davidn wrote:

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hopefully Kyle will bounce back, everyone has ups and downs in their development. Most contributors to this forum know this.

I think we are being a bit disrespectful to Darian King. He is no bunny, has won a number of futures this year (I think four) has beaten Bryden K who is playing pretty well and I see he has just beaten Ryan Harrison whom, whilst erratic, has also beaten some good players. I would doubt any contributors to this forum ( as one has suggested) would cause Mr King any problems on the court!!   

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Davidn, I don't think people were being disrespectful to Mr King. The way I read the comments was that people felt that Mr Edmund, ranked 102, probably 'should' beat a player ranked 253, which doesn't seem unreasonable, even if we're aware that rankings aren't everything and matches don't always follow them. Some who were watching the match clearly didn't feel that Mr King played particularly well (cf comment above)- which isn't a matter of disrespect, but of analysis. And a number of people who have quite a bit of experience watching Mr Edmund felt that he didn't seem to be himself ... which is a matter of concern, for the reasons people have explained. If Mr King had played a blinder and Mr Edmund, too, had been playing well, I think comments would have acknowledged that. People on here tend to be quite fair.

As to the argument that we wouldn't give Mr King any trouble - true! And I am normally one of the first to object when it feels as if we as fans are setting ourselves up as judges over people infinitely more gifted than we (which includes, in my case, every player who ever stepped onto a Futures court. Or any court.) But I don't think it's unfair to say that someone played well or badly using objective criteria, so long as we're not implying that we could have done better.

Not intrinsic, but factually virtually all who are commenting wouldn't live with these players they are commentating on, even on these players' bad days. While I do acknowledge that there are some rather more gifted exponents around here.

But actually that's all rather by the way anyway, In my view, as fans and observers with varying degrees of experience in tennis playing and following there is nothing at all wrong in giving views on a player whether we would cause them any problems or not. Hopefully these are considered, but if OTT in some way, there are usually other folk to query and balance.

I simply have never got it in a sports forum suggestions that folk shouldn't comment / analyse just because of their own lack of comparable actual playing expertise or virtually none at all in some cases. "Could you do any better?" etc is not the point.

These are generally views from seasoned watchers and as said folk generally try individually to be fair though inevitably sometimes see things differently

If you added up the things that are at times suggested we shouldn't be doing, we would be left with a very sterile forum.

Don't agree with someone's comments, I'd say simply do so rather than query their right to comment.

And all the best to Cameron ( says he genuinely, realising who he was largely responding to, but I still stick with all of the above )  

EddietheEagle wrote:

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Maybe the poster was making a point using rhetoric, irony or whatever. I hadn't realised the forum was for park players or tennis nerds.

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Whoever said it was ?  I simply suggested that we are largely relatively untalented and yes some of us nerdish at times if you want. But I also recognised that we do have some talented players here, and indeed the forum has always been a pleasing mixture of folk. And as I also suggested that's to me anyway all pretty much a red herring to the point about commenting on players.

So I don't see where you're really going with that or why.