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Originally posted by licensedcoach
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Jerzy's record is 27-20 for the year and 47-36 for his career. That's only 13 more career losses (tournament entries) than Jack Sock. Ryan Harrison is 53-74. Imagine, more than twice as many tournaments although he is 18 months younger.
We can't really answer the critical question we are all asking: Is the next move for Jerzy above Tilikainen's pay grade and capability? It is certainly above his experience. Jerzy needs someone who can convince him to "get down and dirty" a little bit the way Stotty is suggesting - put a little more spin on the ball in those balls he is exchanging with his opponent until the opportunity presents itself to be more aggressive. We can probably agree on that. Personally, and I don't know how much agreement I'll get on this, I want to see someone who convinces him to be more aggressive with his use of serve-and-volley and approach-and-volley tactics.
I was really encouraged to see how well he seemed to be moving. It didn't seem there were any lingering effects from his back and arm problems this summer. But that may just be appearances. It may, in fact, be that his mobility is compromised and he has chosen to go for shorter points and avoid being drawn into track meets along the baseline that put more stress on his back. I think his service motion is relatively low stress for his back; running into corners and recovering constantly to exchange with someone like Nadal (which he did a couple of times rather unsuccessfully today) may be much tougher on his back.
The match today certainly backs up the claim I have made here for a number of months that he is the one guy who can really take it to the guys at the top. Obviously he can get a lot better, but the potential is clearly there as it is not with any of the other giants. He is not just fast for a big guy; he is actually quick. He can return big serves. Whether or not he is going to need a brain transplant to reach his potential is the scary question. I know you tend to get to the experimental therapies a little quicker across the pond (Kobe Bryant's procedures for his knees), but I haven't heard of any groundbreaking neurological procedures that can achieve what Jerzy really needs.
So maybe we really need a great coach. Pity that Fibak has been taken on by Djokovic. He was a really smart player and understands the subtlety of using the front court much better than most. He obviously needs someone he is comfortable with and would have respect for. I'd love to hear someone like Niki Pilic take an interest in him. Annacone, Cahill, Gilbert and Stefanki are all kind of standard answers. Completely from a distance, I get the sense Janowicz needs a European. Perhaps he could maintain his relationship with Tilikainen, but bring on someone with better feel for the "classic game" like former French Davis Cup captain, Guy Forget. For a real Mutt and Jeff team, another Frenchman who was one of the smartest players ever, had a great drop shot and really understood the front court, the Magician would be a great complement to the Janowicz team. If you want someone Swedish, how about Edberg?!
Jerzy needs someone really smart who can figure out how to help him take advantage of his weapons and develop his maturity. But he also needs someone he will respect and listen to. That person has to buy into the stroke mechanics that Janowicz has and try to modify and take advantage of them rather than try to turn him into another "windshield wiper" topspinner with a bigger serve than most. He has the ability to play the front court like no one else I can think of that has his power, not to mention his reach. Isner, Anderson, Karlovic and the rest - none of them have the ability to both react to a passing shot and make a good volley and make a decent return of serve off both sides, much less move quickly to a corner and make a pass. Querry is pretty good with his groundies, but his backhand is weak and he can't volley under pressure. As Stotty says, Jerzy can actually trade off the baseline with the best of them, but not nearly as consistently as they do. What makes him better is converting the opportunities and advantages his groundstrokes create to transition to the front court; he can do that better than any of the other big players. Combine that with the opportunities his serve creates and you have tremendous pressure on your opponent to hold serve. Now you push forward just a little more often instead of trying to hit so many outright winners off returns and I think the pressure cooker would work!
I'm sure I'm right about this. But so what...
don
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