Things ATP players do and have done that drive me nuts

[Iona16]

Already mentioned, but...
* Towelling off after every point
* Taking forever to challenge
* Asking umpire if he's sure about a call
* "Dead fish" handshakes with the umpire and refusing to even look at him
* Routinely going over the serve time limit
* Excessive, unnecessary grunting

Others...
* Jumping backhands
* Two-handed volleys
* Isner and del Potro always lumbering around like they're about to keel over and die
* Pretty well everything about Nadal
* Djokovic's ball bouncing
* Michael Llodra
* The Gael Monfils clown act
* The way both Gasquet and Berdych bounce the ball pre-serve
* Murray's grabbing of body parts when he loses a point
* Players who intentionally hit a player at the net and then apologize
* Wearing black socks with white shoes

Not stuff players do, but...
* Linesmen refusing to attempt to catch the ball when it's about to hit them
* An entire stadium of fans clapping in unison every time a challenge is shown on the big screen

Good one! They love doing that in Germany. Speaking of which, I'd like to add Boris Becker's ridiculous serve motion... The ball really isn't that heavy.

They talked about Andy today during his match and said the other players don't care for his act either! In his mind, I guess he feels he shouldn't lose even one point; the height of arrogance during his silly way of playing! Be a counter-puncher if you want, but don't be surprised if you're not "on," you'll lose in straight sets like today! Djokovic is bouncing the ball and toweling off excessively to keep up with Nadal's act out on the court so I don't blame him too much!

Who are 'they' and since when did they (I assume you're talking about commentators) speak for the players?

 

[Fiero425]

Already mentioned, but...
* Towelling off after every point
* Taking forever to challenge
* Asking umpire if he's sure about a call
* "Dead fish" handshakes with the umpire and refusing to even look at him
* Routinely going over the serve time limit
* Excessive, unnecessary grunting

Others...
* Jumping backhands
* Two-handed volleys
* Isner and del Potro always lumbering around like they're about to keel over and die
* Pretty well everything about Nadal
* Djokovic's ball bouncing
* Michael Llodra
* The Gael Monfils clown act
* The way both Gasquet and Berdych bounce the ball pre-serve
* Murray's grabbing of body parts when he loses a point
* Players who intentionally hit a player at the net and then apologize
* Wearing black socks with white shoes

Not stuff players do, but...
* Linesmen refusing to attempt to catch the ball when it's about to hit them
* An entire stadium of fans clapping in unison every time a challenge is shown on the big screen

Good one! They love doing that in Germany. Speaking of which, I'd like to add Boris Becker's ridiculous serve motion... The ball really isn't that heavy.

They talked about Andy today during his match and said the other players don't care for his act either! In his mind, I guess he feels he shouldn't lose even one point; the height of arrogance during his silly way of playing! Be a counter-puncher if you want, but don't be surprised if you're not "on," you'll lose in straight sets like today! Djokovic is bouncing the ball and toweling off excessively to keep up with Nadal's act out on the court so I don't blame him too much!

Who are 'they' and since when did they (I assume you're talking about commentators) speak for the players?

You're not ready to listen so do your own research!

 

[Iona16]

Already mentioned, but...
* Towelling off after every point
* Taking forever to challenge
* Asking umpire if he's sure about a call
* "Dead fish" handshakes with the umpire and refusing to even look at him
* Routinely going over the serve time limit
* Excessive, unnecessary grunting

Others...
* Jumping backhands
* Two-handed volleys
* Isner and del Potro always lumbering around like they're about to keel over and die
* Pretty well everything about Nadal
* Djokovic's ball bouncing
* Michael Llodra
* The Gael Monfils clown act
* The way both Gasquet and Berdych bounce the ball pre-serve
* Murray's grabbing of body parts when he loses a point
* Players who intentionally hit a player at the net and then apologize
* Wearing black socks with white shoes

Not stuff players do, but...
* Linesmen refusing to attempt to catch the ball when it's about to hit them
* An entire stadium of fans clapping in unison every time a challenge is shown on the big screen

Good one! They love doing that in Germany. Speaking of which, I'd like to add Boris Becker's ridiculous serve motion... The ball really isn't that heavy.

They talked about Andy today during his match and said the other players don't care for his act either! In his mind, I guess he feels he shouldn't lose even one point; the height of arrogance during his silly way of playing! Be a counter-puncher if you want, but don't be surprised if you're not "on," you'll lose in straight sets like today! Djokovic is bouncing the ball and toweling off excessively to keep up with Nadal's act out on the court so I don't blame him too much!

Who are 'they' and since when did they (I assume you're talking about commentators) speak for the players?

You're not ready to listen so do your own research!

I'm all ears. You're the one that's not prepared to clarify what you said.

 

[Iona16]

The comments on swearing got me thinking and so I had a look at the ATP website.

Top 10.
Andy Murray is the only player that speaks English as his first language.

10-20 We can add -
Raonic (English, Serbian and French)
Isner
Anderson (English and I'd imagine Afrikaans)

21-50 We can add -
Querrey
Pospisil (Czech, English, French)

By all accounts people tend to swear in their first language. Does that mean that Raonic or Pospisil would perhaps swear in French, Serbian or Czech before English? I'll say English just for this post. Those players listed make up 12% of the top 50. Not very much is it? If I'm watching tennis by myself then I'll probably only hear swearing if it's in English. If I'm watching with either of my sisters or my sister-in-law then I'll find out who is swearing in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian and Serbian. Of the players listed I know that Murray swears more than ANY of them. I'm not suggesting otherwise. To say he swears more than any other player on the tour is just wrong. I'm not a fan of swearing. I don't like to hear it and I don't think it helps Andy if he's not playing well. But I understand that he's not perfect, nor is he beyond criticism for that or his negative actions at times. Andy does not swear half as much as people are making out. Just because he's shouting at himself does not mean he is swearing.

After reading this thread I'm surprised so many of you even follow the sport. It seems it pains some of you to the extreme.

 

[Moxie]

The comments on swearing got me thinking and so I had a look at the ATP website.

Top 10.
Andy Murray is the only player that speaks English as his first language.

10-20 We can add -
Raonic (English, Serbian and French)
Isner
Anderson (English and I'd imagine Afrikaans)

21-50 We can add -
Querrey
Pospisil (Czech, English, French)

By all accounts people tend to swear in their first language. Does that mean that Raonic or Pospisil would perhaps swear in French, Serbian or Czech before English? I'll say English just for this post. Those players listed make up 12% of the top 50. Not very much is it? If I'm watching tennis by myself then I'll probably only hear swearing if it's in English. If I'm watching with either of my sisters or my sister-in-law then I'll find out who is swearing in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian and Serbian. Of the players listed I know that Murray swears more than ANY of them. I'm not suggesting otherwise. To say he swears more than any other player on the tour is just wrong. I'm not a fan of swearing. I don't like to hear it and I don't think it helps Andy is he's not playing well. But I understand that he's not perfect, nor is he beyond criticism for that or his negative actions at times. Andy does not swear half as much as people are making out. Just because he's shouting at himself does not mean he is swearing.

After reading this thread I'm surprised so many of you even follow the sport. It seems it pains some of you to the extreme.

I have to say, I was astonished by the lists of niggles from some people. If I were that irritated, I'm not even sure I'd be able to watch tennis. We go on, (lots of us, and the commentators,) about what great warriors they are to do it all alone, and yet we criticize what it takes them to get through it.

* Swearing? (As you say, lots of swearing happens in lots of languages.)
* Taking forever to challenge/asking the chair umpire: The time take to challenge is up to the discretion of the chair. The fact that they ask the chair for an opinion seems fair and normal to me.
* Jumping bhs, and 2-hand volleys? Now you're complaining about shots? Why?
* I don't know if players, outside of double "intentionally" hit a player, but hitting AT them is considered fair play. (How do you feel about the body serve?) Grow up.

Lots of the others seemed excessive complaining to me, too. But I'll agree with these:

* Black socks and white shoes. (Ewww.)
* Fish handshakes at the net. You lost. Take it like a (wo)man. Look the player in the eye and give a proper handshake.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Honestly, the only things that bug me are the ones that are unsportsmanlike , intentional stuff that are done to throw the other guy off...People can swear, pick, wear weird stuff all they want...but when they intentionally grunt right about the time the opponent is about to hit the ball, or they call fake medical time outs, those kind off things turn me off...

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

rafa/wafa..at the end of one set..(the only one rafa lost so far) he went off court to the changing room, he was gone for ages,

I got bored and left the match for a bit..is there a maximum time for an end of set "bathroom break" or what ?.

 

[tented]

Who are 'they' and since when did they (I assume you're talking about commentators) speak for the players?

You're not ready to listen so do your own research!

I know you're relatively new, Fiero, but let me assure you that Iona is more than ready to listen. She's one of the most fair people around here. She's also one of the nicest, and never insults or attacks others, regardless of how she is treated.

 

[I.Haychew]

The comments on swearing got me thinking and so I had a look at the ATP website.

Top 10.
Andy Murray is the only player that speaks English as his first language.

10-20 We can add -
Raonic (English, Serbian and French)
Isner
Anderson (English and I'd imagine Afrikaans)

21-50 We can add -
Querrey
Pospisil (Czech, English, French)

By all accounts people tend to swear in their first language. Does that mean that Raonic or Pospisil would perhaps swear in French, Serbian or Czech before English? I'll say English just for this post. Those players listed make up 12% of the top 50. Not very much is it? If I'm watching tennis by myself then I'll probably only hear swearing if it's in English. If I'm watching with either of my sisters or my sister-in-law then I'll find out who is swearing in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian and Serbian. Of the players listed I know that Murray swears more than ANY of them. I'm not suggesting otherwise. To say he swears more than any other player on the tour is just wrong. I'm not a fan of swearing. I don't like to hear it and I don't think it helps Andy is he's not playing well. But I understand that he's not perfect, nor is he beyond criticism for that or his negative actions at times. Andy does not swear half as much as people are making out. Just because he's shouting at himself does not mean he is swearing.

After reading this thread I'm surprised so many of you even follow the sport. It seems it pains some of you to the extreme.

I have to say, I was astonished by the lists of niggles from some people. If I were that irritated, I'm not even sure I'd be able to watch tennis. We go on, (lots of us, and the commentators,) about what great warriors they are to do it all alone, and yet we criticize what it takes them to get through it.

* Swearing? (As you say, lots of swearing happens in lots of languages.)
* Taking forever to challenge/asking the chair umpire: The time take to challenge is up to the discretion of the chair. The fact that they ask the chair for an opinion seems fair and normal to me.
* Jumping bhs, and 2-hand volleys? Now you're complaining about shots? Why?
* I don't know if players, outside of double "intentionally" hit a player, but hitting AT them is considered fair play. (How do you feel about the body serve?) Grow up.

Lots of the others seemed excessive complaining to me, too. But I'll agree with these:

* Black socks and white shoes. (Ewww.)
* Fish handshakes at the net. You lost. Take it like a (wo)man. Look the player in the eye and give a proper handshake.

I'm not complaining. These are just things that I'd rather the players not do.

* Regarding challenging and asking the ump for his opinion: If they let 'em get by with it, then fine. I'd just rather that the players challenge immediately. And why ask for their opinion about a call or if they're sure about an overrule? They would've overruled if they thought a call needed to be overruled and they wouldn't have overruled if they weren't sure. If you think the call was incorrect, then simply challenge the call.

* Regarding jumping backhands and two-handed volleys: Hey, do whatever works. I just think it looks funky/ugly. Personal preference/bias on my part.

* Regarding hitting at a player at the net. I'm okay with doing it. But why bother apologizing when you meant to do it? And I've never seen anyone apologize for a body serve. Apologizing for a net-cord is fine because I assume that players don't actually intentionally try to hit the top of the net and have the ball fall on the other side.

I love tennis and I love watching tennis. These are minor things that, in my perfect world, I could do without. I thought this was intended to be somewhat of a "fun/not too serious" thread.

 

[Fiero425]

The comments on swearing got me thinking and so I had a look at the ATP website.

Top 10.
Andy Murray is the only player that speaks English as his first language.

10-20 We can add -
Raonic (English, Serbian and French)
Isner
Anderson (English and I'd imagine Afrikaans)

21-50 We can add -
Querrey
Pospisil (Czech, English, French)

By all accounts people tend to swear in their first language. Does that mean that Raonic or Pospisil would perhaps swear in French, Serbian or Czech before English? I'll say English just for this post. Those players listed make up 12% of the top 50. Not very much is it? If I'm watching tennis by myself then I'll probably only hear swearing if it's in English. If I'm watching with either of my sisters or my sister-in-law then I'll find out who is swearing in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian and Serbian. Of the players listed I know that Murray swears more than ANY of them. I'm not suggesting otherwise. To say he swears more than any other player on the tour is just wrong. I'm not a fan of swearing. I don't like to hear it and I don't think it helps Andy is he's not playing well. But I understand that he's not perfect, nor is he beyond criticism for that or his negative actions at times. Andy does not swear half as much as people are making out. Just because he's shouting at himself does not mean he is swearing.

After reading this thread I'm surprised so many of you even follow the sport. It seems it pains some of you to the extreme.

I have to say, I was astonished by the lists of niggles from some people. If I were that irritated, I'm not even sure I'd be able to watch tennis. We go on, (lots of us, and the commentators,) about what great warriors they are to do it all alone, and yet we criticize what it takes them to get through it.

* Swearing? (As you say, lots of swearing happens in lots of languages.)
* Taking forever to challenge/asking the chair umpire: The time take to challenge is up to the discretion of the chair. The fact that they ask the chair for an opinion seems fair and normal to me.
* Jumping bhs, and 2-hand volleys? Now you're complaining about shots? Why?
* I don't know if players, outside of double "intentionally" hit a player, but hitting AT them is considered fair play. (How do you feel about the body serve?) Grow up.

Lots of the others seemed excessive complaining to me, too. But I'll agree with these:

* Black socks and white shoes. (Ewww.)
* Fish handshakes at the net. You lost. Take it like a (wo)man. Look the player in the eye and give a proper handshake.

I'm not complaining. These are just things that I'd rather the players not do.

* Regarding challenging and asking the ump for his opinion: If they let 'em get by with it, then fine. I'd just rather that the players challenge immediately.

* Regarding jumping backhands and two-handed volleys: Hey, do whatever works. I just think it looks funky. Personal preference/bias on my part.

* Regarding hitting at a player at the net. I'm okay with doing it. But why bother apologizing when you meant to do it? And I've never seen anyone apologize for a body serve. Apologizing for a net-cord is fine because I assume that players don't actually intentionally try to hit the top of the net and have the ball fall on the other side.

I love tennis and I love watching tennis. These are minor things that, in my perfect world, I could do without. I thought this was intended to be somewhat of a "fun/not too serious" thread.

There was a time I'd never miss a match; esp. with several vcr's attached to all my tv's, but I purposely skip watching a lot of it now! There are just as many reasons as everyone else I guess! Mostly I'm tired of the length of matches; extended by excessive toweling off, questioning of calls that are so wrong they should be penalized, and of course a lot of bouncing of the ball before a serve! Back in my day, it was 3 bounces and that was it; no more, no less! Years ago, there was only one guy who did 22 bounces on a 1st serve and 8 on the 2nd! I can't remember that knucklehead's name though; 30 years ago! Now they all do it; esp. Rafa Nadal! When he gets into a contest with Nole, they have sets that last well over an hour which is obscene! :nono Almost 6 hours for their Aussie contest last year; still recovering from it and I was only trying to watch and tape it! Murray's just as bad! Now the ladies are getting into the act! They shouldn't even be sweating; maybe glowing, not dripping! Back in the day, Martina only toweled off at changeovers, now with Sharapova and Azarenka, it's even after a service ace! The officials really need to speed up play! Don't get me started on all the grunting, squealing, and the like! I thought they were supposed to regulate that too; only getting worse! It could be a dropshot and you would think they're being stabbed in the chest! Anyone? :nono :huh:

 

[Luxilon Borg]

The comments on swearing got me thinking and so I had a look at the ATP website.

Top 10.
Andy Murray is the only player that speaks English as his first language.

10-20 We can add -
Raonic (English, Serbian and French)
Isner
Anderson (English and I'd imagine Afrikaans)

21-50 We can add -
Querrey
Pospisil (Czech, English, French)

By all accounts people tend to swear in their first language. Does that mean that Raonic or Pospisil would perhaps swear in French, Serbian or Czech before English? I'll say English just for this post. Those players listed make up 12% of the top 50. Not very much is it? If I'm watching tennis by myself then I'll probably only hear swearing if it's in English. If I'm watching with either of my sisters or my sister-in-law then I'll find out who is swearing in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian and Serbian. Of the players listed I know that Murray swears more than ANY of them. I'm not suggesting otherwise. To say he swears more than any other player on the tour is just wrong. I'm not a fan of swearing. I don't like to hear it and I don't think it helps Andy is he's not playing well. But I understand that he's not perfect, nor is he beyond criticism for that or his negative actions at times. Andy does not swear half as much as people are making out. Just because he's shouting at himself does not mean he is swearing.

After reading this thread I'm surprised so many of you even follow the sport. It seems it pains some of you to the extreme.

I have to say, I was astonished by the lists of niggles from some people. If I were that irritated, I'm not even sure I'd be able to watch tennis. We go on, (lots of us, and the commentators,) about what great warriors they are to do it all alone, and yet we criticize what it takes them to get through it.

* Swearing? (As you say, lots of swearing happens in lots of languages.)
* Taking forever to challenge/asking the chair umpire: The time take to challenge is up to the discretion of the chair. The fact that they ask the chair for an opinion seems fair and normal to me.
* Jumping bhs, and 2-hand volleys? Now you're complaining about shots? Why?
* I don't know if players, outside of double "intentionally" hit a player, but hitting AT them is considered fair play. (How do you feel about the body serve?) Grow up.

Lots of the others seemed excessive complaining to me, too. But I'll agree with these:

* Black socks and white shoes. (Ewww.)
* Fish handshakes at the net. You lost. Take it like a (wo)man. Look the player in the eye and give a proper handshake.

I'm not complaining. These are just things that I'd rather the players not do.

* Regarding challenging and asking the ump for his opinion: If they let 'em get by with it, then fine. I'd just rather that the players challenge immediately.

* Regarding jumping backhands and two-handed volleys: Hey, do whatever works. I just think it looks funky. Personal preference/bias on my part.

* Regarding hitting at a player at the net. I'm okay with doing it. But why bother apologizing when you meant to do it? And I've never seen anyone apologize for a body serve. Apologizing for a net-cord is fine because I assume that players don't actually intentionally try to hit the top of the net and have the ball fall on the other side.

I love tennis and I love watching tennis. These are minor things that, in my perfect world, I could do without. I thought this was intended to be somewhat of a "fun/not too serious" thread.

There was a time I'd never miss a match; esp. with several vcr's attached to all my tv's, but I purposely skip watching a lot of it now! There are just as many reasons as everyone else I guess! Mostly I'm tired of the length of matches; extended by excessive toweling off, questioning of calls that are so wrong they should be penalized, and of course a lot of bouncing of the ball before a serve! Back in my day, it was 3 bounces and that was it; no more, no less! Years ago, there was only one guy who did 22 bounces on a 1st serve and 8 on the 2nd! I can't remember that knucklehead's name though; 30 years ago! Now they all do it; esp. Rafa Nadal! When he gets into a contest with Nole, they have sets that last well over an hour which is obscene! :nono Almost 6 hours for their Aussie contest last year; still recovering from it and I was only trying to watch and tape it! Murray's just as bad! Now the ladies are getting into the act! They shouldn't even be sweating; maybe glowing, not dripping! Back in the day, Martina only toweled off at changeovers, now with Sharapova and Azarenka, it's even after a service ace! The officials really need to speed up play! Don't get me started on all the grunting, squealing, and the like! I thought they were supposed to regulate that too; only getting worse! It could be a dropshot and you would think they're being stabbed in the chest! Anyone? :nono :huh:

I hear what you are saying.

I have two HD DVD-Rs with each connected to a DVD recorder. Yes, I am insane.

I guess watching as much tennis as I do there is no doubt the length of matches is a factor.

Plus growing up with Borg, then Fed, who wasted no time, appeared like ads in fashion mag, and were as fair as they came, the standard is high. I can only be disappointed.

 

[Fiero425]

The comments on swearing got me thinking and so I had a look at the ATP website.

Top 10.
Andy Murray is the only player that speaks English as his first language.

10-20 We can add -
Raonic (English, Serbian and French)
Isner
Anderson (English and I'd imagine Afrikaans)

21-50 We can add -
Querrey
Pospisil (Czech, English, French)

By all accounts people tend to swear in their first language. Does that mean that Raonic or Pospisil would perhaps swear in French, Serbian or Czech before English? I'll say English just for this post. Those players listed make up 12% of the top 50. Not very much is it? If I'm watching tennis by myself then I'll probably only hear swearing if it's in English. If I'm watching with either of my sisters or my sister-in-law then I'll find out who is swearing in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian and Serbian. Of the players listed I know that Murray swears more than ANY of them. I'm not suggesting otherwise. To say he swears more than any other player on the tour is just wrong. I'm not a fan of swearing. I don't like to hear it and I don't think it helps Andy is he's not playing well. But I understand that he's not perfect, nor is he beyond criticism for that or his negative actions at times. Andy does not swear half as much as people are making out. Just because he's shouting at himself does not mean he is swearing.

After reading this thread I'm surprised so many of you even follow the sport. It seems it pains some of you to the extreme.

I have to say, I was astonished by the lists of niggles from some people. If I were that irritated, I'm not even sure I'd be able to watch tennis. We go on, (lots of us, and the commentators,) about what great warriors they are to do it all alone, and yet we criticize what it takes them to get through it.

* Swearing? (As you say, lots of swearing happens in lots of languages.)
* Taking forever to challenge/asking the chair umpire: The time take to challenge is up to the discretion of the chair. The fact that they ask the chair for an opinion seems fair and normal to me.
* Jumping bhs, and 2-hand volleys? Now you're complaining about shots? Why?
* I don't know if players, outside of double "intentionally" hit a player, but hitting AT them is considered fair play. (How do you feel about the body serve?) Grow up.

Lots of the others seemed excessive complaining to me, too. But I'll agree with these:

* Black socks and white shoes. (Ewww.)
* Fish handshakes at the net. You lost. Take it like a (wo)man. Look the player in the eye and give a proper handshake.

I'm not complaining. These are just things that I'd rather the players not do.

* Regarding challenging and asking the ump for his opinion: If they let 'em get by with it, then fine. I'd just rather that the players challenge immediately.

* Regarding jumping backhands and two-handed volleys: Hey, do whatever works. I just think it looks funky. Personal preference/bias on my part.

* Regarding hitting at a player at the net. I'm okay with doing it. But why bother apologizing when you meant to do it? And I've never seen anyone apologize for a body serve. Apologizing for a net-cord is fine because I assume that players don't actually intentionally try to hit the top of the net and have the ball fall on the other side.

I love tennis and I love watching tennis. These are minor things that, in my perfect world, I could do without. I thought this was intended to be somewhat of a "fun/not too serious" thread.

There was a time I'd never miss a match; esp. with several vcr's attached to all my tv's, but I purposely skip watching a lot of it now! There are just as many reasons as everyone else I guess! Mostly I'm tired of the length of matches; extended by excessive toweling off, questioning of calls that are so wrong they should be penalized, and of course a lot of bouncing of the ball before a serve! Back in my day, it was 3 bounces and that was it; no more, no less! Years ago, there was only one guy who did 22 bounces on a 1st serve and 8 on the 2nd! I can't remember that knucklehead's name though; 30 years ago! Now they all do it; esp. Rafa Nadal! When he gets into a contest with Nole, they have sets that last well over an hour which is obscene! :nono Almost 6 hours for their Aussie contest last year; still recovering from it and I was only trying to watch and tape it! Murray's just as bad! Now the ladies are getting into the act! They shouldn't even be sweating; maybe glowing, not dripping! Back in the day, Martina only toweled off at changeovers, now with Sharapova and Azarenka, it's even after a service ace! The officials really need to speed up play! Don't get me started on all the grunting, squealing, and the like! I thought they were supposed to regulate that too; only getting worse! It could be a dropshot and you would think they're being stabbed in the chest! Anyone? :nono :huh:

I hear what you are saying.

I have two HD DVD-Rs with each connected to a DVD recorder. Yes, I am insane.

I guess watching as much tennis as I do there is no doubt the length of matches is a factor.

Plus growing up with Borg, then Fed, who wasted no time, appeared like ads in fashion mag, and were as fair as they came, the standard is high. I can only be disappointed.

Borg was always immaculate wearing Fila; loved the stuff, but too expensive! Even back in the 70's, a warmup cost more than a 3 piece suit! :nono I may have had one outfit out of my extensive collection of tennis clothes; the shorts were almost a $100 on sale! Back then I had more tenniswear than regular clothes since I played and taught almost everyday! Federer has been taking it to an extreme coming out on court with his logo, attributing wins with the championship at hand! Talk about ego-driven! :snigger

 

[Luxilon Borg]

I have to say, I was astonished by the lists of niggles from some people. If I were that irritated, I'm not even sure I'd be able to watch tennis. We go on, (lots of us, and the commentators,) about what great warriors they are to do it all alone, and yet we criticize what it takes them to get through it.

* Swearing? (As you say, lots of swearing happens in lots of languages.)
* Taking forever to challenge/asking the chair umpire: The time take to challenge is up to the discretion of the chair. The fact that they ask the chair for an opinion seems fair and normal to me.
* Jumping bhs, and 2-hand volleys? Now you're complaining about shots? Why?
* I don't know if players, outside of double "intentionally" hit a player, but hitting AT them is considered fair play. (How do you feel about the body serve?) Grow up.

Lots of the others seemed excessive complaining to me, too. But I'll agree with these:

* Black socks and white shoes. (Ewww.)
* Fish handshakes at the net. You lost. Take it like a (wo)man. Look the player in the eye and give a proper handshake.

I'm not complaining. These are just things that I'd rather the players not do.

* Regarding challenging and asking the ump for his opinion: If they let 'em get by with it, then fine. I'd just rather that the players challenge immediately.

* Regarding jumping backhands and two-handed volleys: Hey, do whatever works. I just think it looks funky. Personal preference/bias on my part.

* Regarding hitting at a player at the net. I'm okay with doing it. But why bother apologizing when you meant to do it? And I've never seen anyone apologize for a body serve. Apologizing for a net-cord is fine because I assume that players don't actually intentionally try to hit the top of the net and have the ball fall on the other side.

I love tennis and I love watching tennis. These are minor things that, in my perfect world, I could do without. I thought this was intended to be somewhat of a "fun/not too serious" thread.

There was a time I'd never miss a match; esp. with several vcr's attached to all my tv's, but I purposely skip watching a lot of it now! There are just as many reasons as everyone else I guess! Mostly I'm tired of the length of matches; extended by excessive toweling off, questioning of calls that are so wrong they should be penalized, and of course a lot of bouncing of the ball before a serve! Back in my day, it was 3 bounces and that was it; no more, no less! Years ago, there was only one guy who did 22 bounces on a 1st serve and 8 on the 2nd! I can't remember that knucklehead's name though; 30 years ago! Now they all do it; esp. Rafa Nadal! When he gets into a contest with Nole, they have sets that last well over an hour which is obscene! :nono Almost 6 hours for their Aussie contest last year; still recovering from it and I was only trying to watch and tape it! Murray's just as bad! Now the ladies are getting into the act! They shouldn't even be sweating; maybe glowing, not dripping! Back in the day, Martina only toweled off at changeovers, now with Sharapova and Azarenka, it's even after a service ace! The officials really need to speed up play! Don't get me started on all the grunting, squealing, and the like! I thought they were supposed to regulate that too; only getting worse! It could be a dropshot and you would think they're being stabbed in the chest! Anyone? :nono :huh:

I hear what you are saying.

I have two HD DVD-Rs with each connected to a DVD recorder. Yes, I am insane.

I guess watching as much tennis as I do there is no doubt the length of matches is a factor.

Plus growing up with Borg, then Fed, who wasted no time, appeared like ads in fashion mag, and were as fair as they came, the standard is high. I can only be disappointed.

Borg was always immaculate wearing Fila; loved the stuff, but too expensive! Even back in the 70's, a warmup cost more than a 3 piece suit! :nono I may have had one outfit out of my extensive collection of tennis clothes; the shorts were almost a $100 on sale! Back then I had more tenniswear than regular clothes since I played and taught almost everyday! Federer has been taking it to an extreme coming out on court with his logo, attributing wins with the championship at hand! Talk about ego-driven! :snigger

Borg was GOD. I repeat G O D. Fila, yes at that time amazingly expensive. Tennis was at its all time glory heights. Ellese and Tachini were the others.

As I said. Bjorn got on with it, did not complain, and was very fair.

 

[Ilovetennis2]

Agree with most , but there is one that really upsets me: Grunting a second AFTER you hit your shot...right about the time your opponent is about to hit the ball...Ferrer does this a lot. He should not.

This is the biggest one and should truly be monitored more than it is. There is only one reason to grunt like that well after hitting a shot...

Also those who towel off after being aced is an obvious attempt to try to break a server's rhythm.

3 grunt related things that upset me (I'm narrowing it down to the men's tour, since WTA grunting is just unbearable on the whole):

1) Grunting after a slice. Makes zero sense, since you're not particularly exerting a whole lot of effort.
2) Delayed grunting, the one you mention above.
3) Extended grunting when you fire a shot you think it's going to be a winner. Djokovic does this a lot. In his defense, almost every time, it does end up being a winner, but you never know, and there's always a chance your opponent might get a racket on the ball. The whole "uhhh-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah" is unnecessary.

Regarding point #3, this instantly popped up in my mind:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pleqYnR2JPo&t=5m47s

Not as bad as his usual ones, but during that point he hits the ball without grunting, and then grunts before Wawrinka even gets to the ball.

 

[Moxie]

Agree with most , but there is one that really upsets me: Grunting a second AFTER you hit your shot...right about the time your opponent is about to hit the ball...Ferrer does this a lot. He should not.

This is the biggest one and should truly be monitored more than it is. There is only one reason to grunt like that well after hitting a shot...

Also those who towel off after being aced is an obvious attempt to try to break a server's rhythm.

3 grunt related things that upset me (I'm narrowing it down to the men's tour, since WTA grunting is just unbearable on the whole):

1) Grunting after a slice. Makes zero sense, since you're not particularly exerting a whole lot of effort.
2) Delayed grunting, the one you mention above.
3) Extended grunting when you fire a shot you think it's going to be a winner. Djokovic does this a lot. In his defense, almost every time, it does end up being a winner, but you never know, and there's always a chance your opponent might get a racket on the ball. The whole "uhhh-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah" is unnecessary.

Regarding point #3, this instantly popped up in my mind:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pleqYnR2JPo&t=5m47s

Not as bad as his usual ones, but during that point he hits the ball without grunting, and then grunts before Wawrinka even gets to the ball.

Honestly, I tried, but how much video do I have to wade through to figure out the exact moment when someone has a complaint about a misplaced grunt? I don't really mind about grunting, personally.

Just to go back to another one: folks are fussed that the umpire gets consulted about calls...really? S/he's the umpire! Some complain that Hawk-eye has taken the umpire out, too much. I don't mind a reasonable length of time to decide on a challenge, but that is what the umpire is for, too: to decide if it's reasonable. The umpires can't abdicate all responsibility, just because there is Hawkeye.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

Agree with most , but there is one that really upsets me: Grunting a second AFTER you hit your shot...right about the time your opponent is about to hit the ball...Ferrer does this a lot. He should not.

This is the biggest one and should truly be monitored more than it is. There is only one reason to grunt like that well after hitting a shot...

Also those who towel off after being aced is an obvious attempt to try to break a server's rhythm.

3 grunt related things that upset me (I'm narrowing it down to the men's tour, since WTA grunting is just unbearable on the whole):

1) Grunting after a slice. Makes zero sense, since you're not particularly exerting a whole lot of effort.
2) Delayed grunting, the one you mention above.
3) Extended grunting when you fire a shot you think it's going to be a winner. Djokovic does this a lot. In his defense, almost every time, it does end up being a winner, but you never know, and there's always a chance your opponent might get a racket on the ball. The whole "uhhh-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah" is unnecessary.

Regarding point #3, this instantly popped up in my mind:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pleqYnR2JPo&t=5m47s

Not as bad as his usual ones, but during that point he hits the ball without grunting, and then grunts before Wawrinka even gets to the ball.

Honestly, I tried, but how much video do I have to wade through to figure out the exact moment when someone has a complaint about a misplaced grunt? I don't really mind about grunting, personally.

Just to go back to another one: folks are fussed that the umpire gets consulted about calls...really? S/he's the umpire! Some complain that Hawk-eye has taken the umpire out, too much. I don't mind a reasonable length of time to decide on a challenge, but that is what the umpire is for, too: to decide if it's reasonable. The umpires can't abdicate all responsibility, just because there is Hawkeye.

I don't mind at all when they consult the umpire. I get annoyed when they ask the box...and 90% of the time they are wrong LOL.