@emarktaylor@tennis he clearly was not going to get back to a top level as a professional player. I was there was some analysis explaining how his game was different. It seems perhaps just a slight drop in forehand speed or something. It was hard to see what exactly was different except he seemed not capable of bossing points like he used to and got pushed further and further back.
I watched a lot of #tennis in 80s and 90s and I've only recently started following it again a bit more.
Back then hardly anyone ever played stops on clay court (or other surfaces, mostly makes sense on clay to begin with, I suppose).
They seem to be very common now, I wonder why?
Probably not player skill and if anything players are more athletic and faster to the net. Is it because players hit harder and therefore tend to be further back in the court, becoming more susceptible to stops?
@layoutSubviews Yeah, it feels like it's mostly the latter - you need to stay somewhat close to the net but at the same time gear and power have developed such that you're then more open to get overpowered on the base line.
Via Courtney Nguyen @FortyDeuceTwits
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3h
excuse me but i kept reading on this website that this old man was finished and it was pointless for him to play tennis so imagine my surprise when
@emarktaylor@tennis JFC, tennis journalists are the worst. Nadal knows its over, he's said as much. The bast clay courter in history has his best win since 2022 against a guy who is not super on clay is the guide here.