2017 Wimbledon Championships...ATP 2000...London, Great Britain

[don_budge]

2017 Wimbledon Championships...ATP 2000...London, Great Britain

And so it goes. The Roger Federer Era of tennis draws to a close. This year we saw him playing an abbreviated schedule and dominating the events he chose to play in. Starting with the Australian Open in January and most recently the tournament in Halle, Germany where he took down the rising star of the "Next Generation", Alex Zverev, which may not be shining quite so bright after the surrealistic spanking (ass whipping) that Federer put on him in the Finals. Succinct...bing, bang, bye. Welcome to reality kid. The reality is that when the game is on and all things being equal...Roger Federer is still the gold standard at 35 years of age.

But it is winding down as was witnessed by Federer's gracious decline to play the French Open. Although apparently healthy he chose instead to measure his steps to the gates of Wimbledon and lo and behold...here we are. Open says me...says Roger. Take a look at the draw and the gates are definitely wide open for him to make a deep run at this coveted title which becomes bigger and bigger as time goes on when the other pretenders chase his all-time high of Grand Slam titles...which however are not the final litmus test of greatness. Although the minions think so.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/current/wimbledon/540/draws

It couldn't have been much better if he could have performed the draw himself without a blindfold.

[don_budge]

Let the Games Begin...2017 Wimbledon First Round

Lot's of matches to be played. Nothing much of interest. It would be fun to see the women playing against the men. Just to watch Serena go down in flames in the first round...oh, I forgot. "She is trying to have a baby". She sure has a way with words. I have written 38 published research papers with a Swedish Midwife and not once have I ever heard a woman say "I am trying to have a baby".

That being aside...there is a match of interest today and it started some fifteen minutes ago. Denis Shapovalov versus Jerzy Janowicz. These two have played just once on the Challenger circuit and it was Shapovalov emerging as the victor in a third set tie-break. This is the coming out party for Denis...Jerzy has been there and through the ringer now several times. It's not easy out there on the tour. It's dog eat dog.

The whole tournament has basically one focal point and that is Roger Federer. He has a great draw and could conceivably be projected out to the semi-final. He has Novak Djokovic in his half of the draw but Djokovic's form has been a bit iffy the last several months. Roger needs to have a couple of good rounds to get into the swing of things. Amazing that he comes up with the level of play after taking such extended periods of time away from the tour. Being match tough is a huge factor in competitive play so how is it that Roger is able to circumvent this aspect of tournament preparation. Well a huge aspect of this is experience which he has now embedded in his DNA...his tennis DNA. We shall see if he can pull of another stunt like he did in Australia...and in Indian Wells, Miami and Halle for that matter. I guess this is why in certain circles he is known as "The Living Proof".

PS...don't forget to watch here:

https://www.batmanstream.com/tennis-live-streaming-video-2016-21.html

[bottle]

Let the Games Begin...2017 Wimbledon First Round
I have written 38 published research papers with a Swedish Midwife and not once have I ever heard a woman say "I am trying to have a baby".

So what.

[stotty]

Kyrgios bombs out. Always a shame when that happens. When someone insists on attempting to play half injured. Someone else could have had his slot in the draw.

[klacr]

Nadal looked good. Murray looked like Murray. Effective byut not impressive. Kyrgios pulls a Kyrgios and decides not to play due to hip injury. His opponent Pierre-Hugues Herbert is an interesting case. two handed backhand, serve and volley gave, Top doubles player that is trying to work his way up the singles ladder.

Karlovic lost despite throwing down 44 aces. Wawrinka goes down without much of a fight, apparently his knee was bothering him but the biggest injury was to his ego. Was hoping to see him make a good run at SW19.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Nadal looked good. Murray looked like Murray. Effective byut not impressive. Kyrgios pulls a Kyrgios and decides not to play due to hip injury. His opponent Pierre-Hugues Herbert is an interesting case. two handed backhand, serve and volley gave, Top doubles player that is trying to work his way up the singles ladder.

Karlovic lost despite throwing down 44 aces. Wawrinka goes down without much of a fight, apparently his knee was bothering him but the biggest injury was to his ego. Was hoping to see him make a good run at SW19.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Mere foreplay. Roger Federer to open today against Alexandr Dolgopolov. A perfect warmup...dangerous but inconsistent. Roger getting his feet wet...getting his teeth into the tournament. Everyone is dangerous...nobody is to be overlooked. Roger is the tournament. Without him it may as well be Eastbourne or some other remote entity. Federer is the straw...that stirs the drink.

[klacr]

Mere foreplay. Roger Federer to open today against Alexandr Dolgopolov. A perfect warmup...dangerous but inconsistent. Roger getting his feet wet...getting his teeth into the tournament. Everyone is dangerous...nobody is to be overlooked. Roger is the tournament. Without him it may as well be Eastbourne or some other remote entity. Federer is the straw...that stirs the drink.

Amen.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

First Round Losers...No Participation Prize

That's the way it is in the world of professional tennis...there are no participation prizes. It's tough out there. Dog eat dog. Or in the case of Roger Federer...Federer eats Dog (Dolgopolov). It was a perfect warmup for Federer in his quest for another Wimbledon title as Dolgopolov retired after a set and a half. Roger works up a little sweat but gets the walkover thereby conserving on energy. Conservation of energy has been his mantra within a mantra the last year. Ever since last Wimbledon. Is Federer on course for a showdown with Milos Raonic who sent him packing last year? That slip in the fourth or fifth set is when Roger injured his knee setting the stage for his epic disappearance then reappearance at the Australian Open. Raonic has been less than stellar as of late.

Sixty four losers going home after a first round exit at the big show. Near the top of the list is the controversial Nick Kyrgios...he has pulled a "Kyrgios". An unpredictable exit or even worse...a no-show show. Denis Shapovalov went down to the once promising Jerzy Janowicz. Is Jerzy finally ready to make a move. Tough opponent in the next round...Lucas Pouille. But it's doable. If he can just get a couple of wins under his legs and get the big serve pouring in. Fernando Verdasco at the #31 seed down in the first round...a notable casualty. Tommy Haas gone forever...at least at Wimbledon. We'll see him at Indian Wells as the tournament director barring any talk about women deserving equal pay in the tennis biz. Stan Wawrinka pulling a "Wawrinka" in the most unlikely of all places. His young opponent Daniil Medvedev one of the hungry up and comers could make a splash in this tourney. Denis Istomin down to "The Donald" Donald Young. Donald like "The Donald" not as popular as others but has earned another chance to make a big impact here. Ivo Karlovic down after splitting four tie-breakers and losing 8-6 in the fifth...to a Brit no less.

Well...you could go on and on. Losers...losers...losers. Bernard Tomic losing to Mischa "Big Brother" Zverev...avenging a recent loss in a meaningless tournament. Eastbourne. Vases Pospisil loses to Dominic Thiem. Thiem back from a recent vacation in Turkey where he lost early to the #222 player in the world. He had a nice week off...conserving energy. A page out of Federer's book. Wawrinka's also. Kyrgios too...come to think of it. A convenient loss let's just say. Richard Gasquet sent home by the "EverReady Energizer Bunny" David Ferrer...who would have thought? "Born Free" Borna Coric is done thanks to Ryan Harrison. He's free for the week now. Feliciano Lopez is also done at Wimbledon for the year...he expended way too much energy in the meaningless grass court events leading up to the "Big Show". Look what all that effort cost him.

Look who's back...Ernests Gulbis. He's playing "The Jolly Green Argentine" Juan Martin Del Potro next.

So much for the losers. It's on with the show we will go. It's been dubbed foreplay but it's all important. The winner emerge after the preliminaries and we get to take the temperature of the competitors. It's too early to know...once you get to the round of sixteen all of the pretenders have pretty much left the stadium for one reason or another. They came with their list of excuses.

[stroke]

I watched the Tomic match. What an epic waste of talent. I really think he could have competed for a major with a complete attitude makeover and a lot of physical training, but as he is, he is the poster boy for the spoiled tennis player. He can make Kyrgios and Fognini look like they went to the Nadal/Federer/Ferrer school of playing every single point to win it.

[stotty]

I watched the Tomic match. What an epic waste of talent. I really think he could have competed for a major with a complete attitude makeover and a lot of physical training, but as he is, he is the poster boy for the spoiled tennis player. He can make Kyrgios and Fognini look like they went to the Nadal/Federer/Ferrer school of playing every single point to win it.

Yep what a pathetic waste. He just cannot grow up or change in any way. A player's character must evolve through experience and learning, but Tomic simply doesn't have that gene. I have a friend like that. He still acts like when we were eighteen...never evolved.

I cannot tell you how quick Nadal learned and adapted when he first came to Wimbledon...quite exceptional...fastest learner ever in that sense.

But Tomic, what a pain, could have been so, so much better by now.

[stotty]

I am at Wimbledon today...day 4. I am on court one in row N, which puts me just about in the shaded zone of the stadium, which is good because it is forecast hot and still today. Nothing worse than sweltering right at the front for the sake of a close up view.

Let's hope for a good day's tennis....

[don_budge]

I am at Wimbledon today...day 4. I am on court one in row N, which puts me just about in the shaded zone of the stadium, which is good because it is forecast hot and still today. Nothing worse than sweltering right at the front for the sake of a close up view.

Let's hope for a good day's tennis....

Looks like you'll be seeing Djokovic. He almost put me to sleep at the French Open a few years ago. Dominic Thiem is also scheduled for court 1. Have a great day...drink water, wear a hat and sunscreen. Just like the electronic scoreboard on center court tells you to.

We expect a full report at some point. Coach Stotty.

[don_budge]

The Journey...into the fourth Round

Here is where it begins to get interesting. Things start to shape up. The marginal and the has been's have been sent packing and the round of 32 gives you a preview of things to come.

The one thing so far that strikes me is at the very top of the draw. Defending champion has made it through two routine rounds and now he faces an opponent that he is 3-3 head to head against. Granted it isn't Fabio "Fabulous" Fognini's best service but the Italian can play and Stotty's wife thinks he is hot. But more interesting than Andy Murray and anything associated with him except his demise is the match below his...it is another explosive combination of combustable players in Benoit Paire and Jerzy Janowicz. Jerzy came onto our radar screen a number of years ago at the Paris Indoors but he hasn't stood up to the challenge. In fact he has found himself on the challenger tour more often than the ATP tour. But here he is. An impressive win over Denis Shapovalov followed up with an even better win over Lucas Pouille. Jerzy has to keep pouring that first serve in with lots of spin, placement and heat. Coming forwards this guy shows he knows how to volley. He's tall and covers the net like a blanket. I watched him cut off a couple of passing shots and really make his presence felt at the net. One more win and his confidence will be soaring setting up a potential match with Andy Murray whom he owes one to...from a previous Wimbledon no less.

The rest of it in the top half? More window dressing. Unless Khachanov decides to man up and take out Nadal. That would certainly be noteworthy. Federer took the young Russian down at Halle with some superb grass court play a couple of weeks ago.

[bottle]

Bird Note on Radio

Wimbledon pigeons are scared away by a falcon or other predator brought in occasionally to circle the grounds. Pigeon poop used to be a big problem.

At other times during the week the same bird glides above Westminster Abbey. I didn't hear what the bird is, a falcon, I assume.

[stotty]

Bird Note on Radio

Wimbledon pigeons are scared away by a falcon or other predator brought in occasionally to circle the grounds. Pigeon poop used to be a big problem.

At other times during the week the same bird glides above Westminster Abbey. I didn't hear what the bird is, a falcon, I assume.

They employed the falcon years ago. Pigeons would often nest on the roof of centre and swoop down and even land on court. The falcon too care of that nonsense...not a pigeon in sight now. Not daft those pigeons. They know when not to take risks...unlike Dominic Thiem.