Nadal, Murray, Roddick Headline Blockbuster Friday in London

ugggh, the heat are playing like cr-p. lucky to be only 3 pts behind in the score in half time.

June 9th, 2011 at 10:20 pm

I hate Lebron. Don’t know why. Can’t stand him since “I am taking my talents to South beach baby”. I am not even a Cleveland Cavaliers fan.

June 9th, 2011 at 10:45 pm

well the refs gave that game to dallas

June 9th, 2011 at 11:42 pm

Well, at least they go back home for game six, right Kimberly? Is it the next two in Miami? i hope Colin6 is sleeping. :/

June 9th, 2011 at 11:48 pm

Next two in Miami. Colino6 was sleeping but woke up because kaiser was screaming so loud. Now he is quietly crying himself to back to sleep :-(

June 10th, 2011 at 12:04 am

Wimbledon starts in ten days! Seedings announced in less than a week. Draw in a week. Novak and roger resting, rafa possibly playing 3 matches tomorrow, third week of tennis in a row. What on earth is he doing?

June 10th, 2011 at 12:13 am

Who is this person Lebron, and who on earth are the Cleveland Cavaliers? If there were anyone who’d know what I meant, I’d retaliate by talking about the current matches between England and Sri Lanka!

June 10th, 2011 at 4:30 am

Colin, I believe it’s either basket ball or base ball or even hockey, or, or …..;)
Am very happy to talk cricket, even though there is loads of tennis going on…:)

June 10th, 2011 at 6:01 am

Sadly, Margot, there won’t be any tennis for a while, in London anyway. Raining hard, and there is the occasional clap of thunder. Let’s hope the weather improves for Wimbledon. They can’t play the entire tournament on one roofed court!
I don’t know if the rain is general, but if so there won’t be any cricket either. Maybe all outdoor sport should be played in the Atacama desert.

June 10th, 2011 at 7:02 am

Colin, so ironic, the South East has been like the Sahara since Feb., but now ….:(

June 10th, 2011 at 8:02 am

still raining?

June 10th, 2011 at 8:34 am

they are all winable and they are all loseable, but I am a Rafa -fan, so…I bet on him. Break a leg, Rafa!

June 10th, 2011 at 9:57 am

Could someone plese beat Nadal this week! He needs a rest for Wimbledon. What a crazy guy, torturing himself for playing in both single and double.

June 10th, 2011 at 11:07 am

Querry just lost to no 216 in the world so can we expect him to replace Andy in the trunk?
Oh silly me, no he won’t because he’s an…..American……

June 10th, 2011 at 11:15 am

Rain, rain go away, I want to watch some tennis today…

June 10th, 2011 at 11:20 am

Ach, tough loss for Melos. Still, he won a couple rounds in his first ever tour level grass event. Every match he should improve. If he can win one more round at Wimbledon, he’ll reach round of 16, I’d be happy.

DelPotro loss a little worrisome too. Another guy playing reckless doubles.

I need these two guys to make some waves at Wimbledon to make things interesting!

June 10th, 2011 at 11:40 am

I figured Petz would beat Milos, actually; remember, he took Rafa five sets at Wimbledon last summer, and he played Fed close at Halle too.

Roddick seems to be in good form; he beat Hotsauce easily. I know Hotsauce hasn’t exactly been playing great but he had a couple of good wins at Queens.

Now we need Andy M to come through so we can see how the two Andys match up.

June 10th, 2011 at 11:54 am

Andy M got a walkover from Cilic for whatever reason. Andy v. Andy, interesting indeed.

June 10th, 2011 at 11:59 am

^ Oh I was wondering Eric, because technically he should’ve played already based on the schedule. Thanks for the update. Yay, haven’t seen the two Andys play in a long while, since 2009 maybe?

June 10th, 2011 at 12:06 pm

Andy R looking very fresh, a big advantage of not playing FO, I’d say. Though Verdasco played rubbish.
Also looking very, very determined, aware of the sands of time no doubt.

June 10th, 2011 at 12:21 pm

TV

I’m with you like to see some breakthroughs at Wimby. Milos would be fun, along With Delpo. They both will have to serve huge through the tourney, the “primary” weapon at Wimby.

Will margot, Colin, grendel , Madmax please have a talk with Mr. Rain?

June 10th, 2011 at 12:29 pm

skeeze: East England just declared a drought area..so probably not…;)

June 10th, 2011 at 12:35 pm

nadal needs to lose this match and go home, otherwise he’s here til sunday. Never thought i would root for him to lose but this is getting ridiculous.

June 10th, 2011 at 12:47 pm

margot, looks like the sun is shing at the moment: am watching Rafa v. Tsonga. BTW, didn’t see the Roddick match, just the last bit of scores. So what is your take on the Andys match up? I have seen only Andy M in motion. Agree with you that he looked good, movement wise, shot wise; he was aggressive when he needed to be, which I think will be crucial versus Andy R. Obviously Roddick has a stellar record at Queens, but Murray has won one too.

June 10th, 2011 at 12:47 pm

Tiebreak…

la Monf through to the semis at Halle.

June 10th, 2011 at 1:06 pm

Nadal is said to be tired,that is very strange i definitely think that for the first time ever nadal actually doesn’t believe he is going to win the tournaments he is entering just because of djokovic being better than him at this moment point.

But as long as roger keeps on beating djoker for him he should be fine to win another wimbledon,i hope they can meet in the final because i am tired of seeing chicken and the weakest mentally tough tennis player of all time crumble like he does against rafa how can someone such a chicken but this talented.

Tsonga really with that fluke of a win he had against nadal really has never been able to recapture his form.

June 10th, 2011 at 1:15 pm

Interesting article about the FO rules issues here:

http://blogs.tennis.com/thewrap/2011/06/ruling-class.html

1. Fognini’s cramp. I think we all mostly agree that this is largely a non-issue. Fognini didn’t have just a cramp, as proven by the fact that he withdrew from the tournament. Ergo, there is no issue and the continuing insinuations that he was faking it all are absurd. At the time we all felt it was cramps but we know better now, so why is this still an issue?

Moreover, ideas like “As we know, he came back to win and proceeded to default to Djokovic, thus possibly altering tennis history” are ridiculous. Speculating about whether Djokovic would have played better against Roger if he hadn’t had a walkover the previous round are ridiculous. I am sure you could ask anyone in any tournament and they would say they would rather have a walkover even against a mediocre opponent than to actually have to go out and play and risk losing, injury, fatigue,…. Nole himself said that the break did not adversely impact him.

But the rules regarding cramping arguably do need to be revisited and loosened. Except there would be all kinds of problems…

2. The second issue, well, I’m not sure. I think the entire idea of HawkEye is questionable and ridiculous. It doesn’t actually reveal where the ball hit the surface, but where a computer program calculates that it would have hit the surface based on its trajectory. Why can’t we just install high-resolution video cameras and use instant replay to see where the ball ACTUALLY hit? Moreover, on clay, the ball makes a mark where it hits. I remember that the Schiavone-challenged ball left a mark that extended up to and onto the line. The umpire was clearly correct to call it in. But HE showed it out, and by a substantial margin. So what’s up with that? I don’t really know what to say. HE is supposed to be extremely reliable, but how can it be more reliable than the physical proof of where the ball bounced?

3. Time warnings. Well we talked about this a few days ago. My only comment is that “It’s also difficult because they tend to take more time before important points, which isn’t the right time to spring a warning on them.” Well, actually, any time a player is breaking the rules is the right time to warn them. But at the same time, it’s ridiculous to suggest that the rules of tennis should be designed to maximize viewer enjoyment. They should be designed to be as fair and equitable to the players as possible. I’m of two minds because I think players should be entitled to take longer between serves if they need to compose themselves and get ready (mentally or otherwise), but the receiver is also entitled to play proceeding at a stable and reasonable pace… One solution would be for umpires to enforce the rule if a server takes too long between two or three points in a row and/or if the receiver requests them to enforce it.

I think one of the biggest reasons tennis is so popular is that it is broadly free of refereeing controversies and, in a word, BS. So it’s a shame to dwell on these. After all, even if Li’s ball was out – and if Hawkeye says it was out, I guess it was probably out – Schiavone lost the match because she played like shit for a set and a half, not because of one questionable call. And it’s not the umpire’s fault that Frankie went to lose the next eight or nine points in a row in frustration. And Roger didn’t lose the final because Rafa took an extra 10 seconds before serving at 0-40, he lost it because he plays important points horribly most of the time these days.

June 10th, 2011 at 1:20 pm

Tsonga should be running away with this match but Rafa elevates his play 1000% when it counts, as always. Don’t care who wins…

June 10th, 2011 at 1:22 pm

hahaha, the funny thing is most nadal fans are rooting for tsonga and anti nadals to get rafa to the final on other forums i was lurking on.

June 10th, 2011 at 1:31 pm

Also, I forgot to mention that French TV’s version of Hawkeye is obviously unofficial and not necessarily reliable. (Presumably, it is just a jury-rigged version based on the television cameras, which can’t have been properly and accurately calibrated, and can’t be considered authoritative.)

June 10th, 2011 at 1:37 pm

In that 2009/2010 stretch where Nadal was being blown out by everyone, he scored only one win over a top 10 player, Tsonga. I remember that match pretty well. Tsonga would take less than a minute to hold serve and was in all of Nadal’s service games. But at the end of each set, he’d get broken. Suffice to say, Tsonga is Nadal’s bitch even more than Federer is. He’ll play well, but then always buckle at just the right time.

Eric, I read Tignor’s article and I agree with him a little more than you do.

1) It’s an issue because the umpire just got up in the MIDDLE OF A GAME and told Fognini to sit down and get treatment. I don’t think he even asked for it, she just suggested it. IN THE MIDDLE OF A GAME. That should never be allowed unless there’s profuse bleeding or a broken limb. Torn ligament? Seems reasonable, but I highly doubt the umpire diagnosed that on the spot and decided he needed treatment. Everyone thought it was a cramp and so it should’ve been treated as such at the time. Instead, THE MIDDLE OF A GAME.

And the altering history thing probably refers more to Djokovic actually equaling McEnroe’s record. He may or may not have still lost to Federer, but I think we can all agree that there was no chance in hell he’d lose to Fognini.

2) Tignor’s torn, you’re torn, I’m torn. Hawkeye is incredibly reliable, and so is the mark, on clay. But Tignor points out that after so many games, there are a lot of marks. But then he brings up the scenario where the two completely disagree with each other. So yeah, torn.

3) I think the time just needs to be consistent for every point. Big point, small point, doesn’t matter. If you, doesn’t matter. If it’s 20 seconds, then it should always be 20 seconds. It’s a rule. Always has been. It shouldn’t be done away with just because some players need more time than others. That’s their problem.

In basketball, the shot clock is always the same. No one says, “well I needed more time to set up so don’t penalize me.” Of course the issue where someone accidentally drops the ball is a little tricky. If it tips your foot and rolls down the court, the umpire should stop the clock. But I completely agree with the idea. It’s a rule, always has been. Awfully enforced, though, so let’s find a better way to do it.

Btw, tennis isn’t all that popular…

June 10th, 2011 at 1:42 pm

Very true but he is leading and has taken a set of the moonballer something he hasn’t done in ages,let’s hope he can finish him today.

June 10th, 2011 at 2:08 pm

The thing about HawkEye is that, again, it doesn’t actually reflect where the ball bounced, but where a computer calculates that it bounced based on data from cameras. If properly calibrated, it’s supposed to be 99.999999% accurate (or whatever, maybe a mere 99.9%), but it can’t be considered essentially a reflection of the truth of a bounce; Hawkeye _creates_ the truth.

The problem is the basic physics of close line calls. Tennis balls are not perfect smooth spheres and they deform on impact. Conceivably, the fuzz and air pressure created by the ball’s motion contribute to the formation of marks on clay, and who is to say, in some very close calls, whether the ball just whisked the line or just missed it?

And so this is where Hawkeye comes in. We’ve all seen those calls where they have to zoom in two or even three times to clearly reveal that the ball was in or out in the review replay. The basic fact is that those calls are undecidable on any reasonable basis; so we might as well just go by Hawkeye, since everyone accepts it as the final arbiter. It would therefore be desirable to install it at every tournament, even on clay.

My hesitation isn’t that Hawkeye makes the wrong calls sometimes. Properly calibrated, that should only happen where there is literally no way to know if the ball was “really” in or out, and we’re fortunate that those situations are pretty rare. My hesitation is just that, on clay, there will inevitably be situations where HE and the mark disagree (like the Schiavone one, although, again, that was not an official HE review) and that will just create endless problems. Realistically, the main virtue of HE is that it effectively ends debate and lets everyone move on, but if that isn’t true on clay then maybe it DOESN’T have a place there?

—

As for the time issue. I don’t think a “shot clock” is a good idea because there’s no real logical reason why every point should have to be played within a pre-set time window. Unlike football and basketball, tennis doesn’t have a (relevant) clock. You can say that it’s annoying for spectators, but that’s irrelevant. And you can say it’s unfair to the receiver, but it’s not the server’s fault if those ten seconds really discombobulate the other guy. Basically, there’s no special reason that 20/25 seconds should be THE amount of time between points for every point ever. It’s only when the receiver complains to the umpire or that it becomes a pattern, in my opinion, that time violations should really be penalized.

Although it also gets thorny when it’s the RECEIVER who delays play. Rafa does this all the time against the faster servers, and that should definitely be cause for warnings and penalties because play is supposed to proceed at the server’s pace, not the receiver’s.

(And tennis is pretty popular. Sure, as a spectator sport it’s not exactly as popular as basketball in the US, but it’s popular enough to support hundreds of millions of dollars in prize money every year. And enough people play it that most municipalities in the country have multiple public courts…)

June 10th, 2011 at 2:08 pm

Looks like Tsonga is finally running away with the match. He should have won in straights, but I’ll take 3.

June 10th, 2011 at 2:09 pm

Nadal’s only intention in this tournament may be reaching the QFs to defend last year’s points so Djoko doesn’t become No. 1 before Wimbledon.

June 10th, 2011 at 2:09 pm

Looks like Rafa might lose to Tsonga after all Kimberly. To me it looks like he is trying out a few things with his serve (for instance, he’s caught his toss a couple of times), practicing his slice, and not running as much/as quickly as he might normally. I.E., he’s not busting a gut to win. He’s still playing very well, however. What do you think?

June 10th, 2011 at 2:11 pm

Ok Rafa ready to go home. 4-0 tsonga in the third. Tv is a few games behind, ~1-0, but phone says 4-0. Tsonga will take it, I say good win for him.

June 10th, 2011 at 2:14 pm

@Eric. there is no special reason that the NBA shot clock is 24 seconds. it coould be 23 or 25 or 35 if you wanted longer set up times. but the pt is you pick a time and make it the law. you can’t just let players take as much time as they feel like because of they are winded or their nerves are shaky.

June 10th, 2011 at 2:16 pm

Jane, are you kidding? Rafa is playing atrociously — almost every other shot is an error. Maybe he is just practicing, and I definitely agree that he’s not really giving 100%. More like 50% now. I don’t believe he is actually trying to win this match. (The other half of his shots are, of course, magnificent – maybe that’s what you are focusing on.)

June 10th, 2011 at 2:17 pm

anybody watching Rafa trank at queen’s right now?

June 10th, 2011 at 2:18 pm

Wish this was Wimbledon. Ha ha.

June 10th, 2011 at 2:19 pm

It’s hard to see how Rafa could lose a set like that unless he was throwing the match. And it’s also hard to see Rafa throwing a match. What the heck was going on there?

June 10th, 2011 at 2:19 pm

Yeah, Eric, certainly the last few games I have to agree with you Eric; lots of balls directly into the net, over and over. Very rare you see that from Rafa. At first he was playing well, but he utterly threw in the towel the last 4-5 games. He’s still in doubles, so he can practice his volleys.

I can’t see Tsonga winning it all: I think it will be one of the Andys.

June 10th, 2011 at 2:21 pm

I agree width Dory. Nadal’s body language tells he wants to be anywhere but not in that tennis field today.
Maybe he needs only a couple of three set matches to practice before Wimbledon.
Let’s hope (or not ;) ) that this isn’t the 2011 All England Nadal. Too much talented opponents this year of the lovely grass of Wimbledon.

June 10th, 2011 at 2:22 pm

@tennisfan, but, like I said, there’s no reason tennis NEEDS a “shot clock.” There’s no game clock to wind down. I think it would be a huge mistake to introduce a mechanically-enforced time limit that would require most of the top players to alter the way they play. Given that, on my guess, more than half of the top 10 players regularly violate the time rule, maybe it is the rule that should be changed? And, as Tignor suggests, standardized. I think a 25-30 second limit between points that is enforced if and when a player is regularly flaunting it would be a great idea, but a mechanically enforced shot clock would just be overkill, counterproductive, and detrimental to the quality of tennis.

June 10th, 2011 at 2:23 pm

@eric your reasoning was quite solid when discussing hawkeye then fell apart when discussing a clock. you say there is no preset clock in tennis as opposed to basketabll or footbll. that is correct. and there is no good reason for this. you make it sound like that is a law of physics or something. clocks are manmade. tennis only needs to set a clock rule and voila now there is a clock and now players have an absolute time limit on their serves which they cannot break w/out forfeiting a pt. i would love to see Rafa ( and Djoko too!)play under those conditions. no appeals to the umpire. the buzzer goes off and you have lost the pt. that would solve the problem very well.

June 10th, 2011 at 2:24 pm

There’s the possibility Rafa is just tired too!! He won the French and he’s in doubles too, so to be fair, he might’ve just run out of steam. He had to play 3 sets versus Steps too. Anyhow I think Rafa got in some good tuning, and Tsonga looks super happy.

June 10th, 2011 at 2:24 pm

but there is a match and i don’t like waiting a minute for a player to serve. get in there and start the pt.

June 10th, 2011 at 2:25 pm

Jane, definitely especially badly the last few games, but he was also horrible in the first two sets. Not as bad as against Stepanek perhaps but I never felt like he was “in” the match. But I agree with you completely that the reason is probably that he is mostly using Queens to “practice.” Rafa has actually lost in the quarterfinals every year except 2008…

June 10th, 2011 at 2:26 pm

there may be no game clock to wind down but it does stretch the match out on terms of match length vs. actual playing time. i don’t like it when the match is strecthed way out w/ alot of dead time bouncing the ball before serving. a clock would take alot of that away and stop players like Rafa ffrom stretching out the match.

June 10th, 2011 at 2:27 pm

i disaggree Eric. it would not be overkill. a clock does exactly what youy want. it takes the decision out of the Umpire’s hands and makes it impersonal. do you think the Umpire is more likely to reprimand a player ranker #73 or Rafa who is on of the main draws for the tournament. Rafa always gets huffy when he is warned about time. so did Djoko when he was warned against Fed at the FO. just like hawkeye a clock makes that decision impersonal and impartial.

June 10th, 2011 at 2:30 pm

Tennisfan, so your claim is that the rules of tennis should be designed to minimize downtime for spectators? Okay, let’s do away with changeovers, set breaks, and, while we’re at it, those points where the players just hit the ball back and forth for 5 or 10 shots are really boring; let’s make it a rule that balls can’t be returned directly to the other player. Actually, maybe we can make tennis more interesting by letting the ball bounce twice, not just once. Longer more exciting rallies, that should really enhance spectator enjoyment!

June 10th, 2011 at 2:32 pm

I think everyone wins in this situation- Rafa gets rest, but the opportunity to test the grass legs.
tsonga gets the W and can continue on in the tourney, adds a W over Rafa in the books, for posterity.
Excited to see the Andy’s and if either of the phillipps (Germans) can get into the final at Halle.
Then bring on Wimbledon!

June 10th, 2011 at 2:32 pm

Rafa is mentally and pshysically exhausted. I don’t think he threw the match but he probably gave up the fight.

He needs to go home. I have never wanted him to lose match before today but last night thought of this.

In March: Rafa played Davis Cup, 2 matches. Even after Spain was assured victory he played a dead rubber. (Novak and Fed did not play)

Rafa played then two weeks of Indian Wells, entire tournament singles, and doubles.

Rafa then flew to Columbia for an exhibition and played the entire Miami tournament including a grueling final.

Next week went to montecarlo, played 5 matches.

Next week in Barcelona played 5 matches.

Week off.

Now in Madrid Played 5 the entire tournment

Next week in Rome, sick, refused to withdraw, played the entire tournament.

Week off but Really training for RG,

Next two weeks RG played the entire tournament.

Sunday played the final. Monday morning went to Disney Land. Monday afternoon practice at queens. Tuesday Doubles at Queens. Wed, Singles. Thurs rain delayed singles and doubles. Friday SIngles and will finish doubles.

As someone who is often accused of overtraining (spending 2-3 hours between tennis, gym, and interval training) i can’t really talk but this is overplaying. Go home and come to wimbledon Tuesday and practice and/or play exhos.

June 10th, 2011 at 2:32 pm

So Tsonga is Nadal’s bitch, eh, Mr Pronin. If you have to use this adolescent language to make yourself feel “cool”, you might at least get your forecasts right.

June 10th, 2011 at 2:32 pm

@Dari, I think Kohls should be able to take out Monf. He wasn’t that impressive against Mayer, even though the 6-4 6-4 scoreline makes it look straightforward. And I didn’t get to see Hewitt-Kohls, but Lleyton came through the first two rounds easily so PK must be playing really well.. But I doubt Petzschner will trouble Berdych very much. He seems to be playing pretty solidly again, if up and down from point to point as always.

June 10th, 2011 at 2:38 pm

Rafa was definitely “off” probably exhausted.
jane: Andy v Andy. dunno about this one, it’ll depend on who wants it most, I’d say. Verdasco was so awful, it’s difficult to gauge Andy R’s game but he certainly came out firing.
And Andy M, perhaps like Rafa he’ll decide he’s had enough match practise and wants to rest the ankle.
He’s looked very good latter part of second set against Tipsy but again starts so slowly and if you start slowly against Andy R you might as well kiss good bye to the set!
Hedging my bets big time as you can tell :)

June 10th, 2011 at 2:39 pm

And I really object to that kind of sexist language too “Mr Pronin.”

June 10th, 2011 at 2:41 pm

no Eric i didn’t suggest any of those things. although i think the changeover breaks were brought in for TV in the open era. not sure about that though. your comments do indicate that tennis players get plenty of rest. i don’t see why any more than 20 to 25 seconds is necessary after the calling of the score to start the next pt. do you? secondly during changeovers and set breaks i can go to the fridge and get a cold beverage. if someone like Nadal or Djoko bounces the ball for a minute before serving i am stuck watching them bounce the ball for a minute. it simply is a waste of time for everyone involved. get on w/ it

June 10th, 2011 at 2:42 pm

Andy R and M have only played on grass twice. Murray won the first match in 2006, Roddick the second one in 2009. That was in very tight sets.

It’s a match that, obviously, Murray would and should usually win and I guess I would go with him as my pick. But Roddick was serving so well against Verdasco (who IMO played well, at least today, didn’t see yesterday) that it’s hard to see even AM making a lot of headway into most of his service games. So it will come down to who serves second, if they show nerves, or is just generally more solid on the final few points per set. I wouldn’t be surprised if the sets are both/all tiebreaks. So like Margot I am hedging my bets. :)

June 10th, 2011 at 2:45 pm

Yep, can’t call the Andys either, but Murray did look good versus Tipsy. If Roddick is serving well, that makes it tough for any opponent. Murray does have a 6-3 advantage iin their H2H. But Murray would likely be the more fatigued player in this match, given that he had a deep run at the FO with the ankle injury. Hmm. It’s a pick em. :)

June 10th, 2011 at 2:58 pm

whoever wins between the andys will win the tourney. Im going with…..hmmm can’t choose.

June 10th, 2011 at 3:03 pm

Sounds like both of u would approve the same thing however, making the time between serves more mandatory, and i am all for that. How that gets done is details. Who wants to watch a 4 hr 3 set tennis match with an 1 1/2 hrs of waiting to serve or return? I want to see them play and perform not pick, scratch and bounce.

I already do that when i play Bocce ball, which is my favorite drinkng game.

June 10th, 2011 at 3:03 pm

I am shocked. Flabbergasted, even.

Eric, again, the rule has always been there. There IS a time limit between points. It’s been there for a LONG time. It’s nothing new. It’s just poorly enforced. Like tennisfan says, all it would do is eliminate the poor enforcing and actually solidify the rule. It’s not about winding down a clock, it’s about going at the proper pace. I’ll admit it’s annoying as a spectator, but that’s not my beef with this issue. The problem is the inconsistency. If it’s a rule, everyone should be made to follow it the same way. Some umpires choose to ignore it, though. Not the players fault, not the spectators fault, the umpires’ fault. Put in a clock and the umpire is not longer making up rules mid-match.

The few times Nadal has complained about being warned, it’s usually because of the inconsistency. If he takes 40 seconds to serve at 1-2 in the first and you don’t say anything, then you really can’t say anything at 4-5 in the third. Put in the clock!

June 10th, 2011 at 3:39 pm

If anyone calls me a moon baller, I won’t be happy, no?

June 10th, 2011 at 4:11 pm

I never said I don’t think the rule should be enforced. I just don’t think it necessarily has to be rigidly and mechanically enforced. So where you think inconsistency in enforcement is the problem, I actually think it’s a virtue. The problem is total non-enforcement, not the lack of mechanical enforcement.

The reason the rule exists is to hurry play along for the sake of spectators and, IMO more importantly, the players and momentum and all that jazz. But it would completely screw with many players if they suddenly had to start worrying about a rigid, inflexible, mechanical enforcement of a time rule. I just think that umpires should warn players that they are taking too long, if and when it becomes a pattern (i.e., late in game 1 for the chronic violators like Nole and Rafa). Penalties could be imposed if players continue to violate warnings. A shot clock would hurt, not help, the goal of having fair match conditions.

June 10th, 2011 at 8:11 pm

Eric,

Why wait late in a match to enforce the rule? Let’s Back up. The rule is a rule. They should enforce it. They should have a timer that dings the ump in private, not a buzzer, and the ump should enforce it from. 1 warning, then yell Fault, just like a foor fault ( they don’t enforce thatvery well either. The get go. It’s a rule. If the players don’t like it then change it. There should be NO flexibility. When there is, like now, why call Nole late in a match all of the sudden? That is unfair. It plays both ways. The fans deserve a fair sport played by the rules ATP has created.

IMO no one in the ATP has the heavos rancheros to enforce it when the top players are on the court. Can you imagine defaulting a top player for repeated violation? That will be the day…should it be enforced? Sure!

June 10th, 2011 at 9:24 pm

Sorry iPad type itis

June 10th, 2011 at 9:24 pm

Like loose ball fouls in basketball, selectively enforced, or holding in football

June 10th, 2011 at 9:26 pm

Eric, you sound like a traditionalist. Nothing wrong with that, but I’d love to see the sport become more modern. But even without a clock, it shouldn’t be as simple as e umpire pressing after it becomes a pattern. It should be penalized as soon as it happens. It’s not the umpire’s problem if the player didn’t realize they took too much time.

I hate loose ball fouls. Such a dumb rule.

June 10th, 2011 at 9:34 pm

^with all respect that is a human judgement call, a time limit is not.

K,

Seriously worried about the Heat, not Rafa. WTF is going on with Lebron and Wade? Thankfully they have 2 games at home but now it only takes 1 game to win for the Mavs. Are u going to any of the last 2?

June 10th, 2011 at 9:36 pm

Wade is playing okay, its Lebron who seems to have forgotten how to shoot. And so many loose ball fouls called!

Selecting when to give a warning or point deduction etc, would be selective enforcement similar to holding, or loose ball fouls.

June 10th, 2011 at 9:56 pm

Lebron got a triple double last night. I feel like it just goes to show how good he is that he can subtly get a td and still seem so ineffective.

June 10th, 2011 at 9:59 pm

^ the enforcement is as follow;. You time it, not judgment call there wether he fouled or not, you are just on a clock, like the basketball rule. First infraction, rule states, a warning, second, point penalty, etc.

Obviously they don’t enforce the rule.

June 10th, 2011 at 10:00 pm

When its windy I some times wait to toss for a few to see if the gusts will blow over and I can get a better toss. Also I must adjust my ponytail holder before every point. A must.

June 10th, 2011 at 10:00 pm

@Ben

And the compare him to MJ? Not yet….

June 10th, 2011 at 10:01 pm

I am probably going to the heat game Sunday night skeezer, with just kaiser. Not spending over $500 a ticket for a four year old and a six year old. But i am taking them to the marlins game Sunday during the day. Then lying and saying I am going to the movies with daddy to see a grown up movie while they stay home with a babysitter.

June 10th, 2011 at 10:07 pm

There are better players than MJ for Lebron to be compared to.

June 10th, 2011 at 10:27 pm

Are you saying MJs not the GOAT? Oh no, not another GOAT argument.

June 10th, 2011 at 10:36 pm

Nope. He’s probably the most clutch player ever, but his GOAThood is the result of media hype.

June 10th, 2011 at 10:37 pm

Ben

There is nobody better than Michael Jackson, I don’t know what world your livin in.

June 10th, 2011 at 10:40 pm

Wait what

June 10th, 2011 at 10:55 pm

Gotcha :) both MJ’s to me are GOAT in there respective stuff, but takin a vacation on GOAT discussions.

@K we will be crossing swords in baseball. Marlins? My Giants just won the WC baby, and another one comin:-)

June 10th, 2011 at 11:02 pm

Well the marlins just snapped a massive losing streak!

June 10th, 2011 at 11:19 pm

You mean M.J. Michael Jackson is the G.O.A.T.? What does skeeezer say? Shamoooooon!

June 10th, 2011 at 11:19 pm

Be I had the same reaction, then figured he was joking!

June 10th, 2011 at 11:20 pm

jane

Absolutely! Shaaamoonnn!

Chicka chicka “Hollywood Tonight”
http://vevo.ly/fAwn6L
Secret; dancing is awesome for your tennis game ;)

June 10th, 2011 at 11:45 pm

@ K….that is WS. Not WC :) turning the auto correct of iPad now ;(

June 10th, 2011 at 11:46 pm