2016 Australian Open Tennis Championships

[stroke]

I agree completely. Verdasco embraces the match up with Nadal. 90 winners. Verdasco's forehand technique wise to me has always looked like some kind cross between Nadal and Federer, and it was on brutal display vs Nadal. It would be nice to see Verdasco maintain that form, but unlikely.

[stotty]

Thank you, don_budge, Klacr and stroke for the lowdown on Verdasco and Nadal. I figured it was a combination of Nadal losing penetration and power coupled with Verdasco playing out of his skin.

I have seen Verdasco's forehand up close and personal. It's one of the great sights in modern tennis. He has many other good qualities too. It's a mystery to me why he hasn't achieved more.

[bottle]

lobndropshot-- Our Man in Melbourne

There simply is nothing like a good first hand man. And he doesn't need to do anything but be himself!

[gzhpcu]

I have seen Verdasco's forehand up close and personal. It's one of the great sights in modern tennis. He has many other good qualities too. It's a mystery to me why he hasn't achieved more.

Apparently it is all in his head they say, chokes often...

[stotty]

Apparently it is all in his head they say, chokes often...

Sure, but not all the time and not for a whole career. Everyone gets a respite here and there from their afflictions. He was definitely slam finalist material, yet never made it that far.

I think there might be more to it than a weak nerve. He has a beautiful forehand but it only does one thing. It doesn't have a safety element to it that Nadal can employ with his....or Djokovic with his...or Roger with his for that matter. When I saw Verdasco at Wimbledon he just belted it...took huge risks. You can't play like that ALL the time.

[klacr]

Verdasco...straight arm forehand...beautiful sight.

Nadal will have some serious question marks going into clay court season.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[lobndropshot]

Day 2 what a day

We made the choice to stay at an Air B&B and let me tell you it is the way to go. We found a fantastic place right next to the Royal Botanical Gardens and we can simply walk through the gardens on our way to the Australian Open. The other advantage to an AirB&B is a kitchen and we have made our own breakfast each day ( scrambled eggs with spinach, black beans, and sausage). A good breakfast saves you from buying a 8 dollar piece of pizza. Even if the place is no bigger than a shoebox.

After breakfast we decided to walk downtown and then back along the Yarra river. Aside form the stagnant smell of the river is was fun to see people being active and Melbourne is beautiful.

We got to the event around 1pm later than I would have liked. We walked around the grounds grounds taking it all while simultaneously avoiding eye contact with anyone I felt what is associated with a sponsor. I wanting to say, I am here for tennis not for a Kia Sorento.

The facilities at Melbourne Park are way better then I expected, the stadiums are stunning, and the bathrooms are clean except for the ones in Rod Laver Arena they smell like 50 thousand have pissed on the floor. Not to mention the floor is a little sticky as well (hey guys let's focus on our aim a little more). The food and is expensive but it's not like going to a NFL football game where all you get is shitty nachos and two beers for $35. The food is good and there are good options. For example, we had barbecue chicken and quinoa salad for about $13 ASD and it was kinda good.

Our first tennis of the day was watching Kerber practice her return of serve with her coach. One thing you don't get from studying video is a feeling of the direction and magnitude of a player's body weight. Watching Kerber blast service returns gave me a feeling of the importance of a balanced forward move on the return of serve. In any case I'm going to make it a point to focus on my return of serve more often.

After viewing the practice courts we decided to head over to show Court three and check out John Isner. I already knew that Isner's serve was shot from a cannon out of a tree. But I didn't realize what a slow awkward mover he was. I knew he was slow, but, I didn't realize he looked like a newborn fawn. The more incredible thing how effective he was while being unbalanced.

Janowiz moves better and smooth but I felt he made a few tactical miscues during the match. For example Isner really struggled on the backhand-body serve placement and didn't have an answer when Jerzy went there. Also, hit the ball at John when he is at net! He is a much better volleyer when he is reaching for the ball. In my mind all the points John won at the net were key and he allowed to use his reach to put them away. This match really came down to several key points and Janowiz made bad choices.

After the Isner match we went back to the practice courts and momentarily watched people watching Djokovic practice. But I didn't head over to the practice courts for the world #1 I came for Martina Hingis. It was fun to watch her because she was clearly having fun with Mirza. It is important that you enjoy playing with your partner.

Because my wife enjoyed watching Kerber warm up we decided to watch her match against Doi. She pulled off the second set despite how short she was hitting the ball. A simple adjustment of deep the middle and she would have sent Doi home easily. But she was trying to hit too many angles and Doi made things interesting.
We got to catch the end of Ferrer's opener and he is every bit of a physical beast as I expected. Had total control over the match and almost every point. We didn't get to see much.

After all tennis we saw it was clear that my wife was hitting her limit but quickly mentioned that two Americans were playing on court seven and we should go check them out for a bit. Sock and Fritz was our match of the day and I was impressed with both players but were we getting hungry do we decided (1-0 in the 2nd) to leave after the 2nd set. When she stood up her phone which was on her lap fell through a crack in the stands and disappeared. So she had to find help to get her phone back and I got to see the match.

Sock has the most racket head speed of anyone I have see so far and his forehead really dips and kicks. When he hits it deep there isn't much you can do. However, Firtz was very impressive, a clean ball striker who had sock going crazy for sets 2,3,&4. Until sock rolled his ankle and cleared his head like a hard slap to the face. Sock got lucky.

What a day! Rainy day today so we are figuring out what to do. Thank you for the kind words of encouragement.

[klacr]

We made the choice to stay at an Air B&B and let me tell you it is the way to go. We found a fantastic place right next to the Royal Botanical Gardens and we can simply walk through the gardens on our way to the Australian Open. The other advantage to an AirB&B is a kitchen and we have made our own breakfast each day ( scrambled eggs with spinach, black beans, and sausage). A good breakfast saves you from buying a 8 dollar piece of pizza. Even if the place is no bigger than a shoebox.

After breakfast we decided to walk downtown and then back along the Yarra river. Aside form the stagnant smell of the river is was fun to see people being active and Melbourne is beautiful.

We got to the event around 1pm later than I would have liked. We walked around the grounds grounds taking it all while simultaneously avoiding eye contact with anyone I felt what is associated with a sponsor. I wanting to say, I am here for tennis not for a Kia Sorento.

The facilities at Melbourne Park are way better then I expected, the stadiums are stunning, and the bathrooms are clean except for the ones in Rod Laver Arena they smell like 50 thousand have pissed on the floor. Not to mention the floor is a little sticky as well (hey guys let's focus on our aim a little more). The food and is expensive but it's not like going to a NFL football game where all you get is shitty nachos and two beers for $35. The food is good and there are good options. For example, we had barbecue chicken and quinoa salad for about $13 ASD and it was kinda good.

Our first tennis of the day was watching Kerber practice her return of serve with her coach. One thing you don't get from studying video is a feeling of the direction and magnitude of a player's body weight. Watching Kerber blast service returns gave me a feeling of the importance of a balanced forward move on the return of serve. In any case I'm going to make it a point to focus on my return of serve more often.

After viewing the practice courts we decided to head over to show Court three and check out John Isner. I already knew that Isner's serve was shot from a cannon out of a tree. But I didn't realize what a slow awkward mover he was. I knew he was slow, but, I didn't realize he looked like a newborn fawn. The more incredible thing how effective he was while being unbalanced.

Janowiz moves better and smooth but I felt he made a few tactical miscues during the match. For example Isner really struggled on the backhand-body serve placement and didn't have an answer when Jerzy went there. Also, hit the ball at John when he is at net! He is a much better volleyer when he is reaching for the ball. In my mind all the points John won at the net were key and he allowed to use his reach to put them away. This match really came down to several key points and Janowiz made bad choices.

After the Isner match we went back to the practice courts and momentarily watched people watching Djokovic practice. But I didn't head over to the practice courts for the world #1 I came for Martina Hingis. It was fun to watch her because she was clearly having fun with Mirza. It is important that you enjoy playing with your partner.

Because my wife enjoyed watching Kerber warm up we decided to watch her match against Doi. She pulled off the second set despite how short she was hitting the ball. A simple adjustment of deep the middle and she would have sent Doi home easily. But she was trying to hit too many angles and Doi made things interesting.
We got to catch the end of Ferrer's opener and he is every bit of a physical beast as I expected. Had total control over the match and almost every point. We didn't get to see much.

After all tennis we saw it was clear that my wife was hitting her limit but quickly mentioned that two Americans were playing on court seven and we should go check them out for a bit. Sock and Fritz was our match of the day and I was impressed with both players but were we getting hungry do we decided (1-0 in the 2nd) to leave after the 2nd set. When she stood up her phone which was on her lap fell through a crack in the stands and disappeared. So she had to find help to get her phone back and I got to see the match.

Sock has the most racket head speed of anyone I have see so far and his forehead really dips and kicks. When he hits it deep there isn't much you can do. However, Firtz was very impressive, a clean ball striker who had sock going crazy for sets 2,3,&4. Until sock rolled his ankle and cleared his head like a hard slap to the face. Sock got lucky.

What a day! Rainy day today so we are figuring out what to do. Thank you for the kind words of encouragement.

You rock! Living vicariously through you.
Give Berdych a look when you get the chance. Great ball striking from the czech.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Sleep Walking…Dangerous Dolgopolov

Speaking of living dangerously…Dolgopolov up next for Roger Federer. When this guy catches fire look out. Federer normally knows how to put out the fire but last year he was surprised by Andreas Seppi who caught on fire on a very hot day when it looked like maybe Roger had not slept all that well. Jet lag can be a very funny thing…particularly when you may be be recovering from the flu.

[lobndropshot]

Courts are pretty fast.

[don_budge]

Fast Courts…a thing of the past

Our only hope is that they quicken the speed of the courts. I had the impression that they were quick when Verdasco was thumping Nadal. Quicker than molasses anyways.

This Roger's is biggest hope and Novak Djokovic's only fear. Quicker courts somewhat negate the younger legs. But there is a lot of tennis to be played.

The next round is looming large as Grigor Dimitrov will be looking for some substantial revenge. There is the intriguing matchup of Dominic Thiem and David Goffin. Nick Kyrgios is also lurking but is he serious?

The shape of things to come…is coming.

lobndropshot…great that you went to see Jack Sock and Taylor Fritz. Do you think Sock can go deeper…or is he still sick. He looked like he was going to throw in the towel against Fritz after the bagel…but he regrouped.

[stotty]

The facilities at Melbourne Park are way better then I expected, the stadiums are stunning, and the bathrooms are clean except for the ones in Rod Laver Arena they smell like 50 thousand have pissed on the floor. Not to mention the floor is a little sticky as well (hey guys let's focus on our aim a little more).

After viewing the practice courts we decided to head over to show Court three and check out John Isner. I already knew that Isner's serve was shot from a cannon out of a tree. But I didn't realize what a slow awkward mover he was. I knew he was slow, but, I didn't realize he looked like a newborn fawn. The more incredible thing how effective he was while being unbalanced.

Janowiz moves better and smooth but I felt he made a few tactical miscues during the match. For example Isner really struggled on the backhand-body serve placement and didn't have an answer when Jerzy went there. Also, hit the ball at John when he is at net! He is a much better volleyer when he is reaching for the ball. In my mind all the points John won at the net were key and he allowed to use his reach to put them away. This match really came down to several key points and Janowiz made bad choices.

Great to get such a good lowdown from lobndropshot. Seeing world-class tennis live is different from TV, no question. Good analysis from lobndropshot, too, of Jerzy's main problem. When it comes to playing big points, he's a daft as a brush, which is a shame because he is really good...and yes, lobnddropshot, he does move ever so well for a tall man, far better than Isner, who is a tree. Another thing I noticed about Jerzy when I saw him at Wimbledon is how hard and flat he hits his forehand. He takes huge cuts at the ball. God knows how fast it is travelling.

I have heard Melbourne is nice and the stadiums are good. What is it about men and toilets? Men always make such a mess...miss the target half the time. At Wimbledon it sometimes gets the same, and they have someone hosing down every twenty minutes!

[gzhpcu]

Roger is back on track!
And thanks for the impressions lobndropshot! Makes me feel there!

[stroke]

Great to get such a good lowdown from lobndropshot. Seeing world-class tennis live is different from TV, no question. Good analysis from lobndropshot, too, of Jerzy's main problem. When it comes to playing big points, he's a daft as a brush, which is a shame because he is really good...and yes, lobnddropshot, he does move ever so well for a tall man, far better than Isner, who is a tree. Another thing I noticed about Jerzy when I saw him at Wimbledon is how hard and flat he hits his forehand. He takes huge cuts at the ball. God knows how fast it is travelling.

I have heard Melbourne is nice and the stadiums are good. What is it about men and toilets? Men always make such a mess...miss the target half the time. At Wimbledon it sometimes gets the same, and they have someone hosing down every twenty minutes!

Great to hear from lobndropshot at AO. As Lc said, watching thsese pro men play live is so different than seeing them on tv, but to me, I need to be seated behind the players so I can see the ball action from a players perspective, and be sitting somwhat up close, to really get a feel for it. I agree completely about Sock. I saw him play up close in Cincy last year. His forehand racquet head speed was the quickest I have ever seen. What that forehand did when it hit the court was noticeably different. It was just vicious. As I have mentioned before, I saw Tomic play Berdych last year in Miami, also up close on the Grandstand. Thats when I first really came to appreciate Tomic's game. That was the most enjoyable match I have ever seen live. Berdych won in three. We all know Tomic has talent and a somewhat different game, but you just have to see it live. And he was interested on this day. And he can hit the ball very authoritatively when he wishes. Just a such efficient game.

[bottle]

lobndropshot-- congratulations. I love the reportage. Great quality including all the specific tennis observation and the cellphone falling through the crack. Reminds me of when I was Our Man in Eastport for the Maine Times and got run out of town for this quote from Abner Cooke, a Canadian stoker in one of the plants: "You can always tell Eastporters. They're all inbred and they look like fish."