If you don't enjoy watching Federer, Hardenne..........

[drake]

I've watched tennis now for the last 30 years. My favorite players have been Laver, McEnroe, Edberg, Graf, Sampras and Agassi but now I've actually taken the sport up again because of the joy I get from watching Federer and Hardenne.

If you don't enjoy watching Federer and Hardenne play then:

1. You're too pro-american (ie Jim Mcinvale). Why doesn't he just have Davis Cup in his tournaments and quit whining when a non US player wins in his mattress stadium.

2. You're too biased with all 2 handed bh players.

3. You don't know quality tennis.

These 2 players, at this moment in time, are the best all around pure tennis athletes the sport has ever seen.

[SteveI]

Drake,

Could not agree more.

Have a good one

Steve

[mlee2]

Maybe orgasming over Federer and Henin is showing bias with one-handers?

[Roger Vallejo]

It seems like some of the great, recent one-handed backhand players--Sampras, McEnroe, Graff, Navratilova, Lendl, Rafter, Stich--also brought an element of finesse, athleticism and versatility to their game.

It seems that so many two-handed players just use the backhand to keep the ball in play or hit passing shots. Whenever I think that the one-handed backhand is a dying shot, along comes a new player with a topspin, slice and flat backhand who adds new excitement to the game. True, there are some one-handed backhand players who have boring backhands. While I like the grit of the Spaniards, most simply have a big topspin backhand that is sometimes a little too slow or late for fast surfaces.

As to the gingoism with folks who only root for their own countrymen, I remember Tony Trabert, former Davis Cup captain, chastizing Americans for not supporting Americans in Davis Cup competition as strongly as foreign fans celebrate their own. But Americans have always felt comfortable cheering for good athletes regardless of their national origin: Borg, Vilas, Becker....to name a few.

Please remember that the U.S. is a large, economically strong country, and folks in other countries, some smaller in population than an average state in America, take great satisfaction in beating "Goliath."

[The Franchise]

I like Federer, but I hate J "the Hand" Double H. What does that make me?

[10s247]

Federer is fun to watch, Henin is getting a little arrogant.

[Max G.]

Oh? What's wrong with not liking watching Federer or J H-H? I don't think you should be trying to tell anyone what they "should" like watching. I agree - that's bias towards one-handed backhands.

That said, I admit I'm biased towards one-handed backhands and love watching them. But I don't think it's reasonable to say that whoever doesn't like watching them "Doesn't know quality tennis."

[10s247]

But I think domination is bad for the game, a la Federer/Sampras. Henin will never get to that point.

[edge]

draj, I tend to agree with your Federer pick, however Hana Manlikova is my choice for the most beautiful female technical form in womens' tennis.

[Morpheus]

I'd forgotten about Mandlikova. She had a beautiful, if somewhat erratic, game.

[tennis_dude]

But I think domination is bad for the game, a la Federer/Sampras. Henin will never get to that point.

Well, get use to it as Federer will probably dominate for quite some time.

[RDP7511]

I don't deny Henin's talent, but I'm very curious to see just how dominant Henin will be with some true competition. She's taken over the #1 ranking in the absence of Serena and during a time when the other top ranking females have been out due to various injuries. Lindsey, Jennifer, and Monica have been far from truly healthy in nearly a year. Monica, who is my favorite active player, needs to seriously think about retiring. Venus... well, I don't know what to think about Venus. She seems to injure herself just picking up a racquet anymore. I curious how many titles Henin will walk away with when some of these other players return to full health.

[ezdude1970]

I agree, I only want to see Federer games anyway!