Is the of great game of tennis finally losing it the aura and class that it once redeemed itself of ? Well,this question puts most of the pundits in the state of dilemma and confusion. The intensity and class with which the likes of Pete Sampras,Agassi,Steffi Graf,Martina navratilova,Bjorn Borg played was simply carismatic and unbelievable. The present crop of players definitely do not get in this class and aura into the game ,which has to a great extent made this game very boring indeed.The reason which makes me assert this statement is because its the base-line pounders like the Nadal,Djokovic are making their presence felt. Gone are those days when the serve and volley players like Sampras ,Boris Becker ruled the world of tennis.
The better racquet technology and slower courts have defnitely spelled dooms day for most of volleyers like Taylor Dent. Likes of Rafa , Djokovic have an undue advantage in the slower courts . The experts reckon that the Wimbeldon grass courts which were once lightning quick have slowed down significantly and that its pace resembles the clay courts of the Rolland Garros. The slow and bouncy nature of these surfaces have not done any thing good either.Rafa as a player is most suited for the clay court because of his style of Play. Although he has won 7 grand slams on almost all the surfaces the critics do not state him to be an allround player.
If comparison is drawn between the fedexpress and Rafa, Fedex is obiviously an allcourt player as he can play well from behind the court as well as at the net. Comparisons apart today Rafa has an undue mental edge over Roger.Despite Roger being reckoned the best in the business , he is unable to deliver the goods. His poor string of performances in the masters says it all. I' believe he is just out of rythm at the moment. I feel its just the matter of time before we see him getting into the groove and then its business as usual for him. One must always know that that the form is temporary,but the class is permanent !!!!!!!!!!
Personally I have nothing against Rafa and other Base line pounders.Its just that those long rallies from the back of court makes the game very clumsy and boring some times. Ofcourse the top spin and engimatic backhand shots of Rafa can rattle any good players ,but its just that he has been projected too highly as a player.
Coming to women's Tennis it has become less a game and a more of attire or wardrobe display.The sheer persona that the players like Steffi Graf brought into the courts was simply magical. Where is all that intensity and ruthlessness gone ? Perhaps the gamesman-ship has been taken over by the petty interests of some commercial outfits who have got the players into a vicious circle drawing them to choose between the game and big money. Big money ofcourse lures every player and they tend lose the focus. Eventually they start under performing.Bottom line is that, we viewers are being deprived of good tennis.
I have to disagree with you there. It is the clash of different styles of play that is making tennis so interesting these days.
ReplyDeleteTake the epic Wimbledon final for example. It was the clash of style v/s strength and it doesn't matter that Rafa's strength that triumphed, but that we got to see the kind of game that wouldn't have been possible but for Rafa's baseline play.