Speedboat tennis - ace or fault?

POSTED BY BESS: If you haven't yet seen the video of Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt playing tennis on speedboats in Sydney Harbor last week, you're missing out. 

For the uninitiated:

I am of mixed feelings about this event publicity stunt (let's call a spade a spade.)

On the one hand, genius! On the eve of the Australian Open, you've got one of Australia's most well-known tennis stars and one of the universe's most well-known tennis stars (perhaps the GOAT), doing something crazy and just a tad ridiculous... framed by the gorgeous Sydney Harbor... and seemingly having a great time. 

What self-respecting tennis fan *isn't* going to watch this video?

On the other hand, so. many. questions.

• What was the longest rally? I mean, even seasoned pros must have found this difficult - the wind, the timing (the physics of it all!), the balance issues. You'll notice very few shots of actual rallies in this video - lots of each player hitting one shot that may or may not have been returnable. Color me curious.
• How long did they have to film just to get the few actual rallies they did show?
• How ticked was Lleyton that Roger got the bigger boat?
• Please explain the sudden transition to the Fast4 court on dry land. What is Fast4*? Why do we care? And since you're showing it and discussing the weird rules, uh... what *are* the rules? I don't get it. Nor do I care. Back to the boats!
• Finally, the biggest unanswered question of all... Who was up in the sky gathering all that aerial footage? Personally, I like to think it was Mirka Federer in the Federers' weekday chopper, nonchalantly watching the action while periodically gazing at her expensive wristwatch and noting that, frankly, this was taking a hell of a lot longer than she expected, and don't they know Roger has a koala bear to pose with, not to mention four kids to get ready for bed? #ilovemirka

But that's just me. Dave... what's your take?

DAVE REPLIES: Honestly, all I can think is, "Where are your life jackets?!" Former pro athlete Rob Konrad just days ago fell off his boat miles from the Florida coast -- and swam for 16 hours to save his own life. He wasn't wearing a life jacket, either.

I'm going to have to call this a fault. Sorry, guys.

But, there was a stunt -- er, event -- from earlier this month that I loved. That's when dogs served as ball kids for a practice match between Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova, during the ASB Classic in New Zealand. 

What does this have to do with tennis? Or the tournament? Or the sponsor? No clue at all. But, who cares? You will not be able to watch this video without laughing. Or at least smiling. Enjoy!

TENNIS FANS: Speedboat tennis, pro or con? Cute dogs as ball kids, pro or con? These are the pressing issues of our times. Feel free to weigh in!

* A quick Web search indicates that Fast4 tennis is also known as "disco tennis." I am suddenly more interested.