ARE TENNIS UMPIRES NOW OBSOLETE? From Defrogerer. Thanks.

DEFROGERER

ARE TENNIS UMPIRES NOW OBSOLETE?

I was glued to the RAFA/NOVAK match today,enjoying the high standard of tennis. Carlos Ramerios the umpire gives Rafa a time warning and he says nothing.Novak is given one and he screams abuse.Ok,so its a case of different reactions however,the commentator,who just happens to be John Lloyd says “the umpire should just not get involved”!!He based his opinion on the fact that no umpire has in recent years “had the nerve to go to the 2nd stage of giving the point against”.
What with hawk eye and the fear of upsetting the players,it begs the question,why bother with the guy in the chair?
I hate the delays on service that the likes of Rafa,Novak etc. take.In hot climates I believe they must have an advantage over their opponents as they can catch their breath,cool down and keep the guy on the other side of the net on edge.20 seconds is written into the rule book and it is being flaunted by certain players.If there is no regard for the umpire and rules we might just witness chairs being brought to each end for the players to sit on whilst towelling down and perhaps deigning to serve after 1 min.Does anyone remember when the changeover in the opening of a set or in tie break was just that….ie go straight to the other side,do not pass go nor collect £200?
Just exactly when did tennis players become so precious? As another commentator pointed out “the tennis guys should be made to play with badminton spectators in the stands and there might be less of the demand for total silence and no one daring to move from their seat”.
Rant over, but I am truly terrified the game of gentlemen is going South.Coupled with an ex player and the figurehead of British tennis in the form of John Lloyd saying what he did to millions of viewers,perhaps a major shake up is needed.

On a separate note,will Roger get his gold from the most unexpected source? That would be so ironic.

Djokovic Sets Fastest Serve Record in ProTennis History? From Shital Green. Thanks.

SHITAL GREEN

Djokovic Sets Fastest Serve Record in ProTennis History

If Olympic official match statistics is correct (I think it is), Djokovic has achieved something other than Gold or Silver in Beijing 2008. During the 2nd set of the semi final against Nadal at the Beijing Olympic, Novak Djokovic’s first serve was recorded to be 250 kmph (155.34 mph), breaking Andy Roddick’s fastest serve of all time, 249.4 kmph (155 mph). After I saw this, I have mentioned the new record in Djokovic’s Wikipedia page.
My source of the record is official Beijing Olympic tennis site:
http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/TE/C73A/TEM001202.shtml#TEM001202

Readers, you may write to or call Olympic/ITF people or check sports news media outlets to verify the record so that it stays as fact.

Jean’s theory on Federer’s slump. Thanks.

JEAN

Jean’s theory on Federer’s slump (hatched in his basement with a Gin-to)

I think Federer has lost his edge on hard court. He remains in the TOP 5 on this surface, but is not the top dog anymore.

Hard court tournaments represent what, 60 % of all events on the ATP tour. There you have it. Federer, at now 27, is not as fast as he was. And it shows even more on hard courts, a surface he used to dominate during his prime.

It may sound far fetched, but I think Federer will perform better, from now on, on slower surfaces such as clay and — strangely enough, now grass. He will remain in the 2-3 years to come, arguably, the second best clay-court player and, in my opinion, the best grass-court player.

When did he start to lose his edge on hard courts? Last year at Indian Wells when he lost to Canas. Think about it. Since then he struggled in both IW and Miami (07 and 08), lost first round in Dubai, lost in Paris, in Madrid. And more recently, was taking out in both Toronto and Cincy. And now Beijing.

Why is that? Hard court is now the fastest surface. Your reflexes have too be very acute. A fraction of a second is priceless. Federer, although it’s hard to tell by just looking at him, has lost a little bit of his quickness. The backhand passing shots are less frequent. He makes more unforced errors. He is slower. I would consider changing his racket head to a 95 inches (he as the smallest racket on tour/ go check an interesting article on the topic at Tennis.com)

So, all in all, it’s fair to say he has lost his no. 1 ranking because he’s lost his hard court dominance. Not because he lost Wimbledon. And, funny enough, that may very well happen with Nadal in years to come on clay court.

Did I take one too many Gin-to’s?

Another vid from Deep South Girl. Thanks.

DEEP SOUTH GIRL

One more: I love this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4uieqi8K8A

Olympic gold: Who deserves it? Who will get it? Who should get it?

Of the four jokers left in the race, Nadal clearly deserves it. Will Djokovic get it? And Blake should get it. Why? Gonzalez has an Olympic medal already. Nadal and Djokovic have many more chances and other titles to win.

For Blake this is probably his last year on the tour, and with no Grand Slam titles in the bag, this will be a nice parting gift for him, specially after defeating Federer.

Should he then send a ‘get well’ card and more to someone?

Likely reason(s) Federer refused to rest after being diagnosed with mono in January.

1. Thought of so many matches he won in his prime when not even close to being at his best, and it seemed possible that he can pull it off without being 100 percent.

2. The lure of setting a record that NO ONE can break was too much. Everyone wants to own at least ONE prestigious record that is beyond reach of anyone EVER. Well, he might have just achieved that feat. But at what expense?

The record? Most number of weeks at No. 1 CONSECUTIVELY. 237 weeks. Wasn’t the previous one by Connors at 160?

I think Federer sensed the real tug of decline at Wimbledon. Canas 1 and 2 and even Volandri, he considered an aberration. Just a bad day. But when he realized what was happening at Wimbledon and it got confirmed at the US Open, Federer knew the window is closing fast. So instead of resting for six months to a year after mono like Ancic did, he wanted to grab whatever he could before the sun sets.

For in Federer’s mind, after 6 months or a year, there will be nothing left to build on. That was based on his correct reading of a slowdown after Wimbledon.

So Federer may have achieved what he set out to do.

Federer had just two choices in January:

1. Rest for six months to a year, essentially ending his career.

2. Continue playing through the illness and accumulate as much moss as he can before being forced into retirement. Extend the No. 1 rank to as far as he could.

What would you have done? You see, the ship had come to the shore either way. Why not make the most of the last trip instead of resting? You have all the time to rest all your life.

Or was this all a conspiracy to make Mirka shed some weight? If it was, it hit the bulls eye with a masterful stroke. Now is someone working on Nadal’s picking, or Djokovic’s chin or Roddick’s …?