Ramblings of a Crowe

Truth about Tennis

Ever since my son convinced me to watch "Prince of Tennis," a popular Japanese cartoon, I've discovered a love for real tennis. A sport I once thought was dull and boring, much like golf, has now become a source of great entertainment. Of course, the cartoon version is incredibly exciting and utterly blown out of perportion, but that's what makes it so much fun to watch. On the other hand, I after watching several real tennis matches, I realized that tennis as a whole isn't the slow paced, monotonous game I thought it was. It's incredibly fast paced and wholly unpredictable. The mental capabilities of the players must be amazing, considering the speed at which they must judge their opponants shots and decided what the appropriate action should be. I never even considered tennis to be a such a complicated game of wits, strength, and skill.

This week, I've been glued to the television set, watching the French Open like a crack addict. I've seen amazing players, such as Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Gustavo Kuerten, Venus Williams, Tim Henman, etc. Even more incredilbe have been many of the matches, as I've watched outstanding players from all over the world clash head to head. I can't even count the times I've held my breath, shook my head, or yelped out loud. Tennis is truly an exciting sport.

So who says cartoons can't open your mind. *laughs*

The players in Prince of Tennis are phenominal Jr. Athletes, masters of moves that even the most seasoned players have difficulty executing, but considering it is, after all, just a cartoon, I can let it slide. However, I did get to wondering how many of the moves used in Prince of Tennis are indeed real, at least fundimentally. (Prince of Tennis will now be refered to as PoT). So, being naturally curious, I started to do some research.

Firstly, Ryoma Echizen, our 12 year old hero and genius player is by far the most outstanding player with the most outrageous techinques under his belt. His signature move is a powerful serve, the Twist Serve, that puts a massive top spin on the ball and causes it to bounce at an extreme angle. Suprisingly, this is indeed a true, and quite common move in tennis. Often called the Kick Serve, and is usually the main service style used by professionals. If you want to learn how to do it, here's a little help. Of course, a 12 year old, amadexterous Ryoma being able to master such a move so young (and with both hands), not to mention his knack for putting such an extreme spin on the ball makes this otherwise regular techinque look fantastic. Nothing wrong with that...

Pete Sampras's specialty shot, the Buggywhip Shot makes an apperence in Prince of Tennis as 14 year old Kaidoh Kaoru's devistating move, "The Snake." Named after its severe snaking like curve, the Buggywhip Shot is actually a topspin normally hit from the baseline. To gain the amount of curve necessary to achive the "snaking" curve of the ball, the player has to utilize a quick and accruate turn of the wrist. Consiquently, Kaidoh's other move, "The Boomerang Snake" is a combination of a hook shot and buggywhip shot, allowing the ball to curve around the outside of the net and inside the base line. However, this move is more like dumb luck than an actual specialty shot. The amount of power and spin needed to do something like the "Boomerang Snake" would be utterly impossible for a jr. player to accomplish.

In the 1970's a player emerged into the tennis world that disprupted the usual, aggressive plays of the slice and straight forward attack. These people were called "moonballers" and their game consisted of basically nothing other than high, deep topspins. The moonball is difficult to attack, since it usually throws the defender off gaurd and disrupts their comfortable attacking zone. The ball is hit so high, that an aggressive return is virtually unhittable, and incidently, the defender has more time to make an error. Today, in the real world of tennis, players have developed counter measures, so the moonball isn't widley used. However, in PoT, Oishi Syuichirou has developed the moonball technique into his "Moon Volley", an attack that utilizes the high topspin but with a twist. When the ball hits the baseline, it doesn't bounce. Instead, it spins in place, never giving the opponant a chance to return it.

Tezuka Kunimitsu, the captain of Seigaku Tennis Club is a powerful opponant, but not because of his hard hitting slice or his magnificent smashes. No, Tezuka is all about control and concise play, which is what makes his "Dropvolly" such a deadly weapon. In actual tennis, the drop shot is a devistating weapon that no player is immune to. Today, while watching the match between Kuerten and Nalbandian, I saw exactly how dangerous a well timed drop shot was, as Kuerten repeatedly sent Nalbandian scrambling to the net. Though a dropvolly is used best against players who are slow or don't care to approach the net, Nalbandian has astounding stamina, his consistant rush to return Kuertan's attack illustrated perfectly how a good drop shot should work. Tezuka's attack is a classic move, executed perfectly, with the ball actually rolling back to the net as a well performed dropvolly should. I'd have to say, out of all the moves in PoT, this one is the most true to its realistic counterpart.

It's actually difficult to make comparisons between PoT and the sport that created the cartoon. Both, in my opinion are uniquly sensational and undoubtably entertaining. I can watch PoT and disregard how outrageous the moves and players are. It is, after all, just a cartoon, and I do have to give credit to the creator who built this story around such a terrific sport. I would never have given tennis a second look, if I hadn't sat down and watched this fantastic series. You can be sure to find me plastered to the televison when Wimbledon gets under way this June.

Posted by Zoso at June 2, 2004 12:56 PM