#365DaysOfWriting – Day Sixty-One
Where have all the pulsating tennis rivalries gone?
Borg v McEnroe. Graf v Navratilova. Graf v Seles. Edberg v Lendl. Edberg v Becker. Sampras v Agassi. Sampras v Chang. The Williams’ sisters – Venus v Serena. Serena v Sharapova. The Belgians – Clijsters v Henin-Hardenne. Federer v Nadal.
And oh, Ivanisevic v Wimbledon. Novotna v Wimbledon.
What am I going on about, you ask? Nothing, just some of my favourite rivalries in singles tennis. I can already hear some of the Djokovic and Murray fans breathing down my neck. But sorry boys and girls – Djokovic may be the best now, and a really swell guy, and Murray is a good (not great player), but I’d never pay to watch them play. Their style just doesn’t make me go ‘wow’. Even with Djokovic’s antics.
As someone who started ‘watching’ tennis (as much as I could comprehend) from the age of 3 (huge crush on Steffi Graf back then, still have it) I just feel that in the last 3 years or so, the needle and edge has gone out of tennis rivalries. There’s more technology, Wimbledon can close its roof, and the game moves on like a well-oiled machine now, but has it become all too boring?
Maybe one of the biggest reasons is the steady decline of the serve-and-volley game.
Ironically, two of my favourite tennis players aren’t even serve-and-volleyers (Agassi and Nadal), but their arch rivals were/are masters of that style (Sampras and Federer) and that’s what made the rivalry compelling. In my eyes, everyone just plays the same way now, and it’s about who can outlast the other. The joy of tennis seems to have been replaced by cold, brutal efficiency.
Characters are missing.
Agassi had a big mouth. So did McEnroe. The feisty Spaniard Nadal would irritate everyone by tying his shoelaces at the last minute. Becker was the ‘bad boy’ of tennis. Federer and Ivanisevic, both known to shed tears. Sharapova grunted. Serena just b**ch-slaps the tennis ball for cheap winners. Marat Safin had his tantrums. The only one today who has a ‘personality’ per se is Djokovic. But even he has become a cold, calculating winning machine. All those imitations of Nadal and arguments with chair umpires – not there much any more. Tsonga could’ve been tennis’ Muhammed Ali – eccentric, and yeah he even looks like him! But he’s faded away. What tennis needs now is an influx of characters that makes it enjoyable to watch again.
Even in today’s game, Federer lost to Raonic in an epic 5-setter. Murray beat Berdych in 3 sets. With the greatest respect to both Murray and Raonic, would you really pay to watch them play? I wouldn’t. Maybe it’ll be a great final. But it will be a one-off. It won’t become a great rivalry.
