Ultimate Tennis Showdown features new camera angle, old winners

Today marked a great victory for the Ultimate Tennis Showdown’s elder statesmen. In the first of the two UTS matches broadcast on Tennis Channel, 38-year-old Feliciano Lopez (The Torrero) blitzed Matteo Berrettini (The Hammer). The courts at Patrick Mouratoglou’s tennis academy play fast as lightning, the perfect venue for Lopez’s often unreturnable serve and sickening slice.

The only player with his original nickname, “Domi” Thiem was no match for “The Virtuoso” Richard Gasquet, despite being a heavy favorite before the match. Gasquet would probably love to abandon the ATP Tour in favor of UTS, as the shortened format seems to multiply his talent. Especially in his later years, Gasquet has been known to break down physically, but with every point meaningful due to the four quarter format and the guaranteed one hour match time, Gasquet has been a nightmare to play in Nice. Check out this vintage chef's kiss of a backhand.

Keeping the spirit of experimentation alive, the Ultimate Tennis Showdown broadcast its Saturday matches from the court level. While the player in the far court appears farther away using this angle, spectators can finally experience the spin and shape the players impact on the ball. The biggest issue many tennis aficionado's have with the elevated angle, is you simply cannot see the margin over the net that the players play with. Yes, you can tell Nadal hits it higher over the net than most, but you can't see the extreme parabola of the ball.

The new angle was refreshing, as most tennis fans have seen plenty of the typical elevated “camera one” angle we are so accustomed to. One downside to the new camera angle is the inability to see the baseline from the far court. It’s certainly not perfect, but for future tennis broadcasts, a combination of different camera angles seems like a no-brainer.

Sunday night, Thiem will face off against the undefeated “Greek God” Stefanos Tsitsipas in the marquee match of the new league’s inaugural season.