There is precedence for this debate: alloy bats are outlawed from professional baseball at all levels.
There are definitely pros and cons.
Pros:
> regardless of the sport, we all love power
> it allows players to hit freakish shots from anywhere on the court
> it allows players to generate an insane amount of spin
> at times, the transition from a defensive position to that of offense is seemless
> sometimes, it makes women's tennis watchable
Cons:
> creates the likes of Roddick, Karlovic and Ivanisevic
> point construction always begins, and is nearly as likely to end, at the baseline
> players have a more limited repertoire due to all of the above
> no one serves and volleys today (
a debate in itself as to whether that's a pro or con, but it once was another weapon)
> does it have anything to do with kittens' thread about Murray, Berdych, Gasquet and Baghdatis?
Well their results here:
Murray-1st round
Baghdatis-3rd round
Gasquet-likely 4th round
Berdych-barring miracle 4th round
Not too bad for the latter 3 I guess, not really a breakthrough either though.
Gasquet gone in 4th. And Berdych gets Fed in 4th
None will likely reach QF..... Impressive!!!!!!!
It is like that long post I pasted regarding the current field. When talking about depth you can talk about "potential" of these younger players all you want, but how often does potential manifest itself into real depth.
Nadal has established himself, to a lesser extent Djokovic too, these others have proven squat, up to now they are just the hype machine and little else.
People are reduced to bringing up the most mundane achievements, for example Berdych beating Federer in the Olympics, as if anyone really cares about the Olympics and he got spanked next round anyway. Or Berdych winning the Paris Masters, well none of the top 5 even played there. For Gasquet they mention his beating Roddick at Wimbledon, ok that was a big win but it was his only big win ever at a grand slam, and his only time past the quarters being in the semis there, it takes more then one result like that. For Murray they bring up his win over a worn down Federer in Cincinnati which is really sinking. For Baghdatis they bring up his run to the final at the Australian Open, that was nice but it was almost two years ago now, and even if he hasnt yet been past the quarters of a hard court slam it still must be noted Nadal wasnt entered given that he owns Baghdatis up to now, evne on hard courts, and would have been in that half.
What you say?
