Remember the days of Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi, John Macinroe, Michael Chang, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graff.. etc etc? I couldn't even tell you who the top players in the game are today. Is it just me or has the popularity of tennis decreased dramatically in recent years? What happened to all the character players?
Borg v McEnroe in the early 80s has to be the best match I've ever seen.
Having said that Roger Federer is amazing right now and I'd put him up against these guys from the 80s and 90s. Nadal is another top guy today. The problem is tennis doesn't spawn the characters like it used to imo.
Seriously?
You've never heard of Roger Fedderer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova Justine Hennin (though she just retired)?
I've don't give a damn about tennis and I can still name you the top male and femal players, along with several of the also rans (Williams sisters).
Methinks you aren't paying enough attention.
Actually I believe the OP is sort of right.
Men's tennis has had a HUGE drop in popularity in the last 5-8 years. The only thing propping it up now is the Nadal-Fedderer rivalry. The reason? They are too good and it's no fun. No one wants to see 100 aces in a match because it is boring.
On the same token it is why women's tennis is arguably the main draw now. Lots of competition, talented players, lots of rallies. Way more fun to watch. That and the Russian women are often hot.
Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are always great battles when they play each other.
And these three all made it to the French Semis
We could be looking at a Federar/Nadal rematch from last years finals, or a Federar/Djokovic rematch from the last grand slam (Aussie Open)
Back to the OP. You have definately not been paying attention. Roger Federer is on the verge of breaking Pistol Pete's all time record for majors. If he wins this French, he could be regarded as the best all time (obviously debatable) if he retired after winning it
He'd have one less GS than Samprass, but Pete does not have the career grand slam like Roger does if he won this years French
Roger has the record for most consecutive weeks at #1, most consecutive grand slam final appearances, and I'm pretty sure a bunch of other records.
Tennis is doing fine. You just have to pay attention
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Exp:
Quote:
Originally Posted by flip
Actually I believe the OP is sort of right.
Men's tennis has had a HUGE drop in popularity in the last 5-8 years. The only thing propping it up now is the Nadal-Fedderer rivalry. The reason? They are too good and it's no fun. No one wants to see 100 aces in a match because it is boring.
On the same token it is why women's tennis is arguably the main draw now. Lots of competition, talented players, lots of rallies. Way more fun to watch. That and the Russian women are often hot.
When it comes to the popularity of the sport, I couldn't tell you either way.
My point was that if I can name you the top male and female athletes, that it doesn't take much effort to know who they are, and they are clearly pretty big names in the sporting world.
He said, the coudln't even name the top players, and I as someone who doesn't care in the least about tennis can. It just seems a bit odd to be making statements about the popularity of a game that you apparently don't follow in the least.
It's kinda like the thread about Tiger. He made a comment about the popularity of a sport that he doesn't follow and everyone was up in a huff about it. Same thing here.
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I should add to my OP... yes, Federer and Nadal are amazing players but other than those two, in the last few years.. theres nothing that draws me into watching tennis like i used to in the past. Maybe its just me..
I should add to my OP... yes, Federer and Nadal are amazing players but other than those two, in the last few years.. theres nothing that draws me into watching tennis like i used to in the past. Maybe its just me..
So you're saying you can name the top tennis players in the game
I used to watch a lot of tennis, but haven't in a long time... I'll bet it's less popular in the US these days (and thus, Canada by default) because there are not as many good US players anymore. Roddick and Blake came along, but it's mostly just Federer and Nadal. Before, you had Agassi, Sampras, Courier, Chang, McEnroe, etc. Lots of drama, lots of epic battles manufactured by the US hype machine, but not anymore...
If you're a sports fan and you watch sports highlights, its kinda hard not to notice someone like Federer and Nadal.. who dominate their sport.
tvp2003 hit the nail on the head about what I'm talking about. I remember when tennis drew alot of media and press and prime time sports talk. Now its not mentioned hardly as much. There are no North American players who we can really relate to much like in the past. If there was a young rising star from North America.. then maybe I would get back into it. I miss the Edberg/Becker rivalries. Or the John Macinroe games and commentary. I remember staying up late at night cheering on Michael Chang in the US Open. Todays game is not only lacking stars but character players who draw you into the sport. Today, the only tennis I really see is Maria Sharapova pictures.. but thats for another topic.
Hasn't that always been the claim since McEnroe and Connors in their heyday? Suree, Agassi rocked the mullet and such. But Sampras was never a charismatic guy. Chnag was a nice quiet guy wo was fun to watch, but he didn't really ooze charisma either. The less saud about Courier the better.
Federer/Nadal seems like a good substitute for Edberg/Becker these days, though I admittedly miss serve and voleey style of tennis. And there is also Djokovic, who has a good sense of humor and is right up there with the other two for any given tournament.
I dunno - I'm enjoying watching the greatest player of the last 50 years in the prime of his career myself.
Less interest in men's tennis because of
1) the game isn't as exciting anymore. With the advances in technology and training, the guys just end up at the baseline hammering the ball at one another.
2) the influx of drop dead gorgeous women players.
I'd say there is a larger interest in women's tennis though...
"Federer v. Nadal III: The Dance in France" is set for Sunday for the French Open Title.
Should be another great match between the two. Personally, I'm hoping for Federer to take it and cement his name as the greatest ever. Realistically, I'm not so sure he can pull it off. I really just want to watch an awesome match regardless the outcome. That on top of watching Ana Ivanovic tomorrow, it makes a great weekend of tennis!
"Federer v. Nadal III: The Dance in France" is set for Sunday for the French Open Title.
Should be another great match between the two. Personally, I'm hoping for Federer to take it and cement his name as the greatest ever. Realistically, I'm not so sure he can pull it off. I really just want to watch an awesome match regardless the outcome. That on top of watching Ana Ivanovic tomorrow, it makes a great weekend of tennis!
It'll be a great match for sure. I'm a huge fan of Federer, but even my homerism can't pick him over Nadal. I think Nadal is like 7-1 against Rog on clay...
What happened to Tennis?
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