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[Kotetsu534]

You want to get an idea of how ridiculously wasteful we are with our money, check this out:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/33121397

We spent £40M building a National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, London. It's a white elephant. For that kind of money we could have built good quality tennis centres all over the UK and had a good footing to jump start serious participation in a big way.

"I don't think [the LTA] have put enough money into the grassroots. I think there's been a lot of lip service and if you look at it in terms of wages and where the performance money's gone, I think it's been a very poor cousin, grassroots tennis." - Mark Petchey

 

[Kotetsu534]

Tennis is a rich person's sport in the UK compared to other countries, particularly Australia. The cost of membership is prohibitive and there are close to no outreach efforts. There's very little in the way of junior tournaments to allow for talent-spotting, and an outsize number of courts are still lawn courts despite how largely irrelevant they are to the modern game. If anything, I'd say clay is the most important surface for teaching good tennis because it teaches you how to construct a shot; it's no real susprise Murray spent most of his formative years on clay.

I've long suspected that part of the US's problem is that almost all their young players come through the college circuit playing on hard courts and adapt a game to suit those conditions. The European players get a fuller picture of the game on clay and have fewer technical and tactical weaknesses in their games when they reach the pro tour. I'm sure I read they'd worked hard to change that though and the current gen are getting significant experience on the red dirt.

 

[Kotetsu534]

Right on cue, Andy Murray lays in to the LTA for 'wasting time' before doing anything to produce a new generation of juniors.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/nov/30/andy-murray-lta-davis-cup-tennis

In a frankly astonishing anecdote, he says there was not a single person using the National Tennis Centre when he came back from China for him to hit with.

“I was there on a Monday at about 3pm and then on Tuesday, at the same time,” he said. “There was not one person using any of the indoor courts and not one person in the gym. I took photos of it because the place cost, like, £40m and there are no people.

“There is nobody to train with when I am at home, nobody to practise with any more, which makes things frustrating. You want to have the best possible practice and training to prepare for the biggest events and we don’t have that anymore.”

 

[Kotetsu534]

Quadra post here we go. I put together a list of every player who's won a "significant" title since Novak Djokovic won his first Grand Slam in Australia, 2008, 8 complete seasons ago. Essentially I'm putting down an arbitrary line in the sand between the "Fedal" era which has ran for over a decade and the "Fedalovic + Murray" era which is more recent and looks likely to extend several years yet. I'm counting all Grand Slams, Olympic Golds, Year-End Championships and Masters 1000s as significant.

Novak Djokovic: 10 Slams, 5 YECs, 24 Masters (remember, since 2008 AO)
Rafael Nadal: 11 Slams, 1 Olympic Gold, 18 Masters
Roger Federer: 5 Slams, 2 YECs, 10 Masters
Andy Murray: 2 Slams, 1 Olympic Gold, 11 Masters
Stanislas Wawrinka: 2 Slams, 1 Masters
Juan Martin del Potro: 1 Slam
Marin Cilic: 1 Slam
Nikolai Davydenko: 1 YEC, 2 Masters
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: 2 Masters
Robin Soderling: 1 Masters
Ivan Ljubicic: 1 Masters
David Ferrer: 1 Masters

Pretty short list for 8 years, with only five players winning 3+ "significant" titles, and only four players winning at least three different types of titles. Does bump up my respect quotient for Davydenko a bit though.

 

[Niraj]

Stan won Monte Carlo

 

[Kotetsu534]

Good shout.

 

[Diamond]

Quadra post here we go. I put together a list of every player who's won a "significant" title since Novak Djokovic won his first Grand Slam in Australia, 2008, 8 complete seasons ago. Essentially I'm putting down an arbitrary line in the sand between the "Fedal" era which has ran for over a decade and the "Fedalovic + Murray" era which is more recent and looks likely to extend several years yet. I'm counting all Grand Slams, Olympic Golds, Year-End Championships and Masters 1000s as significant.

Novak Djokovic: 10 Slams, 5 YECs, 24 Masters (remember, since 2008 AO)
Rafael Nadal: 11 Slams, 1 Olympic Gold, 18 Masters
Roger Federer: 5 Slams, 2 YECs, 10 Masters
Andy Murray: 2 Slams, 1 Olympic Gold, 11 Masters
Stanislas Wawrinka: 2 Slams, 1 Masters
Juan Martin del Potro: 1 Slam
Marin Cilic: 1 Slam
Nikolai Davydenko: 1 YEC, 2 Masters
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: 2 Masters
Robin Soderling: 1 Masters
Ivan Ljubicic: 1 Masters
David Ferrer: 1 Masters

Pretty short list for 8 years, with only five players winning 3+ "significant" titles, and only four players winning at least three different types of titles. Does bump up my respect quotient for Davydenko a bit though.

Nice list, could have been interesting to include slam finals too.

Prime Davydenko was a beast, until 2010 when he declined fast, he had a pretty good record against Nadal (it is known) and early Djoko and Murray, his only weakness was that Federer had found the key to beat him every time. Also, not as killer as the big four against top 10, top 20 players, maybe.
He was beaten in 2005 Roland Garros semies in a 5 sets thriller by Puerta, who was later suspended for doping. I would have loved to see Davydenko in a final against young Nadal, retrospectively.

 

[Kotetsu534]

I went and looked up his SF vs. Federer at the 2009 WTF. Considering he came in 0-12 against him it must be one of the biggest upsets ever at the tournament. Good set of highlights here - check out the clutch cross-court forehand from Davydenko to save BP at 6-5 in the third after Fed had played superb tennis to open up the chance. Fed's handshake was a little bit rough (not unsporting, but he was hiding his anger at letting it get away).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldB1cYj3o3g

 

[Diprosalic]

Switzerland has some luxury problems for the olympics
who will play with each other?

Federer Wawa doubles?
Federer Hingis mixed?
Wawa Baczinsky mixed?
Hingis Bencic doubles?
Bencic Baczinsky doubles?

Federer playing singles, doubles and mixed?
Federer dropping Wawa for mixed?

who knows.


i'd love to see Hingis and Federer sharing a court but he won't play mixed and doubles and dropping Wawa is madness.

 

[Kotetsu534]

Have to imagine that Fed & Wawa will want to reclaim their gold medal from Beijing, which means Fed/Hingis would require him playing all three events. If they don't Switzerland essentially give up any chance of medalling in an event they won before, which would seem to be a strange decision. On the other hand if he plays only Singles + Men's Doubles Wawrinka would have to play all three, which he might not be up for. Bencic and Bacsinszky will both play singles, so I'd guess one of them will pair with Hingis in Women's Doubles, who's surely 100% in both Doubles competitions.

Edit: Since Hingis is great friends with Bencic off court and has semi-coached her, it's almost certainly her with Bencic in Women's Doubles.

 

[Niraj]

The Fedberg partnership has come to an end. Ljubicic is joining Federer's team.

 

[szaromir]

Santoro is rolling back the years.

 

[Peru]

Yeeees HingErer

 

[perfectchaos007]

Wonder how much these guys are getting paid to play IPTL. It must be a shit ton of money bacause December is supposed to be the off-season for tennis and to take them away from their 1 month of rest must be a lot

 

[Niraj]

Yeeees HingErer

Gonna be so good

 

[Kotetsu534]

I was up out of my chair cheering on Santoro today. The magician, indeed. And enjoyed Radwanska's third demolition job of the IPTL over Mladenovic - her set results now read 6-1, 6-2, 6-1. Bencic has been playing good stuff too, as have Kyrgios, Kohlschreiber and Raonic (before he got injured).

The rumours are that the icon class players (Nadal, Federer, Murray, Djokovic, Serena, Sharapova) are getting around $1M per set, so the total spend must be massive. Even if the likes of Kurumi Nara are only getting $25-50K per day plus win bonuses, adding in all the associated costs of flights, hotels, training and reserves mean running a team is very expensive. Even with all the sponsorships and high ticket prices (which didn't sell well in Kobe and Delhi judging by the attendances) I don't see it turning much, if any, profit. But hey, it's lasted two years and got a ton of big names to come along to countries that don't host much tennis, and the players seem to really enjoy it.

 

[Nemo]

Wonder how much these guys are getting paid to play IPTL. It must be a shit ton of money bacause December is supposed to be the off-season for tennis and to take them away from their 1 month of rest must be a lot

I haven't really seen any full matches but isn't this more of a relaxing thing for the players? I love how it brings together the best players/personalities of the tennis world, Boppana and Nadal in a doubles match vs Cilic and Federer? Come onnn, who wouldn't pay to see that, plus match ups like Fed/Nadal in a single set with no pressure, I'm sure it's a great sight to see

The rumours are that the icon class players (Nadal, Federer, Murray, Djokovic, Serena, Sharapova) are getting around $1M per set, so the total spend must be massive. Even if the likes of Kurumi Nara are only getting $25-50K per day plus win bonuses, adding in all the associated costs of flights, hotels, training and reserves mean running a team is very expensive. Even with all the sponsorships and high ticket prices (which didn't sell well in Kobe and Delhi judging by the attendances) I don't see it turning much, if any, profit. But hey, it's lasted two years and got a ton of big names to come along to countries that don't host much tennis, and the players seem to really enjoy it.

I stand corrected. A million a set? Jeez

Love the promotion of tennis in India and Japan tho and regardless of the money it must feel incredible to play for a crowd that sounds straight outta the Colosseum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isdPI0DDwbA

 

[Deleted member 231381]

I just came in here to laugh at the prospect of Ljubicic coaching Federer again.

Who is he going to appoint next, Roddick?

 

[Nemo]

I just came in here to laugh at the prospect of Ljubicic coaching Federer again.

Who is he going to appoint next, Roddick?

Federer more about having a blast on tour life now I think before he goes out with a bang, either that or Ljubicic found a weakness on Djokovic no one knows about yet

 

[Diprosalic]

Yeeees HingErer

FedIngis please.

 

[perfectchaos007]

So I just finished playing my first Flex League. It consisted of players within a 20 mile radius of me so I didn't have to travel too far for my matches. 9 players were in my league, and it starts with round robin, followed by playoffs. Here were my results:

R1: W 6-2, 6-2
R2: W 6-0, 6-2
R3: W 6-0, 6-1
R4: W 6-3, 6-0
R5: W 6-0, 6-0
R6: W via default
R7: W 6-2, 6-4
R8: W 6-0, 6-1

Playoffs:
SF: W 6-2, 6-1
F: W 7-6, 6-3

Finals match lasted nearly 3 hours and it was only 2 sets. we had some looooong grinding points. Flex league was fun, but I definitely want to be challenged in more rounds than just the finals. Unfortunately this is the top league in my area, and to play better opponents I would have to travel ~50 miles each way for every match which I don't know if I want to do. If you're in the US, I would definitely recommend looking into playing a flex league in your area if you aren't already a member of a tennis club.

 

[Diamond]

So I just finished playing my first Flex League. It consisted of players within a 20 mile radius of me so I didn't have to travel too far for my matches. 9 players were in my league, and it starts with round robin, followed by playoffs. Here were my results:

R1: W 6-2, 6-2
R2: W 6-0, 6-2
R3: W 6-0, 6-1
R4: W 6-3, 6-0
R5: W 6-0, 6-0
R6: W via default
R7: W 6-2, 6-4
R8: W 6-0, 6-1

Playoffs:
SF: W 6-2, 6-1
F: W 7-6, 6-3

Finals match lasted nearly 3 hours and it was only 2 sets. we had some looooong grinding points. Flex league was fun, but I definitely want to be challenged in more rounds than just the finals. Unfortunately this is the top league in my area, and to play better opponents I would have to travel ~50 miles each way for every match which I don't know if I want to do. If you're in the US, I would definitely recommend looking into playing a flex league in your area if you aren't already a member of a tennis club.

Congrats, nice scorelines. Do this kind of results affect your national ranking ?
There's nothing like this in France that I know about. There's a similar system of league in my club where people organize the meetings themselves when they can (doesn't count as official matches), but it's strictly between members of the same club. Then again I live near Paris so there's no problem to find people of all levels to play with. In more scarcely inhabited areas I imagine it's harder.

 

[perfectchaos007]

Congrats, nice scorelines. Do this kind of results affect your national ranking ?
There's nothing like this in France that I know about. There's a similar system of league in my club where people organize the meetings themselves when they can (doesn't count as official matches), but it's strictly between members of the same club. Then again I live near Paris so there's no problem to find people of all levels to play with. In more scarcely inhabited areas I imagine it's harder.

Nah the US doesn't have an official national ranking system like some other countries. The USTA does have rankings by section, and I think there are about 10 sections in the US. Texas has it's own section. So if I were to start playing Open tournaments, my ranking would only be for Texas. I guess with a country of over 300 million people, it would be too difficult to have one ranking system.

 

[Deadman]

Federer is skipping almost every clay event next year.

 

[Deleted member 231381]

Not sure anyone will notice.

 

[Kotetsu534]

Damn if he loses early at Indian Wells he'll be off for well over two months. That's one way to keep Mirka happy I guess.

 

[Nemo]

I need to get me some Rotterdam tickets stat

 

[Rafa=FedKilla]

Somebody please step up this year....

 

[Diprosalic]

Not sure anyone will notice.

Murray should follow suit and skip RG.

 

[Deleted member 231381]

Murray should follow suit and skip RG.

Nah. This year is Clayray's.

 

[perfectchaos007]

Nah. This year is Clayray's.

Djokovic will win the French before Clayray that I can almost guarantee you.

 

[Deleted member 231381]

Djokovic will win the French before Clayray that I can almost guarantee you.

I hope he doesn't, just so that life can have another one of those great ironies.

 

[Nemo]

Nadal's getting his 10, count on it!

 

[Diamond]

Goodbye Robin !

THE MATCH.

 

[perfectchaos007]

Goodbye Robin !

THE MATCH.

He's most known for winning a match that allowed another guy to win his first and only French Open. What a legacy

 

[Nemo]

That performance proved tho, power tennis, flat shots can thrive on slower clay vs the topspin players, IMO a very good development. It's pretty crazy tho how you can hit a ball flat back when it's coming at you with such high RPM

Be well Soderling! My second favorite power hitter after Delpo

 

[Kotetsu534]

That win was special back in 2009 and only got more incredible as the years went by. For better or worse Soderling is going to be remembered for that one match. But what a match, Nadal's only defeat at RG between 2005 and this year.

 

[Diamond]

He's most known for winning a match that allowed another guy to win his first and only French Open. What a legacy

I'm sure, as a tennis fan, you remember him for other things. It would be a little bit sad if we could only appreciate slam winners. Plus, yeah, that match was (is) one of the biggest upsets ever.

 

[perfectchaos007]

I'm sure, as a tennis fan, you remember him for other things. It would be a little bit sad if we could only appreciate slam winners. Plus, yeah, that match was (is) one of the biggest upsets ever.

That's just the way it goes. If he didn't win that match, he wouldn't be remembered for anything at all. It takes a lot to have a lasting legacy as a tennis player without winning a slam. Soderling has that French Open Semi finals, John Isner has his 11 hour match against Mahut at Wimbledon, and Anna Kournakova has her modeling contract.

I mean what other former non slam winners have a long lasting legacy? They're few and far in between

 

[szaromir]

5 days until thins off-season nonsense is over. Can't wait.

 

[Rafa=FedKilla]

5 days until thins off-season nonsense is over. Can't wait.

Yeah, just watched Nishioka qualify for the wildcard last week, as I was hungry for recent tennis. Kokkinakis is out of the Aus Open.

 

[Xun]

I got my first tennis racquet for Christmas, so I've really got to start playing soon.

 

[Rafa=FedKilla]

Gasquet is out of the Aus Open.

 

[Kotetsu534]

Fortune smiles again for Kyle Edmund. After beating Andy Murray to win £250k in an exhibition during winter (by far his biggest paycheck to date) he now gets direct entry to the AO with Gasquet pulling out (along with Monaco and Kokkinakis). Big year ahead for him.

So hyped for the season to start.

 

[Xun]

Fortune smiles again for Kyle Edmund. After beating Andy Murray to win £250k in an exhibition during winter (by far his biggest paycheck to date) he now gets direct entry to the AO with Gasquet pulling out (along with Monaco and Kokkinakis). Big year ahead for him.

So hyped for the season to start.

Fingers crossed he does well.

It'll hopefully be a big year for both of them.

 

[Ricker]

Genie not in Brisbane...? dont tell me she is still feeling the effects of her concussion

 

[perfectchaos007]

Genie not in Brisbane...? dont tell me she is still feeling the effects of her concussion

She sued the US Open didn't she? What's the latest on that?

 

[Ricker]

She sued the US Open didn't she? What's the latest on that?

US Open said she shouldnt of went in there alone at that hour etc etc...so not guilty lol...not sure if the Bouchard clan kept it going.

 

[perfectchaos007]

US Open said she shouldnt of went in there alone at that hour etc etc...so not guilty lol...not sure if the Bouchard clan kept it going.

You can still win a lawsuit even if you injure yourself while trespassing. This is America!

 

[Lion Heart]

I'm looking to buy the Head graphene xt speed pro, aka the Joker club. I've been using Head for 15 years, hell I'm still using the same one I bought in the early-mid 2000s. I tried a Babalot racquet some time ago but I honestly couldn't hit a decent shot to save my life.

Anyone have experience with this? I don't mind dropping the big bills for it tbh, I'm sure it will last me another 15 years

I might be forced to buy it online since its never in stock but I'm not sure on the sizing of the handle. I want it to be exactly like my current Head size, I think S2 but this racquet has a different numbering system. Is L2 the interchangeable with all Head clubs?

Also what do you guys generally recommend for someone who does full swings and needs a balance of power, control and spin.