Under The Microscope And Dirt You Shall Find

I tend to think that some tennis fans out there see a tennis player of their dislike and think 'hmmmmm that wasn't a good shot he/she is rubbish, or look he/she called an MTO....again, or I can't believe he/she said that...disgrace' Then type type type, lets blow this out of the water and get the annoyed responses I know it can generate. You get the picture.

Sometimes yes players will play some dreadful shots, but sometimes they will play outstanding shots. Which is treated with 'That's the shot we expect' but sometimes they will chuck a bad shot in and this is to be expected as much as a good one.

Players will call MTO's. Players will feel pain and hurt or even just mental fatigue, which by and large can affect players physically. Call it tactical if you want. I know they have the change of ends to re-group. Till there is a change of how these are called, we can only accept them when players call them. Some players can play through without these and some can't.

Players will speak their minds in press conferences. Sometimes we might agree and sometimes we might not agree with what is said. Circumstances often play such a vital role in what is said on and off court. Some players may say things on court that fans don't like. Stature often is something alluded to with how players behave.

My point is this. Yes women grunt on court. Yes Murray swears at himself on court. Yes Roger will often point to certain factors that cause him to lose a match. Yes Serena will get irrate and have an outburst. Rafa will call an MTO.

This doesn't change the great matches Women can play. This doesn't change that Murray plays well and as does his opponents. Roger will lose a match by hook or crook. Serena will lose in a GS final to a better player on the day. Rafa will look fresh as a daisy after an MTO.

Please salute the athletes who grace the game, for whom without would not allow us to debate.

legendkillar wrote:Yes women grunt on court....

This doesn't change the great matches Women can play.

I agree with your sentiments - I'll just pick a bone with these two though. I'll assume for present purposes that grunting does not affect the matches - although we don't know if it is a way of unfairly disrupting an opponent since there are opposing views. What grunting undeniably does is affect the enjoyment of many who watch. I have tried to watch several womens' matches live and have found the noise made by some players an unbearable distraction. At least you can vary the volume with a TV. If a large number of potential WTA spectators are like me and are being put off by the noise then the WTA have to decide whether they want to attract those extra potential customers or not (and they are well below the ATP in the money that they generate). It's their game and their choice. I can't bear the noise - the likes of Sharapova, Venus, de Brito, and Azarenka are immediate turn-offs for me but if the WTA and enough of the hardcore fans like it - good luck to them. I think that they are mad for not doing something about it.

It's something that I can't see changing though barry. It is at times an inconvenience, but if your watching an enjoyable match, it can be something that is put to the back of one's mind.

legendkillar wrote:It's something that I can't see changing though barry. It is at times an inconvenience, but if your watching an enjoyable match, it can be something that is put to the back of one's mind.

That's the problem - matches usually take time to warm up so you have to endure screeching through the opening exchanges, and sometimes a fair amount of dross, before the match gets going. I can't hack it that long - I remember struggling through the Venus vs. Sharapova Wimbledon SF in 2005 and they both started hitting harder and screaming louder as the denoument approached. Much as I am sure that they wanted their increasing decibels to register with their opponents, they registered with this viewer. It may be that there won't be change - the WTA can't expect to get any real custom from the likes of me then, and I guess everyone's happy.

I would salute players who deserved it; i.e no cheating, not making the game look bad in
general (such as grunting and petulant behaviour), definitely no celebrating an opponent's error
and absolutely NO BORING MOONBALLING!

Sorry Leg but if the players are good enough to abuse rules and etiquette then they are good enough
to take the criticism that often follows it, we shouldn't accept players who generally like to make the
game look bad and disrupt their opponent's rhythm; my opinion will change on such players if they
are willing to change their attitude to the etiquette and respect their opponent..