To celebrate World Tennis Day, The Tennis Review looks at ten of the many reasons why we tennis fans love tennis. Happy World Tennis Day and Happy watching!
1. Great battles.
Ranked by many as the greatest match of all time, the Wimbledon 2008 final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal was a battle between the grass court King and the two time runner up hungry to prove he could be champion.
Watch the tiebreak below to relive the drama, intensity and quality of one of tennis’ greatest battles.
But it’s not just tennis which gets tennis players battling each other. Check out this video from last year’s Roland Garros featuring Gael Monfils and Laurent Lokoli. As if it was not enough to be great at tennis, these two had to master dancing as well.
2. Emotion
We live tennis on the court, we live through it from our armchairs, too. The big matches provide big emotions, few more tear jerking that when Roger Federer broke down in the trophy ceremony of the 2009 Australian Open.
Federer had been on the verge of tying Pete Sampras’ 14 slam record in front of Rod Laver, but Nadal proved too good for the Swiss, a fact that reduced Federer to tears.
Federer’s tears divided fans- some cried with him, some taunted him for crying like a baby- but whatever side you were on, you felt something, and tennis was why.
For those Federer fans who found the above video upsetting, here is one which will bring back happier memories- Federer’s tears of happiness when he won his first Grand Slam at Wimbledon 2003.
3. Excellence
You want to see aces, volleys, lobs, perfectly timed forehands, incredible shot-making, strategic genius and all that is excellent about tennis? Then look no further than Roger Federer.
The Swiss is not just talented, he has worked hard and turned that talent into sheer excellence.
Check out this Roger Federer compilation video to see tennis at its most excellent and fall in love all over again.
4. Talent
Tennis has been blessed with some great talents – McEnroe, Becker, Nalbandian, Safin, Santoro, Rios, Federer, Wawrinka to name a few.
Grigor Dimitrov is arguably the most talented player of his generation, the one tennis fans are waiting for to make their move to the very top of the game.
Take a look at the video below to see why Dimitrov has earned himself the nickname ‘Baby Fed’ and the talent that has many believing he will be, like his tennis daddy once was, the future of tennis.
5. Shocks.
The thought of Rafael Nadal losing at the French Open in 2009 was not one many fans were entertaining at the time. Nadal was the reigning French Open, Wimbledon and Australian Champ, the world No.1 and had never lost at Roland Garros since winning his first title on his debut in 2005.
The idea of Nadal losing in the last sixteen was as crazy as the French getting rid of the clay and replacing it with grass.
Robin Soderling thought differently. He not only thought it, however- he did it. The Swedish player played the match of his life, and knocked the champion out in four sets.
Nadal has not lost since at Roland Garros while Soderling has been absent from the tennis courts for far too long, but his 2009 Roland Garros win ensures he is still very much in the memories of many a shock loving tennis fan.
6. Humor
Tennis is not just sport, it can be comedy, too, especially when Novak Djokovic is around. Impressions, funny faces, silly comments, the World No. 1 has them all in his box of comedy tricks.
7. Controversy.
Controversy is never too far away from tennis and there are few better examples than the Australian Open 2014 final. Mid-match, an injured Rafael Nadal left Stan Wawrinka on the court and the Swiss was not pleased. Neither were the crowd.
Tennis fans loved it, though – booing Nadal like they were at a pantomine and debating it for weeks after the match.
8. Diversity
Tennis has many styles of play from serve and volley to baseline aggression from counter punching to all-court to name a few.
The sport is arguably at its best when two contrasting styles clash, and the rivalry between Andre aggressive baseliner Agassi and serve and volleyer Pat Rafter, which peaked with their semi-final battles at Wimbledon and the Australian Open, was a celebration of the diversity which causes many fans to fall in love with tennis.
9. Characters
Tennis has had its fair share of characters such as Ilie Nastase, John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Andre Agassi, but few have been as smart and witty as Marat Safin.
Watch him here after his breakout U.S Open 2000 victory on the David Letterman show to see a young Safin talk not just tennis but Anna Kournikova and Vodka.
10. Amazing athleticism.
Tennis can compete with any sport going when it comes to athleticism. In 2012, at the the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal’ tested each others atheletic skills for over six hours to decide the men’s champion.
Six hours of tennis? Many people might wonder how you could sit in an armchair and watch tennis for six hours. Not tennis fans, though. Six of hours of tennis? Six hours of love more like.
Commentary by Christian Deverille
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