Wimbledon

[stotty]

Chris Eubanks continues to look like a real dark horse. Grass may be his best surface. Sinner is looking every bit the 3rd(tie with Med) favorite to win Wimbledon. Korda was the #5 favorite to win the tournament, and lost today in 4 sets to Vesely.

Jiri Vesely is a decent player. I saw him play up close and personal last year on court 17. He's the only fat lump in the men's game yet seems to do pretty well. He looks extraordinarily unathletic and lumbering yet seems to manage just fine...he's certainly powerful and that's probably how he gets away with it.

Me, I have Murray down as the tournament's dark horse. He's playing well and knows his way around a grass court. His next match versus Tsitsipas will be intriguing.

[stroke]

Jiri Vesely is a decent player. I saw him play up close and personal last year on court 17. He's the only fat lump in the men's game yet seems to do pretty well. He looks extraordinarily unathletic and lumbering yet seems to manage just fine...he's certainly powerful and that's probably how he gets away with it.

Me, I have Murray down as the tournament's dark horse. He's playing well and knows his way around a grass court. His next match versus Tsitsipas will be intriguing.

So true on Vesely. He is the absolute polar opposite of the tall fit look, epitomized by Tsitsipas. Vesely is tall, but he is not going to win a modeling contract for sure.

[stotty]

John McEnroe on Novak's serve:

''Novak hits the spots. Hitting the spots is more important than pace in the long run. Novak serves incredibly well throughout a match and especially when it matters, and that is the mark of a good serve".

I make John right.

[stroke]

John McEnroe on Novak's serve:

''Novak hits the spots. Hitting the spots is more important than pace in the long run. Novak serves incredibly well throughout a match and when it matters, and that is the mark of a good serve".

I make John right.

Well, obviously Nadal, with his relentless fighting for every point, and Fed, were great great competitors, such tough outs, number 2 and 3 of all time. But Novak stands alone. When the tiebreakers start, it is always an absolute shock if he does not win it. The ultimate big point player. And he seems to be absolutely relishing being out there without Fed and Nadal, who the crowds always much preferred over him.

[jimlosaltos]

John McEnroe on Novak's serve:

''Novak hits the spots. Hitting the spots is more important than pace in the long run. Novak serves incredibly well throughout a match and especially when it matters, and that is the mark of a good serve".

I make John right.

Big 3 were all great spot servers. Fed tops.

ATP correlation of winning with big serves seems to have been decreasing, particularly since advantages of big rackets starting accruing more to returners after early swing to servers. IMHO.

[stotty]

Big 3 were all great spot servers. Fed tops.

ATP correlation of winning with big serves seems to have been decreasing, particularly since advantages of big rackets starting accruing more to returners after early swing to servers. IMHO.

I think being able to hit the spots, all the spots, in a tactical way, and in a way that keeps the returner guessing rather than just hitting to the weaker wing, has a dismantling effect on the returner over the course of a match. Matts Wilander said he experienced this effect when playing McEnroe

Some of the best contests between a sublime spot serve versus a sublime returner have been between Roger and Novak. Roger would be almost unbreakable much of the time while Novak just waited for the odd lapse...riveting stuff.

I don't rate Rafa as a great spot server....more a predictable server....repetitive.

[stroke]

I think being able to hit the spots, all the spots, in a tactical way, and in a way that keeps the returner guessing rather than just hitting to the weaker wing, has a dismantling effect on the returner over the course of a match. Matts Wilander said he experienced this effect when playing McEnroe

Some of the best contests between a sublime spot serve versus a sublime returner have been between Roger and Novak. Roger would be almost unbreakable much of the time while Novak just waited for the odd lapse...riveting stuff.

I don't rate Rafa as a great spot server....more a predictable server....repetitive.

I will say with Rafa, there has never been a player that put more pressure on the returner not to give the server any semblance of a return that even begins to sit up to his forehand for the next shot. That is enormous implied pressure. That, along with the top tier swerve action on his serve, made him a very formidable server.

[stotty]

I will say with Rafa, there has never been a player that put more pressure on the returner not to give the server any semblance of a return that even begins to sit up to his forehand for the next shot. That is enormous implied pressure. That, along with the top tier swerve action on his serve, made him a very formidable server.

I think that one serve he has (the swinger to the righty's backhand) just works so well for him. He gets to use it in the ad court on all the big points and he does it just well enough to make it difficult for just about everyone on the tour. Even Roger and Novak can't do too much with it. I think his serve has gotten better over the years much like Novak's has.

[stotty]

I see Wawrinka just won in four sets to set up a date with the devil. There are a few other interesting matches coming up too. Murray v Stephanos will be one to see, for sure.

[stroke]

I see Wawrinka just won in four sets to set up a date with the devil. There are a few other interesting matches coming up too. Murray v Stephanos will be one to see, for sure.

Novak vs Stan certainly looming as the 3rd round match of the day, and tournament, thus far. Murray actually the slight betting favorite vs Stef. Very surprising to me. If I were ever going to bet, this would be one.

[stotty]

Ruud is struggling against Broady the Brit on centre court, having dropped the first set. Broady being a classic case of the pin-point serve gone wrong...just painful to look at.

[stotty]

Ruud levels at one set all. Terrible game. Worst game I've seen on centre court since Serena was sliced to death by some unknown player some years ago in the first round.

[stroke]

Novak is a massive favorite over Stan with an implied probability of winning at 97%.

[jimlosaltos]

Ruud levels at one set all. Terrible game. Worst game I've seen on centre court since Serena was sliced to death by some unknown player some years ago in the first round.

Ruud was candid afterwards saying he didn't see it as an upset because Broady has more experience on grass and moves better on grass.

So, Ruud's record in 'Slams is that he either makes the finals or goes out in the second round <g>

Glass is 3/4 full guy here: He's the only player to make 3 finals in the last 5 majors, i believe.

[jimlosaltos]

Serve Speeds going DOWN

Really interesting blog by Craig O'Shannessy, the stat guru and former Djokovic coach team member.

Wimbledon is the only major to publish historical serve speeds. And Craig found that they are going down progressively, not up.
His blog: https://www.braingametennis.com/wimb...eid=56c87aa1fa

In some cases, this year's serve speeds are the lowest ever measured (no, AELTC's records don't go back to Spencer Gore in the 1800s <g>

Here's one of his tables. It would be unfair to him to post more. This shows that the men's second serve, average speed is the second lowest measured since 2004, i.e. 20 years of data.

One reason might be that ATP players used to avoid hitting kick serves on grass, but now that the courts are harder and 20% higher bouncing (and per announcers harder still this year because of European weather), so kick serves work now. Craig cites kick serves, but based that on the strings.

Craig also cites the increased rubber in the balls, which could slow serves and might also contribute to a rash of wrist and arm injuries.

Men's first serves are lower now than in 2009. Women's second serves for 2023 average 82.3 MPH, lowest of all years measured going back to 2007.


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