2017 Abierto Mexicano Telcel...ATP 500...Acapulco, Mexico

[don_budge]

2017 Abierto Mexicano Telcel...ATP 500...Acapulco, Mexico

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/current/acapulco/807/draws

Okay...Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal make a tournament too. In fact there are quite a few big names in this one. Djokovic may have a second round match against the Jolly Green Argentine...Juan Martin Del Potro. A fitting matchup following their first round meeting in the Olympics where Novak was shown the door.

Nick "The Jerk" Kyrgios in the house as well. Let's see how his act is coming together. But anything less than a Djokovic vs. Nadal final is going to be less than fulfilling expectations.

[klacr]

Was at the Delray Beach 250 event last week. Was up close and personal (on court) for many of the matches. Was able to see Del Potro and for his first tournament of 2017 really showed some good form. Glad he is playing in back to back weeks. Look forward to him having another solid year. A dangerous floater in any draw based on his ranking at the moment. He will be back in top 20 by year end and knocking on the top 10 door...assuming he can stay healthy.

Acapulco is a nice event and primes many of the players for Indian Wells which is coming up shortly. A Rafa-Novak final may be what the people want, but a Del Potro-Rafa final may delight the Latin American fans as well.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Del Potro...the Diplodocus. How come everyone likes this player except me? I find him the dullest player on the tour...45 seconds between points....no variety...slow and lumbering. Send him on a one-way ticket to the moon please.

[don_budge]

Del Potro...the Diplodocus. How come everyone likes this player except me? I find him the dullest player on the tour...45 seconds between points....no variety...slow and lumbering. Send him on a one-way ticket to the moon please.

The one reason that I "like" him...not sure if that is the word I would use to describe my impression of him...is that he is capable of beating Djokovic, Nadal and Murray. What's not to like? But I also find him to be Diplodocus to the side of ridiculous. The inordinate amount of time it takes him to play a match is astounding. He seems to be permanently gassed after long points. Actually he is another in the cast of characters that make professional tennis start to resemble Big Time Wrestling.

[klacr]

The one reason that I "like" him...not sure if that is the word I would use to describe my impression of him...is that he is capable of beating Djokovic, Nadal and Murray. What's not to like? But I also find him to be Diplodocus to the side of ridiculous. The inordinate amount of time it takes him to play a match is astounding. He seems to be permanently gassed after long points. Actually he is another in the cast of characters that make professional tennis start to resemble Big Time Wrestling.

the same reason I like him. He is capable of beating the big 4. Yes he is lumbering and banal but he can throw a monkey wrench In to a draw because of his ability.

Is he the most exciting, hell no. But he does have the tools to make Djokovic, Murray, Nadal and Federer sweat. And that has to say something

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

the same reason I like him. He is capable of beating the big 4. Yes he is lumbering and banal but he can throw a monkey wrench In to a draw because of his ability.

Is he the most exciting, hell no. But he does have the tools to make Djokovic, Murray, Nadal and Federer sweat. And that has to say something

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

The one reason that I "like" him...not sure if that is the word I would use to describe my impression of him...is that he is capable of beating Djokovic, Nadal and Murray.

So this is how desperate we've all become. Anyone will do so long as they can make some kind of a dent in the top four. It seems Wawrinka and Del Potro can make a dent where as a much more entertaining player like Monfils cannot, which is a great shame, for tennis, and us.

What I miss most in tennis is the touch player, a playing style now made obsolete by the sheer power of the game. I remember watching a player called Ramesh Krishnan. He hit the ball at about 5mph but was deft and had guile. I once watched him carve up Nyström in four sets at Wimbledon....can't remember the year but it was before velocity tennis had laid its foundations. You won't see another Krishnan...or McEnroe or Nastase ever again. Any junior with that kind of a gift will have it coached right out of them.

But Del Potro still gets that one-way ticket for me. I just cannot bring myself to be a supporter.

[klacr]

Kyrgios takes out Djokovic in straight sets.
He is the first player ever to beat Federer, Nadal and Djokovic on his first try. Thats an incredible stat.

Acapulco semis: Kyrgios vs. Querrey
Cilic vs. Nadal

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

I didn't see the Kyrgios/Djokovic match but Djokovic was in a stinking mood in the post match presser. He took only a few questions and spoke a mere twelve words then disappeared...end of interview.

[don_budge]

Sudden Sam Querry...

American Sam Querry defeated Kyle Edmund, David Goffin, Dominic Thiem, Nick Kyrgios (who defeated Novak Djokovic) and finally Rafael Nadal in the finals. Quite a tournament for Sam...and perhaps a big one for American tennis. A tremendous performance. I watched the highlights from the Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal matches. He came up with goods when he had to.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/current/acapulco/807/draws

His serve seems to have some extra pop on it now and his backhand seems to be more aggressive. I haven't watched a lot of Sam Querry in the past but it is quite a surprise to see him win this title at the Princess Hotel in Acapulco. Don Budge used to have a seasonal job back in the 60's and 70's at this hotel. I hope that Sam realized this.

[don_budge]

So this is how desperate we've all become. Anyone will do so long as they can make some kind of a dent in the top four. It seems Wawrinka and Del Potro can make a dent where as a much more entertaining player like Monfils cannot, which is a great shame, for tennis, and us.

What I miss most in tennis is the touch player, a playing style now made obsolete by the sheer power of the game. I remember watching a player called Ramesh Krishnan. He hit the ball at about 5mph but was deft and had guile. I once watched him carve up Nyström in four sets at Wimbledon....can't remember the year but it was before velocity tennis had laid its foundations. You won't see another Krishnan...or McEnroe or Nastase ever again. Any junior with that kind of a gift will have it coached right out of them.

But Del Potro still gets that one-way ticket for me. I just cannot bring myself to be a supporter.

Don't get me started. The game is a bore. I watched the highlights of Querry playing Kyrgios and Nadal...it was that I could take.

[stotty]

Djokovic's fall from the game is mind-boggling. After drubbing Murray in the final of the French Open last year, it looked as if Djokovic was set win eight more slams at least He looked thoroughly unstoppable. Aside from the occasional big-hitting opponent having a purple day, his losses looked like being restricted to a mere four or five a year...staggering when you think about it. There was no-one to touch him, no one. Murray was still miles off.

All it took was a Bollywood star, a disgruntled wife, and few months of turmoil for the wheels to come off...and how they've come off.

I'm not sure about his coaching set up either. I cannot get my head round the appointment of Pepe Imaz, for example.

[don_budge]

The Proverbial Wall...

It looks to me as if Novak Djokovic has hit "The Proverbial Wall". The psycho drama may have speeded things along but he was on top of the game for his allotted time. Looking at his physique and the way that he plays it wouldn't appear that he could go on forever like Roger Federer has. Pepe who? He might be back too...you never know. He knows what it is like...he knows what it takes. He just has to duplicate the circumstances. It might be a question of desire...of hunger. How bad can he want it at this point? Federer in this regard seems to have a leg up as well. To him it is just a game. He's having fun. Fun is an important ingredient. Novak didn't appear to be having a lot of fun in that presser did he?

But a loss to Kyrgios shouldn't be the end of the world to him. He has a favorite tourney just around the corner. It will be interesting to see how he responds.

You cannot underestimate the disgruntled wife element. Women can bring you down...just as much as they can buoy you up. Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned.

[stotty]

You could be right about the age thing. Djokovic, Murray and Nadal are all crossing the aged 30 mark. None of them are showing signs of hanging up their rackets. All three look set to play into their 30s. Federer has given them that hope by breaking the age barrier and, therefore, it would seem, Djokovic, Murray and Nadal feel they are entitled to do the same. My betting is the physicality of their games, or rather their sheer dependence on it, will prevent them doing a Federer. Roger has so much to fall back on and, crucially, he can shorten points. He can also dispatch weaker opposition more efficiently and with less effort than anyone else. A handy quality to have when churning his way through seven rounds of a slam.

Djokovic is a funny fish. I've said this before. He is the one player out of the four that, out of the blue, could throw in the towel and walk away.

What was it Dustin Hoffman once said? ''To have a successful marriage, a man must, on a fundamental level be scared shitless of his wife.''