6 Kings Slam

[stroke]

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/six-kings-slam-live-score-stream-djokovic-sinner-alcaraz-b2846443.html

Nice 1.5 million payout for 1 hour on court for Tsitsipas and Zverev.

[don_budge]

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...-b2846443.html

Nice 1.5 million payout for 1 hour on court for Tsitsipas and Zverev.

What do you think? Is this a good look for the game? This is a money grab. It's all business now. A "Big Time Wrestling" look with no disguise. Didn't Djokovic, Sinner and Alcaraz all have health issues lately? 1.5 million appearance fees for all six players and 4.5 million payout to the winner. Something doesn't smell good here.

[stroke]

Not a good look imo, but I would take it too. The money, ATP wise, just keeps growing, even with the WTA boat anchor/subsides. Alcaraz just routined Fritz in the "semis", and Fritz played very well. Alcaraz to me is morphing into some kind of scary combo of Fed and Nadal.

[jimlosaltos]

Alcaraz defended Six Kings because it's mentally less stressful and he needed time away from the ATP grind. Different take.

Zverev and Tsitisipas "earned" $1.3 Million each for quickly losing. Or in other terms, since someone else did the math, Zverev earned $431 for every second he spent on court.

It took a while for me to figure out what this image reminded me of. "White Walker" monsters from "North of the Wall" in Game of Thrones.

filedata/fetch?id=108481&d=1760640659&type=thumb

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[stroke]

Alcaraz defended Six Kings because it's mentally less stressful and he needed time away from the ATP grind. Different take.

Zverev and Tsitisipas "earned" $1.3 Million each for quickly losing. Or in other terms, since someone else did the math, Zverev earned $431 for every second he spent on court.

It took a while for me to figure out what this image reminded me of. "White Walker" monsters from "North of the Wall" in Game of Thrones.

filedata/fetch?id=108481&d=1760640659&type=thumb

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I disagree Jim. I think Carlos just could not turn down this "no brainer". Nothing to do with "time away from ATP grind".

[jimlosaltos]

I disagree Jim. I think Carlos just could not turn down this "no brainer". Nothing to do with "time away from ATP grind".

Hey, I'm just relating what he said! And i don't criticize them either. The whole LIV Golf, Six Kings reality distortion field.

[stroke]

Zverev is a poster child to me of a player that has just not getting any better at all. When he was first on tour, with his ball striking off both sides, particularly the bh, I thought he could win a Major or 2. Obviously never going to happen. All the great players evolve, tweat their games. Alex has not done that at all. Tsitsipas, Rublev, Khachanov, the same.

[stroke]

Sinner routines Novak at 6 Kings Slam/sham

[jimlosaltos]

Zverev is a poster child to me of a player that has just not getting any better at all. When he was first on tour, with his ball striking off both sides, particularly the bh, I thought he could win a Major or 2. Obviously never going to happen. All the great players evolve, tweat their games. Alex has not done that at all. Tsitsipas, Rublev, Khachanov, the same.

True. Also, we'll never know what he might have done if he hadn't experienced that gruesome injury vs Rafa in their Roland Garros semifinal. Zverev was giving Rafa all he could handle at (had to look it up) 7-6(8), 6-6.

Zverev lost nearly 2 years right when he was at this peak. In took a long time after he returned to the tour before he was competitive again. I'm not a big fan of him or his game but it's a shame.

[stotty]

Zverev is a poster child to me of a player that has just not getting any better at all. When he was first on tour, with his ball striking off both sides, particularly the bh, I thought he could win a Major or 2. Obviously never going to happen. All the great players evolve, tweat their games. Alex has not done that at all. Tsitsipas, Rublev, Khachanov, the same.

Very true. The vast majority of great players tweaked and beefed up their games to combat threats and an ever improving field. It’s a natural process among great players that dates back as far as the game itself. The only one really great player who hardly changed his game one iota in my memory was Connors. He peaked in the mid 70s and, despite a long career, never really seemed to develop any part of his game or improve much—except perhaps as a match player.

[stroke]

Very true. The vast majority of great players tweaked and beefed up their games to combat threats and an ever improving field. It’s a natural process among great players that dates back as far as the game itself. The only one really great player who hardly changed his game one iota in my memory was Connors. He peaked in the mid 70s and, despite a long career, never really seemed to develop any part of his game or improve much—except perhaps as a match player.

McEnroe added nothing either, but with his hands, which are still the best ever to me, why bother.

[stotty]

McEnroe added nothing either, but with his hands, which are still the best ever to me, why bother.

I take a different view with McEnroe. His improvement from 1979 onwards was more nuanced. His serve became more precise and he learnt to use it with great skill. His whole game gradually became more precise, and he became highly skilled in use of court geometry. He just naturally got better and better and never had to make any significant adjustments to his shots because he remained largely unchallenged right up until his peak in 1984. His 8 month hiatus was fatal because he was never the same again and the game had moved into the ''bigger hitting'' phase (Becker, Lendl) which he couldn’t live with after his return. That hiatus affected his serve and he was less sharp around the net. He was never the same again.

But, in short, yes, no technical evolution was necessary during his 5 year zenith. Change only happens if it’s forced.

And, yes, the best hands and feel ever. I just loved those cradled drop volleys.

[stroke]

Wilander had a quote about Mac on the Senior Tour I always remember, "he makes you feel real stupid out there ". Even in his late 50's, his game was exquisite. His continental grip game really aged well, and his drop shots on Senior Tour were obviously even more impactful. He was probably the first player I remember implementing the modern sidespin backhand slice. I think JY mentioned something about that in one of his Modern Slice Backhand pieces.

[stroke]

Novak retires after 1st set tiebreaker vs Fritz, which he lost. Unclear on the exact physical issue.

[jimlosaltos]

I take a different view with McEnroe. His improvement from 1979 onwards was more nuanced. His serve became more precise and he learnt to use it with great skill. His whole game gradually became more precise, and he became highly skilled in use of court geometry. He just naturally got better and better and never had to make any significant adjustments to his shots because he remained largely unchallenged right up until his peak in 1984. His 8 month hiatus was fatal because he was never the same again and the game had moved into the ''bigger hitting'' phase (Becker, Lendl) which he couldn’t live with after his return. That hiatus affected his serve and he was less sharp around the net. He was never the same again.

But, in short, yes, no technical evolution was necessary during his 5 year zenith. Change only happens if it’s forced.

And, yes, the best hands and feel ever. I just loved those cradled drop volleys.

As I vaguely remember, McEnroe also experimented with extremely low string tension later in his career, in part to get more "stick" on his volley.