Tennis coverage - brutal quirks and annoying habits

[beckwall]

I love to watch tennis. I used to play 5 times a week, now I have 2 artificial hips that make it difficult, but I love the game. LOVE IT.

That said, I have a few questions for Doper fans and players alike.

1) Why do the announcers phrase things so strangely - "She seems to be playing better and better, Sharapova". OK, I know that announcing the score may go something like that ("First set goes 6-2, Federer") but putting the person's name after you have made your comments seems odd. Commentators most likely to do this are Mary Carillo and Patrick McEnroe.

2) Stop with the pre-serve ball bouncing, please. I counted each time Djokovic was preparing to serve, and occasionally he bounced the ball more than 20 times.
Is this a new type of psych out thing, so that your opponent never knows when you are going to serve? Or is it just a rhythm thing. Or an obnoxious habit. He was chastised several times during this past Australian Open, and I think even the crowd started to dislike him because of it. Oh well, he must be good if he won the whole tournament, Djokovic. :smack:

Keep on stroking those balls, kids.

[Marley23]

I hadn't noticed the phrasing you're talking about. It might just be those commentators.

Djokovic is known for taking forever to serve, with that ball bouncing. I don't think they're all doing it.

[TheLoadedDog]

I think their most annoying habit is playing tennis.


I will never understand the appeal.

[Ellis Dee]

Djokovic's pre-serve bouncing is absolutely his unique quirk; nobody else does it with such OCD-like fervor. He used to be much worse, if you can imagine. One match I saw a couple years ago, Patrick McEnroe was ready to jump on the court and throttle him. They started counting the bounces, and for the rest of the match the fewest bounces he did was seventeen! Nowadays it's not unusual for him to get by with as few as five, so count yourself lucky. He only seems to string them out when he's stressed.

I've grown less and less fond of Sharapova's pre-serve ritual. It's always exactly the same no matter what. First serve, second serve, break point, match point; doesn't matter:

Brush back hair
brush back hair
stare at opponent
raise ball
bounce once
bounce twice
lean back
toss up
SHHRIIIIEEEEEKKKKKK

Every single step is very long and drawn out. It's at its most annoying on a second serve, when most normal humans just toss the damn ball up and swing away.

[Ellis Dee]

I think their most annoying habit is playing tennis.


I will never understand the appeal.Thanks for threadshitting. Hopefully someday I can return the favor in a topic you enjoy.

[Marley23]

I've grown less and less fond of Sharapova's pre-serve ritual. It's always exactly the same no matter what. First serve, second serve, break point, match point; doesn't matter:
I think it's ironic that Djokovic got so much attention for his impression of Sharapova's serve motion when their pre-serve motions are equally annoying.

[RealityChuck]

1) Why do the announcers phrase things so strangely - "She seems to be playing better and better, Sharapova". OK, I know that announcing the score may go something like that ("First set goes 6-2, Federer") but putting the person's name after you have made your comments seems odd. Commentators most likely to do this are Mary Carillo and Patrick McEnroe. I've heard it in football coverage. I think it's just that the announcer starts to talk about a player and then realizes midway that the audience might not know who they're referring to, so they add the name.

It's hard to find fault. You try announcing a match without saying things oddly.

[Chez Guevara]

I've heard it in football coverage. I think it's just that the announcer starts to talk about a player and then realizes midway that the audience might not know who they're referring to, so they add the name.It's the same in our football coverage for the same reason IMO.

[Hampshire]

Maybe they should install a large timer clock on each end of the court like they do in football. You need to get your serve off before the timer hits 00 or bzzzt.. fault!

[Windwalker]

Man, you guys are spoiled. In baseball, the pitcher will often clean the rubber with his foot, rub some more dirt on it with his other foot, scratch his ass, pick his nose, look at his grandma out in the left field bleachers, look for the sign, shake it off, scratch his ass again, then step off the rubber. Then he steps on the rubber, scratches his ass, squints as he tries to imagine Christina Aguilera rising out of the mound with a chocolate bunny in her mouth, then gets ready to pitch, only to watch the batter call time out to adjust his batting gloves, elbow protector, and make eyebeam love with the third base coach. And then the manager walks out to the mound to talk about how in his day, pin-up girls were classy, not like the hoochie-mamas you see out on the street these days. Then he waves to the bullpen, and some semi-retired middle reliever walks and smells the flowers on his way to the mound. Then we go to a commercial break and commit seppuku.

So yeah, it could be worse :)

[Wee Bairn]

I've heard it in football coverage. I think it's just that the announcer starts to talk about a player and then realizes midway that the audience might not know who they're referring to, so they add the name.

It's hard to find fault. You try announcing a match without saying things oddly.

Agree, not a quirk to tennis or announcing, just a clarification after using an amobigouous pronoun.

I wondered what it was that made the crowd not care for Djokovic- I guess it could have been the ball bouncing. He seems to me like a perfect fan favorite- fun, funny, etc. I know crowds love underdogs, but its not like Djokovic had won a big title before either.

[glee]

It's the grunting and shrieking that gets me.

Bjorn Borg didn't make a sound (showing my age there! :eek: ), except for the ball swishing past his opponent.

[glee]

I think their most annoying habit is playing tennis.
I will never understand the appeal.

No, the most annoying habit is diving into a thread with nothing to offer but rudeness.
I will never understand the appeal.

[Marley23]

I wondered what it was that made the crowd not care for Djokovic- I guess it could have been the ball bouncing. He seems to me like a perfect fan favorite- fun, funny, etc. I know crowds love underdogs, but its not like Djokovic had won a big title before either.
During the tournament, he suddenly became kind of a prick. In both the semis and the final, he bitched at the crowd a little for rooting for his opponent. I don't think they hated him, they just liked Federer and were excited by Tsonga, who played with a very exciting style. If Djokovic keeps that behavior up he'll quickly become one of my least favorite players, I know that much.

[C K Dexter Haven]

I think their most annoying habit is playing tennis.
I will never understand the appeal.
Moderator agrees with Ellis Dee and glee: this is thread-shitting. It's a comment that would be fine in a thread about "Why play tennis" but it's out of place in this thread. If you're not interested in tennis coverage, then keep away from the thread.

[Dead Badger]

I think it's ironic that Djokovic got so much attention for his impression of Sharapova's serve motion when their pre-serve motions are equally annoying.To be fair, I think he's just a funny guy and is more than willing to send himself up too; there was nothing malicious in his impressions. His Goran was excellent. :)

As for pre-serve rituals, while they can certainly be irritating at times, by all accounts they can also help a lot in achieving what is a pretty complicated action that needs to be made highly repeatable. Muscle memory is a weird thing, and if they feel that going through the same set of movements before serving helps them nail the same motion each time, then they're going to do that. Sure, some nervous tics are likely to get wrapped up in it too, but messing with your serve routine for the sake of TV viewers is going to be a pretty low priority for players at the very top of their game.

[Wallenstein]

I believe it's part of modern sports psychology.

The goal is a focused, accurate, repeatable movement which will guarantee the desired result... compare Jonny Wilkinson's kicking technique in rugy union for a similarly odd-looking and protracted shot.

In tennis, your first-serve percentage is directly linked to your success rate.

For example:

- Federer beat Nadal (Nov 07): Federer's first serve at c.84%
- Federer lost to Volandri (May 07): Federer's first serve at c.40%

Players will therefore do whatever they need to get the required focus - if that has the side-effect of unsettling their opponent, so much the better, but the primary goal is to get that first serve in the court.

[Marley23]

To be fair, I think he's just a funny guy and is more than willing to send himself up too; there was nothing malicious in his impressions. His Goran was excellent. :)
I agree.

[PunditLisa]

I've grown less and less fond of Sharapova's pre-serve ritual. It's always exactly the same no matter what. First serve, second serve, break point, match point; doesn't matter:

Brush back hair
brush back hair
stare at opponent
raise ball
bounce once
bounce twice
lean back
toss up
SHHRIIIIEEEEEKKKKKK



You forgot step 1:

Jog in place
Jog in place

She drives me batshit insane. And did anyone read how her father got into trouble for his behavior after Sharapova's win over Henin? He had this camoflague jacket on and he pulled the hood up over his head. Then he made a slicing motion across his throat, a "cut her throat" kind of image. It very disturbing and very inappropriate.

I, too, was a bit puzzled by the crowd's reaction to Djokovic, who i think is cute as a button. I wonder if there's a large French component in Australia...

[Trunk]

1) Why do the announcers phrase things so strangely - "She seems to be playing better and better, Sharapova". OK, I know that announcing the score may go something like that ("First set goes 6-2, Federer") but putting the person's name after you have made your comments seems odd. Commentators most likely to do this are Mary Carillo and Patrick McEnroe.
They do this in boxing too.

A guy will say "he's using that right jab effectively". He knows who he means, but I suspect the producer gets in his ear halfway through and goes, "who?"

So, he tacks the name on at the end.

I think in boxing and tennis, it's clear to the speaker who he is referencing, and perhaps was even tying the statement to an action ("she's drilling the ball") but it doesn't necessarily come across to a spectator the same way.

[Ro Carter]

I avoid watching Sharapova as much as possible because the way she acts from the time she steps on to the court annoys me so. The glaring, the acting like a sulky two-year-old, the shrieking for EVERYTHING, those awful commercials with the stupid dog that we are forced to watch during breaks...

And did anyone read how her father got into trouble for his behavior after Sharapova's win over Henin? He had this camoflague jacket on and he pulled the hood up over his head. Then he made a slicing motion across his throat, a "cut her throat" kind of image. It very disturbing and very inappropriate.
Back when I used to play tennis, there was a particular girl that was a complete... well, let's just say she wasn't a nice person and leave it there. She was also dating her coach, and said coach would sit by her court during matches and scream things like "Rip out her jugular!" "C'mon, she's absolute crap! Are you gonna let this piece of crap beat you!". She always ended up playing a friend of mine with a quick temper, and I had the worst time trying to calm her down after matches so she wouldn't go punch her opponent and the coach.

[Ellis Dee]

did anyone read how her father got into trouble for his behavior after Sharapova's win over Henin? He had this camoflague jacket on and he pulled the hood up over his head. Then he made a slicing motion across his throat, a "cut her throat" kind of image. It very disturbing and very inappropriate.I think that was overblown, or at least mischaracterized. He had on the camo jacket. At some point, Maria commented to him that it made him look like an assassin. So later on he played into that by mimicking the assassin thing.

Seemed mostly harmless, though certainly ill-advised and in bad taste.You forgot step 1:

Jog in place
Jog in placehehheh, so true. Even before that, there's:

Walk backward off court
Stop, look at ball on racket
Turn around, approach baseline

Thankfully she skips these steps on a second serve, but the hopping is definitely every single serve.

[Richard Pearse]

I, too, was a bit puzzled by the crowd's reaction to Djokovic, who i think is cute as a button. I wonder if there's a large French component in Australia...

I don't think there's any puzzle. Tsonga had just soundly whipped the world number two and people wanted to see that continue. It's pretty much just a matter of supporting the underdog when you have no particular connection to either player.

[Intelligently Designed]

Well, if you don't like shrieking, don't watch this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTgGWMJLrck). Though it can get downright funny.

[Xema]

if you don't like shrieking, don't watch this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTgGWMJLrck). Though it can get downright funny.
For the first minute or so, I thought that had to be a joke - each player screams each time she swings the racquet - amazing. (Shows I'm a bit out of touch with tennis.)

[Richard Pearse]

The men are just as bad, or some are.

[Philster]

I think the overuse of video to review one's performance has allowed players to break down small components into rituals. They try to make each component an exact replay.

Superstition and rituals have been a big part of sports, which feeds into this nonsense, but whether it's golf or tennis, it's very vogue to record a swing or serve and then watch it over and over and over again in super-slo-mo.

So, you can break it down to every step, bounce, look, inhale/exhale, pause, set, hold, toss, etc.

[minlokwat]

If we’re comparing cross-sport OCD manifestations, we can’t leave off Mike Hargrove who as a player was dubbed “the Human Rain Delay”.

You may recall when it was Grover’s at-bat, he would obsessively -and in this order:

1. Adjust his batter’s helmet.
2. Pull on his batting glove to make sure it was snug on his hand, especially his thumb.
3. Hitch one sleeve up about an inch then do the same with the other.
4. Wipe his hands on his uniform pants.
5. Step into the batter’s box and bear down.

This he would do...before every pitch.

[Marley23]

Nomar Garciaparra probably rises to that level of obsessiveness, although I couldn't detail his routine. Wikipedia keeps it brief by describing it thusly:

Garciaparra is known for his idiosyncratic tics when batting. This habit includes an elaborate routine of glove adjustments and alternating toe taps on the ground prior to an ensuing pitch.

Steve Traschel is reputed to be the slowest modern day pitcher.

[Mister Rik]

Click on the video titled "Epidemic" (http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/sea/fan_forum/commercials_2006.jsp).

[Darryl Lict]

I had heard so much about Djokovich's imitation of Maria Sharapova that I had to track it down. Here it is, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW5sGkF1KSI) and I think he's a riot. I was cheering for Tsonga in the Australian Open, but after seeing that, it makes me like Djokovich a helluva lot more. There's more funny impersonations on that Youtube page.