2016 Wimbledon Championships...ATP 2000...London, England

[hockeyscout]

... she certainly isn't a great match player by any stretch ...

Maybe she doesn't keep her head still enough?

22 Grand Slams and you think she is not a great match player?

Really?

[don_budge]

The Great John McEnroe...Feet made of clay

I like McEnroe as a commetator and am surprised he made that proclamation regarding Serena. Steffi to me is womens tennis best athlete ever also, fastest, with the best footwork.

John McEnroe is merely a shill...just like the rest. He has a job in mainstream media and he has children. Their existence depends upon his performance in the financial sector. He may be a lot of things but first and foremost he is human.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/29/tennis/john-mcenroe-coach-milos-raonic-wimbledon-boris-becker-pat-cash/index.html

His commentary on matches that Milos Raonic plays in is inappropriate. About as inappropriate as Hillary Clinton being President of the United States of America. An announcer must be purely impartial to do a good job.

McEnroe's performance during the Federer/Raonic match was abysmal. He could not serve three masters. Federer...Raonic...and the puppet master. The marionette.

[stotty]

My money is on Murray in the final. He ought to be able to pick enough serves back to make inroads into rallies. I lot will of course will depend on how Andy serves. I imagine Raonic will be looking to take on Murray's second serves which can be weak at times.

I am more impressed than most with the way Raonic volleys. Sure, he's not up there with those of yesteryear, not by a long way, but he is the player most comfortable at the net on the tour. He at least looks like he is going to make most volleys he takes on, unlike Djokovic and co. where even the simplest volleys can be fluffed.

Serena rolled out the winner in the end, equalling Graf's 22 titles. Shame Steffi retired at 30 and when still at her best. She would likely have won another five or six had she played until she was 34.

[stroke]

Is McEnroe in his commentaries contracted to love Serena? He is so one-sided toward her compared to all the other matches he commentates on.

He says Serena is the best athlete to have ever played tennis. I give that one to Steffi Graf, hands down. Has anyone women ever moved better than Steffi, or been more athletic?

Serena doesn't have an opponent out there? She needs a rivalry. She is a great player in terms of ball striking but she certainly isn't a great match player by any stretch.

3-3 and deuce in the second set as I write....

I like McEnroe as a commetator and am surprised he made that proclamation regarding Serena. Steffi to me is womens tennis best athlete ever also, fastest, with the best footwork.

[don_budge]

The Serena Thing...

Is McEnroe in his commentaries contracted to love Serena? He is so one-sided toward her compared to all the other matches he commentates on.

He says Serena is the best athlete to have ever played tennis. I give that one to Steffi Graf, hands down. Has anyone women ever moved better than Steffi, or been more athletic?

Serena doesn't have an opponent out there? She needs a rivalry. She is a great player in terms of ball striking but she certainly isn't a great match player by any stretch.

3-3 and deuce in the second set as I write....

Here's a good case of McEnroe hamming it up. Chris Evert makes some rather strange comments about Serena all of the time. It almost seems that if you read between her lines she has been reading some of the "truth" theories.

Chris has taken a rather dismal look in the past regarding players using PED's. She maintains that there was a rival of hers in the past that was using...but being the lady that she is, she doesn't name names.

[don_budge]

Johnny McEnroe...and the forked tongue.

McEnroe a year(maybe 2) or so ago one time(I only heard him say it once) called Raonic's serve the best in the history of tennis. Then he said and it is getting better. McEnroe as we know is not one to throw aroound accolades.

McEnroe serves his masters these days. He says what needs to be said. Besides...Johnny knows full well that you cannot compare serves across the modern era and the classic era. He's slinging a fair amount of bull from his seat in the announcer's booth. He has to...the action will not stand on its own.

Suffice it to say Raonic's serve is a huge weapon. Without it he wouldn't be where he is.

[stotty]

Is McEnroe in his commentaries contracted to love Serena? He is so one-sided toward her compared to all the other matches he commentates on.

He says Serena is the best athlete to have ever played tennis. I give that one to Steffi Graf, hands down. Has anyone women ever moved better than Steffi, or been more athletic?

Serena doesn't have an opponent out there? She needs a rivalry. She is a great player in terms of ball striking but she certainly isn't a great match player by any stretch.

3-3 and deuce in the second set as I write....

[stroke]

McEnroe a year(maybe 2) or so ago one time(I only heard him say it once) called Raonic's serve the best in the history of tennis. Then he said and it is getting better. McEnroe as we know is not one to throw aroound accolades.

[don_budge]

Andy Murray vs. Milos Raonic...2016 Wimbledon Finals, London, England

"You will be interested to know that I am applying for jobs at other websites. Most are unpaid positions, but it's a way for me to promote myself. In fact, I just got "hired" by a new site--the ****** ***** in ****. It wasn't easy, I had to send them samples articles and my full bio. Anyway, I just emailed them asking for permission (which I must do according to company policy) to write a preview of the Murray-Raonic Final. I think this match presents a very interesting dynamic in several different ways pertaining to abilities, experience, temperament and the setting itself. And who are you picking. I'm going to make the case for each of them , but will ultimately probably go with Murray.

What points would you stress if you were writing it? I value your opinion immensely, and I'm certain that any feedback that I received from you would be extremely beneficial. If you could email me your thoughts today I would appreciate it. Time is obviously of the essence. In fact I am expecting the ****** ***** to call me any minute now to give me the go ahead."


A friend of mine in "the business" wrote to me the other day...how could he be so stupid to possibly value my opinion. He's a journalism major from the University of Michigan embarking on a writing career and like me he dabbles in tennis among other things.

After watching my worst nightmare yesterday when Roger Federer snatched defeat from the jaws of victory I am suffering from a hangover...the death of tennis as I knew it hangover. Forget about this loose talk about Milos Raonic serving and volleying his way to the finals of Wimbledon. He served his way to the finals. Raonic is essentially a one stroke demolition man...without that Godzilla like serve he is just another "Next Generation" propaganda wunderkind. But as it is Milos looks like a heir apparent to one of the vacant "Big Four" slots in the new and improved sport of "Big Time Tennis". Roger...you didn't have to die. You didn't have to die.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upMNcsPwkuA

Well that's none of your concern. It's become a promotional game. Afterall Roger has been the big selling point all of these years. He's had top billing with his partners in crime...great imposters all of them. You know who they are...Nadal, Djokovic and Murray. Roger has the status of an Elvis Presley in the music industry. But it's bye, bye Roger. The time has come and gone. Roger, being the Living Proof, of my paradigm for teaching and coaching tennis is on life support. He resurrected himself for Wimbledon. He allegedly had knee surgery and underwent a program that was designed and tailored for him to cast himself in the role of a super legend...to make the finals.

But here it is. The finals are staring us in the face and what do we see? Why it's the Andy Murray and Milos Raonic show. What a novel idea. MIA is Novak Djokovic. I wonder just what happened to him. It's just as well. Somehow from my perspective he isn't what I would call a classic grass court player. A classic grass court player has a nose for the net. He isn't forced to come to the net. He comes with the slightest opportunity...the smallest of invitations. Raonic and Murray? You have to essentially pry them from the baseline. It's a sad state of affairs.

So what is it that is compelling about this Wimbledon final? I tell you what is compelling...it is the lack of anything compelling. These are two sad sack characters if there ever were any. Murray is so void of anything personally entertaining or likable and the same can be said for Raonic. Murray's on court personna is one of his gaping mouth wide open whenever he does one of two things...when he hits a great shot or when he misses. He's consistently unattractive in either role...winner or loser. When he wins he is almost apologetic in his behavior and his body language. As if he himself understands what a zero he is on the stage of tennis. His own countrymen and women for that matter will have to strain themselves to appear to like him. They'll like him or not though...pulling for him in the wake of their brave Brexit from the European Union. They can bolster there country's image in their own hearts if they can salvage a win on the engineered lawn of Wimbledon. A lawn that has been engineered for the likes of an Andy Murray and Milos Raonic for that matter. It's a lawn of velcro. It slows the game down so the big monstrous racquets don't take on a nuclear aspect. Not that it will do any good. We are all fed up with the tennis...and the politics for that matter.

Milos Raonic has to be one of the most boring characters to ever grace a final on the hallowed grass at Wimbledon. Does he emote under his heavily gelled hairdo. I was wondering to myself...does his girlfriend ever run her hands through his hair? I don't know why I thought that...I guess I was bored with his play. I remember the Raonic serve was being critiqued in a thread entitled "Interactive Forum".

Besides all of the questions about the idiosyncratic nature of his service motion, I have just one more question...is the motion conducive to him following it into the net? As it looks now the answer to that question is...no. I suggest sending him to the Stan Smith school of serving for some seasoning.

140 mph is impressive...but spin, placement and tactics are equally important elements of the service game. His motion may not be appropriate for those more subtler elements of service technique and tactics. That little idiosyncratic move that he makes at the top of his backswing to compensate for the rather unorthodox starting position of his racquet head and wrist is worrisome to me. Those little moves and compensations in a players swing sometimes are the reason things tend to break down under pressure...when things get a little dicey. It also looks like he tosses the ball very high which can be problematic in the wind.

It would be a shame to waste this young man's obvious strength and not develop the rest of his game around it, while at the same time continuing to develop the serve. If I were his coach I would not be satisfied with this as the final product. Hopefully he has a thoughtful coach, that is mindful of the potential this young man has, that will point him in the right direction.

This player should be developed to serve and volley, to attack the net and to play all court tennis...he is a perfect candidate, designed to offset the advantages of the prototypical modern backcourt player of today.

As it stands now, though, this is the perfect modern day serve. Generally the philosophy is...you cannot argue with velocity. Hit as hard as possible with minimal thought devoted to tactics...then retreat behind the baseline.

Never being right or wrong I find myself entitled to write stuff like this...but be that as it may that serve is completely out of this world. It is a wrecking machine. It wins matches and it wins a lot of them. But there also some rather inexplicable losses that comes with it. As it is the serve now has carried Milos all of the way to the finals of Wimbledon and now the question...is it enough? Answer...probably not. Murray has the game to blunt the initial onslaught and neutralize it enough to get Milos to play his game which most likely will be a game of exploiting the backhand somehow. Exploiting the mobility and ability to get into position to make aggressive swings for five sets. Milos tends to be prone to some injuries...all athletes are of course...but the "high pockets" build of Raonic may be somewhat less conducive to scrambling behind the baseline than the other baseline wonders playing the modern game of tennis somehow. Murray should be able to get Raonic to play his game more often than Raonic will be able to get Murray to play his game. It's a pretty simple game...the modern game.

I was watching Raonic against Federer and he didn't look natural going forwards behind his serve. I thought that the serve and volley aspect of his service game was pretty minimal as a matter of fact. All that I remember of his service game from a serve and volley point of view was that he seemed to miss more of his serves when he was trying to sprint towards the net. I may have been somewhat correct about his serve being designed to retreat behind the baseline as opposed to rolling towards the net like his coach/consultant John McEnroe.

The finals? I can never remember a less compelling matchup. It's boring and I challenge anyone to sit through the entire thing. I know what I am going to be doing...I am going to be practicing my golf swing in the yard here. I played four rounds in the past two weeks when I was in the States. It was perfect I tell you. My partners acted as if I was the second coming. It was that good. It felt better and better. For you golfers I highly recommend "The Inside Path to Better Golf" by Peter Kostis. I rebuilt my swing during the winter without hardly hitting a ball. I did it between my ears. Swing, swing...swing. I love the swing thing...you know. The quest for the perfect swing. But tennis has become too one dimensional. Milos doesn't necessarily add anything to the game either. He is as one-dimensional as they come. Take away that serve and what have you got...another big lug playing the modern game of tennis from the baseline.

It's time for the finals. The "Next Generation" stars of tomorrow have all been laid to bed. It's a snooze alert. It's really a shame. But I could be wrong. It's goodnight Iran for the modern game of tennis. The writing on the proverbial wall. It's a culmination point when push comes to shove. Something must be done...but what is it? You cannot make this stuff up. It's as transparent as the Director of the FBI finding Hillary Clinton innocent of any wrong doing.

[klacr]

To his credit, Raonic played well, composed and methodical. He's being coached/consulted by John McEnroe. How much of McEnroe's influence contributed to this victory? Raonic has been much more willing to serve and volley. That's not a bad thing.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

I missed the last three sets...had to go to work. I am assuming Roger started running out of gas in the fifth set? I just felt if he could bunt enough serves back he would be in with a good chance in the rallies.

I still feel Roger plays really well but going to five sets twice would be a hurdle too far.

Milos seemed to be reading Roger's game really well. He seemed to know exactly where Roger's backhand was going and was getting into position to receive it ahead of time.

[gzhpcu]

Tight match for Federer, no second Houdini act, but Raonic played and moved well. Lots of serve and volley too by Milos!

[don_budge]

For the Marbles...

One set now for all of the marbles. No tie-break. Federer had chances to break at 2-2 and 3-3. He failed to convert. To win now...you must break the other man's serve. Advantage Federer?

[don_budge]

Merlon on Wizardry...and serving out the set

It looks like Roger will be serving for the second set. Let's see how he does in his mission.

No muss...no fuss. He serves it out at love. He has summoned the dragon...as Merlin used to say. Now watch what he does in the fourth set.

[don_budge]

Serving for the Set...Federer Style

It looks like Roger will be serving for the second set. Let's see how he does in his mission.