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[teejay1]

The comms. on Sharapova match also said the grunting must be stopped especially if it is appearing in the men's game.  I thought the grunting was too much.  They all give a little grunt now and again but I have never heard any male player make such a dreadful noise.

The thing is, I think they are approaching the grunting issue all wrong. What they are trying to do is eradicate the grunting from the juniors, or, to put it another way, using a bottom up approach. However, to my mind, if they dealt with it at the top, Sharapova (being the worst to come to mind), Williams, etc, that would feed down to the youngsters and get rid of it from the sport quicker. I know there is an argument that someone who has grunted for years, like Sharapova (does she grunt? I'd say she is more of a screamer) for example, wouldn't be able to stop now, but surely being punished for it, a warning and then a point penalty say, would concentrate the mind.

The thing is, a lot of players grunt. Andy has been known to, in fact if you close your eyes and listen to him playing it is hard to know if you are hearing him or Ferrer, because they grunt the same way. However, the key, it seems to me, is if a player is hindering an opponent, or spoiling a match for those watching. If you watched Berlocq against Andy there were several times when he was still grunting as Andy was striking the ball. That has to be hindrance however way you look at it, and as such Andy was right to complain.

[Ruthie]

I totally agree the best place to start at the top as this high pitched screaming and the men's grunting when it interferes with the other player is unacceptable.  Serena was penalised at the USO against Stosur as the noise carried on during her return.  I am sure this happened with ASndy so Berlocq should have been penalised.  As to the time violation the comms were also saying that Andy has never in his career been picked for this and always keeps to the time.

I thought Serena was penalised because she shouted come on while Stosur was playing not because of grunting.  But I agree that if Berlocq was grunting loudly while Andy was hitting the ball then he should at least have been warned and then penalised if he continued doing it.  

[teejay1]

I don't find Andy and Ferrer grunting the same way at all.

Really? It's often been pointed out in commentary that they do. Crowds have also had some fun with it during matches. I definitely think Andy's grunt is distinctly Spanish and sounds very much like Ferrer.

[Emma Jean]

Really? It's often been pointed out in commentary that they do. Crowds have also had some fun with it during matches. I definitely think Andy's grunt is distinctly Spanish and sounds very much like Ferrer.

I will have to check their gruntings again teejay but I am quite sure they don't at all strike me similar. I notice the way players grunt among other things, and Andy's I don't think matches anyone's and I don't see why it should though to be honest, since everyone has a different way of expressing things. I can still listen to Andy’s grunting when I close my eyes and remember one of his past matches where he grunted the most, and still it’s striking me very different than Ferrer’s. Ferrer, for example, strikes me more of an animal grunting when he is really pushed (not being condensing at all just so you know , and Andy’s more human’s but let me find out more about it. I'll get back to you on this.

[Emma Jean]

The comment regarding Andy's grunt sounding distinctly Spanish..... Djoko grunts like a Pacific Islander

It does beg the question tho....... Is grunting gay?

Not at all. I thought it's the other way around? The gays are quite tasteful, no?

[Emma Jean]

I posted this on the wrong thread by mistake so had to delete it. lol

Anyway, I chose this clip because the quality is very high both picture and sound wise. Anyway, they are not miles apart but Andy's grunting is definitely longer and softer, whereas Ferrer's shorter and very physical. He uses his body power to generate his shots whereas Andy's relies mostly on the strength of his hands.

But I wouldn’t know anything about Spanish grunting though because I very rarely pay any attention to anything Spanish.

[counter_ puncher]

Our homework was to "watch" out for the grunting, wasn't it. To my mind, there is a huge difference. ferrer comes really close to Berlocq's sound whereas Andy does not groan permanently and much less noticeable. but he does not play totally mutely. I remember LLodra making fun of it at the AO last year. So obviously it is a theme.