Thoughts about Tennis Tradition...

[don_budge]

Match of Yesterday...Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Dominic Thiem

As I was making my way to dreamland last night I switched on Eurosport just in time to catch the fifth set tie-break between these two one handed backhand players. I watched the first set and a half the other day before the rain delay and had high hopes of a Dominic Thiem upset over Tsitsipas. As the tie-break began I said to myself that the player with the stronger serve is going to win this match. Thiem started serving and won his first point. Tsitsipas followed with two aces. Hmmm...

The concluding match point was interesting. Apparently there had been some traffic to the net during the match and Thiem was presented with a short ball on his backhand side. He drove the ball and it landed somewhat short and right into the wheelhouse of the Tsitsipas forehand. Stefanos made short work of it. A rather poor choice of approach on Thiem's part I thought. Better to wicked slice down the line with a couple of choices in depth. Either deep into the corner or short up the line. Even something cross court would have been better than putting a sitting duck on the Greek's forehand.

Between the two of them there was a rather nice presence on the court. The one handed backhands and players all dressed in white. Some tactical net play. Nice first round.

[don_budge]

image.png image.png

The glass is half full and half empty. It is important to understand this in order to realize that both conditions can exist at the same time. They can in fact coexist. Are you a half full type? A half empty type? If so...you are missing the point. This riddle has been misunderstood from the beginning. Fortunately...I was here to solve it for you.

[don_budge]

It's funny how it works that way doesn't it?

Yeah...it's funny alright. In an ironic sort of way.

[don_budge]

For those who dare to be different. For those who dare to think outside the box. For those who refuse to conform. For those who reject herd mentality. "You need people like me. So you can point your fingers and say...look at him. That's a bad guy. Take a look at the bad guy. You are not going to see too many more like him."

The Fountainhead is a 1943 novel by Russian-American author Ayn Rand, her first major literary success. The novel's protagonist, Howard Roark, is an intransigent young architect who battles against conventional standards and refuses to compromise with an architectural establishment unwilling to accept innovation. Roark embodies what Rand believed to be the ideal man, and his struggle reflects Rand's belief that individualism is superior to collectivism.

Roark is opposed by what he calls "second-handers", who value conformity over independence and integrity. These include Roark's former classmate, Peter Keating, who succeeds by following popular styles but turns to Roark for help with design problems. Ellsworth Toohey, a socialist architecture critic who uses his influence to promote his political and social agenda, tries to destroy Roark's career. Tabloidnewspaper publisher Gail Wynand seeks to shape popular opinion; he befriends Roark, then betrays him when public opinion turns in a direction he cannot control. The novel's most controversial character is Roark's lover, Dominique Francon. She believes that non-conformity has no chance of winning, so she alternates between helping Roark and working to undermine him.

[don_budge]

My favorite tennis student in the little club here in Sweden recently sent me an email informing me that he graduated from Architecture School and will be pursuing his Master's Degree in Switzerland. I told him I couldn't have been prouder of him than if he had won Wimbledon.

I might add that in the vein of vanity...I am also so proud of myself that I am bursting at the seams. Gustaf and I have kept in touch ever since. I am friends with all of his family on some basis more than surface. I have worked with his mother. Collaborated with her in her career. Dad was in the tennis program. Consulted some with his brother.

But it was me who steered Gustaf into the Architecture program. He had been drifting from subject to subject without committing to a singular objective. I took a look at his wanderings...his meanderings and concluded that he would be a GREAT Architect. Perhaps the likes of Howard Roark. I made the suggestion. I recommended the book "The Fountainhead". That was all he needed. I used a little "persuation". It wasn't a one off sell. But I persisted...just as I do when coaching tennis.

So for those that think this site is solely about tennis...I feel sorry for you. For those who have a problem with me...I sympathize with you. Because I defy you. Every single one. I am true to myself and my Lord...and the game of tennis. Classic tennis. Gustaf was taught classic tennis. He has an appreciation for more than tennis.

[don_budge]

But it's always a pleasure to watch KM, in my opinion. She has a genuine all-court game and is a wonderful shot-maker (playing hero - Roger Federer). Without her approach today's final would be...well...what the mens' final promises to be.

regards
Rob

The book is William Tilden II. Richard Gonzalez is the model with the Don Budge backhand. Harry Hopman is the coach. Roger Federer is "The Living Proof". ...don_budge tennis coaching paradigm.

[tenniscoach1]

It's not always about tennis. This was my intro post to the 2015 French Open thread which I hosted. The Russian woman on my left and the Ugly American on my right. A memory etched in time. It was the 2014 French Open that I attended. Tennis is the beginning much of the time. The beauty of the sport is the international aspect of it. Carry your tennis racquet anywhere in the world and it opens doors. It might be a conversation. A job interview. A date. Whatever...it is not always the end, but the means to an end. Bob Brett once told me..."it's only a hobby to me". We had a great conversation on the sidelines of the Swedish Tennis Federation symposium. We talked tennis and then the conversation morphed. As it usually does.

It's funny how it works that way doesn't it?

[don_budge]

Well said. The US elections posts were a lot of fun.

Perhaps a tad early…but with so little happening on the forum as of late.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2015/05/20/Roland-Garros-Raonic-Withdrawal.aspx

Milos Raonic has announced that he will miss this year's French Open Championships. I saw him play Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinal's last year at Roland Garros. The match itself was very expensive to see…and very, very boring. Between this match and one that featured Maria Sharapova I needed five or six cups of strong coffee to stay awake. Seriously…I was nodding off. Going to sleep with rabid Canadian fans on the right of "The Ugly American" and a beautiful Russian woman on my left…with whom I engaged in some rather interesting conversation. You know…Putin, Obama, Sharapova and her daughters tennis development. That sort of thing. It was an interesting experience…but the tennis was numbing.

But Milos has succumbed to a condition that sort of drove me out of tennis and bothered me immensely when I embarked upon my golfing career. He had a "Morten's Neuroma" in his foot. Apparently he has had surgery for this condition and I find it very interesting that it is taking him longer than he thought it would to recover from it.

When I first went to my doctor in Dearborn, Michigan about this condition at the Henry Ford Medical Center he told me that my options were a foot pad, then cortisone treatment and finally surgery if neither of the first two worked. I sort of scoffed at the idea of the foot pad. I looked at my doctor and sort of said to him…I don't think you understand how badly this thing hurts. It was excruciating. It felt as if there was a red hot poker penetrating the joint of my "ring toe" on my right foot. The cortisone idea wasn't so completely out of the question but the surgery that he mentioned came with the possibility of leaving part of my foot numb as the condition is a nerve condition.

I opted for none of the above and instead went over the bridge to Windsor, Canada to see an acupuncture guy that my old friend Leon referred me to. A Korean fellow as I recall. He had me strip down to my underwear and gave me the eyeball exam…sort of looking at me as the little old Japanese guy in "The Karate Kid" movie might mysteriously look at one. As if he were personally observing all of the meridians of energy in my body. Then it was needle time and I laid down on his table bed and he inserted some very thin needles in various points of my body to get the flow of "Chi" going properly. He attached a wire with a small alligator clip to each needle that was attached to some kind of battery device that gave the needles some electric current. He adjusted to current to my comfort zone. Then he had me turn over and he repeated the procedure with needles on my other side. When he took each of the needles out he put some heat on each point with something burning or smouldering that smelled like some sort of strong herb.

It seems to me that after two treatments the condition never returned to me…to this very day. After that experience I would return to "Dr. Needles" whenever some sort of ailment or sports like injury would bother me. Tendenitis here or there…hip injury. Back problems. Quitting smoking. I used to make a list before I went to him like a grocery list. He never failed to cure what was ailing me. I was paying him fifty dollars per treatment out of my pocket as opposed to going to the Henry Ford Medical Center for free as part of my health coverage from work.

After the acupuncture treatments I would walk out of his office feeling like I was glowing. It seemed that my awareness was so heightened that I could read everybody's mind on the street. It used to occur to me to go to him once a week just for maintenance…I would have if he had been around the corner or in the neighbourhood. Needless to say…I considered this guy to be a miracle worker. The last I heard was that he had come down with an inoperable brain tumor himself. Apparently something that even his needles couldn't overcome.

I wonder of Milos ever tried the acupuncture route.

It's not always about tennis. This was my intro post to the 2015 French Open thread which I hosted. The Russian woman on my left and the Ugly American on my right. A memory etched in time. It was the 2014 French Open that I attended. Tennis is the beginning much of the time. The beauty of the sport is the international aspect of it. Carry your tennis racquet anywhere in the world and it opens doors. It might be a conversation. A job interview. A date. Whatever...it is not always the end, but the means to an end. Bob Brett once told me..."it's only a hobby to me". We had a great conversation on the sidelines of the Swedish Tennis Federation symposium. We talked tennis and then the conversation morphed. As it usually does.

[tenniscoach1]

This is one scary post...but not surprising. An employee coming on strong to drive the point home. In and of itself...a tremendously political statement. It is misleading and an exaggeration of anything that I have been aware of on this forum for the past twelve years or so. Political rants that have absolutely nothing to do with tennis? Recently two subjects that actually did and do effect tennis were Russia/Ukraine and the COVID issues. Posters were allowed to post to their hearts content until a voice appeared that didn't agree with the herd. Then it was time to shut down the conversation. That's ok...we all know the score. Don't we? Stick to the one and only group...people who love the sport of tennis? Laughable. Can you imagine in all the world that there is one and only one type of person who loves the sport of tennis? This is scary talk...it brings to mind the Orwell quote about "imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever". But again...quite ok. It is only important to know the score. John is not paying for a server to host political discussions and his customers have been well served. This conversation took on the feel of a hallucination. The forum is surreal now...the forces are aligning. Quite ok...it leaves out the dissenting voice. That is the score.

The reality is quite a different one and it is important that it doesn't get lost in the hyperbole of late. John Yandell has a tremendous product that he sells to subscribers. I have been a participating member for going on fourteen years as it is. The consistency of the monthly magazine has a very high standard and the magazine has never failed to deliver. This is the one thing that I do not want to get lost in this conversation. I have a lot of respect for John as a business man in delivering value for the cost of admission. The website also provided me a place to develop my writing skills and I took full advantage of the opportunity and trust me...I had a lot of fun doing it. For this I will always be personally thankful for tennisplayer.net. I will always love this place.

The forum is a thing of the past now. There is a new philosophy in place and it addresses the three of four individuals that are currently posting. It suits them well as they seem to agree with each other and like each other to a degree I find to be rather...boring. This is another case of tennis metaphoring life. The tennis is incredibly boring now as well. Much will be made of trying to inject something into the current Grand Slam being played at Roland Garros. But the reality is the French Open is one of the most boring displays of tennis that there is and without Roger Federer and to an infinitely lesser degree, Rafael Nadal, any luster of the tournament is gone. I know this for a fact as one day in 2015 I sat through two matches on the center court and I needed five or six cups of French coffee to stay awake. It is a snooze fest. If you don't believe me...go there and write to us about your experience. Three out of five on the dirt with a draw of 128 of cookie cutter players. Try to dress it up. It cannot be done. It has always been this way too.



The ultimate irony is that diversity is actually frowned upon here at TP.net now. The cry for the crowd is for DIVERSITY these days. But in the end...just another metaphor. So just beware and forewarned...be careful for what you wish for because you just might get it. I agree with tenniscoach1's beautiful post. But I also agree that jeffreycount also has the right to express his opinion. I just used the word "agree" twice...and you know that I never do that.

Well said. The US elections posts were a lot of fun.

[don_budge]

Last I checked this is a tennis magazine website. As a new subscriber I would seriously wonder what I signed up for if I went to the forum and saw a bunch of political rants that had absolutely nothing to do with tennis. Why would John pay for server space to host political discussions? Can't we just let tennisplayer stick to the one, and only one, group it is meant for - people who love the sport of tennis?

This is one scary post...but not surprising. An employee coming on strong to drive the point home. In and of itself...a tremendously political statement. It is misleading and an exaggeration of anything that I have been aware of on this forum for the past twelve years or so. Political rants that have absolutely nothing to do with tennis? Recently two subjects that actually did and do effect tennis were Russia/Ukraine and the COVID issues. Posters were allowed to post to their hearts content until a voice appeared that didn't agree with the herd. Then it was time to shut down the conversation. That's ok...we all know the score. Don't we? Stick to the one and only group...people who love the sport of tennis? Laughable. Can you imagine in all the world that there is one and only one type of person who loves the sport of tennis? This is scary talk...it brings to mind the Orwell quote about "imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever". But again...quite ok. It is only important to know the score. John is not paying for a server to host political discussions and his customers have been well served. This conversation took on the feel of a hallucination. The forum is surreal now...the forces are aligning. Quite ok...it leaves out the dissenting voice. That is the score.

The reality is quite a different one and it is important that it doesn't get lost in the hyperbole of late. John Yandell has a tremendous product that he sells to subscribers. I have been a participating member for going on fourteen years as it is. The consistency of the monthly magazine has a very high standard and the magazine has never failed to deliver. This is the one thing that I do not want to get lost in this conversation. I have a lot of respect for John as a business man in delivering value for the cost of admission. The website also provided me a place to develop my writing skills and I took full advantage of the opportunity and trust me...I had a lot of fun doing it. For this I will always be personally thankful for tennisplayer.net. I will always love this place.

The forum is a thing of the past now. There is a new philosophy in place and it addresses the three of four individuals that are currently posting. It suits them well as they seem to agree with each other and like each other to a degree I find to be rather...boring. This is another case of tennis metaphoring life. The tennis is incredibly boring now as well. Much will be made of trying to inject something into the current Grand Slam being played at Roland Garros. But the reality is the French Open is one of the most boring displays of tennis that there is and without Roger Federer and to an infinitely lesser degree, Rafael Nadal, any luster of the tournament is gone. I know this for a fact as one day in 2015 I sat through two matches on the center court and I needed five or six cups of French coffee to stay awake. It is a snooze fest. If you don't believe me...go there and write to us about your experience. Three out of five on the dirt with a draw of 128 of cookie cutter players. Try to dress it up. It cannot be done. It has always been this way too.

In a realm where minds converge, let us tennis player dot netters … ponder, Engage in discussions of politics and philosophy, we shall wander. For in these dialogues, knowledge does arise, With diverse souls, a tapestry of personalities and ties. Oh, American tennis leaders, wise voices of yore, They too recognized the value of this intellectual lore. "Let the discourse flourish, let freedom reign," They proclaimed, urging minds to break their chain. There is more to life than a game of tennis, Let us delve into realms beyond this earthly canvas." With backgrounds varied and spirits unrestrained, We shall embrace the harmony of thoughts unrestrained.

Like the beavers upon Don Budge's estate, Let us run free, unrestricted, as ideas escalate. No need for rules to bind our curious minds, For intellectual exploration, the soul truly finds.

Just some of my thoughts.

The ultimate irony is that diversity is actually frowned upon here at TP.net now. The cry for the crowd is for DIVERSITY these days. But in the end...just another metaphor. So just beware and forewarned...be careful for what you wish for because you just might get it. I agree with tenniscoach1's beautiful post. But I also agree that jeffreycount also has the right to express his opinion. I just used the word "agree" twice...and you know that I never do that.

[tenniscoach1]

Last I checked this is a tennis magazine website. As a new subscriber I would seriously wonder what I signed up for if I went to the forum and saw a bunch of political rants that had absolutely nothing to do with tennis. Why would John pay for server space to host political discussions? Can't we just let tennisplayer stick to the one, and only one, group it is meant for - people who love the sport of tennis?

In a realm where minds converge, let us tennis player dot netters … ponder, Engage in discussions of politics and philosophy, we shall wander. For in these dialogues, knowledge does arise, With diverse souls, a tapestry of personalities and ties. Oh, American tennis leaders, wise voices of yore, They too recognized the value of this intellectual lore. "Let the discourse flourish, let freedom reign," They proclaimed, urging minds to break their chain. There is more to life than a game of tennis, Let us delve into realms beyond this earthly canvas." With backgrounds varied and spirits unrestrained, We shall embrace the harmony of thoughts unrestrained.

Like the beavers upon Don Budge's estate, Let us run free, unrestricted, as ideas escalate. No need for rules to bind our curious minds, For intellectual exploration, the soul truly finds.

Just some of my thoughts.

[jeffreycounts]

Nothing wrong with the group getting political and personal

Last I checked this is a tennis magazine website. As a new subscriber I would seriously wonder what I signed up for if I went to the forum and saw a bunch of political rants that had absolutely nothing to do with tennis. Why would John pay for server space to host political discussions? Can't we just let tennisplayer stick to the one, and only one, group it is meant for - people who love the sport of tennis?

[tenniscoach1]

this is, of course, very true. Freedom of speech is a very important aspect of any meaningful discussion. The discussions on the forum are rather mundane now. Much of the reason is due to lack of interest and there really isn't anything interesting to discuss since roger federer left the stadium. Much as i suggested so many times in this very thread...the air was sucked out of the balloon. The forum is reduced to a very few posters who have limited experience in tennis and the insights are surface and shallow. It was actually a better place when there was real diversity in multiple strong personalities. Geoffwilliams, bottle, 10splayer, tennis_chiro. Even stotty when he was licensedcoach...before he "changed". Klacr, lobanddropshot and phil a couple of others. There were a bunch of great characters...including hockeyscout. When you have such strict boundaries and the threat of expulsion if you don't comply you dumb it down. Politics and personal stuff is always mixed up in any interesting subject. You cannot expect to weed it completely out and maintain any interest save for the go alongs to get along. All the liking and licking gets a bit boring. Tennis is dumbed down as a matter of fact. Modern tennis views the dropshot as a watershed moment...for example. It has the possibility of breaking up another mind numbing backcourt rally. But the straw that breaks the camel's back here came in the form of a poster who had written a total of four posts and he was calling me out over some hypersensitive moment he was having. All of a sudden i was warned that i had two strikes against me and i wasn't aware of the first one. The monthly articles have maintained a consistent level of interest. My point about the forum still stands. It doesn't matter if you agree or not. You are entitled to think and decide for yourself. All things must pass and it appears that is what happened to the forum.

Some very good points here.

[stroke]

Hey, I have already pleaded with JY to resurrect the "New Years Serve" thread. What else can one do.

[don_budge]

Generally I just show someone the door when they start giving suggestions on how to run things, arguing with my big studs and alpha males who are achieving results or being tattletale’s. Nothing wrong with the group getting political and personal: you get better when you know where everyone stands. The best posters on this board have traditionally been the most political and personal … and, that edge makes everyone better. Best way to handle problems as a coach or manager is to let the room handle it, step back and give your studs runway. A guy like Steve understands this having played baseball and working in real organizations where men act like men and the ladies hold it all together day in and day out by moving mountains.

This is, of course, very true. Freedom of speech is a very important aspect of any meaningful discussion. The discussions on the forum are rather mundane now. Much of the reason is due to lack of interest and there really isn't anything interesting to discuss since Roger Federer left the stadium. Much as I suggested so many times in this very thread...the air was sucked out of the balloon. The forum is reduced to a very few posters who have limited experience in tennis and the insights are surface and shallow. It was actually a better place when there was real diversity in multiple strong personalities. GeoffWilliams, bottle, 10splayer, tennis_chiro. Even stotty when he was licensedcoach...before he "changed". klacr, lobanddropshot and Phil a couple of others. There were a bunch of great characters...including hockeyscout.

When you have such strict boundaries and the threat of expulsion if you don't comply you dumb it down. Politics and personal stuff is always mixed up in any interesting subject. You cannot expect to weed it completely out and maintain any interest save for the go alongs to get along. All the liking and licking gets a bit boring. Tennis is dumbed down as a matter of fact. Modern tennis views the dropshot as a watershed moment...for example. It has the possibility of breaking up another mind numbing backcourt rally. But the straw that breaks the camel's back here came in the form of a poster who had written a total of four posts and he was calling me out over some hypersensitive moment he was having. All of a sudden I was warned that I had two strikes against me and I wasn't aware of the first one.

The monthly articles have maintained a consistent level of interest. My point about the forum still stands. It doesn't matter if you agree or not. You are entitled to think and decide for yourself. All things must pass and it appears that is what happened to the forum.