Wimbledon!!!

[GNR_Green]

how the fuck did that 'woman' win?

she just played alot better than henin-hardene

yea but she shouldn't be playing in the womens game, surely someone needs tyo check for a cock...

You'd think that'd be routine wouldn't you?

God tennis is boring, I hate it when over here all the little Englanders get 'excited' about tennis then forget it exists for the other 11 months?

[axl_rose_700]

Me, I try and forget it exists for 12 months of the year but we get Wimbeldon shoved down our throats for 2 weeks, still nearlly finished now! 

[Ignatius]

Great match! The first set was very dissapointing, but Nadal then fought back and got his chances. Congrats to Federer...in a way, I'm happy that he won otherwise he would have not recovered from this defeat.

Ignatius, Huh?? When did I ever come off as some typical jack-ass "America rules!" wacko? If you were joking that's cool, but if not, please apologize.

Well, by saying the men game sucks you put yourself in that position.?

Thing is, in my experience, americans lose interest in anything they are not good at.? Tennis is not something the americans rule in at the moment, so It'd be safe to assume you were just like any other american.

Don't get me wrong, I lived in the States four years so I have a slight idea of what I'm talking about. Maybe you are not like that, but pretty much 99% of the americans I've met, follow the same pattern.

My problem with men's tennis isn't the nationality of the players.? My problem is with 150 mile per hour serves and 3 to 4 shot volleys in addition to too many aces.? Maybe it's gotten better in the past few years, but I lost interest for awhile with guys like Sampras and Ivanisevic (although Goran's lack of discipline was fun to watch at times) slamming aces left and right.?

Tennis these days is far away from that. 10 years ago tennis was the most boring game to watch cause it was rules by the heavy servers (with the exception of Andre Agassi); Sampras, Ivanisevic, Krajicek,...there wasn't even a serve / volley type of game. It was more a serve and point, serve and miss. But today, things have changed. There're only a few players who still serve and volley (Henman, Stepanek, Ancic, Bjorkman...) but the game now relies on the heavy groundstrokers; Nadal, Federer, Nalbandian, Ljbicic, Baghdatis... There's not much serve and volley anymore even at Wimbledon (if you watched yesterday's final you'll agree with me).

I liked Agassi because he had a great return of serve.? I liked Becker because he played a similar style to my game.? I loved McEnroe because he wore his heart on his sleeve and I just loved his net play...such great touch.? (btw, if ever there was a tennis player who embodied Axl Rose's personality, it was McEnroe) Lendl was fun to root against because he was so robotic, and his whiny complaints were hilarious.? Borg is one of the greats of all-time, brilliant, although a little b4 my time, I've seen some tape.

Becker was my favorite. Probably the most talented player ever in the history of the game. It was more than a big server, he was simply amazing..the way he hit that flat backhand...but he had some mental issues, didn't have any control of his emotions...in a way, he was much more matured than anybody at his age. He just had to deal with all the stress of being the wimbledon champ at 17.

Just because I'm American doesn't mean I only love Americans.? I don't enjoy watching the Williams sisters for instance.? Although I respect their talent, I find the excessive power to be a bit too much.? Roddick and his power serve doesn't do anything for me either.

Yes, you are right. As I mentioned earlier, I assumed you were just like 99% of the americans, but as it turns out, you aren't.

My basic point is that the tennis players need a check on the technology of their equipment.? Some would say the same about professional golf, but the difference there is that the golf associations can always make the courses more difficult, tennis can't.? A tennis court is a tennis court.? I want longer rallies.? I want true tests of endurance on the court.? I want all Americans in the Finals...haha just kidding.?

The rallies are longer.- You'll see one-two months when the US open series tournaments start.

[kerry]

Predictable mens result.  At least Nadal gave us something to look at.  Did you see the bod on that boy yummmm

[oldgunsfan]

I thought it was a good final; Nadal proved alot and gave Federer a bit of a scare; at least Federer won a match against the guy so there can be a bit of a rivalry; but it's hard to call something a rivaly when one person wins all the time like Nadal had done; the US OPEN should be interesting

And to those who say the men's game sucks and it's just big serves and no rallies; you should watch it more often before you make generalizations like that.....because during this final there were very few quick points and alot of excellent rallies.....Federer's a fucking magician with some of the shots that guy pulls out of his ass....

I enjoy the women's game better just because.....there woman

[Shirell]

2006 The year a man won both the mens and womens titles.  A first!!!

[Axl4Prez2004]

Yes, you are right. As I mentioned earlier, I assumed you were just like 99% of the americans, but as it turns out, you aren't.

My basic point is that the tennis players need a check on the technology of their equipment.? Some would say the same about professional golf, but the difference there is that the golf associations can always make the courses more difficult, tennis can't.? A tennis court is a tennis court.? I want longer rallies.? I want true tests of endurance on the court.? I want all Americans in the Finals...haha just kidding.?

The rallies are longer.- You'll see one-two months when the US open series tournaments start.

Ignatius,
  Thanks for the kind words and explanation.  There are almost 300 million Americans.  Not all of us are flag-waving idiots.    You summed it up well when you mentioned the death of the serve and volley player.  Around ten years ago was the age of the ace or 2 shot rally...very boring indeed...I may have given up on the sport too soon.  I watched Nadal and Federer and ground stroke rallies are cool...but man I guess I'm just a classic tennis fan.  I'd like to see more net action.  These 2 guys though, do provide a nice rivalry.     I'd definitely watch these 2 guys play again.  Also, I'm probably biased because I play a serve and volley style myself...oh well. 

[Slashead]

Today's tennis is different because they' ve changed the balls... In Wimbledon or at indoor tournaments, the balls are heavier so they don't go so fast anymore. This is helping players like Nadal or Nalbandian (who reached Wimbledon's final in 2002). Several players have stated that it is suicidal to make serve and volley with the new balls.
On the other hand, clay tournaments are now played with lighter/faster balls which are favoring Federer's good results on that surface.

[Axl4Prez2004]

Today's tennis is different because they' ve changed the balls... In Wimbledon or at indoor tournaments, the balls are heavier so they don't go so fast anymore. This is helping players like Nadal or Nalbandian (who reached Wimbledon's final in 2002). Several players have stated that it is suicidal to make serve and volley with the new balls.
On the other hand, clay tournaments are now played with lighter/faster balls which are favoring Federer's good results on that surface.

Is this true?  I'm not doubting you Slashead...I'm just wondering if there's confirmation out there. 

[Slashead]

Is this true?? I'm not doubting you Slashead...I'm just wondering if there's confirmation out there.?

Here is a link about those new tennis balls : http://tennis.about.com/od/racquetsballsstringing/a/newballstandard.htm

[Ignatius]

Is this true?? I'm not doubting you Slashead...I'm just wondering if there's confirmation out there.?

Here is a link about those new tennis balls : http://tennis.about.com/od/racquetsballsstringing/a/newballstandard.htm

The ITF changes the ball standards every year to favor competition. I've been hearing about these changes forever, but I don't think it's has any impact on the game really. On clay you still have a certain player profile of player that does well; Nadal, Moya, Ferrero, Robredo, Coria, Gaudio...while on grass, things have changed cause the players have changed. There's not much of a serve and volley style anymore...taking a look at Wimbledon past champs, there's Federer, Hewitt, finalists Roddick and Nabaldian...all these players play their best in hard courts surfaces anyway,? but there are not serve and volley type of players, they more of heavy groundstrokes hitters...

[oldgunsfan]

I think the surface of the court has a lot more to do with the style of play than the tennis ball; clay courts are a lot slower surface, the ball bounces higherand the rallies last longer as players have more time to get to balls; grass is the fastest surface, the balls stay lower, the rallies are quicker because groundstrokes are flatter and don't bounce up as high; and hard courts are closer to grass than clay....

i think Nadal's much better on clay than Federer because he plays on the surface about 75% of the time....

[Slashead]

Of course, changes in tennis are not only because of new balls... That's only a factor among others. Rackets have changed too, among other things.
But it is a fact that many players said that serve and volley style is not effective anymore at Wimbledon, especially on second serve. I remember an interview with Wayne Ferreira a couple of years ago. He complained that a player like Magnus Gustafsson (a clay specialist) had no problems anymore to return his serve because of the slower balls.

[oldgunsfan]

Of course, changes in tennis are not only because of new balls... That's only a factor among others. Rackets have changed too, among other things.
But it is a fact that many players said that serve and volley style is not effective anymore at Wimbledon, especially on second serve. I remember an interview with Wayne Ferreira a couple of years ago. He complained that a player like Magnus Gustafsson (a clay specialist) had no problems anymore to return his serve because of the slower balls.

It may not be effective according to the players because they don't have a big serve and they can't volley

Sampras was a classic serve and volley player, and it was scuh an in-effective technique, he won 7 Wimbledon's and 14 majors, which is a record last I checked

Not for anything but the people you mentioned are clay court specialists that never did anything at Wimbledon

[Slashead]

Of course, changes in tennis are not only because of new balls... That's only a factor among others. Rackets have changed too, among other things.
But it is a fact that many players said that serve and volley style is not effective anymore at Wimbledon, especially on second serve. I remember an interview with Wayne Ferreira a couple of years ago. He complained that a player like Magnus Gustafsson (a clay specialist) had no problems anymore to return his serve because of the slower balls.

It may not be effective according to the players because they don't have a big serve and they can't volley

Sampras was a classic serve and volley player, and it was scuh an in-effective technique, he won 7 Wimbledon's and 14 majors, which is a record last I checked

Not for anything but the people you mentioned are clay court specialists that never did anything at Wimbledon

Sampras won 7 Wimbledon's (the last one in 2001) with the old balls which were faster. I'm not saying that Sampras wouldn't win with these slower balls : I'm just saying that it would be more difficult for him to play the same way. A player like Wayne Ferreira wasn't a clay specialist at all : he was a grass specialist who couldn't play serve and volley as he used to do when they started playing with the slower balls because it just didn't work anymore.? It is true that Ferreira had not a huge serve, but he had an excellent volley and, as I've said, he was considered as a grass specialist.
Nadal would have lost against Kendrick in the second round if the game had been played with the old/faster balls.

[oldgunsfan]

they may have deadended the balls to offset the newest technology in tennis rackets

who really cares as the players should adjust their game to the equipment...