2014 Wimbledon Championships...London, England

[hockeyscout]

Good modern day example for you Phil.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Hopefully we can get this track back on thread. Whoever, posted the photo of the player serving (klacr). That's great. It was a big help (one of it's three points). It's nice big time coaches like Kyle come on here and confirm it's the right model as well because it removes any doubt quick and fast tracks things! It's given me an interesting idea that tested out rather well today.

[gzhpcu]

I made the picture from a YouTube video and added the comments. It is what I am concentrating on doing...

[don_budge]

Round of 16...continued

Separating the chaff from the wheat...the theme of the round of 16 in any Grand Slam event.

Tommy Robredo versus Roger Federer. Truly if there was ever a chaff and wheat comparison this would surely be one. While Tommy Robredo is a tried and true veteran of professional tennis...Roger Federer is the gold standard. Last year...as it stands now...Robredo had the great misfortune to upset Roger at the U. S. Open after ten straight defeats at the hands of the great Swiss Maestro. Look for a mean glint in the eye of Roger Federer as he takes on the role of the Avenger. He hates to lose in Slams...and he hates those who beat him until he can get his hands on their jugular one more time. The new racquet has renewed the vigor of Roger and we shall see a stark comparison of last years old Excalibur model to the new beefed up stick. You can do it...Roger.

Stanislas Wawrinka versus Feliciano Lopez. A couple of great first names. See my comments in post number the one before the last. An intriguing match up before the players take the court. The left handed and tactical acumen game against the slugger from Switzerland. It somehow wouldn't surprise me to see Feliciano give Stanislas fits today. That big wind up on the backhand just might not be as effective if Lopez can get that ball to lay down. Not only that but the left handed serving tactics might just keep Wawrinka at bay on his serve. Lopez has stood right up to the big boys all month...there is absolutely no reason for him to back down now. He held match point on Grigor Dimitrov a couple of weeks ago in the finals of another event...this guy is match tough and looking for a fight. This could be a really interesting cat and mouse match. Who is going to be the cat and who is going to be the mouse? Tactics are going to dictate play here...and technique contributes greatly to tactics. This game is resembling what used to be referred to as "tennis". These two have played five times before with Stan up 3-2 in some tight matches. They know each other and they are about to get to know each other just a bit better.

Milos Raonic versus Kei Nishikori. David and Goliath? Can everyone see it? The big serving, lumbering Lumber Jack Canuck and the swift sword of the Samurai. Another great matchup in terms of polar opposites. I saw Milos against Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros last month and he was a fish out of water. Trying to engage the Grim Reaper on his own terms from the backcourt. Milos is another of these guys with loads of athletic ability that is not playing the game the way it was intended to be played. With such a huge serve...will someone please tell me why he does not venture to the net to pick any hapless replies out of the air and swat them away. If Kei can get Milos to play his game and engage from the backcourt...well, we shall see what we shall see. Kei owns Raonic head to head 2-0...a victory each on hard courts and clay. This would complete the triumphrate.

Rafael Nadal versus Nick Kyrgios. My goodness...too bad it isn't the fourth of July. Here are some real fire works waiting to happen. Nadal has lost to a couple of big hitting players in recent years and look at what he is up against. Here is some round of 16 drama for you...New Kid on the Block against you know who. The Darth Vader of modern tennis. You have to hate him.

Read 'em and weep. It's the separation of the men from the boys. Some really good match ups. Don't you think so?

[hockeyscout]

I made the picture from a YouTube video and added the comments. It is what I am concentrating on doing...

It is excellent! Great concept. My compliments. Not sure why, however, it hit home and made me think long and hard about an important concept we should be internally discussing here.

[stroke]

I still am picking Fed to win his one last major right here.

[don_budge]

Nadal..the Skunk

Nadal loses the first set so what does he do? He leaves the court...the con artist. What a skunk!

[stroke]

Kyrgios up 2 sets to one vs Nadal. His consistent quick pace of play while serving seems to be getting to Nadal. It does not seem to vary at all even on bigger points. This is quite the match. Maybe Nadal will go away in this match, probably not though.

[gzhpcu]

Great to see Kyrgios win over Gasquet. Lots of self-confidence, great serve. Is this the heir to Philippoussis? Another Greek Australian. Hope so! Hope he beats Rafa!

My wish came through! There is a new kid on the block! Go Kyrgios!

[stotty]

Missed the match...never heard of the kid...never seen him play. The only guys who beat Nadal are the big, flat hitters. Was it this way with Kyri...whatever is name is?

A match report from stroke, don_budge...anyone...would be most welcome.

I will try and catch the highlights later.

[gzhpcu]

Kyrgios is full of self-confidence, does not crack under pressure, showing a maturity way beyond his age/ranking. Tall, served about 40 aces, second serve not much slower than his first service, hit flat, long and close to the sidelines. Takes very little time serving, which surely irritated Nadal. Very aggressive player, hits very hard and precise. Very enjoyable match. He now comes up against another big server, Raonic. I am betting he will win... very impressed...

[stotty]

Kyrgios is full of self-confidence, does not crack under pressure, showing a maturity way beyond his age/ranking. Tall, served about 40 aces, second serve not much slower than his first service, hit flat, long and close to the sidelines. Takes very little time serving, which surely irritated Nadal. Very aggressive player, hits very hard and precise. Very enjoyable match. He now comes up against another big server, Raonic. I am betting he will win... very impressed...

Thanks Phil. I was betting he might be a big hitter. If a player can hit big and on the flat side, he has a chance to punch his way through Nadal. Most of the historic, big wins against Nadal have come this way.

At Wimbledon this year, many players were hitting flat, especially on the backhand wing. Dolgopolov and Jerzy were hitting very flat...and many other players too. For all the talk of RPM's it doesn't seem as widely employed as people suggest.

I like the idea of a fast tempo server...it's been a long time coming.

[don_budge]

Stotty: The Match...the New Kid in Town

http://www.google.se/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=the+new+kid+in+town+eagles&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&gfe_rd=cr&ei=QxazU5HFIujJ8gfyi4DgDA

Near as I can remember...

First set to Kyrgios in a tiebreak. No breaks of serve. Second set...Nadal breaks the kid at 4-5 to even it up. Third set no breaks of serve...on set point Nadal serving to the ad court on a second serve he serves wide to the Kyrgios backhand but Kyrgios runs way around it and hits an unbelievable reverse cross court forehand that Nadal cannot even dream of reaching.

Was it you that was writing about a return that Djokovic hit against Tsonga...klacr confirming it was the best he had every seen? How could it have topped this one? The kid had the balls to just rip it on set point. No fear. Stupid as he is young. Unbelievable.

Immaculate serving from Nick...he served it out at love. Never flinched as gzhpcu says. Never backed away an inch. Just kept moving in...hugging the baseline and went toe to toe with Nadal the whole way. Nadal didn't play all that bad...but the kid was on top of him from the getgo and never let up. The announcers were speculating that he might hang his head a bit after losing the second set but he just went back to work. Pounding his serve and his groundstrokes.

The backhand is very deceptive...he doesn't seem to take such a big swing but it is flat and penetrating. He is hitting it deep and hard or he is hitting some really acute angles to the ad court. He also knocked several down the line for good measure. The forehand is just a bit peculiar as well...in the style in which he takes it back but he doesn't let up on anything...just goes for it. Yet he played smart...he wasn't going for it stupid. He was calculating. Very impressive...you missed a good match but you should easily pick it up on youtube soon. Sorry you missed it old boy...and thanks for being the gentleman we all know you are.

[don_budge]

Fast tempo...advantage server

Yep...the tempo was extremely fast the whole match. McEnroe was chuckling at one point saying that Nadal barely had time to look up at the serve was coming down the pipe.

It was amazing to see the prima donna hang on to his tic routines pre serve rituals...almost pathetic. He barely had time to pick his ass on the return of serve because jolly young Nick was ready to shove it where the sun don't shine. What a great win for a 19 year old kid. The last time that a 19 year old kid unseated the number one player in the world was when Nadal was 19 and he defeated Federer at Roland Garros...I didn't catch the year.

What goes round...comes round. Apparently.

[don_budge]

Remember Jerzy "Joe" Janowicz

It's kind of funny...Jerzy "Joe" caught our eye through tennis_chiro a couple of years ago and we were sort of waiting around for him to catch on fire and here comes this wild card out of nowhere who just caught the extremely hot hand. I heard him announce he wants to be number one in the world after he five setted Gasquet. He sort of backed up the big talk...but now he is going to keep his head on straight.

He has a winnable match against Raonic coming up. He will have the reach to get his racquet on the Raonic delivery which Nishikori did not. Very interesting.

[stotty]

I just caught some highlights. I love the kid's backhand. He hits it hard (looks real flat) and disguises the down the line really well. He picks exactly the right time to hit the down the liner too...perfect from the handful of shots they showed.

The set point in the third was remarkable. He hit an acutely angled forehand straight into the lion's mouth. No one was expecting that, especially Nadal, who was caught flat and was wrong-footed. That was a masterful decision. He meant it too. That was smart.