Topic: Emotions, Games and Winning

[Babblelot]

I don't begrudge either Nadal or Djokovic. I'm just sayin' it's totally retarded to defend one and chastise the other. There's more to that story...

What other rules would you like to do away with while you're at it?

The ones no one enforces.

Don't you mean enforces consistently?
I saw both Rafa and Nole warned several times this past year and both players corrected their behavoir immediately.  wtf.

Your question asked, "other" rules. So my answer to that question severed to make a point as well. You ran back to Rafa and Nole; ask yourself "WTF?"

Silly boy!
You should know by now I'm too fat to run.
Don't go acting all tough now that you broke up a fight between some grade-schoolers!

Your saying 'no one enforces' is incorrect.
Your 'point' was nullified by the fact that the stall rule is enforced, though inconsistently.
How do you expect to progress to the next step of the 'discussion' if you can't even deal with the first?

OMG!!!        

That was funny x10!!!

[dmastous]

Oh, and as for no one enforcing the rules, it's probably because nobody has the cojones to actually default a top player for such a trivial thing as breaking the rules. They will warn them, but they never seem to take the next step and award a point to the opponent for continued stalling.
So, even though they are taking that first step (with a warning here and there), they haven't shown they have the strength to take it to it's ultimate conclusion, defaulting a top player for taking too much time between points.

Exactly, and by my definition, that's not enforcing the rule at all.

And when the do throw out the useless warnings, it's inconsistant. Nadal stalls all the time. Call him on it all the time, and he will adjust. What's so hard to figure out here?

[sid]

Novak is working on it......Nadal will never change, he is an animal of habits and many players and fans dislike it and righfully so!

Nadal control the tempo of his service games...which is the way it should be!

rules are rules,if you break them you should lose a point.Other wise whats the point in having rules? thats how i see it,a few tennis players take to long before thay serve.

[MistaLefty2u]

I like emothion, that is fine.  Fist pumping, smiling, smashing...whatever. 

What I DO NOT LIKE is unneeded breaks, delay tactics, complaining, yelling at line judges or opponent, and all of that crap.

There is a fine line that should not be crossed. 

I agree!!!

[yellowball]

I certainly am not a Djoker fan, but he did support Rafa with the charity event this year, so I'm sort of mellowing out on him right now. If he'd just stop the gorilla chest pounding and holding up the one finger as if he were #1, while staring at his opponent I'd appreciate him a bit more. IMHO Rafa's butt picking is even preferable to Nole's celebration. Rafa certainly celebrates some points but he seems to be celebrating while Nole seems to be demeaning the opponent. I like to watch Tsonga play too, but he has the same arrogant me, me, me attitude on court as Nole. Another not so attractive tact of Djoke is his act of being too tired to play... just can't go on, or injuries feigned etc.  ) -- waaaaaay too much gamesmanship for my taste.

Vamos, Rafa!

[sid]

Rafa's butt picking is even preferable to Nole's celebration

 

[BGT]

I love watching matches like that. Ones when we KNOW the players hate each other, like Sharapova vs Williams or Federer vs Djoke at MC this year or Hewitt vs any Argies. It just adds something to the atmosphere.

[Clay Death]

Rafa's butt picking is even preferable to Nole's celebration

 

he never picks his butt. get your facts straight old sport.

[yellowball]

Rafa's butt picking is even preferable to Nole's celebration

 

he never picks his butt. get your facts straight old sport.

Right, Rafa doesn't pick his butt (even tho' I've been guilty of saying that). Rafa gently removes a wedgie or two... that's not butt picking and he removed wedgies even as a little boy, so underwear has never been his friend. 

[dmastous]

I've been watching some of the Australian Open matches the last few days, and I can't help but notice the differences in the old guard and the newer players.
Though it's not universal for either, it seems as if the newer players (Monfils, Tsonga, Murray etc) are always reacting to results good or bad, whether they hit a good shot or bad shot. It doesn't matter. They have no patience for their opponent actually hitting a winner, or in fact losing a point.
This was most clear to me watching two matches; Murray/Verdasco, and Blake/Tsonga. With Tsonga, if he lost a point he was seen to be whining and angry at having lost the point. It didn't matter whether he lost on a winner from Blake, or from an unforced error off his racquet. Each point was an emotional high or low. Even when he lost a point off an amazing shot, or series of shots from Blake, Tsonga acted as if it was the end of the world. He was celebrating every point won, even if it was an error off Blake's racquet.
Murray doesn't do as much celebrating as Tsonga, but he matches him in the whining department and then some. Yelling at himself or his coach when things don't go his way.
These guys are basically spoiled brats.
From my perspective there is just no reason for any of these histrionics. I have no problem with players celebrating good shots when they hit them, or momentous points in a match. Or getting on themselves when the hit a poor shot, or make a bad decision. Emotions are a part of tennis. But I think these guys go too far. Too many highs, and too many lows. They are all over the map emotionally, and it's tiring just watching them.

[wilsonboy]

I've been watching some of the Australian Open matches the last few days, and I can't help but notice the differences in the old guard and the newer players.
Though it's not universal for either, it seems as if the newer players (Monfils, Tsonga, Murray etc) are always reacting to results good or bad, whether they hit a good shot or bad shot. It doesn't matter. They have no patience for their opponent actually hitting a winner, or in fact losing a point.
This was most clear to me watching two matches; Murray/Verdasco, and Blake/Tsonga. With Tsonga, if he lost a point he was seen to be whining and angry at having lost the point. It didn't matter whether he lost on a winner from Blake, or from an unforced error off his racquet. Each point was an emotional high or low. Even when he lost a point off an amazing shot, or series of shots from Blake, Tsonga acted as if it was the end of the world. He was celebrating every point won, even if it was an error off Blake's racquet.
Murray doesn't do as much celebrating as Tsonga, but he matches him in the whining department and then some. Yelling at himself or his coach when things don't go his way.
These guys are basically spoiled brats.
From my perspective there is just no reason for any of these histrionics. I have no problem with players celebrating good shots when they hit them, or momentous points in a match. Or getting on themselves when the hit a poor shot, or make a bad decision. Emotions are a part of tennis. But I think these guys go too far. Too many highs, and too many lows. They are all over the map emotionally, and it's tiring just watching them.

Don't you recall Federer being a hot-head at one point?
I think it's just a matter of youth. As you get older, it calms down a bit... Serena's clamed down compared to when she first hit the scene...Hewitt calmed down....Even Safin doesn't bust out like he used to. I think Agassi did too.
I think that eventually, they'll tone it down a notch because they'll understand the concept of controlled mental toughness.