If you don't love Taylor Dent, you don't love tennis.

[BreakPoint]

Serve and volley. Chip and charge. Huge serve. Slice backhand approach shots. Stretch backspin drop volleys. Half-volley drives. Etc.......

Haven't seen this style of tennis for waaaayy too long. So much fun to watch.

You've gotta love it!

 

[Josherer]

Yeah defaintly!

Loved the Dent Fed match. Despite massively supporting Fed in general i couldn't help but cheer for dent!

 

[arodnadal]

agreed....dent is the man!
beautiful stuff to watch....quite exciting too!

 

[origmarm]

I really enjoyed watching him. First match I've seen of his in a long time. I hope he gets high enough up the rankings to get into the main draw at Queens or perhaps Wimbledon. I feel that a few upsets could result on a good day

 

[pound cat]

I love Dent because his last name is perfect for a guy with big white teeth like he has.

 

[Josherer]

I love Dent because his last name is perfect for a guy with big white teeth like he has.

Haha.........

 

[DarthMaul]

It's a pleasure to watch that kind of tennis Dent is playing. He also unleashed Fed's beautiful tennis. The match was great, unlike today's boring game played by some top 10 guys.

 

[shadows]

it was a very refreshing thing to see, fingers crossed Dents training plans means he can be a danger in the grass season

 

[coloskier]

I know one thing for sure. Baseline bashers will not want to see Dent on their side of the draw in early rounds. The match also showed how much Fed likes having a target to shoot at, and why he has trouble against Nadal and Murray, who give him no target.

 

[jaggy]

It is wonderful to watch

 

[larry10s]

love to see serve and volley and attacking tennis. quite refreshing compared to watch me hit this ball as hard as i can to a target as big as a hubcap

 

[larry10s]

I know one thing for sure. Baseline bashers will not want to see Dent on their side of the draw in early rounds. The match also showed how much Fed likes having a target to shoot at, and why he has trouble against Nadal and Murray, who give him no target.

this not the thread for this but maybe you could say fed cant go punch for punch with those guys

 

[PED]

I know one thing for sure. Baseline bashers will not want to see Dent on their side of the draw in early rounds.

Interesting point, I think it takes a really top player to deal with that disruptive style on the other side of the net. Interesting that Gonzo could do nothing with Stepanek but Verdasco brushed him aside.

 

[jms007]

I agree it was nice to watch, partially because it's so rare nowadays. Though I does not make long for the days when everyone S&V'd. Too much of that would be boring too in the long run. I prefer a mixture of things.

 

[origmarm]

Interesting point, I think it takes a really top player to deal with that disruptive style on the other side of the net. Interesting that Gonzo could do nothing with Stepanek but Verdasco brushed him aside.

My thoughts exactly actually. I was thinking that Dent's success and Stepanek's would be kind of similar. That said Dent's serve is of a different level.

I would be very interested to see a Rafa matchup of this nature. My feeling is that it would be a similar encounter to Verdasco/Stepanek but it would be interesting for sure. I'm not so sure it's a "top player" type thing but more just a level of comfort.

Generally very watchable

 

[Nadal_Freak]

I disagree. I prefer variety from the baseline.

 

[EtePras]

Baseline points won
Federer 29
Dent 9

I can't appreciate a player who relies on cheap tricks to win instead of actually playing tennis.

 

[Tennisplaya10]

i enjoyed his game too. but lets be honest. dent is a waste of talent. he seems mentally weak. and sometimes he played like he didn't really care. strange.
and he is lazy with his foot work. he just waits for the ball and doesn't prepare for it. he could have avoided many of those unforced errors by moving his lame feet. also he needs to loose weight. he would benefit from better movement.
his second serves are amazing though. the pace and spin. and his backhand is very solid.
anyway karlovic is a better SVer. much more effective and has better foot work and is mentally stronger.

 

[Federer4life]

I agree it was nice to watch, partially because it's so rare nowadays. Though I does not make long for the days when everyone S&V'd. Too much of that would be boring too in the long run. I prefer a mixture of things.

Could not agree more.

 

[tacou]

ya even if you're not a fan of s&v it's so nice to see: NO ONE plays this kind of tennis on tour.

I really hope he plays well at Wimby as it's a joy to watch.

 

[origmarm]

It's all about contrasting styles. S&V all the time was not so much fun in parts of the 90s. Baseline bashing all the time today is no better. It's just great to not have to watch homogeneous tennis

 

[leonidas1982]

I disagree. I prefer variety from the baseline.

Now, tell me how your statement makes any sense.

 

[seffina]

I like him, but I don't love him. As others have pointed out (and as Dent acknowledges himself) he has some work to do to be consistently competitive. (As in work on a baseline weapon when he can't always charge and increase foot speed and general endurance.) I enjoyed the variety and would love it incorporated in more people's game, but frankly I enjoyed watching Federer responding to Dent more than Dent's own game. Still I do like him and look forward to him doing better. Made me love Federer more, though.

 

[Nadal_Freak]

Now, tell me how your statement makes any sense.

Topspin, slices, flat ball hitting, great angles, and drop shots all happen at the baseline. So much to see from the back of the court. So much more interesting to watch.

 

[PED]

I have to admit that I agree with Nadal Freak-I too prefer the "variety" from the baseline.
There is no right or wrong to it, just personal preference, but I love to see guys like Nadal go head to head with a Verdasco or Berdych and try and blow each other off the court. Kinda like rock'em sock'em robots from back in the day

 

[stoble]

I have to admit that I agree with Nadal Freak-I too prefer the "variety" from the baseline.
There is no right or wrong to it, just personal preference, but I love to see guys like Nadal go head to head with a Verdasco or Berdych and try and blow each other off the court. Kinda like rock'em sock'em robots from back in the day

You guys are talking shot variety not style of play. There are plenty of chances to see 2 guys slug each other out, but we don't get to see that many matches with different styles of play. I loved watching the Lopez vs. Verdasco match and the Dent vs. Federer.

I thought those 2 were especially FUN to watch.

 

[PED]

To my mind,Lopez and Verdasco are both baseliners, so there style is somewhat similar and I agree, it was fun to watch.

 

[BreakPoint]

I disagree. I prefer variety from the baseline.

That is what's known as a "paradox" or an "oxymoron".

It's like saying - "All of my tennis shorts are white because I like variety".

 

[BreakPoint]

Baseline points won
Federer 29
Dent 9

I can't appreciate a player who relies on cheap tricks to win instead of actually playing tennis.

Huh? Volleying is a "cheap trick"?

If that's true then hitting forehand winners must also be "cheap tricks". :-?

 

[BreakPoint]

To my mind,Lopez and Verdasco are both baseliners, so there style is somewhat similar and I agree, it was fun to watch.

Why do you think Feliciano Lopez is a baseliner?

He serves and volleys quite a lot.

 

[swedechris]

taylor could be a big giant killer this year indoors and on grass.. watch out for him if he gets a high seed at wimby early .. rafa .. djoko .. they could get stung

 

[PED]

Why do you think Feliciano Lopez is a baseliner?

He serves and volleys quite a lot.

True, but not as much as a Dent or Stepanek. For one thing, Lopez doesn't hit with a conti FH grip Lopez can play from the back of the court whereas Stepanek can't but he's amazing at the net.

 

[BreakPoint]

From Dent's postmatch comments:

Q. Do you feel that you're showing us some kind of tennis we've missed for so long?

TAYLOR DENT: Oh, well, I hope so. Again, I feel like I've got so long to go as far as execution level, as well. It's a different taste. You don't see too many guys chipping charging second serves.

I don't know, I felt like maybe I showed a little bit of vulnerability in Roger out there. He didn't really seem to like me doing chipping and charging those second serves very much.

And, you know, it's good to see a little bit of variety. Obviously you're not going to see that too much on the clay court season coming up. But on the hard courts and the grass, you know, it's probably fun for everybody to watch.

That's the No. 1 thing I get said to me after a match: God, it's so exciting watching you play.

 

[tudwell]

Topspin, slices, flat ball hitting, great angles, and drop shots all happen at the baseline. So much to see from the back of the court. So much more interesting to watch.

There's lots of variety at the net, too. Volleys, short angles, drop shots, lobs, overheads, passing shots. I think all parts of the court are fun.

 

[BreakPoint]

True, but not as much as a Dent or Stepanek. For one thing, Lopez doesn't hit with a conti FH grip Lopez can play from the back of the court whereas Stepanek can't but he's amazing at the net.

I don't know about that. I saw the Stepanek-Gonzo match as well as all of his matches at the SAP Open and Stepanek can definitely hold his own from the baseline. He beat Gonzo, Roddick, and Fish by winning most of his points from the baseline.

 

[PED]

I think this discussion is just about as resolvable as Fed versus Nadal, Wilson vs Babolat, Mid's vs Midplus, gut vs poly, leather vs synthetic grip, etc etc

 

[PED]

I don't know about that. I saw the Stepanek-Gonzo match as well as all of his matches at the SAP Open and Stepanek can definitely hold his own from the baseline. He beat Gonzo, Roddick, and Fish by winning most of his points from the baseline.

Don't you think the indoor faster surface at the SAP had something to do with that? I was really impressed by the result over Roddick but did not see it. I admire Stepanek's skill (as well as his luck with the ladies) but I don't like watching him.

 

[BreakPoint]

Don't you think the indoor faster surface at the SAP had something to do with that? I was really impressed by the result over Roddick but did not see it. I admire Stepanek's skill (as well as his luck with the ladies) but I don't like watching him.

Huh? The indoor surface should have helped Roddick and Fish, NOT Stepanek. Both Roddick and Fish serve much bigger than Stepanek and they both hit harder off the ground than Stepanek so a faster surface will overwhelmingly help Roddick and Fish. Stepanek is just very crafty from the baseline, mixing up his shots, and he covers the court quite well. BTW, I saw both matches live from right behind the baseline.

 

[FD3S]

It's all about contrasting styles. S&V all the time was not so much fun in parts of the 90s. Baseline bashing all the time today is no better. It's just great to not have to watch homogeneous tennis

This. A balance between raw baseline bashing and pure S&V is tennis at it's best.

 

[PED]

I would have thought the faster surface would aid Stepanek's attacking style of play. I was impressed with the angles Stepanek was getting against Gonzo from the baseline but I loved the way Verdasco passed him time after time. Fun to watch.

I never seen Roddick "live" but a buddy of mine was at the Davis Cup last year and said the action on his serve was unbelievable!

 

[MacTheKnife]

Dent is just the kind of player this sport needs right now to add some variety in styles. Let's just hope he can get into shape. It's not going to be easy.

 

[P_Agony]

Topspin, slices, flat ball hitting, great angles, and drop shots all happen at the baseline. So much to see from the back of the court. So much more interesting to watch.

You mean you like topspin, topspin, topspin, more topspin, sometimes backhand slices, and then some more topspin. Yes, really interesting.

Back on topic - I really liked Dent from what I've seen. The guy has a huge serve and some nice strokes, and possibly one of the deadliest BH slices I've seen (dare I say equal to prime Federer). it's a shame his volleys were a bit off against Federer, but I'm sure his volleying skills are just as impressive. We need more S&V players on tour.

 

[lawrence]

what would be better for the sport is faster surfaces, man oh man they need to make wimby really fast again

 

[Serve_Ace]

Topspin, slices, flat ball hitting, great angles, and drop shots all happen at the baseline. So much to see from the back of the court. So much more interesting to watch.

It's a lot easier to set up from the baseline....the ball takes longer to reach there even if the ball is 70 mph+ but when your at net imagine a ball going at you 70 mph+ and you're still able to hit those shots like drop shots,angles, a topspin or slice drive, flat...that's IMO is more amazing to see

 

[RoddickAce]

Yes, Taylor Dent's style of play was a nice flashback of how tennis used to be played. Nice to see some nice volleys where it wasn't just a putaway volley off a sitter.