The French Open gets a bad rap because Americans can't play on "dirt". It's actually the best tennis you will likely see all year. The French Open you can actually see points constructed and hard work, not a serve and sitter like at Wimbledon. You get rallies and defense, not a serve and a missed return.
The technology of rackets has forced tennis into an immense transformation into a game strictly played behind the baseline and this guy isn't a big fan of it. I do like the French Open based on the fact it is the best surface for watching points being constructed and earned, but it does not feature net play at all in reality. Teaching high school tennis taught me how the net is completely misunderstood and under-utilized in the game of tennis. It has consistently amazed me how some players in the pro ranks looked lost while at the net. The first player that popularized the net being your enemy was one of my favorites sadly, Andre Agassi. Sure Agassi could volley, but my God did he make it seem uncomfortable. The simple reality is that be reducing your distance between your opponent and yourself you create angles at the net not possible from the baseline and cut down on your opponents time to react to such shots. Following an aggressive and deep baseline shot where you are inside the baseline stepping into the ball just follow your logical momentum to the net and put away the following volley that will almost certainly have very little on it. I can't figure out how players are SO content just to sit and wait for the subsequent weak, floating shot following an aggressive ground-stroke pulling your opponent out of position.
I suffered through Taylor Dent, the last real serve and volley player alive basically, hit slice backhands from the baseline and get destroyed like Poland in WWII by Robin Soderling instead of chipping and charging, or utilizing his only strength over Soderling, net play. FUCK, why does technology have to force tennis into a baseliners paradise?
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