Aussie Open 2014: Ball and Courts faster...

[brokenshoelace]

By the way, this is a typical case of sensationalism. Eurosport's article claimed that Nadal "fumed," yes, FUMED at court speed. Nadal's actual quotes are the following:

"I really don't understand very well why they change because the last couple of years, Australian Open had amazing matching, long ones, good ones for the crowd. I don't know why the people who decide to make the conditions that fast."

"I am not sure for the show is the best thing. But they decide and I'm just a player to try to be competitive from the beginning."

They're fairly docile comments and hardly "fuming." That of course, does not make them accurate, since he's making it sound like faster courts means we're suddenly not going to get any rallies, which is bogus.

Federer was typically more level-headed:

Federer added: "I think even these conditions here, we'll see long rallies after all. We're not talking about a lightning speed court.

"In Brisbane it was fast, but it wasn't lightning either. This is like medium, if that. I don't know what the big problem is."

I don't know what the big problem is either. This is just a case of people making a bigger deal out of this, Nadal included. As I said, I absolutely loath surface talk due to all the conflicting opinions.

Speed of Courts a Hot Topic at Australian Open
NY TIMES

MELBOURNE, Australia — With the first Grand Slam of the year quickly approaching, one of the hottest topics among players has been just how quick play will be at the Australian Open.

The top seed Rafael Nadal, a player at his most comfortable on slow clay, said he believed the blue hardcourts at Melbourne Park were considerably speedier than they have been in the past.

“Completely different conditions than what I remembered of this tournament, faster conditions that I ever played here in Australia,” Nadal said, his tone indicating displeasure with the perceived change.

...Okay, I still don't see what's the big deal about what he said. He's hardly fuming. The "no rallies" thing was kind of stupid. The other comments came from his uncle. The quotes above are literally Nadal just saying the courts are faster, which everyone's been saying for two weeks now.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Someone needs to remind Nadal how the courts played on the last slam he won.

Is this a case of a fan telling a player which type of court they should prefer?

The last time when another fan made a similar statement (about a different
player) somebody went on a rampage.

Nope. It's a case of a fan telling Nadal he's overreacting. Plus, the comment above was a response to Nadal's silly "people love rallies" as the US Open courts play fast and yet they produce a crap ton of rallies. This "fan" you're referring to conceded that Nadal would definitely love HIGHER BOUNCING COURTS here in Australia, since that coupled with hot conditions suits his game immensely.

So no. But this just a case of a poster being a smartass, misreading, misunderstanding, and just generally failing miserably at taking a subtle dig. Well done.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

By the way, this is a typical case of sensationalism. Eurosport's article claimed that Nadal "fumed," yes, FUMED at court speed. Nadal's actual quotes are the following:

"I really don't understand very well why they change because the last couple of years, Australian Open had amazing matching, long ones, good ones for the crowd. I don't know why the people who decide to make the conditions that fast."

"I am not sure for the show is the best thing. But they decide and I'm just a player to try to be competitive from the beginning."

They're fairly docile comments and hardly "fuming." That of course, does not make them accurate, since he's making it sound like faster courts means we're suddenly not going to get any rallies, which is bogus.

Federer was typically more level-headed:

Federer added: "I think even these conditions here, we'll see long rallies after all. We're not talking about a lightning speed court.

"In Brisbane it was fast, but it wasn't lightning either. This is like medium, if that. I don't know what the big problem is."

I don't know what the big problem is either. This is just a case of people making a bigger deal out of this, Nadal included. As I said, I absolutely loath surface talk due to all the conflicting opinions.

Speed of Courts a Hot Topic at Australian Open
NY TIMES

MELBOURNE, Australia — With the first Grand Slam of the year quickly approaching, one of the hottest topics among players has been just how quick play will be at the Australian Open.

The top seed Rafael Nadal, a player at his most comfortable on slow clay, said he believed the blue hardcourts at Melbourne Park were considerably speedier than they have been in the past.

“Completely different conditions than what I remembered of this tournament, faster conditions that I ever played here in Australia,” Nadal said, his tone indicating displeasure with the perceived change.

...Okay, I still don't see what's the big deal about what he said. He's hardly fuming. The "no rallies" thing was kind of stupid. The other comments came from his uncle. The quotes above are literally Nadal just saying the courts are faster, which everyone's been saying for two weeks now.

We are are on both sides of the middle. I also don't think he is fuming. However, I don't believe he is just talking either. I think he is generally concerned. But as he said in his book, it does not matter what the conditions are..adjust...or lose.

In the end it does not matter what ANY player says or thinks, but it IS a topic of conversation.

I can tell you after watching the first 10 hours I am seeing shorter rallies.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Someone needs to remind Nadal how the courts played on the last slam he won.

Is this a case of a fan telling a player which type of court they should prefer?

The last time when another fan made a similar statement (about a different
player) somebody went on a rampage.

Nope. It's a case of a fan telling Nadal he's overreacting. Plus, the comment above was a response to Nadal's silly "people love rallies" as the US Open courts play fast and yet they produce a crap ton of rallies. This "fan" you're referring to conceded that Nadal would definitely love HIGHER BOUNCING COURTS here in Australia, since that coupled with hot conditions suits his game immensely.

So no. But the is just a case of a poster being a smartass, misreading, misunderstanding, and just generally failing miserably at taking a subtle dig. Well done.

Thanks. I am sure that poster feels flattered. :clap

 

[DarthFed]

If it truly is as quick as I'm hearing this is a decent chance for Roger to do some damage. If he can summon any of his remaining ability he can take advantage of the high probability that Murray won't be up to speed.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

If it truly is as quick as I'm hearing this is a decent chance for Roger to do some damage. If he can summon any of his remaining ability he can take advantage of the high probability that Murray won't be up to speed.

"Remaining ability"? Wow.uzzled

 

[brokenshoelace]

By the way, this is a typical case of sensationalism. Eurosport's article claimed that Nadal "fumed," yes, FUMED at court speed. Nadal's actual quotes are the following:

"I really don't understand very well why they change because the last couple of years, Australian Open had amazing matching, long ones, good ones for the crowd. I don't know why the people who decide to make the conditions that fast."

"I am not sure for the show is the best thing. But they decide and I'm just a player to try to be competitive from the beginning."

They're fairly docile comments and hardly "fuming." That of course, does not make them accurate, since he's making it sound like faster courts means we're suddenly not going to get any rallies, which is bogus.

Federer was typically more level-headed:

Federer added: "I think even these conditions here, we'll see long rallies after all. We're not talking about a lightning speed court.

"In Brisbane it was fast, but it wasn't lightning either. This is like medium, if that. I don't know what the big problem is."

I don't know what the big problem is either. This is just a case of people making a bigger deal out of this, Nadal included. As I said, I absolutely loath surface talk due to all the conflicting opinions.

Speed of Courts a Hot Topic at Australian Open
NY TIMES

MELBOURNE, Australia — With the first Grand Slam of the year quickly approaching, one of the hottest topics among players has been just how quick play will be at the Australian Open.

The top seed Rafael Nadal, a player at his most comfortable on slow clay, said he believed the blue hardcourts at Melbourne Park were considerably speedier than they have been in the past.

“Completely different conditions than what I remembered of this tournament, faster conditions that I ever played here in Australia,” Nadal said, his tone indicating displeasure with the perceived change.

...Okay, I still don't see what's the big deal about what he said. He's hardly fuming. The "no rallies" thing was kind of stupid. The other comments came from his uncle. The quotes above are literally Nadal just saying the courts are faster, which everyone's been saying for two weeks now.

We are are on both sides of the middle. I also don't think he is fuming. However, I don't believe he is just talking either. I think he is generally concerned. But as he said in his book, it does not matter what the conditions are..adjust...or lose.

In the end it does not matter what ANY player says or thinks, but it IS a topic of conversation.

I can tell you after watching the first 10 hours I am seeing shorter rallies.

I agree he's concerned. Probably because he was taken aback by the courts playing faster which may or may not mess with his preparation. I just don't think it's too concerning. And I doubt he's losing sleep. It's still a tennis court.

As far as shorter rallies, I didn't watch anything yesterday so I'll take your word for it, but keep in mind the early rounds tend to have a lot of blow-outs. We'll see how that works when opponents are more evenly matched and can hang with each other.

 

[brokenshoelace]

If it truly is as quick as I'm hearing this is a decent chance for Roger to do some damage. If he can summon any of his remaining ability he can take advantage of the high probability that Murray won't be up to speed.

The balls can actually do him even more favors than the court. Remember FO 2011? If the balls are indeed travelling through the air quicker that will also help him, probably more so than the surface.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

By the way, this is a typical case of sensationalism. Eurosport's article claimed that Nadal "fumed," yes, FUMED at court speed. Nadal's actual quotes are the following:

"I really don't understand very well why they change because the last couple of years, Australian Open had amazing matching, long ones, good ones for the crowd. I don't know why the people who decide to make the conditions that fast."

"I am not sure for the show is the best thing. But they decide and I'm just a player to try to be competitive from the beginning."

They're fairly docile comments and hardly "fuming." That of course, does not make them accurate, since he's making it sound like faster courts means we're suddenly not going to get any rallies, which is bogus.

Federer was typically more level-headed:

Federer added: "I think even these conditions here, we'll see long rallies after all. We're not talking about a lightning speed court.

"In Brisbane it was fast, but it wasn't lightning either. This is like medium, if that. I don't know what the big problem is."

I don't know what the big problem is either. This is just a case of people making a bigger deal out of this, Nadal included. As I said, I absolutely loath surface talk due to all the conflicting opinions.

Speed of Courts a Hot Topic at Australian Open
NY TIMES

MELBOURNE, Australia — With the first Grand Slam of the year quickly approaching, one of the hottest topics among players has been just how quick play will be at the Australian Open.

The top seed Rafael Nadal, a player at his most comfortable on slow clay, said he believed the blue hardcourts at Melbourne Park were considerably speedier than they have been in the past.

“Completely different conditions than what I remembered of this tournament, faster conditions that I ever played here in Australia,” Nadal said, his tone indicating displeasure with the perceived change.

...Okay, I still don't see what's the big deal about what he said. He's hardly fuming. The "no rallies" thing was kind of stupid. The other comments came from his uncle. The quotes above are literally Nadal just saying the courts are faster, which everyone's been saying for two weeks now.

We are are on both sides of the middle. I also don't think he is fuming. However, I don't believe he is just talking either. I think he is generally concerned. But as he said in his book, it does not matter what the conditions are..adjust...or lose.

In the end it does not matter what ANY player says or thinks, but it IS a topic of conversation.

I can tell you after watching the first 10 hours I am seeing shorter rallies.

I agree he's concerned. Probably because he was taken aback by the courts playing faster which may or may not mess with his preparation. I just don't think it's too concerning. And I doubt he's losing sleep. It's still a tennis court.

As far as shorter rallies, I didn't watch anything yesterday so I'll take your word for it, but keep in mind the early rounds tend to have a lot of blow-outs. We'll see how that works when opponents are more evenly matched and can hang with each other.

I agree Rafa is not losing sleep. But it may making him slightly more edgy..which by the way, may work in his favor.

Today's Nadal Tomic match will be a very good gauge of the court speed.

 

[DarthFed]

If it truly is as quick as I'm hearing this is a decent chance for Roger to do some damage. If he can summon any of his remaining ability he can take advantage of the high probability that Murray won't be up to speed.

The balls can actually do him even more favors than the court. Remember FO 2011? If the balls are indeed travelling through the air quicker that will also help him, probably more so than the surface.

True, but at this point anything remotely high bouncing and he is in a world of hurt with that backhand. Speed is important for him but a lower bounce is much more important. The speed can help his serve be more effective if he is serving well, which is ultimately his only chance to do real damage anywhere at this point.

 

[DarthFed]

If it truly is as quick as I'm hearing this is a decent chance for Roger to do some damage. If he can summon any of his remaining ability he can take advantage of the high probability that Murray won't be up to speed.

"Remaining ability"? Wow.uzzled

Did I stutter? Remaining would indicate that his powers are diminishing. Do you disapprove?

 

[Luxilon Borg]

If it truly is as quick as I'm hearing this is a decent chance for Roger to do some damage. If he can summon any of his remaining ability he can take advantage of the high probability that Murray won't be up to speed.

"Remaining ability"? Wow.uzzled

Did I stutter? Remaining would indicate that his powers are diminishing. Do you disapprove?

I just think a bit more respect can be shown to the G O A T.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

If it truly is as quick as I'm hearing this is a decent chance for Roger to do some damage. If he can summon any of his remaining ability he can take advantage of the high probability that Murray won't be up to speed.

The balls can actually do him even more favors than the court. Remember FO 2011? If the balls are indeed travelling through the air quicker that will also help him, probably more so than the surface.

True, but at this point anything remotely high bouncing and he is in a world of hurt with that backhand. Speed is important for him but a lower bounce is much more important. The speed can help his serve be more effective if he is serving well, which is ultimately his only chance to do real damage anywhere at this point.

Waist level balls are Federer's dream. 7 Wimbys to show for it.

 

[DarthFed]

If it truly is as quick as I'm hearing this is a decent chance for Roger to do some damage. If he can summon any of his remaining ability he can take advantage of the high probability that Murray won't be up to speed.

The balls can actually do him even more favors than the court. Remember FO 2011? If the balls are indeed travelling through the air quicker that will also help him, probably more so than the surface.

True, but at this point anything remotely high bouncing and he is in a world of hurt with that backhand. Speed is important for him but a lower bounce is much more important. The speed can help his serve be more effective if he is serving well, which is ultimately his only chance to do real damage anywhere at this point.

Waist level balls are Federer's dream. 7 Wimbys to show for it.

Waist and below would qualify as low bouncing, you get above that and his backhand especially is in trouble.

 

[DarthFed]

If it truly is as quick as I'm hearing this is a decent chance for Roger to do some damage. If he can summon any of his remaining ability he can take advantage of the high probability that Murray won't be up to speed.

"Remaining ability"? Wow.uzzled

Did I stutter? Remaining would indicate that his powers are diminishing. Do you disapprove?

I just think a bit more respect can be shown to the G O A T.

It is showing respect, that remaining ability still would put him in top 4 at least if he starts to show it. A lot of people might say he has no game left...

 

[Luxilon Borg]

If it truly is as quick as I'm hearing this is a decent chance for Roger to do some damage. If he can summon any of his remaining ability he can take advantage of the high probability that Murray won't be up to speed.

The balls can actually do him even more favors than the court. Remember FO 2011? If the balls are indeed travelling through the air quicker that will also help him, probably more so than the surface.

True, but at this point anything remotely high bouncing and he is in a world of hurt with that backhand. Speed is important for him but a lower bounce is much more important. The speed can help his serve be more effective if he is serving well, which is ultimately his only chance to do real damage anywhere at this point.

Waist level balls are Federer's dream. 7 Wimbys to show for it.

Waist and below would qualify as low bouncing, you get above that and his backhand especially is in trouble.

Waist level and below are absolutely essential for his back hand to be at its best, but we should not paint a picture as if it is a disaster with high bouncing balls.

He has multiple red clay titles, French semis, Finals, and a win to prove it.

 

[DarthFed]

The balls can actually do him even more favors than the court. Remember FO 2011? If the balls are indeed travelling through the air quicker that will also help him, probably more so than the surface.

True, but at this point anything remotely high bouncing and he is in a world of hurt with that backhand. Speed is important for him but a lower bounce is much more important. The speed can help his serve be more effective if he is serving well, which is ultimately his only chance to do real damage anywhere at this point.

Waist level balls are Federer's dream. 7 Wimbys to show for it.

Waist and below would qualify as low bouncing, you get above that and his backhand especially is in trouble.

Waist level and below are absolutely essential for his back hand to be at its best, but we should not paint a picture as if it is a disaster with high bouncing balls.

He has multiple red clay titles, French semis, Finals, and a win to prove it.

Historically, the only disaster for Roger was shoulder high balls fed from the topspin monster. But as of now, it doesn't take much height to cause the backhand trouble. He also doesn't handle pace as well as he once did.

 

[Front242]

Historically, the only disaster for Roger was shoulder high balls fed from the topspin monster. But as of now, it doesn't take much height to cause the backhand trouble. He also doesn't handle pace as well as he once did.

That's an understatement. He looks absolutely crap these days against the likes of Berdych and often against Tsonga too. And it's not like either of them improved either. Tsonga's best year on tour was 2008 with the AO final and Berdych's was the Wimbledon 2010 final. Roger's ROS is just mostly pathetic against both of them now. At least he's still just about able to ward off the likes of big servers like Janowicz and Raonic for now even far from his best.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

True, but at this point anything remotely high bouncing and he is in a world of hurt with that backhand. Speed is important for him but a lower bounce is much more important. The speed can help his serve be more effective if he is serving well, which is ultimately his only chance to do real damage anywhere at this point.

Waist level balls are Federer's dream. 7 Wimbys to show for it.

Waist and below would qualify as low bouncing, you get above that and his backhand especially is in trouble.

Waist level and below are absolutely essential for his back hand to be at its best, but we should not paint a picture as if it is a disaster with high bouncing balls.

He has multiple red clay titles, French semis, Finals, and a win to prove it.

Historically, the only disaster for Roger was shoulder high balls fed from the topspin monster. But as of now, it doesn't take much height to cause the backhand trouble. He also doesn't handle pace as well as he once did.

I think there is some truth to that. When you say it "does not take much", I am a bit amused..Tsonga and Berdych absolutely annihilate the ball on quicker courts.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Yeah I agree about Federer not handling pace that good these days. In fact, he's often in trouble on both wings when a ball comes at him quickly. His backhand looks wobbly when handling anything pacy, while he doesn't stretch as well on his forehand side, and it's becoming easier to take him out of position on that wing too. That's actually one of the reasons why the Nadal match-up has become an even bigger problem for him, since in addition to attacking the backhand, Nadal can now go after his forehand and risk far less than he would have a few years ago. Nadal's CC backhand has been giving Federer trouble for a while now. The same applies to the Fed-Djoko match-up. Djokovic dominates the forehand to forehand CC exchanges, especially with how well Novak hits on the run and creates obscene angles with his forehand.