British Tennis Forum - Celebrating 20 Years!

the addict · Tennis legend

Weeks 26 & 27 - The Championships, Wimbledon (grass) - main draw (singles)

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

Interesting that, in all the talk about Arthur's height (5'9"), there's not been one mention (that I've heard) of the fact that it's exactly the same as Michael Chang's & he won the French Open in 1989 (at the age of 17) & reached the final of the AO & the USO, both in 1996. He only ever reached one Wimbledon QF (1994), so Arthur's already ahead of him on that front.

Helen40 · Grand Slam Champion

Stircrazy wrote:
Interesting that, in all the talk about Arthur's height (5'9"), there's not been one mention (that I've heard) of the fact that it's exactly the same as Michael Chang's & he won the French Open in 1989 (at the age of 17) & reached the final of the AO & the USO, both in 1996. He only ever reached one Wimbledon QF (1994), so Arthur's already ahead of him on that front.

Yes, but that was then, and the average height of players is much higher now.

Priesty · ATP qualifying

Shame, but what a great tournament from Arthur, certainly beyond my wildest expectations.

And I think a big shout out to CD too, who as I recall was the first to alert us all to Arthur's potential.

B00thy · County player

An unbelievable tournament from Arthur .. the like of which come round every 10 years or so .. even when being outclassed and out-hit he was setting an example to all those men and women previously ranked above him.

wales1994 · Pro player

I think he did better than I feared, got 12 games - clearly was against someone with far more power than him but he still kept trying. He's really been a great story through this fortnight, and hopefully he can continue to build this story. :)

scottie1 · Futures level

Sinner v Zeverev Final.

So glad Djokovic out dont have to.listen to him. in Finals day.

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

Helen40 wrote:
Stircrazy wrote:
Interesting that, in all the talk about Arthur's height (5'9"), there's not been one mention (that I've heard) of the fact that it's exactly the same as Michael Chang's & he won the French Open in 1989 (at the age of 17) & reached the final of the AO & the USO, both in 1996. He only ever reached one Wimbledon QF (1994), so Arthur's already ahead of him on that front.
Yes, but that was then, and the average height of players is much higher now.

I'm not sure that that's strictly accurate: various sources, including this one & this one suggest that the average height of male tennis players these days is 6'2", though it may be inching up, so to speak. Stefan Edberg, the player Chang beat at the 1989 FO, is 6'2".

JonH · Tennis legend

Stircrazy wrote:
Helen40 wrote:
Stircrazy wrote:
Interesting that, in all the talk about Arthur's height (5'9"), there's not been one mention (that I've heard) of the fact that it's exactly the same as Michael Chang's & he won the French Open in 1989 (at the age of 17) & reached the final of the AO & the USO, both in 1996. He only ever reached one Wimbledon QF (1994), so Arthur's already ahead of him on that front.
Yes, but that was then, and the average height of players is much higher now.
I'm not sure that that's strictly accurate: various sources, including this one & this one suggest that the average height of male tennis players these days is 6'2", though it may be inching up, so to speak. Stefan Edberg, the player Chang beat at the 1989 FO, is 6'2".

But - the second link shows exactly that the average height has gone up steadily over the years. helen is totally right. Edberg plus others were outliers

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Priesty wrote:
Shame, but what a great tournament from Arthur, certainly beyond my wildest expectations.

And I think a big shout out to CD too, who as I recall was the first to alert us all to Arthur's potential.

Luv 'ya, Priesty biggrin

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

JonH wrote:
Stircrazy wrote:
Helen40 wrote:
Stircrazy wrote:
Interesting that, in all the talk about Arthur's height (5'9"), there's not been one mention (that I've heard) of the fact that it's exactly the same as Michael Chang's & he won the French Open in 1989 (at the age of 17) & reached the final of the AO & the USO, both in 1996. He only ever reached one Wimbledon QF (1994), so Arthur's already ahead of him on that front.
Yes, but that was then, and the average height of players is much higher now.
I'm not sure that that's strictly accurate: various sources, including this one & this one suggest that the average height of male tennis players these days is 6'2", though it may be inching up, so to speak. Stefan Edberg, the player Chang beat at the 1989 FO, is 6'2".
But - the second link shows exactly that the average height has gone up steadily over the years. helen is totally right. Edberg plus others were outliers

Becker 6'3", Wilander 6'0", Lendl 6'2", Courier 6'1", Krajicek (R) 6'5", Ivanisevic 6'4", Cash 6'0", Sampras 6'1"... ALL outliers?

JonH · Tennis legend

Im not even sure what the point is or was originally tbh so Ill drop out of the conversation!

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

JonH wrote:
Im not even sure what the point is or was originally tbh so Ill drop out of the conversation!

My point in making my original comment was that commentators kept referring to Arthur's height after each round he successfully negotiated & implying that it could be an obstacle to further progress. I was trying to say that it had never held back the likes of Michael Chang.

JonH · Tennis legend

Stircrazy wrote:
JonH wrote:
Im not even sure what the point is or was originally tbh so Ill drop out of the conversation!
My point in making my original comment was that commentators kept referring to Arthur's height after each round he successfully negotiated & implying that it could be an obstacle to further progress. I was trying to say that it had never held back the likes of Michael Chang.

Ah, ok. And yes, I actually agree. its clearly not as easy from a power perspective. And he may never be number one. But, yes, Chang used guile at times and consistency and had a great career. Hes now coach to Tien and before that Nishikori and hes done a good job with both, both again use smarts to win, albeit Kei is retired now.

Evo wasnt the tallest player either and had a good top 50 career. Arthur has shown he can do the same

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Stircrazy wrote:
JonH wrote:
Im not even sure what the point is or was originally tbh so Ill drop out of the conversation!
My point in making my original comment was that commentators kept referring to Arthur's height after each round he successfully negotiated & implying that it could be an obstacle to further progress. I was trying to say that it had never held back the likes of Michael Chang.

Yes, but one swallow does not a summer make

Look at all the male winners of Grand Slams and see how many are 5 ft 9 - or see what the average is

It's obvious to me - an Arthur fan from ye olden times (thanks, Priesty) - that his height is not ideal - same as for Evo

And Arthur isn't even off-the-scale small, like Olivier Rochus, for instance.

Movement is often better in smaller players

But 6 ft would be better in every department