New found respect for tennis

I have always had a great time playing tennis, and use to think I was a fairly good tennis player. Sunday January 29, was the final day of play at the 2012 Australian Open. Rafael Nadal was defeated by Novak Djokovic. This match made Novak the number 1 seed in the world for male tennis players and crowned him the 2012 Australian Open Champion. It was an unbelievable match, and after 5hours and 53 minutes of playing time Novak ripped off his shirt in celebration. The previous day number 3 seed in the world Victoria Azarenk defeated number 4 seed in the world Maria Sharapova in 2 straight sets to capture the title of Australian Women's Single Champion. Another amazing performance by two amazing athletes. Although the play wasn't nearly as long or fast as the men's play it was still great match to watch. 


I never thought of tennis being that strenuous of an activity, but after watching many matches of the Australian Open this year I found a new respect for Tennis players. The men's final match set a new record for length in just under 6 hours, this was an incredible feat to watch! It's unbelievable the amount of effort put forward by each person on the court. It sucked knowing that one of the two competitors would end up having to lose.


The statistics put forward by each of the competitors were absolutely unreal! Novak and Rafael had their fastest serves of the match at 202 KM/H and 204 KM/H respectively. With average serve speed being 190 KM/H and 183KM/H. The serve speeds are absolutely ridiculous. Imagine trying to return a tennis ball moving at the speeds these men were serving. It's mind boggling when thinking about an object moving at these speeds in such a compact space. In comparison Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins set a record of shooting the puck at a blistering 108.8 M/H (175 KM/H) in the 2012 NHL all-star game on Sunday Jan. 30. The new record for hardest shot is still 25 KM/H less then the speeds these men were serving the ball.

I truly never had very much respect tennis players, thinking their wimps and don't need to train as hard as other sports. After watching more matches this year I finally realized that these men are actually amazing athletes. The ability to serve the ball over 200 KM/H is remarkable. As well as the training/cardio needed to be able to put forward strenuous effort for just under 6 hours is amazing. Personally I wish I was in the shape these men must be in the be able to do this. A new found respect for tennis players has definitely been found.