[tennisbiz] Re: Cure for men's tennis

Mike,
I agree with you that tennis is (usually) not as much fun to watch as it
used to be. Many have suggested, like you, that allowing only one serve
would fix the problem. I think it may fix some of the problem. To see a
couple of great servers playing on a fast surface is boring.
But, I think it is also boring to watch 'ping-pong' tennis between
baseliners on a fast court.

Do you remember the moonballers Vilas, SoloMon Dibbs, etc. playing on
clay with the old type of rackets? That was boring, too.
I would like to lay much of the blame on whoever killed the clay-court
circuit in this country (probably some USTA bureaucrat?). With today's
equipment, I think clay court tennis can be the most interesting to
watch, if the players have grown up to play an all-court game.
That is the key; players who have learned to construct points by
intelligent use of a variety of shots and court strategies are fun to
watch. It requires patience and imagination, and it is fun to watch!

Kjell Petterson
 
Received on Fri May 11 2001 - 08:58:41 CDT