http://www.oregonlive.com/the-spin-of-the-ball/index.ssf/2013/10/where_should_we_look_for_the_n.html The reason I no longer follow tennis much is that it's become boring as hell. In those days of yesteryear there was real strategy. The racquets were wood and rather then a game where the one and only strategy is to thump the ball harder than your opponent with a racquet made of space age material, you had to move players around, play the net a lot more… Back then there were true 'specialists'- thumpers, net players, volley players… it was a game of contrasting games and their strategies. Today, it's thump, thump, thump… whoever happens to hit the hardest wins. [YAWN!] So I find the personalities issue valid, but secondary to the game becoming fully one dimensional.
I disagree with you entirely. There are plenty of players that hit the ball harder that Djokovic and Nadal, but cannot do so as skillfully. The excitement and beauty of a great match is based on the athleticism and shot precision displayed by the masters of the sport.
Yeah, I don't follow tennis too carefully, but I wouldn't call Nadal a 'thumper'. The guy wins cause he moves all over the court. Some of his matches against Federer and Djokavic have been pretty epic.
Maybe so to a small degree, but the game as far as tactics go is barely 25% of what it used to be. It's booooooooooooooooooring.
The game is more athletic now. Net play and volleying are what I've always associated with tired/old players past their prime. It takes an incredible amount of court coverage and movement to be able to win now. The top three players in the game today are quite athletic (Nadal/Joke/Murray). Even a slowpoke like Federer is a better mover on Clay than someone like Sampras ever was, who was the game's undisputed best. Nadal is a beast and my favorite tennis player ever. He'll pwn you on any surface, and he's an Australian away from a Double Career Grand Slam. His dominance over RF is impressive. Joker is the only player to match-up somewhat decently against him in majors.
