New article: Tennis cursed by the boredom of slow play

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Tennis cursed by the boredom of slow play​

The server steps up to the baseline and then … bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce…It is boring waiting for the bouncing for stop.

The worst bouncing offenders include Marin Cilic and serial grand-slam winner Novak Djokovic, who has been known to bounce the ball 17 times at moments of high stress. During last month’s otherwise magnificent Wimbledon final, Djokovic’s interminable service preparations were interrupted more than once by cries of “Gerronwithit” from the stands.

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According to Tim Henman, this is becoming a serious issue. The sport needs to address the issue of dead time between points. Excessive ball-bouncing is just one of many tactics used to slow the game down and give players space to think. The most popular is the process of toweling down after each point which has become enervating for fans and infuriating for schedulers. “You’re seeing three-set matches like the Cincinatti final the other day – amazing though it was – and they’re running to almost four hours. And this at a time when most sports are trying to speed up.”

This trend is not exclusively explained by delays between rallies. Balls and court surfaces tend to slow down slightly each year, while the athletes’ physicality improves, and the dreaded bathroom breaks – another method of regaining focus, or breaking your opponent’s rhythm – are also proliferating.

‘No one ever gives him a warning’​

Still, it is hard to escape the conclusion that the shot-clock has backfired. The idea was to take subjectivity out of the process, and address claims of favouritism surrounding big-name players such as Rafael Nadal (another man with never-ending pre-serve routines, including eyebrow-smoothing and butt-picking). By making the 25-second countdown visible, the system was supposed to end the perception – bluntly expressed on court in 2014 by Dmitry Tursunov – that “Rafa is eight seconds over and no one ever gives him a warning.

“It’s often the big names who are pushing the envelope to the limit”. Whereas, if you go back a few decades, 1970s giants such as Bjorn Borg and Arthur Ashe barely paused for breath. A video of their 1973 US Open meeting shows that the young Borg took an average of eight seconds to collect the ball from the ball-boy, turn around, bounce it once, and toss it up. Ashe was a comparative laggard, averaging 10 seconds between points.

According to Henman, “The sport was very different in those days. There was more serve-volleying, and the physicality just wasn’t on the same level, so we can’t expect people to play that quickly today.”

Collaboration is needed’​

The recent Wimbledon final makes for an interesting case study. On the one hand, there was grumbling from the stands over Djokovic’s incessant ball-bouncing. On the other, the match is already being seen as an instant classic. If chair umpire Fergus Murphy had been stricter, and established himself as a third participant in the drama, would it not have detracted from the spectacle of two great players going head to head?

Without action, matches will surely continue to grow longer, especially now that juniors are actively being coached to incorporate lengthy mid-point routines into their games. Their role models on this front, unfortunately, are always bound to be Nadal and Djokovic rather than Borg and Ashe.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/tennis-cursed-boredom-slow-play-090000902.html
 
Djokovic is the king of gamesmanship. he always takes the most time in pressure situations, by far. Part of why he is a charisma vacuum and why the Wimbledon crowd erupted in thunderous applause when he received a time violation warning in the finals tiebreak.
 
weakera said:
Djokovic is the king of gamesmanship. he always takes the most time in pressure situations, by far. Part of why he is a charisma vacuum and why the Wimbledon crowd erupted in thunderous applause when he received a time violation warning in the finals tiebreak.
Click to expand...
Well, he's definitely the king of the ball bouncing. It's unendurable for me, but apparently it doesn't bug his fans.
 
From Simon Briggs, the same guy who wrote this:

www.telegraph.co.uk

Tennis has a Novak Djokovic problem and a solution needs to present itself . . . fast

Barring illness, accident or a remarkable post-operation renaissance for Rafael Nadal, the 23-time major champion is untouchable
www.telegraph.co.uk www.telegraph.co.uk

He's no different than an internet troll on a message board who calls himself a journalist. Can't get over Djokovic crushing Federer's records. Lol. It's up to the umpire to enforce the rule if you go over time. That's why the clock is there.
 
weakera said:
Djokovic is the king of gamesmanship. he always takes the most time in pressure situations, by far. Part of why he is a charisma vacuum and why the Wimbledon crowd erupted in thunderous applause when he received a time violation warning in the finals tiebreak.
Click to expand...
The idea was to take subjectivity out of the process, and address claims of favouritism surrounding big-name players such as Rafael Nadal (another man with never-ending pre-serve routines, including eyebrow-smoothing and butt-picking)...bluntly expressed on court in 2014 by Dmitry Tursunov – that “Rafa is eight seconds over and no one ever gives him a warning.


LOL
 
Nadal takes on average slightly longer and I almost always switch channels in between his serves. Djokovic gets into position faster but takes only slightly shorter to serve because of his bounces. Also Nadal's almost always slower and Djokovic bounces the ball even more when facing pressure.

If they don't go over the shot clock I guess I won't complain but I would be lying if I said I don't find their routines irritating at times especially before high-stakes points.

Also because they are both among the slower players they run into distractions from the crowd or a gust of wind or whatever more often and they are always more than eager to give the source of distraction a look, wait till the distraction is over, and then carry on with their routine.
 
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weakera said:
Djokovic is the king of gamesmanship. he always takes the most time in pressure situations, by far. Part of why he is a charisma vacuum and why the Wimbledon crowd erupted in thunderous applause when he received a time violation warning in the finals tiebreak.
Click to expand...
Who's gonna tell them. His fans don't care that he is such a slow player. *smh
 
For me, the main problem with the shot-clock is that when the 20 seconds approaches, the player serves and misses and then starts all over again for another 20 seconds. I don't think that should be repeated for 2nd serves, maybe 10 seconds tops for them, preferably less. So long as the player serves within the time limit, he/she can do what the heck they want IMO.
 
Mainad said:
For me, the main problem with the shot-clock is that when the 20 seconds approaches, the player serves and misses and then starts all over again for another 20 seconds. I don't think that should be repeated for 2nd serves, maybe 10 seconds tops for them, preferably less. So long as the player serves within the time limit, he/she can do what the heck they want IMO.
Click to expand...
Indeed, it’s funny that there is no shot clock for second serves, and first serves after a let.
 
My gripe with the shot clock is that it is often ignored by the umpires when the likes of Nadal and Djokovic are on the court. They will reluctantly give a time violation only when the crowd becomes vocal about it, otherwise they seem to be happy not to incur the wrath of the superstar players.
 
Article: ¤¤… Rafael Nadal (another man with never-ending pre-serve routines, including eyebrow-smoothing and butt-picking). By making the 25-second countdown visible, the system was supposed to end the perception – bluntly expressed on court in 2014 by Dmitry Tursunov – that “Rafa is eight seconds over and no one ever gives him a warning.”¤¤

The writer sounds as a typical Rafa basher on TTW, who has nothing else to say about Rafa than what Tursunov yelled after receiving a time violation warning in 2014, i.e. 4 years before the ATP started to implement the serve clock. Also, the writer is focused on Rafa’s butt as a typical Rafa basher on TTW. I wonder who learns from who – the writer from the Rafa bashers or the bashers from the writer. :unsure:
 
Mainad said:
For me, the main problem with the shot-clock is that when the 20 seconds approaches, the player serves and misses and then starts all over again for another 20 seconds. I don't think that should be repeated for 2nd serves, maybe 10 seconds tops for them, preferably less. So long as the player serves within the time limit, he/she can do what the heck they want IMO.
Click to expand...
Nobody cared before Rafael Nadal. Some people don't like the fact that they can't rush him or rattle him. If you try to rush Rafa, he'll slow down even more, which usually causes a retreat by the fast-time wishers as they curse under their breath and try again later on. The shot clock was an attempt to get at Rafa "officially", but Rafa just adjusted his routine so that he took more time in between first and second serves instead of in between points.

The shot clock is the modern "gruntometer" when they tried to get at Monica Seles.
 
Mustard said:
Slow play? Tennis is a hard game, mentally, physically and skillfully. You don't rush it.
Click to expand...
It amazes me that the agonozingly slow pace of play doesn't concern many people. The recent Cincy final was 4 hours, and much of that is utter wasted time with off-court toilet breaks and ball bouncing from one player. Had Fed-Roddick played the exact scoreline, the match would have been 2.5 hours.
 
BeatlesFan said:
It amazes me that the agonozingly slow pace of play doesn't concern many people. The recent Cincy final was 4 hours, and much of that is utter wasted time with off-court toilet breaks and ball bouncing from one player. Had Fed-Roddick played the exact scoreline, the match would have been 2.5 hours.
Click to expand...
Humans need the toilet at times. Tennis is hard physically, mentally and skillfully. People who watch hard, entertaining rallies and then expect the next point to start immediately just don't get it.
 
Mustard said:
Humans need the toilet at times. Tennis is hard physically, mentally and skillfully. People who watch hard, entertaining rallies and then expect the next point to start immediately just don't get it.
Click to expand...
Thomas Muster played easily at the same intensity as Nadal or Djokovic and he took 10 seconds between points. Horses for courses I guess.
 
We had this problem before in the 1970s. And it was Ilie Nastase, who among other antics, waited with his serve time and time again, to upset the opponents. The ATP then invented the 30 second rule for serving as an anti-Nastase rule, if i remember it right.. Until Nastase nobody cared, it dominated the constant play on - standard in tennis, the side-changes were much shorter and there were no chaiirs to sit down between games. At some tournaments with best of five, not at Wimbledon, there was a reguklar 20 minutes break time after the third set, when the players could go to the locker room..
 
BeatlesFan said:
Thomas Muster played easily at the same intensity as Nadal or Djokovic and he took 10 seconds between points. Horses for courses I guess.
Click to expand...
Muster was a beast. He was either full on intensity or having a bit of a letdown. His style caused burnouts a few times during his career.
 
Tennis is such a dumb and stubborn sport.
People have much shorter attention spans. But tennis doesn't do anything to hurry up play. Even just shaving off 20% of the excessive ball bouncing would help. It's like how when you switch on a match and it's a changeover and there's no score on the screen. Show the score so the viewer knows what's happening.
 
weakera said:
Djokovic is the king of gamesmanship. he always takes the most time in pressure situations, by far. Part of why he is a charisma vacuum and why the Wimbledon crowd erupted in thunderous applause when he received a time violation warning in the finals tiebreak.
Click to expand...
Nadal takes more time between points, as shown on many occasions. Djokovic is only the 2nd culprit.
 
Mustard said:
Nobody cared before Rafael Nadal. Some people don't like the fact that they can't rush him or rattle him. If you try to rush Rafa, he'll slow down even more, which usually causes a retreat by the fast-time wishers as they curse under their breath and try again later on. The shot clock was an attempt to get at Rafa "officially", but Rafa just adjusted his routine so that he took more time in between first and second serves instead of in between points.

The shot clock is the modern "gruntometer" when they tried to get at Monica Seles.
Click to expand...

So are you against any rules to regulate time between points?
 
Yes..ball bouncing should be regulated as well as errant serve tosses.
Even no ad scoring has it's advantages.. but that approaches sacrilege in the singles game..
 
Mainad said:
So are you against any rules to regulate time between points?
Click to expand...
I am yes, as long as it's not deliberately wasting time like arguing with the umpire forever, like what McEnroe often did in the 1980s. At the 1988 French Open, when Lendl won the second set against McEnroe to level the match, McEnroe protested the linecall for ages, walked off court for a time etc. and it took ages for the third set to begin. That sort of thing shouldn't be allowed. Taking over 30 seconds between points should be allowed if that's how the player plays.
 
Mustard said:
Nobody cared before Rafael Nadal. Some people don't like the fact that they can't rush him or rattle him. If you try to rush Rafa, he'll slow down even more, which usually causes a retreat by the fast-time wishers as they curse under their breath and try again later on. The shot clock was an attempt to get at Rafa "officially", but Rafa just adjusted his routine so that he took more time in between first and second serves instead of in between points.

The shot clock is the modern "gruntometer" when they tried to get at Monica Seles.
Click to expand...
And the only reason people cared about Nadal is because he was beating Federer. They looked for any excuse to try and bring him down or find a "reason" why he was succeeding.

If you watch older matches, plenty of players take quite a bit of time between points. We just in an era when people think sports are "too slow" if something isn't happening every second. It's really kind of pathetic.
 
Mustard said:
I am yes, as long as it's not deliberately wasting time like arguing with the umpire forever, like what McEnroe often did in the 1980s. At the 1988 French Open, when Lendl won the second set against McEnroe to level the match, McEnroe protested the linecall for ages, walked off court for a time etc. and it took ages for the third set to begin. That sort of thing shouldn't be allowed. Taking over 30 seconds between points should be allowed if that's how the player plays.
Click to expand...
Your belief is that Nadal did not deliberately waste time back when he played? :unsure:
 
Speed up the courts, bring back carpet! Tennis after 2003 set about slowing the courts down, the Australian Open until 2007 was a relatively fast court.

Who benefited the most from a fast court? Federer did and it was a shame that this want to make serve and volleyers extinct impacted on players careers.

Federer winning slams during eras of faster courts then later in his career on slower courts should be an achievement worth noting.

I think it's time the WTA/ATP looked about speeding up tournaments, add more diversity of speed to Grass and Hardcourts.
 
BeatlesFan said:
It amazes me that the agonozingly slow pace of play doesn't concern many people. The recent Cincy final was 4 hours, and much of that is utter wasted time with off-court toilet breaks and ball bouncing from one player. Had Fed-Roddick played the exact scoreline, the match would have been 2.5 hours.
Click to expand...
Maybe just a touch of exaggeration?
 
T&M Returns said:
And the only reason people cared about Nadal is because he was beating Federer. They looked for any excuse to try and bring him down or find a "reason" why he was succeeding.

If you watch older matches, plenty of players take quite a bit of time between points. We just in an era when people think sports are "too slow" if something isn't happening every second. It's really kind of pathetic.
Click to expand...
There's a player at our club who is like Nadal/Djokovic with his service points. Takes forever. Everybody I know who has played him has made the same comments about being annoyed by it, because the matches end up taking forever. Most of the guys I play are older than I am also, so this ain't some bash on millenials/gen z having short attention spans.
 
Mustard said:
I am yes, as long as it's not deliberately wasting time like arguing with the umpire forever, like what McEnroe often did in the 1980s. At the 1988 French Open, when Lendl won the second set against McEnroe to level the match, McEnroe protested the linecall for ages, walked off court for a time etc. and it took ages for the third set to begin. That sort of thing shouldn't be allowed. Taking over 30 seconds between points should be allowed if that's how the player plays.
Click to expand...

So if a player needs 2 minutes to recover his breathing every other point it's okay with you?
 
SonnyT said:
Nadal takes more time between points, as shown on many occasions. Djokovic is only the 2nd culprit.
Click to expand...
The chair umpire operates the serve clock, he/she gives a player 25 seconds to start the next point. The umpire triggers the clock, the players have to monitor the clock and have to stay within the 25-second time limit they see on the clock. It's impossible for the server to "take" more time between the points than the serve clock allows without being punished by the chair umpire (a warning, losing the 1st serve, losing the point).
 
sureshs said:
That is why I rank Federer as the GOAT. Nadal is/was a delaying cheat with his butt picking and deliberate slow down of the game at crucial moments, and Djokovic is a cheat with his bouncing strategy. These two should have been disqualified from the sport a long time ago.
Click to expand...
I wonder if you are capable of seeing anything else than Rafa's butt. :unsure:
 
There have been instances of Nadal (and possibly Djokovic too) starting a point more than 40 seconds after the previous gruelling point ended ( regardless of when the chair umpire setted the clock to zero).
 
mattennis said:
Many times the chair umpire sets the clock to zero more than 10 seconds AFTER the previous point has ended.
Click to expand...
The chair umpire triggers the serve clock after announcing the score. (If the umpire announces the score in two languages, she/he triggers the clock after announcing the score in the first language he uses to do this.)
 
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