Thoughts about Tennis Tradition...

[don_budge]

I like this clip...all of it...even though it's fractured stuff. Plus we get a gorgeous look at the Gonzales serve in slow motion at 2:27...and from an unusual angle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nd7YqmMyDg

Also, here is an instructional video on the one-handed backhand by Arthur Ashe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I16WkSFetfg

Stotty

Dear Stotty...

Thank you so much for the honor of your posting on "Traditional Thoughts". That video of Richard Gonzales and Rod Laver is simply the best that I have ever seen. Watching those two raw and extraordinary artist duel back and forth with their wooden racquets was a sheer pleasure to watch. It was amazing how Laver "worked" that ball with spin. Its easy to see how he was thought to be an innovator at the time. Its easy to see how the Great John McEnroe would think of his as his idol.

How about that Richard Gonzales? Any questions as to why he is my model tennis player in my teaching paradigm? God Bless you Brother...thanks again. Your Friend...Steve

[stotty]

I like this clip...all of it...even though it's fractured stuff. Plus we get a gorgeous look at the Gonzales serve in slow motion at 2:27...and from an unusual angle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nd7YqmMyDg

Also, here is an instructional video on the one-handed backhand by Arthur Ashe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I16WkSFetfg

Stotty

[don_budge]

The Individual...

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. To be your own man is hard business. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.": Rudyard Kipling (1865--1936)

No price is too high to pay.

[don_budge]

Gordie Howe..."never refused an autograph".

Gordie Howe...they broke the mold with men like him. When sports was about loyalty, dedication and team. The money was secondary. One of the last of the traditional legends. A great athlete and a really, really fine gentleman.

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/columnists/jeff-seidel/2016/06/15/gordie-howe-funeral-jeff-seidel/85953820/

[don_budge]

Gordie Howe passes at 88...in Toledo, Ohio

Gordie Howe passed away yesterday in the city where I was born...where my parents were born. Toledo, Ohio.

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nhl/red-wings/2016/06/10/gordie-howe-obituary/70049812/

I used to watch the Detroit Red Wings as a boy and Gordie Howe was the man. My father who is also 88, used to take me down once in a while to the old Olympia to see the Wings play. He will always be the man...a sports hero from an era when sports were really sports. He was a man when men used to be men. What a man...rest in peace Gordie Howe.

A real man who knew the score...

Once, at a dinner, Gordie was talking in his usual, self-deprecating way when Colleen interrupted.

"Gordie, don't talk with your hands in front of your mouth," she said.

"Dear, don't give me orders," he responded. "People will get the wrong impression that you're the boss."

There was no acrimony in the exchange, just tenderness and a little irony. Their children said they still held hands in their 70s when they walked on the beach or attended a movie.

"It's been a mutual agreement, a partnership," Gordie said. "I married a strong lady who has been very, very good for me because there are a lot of departments where I know I lack."

[don_budge]

Victor Amaya versus Björn Borg...

I remember that match with Victor Amaya. Big old Victor…a protege of none other than Welby Van Horn was a great big left handed classic player. He had some beautiful strokes and a huge left handed serve. Was it five sets? I think that it was. Borg getting by the skin of his teeth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VteJVIjsCKg

It was five sets…6-3 in the fifth. A narrow escape for the iconic Swede. First round match in 1978.

[klacr]

Victor Amaya. Michigan man. A Wolverine. Stayed in the state to play at University of Michigan. Clearly a smart player as well with that decision. Go Blue!

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Analysis Corner: Arthur Ashe vs. Jimmy Connors for 1975

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39PiSwtUwoQ

Amazing revelation from Mats Wilander…his success story against Jimmy Connors.

The game plan…just stay alive until you get the ball low with no speed to Jimmy's forehand.

An interesting discussion of tactics from yesteryear. There were more than one way to skin a cat back in the days of Classic Tennis. The Modern Game is very one dimensional by comparison. Sooner or later tennis aficionados are going to wise up…or not. They are as dumbed down as the American political public. Dumber.

The game has devolved into a sort of cave man mentality. The big racquets…the dumbed down tactics. It's hard to believe for those not old enough to know any better. It's hard to believe for those old enough to know better. It is frankly…just hard to believe. But it's true. As sure as Donald Trump is going to be the Republican nominee for President of the United States of America…it is true.

The Borg interview was interesting. He felt the first two matches at Wimbledon we're critical to him being able to progress to win the tournament. The early rounds produced the lowest, shooting bounces you can imagine. I was there so I know this to be true. And when you think Borg used what would these days to be considered to be nothing other than a strong eastern grip, you have to wonder how strong semi-western gripped players would fair on truly fast grass. Borg was on the cusp of trouble himself back then but just had enough margin to squeeze through the early rounds. I doubt Nadal and Djokovic would stand a chance. The biggest part of their game would be removed.

But that's the game these days. Volleys and mild grips have been extracted out of the game never to be seen again. It can of course be reversed, but I doubt there is the will amongst the players or the organisers.

Another factor is players played in drizzle or light rain back then. Players couldn't run for cover at the first drop of rain as they do these days. Players had continue playing while the courts simply became ever slicker and slippery. But that was how it was, players simply had to find a way to cope. Tricky conditions like these greatly influenced matches and players had to use great guile to win. Borg had to defeat Victor Amaya in drizzle. How dreadfully difficult must that have been.

I cannot remember how these changes crept in over the years. When did it become unacceptable to play in drizzle? Many old enough will remember photos of Nastase playing with an umbrella at Queen's Club. Yes it was raining quite hard. I was there!
Someone how these things crept in...no play in drizzle...slave boys holding towels...trainers taping up minor grazes...trainers coming on for no reason....toilet breaks...nappy changes...entourages and hangers on. All this stuff got by me yet I cannot remember how and when.

I think if Federer remains in the game in some capacity after he retires then he might be able to influence playing surfaces. Once he no longer has a vested interest he may have the power to change things. In fact, he is probably the only one who can.

So basically what our good man from the grounds of the sacred Wimbledon is saying to you…the culture has been robbed. As sure as all of European culture is being robbed and ransacked.

I remember that match with Victor Amaya. Big old Victor…a protege of none other than Welby Van Horn was a great big left handed classic player. He had some beautiful strokes and a huge left handed serve. Was it five sets? I think that it was. Borg getting by the skin of his teeth. Victor was the high school champion of Michigan when I was a junior and senior in high school.

Federer? He will be nothing but another shill. His interests will always be vested in the sport that created his net worth. This thing has gone way too far for any corrective measures to be applied in any meaningful manner. klacr says it is a marathon not a sprint. Let's put it this way…not in your lifetime. Not in any of our lifetimes. This is a classic example of man interfering with the natural causes of things…and mucking it up in the process.

Short soft balls to the forehand…who would have thought?

[klacr]

I think it may be that it is more difficult to learn and master serve and volley. People start playing earlier nowadays, and little kids get no results playing serve and volley. The pressure to win matches and ranking occurs too soon, so that the baseline game brings more of a quick return for results.

It's a marathon, not a sprint.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[gzhpcu]

I think it may be that it is more difficult to learn and master serve and volley. People start playing earlier nowadays, and little kids get no results playing serve and volley. The pressure to win matches and ranking occurs too soon, so that the baseline game brings more of a quick return for results.

[stotty]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMULAeGo5nI

This isn't necessarily "Traditional Thoughts" but the question posed to Ivan Lendl at 1:20 of this video in 1989 is an existential one. Existential, that is, with regards to Classic Tennis. Listen to the questing and enjoy some tennis with Ivan Lendl and Thomas Muster. It's Mister Muster's comeback after a car accident.

It was a trade off back then. Bigger rackets helped volleys but had a habit of ballooning groundstrokes. These days that trade off no longer exists. Bigger rackets are good for both. Though it never ceases to amaze why volleyers today are so inferior to those of the past when they have vastly superior equipment. Are players today failing to take advantage of the biggest ACE in the pack?

[stotty]

Roger could be the deal breaker....

To see the best players in the world trying to navigate some slicked up grass with some standard-sized wooden racquets would be an all-time Classic in dreams as well. Should that happen I just might rest my case. That would be a real spectacle in futility. What a wonderful spectacle it would be to watch all of those great ATP forehands swatting futilely at balls down around their shoelaces. What kind of percentage play might that be?

Apparently Novak Djokovic took an old wooden racquet for a test drive and he was seen shaking his head wondering what became of his forehand.

The Borg interview was interesting. He felt the first two matches at Wimbledon we're critical to him being able to progress to win the tournament. The early rounds produced the lowest, shooting bounces you can imagine. I was there so I know this to be true. And when you think Borg used what would these days to be considered to be nothing other than a strong eastern grip, you have to wonder how strong semi-western gripped players would fair on truly fast grass. Borg was on the cusp of trouble himself back then but just had enough margin to squeeze through the early rounds. I doubt Nadal and Djokovic would stand a chance. The biggest part of their game would be removed.

But that's the game these days. Volleys and mild grips have been extracted out of the game never to be seen again. It can of course be reversed, but I doubt there is the will amongst the players or the organisers.

Another factor is players played in drizzle or light rain back then. Players couldn't run for cover at the first drop of rain as they do these days. Players had continue playing while the courts simply became ever slicker and slippery. But that was how it was, players simply had to find a way to cope. Tricky conditions like these greatly influenced matches and players had to use great guile to win. Borg had to defeat Victor Amaya in drizzle. How dreadfully difficult must that have been.

I cannot remember how these changes crept in over the years. When did it become unacceptable to play in drizzle? Many old enough will remember photos of Nastase playing with an umbrella at Queen's Club. Yes it was raining quite hard. I was there!
Someone how these things crept in...no play in drizzle...slave boys holding towels...trainers taping up minor grazes...trainers coming on for no reason....toilet breaks...nappy changes...entourages and hangers on. All this stuff got by me yet I cannot remember how and when.

I think if Federer remains in the game in some capacity after he retires then he might be able to influence playing surfaces. Once he no longer has a vested interest he may have the power to change things. In fact, he is probably the only one who can.

[don_budge]

The Modern Player in Classic Conditions...

What wonderful interviews, both of them. Interesting about the closing down of net and how much better players were at low volleys. Both players know how to "camp" over the net and make life difficult for opponents. While fundamentally Borg was a baseliner, he was no mug at the net either.

McEnroe's volleys were just incredible as Matts rightly points out. Craig O'Shannessy also states a fundamental reason why. McEnroe uses the shoulder more, as did most players back then. Today it's more about the elbow joint doing too much work....very dicey.

I liked the interview with Borg. He's a safe interview, isn't he? He's impeccably polite and friendly. And he's certainly far more talkative than in his youth.

I'd love to turn Wimbledon into a wooden racket event for just one year. I want to see how today's players would fair playing for the greatest title of all with wooden rackets. I guess my wish will never happen but it's fun to think about it.

It's great to have a real Wimbledon aficionado on the forum. A voice of reality. The reality is quite obvious…the players of yesterday would have a much easier time of it transitioning from the Classic Era conditions than vice versa. The Johnny Come Lately's would be like fish out of water trying to make heads or tails out of the all court game…because they never play in regions of the court other than the baseline unless they are forced to.

On the other hand the players in the Classic Era were more or less trained to play anywhere on the court. Even the classic serve and volleyer was expected to alter his tactics and game to play on the red clay at Rolland Garros.

To see the best players in the world trying to navigate some slicked up grass with some standard-sized wooden racquets would be an all-time Classic in dreams as well. Should that happen I just might rest my case. That would be a real spectacle in futility. What a wonderful spectacle it would be to watch all of those great ATP forehands swatting futilely at balls down around their shoelaces. What kind of percentage play might that be?

Apparently Novak Djokovic took an old wooden racquet for a test drive and he was seen shaking his head wondering what became of his forehand.

[don_budge]

One question remains…1989 Ivan Lendl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMULAeGo5nI

This isn't necessarily "Traditional Thoughts" but the question posed to Ivan Lendl at 1:20 of this video in 1989 is an existential one. Existential, that is, with regards to Classic Tennis. Listen to the questing and enjoy some tennis with Ivan Lendl and Thomas Muster. It's Mister Muster's comeback after a car accident.

[klacr]

Great Tennis!!!

I usually put the TV on mute when I watch. I supply my own commentary. My club members appreciate it.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton