So you think Nadal plays fair?

[Defcon]

Think again! From Tennis mag -


Wimbledon is an ITF event and permits no more than 20 seconds between points.
Here are the surprises:


Federer went over the 20 seconds twice in the match. He took 25 and 21
seconds. His match average was 12.8 seconds.


Nadal took more than 20 seconds on half of his serves. Nadal had 53
violations of the time clock.

Longest time was 33 seconds. Nadal took more than 30 seconds 6 times in the match.
Nadal's average time was 20.6 seconds. The average time was above the
upper limit of the allowed time.




Very soon a bunch of Nadal apologists (you know who you are) will be here to defend their boy's honor. Let me make your job easier. Pick any or all from the following :-

a) he's just a kid
b) he doesn't do it distract, he's just getting in the zone himself, he's not even aware of the time (!)
c) tennis needs more 'personality'
d) if it were illegal the umpire would say something
e) so what, everyone does it

and the ace up the sleeve

f) what had Fed done by the time he was 20 LOL

but perhaps you should add

g) he needs time to get the towel, pick his butt, pull up the socks and check the alignment of his water bottles

Give me a break. Any way you look at it, this is blatant violation of the rules and abusing the system. The only reason Nadal gets away with these stalling tactics is because, well, he's Nadal. Some players have spoken out against it (was it Luby? Nalby?) but they immediately get labelled as sore losers for daring to point the finger at the boy wonder.

Federer (and you can't get any more neutral and easygoing) complains about coaching by uncle Toni and after everyone finishes bashing Fed, Nadal refuses to deny it and instead says he wants coaching on court, basically admitting it happened. The double standard when it comes to Nadal is amazing. Hewitt is hated for his fist pumps and c'mons, yet Nadal's (10 times worse) antics are ok.

Yes, he is charismatic and popular, he's important for the game, but its disgraceful for a professional and world #2 to behave like this.

 

[Mick]

it isn't fair but if the umpire doesn't address the issue, he will continue to abuse it.

 

[DarkSephiroth]

I agree. Agassi had problems with him in their TMS match a while back, I don't remember where exactly. Nadal would make Agassi take his time serving, and threw off Agassi's rhythym.

 

[pinky42]

d) if it were illegal the umpire would say something

h) It is illegal and the umpire should say something.

I think the problem is that it's a rule that is largely ignored. Can you imagine an ump calling a point penalty that determines a match? The crowd would be incensed. We will have uneven enforcement as long as it's left up to the ump. Sure, they could go with a 20 second shot clock but I think that cure is worse than the disease.

 

[AJK1]

They should tie an electrical cord to Nadals arse, and every time he picks it he gets a nasty shock. That might make him serve faster!!

 

[Alexandros]

53 time violations? That's staggering and completely absurd.

 

[ucd_ace]

Federer seems less concerned with this than anyone on these boards.

 

[The ball was in]

Federer seems less concerned with this than anyone on these boards.

Federer may seem less concerned, but what is the point of having rulse in place if they are to be violated several times in a match? I can understand there being more than 20 seconds in between points when there has been a long rally but please...if it has lasted for 5-6 shots at the most?

I think he does spend too much time picking his underwear and maybe someone should move one of his bottles by a fraction and watch him lose all his concentration :mrgreen:

 

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

hmmm, so far no Nadal lovers up for the defense. Like what people say, the best offense beats the best defense. Very nicely done

 

[Rataplan]

this is blatant violation of the rules and abusing the system. The only reason Nadal gets away with these stalling tactics is because, well, he's Nadal.

Nadal is such a bad boy, isn't he?
Blatant violation of the rules and abusing the system. How on earth does he keep getting away with such vile crimes in this noble sport we call tennis.

It's high time that he's punished and taught a lesson for being such a brute around the court and distracting the poor gentlemen that grace the court.

Why can't more people be as sharp as you, Defcon, oh wise one, and make this joke of a tennis player pay for the fact that he makes a mockery of the tennis rules and he keeps getting away with it because, "well, he's Nadal"




---
God, this tennis forum has become such a joke.

 

[Rhino]

So did you re-watch the match with a stop watch and a calculator, noting down every serve time? Thats dedication buddy; all these so-called nadal haters have got nothing on you, you are truely the hater king, well done.

The most annoying thing about Nadals serve times is that it makes his matches so much longer, and therefore the filesize is so much bigger when I download them.

 

[superman1]

I think this is the primary reason why Nadal isn't as popular as he should be. He's got the flair, he's got the crazy game, he should be the most popular guy out there. But he takes so damn long, the audience just gets restless. And his game is the same thing every time. You never see anything new. Just Nadal running back and forth, side-to-side, then he is stretched out and hits a winner on the run. He jumps up. Vamos! 1 minute later, the next point starts.

 

[swedechris]

stalling / rushing! nadal is not immune

the rules are there and the idea of the rules is that they should be followed.
so i think nadal is unfair in his taking his time + up to 10 secs longer almost everytime he is serving .. thats not ok .
also he stalls his opponents rhytm when he is receiving . he does it from time to time but i have been so angry with this for he does it almost everytime when its an important point = when he is up in an opponents service game or when he is winded because his opponent has played well on the previous pooint and had nadal running a lot .

whos accepting a servers serving / rushing the serve?? when the receiver is not ready to return .. that is the 'medicine' maybe needed to show nadal he is not controlling the opponenets rhythm ..

i think a real discussion is neede and a solution .. asap.
otherwise serving 'early' jsut to make the point clear and obvoius would maybe be the only soluition .. are you ready roddick ?

 

[Rataplan]

I think this is the primary reason why Nadal isn't as popular as he should be.

Well, it's a factor perhaps but I honestly think that it's blown out of proportion. Out of all the matches I have seen this year, I have seen quite a few violations, bending of rules,... but none of them get so much attention as Nadal. Why not? Because Nadal is a popular topic of conversation and nobody gives a damn if the number 76 in the ranking has a violation of some sort.

If you see more matches than merely the ones with your favorite player, you will notice many players who tend to test out how flexible these rules are: on purpose or not. Doesn't matter.

But, Nadal is paying the price of being the number two behind a very popular and flawless number one in forums like these.


I have yet to see a balanced and unbiased conversation about this on this board and looking at the sort of threads that get posted on a day-to-day basis, it's impossible. This is one of the main reasons why this forum has become a joke these days.

Everybody is biased to some degree but most of you aren't even trying.

And his game is the same thing every time. You never see anything new. Just Nadal running back and forth, side-to-side, then he is stretched out and hits a winner on the run. He jumps up. Vamos! 1 minute later, the next point starts.

Fair enough if that's your opinion.

However, this is the criticism I always get when I tell people that I like watching tennis, regardless of the match I'm watching and the players on court:
"But, it's so repetitive, always the same thing: serve, running back and forth, side-to-side, point made and it starts all over again."
You can break down almost any match to this sort of analysis if you want to.

 

[swedechris]

point

good point .. but i feel that if you are no 2 in the world and get a lot of attention ( which is normal..) you owe it to the game + your opponents to play accoring to the rules..
is the no 76th or what ever ranked player in the world doing it too.. well maybe he is 'inspired ' by the no 2 player in the world..!
and all the up and coming kids all over the world watching .. will they 'learn' from nadal .. to bend the rules is cool + ok ? of course they do .. and that is not good for the game.
i think that would be a really bad thing for tennis .. !

nadal is a great player .. i appreciate his feisty style and fighting spirt .. he brings a lot to tennis that is good..i dont hate him at all but i think i would like him a lot better(AND SO WOULD A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE TOO..) if he played according to the rules that apply to all the guys out there fighting!

 

[swedechris]

point

good point .. but i feel that if you are no 2 in the world and get a lot of attention ( which is normal..) you owe it to the game + your opponents to play accoring to the rules..
is the no 76th or what ever ranked player in the world doing it too.. well maybe he is 'inspired ' by the no 2 player in the world..!
and all the up and coming kids all over the world watching .. will they 'learn' from nadal .. to bend the rules is cool + ok ? of course they do .. and that is not good for the game.
i think that would be a really bad thing for tennis .. !

nadal is a great player .. i appreciate his feisty style and fighting spirt .. he brings a lot to tennis that is good..i dont hate him at all but i think i would like him a lot better(AND SO WOULD A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE TOO..) if he played according to the rules that apply to all the guys out there fighting!

 

[Rataplan]

nadal is a great player .. i appreciate his feisty style and fighting spirt .. he brings a lot to tennis that is good..i dont hate him at all but i think i would like him a lot better(AND SO WOULD A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE TOO..) if he played according to the rules that apply to all the guys out there fighting!

Call me a cynic but some people will always find an excuse to hate.

Nadal has climbed the ranking very fast.
He's beaten the fantastic number one on an occassion or two
Hence, the attention Rafael receives and the tendency to nitpick over every aspect of his game.

Granted, he does take time and if you really start focussing on it, it does get annoying but it's not a major crime against tennis and so, it's blown out of proportion IMO.

Furthermore, I do think that he's trying to cut down on his time between points
He has always taken time but it's only since Rome that people are paying attention to it. Before that, nobody (or hardly anybody) payed attention to it.
It's a snow ball effect: somebody brings this up, people start paying attention (for some, they have found another stick to beat him with) and the more you start focussing on it, the more that it becomes annoying.
Nadal has always had more than his share of "haters" on this board - haters who use every excuse to bring him down a notch or two - but before a certain player who shall remain nameless brought it up, it wasn't really a topic of conversation (as far as I can tell). But it's only after Rome that it's become such a big deal (OMG, he's so breaking the rules....why don't they punish him).

It's also my impression that most of these threads are not started to really discuss tennis related things but they are started because some people simply get a kick out of the reactions they can possibly get.
If I read the following line in the opening post of this thread:
"Very soon a bunch of Nadal apologists (you know who you are) will be here to defend their boy's honor. Let me make your job easier. "
It looks to me like they want to trigger a certain reaction more than really discuss this in open way.

 

[huz]

haha what a thread.

I watch nadal to appreciate his tennis capabities and, like many other spectators, I do not watch the tennis with a stopwatch in hand. Just enjoy the tennis he brings and calm down.

 

[Duzza]

to answer your thread topic : no.

 

[FedFan_2007]

I think this is the primary reason why Nadal isn't as popular as he should be. He's got the flair, he's got the crazy game, he should be the most popular guy out there. But he takes so damn long, the audience just gets restless. And his game is the same thing every time. You never see anything new. Just Nadal running back and forth, side-to-side, then he is stretched out and hits a winner on the run. He jumps up. Vamos! 1 minute later, the next point starts.

That's true. You never see any truly amazing winners like Federer seems to hit 10 times a match. Also I detest the 2-h backhand. I saw Fed beat Sampras back in 2001 at 19yo and he had all the shots back then. The only difference between 19yo Fed & 25 yo Fed is mental toughness. I don't see Nadal having the same talent-level, but he has an unusual mental toughness at 20yo. THat's his edge over Fed at the moment.

 

[BluBarry]

I wonder if 20 seconds between a point is reasonable ? Surely endurance is very much part of a game but after a very long rally and remember folks, Nadal is more use to playing on the dirt where you can watch the ball go back & forth over 30 strokes or more easily. That takes a lot out of you no matter who you are.

Just to satisfy someone's concept of moving the game along due to commercial time or crowd boredom, shouldn't be a factor in a person's heart exploding.
Granted, it use to annoy me to watch Mary Pierce serve but it really is up to the opponent to make a fuss or not. This is their match and if I have the momentum and my opponent is (imo) purposely trying to slow the game down because he wants to upset my rythm, then it's up to me to say something about it.

 

[Grimjack]

I wonder if 20 seconds between a point is reasonable ? Surely endurance is very much part of a game but after a very long rally and remember folks, Nadal is more use to playing on the dirt where you can watch the ball go back & forth over 30 strokes or more easily. That takes a lot out of you no matter who you are.

This is exactly the point, and why this preferential treatment of Nadal is so significant.

Nadal's game is FAR more energy-inefficient than any other player's out there. He runs down everything, does it from so far back that he has to move greater distances as well, and bases his whole game on running, running, and more running.

Is 20 seconds enough to recover between points, if you play like this? Probably not. Is it fair? Is it FAIR??? It's as fair as the rule that says you have to use a racquet, or toss the ball before the serve. It's one of the rules of tennis, and just as the game you develop should not be allowed to be based on firing serves out of a cannon, or throwing your racquet at the opponent, so likewise the game you develop should not be allowed to be based on resting two or three times longer between points than other players typically do. Nadal developed a game that necessiatates preferential treatment. You don't see how that's an unfair advantage gained at the expense of the rules that all other players must play by?

The only even remotely reasonable counter-argument is that if Nadal is on court, wasting time, then his opponents get to rest just as much, right? Except they don't have games that are based around getting illegal amounts of rest. At the end of 20 seconds, they are ready to play at 100% again, and the additional 30 seconds doesn't benefit them. Nadal, if forced to play by the rules that all these other players built their games around, could only play each point at a less-than-100% efficiency. (And that % would get worse as a match wore on.) But since he built an illegal gameplan based upon a stretching of the rules he assumed he'd be granted, he is able to take his game places that many other players can't compete with (especially on gruelling claycourts). Very reasonably, they didn't spend their entire lives building games that necessitated (or could take advantage of) minute-long rests between points. When confronted with somebody who does play like this, they are facing a rule violation that compromises their entire careers'-worth of preparation.

Every other player had to learn -- as part of learning how to become a pro -- how to conserve energy; how to build a game that didn't leave them exhausted after a set and a half. They had to learn how to play by the rules. Nadal didn't bother, and got away with it. Now, the net result is that the rules are different for him than for any other player, and 100% to his benefit, and to the detriment of players who planned their whole careers around the rules of tennis.

And you really wonder why people and players complain? Make him play next year's French at 20-second intervals like everybody else, and he doesn't get past the 4th round. He's never done it in his life. Why believe that he could suddenly play at twice the pace?

Nadal = fraud.

 

[Rataplan]

Nadal = fraud.

lol

What an hilarious conclusion to one heck of a rant, Grimjack.

 

[TennezSport]

Final Fix



OK, here is how we stop that and really see the talents of speedy. Just like they did with the line calls, have a countdown clock on court like they do in football. When the clock hits zero, automatic violation, add violation penalities to season.

Will that happen............prob not!

TS

 

[BluBarry]

OK, here is how we stop that and really see the talents of speedy. Just like they did with the line calls, have a countdown clock on court like they do in football. When the clock hits zero, automatic violation, add violation penalities to season.

Will that happen............prob not!

TS

And what would that violation be ? The server has to move back five feet? Or are you saying three violations would result to a point penalty ? Or the first violation is a point penalty ? This is a slippery slope my friend. Can you imagaine of the vioation was at Set Point or Match Point ? Whoa !!! What if the Server was exhausted afetr a seriously long rally and received a violation point penalty ?

I contend that it's really up to the opponent. If the opponent thinks it's a problem and complains, then the Umpire should remind the offender to speed it up (politely). It's just like Loud unnecessary grunting. It bothers some and doesn't others. Let the Players decide what's a problem and throw the rule out or change the time to 30 seconds which should make a huge difference.
Like Grimjack said, the opponent gets to rest, think, scan for caoching signals as well.

 

[jmsx521]

New ATP/WTA formula in effect 2007 Calendar

Any posters who are mathematicians: can you make a formula (which will be called the ATP/WTA Time-taken Between Points Formula, that takes into account a player's weight, heart-beat, the distance the player covers during a point and for how many seconds that distance has been covered (plus heat-index & barometric pressure on the court). The result of the calculation "x=" will be how many seconds the player will be allowed to have until next point. The score-board will automatically show the player how many seconds he/she has.

 

[Nadal_Freak]

Nadal should serve the ball quicker. In this way he can wear down his opponents and not allow them to rest. In helps Nadal but it helps his opponents more with all the weight Nadal puts on his shots that wear down his opponents.

 

[BluBarry]

Any posters who are mathematicians: can you make a formula (which will be called the ATP/WTA Time-taken Between Points Formula, that takes into account a player's weight, heart-beat, the distance the player covers during a point and for how many seconds that distance has been covered (plus heat-index & barometric pressure on the court). The result of the calculation "x=" will be how many seconds the player will be allowed to have until next point. The score-board will automatically show the player how many seconds he/she has.

" YOU CAN NOT BE SERIOUS ! "

So you feel they should do a weigh in prior to the match ? Like stand on a scale on court ? And if they eat a banana during the match, they can add another couple of seconds to their delivery time ? Come on .. get real

 

[TennezSport]

And what would that violation be ? Or are you saying three violations would result to a point penalty ? Or the first violation is a point penalty ?
This could be, depending on what the officials decide.

This is a slippery slope my friend.
Not really, if you are a professional, then act professionally, train professionally and be professionally respective of your opponent.

Can you imagaine of the violation was at Set Point or Match Point ?
You get what you earn, violate the rule and receive the penality, simple. No more BS!

I contend that it's really up to the opponent. If the opponent thinks it's a problem and complains, then the Umpire should remind the offender to speed it up (politely).
This has been done before and does not work as the officials are afraid to eject a top star (money rules). This plan removes all of that and adds the audience to the mix with a countdown to VILOATIONNNNNNN.

It will never be done, becasue it makes sense and is fair to all. The Flashy stars will never have it and neither will uncle Tony

TS

 

[BluBarry]

And what would that violation be ? Or are you saying three violations would result to a point penalty ? Or the first violation is a point penalty ?

This could be, depending on what the officials decide.

This is a slippery slope my friend.

Not really, if you are a professional, then act professionally, train professionally and be professionally respective of your opponent.

Can you imagaine of the violation was at Set Point or Match Point ?

You get what you earn, violate the rule and receive the penality, simple. No more BS!

I contend that it's really up to the opponent. If the opponent thinks it's a problem and complains, then the Umpire should remind the offender to speed it up (politely).

This has been done before and does not work as the officials are afraid to eject a top star (money rules). This plan removes all of that and adds the audience to the mix with a countdown to VILOATIONNNNNNN. It will never be done, becasue it makes sense and is fair to all. The Flashy stars will never have it and neither will uncle Tony

TS

You're absolutely right imo ... Just like this years' Agassi Open (USO). Andre could have done just about anything he wanted short of have Darin Cahill sit with him. I mean what if Blowing your nose out every 5 seconds was against the rules, do you think Andre would have been charged ?

btw - you forgot the quote closing

 

[irishbanger]

Seriously-- I'm a huge tennis fan and just can't watch Nadal play. His time violations just bug the heck out of me and render his matches unwatchable.

 

[Rabbit]

I wonder if 20 seconds between a point is reasonable ? Surely endurance is very much part of a game but after a very long rally and remember folks, Nadal is more use to playing on the dirt where you can watch the ball go back & forth over 30 strokes or more easily. That takes a lot out of you no matter who you are.

You know, I agree with you. They should do away with that rule. And the one about two serves; it is too limiting as well. And, you should be able to step over the baseline prior to hitting a serve. Lastly, those lines are a hinderance to the game. You really should get the line + 6 inches before they call it out. Hell, they have the technology to measure it now.

Rules are rules. Play shall be continuous. They used to enforce it. They used to stand between game changes and didn't get 60 seconds. There have been too many allowances in my view.

Just to satisfy someone's concept of moving the game along due to commercial time or crowd boredom, shouldn't be a factor in a person's heart exploding.

I don't guess you've ever heard of the "loss of conditioning" rule. A large part of the game is physical fitness. This rule was in place well before television or certainly commercials. It exists for a reason. If you can't continue because you've lost conditioning, then you don't deserve to win.

Granted, it use to annoy me to watch Mary Pierce serve but it really is up to the opponent to make a fuss or not.

I disagree here as well. In what other sport is it up to the combatants to make sure the rules are enforced? Can you imagine defensive linemen keeping the 20 second clock to make sure that there is no delay of game and reminding the ump to check it? Certainly they can argue, but tennis officiating, IMO, is the worst of professional sports as evidenced by the Venus Williams match last Wimbledon and a couple of other incidents.

This is their match and if I have the momentum and my opponent is (imo) purposely trying to slow the game down because he wants to upset my rythm, then it's up to me to say something about it.

Again, no, it's the chair's job to enforce the rules as they exist in the rulebook, not you or your opponent.

I think they should go back to the way it was. If you get cramps, too bad, you either play or quit. If you get hurt, too bad, you either play or quit. If you are winded, too bad, you either play or quit. This is a large part of tennis. Why not let the top players bring their entire entourage on court with them? That way, the venues could sell the players' box seats to more corporate entities who will let them go unattended and more people could not see tennis live.

 

[sureshs]

Nadal is notorious for going to the towel whenever facing a breakpoint down.

 

[Cindysphinx]

If you have a time rule, it should be enforced. Can you imagine what would happen in American football if the quarterback took an extra 10 seconds just because it was a big play?

*Of course* they should have a time clock, right in the stadium. Slow play is bad for ratings, and bad ratings are bad for tennis. If I can serve in 20 seconds, so can the pros.

 

[Backbored]

Look it is not his fault if the rules will not be enforced.

 

[Cindysphinx]

And what would that violation be ? The server has to move back five feet? Or are you saying three violations would result to a point penalty ? Or the first violation is a point penalty ? This is a slippery slope my friend. Can you imagaine of the vioation was at Set Point or Match Point ? Whoa !!! What if the Server was exhausted afetr a seriously long rally and received a violation point penalty ?

What would the violation be?

First offense in a set (including tiebreaker): warning.

Second offense in a set: a fault (if second serve, then it's a point to opponent).

Subsequent offenses in a set: point.

As far as I'm concerned, Michael Chang and Marcelos Rios had similarly exhausting games. They managed to serve in a timely fashion. I don't think Nadal is tired. He just needs a bit of time to regain his focus after all that running. To which I say: Too bad.

If a penalty decides the match, that's fine. Happens all the time in other sports. You can bet your sweet bippy Mary Pierce won't need to adjust that ponytail on match point.

 

[BigServer1]

What would the violation be?

First offense in a set (including tiebreaker): warning.

Second offense in a set: a fault (if second serve, then it's a point to opponent).

Subsequent offenses in a set: point.

That would work for me. That would give the player in question 2 chances to clean up before losing a point. If they can't speed it up after that then they should be penalized a point.

 

[ichugtea]

To answer the original question, I don’t know Nadal plays fair.
First of all, I think Nadal is a great athlete because he has great talent and a lot of energy and he will try to win every point in a match in every possible, and allowed, in other words, not prohibited way. However, this strategy of his is still against the rule even though it has not been reinforced very well. Player use the time between points to rest, calm down and think about the strategy. People can say that while Nadal is taking a break, his opponents can do the same. I agree with that, but rule is rule. Nadal takes longer break suggest that it takes longer time for him to recover from last point or for him to think about previous or next points. And that is one of his weaknesses although, technically, he is not playing tennis. If others players take advantage of his weakness and win the match, that is fair and square and Nadal should lose. Now, he is taking extra time illegally in order to fix his weakness, it is unfair to other players.

On the other hand, the emperors should be blamed more than Nadal. I mentioned earlier that Nadal will try all possible ways to win and it is up to emperors to reinforce rules. This rule hasn’t been raised much attention until Nadal started to violate it so often and use it at his advantage clearly on purpose. I strongly believe that the rule should be reinforced especially, if other player, who plays Nadal, mentions to the emperor during a match.

 

[prostaff18]

They should get two warnings then after that it should be a fault on that serve.
Why have rules if they aren't enforced? The umpire should have a clock and it should start when the previous point ends. The timer should stop when the player starts his/her service motion. There should be a buzzer that rings automatically when the time has expired. The umpire should be in charge of turning off the buzzer once the player has started their motion. Also the returner should have to play at the servers pace of play. If the server is ready to serve he should serve regardless of the returner and if they are ready. I think that in the event of an injury the game must be finished before any injury can be treated. If you can’t play then you must forfeit the game and get medical attention.

 

[BluBarry]

HEY PEOPLE !!!

Of course the Rule is the Rule and is probably inplace because of situations that have arisen that forced it to come to pass. I know this, you know this, everybody knows this. And yes, I agree that it bothers me as well to see someone taking more time than allowed.

BUT

Why is it not addressed in the Chair ? These Umpire see the game played out better than we do and if they don't enforce the rules of the game, then there's really where the problem is. Certain Players get a pass .. it's like certain people don't get arrested or spend little to no time in jail for an offense that normal limited income people fill up our jails over. Life is not fair. Fairness is idealistic certainly not realistic. The ITF is huge business and the Players are what brings the money to the pot. If you don't keep them happy, you're gonna have main draw Players pulling out of tourneys.

You would be amazed at what the Pilot Pen has done to encourage Rafa to play there next year. You'd think he was the President. I mean the stuff that was offered to him is better than winning the thing. They are not going to bust it on him for violating a ruling such as this. No Way No How

 

[aramis]

Well, suppose Nadal starts taking only 5 seconds between serves, do you really think that will reverse all of the negative opinions about him? Obviously the original poster just needed an excuse to vent his frustration with this kid. All of the Nadal haters (including myself) will continue to dislike him simply for the disgusting player he is.

 

[Rabbit]

HEY PEOPLE !!!

Of course the Rule is the Rule and is probably inplace because of situations that have arisen that forced it to come to pass. I know this, you know this, everybody knows this. And yes, I agree that it bothers me as well to see someone taking more time than allowed.

Reading what you posted earlier:

I wonder if 20 seconds between a point is reasonable ? Surely endurance is very much part of a game but after a very long rally and remember folks, Nadal is more use to playing on the dirt where you can watch the ball go back & forth over 30 strokes or more easily. That takes a lot out of you no matter who you are.

It would appear that you didn't know the rule(s).

BUT

Why is it not addressed in the Chair ? These Umpire see the game played out better than we do and if they don't enforce the rules of the game, then there's really where the problem is.

So, reading this then, you agree that all the rules should be enforced? But didn't you attempt to get Nads a Hall Pass in the "I wonder if 20 seconds between a point..." quote? I'm confused.

Certain Players get a pass .. it's like certain people don't get arrested or spend little to no time in jail for an offense that normal limited income people fill up our jails over. Life is not fair. Fairness is idealistic certainly not realistic.

Yeah, I agree. Nads taking too much time is just like O.J.

The ITF is huge business and the Players are what brings the money to the pot. If you don't keep them happy, you're gonna have main draw Players pulling out of tourneys.

Great, let them pull out. If they don't play tennis, they don't defend points. If they don't defend points, then their ranking will drop and they'll lose these privileges. They'll also lose their sponsors eventually which translates to no money coming in.

Aside from that, they are required to play certain events so pulling out is really not a viable option.

You would be amazed at what the Pilot Pen has done to encourage Rafa to play there next year. You'd think he was the President. I mean the stuff that was offered to him is better than winning the thing. They are not going to bust it on him for violating a ruling such as this. No Way No How

Amaze us, cite examples.

Again, you miss the point. The tournament organizer doesn't have the power to "bust" Nads for taking too much time. That is the job of the chair official, a duty which I think we've universally agreed is done with no sort of due diligence.

And now you present justification for not enforcing the rules. I disagree with your assertion.

 

[Richie Rich]

*Of course* they should have a time clock, right in the stadium. Slow play is bad for ratings, and bad ratings are bad for tennis. If I can serve in 20 seconds, so can the pros.

i like that idea. start the clock when the point ends. what would nadal do when there is 1 second left and he hasn't picked his bum yet? talk about a crisis!

 

[superman1]

If the other player is getting annoyed, he can always tell the umpire. The fact that Nadal's opponents don't usually complain seems to indicate that they are equally tired and need a bit of rest themselves. Agassi is the only guy I've seen get restless playing Nadal, and that's because his game was all about making the other guy tired. Towelling off for 30 seconds while your opponent is standing at the service line is cheating. If your opponent is also towelling off or catching his breath, then it's not really cheating, but it won't win you any fans. Fans want to see action and they want to see it fast.

 

[pound cat]

Not fair? Do you hear/see the opponents complain? Nadal runs them around that court so much they're happy to have a few more seconds to catch their breath. ATP runs it's own game...and moralizing from fans has no bearing on how they play it.

 

[Cindysphinx]

HEY PEOPLE !!!

Certain Players get a pass .. it's like certain people don't get arrested or spend little to no time in jail for an offense that normal limited income people fill up our jails over. Life is not fair. Fairness is idealistic certainly not realistic.

OK. Maybe they should paint the lines a little wider for Maria Sharapova. Hey, she's a big star. Why should she have to hit such skinny lines? Let's give Nadal a few extra challenges each set. He's Nadal, after all.

Seriously, the goal of officiating ought to be to level the playing field to the extent possible. They'll get after it if there's a rule. It should not be up to the other player to disrupt her focus and squabble about rules enforcement. That makes as much sense as asking the players to keep score.

I guess you have to have a rule to control stalling by the receiver. I guess the rule could be that the server can serve anytime after 10 seconds have elapsed on the play clock regardless of whether the receiver is ready. You wanna towel off, you better get a move on.

Failure to not be ready means you'll get aced a lot.

 

[mucat]

He should get a time clock violation, move forward 5 yards to recieve the serve or move back 5 yard to serve.

 

[BluBarry]

Reading what you posted earlier:



It would appear that you didn't know the rule(s).



So, reading this then, you agree that all the rules should be enforced? But didn't you attempt to get Nads a Hall Pass in the "I wonder if 20 seconds between a point..." quote? I'm confused.



Yeah, I agree. Nads taking too much time is just like O.J.



Great, let them pull out. If they don't play tennis, they don't defend points. If they don't defend points, then their ranking will drop and they'll lose these privileges. They'll also lose their sponsors eventually which translates to no money coming in.

Aside from that, they are required to play certain events so pulling out is really not a viable option.




Amaze us, cite examples.

Again, you miss the point. The tournament organizer doesn't have the power to "bust" Nads for taking too much time. That is the job of the chair official, a duty which I think we've universally agreed is done with no sort of due diligence.

And now you present justification for not enforcing the rules. I disagree with your assertion.

And what point would that be that you think I missed ? Come on already. Instead of beating this issue to the ground one should call Tournament Directors and voice their disdain to them. Really what are you or anyone else going to do if the Rule isn't enforced ? Stop watching ? Why stop there ? I wonder how many different Rules are actually being broken during a match ? Like Coach, time violations, unsportsman like conduct ? On & On til the Cows come home (or not).

I started my comment as an attempt to look at all sides just to see how far people on this Forum wish to take this issue. There are many issues that annoy me while certain Players are on the Court. Just think about it, why do you think there are Players that some people hate ? Not because they make more money than you or me. It's because of how they conduct themsleves during a match. I can provide a list of Players that annoy the crap out of me and if they retired, I'd be more the happier.

JHH - For many reasons that were already mentioned in other Threads, I think her Sportsmanship is horrible and enjoy any beating she gets these days.

Mary Pierce - Horrible form - takes way too long to serve the freakin ball and her dumb little rituals about taking a deep breath, looking at her opponent, looking at the crowd, bouncing the ball seven times, then after she stops bouncing the ball she has to hold the ball against her racquet for a second and concentrate on how she's going to toss it up .. blah blah it drives me crazy.

Maria Sharapova - With her ear shattering screams is a little too much at times and I use to think Monica was out of control

Rafa - With his time violations

Andre - With his nose blowing drove me nuts

Hewitt - With his taunting is not something that I appreciated

John McEnroe - Even though I love him .. if he noticed something you were wearing in the crowd, you had to take it off because it was a distraction to him.

Stefan Edberg - Because he was too damn nice and I hate people that are too damn nice. <--- Just Joking of course

But point is, maybe some of these are rules and maybe some are not however they affect how we perceive the game and it's personalities. If there wasn't a time violation in place, would people feel about Rafa the way they do ?
I like him tremendously dispite what others here think. I think he's fantastic for the game and mostly for Roger Federer.

So the question here is : Does Rafa play fair ? I say yes he does. He never gives people attitude when they beat him. He flew up to New Haven to hit with James Blake since he lost early in a warmup tournament. The same guy that took him out last year. Rafa genuinely likes his Comrades and considers all of them great Players. He loves Andre Agassi and although he puts everything into beating him on the court, gave Andre an undisclosed amount of money for his Children's Fund.

But you all hate him because he takes too long to serve a ball .. GET REAL !!!

He plays his heart out for a point and I just love that stuff. For me, it's what Tennis should be about. I don't look the other way if he violates, I look beyond and if he gets called on it by the Officials, oh well he knows the Rules.

 

[Cindysphinx]

Does Rafa play fair? Of course. The official allows him to do what he does, so he isn't culpable in any way, IMHO. This is especially so given he doesn't exactly have a timepiece at his disposal to keep track of the 20 seconds.

The real question is whether the USTA should change things. I think they should.

 

[Nadal_Freak]

Yeah I would change it to 30 seconds. 20 seconds is kind of rushing the game and the stadium should have a clock that Nadal can see so he knows when to serve and it will make it easier for him to keep track of time.