Did Nadal and Federer ruin tennis?

[Mike Sams]

Everybody notice that after the Federer/Nadal matchups in 2006 onward and the long grinding rallies they had on clay and at Wimbledon, organizers across all events everywhere began slowing down their surfaces because they discovered that long grinding taxing matches was much more exciting to the live crowd and television viewers.
And now, all surfaces play the same and organizers are also slowing down what were once fast courts including the USO.
And now we have those long grinding affairs like AO 2012 with Nadal/Djokovic and Murray/Djokovic at USO which go on for hours and hours and basically the fittest player on the day wins the match.

[Polvorin]

Did *Nadal* ruin tennis? It depends on your point of view. Federer had nothing to do with it. He prefers to play quick strike, aggressive tennis. He only got in those long rallies because it is/was difficult to attack the Nadal moonballs and because the guy is a human backboard.

[slowfox]

I don't pretend to have any great insight on the matter. And while I agree that the trend towards homogenous surfaces has changed tennis, and is perhaps *bad* for the sport, I also sometimes feel it may have been necessary.

If modern racquets and strings are making it easier to hit balls that carry immense speed/spin, maybe slowing the courts down gives the players a better chance to get to the ball. Technology has changed, but human bodies are pretty much the same. (Yes, athletes do train harder and are fitter now, but biologically they are still the same i.e. humans haven't evolved to handle harsh polys yet. Look at all the wrist injuries out there. And do our eyes see any faster than 30 years ago?)

Again, I dunno. I'm no expert. But I do remember that the 88 US Open final lasted nearly 5 hours.

[Clarky21]

Another pointless and ridiculous thread started by Mike Shams. Fed and Nadal have helped tennis,and have certainly not ruined it. Dumb thread is D-U-M-B.

[TMF]

Saying Fed/Nadal ruin tennis is like saying Chris/Martina or Borg/Mac ruin tennis.

so much nonsense flooding this forum lately.

[smoledman]

Yes the butt sniffer, butt scratcher, butt picker ruined life.

[Mike Sams]

Or we could say that Nadal ruined tennis because he trapped everybody into long grinding rallies where his best defense was moonballing and waiting for mistakes.

[Mike Sams]

Originally Posted by Clarky21

Another pointless and ridiculous thread started by Mike Shams. Fed and Nadal have helped tennis,and have certainly not ruined it. Dumb thread is D-U-M-B.

How exactly has Nadal helped tennis?

[cknobman]

Nadal eats baby puppies.

[Mustard]

Originally Posted by Mike Sams

How exactly has Nadal helped tennis?

Because he fights and competes, is very exciting to watch, makes tennis look as hard as it really is yet he still excels, which makes Nadal's game easier for us mere mortals to relate to. There's virtually nobody with a neutral opinion about Nadal, he is either loved or hated.

[beast of mallorca]

Originally Posted by Mike Sams

How exactly has Nadal helped tennis?

It's either you're genuinely stupid or ridiculously dumb. Pity the fool.

[Prisoner of Birth]

Originally Posted by Mustard

Because he fights and competes, is very exciting to watch, makes tennis look as hard as it really is yet he still excels, which makes Nadal's game easier for us mere mortals to relate to. There's virtually nobody with a neutral opinion about Nadal, he is either loved or hated.

Not true. The majority of casual Tennis fans are neutral towards Nadal. It's only the ***** (Federer, Djokovic, Murray etc.) that hate him and his fans, ***** that love him.

[augustobt]

The point is that Fedal's grindfests were displays of joy. Apart from that, almost all grindfests sucks. A lot.

[Mike Sams]

Originally Posted by Mustard

Because he fights and competes, is very exciting to watch, makes tennis look as hard as it really is yet he still excels, which makes Nadal's game easier for us mere mortals to relate to. There's virtually nobody with a neutral opinion about Nadal, he is either loved or hated.

We've had plenty of those. Ever heard of David Ferrer for example? The small guy who finishes in the top 10?

[Mike Sams]

Originally Posted by beast of mallorca

It's either you're genuinely stupid or ridiculously dumb. Pity the fool.

So how has Nadal helped tennis? Isn't he the one who wanted a 2 year ranking system, more clay court events and a raised net? All the while, wasting time between points, cheating through coaching, calling for bogus MTOs to get an advantage and bodychecking players he dislikes like Rosol.
How has Nadal helped tennis?

[Mustard]

Originally Posted by Mike Sams

We've had plenty of those. Ever heard of David Ferrer for example? The small guy who finishes in the top 10?

Ferrer is not as explosive as Nadal, nor does he have as many weapons.

[NDFM]

you asked this question as if you had no idea if they ruined tennis but clearly you have an opinion of who has ruined tennis so putting federer into your question was kinda strange. To answer your question, I think they haven't ruined tennis their rivalry alone brought more interest into tennis.

[cluckcluck]

Wait, Nadal wants higher nets? Link to quote please!

[Mike Sams]

Originally Posted by Mustard

Ferrer is not as explosive as Nadal, nor does he have as many weapons.

Nadal's main weapon is being a lefty.

[Prisoner of Birth]

Originally Posted by cluckcluck

Wait, Nadal wants higher nets? Link to quote please!

Yes, link or it didn't happen.