't believe the court was so slow, Del Potro couldn't hit his forehand past Djokovic.

 

The artistry has all but been removed.  Djokovic and Nadal, while they win matches, are just not entertaining to watch.  They are the equivalent of the New Jersey Devils in hockey in the late 90s.  The scoreboard has them ahead, but you almost fall asleep watching it.  

[iBanesto]

20 hours ago, golfortennis said:

 

Polyester strings are also a culprit.  In the past, you could try to pass down the line when someone came in, but you risked sending it long if you hit it hard enough to get by him.  Now the strings allow you to put so much spin you don't have to worry, it will drop in.  And I think it was in Flushing Meadows where McEnroe couldn't believe the court was so slow, Del Potro couldn't hit his forehand past Djokovic.

 

The artistry has all but been removed.  Djokovic and Nadal, while they win matches, are just not entertaining to watch.  They are the equivalent of the New Jersey Devils in hockey in the late 90s.  The scoreboard has them ahead, but you almost fall asleep watching it.  

 

I personally use polyester strings which is just great for the baseline game.

 

When fast courts were fast and slow courts were slow, those were the the days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[golfortennis]

2 hours ago, iBanesto said:

 

I personally use polyester strings which is just great for the baseline game.

 

 

 

Polyester strings for us mere mortals are definitely the way to go if your arm can handle them.

 

Polyester strings for the pros are like lowering the hoop to 8 feet for Giannis Antetokounmpo.  It just makes things so much easier for them to just stand back and wail, but doesn't necessarily make it more entertaining to watch.  I know people like to point out "yeah but in the 90s you had too many aces",  but they fail to realize even today something like 60% of all points played are 4 shots or less.

 

 

[huskydawg]

If I ever decide to get serious about the game I'll buy my own Klippermate and string poly for every match.  It's true, you can really wail away at the ball and it'll stay in.  I was skeptical about dead poly's effect on your arm, but it's absolutely true.  My inner elbow start to get sharp pains that synthetics and multis never gave me.

[TiScape]

Reading this definitely reminded me of the ‘distance debate 2.0’ thread… Good to see golf isn’t the only game that technology has ruined!! 🎾😱🤣

Edited May 8, 2023 by TiScape

[golfortennis]

9 hours ago, huskydawg said:

If I ever decide to get serious about the game I'll buy my own Klippermate and string poly for every match.  It's true, you can really wail away at the ball and it'll stay in.  I was skeptical about dead poly's effect on your arm, but it's absolutely true.  My inner elbow start to get sharp pains that synthetics and multis never gave me.

 

Get the Gamma X-2.  Touch more money but a lot more to work with.  If you can swing it, and do a few string jobs for people to pay it off, go up a couple models and get one with fixed clamps.  

 

I haven't played in a while due to a knee problem, but I know I had my strings at a much higher tension than others.  I just couldn't get comfortable with low tension, even though it's supposed to where you want to go with poly.  But who knows, when I start playing I may just got to a 108 sq inch racquet and play it at 32lbs.

[golfortennis]

6 hours ago, TiScape said:

Reading this definitely reminded me of the ‘distance debate 2.0’ thread… Good to see golf isn’t the only game that technology has ruined!! 🎾😱🤣

 

It really is a good parallel.  The technology makes the game a lot more enjoyable to play for mere mortals, but has really changed, and not necessarily for the better the professional games, because those guys can get more out of equipment than the rest of us.

[SGT]

I really don't understand why watching high pace 20 shot rallies where incredible athleticism is displayed would be considered boring? Upcoming sports like paddle and pickleball then should be the equivalent of watching paint dry, yet they are very fast growing sports. In my opinion the game is more spectacular than ever. I prefer those long rallies over short serve and volley points. The latter, now that is boring.

 

[iBanesto]

On 5/11/2023 at 12:58 AM, SGT said:

I really don't understand why watching high pace 20 shot rallies where incredible athleticism is displayed would be considered boring? Upcoming sports like paddle and pickleball then should be the equivalent of watching paint dry, yet they are very fast growing sports. In my opinion the game is more spectacular than ever. I prefer those long rallies over short serve and volley points. The latter, now that is boring.

 

 

Serve and volley is style which provides contrast to the baseline game.

 

Purists/traditionalists prefer to see different styles go up against each other rather than just a baseline match.

 

There is a beauty to the serve and volley (or chip and charge) game which is no longer seen due to the homogeneity of the courts and racquet/string technology.

 

Edberg destroying Muster on a rebound ace court is amazing. Pure skill.

 

Edited May 30, 2023 by iBanesto

[Dpavs]

 

[iBanesto]

No. 23.

 

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