AO final boring.

[SoCal10s]

tried staying up to watch .. I lasted less than a set ... that match put me to sleep right away ... woke up and caught the re-play later the next morning and watched to whole match ... it was boring to watch 2 great players with similar styles play each other ... the first 2 sets were brutal this match like Murray said '' it could have gone either way"" ... still too tough to watch unless you're a real tennis fan...

[mattennis]

It depends on what kind of tennis you like.

For me, today's conditions (court's speed, balls and strings) reward too much defence, top-spin, and hamper flat attacking shots.

In past eras, a hard flat attacking shot was rewarded, because on many courts (at least 1/3 of the season) it was very difficult to retrieve this kind of shots.

Look at this for example (they exchange baseline shots until one of them hits a hard flat attacking shot that usually is an outright winner or at least puts you in a very comfortable position to finish the point at the net). Even Chang, who was the fastest player out there, could do nothing to retrieve that kind of shot with intention on that kind of courts (it was not a serve fest, by the way, it was mainly a baseline game match, but on a court the rewarded flat attacking baseline shots).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3Y_z4ymRp0

[sunof tennis]

Originally Posted by Paul Murphy

I going to miss Federer.
He brings a whole different skillset to a match, which makes the match greater than the sum of its parts.
His artistry and elegance will be irreplaceable.
I found a lot of the final dull - two baseline sluggers going at it on a slow court with little variation.
Djokovic and Murray are both fine players but the spectacle was less than overwhelming for me.
Tennis isn't what it used to be (and I'm talking about variety of styles and court speeds) and it's going to get a whole lot less interesting when the GOAT retires.

I agree. Tennis is always going to be more interesting when the two opponents have constrasting styles. Not taking anything away from Murray or Djokovic as players, but they play very similarly. Nver be the rilvary of McEnroe v. Borg/Connors, Sampras v. Agassi, Federer v. Nadal (clay excepted).
And yes, it would be great if there were more variety in court surfaces. The courts now are so slow, that even if a player hits a good approach, the defending player with the modern technology has too great a chance of passing.

[augustobt]

Originally Posted by Hodgey20

Read the book Greatest matches of all time. Steve Flink ranks it at #7 and I think he knows what hes talking about

Dude, about tennis matches I don't read books, I write them. And I'm pretty sure that 2012's AO Final wasn't even the best match of that tournament.