2016 Gerry Weber Open...ATP 500...Halle, Germany

[klacr]

old vs. new

It's the next generation vs the old guard.

Zverev vs. Federer
Them vs. Mayer

Florian Mayer was spectacular today vs. Seppi. Chipping, charging, serving and volleying. Delighted the German fans. Delighted me as well. Aufregend!

Zverev vs. Federer will be a fun match. Federer was clinical in first set vs. Goffin. What can Zverev do to keep Fed off balance. How will youngster react to Fed's attacking (assuming he does)

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Roger Federer and Company...2016 Gerry Weber Open

Federer was clinical in first set vs. Goffin.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

He was all that klacr. Not only clinical but surgical as well. He was applying the scalpel with deep incisions and also jackhammering away with his thunderous groundstrokes...of both sides! He really had the feel on the backhand in the first set. He was hammering it down the line as well as into the open crosscourt. It wasn't just the spinny in the middle of the court stuff...he was searching for the openings.

Kid Goffin was playing his way into the match. He took the best that Federer had in the first set and lost it 6-1 but he figured that the party was just getting started and he dug down deep and just started competing. It was great to see a player get down a set and just hitch up his shorts and go to work. This is the great thing about Goffin...he's got a lot of game and pound for pound he gets the most out of his talent as any player on the tour nowadays and he is going nowhere but up the ladder. If he can hang around a couple of more years it will be interesting to see just how high he can climb.

David Goffin was actually serving for the second set at 5-4 and 30-love. He had it in the bag...except he couldn't quite seal the deal. Roger had everything to say about it too. Roger not only played his "A" game first set but he showed the ability to change course in midstream which is an indication that he may just be returning to form. Goffin really rebounded after the first set and went toe to toe with Federer and he got in some really sound and punishing licks. But Roger managed to push him to the tie-breaker and it was an absorbing tie-breaker. It had everything...including a 12-10 final tally. Great stuff! Fantastic stuff!

The match before it was an equally absorbing match...Marcos Baghdatis and Alexander Zverev. I got to see the entire first set as Baghdatis was hunting the Kid and just trying to get himself into position to knock some sense into him. He had his chances in the first set tie-breaker which also had some absolutely stellar moments...as did the Federer/Goffin tie-break. Baghdatis has something like five set points but couldn't quite get his hands around Zverev's neck. On one set point they had something like a 43 shot rally that Zverev finally won and I think that one point might have taken the legs out from under Baghdatis. The rest of the match was more or less mop up for Zverev.

Baghdatis did a pretty good job of taken the biggest weapon in the bag of Zverev out of play until he tried to exploit it. He neutralized the backhand with a mixture of speed, spin and placement (control) to get himself into a position of power (maintaining pressure on his opponent). He had the "Next Generation" hopeful looking and pleading to his support group for help. Baghdatis threw in a handful of perfectly placed and timed "stop balls". That is European for "drop shot" by the way.

Zverev had some "Andy Murray" plaintive looks going on and he searched for an answer to the relentless play of Baghdatis in the first set. I found this behavior to be very annoying as Zverev looked like a spoiled child. I was hoping somebody would slap him. The Zverev legs saw him through as Baghdatis had just about enough for the week that saw him take out Tomas Berdych and "Downtown" Dustin Brown before succumbing to "Petulant Boy" Zverev. Baghdatis for his part played six sets and four of them ended up in tie-breakers.

Dominic Thiem apparently made a deal with his doubles partner to get a pass into the semi-finals to get a match against Florian "The Quirk" Mayer. Fortunately I will get a chance to see both matches today as I finished my job at the little tennis club in Sweden and start my eight week paid vacation. Can you imagine that? Eight weeks of freedom to explore the possibilities of the American Political Circus from the woods of Sweden? I will be attending to much needed attention to this old body seeking to resurrect it once again. A complete overhaul is now due going down the stretch.

Florian Mayer was spectacular today vs. Seppi. Chipping, charging, serving and volleying. Delighted the German fans. Delighted me as well. Aufregend!


Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

But back to "The Quirk"...and Thiem. This is the first meeting between the two and Mayer has done his own bit of overhauling his own deal. Currently he is ranked #192 in the world but don't let that fool you. This guy has game...in fact he has several games. "Chipping, charging, serving and volleying. Aufregend!" Not certain what the German word means but I am sure it doesn't mean "motwzaltov". This could be very interesting as Maxwell Smart used to say in "Get Smart". Dominic Thiem has apparently reached a level where guys that are ranked "192 shouldn't be an issue for him. We shall just see about that. Florian Mayer has a knack of bringing the big guys to their knees. I saw him literally make Robin Söderling cry when he beat the lumbering Swede in the finals of the Stockholm Open. It made me feel good to see that big lug cry...he also has the reputation of being a big jerk.

I'm pulling for Florian Mayer. He's the big underdog here but I admire him for what he does. He flies in the face of conventional wisdom. Joke 'em if that can't take a fuck!

Zverev vs. Federer will be a fun match. Federer was clinical in first set vs. Goffin. What can Zverev do to keep Fed off balance. How will youngster react to Fed's attacking (assuming he does)

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Federer versus Zverev? Roger had the answers the only time they played at the Italian Open. It was Roger's first event coming off his injury and he still wasn't healthy...or he was pretending not to be. Perhaps he figured it would be better in the big picture to just skip the French Open. A sacrifice in the name of PREPARATION. But here he is again...this time on grass. Baghdatis gave "Petulant Boy" everything he could handle for a set. Baghdatis did a great job of neutralizing the powerful backhand of Zverev and he certainly doesn't possess the slicing capabilities of Federer. He doesn't have the surgical and clinical acumen of a Federer. Federer...Baghdatis is not. Particularly on grass. Are there any other GRASS COURT players left other than Federer? It's a rhetorical question. Any questions about Zverev?

No? Good. Now for the questions about Federer. There is only one question really. What does he have in mind for his preparation for Wimbledon. Does he feel he needs this title to go forward or does he think enough is enough here. He was "Federesque" in that first set against Goffin and he was also "Federesque" in the second set in the way he managed his dysfunction and the tie-breaker. Either way...it's gong to be an interesting day. Particularly so since I have the day off. The first day off in a string of many. I'm thinking of my preparation too. Should I rest? Or proceed? A combination of both? Can somebody help me?

Dominic Thiem versus Florian Mayer...

This is a match I would like to see. Is a Thiem/Federer final too much to hope for? Not if you are Italian...or Swiss.

[don_budge]

A Couple of Things...Split sets

Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev have split the first two sets. It doesn't look to me that Federer is moving like he can. Even when he is walking his gait seems to be a bit different.

It was almost as if he didn't really want that second set but in the end Zverev almost handed him the break of service at 5-5. So does Federer really want to win this tournament or is it mission accomplished? He doesn't need the title does he? So what is the motivation for him to win? A rematch with Thiem? Does he really want that now or would he prefer to have it out with him three out of five at Wimbledon. He doesn't need to beat Zverev.

Let's see if Federer is willing to "dogfight" for this. I have my doubts. He does't look like a dogfighter. He doesn't have that look. Too much and too often off of the back foot. Not enough pressing the issue at the net. Even a flip of the racquet and some words with himself.

[stotty]

Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev have split the first two sets. It doesn't look to me that Federer is moving like he can. Even when he is walking his gait seems to be a bit different.

It was almost as if he didn't really want that second set but in the end Zverev almost handed him the break of service at 5-5. So does Federer really want to win this tournament or is it mission accomplished? He doesn't need the title does he? So what is the motivation for him to win? A rematch with Thiem? Does he really want that now or would he prefer to have it out with him three out of five at Wimbledon. He doesn't need to beat Zverev.

Let's see if Federer is willing to "dogfight" for this. I have my doubts. He does't look like a dogfighter. He doesn't have that look. Too much and too often off of the back foot. Not enough pressing the issue at the net. Even a flip of the racquet and some words with himself.

He's still a long way off the mark, don_budge. He isn't moving as well and has his is 500 ATP attitude on. These tournaments are for sparring rather than winning...unless events fold his way and he fancies it and may as well take the title.

I still fancy he is impaired slightly. I am not optimistic for Wimbledon. Just enjoy him because he may not be around much longer.

[klacr]

Zverev vs. Mayer.

Not the Halle final we were expecting was it?

But Florian Mayer...serving and volleying...on the grass...huh...neat concept.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Federer after his loss to Zverev

"There are little things that have to fall into place then I will play better and feel better," added Federer. "I hope that happens sooner rather than later.

"I have to see how I feel at the beginning of Wimbledon. I know the dangers of the early rounds of any Grand Slam.

"I now know what I need to work on in the next 10 days. Clearly I need some rest. It has been intense and busy and that is exactly what I have needed, and at least I have a clear picture if where my game is at and what I need to do."

[don_budge]

"Next Generation Tennis"...

"There are little things that have to fall into place then I will play better and feel better," added Federer. "I hope that happens sooner rather than later.

"I have to see how I feel at the beginning of Wimbledon. I know the dangers of the early rounds of any Grand Slam.

"I now know what I need to work on in the next 10 days. Clearly I need some rest. It has been intense and busy and that is exactly what I have needed, and at least I have a clear picture if where my game is at and what I need to do."

He needs some rest? It sure looked like he was resting in that third set against Zverev. Man...this stuff starts to look more like Big Time Wrestling more and more. No wonder there was that investigation of match fixing...this whole thing is rigged. They'll do anything to try and conjure some interest in this "Next Generation" hoax. That's all it is too...it's a hoax. Roger did his part in this hoax as he has handed over a couple of "big" wins to these kids in the last couple of months. Zverev acted like he couldn't believe that he had beaten Federer in the semifinals of an ATP tournament and he had every right to be disbelieving...I have a hard time believing it too. Even though I saw it happen. My Mother always told me...don't believe everything you hear and only half of what you see. That is really ringing true these days.

The reality of Federer's semifinal was that it looked to me as if Roger was a little annoyed that he had to play a third set. Did Zverev not hold up his part of the bargain when he failed to hold serve at 5-5 in the second. Roger looked to be less that intense the whole match. I think that one of the things that he needed to know was how well he could perform if he put his mind to it and he found that out in the first set against Goffin. ATP 250 attitude and then some. This was only a rehearsal...probably included a huge appearance fee as well.

My guess he is somewhat fit for fight and that all of the past six months have been geared towards one magic moment...Wimbledon. He talks only of that in his post match comments. It's only about Wimbledon. He didn't care to face Thiem in the finals...he knows everything he needs to know about Thiem. He's measured every little tiny aspect of Thiem's game and he knows he can beat him and he knows how to beat him. Probably even in straight sets should they meet at Wimbledon.

Zverev? He is "Next Generation" personified. I care nothing for his game. As a grass court player he might as well play on clay. One dimensional with a capital "D". It is amazing what the ATP is doing to promote this "Next Generation" business. There's nothing to it. Not one little tiny iota of anything compelling. All of them...one dimensional ponies. One Trick Ponies. Grass court players...that's a laugh.

The Dominic Thiem versus Florian Mayer match was the match that I really wanted to see in the end. Quirky as can be...Florian is playing the game as he sees it played. It's pretty refreshing to see him pull out his power game...it is a game made up of control. Combination of speed, spin and placement. He puts the ball where he wants it and plays it in such a way that his opponent his going to have to alter his default technique and have to play the ball in less than optimal conditions. Thiem certainly has some wonderful skills but it was less than amazing how easily Mayer took him out of his game. It makes me wonder just what kind of effort Federer was putting into that match last week.

It's almost over now. Roger is playing out his farewell tour. He will show up to win at Wimbledon but it is hard to imagine him winning it. He will probably show up at the U. S. Open but can he really challenge for the title. Get ready for "Next Generation Tennis"...but I will be sitting that one out.

[stotty]

I saw the second set of Mayer v Zverev. Mayer's retro style of play really frustrated Zverev. He slices his forehand and grovels around the baseline giving his opponent every little to work with. His forays to the net and drop shots were also effective. I found it amusing.

I like the way some of the lower ranked players are trying different things. You cannot blame them as they don't have a hope in hell standing on the baseline throwing rocks against the backcourt elite.

[bdole]

He's still a long way off the mark, don_budge. He isn't moving as well and has his is 500 ATP attitude on. These tournaments are for sparring rather than winning...unless events fold his way and he fancies it and may as well take the title.

I still fancy he is impaired slightly. I am not optimistic for Wimbledon. Just enjoy him because he may not be around much longer.

+1. If he makes the Halle final he's playing what, four matches in four days? And what does he care if he wins the smaller tournaments? He's tuning up for his best tournament...8 days away now.

[klacr]

Florian Mayer wins Halle. Variety, volleys and court sense on the grass. Great stuff.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

I saw the second set of Mayer v Zverev. Mayer's retro style of play really frustrated Zverev. He slices his forehand and grovels around the baseline giving his opponent every little to work with. His forays to the net and drop shots were also effective. I found it amusing.

I like the way some of the lower ranked players are trying different things. You cannot blame them as they don't have a hope in hell standing on the baseline throwing rocks against the backcourt elite.

Florian Mayer wins Halle. Variety, volleys and court sense on the grass. Great stuff.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

It was amusing alright...unless you were young "New Generation" Alexander Zverev. I thought it was amusing and interesting. A great lesson to be learned courtesy of "The Quirk"...Florian Mayer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBIQQRKOLF0

While Florian may be UNORTHODOX (take that bottle) but he knows how to play the game and the name of the game is "Match Play and the Spin of the Ball". For those that have not read "The Bible of Tennis" according to another familiar name in my tennis teaching paradigm, Harry Hopman, I strongly suggest that you do so. Don't do it because I told you to...do it to evolve into a true student of the game. Because if you have not read it...you have not.

But Florian goes by the book and he corroborates my definition of power to a Tee. I ask the student, what is power? It's a rhetorical question...I answer control is power. So what is control? Control is a combination of speed, spin and placement. Alexander Zverev would answer "blinding speed" to my question regarding power, whereas Florian Mayer would say that power is the ability to control your opponent an dot maintain pressure on him. He would say that power is the ability to get your opponent to play the game that you want him to play. This was an intellectual tennis match and it was textbook right out of the writings of Bill Tilden.

Alexander Zverev is a typical "New Generation" tennis player. Granted, he hits like hell off of both wings from the baseline...that is if you give him the ball that he likes to hit. Since all tennis players nowadays are one-dimensional baseliners they all hit the same ball. Shoulder high topspin over and over and over and over...well you get the idea. More and more you see the stop ball (drop shot to Americans) put in play as some sort of default tactic as if it was reinvented by the modern tennis world. Florian does everything he can to take his opponent out of this sort of rhythm...he slices, he dices, he even resorts to chopping. He drop shots and then he lobs and he can pound it into the corners or at an angle. In short he has Game Plan A-Z...he can hit the shot needed in any given situation that number one his opponent doesn't particularly want to play and number two it will keep his opponent just off balance enough so that he cannot get his real teeth into his ultra aggressive tactic. Florian takes speed out of the equation as the primary variable. He makes it a game of all three fundamental variables and he understands that if he can control the ball with his tactics and through his technique...he can control his opponent. If you can control your opponent...what does that do to your chances of prevailing?

He did the same exact thing to Dominic Thiem and even more convincingly. The less obvious aspect of Mayer's deceptiveness is his ability to generate pace and he can belt it too...just not as hard as a lot of the others. So he plays it smart...he takes a bit of the air out of the ball. But he can hit it...did you see the end of the end of the first set against Thiem? Four aces in a row...unbelievable? Does this make Florian a threat to Wimbledon? Not anymore so than Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev I wouldn't imagine.

But what an interesting week at Halle. We have Roger Federer putting the last finishing touches on his preparation...his meticulous preparation which I am sort of convinced is more where he wants to be than he may be letting on. That first set against David Goffin was "clinical" as klacr wrote...as in he put on a clinic as only Roger Federer can. At that point it was almost as if he felt that he had arrived at a point where with a weeks worth of work on the practice court, more conditioning and some rest he was where he wanted to be. With a proper draw he should get several rounds where he can dictate play and hopefully notch up some straight set wins. That performance against Zverev was no more important than his two losses to Thiem. It's interesting that of the handful of matches he has had in his "comeback" that almost a handful of them have come against Thiem and Zverev.

Florian Mayer as a retro player. That's sort an ironic statement and it hits the nail on the head at the same time. How is it that intelligent tennis tactics based on the concept of control are so out of date? How is it that the use of subtle tactics and use of the forecourt not only on his side but on his opponents side comes as such a surprise? I know I am answering my own question as I find myself repeating myself ad infinitum. But tennis...and golf...are game of repetition aren't they? Bordering on the ritualistic. Like prayers to the Gods of Recreation...strokes and combinations of strokes ritually repeated until it is humming just right. Like the vibrating universe...Roger Federer tries to one more time find the perfect tune. The perfect pitch. Take that eaglesburg.

[stroke]

i don't know if any of you saw the Raonic/Murray final but it was very impressive. Milos won the 1st set and was up a break in the 2nd, riding his serve and controlling the match. Murray stayed mentally strong and totally engaged and fought his way back and won the match. It sure did look like having Lendl back with him made a big difference it the way he conducted himself out there. It was nice to see.

[stotty]

i don't know if any of you saw the Raonic/Murray final but it was very impressive. Milos won the 1st set and was up a break in the 2nd, riding his serve and controlling the match. Murray stayed mentally strong and totally engaged and fought his way back and won the match. It sure did look like having Lendl back with him made a big difference it the way he conducted himself out there. It was nice to see.

Raonic should have won from that commanding position with the serve he has. Once Murray clawed his way it became apparent that Murray's overall game is quite a bit better than Raonic's.

Great post by don_budge on Mayer's retro style of play. It's good to see Mayer succeeding on the lower bouncing and slightly quicker grass courts at Halle. No wonder Federer usually walks the event each year.

It's reassuring to see quirky players have 15 minutes of fame here and there. Zverev couldn't power him off and he was looking at Mayer with disdain at times....like he was saying "what am I doing losing to a player with a game like you"? I was comical, it really was.

[stroke]

Raonic should have won from that commanding position with the serve he has. Once Murray clawed his way it became apparent that Murray's overall game is quite a bit better than Raonic's.

Great post by don_budge on Mayer's retro style of play. It's good to see Mayer succeeding on the lower bouncing and slightly quicker grass courts at Halle. No wonder Federer usually walks the event each year.

It's reassuring to see quirky players have 15 minutes of fame here and there. Zverev couldn't power him off and he was looking at Mayer with disdain at times....like he was saying "what am I doing losing to a player with a game like you"? I was comical, it really was.

That was something. Agree about Mayer, great to see him win a tournament like that. Who would have ever thought he could have won that tournament going in? Zverev sure looks like a future number 1 to me.