I once received an anonymous message on this site accusing me of 'trying to wind back the clock' as I was still rather focused on playing tournaments as well as coaching. My reply from memory was simple as I stated that if a coach can still move then they should in my opinion still play the occasional competition. The reasons add up if you take the time to think about it;
Inspiring your students.
Showing your students that you can actually hit a ball under pressure, not just in practice.
Supporting local events.
Keeping the thought process active rather than just going from memory.
There are no doubt many more reasons why a coach of tennis should give it a go but I believe that those four examples top the list.
I looked up the results of a recent Country Championship where teams from all around our State took part and the thing that struck me most was that the students' coaches also took part in the senior events. That to me is inspiring to read because it shows a lack of fear and it would have been inspirational for those junior players to witness their mentors having a red hot go also because a kid will look up to the person who teaches them.
If that person, mentor, coach is leading by example then I think that is probably a huge factor in driving a student to become better at the game.
I recently wrote on my site a post titled 'AN EXPERIMENT' ( Silly Idea ) where I detailed my thoughts on a couple of local tournaments I competed in, a singles and a doubles event. It was irrelevant that I had success in both of those events, it was more important that I simply played because at age 48, well I suppose you are not expected to trouble the score board.
Is however that last statement an excuse for many ?
I once read that the great John McEnroe was still classed as the 'best over 50 player in the World' and that when you think about it, is rather inspiring but it's who John is, he's competitive even at age 55 plus.
Several years ago Bjorn Borg at age 54 took on Jim Courier in a singles exhibition match but I can guarantee you that Borg wanted to still gain some respect. Courier, at around 15 years younger took the match 3 and 6. Not bad for an 'old bloke' Bjorn.
Remember also that with a guy like Courier, he still hits with current Davis Cup players as he is the Captain of the US team and Borg is simply playing for pride and from a very long memory, that's inspiring once again.
Was I really trying to 'wind back the clock' as I was accused of by that anonymous messenger ? I think it has more to do with trying to stay in the game and not gather cobwebs because many coaches and mentors of the sport of tennis do this way too early and regret it later. We all go through stages in tennis, loving it, hating it, craving for the adrenalin rush once again, despising it for what it does to us physically and mentally, yet we keep coming back to it , well some do anyhow.
My theory on it is simple, you are a long time retired, many years to sit back and think about how good it was to be able to play a sport that can do so many things to us both physically and mentally whether good or bad yet we can look upon it all as a test of character. So I ask the obvious question, do you own character or do you just own an ability to hit a tennis ball ?
Any coach of the sport of tennis who owns an astute mind will tell you that character is what defines you as a person and a player and possibly the number one thing that a player or even coach for that matter requires for either success or respect.
There are many active tennis coaches out there and I take my hat off to all of them because their students are the ones who will reap the rewards of an 'active' mentor whereas a coach who simply goes from memory and You Tube instruction is lacking a hands on approach to their tuition.
Give it a go if you still can, play a Mixed Doubles event for a bit of fun, no one says you have to play 15 year old kids in singles who can run all day but show you actually still know how to compete. Justifying your $60 to $80 an hour price tag is something that is important to the consumer.
Do we put a limit on age do you think ?
I will post that clip of Courier and Borg on this site and you take a look at the physique and ability of Bjorn at age 54. You tell me whether or not you are a bit 'soft' for not still having a go at your age.......
Wednesday, 12 April 2017
Tuesday, 11 April 2017
'THE ART OF NOT MISSING'
I wrote this almost a year ago and I felt that with the clay court season just around the corner it was worth reposting. It is unfinished, as many of my posts are but you will get the idea of what I am trying to say.
I feel I could elaborate on this particular topic and I am sure that I will as the season unfolds. The particular match that I wrote about was quite remarkable even though it was a straight sets win to Nadal.
What strikes me is the mindset of a player like the Spaniard who basically says to his opponent 'If you can make less errors than me, you can have the match'. Fifteen French Open titles later I still believe that between Nadal and Borg, well that is the way to win on the dirt.....
2016;
The French Open Tennis Tournament usually holds records that no other tennis tournament does, it's pretty obvious why, it's a tournament played on a slow surface, clay. If ever there is a doubt as to what a player should be training on to refine their ground strokes look no further than the European clay court specialists, their error count is minimal.
These players are technically brilliant especially from the back of the court but some struggle on quicker surfaces, naturally.
If you look at the way Rafa hits his forehand then you will see that this style can only really be taught on a slower surface , one that gives a player time to hit it to it's full potential. If a kid trains on a grass or synthetic court the style will be abbreviated, the ball will come through too quick, even on some hard courts. Clay is the answer to refining ground strokes, Rafa is the greatest exponent of this fact.
In the French Open this year in round three the Spaniard played Leonardo Mayer , ranked 65 in the World , a sensational tennis player from Argentina who has won over two million dollars in prize money. The score was 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 but the most impressive thing about this match was the amount of unforced errors that Nadal hit. He missed 2 in the first set, 3 in the second and 5 in the third, that's pretty impressive, so why doesn't he miss ?
Rafa hits the ball so high over the net that he invariably only hits long if he misses , many people don't realize this fact, they just see him hitting it hard, they don't see the height. The net clearance of Rafa is not unlike Borg's, if you don't pick it early it will be up around your ears, every tennis player's worst nightmare.
Rafa has won the French on 9 occasions because he rarely misses, Borg won it 6 times, he missed a hand full of shots each match also, there must be something in this way of playing.
Clay court tennis training will separate the great from the good, it's what needs to happen in each Country if they are to keep up with a nation such as Spain who have I believe 14 players in the top 100 men, give or take one or two . It is a surface that will develop ground strokes and a thinking man's game like no other, the proof is in the rankings.
Maybe one day other countries will follow Spain's lead before they have a strangle hold on the game that will be difficult to catch up to.
The art of not missing is what will take a player to victory, not the winners. You don't have to hit a winner, just don't miss and you will be pretty hard to beat........
I feel I could elaborate on this particular topic and I am sure that I will as the season unfolds. The particular match that I wrote about was quite remarkable even though it was a straight sets win to Nadal.
What strikes me is the mindset of a player like the Spaniard who basically says to his opponent 'If you can make less errors than me, you can have the match'. Fifteen French Open titles later I still believe that between Nadal and Borg, well that is the way to win on the dirt.....
2016;
The French Open Tennis Tournament usually holds records that no other tennis tournament does, it's pretty obvious why, it's a tournament played on a slow surface, clay. If ever there is a doubt as to what a player should be training on to refine their ground strokes look no further than the European clay court specialists, their error count is minimal.
These players are technically brilliant especially from the back of the court but some struggle on quicker surfaces, naturally.
If you look at the way Rafa hits his forehand then you will see that this style can only really be taught on a slower surface , one that gives a player time to hit it to it's full potential. If a kid trains on a grass or synthetic court the style will be abbreviated, the ball will come through too quick, even on some hard courts. Clay is the answer to refining ground strokes, Rafa is the greatest exponent of this fact.
In the French Open this year in round three the Spaniard played Leonardo Mayer , ranked 65 in the World , a sensational tennis player from Argentina who has won over two million dollars in prize money. The score was 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 but the most impressive thing about this match was the amount of unforced errors that Nadal hit. He missed 2 in the first set, 3 in the second and 5 in the third, that's pretty impressive, so why doesn't he miss ?
Rafa hits the ball so high over the net that he invariably only hits long if he misses , many people don't realize this fact, they just see him hitting it hard, they don't see the height. The net clearance of Rafa is not unlike Borg's, if you don't pick it early it will be up around your ears, every tennis player's worst nightmare.
Rafa has won the French on 9 occasions because he rarely misses, Borg won it 6 times, he missed a hand full of shots each match also, there must be something in this way of playing.
Clay court tennis training will separate the great from the good, it's what needs to happen in each Country if they are to keep up with a nation such as Spain who have I believe 14 players in the top 100 men, give or take one or two . It is a surface that will develop ground strokes and a thinking man's game like no other, the proof is in the rankings.
Maybe one day other countries will follow Spain's lead before they have a strangle hold on the game that will be difficult to catch up to.
The art of not missing is what will take a player to victory, not the winners. You don't have to hit a winner, just don't miss and you will be pretty hard to beat........
Friday, 7 April 2017
'WHICH PART DIDN'T YOU UNDERSTAND' ?
Here's a rather amusing story, one that unfortunately involves myself , one that I have learned from and one that I will make sure is never, ever repeated. It goes something like this;
A few weeks ago we played a local tennis tournament, a ripper, one that I will put down as possibly the best tournament I have played in ten years because the teams in it were all tough. It was a pleasure to be a part of it. Unfortunately the local newspaper didn't share my thoughts on it and the coverage of it was less than complimentary.
Not sure why but tennis in my home town is not regarded as 'cool' particularly by the local journalists who are ex footballers and cricketers, current footballers and cricketers, wannabee footballers and cricketers and football and cricket addicts.
In a nutshell it's like this here in sleepy hollow, if it's not football and cricket, well your sport may not really be looked after as far as newspaper coverage is concerned. Sorry basketball gets a look in as well, can't forget basketball.
So this is what I did, I gathered some information on the tournament we played including scores, names and a bit of history that I felt was necessary to make the article readable to the public. I sent it to A local paper, we have three, unfortunately it was not published due to the time frame however they requested that I send them results from future tournaments and put my spin on it so to speak. No worries, happy to give our sport of tennis a leg up, so to speak.
I did request one thing though, that my name is NOT to be put to the article because if I am playing the tournament I am not comfortable, win, lose or draw about stating what I did in the competition as it may be perceived as 'biased journalism'. I thought that request was pretty simple to follow.
Maybe for a ten year old kid but for an experienced bunch of people at a local newspaper ?? Read on.....
So to our local season ending tennis tournament, club versus club, five events, a chance to finish with some bragging rights as the champion club of the region, a great concept however one that I haven't played for a few years.
Ok so this is what happened with my write up; I gathered all of the scores that I felt were worth a mention, put an article together, sent it to A local newspaper on Sunday night, the night of the tournament including the one and only request that I had of the article; FOR MY NAME NOT TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE ARTICLE, I was merely happy for our sport to receive some publicity locally as it struggles against other sports as I have mentioned.
No reply, no 'thank you Glenn for the results and article', not a thing, I was not certain whether the hierarchy at the newspaper were even interested in my article even though the write up was requested over a personal phone call.
Thursday rolls around, I grab a local newspaper, I open the back page and finally, it's there for all of sleepy hollow to read, a tennis article, yep tennis, football and cricket take a back seat please, tennis is finally having a moment in a local newspaper.
As I begin reading the article however I see from the very first paragraph that my version of the day has in fact been changed and in the final paragraph it states that a mixed doubles match was in fact 'between' a certain team when in actual fact it should have read AGAINST. In tennis there is a fair difference. So I thought I had better check the original article that I sent the newspaper.
Nothing wrong with my writing skills as I did in fact state that the match was AGAINST and not BETWEEN. How the f... can you have a match 'between' two players in the same team ??!! Spelling error ? Nope, I would suggest that right from the start of the article that I sent the newspaper they reworded things to suit themselves without any thought of how it actually read to the public. Now here's the icing on the cake.
What do you think was at the bottom of the article that was sent in by an avid tennis supporter and writer who did not want to be associated with the piece of writing that was simply done to give tennis a bit of publicity locally ? C'mon don't be silly, surely not my name ???
Yep my name, my f....... name !!!
Which part didn't you understand buddy ???!!!
The spelling was wrong but it was still my name.
Now I do have a theory on this, as I do with most things. The person who put ink to paper at the local newspaper thought that by spelling my name with one n, Glen as opposed to Glenn they must have assumed the following :
That the public who read the article would in fact think that Glen Thompson ( the writer of the article ) was a totally different character than Glenn Thompson the competitor. That I think was the most logical answer, what do you reckon ???
So to my conclusion on this whole ridiculous affair, NEVER AGAIN will GT be offering a local tennis article to a local newspaper even if it is to give the sport a much needed publicity boost as it is obviously all way too hard to follow a simple request from the person who wrote it.
On top of that it's obviously also way too hard to follow what someone had written regarding whether certain teams had in fact played against or was that 'between' each other ? Is it just me or do you get the impression that Mickey Mouse may have had more chance of doing this thing correctly ?
Personally when I write on this silly site of mine I am happy to be GT, happy to receive criticism or accolades, it's all my doing but when it comes to helping a local newspaper with a write up I INSIST on being the 'Ghostwriter'. That's just me.
Good luck next season when you want some tennis results written up for your local paper, I am already booked up........
REGARDS GLENN THOMPSON ( That's Glenn with two N's )
A few weeks ago we played a local tennis tournament, a ripper, one that I will put down as possibly the best tournament I have played in ten years because the teams in it were all tough. It was a pleasure to be a part of it. Unfortunately the local newspaper didn't share my thoughts on it and the coverage of it was less than complimentary.
Not sure why but tennis in my home town is not regarded as 'cool' particularly by the local journalists who are ex footballers and cricketers, current footballers and cricketers, wannabee footballers and cricketers and football and cricket addicts.
In a nutshell it's like this here in sleepy hollow, if it's not football and cricket, well your sport may not really be looked after as far as newspaper coverage is concerned. Sorry basketball gets a look in as well, can't forget basketball.
So this is what I did, I gathered some information on the tournament we played including scores, names and a bit of history that I felt was necessary to make the article readable to the public. I sent it to A local paper, we have three, unfortunately it was not published due to the time frame however they requested that I send them results from future tournaments and put my spin on it so to speak. No worries, happy to give our sport of tennis a leg up, so to speak.
I did request one thing though, that my name is NOT to be put to the article because if I am playing the tournament I am not comfortable, win, lose or draw about stating what I did in the competition as it may be perceived as 'biased journalism'. I thought that request was pretty simple to follow.
Maybe for a ten year old kid but for an experienced bunch of people at a local newspaper ?? Read on.....
So to our local season ending tennis tournament, club versus club, five events, a chance to finish with some bragging rights as the champion club of the region, a great concept however one that I haven't played for a few years.
Ok so this is what happened with my write up; I gathered all of the scores that I felt were worth a mention, put an article together, sent it to A local newspaper on Sunday night, the night of the tournament including the one and only request that I had of the article; FOR MY NAME NOT TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE ARTICLE, I was merely happy for our sport to receive some publicity locally as it struggles against other sports as I have mentioned.
No reply, no 'thank you Glenn for the results and article', not a thing, I was not certain whether the hierarchy at the newspaper were even interested in my article even though the write up was requested over a personal phone call.
Thursday rolls around, I grab a local newspaper, I open the back page and finally, it's there for all of sleepy hollow to read, a tennis article, yep tennis, football and cricket take a back seat please, tennis is finally having a moment in a local newspaper.
As I begin reading the article however I see from the very first paragraph that my version of the day has in fact been changed and in the final paragraph it states that a mixed doubles match was in fact 'between' a certain team when in actual fact it should have read AGAINST. In tennis there is a fair difference. So I thought I had better check the original article that I sent the newspaper.
Nothing wrong with my writing skills as I did in fact state that the match was AGAINST and not BETWEEN. How the f... can you have a match 'between' two players in the same team ??!! Spelling error ? Nope, I would suggest that right from the start of the article that I sent the newspaper they reworded things to suit themselves without any thought of how it actually read to the public. Now here's the icing on the cake.
What do you think was at the bottom of the article that was sent in by an avid tennis supporter and writer who did not want to be associated with the piece of writing that was simply done to give tennis a bit of publicity locally ? C'mon don't be silly, surely not my name ???
Yep my name, my f....... name !!!
Which part didn't you understand buddy ???!!!
The spelling was wrong but it was still my name.
Now I do have a theory on this, as I do with most things. The person who put ink to paper at the local newspaper thought that by spelling my name with one n, Glen as opposed to Glenn they must have assumed the following :
That the public who read the article would in fact think that Glen Thompson ( the writer of the article ) was a totally different character than Glenn Thompson the competitor. That I think was the most logical answer, what do you reckon ???
So to my conclusion on this whole ridiculous affair, NEVER AGAIN will GT be offering a local tennis article to a local newspaper even if it is to give the sport a much needed publicity boost as it is obviously all way too hard to follow a simple request from the person who wrote it.
On top of that it's obviously also way too hard to follow what someone had written regarding whether certain teams had in fact played against or was that 'between' each other ? Is it just me or do you get the impression that Mickey Mouse may have had more chance of doing this thing correctly ?
Personally when I write on this silly site of mine I am happy to be GT, happy to receive criticism or accolades, it's all my doing but when it comes to helping a local newspaper with a write up I INSIST on being the 'Ghostwriter'. That's just me.
Good luck next season when you want some tennis results written up for your local paper, I am already booked up........
REGARDS GLENN THOMPSON ( That's Glenn with two N's )
Tuesday, 4 April 2017
'MY TOP TEN'
Wrote this when I first started this site many years ago, I believe a lot of it still makes sense......
When it comes to things I hate about the game of tennis , the following things are what really disappoint me; Hopefully you can see where I am coming from; The following examples are predominantly from junior tennis tournaments, however also involves 'Open Tournaments' where kids and adults may meet each other;
1- Junior Tennis Tournament Peanut Gallery- This is where kids hang off the fence behind the court and regularly ask their mates for score updates as well as do their best to put the opposition off their game . Don't quite know why this behaviour isn't banned from Junior Comps , a lot has to do with the students' 'coaches' , poor pupil management I call it...
2- Why is it that junior tennis players go onto court with a racket bag big enough to sleep in ? How many times do these kids break strings and why are 3 or 4 rackets at the age of 12 necessary ? Image ??
3- Do bright shoes win tennis matches ?? Personally I love playing kids who wear this gear , it means they are more interested in looking good than winning games of tennis .
4- Why do 'Tennis Coaches' belt their students in tennis tournaments ? Surely this is called 'biting the hand that feeds' . Personally if ever I played a student who I knew I could beat easily I would give them at least 2 games per set , possibly 3 , great for their confidence . Smart Tennis Coaches do this ......
5- Why do junior tennis players yell out ' I can't believe I am playing this bad' . This is arrogance and ego all rolled into 1 - they simply don't realize that tennis is actually a tough game to play , mastering it at age 12 is really not going to happen.....
6- What is it with a long hit up ? Do kids think that just because the big boys warm up for what seems to be an eternity before they play that it also should apply to them ?? A long hit up is for players who are nervous , they want to play a set before they actually start a match ! I hate hit ups......
7- Why don't kids hit slice backhands and volleys during a match ? Would it be that their Coaches are simply following the current direction of the game and not thinking outside the square ? Personally I like to see a kid when drawn wide on the backhand side hit a one handed slice that gets them back into the point rather than go for a winner. I also like to see kids go to the net other than just to shake hands.......
8- Why do Parents 'Coach' kids ? Haven't they seen what Mr Tomic has done to his son ???
9- Why do kids who win tennis matches at local tournaments think that they have just beaten Anthony Mundine in a boxing match and strut around as though they are the next Golden Gloves Heavy Weight Champion ? It's a boxing match for sure , but 60 feet away from your opponent , get a grip.....
10- Why is it that kids complain that when they hit a ball on the line their opponent calls it out ?? My answer to that is simple - If you are hitting balls on the line then your 'Coach' is teaching you the wrong way to play tennis.......
FOOTNOTE; In reference to Number 7 - Who has won the most Grand Slams and who hits a beautiful backhand slice and a sublime volley? Yet the game is being taught predominantly from the back of the court, try and figure that one out.......
When it comes to things I hate about the game of tennis , the following things are what really disappoint me; Hopefully you can see where I am coming from; The following examples are predominantly from junior tennis tournaments, however also involves 'Open Tournaments' where kids and adults may meet each other;
1- Junior Tennis Tournament Peanut Gallery- This is where kids hang off the fence behind the court and regularly ask their mates for score updates as well as do their best to put the opposition off their game . Don't quite know why this behaviour isn't banned from Junior Comps , a lot has to do with the students' 'coaches' , poor pupil management I call it...
2- Why is it that junior tennis players go onto court with a racket bag big enough to sleep in ? How many times do these kids break strings and why are 3 or 4 rackets at the age of 12 necessary ? Image ??
3- Do bright shoes win tennis matches ?? Personally I love playing kids who wear this gear , it means they are more interested in looking good than winning games of tennis .
4- Why do 'Tennis Coaches' belt their students in tennis tournaments ? Surely this is called 'biting the hand that feeds' . Personally if ever I played a student who I knew I could beat easily I would give them at least 2 games per set , possibly 3 , great for their confidence . Smart Tennis Coaches do this ......
5- Why do junior tennis players yell out ' I can't believe I am playing this bad' . This is arrogance and ego all rolled into 1 - they simply don't realize that tennis is actually a tough game to play , mastering it at age 12 is really not going to happen.....
6- What is it with a long hit up ? Do kids think that just because the big boys warm up for what seems to be an eternity before they play that it also should apply to them ?? A long hit up is for players who are nervous , they want to play a set before they actually start a match ! I hate hit ups......
7- Why don't kids hit slice backhands and volleys during a match ? Would it be that their Coaches are simply following the current direction of the game and not thinking outside the square ? Personally I like to see a kid when drawn wide on the backhand side hit a one handed slice that gets them back into the point rather than go for a winner. I also like to see kids go to the net other than just to shake hands.......
8- Why do Parents 'Coach' kids ? Haven't they seen what Mr Tomic has done to his son ???
9- Why do kids who win tennis matches at local tournaments think that they have just beaten Anthony Mundine in a boxing match and strut around as though they are the next Golden Gloves Heavy Weight Champion ? It's a boxing match for sure , but 60 feet away from your opponent , get a grip.....
10- Why is it that kids complain that when they hit a ball on the line their opponent calls it out ?? My answer to that is simple - If you are hitting balls on the line then your 'Coach' is teaching you the wrong way to play tennis.......
FOOTNOTE; In reference to Number 7 - Who has won the most Grand Slams and who hits a beautiful backhand slice and a sublime volley? Yet the game is being taught predominantly from the back of the court, try and figure that one out.......
Monday, 3 April 2017
'WHEN ROG' WINS, WE WIN'
Funny isn't it how we all rise as one when the great Roger Federer wins a tennis match. The Fed Express now days is like a travelling Rock Star who's fans are totally entranced in his every move and who's every move is scrutinised so closely that when things aren't going according to plan, the mood is sombre to say the least.
When a Rock Star sings the high notes every person in the crowd is totally captivated by their brilliance and the 'show' that Rog' brings to town now days is no different where just about everyone in the crowd has paid to see Rog' win.
No one is interested anymore in the Nadal vs Federer rivalry or the Djokovic vs Federer rivalry, they are only interested in one result, a Fed Express victory.
At the Australian Open this year, deep into the fifth set the crowd went up as one when Nadal let Roger back into the match with a double fault, yep, a double fault and anyone who owns any common sense knows that a double fault is not a time of celebration.
Yet the crowd could not contain themselves, Nadal was merely just another name and someone who was standing in the way of another Roger Federer victory.
Rafael Nadal was not someone who had won 14 Grand Slams, he was an 'imposter' of sorts who dared get in the way of someone who the adoring public resonated with as an ambassador for tennis and an ambassador for life in general. Everything about the 'Fed' seems to be of a brilliance that fairy tales are made of and Hollywood movie scripts are written about as everything he does now days makes the public smile.
When Rog and Mirka decided to have a family it was not going to be just an 'ordinary' family, it had to be twins, not once but twice, two girls then two boys, genius. The house Rog' had built overlooking a Swiss lake is no ordinary house, it's one you see in movies that Rock Stars live in and that Mexican Drug Lords own as their holiday shacks but no 'bad' money changed hands in this construction.
This particular house was paid for from a Swiss Tennis Star's bank account that probably has more zero's on the end of it than some Countries around the World own with a combined income.
Everything Rog' does is looked upon as newspaper headlines. You only have to look back to his Australian Open warm up tournament in Perth, at the Hopman Cup where the doors were opened free of charge for the public just to watch the great man hit a few practice shots.
Yep, JUST to hit a few practice shots, but it's the person who is hitting them that makes it so unique and to watch him walking around the arena at the end of the session posing for 'selfies' with an adoring crowd was nothing short of humbling.
Some Rock Stars, Hollywood Actors, Sports Stars or otherwise are way too 'important' to ever give their precious time up for the people who have helped make them 'important' in the first place but with Rog, well he's just a good guy who is happy to give some time back to the 'ordinary' people.
It's why we all love Rog, he's someone who is loveable because he makes us feel good about life when he wins as he does it with a grace that not many before him have ever done.
If Rog loses, and that's not very often now days, well it leaves a sour taste in our mouths and we make an excuse or two for him but we will never blame him for being simply 'human', we will blame the elements or the fact that 'Daddy Fed' may have had a sleepless night with his four young kids.
Remember to most of us, Rog just turns up and wins, tops up his bulging bank account, does some 'selfies' at the end of his on court speech, signs some autographs, does the obligatory press conference where he praises his vanquished opponent then boards his private jet to do it all over again at another tournament.
Never mind the fact that Rog is playing a sport that is so unbelievably tough that a guy ranked 750 plus in the World on his day could take out a player in the top 60 in the World as seen at Wimbledon last year where another nice guy by the name of Marcus Willis took out Ricardas Berankis.
When you put that into perspective we should perhaps marvel at any pro tennis player who can even win a Challenger Tournament because the top 1000 tennis players can all hit a good tennis ball. It's what you do with it that counts. For Rog to keep beating guys like Rafa consistently is rather outrageous to say the least.
Rog is a genius as far as what to do with a tennis ball is concerned and he is someone who is well aware of how good he is at it, yet he is so modest at what he does that it makes us think twice about our own personal 'victories' in life and how we should perhaps treat them.
Just like a Postman delivers mail up and down the street, just like a Fisherman hauls in another catch, just like a Rock star sings a high note and just how a Hollywood Actor delivers an unforgettable line, 'our' Rog keeps on being Rog and that's why when Rog wins it makes us feel like we have also won, he's just that sorta bloke.........
When a Rock Star sings the high notes every person in the crowd is totally captivated by their brilliance and the 'show' that Rog' brings to town now days is no different where just about everyone in the crowd has paid to see Rog' win.
No one is interested anymore in the Nadal vs Federer rivalry or the Djokovic vs Federer rivalry, they are only interested in one result, a Fed Express victory.
At the Australian Open this year, deep into the fifth set the crowd went up as one when Nadal let Roger back into the match with a double fault, yep, a double fault and anyone who owns any common sense knows that a double fault is not a time of celebration.
Yet the crowd could not contain themselves, Nadal was merely just another name and someone who was standing in the way of another Roger Federer victory.
Rafael Nadal was not someone who had won 14 Grand Slams, he was an 'imposter' of sorts who dared get in the way of someone who the adoring public resonated with as an ambassador for tennis and an ambassador for life in general. Everything about the 'Fed' seems to be of a brilliance that fairy tales are made of and Hollywood movie scripts are written about as everything he does now days makes the public smile.
When Rog and Mirka decided to have a family it was not going to be just an 'ordinary' family, it had to be twins, not once but twice, two girls then two boys, genius. The house Rog' had built overlooking a Swiss lake is no ordinary house, it's one you see in movies that Rock Stars live in and that Mexican Drug Lords own as their holiday shacks but no 'bad' money changed hands in this construction.
This particular house was paid for from a Swiss Tennis Star's bank account that probably has more zero's on the end of it than some Countries around the World own with a combined income.
Everything Rog' does is looked upon as newspaper headlines. You only have to look back to his Australian Open warm up tournament in Perth, at the Hopman Cup where the doors were opened free of charge for the public just to watch the great man hit a few practice shots.
Yep, JUST to hit a few practice shots, but it's the person who is hitting them that makes it so unique and to watch him walking around the arena at the end of the session posing for 'selfies' with an adoring crowd was nothing short of humbling.
Some Rock Stars, Hollywood Actors, Sports Stars or otherwise are way too 'important' to ever give their precious time up for the people who have helped make them 'important' in the first place but with Rog, well he's just a good guy who is happy to give some time back to the 'ordinary' people.
It's why we all love Rog, he's someone who is loveable because he makes us feel good about life when he wins as he does it with a grace that not many before him have ever done.
If Rog loses, and that's not very often now days, well it leaves a sour taste in our mouths and we make an excuse or two for him but we will never blame him for being simply 'human', we will blame the elements or the fact that 'Daddy Fed' may have had a sleepless night with his four young kids.
Remember to most of us, Rog just turns up and wins, tops up his bulging bank account, does some 'selfies' at the end of his on court speech, signs some autographs, does the obligatory press conference where he praises his vanquished opponent then boards his private jet to do it all over again at another tournament.
Never mind the fact that Rog is playing a sport that is so unbelievably tough that a guy ranked 750 plus in the World on his day could take out a player in the top 60 in the World as seen at Wimbledon last year where another nice guy by the name of Marcus Willis took out Ricardas Berankis.
When you put that into perspective we should perhaps marvel at any pro tennis player who can even win a Challenger Tournament because the top 1000 tennis players can all hit a good tennis ball. It's what you do with it that counts. For Rog to keep beating guys like Rafa consistently is rather outrageous to say the least.
Rog is a genius as far as what to do with a tennis ball is concerned and he is someone who is well aware of how good he is at it, yet he is so modest at what he does that it makes us think twice about our own personal 'victories' in life and how we should perhaps treat them.
Just like a Postman delivers mail up and down the street, just like a Fisherman hauls in another catch, just like a Rock star sings a high note and just how a Hollywood Actor delivers an unforgettable line, 'our' Rog keeps on being Rog and that's why when Rog wins it makes us feel like we have also won, he's just that sorta bloke.........
Sunday, 2 April 2017
'AN EXPERIMENT' ( SILLY IDEA )
The last two weeks have seen me limp on to a tennis court in two events to test whether or not the old legs can still move and whether or not the mind can get me through some matches.
Personally I despise the feeling that tennis hands to me physically however I love the test it presents to me mentally because as someone who writes about the sport and coaches on a part time basis I feel it a necessity to go through what active players go through.
It's all very well to write about it and teach it but if I can't do it myself then really what is the point ? Tennis is a sport where you must be able to walk the walk as well as talk the talk or you may be labelled forever as someone who 'talks a good game' yet has no idea how to play it.
This of course must be looked upon realistically according to age and physical capabilities.
Ok, this is what transpired;
Two weeks ago I teamed up with a young fella, a 23 year old who is in the prime of his life and we had a win, albeit by just two games in a local doubles competition where we won our first two matches by the score of 7-5. Doesn't get much tougher.
Matty was legendary and did all the work, I just went along for the ride.....
This weekend I played a singles event, well it was a team event which included doubles but I put my hand up to play the singles leg, dumb idea.
Ran into a kid in round 2 who lead me 3-1 and must've hit 35 winners against me but somehow I won the match 9-6 and took the Mens singles title, undefeated in three matches.
Each leg was either 3 or 4 matches, next year I am playing doubles, no risk.
What did I learn ?
You can still beat kids at age 48 through thinking alone because the legs don't move as fast as they used to so naturally you may have an edge in experience if nothing else.
I suffered that much pain mentally and physically in that match that I never want to experience ever again yet I gave it a go, it worked out, if nothing else I am prepared to have a dip against the youth of the game.
John McEnroe once said " The older I get, the better I was ".
I was never good, I just learned to put a ball over the net as a kid at age 12 and that lead me to still try to beat kids at age 'Dinosaurus'.
Silly idea, never again, but it keeps the thought process active as a coach and writer of the sport of tennis......
Regards GT
Personally I despise the feeling that tennis hands to me physically however I love the test it presents to me mentally because as someone who writes about the sport and coaches on a part time basis I feel it a necessity to go through what active players go through.
It's all very well to write about it and teach it but if I can't do it myself then really what is the point ? Tennis is a sport where you must be able to walk the walk as well as talk the talk or you may be labelled forever as someone who 'talks a good game' yet has no idea how to play it.
This of course must be looked upon realistically according to age and physical capabilities.
Ok, this is what transpired;
Two weeks ago I teamed up with a young fella, a 23 year old who is in the prime of his life and we had a win, albeit by just two games in a local doubles competition where we won our first two matches by the score of 7-5. Doesn't get much tougher.
Matty was legendary and did all the work, I just went along for the ride.....
This weekend I played a singles event, well it was a team event which included doubles but I put my hand up to play the singles leg, dumb idea.
Ran into a kid in round 2 who lead me 3-1 and must've hit 35 winners against me but somehow I won the match 9-6 and took the Mens singles title, undefeated in three matches.
Each leg was either 3 or 4 matches, next year I am playing doubles, no risk.
What did I learn ?
You can still beat kids at age 48 through thinking alone because the legs don't move as fast as they used to so naturally you may have an edge in experience if nothing else.
I suffered that much pain mentally and physically in that match that I never want to experience ever again yet I gave it a go, it worked out, if nothing else I am prepared to have a dip against the youth of the game.
John McEnroe once said " The older I get, the better I was ".
I was never good, I just learned to put a ball over the net as a kid at age 12 and that lead me to still try to beat kids at age 'Dinosaurus'.
Silly idea, never again, but it keeps the thought process active as a coach and writer of the sport of tennis......
Regards GT
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)