- Joined
- Apr 14, 2013
- Messages
- 10,333
- Reactions
- 6,103
- Points
- 113
Tennis has seen an interesting change in the way the game has been played, especially over the last 30-40 years. In a way the 80s were the most pivotal as racquets changed, wood was gone and they became larger, but you still had a diversity of top players - from Becker's power game to Edberg's serve and volley finesse, and then someone like Sampras who combined both. Actually, I think in a way you could make an argument that Becker and Edberg are the archetypes of the two major styles of play, which is interesting in that their careers were so evenly matched, even though Becker had to clear dominance in the H2H (25-10), although Edberg led their Grand Slam matchups (3-1).
Anyhow, in the late 90s and early 00s you still had a lot of finesse oriented players at the top, such as Lleyton Hewitt and Juan Carlos Ferrero, and then of course Roger Federer, who seemed versed in all styles. But with the next generation, Rafa, Novak, and Andy, the physicality of the game jumped another notch, with a new level of powerful and grueling baseline tennis. The game today seems to emphasize power and endurance over finesse and quickness, although clearly all aspects are important. But it is hard to imagine even a peak form Lleyton Hewitt being a top player today. Or I could imagine someone like Grigor Dimitrov being far more successful 15 years ago.
But let's get to my question. What could possibly come in and change the way the game is played? Imagine a player that would do to Rafa, Novak and Andy what they did to Federer and his generation? Or what Lendl, Becker, etc did to McEnroe and Connors? I'm not just talking youth, but a new style that, in a way, "solved" or surpassed the old style.
Now a lot of this has to do with the courts themselves. The aggressive baseline game suits the slow courts of the 21st century. If the courts ever speed up again, then we might see more finesse, more serve and volley. But barring that, what kind of player would it take to "surpass and solve" the current dominant players? Clearly it would have to be someone who could not only play the game of the current greats, but had some extra element. Someone who could "short circuit" the endless rallies and five-set matches with a new approach to attacking tennis that we haven't quite seen before.
Any thoughts?
Anyhow, in the late 90s and early 00s you still had a lot of finesse oriented players at the top, such as Lleyton Hewitt and Juan Carlos Ferrero, and then of course Roger Federer, who seemed versed in all styles. But with the next generation, Rafa, Novak, and Andy, the physicality of the game jumped another notch, with a new level of powerful and grueling baseline tennis. The game today seems to emphasize power and endurance over finesse and quickness, although clearly all aspects are important. But it is hard to imagine even a peak form Lleyton Hewitt being a top player today. Or I could imagine someone like Grigor Dimitrov being far more successful 15 years ago.
But let's get to my question. What could possibly come in and change the way the game is played? Imagine a player that would do to Rafa, Novak and Andy what they did to Federer and his generation? Or what Lendl, Becker, etc did to McEnroe and Connors? I'm not just talking youth, but a new style that, in a way, "solved" or surpassed the old style.
Now a lot of this has to do with the courts themselves. The aggressive baseline game suits the slow courts of the 21st century. If the courts ever speed up again, then we might see more finesse, more serve and volley. But barring that, what kind of player would it take to "surpass and solve" the current dominant players? Clearly it would have to be someone who could not only play the game of the current greats, but had some extra element. Someone who could "short circuit" the endless rallies and five-set matches with a new approach to attacking tennis that we haven't quite seen before.
Any thoughts?
