Is Tennis Lying? (OT)

Mornin', everyone. This will be the Off-Topic post for today; feel free to post match calls over the weekend, and use it for any discussion that moves you. It's been a tough week, with a fair bit of editing for Tennis, but next week we  go back to full-bore tournament based coverage of Masters Series Monte Carlo. We have a few surprises in store for you. Hint: if you liked Sam's Player Quality Index (SPQI), you'll enjoy what we have coming in from one of the Tribe's most faithful and diligent members.

Also, I have a new ESPN article up, on Nadal's "real" rival in the claycourt history books.

Here's an OT question for you: Just why do you think tennis such a great game?

Okay, that sounds like a fifth-grade, first-essay question on the same order as How I Spent my Summer Vacation. But sometimes, it's worth not taking for granted the things we take for granted. What is about this game that we find so compelling, while so many sports fans would sooner watch a cooking channel than one dedicated to tennis (even if they could get such a thing- hint, hint!). Is the sports fan who's indifferent to tennis missing something, or are we falsely seduced (to slightly alter the famous Sports Illustrated headline, Is Tennis Lying?). What, specifically, is the root appeal of this game? I'd like to hear your testimony on the subject. Here's mine:

The appeal of tennis comes from the curious marriage it represents between a vigorous, strenuous activity and a skill-based game. To me, tennis is basically ping-pong (table tennis), ingenuously blown up and acted out on a table/stage teetering at the outer edge of what can be reasonably sustained in athletic terms. In tennis, skill - the attribute that is at the heart of all concrete, creative endeavor - doesn't exist for its own sake (which would relegate tennis to a mere artistic demonstration). It must be put to good use and demonstrated under a demanding, physical regimen. It is the king of all racket sports simply because it takes place on the largest field-of-play, which is, effectively, the most physically demanding field-of-play.

When I look at a ping-pong paddle and a tennis racket, the smaller paddle seems like a more natural instrument for playing a game of skill. The racket itself is a relatively large object, which makes manipulating it effectively, under the conditions of play, a much more demanding task. So tennis draws a lot of it magic and power from this tension between skill and athleticism (or power, if you prefer).

There is an even greater duality at the heart of tennis. Because of the high degree of skill required for success, and the way that skill can be affected by ambient conditions, and the make-up of the player (fatigue, court surface and speed, the emotional and/or mental state of a player all  play a role in it), mental and emotional strength become critically important in tennis. The game is in many ways golf (a skill-intensive sport) played out on the run, raising to a level unknown in golf (or ping-pong)the importance of strength, conditioning and stamina.

Among all the sports, tennis is the one most perfectly situated between the poles of sheer athleticism (of the kind you find in a sprinter, or football linebacker) and sheer motor skills (of the kind you find in golfers and table-tennis champions).

Those are my thoughts on tennis for the day - care to add your own?