Tennis Message Board
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| Subject: I may be overstating things, but I do not consider 6-1/ 6-0 to be too "small" |
| Posted by: 1969hoo on Sun Jan 20 2013 11:39:15 AM |
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Message:
to succeed at the top of men's tennis today. They are basically tall
enough to have good and powerful serves and ground strokes. I guess my cutoff for being too small is about 5-10/5-9 or less for men and 5-6/5-5 or less for women. There are lot of 'tweeners out there, just like in basketball. For example I think Rod Laver was about 5-9 and Ken Rosewall even shorter, but wooden racquets lacked power so little guys could and did win back then. I do not think Conner, McEnroe, Agassi, or Borg would win many majors if they were playing today. It was not just about the power game back then. Bigger guys like Sampras, Becker, Edberg probably would have done just fine. If Federer was say 5-8, he would not have come close to achieving what he has. I think Nadal is about 5-10 in reality and he does not really have a big serve or big game, but what he can do otherwise is superb, so he compensates. Smaller guys with less talent are almost doomed in today's tennis. Ferrer is one small guy who has become a top 10 player, but he probably runs faster and better than anyone on tour and his ground strokes are superb and he "never" misses. The big change in tennis is the really big guys say 6-3 to 6-9 with huge serves and improved fitness and mobility that are dominating the game with there power. These guys can hold serve 85% or more of the time, so they just need a few breaks to win. Even 6-1 can guys struggle against these monsters, but they can compete if they also have a big game. I guess this thread was originally about whether Steve Johnson could become a top 10 player and maybe America's best player. I think he has enough power, but he needs to improve a lot especially his backhand, to get there. I think he can get to #50 and maybe to #25, but do not think he can become a top 10er. I like Sam Querrey's big serve and big game better, but he has not been healthy lately. IMO playing college for 4 full years, while no doubt was fun for SJ and I guess he got his degree, it was probably a bad pro tennis plan, as he had the strokes and skills to start playing after his sophomore year. It is not too late, but he can no longer just overpower the mostly #300 to maybe #600 guys he was playing in college. |
| Current Thread: |
Tough times for American profesional tennis at Australian Open -- 1969hoo Fri Jan 18 2013 4:27:22 PM |
Ryan Harrison is the only one that could/should hit top 25 -- TopDawg Fri Jan 18 2013 4:41:44 PM |
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Steve Johnson ? down the road.... ** -- The 24 Car Fri Jan 18 2013 5:23:30 PM |
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Ain't gonna happen. ** -- MunichHoo Sat Jan 19 2013 9:58:47 AM |
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It is possible He doe shave a powere game which is what you need these days -- 1969hoo Fri Jan 18 2013 8:42:10 PM |
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Re: It is possible He doe shave a powere game which is what you need these days -- Bladed Sat Jan 19 2013 9:10:42 PM |
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I may be overstating things, but I do not consider 6-1/ 6-0 to be too "small" -- 1969hoo Sun Jan 20 2013 11:39:15 AM |
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Your seriously underestimating the young women -- HoosReady Fri Jan 18 2013 4:37:19 PM |
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Stephens is the real deal. She's 19 and will be only teenager in Top 20 in next -- MunichHoo Sat Jan 19 2013 9:58:08 AM |
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No doubt she has a chance to do that, but at 5-7 maybe 5-8 -- 1969hoo Sat Jan 19 2013 10:24:26 AM |
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We have one in the pipeline... -- Harebear Mon Jan 21 2013 7:41:44 PM |
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It is a good thing he got his tennis talent from his grandfather and not his dad -- 1969hoo Mon Jan 21 2013 9:53:25 PM |
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Re: It is a good thing he got his tennis talent from his grandfather and not his dad -- Harebear Wed Jan 23 2013 11:41:03 PM |
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I was not being very nice, but you can take credit his flag -- 1969hoo Thu Jan 24 2013 12:33:21 PM |
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Imo, Her first serve is already big and will only get bigger but -- PTWahoo14 Sat Jan 19 2013 11:01:16 AM |
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Anyone with a really good first serve can have a good second serve -- Clark Sat Jan 19 2013 3:08:06 PM |
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It seems like she has the potential but lacks the confidence -- PTWahoo14 Mon Jan 21 2013 12:18:53 AM |
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