The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Tournament balls need to be standardised, says Nadal Posted: 12 Oct 2011 08:58 AM PDT  Nadal said today he would prefer to receive less prize money in return for less pressure from sponsors to use different balls. — Reuters pic Nadal echoed Shanghai Masters defending champion Andy Murray in complaining that commercial pressure from tournament sponsors had resulted in three ball changes over the last three events in Asia. "You play in Bangkok with one ball, in Tokyo with another ball, here with another ball. That's too much in my opinion. (It) is dangerous and can cause injuries," said the 25-year-old Spaniard after his second-round win in Shanghai. "Something must change because is too dangerous for the shoulders. You cannot change the ball every week." Nadal said he would prefer to receive less prize money in return for less pressure from sponsors to use different balls. "I am very happy to win less money and have my health," he said. "If we compare the Tokyo ball with this one (in Shanghai), it was much bigger, slower. The ball is completely different. This ball is very fast, it goes small and doesn't stay on the racquet. It flies a lot and is tough," said Nadal after beating compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3 6-2 to reach the third round. "It is not necessary to have a standard ball for the whole season," said the Spaniard. "For example, when you start the clay-court season, you have the same ball for that period; when you have the American hard court season, you have the same ball. So that's positive. "But what cannot happen is to have one ball in Rome, one ball in Madrid, one ball in Barcelona ... That doesn't work." Murray, yesterday, also called for more consistency in the balls, saying: "If you asked a golfer to change balls every single week, they'd be hitting balls 20 yards too far and hitting shots all over the place." Nadal said other players were equally unhappy. "A lot of players believe this. That's something that, in my opinion, can change," he said. — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Kaymer blames pressure, not swing change, for rankings slip Posted: 12 Oct 2011 08:41 AM PDT  Kaymer said today it was time demanded of him by media and fans at home that caused him to lose ground in the rankings. — Reuters file pic Kaymer, 26, has dropped from number one to number six globally since he reached top spot in late February, but it was time demanded of him by media and fans at home that caused him to lose ground in the rankings, he said. "It's true that I wanted to make some (swing) changes so I could play better at the (US) Masters," Kaymer told reporters on the eve of the Portugal Masters at the Victoria club. "But that is not why my results have not been quite as good as I wanted them to be this year. "To become number one in the world, if you are an American player, an English player, Spanish, it's probably a little easier than being a German. We only had Bernhard Langer, who was one of the best players in the world. "He was the first number one in the world, so when I became number one it became big in Germany again. There were a lot of requests from people 'do this, do that'. I got invited to a lot of events — some you want to do, some you don't. It's all a bit overwhelming. "After a few months, you realise why you became number one. It was because of what you did on a driving range, not in a studio. "But it was a learning process. If I become number one again then I know how to approach it." Kaymer said he had no regrets in tinkering with his swing. "I'm 26 and I want to improve. I didn't want to be playing for the next 25 years with the same swing," he said. "You don't go forward in your career if you just stay the same." The German, lying fifth on Europe's Race to Dubai (money-list), is keen to prove to himself that his season has been another fruitful one — even if he cannot repeat the feat of last year when he was European number one. "It may not be possible to catch Luke (Donald) in the Race to Dubai but there is always second or third," added Kaymer. — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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