2014 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals…ATP 1500...London, England

[don_budge]

One Question...

Phew...

What's he got left?

[stotty]

Phew...

[stotty]

Phew...what Wawrinka would do for a 1st serve tonight (toss has been so low on his first serve yet not his second...weird).

[klacr]

Djokovic with a hiccup in 2nd set but let's be honest, was this match ever in doubt?

Federer vs. Wawrinka. A gorgeous forehand vs. a gorgeous backhand. Who wins? Fed has been in scary form, wawrinka not so much. Swiss friends turn into swiss enemies today. I'm picking Roger in straights.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Hmmm....4-6

LOL. What do I know?

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

4-5 in the third...crunch time

[stotty]

It was a terrible overrule. We shall see what Roger is made of. Wawrinka has been the more aggressive player for the match. It will make it difficult to have the confidence to pull this out.

While Wawrinka's 1st serve percentage remains low, there must still be hope,

[don_budge]

Tough Call...

What kind of an overrule was that! My final is in jeopardy again...

It was a terrible overrule. We shall see what Roger is made of. Wawrinka has been the more aggressive player for the match. It will make it difficult to have the confidence to pull this out.

[stotty]

What kind of an overrule was that! My final is in jeopardy again...

[don_budge]

All Square…a set apiece

Hmmm....4-6

A tight second set to boot. Wawrinka serving to stay in the second misses a backhand volley wide by an inch….0-15. He moves in behind a nice crosscourt backhand slice approach and forehand volleys deep into Roger's forehand but Roger cuts it off in the air and Wawrinka misses. Then Wawrinka misses a fairly easy overhead in the net and he nets a backhand to lose the set.

The most exciting set of the week…said Peter Fleming.

[stotty]

Phew...one set each...my dream final is still on course.

[stotty]

I'm picking Roger in straights.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Hmmm....4-6

[klacr]

Djokovic with a hiccup in 2nd set but let's be honest, was this match ever in doubt?

Federer vs. Wawrinka. A gorgeous forehand vs. a gorgeous backhand. Who wins? Fed has been in scary form, wawrinka not so much. Swiss friends turn into swiss enemies today. I'm picking Roger in straights.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

The Semi's of the 2014 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals...

I am not sure I have seen Federer play any better than this. He's been at his rampant best at times. I hope we get a Federer v Djokovic final. I make Djokovic a centimetre better but there isn't a lot in it. For the sake of a good final, we need 'em both to get through.

Of all the luck…the sponsors and money changers have their dream semifinals. They couldn't have "fixed" it any better. In one semi you have the all-Swiss Davis Cup semi of Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka and in the other you have the replay of the 2014 U. S. Open final between Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori that was perhaps one of the biggest upsets in the history of that tournament.

It looks like it has a good chance of coming down to than dream final of Stotty's. Just a little more foreplay…a little more window dressing and we get down to the main event. Roger is fine tuning and gaging every step of the way and meanwhile Novak Djokovic is just marching on.

Roger stands 14-2 head to head with his Davis Cup mate and Wawrinka has definitely been struggling with his confidence since winning the 2014 Australian Open. He doesn't seem comfortable wearing that big bull's eye on the back of his shirt. It is an interesting match for Federer psychologically wise as well. Afterall he just lambasted Andy Murray in a humiliating fashion…spanked him like a red-haired, left handed, unwanted step-child. What if he is in position to do the same to his Davis Cup partner? He can't do that…can he? You see the conundrum? Yet he knows that he cannot afford to play it soft as he is in assassin mode…gunning for Djokovic. He will need all of the incentives he can muster for that match.

Novak Djokovic on the other hand has his little nemesis to contend with. They stand head to head at 2-2. But give the psychological nod to Djokovic hands down. Kei Nishikori has been through the ringer since the U. S. Open and he too will have his share of problems living up to the expectations. Novak has a huge score to settle with Nishikori and Kei will definitely have to man up if he is to keep this close. Once Djokovic gets his claws in him he is not going to let up…that is for dead certain.

Match play psychology…right out of "Match Play and the Spin of the Ball". Bill Tilden is the book. Read it and weep all of you tennis maestros…and wannabes.

[stotty]

Federer sent a message too over on the other half of the draw to Mr. Djokovic. Just incidentally. The court is playing really slow which is lucky for Djokovic because otherwise it might change the complexion of things to come. Now you must listen and understand that this game has been fixed for a long time…the engineering is out of control.

I am not sure I have seen Federer play any better than this. He's been at his rampant best at times. I hope we get a Federer v Djokovic final. I make Djokovic a centimetre better but there isn't a lot in it. For the sake of a good final, we need 'em both to get through.

[hockeyscout]

Guess which context I was using. Get a life. It is one thing to counter shots with players that have no more in mind than camping out on the baseline but it is quite another against a player that is trying to disrupt your game by any means necessary. You cannot pussyfoot around with the latter. Murray played like a woman…look for the lesbian coach to disappear.

Your comments are embarrassing.

That girl had a lot of courage coming out of the closet at the age of 19 when others haven't over fear and pressure. Guys like you are the reason these people have to hide.

I really wish you had kids. If one of them was gay or a lesbian would you really care? No (I hope).

This woman is a winner (Wimbledon champion). A character individual, who worked her ass off to get to the top just as much as any man.

The guy you are talking about is Andy Murray, an icon, and men's Wimbledon Champion.

He's likely on so many pain killers, unable to get out of bed in the morning and trying his best to be a pro's pro and compete when he likely should be sitting this one out and thinking about his future, playing with his kids down the road and leading a normal life.

I've seen so many guys like this, in pain and can't even tie their shoes in the morning. You lose like this, it isn't because you are soft, its because your body has completely broken down. Up's and down's. I think Andy just pushed it to hard, and went over the limit.

Lets hope he takes his time, recovers, doesn't listen to guys like you who create unrealistic pressure and gets back into form on his own timeline, and no one else's.

I hope this coach gets a chance next year, as its sad health wasn't in her players corner so we could get a good evaluation of what she could accomplish with this player at this stage of his career.

Time for a bit more respect.