AlfredHawthorneHill

worst probably Sharapova, just cause of her grunt

A-fucking-men. Sharapova's grunts and Azarenka's bird-calls are intolerable. When Monica Seles introduced the excessively audible exclamation to women's tennis I was on her side but I have come to rue how commonly male and female tennis players accompany every shot with some grating outburst.

The only thing I find more annoying in tennis is the habit of some players - Nadal comes to mind - to take forever to serve. Bouncing the ball onto the court a few hundred times before serving in no way improves one's game, regardless of how many titles one has.

Were you able to hear or see Private Bill Millin play his bagpipes?

I agree. I remember hearing many years ago that baseball players are the worst when it comes to time-killing semi-superstitious rituals by both batters and pitchers. I cannot stand baseball in part because of these practices.

In the case of tennis players, though, rules exist to curtail the time chewed by such habits. I believe that some players - again, Nadal comes to mind - have been warned by officials to pick up the pace when overindulging in these rituals.

Then we invent excuses, blame the victims and downvote to hell anyone who suggests otherwise for threatening the prevalent "Shiny Happy World" outlook with pesky facts. Have you not noticed the apologetic posts and desperate downvotes in this thread?

As of now: 10 upvotes; 5 downvotes. To you five assholes downvoting: why?