Roland Garros 2017, Paris, France, ATP GRAND SLAM

[mightyjeditribble]

Actually it's something that he started later in his career as he wasn't as slow as that when he first came on tour. He needs to buy new jocks ('cos they're always wedged up his arse) but the rest appears just downright deliberate. The authorities haven't done anything about it for around 10 years so they're hardly going to start now. In fact they've shown just how gutless they are by giving in to his wishes when he requested a ban on Bernades. Should be ashamed of themselves. As mentioned previously though, there are others who are slow too. It's something they should address with any player taking the p1$$ out of the rules and man up and hand out warnings and point violations frequently. They wouldn't be long speeding up then, believe me...

I agree with most of this, except that I don't think it is deliberate in the sense of being a deliberate attempt to disadvantage the other players.

And TBH, with anything there are the rules and there are the rules; I mean, the way they are enforced affects people's perception thereof. A law that isn't being enforced isn't really a law at all. Rafa has grown up with this being normal and acceptable, and as you say plenty of other players go over time. Seems a bit unfair to make a big deal out of it. (Same with loud grunting in the women's game IMO.)

 

[Front242]

I agree with most of this, except that I don't think it is deliberate in the sense of being a deliberate attempt to disadvantage the other players.

And TBH, with anything there are the rules and there are the rules; I mean, the way they are enforced affects people's perception thereof. A law that isn't being enforced isn't really a law at all. Rafa has grown up with this being normal and acceptable, and as you say plenty of other players go over time. Seems a bit unfair to make a big deal out of it. (Same with loud grunting in the women's game IMO.)

Yes, I can appreciate all players who are slow may not be deliberately doing it all the time to disadvantage the other player but on occasion they most certainly they do, eg. break points or potential match defining key points. Where the word deliberate comes into play though is that they know it's bending the rules (actually it's against the rules to exceed the time) but do it anyway. Now whether that's 'cos these slow players need more time to concentrate on their serve or think about their point construction does not excuse it, as the rules are there for a reason and need to be enforced. These guys who are extremely slow would have much worse results if they were made to speed up and, as I pointed out earlier, all it would take to get them to stop would be for ALL umpires to have the balls to enforce the rules. That doesn't mean just 1 measly time violation warning per match and no follow on point deduction, it means frequent point deductions till they stop doing it. They won't be long speeding up their routines when they're losing points...

 

[mightyjeditribble]

These guys who are extremely slow would have much worse results if they were made to speed up

I don't believe you have any evidence of this. It's like saying Nadal would have worse results if his water bottles weren't lined up.

(Note I'm not saying that the rules shouldn't be enforced, which is a separate point.)

Sometimes players take more time after a particularly long point, and in those instances I will agree that there could be an impact - but probably it serves both players somewhat in that situation. Whether or not that is a situation where the rules should be more lenient is another point; anyway, this would only be a very small number of points per match.

But I'm being dragged into this discussion ... and I really don't want to.

 

[Carol]

Surely not much control on those occasions, on surely on this regard Nadal is the most controlled player on tour -- at least among the ones I have seen play.

However, watch the videos again and count on how many of those points the server was delayed, and, if any, how many seconds total the server lost.

Those kind of tratums can distract and decentralize the opponent more than taking two or three more seconds serving

 

[Front242]

^ Well, if it's following a long point or crowd disruption then discretion should be allowed but not otherwise. No one has evidence of whether being made to hurry up will make the player's results worse but consider that they do it to either help them focus and/or annoy the opponent so being made to hurry up has an adverse effect on both. For that reason I guarantee it will have a negative effect on their games.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Murray, Stan and Monfils have some tough "hombres " (no pun intended but I don't like quotes from Trump) on Monday

 

[Moxie]

Actually it's something that he started later in his career as he wasn't as slow as that when he first came on tour. He needs to buy new jocks ('cos they're always wedged up his arse) but the rest appears just downright deliberate. The authorities haven't done anything about it for around 10 years so they're hardly going to start now. In fact they've shown just how gutless they are by giving in to his wishes when he requested a ban on Bernades. Should be ashamed of themselves. As mentioned previously though, there are others who are slow too. It's something they should address with any player taking the p1$$ out of the rules and man up and hand out warnings and point violations frequently. They wouldn't be long speeding up then, believe me...

This is patently untrue, and you should know it. I saw him at the USO in 2006, and the ritual involved also pulling up his socks, and more ball bouncing. He's speeded it up by everyone's estimation. Rushing another player on your serve is a tactic that is sometimes used, but there's no rule against it. Slow play is not more gamesmanship than that is.

But this is really beside the point. You love to take everything you find about Nadal and use it a some example of his despicable character. 3 pages of this, on a thread about a tournament that one images your for is low, with Roger not in. Enough. For the record, I think the time at the Majors should be the same as at the other tournaments, i.e., 25 seconds.

 

[Moxie]

Murray, Stan and Monfils have some tough "hombres " (no pun intended but I don't like quotes from Trump) on Monday

Murray v. Khachanov
Wawrinka v. Monfils
Verdasco v. Nishikori
Cilic v. Anderson

 

[Moxie]

Stan would seem the least susceptible to upset, but it's Paris and Monfils can play great tennis in the right mood. A lot of folks have been looking at Murray to go out early, and Khachanov is dangerous.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Murray v. Khachanov
Wawrinka v. Monfils
Verdasco v. Nishikori
Cilic v. Anderson

I could see Verdasco upset of Kei..Stan should hit through Gael....The hard hitting Russian may send Sir Andy back to Scotland if Andy tries to push the ball

 

[Moxie]

I'd love to see Verdasco keep rolling. He'll have to hit big and stay calm, or Kei will out-steady him. I prefer Anderson to Cilic, but I suspect Big Kevin's run ends tomorrow.

 

[Carol]

I'm trying to think who is Khachanov :scratch:

 

[kskate2]

Results from the French Open Men's Singles Round 16 matches on Sunday

 

[the AntiPusher]

I'm trying to think who is Khachanov :scratch:

He is the hard hitting Russian who has been knocking the clay Earth off the ball.

 

[Moxie]

He is the hard hitting Russian who has been knocking the clay Earth off the ball.

Also, just 21, so #NextGen and 6'6". @scoop thinks he's ready to go all "Safin" on folks. He's on the upswing, for sure.

 

[Carol]

He is the hard hitting Russian who has been knocking the clay Earth off the ball.

Uh? lol I don't get it, I'm still thinking who is that Russian.....I see, he is tall :whistle:

 

[Carol]

Oh, I also see that he has beaten Isner in four sets and very tied. Is he going to play tomorrow too?

 

[El Dude]

Khachanov gained notice last year, when he was one of the youngest players to finish in the top 100, ranking #53 for the year at age 20. He won Chengdu, an ATP 250, in October. He started slow this year, but has been playing a bit stronger of late. He's #39 in the line rankings after reaching the 4R of Roland Garros. As he just turned 21, he's eligible for Milan - he's #3 in the Race rankings.

 

[Carol]

Khachanov gained notice last year, when he was one of the youngest players to finish in the top 100, ranking #53 for the year at age 20. He won Chengdu, an ATP 250, in October. He started slow this year, but has been playing a bit stronger of late. He's #39 in the line rankings after reaching the 4R of Roland Garros. As he just turned 21, he's eligible for Milan - he's #3 in the Race rankings.

Oh thanks for that information, I have to say that I was lost about that player. It's going to be interesting to see him playing vs Muzz

 

[Carol]

I was reading about that Russian, he seems to have a very good serve, I mean a 'torpedo' serve