I'm a casual tennis fan, will sometimes watch the majors for a little bit (especially when they're the only thing on at 1:30 in the morning, like the Serena-Clijsters match right now). But, among the many problems tennis has at the moment, the fact that it is even possible that the Roddick-El Aynauoui (sp?) match was decided by a fifth set that lasted two and a half hours is mind-boggling. Hardcore tennis fans and champions of tenacious, gritty sports performances will applaud it - the rest of the sports crowd, at least here in the US, will think tennis is making another step towards the timespans - and popularity - of Test Cricket.
Yeah, I saw the end of that match - unbelievable! Roddick was very humble after his victory and El Aynauoui was all smiles. Good stuff.
The key part of the above quote is "at least in the US." The popularity of the sport is growing worldwide, not shrinking, despite US media assertions to the contrary. I generally prefer tiebreakers, but like the occasional crazy match like this. 9-7 or 10-8 sets are less interesting than tiebreakers, but something as off the wall as Roddick-El Aynaoui is entertaining because it's so unusual.
i would guess you will see it there eventually... the 5th set was unreal, back and forth...for more than 2 hours. tonight should be a slober-knocker...serena vs. venus.
As expected, it is deemed by the powers that be in Bristol to be an instant classic. The match is being shown Monday, Jan 27 at 7pm EST. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tvlistings/scheduleSport?date=20030127&network=18&sport=TN And I agree that although the match was ridiculously long, its really so uncommon that it should be embraced. As for the match itself, El Aynaoui was playing at such a ridiculous level during the tournament that it was sad to hear commentators bitching about "Who cares about Roddick's win, he beat a nobody." Against Hewitt, he put in one of the best performances I've ever seen. I really like his playing style. Hopefully this isn't just a great one-time run,and he can keep up the quality all year. As for Roddick, I don't particularly like his playing style, and don't like his personality, but if his success is necessary for tennis to get more coverage in the US, then I'm rooting for him.
I kind of agree, though I don't know the guy personally and don't want comment too much on his personality. The idea that whether or not he's successful has a big impact on the level of coverage we can expect in this country is frustrating. Sometimes I wonder if Bjorn Borg were to break on the scene today if we'd hear anything about him or if we'd just hear more nonsense about how the sport is "suffering" due to a lack of "personalities."
We might. As much noise as people make about tennis being a "gentlemen's game", some of the media were unkind to Ivan Lendl (SI put him on the cover years ago with the caption "The Champion No One Cares About"), for upholding that code, even when they had the boorish behavior of Connors and McEnroe for contrast.
did he even lose a set in the whole tournament? he was amazing and he and steffi will be playing mixed doubles in the french open b/c of a bet the two of them had...
That made it difficult for the German media to root for someone in the final. On the one hand they of course wanted the German underdog to win, but seeing Steffi on the court again - even if only in the mixed doubles - will bring better ratings than a Wimbledon final between Schüttler and Haas in times where tennis is down in the popularity.
Not that I, like a few round here, actually like Roddick or his playing style all that much, but - they said that??! That's just wrong (in an ethical sense at the very least) on at least 2 levels. How do these commentators actually get to where thay are with comments like that? Is that sort of style popular over there or is it just these guys can't get a handle on the aforementioned spirit of sportsmanship?