Wonderful World of Tennis / Scott Ferguson / 19 August 2007 /

Scott's Spot- Scott looks at how gamesmanship has crept into the game and why it happens

One of the major symptoms of burnout I mentioned last week is professionalism, and how so many players see tennis as their path to fame and fortune. For most of them, they have no other qualification and quite possibly limited natural talent at tennis anyway - it is sheer hard work that gets them to the professional level in the first place.

But what happens when there are dozens of players in the same boat? How do you make the move from battler in the 200s, taking buses and trains rather than flying, sharing rooms in budget hotels and playing doubles at every opportunity to pay the bills, up to the top 100, receiving guaranteed entry into the main draw at Grand Slams, and being able to afford a coach and regular visits to the physiotherapist?

At a lower level you might call it cheating. Where players do their own umpiring, it's rare but not unknown for players having to be separated in a dispute over a line call. Move up into the pro, or wannabe-pro ranks, and umpires take decisions out of the players' hands. The racquets can only do so much - the main way to make a difference is by gamesmanship, or simply put - being a p**** and getting under your opponent's skin.

Back in the days before money took over, the vast majority of players would shake hands and have a beer after the match. Socialising off the court was an important part of the game - you spent most of your career on tour with very little entourage, so making friends on the circuit was part and parcel of life. Of course it helped when so many players came from similar English-speaking backgrounds. Nowadays, they usually drink a mixture of energy replacement drinks, soy 'milk' with creatine muscle-building powder or herbal supplements, and rush back to the practice courts.

In the 70s, the likes of Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe started the trend of players arguing with umpires. For some, this is just the 'red mist' descending when they believe they have perfect vision - but for these players and more, it is part of a calculated campaign to distract their opponent.

'Gamesmanship', as first coined by British humorist Stephen Potter in 1947, is using psychology over the opponent rather than purely skill. There are numerous ways that players employ this:

- choosing their chair or end only because their opponent wanted it in the first place

- changing racquets for no reason at all before key points (eg Sharapova down two match points vs Schnyder this year at the French Open)

- eyeballing your opponent after a winner (Radek Stepanek's trademark)

- delaying points for as long as the umpire lets you get away with (Nadal)

- imitating your opponent's gestures (Soderling mimicking Nadal's famous picking the shorts out of his bum crack at Wimbledon)

- calling for Hawk-Eye on obviously correct calls (Davis Cup final)

- putting your hand up when the opponent is ready to serve (Henin, and even refuse to acknowledge you put your hand up in the first place when the opponent rightfully wants their first serve again - Henin v Serena Williams, French Open 2003)

- calling for a physio or toilet break for no reason other than to slow the match down (Williams sisters)

- asking the umpire to watch the opponent's entourage because they are coaching or making too much noise

- unnecessary aggression by drilling balls at the opponent when the point is virtually won anyway

- slow the match down as much as legally possible if a rain delay looks imminent

There are many more but ultimately the task is annoying your opponent enough to put them off their stride. There are a lot of big name players on that list, and particularly in the women's game. It's often said that success in professional sport is at least 50% in the head - but for many of these players, pushing the boundaries as far as they can is the only way to constitute that edge. It makes you think though - could you imagine the likes of Federer, Graf or Rafter behaving that way?

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>

:

:

:

?

: