If I understand you correctly, as a Player and probably you are as well, do you get distracted easily with situations happening outside of the game? If Players made a habit of walking up to people and slapping them five or answering every yell or scream or bascially being Interactive with the Crowd while playing a match. It will alter their effectiveness. Sorry but that's will be the outcome. In this Sport, you have to stay as close to focused as possible.
It's not so much that in itself, but tennis is unique in that it's one-on-one sport, played in an arena (thus spectator-around-stage setup), where competitors are not locked into a clock. What this means is that you have a point play and them a period of reaction/reflection, then you recommence with the next point. In other words, like baseball, you are allowed to process the game as a series of
crisp give-and-take. After key or well-played points, the audience gets to see emotional and other reactions by the players. Body language, screams, and all that. In something like boxing or any time-based sport, it's impossible for the player to do that. Moreover when you do have a player who appeals to the audience, the effect in tennis is actually very strong. Golf works this way too, but golf does not directly involve an exchange between two people.
All of those things that can win you games will NOT happen if you're just out there kicking back having fun with the crowd, laughing and talking to everyone.
Agreed, and that's the inherent problem with tennis on TV. For most players who exhibit a lot of body language out there -- which makes for good TV -- it's usually a sign of breaks in their concentration. The TV audience can't instinctively process this because they don't appreciate the full speed of the balls or the movement of the players. Really, the controlled violence of the pro male game. Without the style contrast of S&V vs. baseline tennis, the gameplay on TV looks like pong to the casual user.
Ironically, that's also what makes the female game so interesting on TV. In any given era, there's only going to be a handful of female players with the poise and self-possession of a top pro male player. As a result, we see more players get down on themselves, how shifts in momentum are reflected in their body language, when players are using some kind of gamesmanship tactic, etc. In other words, the very things that diminsh the quality or even purity of gameplay enhances it as a "TV show."
Hmm, about your Cowboys fixation . . .
I grew up in the Bay Area and watched Oakland and the 49ers for years until I settled on the Cowboys.
See, now you're just breaking my heart. A Niners fan who switches over to the Enemy? Oh well, if TO can do it, I suppose ex-Niners fans can too.
