Introductory comments

This is a new blog about tennis, called the "Tennis Courtship" for those who know they will be wedded to tennis for life.   Tennis is one of the greatest spectator sports for several reasons.  The "one on one" nature of singles tennis has the unique flavor of hand-to-hand combat, and the winner must prevail both by executing well and understanding his adversary(attention will be focused here, at least initially, on the singles game).  Another very compelling feature of tennis as a spectator sport is that the challenges and frustrations of the club player are not so different from those of the world's top players.  For example, when Stan Wawrinka played David Goffin at Indian Wells this year, he missed an overhead that any club player could have made and lost the match as a consequence.  The world's best players also experience frustrations similar to every day hackers.  Witness Marcos Baghdatis's racquet smashing spree at the Australian open, where he broke not only the racquet he used for the match, but three other new ones in his bag.

Because the experiences of the club player are so similar to those of the world's best, it's easy to identify with the top players.  The ability of the ordinary player to "connect" with the greats of the game distinguishes tennis from many other wonderful sports.  Hockey is a great sport, but not many of us can imagine skating or handling a hockey stick the way the pros can.  Similarly, the average golfer can't purposely drive a ball 300 yards with a 30-yard hook to the left the way Tiger Woods can.  And just try hitting a baseball 400 feet off a 95 mph fastball, or throwing someone out at the plate from 250 feet away.  These other sports are great and spectacular, but they can't be as "personal" as tennis.  So, when we watch tennis, we can get a good sense of how the players feel when they miss an easy shot or make a faulty tactical decision.  

Tennis has many other features that make it especially intriguing to the spectator.  You can't win by "running out the clock", and you can easily lose despite winning many more points than your opponent.  Because it is a game of "big points", the are heavy psychological pressures on players as well.  Although umpiring decisions in many sports are often controversial, an incorrect call at the wrong moment is relatively likely to have a huge impact on the outcome of a tennis match.

With these and many other fascinating aspects of the sport in mind, this blog will follow the tennis tour with posts about specific matches as well as some of the general aspects of the game.  I hope you enjoy it!