Madrid ATP 1000

[stroke]

Joao Fonseca picks his perfect player:

* Juan Martin del Potro - Forehand
* Djokovic - Backhand
* Roger Federer - Volley & Slice
* Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard - Serve

Somewhere here on The 'Gram.

Nitpicking, but volleys, Fed is not quite McEnroe or Pat Cash. Forehand, I still have to go with Nadal.

[stotty]

Joao Fonseca picks his perfect player:

* Juan Martin del Potro - Forehand
* Djokovic - Backhand
* Roger Federer - Volley & Slice
* Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard - Serve

Somewhere here on The 'Gram.

Rafa Nadal - Forehand
Novak - Backhand
Volley - Frank Sedgman
Serve - Pete Sampras
Mental - Borg/Nadal
Speed - Carlos

[jimlosaltos]

Rafa Nadal - Forehand
Novak - Backhand
Volley - Frank Sedgman
Serve - Pete Sampras
Mental - Borg/Nadal
Speed - Carlos

The "Build the Best/Perfect Player" exercise is often interesting.

From imperfect memory, Fed once included "touch" as a category and named Marcelo Rios, I believe. I quite liked that. Fed may have named Delpo and Fernando Gonzalez for forehand? I'm 80% on that.

Volleys, Cash, McEnroe, Sedgman ... true greats stroke, stotty.

[jimlosaltos]

Both players from last week's Barcelona final now out with injury, as Holger Rune retired after one set due to "discomfort in his right leg".

Again, Carlos pulled out before play with an "abductor" and some leg muscle pull.

[jimlosaltos]

Jakub Mensik topped So Cal's Ethan Quinn in a serve fest.

Mensik averaged -- averaged -- 131 MPH over 35 first serves in , Max 139 MPH. Quinn's improved service (moved to pinpoint) 125/134 MPH.

[jimlosaltos]

Novak Djokovic out pretty tamely in his first match in Madrid 3 and 4 to Matteo Arnaldi, ranked 44.
This is Djokovic's third consecutive defeat - to Mensik in Miami, to Tabilio in Monte Carlo's first round, and now to the 24 year old Italian.

Yet again, Djokovic did well enough behind his first serve but lost on both sides of second serves. He's being consistently outrallied.
Today, Djokovic with 32 UFEs, 17 on his backhand.

Madrid is now without both finalists from Barcelona -- Alcaraz and Rudd - both by injury, and now Djokovic.

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