Steve Tignor wrote an interesting viewpoint piece at tennis.com with the title “Excessive civility muting the men’s game?”
Have you read it already? If not, click here. If you have, can you please explain it to me? Here’s what I’ve figured so far. . .
Tignor begins by comparing two US Open semifinal handshakes – this year’s touchy-feely one between Novak (Hug Slut) Djokovic and Roger Federer and the reluctant, chilly exchange between John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors in 1980. Tignor says that both reflect the “code of camraderie” of their respective eras, and that he misses the competitive venom of the bad old/good old days.
I agree that psychological tension on the court makes things exciting. It’s fun when it gets personal out there. I’m not ashamed to admit that watching Nole vs. Roddick, Rafa vs. Soderling, or Serena vs. Safina is my version of tuning into NASCAR and hoping for a wreck. I think everyone should take a cue from Venus and stop apologizing for net cords. Hugs should be saved for five set epics and not routine 3rd round victories. And when a reporter asks a player to evaluate his next opponent, how about some brutal honesty every now and then? From a blogging perspective, it would make my life much easier!
But Tignor loses me when he leaves the Jerry Springer studios and veers East to Roland Garros.:
“(W)hy did I enjoy watching two guys who were never mistaken for gentlemen, Connors and McEnroe, so much, even while Federer’s victory at the French Open this spring, a triumphantly sentimental march through Roland Garros, leave me with a faint taste of sap?”
By Federer’s “triumphantly sentimental march” I’m assuming Tignor means “Federer’s Two Weeks of Hell with a Few Good Hours at the End”? As I remember, Roger Federer scraped his way out of two five setters that he should have lost, and was taken to four sets by both Paul-Henri Mathieu, a Frenchman playing in front of his home crowd, and Argentine dirtballer Jose Acasuso. He also endured the added pressure of becoming the heavy favorite as soon as Rafa lost early, with fans, media and even Parisian cabdrivers reminding him that the French Open was his to lose.
I don’t see how you can favorably compare a single handshake from 1980 to Roger Federer’s entire 2009 Roland Garros tournament, but Tignor tries:
Seeing player after player — Gael Monfils, Juan Martin del Potro, Robin Soderling — lose to Federer at Roland Garros and then embrace him with a smile, I found myself wishing for a little of the old, crude Jimbo ’tude, for a little of the gut-wrenching disappointment and even resentment that typically comes from losing a tennis match. But these young guys didn’t show any of it. They had taken camaraderie too far; it was as if they didn’t want to challenge their benign monarch or interfere with his long-awaited first French title.
Okay, I’m willing to be convinced. Is Tignor just wishing that someone had given Fed the cold fish at the net like Soderling gave Rafa after beating him in the fourth round? Or is he saying that the young guys, by being overly respectful towards Roger, didn’t compete to their utmost abilities against him? If it’s the latter, I cry foul! (Or bullsh*t! if that makes things more exciting for you.)
And here’s the final head-scratcher for me:
At a moment when professional athletes across the board are presumed to be frauds, the current generation of ATP tour players, taking their lead from Federer, has elevated tennis with stylish play and gentlemanly behavior. They apologize to each other after net cords, mishits, and even, now and then, when their opponent slips on the court; they congratulate each other with smiles and hugs; they sing each other’s praises in press conferences. At the same time, taking their lead from Rafael Nadal, the men have updated the game’s manners for a more expressive era. Theatrical chest thumps and fist pumps are no longer seen as gauche or unduly aggressive. They’re accepted as part of what it takes to play your best.
I think Tignor’s saying that the game is so dang “muted” nowadays that even excessive fist pumping can’t rile up any animosity between opponents. And you can blame Roger Federer for that because he’s brainwashed the entire ATP tour into being pleasant, chest thumping, hug sluts who can’t stand to beat him!
This is my main problem with the article – it seems less about the differences between eras and more about how Roger Federer single-handedly invented niceness and in the process made tennis boring by winning too much.
Put up your dukes, Tignor!
Loading ...Tags: Connors, DelPotro, Djokovic, Federer, McEnroe, Nadal, tennis, US Open
RELATED ARTICLES ON GOTOTENNIS |
First of all, I love the pictures of roger at the top of the site…AMAZING
Thanks for making sure we get our fill of Federer news even though he won't be playing again until Novemeber. I dont know what to think of this article…Roger is one of the best things that has happened to tennis–his love & passion for the game has brought new and dedicated players & fans to a sport. I think the players respect what he's done for the sport
this is just a filler article – nothing to write about while all the big guns are resting. much ado about nothing.
and for Sara – i totally agree about the pics of Fed on the top banner, it is such a treat to read a tennis blog written by a Fed fanatic.
The current trend where players apologize for net chords, applaud their opponents shots and ape-hug at the net was not started or popularised by Roger. In fact, Fed's usually quite standard when it comes to exchanges at the net, and I rarely see him applaud his opponents shots or apologize profusely for net chords, unless it's something truly exceptional. So frankly, I don't know what Tignor's talking about if he's pinning this on Fed.
As for the French Open nonsense, if Tignor's suggesting that guys like Haas, del Potro or even Jose Acasuso didn't try their utmost to DESTROY Federer's fairytale, I have stomach ulcers, dead nails and bald patches to prove otherwise. Besides, there's nothing in sport or human nature that says you can't give it your all and still wish your opponent success at the end of it.
And really, the tennis world is so bipolar when it comes to Federer. Half of them go around calling Roger an epic douchebag for wearing fancy jackets to "flaunt" his wins over his opponents, the other half calls him too nice, too modest, and brainwashing his opponents.
Well, to both I say pish tosh and a bottle of Pinosh!
Nicely said, dootsiez…I couldn't have said it better myself. I loved the last line, it cracked me up
All well said Doots! And you made me think –
You know who loves to hug, applaud and even reverse bad line calls for his opponent? Novak Djokovic. He does all of this stuff on a fairly regular basis. No one ever accuses him of being too nice.
That’s true and I think it’s time people started acknowledging that Novak is a great gy in and off the court… as for tennis nowadays being too polite and boring, I’d agree if it wasn’t for Djokovic who makes tennis highly entertaining in my opinion.
Everyone else said what I was going to say, and much better! But I did want to add that I LOVE the banner!
The guy lost me, so is good to be nice or is bad to be nice?
tignor is a moron. tennis has evolved in every way. it’s also a hell of a lot more fun to watch. federer moved the game to an entirely different level. i grew up watching laver, rosewall, emerson, etc, and later mcenroe, connors, borg, etc, then sampras (amazing but boring), agassi, becker etc…put them all together and it still doesn’t compare to watching federer. there’s nothing like his style and quality and there probably never will be. his influence goes way beyond just tennis. watching him play tennis is one of the most beautiful things on the planet,
I couldn't agree more. I've also watched tennis for a long time (saw Laver, Rosewall, et al.) and have enjoyed lots of different styles. But, I always felt appalled by players like Connors and McEnroe, who used their nasty behavior to intimidate and distract their opponents. That's not tennis; it's gamesmanship. If Tignor likes it, he can have it. As barry says, Roger brings "style and quality" to the game, on and off the court. My guess is it's a lot more pleasant to be on the tour today than when Connors was king of the hill.
Hey it's a sport of gentlemen, what does he expect? War of the worlds? The world is a better place with nice people like Rodge and the like, and that's good for the game. Good for humanity. It's not if they are phonies though, which I don't think so…I doubt if someone fakes all these emotions…tennis is not poker. Its a mind game but it isn't and never will be a game of clowns who put on masks. Want Drama? Switch to MMA or WWE smackdown…
Tignor's just writing for the sake of writing. Seriously couldn't he become more professional? I am going to abandon this guy's articles! Shame on him.
I agree Nole is a hug slut. Sometimes, I wonder if he is actually bisexual, or just really, a koala hugging guy. I guess that's why he won Australian Open.
I'm back from the Safin US Open first round loss disease.
Ho momo!
Novak Djokovic, koala hugging guy. He needs to put that on a business card!
Hi momo!
Novak Djokovic, koala hugging guy. He needs to put that on a business card!
Great banner btw!
Ugh, I wish people would stop finding things to make noise about, that article makes no sense to me. I think you made some valid arguments, Freaky!!!
This is about tennis, not the 'tudes as you put it!
I think that the guys just have an incredible amount of respect for Roger! Who could help it? That doesn't mean that they're not trying their utmost to beat him though. But when they don't I think they can't help but be happy for him. I mean, who wouldn't be happy for him and give him a hug after the French Open and tying the record? I think this guy just couldn't figure out anything else to write about!
I think Roger and Rafa primarily have brought a more mature attitude to the game of tennis. And, tennis is a game played by talented, strong men and women, to a conclusion. They are competitive and want to win. Mental strength is necessary as is physical strength. However once the competition is completed, and the game is over, mature people have the ability to say 'good contest' win or lose. I never cared for the 'spoiled brats' of the 80s. Perhaps then it was drew people to see them play, what will they do next? I, for one, prefer the talented men, like Roger and Rafa, and also appreciate their maturity in knowing who they are and not needing to try to intimidate others on or off the court. They respect one another – good game. To me Rafa personifies the split – one court strong competitor; off court all round nice guy, knowing it is his 'hobby', how lucky he is, and knows how it fits into his life.
A guy has written a stupid article that unfortunately does express an opinion of some "tennis fans", but is nevertheless still stupid. This is a sport, a game, and as long as players follow rules, the only thing that matters is how they play the game. Everything else does not matter and for me personally Lendl's "boring" game was always just as great to watch as McEnroe's "exciting" version of it.
And another thought. What if all this niceness by Roger and Rafa is just an act that is designed with the only goal in mind of beating all of their opponents? That would make them the meanest guys in tennis, wouldn't it? This is nonsense of course, but actually Roger is not all that nice on court when he knows that he may be losing, as evidenced by his not-so-gentlemanly exchange with the referee during the latest US Open final. In any case, his (and Rafa's) game is just as attractive no matter what Mr. Tignor and some others may say about it.
actually this has been kind of a theme with tignor.. in fact a couple of articles on how – ' Soderling doesn't play his best against Roger' and about how Roger being nice in the locker room takes the edge of and guys don't try hard enough…
but i think it's all hooey… Roger's game face is as strong as anyone elses and he's as competitive as all the other guys…. and I'd rather him show the excitement for the real winners and big points then just chest thump and celebrate every little thing.. (altho thats entertaining sometimes from some guys – think Monfils and his theatrics)
besides lets not forget the same journalists write him off so easily when he loses a match or tournament and then its about how he has lost it and how the others are sooo good… its just not far.. Roger just cant seem to win…except those 15 GS of course
and as far as I am concerned as momo said Tennis is a gentleman's game and if these guys have a role model for sportsmanship and niceness.. why not… besides Mr. Steve Tignor you don't get to win 15 grandslams just being nice.. u get it cause you're talented and you have a fire..
What happened to Djokovic was the reality of living up to being a champion, not Roger's niceness. Once he actually won a slam and had to endure the target on his back, he folded like a lawn chair.
He has also brainwashed them to get the Sportsmanship award for 5 years in a row.
Yep! And you know there's that unwritten ATP code – whoever wins the Sportsmanship Awared gets to win at least two majors a year (except the players forgot about it in 08, which is why they gave him the French this year)
I do not see how you could possibly want a group of men that you can hate. I detest bad sportsmanship, arrogance, and constant fist pumping. I absolutely hate it. When I started watching tennis at the AO in 2007, it was not because I made a conscience decision to give the game a go. It was because I accidently saw Roger Federer winning and I thought, 'this guy is the coolest guy on earth, aparently he is super amazing at this sport and look how lovely he is to his opponents'. It was Roger's gentlemanly method of winning that made me fall in love with tennis and with him.
I do enjoy it when players have the occasional heated rivalry; delPo vs Muzz, Rafa vs Sod, Nole vs Andy. But I would not want this as the norm. Tennis is a beautiful sport with beautiful people and I cannot possibly see why you would take away all that respect and niceness and replace it with unhealthy dislike.
Anyway, how is this all Roger's fault? I thought Rafa was generally considered to be the more modest and nicer of the two!
It is a daft article, a bit like that hideous Peter Bodo one I recall comparing the sophisticated Swiss man to the country bumpkin from Mallorca.
It’s as if he took the Daily Mash seriously: http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/sport/sport-headlines/federer-becomes-most-boring-man-ever-200907061877/
And wrote a proper article on it.
this is the kind of article that made me not read anything peter bodo puts his name on. thats why i love this site. out of the corporate box writing, thinking, w/lots international input. those espn journalists and their similar counterparts are stuck in their old ways. it's a new world out here and i thank the universe we don't have to rely on them anymore for tennis intelligence. more power to gototennis.com and other tennis blogs. i would love to see the gototennis channel. i bet we'd see some great tennis, tennis news and updates and commentators. i bet FF u could give the non-tennis channel a run for their money. seriously, think about it.
:)
Lorrie you are so sweet! I can just see myself with some kind of pirated satellite feed and FreakyFritters and me sitting at the kitchen table doing commentary! Ha!
well, it's a start. can u make it available to those of us on a non-intel mac? hehehe……
it could be the tennis version of a much needed "public option."
LOL I second that.
24 hrs of Federer tennis, with a bit of Safin and Tsonga slotted in somewhere. Rolex and Jura during the commercial breaks. Too awesome for words.
come on guys, Roger CLEARLY invented niceness and is now completely ruining the sporting world as we know it. he should be punished brutally. How DARE HE enjoy his sport and respect his fellow man in such a way? It's just embarrassing!! Shameful.
I would love to see GTT TV! But I would ask that there only be 12 hours of Federer-related programming! : )
Hey FF, what’s up? I think there’s always been a high level of camaraderie on the men’s tour: If you were to look on the last page of the current issue of TENNIS at the quiz, one of the questions is What did John McEnroe and Ilie Nastase do after nearly causing a riot in the second round at the U.S. Open in 1979? The answer is they had dinner together!
So guys have been able to put aside differences, and there’s nothing wrong with showing some respect to your opponent. Now, I’m a big all-around sports fans and some of the buddy-buddiness in team sports toward opponents kind of bugs me. It does because those guys have guaranteed contracts and are getting paid the same win or lose, so it’s almost like a “hey, I don’t care, I’m still getting mine!” But in tennis, where your income and place in the game is based upon how far you advance, it’s a little more obvious guys want it. And if they happen to give props to one of the greatest players ever on his way to history, I don’t think there’s much wrong with that!
Sorry for such a long comment!
Typical American writing articles. Americans feel that bad boy behavior and being a clown is a great thing for sports. Roger never gets the respect he deserves, especially from the critics.
Really, I just think that Roger Federer is so polite and such a gentleman in the no-screaming-and-cussing-at-umpires, no-nookie-in-broom-closets-at-restaurants etcera, that the journalists need to make up somethin new to write about him. They get tired of writing, "Federer just won yet another title". So they come up with these silly articles. If he did some crazy thing, they'd be the first to pile on and denounce him. When Venus and Serena go to their press conferences and don't compliment their opponents in any way, these same journalists call it lack of sportsmanship (not saying I agree or disagree, just stating a fact). Doesn't seem clear what it is they want. So, whatever.
I find the answer to Tignor's comments in the voice of Federer himself (the Davis Cup interview posted in "It's not difficult being Roger Federer" at 7:30 min): Tennis is about respect, about trying everything but within the rules. It's about inspiration, education, being role models, being professional. It's about not forgetting what brought you there and about being thankful to past generations that made it possible.
That's Roger (and Roger that!
i agree with a lot of the comments here. too bad the long comment i wrote got deleted somehow yesterday when i submitted it!
Quote from article: "…confronting your opponent and knocking him out his comfort zone, however many majors he’s won and however benign he may be, is as much a part of the sport as elegant shot-making."
Well gee, isn't that kind of what Delpo did when he beat Fed at the USO? And he didn't have to act like a jerk to do it, either! The author of that article sounds like a prick. I find tennis refreshing to watch, precisely because most of the players don't act like jerks! I guess Tignor doesn't understand that some players might actually like each other and even be friends off court.
Maybe Tignor would be better off watching NFL football – he would get a kick out of players ripping each other's helmets off, fighting, shooting themselves in the leg at a bar, getting arrested for dogfighting, etc.