Break Points is a roundup of tennis news, videos, links, and tweets. If you have something you think we should include, email us at feedback@changeovertennis.com.
Notable results:
- Auckland: Ana Ivanovic d. Venus Williams, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
- Brisbane: Lleyton Hewitt d. Roger Federer, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
- Brisbane: Serena Williams d. Victoria Azarenka, 6-4, 7-5
- Chennai: Stanislas Wawrinka d. Edouard Roger-Vasselin, 7-5, 6-2
- Doha: Rafael Nadal d. Gaël Monfils, 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2
- Shenzhen: Li Na d. Peng Shuai, 6-4, 7-5
News and Links:
Critics of women’s tennis often assert that women make significantly more unforced errors in their matches than men. But is that really true? Jeff Sackmann took a look at data from all the 2013 Grand Slams, finding that the difference is barely noticeable:
Without a scorebook in hand, that gap may well be too small to spot. In a typical set of, say, 60 points, the average ATP pairing averaged 20 UFEs, against a typical WTA matchup’s 24. That’s one extra unforced error every other game–if that. Looking at the four final rounds, the difference drops to 20 UFEs in a men’s match against 22 in a women’s match. Two extra errors a set.
The divide is real, but it hardly seems substantial enough to represent a major difference in the quality of play or in the viewing experience.
Over at ZooTennis, junior tennis player Jared Donaldson wrote about what he learned from training with Roger Federer in Dubai last month:
1. You don’t have to be a jerk to be the best! I’ve heard people say that you have to be mean, or a jerk to be great. Roger flat out proves that wrong. He’s one of the nicest and most sincere people I’ve ever met in tennis.
2. Surround yourself with a good team. Everyone that played a part in Roger’s tennis was very supportive and honest. They all got along very well, and for the amount of time they spend together, that’s a must.
3. Make practice specific. The only time Roger would just hit, would be the warm up. After that, every drill had a specific purpose for HIS game. Nadal may not do the exact same drills as Federer, but I’m sure he makes his workouts specific to his game just like Roger.
Dan Evans said some jerky things about women:
“I got a question wrong about women’s tennis,” he recalled. “I was asked who lost to Marion Bartoli in the final at Wimbledon. It was [Sabine] Lisicki, but I don’t watch much women’s tennis and said I didn’t know.”
Had that been embarrassing? “Not really,” he replied, tongue in cheek. “I don’t think it’s that embarrassing not to know a women’s question. Actually it’s a bit more embarrassing to know the answer to a women’s question.”
10 questions with Juan Martin del Potro:
Tennis on Twitter:
Your January Robin Soderling update:
Deer hunting pic.twitter.com/q0pHiopM3m
— Robin Söderling (@RSoderling) January 5, 2014
Weapon of choice: thumbs up.
Mirad a quienes me he encontrado por Hobart!
Look who I found in Hobart! #tortuguitas #turtles pic.twitter.com/dfKO9Am9eT— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) January 4, 2014
At least she’s not wearing the sky anymore.
Kuznetsova's outfits are… special 🙂 pic.twitter.com/y3drqxvDr9
— Álvaro Rama (@alvarorama) January 5, 2014
https://twitter.com/GBTennisJourno/status/419880500115668992
H
How I’ve missed those posts!