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    Players who overcame their weakness?

    Federer was slicing almost all his backhands until about 2003 and had a propensity to panic at tight situations and rush the net almost hoping for them to miss the pass. His backhand is now a weapon in its own right and he is now far more patient and willing to construct points rather than...
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    Why isn't there more S+V in the WTA?

    Men have more advantageously structured shoulders for serving. All else equal, a man will have a livelier arm that is more capable of pronating. A man is also more capable of having explosive power from the legs and rear chain to get the spin needed for a good kick serve.
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    An Azarenka win would be so awkward at this point.

    Strictly speaking, you would be questioning the cogency and strength of the OP's line of reasoning. I don't see much of a problem here. Sports are highly ritualised and played within an agreed set of code of behaviour separate from the rules itself, much like Parliament. He's just making a...
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    An Azarenka win would be so awkward at this point.

    Azarenka won the battle, but not the war. If her ultimate goal is tennis greatness it must also include rising up and representing the sport towards the greater public on a regular occasion. She will have to win people back over the same way Lendl & McEnroe had to after their numerous...
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    Li Na and Sharapova have faster 2nd serves than Tsonga and Murray!

    Using pure km/h figures is misleading/not comparing apples-apples since they aren't even hitting the same type of serves. The typical WTA second serve is a sliced/slightly more topspun/slower version of their first serve. The typical ATP second serve is a heavily spun topspin serve meant to...
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    Murray - 5th match in a row in the day!

    Murray has rolled all of his opposition with very little fanfare. The match ups just aren't compelling storywise nor qualitywise.
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    Sharapova apparently beats Aussie Junior Boys

    If it is indeed your opinion that Sharapova can be competitive with Verdasco, we could always arrange another battle of the sexes between current top 50 men against the top 50 women. Though for some reason I don't think any of them would be able to outrun, outhit nor outserve someone like...
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    Myth : Federer is consistent only because of homogenization

    For the sake of curiosity, what are the numbers for absolute number of appearances in finals, semifinals and quarterfinals for both men across their slams. The consecutive appearance figure implicitly assumes that the draws have stayed similar, when the majors didn't have 32 seeds until the...
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    Are Djokovic's brothers going to have decent tennis careers?

    From what I've seen, Marko Djokovic superficially plays like Novak. I say superficially because he has little of the athletic or shotmaking qualities that make Novak what he is. This isn't like the McEnroe brothers where Patrick McEnroe was obviously an entirely different player to John...
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    Why were the Australian Open courts made so slow?

    It's kind of like why the French Open is played on clay when the best French players of the recent past have been flamboyant attacking players. It's not like Tsonga or Gasquet is winning the French any time soon.
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    Justin Gimelstob Says That Andy Murray is Not Elite Player.......

    I think we all say stupid things at times that we'd rather not have said. Unlike us however, Justin Gimelstob gets the privilege of saying them on national TV. What he probably meant was that for Murray to get to the next level of greatness that the other slam winners of this era have...
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    tax ratio of each grand slam country

    I think the US has the lowest tax payable of the host countries. The UK, France and Australia have similar top tax brackets but deductibles may be materially different enough to result in different effective tax rates. I haven't done enough homework into it to be sure. Of note is that tax...
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    The ATP in Adolescence

    I'm sorry, but NBA players individually rarely play the full 60 minutes. It's more likely they play a third to two-thirds of that. That isn't quite comparable to pounding your joints to oblivion on a hardcourt for several hours without rest.
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    Why does Paris even have a Masters Series tournament?

    The only venue that comes to mind that would even meet the Masters 1000 criteria is Melbourne Park.
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    Why does Paris even have a Masters Series tournament?

    Almost all stadiums that host tennis events are multi-purpose in order to earn revenue year-round. The Bercy stadium isn't my cup of tea, but then again it may fit in well with the neighbourhood. In reality the question of where to host the tournament is a lot more complex that what I've put...
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    Why does Paris even have a Masters Series tournament?

    Masters series tournaments are determined by whether or not the hosting venue meets ATP requirements in terms of facilities. The quality and capacity of facilities are determined by: 1. Potential Profits - no one will pour money into making a stadium with no hope of ever paying itself...
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    Nationality ranking of top 100 atp players.

    Tournament locations are not based upon the aggregate citizenship of the ATP. If you wanted to do make it so, then you would be forced to concede that GB should have no ATP tournaments and the vast majority of tournaments should then be located in France, Spain and the US and to ignore the...
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    Tsonga hires Rasheed.

    Rasheed has had the misfortune of working with someone who lost his career to injuries in Hewitt and someone who is just plain uncoachable in Monfils. He's a very good coach that most players in the world would pay good money to train under over the off season.
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    Doping in Tennis in Everywhere - Noah

    'Unfair advantage' can be read many ways, and it is inappropriate to conclude admission of guilt on one of the readings.
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    if you were a tennis player

    Agassi certainly gets a lot more respect both from the general public and from aficionados. Sampras achieved more, but has done little to promote the sport to the extent that Andre has. When Andre played, people cared. At the time, he played what was an unconventional style and succeeded against...
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    Is Kei Nishkori proof against modern game ?

    There are many different types of talent in the athletic sense, especially when it comes to tennis. All of those guys hit far harder than their height would imply, Agassi and Connors especially. What all these guys have in common is incredibly strong trunks, good timing and great...
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    Toni Nadal: "Man coaches are too servile with the players"

    Just about any other sport in the world the coach is king and everyone knows it. Tennis is unique in this regard and it is a function of the lesser importance of national prestige in our sport.
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    How can a professional tennis player have such a terrible smash...

    The smash is a confidence shot. There isn't anything fundamentally wrong with the way he hits it. It's just that for some reason his normally quick footwork becomes sluggish and he can't seem to contact it cleanly.
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    Why is Djokovic playing in China instead of Japan when he's sponsored by UNIQLO?

    I doubt there is a covenant in his contract that states that he has to play the Japan Open. If there were, it would be bizarre and highly unusual. Since he hasn't been dropped from UNIQLO for breach of contract I think we can infer that there was never such a clause. Since he's getting the...
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    Why do people say that a player is "too short" to win slams?

    Ironically it used to matter more back when everyone and their mother played like Marat Safin. Longer limbs allow for higher potential racket speed, resulting in greater pace off the groundstrokes. The higher angle from which a taller man hits also allows once more for greater margin for...
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    Why do people say that a player is "too short" to win slams?

    Height (limb length, rather) conveys a higher potential racket speed and angle from which to hit your serve. So of course its an easy advantage to have and requires no effort on anyone's part but having the right genetics for it. It's also a more common feature than ironman type endurance...
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    Is Kei Nishkori proof against modern game ?

    Being 5'10-5'11 isn't so much a detriment so long as you are a phenomenal athlete with great hand-eye coordination who can generate more explosive power per pound than taller guys. Case in point: Agassi, Connors, Chang, Hewitt, Ferrer, Nalbandian.
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    In terms of actual skill, who is more talented between Federer and young Nalbandian?

    Anyone who has seen Nalbandian's match with Federer in the 2003 Australian Open and in their indoor matches would agree that David has the better pure ballstriking skills. Despite being 5'11 (at best) he just has the ability to outhit just about anyone on tour once shotmaking becomes more...
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    Examples of coaches ruining players

    That's true. It's incredibly difficult to succeed on tour if you're below 5'11, and even then you're considered 'small.' Consider that much of Nadal's success has been the fact that he matured incredibly early and burst onto the scene all muscles standing 6'2 at 16-17.
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    Examples of coaches ruining players

    I believe it was end of 2004 when Roddick (contrary to his own expectations) didn't go on to be the next dominating force.
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