Telegraph: Tennis cursed by the boredom of slow play

[jimlosaltos]

First round and we've already seen the abject failure of tennis to simply enforce rules has a negative impact on matches.

Laura Siegelman, in first round vs Coco Gauff did everything she could to disrupt play. As Brad Gilbert posted online, she didn't even toss the ball until 15 seconds after the shot clock had passed 25 -- and the delays continued returning serve. Got Laura a first set she probably couldn't win otherwise. Delaying & disrupting matches has also played a key role in several of Djokovic's biggest victories.

Simon Biggs in Telegraph quotes Tim Henman extensively:

> At last year’s US Open, men’s matches averaged 176 minutes – comfortably the highest figure on record. Alarmingly, that number has grown by 26 minutes since the 2017 US Open, which was the final year before the tournament introduced a visible shot-clock.

As Henman told Telegraph Sport last week, “The rule says that you have 25 seconds, but that’s not the way it’s being implemented. When I was down on court for the United Cup, the umpires weren’t starting the shot-clock countdown until eight, nine or even 10 seconds after the previous rally had finished.

“If you add it up, that’s an extra minute for the average game, an extra 10 minutes for the average set, and almost an hour in a five-setter. You’re seeing three-set matches like the Cincinatti final the other day – amazing though it was – and they’re running to almost four hours. And this at a time when most sports are trying to speed up.”

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https://sports.yahoo.com/tennis-cursed-boredom-slow-play-090000902.html

[stotty]

Good article. The rule works if it is stuck to. The clock should start directly after the previous point has concluded, and no matter what part of the court the player is left standing in at the finish of the point. This may mean having to jog back to the service line to serve if the player has run for a drop shot. It would make it more exciting if the clock is used in a strict way.

This all started way back. McEnroe and Connors often took an age to serve while Borg and Nastase were super quick. I think the game should cater for both tempos but let's have 20 seconds in all events rather than 25 seconds. I doubt Borg or Roger ever took longer than 15 seconds even in extreme circumstances. I have seen Roger get through a whole service game in under a minute.

[jimlosaltos]

Good article. The rule works if it is stuck to. The clock should start directly after the previous point has concluded, and no matter what part of the court the player is left standing in at the finish of the point. This may mean having to jog back to the service line to serve if the player has run for a drop shot. It would make it more exciting if the clock is used in a strict way.

This all started way back. McEnroe and Connors often took an age to serve while Borg and Nastase were super quick. I think the game should cater for both tempos but let's have 20 seconds in all events rather than 25 seconds. I doubt Borg or Roger ever took longer than 15 seconds even in extreme circumstances. I have seen Roger get through a whole service game in under a minute.

Yup. For some reason I clearly recall the US Open when the shot clock was first implemented. The announcers even then said the shot clock was actually slowing down play. Most players served promptly in little more than 10 seconds. Once there was a clock, aimed at a few obvious miscreants, everyone thought "I've got 25 seconds to serve" and started taking it.

As for enforcing the rule, there is no other sport that I know of think of that ignores clocks. Imagine the NBA, which is known for favoring stars in calls, having refs say "Naw, turn the 24 second shot clock off, Stef Curry looked tired now."? Imagine a Super Bowl where the refs stop the 35 second clock "because Tom Brady had to run on the prior play and might be tired."

Even chess, "Magnus Normal's brow is furrowed, he must been thinking hard so, let's pause his clock."

But that is quite literally the justification given by the many advocates of not enforcing the shot clock, McEnroe "You don't call that on HIM, there." Or <insert Rafa, Djokovic, whomever> "needs time after that long rally."

Strange psychology infected tennis to the sport's detriment.

[stroke]

Tennis is no doubt stand alone in all regards. The women players are still clamoring for more pay, with a lot of media and fan support in this regard. All other sports and real world situations, the market simply dictates the paycheck.

[stotty]

I just think the best way to make the game more palatable for the casual tennis fan without damaging or dumbing down the game is to speed up the tempo. Pre Jimmy Connors, the whole tennis world got on with it, and without grunting either. Matches were a good deal quicker to complete. No sitting down at changeovers, no towelling down, no MTO's, no toilet breaks, and no umpteen bounces of the ball before serving...better.

[jimlosaltos]

I just think the best way to make the game more palatable for the casual tennis fan without damaging or dumbing down the game is to speed up the tempo. Pre Jimmy Connors, the whole tennis world got on with it, and without grunting either. Matches were a good deal quicker to complete. No sitting down at changeovers, no towelling down, no MTO's, no toilet breaks, and no umpteen bounces of the ball before serving...better.

Absolutely.

[doctorhl]

Connors and McEnroe were pioneers in enabling television to capitalize on transforming tennis from a sporting contest watched by knowlegeable viewers and attendees to a personality spectacle diven by the highly competitive nature of television ratings.