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Originally Posted by RendeR
How do you figure this? Service game for men has always been about power. The big hitters do far better than the spin masters. Its been that way throughout history. Every innovation of ball and racket and even the line-calling systems has simply led to this being more pointed.
Strategy is still a large part of it based on placement, how much/little spin to apply to the serve, what to do after the serve, do you come in and serve/volley or do you sit back and see if they can return it?
I'm interested to hear your take on it.
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Who plays a serve/volley style anymore, especially on the men's side? I'll go one step further than rkmsuf and say that equipment has affected the return game just as much as the service game. One reason you don't see players serve and volley anymore is that almost every serve can be returned faster than the player can get to the net, and that has as much to do with the speed as the serve as it does with the ability of today's player's to return serve.
As for spin, anymore you really only see that make a difference on second services when players have to compensate for letting up on power. But I don't know anyone on the men's tour who has a slice serve like McEnroe. Everyone just blasts away. The only strategy on serve essentially becomes power and placement.
I think the point is that the power of today's game has almost completely eliminated any semblance of a net game. Case in point -- watch Wimbledon this week and watch the courts compared to 20 years ago. Once upon a time, the area around the net would be just as worn as the baseline. Today, the baseline is bare and the net area is pristine. No one is playing at the net, even on the women's side.
There is no way to slice it that strategy has reduce as power has increased. As power increases, strategy decreases. In making a comparison to baseball, if I have a 90-mph fastball I have to be very careful with the strategy of where I throw it. If I can throw a 100-mph fastball, location isn't nearly as important.
Some say that's fine, because that means there is a greater emphasis on execution. But I think tennis 10 years ago was more enjoyable to watch than it is now.
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Originally Posted by Karlifornia
Tennis is ridiculously fun to play....not so fun to watch. Probably my number 1 sport I've ever had the pleasure of playing.
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I think tennis is a great sport to watch, just not in its present form. I have always found women's tennis to be more enjoyable than men's tennis, and I think the speed of the game is a part of that.
But I don't there is any doubt that tennis' struggles have more to do with a lack of personalities and a lack of American talent. Tennis is doing just fine in most places around the world, and it's probably more popular in some places than it's ever been. But the U.S. hasn't had a top tier men's player since Sampras and Agassi left and our two best women players don't have the drive. Sure, Tiger doesn't play every week but Tiger plays enough to make sure he's still the No. 1 player in the world. Venus and Serena have never really cared about being No. 1 as the cared about Grand Slams. That hurts.
To end my novel, tennis is struggling with the next generation but it has nothing to do with scoring. Yeah, tennis is scoring is odd but not so much as football. Why not streamline football scoring by eliminating field goals and just give teams one point for a TD?