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G.O.A.T.
The oddly-timed retirement of Musetti at 0-4 of the fifth set in his match against Djokovic has been much talked about. It has been used to bash Musetti; to bash his generation; to bash other players not even in his generation . . . But instead, it made me wonder why a player who had absolutely no chance of winning his match would retire in the fashion that he did.
There was confusion during the match, itself. There was talk of Musetti being injured. Nothing was clear. Then we waited for the press conference for clarification, and Musetti gave a somewhat confused explanation. English is not his first language, but he did convey that he did not succumb to an injury sustained mid-match. He was just hurting, in general, from the physical toll of the match. And he was tired.
Yet, he continued playing. He lost the third set 6-1. The fourth set 6-0. And lost the first four games of the fifth before calling it quits. And the question I had was, "Why?"
I think the lesson for Musetti, and for all players and fans, is that there's nothing wrong with retiring from "loss of condition." Players used to retire all the time from it, during grueling matches, or under extreme weather conditions (or both). It simply meant that your fitness (or lack thereof) prohibited you from finishing the match. You walked to the net (if able), shook hands, and congratulated your opponent on the victory. Why is this so hard to do now?
I would argue that the grinding nature of the tour has placed more of a premium on fitness than ever before. Everyone is a grinder now. But not everyone is super fit. In addition, we have given the players more and more tools for them use/misuse in order to manipulate the flow of the game. Modern players have bathroom breaks and medical time outs that they abused for years in order to stall, delay, disrupt momentum, recover, etc. They have learned very well that they can (and are allowed to) bend and manipulate any rule so long as an advantage can be gained. That win at all cost mentality, combined with using gamesmanship with impunity has resulted in players simply refusing to take the straightforward and honest decision to simply retire from lack of fitness.
Perhaps this explains why young Musetti, a player brought up in the MTO generation, couldn't shake hands after the third set, or the fourth? He felt he had to go on, even though he must have known all the while that he was going to lose. But then he quit before match point, which negated the whole purpose of staying on court. It left everyone confused, unsatisfied, or angry. Why stay out there for 17 games and not 19? Why stay out there at all?
And perhaps that should be the big takeaway for pros and fans, alike. Saying "No mas" isn't a crime. It means you lost because your opponent exposed your lack of fitness. It doesn't diminish your achievements in a tournament, or on the tour. It doesn't mean you're no good. It doesn't mean you don't have a promising future. It means you need to work on your fitness, that's all.
The biggest irony was not lost on me or a few others on TTW. Musetti lost to Djokovic. Exposed, and run into the ground by a player who has re-defined fitness in our sport. But a player who, before he came to greatness, had a lot of difficulty completing long and grueling matches. His fitness, his heart, his future were all questioned ad nauseam when he was younger. And yet . . .
There was confusion during the match, itself. There was talk of Musetti being injured. Nothing was clear. Then we waited for the press conference for clarification, and Musetti gave a somewhat confused explanation. English is not his first language, but he did convey that he did not succumb to an injury sustained mid-match. He was just hurting, in general, from the physical toll of the match. And he was tired.
Yet, he continued playing. He lost the third set 6-1. The fourth set 6-0. And lost the first four games of the fifth before calling it quits. And the question I had was, "Why?"
I think the lesson for Musetti, and for all players and fans, is that there's nothing wrong with retiring from "loss of condition." Players used to retire all the time from it, during grueling matches, or under extreme weather conditions (or both). It simply meant that your fitness (or lack thereof) prohibited you from finishing the match. You walked to the net (if able), shook hands, and congratulated your opponent on the victory. Why is this so hard to do now?
I would argue that the grinding nature of the tour has placed more of a premium on fitness than ever before. Everyone is a grinder now. But not everyone is super fit. In addition, we have given the players more and more tools for them use/misuse in order to manipulate the flow of the game. Modern players have bathroom breaks and medical time outs that they abused for years in order to stall, delay, disrupt momentum, recover, etc. They have learned very well that they can (and are allowed to) bend and manipulate any rule so long as an advantage can be gained. That win at all cost mentality, combined with using gamesmanship with impunity has resulted in players simply refusing to take the straightforward and honest decision to simply retire from lack of fitness.
Perhaps this explains why young Musetti, a player brought up in the MTO generation, couldn't shake hands after the third set, or the fourth? He felt he had to go on, even though he must have known all the while that he was going to lose. But then he quit before match point, which negated the whole purpose of staying on court. It left everyone confused, unsatisfied, or angry. Why stay out there for 17 games and not 19? Why stay out there at all?
And perhaps that should be the big takeaway for pros and fans, alike. Saying "No mas" isn't a crime. It means you lost because your opponent exposed your lack of fitness. It doesn't diminish your achievements in a tournament, or on the tour. It doesn't mean you're no good. It doesn't mean you don't have a promising future. It means you need to work on your fitness, that's all.
The biggest irony was not lost on me or a few others on TTW. Musetti lost to Djokovic. Exposed, and run into the ground by a player who has re-defined fitness in our sport. But a player who, before he came to greatness, had a lot of difficulty completing long and grueling matches. His fitness, his heart, his future were all questioned ad nauseam when he was younger. And yet . . .
