Time to separate the men from the boys!

[hockeyscout]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0ffr8HmkPk

Good highlight video.

[don_budge]

MIA's...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0ffr8HmkPk

Good highlight video.

Interesting to note how these "big hits" are set up with some subtle or not so subtle manoeuvring of the opponent. Two notable MIA's on the tour…Söderling and Del Potro. With a sport so lacking of big name draws it can ill afford to lose these guys. That being said…not too many people will miss Robin Söderling. Personality wise he has a terrible reputation.

[hockeyscout]

Interesting to note how these "big hits" are set up with some subtle or not so subtle manoeuvring of the opponent. Two notable MIA's on the tour…Söderling and Del Potro. With a sport so lacking of big name draws it can ill afford to lose these guys. That being said…not too many people will miss Robin Söderling. Personality wise he has a terrible reputation.

It'd will be interesting to see a woman playing this type of cat - mouse game.

[klacr]

Interesting to see Federer in many of these clips. Not only hitting the shots, but having shots hit against him. A further credit to Federer. Players have to raise their level against him.

Those shots Monfils hits are straight from a circus. How scary would he be if he gained some discipline and committed himself fully to the sport as a player and competitor, not just a showman. Athetic skills and talent in abundance.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[GeoffWilliams]

Monfils is a player screaming for a coach like Lendl or Gilbert who would demand discipline out of him. That said, he would soon fire them both for that very reason. Sad to see such a lack amongst such plenty.

[hockeyscout]

Monfils is a player screaming for a coach like Lendl or Gilbert who would demand discipline out of him. That said, he would soon fire them both for that very reason. Sad to see such a lack amongst such plenty.

Impossible IMO. No, make that mission impossible. You can't teach game sense (in any sport). Zero intelligence or instincts. A great retriever, however, that'll only take you so far. Great speed, yes, however, its not intelligent foot speed say like Roger. You need to get to the ball in any sport at the right time, and M gets their when the play is chaotically collapsing on him all the time and he's got to freelance, and be inventive and make 1-10 look like a circus shot and fool everyone into thinking their is some great untapped potential or talent when their really isn't. The hockey player Gretzky, he was not fast, but no one ever caught him. That is field speed. Other guys could fly, but, it didn't matter as they had no ability to get to where they needed to be (time and place) in the proper position to turn the play into a offensive winning situation. RAW speed is where people go wrong in every sport evaluation, when they should be looking for who has the most intelligent feet and arrives at just the right time.

[klacr]

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[hockeyscout]

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Athletic intelligence and controlled - smart hips beat them all And, Gail has that 1 out of 10 shots. Roger brings it to the table every shot.

[don_budge]

Gael Monfils…The Amazing Mr. Monfils

Monfils is a player screaming for a coach like Lendl or Gilbert who would demand discipline out of him. That said, he would soon fire them both for that very reason. Sad to see such a lack amongst such plenty.

"The Negroes in the forest brightly feathered
They are saying, "Forget the night
Live with us in forests of azure
Out here on the perimeter there are no stars
Out here we is stoned immaculate"

The Doors - The Wasp Lyrics

Gael is not interested in either of those two. But he isn't much interested in being told what to do generally speaking. He doesn't like that. I can assure you on that one. Perhaps someone a bit less conventional…French no less. Perhaps the little two-handed guy coaching Sergiy Stakhovsky…the volleying Ukraine.

Monfils doesn't conveniently fit into a mold and defies conventional wisdom sometimes. He defies logic at other times. But his strokes are some of the best in the business. Come to think if it he is downright defiant. His athleticism is raw and he moves like a cat. Sometimes his attention span is questionable…afterall when you are Gael Monfils there is usually a party to go to.

He may have lost some tennis matches because of his "attitude" but he hasn't missed out on much in life…I would hazard a guess. He projects in his tennis game the way that he feels about life. C'est la vie.

Besides…he gives Roger fits. That's enough for "The Amazing Mr. Monfils". It helps him to sleep better at night.