Paleo Retiree writes:
I don’t know how Federer dreams up these shots, let alone executes them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y1ITZelkig
Incidentally: a big tip of the hat to YouTube user (and major Federer fan) MrSeba1670. I’m very grateful to the tennis fans who go to the trouble of creating these highlight reels. Even among them, MrSeba1670 is a standout.
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World’s greatest athlete.
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Freaky how good he can be.
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I watched a lot of tennis during the sport’s 70s boom, and as great as Borg, Connors, etc. were, the current guys are way better.
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No question about that. Plus, despite the sheer power they command, the current guys are often interesting players. There was a long stretch at the beginning of the New Tennis era (bigger rackets, strength training) when I thought the game had lost all interest. It had become nothing more than huge powerful guys hitting big heavy balls at each other. Power wars and nothing but — awesome but boring. The current guys, though, have managed to get up to a level where they have all the new-style power PLUS style, tactics, etc. They aren’t just booming away at each other. Federer particularly has been as fun to watch from a tennis-connoisseur POV as anyone from the ’60s. Yet it’s all happening on this supersonic plane. Perfectly amazin’.
Fun historical note: back in the ’60s, one of the reasons I took up tennis was that it was considered to be a game where athletic mid-size guys could do well. I’m not big, and in football, basketball and baseball the big guys could simply overpower me. But tennis … A game of finesse, coordination, brains and touch. Big guys in tennis were at a disadvantage — couldn’t move quickly enough, etc. Even at the pro level there weren’t many six footers. I could have fun and even compete, at least at a high-school-athlete level. But somehow big guys have gotten a lot more quick than they used to be, and these days there are few pros who stand less than six feet tall. (I think Michael Chang was the last of the successful 5’9″ish guys, and he had his moment quite a while ago.) How did this happen? Anyone know? And are there any fun sports that not-big guys can compete in these days? Maybe pingpong …
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