Planting the Seeds
The seedings for Wimbledon were announced today, and they bear a striking resemblance to the ATP rankings. The top three remain unchanged- I'm sure Andy's thrilled- and Tomas Berdych made the biggest leap of anyone, jumping from 11 to 7. Yep, the biggest move was a whopping four spots. Nikolay Davydenko, with his career 1-5 record in the tournament, is ranked sixth.
Once, the releasing the seeds for the tournament was actually kind of exciting, because we could expect to see some different numbers next to some people than we normally would. The radically different seeds are part of what made Wimbledon stand out in the tennis world. No longer is this the case.As we're so often told, grass is different. It's a one-month anomaly, an odd transition from the crushed brick to the painted asphalt- and an abrupt one at that. Big men with big serves cut a swatch through the draw on a regular basis, a shooting star never to be seen again (remember Vladimir Voltchkov?). Ivo Karlovic makes ranked players sweat in their sleep.
And it really is different. As well-manicured as a grass court can be, it's still the most inconsistent surface on the tour. Balls can bounce in unpredictable ways. They skid. They slide. They rarely reach your shoulder off a bounce. Slice becomes a bigger weapon, topspin a weaker one. So yes, the All-England Club is absolutely right in adjusting the seeds. Roddick deserves to be the second seed, for instance.
And a few years ago, he probably would have been. But for whatever reason, the club caved to the Spanish-speaking complainers and started making compromises. Why would you listen to the demands of a group of players that didn't stick around past the first week if they even showed at all? What sense does that make? Taking the top 32-ranked players and guaranteeing them seeds is a good compromise. But they've watered it down to some formula that really doesn't make much of a difference anymore. I'm sure Lleyton Hewitt is really thankful his past success bumped him up to the 16 spot. He must be thrilled.
The subjective seeding should return. And if some players don't like it, they should try and overcome their grass allergies. Players who have been successful on grass should be rewarded, and players who suck on it should be punished. I should note that I am of the opinion that all of the Grand Slam tournament should seed subjectively, but it seems easiest to institute it at Wimbledon.
Once, the releasing the seeds for the tournament was actually kind of exciting, because we could expect to see some different numbers next to some people than we normally would. The radically different seeds are part of what made Wimbledon stand out in the tennis world. No longer is this the case.As we're so often told, grass is different. It's a one-month anomaly, an odd transition from the crushed brick to the painted asphalt- and an abrupt one at that. Big men with big serves cut a swatch through the draw on a regular basis, a shooting star never to be seen again (remember Vladimir Voltchkov?). Ivo Karlovic makes ranked players sweat in their sleep.
And it really is different. As well-manicured as a grass court can be, it's still the most inconsistent surface on the tour. Balls can bounce in unpredictable ways. They skid. They slide. They rarely reach your shoulder off a bounce. Slice becomes a bigger weapon, topspin a weaker one. So yes, the All-England Club is absolutely right in adjusting the seeds. Roddick deserves to be the second seed, for instance.
And a few years ago, he probably would have been. But for whatever reason, the club caved to the Spanish-speaking complainers and started making compromises. Why would you listen to the demands of a group of players that didn't stick around past the first week if they even showed at all? What sense does that make? Taking the top 32-ranked players and guaranteeing them seeds is a good compromise. But they've watered it down to some formula that really doesn't make much of a difference anymore. I'm sure Lleyton Hewitt is really thankful his past success bumped him up to the 16 spot. He must be thrilled.
The subjective seeding should return. And if some players don't like it, they should try and overcome their grass allergies. Players who have been successful on grass should be rewarded, and players who suck on it should be punished. I should note that I am of the opinion that all of the Grand Slam tournament should seed subjectively, but it seems easiest to institute it at Wimbledon.
Labels: ATP, Grand Slams
Served Up by Monty at 6/22/2007 02:40:00 AM
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