Tennis Random, Random (On Court)

[meganfernandez]

[JazzNU]

This is overkill. And why is that lid up? Serious pet peeve in any photo or HGTV show.

[Suliso]

Yup, imagine being among the top 100 in the world at your profession.

In most professions that would be mighty hard to measure... If I claimed that I am how would you refute?

There is no way to definitively measure, of course, but there are ways to gage for a lot of professions... from compensation to academic publications to industry awards, etc. I just don't think most of us are in the top 100, even if we are very good at our jobs.

Specifically for you.... I do have access to compensation data across countries for most professions, even scientist. Salary doesn't directly correspond to quality... but I guess neither does a sports ranking.

I'm sure you know I was just joking albeit I imagine comparing income would favor not disfavor Swiss scientists.

A bit more seriously you could conceivably compare professors by number of publications, impact factors and so on. No real way to compare industrial ones. The two chemists I personally consider the best in our company (= most inventive) could only be identified by those who are good themselves. Otherwise "speak a lot and well, invent not so much" types would fool you.

[ponchi101]

OMG. Gives a whole new meaning to the words/phrases:
drop shot
dumped one into the net
got tight in the end
couldn't close the match

I do like the racquets, though.
This person could not get a book of sudokus instead?

[meganfernandez]

OMG. Gives a whole new meaning to the words/phrases:
drop shot
dumped one into the net
got tight in the end
couldn't close the match

I do like the racquets, though.
This person could not get a book of sudokus instead?

It is totally a Caption This contest. The Royal Box?

[skatingfan]

Camped out on the baseline.

[Deuce]

I'm a 4.0 to 5.0 player (5.0 on a good day, 4.0 on a not so good day). I learned to play in the 1980s with standard sized racquets (metal, fibreglass, graphite - not wood), very little topspin.
Within the past 10 years, I've been able to get on the court with 2 pro players. The first was a Davis Cup player from Haiti. I'm a pretty good player - almost always one of the best at the several local courts I play at. So I figured I could stay with this Davis Cup player in rallies - after all, he didn't play Davis Cup for France or the U.S., or Sweden - when was the last time Haiti won the Davis Cup?

There is an expression that the player 'has the ball on a string'. That's exactly what it felt like when I played the Haitian Davis Cup player. It felt like he could place the ball anywhere he wanted to. And, like in ponchi's story, it seemed that wherever I hit the ball, he was already there. I was running around at least twice as much as he was - using maybe 3 times the energy he was using. And still, he was winning rather easily.

The second time was when I got on the court with Adil Shamasdin - a 'journeyman' doubles player. He was serving a bucket of balls at a tournament and I asked him if I could return them. The first 25 or so serves blew by me - about half were outright aces, and the other half, I barely got a racquet on. After that, I started to get my timing and rhythm down better... I was on the court with him for 15 - 20 minutes, and in that time, it was only in the last 10 minutes or so that I actually managed to return any of his serves in play - and only about 3 or 4 of every 10 at that. Fortunately for me, we didn't play out any points.

When we finished, I said to him "You know... I'm playing a tournament next week (true), and you've totally shattered my confidence!" We both laughed.
A few years later, when I saw him at a tournament again, I asked if he remembered me. He said "Yeah, sure - you came on the court to return my serves." Hoping to get another shot at it, I said "I've improved since then." He deadpanned, with a smile "So have I."

Indeed, these guys play at a different level. Even at the Challenger level. The consistency,,, the depth... the control ...
I know a 12 year old kid who's highly ranked. He's small, and doesn't hit hard. But he can hit deep into the corners seemingly at will. That's the key.

[mmmm8]

I'm sure you know I was just joking albeit I imagine comparing income would favor not disfavor Swiss scientists.

A bit more seriously you could conceivably compare professors by number of publications, impact factors and so on. No real way to compare industrial ones. The two chemists I personally consider the best in our company (= most inventive) could only be identified by those who are good themselves. Otherwise "speak a lot and well, invent not so much" types would fool you.

We'd adjust for cost of living differences (I was also joking of course, but it's possible!)

You're very correct in the second part about presentation vs quality and this is why I will always argue that the tennis player belongs at their ranking/as a tournament winner, etc., no matter what asterisks people want to add to the result, because it's the most objective way to measure their performance.

[ponchi101]

...

OMG. Gives a whole new meaning to the words/phrases:
drop shot
dumped one into the net
got tight in the end
couldn't close the match

I do like the racquets, though.
This person could not get a book of sudokus instead?

It is totally a Caption This contest. The Royal Box?
[/quote]


Ok, enough. Let's put a lid on it
(No, keep it coming...)

[ponchi101]

...
I know a 12 year old kid who's highly ranked. He's small, and doesn't hit hard. But he can hit deep into the corners seemingly at will. That's the key.

Last story. I promise.
Years ago, at my club in Caracas, we had this very good 12-14 yo. He simply could blast any ball anywhere. By 14, he was beating everybody in the club. And then his dad went insane. Insane in that he decided (the dad) that the kid would become a pro. There was no way he would not make it to the very top. So he pulled the kid out of school, and the kid's sole purpose was to train, which he did, daily at the club. As I had my weird schedule (either working or full time off) I could see him there, every noon, training hard, and getting better.
His name was very similar to one of the top pros of the late 90's. So, the end of the story: he never made it. Never even made it to challengers or the ITF tournaments, which we would have known as the names were so similar. I don't know what happened to him but, as he did not make it into professional tennis and his education was so truncated (I hope he was able to return to that) who knows what happened to him.

Sasha Zverev said it all, in perhaps his sole great quote: "There are a million future number 1 that never made it to number 1". This is one tough sport.
Hope that 12 yo will make it.

[dmforever]

...
I know a 12 year old kid who's highly ranked. He's small, and doesn't hit hard. But he can hit deep into the corners seemingly at will. That's the key.

Last story. I promise.
Years ago, at my club in Caracas, we had this very good 12-14 yo. He simply could blast any ball anywhere. By 14, he was beating everybody in the club. And then his dad went insane. Insane in that he decided (the dad) that the kid would become a pro. There was no way he would not make it to the very top. So he pulled the kid out of school, and the kid's sole purpose was to train, which he did, daily at the club. As I had my weird schedule (either working or full time off) I could see him there, every noon, training hard, and getting better.
His name was very similar to one of the top pros of the late 90's. So, the end of the story: he never made it. Never even made it to challengers or the ITF tournaments, which we would have known as the names were so similar. I don't know what happened to him but, as he did not make it into professional tennis and his education was so truncated (I hope he was able to return to that) who knows what happened to him.

Sasha Zverev said it all, in perhaps his sole great quote: "There are a million future number 1 that never made it to number 1". This is one tough sport.
Hope that 12 yo will make it.

That's a really important story. Thanks for sharing it. It made me think of two weeks ago when Aslan Karatsev was doing so well in Australia. I heard story after story of not giving up and reaching for your dreams because look what can happen. It made me want to pull what little hair I have left out. So what about the thousands of similarly ranked players who keep plugging away year after year and never make it, who may be in great debt, and who may have sacrificed an education, and who may not have a lot of job prospects? I'm not saying not to try, but to present the situation of players in the 100s and 200s in this fairy tale kind of way where hard work always results in success is really idiotic. Great for Aslan. I really like his game and wish him lots of success. But let's not use him as an example, or if we do, let's also share the story of someone who ended up in their 30's without ever really making it.

Kevin

[Suliso]

Someone who made it all the way to 100-300 range is definitely outstanding and if nothing else can continue earning living by teaching amateurs or kids in some club for many years to come. Not a lucrative life post playing life we all somehow expect for former pro players, but an honest job which puts a bread on the table so to say.

[ponchi101]

In Europe and the USA, yes. Most professional players in Latin America that reach that ranking either make it here but barely, or move to the USA or Europe (mostly Spain) as assistant coaches in the big academies. Simanski, for example, teaches in Florida. Sure, Venezuela is an exception because the entire country is in such dire straits, but it is not an infrequent story.
Fabiola Zuluaga, the best ranked Colombian player ever (# 16 top ranking and a SF appearance at the Aussie Open), holds a few training camps at the academy where I play. I was one of the few that knew who she was (I was actually looking to see if she would not mind a one hour session, which I would gladly pay for). She is financially secure, but not rich.

That is the reason that the US College system is still needed. Sure, seldom we see somebody coming from college making it big (Brady is the latest example, but also an exception) but if you can come out of college with a degree, your footing is more solid.

[Suliso]

Surprising more haven't heard of her in Colombia. I'd not recognize her on a street, but the name is familiar.

[Deuce]

Last story. I promise.

^ I hope not.
Keep them coming...