ATP…Memphis, Buenos Aires, Rotterdam

[don_budge]

Nishikori versus Fritz. Come on Fritzy! Hope we can believe in. We hope.

Thiem versus Almagro…two one hand backhands. One right-handed and the other right-handed. One a lock French Open champion…according to who???

Monfils versus Klizan. The clown against a BAD guy. He is left handed isn't he? Is he red headed as well? Uh oh…he's wearing the Sergio Tachini tennis line just like you know who was.

[klacr]

Thiem vs. Almagro was an entertaining match (as entertaining as a clay court baseline match can be) but young Austrian showed some nerve and takes the title in the Paris of Latin America. Tango anyone?

Fritz is a new star for American tennis. A starving American tennis public desperate for a glimmer. Fritz is young, scrawny (albeit tall) and quiet 18 year old. Sampras was the same...until he found it...the serve...his serve...the most dominant weapon in tennis history. Can Fritz find something?

Klizan wins Rotterdam. Rotterdam an interesting town. Largest shipping port in Europe. As my many Dutch say, You make your money in Rotterdam, Spend it in Amsterdam, talk about it in the hague. Klizan certainly made a nice chunk of money today in Rotterdam. The Netherlands is nice, people are tall and friendly, I feel at home.
One of my favorites, Richard Krajicek is the tourney director at the event, his hometown. The tournament was decimated by withdrawls and lack of star power. Always a good event to see top 5 players, Federer pulled out, Wawrinka (defending champ) and Berdych (2014 champ 2015 finalist) both took week off, Gasket who they gave a last minute wild card to shows up lame. This tourney was anybody's to win. Klizan took advantage.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

As stroke mentioned over in John's thread, Thiem has a wonderfully fluid service motion. And he can kick the ball up incredibly high when he wants to. Yet his stats aren't too good. They show a high ratio of double faults and his overall first serve percentage isn't that high compared to other top servers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3LnqoV1kWc

I thought he would be canon fodder standing so back in rallies against Nadal, but it seemed he could hold his own from all positions of the court.

Players are hitting the ball even harder, aren't they? The game is getting even more powerful...

[lobndropshot]

I got to watch Thiem play Almagro in the AO. Thiem played well and won easily. This young man is extremely powerful. However, his court position often gets him in trouble.

[don_budge]

The Art of Tango…Buenos Aires Thiem

Thiem vs. Almagro was an entertaining match (as entertaining as a clay court baseline match can be) but young Austrian showed some nerve and takes the title in the Paris of Latin America. Tango anyone?

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/thiem-wins-buenos-aires-title-over-almagro

I was reading this bit in the ATP website and the match sounds as if it may have been interesting. Trading aggressive two hand backhands. Probably a total zero net play. It was a long match…a couple of tie-breakers. Probably a snoozer. Almagro experiencing some success after a long dry spell. His victory over Ferrer must have felt good as he had lost the previous 15 in a row. Maybe they fixed it…who knows. But Ferrer has been dipping a bit lately. It's probably on the level.

Tango anyone? Once upon a time I actually went to Buenos Aires for Tango lessons. It indirectly was one of the reasons that I moved to Sweden. It was a strong wind…let's just leave it at that.