cher@ihlpm.UUCP (Mike Cherepov) (12/10/85)
> Oh yeah, before I forget, how about McEnroe at the Australian against > Zivojinonic? Pretty pathetic if you ask me. He basically tanked > the fifth set (losing it 6-0) and started yelling at 'Bo-bo' > "I'll make you pay for this, I promise!" How childish can you get? > What was Zivojinovic supposed to do? try to LOSE the match just because > he was playing the great John McEnroe? While I missed the show, the results were very pleasing. McEnroe, the jerk, was whipped, Lendl, the horse, also had his behind kicked. It looks like the Swedes are everywhere and will be for another 10 years at least. However the situation with US tennis is pretty sad. Unless somebody comes out of nowhere and wins some lofty titles the American tennis is in trouble: less public interest => less tv coverage => less attention =>no net.tennis =>.... It does not look like any of the current young US players will develop into a likeness on Wilander or Becker. Connors is old, McEnroe is oversexed and is all but an eyesore. We might hear more from him, though. > Well, I hope this generates some more conversation. It seems to me > that this group goes in spurts. We get noisy for a while, then > quite down while the soccer/football and auto racing people take > over net.sport. Several times I had an impulse to write, but was distracted by visions of snowy slopes. What do you expect in winter, anyway. Currenly the tennis thought that preoccupies me is "which backhand grip is the best?". I've noticed that hammer grip on the (one-handed) backhand provides me with a lot more precision& power then eastern backhand. More later, as I've got to run.. Mike Cherepov -- Mike Cherepov
jsl@princeton.UUCP (Jong Lee) (12/11/85)
> Currenly the tennis thought that preoccupies me is "which backhand > grip is the best?". I've noticed that hammer grip on the (one-handed) > backhand provides me with a lot more precision& power then eastern > backhand. What's a "hammer grip"? Do you mean the continental? I don't think one can generalize whigh grip is "best"; one can only state one's preferences, as you did. Personally, I use the eastern grip on the backhand to try to get more topspin with pace. But when I'm having a bad day, I rotate to more of a continental and just try to hit the ball back with reasonable depth. jsl@princeton *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***
cher@ihlpm.UUCP (Mike Cherepov) (12/11/85)
> > What's a "hammer grip"? Do you mean the continental? I don't > think one can generalize whigh grip is "best"; one can only state > one's preferences, as you did. Personally, I use the eastern grip > on the backhand to try to get more topspin with pace. But when > I'm having a bad day, I rotate to more of a continental and just > try to hit the ball back with reasonable depth. My understanding is that hammer is different from continental in how fingers are spread on the grip: with continental they are spread a bit more loosely. I tend to use wrist quite a bit, so "hammer" provides a lot more control on wrist adjustments (somehow having fingers together gives me a better feel for where the racket head is moving). I am not sure about use on easten backhand for more spin. It looks like Gomez and Sundstrom hit their backhands with extreme continental grip (I mean rotated even further away from eastern) and they are topspinners. Any thoughts? -- Mike Cherepov
cccallan@ucdavis.UUCP (Allan McKillop) (12/12/85)
> > While I missed the show, the results were very pleasing. > McEnroe, the jerk, was whipped, Lendl, the horse, also had his behind > kicked. It looks like the Swedes are everywhere and will be for another > 10 years at least. > However the situation with US tennis is pretty sad. > Unless somebody comes out of nowhere and wins some lofty titles > the American tennis is in trouble: less public interest => less > tv coverage => less attention =>no net.tennis =>.... > It does not look like any of the current young US players will develop > into a likeness on Wilander or Becker. > Connors is old, McEnroe is oversexed and is all but an eyesore. > We might hear more from him, though. > The Lendl-Edberg semifinal was almost as disgusting as the McEnroe-Zivojinovic quarterfinal. Lendl tanked the third set when he was upset with the umpire, and then he had the gall suddenly to claim a "mysterious" injury and request 3 injury timeouts in a row! The man tanked the match and I am glad he lost! The best analogy about the Sweeds I have heard so far is comparing them to the Aussies of the late 50's-60's. A group of players, working as a team (though very individual). Good sports, very polite and very good tennis players. The best prospect on the American screen is Mayotte. And even he is never going to be #1 in the world with the game he has. I guess the next American superstar is going to be like McEnroe, and burst out of (relative) obscurity in the Juniors and take the world by storm. > Currently the tennis thought that preoccupies me is "which backhand > grip is the best?". I've noticed that hammer grip on the (one-handed) > backhand provides me with a lot more precision& power then eastern > backhand. The hammer grip (which is bunching all the fingers together, like you would hold a hammer) is fine is you have the strength of wrist to get away with it. With all the fingers bunched together, you have less leverage on the racket. I personally use a "normal" continental grip, but then again I am lazy about switching grips. -- """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Allan McKillop ...{ucbvax,lll-crg,dual}!ucdavis!deneb!cccallan) "Where there's a will, there's a relative..."
jsl@princeton.UUCP (Jong Lee) (12/12/85)
> My understanding is that hammer is different from continental in > how fingers are spread on the grip: with continental they are > spread a bit more loosely. > I tend to use wrist quite a bit, so "hammer" provides a lot more > control on wrist adjustments (somehow having fingers together > gives me a better feel for where the racket head is moving). > > I am not sure about use on easten backhand for more spin. > It looks like Gomez and Sundstrom hit their backhands with > extreme continental grip (I mean rotated even further away from > eastern) and they are topspinners. > Any thoughts? > > -- > Mike Cherepov I keep my fingers together more than the traditional ... but I think you have to if you are using an eastern grip, or further over. I find it difficult to go cross-court (I guess I don't prepare early enough) if I use anything beyond the eastern...But, wow, those down the lines are something, but they get fairly predictable and downright murder when the other guy is at net. Actually, though, my problem off and on is with my forhand. I learned to play with the "Borg" open stance forehand when I was young, but switched to a more conventional one a few years back. The problem is that I find myself waiting too long sometimes, which makes my shots go deep, without much topspin. But I guess what is necessary is just more of "you didn't get your racquet (sp?) back early enough" syndrome. jsl@princeton *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***