2015 Open 13…ATP 250...Marseille, France

[don_budge]

It's only an ATP 250 event but Stan Wawrinka is there…along with the lumbering Canadian, Milos Raonic. There are some good "bit" players also. Gael Monfils is a human highlight film. Wannabe's Jerzy Janowicz and Dominic Thiem may get to have a go of it…if Jerzy can see his way through #6 seed and up and comer David Goffin.

This is good practice for Wawrinka. If he can follow up last week's performance with similar results this week he is on the road to finding his form. He needs a good buildup going into the Slams this year. His preparation must be meticulous and leave no stone unturned.

Why not tweak that service motion…I ask? It doesn't matter that he is where he is. He has to tap reservoirs of unfilled potential. It's amusing that these guys have traveling coaches with them yet they don't seem to dare to ask for change. For improvement. My motto is continuous improvement. Remember Chuck Darwin's rule for "The Survival of the Fittest"? It's not the strongest or even the smartest…it's what? What is the key to survival? The ability to adapt.

Baby steps add up. I have noticed that when reviewing serving motion clips of the great Richard Gonzales or Don Budge that their motions changed noticeably during their careers. John McEnroe's serve went through a metamorphosis…and back again. Bjorn Borg's backhand went through some rather radical changes. Pete Sampras evolved. It goes without saying that Rod Laver did also.

The modern tennis player is cast in stone apparently. Rigid thinking. They could use a little injection of "bottle" I think. No imaginations. No thinking outside of the box. Mirroring society…good sheeple.

Here's the draw…read it and weep.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/share/event-draws.aspx?year=2015&eventid=496&draw=ms

[klacr]

Marseille always brings with it a nice pro turnout. A good stop on the ATP Tour. Should be Wawrinka's for the taking.

Ran into Marseille native Sebastian Grosjean the other day (he lives in Boca Raton, son is a tennis player) and exchanged pleasantries as we have met and collaborated before.
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...stien+grosjean

We got into a conversation about the tour and it's players, about why some players have a noticeable weakness, flaw or technical question mark in their game and never seem to address it. Grosjean just smiled and nodded his head. "it's all about confidence" he says. "Do they need to change, yes. Should they change? Yes. But how much will change affect their confidence when they are changing it Players now don't have the guts to take the risk for fear of losing everything. They will deal with status quo and hope for the best. The greatest players can do it. But not everyone, even on tour, is a great player"

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[GeoffWilliams]

It's all ground strokes to death now. No serving /volleying/over head (ever see Screechapova hit an over head?), practice at all for many pros and juniors. It's a pathetic and disgusting turn, exacerbated by equipment advances that dictate tactics.

[don_budge]

Stan Wawrinka vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky

This is an interesting match up only because of the undue attention that this bit player who plays serve and volley tennis in an age where going to the net is all but "against the law". Certainly one could say that it is against the cultural norm. But still he persists…and with some results.

One of the more interesting aspects of this match will be to see how Stan Wawrinka returns the Stakhovsky serve. Years ago when serve and volley was a viable option to playing the game of tennis the chip return at the feet of the approaching server was a good percentage play. Stan gets a fair amount of criticism for his use of the chip or drive slice, in his case, return of serve. Personally I think this criticism is unwarranted as the first rule of returning serve is and always will be get the ball in play. Why not reset the point after the serve and engage the opponent in this manner? It makes perfectly good sense to me.

When and if Wawrinka gets the ball low on the incoming server and at his feet the volley is going to be coming from below the net and watch for Wawrinka to pounce and pound. But that being said…the tactics that Sergiy is using these days in the world of modern tennis are so unusual that they are bound to be disruptive to players that need to have a nice boring, monotonous, one dimensional rhythm to play against. We cannot count him out before the match has been played.

Looking forwards to another opportunity to studying the Stan Wawrinka backhand that was so thoroughly and competently analyzed in this months issue of TennisPlayer. I have a printed copy of it in my office that I am studying and thinking about. No need for any graphs or devices.

Dominic Thiem also advances on the basis of a gift from David Goffin. Here's another backhand worth watching at least in terms of power. Whether or not it stands up to the heat of his opponents at this point…the jury is still out. I am beginning to wonder if he has anything else to back up the howitzer on his backhand. I am looking for a bit more intelligence in his play that I have yet to see.

[klacr]

Good analysis don_budge.

The Wawrinka-Stakhovsky match will be intriguing. Stakhovsky has a new coach in his corner this year, Fabrice Santoro. I give Edge to Wawrinka, but going into the match, Stan knows he will have to continually hit passing shots or execute good returns. Can he withstand the pressure? He should make it through.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Gilles Simon vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky

Good analysis don_budge.

The Wawrinka-Stakhovsky match will be intriguing. Stakhovsky has a new coach in his corner this year, Fabrice Santoro. I give Edge to Wawrinka, but going into the match, Stan knows he will have to continually hit passing shots or execute good returns. Can he withstand the pressure? He should make it through.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

I missed the Wawrinka-Stakhovsky match entirely. Unfortuneately…as I suspect there was a lot to glean with regards to Stan's level of play and with Sergiy's status in the food chain. I am going to watch a bit of Simon-Stakhovsky here to see what is going on with this rare bird. This serve and volleyer.

[don_budge]

Simon Gilles vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky (cont.)

I missed the Wawrinka-Stakhovsky match entirely. Unfortuneately…as I suspect there was a lot to glean with regards to Stan's level of play and with Sergiy's status in the food chain. I am going to watch a bit of Simon-Stakhovsky here to see what is going on with this rare bird. This serve and volleyer.

Segiy Stakhovsky has just won the first set against Gilles Simon 6-3. He didn't initially try to attack the net in the first couple of games but he has picked up the frequency as the set wore on.

One tactic that he is using very effectively is using the short ball to Simon's backhand to attack. He is forcing Simon to play in the forecourt more than I suspect that he would like to. It has proved to be very effective in the respect that he has dictated play in this regard. Then when he mixes in his serve and volley or his chip of return and follow to the net he really has Gilles off balance.

He uses the drop shot very effectively and waits just a moment to see how Simon has responded. By delaying his own intention to see what Gilles will do first has also proved to be a very good tactic as Simon has been out guessing himself time and time again and playing right into the hand of Stakhovsky. Pretty basic tactical stuff…at least it used to be. Not in vogue as of late…but very appealing as a change of pace. Can he sustain it?

Stakhovsky is a tall fellow at 6' 4" tall. He plays a nice one handed backhand. This all makes sense to me. All of these tall players…notably Tomas, Berdych, Jerzy Janowicz, John Isner and on and on are all playing a game that is not suited to their physiques or their potentials. This guy is pretty talented but he may not be the most talented in the pool…yet he is making a nice display of his game. So the question remains…why are all of these guys still playing the junior game? Why has nobody made a move to adapt and upset the apple cart? These are strange days…as if it is politically correct to teach tennis as if it is impossible to play the net or the forecourt.

[don_budge]

Simon Gilles vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky (The End)

This is an interesting match up only because of the undue attention that this bit player who plays serve and volley tennis in an age where going to the net is all but "against the law". Certainly one could say that it is against the cultural norm. But still he persists…and with some results.

Can he sustain it?

Sirguy Stakhovsky answered my question and it was a resounding…NO!!! He couldn't sustain the pressure on Gilles Simon. It could be that a bit of fatigue set in upon the tall and lanky Stakhovsky. He is not actual specimen that can do this stuff on a night in and night out basis. I question his endurance and his stamina.

He sure has some nice pieces of the puzzle but at the same time he is lacking. For one thing his serve is not the toughest or the strongest to be able to continually charge the net behind. These guys will get a grip on things eventually with the velcro courts and the spinning strings. Once they zero in it gets tougher and tougher to make those tracks to the net. Sirgey never did get the serve and volley attack going on a consistent basis. He tried to play a bit of cat and mouse all court tennis but in the end there are a couple of questions about his game other than the serve.

The backhand for one is not as tough as it needs to be. He makes a nice classic slicing motion and he can come over the ball. He makes good use of the whole court and if it is indeed Fabrice Santoro in his corner then that makes sense to. The Stakhovsky volleys while being gallant in his persistence to make his way to the net are not the most penetrating either. Overall…there are elements of his game that seem somewhat mediocre…compared to the players in the top echelon of the game. He will have a difficult time holding his own from the backcourt once his Plan A is found lacking.

Give him an A for effort though. If nothing else he does demonstrate that their is an alternative set of tactics in the game of tennis that is being left largely unexplored. The men are playing the junior game. I can admire the athleticism but it certainly leaves a lot to be desired in terms of imagination.

I wish that I would have had a chance to see his match with Wawrinka. That may have been more telling.

[don_budge]

Gael Monfils vs. Gilles Simon (finals)

Fascinating match between the two French men.

http://live.drakulastream.eu/players/free-live-video-streaming-simon-stakhovsky-atp-marseille-tennis-atp-12180.html

[don_budge]

Gael Monfils vs. Gilles Simon (The End)

Fascinating match between the two French men.

http://live.drakulastream.eu/players/free-live-video-streaming-simon-stakhovsky-atp-marseille-tennis-atp-12180.html

I hate to admit it…almost. Very entertaining stuff from Monsieur's Monfils and Simon.

First set to Gilles Simon 6-4. A titanic game at 3-3…the seventh game in the first set. The seventh game is the most important game according to the book on tennis strategy and tactics…and you know who the book is. There must have been 10 deuces and each of the deuce and break points were hotly contested. Monfils was changing the strategy and tactics with every point…indeed with every shot. He was soft slicing to the Simon backhand. He was drop shotting…then lobbing. Or cross-courting and down the lining. Wonderful change of pace…points within points. Soft balling…power tennis. Simon for his part was serving and just struggling to hold. But he played aggressively throughout and took his share of lumps as Monfils jerked him around the whole court. Up and back…side to side.

Monfils played the artist with extraordinary athletic skills while Simon played the disciplinarian and stuck to his guns. The disciplinarian won the set and it was on to set two.

Set two was all Monfils. Simon struggled so hard to win the first he needed what amounted to a break…a breather in the second. So he took a rest and Monfils steamrolled him 6-1. Now it was a power display from Monfils as he sensed he had his man on the ropes and he just rocked him at will. With rights and lefts…forehands and backhands. Simon was taking it on the chin but in the back of his mind he was laying low for the third and deciding. His only hope was could Monfils sustain what he was doing.

The third set was rock solid from both players. Monfils alternated from his cat and mouse to his power antics. His court coverage was exceptional as Simon was slashing the ball into the corners and from side to side. Pinning Monfils over on the backhand and then blasting reverse down the line. It came down to a third set tie-break which Simon won 7-4.

Quite a match…a couple of French guys getting warmed up for the real deal. The real deal? Why life of course…the Parisian hour. Starting promptly at 6 pm. They finished just in time. Great stuff from both players.