Search
Recent Posts
- Happy Birthday to Manon: December 18.
- Photos.
- Sampras claims Andy Murray is mocking him in following post. Threatens to sue!!!!!!!!!!!
- Photos.
- Photos.
- Intelligent tennis players - according to science - basement science.
- Dumbest tennis players - according to science - basement science.
- Videos.
- Photos.
- You use a phone? Yeah? Then here's some great news: Your Apps Know Where You Were Last Night, and They’re Not Keeping It Secret.
12/18/2018
12/17/2018
12/16/2018
12/15/2018
.jpg)
12/14/2018
Photos.
Serbia's tennis players Novak Djokovik poses with friends during the European Champions League football match Crvena Zvezda Belgrade vs Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on December 11, 2018 at Rajko-Mitic stadium in Belgarde. (Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP) (Photo credit should read ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP/Getty Images)
Serbia's tennis player Novak Djokovic is seen ahead of the European Champions League football match Crvena Zvezda Belgrade vs Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on December 11, 2018 at Rajko-Mitic stadium in Belgarde. (Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP) (Photo credit should read ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 09: Former tennis player John McEnroe attends the New York Knicks game against the Charlotte Hornets at Madison Square Garden on December 09, 2018 in New York City.
Djokovic has been ITF World Champion more times than Federer and Nadal? For rock people, he was just declared one for 2018. Guess who got it for WTA?
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) designates a World Champion each year based on performances throughout the year, emphasising the Grand Slam tournaments, and also considering team events such as the Davis Cup and Fed Cup. Men's and women's singles champions were first named in 1978; the title is now also awarded for doubles, wheelchair, and junior players. It is sometimes named "ITF player of the year" award, alluding to similar other year-end awards in tennis.
| Total | Player |
|---|---|
| 6 |  Pete Sampras |
 Novak Djokovic |
| 5 |  Roger Federer |
| 4 |  Ivan Lendl |
| 3 |  Björn Borg |
| John McEnroe |
|
 Rafael Nadal |
| 2 |  Lleyton Hewitt |
|
| Total | Player | Nationality |
| 7 | Steffi Graf |  Germany |
| 6 | Martina Navratilova | United States |
| 6 | Serena Williams | United States |
| 3 | Chris Evert | United States |
| 3 | Martina Hingis | Switzerland |
| 3 | Justine Henin |  Belgium |
| 2 | Monica Seles |  Yugoslavia |
|
2018 in tennis decoded: The seemingly small incidents that led to the year's defining moments.
The year just gone included several defining images and moments. Serena Williams' meltdown at the US Open, Novak Djokovic down on his haunches after winning a fourth Wimbledon title, and Simona Halep weeping after finally breaking her grand-slam duck at the French Open.
But these year-defining moments don't happen in isolation. Here Telegraph Sport looks at the seemingly smaller incidents that ended up having major consequences.
Djokovic enters Incredible Hulk mode
One of the strangest elements of Novak Djokovic's demise after he completed the career Grand Slam two years ago was the sudden absence of the defiance that had once defined him. The change was so marked it was as though he had been neutered.
At this year's French Open, the Djokovic resurrection began in earnest. He came into the tournament off the back of improved performances at the Italian Open, but was still seemingly gripped by the malaise that had consumed him since winning at Roland Garros in 2016.
With Marian Vajda back in his coaching box, however, the old Djokovic was stirring. In his first couple of matches Djokovic showed signs of life, but it was the third-round battle against Roberto Bautista Agut when the monster inside him truly reawoke.
Struggling to fire winners past the durable grinder Bautista Agut, Djokovic netted a forehand in the second set tie-break and went into full Incredible Hulk mode. He smashed his racket in two after hammering it into the ground three times amid whistles and boos from the French supporters. Djokovic ended up losing the set but winning the match in four sets and almost four hours - comfortably his longest match of the year up to that point.
Djokovic was enraged during his win against Roberto Bautista Agut at the French Open Credit: AP
The anger was back, and so was the belief. "It was a big point and in these kind of circumstances emotions get the better of you," Djokovic said afterwards.
"I'm not proud of doing that to be honest. I don't like doing it, but at times it happens."
Djokovic was ultimately defeated in the quarter-finals - ranting furiously in his post-match press conference that he might skip Wimbledon - but more importantly he had rediscovered his mojo. A month later Djokovic was at his 'me against the world' best to subdue Kyle Edmund and a baying Wimbledon crowd in the Wimbledon third round. Djokovic ended up taking the title, followed by the US Open and then the world No. 1 ranking.
It all seems inevitable now, but until the French Open, Djokovic was outside the world's top 20 and hopelessly below his best. Then came Paris and Bautista Agut, with the improvement afterwards bringing to mind Ben Ainslie's famous warning: "They've made me angry and you don't want to make me angry."
Federer injury setback
Djokovic's Wimbledon renaissance was made easier by the strangely limp exit of Roger Federer at the quarter-final stage. It would later emerge that Federer was inhibited by a hand injury during the summer, which he picked up while preparing for the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart.
"I hurt my hand training at the start of the grass season," Federer told Germany's Sonntags Zeitung newspaper in October. "It's had more consequences than I thought. I dragged this pain for about three months."
The first signs all were not right with Federer came during his opening match in Stuttgart against Mischa Zverev where he lost the first set before winning in three.
Federer suffered a shock defeat at Wimbledon Credit: Getty Images
We will never know how much Federer was affected by the injury, but it coincided with his worst run of the year - taking in the quarter-final defeat to Kevin Anderson at Wimbledon and the almost inconceivable fourth-round loss to John Millman at the US Open.
Had he been fully fit throughout that stretch then maybe, just maybe, we would be talking about Federer as a 21 or 22-time major winner.
Serena shows she means business
When Serena Williams began her grand-slam comeback at the French Open, there were doubts over whether even the greatest player of all time could straight away rediscover her best form.
A patchy win over Kristyna Pliskova in the first round was fairly inconclusive, but by the time she had overpowered 17th seed Ashleigh Barty in the second round, suddenly we were all believers again. It wasn't just the way Williams had recovered from losing the first set to beat one of the trickiest opponents on the WTA Tour, it was the way she had completely turned the match around in one single moment.
Trailing a set and a break early in the second set, Williams pulverised a return and celebrated with such a blood-curdling scream that Barty looked visibly terrified. If there were any doubts that Williams might not be quite as single-mindedly competitive after motherhood, they were quashed in an instant. If anything, Williams has been more determined and vocal since returning from maternity leave.
Williams eventually overpowered Ashleigh Barty in their French Open second-round match Credit: Getty Images
It was this unrelenting will to win that counter-intuitively proved Williams' undoing in the US Open final against Naomi Osaka, with John McEnroe telling reporters last week that "Maybe she just wanted it too bad."
Like with Djokovic's Bautista Agut outburst, the fires started burning again for Williams with that return against Barty. The end results though ended up being very different for the two players.
Nadal over-exerts himself
Rafael Nadal signed up for 12 hard-court tournaments this year, but withdrew or retired from 11 of them. The only one he completed was the Rogers Cup, which he ended up winning.
Curiously though, he may have been better off not doing so well at the tournament and instead preserving his cranky right knee for the US Open a few weeks later.
It's easy to say now but with hindsight playing five matches in five days in Toronto almost certainly contributed to Nadal having to pull out from his US Open semi-final against Juan Martin del Potro. For Nadal to stand any chance of winning a hard-court major, he needs to have struck the perfect balance between getting used to the quicker courts but not put too much pressure on his vulnerable knees.
The most gruelling match Nadal played in Canada was the near-two-and-a-half hour quarter-final against Marin Cilic. Calling on his famed competitive spirit, Nadal outlasted his opponent to win 6-4 in the third set, and continue his progress. Had he lost and not endured such an onerous week, perhaps Nadal's knee could have hung together for an extra couple of matches in New York. Had it done so, Nadal might have retained his title from 2017, thus making his grand-slam titles lead over Djokovic five instead of three.
Rafael Nadal (R) had to pull out of his US Open semi-final against Juan Martin del Potro Credit: AFP
Halep learns the hard way
When Simona Halep was comfortably disposed of by KarolinaPliskova in Madrid, it seemed like a fairly unremarkable, inconsequential result. Halep being overwhelmed by a more powerful opponent is not a story that tends to shake the WTA Tour's foundations - especially on the faster conditions in Madrid.
For Halep though the defeat was a watershed - from then on in the clay-court season she was determined to learn from the loss and not be so passive in the biggest matches. By the time she faced Sloane Stephens in the French Open final, Halep resolved not to make the same mistakes again.
Trailing a set and a break, Halep switched tactics and decided to rush the net when Stephens was pushed behind the baseline rather than simply hoping her opponent would make a mistake. The switch-up worked so well that while commentating for ITV, the former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli started yelling: “That’s the play! That’s the play!” whenever Halep put away a volley.
After winning the match in three sets, Halep said afterwards of her change of strategy: “I thought ‘Everything is gone. I just have to relax’”.
Halep's first grand-slam title was the reward for years of toil, but in the short-term that pasting she took from Pliskova just a month earlier played a major role.
http://sports.yahoo.com/2018-tennis-decoded-seemingly-small-100000916.html
Less Is More: It's Time to End Best-of-Five at the Majors.
The current Grand Slam format for men’s singles—best-of-five sets—is too long and should be changed. There, I said it.
Please, compose yourself. I know this is quite upsetting to some of you. I promise I’m not looking to dismantle the rich heritage of this storied sport. Quite the contrary. I love watching tennis. Lots of it. But over the years of doing so, I’ve come to the conclusion that best-of-five is not best-for-tennis. I believe the rule of quality over quantity applies here. So, I beseech thee: Do me the favor of considering this sacrilegious tennis heresy.
The average Major League Baseball game lasts about three hours. NFL clashes also clock in at just under three hours. And the average NBA affair is approximately two hours and 15 minutes—which just happens to be the average best-of-three ATP match time. Remember this tidbit. We’ll come back to it momentarily.
I’d risk looking quite foolish if I didn’t at least feign a somewhat two-sided approach toward this debate. So, what’s the upside of five sets? For starters, it’s dramatic. Like two gladiators going mano-a-mano to the death, we get fluorescent Nike-wearing Hercules and Achilles sparring for a spot in the history books. The carnage of one intrepid warrior beating down another ‘til the decisive swing of the sword sends a seemingly invincible superhuman to his gutting demise. Too much? Okay. But there’s simply no denying the deep-rooted drama of a five-setter. The plot twists and narrative zig-zags; the ups and downs; the close calls; the comebacks; the individual trials and tribulations all laid bare on a 27-foot-wide battlefield. Like any great story, it takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions. ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?
And how about the sheer physicality of a five-hour duel? Come on. Like a 15-round heavyweight bout, we witness two men pushing themselves further than the ordinary civilian can imagine. Prizefighters propped against the ropes, swinging away, point after grueling point, scramble after lung-stinging scramble. Repeated laser-like focus and lightning bolt reactions for over 300 frantic exchanges. It’s incredible, really, to see two athletes compete at such a high level in such a technical and strategic sport long after—hours after—mere mortals would expire.
WIMBLEDON ANNOUNCES INTRODUCTION OF FINAL-SET TIEBREAKER BEGINNING IN 2019
So, five sets don’t sound so too bad, eh? Alright then, why don’t we take this formula for athletic pageantry and extrapolate it to other sports? Anyone for six quarters of NBA basketball? How about 15 innings of baseball? Let’s bump it up to 26 holes of golf, shall we? No, wait—better yet, why don’t we just extend the Grand Slams to best-of-seven? That’d mean even more drama and more physicality. Right? Any takers? I’ll go out on a limb: beyond a diminishing viewership, the quality of performance would also see a dip.
Even the king of five-setters thinks five sets is too much. Novak Djokovic. The master of going the distance. Winner of 14 grand slam championships, he recently stated publicly that keeping the grand slams to best-of-three sets would lead to more fans and better tennis.
This debate has even transcended the sports world into pop-culture, with the 2015 HBO-produced satire 7 Days in Hell poking fun at ridiculously long Wimbledon matches.
And what about the ladies? Why don’t they play best-of-five? Women’s marathons are the same distance as men’s. Most Olympic events are the same length. In fact, nearly every single sport on earth is the same length for both genders. Except tennis. What gives? One theory is that there isn’t a demand for it. Another theory whispered behind closed doors in dimly lit rooms is that there isn’t a demand for it in the men’s game, either. We love the sport, but do we love it so much that we can’t bear to tell it the truth?
Tennis, unlike most professional sports, abides by a year-round calendar that kicks off in the beginning of January and lasts until November. Players navigate a schedule lasting 11 unforgiving months across six continents. And when the year’s four biggest tournaments are best-of-five sets, it’s no surprise that today’s top players are constantly injured. Can you imagine the top five players in any other professional sport all injured and out of the game during a one-year time period? No. Because it’s virtually unheard of.
Not only have we seen more major injuries, but we’re also seeing far more players retire mid-match at majors. Picture scoring pricey tix to the U.S. Open semifinals, only to witness a single set of tennis. It's kind of like sitting courtside for the NBA Finals and having it cut short after one quarter of basketball. It’s not fair to the fans.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN TO INTRODUCE FINAL-SET TIEBREAKER AT 6-6 AS EARLY AS 2019
The players are saying it, the fans are feeling it, pop-culture is mocking it, even the rule makers can’t deny it. Just this season, they’ve applied scotch-tape remedies to protect the glory of five sets. Look at the U.S. Open—they announced the serve clock, basically telling players “hurry up, we’re getting bored.”
Tennis has gone through many renovations over the past 50 years. From wood rackets to metal to the current-day NASA-grade carbon fiber. Over the past decade, added power in rackets has led tournament officials to make balls less bouncy and courts more gripping—all to offset the heightened speed for longer, more entertaining rallies. Or in other words, to produce a higher quality viewing experience.
Ah yes, quality. That thing that separates the top players in the world from the ones down at the local club. It’s why we watch. To see someone do something we can’t. To marvel as they wave their wand and walk on water. To lean in, eyes wide, and smile in astonishment. Though from my vantage point, it’s not about seeing our heroes haggard, but rather, to see their absolute best. I don’t care who the fittest tennis player alive is. I want to see the verve and panache of a genius.
So, I humbly toss this out into the tennis-sphere—less is more. By going from best-of-five to best-of-three in the Grand Slams, we’ll get to see our favorites play better tennis, more often, over longer careers. Advantage, everyone.
The ball’s in your court, tennis.
https://www.si.com/tennis/2018/12/14/tennis-majors-grand-slams-best-five-sets
Recent Comments