¿Has anybody here done the statistics for this two matches: Sampras-Courier and Sampras-Martin?
I watched this tournament 22 years ago, but today I was watching these two highlights:
and several things are worth mentioning:
1) It was a slow hard court (rebound ace) but, at least from the highlights, it looks like all Sampras, Courier and Martin were able to hit a high amount of baseline winners after only 3 or 4 shots (there were also some very long baseline rallies, 10+ shots, but there were, apparently, many more points in the 3-7 shots-range, many of them ending with a baseline winner).
2) It seems from the highlights that the three players (Sampras, Courier and Martin) used a very similar strategy: serve-and-volley on many (but not all) first serves, and staying back and rallying on the second serve.
3) Also the three of them tried to end the baseline rallies with outright baseline winners after few shots, or going to the net after a potent forehand or backhand, also after few shots. That is, they all played very aggresive shots
4) As I said, they all played a very similar all-court game and you could see all kind of points from the three of them: aces and excellent first serves with some serve-and-volley, baseline winners, very good volleys after potent baseline shots, return winners, excellent passing-shots from them all....
5) Courier was much more aggresive and went to the net a lot more (including serve-and-volley points and in fact was quite good at the net) than almost any active player playing today. I know he is considered an aggresive baseliner, but his game was nothing like Nadal, Djokovic or Murray, he was much more aggresive and went to the net a lot more. In reality he was more of an all-courter.
6) Todd Martin was considered as a serve-and-volley by some, and as a potent baseliner with a great serve by some others, but again he was more of an all-courter that could do everything.
I know it is generally accepted that today hard courts are extremely slow and that most people think that that is the only reason why we only see today endless baseline rallies from all players, who very rarely try to hit a baseline winner early during the points.
But surely there are more factors and I think the type of balls is clearly one of them (and the strings another important factor).
It is true that today's synthetic strings impart more spin on the ball and today's players hit with more top-spin on average that past players. It is also true that because of that, most players today hit heavy top-spin baseline shots with a very curved trajectory so that the ball takes more time to get to the other baseline (contrary to a more flat shot with a more rectilinear trajectory that takes less time to get to the other baseline, in general) so today is easier to retrieve shots (unless a very flat shot is hit close to the line, something that todays players very rarely do or only do when there is a clear opening and they have a short easy ball), so in part this explain the inability of today's players to hit clean baseline winners early during the points (it is also more difficult to control a ball that comes from the other side with a high amount of top-spin).
But watching yesterday Nadal against Simon, with 10-15 slow shots to the middle of the court per point, makes me think that balls may be also different (slower, spongier, heavier, with more air-resistance) than during the 90s.
That rebound-ace court in the AusOpen was slow (one of the slowest) but these three players (Sampras, Courier and Martin) had no problems to hit many baseline winners during the first 2, 3 or 4 shots of points. Granted that they hit with a lot less top-spin than todays players (so the ball did not slow down too much during its trip through the air and the trajectory of those baseline winner shots were fairly rectilinear, taking less time to get to the other side), but it is my guess that todays balls are too slow and that that is a very important factor that sometimes is not mentioned too much these days when talking about the state of tennis.
In these two matches (Sampras-Courier and Sampras-Martin) you could see all kind of shots and all kind of points, all-court game by the three of them and watching it again today I couldn't help wondering what went wrong in the last era that pushed almost all players to play endless baseline rallies in each and every tournament.
I watched this tournament 22 years ago, but today I was watching these two highlights:
and several things are worth mentioning:
1) It was a slow hard court (rebound ace) but, at least from the highlights, it looks like all Sampras, Courier and Martin were able to hit a high amount of baseline winners after only 3 or 4 shots (there were also some very long baseline rallies, 10+ shots, but there were, apparently, many more points in the 3-7 shots-range, many of them ending with a baseline winner).
2) It seems from the highlights that the three players (Sampras, Courier and Martin) used a very similar strategy: serve-and-volley on many (but not all) first serves, and staying back and rallying on the second serve.
3) Also the three of them tried to end the baseline rallies with outright baseline winners after few shots, or going to the net after a potent forehand or backhand, also after few shots. That is, they all played very aggresive shots
4) As I said, they all played a very similar all-court game and you could see all kind of points from the three of them: aces and excellent first serves with some serve-and-volley, baseline winners, very good volleys after potent baseline shots, return winners, excellent passing-shots from them all....
5) Courier was much more aggresive and went to the net a lot more (including serve-and-volley points and in fact was quite good at the net) than almost any active player playing today. I know he is considered an aggresive baseliner, but his game was nothing like Nadal, Djokovic or Murray, he was much more aggresive and went to the net a lot more. In reality he was more of an all-courter.
6) Todd Martin was considered as a serve-and-volley by some, and as a potent baseliner with a great serve by some others, but again he was more of an all-courter that could do everything.
I know it is generally accepted that today hard courts are extremely slow and that most people think that that is the only reason why we only see today endless baseline rallies from all players, who very rarely try to hit a baseline winner early during the points.
But surely there are more factors and I think the type of balls is clearly one of them (and the strings another important factor).
It is true that today's synthetic strings impart more spin on the ball and today's players hit with more top-spin on average that past players. It is also true that because of that, most players today hit heavy top-spin baseline shots with a very curved trajectory so that the ball takes more time to get to the other baseline (contrary to a more flat shot with a more rectilinear trajectory that takes less time to get to the other baseline, in general) so today is easier to retrieve shots (unless a very flat shot is hit close to the line, something that todays players very rarely do or only do when there is a clear opening and they have a short easy ball), so in part this explain the inability of today's players to hit clean baseline winners early during the points (it is also more difficult to control a ball that comes from the other side with a high amount of top-spin).
But watching yesterday Nadal against Simon, with 10-15 slow shots to the middle of the court per point, makes me think that balls may be also different (slower, spongier, heavier, with more air-resistance) than during the 90s.
That rebound-ace court in the AusOpen was slow (one of the slowest) but these three players (Sampras, Courier and Martin) had no problems to hit many baseline winners during the first 2, 3 or 4 shots of points. Granted that they hit with a lot less top-spin than todays players (so the ball did not slow down too much during its trip through the air and the trajectory of those baseline winner shots were fairly rectilinear, taking less time to get to the other side), but it is my guess that todays balls are too slow and that that is a very important factor that sometimes is not mentioned too much these days when talking about the state of tennis.
In these two matches (Sampras-Courier and Sampras-Martin) you could see all kind of shots and all kind of points, all-court game by the three of them and watching it again today I couldn't help wondering what went wrong in the last era that pushed almost all players to play endless baseline rallies in each and every tournament.
