Ben’s random thoughts

[iris]

Who’s everyone’s favorite tennis player growing up or now?
I’ll start lol
For me it was Boris Becker

I am only answering this question because Rek and Bossetti did, lol.

Having admitted I know next to nothing about tennis technique, I cannot pick one person, but can say the ones I have enjoyed watching and made me jump up and down like a total idiot, in front of the TV.

I thought tennis in the 90s was kind of more fun, more personalities, more drama.
Sampras had that look in his eyes that said "I am hitting this thing right now and you will regret being here. U turning up is stupid".
I think he was awesome, broody, a magnetic thing about him.
Agassi wore hot pink and had doe eyes and a big smile, Brooke Shields on court and everyone loved him. He made tennis cool and fun to watch.
I loved the energy, the unrestrained passion, yet so humble.

Of course, Roger is class and always reminded me of Sampras (but forgive me if I am wrong about this) and always made things look so easy.
Also, we are fellows in the torn meniscus department, so you know, we have a connection beyond tennis.
Rafa, poor thing so many injuries but I enjoyed watching him.
Apart from whenever he lost to the Serbian, which made me very upset, for some largely unknown reason.

What about Lendl?
I remember the headband and the hair and he was quite the looker.
He won stuff, didn't he?
Lol, sorry....

Of course, I cannot forget to mention McEnroe for entertainment value, the shouting, smashing stuff and hating on the referees and, in general, everybody who turned up, on the day.
That makes him very good value, in my book.
Also, now he is on the BBC with his commentary on Wimbledon, just to give a bit of cred because having just whatshisface Henman there would be total shit.

I don't watch women's tennis because they make too much stupid, unnecessary noise.
I hate unnecessary noise. My nerves go ping.

[Disclaimer: this reply is long because it is likely the only one I post today. Thank you for reading my rubbish, lol] ❤

 

[iris]

Damn thats expensive but i mean its right, in cycling coaching is so much easier (and cheaper), we have a coach that based on tests and and training analysis (power and hr data) put on a platform (usually training peaks) connect to garmin and ride
Then there is some gym work but its not that common

Yes but a good bike is expensive and you really have to look after it.
And, like for every sport, top coaches do not come cheap or are easily accessible.
But once you are spotted for your talent and a team takes you on, then you will have access to the best stuff.

And you know that in a sport like cycling they say marginal gains are crucial.
It's all in the knowledge and implementation of those.

 

[bossetti]

Yes but a good bike is expensive and you really have to look after it.
And, like for every sport, top coaches do not come cheap or are easily accessible.
But once you are spotted for your talent and a team takes you on, then you will have access to the best stuff.

And you know that in a sport like cycling they say marginal gains are crucial.
It's all in the knowledge and implementation of those.

Yes i mean its expensive but not tennis expensive, and teams at acertain level pay for everything
A good coach isnt that expensive btw
The only downside is that if u arent a one of the best you dont earn much

 

[iris]

Yes i mean its expensive but not tennis expensive, and teams at acertain level pay for everything
A good coach isnt that expensive btw
The only downside is that if u arent a one of the best you dont earn much

Sure, not as expensive, it seems, you are right.
I was just saying that once you reach a certain level, everything becomes costly, to be able to stay at that level, relative to each sport, obviously.
But just to get into it, for a young person, tennis does have a substantial financial cost of entry, if only for the regular outlay for coaching.
Quite a few players that became successful, though, were initially trained by family members or acquaintances.

 

[iris]

@RekTest
You gave such a sweet reaction to that, lol, you made me laugh.
Your players assessment was very good.
I rectified forgetting to mark it, which I meant to do before writing all that stuff.
Done.

 

[bossetti]

Sure, not as expensive, it seems, you are right.
I was just saying that once you reach a certain level, everything becomes costly, to be able to stay at that level, relative to each sport, obviously.
But just to get into it, for a young person, tennis does have a substantial financial cost of entry, if only for the regular outlay for coaching.
Quite a few players that became successful, though, were initially trained by family members or acquaintances.

Yes the thing is that in cycling a middle class family with some sacrifice can have a cyclist for sure
Maintenance isnt that expensive other than parts, (chain cassettes tyres) the other can be broken during a crash but its not ordinary
after dinner a send you a pm if u want

 

[iris]

Yes the thing is that in cycling a middle class family with some sacrifice can have a cyclist for sure
Maintenance isnt that expensive other than parts, (chain cassettes tyres) the other can be broken during a crash but its not ordinary
after dinner a send you a pm if u want

Thank you, no need for pms.
You chill after dinner, lol.
Just tell us what brand bike you have and what you would like to have, if money were no object or in the near future.

 

[malfeasance]

Damn that’s an expensive racket lol
Rackets are more like 200/250€
The expense in tennis is the extensive traveling and coaching
For example: a player ranked 150th in the world is going to play 40+ tournaments per year all over the world. So that’s 80+ flights and 200+ nights hotel. And you have to pay for another 80 flights and 200 nights hotel for your coach who charges a minimum of 100,000€ per year plus expenses and a share of your prize money. Which playing ITF tournaments or even challengers don’t pay much. You’re basically losing money or breaking even until you get in the top 50.
For junior players: academy costs are
Roughly 60,000€ per year.

Unless you are female, in which case you can rake in millions and get fame without being able to beat the unknown men ranked at 350 or so who eke out a living giving lessons to bored housewives at the local country club.

 

[RekTest]

Thank you, no need for pms.
You chill after dinner, lol.
Just tell us what brand bike you have and what you would like to have, if money were no object or in the near future.

What bike do you have? Curious what you ride around.
Id get a custom titanium from Moots, Mosaic, Firefly, really any of those brands. All enve wheels and cockpit, dura ace di2 if money were no object but atlas im poor LOL

I havent looked up stuff in a while tho.

 

[malfeasance]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0vw0AHsjFM

 

[iris]

What bike do you have? Curious what you ride around.
Id get a custom titanium from Moots, Mosaic, Firefly, really any of those brands. All enve wheels and cockpit, dura ace di2 if money were no object but atlas im poor LOL

I havent looked up stuff in a while tho.

You forget that where I live stuff gets stolen, all the time.

Not only that, there have been many incidents of people being out with an expensive bike, they were chased by two bastards on a motorbike, hit, and the bike taken from them.
Off they go with it, on their motorbike, and there you are on the ground, hurt and with no bike.

So, no thanks, to go from a to z in traffic, all you need here is a fixie.
Which is great because no gears messed up, so easy to maintain.

However, I had one stolen already, nevermind how cheap it is.
Plus wheels, saddle, etc, unless you lock everything.
But even then, they will manage to take stuff.

 

[Benf15harp]

I am only answering this question because Rek and Bossetti did, lol.

Having admitted I know next to nothing about tennis technique, I cannot pick one person, but can say the ones I have enjoyed watching and made me jump up and down like a total idiot, in front of the TV.

I thought tennis in the 90s was kind of more fun, more personalities, more drama.
Sampras had that look in his eyes that said "I am hitting this thing right now and you will regret being here. U turning up is stupid".
I think he was awesome, broody, a magnetic thing about him.
Agassi wore hot pink and had doe eyes and a big smile, Brooke Shields on court and everyone loved him. He made tennis cool and fun to watch.
I loved the energy, the unrestrained passion, yet so humble.

Of course, Roger is class and always reminded me of Sampras (but forgive me if I am wrong about this) and always made things look so easy.
Also, we are fellows in the torn meniscus department, so you know, we have a connection beyond tennis.
Rafa, poor thing so many injuries but I enjoyed watching him.
Apart from whenever he lost to the Serbian, which made me very upset, for some largely unknown reason.

What about Lendl?
I remember the headband and the hair and he was quite the looker.
He won stuff, didn't he?
Lol, sorry....

Of course, I cannot forget to mention McEnroe for entertainment value, the shouting, smashing stuff and hating on the referees and, in general, everybody who turned up, on the day.
That makes him very good value, in my book.
Also, now he is on the BBC with his commentary on Wimbledon, just to give a bit of cred because having just whatshisface Henman there would be total shit.

I don't watch women's tennis because they make too much stupid, unnecessary noise.
I hate unnecessary noise. My nerves go ping.

[Disclaimer: this reply is long because it is likely the only one I post today. Thank you for reading my rubbish, lol] ❤

What a post. Unfortunately, technology has officially killed what made tennis exciting for fans and that’s was questionable line and foot fault calls. Which they had perfect with the challenge system that kept fans engaged and also kept things fair for the players. 2025 will be the first that no tournament, even Wimbledon will be without lines people. All Hawkeye. Snooze. Thanks for the great post.

 

[bossetti]

Thank you, no need for pms.
You chill after dinner, lol.
Just tell us what brand bike you have and what you would like to have, if money were no object or in the near future.

I have specialized epic ht xtr
Epic 8 sworks dream bike (but with some upgrade)
But i think that good bikes are basically the same i just like to select every component by my need because sometimes feeling means a lot
Btw gn everyone

 

[Benf15harp]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0vw0AHsjFM

Lol. I’ve practiced with Serena many times and I’d say at her peak she’d be closer to 100 than 700.

 

[Benf15harp]

I just looked at the top 100 atp rankings and I think Serena would beat 5 of those guys
Bublik
Nishioka
Fognini
Mannarino
And Moutet

 

[iris]

The bit at the beginning is super.
And Roddick chucking the racket.
Omg, so cool


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mExHw1oTP8Y

 

[Benf15harp]

I just looked at the top 100 atp rankings and I think Serena would beat 5 of those guys
Bublik
Nishioka
Fognini
Mannarino
And Moutet

Just to add: the reasoning is bc those 5 guys rarely give a shit lol

 

[Benf15harp]

I’d say this incredibly accurate

 

[malfeasance]

Lol. I’ve practiced with Serena many times and I’d say at her peak she’d be closer to 100 than 700.

I just looked at the top 100 atp rankings and I think Serena would beat 5 of those guys
Bublik
Nishioka
Fognini
Mannarino
And Moutet

25 years later: the hero who defied the legends

In 1998, Venus and Serena Williams declared that they would also be competitive on the men's Tour: Karsten Braasch welcomed this provocation and challenged them

www.tennisworldusa.org

Braasch was described by one journalist as a man whose training regime centered around a pack of cigarettes and more than a couple bottles of ice cold lager. He nonetheless defeated both sisters, playing a single set against each, beating Serena 6–1 and Venus 6–2.

 

[malfeasance]

"Against anyone in the top 500, no chance," Braasch said, "because I was playing like 600 today."

Karsten Braasch vs. Serena and Venus

For those who thought Braasch vs Wiliams was competitive... WILLIAMS SISTERS DISCOVER MEN ARE BETTER PLAYERS MELBOURNE -- Venus and Serena Williams discovered they're no match for the men on the ATP tennis tour, at least not yet. In an impromptu 'Battle of the Sexes' at the Australian...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com