The Old Era vs the New Era, Comparison between fitness and practice.

Comparison between fitness and practice.



In the past, tennis greats such as Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, etc.  were regarded as some of the most influential and talented tennis players.  They all had the usual tactic of the Serve and Volley, and were very successful winning many grand slam titles between them all.  In the old era only forward movement and shutter steps(small adjustment steps when approaching a ball) were concentrated on during practice sessions.  All of the players ate like they normally would, and with the exception of John McEnroe who drank Coke while practicing, ate and drank healthy whole foods.

Now stepping into the present, players are more careful with what they eat and how they exercise and practice.  Tennis greats like Raphael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are in the top two seeds in the ranking, all do to their amazing work ethic and talent.  Roger Federer, the other contender in the the top two seeds also has this but with more talent than the rest, being called the greatest man to ever play Tennis.  The three along with the other top players in the big events all compete for the coveted prize of winning the prize money and the trophy, as well as the ranking points.  To even begin to compete in big tournaments, top tennis athletes have to train at least five hours a day in order to keep up with the ever evolving game of tennis.  Looking at the previous Australian Open tournament, the finals match between the top two seeds Nadal and Djokovic lasted a little over 6 hours, with a few five minute breaks in between each set.  This staggering on court playing time, along with the 15-18 miles they ran each throughout the match shows how physical tennis has become.  

Comparing the two eras, one can see that the time spent on matches is about the same, but the mileage each player has to cover in a match is definitely different.  In the past pro players did not have the luxury of advanced training techniques and nutrients and vitamins; however they did have everything else.