Miami Open

[stroke]

I seems like these guys who wear the Joma brand of tennis clothes are tough outs that embrace the battle. Machac and Morozsan are perfect examples.

[stroke]

Sinner to me has also that same relaxed hitting technique of Fed. The tell to me is his face, completely relaxed, particularly in the jaw, as he he hits the ball.
,

[stotty]

He is something, but personally, I think an in form Sinner is maybe the best. To me, no one plays "video game/ping pong" tennis like Sinner at his best, certainly reminds me of Roger at his best.

You could be right. I haven't seen enough of Sinner yet. I am watching the Sinner v Machac replay at the moment. I just feel that Alcaraz can reach amazing heights in his level of play that no one can match.

[jimlosaltos]

You could be right. I haven't seen enough of Sinner yet. I am watching the Sinner v Machac replay at the moment. I just feel that Alcaraz can reach amazing heights in his level of play that no one can match.

It's difficult for me to compare the two since Alcaraz has been so up and down over the last year.

Alcaraz's A game that I witnessed in Indian Wells and we saw at Wimbledon seems unbeatable. But it disappeared from Wimbledon to this March. Why?

Sinner keeps getting better at a slow steady rate. He's now great at aspects of his game that seemed to be relative weaknesses 1-2 years ago - such as net play and -- believe ir or not -- movement. Two years ago players could beat him by simply going behind him. His legs weren't strong enough to stop and recovery, back then. Also, to get at something stroke alluded to, Sinner is so emotionally stable while Alcaraz lost the French Open to Djokovic due to a panic attack, not Novak's tennis. Is that in the past?

Let's assume that's fixed with maturity and/or experience. Then A game vs A game who is better? Only area of clear superiority I can see is in their service games, where Sinner has a clear advantage IMHO.

[jimlosaltos]

From Relevo.com in Spanish at this link.
Slow down, higher toss, FAA is a model.

Machine Translation:
ALCARAZ RESPONDS TO RODDICK'S CRITICISM WITH A CHANGE IN THE MECHANICS OF THE SERVE AND SHOUTING "UP, UP!"


By then, Alcaraz had been training a small adjustment in the mechanics of the service for some time . On his team they have been insisting that the ball be thrown higher, higher. "There are times when the movement accelerates him too much and this leads him to throw the ball a little low, to not have enough pause. This is what he is insisted on a lot," Antonio Mart?nez Cascales points out in a conversation with Relevo , Alcaraz's advisor and who acts as second coach in the absence of Ferrero.
.
In fact, Ferrero can often be heard yelling "up, up!" from the box when Alcaraz is on duty. The coach is not referring to it going up to the net, but rather to throwing the ball higher.
The data confirms that Alcaraz has taken a leap with the serve. In Miami he is serving with 75% effectiveness with his first serve . Or what is the same, 10% more than the average for his career. He is also winning 76% of his first serve points, also surpassing the 71% he has accumulated in his career.
.
Cascales is clear about who the Murcian focuses on to improve his serve: "Felix Auger Aliassime. They are two very similar serves, wanting to make a short preparation movement, very controlled. It is not that it is a model, but it is a very similar to that of Felix, who has always served very well. A mirror or a reflection in which to see yourself to take a new step forward in your game that has allowed Alcaraz to ride the waves of the Miami vibe. We'll see if they take him to the title.

[stotty]

From Relevo.com in Spanish at this link.
Slow down, higher toss, FAA is a model.

Machine Translation:
ALCARAZ RESPONDS TO RODDICK'S CRITICISM WITH A CHANGE IN THE MECHANICS OF THE SERVE AND SHOUTING "UP, UP!"


By then, Alcaraz had been training a small adjustment in the mechanics of the service for some time . On his team they have been insisting that the ball be thrown higher, higher. "There are times when the movement accelerates him too much and this leads him to throw the ball a little low, to not have enough pause. This is what he is insisted on a lot," Antonio Mart?nez Cascales points out in a conversation with Relevo , Alcaraz's advisor and who acts as second coach in the absence of Ferrero.
.
In fact, Ferrero can often be heard yelling "up, up!" from the box when Alcaraz is on duty. The coach is not referring to it going up to the net, but rather to throwing the ball higher.
The data confirms that Alcaraz has taken a leap with the serve. In Miami he is serving with 75% effectiveness with his first serve . Or what is the same, 10% more than the average for his career. He is also winning 76% of his first serve points, also surpassing the 71% he has accumulated in his career.
.
Cascales is clear about who the Murcian focuses on to improve his serve: "Felix Auger Aliassime. They are two very similar serves, wanting to make a short preparation movement, very controlled. It is not that it is a model, but it is a very similar to that of Felix, who has always served very well. A mirror or a reflection in which to see yourself to take a new step forward in your game that has allowed Alcaraz to ride the waves of the Miami vibe. We'll see if they take him to the title.

I get the similarity in serves to an extent but Felix has a way better motion overall. I never liked Carlos's motion for a number reasons although he seems to have slightly more body rotation than he had a year ago. He still relies on muscle to get the job done, though. I understand the 76% stats and why coaches would see that as a justifying positive, but like with all other great players who defy technical norms and seem to serve well regardless, you just can't help wondering how good Carlos's serve would be if it were remodelled into something technically better. After all, he's young with bags of ability. A more radical change seems doable.

I've lost track of the number of Spaniards with substandard service motions over the years.

[stroke]

Grigor has the crowd buzzing with an absolute beatdown on Alcaraz thus far.

[stroke]

Alcaraz kept fighting and made Grigor take it. Grigor took it. Grigor is really playing well. His record vs the 3 just a distant memory now. He has to be technique wise the best player ever to never win a Major.

[stotty]

That's the best I have seen Grigor play. I only watched the first set because it was on late here, but Grigor was sublime. He hit some incredibly deep returns and his sliced backhand was the best I have seen on the tour in recent years by a landslide. A lot of the games in the first set were close but he clung on and showed a mental toughness I have not seen in him before. He looked majestic and incredibly talented. He smothered Alcaraz with skill and talent...quite lovely to watch.

It's like he's gone from a cheap imitation to a player who has finally turned into himself.

My father always used to say that if a man lives long enough then sooner or later he'll simply turn into himself.

Let's hope Grigor can keep it up.

[jimlosaltos]

The Dimitrov win over Alcaraz surfaced a flock of issues.

Grigor controlled the pace of play throughout most of the match. Great service variety and used that to set up his forehand. In the first set, Grigor hit a forehand after every single first serve he landed -- 100% forehands. Third graphic here is hard to read but the blue dots show forehands from one doubles alley to the opposite one. He had a plan and executed.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz surfaced reasons I'm skeptical about whether he is superior to or equal to Jannik Sinner.

1) His serve is "weak" by the extremely lofty stands of a top 10 player. I love Grigor and his game. Grigor is a great mover, and a very good offensive player. But his relative weakness is his return game. Yet Carlos won only 58% of his first serves vs Grigor in the first set, fewer in the second. After Carlos upped his attack to break back in the second set and looked like a Big 3 player taking over a match, he promptly dumped his serve to lose the match. Never forced Grigor to face his own history of nerves by having to serve out.

Grigor was dominating with his forehand, averaging 83 MPH for the full first set. In the one game Carlos won, he upped his forehand speed from 75 mph for the first to 93 MPH, I believe it was, average for one game.

2) Carlos' nerves were on display. Often he is tenacious. Sometimes he is not. Yesterday, he was frustrated, whiny, lost, didn't know what to do and let that affect his play. He could grow out of that, but until then it's an issue.

Three images from Tennis TV:

1 of 3: In the deciding set, Grigor won a higher percentage of his second serve points than Carlos did on his first serve. Grigor stood in aggressively often in the second set.

filedata/fetch?id=103788&d=1711730932&type=thumb

2. While Carlos won only 58% of his first serves in the opening set, Grigor, only a decent returner historically, got 88% of Carlos first serves back. So, Carlos not only had a poor winning percentage but -- despite being able to hit up to 137 MPH in other matches -- gets few free points. {And, where did those 130 MPHs serves, absent since Cincinatti and Wimbledon, they reappeared for Indian Wells making me feel like Carlos had righted the ship. Now, they're gone again. ??

filedata/fetch?id=103789&d=1711730932&type=thumb

3 of 3 Grior hit nothing but serve plus forehand on firsts in the opening set.

filedata/fetch?id=103790&d=1711730932&type=thumb

#

[jimlosaltos]

Tomorrow's women's final will be quite the contrast in styles and personalities.

Ice maiden Elena Rybakina vs screeching, whining, stomping Danielle (Dan-Yell) Collins. Two big hitters.

This is Collins retirement tour. Serious inflammation problems that lead to cascading health issues. So, she's playing her best again. And her best is darned good.

[stotty]

The Dimitrov win over Alcaraz surfaced a flock of issues.

Grigor controlled the pace of play throughout most of the match. Great service variety and used that to set up his forehand. In the first set, Grigor hit a forehand after every single first serve he landed -- 100% forehands. Third graphic here is hard to read but the blue dots show forehands from one doubles alley to the opposite one. He had a plan and executed.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz surfaced reasons I'm skeptical about whether he is superior to or equal to Jannik Sinner.

1) His serve is "weak" by the extremely lofty stands of a top 10 player. I love Grigor and his game. Grigor is a great mover, and a very good offensive player. But his relative weakness is his return game. Yet Carlos won only 58% of his first serves vs Grigor in the first set, fewer in the second. After Carlos upped his attack to break back in the second set and looked like a Big 3 player taking over a match, he promptly dumped his serve to lose the match. Never forced Grigor to face his own history of nerves by having to serve out.

Grigor was dominating with his forehand, averaging 83 MPH for the full first set. In the one game Carlos won, he upped his forehand speed from 75 mph for the first to 93 MPH, I believe it was, average for one game.

2) Carlos' nerves were on display. Often he is tenacious. Sometimes he is not. Yesterday, he was frustrated, whiny, lost, didn't know what to do and let that affect his play. He could grow out of that, but until then it's an issue.

Three images from Tennis TV:

1 of 3: In the deciding set, Grigor won a higher percentage of his second serve points than Carlos did on his first serve. Grigor stood in aggressively often in the second set.

filedata/fetch?id=103788&d=1711730932&type=thumb

2. While Carlos won only 58% of his first serves in the opening set, Grigor, only a decent returner historically, got 88% of Carlos first serves back. So, Carlos not only had a poor winning percentage but -- despite being able to hit up to 137 MPH in other matches -- gets few free points. {And, where did those 130 MPHs serves, absent since Cincinatti and Wimbledon, they reappeared for Indian Wells making me feel like Carlos had righted the ship. Now, they're gone again. ??

filedata/fetch?id=103789&d=1711730932&type=thumb

3 of 3 Grior hit nothing but serve plus forehand on firsts in the opening set.

filedata/fetch?id=103790&d=1711730932&type=thumb

#

In the first set (didn't see the second set) the significant thing was Carlos's lack of pace on his forehand. He had a few explosive spells but not too many. It's those explosive spells that do all the damage in my view. No one can live with him when he hits those heights.

I am not sure it was that much to do with Carlos's nerves; more Dimi's fine play. He served so well, yes, but also returned really well; deep and penetrating at times. His sliced backhand was immense and the ones he hit down the line onto Carlos's forehand were so effective they left Carlos shouting at his box in frustration.

Despite his past history Dimi played great clutch tennis on the night.

From Carlos's point of view I still think he needs to mature as a match player. His shot selection and rashness can land him in trouble and he's paid the price for that a number of times.

[stroke]

https://open.substack.com/pub/hughclarke/p/sinner-medvedev-dimitrov-zverev?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=1t7zzc

Hugh Clarke is picking the 2 favorites to meet in the Final.

[stroke]

Sinner seemed to take away hope from Med. Just too good, Med had no answers. That one may leave a bit of a mark.

[jimlosaltos]

Gregor is in the finals and, I believe, back in the top 10.
What a match. What a career come back.

18 aces vs a great returner.

And the key breaker - fell down after ball popped up off the net and still put it away. Gutsy match.