2017 Internazionali BNL d'Italia...ATP 1000...Rome, Italy

[don_budge]

Another ATP 1000 lacking the presence of Roger Federer. Starting to get the idea? What will professional tennis be like without "The Living Proof"? Can you hear that sucking sound? It sucks. It's the sound of all of the air going out of a balloon. That is what it sounds like when Roger exits the stadium. Sort of like Elvis...yeah?

Be that as it may we have the "other" three of the Big Four. Two who just happen to be completely lost at the moment. Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic seem to be having difficulties just fighting their way out of a paper bag. Djokovic has dismissed his entire coaching staff...I heard a rumor about an impending drug scandal. It was an article somewhere on the web. Maybe it was just some comments below an article. But at any rate...it's strange that he doesn't have so many people to gesture to in his box anymore. Andy Murray on the other hands still has his entire retinue with him and he makes full use and has plenty of reason to scream and gesture. He has strung together a nice string of losses since winning the Dubai Open. Remember his historic loss to Mischa Zverev in Australia? He beat Fernando Verdasco in the finals of Dubai and went on to lose to Vasek Pospisil (#129) at Indian Wells, he lost to Albert Ramos-Violas (#24) at Monte-Carlo after skipping Miami entirely. Then he managed to get to the semi-finals at Barcelona before Dominic Thiem handed him his ass before Borna Coric duplicated the effort at Madrid.

Stan Wawrinka is with us too! For a number three player in the world he has had some rather lame results in the year 2017. After his scintillating loss to Roger at the Australian semi-finals he managed to lose to Damir Dzumhur (#77) at Dubai, another scintillating loss to Roger in Indian Wells in the finals where he called Roger an asshole in his runner up speech (all in good fun), but it has been all down hill from there. A loss to Alexander Zverev in Miami, a lost to Pablo Cuevas at Monte-Carlo and last and least...to Benoit Paire at Madrid. A dreadful run of things...but he doesn't seem to care. And look out Stan...you may be playing Benoit in your first match as well if he gets by countryman Nicolas Mahut.

One must feel something for Grigor Dimitrov too. He is seeded number ten in Rome and he has the misfortune of drawing the joker in the first round deck of cards...Juan Martin Del Potro. All in all the gang is all here. "Fabulous" Fabio Fognini has already won his first round and he is just dying to take out the number one seed and the number one player in professional tennis right now...Andy Murray. Since attaining the number one Andy has reacted as if he has an allergy to winning. It is a huge mental transition from pursuing the top and getting there. Some cannot handle the pressure and Andy has always been questioned about his intestinal fortitude. Some don't have the belly for staying at the top...it was enough deep down inside to just get there. It's a huge accomplishment...but it comes with a price. You have a bounty on your head and a bullseye on your back.

Isn't there someone that can get rid of that piece of work...Fafa Nadal.

[stotty]

Isn't there someone that can get rid of that piece of work...Fafa Nadal.

I don't think there is. He's going to win the event, barring a something strange happening that is. Djokovic at his very best is the only player anywhere near close to matching Nadal on clay. Anyone else? Not a hope in hell.

[seano]

Federer announced today that he is skipping the French.

[klacr]

The vacuum of Federer's absense is sucking me away from the joy of the game. Have not watched nearly enough of this clay court season and the french open is not on my list of top priorities. Very sad.

Let's hope Federer makes Wimbledon special

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Federer announced today that he is skipping the French.

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/15/tennis/roger-federer-to-skip-2017-french-open/index.html

This is truly some very strange shit. "In the interests of longevity...playing the ATP tour for many years to come..."

A contrite note of apology to "his fans" at Roland Garros. Have you ever heard the expression...sheer and utter nonsense?

[don_budge]

The vacuum of Federer's absense is sucking me away from the joy of the game. Have not watched nearly enough of this clay court season and the french open is not on my list of top priorities. Very sad.

Let's hope Federer makes Wimbledon special

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

I feel my interest waning and my attitude getting worse with every tournament passing.

[don_budge]

My Waning Interest...Andy Murray's fear of heights. Acrophobia.

Another ATP 1000 lacking the presence of Roger Federer. Starting to get the idea? What will professional tennis be like without "The Living Proof"? Can you hear that sucking sound? It sucks. It's the sound of all of the air going out of a balloon. That is what it sounds like when Roger exits the stadium. Sort of like Elvis...yeah?

Andy Murray on the other hands still has his entire retinue with him and he makes full use and has plenty of reason to scream and gesture. He has strung together a nice string of losses since winning the Dubai Open. Remember his historic loss to Mischa Zverev in Australia? He beat Fernando Verdasco in the finals of Dubai and went on to lose to Vasek Pospisil (#129) at Indian Wells, he lost to Albert Ramos-Violas (#24) at Monte-Carlo after skipping Miami entirely. Then he managed to get to the semi-finals at Barcelona before Dominic Thiem handed him his ass before Borna Coric duplicated the effort at Madrid.

"Fabulous" Fabio Fognini has already won his first round and he is just dying to take out the number one seed and the number one player in professional tennis right now...Andy Murray. Since attaining the number one Andy has reacted as if he has an allergy to winning. It is a huge mental transition from pursuing the top and getting there. Some cannot handle the pressure and Andy has always been questioned about his intestinal fortitude. Some don't have the belly for staying at the top...it was enough deep down inside to just get there. It's a huge accomplishment...but it comes with a price. You have a bounty on your head and a bullseye on your back.

Andy Murray is an interesting character...in a most boring manner. For many years he had the reputation of something of a "choker" but somehow managed to eat his way up the food chain to be the number one professional tennis player in the world. But once he gets there he just totally caves in. He is a human being afterall and subject to his own individual weaknesses and strengths. But apparently the idea about being on the top doesn't sit well with him. He has struggled ever since and now he is just a mess. He lost to "The Fabulous One" last night...Fabio Fognini.

I watched something of the first set. Trying to stay awake as the nights get shorter and shorter here in Sweden...the land of the midnight sun. It starts to get light out around four in the morning now and I wake up for the nature call and cannot get back to sleep for the life of me. The birds are chirping...the day is born. Early. So I say to myself to stay up later so that I will be more inclined to sleep later. I tried some tennis last night and it worked in a double edged way. I not only stayed up later but it was so boring it made me fall into a deep sleep. I managed to sleep to five-thirty.

But the tennis? Frightening I would say. Here was the number one tennis player in the world being schooled and downright dissed by the number one playboy on the circuit. Striker of the ball? My God...since when has this become the description of a tennis player. That sounds like a golf connotation. Do you think golf is boring? Try going to a tournament and watching it in person. It's much better on television...what does that tell you? But that is what Fabulous does...he strikes the ball from the baseline mainly. He managed to make our Andy look like a fish out of water on the dirt. A sad sack of potatoes.

Novak Djokovic more or less relished the number one status and managed to stay on top for quite a long time. Roger Federer also found the view to be quite agreeable from up there on Mount Olympus. Looking down on the mere mortals. But Andy seems to have a fear of heights...he is so afraid of being there that he has forgotten how it was that he got there in the first place. He has forgotten how to play tennis. Isn't that funny? Amusing? Ironic...considering his past reputation?

[stroke]

Interesting semi Novak vs Thiem. Per oddsmakers, they are the #2 and 3 favorites after Nadal for FO title. Zverev is #6.

[stotty]

Novak demolishes Thiem. Not that I saw a single ball as I was working. I am hoping that Novak will get back to his best for the French. It will be the Rafa Nadal show if not. It got to the point last year when Novak was equal to Nadal on clay and psychologically had the upper hand....then all of a sudden the wheels came off.

I do find I can root for Thiem. He's aggressive and decent to watch. Zverev is a little dull but I can see him being world number one. He is still so young and has much in the tank. As for Kyrgios...I don't like the kid but am weirdly drawn to what might happen in his matches.

The Big 4 need upstaging. It would be good for the game if they were superseded...all of them.

[klacr]

Djokovic sending locker room statement to rest of the tour? He had to finish the Del Potro match earlier in the day and then took on Thiem. He beat them both on same day by a combined game score of 17-3. He was much more intense and focused each point in the Thiem match. Kinda like the Djokovic of old.

Zverev is impressive and when he learns to volley or get halfway comfortable in that piece of mysterious modern tennis real estate known as the forecourt, he will be special.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stroke]

Zverev is so like Novak to me. His backhand, if anything, is better than his very good forehand(like Novak), which in itself seperates him from practically every other player at his level. He does not have good volleys/hands like Novak. His serve is better, as he at 6'5" or 6'6" or so, has that advantage, but he, even though he is a spectacular mover at that height, will never match Novak in that department. He appears to be a future #1 with several Grand Slam titles in his future, as unlike Nick K, he works hard and he truly appears to be interested in realizing his potential. The final tomorrow should be interesting, as Novak surely looked interested again in his beat down on Thiem. A FO title even this year seems doable for him.

[don_budge]

Zverev breaks Djokovic in the first game. Djokovic averaged 16 bounces on his first serve and 14 on the second. He didn't get a single first serve in and had numerous let serves. How many times did he bounce the ball before he served? Answer...too many. Way too many.

[klacr]

The future is now. Zverev with an impressive win over the once top dog Djokovic. Zverev has the size, the power, moves very well and has the aura/confidence/moxy to get to the top.

20 years old and now in the top 10.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

The future is now. Zverev with an impressive win over the once top dog Djokovic. Zverev has the size, the power, moves very well and has the aura/confidence/moxy to get to the top.

20 years old and now in the top 10.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Oh yes...the future is now. Quite frankly...it sucks. Real bad. Real fucking bad. That's the news. That's the truth.

Here...chew on this one:

https://thefield.scroll.in/837848/four-set-games-atp-to-experiment-with-radical-rule-changes-at-the-next-gen-finals

Read the gobbledygook from the ATP president Chris Kermode. I have never heard such Orwellian bullshit in all of my life. It is lock step with the fake news of the mainstream media. Wasn't it me calling the mainstream media a "Weapon of Mass Deception" long before Donald Trump began lambasting the media as "fake news". Fake news it most certainly is. It is so bad that even I am having a tough time now unraveling the layers and layers of bullshit. But I digress...as klacr likes to say at times. Chris Kermode...what an idiot.


"The ATP said the aim of the changes was designed “at creating a high-tempo, cutting-edge, and TV-friendly product”.

“(They) are geared towards attracting new and younger fans into the sport, while at the same time retaining the sport’s traditional fan-base.”

ATP president Chris Kermode added: “We’re excited to be bringing something new to the table with this event.

“This event is not only about the next generation of players, but also about the next generation of fans.”

He stressed that the ATP remains “acutely aware of the traditions in our sport”.

“We will be sure to safeguard the integrity of our product when assessing if any changes should eventually be carried forward onto regular ATP World Tour events in the future,” he said."

Question for you Mr. Kermode...why did they start fucking with the game in the first place? On the one hand it is "creating a high-tempo, cutting-edge, and TV-friendly product" and on the other hand it is "the ATP remains acutely aware of the traditions in our sport". Talk about speaking out of both sides of the mouth...at the same time. Point of fact...nothing remains of the traditional sport of tennis. The future is now...as klacr said. Never in my life have I heard more sheer and utter nonsense.

Sets up to four. Tie-breaker at 3 all. No add scoring. No let services. Right on Mr. Kermode..."acutely aware of the traditions of our sport". It isn't our sport any longer...it is the governance of the game that rules. Fans? Players? Fuck you. Your vote doesn't count.

Alexander Zverev as the future of the game. Yeah...he's a real ball basher. Nice racquet. Nice and huge. Ball strikers? Where is the net game? The approach game? The subtlety? The art? The spirit? Yeah...it's all dead.

It is culmination point number 6. It might as well be 666. The sign of the beast. It surrounds us. You can take this little experiment by the ATP with the "Next Generation" tennis players as a sign. A very bad sign. But this has been going on for a very long time. Some call it progress. I am not certain what I want to call them that call it that. But rots of ruck. Good bye...see you never.

[stroke]

Zverev has moved into the #4 favorite for FO title per oddsmakers, just barely behind Stan.