now you gotta be big to make it in women's tennis?

[gh]

Aussie writer thinks so


http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/st ... 22,00.html

[nevetsllim]

Yes, I agree. The pendulum in women's tennis in recent years has swung towards power-aspect and unless you have a super all-round game, great determination and didn't rely solely on power, like Justine Henin , you are likely to struggle in the higher eschelons of women's tennis.

Out of the current top-10, Agnieszka Radwanska has one of the best all-round games and has been compared to Martina Hingis because of her fantastic touch of the ball, but her groundstrokes aren't too strong and her second serve is terrible and even though her game is hard to break down, it can be easily over-powered, as Venus and Serena demonstrated at the USO and Wimbledon respectively.

However, the best scenario is to have a big serve and big groundstrokes, as well as a good all-round game, which is why the Williams sisters are always such a mountain to overcome when it comes to the Grand Slams and when it comes to the AO next week, I cannot see anyone who will pose a threat to them, particularly with Sharapova sidelined and the Serbians not doing well.

[paulthefan]

is it me or are the men getting bigger as well.

[Per Andersen]

However, the best scenario is to have a big serve and big groundstrokes, as well as a good all-round game, which is why the Williams sisters are always such a mountain to overcome when it comes to the Grand Slams and when it comes to the AO next week, I cannot see anyone who will pose a threat to them, particularly with Sharapova sidelined and the Serbians not doing well.

Maybe Safina. She's pretty big too. 1.88. I suppose Dementieva will make semifinals again and then we will go through the usual serving anguish. It really pains me to witness that.

I like Caroline Wosniacki of Denmark, but probably too much of a baseliner.

On the men's side. Is Andy Murray for real? Right now he owns Fed and toys with Roddick. We will see at Melbourne Park.

[nevetsllim]

However, the best scenario is to have a big serve and big groundstrokes, as well as a good all-round game, which is why the Williams sisters are always such a mountain to overcome when it comes to the Grand Slams and when it comes to the AO next week, I cannot see anyone who will pose a threat to them, particularly with Sharapova sidelined and the Serbians not doing well.

Maybe Safina. She's pretty big too. 1.88. I suppose Dementieva will make semifinals again and then we will go through the usual serving anguish. It really pains me to witness that.

I like Caroline Wosniacki of Denmark, but probably too much of a baseliner.

On the men's side. Is Andy Murray for real? Right now he owns Fed and toys with Roddick. We will see at Melbourne Park.

Safina and Dementieva don't have very good records at the AO - Safina has never got past the 3rd round and Dementieva has never got past the 4th round but Dementieva has been playing really well, and hasn't lost a set this year. I find Safina rather boring to watch but I enjoy Dementieva's compact base-line game.

It's Murray all the way for me on the men's side. He's now beaten Federer five times in the past 12 twelve months and he just seems to have got under his skin a lot and he's just so hard to hit a winner against because he's got this great ability to run everything down and take everything on the run but I guess playing two or three sets in Doha is different to playing four/five sets at the AO, where it will be much warmer.

[cullman]

is it me or are the men getting bigger as well.

Tennis is finally attracting bigger and better athletes. The men and women are becoming comparable to elite level volleyballers in terms of size and athletic ability.

Out of date coaching dogma (in most countries except Canada) is being replaced with more technically and tactically sound method.

Andy Murray is for real but has to peak for the majors and not the week before. Murray has a high tennis IQ when he's not distracted or out of condition. I would love to see Dementieva win the AO but I'm more tired of her mental breakdowns than her service problems.

cman

[nevetsllim]

is it me or are the men getting bigger as well.

Tennis is finally attracting bigger and better athletes. The men and women are becoming comparable to elite level volleyballers in terms of size and athletic ability.

Out of date coaching dogma (in most countries except Canada) is being replaced with more technically and tactically sound method.

Andy Murray is for real but has to peak for the majors and not the week before. Murray has a high tennis IQ when he's not distracted or out of condition. I would love to see Dementieva win the AO but I'm more tired of her mental breakdowns than her service problems.

cman

I would rather Vee won the AO - it's criminal that she hasn't won this title yet but if she plays like she did at the Year End Champs in Doha or during some points of the indoor season last year, she will be very difficult to beat but she does blow hot and cold. At the Hong Kong exhibiton last year, she beat Sharapova in the final but played really poorly at the AO. She won Hong Kong again and it sounded pretty impressive, where she beat Jankovic, Chakvetadze and Zvonareva in straight-sets.

But I have to say women's tennis is a bit rubbish at the moment

[eldrick]

i have little doubt venus had <50s potential & serena <11/<22, but why train to earn a pittance in athletics when you can make $10 million/year from tennis ?

[nevetsllim]

Well Ivanovic is making a real hash of her first round match against Goerges. Her ball toss is Dementieva-esque on a bad day!

Now the draws are out, I'm predicting a Jankovic v. Venus final but I'm more interested in the men's tournament. I think on paper that a Federer v. Murray final seems likely but I wouldn't be surprised if neither makes it to the final, and I truly believe that Monfils could get to the final. He's due to face Nadal in the QF and he beat him in Doha recently, and can match him from the baseline, and he's capable of challenging Murray too. I think Nalbandian can beat Federer too - he's the most talented guy on the tour, but one of the most infuriating because you can never tell what he will do from one week to the next!

[jhc68]

Aside from being a jockey or an endurance athlete, is there ANY sport where (all other things being equal) being bigger and stronger is not an advantage?

The examples are everywhere. Holm is amazing but he ain't no HJ GOAT because Sotomayor was bigger and stronger.

We've got posts galore here on these boards with people salivating over the idea of Bolt getting serious about beating up the littler, puny guys who run the 400. And the 400 elite moving up to drub the even scrawnier 800 punks!

Heck, my son grew up playing volleyball with and against guys who became Olympians and world champions and he more than held his own ; he was all-everything in high school, but since he was "only" 6 feet tall his skill set became irrelevant when the others grew six to ten inches taller than he was! At the college level he came in to serve and play defense, then make a quick exit! In fact, he was shorter than most of the girls on D1 college teams... sport is a big person's world now days.

[Marlow]

Aside from being a jockey or an endurance athlete, is there ANY sport where (all other things being equal) being bigger and stronger is not an advantage?

Exactly - yet the 'smaller' athlete will always be able to excel also. Clay is 'only' 5'10/183 (1.80m/83kg), but he seems to do all right against the Pogorelovs (2.01/94) and Trey Hardees (1.96/95) and Karpovs (1.98/94) of the deca-world.

[Per Andersen]

Aside from being a jockey or an endurance athlete, is there ANY sport where (all other things being equal) being bigger and stronger is not an advantage

Diving, Short track speedskating, Gymnatics and Figure skating.

[andyjgt]

Most soccer 'playmakers' are small and don't always make up for it with speed or stamina. Paul Scholes is one of the worst athletes in Premiership history, but one of the best players (admittedly aided by Roy Keane being able to do the running of 2 men and Beckham and Giggs doing their share of defensive work - qualities absent from the England sides of the time in which Scholes generally did not excel).

Even the Germans with their generally large teams have had a small guy as the playmaker, from Thon and Hassler in the 80s-90s to Trochowski and the emerging Marin in the current side, however they seem to be played more in a flank position nowadays, as do small playmakers in the Premiership such as Arsenal's Czech Tomas Rosicky (when fit) or Tottenham's Croatian Luka Modric.

[eldrick]

unfortunately, 2 best midfielders of last 30y in rivaldo & zidane are both 6'1

[nevetsllim]

Anyone following this year's Australian Open? I'm loving watching Jelena Dokic's run at the moment and the same with Carla Suarez Navarro - it's very refreshing to watch someone up and coming with a one-handed backhand.