[Tennis] WTA Tour #12 'Kiek wat doe je'

quote:

Date-Krumm: Today's players are too similar
Ticker - Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Kimiko Date-Krumm, who is still playing singles on the WTA at age 41, says that today’s players have styles that are too uniform.

"Martina Navratilova had the serve and volley and the touch for net play but now when you look at the young players, their styles are all the same. It's only power, big serve, and then bam, bam, bam - no tactics," Date-Krumm told World Tennis Magazine. "Before it was mainly defensive styles. Martina (Navratilova) had her leftie serve and volley game; Steffi Graf had a superb backhand slice and big forehand; Gabriela Sabatini had more spin; Arantxa Sanchez did also, she ran very fast and was mentally tough. Martina Hingis had a lot of talent, she's not a big player, not a lot of muscle and her tennis was all about touch. For Asian players today, she's a good model. She didn't have the power but she was very smart. Back then most players had a good serve but they were still very different. Now they are all almost identical."

Date-Krumm, who reached a career high ranking of No. 4 in 1995, says that if 22-time Grand Slam champion Graf made a comeback, she could be No. 1 again. Graf is 42 years old.

"Yes I think so," said No. 113-ranked Date, who plans on playing another one to two years. "And why? Well because tennis is not only power and not only age. Yes, of course this generation of players need power. But to win Grand Slam titles you need mental toughness and experience. In matches there are many turning points and she still knows how to win, how to play these big moments."