Allgemein » days off this week, in advance of an Olympic quart

Tennis has never been healthier, but there is also a restlessness underlying those strong foundations.First and foremost, the overarching question is whether the tradition-heavy game is too resistant to change and innovation. Tennis is in many ways behind the times when it comes to reform and keeping up with modern times. But thats just part of it. Consider these concerns:What happens when Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and the Williams sisters -- a quartet of players for the ages -- retire?Will audiences coming to maturity in the social media age be interested in matches lasting four or five hours?Are uber-fit, super-consistent baseliners such as Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray exerting themselves so much that risking injury calls into question the viability of the current tour structure with its Grand Slams plus nine gold-standard ATP Masters 1000 events?Is the constant theme of injury just excuse-making by semi-sore losers or a genuine source of concern?These and other questions are being evaluated by many stakeholders -- none more diligently than the ATP Tour. The current 10-year Brave New World agreement that has governed prize money and the calendar expires at the end of 2018.Most sports make changes when things arent going well, the ATPs executive director, Chris Kermode, recently told ESPN.com. Weve had tremendous success. The challenge for us is looking forward, anticipating the hurdles or pitfalls for tennis in the next 10 or 15 years.The ATP isnt the only organization interested in change. The ITF recently initiated a proposed restructuring of the hallowed Davis Cup competition, the centerpiece of which would be a combined Davis Cup-Fed Cup final played annually at a neutral site.The USTA fired the first shot in the battle of match length, using a visible, 20-second shot clock during its official junior championships at the US Open. Remember, the American Slam event introduced the tiebreaker and Hawk-Eye electronic line-calling.Electronic line-calling was the perfect example of evolutionary change in tennis, Stacey Allaster, who is the USTA chief executive of pro tennis and who served as CEO of the WTA Tour, told ESPN.com. It didnt change rules, but it enforced them, and it made the game more interesting and fun for everyone.One immediate measure the ATP is taking to prepare for a generational transition among the players is a new event for 2017 -- an under-21 World Tour Finals. Its intended to promote rising young stars such as Alexander Zverev of Germany and Taylor Fritz of the U.S. It will be much like the main year-end championships with the young players qualifying via points earned in main tour events. The ATP also will use the event to experiment with different formats or scoring systems.Well ask the fans what we should try, Kermode said, Play the let serve? Fast Four or no-ad scoring? Its all on the table.Thats all well and good for an exhibition event meant to promote young talent (there will be no rankings points at stake). But it would probably take something cataclysmic -- a massive exodus of fans or loss of revenue -- to get the pros to check off on more drastic changes.No-ad scoring eliminates deuce and advantage points; the first player to win four points takes the game. Fast Four is a format that allows for a competitive five-set match to be completed in about 90 minutes. In Fast Four, the scoring is no-ad and tiebreaks are played at 4-all in each set.Many of the stakeholders in the game would like to see much shorter mens matches. Television executives love the kind of certainty and brevity Fast Four delivers. Streamlined scoring has found a home in exhibition-style team play, but the minute it comes anywhere near official tournaments, the players cry No way.As a group, the pros have always been extremely conservative. They kicked and fought against the introduction of the tiebreaker. More recently, the radical changes forced upon doubles (no-ad scoring and the super tiebreaker instead of a third set) were originally decried as a death knell, but theyve been accepted and even embraced by many. Doubles might be more visible now than before the changes. Will doubles give scoring changes a foot in the door?The grass roots are already deep into experimental formats, conditioning an entire generation of future players and fans. The NCAA uses the no-ad format, among other departures. Rec leagues run by the USTA have also recognized that, for most adults, especially parents, their tennis commitment has to fit into a specific window of time.Although radical change is a tough and risky sell to the pros, Allaster sees more opportunity for win-win scenarios.Imagine the shot clock on the scoreboard, Allaster said, and the fans wondering how many more times the player can bounce the ball or adjust the headband before she runs out of time. Thats added value.She also believes a fair amount of fat could be carved away from the game without striking a blow at the heart of tradition. In other pro sports, games that start at 4 p.m. start at 4 p.m. The first ball in tennis often isnt hit until 15 or 20 minutes into a broadcast. Were looking at things like the warm-up [the NCAA has already eliminated it, successfully], medical timeouts, between-set breaks, Allaster said. Were having conversations about all those things.Of course, the pros exist on a different plane and play a different game from that of collegiate or weekend warriors. The most powerful argument for the status quo is the old saw: If it aint broke, dont fix it.Kermode said that, since 2009, the television audience for ATP Masters 1000 events has grown 73 percent, to a massive 510 million viewers. That degree of success suggests that the current, clear three-tier tour structure (250, 500, 1000) will be retained for 2019 and beyond.That might come as a surprise to those who feel the demands on todays top players are too onerous and manifest in the injuries that have repeatedly sidelined top players. But the pros know the system has rewarded them handsomely. And, as Kermode said, veterans have some exemptions, and the tendency is for careers to last longer than ever.The Big Four has taken tennis to a new, extraordinary level. Parse it any way you like, but its difficult to imagine applying the word epic to any match lasting just 90 minutes. Of course, theres another half to that equation. You need virtual supermen capable of producing riveting tennis to generate adjectives such as epic, or else four hours can seem like a long, dry time.Nobody in tennis wants to be caught asking Where have all the supermen gone? Thats why all options are on the table.Hakeem Butler Womens Jersey . 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At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014.The United States mens basketball team had a couple of days off this week, in advance of an Olympic quarterfinal match against Argentina. Some players may have relaxed on the cruise ship housing the mens and womens teams or visited different sites around Rio de Janeiro.But Carmelo Anthony used the opportunity to visit the favelas -- or shantytowns -- of Rio during his time off.Anthony, who recently expressed displeasure via Instagram over how some have interpreted comments he made about his career, seems at peace during his visit.His Instagram post includes the caption: I discovered that what most people call creepy, scary, and spooky, I call comfy, cozy, and home.The caption is perhaps a reference to Anthonys upbringing. As a young child, he lived iin the Red Hook section of Brooklyn before he and his family moved to West Baltimore.dddddddddddd. He has spoken about the poverty he was surrounded by as a child and teenager.Anthony also took part in a local game of pickup hoops:The favelas are the poorest sections of Rio, often plagued by violence. NPR recently reported that on average, 4.8 people have been wounded by gunfire in Rio each day during the Olympics.Anthony seemed at ease during his visit to the favelas, which he also documented via video on Snapchat. Love is real in the favelas, he said.?Anthony and Team USA return to the court Wednesday to face Argentina. ' ' '