Alot has been made about how the courts have been changed in the past few years in tennis.
Changes I have heard people say:
1. Wimbledon is much slower
2. French is faster
3. Balls are heavier
4. Racquets/Athletes are better, stronger & hit harder
5. The talent in field is deeper
My questions then would be if most tournaments have been slowed down then it should be harder to hit outright winners than the past. Yet people also say that guys today hit harder and can blast winners from 3 ft behind the baseline due to advancement in racquet technology and training.
I guess you can say that in the 90's they hit it with more pace but less weight. But since superior athletes usually have faster hand/eye coordination, reflexes, and touch and the game has been slowed down, how can one assume that today's tennis players are more talented? They may be physically fitter and stronger but is the field deeper in talent?
Also, people say Wimbledon plays like the hardcourts now and the French has been sped up. If this is true that means that all the majors play much closer in speed and the variety between surfaces is gone. That would mean that Federer could adjust between tournaments easily because they are all medium/fast courts full of opponents that are baseliners. Sampras had to deal with more extreme variety & challenges in both surface and opponent on a weekly basis.
Just some thoughts, not a rip on Federer who I consider Sampras' equal in greatness even now in his career.
Changes I have heard people say:
1. Wimbledon is much slower
2. French is faster
3. Balls are heavier
4. Racquets/Athletes are better, stronger & hit harder
5. The talent in field is deeper
My questions then would be if most tournaments have been slowed down then it should be harder to hit outright winners than the past. Yet people also say that guys today hit harder and can blast winners from 3 ft behind the baseline due to advancement in racquet technology and training.
I guess you can say that in the 90's they hit it with more pace but less weight. But since superior athletes usually have faster hand/eye coordination, reflexes, and touch and the game has been slowed down, how can one assume that today's tennis players are more talented? They may be physically fitter and stronger but is the field deeper in talent?
Also, people say Wimbledon plays like the hardcourts now and the French has been sped up. If this is true that means that all the majors play much closer in speed and the variety between surfaces is gone. That would mean that Federer could adjust between tournaments easily because they are all medium/fast courts full of opponents that are baseliners. Sampras had to deal with more extreme variety & challenges in both surface and opponent on a weekly basis.
Just some thoughts, not a rip on Federer who I consider Sampras' equal in greatness even now in his career.
