Are strategies relevant today in Modern Tennis?

[Cheetah]

Originally Posted by luvforty

therefore not only the north-south dimension has been taken away for the most part, the east-west dimension has been made smaller.

I'd say the east-west dimension has become much larger than in the past despite faster athletes.

[luvforty]

Originally Posted by Cheetah

I'd say the east-west dimension has become much larger than in the past despite faster athletes.

incorrect.

[Ash_Smith]

Originally Posted by arche3

Please kill me. Your saying its not happening now? I hear junior coaches trying to teach strategy against big huge pace and spin. You can bet fed and all the rest of atp is thinking about this and not just blastinf balls. Please some coach set this guy straight. Balla? Anyone? Yandel? I'm sure jy has strategy in his coaching.

Arche - you have to remember that Sureshs opinions are coloured by his version of reality, he has acknowledged that his tennis skills and knowledge have been built up by reading internet sites and watching tennis on TV. Sadly watching tennis on TV gives you no idea of the intention of the shot you are watching, so unless you have either experience of playing at that level yourself, or teaching to that level, or taking lessons from somebody who has your version of reality is rather skewed.

As a general rule I have stopped trying to debate with Sureshs, his posts generally illustrate that his mind is closed

[Ash_Smith]

Originally Posted by luvforty

incorrect.

why?

During the era of serve and volley tennis was the game not played "straighter" - less width on the ball?

[luvforty]

Originally Posted by Ash_Smith

why?

During the era of serve and volley tennis was the game not played "straighter" - less width on the ball?

'straighter' as in more influence from north-south, or less influence from east-west?

you meant the latter? why does it have to be less width... doesn't a position closer to the net open up more angles east-west?

i think the only argument for more width today, is more spin on the ball today opening up angles, but I think that part is canceled by the faster foot speed of todays players.

[arche3]

Originally Posted by Ash_Smith

Arche - you have to remember that Sureshs opinions are coloured by his version of reality, he has acknowledged that his tennis skills and knowledge have been built up by reading internet sites and watching tennis on TV. Sadly watching tennis on TV gives you no idea of the intention of the shot you are watching, so unless you have either experience of playing at that level yourself, or teaching to that level, or taking lessons from somebody who has your version of reality is rather skewed.

As a general rule I have stopped trying to debate with Sureshs, his posts generally illustrate that his mind is closed

Oh my god thank you. I apologize profusely for not asking for you by name as I never thought you would reply to a post such as mine. I thougt my best chances was asking for balla to comment. My faith in this forum is restored briefly by your simple act of kindness. So I am not subject to only the baseless postings of internet self help tennis gurus.

[Cheetah]

Originally Posted by Ash_Smith

why?

During the era of serve and volley tennis was the game not played "straighter" - less width on the ball?

Yes it was.
You can see in virtually any pro match today where there is much more east west court coverage than in past, top spin angles landing at the service line moving opponents well out of the court. Didn't happen in a jimmy connor / kevin curren match.

[luvforty]

Originally Posted by Cheetah

Yes it was.
You can see in virtually any pro match today where there is much more east west court coverage than in past, top spin angles landing at the service line moving opponents well out of the court. Didn't happen in a jimmy connor / kevin curren match.

as in my previous post, whether this factor is canceled out by the faster footspeed of the players is debatable.

on the other hand, I don't see WTA playing any wider, Sabatini, Martinez, small number of spin players just not too long ago don't even exist today... some even 'strategically' play narrower by blasting down the middle to take away angles and turn the match into a ball striking battle, trying to beat each other with pace, and pace only.

[Ash_Smith]

Originally Posted by luvforty

'straighter' as in more influence from north-south, or less influence from east-west?

you meant the latter? why does it have to be less width... doesn't a position closer to the net open up more angles east-west?

i think the only argument for more width today, is more spin on the ball today opening up angles, but I think that part is canceled by the faster foot speed of todays players.

Yes, a position at net opens up potential angles - but the game played to get there is generally played with less angles - approach shots are more effective and more common down the line for example, first volleys generally hit deep and back behind (little angle). Only the finishing volley would generally be hit with more extreme angles.

Spin rates today mean the east-west dimension is potentially bigger than ever and arguably has more influence.

[Ash_Smith]

Originally Posted by luvforty

as in my previous post, whether this factor is canceled out by the faster footspeed of the players is debatable.

on the other hand, I don't see WTA playing any wider, Sabatini, Martinez, small number of spin players just not too long ago don't even exist today... some even 'strategically' play narrower by blasting down the middle to take away angles and turn the match into a ball striking battle, trying to beat each other with pace, and pace only.

Yep, that I cannot deny!

[Ash_Smith]

Originally Posted by arche3

Oh my god thank you. I apologize profusely for not asking for you by name as I never thought you would reply to a post such as mine.

Haha, no worries! I don't post much unless a particular topic tickles my interest! I look at my post count compared to may others and wonder how on earth they manage it!

[rkelley]

Originally Posted by sureshs

Exactly.

And tennis instruction needs to catch up. We cannot teach the way it was done before. A new form of instruction based on what the pros do (actually don't do) is needed.

One of the big difference that I see between the big 4 and the next group is shot selection - aka strategy. A guy like Tsonga for instance has the tools (I think) to be competitive with those top guys. But sometimes he just goes for stuff that's stupid, or seems to give up, instead of going for solid, hard shots that aren't going to win him the point but keeps him in the point.

Also Tsonga impressed the heck out of me at Wimbledon with S&V skills. Why the heck isn't he doing that more. Some of these "almost" guys don't seem to realize what strategies are working for them.

[Cheetah]

Originally Posted by luvforty

as in my previous post, whether this factor is canceled out by the faster footspeed of the players is debatable.

on the other hand, I don't see WTA playing any wider, Sabatini, Martinez, small number of spin players just not too long ago don't even exist today...

Really? This from 2 days ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GIdAcdUnjw&t=3m26s

some even 'strategically' play narrower by blasting down the middle to take away angles and turn the match into a ball striking battle.

Nobody does this as their game plan. It only happens at certain periods of a match. You don't see any wta matches where one player is consistently playing narrow and blasting down the middle.

[luvforty]

^^ oh, like posting a clip of 1 point is gonna mean anything for the purpose of this debate.

nobody? how did Davenport achieve what she achieved? for her, the narrower the better.

down the middle baby.

[Cheetah]

Originally Posted by luvforty

^^ oh, like posting a clip of 1 point is gonna mean anything for the purpose of this debate.

nobody? how did Davenport achieve what she achieved? for her, the narrower the better.

down the middle baby.

you said players like this don't exist today. I provided a clip proving otherwise.

[luvforty]

Originally Posted by Cheetah

you said players like this don't exist today. I provided a clip proving otherwise.

we are talking about trends - an aggregate of thousands of points from hundreds of players.

Serena is somewhere middle of the road, she hits hard and has decent speed.

you look at those girls who play 'big babe tennis'.... Venice, Sharapova, or any big/fat chick who can hit but cannot run, they all pretty much play this way.

the recent example I can think of is Mauresmo, who uses spin as extensively as Conchita Martinez or Sabatini

[Ash_Smith]

Originally Posted by luvforty

or any big/fat chick who can hit but cannot run, they all pretty much play this way.

Disrespectful much?

[Cheetah]

No they don't. You are just spewing out some junk you heard casual tennis fans or some nba announcer who was tasked to cover a tennis match say.

Sharapova vs Azarenka. Does this look like they are only bashing down the middle?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGmV6jxwVmk

[luvforty]

ok i will save you the trouble, no need to post youtube links... i know how they play.

aza is not a good example.... once a player creates angle, the middle is no longer the middle anymore!

and still... we are talking about 'TRENDS'.

[ShoeShiner]

Today tennis games in pros levels are dominated by power. In ATP and WTA, there are not much game varieties. But play styles and strategies are still needed.