That's a result of having to win 2 sets. It leads to shorter matches where the lower seed can win over the higher seed. Having a different player in the finals doesn't equate to a more exciting game to me. You just end up with UConn vs. Butler and a terrible finals. The women's game is played entirely from the baseline. Long rallies with no excitement to them. Watch the men's game. They can hit the ball with direction and pace that women can only dream of, leading to better rallies. If any of you watched Wimbledon this year and saw Tsonga vs. Djokovic in the semi-finals, that was the most entertaining match of tennis I have ever seen which you won't see in women's tennis.
There is a vast difference between having possession and flat out missing wide open nets. The US woman's team had 6-9 shots in the first 30 minutes where the net was wide open and they couldn't put a single one on frame. That is a choke job, if it were the men, people would be a lot harsher, imo. Not to mention the weak penalty kicks....2 of them just to the left of center, and the other over the top...that is another form of choking. Good for Japan, but the US team choked a game they should have easily won. DD
I think people would be a lot harsher if we were playing anyone other than Japan. They're just an amazing story.
Eh. Choking is moreso blowing a lead, not just having an off-day/string of bad breaks. It was unlikely (the U.S. hitting so many shots off the post, the brain fart that allowed Japan's first goal, and Japan's second goal was pretty much blind luck imo), but it wasn't like Japan didn't earn it, either. All credit to Japan, they played smart and capitalized on what little opportunities they had all tournament long. U.S. team played a damn good tournament too, the Brazil game will not soon be forgotten. No one has anything to be ashamed of in my opinion.
On flip side, half the points are service winners, and the mens game is pretty much all baseline now also. The girls game is is just as entertaining which is why they are more popular and make more money off the court.
Tennis main problem is the equipment, they need to go back to standard sized wooden rackets and you will then see the return of the serve and volley player. Right now the composite materials allow the rackets to be too big with a huge sweet spot and strung to enormous compression ratios, it has ruined the game. Same thing that Golf has gone through etc..... DD
<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gL7T1eDKrzw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Can you even name 5 of the top 10 in the women's without looking?
Wozniaki, Sharapova, Clijsters, Li Na, Bartoli? Henin retired again, and the Williams sisters have been injured all year.
During this year's Aussie Open http://www.tennis.com/articles/templates/ticker.aspx?articleid=10282&zoneid=6
Here's this year's French Open: http://www.tennis.com/articles/templates/news.aspx?articleid=12472&zoneid=25 Wimbledon: http://www.tennis.com/articles/templates/news.aspx?articleid=13087&zoneid=4 I can't find the women's Wimbledon final rating. If you can, I'd like to compare them. I just don't believe you when you say the women's game is more popular than the men's.
Agree with all of this It was a total choke job. Not finishing under pressure (in front of goal or in the penalty shoot out) is the definition of choking.
100% agree with all of this. I find it ridiculous some are calling it a choke job. They gave up a 1 goal lead twice. Wowwww. Nothing more insurmountable than a one goal lead in footy. IMHO it's also doing a disservice to the Japanese who as the game went on, held their own and despite the disparity in shots, were almost even in shots on goal and possession. I think it's more mismanagement or perhaps another similar word but choke it was not.
