Brad Gilbert on Medical Timeouts

S

sureshs

Bionic Poster
TMF said:
So if someone actually need to go to the bathroom and request to take a leak between set is gamesmanship? :confused:

You're suggesting that every player can only go to the bathroom when the match is over(even if his/her urinary bladder is about to burst).
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If you are against MTOs, you should also be against this. If you can't hold it, then retire.
 
V

Vrad

Professional
borg number one said:
Gamesmanship, that's all. What was against the rules with Azarenka that can be proven? There's room in both situations to basically ice the opponent. Azarenka likely did it and so did Federer with the "sun" problem.
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How do you ice the opponent between sets, when there is already a break, between sets? The only thing this does is extends the existing break by a little bit...

Not at all the same thing as taking a break between games...
 
S

sportlerin

New User
sureshs said:
If you are against MTOs, you should also be against this. If you can't hold it, then retire.
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Exactly. Because you can abuse a bathroom break too, to disturb the rhythm :roll: of the match. Did the player really have to go? I guess officials can do a 'bowl check' to make sure; if a player flushes before the check it's a point penalty.
 
mariecon

mariecon

Hall of Fame
Many players take bathroom breaks between sets. I don't see anything wrong with it. It's not being dishonest.
 
heninfan99

heninfan99

Talk Tennis Guru
I read somewhere of a guy taking a break, took a full shower and returned to play totally fresh. HAHAHAHA! That's the way to do it.
Maybe it was league play or a Gilbert story.
 
zagor

zagor

Bionic Poster
borg number one said:
Whether a player takes a bit longer for a bathroom break to have the sun not bother him or whether a player takes a MTO for a injury that perhaps could have waited, it's gamesmanship.
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The break between sets is 2 minutes, Fed took little more than 3 and a half minutes between the 1st and 2nd set and before his own service game in which he got broken right away.

There's no comparison between Azarenka and Fed's case, what's this fixation with Fed anyway? The guy is arguably one of the players on tour who engages in gamesmanship the least (he had what 3 MTOs in the last 8 years or something?), there are other things to criticize him for, this is not one of them.

borg number one said:
Federer even admitted as such when asked about it.
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He was joking about it with Courier in an interview as he often does, very recently Fed said he has big muscles and a huge left arm in an interview with Courier, are you gonna take those at face value as well?

borg number one said:
He has every right to take a bathroom break like that under the rules.
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The difference being that he took the bathroom break between sets and before his own service game in which he got broken after he returned.

borg number one said:
If you watched the match and saw the reactions about that break
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Whose reactions? Those of historians and Nards of this forum? You people would probably cry gamesmanship if Fed sneezed on court or something.

borg number one said:
it was pretty clear that there was a reason when that bathroom break occurred.
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Yeah, Fed's bladder, which cost him the opening game in the 2nd set.

borg number one said:
Pretty obvious.
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Right.


Edit: my mistake, Fed didn't lose his opening service game even though Kolja had 2 BPs, he broke him to love in Fed's 2nd service game of the match and took the lead 3-1 (he consolidated the break).
 
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T

tennis_ocd

Hall of Fame
How is a bathroom break between sets disrupting the flow of the match? It might not even exceed the allotted time.
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If something is disrupting your flow you might exceed the allotted time....

imo MTOs are a neccessity and difficulty in breathing would certainly qualify. Much money and fan interest is involved; no one wants to see one go down early with a blister, ankle, asthma attack etc. if it can be easily avoided.

ETOs (emotional time outs) can be more tricky to monitor. Whether difficulty in breathing was physical or emotional, seems to me Vika and all involved played by the rules. Looking forward to the final.
 
zagor

zagor

Bionic Poster
Bhagi Katbamna said:
I thoght Federer admitted that he went to the bathroom to delay so that the conditions improved for him(that is, it got cooler).
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Once again, he was joking in an interview with Courier like he almost always does.

The conditions aren't gonna magically improve in 2 minutes (and it was even less than that) time.
 
SLD76

SLD76

G.O.A.T.
Dedans Penthouse said:
Why should PMac shut up? The dirty, filthy tramp cheated plain and simple. Just because you condone blatant cheating and are giving Azarenka a free pass in all of your posts is clearly an attempt to "project & deflect" attention away from the core issue here: Skank-arenka couldn't handle choking her ass off so she--without a shread of sportsmanship--cheated her way out of a tight spot.

"MEDICAL" timeout? Yeah, and I'm the King of Prussia, PA. :rolleyes:

Just more projecting & deflecting attention away from the core cheating issue. Let's call a spade a spade: when you break it all down, you're condoning her cheating simply because you have a major jag for that bulbous-nosed gawk.

Watching (AND LISTENING) to the replay of Azarenka walking off the court: if she claimed she needed a bathroom break, I would've given her a pass because replaying it again and again (I have a very good sound system), you can hear her farting repeatedly with every step she took and I know it wasn't her sneakers squeaking. I just hope she doesn't start farting during the finals, heaven knows her distracting "whoooooo!" howling is bad enough. But if she does, knowing Azarenka's character *cough* she'll probably blame it on someone else.
Victoria Azarenka: Cheat. Fart layer. Fact.
That is all.
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tramp? what she do, break your xbox?

I sense anger in you...
 
D

dominikk1985

Legend
chatt_town said:
I think Brad hit it on the head. He said you should never be allowed to take a medical timeout on the opponents serve. I agree. Not only did Azarenka take a medical. She took two at the same time(10 minutes). She then basically came out and admitted it was to gather herself because she could feel herself choking the match away. You could tell the crowd didn't like what she did as you could hear a rat pi$$ on cotton while she was interviewing after the match. I think they need to change that rule as soon as the tourney is over. It's pretty bad when a player uses this type of tactic because it's within the rules and then comes out and basically admits that is what she did. I feel for Sloane because while she wasn't always playing her best tennis, she was finding a way to get back into the match only to have what she was doing haulted by faulty injury claims. I have lost all respect for Azarenka after seeing that. People complained about Serena playing through her injury...now did anyone see the tweet of her ankle the size of a grapefruit last night and she took 1 3 minute timeout and I think it was for her back and not her ankle. So I don't want to hear anything else about Serena's injuries...you can clearly see she had an issue. Azarenka will be playing in the finals because she could not allow herself to lose a match where she was choking..."ahhgain" as she did at the U.S Open.

Chatt_town
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Didn't brad gilbert make a lot of money selling a book about such strategies?
Strange that a guy who autored a book called "winning ugly" complains about such a strategy:).
 
T

TMF

Talk Tennis Guru
There's dead time between each set anyway. Players takes bathroom, changes his shirt, shoes, etc. If a player is not busy, he has to sit and wait for awhile anyway, until the umpire calls "time". Who cares if its going to be sunny, rain, or snow. Blame on mother nature.
 
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Sardines

Sardines

Hall of Fame
The problem for Vika is that her story grew more complicated as she had more time to think about it:

On court interview: "...choke of the century..."

If she left it at that, one could give her the benefit of doubt since she just won the much, it was hot and she wasn't listening properly.
The only problem is the 2nd interview inside the hallway with ESPN's Tom Rinaldi, after she left the court:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ldpEmOoIsL4#!

In that interview, she made no mention of her "stuck rib" but talked about her breathing problem and chest pains.

Only in the interview room did her story, where there was enough time to talk to her agent and publicist on what to say. By then, her story was solid and even Craig Tiley said the doctor backed her up so it's all within the rules.
Is a panic attack and its symptoms a medical condition that needs to be dealt with? Yes! Is it a condition that warrants a medical time-out on court? Not in the spirit of the rule of MTOs. The rule change should be that doctor has to access whether it's a panic attack or not, which is impossible in 90 seconds.
In truth, she could've lost that set and still win. Stephens was clearly not in the same league. So Vika broke the spirit of the game of tennis, in failing to win honorably. However, she was definitely the better player, so I doubt she'd have lost anyways. She just marred her victory.
 
mariecon

mariecon

Hall of Fame
Whether nor not her MTO was valid doesn't alter my opinion that her behavior was unbecoming the #1 player in the world. I hope she's fined. But that won't bring back Sloane's chance of winning the match.
 
N

nikdom

Guest
Won the battle and lost the war. I doubt she'll get back public support after this given her already fraught image with all that grunting. The Aussies are a very knowledgeable and fair tennis crowd. Li Na will get all the crowd support.

Sardines said:
The problem for Vika is that her story grew more complicated as she had more time to think about it:

On court interview: "...choke of the century..."

If she left it at that, one could give her the benefit of doubt since she just won the much, it was hot and she wasn't listening properly.
The only problem is the 2nd interview inside the hallway with ESPN's Tom Rinaldi, after she left the court:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ldpEmOoIsL4#!

In that interview, she made no mention of her "stuck rib" but talked about her breathing problem and chest pains.

Only in the interview room did her story, where there was enough time to talk to her agent and publicist on what to say. By then, her story was solid and even Craig Tiley said the doctor backed her up so it's all within the rules.
Is a panic attack and its symptoms a medical condition that needs to be dealt with? Yes! Is it a condition that warrants a medical time-out on court? Not in the spirit of the rule of MTOs. The rule change should be that doctor has to access whether it's a panic attack or not, which is impossible in 90 seconds.
In truth, she could've lost that set and still win. Stephens was clearly not in the same league. So Vika broke the spirit of the game of tennis, in failing to win honorably. However, she was definitely the better player, so I doubt she'd have lost anyways. She just marred her victory.
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OrangePower

OrangePower

Legend
nikdom said:
Won the battle and lost the war. I doubt she'll get back public support after this given her already fraught image with all that grunting. The Aussies are a very knowledgeable and fair tennis crowd. Li Na will get all the crowd support.
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Completely agree. What she did was completely within the rules, but was also quite obviously gamemanship.

Same goes for that horrible screeching. Funny how she could barely breathe, but still had enough lungpower to wail like a wounded banshee. Pure gamesmanship.

There is no denying that she is a very good player, but I will always be rooting for her opponent. Especially in this case where Li is so likeable both in terms of her game and her personality.
 
N

nikdom

Guest
^^ High five to that. I will be rooting for Li Na to dump the screecher like stale fish into the trash heap.
 
woodrow1029

woodrow1029

Hall of Fame
librarysteg said:
Has there been any serious talk of her getting fined? I was just reading this article that mentions the possibility:

http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2013/01/24/azarenka-flirts-with-injury-rules-as-stephens-exits/

Says she could be fined $10,000 if they choose to enforce the guidelines in the WTA rule book.
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I just don't know how many times it has to be said. THIS IS NOT A WTA TOUR EVENT. LOL

It seems rules do exist to prevent such lengthy time off-court—if tournament officials want to enforce them.
“At the conclusion of the three-minute off-court treatment, the player immediately will return to court,” reads the Women’s Tennis Association rule book, which also specifies that medical time outs must relate to a musculoskeletal injury or associated illness.
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Ok so first of all, let's get clear that the WTA rulebook doesn't apply, but assuming it did, ONCE AGAIN, a player can have 2 medical timeouts in one changeover, which makes the part that starts with "at the conclusion..." irrelevant.

The WTA Rulebook (which again, it's an ITF tournament) also says (different than what the stupid article says):

a. Medical Conditions
A medical condition is a medical illness or a musculoskeletal injury
that warrants medical evaluation and/or medical treatment by the
PHCP in conjunction with the Tournament Physcian, if appropriate,
during the warm-up or the match.
i. Treatable Medical Conditions
(a) Acute Medical Condition
The sudden development of a medical illness or musculoskeletal
injury during the warm-up or the match that
requires immediate medical attention.
(b) Non-Acute Medical Condition​
A medical illness or musculoskeletal injury that develops
or is aggravated during the warm-up or the match and
requires medical attention at the change of ends or set​
break.

So, it does not limit it to musculoskeletal or associated injury. Secondly, if it was a rib problem and a knee problem, which was diagnosed apparently by the trainer, that is a musculoskeletal injury. Also, if it was a rib problem causing shortness of breath, that could be considered musculoskeletal, but could also certainly be considered a medical illness.

And the penalty? “Any player abuse of this Medical Rule will be subject to penalty in accordance with the Unsportsmanlike Conduct Section of the Code of Conduct.” A penalty for a first offense could include a fine of up to $10,000 or a warning.
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As for this out of the WTA Rulebook (oh yeah, it's an ITF tournament, have I mentioned that? LOL) This has to be one of the most unenforceable rules in there. How do you prove it. If the trainer diagnoses an injury and treats it, it has already been cleared as not an abuse of the medical rule.


Now, from the ITF Grand Slam Rulebook (Guess what, this is a Grand Slam Tournament, guess which book applies? Even though the people that write these articles are clueless and will never understand this.)

c. ​
​
​
​
​
Medical Time-Out
A Medical Time-Out is allowed by the Referee in consultation with
the Grand Slam Supervisor or Chair Umpire when the
Physiotherapist/Athletic Trainer has evaluated the player and has
determined that additional time for medical treatment is required. The
Medical Time-Out takes place during a change over or set break,
unless the Physiotherapist/Athletic Trainer determines that the player
has developed an acute medical condition that requires immediate
medical treatment.
The Medical Time-Out begins when the Physiotherapist/Athletic
Trainer is ready to start treatment. At the discretion of the
Physiotherapist/Athletic Trainer, treatment during a Medical Time-Out
may take place off-court, and may proceed in conjunction with the
Tournament Doctor. *​

The Medical Time-Out is limited to three (3) minutes of treatment.

Continued on the next post, because it's too long:
 
woodrow1029

woodrow1029

Hall of Fame
A player is allowed one (1) Medical Time-Out for each distinct
treatable medical condition. All clinical manifestations of heat illness
shall be considered as one (1) treatable medical condition. All
treatable musculoskeletal injuries that manifest as part of a kinetic
chain continuum shall be considered as one (1) treatable medical
condition.

​


Muscle Cramping:
A player may receive treatment for muscle
cramping only during the time allotted for change of ends and/or set
breaks. Players may not receive a Medical Time-Out for muscle
cramping.
In cases where there is doubt about whether the player suffers from an
acute medical condition, non-acute medical condition inclusive of
muscle cramping, or non-treatable medical condition, the decision of
the Physiotherapist/Athletic Trainer, in conjunction with the
Tournament Doctor, if appropriate, is final. If the
Physiotherapist/Athletic Trainer believes that the player has heat
illness, and if muscle cramping is one of the manifestations of heat
illness, then the muscle cramping may only be treated as part of the
recommended treatment by the Physiotherapist/Athletic Trainer for the
heat illness condition.
​
Note:
A player who has stopped play by claiming an acute medical
condition, but is determined by the Physiotherapist/Athletic Trainer
and/or Tournament Doctor to have muscle cramping, shall be ordered
by the Chair Umpire to resume play immediately.
If the player cannot continue playing due to severe muscle cramping,
as determined by the Physiotherapist/Athletic Trainer and/or
Tournament Doctor, he/she may forfeit the point(s)/game(s) needed to
get to a change of ends or set-break in order to receive treatment.
There may be a total of two (2) full change of ends treatments for
muscle cramping in a match, not necessarily consecutive.
If it is determined by the Chair Umpire or Referee in consultation with
the Grand Slam Supervisor that gamesmanship was involved, then a
Code Violation for Unsportsmanlike Conduct could be issued.


A total of two (2) consecutive Medical Time-Outs may be allowed by
the Referee in consultation with the Grand Slam Supervisor or Chair
Umpire for the special circumstance in which the
Physiotherapist/Athletic Trainer determines that the player has
developed at least two (2) distinct acute and treatable medical
conditions. This may include: a medical illness in conjunction with a
musculoskeletal injury; two or more acute and distinct musculoskeletal
injuries. In such cases, the Physiotherapist/Athletic Trainer will
perform a medical evaluation for the two or more treatable medical
conditions during a single evaluation, and may then determine that two​

consecutive Medical Time-Outs are required.

​
 
woodrow1029

woodrow1029

Hall of Fame
People need to stop worrying about fines, and penalties and stuff.

As has been said, it is obviously gamesmanship, and BS, and whatever you want to call it. But as the rules are written, there was no clear violation.
 
librarysteg

librarysteg

Hall of Fame
woodrow1029 said:
People need to stop worrying about fines, and penalties and stuff.

As has been said, it is obviously gamesmanship, and BS, and whatever you want to call it. But as the rules are written, there was no clear violation.
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Someone should point out to the author of the article that none of that matters since it's not governed by WTA rules :) Do you agree or disagree with their speculation that this particular incident would be similar to the Clijsters bad call they say lead to Hawkeye and might lead to changes regarding MTOs?
 
woodrow1029

woodrow1029

Hall of Fame
librarysteg said:
Someone should point out to the author of the article that none of that matters since it's not governed by WTA rules :) Do you agree or disagree with their speculation that this particular incident would be similar to the Clijsters bad call they say lead to Hawkeye and might lead to changes regarding MTOs?
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I don't think that call led to Hawkeye (if it did, it was like by 1%). The Serena/Capriati was the one that pushed Hawkeye to get into service.

There have been a lot of suspect MTO's. The problem is you have to maintain fairness to the players, as well as making it so they can stay as safe as possible. I wouldn't be holding my breath for a change anytime in the foreseeable future. But, I think it could be tweaked somehow.
 
N

nikdom

Guest
librarysteg said:
Someone should point out to the author of the article that none of that matters since it's not governed by WTA rules :) Do you agree or disagree with their speculation that this particular incident would be similar to the Clijsters bad call they say lead to Hawkeye and might lead to changes regarding MTOs?
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As much as I hate what Azarenka did, I'm against this knee-jerk mentality of legislating everything. What happens if a player is truly injured and the ump refuses treatment with some bad fallout? We will find ourselves wanting to go back and forth based on sensational occurrences.

Instead, let the court of public opinion rule on this. The negative press, lack of crowd support and finally, the effect on sponsorship dollars will teach her the lesson no rule will.
 
S

sureshs

Bionic Poster
Why not keep a portable potty next to the court? With a mirror and some basic feminine necessities and make-up. Men can do what they usually do there, and women can do that, plus quickly adjust any piece of dress, etc.
 
arche3

arche3

Banned
If vica wins all will be forgiven. Nobody expected sloan to make it to the finals seriously people. Sloan lost just about all her service games.
 
volleygirl

volleygirl

Rookie
nikdom said:
As much as I hate what Azarenka did, I'm against this knee-jerk mentality of legislating everything. What happens if a player is truly injured and the ump refuses treatment with some bad fallout? We will find ourselves wanting to go back and forth based on sensational occurrences.

Instead, let the court of public opinion rule on this. The negative press, lack of crowd support and finally, the effect on sponsorship dollars will teach her the lesson no rule will.
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Yea, the negative press, lack of crowd support and no endorsement dollars really taught Barry Bonds a lesson to.
 
borg number one

borg number one

Legend
Zagor, Federer was just joking, right..It worked to his advantage in that match. Come on now..The "historians" were discussing..NO..I'm talking about the commentators at the time (PMcEnroe and/or Brad Gilbert especially). You're missing the point, it's gamesmanship but that's part of the game. I think a partial reason for the timing of that break was that he hoped to cool off Davydenko who was clearly playing quite well. He was definitely in a groove through that first set. I agree that Federer is very fair but don't think he doesn't do things on and off the court to give himself every mental edge possible (ex. comments before he faces a rival at a major, etc..) Yet, Davydenko should have dealt with that break better. Same with Sloan Stephens. You can't let something like that disrupt your level of play. You just have to go with it and not let any interruption like that impact how you're playing. Easier said than done, but it's just one of the things that makes tennis a very difficult sport.
 
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West Coast Ace

West Coast Ace

G.O.A.T.
To me, the big takeaway is:

WTA gets headlines for all the wrong reasons: gamesmanship, shrieking, who's dating who.

ATP gets almost all of it's publicity for great matches - Djokovic v Stan.
 
zagor

zagor

Bionic Poster
borg number one said:
Zagor, Federer was just joking, right..
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Actually he did, anyone who knows the history of Fed's interviews with Courier is well aware of that.

borg number one said:
It worked to his advantage in that match. Come on now..
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No, you come on, it didn't work to his advantage at all.

Right when he came back, Davydenko has 2 BPs and broke Fed in his next service game, took the lead 3-1 and had BPs to go 4-1, don't presume to lecture me on the match I doubt you even watched.

borg number one said:
The "historians" were discussing..NO..I'm talking about the commentators at the time (PMcEnroe and/or Brad Gilbert especially).
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Oh those two geniuses, I'm convinced now, really I am.

borg number one said:
You're missing the point, it's gamesmanship but that's part of the game.
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No, you're missing the point, taking less than 2 minutes of your opponent's time before your own serve is not comparable to taking 10 minute MTO before your opponent's serve.

One is very likely not gamesmanship, the other one obviously is.

borg number one said:
I think a partial reason for the timing of that break was that he hoped to cool off Davydenko who was clearly playing quite well. He was definitely in a groove throught that first set.
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He was definitely in the groove after the bathroom break as well, he raced to a 3-1 lead and had several BP chances to go 4-1.

borg number one said:
I agree that Federer is very fair but don't think he doesn't do things on and off the court to give himself every mental edge possible (ex. comments before he faces a rival at a major, etc..)
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Oh I will think he doesn't do things on court to give himself every mental edge possible because I followed the guy since 2001 and the vast majority of time he just shuts up and plays tennis, doesn't take forever to serve, doesn't communicate with his coach during the match, doesn't stall his opponent on return of serve etc.

Off court is a different matter, he can be sore loser, give arrogant statements, even play some mind games (trying to put extra pressure on the opponent), that's not where my disagreement lies.

BTW. I didn't say Fed is very fair, I said he's one of the players who engages in gamesmanship the least.

borg number one said:
Yet, Davydenko should have dealt with that break better.
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For Pete's sake, did you even watch the match? Kolja dealt excellently with the break, he continued where he left off, he had several chances to go double break on Fed 20+ minutes after that bathroom break.

borg number one said:
Same with Sloan Stephens.
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No, not nearly the same situation or reaction.
 
M

Moose Malloy

G.O.A.T.
As much as I hate what Azarenka did, I'm against this knee-jerk mentality of legislating everything. What happens if a player is truly injured and the ump refuses treatment with some bad fallout?
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Considering Azarenka's scary retirements due to heat/concussion at the USO & AO a few years back, I don't think it would be wise for any umpire or trainer not to take her seriously if she says she can't breathe.

Its so easy for fans & commentators to criticize after the fact(& criticize something they have absolutely no say in) but its best to err on the side of the player(esp this player, maybe she's just a good actress, but again those USO & AO incidents - not that long ago - were pretty disturbing & I wouldn't want to see that again, part of me thought I was about to when she left the court last night, and the commentators hinted at it. only after the match did it become all about what a 'disgrace' she was. maybe if it went 3 maybe we could have had another heat stroke incident & the story would be poor Azarenka, look at how frail she is)
 
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borg number one

borg number one

Legend
Zagor you and I disagree as to Federer and Davydenko and that situation. You can keep trying to separate out my sentences, but put it this way, I think there was some gamesmanship with Federer and that bathroom break and you do not. We have different opinions, but don't expect me to agree with you. I certainly don't expect you to change your opinion either, so we'll agree to disagree on this. Davydenko faltered and Federer deserved to win the match, there's no question about that. Also as to "joking around"..well jokes have a tendency to be grounded in some truth as well.
 
N

NadalDramaQueen

Guest
borg number one said:
Zagor you and I disagree as to Federer and Davydenko and that situation. You can keep trying to separate out my sentences, but put it this way, I think there was some gamesmanship with Federer and that bathroom break and you do not. We have different opinions, but don't expect me to agree with you. I certainly don't expect you to change your opinion either, so we'll agree to disagree on this. Davydenko faltered and Federer deserved to win the match, there's no question about that. Also as to "joking around"..well jokes have a tendency to be grounded in some truth as well.
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Really, borg number one?

You will at least admit that Davydenko didn't suffer any ill effects from Fed's "gamesmanship," right? Seeing that he came out in the second set on fire, just like in the first set.

I guess that deep into the set he remembered Fed's bathroom break and just couldn't handle it? :lol:
 
zagor

zagor

Bionic Poster
borg number one said:
Zagor you and I disagree as to Federer and Davydenko and that situation. You can keep trying to separate out my sentences, but put it this way, I think there was some gamesmanship with Federer and that bathroom break and you do not. We have different opinions, but don't expect me to agree with you. I certainly don't expect you to change your opinion either, so we'll agree to disagree on this. Davydenko faltered and Federer deserved to win the match, there's no question about that. Also as to "joking around"..well jokes have a tendency to be grounded in some truth as well.
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I'm not trying to separate your sentences specifically, that's the way I usually respond to anyone whether I agree with them or not (I like to address several different points).

There are disagreements and there are facts, fact is:

-Davydenko didn't falter after that bathroom break, the match continued in the same fashion until he faltered (or Fed raised his game, or the combination of the two) some 20+ minutes after it.

-Taking a bathroom break/MTO before your opponent's serve is much more frowned upon than taking a break before your own service game.

-Fed's break was less than 2 minutes (added extra to 2 minutes of break between sets), Azarenka's was 10 minutes.

Regarding jokes having a tendency to be grounded in truth, some of them are, some of them aren't, Fed-Courier interviews are usually drenched with sarcastic humour that have nothing to do with reality (Fed's huge left arm, him being young at the age of 31, him not doing any training in off-court season etc.)

You can of course disagree with me and claim it's gamesmanship but you being so fixated on Fed in a thread about gamesmanship (more or less) is very telling given his general on-court behaviour in that regard, if he's the first one that comes to your mind when this topic comes up then so be it.
 
borg number one

borg number one

Legend
NDQ, it was a combination of Federer playing better and basically resetting and also giving Davydenko something to think about. Just because he may have won the very next game does not mean that there was no effect on the flow of the match. Davydenko's form fell of just a bit and Federer started playing better. Overall though, it was more of a case of Davydenko just not maintaining his form than the bathroom break impacting him, but I have no doubt that Federer was engaging in some gamesmanship, especially since it was at a time when the sun may have been bothering Federer just a bit and Davydenko was playing red hot through the first set. Too much of a coincidence in my estimation. Zagor, Federer engages in gamesmanship and so does Djokovic, and Nadal, and Murray, and Sharapova, and Williams, and the list goes on and on. I thought of Federer because it happened at the AO as well and I remember that match well. Many claim that Federer never engages in gamesmanship and that is just not reality. He does it too, but in different ways than say Murray, Nadal, and Djokovic.
 
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zagor

zagor

Bionic Poster
NadalDramaQueen said:
Really, borg number one?

You will at least admit that Davydenko didn't suffer any ill effects from Fed's "gamesmanship," right? Seeing that he came out in the second set on fire, just like in the first set.

I guess that deep into the set he remembered Fed's bathroom break and just couldn't handle it? :lol:
Click to expand...

Don't you get it? Fed's less than 2 minutes bathroom break affected Davydenko 20 minutes later.

Right at the moment Kolja had the break chance to go 4-1 up he suddenly thought to himself "****, that sneaky Fed took a bathroom break to screw with my mind!" and missed.
 
zagor

zagor

Bionic Poster
I apologize in advance for separating your sentences.

borg number one said:
Zagor, Federer engages in gamesmanship and so does Djokovic, and Nadal, and Murray, and Sharapova, and Williams, and the list goes on and on.
Click to expand...

Regarding on-court gamesmanship he's nowhere near those players you just mentioned.

borg number one said:
I thought of Federer because it happened at the AO as well and I remember that match well.
Click to expand...

You have a strange definition of remembering the match "well" given your claim that Davydenko faltered after the bathroom break and that bathroom break visibly/noticeably affected the flow of the match.

Also let's be honest, that's not the reason your brought up Fed in this topic.

borg number one said:
Many claim that Federer never engages in gamesmanship and that is just not reality. He does it too, but in different ways than say Murray, Nadal, and Djokovic.
Click to expand...

Reality is, those players engage in on court gamesmanship far more than Fed to the point where it's not even a contest.
 
borg number one

borg number one

Legend
Zagor, on court gamesmanship, I would agree, Federer does not do that too much, although I think he did during that instance during the Davydenko match. Off the court, he does it perhaps more than other players, through interviews especially (he gets interviewed a lot and he is quite candid and astute, but he uses a "bully pulpit" so to speak). Federer is not immune to utilizing gamesmanship. You can argue that it's not nearly as bad as some of the things Djokovic and Nadal (even Murray), but Federer does it too, that's my basic point and to think otherwise is just not accurate. Having said all of that, I consider Federer, Nadal, Murray, and Djokovic to all exhibit very admirable sportsmanship overall and of course, they are all great players.
 
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zagor

zagor

Bionic Poster
borg number one said:
Zagor, on court gamesmanship, I would agree, Federer doe not do that too much, although I think he did during that instance during the Davydenko match. Off the court, he does it perhaps more than other players, through interviews especially (he gets interviewed a lot and he is quite candid and astute, but he uses a "bully pulpit" so to speak. Federer is not immune to utilizing gamesmanship. You can argue that it's not nearly as bad as some of the things Djokovic and Nadal (even Murray), but Federer does it too, that's my basic point and to think otherwise is just not accurate. Having said all of that, I consider Federer, Nadal, Murray, and Djokovic to all exhibit very admirable sportsmanship overall and of course, they are all great players.
Click to expand...

I wasn't arguing about Fed's statements off court, I have no problem with people considering him to be most arrogant (even trash talking) of the 4 but as I said regarding on-court gamesmanship, he's nearly spotless (which doesn't mean he shows great sportsmanship, that's a different thing), some people clinging to his 2 minute bathroom break he took before his own serve in Davydenko match certainly doesn't change my opinion in that regard.

Also, I don't consider any of the top 4 to exhibit admirable sportsmanship except Novak at times (like when he overrules the calls in opponent's favour for example) but he also engages in gamesmanship at some other times.
 
borg number one

borg number one

Legend
Interesting Zagor. By the way, I'm not trying to change your opinion on the Davydenko situation. Again, I don't think the bathroom break was that big of a deal, but I do think it involved a degree of on court gamesmanship by Federer. I happen to think it was subtle gamesmanship, but some gamesmanship nonetheless. As for Djokovic, I agree that at times he does some things that are pretty admirable, such as giving credit to his opponent even after a great point in the heat of battle. As to Federer, thoughts on Wimbledon 2008 and the darkness question? How about questioning hawkeye repeatedly on Centre Court? Again, very subtle, but he has ways of trying to change the flow of a match and also disrupt his opponent just enough and we all know how matches can turn even with small shifts.
 
N

nikdom

Guest
volleygirl said:
Yea, the negative press, lack of crowd support and no endorsement dollars really taught Barry Bonds a lesson to.
Click to expand...

Way to go equating doping with gamesmanship. That's going a little overboard I think. There are valid situations in which players can take an MTO. There are no valid situations for doping.
 
Racquet Daddy

Racquet Daddy

Rookie
sureshs said:
Why not keep a portable potty next to the court? With a mirror and some basic feminine necessities and make-up. Men can do what they usually do there, and women can do that, plus quickly adjust any piece of dress, etc.
Click to expand...

Haha...that would give KIA something else to put their name on.
 
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