Thoughts about Tennis Tradition...

[don_budge]

klacr...You were Robbed!

To the fine young gentleman from Boca Raton...you were robbed! We all were.

I said the same thing to a very young and very great John McEnroe at the qualifying rounds for the U. S. Open in 1976 or so...as he walked by me and my buddies kicking gravel in the parking lot after his heartbreaking loss to Zan Guerry in the final qualifying round. Being the great champion that he was he bounced back as he did innumerable times in his long and illustrious career. As it turns out though, he was indeed robbed. He was robbed of his rightful place in tennis history when the powers that be betrayed the game and sold it part and parcel down the river for thirty pieces of silver. But of course we were robbed as well. Another crime of the century that gets obfuscated in the history books. It sort of makes you wonder about the "reality" of things doesn't it?

You were robbed of the game that you never knew. The real and true game of tennis. You will of course all of your life try and rationalize that somehow what is being played today is tennis but as I have pointed out...the sense of balance is disproportionately skewed to the side of speed and power.

The serve and volley that you so passionately write about and that the Great John McEnroe performed like it had never perhaps been performed before can never exist in the present state of the game. The clash of styles that used to be present in the game of tennis will never again exist as the game is played today because of the over emphasis of speed.

I realize now what I realized then...back around 1981...the game was hijacked. I screamed bloody murder...Aaron Krickstein will testify to that. Nobody listened...well he did. Poor kid...he was robbed too. We all were robbed just as we are being robbed on a bigger scale today...it was the money changers. The politicians. Money was changing hands...a lot of it. No wonder the game remained amateur for so long and it is amazing how short a time it took for the pimps and whores to change it. 1968 to 1981 we can say. About the same time it takes to reduce a thriving metropolis to a ghetto.

I know why the Great John McEnroe would shred the officials and morons and idiots to tatters...leaving them with their mouths gaping. Trust me...most of them had it coming to them. Useful idiots. The herd. Like lemmings over the cliff. Sheeple.

[don_budge]

With Every Invention Comes a Curse...

Nice quote on wooden rackets and baseball bats. Much more intelligent than any ritual (and very tired) John McEnroe bashing.

From the thread entitled..."John McEnroe versus Bjorn Borg...1980 U. S. Open Finals

Every point in this epic was a masterpiece. That is not to say there weren't mistakes and mishits. But taken as a whole the match must nearly be described point by point. I had to watch the match several times to come up with the words to describe the action. The points were like single brushstrokes that make up a great masterpiece. It reminded me of the moment only a couple of months ago when I stood at the very top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris looking down at that classic and old traditional city in Europe. Each building from that height looked like a single brush stroke and put them all together you had the wonderful visual whole that makes up the city of Paris. Like a beautiful painting every single brush stroke adds up to make up the whole.

The individual buildings on the ground were masterpieces of architecture as well. You walk along the streets admiring the craftsmanship and beauty from the ground level in the micro view as opposed to the macro view from the top of the Eiffel tower.

The same as this match. Such an intricate tapestry of tennis and all of its nuances. The variety of strokes...the variety of tactics. The infinite number of possibilities...permutations and combinations. Then there is the complexity of the players and their emotions and their tactical acumen and their individual interpretation of THE GAME. THE GAME OF TENNIS as it was meant to be played.

In tennis, in art and in life there is a balance. Even the universe is somehow balanced although theoretically. Equal parts positive and negative. Perhaps the human race has an equal balance as well...the summation of all of our actions and intents equal parts good and evil. But one thing is very clear to me and there is absolutely no way around it because in this very case for once and for all I am right...the game of tennis has been compromised by the actions of the very human hands that invented it. That precious balance that the game had and endured for so many years was compromised by an overabundance of speed in the game. It's simple. What was lost was tennis that was played like on this September afternoon between the last of the great rivalries in tennis...John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg.

ART...has left the stadium. Only the Great John McEnroe would have the balls to suggest something so outlandish as to do the right thing. The right thing to do by THE GAME.

From John McEnroe's most excellent autobiography..."Serious"...his top ten recommendations for improving tennis in the 21st Century:

"A return to wooden racquets would be a huge improvement for professional tennis. The biggest change in the game in the last twenty five years...the replacement of wood by graphite...has been a bad one. I happen to think that wooden racquets are beautiful aesthetically and purer for the game.

Look at baseball. Kids start with aluminum bats in little league, then move on to Kevlar or whatever in college and then...and only then...if they make it to the majors do they get to use those beautiful wooden bats that require greater expertise for success.

Why not do the same thing in tennis? I think that it looks great to have a little wand in your hand, instead of some ultra thick club big enough to kill somebody with. Wood...to me...has glamour. You need strategy and technique. Tennis, these days, is sadly lacking in all these things.

It's all (as David Bowie says) wham, bam, thank you ma'am." ...the great John McEnroe.

Seconded by the not so great...don_budge.

[gzhpcu]

Be careful in your haste to consign the old fogey club as a bunch of illusionists that you don't fall into an illusionary trap of your own.

That may be so Stotty, but in all the Swiss clubs I have played, in Zurich and Lugano, I have never come across young players aware of the past. If the situation is different where you live, then I am glad that someone is teaching them about tradition.

[GeoffWilliams]

I've never seen anyone polish a turd. You'd have to dry it out first. Then coat it with varethane, and then it would be solid enough to polish it. "Here, honey, a present for you. Your very own polished turd." Ha, ha. My wife would see the humor in it anyway. (Not.)

[klacr]

But Kyle, the youngsters growing up with tennis today, usually know nothing about the past. They just know what is played today, and so the new generation is unaware of the old days. Hardly any know Laver, et al. I met on the courts a kid who did not know who Sampras was. Today's players are uninterested in the past, so how could they miss it?

That is why I say, move on. The past had its style and champions, and watching the old videos is fun, but we are now playing today's tennis. Maybe there are less colorful personalities, but I actually like today's tennis.

I guess it is just an example of the "good old days" syndrome...

Excellent points Phil. Always love your comments. I know I could learn so much more from you. And that is the reason why tennis coaches, USPTA, USPTR, ITF, USTA, LTA and any other alphabet soup combo you can mention can come into play. It is the tennis fan and tennis coaches job to educate and inspire with stories of yesteryear. "Move on"? Ok, but to where? Move on with the rest of the masses? When you follow the herd, you get led to slaughter. Moving on is inevitable and essential. Everyone does in due time, but to remember and respect the past is not being unwilling to "move on", it's simply respecting, understanding and gaining knowledge to help us for the future.
When I met and bonded with Roy Emerson two years ago at a tennis conference in Michigan, he spoke to a group of college kids 18-23 years old. They had little idea of just who this old, bow legged, bad hip Australian guy with thick glasses was. Until he spoke. The demeanor and respect he had for his audience was reciprocated immediately as students jaws dropped as he made college level players look silly with his control and volley skills. His slice backhand almost made one player of the men's team nearly soil himself after he couldn't handle a "hack" player in his mid 70's. At the end of his presentation, every single audience member, nearly 100, got up and shook his hand and had questions. Young kids! With questions! For a tennis legend! About History!

The younger generation is very interested in the past, if we expose it to them. I'm not saying kids need to know who Major Walter Clopton Wingfield is and his influence on tennis, but I do say when it comes to tennis styles, tennis technique and the evolution (or de-evolution as don_budge likes to say) they will find it incredibly interesting and incredibly beneficial for them as they learn, grow and develop their own unique playing style and philosophy.

Funny, recently you posted a match at Wimbledon between Agassi and Rafter. There will be some students in the next few years, maybe even today that have no clue who they are. Does that make your interest in them irrelevant or wrong? Does it make those players sad examples of how bad tennis was in those days. Of course not. But to some future generations it could. And that's awful for you and I both

Fact is, younger generations have a thirst for knowledge. They don't get nearly enough credit for what they are capable of and what they have the current ability to do. Ever seen a 6 year old completely break down an iphone by pushing every button only to have it fixed and operating again like new in no time? I could never do that.

I'm in a tough boat. I'm a young 32, I'm in a generation that your generation has complained about. I'm also in a generation that has a generation under me that I can complain about. But they are also our future. I work with under 30 coaches all the time and as much as they think I have all my "shit" figured out, I look at them and say that they have more of their "shit" figured out at that age than I ever did. Technology is their advantage.

By providing them stories and videos and archival data of how far tennis has come, that will make them appreciate the sport more. The thirst for knowledge is out there. We as older players, teachers, coaches, mentors can bridge that gap and extoll the virtues of the history of tennis as well as where we believe it's headed. Not just from a moral perspective but also from a technical and tactical perspective. Sure, kids may want to hit the ball like Nadal, but can they start off that way or are their fundamentals that go back decades to a different era. It's good for me to see that. The old tennis days aren't so old when we think about. Fact is, you gotta know some basics before you jump off the high platform into the deep end of the tennis pool. Look and act as fancy as players want to, but they won't get far with little knowledge of how to hit a ball.

What happens when you polish a turd? You get a shiny turd. That's it. Tough to reach the next level of play and professionalism and joy for the game when your foundation for all of it is turd-like. Not the most eloquent way to finish a post but I'll stand by it.

I'm in a rush and in the weeds for work so I hope this post made sense. If not, my apologies.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

But Kyle, the youngsters growing up with tennis today, usually know nothing about the past. They just know what is played today, and so the new generation is unaware of the old days. Hardly any know Laver, et al. I met on the courts a kid who did not know who Sampras was. Today's players are uninterested in the past, so how could they miss it?

Phil this may be you talking and not the actual reality. Many of the old clips surpass more modern clips with the number of views they get on YouTube. Laver and Newcombe have way more views than the Berdych/Nadal Wimbledon final (sorry Klacr). Laver and Newcombe may be a grainy clip but many have taken the trouble to sit through it. Many more yet have sat though the Nastase/Ashe US Open clip.

In my neck of the woods most kids who play to any kind of level have heard of Laver, Sampras, Borg and McEnroe

The average YouTube viewer is 27 years old...so young...and ranges mostly from children to adults aged 34. People would seem curious to view tennis they haven't witnessed as opposed to what they have.

Be careful in your haste to consign the old fogey club as a bunch of illusionists that you don't fall into an illusionary trap of your own.

[gzhpcu]

But Kyle, the youngsters growing up with tennis today, usually know nothing about the past. They just know what is played today, and so the new generation is unaware of the old days. Hardly any know Laver, et al. I met on the courts a kid who did not know who Sampras was. Today's players are uninterested in the past, so how could they miss it?

That is why I say, move on. The past had its style and champions, and watching the old videos is fun, but we are now playing today's tennis. Maybe there are less colorful personalities, but I actually like today's tennis.

I guess it is just an example of the "good old days" syndrome...

[klacr]

What's old will become new again. Maybe not how we initially remembered it though. What's current will become better with a return to how it all began. All this talk of old school tennis and classic fundamentals is nice but it really won't happen until tennis' reaches it's darkest point and people have very little alternative but to remember what made them fall in love with the sport in the first place. Love brings us back, technology shoves us forward. Fundamentals and respect of them gives us hope.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[gzhpcu]

Nice quote on wooden rackets and baseball bats. Much more intelligent than any ritual (and very tired) John McEnroe bashing.

Yes, bottle, but this endless reference to the "great John McEnroe" in practically every post is tedious.

[bottle]

Nice quote on wooden rackets and baseball bats. Much more intelligent than any ritual (and very tired) John McEnroe bashing.

With every invention comes a curse.

Yeah, but my shots before were inventions, too. So if there are curses everywhere one ought to do exactly as one wants by navigating as best one can through all of them.

[don_budge]

John McEnroe...Ten Recommendations

From John McEnroe's most excellent autobiography..."Serious"...his top ten recommendations for improving tennis in the 21st Century:

"A return to wooden racquets would be a huge improvement for professional tennis. The biggest change in the game in the last twenty five years...the replacement of wood by graphite...has been a bad one. I happen to think that wooden racquets are beautiful aesthetically and purer for the game.

Look at baseball. Kids start with aluminum bats in little league, then move on to Kevlar or whatever in college and then...and only then...if they make it to the majors do they get to use those beautiful wooden bats that require greater expertise for success.

Why not do the same thing in tennis? I think that it looks great to have a little wand in your hand, instead of some ultra thick club big enough to kill somebody with. Wood...to me...has glamour. You need strategy and technique. Tennis, these days, is sadly lacking in all these things.

It's all (as David Bowie says) wham, bam, thank you ma'am." ...the great John McEnroe.

Seconded by the not so great...don_budge.

[gzhpcu]

A couple weeks later in England at the pre-Wimbledon Queen’s Club tournament, he won handily but made it a field day for the tabloids when during the final he called the chair umpire an “idiot” and yelled out, “Over 1,000 officials to choose from and I get a moron like you.” When Mac saw his opponent, the relatively unknown Leif Shiras looking amused during his outburst, he pointed his finger at him during the changeover and warned, “I’ve been around a long time and I don’t want to take that crap from you.”

Silence Him Now! screamed the Daily Mail. Even the staid Guardian opined, “No one should be permitted to voice such contempt for a fellow human being and get away with it.” Despite the furor, McEnroe managed to get through Wimbledon relatively unscathed and dusted Connors in that nearly flawless final. After winning the U.S. Open in what would turn out to be his last Grand Slam victory, he wrapped up his incredible 79-3 season at a tournament in Stockholm by memorably smashing a courtside tray of drinks with his racket during a match after not getting a response from the chair umpire when he screamed out, “Answer the question, jerk!” That incident put him over the $7,500-fine limit that had been instituted almost singularly because of him, and he was suspended from the tour for 21 days.

source: http://julianrubinstein.com/articles/mcenroe/

And much more on the "great John McEnroe"...

[gzhpcu]

After many years, I have gone back to wearing all white when I play tennis. Makes me feel more in a tennis mood, and I like it...

[don_budge]

bottle...

With every invention comes a curse.

[don_budge]

The Patriot...Mark Twain 1904

In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot. ...Mark Twain

In a time of universal deceit...telling the truth is a revolutionary act. ...George Orwell