2015 French Open…ATP 2000...Roland Garros, Paris, France

[GeoffWilliams]

I agree. I was kind of on the fence, but Stan looks like he now has the best one hander in tennis. The spintracker feature on tennis channel was very interesting. It reported that Stan was hitting a virtually identical ball of his forehands and backhands. His average balls off both sides were high 70's mph's and 2700 plus rpm's. Courier pointed out Stan was the only player to produce these virtually identical balls off both sides.

On the average speed of shots, stan is at: 81mph fh, and 80mph bh, and a hundred rpm under on bh: 2772 vs 2675 or so bh rpms. No one else matches their fh rpm on average shot. He does have the best bh notwithstanding the crappy slice shots, that Nadal kills him when he hits them, and gaINS HIM NOTHING using the slice, as his does not bite, but lays up for clobbering.

IN his interview, he mentioned that the best thing Norman did for him was mental: getting him to believe he could beat the best, and he has.

[klacr]

Exclusive Company

Only 6 men have ever won both the Junior boys singles title and men's singles title at The French Open.

Ken Rosewall, Roy Emerson, Andres Gimeno, Mats Wilander, Ivan Lendl and Stan Wawrinka.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

I haven't seen the final yet but Stan must have been outstanding. It's not that Nadal (playing well) or Djokovic cannot be beaten, it's just that a player has to try to punch straight through them for three out of five sets...that's an awfully high level to sustain. Stan must have been really on form.

[klacr]

STANIMAL!!!!!!

What a match. He prolongs the Djokovic Roland Garros Coronation for one more year. Djokovic continues to have an Ahab-esque struggle with the mighty whale that eludes him.

"Call me Ishmael..."

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stroke]

Does anybody still think Feds' bh is better than Wawrinkas'? Not after today. He still missed too many first serves, and won anyway. Wow. Stylish shorts as well.

I agree. I was kind of on the fence, but Stan looks like he now has the best one hander in tennis. The spintracker feature on tennis channel was very interesting. It reported that Stan was hitting a virtually identical ball of his forehands and backhands. His average balls off both sides were high 70's mph's and 2700 plus rpm's. Courier pointed out Stan was the only player to produce these virtually identical balls off both sides.

[GeoffWilliams]

Great happiness for stan, who had to beat: Fed/Tsonga/Joker in a row in some tough heat. He's the one who brought the heat! Wow, just wow. Norman improved both his offense and his defense, and his mental toughness.

[don_budge]

Stan Wawrinka…2015 French Open Champion

Does anybody still think Feds' bh is better than Wawrinkas'? Not after today. He still missed too many first serves, and won anyway. Wow. Stylish shorts as well.

His backhand was great today…but more importantly so was his forehand. He maintained pressure on Novak Djokovic right until the end which is exactly what he had to do. His nerves held up and so he is the French Open Champion for 2015.

I don't think Novak played as well as he could for whatever reason. Huge victory for Wawrinka…he has done twice what the rest of the field has not been able to do.

[GeoffWilliams]

Does anybody still think Feds' bh is better than Wawrinkas'? Not after today. He still missed too many first serves, and won anyway. Wow. Stylish shorts as well.

[bottle]

Two Sets to One and Totally Dictating!

Hop Swiss!

[don_budge]

The Finals…The 2015 French Open, Roland Garros, Paris, France

I thought Murray had Djokovic for a moment, then all of a sudden Djokovic showed him a clean pair of heels in that fifth set.

Djokovic has that extra gear that no one else possesses. Federer has it when he is at his best but Djokovic has that uncanny ability to rebound...
Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

The 2015 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris, France. Man…it brings back memories from last year. Sitting in that cafe with that beautiful woman (and her boyfriend) with Frank (the Dutch dude born in 1984) and of course the ugly American. My best friend and best golfing buddy…Greg. The hotel manager who couldn't find anything right about the accommodations in Europe. From Amsterdam to Paris. Finally to Sweden. It's true. You cannot compare anything to America…it's right out of Disneyland. It was the greatest party this world has ever known.

I remember watching Roger Federer losing to Ernests Gulbis in the quarterfinals last year. Another inexplicable loss on the Maestro's part. This year he loses to his compatriot and Davis Cup partner Stan Wawrinka. He's getting close to the end of the line. Very close. The end of the line is where he no longer viably competes in Grand Slams to win. He has one more left in him. The comment about the extra gear was so applicable to Federer back some years ago. He would arrive at a point in the match where it seemed as if the match were hanging in the balance and then he would just turn it on and leave the opposition behind.

One might say that this is their trademark culmination point. We see now in Djokovic what we used to see in Federer. That point was the product of all that proceeded it in a match and even what had proceeded the actual match. It is "Match Play and the Spin of the Ball". The summation of the pressure that they put on their opponent. The physical and the psychological. Andy Murray may have appeared to have been on the verge of an upset but that was merely an illusion cast by the master. Andy merely dodged a bagel in the fifth and Djokovic pounded him into submission while giving the paying customers their money's worth.

Djokovic knows the score and he knows where the finish line is. He has it all down by numbers. He has mastered the modern game and he can ebb and flow with the best of the all time great players of the game…which is a far cry from saying that he is the greatest of all time. He is one who has mastered the game relative to his competition…which I maintain is historically slim.

Djokovic absorbs pressure as only the super tennis player can. He can take the best shots of his opponent and merely wait him out until he has shot his load…then he rights his ship and he proceeds to whittle and slash away until he has pared them down to a mere stick…and then he chops off their nuts. The classic castration…as illustrated in Psychology Today some 35 years ago. Tennis is a game where the two players are trying to castrate each other. You have the racquets that are symbolic of swords. The balls represent each other testicles. The game is played by viscerally attacking the opponents weaknesses until there is no resistance left and then you go in for the kill. Like any great championship teams Djokovic's game is based in his defence…in his ability to take the best of his opponents attempts to apply pressure and then turn it back on them with an increase in energy. Watching him neuter Nadal this year is a good case in point…on how he has learned and how he has mastered the game. He has let the game come to him…in the largest of senses.

There is only one question remaining. Can Stan Wawrinka keep up the pressure where all others have failed? The question within the question becomes that of his backhand. Can he apply enough pressure with this great stroke to accomplish the impossible? The seemingly impossible. To penetrate the defensive veneer of Djokovic. He has done it once before in a Grand Slam Final but Djokovic doesn't forget. His psyche is what is separating him from the herd these days. He will use that loss to make himself that much stronger and resilient…whereas Wawrinka will be trying to use that experience to get himself over the hump. Over the hump in the psychological balance and the physical act of neutering the opponent. Here is where Bill Tilden hit the proverbial nail on the head when he wrote his chapter on "Maintaining Pressure on Your Opponent".

Serena won yesterday in another drama fest. My wife commented that she doesn't walk like any woman that she has ever seen. They showed an amazing still shot of both of her hands and my eyes were quickly comparing the length of her ring finger and her index finger. My eyes cannot ever believe what they are seeing when they see Serena. That is one strange character.

[GeoffWilliams]

In order for Wawrinka to win:

Serve a lot of high quality first serves
Joker misses too many serves
Attack jokers second with deadly back hands
Joker takes it easy on his returns

Bring in joker to the net where his volley resembles mine! Look for the drop volley first.

Attack the back hand sharp cross and heavy flat dtl.

That and hope for a joker injury. Good luck on that game plan.

[klacr]

I thought Murray had Djokovic for a moment, then all of a sudden Djokovic showed him a clean pair of heels in that fifth set.

I hope Stan really does for it in the final. There is no other way

Djokovic has that extra gear that no one else possesses. Federer has it when he is at his best but Djokovic has that uncanny ability to rebound after what seems like a total momentum swing. Djokovic gets broken and he breaks right back. Djokovic loses set and he pounces early in next set to make it non-competitive.
I saw it in Miami during the final up close. Djokovic just too good...despite the lack of forecourt game Just sayin'

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

I thought Murray had Djokovic for a moment, then all of a sudden Djokovic showed him a clean pair of heels in that fifth set.

I hope Stan really does for it in the final. There is no other way

[stroke]

I just love Matts Wilander's commentary:

"There was once a time when players taped up their own blisters".

"We never had a team/entourage in my day...a coach yes".

"I don't remember having a toilet break. I just went before the match started"

"They need to find way to speed the game up. To make the game even more exciting than it is already"

He always finishes by saying:

"But these changes that have come about are all for the good of the game" But he is sooooo tongue in cheek when he says it. He's sending the game up, really.

He did a great job also on Serena's goings on yesterday. In a round about way he was telling the audience she was faking it.

He's good Matts. He calls it like it is without landing himself in trouble. Smart man.

Surely no one is even remotely surprised by any of Serena's drama and antics at this point.

[don_budge]

Tongue in cheek…or stating the obvious

I just love Matts Wilander's commentary:

"There was once a time when players taped up their own blisters".

"We never had a team/entourage in my day...a coach yes".

"I don't remember having a toilet break. I just went before the match started"

"They need to find way to speed the game up. To make the game even more exciting than it is already"

He always finishes by saying:

"But these changes that have come about are all for the good of the game" But he is sooooo tongue in cheek when he says it. He's sending the game up, really.

He did a great job also on Serena's goings on yesterday. In a round about way he was telling the audience she was faking it.

He's good Matts. He calls it like it is without landing himself in trouble. Smart man.

I had the good fortune to pose a question to Mats Wilander about some of these same issues last year. It was in a group setting and I was in the audience. I actually went through the formalities of trying to get an interview with him…for the website. Don't worry John…I didn't mention tennisplayer.net. I'm a free agent.

You can hear me at the very end of this video…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6QHksg4B2c

But Mats was very receptive to my question…it was concerning how can tennis be considered tennis anymore if some of the most entertaining aspects of the game such as net play, net approach, serve and volley etc. had been engineered out of it through the racquets, strings, courts and the rest of the nonsense. I mentioned the last all wood rivalry between John McEnroe and Björn Borg.

He seemed to totally agree with me and cited as an example that players such that play solely the backcourt should not be winning Wimbledon. He was stating the obvious…and the audience was puzzled. They were actually too young to understand the train of thought.

John McEnroe has had a spot on EuroSport all week and he has been taking jabs at the game all week. Again…all tongue in cheek. But not so…he is also stating the obvious and not being quite so nice as Wilander. The bathroom breaks, the big racquets, players demanding umpires be removed for enforcing the rules, the insidious compulsive use of towels, the bouncing of the ball in the preserve routine and on and on and on. I am not alone in being rabidly critical of the modern game. These two guys are a couple of the more "astute" minds in the business. But you know…it isn't even about being astute. It isn't rocket science. It is only common sense and being honest. Being honest is probably the key here. We are being taken down a little every day by "weapons of mass deception".

As for Serena's behavior…it's sickening. Barf bag please.