The Unwatchables

[Cindysphinx]

Who are the players you just can't seem to watch?

For me, the list is:

1. Murray. Way too much defense. And yeah, he resorts to pushing. What did the TC commentator call it in the Cilic match: "Serving up all that short soft cheese." If I want to see that, I can watch myself on video.

2. Monfils. Yeah, we got it. You can run really fast and slide a lot. Please keep the ball on the court for a change. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

3. Jankovic. Way too impressed with her own PR. There's no reason to do the splits when the point is over.

4. Del Potro. I don't know what it is. I guess he looks bored out there, so I get bored watching him look bored?

5. Safina. I tried to pump myself up ("Maybe she'll finally do it this time!"), but it seems like nothing -- not one single thing -- about her game has changed or improved. She is in the tennis equivalent of suspended animation. I've decided to move on.

Who else is Just Plain Unwatchable?

 

[joeri888]

If I want to see that, I can watch myself on video.

Clueless...

 

[viduka0101]

Clueless...

you mean like this?

 

[Sentinel]

The two big pushers on the tour. Refer the matches with Cilic and Monfils.

 

[roddickfan1000]

gilles simon - pushes

Djokovic - too slow between points and looks dead at the moment

Karlovic - enough said

 

[PED]

The two big pushers on the tour. Refer the matches with Cilic and Monfils.

I actually loved the Nadal v Monfils match last night but I agree in general with some of Monfils matches. The worst one I remember was Monfils playing Simon in Australia this year-that was really bad.

 

[GuyClinch]

Nah. Del Porto is great fun to watch in person. He features a huge serve, a HUGE forehand, and something about watching a giant move around so well is very amusing..

The watchability problem relates mostly to the WTA - with the exception of a few of the more talented players or the good looking ones. I loved watching Henin for example or Kournikova (who was beautiful and far more talented then people realize).

Pete

 

[mzzmuaa]

monfils's interactions with the crowd and his personality are very annoying
nadal is also very boring when he isn't being pushed by someone like Federer to hit ridiculous shots

 

[Ken B.]

I can't watch Roddick anymore. There's always that feeling now (especially since Washington) that he'll lose the match when he has it in control or he just won't remember how to crush a forehand to send a message like in 2003-2004. Just aim at people when they go to the net, it's not against the rules!

Dementieva too. I used to be her biggest fan, but everytime you think she's beaten off the headcase bugs swirling around her, it happens again on a bigger scale.


With me, I'd rather watch pushers than headcases just throwing it away. Vera Zvonareva in the third set against Penetta, that was just painful.

 

[roddickfan1000]

I can't watch Roddick anymore. There's always that feeling now (especially since Washington) that he'll lose the match when he has it in control or he just won't remember how to crush a forehand to send a message like in 2003-2004. Just aim at people when they go to the net, it's not against the rules!

Dementieva too. I used to be her biggest fan, but everytime you think she's beaten off the headcase bugs swirling around her, it happens again on a bigger scale.


With me, I'd rather watch pushers than headcases just throwing it away. Vera Zvonareva in the third set against Penetta, that was just painful.

i get frustrated seeing roddick loop forehands that don't penetrate the court. The worste thing about it is that he has the ability to crush his forehand.

 

[ESP#1]

Roddick....... I want him to win but not at the expense of having to watch him play

 

[Weathered33]

I predict at least 50 mentions of the word "pusher" by the time this thread dies.

For me it's women's tennis. The grunts, the double faults, the contant unforced errors. Not many of them are even hot.

 

[cknobman]

Murray - hate his style of play and the guy is ugly

Roddick - hate watching his terrible groundstrokes and how he gets bullied around the court by everyone he plays. Stop spinning the DAMN FOREHAND SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111

 

[SLD76]

Roddick....... I want him to win but not at the expense of having to watch him play

ROFLMAO!

ETA: Murray is boring as dry snot to watch. The WTA is in a downslope now b/c so many girls have the same game.Hit hard, go for broke every shot, lose your serve, blow matches with mental meltdown. Serena, Venus, Kim and possibly Oudin are all the WTA have right now to hang their hat on. Id say Sharapova too, but she needs to go back and get that shoulder and serve 100% right.
Pennetta is refreshing too, but I dont think she hits big enough to hang with the above mentioned.

 

[LeftSHBH]

Bring back serve and volley please!!! Nowadays tennis can be so boring to watch. Even Fed can be boring at times.
I have to admit though, the Nadal/Monfils match last night was quite entertaining...until Monfils flopped in the last three sets. The guy has great energy early on, but needs to save it for the entire match.

 

[jrepac]

boring?

some more contrast between playing styles would help....murray is very dull to watch I have to agree...as are most of the women these days..as one of the posters said they are all trying to hit hard, continually lose serve, mental meltdowns, etc. Oudin is one of the positive bright lights to come out of this year's open...

 

[LeftSHBH]

some more contrast between playing styles would help....murray is very dull to watch I have to agree...as are most of the women these days..as one of the posters said they are all trying to hit hard, continually lose serve, mental meltdowns, etc. Oudin is one of the positive bright lights to come out of this year's open...

One thing I have to say about Oudin is that her pushing game isn't all that special. But it's definitely fun to watch her beat those top players. Come on! lol

 

[ronalditop]

I cant stand Del Potro. His strokes are so boring to watch for me, and his personality doesnt help him either. He's got zero charisma.

 

[SLD76]

Oudin is like Hewitt, a great defensive retriever who attacks when she has an opening. her forehand is sizzling. id hardly call either of them a pusher.

 

[Sentinel]

Frankly, almost ALL of today's baseline bashers are becoming unwatchable.

In some cases, one handed backhands are more watchable (exceptions Robredo).

S&V's should get direct entry into the R16, lol. Or should start with a one set advantage ;-)

 

[Telepatic]

Its Simon and Murray for me..

 

[stormholloway]

Never was too big on watching Gonzo. I appreciate his court smarts, but his backhand is heinous looking. I find his game a bit one-dimensional.

 

[jamesblakefan#1]

Tommy Boredo.

 

[roddickfan1000]

I hate watching players like blake/gonzalez/berdych/gulbis when they are playing bad. Watching players beat themselves by spraying UE's just kills me.

 

[uNIVERSE mAN]

Oudin is like Hewitt, a great defensive retriever who attacks when she has an opening. her forehand is sizzling. id hardly call either of them a pusher.

can't hold serve if her life depended on it like every other woman, same ol' s.hit

 

[jagmeister]

Vera Zvonareva

Watching her beat herself up the other night was pure torture..

Ditto for Safina.

 

[timeisonmyside]

Can't stand watching Sam Querrey. Too goofy looking.

Also can't stand watching people who double-fault a lot (currently, Sharapova, Safina). It breaks up the action so much, kind of like watching a basketball game where the officials are calling lots of fouls.

 

[Djokovicfan4life]

James frickin Blake is the most boring player on tour, IMO (sorry Jamesblakefan#1).

Way too many unforced errors and he has no plan B out there. Just hit hard and hope.

 

[Djokovicfan4life]

Watching her beat herself up the other night was pure torture..

Ditto for Safina.

It was a lot easier to watch if you were rooting for Penneta.

 

[Bertie B]

Kuznetsova

Del Potro...too slow. & Dementieva. Normally I like the grunts, but hers is too annoying.

Someone should make a Venus v. Maria loudest Points II

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

Monfils isn't boring to watch at all, you have to try to predict at what point he's going to roll-over. If you think about that while watching, it is interesting.

 

[RFLEGEND]

1.gonalez
2.jankovic
3.marin cilic
4.safina
5.simon gilles

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

Well, when I watch Dementieva play, I don't even realize she's grunting because I'm too busy(watching).

 

[T1000]

simon nadal murray and monfils

come to the damn net once

 

[Cindysphinx]

How funny! Some of the names on this list are a surprise. Querrey? Nah, he's not that bad. It's kind of what I would imagine if Opie from the Andy Griffith show took up tennis.

Thanks for the watchability tip on dealing with Del Potro. I mean, I want to like the guy. Can he give me a fist pump, a come-on, something, *anything?*

I don't mind watching matches with a lot of DFs, although I take your point about it being like a basketball match with lots of free throws. But still. It is such a human thing to DF. I think the same thing every time: "HA! Maybe I can forgive myself for that hideous DF on match point last October."

As for Gonzo, he (with Gasquet) are among the most lopsided players on tour, with an unreal imbalance between the strength of BH v. FH. It is a lot of fun to watch them struggle to get the ball on their stronger wing, and watch opponents struggle to reach that wing. And then when the time is right . . . Ka-boom! Point over.

Oh, and I love racket smash artists. As soon as Del Potro smashes a racket, we'll be in business.

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

... funny thread !

absolutely can't stand

to watch nadal play (never have enough stress balls to burst in front of the TV).

i almost never watch him anymore, in fact...

not a big fan of murray either... and generally not of any player with annoying antics, or that cheers on his opponent's errors, etc.

some of you mentionned simon ? oh i can and do watch him... when i have problems of insomnia.

sorry gilles, just teasing...

 

[Bertie B]

Well, when I watch Dementieva play, I don't even realize she's grunting because I'm too busy(watching).

...right

10 char

 

[Cindysphinx]

Bring back serve and volley please!!! Nowadays tennis can be so boring to watch. Even Fed can be boring at times.
I have to admit though, the Nadal/Monfils match last night was quite entertaining...until Monfils flopped in the last three sets. The guy has great energy early on, but needs to save it for the entire match.

You know, I'm not sure about the idea that S&V is fun to watch. Sampras was dull, and his wimby final against Goran was perhaps the single dullest final ever.

Fast forward to the present: I caught some of the Dent match v. Murray, and darn it, the S&V Dent did was just as boring. Dent would hit a serve so fast my eyes could barely track it, and Murray would slam it at his feet. Point over, set over, match over.

I think S&V is really exciting only when it comes as a surprise tactic. Fed keeps floating his returns in, and finally Roddick decides he has had enough and takes the net, striking a perfect shoetop volley for a stone cold winner.

Or maybe I just imagined that last bit!

 

[sureshs]

You know, I'm not sure about the idea that S&V is fun to watch. Sampras was dull, and his wimby final against Goran was perhaps the single dullest final ever.

Fast forward to the present: I caught some of the Dent match v. Murray, and darn it, the S&V Dent did was just as boring. Dent would hit a serve so fast my eyes could barely track it, and Murray would slam it at his feet. Point over, set over, match over.

I think S&V is really exciting only when it comes as a surprise tactic. Fed keeps floating his returns in, and finally Roddick decides he has had enough and takes the net, striking a perfect shoetop volley for a stone cold winner.

Or maybe I just imagined that last bit!

It was sad to see Dent go to the net over and over again like a stubborn child and get passed. That is why the good players don't do it any more.

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

...right

10 char

...her lower half....

 

[dadozen]

1. Murray
2. Murray
3. Murray
4. Murray
5. Murray
6. Monfils
7. Simon

I just hate pushers. I mean, come on, you live for tennis, you can hit hard, so go ahead and HIT IT HARD! Not just once in a while, give your best at every single shot. Tennis is not just running after every ball and trying to entertain the crowd. Tennis is just you and your opponent, that's all.

I also can't stand Querrey. It looks like he doesn't belong to a tennis court.

I also like S&V, but it was painful watch Dent trying to rush to the net against Murray. He wasn't being very smart at that game. But Navarro vs. Dent was a really fun game to watch!

 

[seanydanger]

murray because hes a pusher commentators like pmac claimed he massages the ball.
djokovic becauses hes hitting with too much spin these days
and unfortunately roddick with his loopy defensive groundies.

 

[norbac]

I wouldn't say there's anyone I don't like to watch play...even the guys I don't like to cheer for can be fun to watch...(ex. Federer, who's game I enjoy on clay for some reason...)

 

[Oriental_Noodle]

hate Murray, to me he's a pusher

2nd one is Djokovic for bouncing like 20+ times when serving. It's starting to get on my nerve

 

[clayman2000]

1. Murray -- respect the guys work ethic, but is just boring
2. Simon -- feel bad for him as he sucks even though his is in top 10
3. Davydenko -- used to like watching him rally with guys like Federer, but now doesnt hit hard enough

 

[dadozen]

hate Murray, to me he's a pusher

2nd one is Djokovic for bouncing like 20+ times when serving. It's starting to get on my nerve

That's really annoying, but not much less than Nadal picking his butt before every serve, then watch him bounce the ball with this racquet and then bounce the ball with his hand. Just to serve a mediocre 1st serve, and if he misses it, we have to watch it all over again. LOL:lol:

I also hate Monfils' attitude to try to get the crowd on his side. I mean, it's not Davis Cup, you know. Nor the French Open.

 

[madmanfool]

Just Monfils - Because it's tennis, not a circus act

 

[rocket]

Shriekapova.

Cute outfit, cute face, but screams louder than she hits the ball.

 

[Tyrus]

Monfils is awesome, i don't care what you guys think, he makes matches a lot more interesting between points. If the crowd didn't like him they would boo him. Just like watching any other American sport, the crowd is here to help, or hate, why not utilize it?

Murray bores me for the same reason he bores the rest of you.

DelPo vs. Monaco put me to sleep after the first set, it's a hard court not a clay court! DelPo can be good when he's on.

Djokovic when he is down on himself, it becomes hard to watch a top player with no motivation.

I always root for Roddick but it's tough to watch him force shots and points when he's losing. It's like he's playing "wish-ball" where he wishes for opponents mistakes and his balls to land in.