osmigo@ut-ngp.UTEXAS (osmigo) (10/02/85)
*** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE *** According to "Tennis Rules Illustrated," Ed. George Sullivan, Simon and Schuster, 1981, in the glossary: DRIVE: A hard stroke or onw that causes the ball to travel in a relatively flat trajectory. Thus you often see the word "drive" in connection with hard-hit shots, as in, "he hit deep baseline DRIVES," or "he consistently DROVE the ball deep," etc. ....and here's one for you guize... One of the most talked-about issues regarding behind-the-scene tennis today is the "necessity" of "protecting" top players with the rationale that they are essential for a good crowd draw. Unlike golf, where a player will win a world- class tournament one day and fail to qualify for a two-bit event the next, the top tennis players are consistently in the finals. This is reportedly of GREAT concern to the Tournament Director, who is primarily responsible for the event's making a profit. Players like McEnroe and Connors regularly get away with all kinds of verbal and physical obscenities, etc., while lesser- known players might get kicked out for practically scratching his nose with his middle finger. The complicating factor is that the Chair Umpire is selec- ted by the Tournament Director, and knows that if he disqualifies a top contestant, it is tatamount to saying "this tournament is going to go $100,000 in the red." Furthermore, that umpire would most likely NEVER officiate again. The problem is, the Tournament Director's concerns are valid. A final match between two "non-stars" WON'T draw a crowd, and the tournament WILL lose money, and very likely a LOT of money. Enourmous fines may be an answer, but then we have the problem of calculating just how much the fine should be, and there may be legal problems with fining one player more than another just because he has more bucks in the bank. Make the fines a percentage of the purse? Well, that might work better, but it also might destroy the player's incentive to play competitively, once he knows he's already lost much of his eventual winnings. One thing is agreed upon, and that is that SOMETHING needs to be done. High School and college tennis coaches all over the country are complaining that their young players are frequently emulating the "stars," e.g., cursing, throwing their rackets, and so on. In fact, much of McEnroe's celebrity status can be attributed directly to his sensational behavior on the court. What do you think? Ron Morgan, osmigo@ut-ngp.UTEXAS(osmigo) ...pardon my mispelings, I'm in a hury :-)
cher@ihlpm.UUCP (cherepov) (10/05/85)
> One thing is agreed upon, and that is that SOMETHING needs to be done. High > School and college tennis coaches all over the country are complaining that > their young players are frequently emulating the "stars," e.g., cursing, > throwing their rackets, and so on. In fact, much of McEnroe's celebrity status > can be attributed directly to his sensational behavior on the court. What do > you think? I don't think that It could be solved painlessly to everybody' satisfaction. ATP-appointed (or otherwise designated) professional umpires might become more bold, but somebody's pocket still will be hurting. McEnroe can take being kicked out of a tournament - he was suspended not that long ago for about a month. Just go on a new super-grossing exibition tour. The system of fines (imposed by the Pro Council, I guess) is ok to punish someone with income like mine, but is not effective for the people at the top of money list. It seems that if the fine amount could be made proportional to a player's income (any legal problems here?) McEnroe would quit suggesting that a linesman could not have seen the ball long. Pro Coucil is well-suited for that sort of actions - they proved they were by susponding Vilas for a year (disgusting move, I think). Other options include pro umpires and even better - -using replays -somehow robotizing the line calls But another problem arises -I'm quite content to watch tennis, and really dislike tantrums - but it wasn't always that way. Even small measure of antics could do if that's what really attracts public. Just a thought... Mike Cherepov