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Why in hell isn't Isner sv? All those crazy fifth set matches would go by the way side. Fed took Edberg in for sv lessons, as he knows, he can't out grind the top guys. He also is playing that blacked out 98 sq in. frame, with the side weights, that sv players love, to combat twist weighted passing shots.
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Isner and Roddick don't sv IMHO, because they serve too fast. Edberg didn't go for aces, just a good kicker so that he could get to the net fast.Comment
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Isner would be a tremendous serve and volley player if he just relied on his
2nd serve. Many tour players have commented that his 2nd serve is tougher to return due to its height than a fast 1st serve. Of course, his serve is great, but he'd really have to learn how to properly volley. But Geoff is right, Isner should embrace s&v. Or he can continue to grind out baseline rallies during his service games. How's that working for him? I want to see Isner do well but very frustrating to watch.
Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca RatonComment
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Janowicz squeaks through
It's so tough to watch Jerzy play. There is so much potential there. Even though he is 6' 8" tall, he actually has the quickness to be able to S&V effectively. I'm not sure any of the other guys over 6'5" tall actually do. Just imagine what Edberg would have done with some of the returns Jerzy sees, not only off his serve, but off his returns as well. He does not return as consistently as Edberg did, but if he toned it down just a bit, he could probably be reasonably consistent and he would still be presenting a daunting challenge to his opponent if he directed those returns down the line and came in.
He'll have to get over his injury problems to get past Florian Mayer in the next round and get to Ferrer, but he could be so much more effective if someone would get him to come in a little more. He throws away so many points swinging for the fences. With his height and reach, chip and charge might even work, but an easy return deep down the line and charge definitely would work...and it would even make his drop shot more effective.
Hate to see all the wasted energy with the stupid histrionics. He actually got a great draw and was lucky to get through these two matches. If he doesn't have a pulled groin, he could be really tough for Mayer and then Ferrer, but not with injuries and not if he just swings for the fences like he did with Andujar today. I think he'll have to play a more intelligent, complete game to beat either of those two in best of five.
donComment
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The Precious Paradigm...Bill Tilden is the Book
The Precious Paradigm...Bill Tilden is the Book...Richard Gonzales is the model with the Don Budge backhand. Harry Hopman is the coach and Roger Federer is living proof.
“You’re damn right...”, said John McEnroe to Jiminy Glick.Originally posted by klacr View Post
Yes it was klacr...it was a tough post. But it was one that was easy to write and I didn’t bother to edit it. There are some grammatical mistakes in it. Maybe I will clean it up a bit...or maybe it is better in its raw state.
Then you said...”As for the Aussie Open”...well son, I am afraid that what I am writing about is the 2014 Australian Open. This is the story. It is deep...and long. Like a good penetrating approach shot. Designed to surgically open up the court leaving a gaping wound in the opponent.
The truth...the truth is that most people cannot handle the truth. The truth is...it is bad news all the way around. The precious paradigm that was constructed on the grave of classic tennis may just be crumbling. Well good riddance I say...let the walls come tumbling down. It’s amazing isn’t it? Just slick up the courts a bit and guess what...every single USPTA tennis professional is standing there with their shorts pulled down to their ankles. That’s the tough news.
All of the gimmickry in the “ATP forehand” and the rest of it is right down the shoot. Why? Because Tilden is the book...the strong grips and ridiculously high backswing renders this forehand a liability if you are not playing sound tactical tennis on a slicked up tennis court. Tennis courts should be slick too...not all of them. But some of them. Tennis courts should be high bounding and slow too...but not all of them.
Read "Match Play and the Spin of the Ball" if anyone is remotely interested in what "Tennis in the Kingdom" is. Tilden's writings are timeless and they solve the riddle of why modern tennis fails to live up to it's billing. Why it is inadequate compared to the classic game. It has to do with a combination of the courts, speed and height of the bounce, the coaching and most of all...the abominable oversized racquet with the suped up strings. Ah what the hell...throw in the stringers too. Cheaters? A cheater is one who looks for an unfair advantage over their opponent.
So variety is the spice of life...and it should be the paradigm of tennis courts in the world of tennis. This “planet of tennis” is a fake mockery of the real world and hopefully this tournament is the first salvo in a revolution...but it probably won’t be. For many reasons...first and foremost being money.
The enemy...it’s complicated. So many are actually innocent. Innocent by reason of ignorance. But there are far too many that are guilty...guilty by reason of being in denial even though they have the intelligence and the facts.
Take Fafa Nadal for instance. Listen to this whining, low brow moron. Typical athlete and just one good reason why it is 99 times out of a 100 a boring proposition to listen to any interview of an athlete. I wonder if he knows that historically the Australian Open was a grass court tournament. You see...it is not all about you...Fafa.
“Completely different conditions than what I remembered of this tournament, faster conditions that I ever played here in Australia,” Nadal said, his tone indicating displeasure with the perceived change.
Nadal expressed confusion over why the Open would want to change the conditions that he believes produce the most epic and enjoyable matches.
“I really don’t understand very well why they change because the last couple of years, Australian Open had amazing matching, long ones, good ones for the crowd,” he said Saturday. “I don’t know why the people who decide to make the conditions that fast. I am not sure for the show is the best thing. But they decide, and I’m just a player to try to be competitive from the beginning.”
“I thought Craig Tiley was a good friend.”
What Fafa is really saying is..."waaaaa, the faster courts make it impossible for me to run around my backhand if anybody has the common sense to play it there and the ball doesn't set up high enough for me to take my rodeo forehand swing at it."
You see...Fafa is referring to one Craig Tiley who is the tournament director at the Australian Open. For him to even make a comment about a tournament director being his “friend” is cause to pause. Does the tournament director owe him a favor? Over and above the rest of the field? Moron is not a strong enough word...I have always suspected this about Nadal. I wouldn’t put anything past him. He sees himself as a great manipulator of the truth...but in reality he isn’t that convincing. At least...not to me.
Well I was up in the middle of the night here in Sweden looking in on the foreplay of the early rounds and it was just as I wrote yesterday. I would have been laughing out loud, it was so comical, but I didn’t want to wake Frankie who was snoring peacefully in the next room. How many times did I witness players coming to the net and having absolutely no idea what the hell to do up there? The approach shots were atrocious. The volley skills non-existent. Marginal smashing. Even the drop shots were being totally mishandled as the ball was not sitting up like a huge cupcake begging to slugged into next week. Just think what will happen if they really do slick up the courts. The whole house of cards comes tumbling down. Say goodbye to your ATP forehand...it isn't suitable for play in the forecourt.
I watched quite a bit of tennis last night. I dropped in on a bunch of matches. It gave me a sense of deep satisfaction to watch the carnival on the tube...my “beloved” Imac. I watched Jerzy “Joe” Janowicz. tennis_chiro is not the only one watching this loose cannon. And at this point that is exactly what he is...a loose cannon. Serve and volley? Of course...but there is a problem. And skills. He is not tooled for the serve and volley game. It takes a mind set (right klacr?) and he isn’t geared for it. If he gets passed a couple of times he is liable to lay down on the court and have a temper tantrum. tennis_chiro was spot on as usual when he threw that shit fit down in Miami. It isn’t necessarily passion as I was hoping for...it is more like petulance.
But if Jerzy was properly schooled this would be a perfect venue for him with his flatter groundstrokes...as tennis_chiro is down on his knees praying that “The Kid” would get someone in his corner to teach him such tactics. He needs way more spin on his serve. It looks as if Djokovic and Federer has some inside information when they decided to hire the celebrity coaches to stand in for the usual. They needed some schooling in the approach and volley department. The dead school of net play. The rooster has come home to roost...and the rest of the field is ill prepared for it.
It’s a long shot...but for me it is the only shot. Roger just might have the conditions to his liking. The combination of the balls and the court with a brand spanking new “Excalibur” in his trusty hand...could he do it? Well it’s a romantic dream, but realistically probably not. The weather may just take it’s toll on him. But who knows? I could see him taking a less than 100 percent Andy Murray out with the playing conditions. Then anything could happen. The weather is going to take something out of everybody and if Roger can resurrect his old school game that he was brought up with...well I have to check myself here. It is probably too much to hope for...but on paper he is the one that has the schooling and the tools to work out this logistical problem of navigating the net.
The rest of them...sorry lobndropshot...Ferrer looked pretty darned uncomfortable playing on the faster surface. The big old Prince wasn’t big enough for him to learn to adapt to the speed of the court. But we will see about that little piece of business too. Tomas Burdych just may be another player who might benefit from shorter points.
This 2014 Australian Open is a huge story and could have some real impact on the future of modern tennis. Once the results are in and all of the geniuses and accountants have all of their facts and figures the powers that be will determine a ways forwards. Don’t count on them to do the right thing though...only the most economical thing.
But as far as the truth goes, klacr...I don't really know. I don't really claim to know. All that I can do is write something that represents a plausible reality...like a movie writer should do. Afterall...isn't that what we are all doing...just making pictures?
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2014 Australian Open...Melbourne, Australia
All of that being said...this tournament potentially could shape up to being one of the most interesting tournaments in recent history.
With the conditions being what they are and most of the players rather ill prepared for them we are going to witness a great deal of "improvisation". The eventual champion will be the man who best adapted himself to unsure conditions.
I am watching Wawrinka play Falla, a homey from Columbia, and the contrast of the court conditions is just as I have written. The lower and flatter trajectory has the advantage over the longer rallying heavy topspin. The opportunities at the net increase but with unsure technique it becomes an adventure.
It isn't only the uncertain net play either. The players that are all accustomed to high bounding, slower balls are going to be just a tad uncertain as they try and adjust to the bounce and speed that has grown to be monotonous on the tour. Plus their responses to players that are forced to come to the net are going to be a bit uncertain as well. Very interesting from a student of the game point of view. From a tactical and technique point of view. Fascinating stuff.
The results and outcomes may be less predictable than they have in the past. As I said...this could get interesting. That's a good thing.
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Heat ends in two more days!
Hey, don_budge,
pretty interesting match between Falla and Wawrinka. Wawrinka looking awfully good to me. Went off the boil just a little in the third. He's lucky they are playing a night match. But he looks to me like he's really confident with the way he is hitting the ball.
They only have two more days of heat. Rafa got a not before 2:00 in the third match of the day tomorrow, but Federer is not before 5, Del Potro is not before 6, Murray is a second night match and Monfils is fourth match of the day on his court. That would be an edge against Rafa, but he is playing an Aussie 17 year-old wild card. The heat will not be a factor for any of them; maybe Del Potro; he looked pretty tired from Williams (who needs desperately to learn to S&V) yesterday; he's struggling dragging that big body around, but he also looks very good. The forecast is for the temperature to drop 25 to 30 degrees F on Saturday; and that is supposed to hold next week.
don
Can't believe I am still up watching the fourth set of Falla/Wawrinka, but here I am. Fatigue is taking its toll. Falla is very good at playing possum.Comment
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Weather it is nobler...To Be or Not to Be-Come on Roger!
Very interesting tennis_chiro...aka "The Don" here on the forum. The weather is going to also be another factor when factoring in the conditions into the equation.Originally posted by tennis_chiro View Post
With a temperature drop this is another point in Roger Federer's favor if he is to have any chance at all. You see how tunnel visioned I am when it comes to the cast of characters. He is afterall..."The Living Proof" in the don_budge Paradigm of Tennis. The Kingdom of Tennis.
This tournament is going to get really interesting about the round of sixteen...that is my prediction.
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Fed was the king. NOw he's just a don.Comment
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Yes, interesting this temperature stuff. It will only take one marathon slug out to dent a player's chances in the next round. Heat like that is sapping. The top players will need to be efficient in the top half of the draw or they will play a hefty price when they meet each other in the quarters and semis. If the temperature were to stay as high at it is at the moment it would be hard to see a player from the top half winning the event...assuming Djokovic were to progress smoothly to the final, that is. I can see Murray, Federer and Nadal taking to much out of each other on the road to the final.
I am hoping Wawrinka will come through to give Djokovic a real run for his money. We can only hope.
I played a three set marathon in 36 degrees centigrade at a tournament in Portugal many years ago. My opponent threw the towel in feeling sick when I was 11-10 up in the third (no tiebreaks back then)
.That was bad enough! I can't imagine what it's like playing at tour pace in 42 degrees.
StottyComment
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Aussie Oven - Day 4
Originally posted by licensedcoach View PostYes, interesting this temperature stuff. It will only take one marathon slug out to dent a player's chances in the next round. Heat like that is sapping. The top players will need to be efficient in the top half of the draw or they will play a hefty price when they meet each other in the quarters and semis. If the temperature were to stay as high at it is at the moment it would be hard to see a player from the top half winning the event...assuming Djokovic were to progress smoothly to the final, that is. I can see Murray, Federer and Nadal taking to much out of each other on the road to the final.
I am hoping Wawrinka will come through to give Djokovic a real run for his money. We can only hope.
I played a three set marathon in 36 degrees centigrade at a tournament in Portugal many years ago. My opponent threw the towel in feeling sick when I was 11-10 up in the third (no tiebreaks back then).That was bad enough! I can't imagine what it's like playing at tour pace in 42 degrees.
Forecast for Melbourne Airport, Daily Temperature Highs according to Weather Channel, temperature in degrees Fahrenheit
Today, Thursday 1/16: 104
Friday, 1/17: 104
Saturday, 1/18: 70
Sunday, 1/19: 71
Monday, 1/20: 77
Tuesday, 1/21: 72
Wednesday, 1/22: 75
Thursday, 1/23: 86
Friday, 1/24: 74 and 60% chance of rain
Saturday, 1/25: 77 and 0% chance of rain as are all the other days except 1/24
Men play one semifinal Thursday, 1/23 but it is a night match. The women, however, will play two semifinals on that day and the second of those will face some challenge from the heat, but nothing like they are facing today and tomorrow.
Nadal is the only player in the top 8 who will face midday heat today and he is playing a junior ranked outside the top 500. It will still be warm today for the other top players, but they will be out of the sun. The heat may create opportunities for some underdogs: Sock against Monfils, especially Young who only played three sets against Seppi who went the distance with Hewitt; Seppi and Young are first match on show court three at 11AM. Lu/Dimitrov and Verdasco/Gabashvili could be right in the middle of the worst of the heat; also Cilic/Simon and Tsonga/Bellucci and Raonic/Hanescu. The really big guys have a hard time in these conditions. Accordingly, I'd give a little edge to Lu and Simon in otherwise even matches on paper.
You have to remember the temperature on a hard court is 20 degrees F hotter on the surface of the tennis court than the ambient temperature. I have also been told that three feet above the surface of the court where the heat is reflected back up on a sunny day over 100F, it can be 30 degrees above the ambient temperature. The only blessing is the humidity continues to be low. Balls should be flying really fast and that may help someone like Sock as well.
Of course, we have yet to see the schedule for tomorrow's matches for the third round in the bottom half. Berdych is facing a 21 y.o. 5' 9" Bosnian ranked 188. T-berd is not likely to wilt. Djokovic faces Istomin and the heat could help his S&V game, but Istomin is no grinder; Djokovic will continue without the loss of a set. But the other six matches in that half could all be battles of will and severely impacted by the heat. Mayer/Janowicz, Chardy/Ferrer, Wawrinka/Pospisil, Robredo/Gasquet and Fognini/Querry could all be dogfights. Even Anderson/Roger-Vasselin. Fitness could certainly play a major factor in all of those matches.
On the women's side, look for the heat to make Wozniacki and Stephens unusually vulnerable today. Wozniacki is playing Christinal McHale who can be very stubborn and Sloane is playing a 20 y.o Croatian newcomer with no picture or listed height or weight on the Aussie site who has risen to 67 in the world. Dangerous.
donComment
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Hej...tennis_chiro. Conditions?
Hej is the Swedish equivalent of hey. What do you think of the conditions?Originally posted by tennis_chiro View Post
But anyways I have been watching some tennis this morning here in snowy countryside of Sweden. Finally we have gotten some snow and below freezing weather. While the US was blanketed under a polar blanket of icy air the temperatures here have hovered around 6 to 8 celsius, or around 40 degrees fahrenheit. Like everything else here...when you are a foreigner you are stuck with conversions. Language, currency, measurements among them. The biggest is culture. It's tough to get a good handle on it.
Roger Federer seems to be pretty well acclimated. I just saw him give an interview in German. It was really impressive. Roger is the exception to the rule when it comes to interview as an athlete. If the conversation sticks to tennis you can listen up and get some pretty good insights. This morning he was asked the question as to how Stefan "Sleepy Bear" Edberg has influenced him and does he remember watching Edberg as he was growing up.
He began his reply with the comment that he grew up watching Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker and Pete Sampras and these were the players that he idolized and patterned his game after when he was on the verge of turning professional. Then his comments started to morph into the "engineering" of the game as I refer to it but he wasn't quite as explicit. He only referred to the "slowing" down of the game which in turn caused him to change his game from serve and volley attack mode to baseline counterpunch and attack.
I believe that his voice betrayed just a touch of irony as he was discussing the conditions under which the sport of tennis is being played. Not only that but we may be getting a glimpse of where the game is going in the future. As for Roger's on court performance he was on the attack.
He was taking advantage of the quick conditions the first two sets and the commentators spoke of his performance as being the best they had seen from him in a couple of years. Roger made mention of his aggressive serving tactics and taking the ball early. Clearly he remembers how the game was once being played in those days of early modern tennis with the Edberg, Becker and Sampras crowd. He backed off just a bit in the third set...but managed the straight set victory coming from 0-3 down in the third set tie-break.
For me...this is fascinating stuff as we are getting a glimpse and a clue as to just how tennis got to where it is today. One has to wonder how many more Slams Roger may have had in the bag if they hadn't gone into engineering mode. Players such as Fafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have really gotten the upper hand with the conditions starting to favor the more one dimensional baseline prototype player. Utterly fascinating...if you have any idea what all of this means historically speaking.
As tennis is a metaphor for life you can witness the influence of money and politics in the decision making process that led tennis away from its classic roots. While the approval of the engineering is nearly unanimous...I disapprove. The game was just fine the way that it was. The way the old timers used to play it was the way that it was supposed to be played. The game had elegance. The game had class. Now the powers that be will be monkeying around with the conditions trying to get a balance back...that will never happen. Federer knows what I am talking about.
Right now I am watching Gail Monfils and Jack Sock. Monfils is the type of player that stands to benefit from the conditions. He has Nadal looming in the next round. His match with Sock will give him a pretty good idea how he might fair in that one. This is going to get interesting...this tournament and as Roger noted..."the changing conditions".
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Heat and attitude...
Roger Federer was quoted as saying..."Just deal with it, because it's the same for both (players)".Originally posted by licensedcoach View PostYes, interesting this temperature stuff. It will only take one marathon slug out to dent a player's chances in the next round. Heat like that is sapping.
I played a three set marathon in 36 degrees centigrade at a tournament in Portugal many years ago. My opponent threw the towel in feeling sick when I was 11-10 up in the third (no tiebreaks back then).That was bad enough! I can't imagine what it's like playing at tour pace in 42 degrees.
Love the attitude. Reminds me of the old Aussie gang. Old school, classic, tough guy attitude. The guy is a classic. When he is gone...what will be left?
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roger is adjusting to his new racket
I thought I saw Roger exhibiting much more comfort with his larger headed racket. And I think I saw that he is hitting the high backhand much more aggressively. And showing no signs of problems with his back. That bodes well for his future encounters with Rafa. But he did lose his concentration and start to spray balls for just a few games in that third set. Up until that time, he was making Kavcic look more like a junior than someone in the top 100. I just hope someone notices how exciting the exchanges are with this combination of court speed and balls. Return of serve winners seem much more prevalent than service winners and aces.Originally posted by don_budge View Post
don
PS Sorry to see Delpo out. I think he paid the price for playing two five setters in a row. I didn't see any of it, but I suspect he just didn't have enough left for that 5th set. He was still huffing and puffing 5 minutes after his first match in the on-court interview. That's also why Federer has to eliminate those walkabouts he's been having the last couple of years and had yesterday in the third set for just a few games. Good thing for Federer is he slipped through the heat without any energy sapping matches and he won't face any really nasty conditions the rest of the way. And with Delpo out, unless Monfils pulls the upset next round, it is pretty surely Rafa vs Murray/Federer. Murray is showing pretty fine form as well making very short work of his opponents. The Federer/Murray match could weaken either of them for the Nadal match. If one of them could make the final, they would be at a small, but significant disadvantage to Djokovic, who will have an extra day of rest between semis and finals. Both men's semis are night matches. I would make Federer/Murray a night match as well if I were the TD. Djokovic's challenge will be to dispatch Wawrinka in the quarters without using too much energy so he is ready for the semis, perhaps against Berdych, who will have to recover, perhaps, from fighting Ferrer in the quarters. The draw has broken really well for Djokovic. I assume it is by the toss of a coin, but they should have had the top half play first and get the extra day of rest before the finals. Seems like a fitting reward for the number one seeding!Comment
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The results of a tennis player's off-season always get revealed at the Australian Open. All these layers are professional athletes. Are they surprised by the heat? They know they are going down to Australia (where it's summer). Shouldn't they expect the extreme heat? Have they ever gone down there and its been freezing.Originally posted by don_budge View PostRoger Federer was quoted as saying..."Just deal with it, because it's the same for both (players)".
Love the attitude. Reminds me of the old Aussie gang. Old school, classic, tough guy attitude. The guy is a classic. When he is gone...what will be left?
Much of the talk has been about how hot the conditions are and how it's unfair or inhumane to the players. I'd love to see these players teach 10 hours a day on court in 95% humidity in South Florida. Because that's what I deal with most days.
It may be hot, it may be tough going, but just understand that your opponent could be suffering more than you. Confidence in your fitness and belief in your physical stamina will get you far. Deal with it. If not, train a bit harder so it doesn't happen again.
Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca RatonComment
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