Number of people seeded at slams

jukka1970 · 07-07-2012, 07:28 PM

I remember when only the top 16 in the world were seeded. Somewhere in the late 80's, early 90's the seeding went to 32 people seeded. The reason for the change was to give a chance to clay court specialists to last a little longer on the grass at Wimbledon, and to provide matches that were considered to be more fair. This way less of the top players could be knocked out the first round.

Well now in the 2010's, and it seems like for a while, there really aren't the specialists like there were back then. It seems that most can at least play on all services, and with the change of more baseliners, Wimbledon's grass has played a bit different.

So the question is, how would you feel if they went back to only seeding 16 people. Do you think it would make things even more interesting?

I wouldn't mind them trying it again, it could really mix up the field, and cause some interesting match ups early.

Mustard · 07-07-2012, 07:33 PM

Yes, 2001 Wimbledon was the first major to have 32 seeds. It has certainly changed the dynamics of the majors, in my opinion. With 32 seeds, the top players are less likely to lose early than they were in the days of 16 seeds. Players in the 17-32 range certainly benefit, as they don't have to play any top 32 player before the third round, whereas in the days of 16 seeds, they could draw the world number 1 in the first round.

firepanda · 07-07-2012, 08:31 PM

I wouldn't mind seeing it go back to Top 16 again. As you say, there aren't really specialists anymore and most people aren't to interested in 16-32 players anyway. Most importantly, it can allow some new guys to break through at the slams. Goodness knows we're all tired of seeing the same fare.

It's probably not going to happen though, all in the name of $$$

07-07-2012, 07:28 PM	#1
jukka1970 Professional Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 1,042	Number of people seeded at slams I remember when only the top 16 in the world were seeded. Somewhere in the late 80's, early 90's the seeding went to 32 people seeded. The reason for the change was to give a chance to clay court specialists to last a little longer on the grass at Wimbledon, and to provide matches that were considered to be more fair. This way less of the top players could be knocked out the first round. Well now in the 2010's, and it seems like for a while, there really aren't the specialists like there were back then. It seems that most can at least play on all services, and with the change of more baseliners, Wimbledon's grass has played a bit different. So the question is, how would you feel if they went back to only seeding 16 people. Do you think it would make things even more interesting? I wouldn't mind them trying it again, it could really mix up the field, and cause some interesting match ups early.

07-07-2012, 07:33 PM	#2
Mustard G.O.A.T. Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bristol, England Posts: 18,422	Yes, 2001 Wimbledon was the first major to have 32 seeds. It has certainly changed the dynamics of the majors, in my opinion. With 32 seeds, the top players are less likely to lose early than they were in the days of 16 seeds. Players in the 17-32 range certainly benefit, as they don't have to play any top 32 player before the third round, whereas in the days of 16 seeds, they could draw the world number 1 in the first round. Last edited by Mustard : 07-07-2012 at 07:36 PM.

07-07-2012, 08:31 PM	#3
firepanda Rookie Join Date: May 2012 Location: New Zealand Posts: 394	I wouldn't mind seeing it go back to Top 16 again. As you say, there aren't really specialists anymore and most people aren't to interested in 16-32 players anyway. Most importantly, it can allow some new guys to break through at the slams. Goodness knows we're all tired of seeing the same fare. It's probably not going to happen though, all in the name of $$$ __________________ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6GaPkkGZGw

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