I'm losing patience with the lack of transition in the game today.

[Luxilon Borg]

I am losing a bit of patience with the style of play on the ATP today. I see players pulling their opponents 3 or 4 feet wide of the alley and not closing in to take the ball out of the air. They sit there and wait for another groundie, and the rally starts again. No wonder we have 6 hour matches, and the implementation of the 20 second rule.

The lack of any skills inside the service line is a given on the WTA tour, but I don't understand why no body comes forward in men's tennis.:angel:

 

[Front242]

Kinda sucks alright. Basically the slowing down of the courts though makes passing shots a lot easier to implement and guys are scared to go to the net as they know there's a high probability they'll get passed. Stakhovsky's match against Federer this year at Wimbledon though was a breath of fresh air. I'd like to see a lot more of that next year on grass but it's hard on the other surfaces. Fed was coming forward a lot at Cincy last year to his credit but aside from him and Llodra and a handful of others, that's it. The rest are happy to just rally at the baseline till kingdom come.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

Kinda sucks alright. Basically the slowing down of the courts though makes passing shots a lot easier to implement and guys are scared to go to the net as they know there's a high probability they'll get passed. Stakhovsky's match against Federer this year at Wimbledon though was a breath of fresh air. I'd like to a lot more of that next year on grass but it's hard on the other surfaces. Fed was coming forward a lot at Cincy last year to his credit but aside from him and Llodra and a handful of others, that's it. The rest are happy to just rally at the baseline till kingdom come.

I am not really interested in going back to the Ivo, Krajicek, Sampras, Edberg years with net approaches on first and second serve, and chip and charge on opponents second serve. That was a horrible bore. There has to be a happy medium

The courts may be slower, but they are not THAT slow. I have been to the Open and Indian Wells etc and the balls still flies like a rocket through the court. I think it is a mentality.

I can tell you this..I would rather be the guy coming forward with my opponent ten feet behind and five feet wide of the court, then the guy trying to pass from that position.

 

[Front242]

For sure they're not that slow and rather than pointless endless rallies it'd be great if more players actively looked to end the point by approaching the net. It's cringe inducing when there's a short ball and the player who receives the short ball just continues to rally instead of rushing the net and putting it away.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

For sure they're not that slow and rather than pointless endless rallies it'd be great if more players actively looked to end the point by approaching the net. It's cringe inducing when there's a short ball and the player who receives the short ball just continues to rally instead of rushing the net and putting it away.

The thing is they are CRUSHING the ball. So they are hurting their opponents and not capitalizing. I see the new trend is the slide and and swat defense. They do this because they know no one is coming in to knock off a volley.

Tennis is a game of closing the gap, and shrinking the court. I don't get what is happening.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Kinda sucks alright. Basically the slowing down of the courts though makes passing shots a lot easier to implement and guys are scared to go to the net as they know there's a high probability they'll get passed. Stakhovsky's match against Federer this year at Wimbledon though was a breath of fresh air. I'd like to see a lot more of that next year on grass but it's hard on the other surfaces. Fed was coming forward a lot at Cincy last year to his credit but aside from him and Llodra and a handful of others, that's it. The rest are happy to just rally at the baseline till kingdom come.

Passing shots being easier is more related to racket technology than courts being slower.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

Kinda sucks alright. Basically the slowing down of the courts though makes passing shots a lot easier to implement and guys are scared to go to the net as they know there's a high probability they'll get passed. Stakhovsky's match against Federer this year at Wimbledon though was a breath of fresh air. I'd like to see a lot more of that next year on grass but it's hard on the other surfaces. Fed was coming forward a lot at Cincy last year to his credit but aside from him and Llodra and a handful of others, that's it. The rest are happy to just rally at the baseline till kingdom come.

Passing shots being easier is more related to racket technology than courts being slower.

True, plus advanced training. These guys can hit cross court winners doing a split 5 feet wide of the court...

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

I am with you Borg in that the game is lacking something these days. Too often I yell at the tv screen " Go to the net dumbass, the guy can only slice it back, WHY ARE YOU STILL WAITING????" I was happy to watch Roger come in today, do the good old gun slinging at the net.

I agree with everyone regarding why net play is dying, but I have a counter argument for that: I do not believe majority of the players are great passers simply because the way the game is played, they are very seldom presented with a target. They are used to hitting deep baseline shots, whereas a passing shot will require a shorter, sharp angled heavily top spinned ball, unless you are going DTL. Every now and then I see a surprise approach to the net and the guy who is supposed to do the passing is so shocked that he comes up with a horrible shot .

Now, I am not talking about the top guys..they will pass you left and right but even against them, you have chances. When you go deep to to Nole's backhand and you know FOR SURE the only way he is getting the ball back is with one his trade mark sliding slices, why would you stay back and watch the ball sail and drop close to the baseline and have him regroup? Just take in the air and kill it.

I think there is still room for net play in tennis, if it is used properly. It will never be like what it was, but it can still be utilized as part of a game plan.

As I am writing this, Milos is showing how it can be done. He just chipped a nice low slice, rushed the net and Anduhar just netted it. How often does Andujar see people rushing the net???

 

[Luxilon Borg]

I am with you Borg in that the game is lacking something these days. Too often I yell at the tv screen " Go to the net dumbass, the guy can only slice it back, WHY ARE YOU STILL WAITING????" I was happy to watch Roger come in today, do the good old gun slinging at the net.

I agree with everyone regarding why net play is dying, but I have a counter argument for that: I do not believe majority of the players are great passers simply because the way the game is played, they are very seldom presented with a target. They are used to hitting deep baseline shots, whereas a passing shot will require a shorter, sharp angled heavily top spinned ball, unless you are going DTL. Every now and then I see a surprise approach to the net and the guy who is supposed to do the passing is so shocked that he comes up with a horrible shot .

Now, I am not talking about the top guys..they will pass you left and right but even against them, you have chances. When you go deep to to Nole's backhand and you know FOR SURE the only way he is getting the ball back is with one his trade mark sliding slices, why would you stay back and watch the ball sail and drop close to the baseline and have him regroup? Just take in the air and kill it.

I think there is still room for net play in tennis, if it is used properly. It will never be like what it was, but it can still be utilized as part of a game plan.

As I am writing this, Milos is showing how it can be done. He just chipped a nice low slice, rushed the net and Anduhar just netted it. How often does Andujar see people rushing the net???

Pretty much agree with all you say. I too yell at the screen..."Get in and volley...!!!!!"

With the women, it is hopeless, that we know, but I say following the path of the ball and positioning your self properly is high percentage play. Big John does it when he is on, so does Milos as you say, and so does Felicioso.

If I am a top ten guy, staying back and trying to out hit another top tenner is just a roll of the dice.