The long and the short of the atp tour
WHILST most of us kick off our shoes, hang up our stockings and yell for much needed time out this festive season, there is no respite for top players on Tour.
They are already seriously strategising with fitness trainers and coaches as to how to tackle the Australian Open 2019, in increasingly searing temperatures, in increasingly lengthy matches, in an ever increasing calendar year.
As my partner, the late great Abe Segal, observed three years ago, while yawning through a Novak Djokovic vs Andy Murray final, averaging 20 shots per rally:
“This isn’t tennis – I’m watching a marathon for crabs, running 100 miles sideways. If I’d played a singles match like this on clay, I’d be dead after one Major. The volleys become like us – a bloody dinosaur!” Basically hard core baseliners, coupled with extreme heat and five-hour matches, are destined for injury, putting spectators to sleep and are on a short road to collapse, before a long one to recovery.
Adapt to an attacking as opposed to attritional game, be relentless in shortening those rallies, like Roger Federer, and you stand a chance of going the distance, a 37-year distance, and precipitating a Mexican wave, instead of a Texan stand-off.
Let’s analyse where the baseliners – or ‘walking wounded’ – are, since Segal’s astute observation. Djokovic – out for almost a year and written off. Admittedly back with a vengeance but beaten in the World Tour final by Zverev, who wielded the volley ferociously. The World No 1 subsequently declares: “The ATP Tour is too long and federations, organisations and whatever ‘ships’ – presumably private ownerships – need to get around the table and figure out how to reduce the number of events played in a calendar year.”
Good point but unlikely to happen with Eastern sponsors throwing truckloads of money into the ATP kitty, conjuring up new events by the day.
No, Djoko, you’re going to have to move forward to reduce the time spent on court on your own – and ask Father Christmas to unwrap your volleying skills.
As for Murray, the ultimate defender of the baseline realm, he is limping around crab-like on fringes of Masters, avoiding 2018 Majors – Wimbledon, the US Open altogether – but making a comeback with a protected ranking this Australian, probably to show Ivan Lendl, who jumped the apparently sinking Murray ship, who’s boss. Well one thing in Murray’s favour, care of Kevin Anderson and John Isner’s epic Wimbledon semis duel, is Australian Tennis has followed Wimbledon’s lead, and introduced final set tie-breakers, one way of reducing time on court, but not enough to help the Scot unless he too can swap hats and become a Braveheart in attacking that net, instead of staunchly defending the borderline like Bonnie Prince Charlie.
The ultimate baseliner, Rafa Nadal, who has already engineered one successful comeback after being waylaid by injury, prior to Djokovic’s 2017 injury hiatus, capitalised on his nemesis’ then demise and swept the clay courts of silverware for the first half of 2018, before predictably retiring mid-us Open – injured yet again.
The Spanish Bull must also wake up to the idea of polishing his volleying skills over and above his 11th French Open Trophy and shortening his game, whether clay court specialist or not.
Meanwhile his uncle Toni is ironically predicting Federer will not win another Slam.
Well Toni’s been wrong on this count twice before: Federer has been the least injured player of the top 10 and the only one smart enough to turn the volley into a major weapon, to avoid becoming the proverbial, glued together at the knee and hip, marathon man. It’s not surprising that Alexander Zverev and even Anderson, as seen volleying like demons of Christmas past, at the World Finals, are finally embracing the Darwinian notion of adapt or die.