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Bodo on slow courts and Federer

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Tenez
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Bodo on slow courts and Federer Empty Bodo on slow courts and Federer

Post by Guest Sat Mar 03, 2012 12:33 am

Peter Bodo, respected tennis journalist for Tennis.com and author of Strokes of Genius as well as numerous other tennis books gives his take on Federer and the slowing down of conditions. I think it's an excellent piece which encapsulates what is exciting about fast court tennis and summarises the negative aspects of slow court tennis.


http://blogs.tennis.com/tennisworld/2012/03/fed.html

by Pete Bodo

Roger Federer is approaching 31 years of age, by which time the reflexes and explosiveness of the typical pro are, along with some other qualities, in decline. It ought to be especially true on fast hard courts, but it's a testament to the all-time Grand Slam champion that the quick surface is the one on which he is still at his most dazzling.

Watching the current world No. 3 in Dubai this week, I repeatedly got the feeling that nobody—including Federer—understands just how heavy a price he's paid for having to play on courts that, even in his time, were getting slower and slower. He ought to sue the ATP and ITF for loss of employment opportunity. But he's won 16 Grand Slam titles!, you say. Well, there is that. . .

Still. The way Federer has been playing in Dubai (and at other locations for months on end now) is nothing less than eye-popping. On fast hard courts, those most basic talents—quickness, accuracy, reactions, timing—assume an importance they lack on slow courts, especially clay. On fast hard courts, Federer looks like Prometheus Unbound. And that's something that, frankly, I've never taken note of before.

I'm not sure why I haven't picked up on some of this stuff before now; can Dubai's hard courts really be that different? All I know is that above and beyond anything pertinent to his own situation, Federer also gives us an exclusive view of what tennis can be like when played in a certain way on a hard court.

Thus, these speculations are just as much about style and surface properties as they are about Federer per se.

Here's my beef with slow courts: As agreeable as it can be to see a gifted player hit 18 or 19 different shots in a rally, time and time again, the payoff for bold, aggressive play is inadequate. Actually, it's poor. As a result, stamina, prudent shotmaking, and defensive skill assume paramount importance, and we've just defined your typical tough out on clay—your David Ferrer. It can be fun watching a Ferrer at work, but a little of it goes a long way for me.

The low premium on bold play and the diminished role of the serve on slow courts change the way the game is played, greatly reducing the variety of shots we see. That's another point Federer has driven home, although not many other players well-suited to fast courts can do it so effectively.

It's no coincidence that the evolution of the two-handed backhand as the shot of choice went hand in hand with a decline in the use of slice and the slowing of the courts. For the record, I like the two-hander as a weapon, but I'll be the first to admit that it's a one-dimensional tool. As Rafael Nadal learned in the Australian Open final, the use of slice these days on most courts is an invitation to surrender the impetus in a point.

By contrast, if you've watched Federer this week, you've seen some stuff that looks like it belongs in a sepia-tinted photo or clattering newsreel. The sliced backhand has myriad manifestations, most of them neglected these days by the vast majority of players, from the chop to the well-timed block (call it a groundstroke volley) to the approach shot.

Approach shot? Who knew there's still such a thing in this era!

I don't know about you, but I get more pleasure out of watching a gifted player like Federer smack two or three balls off either wing to get a point over with than I do seeing those asp-ish shots tracked down and lofted back, as if his opponent is saying, "Try again. Three for a dollar." The higher incidence of errors, unforced and otherwise, and the greater number of shanks and Yeee-Haw! mishits that fast-court tennis coughs up bothers me not one bit. I prefer a blazing shootout to witnessing two men bludgeon each other to death.

On slower surfaces, any number of factors—including sheer luck—can have a far greater impact on the hold game than on fast surfaces. That's because of the premium on the serve, the single most important shot in the game, and the one on which the entire sensibility of the scoring system is based. As we gravitate more and more toward a rally-based game, it becomes that much harder to find clear turning points or even simple tactical or strategic explanations for what happened in any given match.

Generally speaking, a high-level match on a fast court between competent servers has two or three key moments per set. On a slow court, a high-level match often has a bewildering number of important moments. But you know how it goes: The more critical moments you have, the less critical each of those moments really is—until the very end. And this obfuscation in the plot of a match happens most often when the dividend for serving well is diminished. Rallying contests ultimately become pointless, except that someone will win because someone must.

I don't think anyone would argue that a player can reach into a much deeper bag of tricks on a fast court than on a slow one, which is one reason why clay never became the global surface of choice. But at the same time, the typical fast-court match usually produces a more streamlined, simple narrative (it has to be that way, when serving well all but guarantees a hold).

Slow-court tennis is like an automobile race in which every car is fitted with a governor that keeps it from going faster than any of the other vehicles. Someone will still win and everyone else will lose, but I prefer to see what happens when risk is rewarded.

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Post by laverfan Sat Mar 03, 2012 1:34 am

Emancipator, thanks for the article.

Some 'personal' choices from Mr. Bodo, but a bit unfair to the 'Clay' courters. A balance would be wonderful where varying skills are rewarded. Wink

Someone like Vilas was very good on multiple surfaces.

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Post by socal1976 Sat Mar 03, 2012 2:34 am

Bodo is a legendary FEd apologist slightly more logical than some of the extremists that post on this site. His quote about how big serve tennis allows for more variety is laughable and shows someone who hasn't seen the inside of tennis court 30 years. He contradicts himself by saying that slower conditions require more quality shots to win a point and then by saying that faster conditions opens the game up to more shotmaking. And again he posits David Ferrer, how many grandslams has Ferrer won Bodo? how many masters? Big serve tennis that bodo is trumpeting was widely dismissed a decade or more ago and the courts were slowed down for a reason. This article is so fraught with logical inconsistency and the part where Bodo the Bozo claims Fed should sue the ITF for tampering his career basically sums up his loyalties and logic. Really, Roger is the only player in history who is required to play on specifically the conditions and technology that suit him? NO MENTION AS USUAL BY BOZO THAT THE COURTS WERE ACTUALLY SLOWED DOWN WAY BEFORE ROGER WON A SINGLE SLAM. During the fast court era hewitt was smoking him.

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Post by amritia3ee Sat Mar 03, 2012 2:49 am

Well fed was before his peak when he lost to players like hewitt and henman.
It's a bit like how nadal lost to players like Gonzalez, youzhny early on his career.
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Post by Guest Sat Mar 03, 2012 7:31 am

We can never ever never ver everer ve re returrn to the bang bang serve fest tennis of the past because of the permanent changes in string and racquet technology.

So speeding up the tennis courts will not lead to that.

However, you can slow down the conditions to a point where the average five set tennis match will last ten hours or more.

As my zen master once asked me: "Grasshopper, what is the sound of a tennis ball as it hits the clay, now grassjumper what is the sound of a tennis ball before it hits the clay?"

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Post by hawkeye Sat Mar 03, 2012 8:00 am

Fast courts "reward" fast servers and encourage risky low percentage play. At their worst they are just shoot outs. Slow courts reduce the emphasis on the serve and any winners require more construction. At their worst you can get two retrievers incapable or unwilling to go for winners.

IMO the slower courts tend to reward the better player. The better player has more chance of losing on a fast court. They can get blown off the court by someone with a more limited game but a fast serve or their opponant can get "lucky" with low percentage shots. On a slow court this has less chance of happening.

On a slow court the better player will tend to win against players with a more limited game who take risks. They will also tend to win against "retrievers" as they will be capable of constructing a point and hitting winners.

Federer is to say the least "a better player" he doesn't need a particular court speed to win. Still when he plays on a fast court he is more at risk of losing. It took two tie break sets yesterday to beat Del Potro. Despite looking by far the better player and despite having many more break point opportunities (Many saved by Del Potro with an ace...) Federer was close to losing.

The idea that Federer isn't good on slower surfaces and in particular clay is stupid! He is great on slower surfaces. His "problem" is a certain other player...

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Post by noleisthebest Sat Mar 03, 2012 8:14 am

Bodo... Laugh

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Post by Manojchandra Sat Mar 03, 2012 8:28 am

Great analysis by hawkeye, methinks.

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Post by bogbrush Sat Mar 03, 2012 8:29 am

Federer is great on slow courts, but brilliant on faster. On speedy (not ice, just fast) indoor he has no problems with anyone, not even that certain player, and never has. I suspect the only player he's ever thought of as a genuine threat to his standard indoors has been Nalbandian.

If snooker was changed so that long potting was impossible, or safety play was easier, people wouldn't applaud. When nobody could overtake in F1 no-one was happy. When teams could pass back to the goalie to kill time in football it caused a rethink. What makes sport interesting is the attacking dimension; when the rules tilt the advantage to the defender the game becomes stale.

We can admire the fortitude of a defensive player, and defensive skills are respectable and important, but when defending can become the way to win something is wrong.

This debate usually features the strawman argument of 90's Wimbledon featuring Ivanisevic. That's silly, because the point being made is not to replace one form of restricted game with another, but to reintroduce variety. It does, though, require a different kind of viewer; one whose allegiance is to the sport or viewing experience, not to a player. I'm a fan of the greatest tennis I've seen in my life. I'm a McEnroe tennis fan. I'm a Federer tennis fan.
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Post by lags72 Sat Mar 03, 2012 8:40 am

Some well thought-out comment there bogbrush, not least about the factors that can determine and vary the strength of interest not just in tennis, but in other big spectator sports too OK

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Post by Jeremy_Kyle Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:53 am

hawkeye wrote:
The idea that Federer is as good on slower surfaces and in particular clay is stupid! He is great on faster surfaces...

I fixed it for you Hawk, as you sometimes make little spelling mistake......
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Post by Tenez Sat Mar 03, 2012 11:16 am

I have not read the article but I am not a fan of Bodo the clown....but he may talk sense at times...a broken clock gives the correct time twice a day.

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Post by LuvSports! Sat Mar 03, 2012 11:59 am

On a sidenote in malaysian Bodo means idiot!

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Post by Josiah Maiestas Sat Mar 03, 2012 12:08 pm

I'm a fan of the greatest tennis I've seen in my life. I'm a McEnroe tennis fan. I'm a Federer tennis fan.
annoyingly I dislike McEnroe's personality but enjoy his tennis, whereas I like Borg's personality but hate his tennis. Bodo does sound a bit deluded and gives good fed fans a bad name.
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Post by Tenez Sat Mar 03, 2012 1:16 pm

LuvSports! wrote:On a sidenote in malaysian Bodo means idiot!

I am sure it's not a coincidence!

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Post by laverfan Sat Mar 03, 2012 1:35 pm

Yet another Fedal bash. 606v2 Doh

Did anyone watch Ferrer-Giraldo or Verdasco-Wawrinka in Acapulco? Laugh

99% sure everyone was watching Federer-Del Potro or Murray-Djokovic.

Right Socal? Amritia3ee? Laugh

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Post by Tenez Sat Mar 03, 2012 1:37 pm

Still. The way Federer has been playing in Dubai (and at other locations for months on end now) is nothing less than eye-popping. On fast hard courts, those most basic talents—quickness, accuracy, reactions, timing—assume an importance they lack on slow courts, especially clay. On fast hard courts, Federer looks like Prometheus Unbound. And that's something that, frankly, I've never taken note of before.

This explains why I thought very little of Bodo. He is now at 63 about to unsderstand tennis. It's never too late I guess. His article here is good but what did it take him so long to realise?

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Post by raiders_of_the_lost_ark Sat Mar 03, 2012 1:48 pm

laverfan wrote:Yet another Fedal bash. 606v2 Doh

Did anyone watch Ferrer-Giraldo or Verdasco-Wawrinka in Acapulco? Laugh

99% sure everyone was watching Federer-Del Potro or Murray-Djokovic.

Right Socal? Amritia3ee? Laugh

Ferrer Giraldo was boring as hell. I saw a bit before I turned to something more interesting like 606v2 Smile .Giraldo was serving 60-70mph second serves till I saw.
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Post by laverfan Sat Mar 03, 2012 2:16 pm

socal1976 wrote:His quote about how big serve tennis allows for more variety is laughable and shows someone who hasn't seen the inside of tennis court 30 years.

If I may ask, on another thread, you had mentioned that you play with Luxilon+Natural Gut like other Pros. What is your serve speed on Clay and Hard?

What percentage of Tennis do you play on Clay vs. non-Clay? SoCal does have quite a few clay courts in Orange County, Palm Springs, etc.

socal1976 wrote:And again he posits David Ferrer, how many grandslams has Ferrer won Bodo? how many masters? Big serve tennis that bodo is trumpeting was widely dismissed a decade or more ago and the courts were slowed down for a reason.

Neither has Karlovic or Isner or Olivetti. Tanner and Roddick are the only ones that immediately come to mind. This 'fear' of big serves on fast courts is rather unjustified, IMVHO.


socal1976 wrote:This article is so fraught with logical inconsistency and the part where Bodo the Bozo claims Fed should sue the ITF for tampering his career basically sums up his loyalties and logic. Really, Roger is the only player in history who is required to play on specifically the conditions and technology that suit him? NO MENTION AS USUAL BY BOZO THAT THE COURTS WERE ACTUALLY SLOWED DOWN WAY BEFORE ROGER WON A SINGLE SLAM. During the fast court era hewitt was smoking him.

Are you criticizing

1. Bodo the Bozo, or,
2. ALL Federer fans on 606v2, or,
3. SOME Federer fans on 606v2, or,
4. Federer for winning slams, or,
5. ALL OF THE ABOVE (look I can shout too... Wink )

Please, may I suggest, less emotion, and more logic, is the better debating style. OK

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Post by laverfan Sat Mar 03, 2012 2:22 pm

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:
Ferrer Giraldo was boring as hell. I saw a bit before I turned to something more interesting like 606v2 Smile .Giraldo was serving 60-70mph second serves till I saw.

I watched Giraldo make one silly mistake at 30-30 5-6 and he paid the price. for it. Ferrer was really an error-fest last night. Giraldo should at least got a set of Ferrer.

Verdasco played some brilliant tennis to take out Wawrinka. He leads 6-3 in h2h against Ferrer on Clay. It would be a welcome sight to see him get back up in the rankings, another 28+ year old back to #18 right now. Wink

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Post by hawkeye Sat Mar 03, 2012 3:04 pm

Jeremy_Kyle wrote:
hawkeye wrote:
The idea that Federer is as good on slower surfaces and in particular clay is stupid! He is great on faster surfaces...

I fixed it for you Hawk, as you sometimes make little spelling mistake......

Ha ha! Very funny...

Moderators please do something about this tampered "quote".

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Post by amritia3ee Sat Mar 03, 2012 3:21 pm

laverfan wrote:Yet another Fedal bash. 606v2 Doh

Did anyone watch Ferrer-Giraldo or Verdasco-Wawrinka in Acapulco? Laugh

99% sure everyone was watching Federer-Del Potro or Murray-Djokovic.

Right Socal? Amritia3ee? Laugh

Firstly I don't see why you are randomly insult me from time to time. Why take my name again and again, there are plenty of other posters on v2 Ok!

Secondly yes I have been following Acapulco of course. Looking forward to a all Spanish final, ferrer should win in straights.

Thirdly are you forgetting something... I came first in MTL Suicide game last year, did I not. I played in every tournament bar 1 last year, I accumulated the most points in the smaller tournaments compared to the other 50 posters, so don't insult me about not following smaller tournaments. Perhaps you can find someone else to make jibes at in future thumbsup
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Post by LuvSports! Sat Mar 03, 2012 3:28 pm

dude serious man lighten up!
just let it go!

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Post by socal1976 Sat Mar 03, 2012 5:24 pm

LuvSports! wrote:On a sidenote in malaysian Bodo means idiot!

That about sums up my views on this article and thread! excellent research and analysis and I can't add much more to it then that. Yes Roger sue the ITF for the conditions that you won 16 slams on, pretty funny.

The strawman argument that bogbrush denounces is a real possibility for every single wimbeldon with faster conditions. The ultimate strawman argument is Bodo's throwing out of david Ferrer being what every player will become is the ultimate strawman argument. David Ferrer can't be that common of an occurrence on the tour whenever a fast court proponent picks someone out for playing grinder style they go to Ferrer.

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Post by socal1976 Sat Mar 03, 2012 5:32 pm

Laverfan to your questions, I have no idea what my serve speed is and I rarely play clay. I unfortunately have never gunned myself. I am not a big server, hit maybe and ace a set on average. Usually a good wide serve to the righties forehand, the ace that requires the least miles per hour. I am a very consistent server however with a very difficult second serve to attack. Unfortunately, too short for a really big serve.

Who I am criticizing in this thread is clear, it is clearly Bozo. I have no critique of Roger, greatest champion of the modern era. Most fed fans on this forum are quite reasonable I even enjoy occassional back and forths with fed extremists. Who are a distinct subset of fed fans on this site. They can spice things up with some of their wild pronouncements.

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Post by LuvSports! Sat Mar 03, 2012 6:32 pm

socal i have several good malaysian mates at uni and now and again when i beat my mate at fifa he called be bodo but i found it out! but he just uses other malay words :P. Still beat him at fifa though.

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Post by socal1976 Sat Mar 03, 2012 6:48 pm

Well that pretty much sums up the above article for me luvsports. Not much to it frankly. Work on your fifa.

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Post by laverfan Sat Mar 03, 2012 8:09 pm

socal1976 wrote:Laverfan to your questions, I have no idea what my serve speed is and I rarely play clay. I unfortunately have never gunned myself. I am not a big server, hit maybe and ace a set on average. Usually a good wide serve to the righties forehand, the ace that requires the least miles per hour. I am a very consistent server however with a very difficult second serve to attack. Unfortunately, too short for a really big serve.

May I suggest that you find some clay courts and play a bit regularly to get a feel for it. Wink

socal1976 wrote:Who I am criticizing in this thread is clear, it is clearly Bozo. I have no critique of Roger, greatest champion of the modern era.

You can criticize Federer, too. None of these players have attained Sainthood, yet.

socal1976 wrote:Most fed fans on this forum are quite reasonable I even enjoy occassional back and forths with fed extremists. Who are a distinct subset of fed fans on this site. They can spice things up with some of their wild pronouncements.

My suggestion is to not lump all Federer fans in a single group and chastise them as a single class. thumbsup

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Post by Jahu Sat Mar 03, 2012 8:29 pm

This Bodo is my new hero. Thats the tennis I loved watching for last 25 years, not this 5 metres behind base line shootout cr@p.
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