dagblog - Comments for "Key Biscayne Tennis"

Donal, I hope you don't mind

A Guy Called LULU — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:48:06 +0000

Donal, I hope you don't mind too much if I go off the tennis topic here but stay in the game/sport/recreation/keep on livin' area. I mentioned being able to play tennis as long as you can walk. I am getting to the point where I am quite impressed by old farts that still go for it in one way or another. With that in mind I think some may enjoy this video even if it brings a tear or two.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfGfmkAwLd4&feature=player_embedded#at=163

Hmm. According to this site,

Donal — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:56:10 +0000

In reply to Well, I read this blog just

Hmm. According to this site, Novak uses a 2/3 Western grip (never heard that term before) which is between the Western "frying pan" grip that most youth players learn these days and the Semi-Western grip. Western is good for hitting high balls when you're a short kid and for generating extreme topspin when you're an adult, but tough to use for half-volleys. I learned to play as an adult, and was taught the Eastern grip, which is good for hitting deep with moderate topspin like Stan Smith or Jack Kramer. Over time my grip moved towards Semi-Western as I added more topspin.

One of the adverts they show over and over describes teaching little kids on smaller courts. I wonder if that will catch on and affect the grips they use.

World Team Tennis seems to be trying to modernize all aspects of tennis including the scoring. I hate it.

Well, I read this blog just

A Guy Called LULU — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:26:44 +0000

In reply to Key Biscayne Tennis

Well, I read this blog just before leaving to play a match this morning. I couldn't help but notice the forehand grip of Novak Djoković. Aha! So I tried it and it worked great.....about twice. Then I noticed that we were down 4-1. Turns out I couldn't do it quite like Novak Trying something new in a match against an arch rival is not the best strategy and so I went back to what I was used to.
You mention the network staying with the match even though it went long. The way tennis is scored, which makes the length of a match so unpredictable and therefore hard to schedule for TV is, IMO, the reason that it does not get much more coverage. Too bad. More coverage would develop more fans and encourage more kids to take it up and to develop a love for a game that can be played against equal competition for as long as you can walk.

Yup, Federer looks washed up.

Obey — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 14:30:14 +0000

In reply to Key Biscayne Tennis

Yup, Federer looks washed up. But then there's the up and coming Swiss tennis talent who will kick everyone's butt - the ETHZ Quadricopter

You're right, I was thinking

Donal — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 13:05:00 +0000

In reply to Nadal had 60% first serve

You're right, I was thinking of his poor stats on winning second serve points. But I still don't think his serve was very effective in the final. Nadal served a lot of long games - eight, nine minutes. I recall one easy hold for 6-5, but I think Novak was saving his strength for the tiebreak.

Nadal had 60% first serve

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 03:59:19 +0000

In reply to Key Biscayne Tennis

Nadal had 60% first serve percentage in the match according to the match stats on ATP web site. Actually he had better first serve percentage than Djokovic (57%). I don't think it was a bad day of serving for Nadal, wasn't a great serving day but not a bad one either. He is likely to dominate on clay though. You just need to accept that Djokovic is a better hard court player at the moment.