US open and US oepn series

[nottyboi]

I was so happy to Dementieva win. Just to see her fabulous smile makes me cheer for her. She is one of the few top womens tennis players that is very feminine still (maybe Venus as well). So here are the standings for the US Open series:

http://www.usopenseries.com/en/Standings/Default.aspx

Dementieva finshed #1 in the womens draw which means she gets a 100% bonus for whatever prize money she wins in the US open!!! Top threes an mens and womans standings:

1. Andy Murray (GBR) 145 1. Elena Dementieva (RUS) 170
2. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) 140 2. Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 140
3. Sam Querrey (USA) 130 3. Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 115

 

[ckupets04]

I was so happy to Dementieva win. Just to see her fabulous smile makes me cheer for her. She is one of the few top womens tennis players that is very feminine still (maybe Venus as well). So here are the standings for the US Open series:

http://www.usopenseries.com/en/Standings/Default.aspx

Dementieva finshed #1 in the womens draw which means she gets a 100% bonus for whatever prize money she wins in the US open!!! Top threes an mens and womans standings:

1. Andy Murray (GBR) 145 1. Elena Dementieva (RUS) 170
2. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) 140 2. Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 140
3. Sam Querrey (USA) 130 3. Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 115

Totally agree. If Dementieva' ever had just a very good serve, not even a great one but a very good one she would have not only won a major she would have won multiple majors by now. Her groundstrokes , fitness and defense are top notch. Her court coverage is very impressive. Saw Sharapova drop shot her a few times when Elena was several feet behind the baseline and Elena ran them down. Its just the serve and her nerves thats let her down in the past. She may have served the best she ever has in the match with Serena at Wimbledon this year in the semis and she was getting some aces and unreturnables even (something we almost never see from Dementieva) and she pushed Serena to the edge. That netcord on match point really saved Serena @ Wimbledon. I have noticed though that Dementieva has at least improved her 1st serve % and cut down on her DFs ( I dont have the numbers to back this up but Im pretty sure thats the case because Ive watched a lot of her matches). If she could find a way to generate some unreturnables on serve that would help her cause a whole lot. I think she may have put her nerves behind her now, she has gained some confidence in the last 12 months, winning Beijing, and pushing Serena to the limit at Wimbledon and now winning arguably her biggest tournament ever (outside the Olympics) the Rogers Cup. I know she hasnt won a major yet but I think maybe she is starting to put her issues with nerves behind her.

I think we'd have to say she is the best player never to have won a major would we not? Other candidates would include Safina, Jankovic. But Dementieva has been around longer which is why I'd say she's the best never to have won a major on the women's side. At least of all active players.

I am a Clijsters fan though and I gotta admit its really nice to see how quickly she has gotten herself back. I mean sure she is not all the way back yet but she has progressed a lot quicker than I thought she would after her hiatus. Clijsters at her peak was arguably the best defensive player on tour. She is still very young, early 20s (I think) so she can go back and win some majors.

 

[squash500]

Maybe you terb tennis experts can answer a question for me?. Why don't more women tennis players come into the net?

I was watching the Sharapova semi-final match on Saturday night and both of these players must have come into the net only twice the whole match . Why is that?

These top women players hit some beautiful groundstrokes but why can't they volley once in awhile?

Just an observation from a very casual tennis fan.

 

[ckupets04]

Maybe you terb tennis experts can answer a question for me?. Why don't more women tennis players come into the net?

I was watching the Sharapova semi-final match on Saturday night and both of these players must have come into the net only twice the whole match . Why is that?

These top women players hit some beautiful groundstrokes but why can't they volley once in awhile?

Just an observation from a very casual tennis fan.

Squash, your not giving yourself enough credit. You might call yourself a casual tennis fan but this is an excellent question that you have posed and one that most casual fans probably wouldnt even think to ask about.

Before I give you my opinion I'd like to add some background info...

As it is right now, there are only a few players that come into net in the women's game. Mauresmo does but her best years are probably behind her. Venus Williams tends to rush the net a lot particularly on the lawns of Wimbledon. Sam Stosur of Australia comes into net as well and Stosur is quietly having a very good season - known for being a doubles specialist but she has really stepped up her singles game this year.

I know you asked why there arent many women that rush the net but truth be told the serve and volleyers in the mens game are a dying breed too. There used to be way more in the 90s and before that than there are now. Tommy Haas seems to be doing it a lot, Karlovic does it , Feliciano Lopez does it but certainly its a dying breed in the mens game as well.

I think the women do come into net behind their groundstrokes but maybe not behind their serves that much.

In order to rush the net you need to be able to do three things well..
1) Hit a good approach shot or a good serve.
2) Move forward in a timely fashion
3) Be an adept volleyer.

Being tall also helps. Shorter players are more reluctant to rush the net because if they dont put away the first volley than it could mean trouble for them because its easier to pass or lob a shorter player than a taller one.

Maria Sharapova for example does have good groundstrokes, very powerful ones in fact. But she doesnt seem particularly comfortable up at net.

A girl like Justine Henin was too small to rush the net consistently. Though she did from time to time she was a small girl and was easy to pass or lob.

Jelena Jankovic and Kim Clijsters are more defensive players - baseliners, not sure they are comfortable up at net either and their groundstrokes arent offensive enough to rush the net on a consistent basis.

Venus Williams does tend to come into net a bit more than some of her counterparts and her length and height serves her well up at the net because she can cover the net quite well and of course a taller player is difficult to lob.

Martina Navratilova used to rush the net on any short ball but there doesnt seem to be as much of that today.

Mary Carillo likes to call it the age of "big babe tennis". todays womens game is more about power and less about finesse.

I think also the fact that the some of the surfaces have slowed down makes coming into net more difficult to do because its harder to hit good approach shots.

My guess is maybe some of the women arent adept volleyers because its not just good enough to hit a good approach shot but you also have to be able to

Not sure if ive answered your question well but I tried.

 

[squash500]

Thanks for the excellent response ck04. I really appreciate it. I guess I'm just looking at things from a fatique factor.

IMHO there's no excuse for a tall woman player such as Sharapova not to work on her net game. Rather then have to hit 10-15 grounstrokes to win a point a lot of these women tennis players could finish off the point a lot sooner by volleying at least once in awhile.

Therefore they wouldn't become as fatiqued later on in the tournament.

I'm in my mid 40's and I remember watching John Mcenroe serve and volley with ease. He made it look so easy. I also remember Patrick Rafter of Australia being an excellent serve and volleyer and also very comfortable at the net.

Thanks again for the response CK.

 

[ckupets04]

Thanks for the excellent response ck04. I really appreciate it. I guess I'm just looking at things from a fatique factor.

IMHO there's no excuse for a tall woman player such as Sharapova not to work on her net game. Rather then have to hit 10-15 grounstrokes to win a point a lot of these women tennis players could finish off the point a lot sooner by volleying at least once in awhile.

Therefore they wouldn't become as fatiqued later on in the tournament.

I'm in my mid 40's and I remember watching John Mcenroe serve and volley with ease. He made it look so easy. I also remember Patrick Rafter of Australia being an excellent serve and volleyer and also very comfortable at the net.

Thanks again for the response CK.

Great examples of good serve and volleyers. Johnny Mac and Rafter were sever and volley specialists. Goran ivanisivic would rush the net as well. It almost seems to be a dying breed on both the mens and womens side. I look at a guy like Gaels Monfils a tremendous athlete, maybe the best pure athlete on the tour, perhaps even the best pure athlete to ever play the game. There are so many times where he could come into net but he chooses not to. He seems to move well forward when drawn into net but he seems reluctant to come in on his accord. I agree with you that most players should work on their net game because it allows them to abbreviate the points which in turn keeps points short and thus matches short. Having a good net game can be a key to having a lengthy and injury free career because you dont have to work as hard physically if your able to come into net.

 

[Rockslinger]

Why don't more women tennis players come into the net?

The simple answer is the TOPSPIN LOB from the opponent's side of the net. That used to be true when women tennis players were 5'2" but now they are 6'2".

 

[Rockslinger]

I love the U.S. Open. I love NYC in September (except 9/11). I also love how they take the revenue from the men's draw and pool it with the much smaller revenue from the women's draw and then split the prize money equally. Sports socialism at its best.

 

[squash500]

Great examples of good serve and volleyers. Johnny Mac and Rafter were sever and volley specialists. Goran ivanisivic would rush the net as well. It almost seems to be a dying breed on both the mens and womens side. I look at a guy like Gaels Monfils a tremendous athlete, maybe the best pure athlete on the tour, perhaps even the best pure athlete to ever play the game. There are so many times where he could come into net but he chooses not to. He seems to move well forward when drawn into net but he seems reluctant to come in on his accord. I agree with you that most players should work on their net game because it allows them to abbreviate the points which in turn keeps points short and thus matches short. Having a good net game can be a key to having a lengthy and injury free career because you dont have to work as hard physically if your able to come into net.

I agree with your response again. I have absolutely nothing to add to it accept that I've never seen Gaels Monfils play before .

I look forward to watching GM play at the U.S. Open.

 

[Rockslinger]

The simple answer is the TOPSPIN LOB from the opponent's side of the net.

The answer to the topspin lob is the SMASH. Back in the old days, the ladies would jump up for the smash. Their short skirts would fly up revealing their transparent panties .

 

[squash500]

The simple answer is the TOPSPIN LOB from the opponent's side of the net. That used to be true when women tennis players were 5'2" but now they are 6'2".

You make a good point Rock. I remember when I used to be more of a tennis fan. You had these dainty little tennis players like Amanda Coetzer of south Africa who I believe was only 5'2".

Now you have all these giant women tennis players where the average height of these women seems to 5'11" ++ .

 

[ckupets04]

Maybe you terb tennis experts can answer a question for me?. Why don't more women tennis players come into the net?

I was watching the Sharapova semi-final match on Saturday night and both of these players must have come into the net only twice the whole match . Why is that?

These top women players hit some beautiful groundstrokes but why can't they volley once in awhile?

Just an observation from a very casual tennis fan.

Another thing I was thinking about was I remember an interview with Fed a few years ago and someone asked him why he didnt serve and volley that much and Fed said (believe it or not) because he didnt have to. I think some players have the mentality that they are only going to serve and volley if they need to. Pete Sampras for example would not have had the success he had at Wimbledon had he served and stayed back because while his groundstrokes were very good they were never great and while he moved better than most people gave him credit for , he wasnt as fluid in his movement as a Federer or as quick as a Michael Chang or Lleyton Hewitt. Pete came into net because he had to.

It seems to be an issue in the mens game too. For the longest time I always wondered why Roddick would never serve and volley, I mean he has such a big serve and one would think he would take advantage of it by coming in behind it. He only started coming into net more this year both behind his serve and behind good approach shots. He is also starting to feel a lot more comfortable up at net. Credit Larry Stefanki because it is Stefanki that finally has Roddick coming into net a little more and with good success.

 

[ckupets04]

I agree with your response again. I have absolutely nothing to add to it accept that I've never seen Gaels Monfils play before .

I look forward to watching GM play at the U.S. Open.

Gaels Monfils is an entertaining player for sure. He has his flaws (mostly his unwillingness to come into net unless he's drawn in) but he is one entertaining guy to watch. It would be great if he got to play some night matches because I think he will electrify the crowd. He is an entertaining player for sure.

I was thinking about your comment on how players should work on their net games more and I agree totally. I think one thing players should do more is play more doubles because doubles really helps your net play. I look at a player like Sam Stosur on the womens side and she plays a lot of doubles and as a result she is more willing to move forward in the court when playing singles as well. I think its just about confidence with some players. But playing doubles will allow players to develop more confidence in their skills up at the net.

 

[Rockslinger]

I was thinking about your comment on how players should work on their net games more and I agree totally.

I love to rush the net. It forces the issue then and there, I win or lose the point at the net. BTW: In club tennis, most players don't have great passing shots and this really puts pressure on their shotmaking.

 

[ckupets04]

I love to rush the net. It forces the issue then and there, I win or lose the point at the net. BTW: In club tennis, most players don't have great passing shots and this really puts pressure on their shotmaking.

I do try to rush the net but I make sure its behind a good approach. I will usually get in a rally and try to hit to the FH to open up the BH side and then hit to the BH and come in.

I dont serve and volley much. I've modelled my game around the players that I grew up idolizing like Michael Chang and now currently Lleyton Hewitt. Like them, my serve really isnt big enough to come in behind. Ive tried coming in behind my serve and when I do my opponent hits passing shots on me. I guess he is one of the few club players that is good at hitting passing shots.

I do like the strategy of rushing the net though. It immediately applies pressure on your opponent to do something with the return and not just get it back in play. It is also a good tactic to use when your feeling fatigued in match and you want to abbreviate the points.

 

[Rockslinger]

Like them, my serve really isnt big enough to come in behind. Ive tried coming in behind my serve and when I do my opponent hits passing shots on me.

Unless one has a great serve, it is highly risky to come to the net because:
1) Your adversary is waiting.
2) You only have a quarter court and not the whole court to land your serve.

I used to have a "cannonball" serve that can hit the sidelines and then kick way off to the side pulling the other guy completely off the court. In fact, most times that serve is outright winner because it is not returnable. No need for a followup volley.

 

[ckupets04]

Unless one has a great serve, it is highly risky to come to the net because:
1) Your adversary is waiting.
2) You only have a quarter court and not the whole court to land your serve.

I used to have a "cannonball" serve that can hit the sidelines and then kick way off to the side pulling the other guy completely off the court. In fact, most times that serve is outright winner because it is not returnable. No need for a followup volley.

I will occasionally come in behind my serve just to put the idea in my opponents mind that I might do it. When I do come in behind my serve I usually come in behind a 1st-serve to the BH on the AD-Court.

 

[nottyboi]

Serve and volley is a very efficient way to score points, but it is risky. I think if you use it too much, a decent opponent will try to neutralize it by passing you on the return. Sampras was able to use it consistantly, only because his second serve was essentially a first serve.