re: Unofficial 2017 Australian Open Thread.

The 2 upsets to me that are as big

George Bastle beating Pistol Pete Wimbledon in 02

Chang beating Edberg and Lendl, I hate Chang to this day for that last one.

But last night may end up being bigger as Sampras was on way out and this guy is a wildcard beating Joker in his prime

You know my fandom and basically man-love for Pete, when I saw him not on Center Court you knew it was over and I was pissed.


That is why I think the run at the last US Open was so special it was a Connors and Aggasi like comeback with the ultimate American tennis pro doing it.


Pete Sampras is probably the reason I complain about the Slams slowing down these days. To me watching the serve volley guy who had a return that could eat you up was something special. He was an assassin once he got you down 15-30/40 on your serve.

Probably to create longer points.

By the way, the court on Rod Laver doesn't look fast at all. There's no way to tell for sure on TV, but the Joker match going 5 hours is a likely sign. It had the same feel as the Stan-Novak 2015 FO final.

Initially it was to create rallies

When Wimbledon went to heavier balls and longer grass it was the death of styles making matches. It was lets see who has best rally. They (WTA ATP) believed that people watched the rallies not the stars.

Bobby Ray used to spout in the Slam threads that that game is long gone the guys cant play that anymore.

Yes they can but give them a chance to play it do not let surfaces and balls solely dictate what style tennis you are going to play.

Bunk, I would love to see if they could make a tourney a wood racquet tourney. That to me would be fun to watch. Johnny Mac said during the Joker match he was the last man to win a slam using a wood racquet.

So, they did it all on their own, and it wasn't driven by the public or the players at all? Seems like a dumb move, but yeah I get the whole... longer matches = longer days = more ticket sales and tv time.

I guess they've reached a point where they can't go back now. The only way to shorten matches will be to change to 3 sets at majors, which would suck.

As has been mentioned previously string technology has changed the game just as much. I currently have my racquet strung with solinco tour bite (a poly). The amount of spin it puts on the ball is almost unbelievable. You can really unload on groundstrokes without fear of hitting long. Thus you see the pros mostly just staying back and exchanging massive groundstrokes point after point.

It's as stiff as a board. String at 55 or less. It puts even more spin than RPM Blast (Babolats best poly)

Eta I think Luxilon is the most popular brand on tour.

berdych-federer
sock-tsonga
murray-querrey

bout to be such a night

Well, you have the ATP tour on Penn, I think, then Wilson/USO, Slazenger/Wimby, Dunlop/RG. I heard RG really doctored their ball a few years ago. Has to be frustrating for the players with those changes.

I think Solinco is big with the non-Luxilon and non-Babolat guys. Pretty sure Americans like Stevie, Querrey, and Ram are playing with it. Not sure which one. Tour Bite, I guess. I've never used it. The only poly I've ever really tied are Weiscannon Silverstring and Signum Pro Poly Plasma, because I read that they maintain tension well, unlike most poly that is blown out after a few hours. Stuff does hurt my arm. I'm surprised there aren't more arm injuries on the men's tour.