Tennis

[Lat-Literal]

Very obviously the best sport other than football.

The first Wimbledon final I watched was the one in 1975 when the champion was Arthur Ashe. There would only ever be one golden era in the men's singles' game. Borg, Connors, latterly McEnroe, the one with the greatest natural talent. Except no. Federer, a Rolls Royce, has been the most brilliant tennis player I will ever have the privilege of enjoying in what has been an unexpected second golden era with Djokovic and Nadal. Disappointed that RF lost the US Open final but what an exceptional sportsman. In the women's game L-L considers that the Williams sisters and Graf, while without question impressive, seem less great somehow in terms of all round sporting achievement than Navratilova and King.

[johncorrigan]

Very obviously the best sport other than football.

Well for me it would be golf, Lat. I was never competitive enough to play tennis - you play against another player - what your opponent does affects what you do, and vice versa, and as with table tennis, you have to play against someone who has a similar ability to yourself or you get wiped by/wipe your opponent.

Golf is a more egalitarian game. It's you against the course - your opponent, if playing to the correct etiquette, should have no effect on any shot you hit. And
because of the handicap system, you can play with others who have vastly different abilities. For me there have been heroes down the years - Peter Thompson, Sam Torrance, Tom Watson, Seve, Lee Trevino, Christy O'Connor to name a few, but heroes were not so important. The other thing about golf is that you can play it on your own and you can keep playing. There's a longevity - people still keep winning into their forties because so much of the game is played in here. (taps the side of his head). Experience counts. Sorry to disagree with you, Lat, but it's golf.

Where tennis is very good is its scoring system - the game is not over till the last winning point is scored so guys can come back from two sets and match point down in the third and recover to win the game - that's good. But if you talk tennis then for me the greatest ever will always be Ilie Nastase - I know the present generation would wipe the floor with him, but he was a magician.

[P. G. Tipps]

Disappointed in Mr Andrew Murray's rather premature (for him) exit from the US Open, though!

Well done Djoko! He and Fed are undoubtedly a class apart from any other.

Found the American crowd's biased and sometimes aggressive support for the latter somewhat unfathomable and even irritating at times.

Maybe they consider Fed as the European equivalent of the square-jawed all-American hero in the continuing absence of one of their own ... ?

Tennis is a great game but is a bit hard on the neck muscles for the viewer.

[MrGongGong]

I'm very fond of cheese myself

Here's Arnold

[Lat-Literal]

Well for me it would be golf, Lat. I was never competitive enough to play tennis - you play against another player - what your opponent does affects what you do, and vice versa, and as with table tennis, you have to play against someone who has a similar ability to yourself or you get wiped by/wipe your opponent.

Golf is a more egalitarian game. It's you against the course - your opponent, if playing to the correct etiquette, should have no effect on any shot you hit. And
because of the handicap system, you can play with others who have vastly different abilities. For me there have been heroes down the years - Peter Thompson, Sam Torrance, Tom Watson, Seve, Lee Trevino, Christy O'Connor to name a few, but heroes were not so important. The other thing about golf is that you can play it on your own and you can keep playing. There's a longevity - people still keep winning into their forties because so much of the game is played in here. (taps the side of his head). Experience counts. Sorry to disagree with you, Lat, but it's golf.

Where tennis is very good is its scoring system - the game is not over till the last winning point is scored so guys can come back from two sets and match point down in the third and recover to win the game - that's good. But if you talk tennis then for me the greatest ever will always be Ilie Nastase - I know the present generation would wipe the floor with him, but he was a magician.

Funny you should mention table tennis as there were a couple of years when I played it every lunchtime. Not wonderfully coordinated at the best of times but I seemed to have a bit of an aptitude for it and could also cope with playing tennis. Perhaps the hand-eye in both was closest to writing. I feel that they are a bit like chess too. I am not golf averse and have some experience there, starting with pitch and putt courses at age seven/eight. Not that I ever quite comprehended the instruction to "time" a swing at a non-moving ball.

The final day of the Masters is one I rarely miss. A beautiful course which is relaxing to watch even with what is frequently much excitement. I like the way in which the event is organised and feel that it is the Americans' equivalent to Wimbledon. There is, of course, also Peter Alliss who I originally considered to be a dire commentator and ultimately decided was a truly great one. He is a "controversialist" but I just accept that is a part of him and I view that in the round. The pluses are in his delivery and the descriptions.

But, hey, this is a tennis thread for goodness sake and perhaps we now need to turn it around from two sets down.

As you accept, two sevens on the first two holes in golf and we're stymied, whatever our combined ages might be!

[gradus]

Cricket lovely cricket.

[gurnemanz]

Tennis is great. We started hitting balls on the road outside our house in the 50's. Not many cars around then. At 66 I still play twice a week with the option of a beer and a chat in the bar afterwards. Still possible to get the better of younger players with guile and annoying persistence. Occasionally I boast that I once played at Wimbledon. Feeble but true - it was a schools competition in the 60s.

Re Schoenberg, I know that around the UCLA campus he would be pointed out as "Scheonberg's Dad", because his son was a really good tennis player and better known among the students than him. I like Larry Adler's story of his doubles match involving Salvador Dali, Charlie Chaplin and Greta Garbo.

I remember enjoying minigolf with the kids but am not tempted at all by the full version. I know too many boring obsessives, including our own son.

[Dave2002]

At 66 I still play twice a week with the option of a beer ( ) and a chat in the bar afterwards. Still possible to get the better of younger players with guile and annoying persistence. Occasionally I boast that I once played at Wimbledon. Feeble but true - it was a schools competition in the 60s.

Oh dear. I hate you for this! (not really ... ). I'm a tad older, and at times feel it. I used to play and enjoy tennis, but I wasn't really any good. Then I took up squash, and I wasn't much good at that either, but then I tried tennis again, and the balls just simply flew out of the court - and over the fences. I could do with some exercise - and I do go for walks from time to time. For a while I did swimming - I didn't learn until rather late in life - but I did do 50 lengths for charity in my forties. Now I don't think I could even get across a pool. The last time I even tried seriously was about 10 years ago, though I did flounder around a bit on a holiday a few yars ago. I've also not resumed bicycle riding - so in terms of fitness and exercise things are not looking good.

Having said that, some people I have known, including one dear friend, did a lot of exercise of various sorts, and have now "gone on before me".
On the other hand one family friend died recently on his 100th birthday. He used to swim for most of his life, even in the last year.

[teamsaint]

One thing to be said for tennis is that at least there is no offside rule.

[greenilex]

And "anyone" must necessarily be for it...

[Padraig]

I'd say that is questionable.

[P. G. Tipps]

One thing to be said for tennis is that at least there is no offside rule.

Yes, but there is a 'net' ...

[Lat-Literal]

Impressed by how active forum contributors are.

There is more doing than spectating here.

(Also enjoyed the reference to Lord Beginner even if it applies to a different sport)

[johncorrigan]

Tennis has never recovered from the loss of Dan Maskell, I say!

By the way, I see the Davis Cup is being played in Glasgow this weekend. Any contested line calls will be dealt with by Hawkeye the noo!!!

[teamsaint]

radio commentary is a problem area for tennis.