2012 Miami Open…ATP 1000…Miami, Florida

[klacr]

props to Dimitrov for hanging in there, believing in his game and most importantly, attacking the Murray 2nd serve.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[gzhpcu]

And now, unfortunately it is curtains for Thiem.... he comes up against Djokovic tonight. The number of games he manages will show where he is at...

[don_budge]

Grigor Dimitrov versus Andy Murray…2016 Miami Open…ATP 1000

Guess I'm going to see some real tennis this week.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

props to Dimitrov for hanging in there, believing in his game and most importantly, attacking the Murray 2nd serve.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Thanks...

Murray just won the first set versus Dimitrov. In the tiebreak Murray just shut up shop and made no errors. Murray is great when he does that.

Now if Murray would just shut up…period. Usually you look at a match and you like to be able to say that an opponent didn't go down without a fight. For just once I would like to see Andy go down without a whimper. Even in this highlight video we can see him whimpering as he goes down meekly in the end. The commentatoes could not prop him up.

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

Leave it to "Baby Fed" to give it the old college try to apply some real tennis to the scene. But it looks to me that a lot of this victory over one of the "Big Four" is attributed to rust on the part of Murray. The third set looked to be a bit ragged. Grigor Dimitrov applies the pressure at precisely the right moment as he successfully breaks Andy Murray in the seventh game of the third set. Then he manages to serve out the set without too much resistance on the part of Murray.

Unfortunately for the sponsors the bank is bust now. Without Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal we are left with one sole survivor of the "Big Four". Novak Djokovic. It really isn't much of a tournament at this point forwards…in fact it never did get off of the ground with Federer withdrawing before playing.

If Dominic Thiem has any kind of future as an elite player on the ATP tour he has to see this match with Djokovic as some kind of Godsend. He has to be absolutely licking his chops to get at this guy. There is no room for thought about how many games he can manage against the number one player in the world…he has to be thinking "W" and believing in himself that he can without a doubt in his mind do it. Never mind if this is a unreasonable thought…never mind if he is the only one thinking it. He has to believe it deep in his heart that he can pull it off.

He has to have a game plan. This is the part that will stump him as he has a limited repertoire of shots from which to choose. But if among his arsenal he has a shot off of his backhand that can vary the depth on Djokovic backhand…as in drawing him forwards when the occasion calls for it and keeping him deep. If you let Djokovic dictate play off of his backhand…it's the kiss of death. Not that his forehand is any picnic to go at either…but you must go aggressively at the Djokovic forehand to have any hopes of exploiting the backhand. In short Thiem will have to play extremely intelligently and vary the play. Aggressive these days means dictating "point construction". Thiem will have to pick his spots and be patient in the meantime. He cannot be overly aggressive and he is going to have to push the patience of Djokovic. In order to win…he will have to go down the line aggressively off of his backhand into the Djokovic forehand. This is something that nobody can seem to do. Even left-handed players have difficulty in getting at the Djokovic forehand…probably because of the pressure that Djokovic is applying from the other side of the net.

Serving is going to be a key as well. Djokovic is probably the player on tour who takes care of his service game. Thiem will also have to take care of his service game. Thiem is going to have to find some way of poking holes in Djokovic service game and a big part of this is putting the ball in play. He cannot afford to give away three or four points a game making errors on his return of serve. This is perhaps one of the keys to defeating Djokovic and the only ones that seem to be able to do it are the others in the "Big Four".

It appears that Thiem will have do some intelligent and aggressive play. I don't think that Thiem is an accomplished net player and therefore his approach game is probably "iffy" and this is a huge deficit to begin playing a player such as Djokovic. Obviously you have to be able to do something better than he does. You cannot just sit back on the baseline and hope to pull out something…Novak just isn't going to make any mistakes.

As much as I would like to see someone challenge Novak I am not certain that Thiem has the consistency to do it. We shall see but one thing is absolutely for certain…Thiem has to believe in himself and I believe that with the results he has been experiencing lately his confidence is growing. He won't feel that he is going to go out on the court and be satisfied to get a few games a set.

[stroke]

Kyrgios' game up close in person was just about what you would expect. His forehand and serve were the biggest I saw. His backhand is superb, very efficient, very effective with seemingly very little effort. His forehand does remind me of Sock, the motion, the sound of the ball off the racquet, and the very heavy spin. His serve is just of the best on tour, not as good as Raonic, who I will see up close today on the Grandstand, but close. Everthing else, except volleys, Kyrgios does better than Raonic. It I like to me that Kyrgios, at his best and fully interested, is the 2nd best hard court player in the world right now. One more thing about the Kyrgios serve, which we have talked about before, is how he seems to strike the ball at the apex of the toss. From toss to contact is a very quick sequence and this does not seem to do the returners any favors.

[gzhpcu]

Yeah, nothing beats see matches live. TV just does not show the spin and trajectory. You, John and Kyle - tennisplayer.net is well represented...

[tennis_chiro]

Kyle is happy!

Berdych looking awfully good at the end of the match against Gasquet. I don't remember ever seeing him look better.

don

[klacr]

Berdych looking awfully good at the end of the match against Gasquet. I don't remember ever seeing him look better.

don

Berdych enjoys Miami. There is a great comfort level there. Gasket was up 5-4 in that 3rd set. Berdych didn't panic, he didn't fold. He trusted his game and knew his game was better than Gasquet. Believe in Berdych.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stroke]

I saw Kyrgios and Raonic back to back on the Grandstand today. I was sitting behind the court, just about ball toss height level and watched both matches in their entirety. Their was a serve speed indicator on court. Those serves are something to see from that viewpoint. They play each other next, round of 8.

By the way, Kyrgios, in his usual douche form in his match, 1st set, came up with some kind of contrived bias against one of the balls, slammed it off court into some structure, and audibly said "don't give me that same f...ing ball. I was sitting right behind him when he said it. He got a code violation. I saw now he is using this douche incident of his for some kind of rant about favoritism for some players. Perfect. Next thing you know, Serena will be less than gracious in press conference following a loss.

[gzhpcu]

Thiem lost but played very well. He had tons of break balls, and really had Djokovic sweating. He is really up on the rise! Great shotmaking.

[stotty]

Long deuce games....

I watched much of the Thiem v Djokovic match. I came to the conclusion that these long deuce games that Djokovic often eventually ends up winning in the many matches he plays are incredibly valuable.

[nickw]

I watched much of the Thiem v Djokovic match. I came to the conclusion that these long deuce games that Djokovic often eventually ends up winning in the many matches he plays are incredibly valuable.

Yep, they can really be momentum shifters, and it takes many skills to be able to come through most of those games. Begs the question why sudden death deuce is used so often in junior singles tournaments, the kids need experience of playing those long games.

[gzhpcu]

Djokovic is mentally very strong. You get in the habit of winning matches, you feel and act invincible. Incredible playing. With Nadal in a crisis and Federer coming back from an injury, he has no serious competition this year. His best chance to get his Grand Slam this year, and enter the Budge, Laver circle.

[don_budge]

2016 Miami Open…ATP 1000…Miami, Florida…a couple of thoughts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeSyjO-eHq8

Dominic Thiem in the end did not demonstrate that he has the game to take down Novak Djokovic. He showed some signs…but in the end Djokovic is holding all of the cards.

Thiem must take Djokovic out of his comfort zone. The signs are there that he is potentially capable of doing it but as with all of the "modern" tennis players there are enormous gaps in the skill sets that make it impossible to dismantle the quintessential baseline player in Djokovic. Thiem had opportunities in the forecourt and at the net to press the advantage but it was Djokovic who exploited these weaknesses in the Thiem game instead of Thiem pressing the advantage.

So Djokovic takes down the klacr hopeful Tomas Berdych for what…the millionth time in a row? It's an amazing run of victories that only illustrates the total lack of depth on the tour. A player of Berdych's stature and ranking should be able to sneak one in here or there. But no…an occasional strong showing is all he has to show for his efforts. Judging from this match it is not going to happen anytime soon as Djokovic just seems to have the Berdych number and it is Berdych who is showing up playing for second place…in a two man race.

Back to Thiem. A player such a Thiem has the best chance to dismantle the Djokovic baseline name but the slow velcro courts are playing havoc with all court play these days. A huge staple of all court play has always been the ability to make the ball "lay down". This is an especially valuable asset when playing a player that refuses to budge front he backcourt…from the baseline. You must draw him forward and in a manner that will make him uncomfortable. Djokovic is licking his chops whenever he sees that ball above his knees that lands short…that is right in his wheelhouse as 10splayer used to like to say. I say used to because 10splayer seems to be in retirement. Pity.

Bringing Djokovic forwards therefore is a thoughtful and challenging proposition. It's tricky. Any miscalculation and it's curtains. But on a court that would enable you to lay the ball down it could be done with the right skill set, tactics and persistence. Once you get Djokovic to the net he is a fairly average volleyer (even by modern day standards) and his overhead is questionable. I was amazed at some of the weaker efforts on smashing that he demonstrated in the Thiem match. Even the amateurish volleying. It's amazing how the commentatoes start drooling every time he makes a routine volley or play in the forecourt. They act as if it's the second coming or something. Utter nonsense.

In another world…the world of women's tennis. Serena went crashing out in the quarters to Kuznetsova. For all of the "ladies" tennis fans out there.

Going forwards it's David Goffin versus Novak Djokovic in one semifinal. In the bottom half it will be two very big guys with very big racquets…Milos Raonic and Nick "The Jerk" Kyrgios in one quarterfinal and Gael "The Amazing Mr. Monfils" Monfils in another against one of the more boring players on the tour right behind the fading David Ferrer…Kei Nishikori.

The tournament never got off of the ground. Right at the get go it had the horrific news that Mr. The Last Surviving Link To Classic Tennis would not be participating. Roger had the flu bug or was it something else. Niggles? I love that word…it's like oh no…and then a huge sigh of relief. Rafael continues on his fading slide into obscurity and he succumbed to the heat. The "freak of nature" Mr. Physicality himself called it quits…not able to answer the bell in the third set in a loss to a guy by the name of Damir Dzumhur. Wasn't he in the Harry Potter movie? Nick "The Jerk" Kyrgios made an oblique reference to the "Fafa" himself in asking the chair umpire if the game was not biased. Various and sundry matches throughout…Tsonga vs. Agut was personally witnessed by our very own stroke as a great modern day splendour. Agut meekly bowed to Japan's Nishikori in the next round. America's own Taylor Fritz made a bit of a splash…before disappearing.

It's been that sort of week. The sponsors and the commentatoes trying to salvage something of noteworthiness from the tournament. The endless baseline duels make it seemingly impossible but somehow they manage to sell enough tickets to insure that the tournament will go on next year. Interesting side note in view of the unfortunate or not so unfortunate remarks that ex CEO of the Indian Wells tennis tournament uttered regarding "ladies tennis". Thanking God on their knees was beneath their dignity…but look at the ladies tournament in Miami. Is this another equal pay for equal whatever venue?

Thank God for Title IX right Billie Jean King. Right? Was it that that was responsible or partly responsible for the demise of American mens tennis? What did it get in return? After all…whatever you do to one side of the equation you must do to the other. All things being equal. Or not.

[stotty]

Fast four format

Yep, they can really be momentum shifters, and it takes many skills to be able to come through most of those games. Begs the question why sudden death deuce is used so often in junior singles tournaments, the kids need experience of playing those long games.

If you are referring to the fast four format, you're right. The LTA are desperate to make the game more appealing to kids and parents so they don't have to spend hours and hours at tournament venues, but they are dumbing the game down to do it. You cannot make this great game a game of convenience I'm afraid, at least not for me you can't.

The problem is the game in the UK is shrinking by the minute and the LTA cannot stop the haemorrhaging. I am wiling they try anything but not sudden death at deuce, please....

[klacr]

6 of 23 2nd serve points won. Not gonna get it done for Berdych.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton