2015 Halle…ATP 500…Halle, Germany

[don_budge]

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/current/halle/500/draws

Just because Roger Federer is in the draw makes this an event of note. Otherwise…well, you know.

His second round looks a bit ominous. Ernests Gulbis or Sergiy Stakhovsky. Both players have beaten Federer on bigger stages. Sergiy is headed in the right direction…he has climbed steadily up the ladder since beating Roger at Wimbledon a couple or few years ago when he was a rather unknown player ranked some hundred and something. He is being coached by Fabrice Santoro which at first may seem a curious choice because of their different playing styles. But Fabrice has shown himself to be one of the cleverest of players in recent history and surely can adapt himself to any style of play…coaching wise. He was something of a chameleon as a player as well.

Thomas Berdych and Tommy Haas in the house as well. The boys are only warming up for the Big One. Wimbledon on the horizon.

[stotty]

More grass, please.

These grass tournaments have too low a status in my view and are merely limbering up events. Players at Queens Club have been known to exit once they feel they have had enough practice.

I would make a a couple of these grass court tournament 1000 events just to liven things up. Far too tournaments are played on soulless hard courts for my liking. It would be a step in the right direction to lengthen the grass court season.

You have to fancy Federer to sweep though Halle. Gulbis is hardly doing anything these days, and Stakhovsky has surely had his 15 minutes.

[klacr]

Fed squeaked by Kohlschreiber in a 3rd set tie-break.

Kohlschreiber is tough out as a first round match on any surface vs. any player. Guy is a baller.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Don't forget...

You have to fancy Federer to sweep though Halle. Gulbis is hardly doing anything these days, and Stakhovsky has surely had his 15 minutes.

Fed squeaked by Kohlschreiber in a 3rd set tie-break.

Kohlschreiber is tough out as a first round match on any surface vs. any player. Guy is a baller.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

I was going to say when I read Stotty's post…don't forget "The Cabbage Patch Kid"…Kohlschreiber.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/halle-2015-monday-federer-falls-on-back-makes-shot

[klacr]

Federer and Berdych on collision course for semis in Halle.

Fed made it past the Baltic Billionaire Boy Ernests Gulbis.

Berdych took a young Borna Coric to the woodshed.

For 1 month, I get to enjoy tennis on the grass. I just wish someone told the players that.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Roger Federer…The Living Proof (Live from Halle, Germany)

Federer and Berdych on collision course for semis in Halle.

Fed made it past the Baltic Billionaire Boy Ernests Gulbis.

Berdych took a young Borna Coric to the woodshed.

For 1 month, I get to enjoy tennis on the grass. I just wish someone told the players that.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

He's an amazing guy. I had a dream today when taking a nap…we were hanging out. It was a cool dream…he was a cool guy in my dream. We were buddies hanging at the local public tennis courts back in Dearborn, Michigan. We were at Ford Woods…right on Ford Road near the Mike Adray Ice Arena. He had a couple of lessons to do…maybe it was only one. I was astonished that a guy with his billions would take a job like that. He only said to me…"hey…it's not a bad gig. I get paid to hang around the tennis court". He laughed at my incredulousness.

Borna Coric certainly wasn't borna to play on the grass. He looked like a fish out of water to put it mildly. I sort of paid tribute to him indirectly in the "Grass Court Play…Criticism of the Modern Tennis Player" thread. Actually we could devote the next month of grass court play to that thread alone…except I am certain that tennis_chiro will reprimand me about not being positive.

But as for Coric…he had no slice backhand. He had no idea about how to approach the net. He had absolutely no inclination to serve and volley. When he did get to the net…he looked as if he was wondering how in the hell did he get there.

A semi-final matchup between Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych would certainly be nice. If only to watch you go through your mental gymnastics as to who to pull for. Roger told me in my dream that he has absolutely no qualms about the "Quirky" one, Florian Mayer, but he also told me that Berdych may have his hands full of Ivo Karlovic if Ivo starts to ride a hot hand.

[don_budge]

45 aces…bye bye Birdie

A semi-final matchup between Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych would certainly be nice. If only to watch you go through your mental gymnastics as to who to pull for. Roger told me in my dream that he has absolutely no qualms about the "Quirky" one, Florian Mayer, but he also told me that Berdych may have his hands full of Ivo Karlovic if Ivo starts to ride a hot hand.

Ivo Karlovic 45 aces to take out Tomas Berdych in three sets. Another good example to roll back the size of the racquet. Berdych had this aura of disbelief about him. He seemed to be rather stupefied and annoyed at the same time. You could almost hear his thoughts…"this ain't tennis".

[klacr]

Ivo Karlovic 45 aces to take out Tomas Berdych in three sets. Another good example to role back the size of the racquet. Berdych had this aura of disbelief about him. He seemed to be rather stupefied and annoyed at the same time. You could almost here his thoughts…"this ain't tennis".

Bingo.

So frustratng to deal with a guy that won't let you in rallies and engage. It's disruption to the highest degree. Berdych was not happy but new it was out of his hands. How many aces does Karlovic get tomorrow vs. Fed?

Karlovic now holds sole possession of ace record in best of three set match with 45. He held previous record of 44 along with Mark Philippoussis (Kuala Lumpur 1995)

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

"This ain't tennis"…Tomas Berdych

No…it isn't Tomas. I sympathize with you and what's more…I warned the tennis world 35 years ago.

I watched Roger "The Living Proof" Federer knife through Florian "The Quirky One" Mayer. Federer came out guns blazing with a bagel in the first set and then settled down for a bit of practice and finished off the day with a harmless tie-break. Nice piece of work…Buddy.

Jerzy Janowicz showed a nice bit of resolve to pull out the second set but didn't have what it takes in the third set. This is a step forward for "The Big Pole" though. His tendency has been to disappear when the going gets tough. When the going gets tough, the tough get going…and that is exactly what Nishikori did in the third set. Jerzy has to take it up two more notches and I wonder if he has it in him. His game doesn't have much margin for error built into it and his psyche doesn't have a lot of patience built into it for that matter. Two contradictory matters that he will have to iron out in the future.

Ivo Karlovic aced Tomas Berdych into next week. The commentatoes were gushing about the service power of the towering Ivo but to me it looks absurd and the tennis is just plain ugly. Berdych's expression was on the same page as me…he was pretty much disgusted about the lack of tennis that wasn't being played. He put up a game fight though but Karlovic's serve was just from another planet. There was no way to establish any sort of rhythm or rhyme either. No rhyme or reason. The tennis officialdom deserve to have Ivo in the finals of Wimbledon to demonstrate what a monstrosity they have made of the game.

Andreas Seppi ran into the other Gael Monfils yesterday. The one that isn't so amazing. Gael ran out of desire early on. Arguably he never had it yesterday. He retired after a set of disinterest and lack of heart. Who knows…maybe he was really injured or was it just a combination of too much partying and too little dedication. Whatever it was…he certainly will have plenty of energy for the weekend. The party continues at any rate.

Hopefully Ivo Karlovic cools off just a tad and Roger gets to play some tennis. Otherwise it will by a shootout in the tiebreaker zone. Roger knows how to serve the big oaf and it probably more unlikely that Ivo will break Roger's serve than the reverse.

[don_budge]

Karlovic slacks off…only twenty aces.

No…it isn't Tomas. I sympathize with you and what's more…I warned the tennis world 35 years ago.

Hopefully Ivo Karlovic cools off just a tad and Roger gets to play some tennis. Otherwise it will by a shootout in the tiebreaker zone. Roger knows how to serve the big oaf and it probably more unlikely that Ivo will break Roger's serve than the reverse.

Ivo Karlovic continued to hold serve but Roger Federer managed to make it look somewhat like a tennis match even though Ivo played as if he was swatting flies. One swing…"One Shot" like Christopher Walken kept repeating as he played Russian Roulette in the Deer Hunter. Ivo cooled off to twenty aces but Roger matched him in holding serve and just nicked him enough in the tie-breaker to break on through…to the other side.

The other side just happens to be against his old whipping boy…Andreas Seppi. I didn't hang around to watch Seppi and Nishikori…lucky for me. Federer beat Seppi at Indian Wells to avenge his defeat at the Australian Open but that was not enough. It will never be enough for Federer now as far as Seppi is concerned. How dare he…at a Grand Slam no less. Andreas set to pay the price tomorrow on the grass. Federer will have every opportunity to slice and dice the Italian tomorrow on German grass.

Roger's performance against Karlovic was absolutely as elegant as it possibly could be. Any match against the impossible serving Karlovic is going to look ugly but somehow the effortless elegance of Federer makes it a tennis match. One of the commentatoes summoned the name of "John McEnroe" during the match. I am not the only one that remembers the bad one. He was referring to Karlovic's slice backhand and the commentatoe said that his slice wasn't up to the slice of McEnroe. It's amazing that memories of McEnroe…and Borg…thirty some years later still persist. Well…why not? It was compelling stuff.

[hockeyscout]

Any chance?

Any chance you could put your service motion online here don_budge?

[hockeyscout]

Ivo Karlovic continued to hold serve but Roger Federer managed to make it look somewhat like a tennis match even though Ivo played as if he was swatting flies. One swing…"One Shot" like Christopher Walken kept repeating as he played Russian Roulette in the Deer Hunter. Ivo cooled off to twenty aces but Roger matched him in holding serve and just nicked him enough in the tie-breaker to break on through…to the other side.

The other side just happens to be against his old whipping boy…Andreas Seppi. I didn't hang around to watch Seppi and Nishikori…lucky for me. Federer beat Seppi at Indian Wells to avenge his defeat at the Australian Open but that was not enough. It will never be enough for Federer now as far as Seppi is concerned. How dare he…at a Grand Slam no less. Andreas set to pay the price tomorrow on the grass. Federer will have every opportunity to slice and dice the Italian tomorrow on German grass.

Roger's performance against Karlovic was absolutely as elegant as it possibly could be. Any match against the impossible serving Karlovic is going to look ugly but somehow the effortless elegance of Federer makes it a tennis match. One of the commentatoes summoned the name of "John McEnroe" during the match. I am not the only one that remembers the bad one. He was referring to Karlovic's slice backhand and the commentatoe said that his slice wasn't up to the slice of McEnroe. It's amazing that memories of McEnroe…and Borg…thirty some years later still persist. Well…why not? It was compelling stuff.

I guess Roger Federer is a superior player in the return to serve game. His two most underrated skill-sets in my opinion, smart serve - return to serve. Those two deals will take you a long way.

[don_budge]

In process…first it is an idea

Any chance you could put your service motion online here don_budge?

Thanks for asking. I am trying to arrange some video of my protege Gustaf, here in Sweden as well. Coming soon…to a theatre near you.

[don_budge]

Once again…The King Roger Federer

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/score...alle/500/draws

Just because Roger Federer is in the draw makes this an event of note. Otherwise…well, you know.

The boys are only warming up for the Big One. Wimbledon on the horizon.

Now the draw is complete and Roger Federer's name is in the winner's place. A fitting warmup for the Big One…Wimbledon. This may be Roger's very last chance for one more fleeting glimpse of victory in a three out of five format. He played this warmup event to a tee. His play over Ivo Karlovic and Andreas Seppi in the final two rounds were fitting as early round match ups for the Wimbledon Championships.

After surviving the serving onslaught of Big Bad Ivo he dealt nicely with the very solid off of the ground and very solid serving Seppi. In the first set he merely held serve and then he turned on the turbo chargers in the tie-break. The second set was a routine break of serve late in the set followed by a routine service game to close out the set. Everything neatly done when it had to be done. Timing is everything…in tennis and in life. The great ones make it look as if it is preordained. It is destiny calling.

Seppi has unwittingly put himself on Roger's hit list. Be defeating him at the Australian on a day when nothing seemed to work particularly well for the Swiss he has set himself up for careful attention now. Every time he is on the opposite side of the court Federer watches him just a bit closer now than he ever did before. He now owns a 12-1 career head to head against the Italian but that mark will always be forgotten and only that one glitch will be in the memory of Roger. This is the assassin mind set. He is going to need it the entire fort night at Wimbledon as the opponents will get bigger and more imposing as the rounds go on. The draw may have a lot to do with it but so does his experience.

Roger is the player who makes the difference. You know it…I know it. What is more the tournament guys know it…that's why he gets paid the big bucks. He is the one commanding presence in the game. As good as Novak Djokovic plays or Andy Murray plays or Rafael Nadal plays…these guys are one-trick ponies compared to Federer. Only he can electrify the crowd with classical all court play. This is what the paying customer wants to see…it's a pity they are getting short changed.

It's on to Wimbledon…for one last try. I hope that it is a gallant try too. His chapter as a player is coming to an end. I noticed that when he took off his headband that his hairline seems to have receded somewhat. He's ageing. He's human afterall. There's no crime in that. The only "crime" is that there is nobody to replace him with. When he leaves you will hear the sound of a giant sucking…the air leaving a balloon. Elvis leaving the stadium.

[klacr]

The win in Halle yesterday marks the 86th career title for Roger Federer. He is 3rd on the all time career title list behind Lendl (94 titles) and Jimmy Connors (109 titles).

Of the 86 titles, 15 of them have come on grass. Imagine how many more titles he'd have if the grass court season was longer than 3 weeks or if 3 of the 4 grand slams were played on grass like before.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton