Trader Posted 20 September, 2011 Share Posted 20 September, 2011 Who gives a monkey's? With any luck this action will result in the end of professional tennis and he'll be forced to get a proper job. There are four vacancies at a Swansea mine he could apply for. What a c*nt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skintsaint Posted 20 September, 2011 Share Posted 20 September, 2011 16 tournaments a year isnt a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 20 September, 2011 Share Posted 20 September, 2011 Murray always strikes me as a complete knob,a jock with some sort of mid-atlantic accent. Let them go on strike,who gives a crap anyway, it's an individual game,played by individuals for their own self esteem and enrichment.Can't really see any difference in going on strike and not turning up for a tournament because they need to recover from one where they get paid more for doing less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyNorthernSaints Posted 20 September, 2011 Share Posted 20 September, 2011 16 tournaments a year isnt a lot. I know he is hated on here for being Scottish but to be fair to him he has a point about burnout of top players. 16 tournaments for top ranked players probably means 32 weeks including practice/progression in tornament out of 52 weeks. I love watching the likes of Nadal etc playing but don't think his like will have a long career and be playing in their 30's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 20 September, 2011 Share Posted 20 September, 2011 It was quite noticeable this year just how many top flight players had to pull out of the US Open. Players don't withdraw from the Slams without very good reason and, in most cases this year, it was injury. They are contracted to play in the Slams and the Masters ranking events as well as the likes of the Davis Cup. And, if anyone had seen the Nadal Djokovic US final they couldn't have doubted the tremendous amount of work that goes into getting that fit with the stamina to play so brutally for 4 hours non-stop. He is not the one calling for a strike BTW - it was something all the top men discussed at the US Open. I don't understand the hatred for him. He's consistently made the semis in all the slams and is no. 4 in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Who? Posted 20 September, 2011 Share Posted 20 September, 2011 He normally waits for the semi final then goes on strike!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorgiesaint Posted 20 September, 2011 Share Posted 20 September, 2011 BTF makes a very valid point about the number of withdrawls from this years US open, and to top that Djokovic had to forfit his rubber in the Davis Cup semi-final which meant Serbia got knocked out having got a back injury - because he played Monday night in the US open final and then had to travel back to Serbia for the Friday start in the David Cup. One thing that may happen is that only a certain number of other events count each year towards the ranking (plus then Master & Grand Slams) so players aren't playing so many events, I think that Murray and the others feel that to maintain their world ranking (and get the best seeding for slams) that they have to keep playing as much as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skintsaint Posted 20 September, 2011 Share Posted 20 September, 2011 I know he is hated on here for being Scottish but to be fair to him he has a point about burnout of top players. 16 tournaments for top ranked players probably means 32 weeks including practice/progression in tornament out of 52 weeks. I love watching the likes of Nadal etc playing but don't think his like will have a long career and be playing in their 30's. I'm sorry but nearly 40% of the rest of the year off.....for all that money. Don't buy it. How many more tournies do they play compared to say 20 years ago out of interest. Any stattos out there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 20 September, 2011 Share Posted 20 September, 2011 It was quite noticeable this year just how many top flight players had to pull out of the US Open. Players don't withdraw from the Slams without very good reason and, in most cases this year, it was injury. They are contracted to play in the Slams and the Masters ranking events as well as the likes of the Davis Cup. And, if anyone had seen the Nadal Djokovic US final they couldn't have doubted the tremendous amount of work that goes into getting that fit with the stamina to play so brutally for 4 hours non-stop. He is not the one calling for a strike BTW - it was something all the top men discussed at the US Open. I don't understand the hatred for him. He's consistently made the semis in all the slams and is no. 4 in the world. It's because he's a cock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 20 September, 2011 Share Posted 20 September, 2011 I'm sorry but nearly 40% of the rest of the year off.....for all that money. Don't buy it. How many more tournies do they play compared to say 20 years ago out of interest. Any stattos out there? 20 years ago, there weren't all the Masters tournaments that there are now. Here's the official story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/14977449.stm Of course, most of them don't earn the sort of money that mediocre footballers earn and they don't have 40% of the year off - they still have to train. It's as daft as saying footballers only work a max of 1 or 2 days a week for 11 months of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintandy666 Posted 20 September, 2011 Share Posted 20 September, 2011 I think people actually need to read up on the facts before jumping on the 'Andy Murray is a **** bandwagon'(which he isn't by the way). People just have the teenage version of him stuck in their heads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skintsaint Posted 21 September, 2011 Share Posted 21 September, 2011 and they don't have 40% of the year off - they still have to train. Dont all professional athletes?... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 21 September, 2011 Share Posted 21 September, 2011 Dont all professional athletes?... Err, yes. Your point being? You were the one who said they have 40% of the year 'OFF'. Anyone who relies on fitness for their career knows that, even if not 'performing / competing' the fitness levels have to be maintained. From personal experience I know that that means training virtually every day of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skintsaint Posted 21 September, 2011 Share Posted 21 September, 2011 so all professional athletes should strike?...confused by your logic here. he works hard trains hard and earns millions yet complains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 21 September, 2011 Share Posted 21 September, 2011 so all professional athletes should strike?...confused by your logic here. he works hard trains hard and earns millions yet complains. Aah I see what you're saying He isn't the one initiating the strike talk. In fact, I think it was Nadal who first mooted the idea. They are saying that their programme is so crowded these days, they don't have much downtime / recovery time. If you'd read the link I'd posted above, you would have seen that they are contracted to participate in a number of tournaments (usually the Masters, I think) as well as the Slams. Taking part in a tournament is very different to training and recovery (countless rounds for a start). Would you expect a footballer to play probably 5 x 4 hour matches in 14 days? And then fly halfway across the world and start all over again a week later? Without any recovery training? And of course a top flight footballer gets paid thousands of pounds a week whether or not his team wins. A tennis player only gets the moolah if s/he wins (apart from sponsorship etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jawillwill Posted 21 September, 2011 Share Posted 21 September, 2011 To be fair, tennis players are in competitive action more than the vast majority of other sportsmen, especially during grand slams. Could you imagine the reaction footballers would have if they were made to play a 3 (or more) hour match every couple of days for 2 weeks? Before the lead up to the world up in South Africa players were complaining they only had a week or 2 holiday before they were back in training again. Saints match with Birmingham had to be delayed by a day last week because it wasn't fair that some of the Brum players had to play twice in 2 days, bless 'em. Fatigue can play a big part in sport, especially when there's a lot of travelling involved between tournaments. I'm not saying tennis players should strike or complain, but people shouldn't criticise them so much if they're not always at the very top of their game. Andy Murray is an incredibly fit athlete (whatever your opinions are of the guy), yet clearly finds it difficult to keep up with the schedule sometimes. Surely, that shows a fairly fundamental problem with the scheduling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Born In The 80s Posted 21 September, 2011 Share Posted 21 September, 2011 Dont all professional athletes?... MOST of them don't, no. That is the point. Tennis is the only really physical sport that i can think of that has so little time off to recover. Take football for example. If a player stays injury free all year (pretty unlikely), they'll play maybe 45-50 games a year. The schedules will also allow them at least a 3 days break in between games. Tennis does not work like that. Obviously everyone knows just how grueling the grand slam fortnights can be. But if you take the masters events and some of the smaller tournaments, players will often have to win 5 matches in 5 days to get to the final. That's not to mention that some of these events are back-to-back. And then, you need to factor in the traveling that these guys do. As another poster mentioned, a lot of the top guys were unable to compete in the majors this year as they were either injured or completely burned out. Frankly, I'm not surprised the players are saying enough is enough and want to go on strike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pap Posted 21 September, 2011 Share Posted 21 September, 2011 Heard something about this on the Today programme yesterday morning. Gotta say, have little sympathy - the gruelling schedule only really affects the players that do really well. The makeweights who get smashed off the court don't have nearly as demanding a time of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintandy666 Posted 21 September, 2011 Share Posted 21 September, 2011 MOST of them don't, no. That is the point. Tennis is the only really physical sport that i can think of that has so little time off to recover. Take football for example. If a player stays injury free all year (pretty unlikely), they'll play maybe 45-50 games a year. The schedules will also allow them at least a 3 days break in between games. Tennis does not work like that. Obviously everyone knows just how grueling the grand slam fortnights can be. But if you take the masters events and some of the smaller tournaments, players will often have to win 5 matches in 5 days to get to the final. That's not to mention that some of these events are back-to-back. And then, you need to factor in the traveling that these guys do. As another poster mentioned, a lot of the top guys were unable to compete in the majors this year as they were either injured or completely burned out. Frankly, I'm not surprised the players are saying enough is enough and want to go on strike. Here here. Too many people in this country seem to think tennis happens for 2 weeks a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint.tom.clancy Posted 27 September, 2011 Share Posted 27 September, 2011 Its not exactly the most gruelling sport though is it? Its the sacrifice they have to make if they want to be the best. If they dont, then fine, i'm sure there is a lot of young potential out there who would jump at the chance to play at these guy's level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jawillwill Posted 27 September, 2011 Share Posted 27 September, 2011 Its not exactly the most gruelling sport though is it? Its the sacrifice they have to make if they want to be the best. If they dont, then fine, i'm sure there is a lot of young potential out there who would jump at the chance to play at these guy's level. To be fair, its up there with the toughest...the amount of time they spend on court, generally playing at a very high intensity is impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintandy666 Posted 27 September, 2011 Share Posted 27 September, 2011 Its not exactly the most gruelling sport though is it? Its the sacrifice they have to make if they want to be the best. If they dont, then fine, i'm sure there is a lot of young potential out there who would jump at the chance to play at these guy's level. You clearly don't play tennis(and if you do, not at a proper standard) if you don't think it is gruelling. It is bloody hard work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint.tom.clancy Posted 28 September, 2011 Share Posted 28 September, 2011 You clearly don't play tennis(and if you do, not at a proper standard) if you don't think it is gruelling. It is bloody hard work. Not saying its not hard work, but I can think of more sports which are a lot more physically difficult than Tennis. If they cant handle it, let someone else step up and take their place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scummer Posted 28 September, 2011 Share Posted 28 September, 2011 How many events do they contractually have to play in anyway? I was under the impression that most of the events apart from the masters series (9 tournaments, best of 3 sets) and the grand slams (5 tournaments, best of 5 sets) were voluntary. So they could have most of the year off if they really wanted. Don't the Williams sisters choose not to play very often (when they are fit)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 28 September, 2011 Share Posted 28 September, 2011 This is what they have to do The men's tour requires players to compete in a minimum of 12 events along with the four majors. The tour finishes at the end of November, a month after the women's equivalent. This is followed by the Davis Cup final from http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/14977449.stm posted earlier. Each major takes about two weeks to complete so that's 8 weeks on majors. The other events (Masters) (think about what used to be called the Stella Artois) take at least a week. Then there are Davis Cup matches (usually 4 days each round). Then there's all the travelling from one side of the globe to the other. The Australian Open is held in January and any player worth his / her salt will warm up with some of the satellite events immediately prior to each slam. [h=2][/h] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintandy666 Posted 28 September, 2011 Share Posted 28 September, 2011 Not saying its not hard work, but I can think of more sports which are a lot more physically difficult than Tennis. If they cant handle it, let someone else step up and take their place. Again, I can tell you don't play tennis. It is extremely physically demanding. It is in no way a 'softer sport'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deano6 Posted 29 September, 2011 Share Posted 29 September, 2011 Again, I can tell you don't play tennis. It is extremely physically demanding. It is in no way a 'softer sport'. Which round of Wimbledon did you make this year Andy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatch Posted 30 September, 2011 Share Posted 30 September, 2011 Tennis isn't that tough. People go on about playing a 3 hour match or whatever, but well over an hour of that is spent sitting down. Same logic makes football a 110 minute game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 30 September, 2011 Share Posted 30 September, 2011 Again, I can tell you don't play tennis. It is extremely physically demanding. It is in no way a 'softer sport'. He obviously doesn't watch it either Andy. Anyone who watched the final of the men's US Open this year couldn't have failed to notice the extreme physicality, stamina, strength and suppleness on show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted 30 September, 2011 Share Posted 30 September, 2011 Anyone who watched the final of the men's US Open this year couldn't have failed to notice the extreme physicality, stamina, strength and suppleness on show. Stop drooling love and get in there, its your birthday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintandy666 Posted 2 October, 2011 Share Posted 2 October, 2011 I've played at county/district level before and I can tell you 4 sets against a decent side, even an average side can bloody well take it out of you, just as much as any other sport. And that's doubles! Singles is much much harder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintwarwick Posted 4 October, 2011 Share Posted 4 October, 2011 Tennis isn't that tough. People go on about playing a 3 hour match or whatever, but well over an hour of that is spent sitting down. Same logic makes football a 110 minute game. And how many footballers do you see playing up to 7 matches in a fortnight and how often is a game stopped for a foul, injury, goal kick, corner, throw in, guess that makes a footballer playing about 60 minutes a game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintwarwick Posted 4 October, 2011 Share Posted 4 October, 2011 Not saying its not hard work, but I can think of more sports which are a lot more physically difficult than Tennis. If they cant handle it, let someone else step up and take their place. Care to name some Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 9 October, 2011 Share Posted 9 October, 2011 Bloody hell! http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/15231444.stm He beat Nadal 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Who? Posted 9 October, 2011 Share Posted 9 October, 2011 In a non grand slam game! How about he mans up and wins a final that counts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sambosa75 Posted 9 October, 2011 Share Posted 9 October, 2011 In a non grand slam game! How about he mans up and wins a final that counts! Still takes a massive amount of effort to get a doughtnut against Nadal. It's still worth ranking points that Nadal would have wanted but yes, it is likely he would have put up more of a fight in a major. Murray knows this though and doesn't get carried away, which I admire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 9 October, 2011 Share Posted 9 October, 2011 Still takes a massive amount of effort to get a doughtnut against Nadal. It's still worth ranking points that Nadal would have wanted but yes, it is likely he would have put up more of a fight in a major. Murray knows this though and doesn't get carried away, which I admire. I think I heard that he will oust Federer from the number 3 spot, if not immediately then shortly. That in itself is some achievement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintwarwick Posted 11 October, 2011 Share Posted 11 October, 2011 In a non grand slam game! How about he mans up and wins a final that counts! I'm sure Nadal would like to regain the number 1 spot in the world rankings and winning tournaments would help achieve this so Murray beating and stoppng him in his tracks shows he has the winning mentality to beat the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypochondriac Posted 11 October, 2011 Share Posted 11 October, 2011 In a non grand slam game! How about he mans up and wins a final that counts! Quite correct. Grand slams are the only things that count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintwarwick Posted 11 October, 2011 Share Posted 11 October, 2011 Quite correct. Grand slams are the only things that count. Is that your opinion or the players opinion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jawillwill Posted 16 October, 2011 Share Posted 16 October, 2011 Won his 3rd tournement on the trot today and now officially world no. 3 ahead of Federer. Impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 16 October, 2011 Share Posted 16 October, 2011 Won his 3rd tournement on the trot today and now officially world no. 3 ahead of Federer. Impressive. First time in 8 years that Federer has been outside the top 3 so, yes, very impressive by Murray. I THINK (but I'm not 100% sure) that he's the highest ranked British player of the modern era? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Saint Posted 16 October, 2011 Share Posted 16 October, 2011 First time in 8 years that Federer has been outside the top 3 so, yes, very impressive by Murray. I THINK (but I'm not 100% sure) that he's the highest ranked British player of the modern era? No. Murray was ranked No 2 on 17th August 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 16 October, 2011 Share Posted 16 October, 2011 No. Murray was ranked No 2 on 17th August 2009 Thanks R - I've just googled it (should have done that before ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypochondriac Posted 16 October, 2011 Share Posted 16 October, 2011 Is that your opinion or the players opinion? Clearly federer's opinion. He tries miles more at the slams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durleyfos Posted 17 October, 2011 Share Posted 17 October, 2011 Fantastic. I'm so happy for him. No, really I am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintwarwick Posted 17 October, 2011 Share Posted 17 October, 2011 Clearly federer's opinion. He tries miles more at the slams. So the other 51 non slam titles he has won mean nothing to him then, seems pointless playing if you have no intention of winning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trader Posted 18 October, 2011 Author Share Posted 18 October, 2011 He will absolutely be more focussed on Grand Slams at this stage of his career, it's his legacy that's important to him now. He doesn't exactly need the dosh any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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