2012 Miami Open…ATP 1000…Miami, Florida

[nickw]

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....

Yep, Fast4 partly, but tournament organisers can adopt sudden death deuce even in normal tournaments and across all ages. Sadly, they often choose to do it so the event finishes quicker. It's not good at all.

[stotty]

It should be an interesting match up between Kyrgios and Nishikori. If Nishikori had a serve he would be amazing. I would advocate taking him off the tour for three months to remodel his action. It could make all the difference. As it stands his serve hasn't improved for years and I doubt he will get better from where he's at right now.

What I like most about Federer and Djokovic is they have worked on and improved parts of their games as they have gone along. I don't think the others have done that, or at least not to the same degree.

My money is on Kyrgios...

[stroke]

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.

I think you are right. 10splayer has probably grabbed the ripcord on the forum here. Too bad, I always thought he was our top contributor here technique wise.

[stotty]

I think you are right. 10splayer has probably grabbed the ripcord on the forum here. Too bad, I always thought he was our top contributor here technique wise.

He did chip in on a thread around a month or so ago. I hope he hasn't left. His understanding of biomechanics is way better than mine and many of his posts I thought were interesting. He's great a shedding light technical stuff. Let's hope he reappears.

[stotty]

Nishikori wins through. I thought Kyrgios might emerge the winner the way he's been playing. Anyone see the game? I was sound asleep as it was played in the middle of the night over here.

[don_budge]

2016 Miami Open…ATP 1000…Miami, Florida: Kei versus Nick Zzzzzzz….

Nishikori wins through. I thought Kyrgios might emerge the winner the way he's been playing. Anyone see the game? I was sound asleep as it was played in the middle of the night over here.

Kei Nishikori over Nick "The Jerk" Kyrgios…6-3, 7-5. Here are a couple of "highlights". I only say highlights because that is what it is by definition. I can only imagine what kind of intestinal fortitude it takes to watch a match like this from start to finish. Endless, mind-numbing baseline rallies. It's a dumbed down game…for the dumbed down masses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFnQ0m-Tcpo

The match started at midnight in the UK. If you had trouble sleeping you only had to dial in to this ho-hum affair. I chose the pillow too. No high hopes for this pairing. Perhaps one might be slightly surprised at the final outcome. For all of the excitement this guy is supposedly igniting here…he is just more of the same. Big guy. Strong forehand. Two-hand backhand. Big serve…when it's on. Nick looked like he may have been out late the night before…perhaps checking out the action on the beach. Can't say I blame him if he did.

So we are left with Kei Nishikori and Novak Djokovic. There is only so much speculation that we can pretend to get excited about here. Nishikori is as entertaining as watching grass grow. Novak only slightly more…perhaps as exciting as watching paint dry.

Here is your professional tennis game. What I write may not resonate with the tennis world…but what I write just so happens to be oh so true. It gives me no pleasure to be the bearer of bad news. The game is dead in the water.

I have tried to watch a dozen or so matches of the 2016 Miami Open and never lasted more than ten minutes. The tournament has to be considered an incredible dud.

[gzhpcu]

Humble little Nishikori makes it to the final under the radar screen. You can tell Chang is his coach.

[don_budge]

You can certainly tell...

Humble little Nishikori makes it to the final under the radar screen. You can tell Chang is his coach.

Michael Chang…diminutive in respect to height but one of the biggest "cheaters" ever with regard to equipment.

TENNIS: SHOULD YOU BUY A LONG RACKET?

So Michael Chang, who popularized the extra-long tennis racket and is the only top-ranked touring pro to use one, was knocked out in the first round at Wimbledon. Does that mean you shouldn't fork over $200 for an ``extended-length,'' ``stretch,'' ``LongBody,'' or ``superlong'' piece of equipment that resembles a rug beater? Hardly. Even if you're only a serious weekend player who's looking for an edge, these new rackets are worth a try.

Power--especially on the serve--is what they're all about. Up to five inches longer from top to bottom than the standard 27-in. racket, the new issues get their extra oomph from faster head speed. Extended rackets now account for 25% of units sold in U.S. specialty stores and pro shops, but because of their higher price--up to double the price of a plain-vanilla racket-- they account for 34% of dollar sales, says Bill Lawliss, president of market researcher Sports Research.

The longer rackets, launched nationally last year, have taken off faster than the tennis world's last two major innovations: the oversize racket of the '70s and the wide-body of the '80s. Although Dunlop Slazenger was first with the longer models, the match quickly boiled down to Prince vs. Wilson. Together, the pair sold 98% of the extended rackets bought during the first quarter of 1996, according to Lawliss.

Chang's Prince Graphite LongBody, 28 in. long with a 107-sq.-in. hitting area, is the top-selling extended racket in the world, thanks to hot Asian demand. It's No.3 in the U.S., behind the Wilson 2.8si Sledge Hammer Stretch (28.5 in. long and 116 sq. in. hitting area) and the Prince Extender Mach 1000 (29 in. long and a huge 124-sq.-in. hitting area). But more-advanced converts prefer a smaller hitting surface, for better control.

In this game, longer has come to mean lighter. On average, manufacturers have taken two to three ounces off the racket's weight. The Wilson 2.8 and the Mach 1000 weigh only 9.4 oz. and 8.8 oz., respectively, and the Prince Chang is 10.3 oz. ``Lighter weight gives you superior leverage and increased head speed for more power,'' explains Charlie Peifer, CEO of Prince. ``Space Age materials, especially graphite, have made this possible.''

Increased power on the serve is estimated at about 10% per extra inch of length by John Powless, a 63-year-old who is top-ranked nationally in the 55-and-over category. Intimidating enough at 6 feet, 5 inches, Powless uses a 29-in. frame that he says also widens the window into his opponent's service box by about 6% per additional inch because the ball is struck at a higher angle. Chang's statistics confirm this. He served 256 aces in the year before he switched to a longer racket. During the first half of 1996, Chang has already hit 212.

A big reason for the popularity of the Wilson 2.8si and the Prince Mach 1000 is their target audience: seniors, women, and beginning-tointermediate players with fat wallets who buy ``performance'' rackets, which are sold unstrung and then tuned to give weaker hitters more power. Marge Schinnerer, a mother of four who lives in Chevy Chase, Md., says her Wilson 2.8si Stretch ``gives me more power and strength. When you're middle-aged, short, and an average player--like me--it can be a real shot in the arm.''

Indeed, the head pro at LaJolla Beach & Tennis Club, Bill Bond, estimates that ``50% of the older folks are using longer frames.'' Explains Prince's Peifer: ``All of a sudden, you're 10 years younger.'' Just ask E. Sidney Willis, 86, chairman of the Greenwich (Conn.) Chamber of Commerce, who bought a long racket in late June: ``It puts a little spunk in my serve.''

TEST DRIVE. Still, the longer units take some getting used to. ``There's an instantaneous improvement in everybody's serve,'' says Steve Bromley, head pro at Chicago's Saddle & Cycle Club. ``But you do have to adjust your contact point a little farther forward on ground strokes and volleys.''

That's why pros suggest trying out several models before plunking down the big bucks. One, tennis great Billie Jean King, advises players to emulate golfers: ``They miss a few putts and throw away the club. Hit a few serves with a long racket, and see if you like it.''

Chang does. A few days before he bombed at Wimbledon, the 5-ft.-9-in. pro said his longer racket ``gives me more reach and snap, power and accuracy, almost as if I'm gaining a little bit of height.''

But not too much. In June, the International Tennis Federation slashed the 32-in. maximum allowed to 29 in., effective next Jan. 1 for professionals and three years later for amateurs who are playing in sanctioned tournaments.

By Keith Felcyn

[don_budge]

Nishikori…get a bigger racquet!!!

I picked up the finals of the 2016 Miami Open at 2-2. Novak broke for a 4-2 advantage and promptly gave it back to make it 4-3 Nishikori. Then Nishikori returned the favor and gave it back to Djokovic and Novak managed to stay awake to serve it out.

The quality of the match is dismally low. I don't think either player ventured to the net during the entire first set. At one point Nishikori had won all five of the points that had gone nine shots or longer. This is the only statistic I have seen so far…the most important obviously in a game played solely from the backcourt.

There was a very pretty Japanese girl waving a Japanese flag in between sets. That was the high point of the match so far. I'll keep you posted.

On a side note…I have tried putting on a different window a couple of times…reading some article or other and listening to the shots going back and forth. There really isn't much entertainment value in this…the opposite of turning off the volume in order to not listen to the commentatoes struggling to make a match of this.

Wait…Nishikori just went to the net in the first game of the second set. He missed the rather routine volley however and Novak breaks him for the advantage. If Nishikori had a slightly longer and bigger racquet he may have made that volley. I'm going for a cup of coffee but I'll be right back.

[don_budge]

Stat Alert!

They just flashed another stat and by coincidence Nishikori went to the net and won a point.

The stat reflected that in earlier matches Nishikori had taken 26% of the balls inside of the baseline but against Djokovic his percentage has dropped to 13%. It's remarkable when you think of it. Isn't it? Ok…maybe not remarkable…but it is interesting. Isn't it?

Never mind.

Hmmm…there's that fine Japanese girl again.

[stotty]

The kids were pestering that I take them out to dinner, to a chicken restaurant they love, so I forewent the final. I came back to find Djokovic had won 6-3 6-3...routine it seems.

More worrying is the fact Djokovic didn't even play that well the entire week, yet he still didn't drop a set. He is playing at 80% and still winning. Federer needs to get back on his feet quick as, despite being 34, he's the only one that can push Djokovic.

[klacr]

I've been out of town the last few days. At a tennis conference in Michigan. Didn't have a chance to see semis or finals. But based on scores that I saw, didn't seem like a whole lotta of fireworks.

Djokovic is superior amongst the players that play from the baseline...which fortunately for him, is everyone. Tough to beat a guy when you play the same style and he's better than you in each skill set required to execute that style. Great Player or king of banality? In a weird way...both.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

The Rooster has come home to Roost…I was right Aaron, wasn't I?

I've been out of town the last few days. At a tennis conference in Michigan. Didn't have a chance to see semis or finals. But based on scores that I saw, didn't seem like a whole lotta of fireworks.

Djokovic is superior amongst the players that play from the baseline...which fortunately for him, is everyone. Tough to beat a guy when you play the same style and he's better than you in each skill set required to execute that style. Great Player or king of banality? In a weird way...both.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

The kids were pestering that I take them out to dinner, to a chicken restaurant they love, so I forewent the final. I came back to find Djokovic had won 6-3 6-3...routine it seems.

More worrying is the fact Djokovic didn't even play that well the entire week, yet he still didn't drop a set. He is playing at 80% and still winning. Federer needs to get back on his feet quick as, despite being 34, he's the only one that can push Djokovic.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/djokovic-wins-sixth-miami-title-2016

Yep…the rooster has finally come home to roost. Novak Djokovic wins his sixth Miami title and in the process he becomes the winningest tennis player in modern history with 28 Master's 1000 crowns. He eclipses Rafael Nadal and leaves Roger Federer in a trail of exhaust and fumes. But what does all of this mean?

I have been discussing ad nauseum about what the ATP Tour will resemble without Roger Federer and now you see what you will get. It isn't pretty and something is terribly wrong with this picture. The final between Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori was virtually unwatchable. I know…I watched it. Sort of. I had to walk away from it a number of times and it certainly didn't matter if I did. Nothing happened and I wouldn't miss anything by walking away.

It was only the anticlimactic, mind-numbing, endless back court rallies. Once the match seemed to get out of reach Nishikori started to make some rather ill advised lackluster approaches to the net but that in itself did nothing to add credibility to the match. The tournament was dead in the water as soon as Roger Federer pulled out and further stifled when Rafael Nadal lamely conceded defeat in an early round. Who was left to carry the show?

One player does not a tournament make. This isn't professional wrestling…is it? As it stands there is only one player and the field is so weak and predictable this one player now owns the record of ATP 1000 titles won in a career. Keep in mind though that the reason that he has this record is because of a rather lame field of competitors. Not one man enough to stand up and challenge the most one dimensional tennis champion in tennis history. Novak Djokovic is of course great at what he does but isn't there one player in the field that understands the Tilden commandment…never give your opponent the ball he wants to play. Novak get only a steady diet of this play. No body is capable of forcing him into playing an all court game.

Tennis has really out smarted itself. By tennis…I refer to the powers that be that make the decisions regards the equipment and the courts and balls and such. By design these fellows have concocted this absolutely pathetically boring game. Nobody even bothers to argue against this anymore. Not since 10splayer left the stadium and he never really addressed this either. He had some personal objections that he and I actually patched up behind the scenes.

So what is left of the professional tour? It's going to be interesting to see. The commentatoes are obviously controlled by the man behind the curtain. They were at a complete loss yesterday in even trying to attempt to inject any kind of interest into the final. Kei Nishikori was hopelessly out matched after he defeated maybe the one person who could have salvaged the final…the unpredictable Mr. Kyrgios. The problem with Kyrgios is if you are going to live and die with this inconsistent piece of work you are going down in flames. He certainly doesn't have the type of stuff that you want to represent your product with. Now let's just talk about tennis for what it is…it's only a business now. It is only about money.

I was right way back when. The late '70s and early '80s. There should have been some video footage of me ranting against my opponents using the new and shiny Prince Graphites. I was shouting a lot of things but what I was really saying after the wreckage was this…they are taking the art out of the game. I must have said it a million times to anyone that would listen. But nobody really did. It's true. Nobody really listened. They were too busy going out to buy the new stuff that was going to instantaneously transform them into a better tennis player. Actually there was one person that was listening. He was listening with the ears and eyes of a child. Aaron Krickstein.

[don_budge]

Chicken Dinner vs. Miami Final?

The kids were pestering that I take them out to dinner, to a chicken restaurant they love, so I forewent the final. I came back to find Djokovic had won 6-3 6-3...routine it seems.

The Chicken Dinner wins…straight sets!

[don_budge]

Fireworks…a dud

I've been out of town the last few days. At a tennis conference in Michigan. Didn't have a chance to see semis or finals. But based on scores that I saw, didn't seem like a whole lotta of fireworks.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Based on the match that I saw there was a definite lack of fireworks. It was a complete dud.