2016 Australian Open Tennis Championships

[don_budge]

Jetlag…lobndropshot steps up!

We left Denver Saturday morning, forty-one hours of travel and five hours of sleep later. I was standing in front Rod Laver Arena as Mrs. Federer walks 4 feet in front of my wife and me. Mirka is taller than I expected she is about 5 10 or 11.

We hadn't planned on going our first night in Melbourne. But, once I was there I could not resist and I wanted to see what ground passes would cost. So we lined up in a the ticket queue behind a young lady about 25 years old. I was shocked when the lady's friend arrived later and didn't get instantly promoted to the front of the line. In Denver she would have just gone directly to the front of the line.

Initially I had just wanted to see the price of ground passes. However, when we got to the attendant my wife asked what was available for Rod Laver Arena and we purchased eighth row seats along the baseline. It was way more than I wanted to spend, but I was helpless who could say no to Federer seats?

Seeing Federer in person is much different than watching 1000s videos of him. On the video you can look at what he does frame by frame and convince yourself what he does makes sense and is in fact possible. However, at least for last night, what Federer does on the court makes no sense. I was deeply humbled by his ability to be effective and efficient with virtually all shots. What I found most amazing is Federer's ability to pick up the ball right off baseline and hurt his opponent and pressure them right away. Also his slice slides and stays lower than I expected. His slice is a shot that would piss me off if I had to face it just seems so difficult to attack and gives him so much time to get back into position.

Yesterday seems like a dream and I can't wait for more today! I am off to Olympic Boulevard.

What a travel day. How much of that was layover time? How many flights? How much was the entry into Federer's match? Great that you spent the money…I probably would have chickened out. I refused to pay six euro's for a piece of pizza in the Frankfurt, Germany airport.

One great post! The slice taking off on the court may indicate the court is just a tad quicker. Two important observations that Federer's coach is hopeful emphasizing to him. Difficult to attack and added recovery time. Thanks for taking the time out to report to us.

Another indication of a quicker surface is Fernando Verdasco's butt kicking of Rafael Nadal in five sets. Good bye Rafa…second first round exit from a Slam in 44 tries. Verdasco just started hitter winners in the fifth set…Nadal was up 2-0 in the fifth and never saw the ball after that.

Looking forwards to Jack Sock and Taylor Fritz.

[gzhpcu]

Lucky guy!

[lobndropshot]

We left Denver Saturday morning, forty-one hours of travel and five hours of sleep later. I was standing in front Rod Laver Arena as Mrs. Federer walks 4 feet in front of my wife and me. Mirka is taller than I expected she is about 5 10 or 11.

We hadn't planned on going our first night in Melbourne. But, once I was there I could not resist and I wanted to see what ground passes would cost. So we lined up in a the ticket queue behind a young lady about 25 years old. I was shocked when the lady's friend arrived later and didn't get instantly promoted to the front of the line. In Denver she would have just gone directly to the front of the line.

Initially I had just wanted to see the price of ground passes. However, when we got to the attendant my wife asked what was available for Rod Laver Arena and we purchased eighth row seats along the baseline. It was way more than I wanted to spend, but I was helpless who could say no to Federer seats?

Seeing Federer in person is much different than watching 1000s videos of him. On the video you can look at what he does frame by frame and convince yourself what he does makes sense and is in fact possible. However, at least for last night, what Federer does on the court makes no sense. I was deeply humbled by his ability to be effective and efficient with virtually all shots. What I found most amazing is Federer's ability to pick up the ball right off baseline and hurt his opponent and pressure them right away. Also his slice slides and stays lower than I expected. His slice is a shot that would piss me off if I had to face it just seems so difficult to attack and gives him so much time to get back into position.

Yesterday seems like a dream and I can't wait for more today! I am off to Olympic Boulevard.

[stotty]

Yes, Margaret Court appears to be a sage. Will have to watch out on this point regarding my 10-year-old faux granddaughter Cate in England. Will have to be aware of it when speaking with her parents. But I thought it a great sign that she recently scored eight (8) goals in a field hockey game. The next bit of cross-training should be her reading of the complete works of Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Ultra fascinating article about one of the true legends of the game. Her views are straight and firm…like somebody else I know. She is right out of the "old" Aussie school of tennis where Harry Hopman was the task master.

I like the way Margaret isn't phased by modern tennis. I find that really impressive. The majority of former top player de-hype themselves as years go by to the point where they seem to bury themselves further and further into oblivion. I assume out of wanting to appear modest. I think they end up believing their own de-hyping and capitulate to the awe of modern tennis. There are some things compared to the past that modern tennis is better at, and there are some things it is far worse at. As don_budge often says, engineering has so much to do with it. Tweak the engineering and you will almost certainly end up with different players.

I think what Margaret was trying to say in commenting she was more aggressive than players today is that she was more tactically aggressive. She had the forecourt game to carry those aggressive tactics out. The pinnacle of aggression lies in having a decent net game...to finish things off...like punctuating the end of a sentence.

The 'children starting too young' comment resonated with me also. It's detrimental to 95% of children to start too young. I started both my boys when they were aged 10. We pottered about with bat and ball periodically before that, but not much. Both my boys have a good chance of playing for life as a result. Had I started them aged 6, 7, 8 or even 9, they would have been statistically far more likely to burn out. As a development coach for over 30 years, I am in a strong position to say tell you that what Margaret says is absolutely true, it's good advice.

A bog standard day at the Aussie Open...nothing worthwhile for me to comment on, so I won't.

[gzhpcu]

There is also a cool Australian Open app for the iPhone for all the latest results and news... https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/aust...345137837?mt=8

[bottle]

"If you see a good athlete they bring them in and burn them out too early and they're gonna make a tennis player out of them at 11 and 12, and it's too early."

Yes, Margaret Court appears to be a sage. Will have to watch out on this point regarding my 10-year-old faux granddaughter Cate in England. Will have to be aware of it when speaking with her parents. But I thought it a great sign that she recently scored eight (8) goals in a field hockey game. The next bit of cross-training should be her reading of the complete works of Fyodor Dostoevsky.

[klacr]

Fed, Djokovic, Berdych, Nishikori, Cilic all move through. Ho Hum Day 1 of Aussie Open. American Noah Rubin upset Benoit Paire. I stayed up all night to watch. I have a full 12 hour day at work today so that should be a doozy. Don't feel a bit fatigued as my adrenaline is pumping for the first grand slam of the year. My students are following their teacher, as many of them were texting me throughout night on questions about different players and various comments. They are just as tennis crazy as I am. I made them that way. Proud of it as well.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Margaret Court…Queen of the Court

A little more foreplay before the curtain goes up and the show begins. Margaret court give some forthright views on the modern game.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/arti...tle-bit-boring

Ultra fascinating article about one of the true legends of the game. Her views are straight and firm…like somebody else I know. She is right out of the "old" Aussie school of tennis where Harry Hopman was the task master.

Interesting that Margaret is the Pastor of a church that she founded. She believes in a higher power…something other than the ITF. Therefore she is not afraid to tell the truth. Everything that she says is the gospel and there is more that she has left unsaid.

I can never understand why the players of bygone eras never man up and tell it like it is but then I realize that it is all a matter of not biting the hand that feeds you. Most have connections and still have their livelihood in the game…it's a conflict of interest when it comes to telling the truth.

Tennis is a little bit boring? Well it's an understatement to anybody that knows any better.

"I think the women's (game) it's a little sad, there's nobody who stands out, I think we really have got to go back and look at the grassroots of the game. I always believe you can take a good athlete and make a good tennis champion out of them. If you see a good athlete they bring them in and burn them out too early and they're gonna make a tennis player out of them at 11 and 12, and it's too early."

Many of her comments really resonate with me. The quote above in particular. This is one of the big problems with the game today is the early hunt for the next professional tennis player. You end up with the men playing the junior game…on steroids.

Great find and great timing. This great Aussie champion telling the truth on the eve of the championships. The games have begun. Watch 'em and weep.

[klacr]

A little more foreplay before the curtain goes up and the show begins. Margaret court give some forthright views on the modern game.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/arti...tle-bit-boring

What she says isn't wrong.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

A little more foreplay before the curtain goes up and the show begins. Margaret court give some forthright views on the modern game.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/wShmJQq09ZbBN3ZnXNyVnJ/margaret-court-womens-tennis-is-a-little-bit-boring

[stotty]

I really like Tomic's game but his attitude and overall demeanor is annoying. I love how Fed was asked about Tomic's declaration that his goal is to make the top 10 this year. Fed was asked about this and he said something like we have been hearing about Tomics goals from him for many years, but getting into the top 10? He first needs to get his game to the next level, whatever that is.

I would love Tomic to get his act together. He's a little different with his underpowered - relatively speaking - style of play. He needs to get on and do it, though...he doesn't have the time to flap about forever.

[stroke]

I really like Tomic's game but his attitude and overall demeanor is annoying. I love how Fed was asked about Tomic's declaration that his goal is to make the top 10 this year. Fed was asked about this and he said something like we have been hearing about Tomics goals from him for many years, but getting into the top 10? He first needs to get his game to the next level, whatever that is.

[don_budge]

Interviewee Style matching Playing Style...

In a recent interview, Federer, in his own way, didn't seem to be conceding that Djokovic is in an unbeatable class of his own. He said Djokovic had a great year last year, and that if you listed the top five players, Djokovic would have a little star next to his name (like a teacher giving a young student a star for coming top of the class). It felt like a psychological nudge....letting Djokovic know he is on his trail and not phased. He also referenced he had beaten Djokovic a handful of times last year.

Roger gives a reasonable interview. He's descriptive and eloquent. Rafa has never really expanded his vocabulary in English so you can never get beyond a certain level of insight. My brother-in-law only knows about 200 words of English but it's amazing how accurately he can get his thoughts across. Rafa doesn't have that skill. Djokovic interviews well but is a pleaser and reads and speaks from a script. Let's not talk about Murray....

Bring back Connors and McEnroe for honest in your face interviews...you don't get them anymore...times have changed.

Interesting post. Roger Federer is the only professional tennis player capable of giving an informative and intriguing interview. As a player he is not limited in his repertoire…or at least he is the least limited. He has all of the shots and all of the replies to the shots of his opponents. He is much the same in an interview…he is able to ad lib and go with the flow.

Djokovic on the other hand gives a steady flow of good news and rarely if ever gives anything of interest to ponder. It's simple stuff…without deviation from the subject. Rather boring…just like his nonstop backcourt play. Nadal on the other hand if we are to borrow from Donald Trump...is an idiot. Even if his English were fluent it is doubtful that you would get anything but some stock jock talk out of him.

But Roger would definitely be right in not verbally capitulating to Djokovic. No sense in handing anything over without a fight. Mentally he is still in the game. It's only that the Swiss' legs are six years older than his younger nemesis. He has rediscovered that the way to beat the supreme back court player is to play him in the forecourt. You must get the play on your terms. Why would you try to beat him from the backcourt. Roger has done just that. In two out of three venues on courts that are just a tad quicker than the standard "quick sand" that they are playing on he stands an even chance of defeating the supreme backcourt player.

Speaking of John McEnroe…he did just that against the great Bjorn Borg. He took away the net and more or less said to Borg it was going to be played on his terms…win or lose. The problem is there isn't anyone with the game to take it to Djokovic like this and what is more the cards are stacked against any such player the way that the game is currently engineered.

Fascinating to think that these guys communicate the same way that they play the game. After all it is all a game of spin. You spin to me…I spin to you. We are all spinning together. The earth is a ball…a ball in the game. In a game where the object of the game is to learn the rules.

[don_budge]

The Shifts...

Man, the shifts happen fast.

The amazing thing is that the tournament hasn't even begun. Now consider this…the story shifts from Jack Sock to Harry Fritz…I mean Taylor Fritz. It's Fritz vs. Sock. A very interesting all-American match up down under.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/fritz-evans-stepanek-qualify-2016-australian-open

[klacr]

...Jack Sock did show fairly recently here in Stockholm, Sweden that he has indeed made a move up the food chain. He came up a little short in the finals against Tomas Berdych but at the same time he was winning the doubles...

Did someone mention Berdych?

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton