1977 - Australian Open Final: Tanner - Vilas

[tennis_chiro]

Here is a rally if ever there was one...2 minutes 23 seconds long.

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

Oddly enough it is Borg who is pulling the trigger here and there in the rally, but then easily slips back into rally mode to wait for the next opportunity. He presses twice more towards the end of the rally then finally gets what he wants, the point. Winning rallies like that are incredibly valuable in the sense they can break and opponent.

It was a tough call back then on clay. You couldn't out rally Borg, and wooden rackets prevented you hitting through him. I think they term that as being 'between and rock and hard place'.

This clip was immediately folllowed on youtube by a Becker/Lendl and a Becker/Sampras clip which, if not a higher level of play than we are used to seeing today, is certainly a more entertaining level of play than we are used to seeing. And it sure looks to me like they are hitting the ball at least as fast on the run as anything we are seeing from today's "big hitters". It might be a different story when today's players are standing still, but on the run as the players are in these two clips - ... I don't think so.

don

[stotty]

Here is a rally if ever there was one...2 minutes 23 seconds long.

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

Oddly enough it is Borg who is pulling the trigger here and there in the rally, but then easily slips back into rally mode to wait for the next opportunity. He presses twice more towards the end of the rally then finally gets what he wants, the point. Winning rallies like that are incredibly valuable in the sense they can break and opponent.

It was a tough call back then on clay. You couldn't out rally Borg, and wooden rackets prevented you hitting through him. I think they term that as being 'between and rock and hard place'.

Well they are certainly more adventurous in their use of the whole court. Sliced backhands are certainly more prevalent and better struck, particularly in the Becker v Lendl matches. What amazes me most about today's top players is the ground shots they can hit from the extremities of the court. Djokovic in particular is incredible on the stretch off his backhand.

But I think players played with more adventure back then and used a more all court game, which, yes, is more entertaining to watch. Even less natural volleyers like Borg and Lendl were't afraid to come in and seize opportunities.

At Wimbledon, the last couple of years, I noticed no one when returning serve is guarding against the serve and volleyer. By that I mean everyone pops the ball back deep down the middle third and generously high over the net at times. Return stats are often high but perhaps this might be hiding the fact that retainer isn't obliged to keep the ball low over the net on return.

Stepanek nearly beat Djokovic in five at Wimbledon a few years back. I watched it all from 10 rows back. He took away Djokovic's 'deep down the middle' return of serve by serve volleying against him. Stepanek seemed to quite enjoy volleying Novak's flat backhand. It looks a different game if a player has the balls to buck the system and gate crash the net. It's not a dead game serve and volley...it's just we are being told it is.

[stroke]

Radek is just a top tier volleyer, top tier hands. I would say he is close to the best hands I have ever seen, McEnroe.