2017 French Open...ATP 2000...Roland Garros...Paris, France

[don_budge]

The Rigors of Five Sets...Alex gave away the advantage

Some huge lessons to take away from this match for the young and upcoming Alexander Zverev.

He's still young and a bit wet behind the ears...as they say in the horse business. I can say with certainty that I will never be a "fan" of Zverev. He's a one dimensional tennis player and the ATP only has to speed up the courts incrementally to showcase his inadequacies as a tennis player.

Mats Wilander said pretty much the same thing...the thing about the huge lessons that is. Mats wouldn't dare to be to critical of the ATP's prodigal son. The Chosen One. I will tell you what I see...The Petulant One. It seems to me that every time I see young Alex lose he is breaking racquets. One time he is going to get a shred of graphite in the eye and that will be the end of that.

But more than the discarded racquets...which serve as a poor example to all who have to pay for their sticks he is showing signs of a liberalism such as he is entitled to things that are not his or he hasn't earned. In the real world it is only hard work that pays off and not entitlements. Here was Alex and Fernando doing a stand down on the French Open official who was insisting that the two continue play after splitting the first two sets. Fernando chose to sit down and refuse to play while Alex chose to stand up and gesture his displeasure at the officials audacity to take the paying customers into consideration.

Fernando is a very dangerous first round opponent. What happens after the first round is a different story as the rounds progress. But Zverev is going to have to earn it and guys like Fernando aren't going to hand it over. Zverev should have been pressing to continue the match after he had leveled it at one set all. He should have continued to apply the pressure on his older opponent but instead he took the cowards way out...the petulant way out. He refused to play right in the face of the official.

When the match resumed...Fernando played it like a two out of three as it was. Instead of having to dig deep into Davey Jones Locker deep in a fifth set he went out for the knockout...which he is very good at. He had reduced things to its simplest terms when he got his way to discontinue play after losing the second set. Mats Wilander "agreed" with me in this regard.

I think the jury is still out on the question regarding his reign at the top of professional tennis. If professional tennis cannot come up with a better player with a less petulant attitude they are in big trouble...which they already are. This tournament without Roger Federer has been reduced to it's simplest terms too. It's called "Tennis for Dummies".

[stotty]

At the moment we seem on course for a Thiem v Djokovic quarter final. Nadal doesn't look like he has an opponent to topple him until the semis....where he should meet either Thiem or Djokovic. Murray could have a tricky encounter with Del Potro as early as the third round. Roger is nowhere to be seen and that's just as well. Playing on clay is physically horrendous. There are few cheap point to be had; like it or not a player just has to suffer to succeed on clay.

[klacr]

Won't get interesting until the 2nd week. All these matches are just foreplay. Everyone wants to see that three headed monster of Nadal, Djokovic, Murray and a 4th player for the semis. Who can beat Nadal? Who will beat Murray? Who will Djokovic lose to...or will he?

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

All these matches are just foreplay.
Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Yes...it's so true isn't it? Foreplay. What pleasant imagery.

Everyone is thinking Big Four...minus the one and only interesting prospect in the draw that happens to be MIA. But yes...foreplay. Mental masturbation. Stroking the lobes with thoughts and fantasy. Imagery.

Here's one for you...the Stevie Johnson story. It's an age old story and one that nearly every man on the planet will come to know. An event that for those fortunate to have a father that actually teaches you about life and the rules and regulations. To build a paradigm...with your father's eyes. Stevie lost his daddy under some curious circumstances...it came as a sudden and tragic surprise. Tragic in the sense it was sudden. No time to prepare...no time to resolve or to say goodbye. Stevie eked out one against an up and coming Next Generation rising star...Borna Coric. These stories play themselves out on a daily basis without any attention from the outside. People get sick and die. Foreplay.

Stevie has Dominic Theim next up and his emotional crisis can either hold him up in good stead or it will take some of his luster in the face of withering heat from Dominic. There is no forgiveness on the tennis court in the end any more than there is any in the board of Life...the game of Life. The two have met just one time...in 2014 at Nice, France. Thiem prevailed as he was making a more publicized climb up the ladder than little Stevie. But Stevie was with him every step of the way and lost a close one. In three sets. I sympathized for Stevie. I don't know how it will affect me to lose my dear old father...but I am afraid I am beginning to get an idea.

Stevie said after his match that he was just going to keep doing what his father taught him to do. His father was a tennis coach. Stevie says he is just going to go out and be a competitive guy. He knows there is nothing else to do now at this crossroads of life. The death of his father has left him looking into the emotional abyss. If you gaze for long into the abyss...the abyss also gazes back into you. Nietzsche.

I really like Dominic Thiem as a tennis player. I don't know him of course. I watched him play Bolleli yesterday. It was the most that I have watched of the 2017 French Open. The two one handed backhands made the match watchable in a limited sort of way. But somehow my own emotions get in the way here...I hope that Stevie wins. I hope that he is that competitive guy his father was probably so very proud of. Nobody gets out of here alive...it is while we are here that we must do our best. Our very own very best. It is all that matters now. Good luck Stevie.

[don_budge]

Make me cry...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs8y3kneqrs

[stroke]

Yes...it's so true isn't it? Foreplay. What pleasant imagery.

Everyone is thinking Big Four...minus the one and only interesting prospect in the draw that happens to be MIA. But yes...foreplay. Mental masturbation. Stroking the lobes with thoughts and fantasy. Imagery.

Here's one for you...the Stevie Johnson story. It's an age old story and one that nearly every man on the planet will come to know. An event that for those fortunate to have a father that actually teaches you about life and the rules and regulations. To build a paradigm...with your father's eyes. Stevie lost his daddy under some curious circumstances...it came as a sudden and tragic surprise. Tragic in the sense it was sudden. No time to prepare...no time to resolve or to say goodbye. Stevie eked out one against an up and coming Next Generation rising star...Borna Coric. These stories play themselves out on a daily basis without any attention from the outside. People get sick and die. Foreplay.

Stevie has Dominic Theim next up and his emotional crisis can either hold him up in good stead or it will take some of his luster in the face of withering heat from Dominic. There is no forgiveness on the tennis court in the end any more than there is any in the board of Life...the game of Life. The two have met just one time...in 2014 at Nice, France. Thiem prevailed as he was making a more publicized climb up the ladder than little Stevie. But Stevie was with him every step of the way and lost a close one. In three sets. I sympathized for Stevie. I don't know how it will affect me to lose my dear old father...but I am afraid I am beginning to get an idea.

Stevie said after his match that he was just going to keep doing what his father taught him to do. His father was a tennis coach. Stevie says he is just going to go out and be a competitive guy. He knows there is nothing else to do now at this crossroads of life. The death of his father has left him looking into the emotional abyss. If you gaze for long into the abyss...the abyss also gazes back into you. Nietzsche.Ver
I really like Dominic Thiem as a tennis player. I don't know him of course. I watched him play Bolleli yesterday. It was the most that I have watched of the 2017 French Open. The two one handed backhands made the match watchable in a limited sort of way. But somehow my own emotions get in the way here...I hope that Stevie wins. I hope that he is that competitive guy his father was probably so very proud of. Nobody gets out of here alive...it is while we are here that we must do our best. Our very own very best. It is all that matters now. Good luck Stevie.

Tough match up for Johnson vs Thiem. They have such similar type games, but Theim has such a better bh. Fitness in this gruelling touurnament is not an issue for either. It is hard to see Johnson beating him best of 5 on this surface. Both are very likeable players.

[stotty]

Murray seems to have weathered the early storm and is a break up in the third. Murray is starting to move extremely well....simply eats up the ground. That Klizan must have one of the biggest forehands out there.

[bottle]

Hey, don_budge, you're great on tennis and awful on history/current affairs/politics. So I was sorry to see you mix the two in your post called "The Rigors of Five Sets-- Alex gave away the advantage." You shouldn't be a shill for crooked people who are very rich and prefer stealing over hard work. Hard work is the province of the lunatic right? Give me a break. "Liberal" means to feel entitled to things that aren't yours? Give me a break again. Donald Trump is the most petulant creep on the face of the earth. And not only feels entitled to what is not his but takes it.

[stotty]

Del Potro v Murray. The diplodocus versus the farmer's boy. Not an easy match for Murray by any stretch.

[stroke]

Del Potro v Murray. The diplodocus versus the farmer's boy. Not an easy match for Murray by any stretch.

No doubt. Delpo had the biggest weapon on the court with those 2 with his fh

[don_budge]

Del Potro v Murray. The diplodocus versus the farmer's boy. Not an easy match for Murray by any stretch.

No doubt. Delpo had the biggest weapon on the court with those 2 with his fh

Yes...an interesting match up. The Huge Del Potro Forehand versus The Counterpunching Murray. Murray's backhand may Trump Del Potro's forehand here. Plus the issue of movement...didn't somebody say that Murray was eating up the court. But Del Potro has been posing a big problem for these big players as of late. To meet him so early in the tournament is unsettling. It seems that they wouldn't meet a player of his "stature" in these early rounds. It would be great if he got his ranking up to where it once was.

[don_budge]

No doubt. Delpo had the biggest weapon on the court with those 2 with his fh

This is a very interesting comment upon which to initiate a discussion of the tactics of these two players. The Del Potro forehand is the obvious "weapon" on the court but perhaps more subtly is what is going on between the player's ears. One would think that the objective of Murray's tactics would be to take this weapon out of the hands of Del Potro and only allow him to use it when he is not in position to hurt Murray. This is a tall order it would seem. But consider the backhand versus backhand matchup...Del Potro in the recent past has been somewhat limited in his choices here as he has opted to slice the backhand more and more due to wrist injuries to his left hand. Murray on the other hand has a potentially real deal breaker on the backhand side as it is perhaps the stronger of his two strokes. This poses a problem for Del Potro if he is forced to play his forehand in a specific way in order that Murray doesn't knock him off balance in the beginning of points.

The service games might be the most important aspect of this match as again...Murray has such a superb return of serve which may force Del Potro to serve even better. So much of this matchup is psychological and tactical it might actually be fun to watch. I wonder what time it is on.

[don_budge]

The Next Generation...Racquet Smashing Specialists

A couple of more "entitled" Next Generation brats go on racquet smashing sprees. Borna Coric and Nick "The Jerk" Kyrgios did their best "Demolition Man" impressions as they went out with a bang. Throw Zverev in with the bunch and it makes me pause and wonder just what this sort of behavior does to the impressions of the tennis public.

http://baseline.tennis.com/article/66485/nick-kyrgios-smashes-racquet-spooks-child

http://thebiglead.com/2017/05/31/video-borna-coric-with-a-racquet-smash-for-the-ages-at-the-french-open/

I think anger and frustration is a natural by product of such a psychological tussle as an intense tennis match can be but this smashing is on the theatrical side. It's the dark side of human impulsive behavior. To break a racquet is one thing but to continue to smash it to smithereens is over the top.

[stroke]

This is a very interesting comment upon which to initiate a discussion of the tactics of these two players. The Del Potro forehand is the obvious "weapon" on the court but perhaps more subtly is what is going on between the player's ears. One would think that the objective of Murray's tactics would be to take this weapon out of the hands of Del Potro and only allow him to use it when he is not in position to hurt Murray. This is a tall order it would seem. But consider the backhand versus backhand matchup...Del Potro in the recent past has been somewhat limited in his choices here as he has opted to slice the backhand more and more due to wrist injuries to his left hand. Murray on the other hand has a potentially real deal breaker on the backhand side as it is perhaps the stronger of his two strokes. This poses a problem for Del Potro if he is forced to play his forehand in a specific way in order that Murray doesn't knock him off balance in the beginning of points.

The service games might be the most important aspect of this match as again...Murray has such a superb return of serve which may force Del Potro to serve even better. So much of this matchup is psychological and tactical it might actually be fun to watch. I wonder what time it is on.

Yep, the only advantage Delpo has is that fh. Delpo, a great mover for a guy at that height, no doubt gives up a lot to Murray here. His bh is not nearly as good as Murray's. No surprise, the oddsmakers have Murray as significant favorite at 4/11, 9/4 for Delpo. The ol running around the bh to hit fh's strategy used by Courier(and many others) in the past looks somewhat futile today. I think the biggest change Nadal has made as he has gotten older and not the mover he was in his absolute prime is how he less prone to run around his bh. And if any player on clay ought to running around to hit a fh, it is him.

[bottle]

[QUOTE=don_budge;n63921
A couple of more "entitled" Next Generation brats go on racquet smashing sprees.
[/QUOTE]

If you are so offended by "entitled" Next Generation brats, perhaps you shouldn't have supported their model in this, the current country smashing U.S. president.