2013 French Open...Roland Garros, Paris, France

[don_budge]

Seasoning...and old tennis Coaches. tennis_chiro.

Just watched the first two sets of Nadal's victory over Brands. Those knees are worse than they were a year ago. He can run, but he pays a price and it is constantly going up. He doesn't just prance around the court like he used to between points; he limps. Part of it may be a con, but he is not what he was as far as his legs go.

don

That is something that a truly well seasoned tennis coach notices. Still watching the opponent like a hawk. Looking for signs of discomfort, for pain. Trying to see through the con. Man...it's sort of life in the real world. Outside of the lines. See the signs and know their meanings.

Mats Wilander had a rather interesting set of comments yesterday on the EuroSport Channel as he was talking to Annabelle Croft...the femme fatale that Boris was getting a little flirty with at tennis promo in Paris. Mats was making an observation how taller opponents give Nadal problems for a couple of reasons. It was a fairly sophisticated analysis. Quite interesting. First...he mentioned that taller players are less effected by the big topspin of Nadal because it doesn't get as high up on them forcing them into defensive positions. Secondly...he observed that when Nadal starts to hit harder and harder his ball starts to land shorter because of the big spin which allows the big guys to encroach a bit more which helps them to back up Nadal a bit more. He already seems to like to play substantially behind the baseline. But he finally noted that Nadal made the adjustment and moved forwards to neutralize the number of things that were working against him.

I like the post also about the one hand backhands and it seems that there are more and more that seem to be coming around. Good ones too...like Brands'. He was just pounding it. I saw him play a few short balls and drop shots to the Nadal backhand then follow up with some big forehands to the forehand. This is the strategy that works...combinations that exploit the backhand then play aggressively tactically to the other side. Mark my words...and Djokovic's example. Listen up Roger...this is something that you can do. This is something that can lift you one more time. Tactics. Cat and mouse. Come on...you remember before you were Roger. Don't let your pride get in the way. Resort to gamesmanship...in a tactical sense.

I never say that I told you so and in the case of Berdych and Monfils...well enough said. Monfils plays it fast and loose. Very difficult to play against an opponent that is playing so freely. Everything seems so unpredictable...and there seems to be a bit of a time warp where everything he does seems to be happening a bit quicker and it just makes you feel as if you are one half step slow. In Berdych's case...he was probably a half step slow. The player that gets into position to take the better swing a larger percentage of the time has the advantage...all things being equal. This is the difference in the top echelons of professional tennis...position makes the difference. Secondly of importance and not far behind is how to hit off balance effectively. The combination of these two factors plus conditioning is often the difference. You can talk about technique until you are blue in the face (and it often is discussed ad nauseum) but it is the intangible factors such as these that make the difference. All of the top players have pretty darned good effective technique. So now all of you Gulbis nuts get a real spell binder. Monfils.

Well it seems to take forever to get the first round completed. It's Tuesday and it still isn't done. I am happy that Fabio Fognini made it through for the obvious reasons. Patiently waiting for one other upset in the making. Janko Tipsarevic plays another homegrown French product in Nicolas Mahut. Janko has had a tough time fighting his way out of a paper bag as of late and it is sort of remarkable that he is seeded as high as he is. He has had a string of first round losses and this very well could be another.

As for Jerzy "Joe" Janowicz. I, too, have been watching this young Polish kid since November. His day may very well be coming and when it comes it could come quickly. He's explosive and he possesses touch and some personality. It makes for fine theater on the stage of the tennis court. You really cannot afford to get too far ahead of the reality here because of the mine laden field. I am so looking forward to a match between him and another rising star in Stanislas Wawrinka but there is a tough cookie in between them who could just very well be another rising star although a bit more under the radar. Robin Haase from the Netherlands has been slowly climbing in the rankings and he cannot be taken for granted by the Jerzy camp.

I don't make predictions...and if I do I am pretty coy about it. I hate to make mistakes. Especially the kind that other people catch. But I came pretty close to making a prediction about Monfils. Strange guy...I think. Flashes of brilliance. But is it sustainable...that is always the question with him. He was becoming more consistent before his time off. It should be really interesting to see how he reacts to Ernesto Gulbis in the next round. It should be really interesting to see how Gulbis reacts to Monfils as well. Monfils has established himself as the crowd pleaser and the hometown boy now. Let's see how far he can run with it. He had some good results coming into this tournament. His conditioning and his fitness seem to be exceptional...plus being well rested from the fatiguing grind of the tour. I would say that Gulbis has his hands full. But Ernesto seems to be taking it all a bit more seriously these days. He is going to have to if he wants to make his mark. These are some tough hombres out there. The draw is full of them. Land mines.

[tennis_chiro]

Couple of interesting matchups

I was going to take Llodra over Raonic in an upset (home crowd, comfortable on clay, experienced), but then I looked it up and Raonic is 3-0 against him including a win on clay and he's been getting better on the dirt.

Monfils and Gulbis have never played before. Monfils has a poor ranking after his time off so he is an upset choice, but I like him because his speed is so great that he can actually neutralize the Gulbis firepower and make it a question of shot tolerance. And Monfils showed he is pretty healthy today. He'll loosen up with a doubles match tomorrow and be ready for Ernests on Wednesday (they are in the bottom half).

Kind of disappointed no one really engaged on my three points for Federer (or anyone with his skills ... not) taking on Nadal on the red clay. To repeat

1. Use the slice return crosscourt to his backhand short and bring him in on balls he doesn't really want to come in on. Actually, this tactic may work even better after you've pushed him back to his comfort zone for a shot or two, 15 feet behind the baseline. Using the slice has certainly been thrown out a lot, but I'm talking about actually bringing him in to the net, not on a drop shot, but on a short, low ball that he will have to approach on with his backhand. Going to be tougher to pull off from the ad court.

2. Approach down the middle short to his backhand. Gotta get him to hit the backhand - he can do anything with the forehand. But you better have the volleying skills to put away the next ball behind him.

3. And this is the point I felt is a little out there, but has to be considered by anyone except the huge guys who can routinely hit 115mph second serves. Don't give Rafa the luxury of returning a second serve. Hit two first serves. If you are hitting only first serves, you should be able to make a higher percentage even on the first serve; and if you miss that one, you should make a higher percentage still on the second serve. Yes that still means double faults, Rafa won 69% of second serve return points against Roger in the Rome finals 10 days ago. For the entire year-to-date, Rafa wins 56% of second serve points vs 36% of first serve points. And when he gets hot towards the end of the tournament, it's more like 70% as it was against Federer. So I think if you work at it, you should be able to make 70% first serves and 80% of the first serves you missed. Yes, that means you would make at least 6 doubles in 100 service points (30% x 20%), but if you can win 70% of those points where you got the first serve in (reasonable), you are looking at winning (.7 x .7 + .3 x .8 x .7= .49+.17=) 66% of your service points. On a year-to-date basis, Nadal wins 44% of return points, so you would be way ahead, at least statistically. If you can pull it off, you put the Spaniard in an unfamiliar situation. That's worth a lot.

Brands showed an alternative way to play clay's Master of the Universe. But you have to be able to hit that big without going too far out of your comfort zone. Jerzy could do that with an average serve speed of 135 and an average 2nd serve speed over 115. His regular groundstrokes are big enough to go through the court without him having to try to hit as hard as Brands was doing today; and he likes going forward; and he has a great drop shot, ... as long as he doesn't overuse it!

Anyway, getting interesting

[don_budge]

Engagement...is my middle name. don_engagement_budge

I was going to take Llodra over Raonic in an upset (home crowd, comfortable on clay, experienced), but then I looked it up and Raonic is 3-0 against him including a win on clay and he's been getting better on the dirt.

Kind of disappointed no one really engaged on my three points for Federer (or anyone with his skills ... not) taking on Nadal on the red clay.

I'm engaged baby. I'm connected. I am listening and reading everything that comes out of your keyboard...tennis_chiro. I am not disappointed that only jbill acknowledged my tactical acumen. It is the nature of the beast.

Tennis coaches are sort of...how does 10splayer put it...self absorbed. He once suggested to me that I get over myself. It makes me laugh...out loud to hear such words. But yes...tennis_chiro. I saw your points and they are interesting. You are suggesting three things and many combinations and permutations that branch off of those three. Let me engage here.

1. I have been suggesting much the same thing in my discussion of tactics for Federer vs. Nadal. The classic example of McEnroe vs. Borg illustrates that this is a classic tactic to be used against players that prefer to camp out on the baseline or three meters behind it. With the strong extreme grips and the two handed backhand it will behoove any opponent to make him play out of his comfort zone and while doing it judiciously. He is murder on short balls that sit up but if you can get him to play in the manner that you are suggesting (and I have been talking myself blue in the face about this since the French Open two years ago) it is a tactic that will be effective with him. McEnroe used the short slice to draw Borg in...and then he proceeded to carve him up from there. I think Federer has a nice little slice forehand crosscourt that he could use effectively as well. The whole strategy map must a based on the premise that the backhand side is the one to be exploited...even if it means attacking the forehand side as well to open up the backhand side.

2. Again...it suggests mixing things up and not let Nadal settle into a comfortable pattern. By all means...more viable tactics to exploit the weaker side of the Spanish Stallion. Use the whole court and constantly mix it up. You must use the forecourt. McEnroe did a lot of approaching in this manner as well. Using the short ball with spin to get the opponent to hit up as he was closing in.

3. I like this suggestion of yours particularly well. Why in hell's name hit a second serve? If you have any kind of decent serve motion...if you miss the first one long, the knowledge of the adjustment enables you to swing even harder at the second knowing full well there is zero chance you are going to miss it. Against Nadal you have to be a bit fatalistic anyways...nothing less than optimal performance is going to make an impression on him. No sense in pussy footing around with lame second serves that he will interpret as cat food. Use the serve to attack. The better you serve with the second ball...the better you will serve with the first. The better you serve with the second ball...the better you will return serve. Connect those dots.

Brands tried the method that Stotty suggests will work on Nadal but I am not so sure. Nadal weathered the storm and Brands was unable to sustain the heightened level of performance necessary to nail down the coffin. Even with the high fire power that the equipment has turned this game into...the clay slows it down just enough to make it a cerebral game of tactics if one has the acumen and patience to think things through. The problem is that these guys are like robots with one dimensional thinking and tactics that follow. The object of developing sound technique is to enable you to execute tactics. Only Djokovic has realized that it is a combination of brains and brawn will take down the left handed King of Clay. But he has demonstrated it on a number of occasions and hopefully the rest of the field is taking notice.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves here. The draw is laden with land mines. These two don't get the free pass to the semi's...same as Federer doesn't get one in the other weaker half of the draw. There is lots and lots of tennis to be played. I have a feeling though that it isn't going to be so clear cut as it has been in the recent past. There are a slew of players such as Brand that are realizing that if they don't just lay down and take it...they stand a fighting chance. I'm going with Llodra...but of course I bet with my heart which makes me a loser sometimes. I love the all court tactics and the use of the forecourt on both sides of the net. If Raonic is not so mobile on a given day...it could be just enough for Llodra to send him packing. Plus Llodra is French...Roland Garros is a game of passion. Passion is what makes it all happen. But this is in the second round so we will just be patient and wait until the game comes to us...then we will go to work on Llodra's chances. Benoit Paire and Marcos Baghdatis is another interesting matchup if Baghdatis can physically answer the challenge. Grigor DiMitrov and anybody is going to be an interesting matchup but in this case it is Alejandro Falla...a tough Columbian clay court specialist.

It is quite interesting this year...the landscape has changed a bit. Murray isn't there and the seeding sort of rendered the big picture askew somewhat. Looking forwards in the draw there are all kinds of compelling match ups coming down the pipe. Let's stay on this...big don!

[stotty]

I read the lot...

Kind of disappointed no one really engaged on my three points for Federer (or anyone with his skills ... not) taking on Nadal on the red clay. To repeat

The only thing that stops me engaging more is time. I'd be writing all day on here if I could. Coaching 40 hours a week, kids, wife, cats, dog, phone ringing off its hook all day eats up a lot of my day. The forum is where I come to relax and increase my knowledge. I read ALL your posts and love doing so. I also read ALL don_budge's, bottle's, Klacr, 10splayer's...pretty much everything. If I could I would engage in all the threads. So keep posting...

It's going back a long way now and on a different surface but if you watch their first two Wimbledon finals where Federer emerged the winner, you'll find Federer often used the sliced shot you're referring to. Without that sliced backhand he would have lost at least one of those finals, maybe both. He also used it to Nadal's forehand side, acute angled slice which skidded in low. Nadal couldn't pump his forehand down the line from here (geometrically not possible with a full western) and his ONLY option was to skim over the top of the ball and go cross court. Federer was there to eat it.

The same obviously worked equally well and was used more frequently on the backhand side. Nadal is very quick but he isn't THAT great when he gets there, nothing like a Nastase or a Mac. You'd think a good net player who reads things would pick him off from here.

This is all doubly difficult to do on clay. Nadal does stand an awful long way back at times so there must a way to take advantage of this.

The business of the two first serves approach is desperate stuff. But perhaps it's the only way to stop Nadal dominating from the get-go off the second serve. Once Nadal is dominating rallies, Novak is the only guy that can deal with his forehand and turn the tables. It's very hard, however, to throw off the deeply ingrained culture of the second serve. Historically second serves have always been slower than first serves. The mentality behind this is deep rooted. How do you stop yourself pumping that bit more spin on the ball as you go deeper and deeper into a match, or in a crisis? It would take an Arthur Ashe-type meditational mentality to pull that off...not easy.

But yes, on grass at least, that sliced backhand of Federer's did cause problems.

It's a good point you raised about Jerzy. You cannot expect to slice and dice anything like the bulk of match against Nadal, it's just a breaking up rhythm tactic. Thumping groundshots would seem the only way to go much of the time against a man like Nadal who cannot be out rallied. I only watched Jerzy for one set but it certainly seems like he has lots of power off the ground, and a huge serve. As a tall, double-handed player, he fits the rest of the bill, too.

Great posts, don and don_budge. I read them ALL.

[stotty]

Jerzy

About Jerzy's frequent drop shots:

For a YOUNG player with touch, overplaying the drop shot in an almost cavalier style is a good thing. Essential, actually, if the shot is going to become a real tactical weapon. My thinking behind this is one hundred percent correct.

Many players who can hit good drop shots in practice NEVER use them in a matches. It's not easy to translate drop shots into matches. To do so you have to cross a boundary, a boundary where you will miss many but eventually learn the "relaxed state" required to pull drop shots off in matches. You cannot just go on court and decide to play drop shots and fine angles. It's an intricate business linked to one's mental state. Players have to learn in rallies to suddenly switch to the relaxed stillness required to pull of a wonderful drop shot like Jerzy. When McEnroe played his, time stood still.

It helps enormously if a player is carefree and swashbuckling...some Romanian bloke called Nastase springs to mind....Rios another. Players who stuck two fingers up seemed to play the best ones. Must be something in that...

[klacr]

Still a bit bruised from the Berdych match so I'm keeping a safe distance so I don't say something I may regret . haha.

Great points Don. Reading and hearing everything you say. But as we all know, it's easier said than done. It's a matter of executing and completely believing in the game plan.

The way Brands played against Nadal, not caring about the stat sheet, going for every ball he had time on, giving Nadal 0 rhythm has been the only way guys seem to make progress against him.

Fed needs to blatantly expose the backhand of Nadal. Make it obvious, who cares? The issue comes when Nadal gets a look at a forehand. How will Fed be able to defend that forehand against a shaky backhand. Could Fed play with two hands on the backhand every time against Nadal? Kidding of course but it is a dilemma that Roger must figure out. Federer is almost too classic and too text book to really play the way bigger guys have which is to hit the ball relentlessly hard, go big on the returns even if that means missing. Roger hates missing returns so he winds up starting a point in neutral against Nadal. he needs to start on offense, play on offense, finish on offense. No one has ever played a perfect match against Nadal, you have to be aware that you may litter the unforced error sheet, but you have to show him who wears the pants, who is dictating and who has the intention to go for the knockout, not the jabs and hooks.

Sorry for the bloviating.

Can Berdych get a mulligan please? Good news is he does not have too many points to defend at Wimbledon since he lost 1st round there last year to Gulbis. Only can go up from here!

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[tennis_chiro]

Berdych's press conference

I saw the video of TBerd's post match press conference. Have to give him credit; he said all the right things and came off really classy. But I think he does himself a little bit of a disservice. That one had to really hurt. As TBerd put it, "I had my chance in the last set and I missed and he made it" ... or words to that effect. He helps himself if he says, "that really hurt, but I played well and I'll keep working. I'll be alright in a few days. I have a week to recover and I'll be ready for the grass season." But I think he needs to acknowledge to himself that it hurt. And that he needs to work on his forehand a little bit. It let him down.

The other thing is all rules are out the window against Monfils. You can't get upset about that, but you should acknowledge that. He can beat anyone and he can lose to almost anyone. It's very tough to take that determination (I mean control of the situation, not the virtue) out of his hands.

Good sign for Monfils is he played doubles today. So he probably loosened up a bit from the long match. Perfect.

And Jerzy also played doubles. And beat the 4th seeded Bhupathi/Bopanna.

Jerzy plays Haase to play, probably, Wawrinka, who may not be 100% to play Gasquet whom he beat in Rome to play Nadal. Or as the "churchlady" might say on SNL, "Wouldn't that be special!"

don

[don_budge]

Match of the Day...TennisPlayer.net special

Monfils vs. Gulbis

Very, very interesting. Two enigmatic personalities. Strange pairing. The crowd just may be the deciding factor.

Ernesto created all of that controversy on the forum with his strange forehand.

[stroke]

I think what gets lost in Nadal's unbelievable French Open record is Federer has been the 2nd best clay courter in the world every time Nadal has won the French. Oddsmakers this year have Fed as the 3rd favorite. Top 5:

Nadal-5/6
Novak-11/4
Fed-9/1
Ferrer-19/1
Tsonga-43/1

[don_budge]

The Sponsor's Dream...

I think what gets lost in Nadal's unbelievable French Open record is Federer has been the 2nd best clay courter in the world every time Nadal has won the French. Oddsmakers this year have Fed as the 3rd favorite. Top 5:

Nadal-5/6
Novak-11/4
Fed-9/1
Ferrer-19/1
Tsonga-43/1

The world's second best clay courter...one must ponder what it would take to be number one. Hmmm...as I watched him carve up the little diminutive Indian yesterday everytime he hit the kinds of shots that I have been musing about I try to convince myself that he is practicing his tactics for the Nadal scythe. The Grim Reaper slicing at air.

Very interesting stroke...as is the championships. Somehow the draw is more compelling than it has been in a long while. I smell a changing of the guard...a real one this time. In the next two years the landscape is going to look entirely different and will not even resemble the current "Big Four" syndrome.

The draw is really taking form as if a great score of music would. It's developing. The rhythm and the melody that looms in the near horizon with the sound of tennis balls meeting the poly, the sound of feet sliding on the clay, the sound of the physical efforts, the sounds of the crowd oohing and awing along with the sound of the applause is going to compose a real fine tapestry woven of the collective styles, techniques and interpretations of the game. We have got some real characters present and engaged. We will let the top half of the draw go another round before getting into it much deeper but it looks very promising indeed.

In fact...let's just let the thing continue with it's own volition. No sense in trying to egg it on. Let the game come to us. Let's just sit back and enjoy to the sounds of silence. Or rather to the sounds that I mentioned above. Trust me on this one...it's going to. Monsieur Monfils, Tsonga, Chardy, Simon, Benneteau, Paire, Pouille and Gasquet. All of the home town guys still in the mix. There is the story so far. Paris must indeed be gay these days...as in giddy or frivolously happy. So much to root for. Just imagine if the U. S. Open was similarly represented by Americans. Too much to hope for. It is always too much to hope for...when you just wish that things were as you would have them. In a perfect world.

Wawrinka vs. Janowicz looming in the not too distant horizon.

[don_budge]

Oh what the hell...here goes nothing

In fact...let's just let the thing continue with it's own volition. No sense in trying to egg it on. Let the game come to us. Let's just sit back and enjoy to the sounds of silence. Or rather to the sounds that I mentioned above.

I tried. I really did. But I was sitting here in my little office upstairs looking over the Swedish landscape outside...it's raining. I am thinking...glancing at the developing draw sheet. I thought of a couple of things to write about...a little food for thought for all of my virtual friends out there. I am not on FaceBook and never will be...you are the only virtual friends that I have got.

Anyways...the bottom half is ripe for a bit of analysis. So here goes nothing. I project Gael Monfils who has conquered Tomas Berdych and Ernesto Gulbis back to back to meet Nicolas Almagro. Now Almagro owns a 3-2 record against Monsieur Monfils and all three victories have been on clay. Is this interesting or what? Statistically Monfils has a slightly better win loss record overall and Monfils is currently ranked number 81 and Almagro number 13. But guess what...it is all about the location, location, location. They are in Paris...I give the edge to Monsieur Monfils. This guy is really entertaining to watch. A real ham.

Milos Raonic vs. David Ferrer. This is more speculation of course. Forecasting a round in advance is not adviseable...but it is all in fun. Another compelling match...it appears to be all David Ferrer and his ability to subdue with a combination of boredom and tenacity. A lethal combination on the clay of Roland Garros. That is not to say that Raonic is to be counted out. Ferrer owns him on clay 2-0 and 4-0 overall, but the matches have been close. Is it time for Raonic to turn the tables? It is within the realm of possibilities let's say...but not likely. Ferrer has his teeth into the tournament. Raonic is suspect in terms of agility and mobility once the effect of the serve has vanished into thin air.

The next block of matches may not be so clear when making the projection...it's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Jeremy Chardy both French Musketeers. Guess what...they have split two matches. This is going to be a great match, I think. The crowd will really have a lot of fun with this one. Tsonga is the odds on favorite but the odd pressure of being the favorite in front such a huge hometown throng may just be enough to light a fire under Chardy. Let's just assume that the seeding holds here...for the time being.

In the same block is Viktor Troicki and Marin Cilic and this is another match that goes either way. Cilic won their first five matches and Troicki the more recent two. All of them have been on hard courts. It just may be Troicki's time...he looked very impressive against James Blake and then gutted out a five setter after being down two sets to one. More stuff of interest.

Getting down towards the bottom of things to come...we have Gilles Simon vs. Sam "Frankie" Querry. Although personally I think Kevin Anderson may strike more of a resemblance, but I really hesitate to compare anybody to that French behemoth...he was French wasn't he? Frankenstein. French Jewish perhaps. My American born chocolate lab is named Frankie but sometimes I call him Frankenstein. See what I mean? But anyways...Simon has a 2-1 advantage but Querry has the lone victory on clay. But it is in front of a Parisian audience that they shall dance before...advantage Simon. If he can find the courage.

So here we are...the Swiss Riddle. The Swiss Maestro. What is his fitness at this point? Is his back bothering him? Some good drugs are available for pain...a non factor? But Benneteau is a factor and so is the French crowd. But all in all it won't be enough against Roger "The Man" Federer. He still has some gas in the tank. Federer has an overall advantage of 4-2 against Julien and is licking his chops looking at the draw. Quite possibly one of the best draws ever in the history of tennis. I am tempted to project him through to the finals. Afterall this is a Grand Slam event and hopefully he will compete 110%! I wonder...is there some way that I can transmit my tactical analysis to him and Annacone. Just in case he were to meet Nadal. Hmmmm.

End of transmission.

[stotty]

Rosol

I hope Rosol gets through his match for a showdown with Nadal. There will be an atmosphere to that match...

Interesting Greg Rusedski was lambasting today's one dimensional tennis, asking that players should play more all court tennis and make more trips to the net. In doing so he feels they will be give themselves more tactical options, options they will need if they are to break the stranglehold of the top four.

Greg states players with one dimensional games lack tactical options, by default.

[don_budge]

Fognini over Rosol...no rematch

I hope Rosol gets through his match for a showdown with Nadal. There will be an atmosphere to that match...

Interesting Greg Rusedski was lambasting today's one dimensional tennis, asking that players should play more all court tennis and make more trips to the net. In doing so he feels they will be give themselves more tactical options, options they will need if they are to break the stranglehold of the top four.

Greg states players with one dimensional games lack tactical options, by default.

Fabio Fognini defeats Lukas Rosol 6-2, 7-6, 2-6, 6-1

http://crackbillionair.wordpress.com/2012/09/02/the-pervy-picture-show-svetoslava-simeonova-fabio-fogninis-girlfriend/

Well it's a shame that you didn't get your rematch. But look at the bright side...if you happen to catch Fabio playing he has this pretty remarkable piece of eye candy in his box. But I understand that she doesn't like to clean house and she's got a weak backhand, not that any of this matters as far as this forum is concerned. I only bring it up in the interest of...well let's just say...I don't know. Why did I bring it up? She's not really my type. Let's just say it is a tactical diversion.

That Greg Rusedski sounds like a rather astute fellow. Doesn't he? He probably reads the tennisplayer.net forum.

[stroke]

Dimitrov/Novak match looming large. Dimitov may be ready for the big breakthrough.

[stotty]

Paire

Dimitrov/Novak match looming large. Dimitov may be ready for the big breakthrough.

Yes, Dimitrov v Djokovic...well worth watching that one.

My man Benoit Paire plays Nishkori in the third round. He's not seeded to win this one, but I think he can...a man with that much ability ought to be able to beat anyone...even the Great One, the Spaniard himself. I am praying he gets past Nishkori for a showdown with the great man himself.