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

[stotty]

Court number 1 was reasonable. I had a good day. It was so sweltering hot that a number of spectators gave up their seats and headed for shade. You ask yourself, with so much money in the game, generated ultimately by the spectators, why these stadiums don't offer better seating and shade?

Djokovic played Pavlasek in a very one-sided affair. Had it been a boxing match, the referee would have stopped the fight. It was a textbook Djokovic performance: return serve deep down the middle to get the rally on neutral terms... and off he goes...you know the rest. That said, Novak does hit the ball so damn clean it's actually lovely to witness. You ask yourself why he doesn't hit the ball a hell of lot harder because, when he does, it's quite a sight. I love the way he can hit forehands either down the line or crosscourt off the same stance. He really is the most beautifully balanced player you will ever see. I swear he could balance and cup of tea on his head and play a set without spilling a drop.

Thiem versus Gilles Simon was a better game. I got the impression Simon is past his best and he got a little jaded toward the end of the match, but he's no pushover. He's like a more lightweight version of Djokovic. He has the same policy of retuning straight down the middle and embarking on rallies, but he can't hook forehands like Djokovic can or turn on power in the same way.

Thiem is decent. He was too powerful for Simon. He can serve at 135mph all afternoon, and his second serve has more work on it than most on the tour. He still goes for the odd stupid shot which isn't on but has gotten a little better in that department. I don't think I've seen a one-handed backhand hit as hard as Thiem can hit one when he unleashes it....the opponent doesn't even move never mind set off! It begs the question that the one-hander might be more powerful than the two-hander when compared at the upper extremes. I have certainly never seen a two-hander hit that hard. Thiem can hit his backhand harder than his forehand when well positioned.

I was surprised how narrow Thiem's stance is when he serves. It is lovely motion but his narrow stance is very noticeable when you watch him live.

I am not sure Thiem is Big 4 material but he is certainly a threat. I remain unconvinced he will reach that kind of level.

Wimbledon remains a sublime event. It's still the number one tournament in the world and showing no signs of relinquishing that title. Thank God they kept the grass courts when the other slams gravitated to those soulless acrylic courts...a shrewd move by Wimbledon and one they will never regret.

I will be going again next Wednesday for the quarter-finals...can't wait.

[klacr]

Did anyone happen to see the Pliskova-Rybarikova match? Rybarikova has a ATP Style forehand. Nice service motion. Great game. She pulled off the major upset taking out the Czech specimen.

Jealous of Stotty and his witness to some tennis at AELTC. Thanks for the review from court 1. You rock.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

2017 Wimbledon...Round of 32. The foreplay is heating up!

Jealous of Stotty and his witness to some tennis at AELTC. Thanks for the review from court 1. You rock.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Court number 1 was reasonable. I had a good day. It was so sweltering hot that a number of spectators gave up their seats and headed for shade. You ask yourself, with so much money in the game, generated ultimately by the spectators, why these stadiums don't offer better seating and shade?

Djokovic played Pavlasek in a very one-sided affair. Had it been a boxing match, the referee would have stopped the fight. It was a textbook Djokovic performance: return serve deep down the middle to get the rally on neutral terms... and off he goes...you know the rest. That said, Novak does hit the ball so damn clean it's actually lovely to witness. You ask yourself why he doesn't hit the ball a hell of lot harder because, when he does, it's quite a sight. I love the way he can hit forehands either down the line or crosscourt off the same stance. He really is the most beautifully balanced player you will ever see. I swear he could balance and cup of tea on his head and play a set without spilling a drop.

Thiem versus Gilles Simon was a better game. I got the impression Simon is past his best and he got a little jaded toward the end of the match, but he's no pushover. He's like a more lightweight version of Djokovic. He has the same policy of retuning straight down the middle and embarking on rallies, but he can't hook forehands like Djokovic can or turn on power in the same way.

Thiem is decent. He was too powerful for Simon. He can serve at 135mph all afternoon, and his second serve has more work on it than most on the tour. He still goes for the odd stupid shot which isn't on but has gotten a little better in that department. I don't think I've seen a one-handed backhand hit as hard as Thiem can hit one when he unleashes it....the opponent doesn't even move never mind set off! It begs the question that the one-hander might be more powerful than the two-hander when compared at the upper extremes. I have certainly never seen a two-hander hit that hard. Thiem can hit his backhand harder than his forehand when well positioned.

I was surprised how narrow Thiem's stance is when he serves. It is lovely motion but his narrow stance is very noticeable when you watch him live.

I am not sure Thiem is Big 4 material but he is certainly a threat. I remain unconvinced he will reach that kind of level.

Wimbledon remains a sublime event. It's still the number one tournament in the world and showing no signs of relinquishing that title. Thank God they kept the grass courts when the other slams gravitated to those soulless acrylic courts...a shrewd move by Wimbledon and one they will never regret.

I will be going again next Wednesday for the quarter-finals...can't wait.

Good stuff Coach Stotty. Thanks for sharing. We hate you. Jealous...you know. But anyways...have a great time!

The draw is taking shape. There are a couple of question marks and some snoozers. But the match of the day according to don_budge...Jerzy Janowicz and Benoit Paire. A couple of loose canons in need of a slot in the round of sixteen. My pick? I'll take Jerzy. He is the one with the most to gain. He needs a shot at Andy Murray. He's got to set the record straight. Does he have the head to do it? Does he have the courage to see Benoit Paire off? I think he does. He's still somewhat of a loose wrap but if he is serving well and banging the forehand he should be just a bit too much for Paire. Then we can talk about Murray.

Andy Murray has the enviable task of playing against the Italian heartthrob Fabio "Fabulous" Fognini. Heartthrob? Stotty's wife has the hots for Fabio. She and a lot of other Italian women. Why not? The guy struts around with a swashbuckling gait and acts...well you know...somewhat petulant. Macho. He has a history of scoring big time with the babes...so Murray has to be on his toes. If Fabio gets his nose into this one then the tide of feminine desire just might sweep him into the next round.

Fafa Nadal is looking pretty close to what he used to be. I guess the meds must be kicking in. This guy is such a mystery. A year ago everyone was counting him out. He was down for the ten count and everyone was having his way with him. But now suddenly he is revived. Resuscitated. How does he do it? Only his doctor knows for certain. Maybe Uncle Tony knows too. Nadal will have to be careful who he lets into his camp. Someone who won't spill the beans. Nadal faces Karen Khachanov who appears to be somewhat dangerous. Dangerous as in it seems that at any given moment he is going to take down someone big in a big tournament. I don't know...he just give me that impression. Whether it will be today against Nadal I wouldn't hazard a guess. But when he played Federer he showed some rather unusual strength only that Federer was able to throw him off balance by working the ball. Let's see how he stands up to Nadal on Center Court. It's a big time opportunity for him. A take down here would be a huge shot in the arm.

Last match of interest is our very own Stevie Johnson. He is one of three remaining Americans and he is facing Marin Cilic who could be had. Johnson has a pretty tough nosed attitude about things and he is another guy with a lot to gain in a match of this magnitude. I hope it comes down to a dog fight and Johnson can get his teeth into the match. Cilic has been known to back off a bit in the heat of the moment...but he looks to be in great form as well. Another American who is up against a seeded player today is Sam Querry. Again...at the risk of repeating myself...Sam has a lot to gain here. The Americans have been putting themselves in position to make a statement as of late but nobody seems to rise to the occasion and take the bull by the horns. Come on guys...Make America Great Again!

[stroke]

Stotty, loved your take on the matches. Agree with you completely about Simon being kind of a Novak lite. Thiem does have massive action on his 2nd, and one of the best serves around for a guy that is not 6'4"+. Giles Muller has a nice grass court game and a terrific serve that seems to have an unusual amount of spin on it(exclusively sidespin). Fabio vs Murray could be a good one. Fabio will have the biggest shot on the court with his forehand, to me, much better than Murray's. Oddsmakers have Murray a as a big favorite. I am still on the Fed bandwagon.

[stotty]

Murray v Fognini

Well Murray hacked his way out of that one....no other way to describe it. He grovelled and scrapped like Fognini would never be prepared to.

Just love Fognini. He plays with abandon and shoots from the hip. He should have won that fourth set. Murray got out of jail there.

I saw the highlights of Nadal v some other bloke and I have to say Rafa looks red hot. The best player in the tournament so far. He could win the whole thing in that kind of form. The grass is bone dry and the bounce high and quick. This is the best playing conditions that Rafa could have hoped. He will be deadly by week two if conditions remain the same.

[klacr]

-Nadal looks great. Has won 28 straight sets going back to start of French Open.
-Murray and Fognini teamed up to beat Fognini.
-On women's side, I watched an interesting match with one of my favorites Caroline Garcia. She played American Madison Brengle. Garcia has a great game, loves to attack (was top ranked doubles player) and hits with a platform stance on the serve. One of the few women on tour to do so. With an abbreviated swing nonetheless. Hope Garcia gains the consistency needed to be in top 10, fun to watch.
-Cilic also looks very strong. Dare I say US Open 2014 form?
-Nishikori pulls up lame again and loses to Roberto Bautista Agut.
-Tomorrow is Federer vs. Mischa Zverev. I get to see some committed serve and volley from these two. Thank goodness, because without them I can only rely on Caroline Garcia to help get me through this tourney.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Match of the Day...Roger Federer vs. Mischa Zverev


Roger hands back an early break back to Zverev but wins it in a tie-breaker which he takes care of no muss, no fuss.

[stotty]

Actually, it's a shame they don't televise the outside courts better. We are all watching show court matches that we know darn well are a forgone conclusion. I knew Zverev would get caned today, and Gulbis for that matter. It's hardly worth watching...boring actually.

It's kind of back to front the way televised tennis is fed to us. The show courts aren't worth a nickel until the last eight. Better to set up better camera positions on the outside courts so we can watch more closely contested early round matches, which are a plenty and far more nail biting.

[klacr]

Sadly, it's a far cry from the serve and volley tutorial that Edberg and Becker provided us at Wimbledon all those years ago, but it's as close as we have gotten for some time. Federer had some brilliant shots. Not sure why he was trying to compete so hard on Zverev's service games once he got behind. Just pull a Sampras, tank the return games and serve it out. He knows Zverev would not break him, Zverev knew he wouldn't break Roger. Get the break and coast. save yourself. Roger will have Dimitrov on Monday, followed by Thiem or Berdych, followed by Novak, then Murray or Nadal in finals?

And yes, somewhere in there I mentioned Berdych. My boy. Took out the Beast ferrer today. Special stuff. Awesome display of power. His cleanest match of the tourney so far and the boost of confidence he needs. Could we see a return to 2010 form that got Tberd to the finals? Time will tell. But he made semis here last year, he enjoys AELTC, and why shouldn't he?

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Actually, it's a shame they don't televise the outside courts better. We are all watching show court matches that we know darn well are a forgone conclusion. I knew Zverev would get caned today, and Gulbis for that matter. It's hardly worth watching...boring actually.

It's kind of back to front the way televised tennis is fed to us. The show courts aren't worth a nickel until the last eight. Better to set up better camera positions on the outside courts so we can watch more closely contested early round matches, which are a plenty and far more nail biting.

See any professional tennis match in the world all year round on this website for free:

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

[don_budge]

The Quest of the White Knight...Roger Federer and the game of Tennis

Sadly, it's a far cry from the serve and volley tutorial that Edberg and Becker provided us at Wimbledon all those years ago, but it's as close as we have gotten for some time. Federer had some brilliant shots. Not sure why he was trying to compete so hard on Zverev's service games once he got behind. Just pull a Sampras, tank the return games and serve it out. He knows Zverev would not break him, Zverev knew he wouldn't break Roger. Get the break and coast. save yourself. Roger will have Dimitrov on Monday, followed by Thiem or Berdych, followed by Novak, then Murray or Nadal in finals?

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Come on klacr...you are too young to really remember those matches aren't you? But the truth of the matter is that the tennis played in the Becker and Edberg years was just as boring as it is today. What we have today is a result of the attempted correction of yesterday. They should have just left it alone...it was never better than when it was about the Borg/McEnroe rivalry. The tennis back then was simply marvelous and had never been better.

Becker and Edberg and company were playing a game suped up on steroids (big racquets) and it was just too fast.

Yesterdays match with Federer and Zverev was interesting. Roger was facing a completely different look in the tall, left-handed serve and volley Mischa Zverev. He seemed to be a bit befuddled and he wasn't really serving all that well. This could be good news for the Federer camp as he ups the ante round by round. Getting his teeth into the tournament.

I forget what book it was where I remember seeing a diagram of the tennis court and an "H" superimposed on the service line with the legs of the "H" extending a meter in front of and behind on the sideline. This was the target of the returner against a serve and volley player. This is what I always aimed for when returning against an incoming server. It may have been Bill Talbert's book on playing singles. There was a bookend book about doubles. But they posted a statistic of Federer hitting almost 90% of his returns as drives which may have been a mistake. Towards the last two sets he appeared to mix up the drives with balls that were getting to the feet of Zverev and forcing him to scoop and hit up to Roger. Federer was looking for these balls like a headhunter and was picking a few off in the air with swinging or half swinging backhand volleys. John Yandell and Stotty would have appreciated these shots.

It isn't the classic serve and volley. Whole facets of the game have for all intents and purposes been "engineered" out of the game...whether inadvertently or otherwise. You had to have been very young when watching the "Post Classic Era" growing up. This was my least favorite era...well it is tied with the current era as my least favorite because...it is fake tennis. The artificial skills that the big racquets create make the game a little hard to take if you know any better. But it's like everything else nowadays...he who controls the present controls the past.

Roger et al. are jockeying for position. Warming up gradually for the semi-finals and the Big One. Interesting match with Federer playing against his clone. The clone is somewhat evolving into his own these past years as he has tried to shed the "Baby Fed" moniker. He has ideas of his own now and his idea today is how to unseat "The Real Thing"..."The Living Proof". I was sort of surprised that Federer is not making his way to the net more but I feel that he will more and more as this tournament gets deeper and deeper. At least I hope so. I think he let another Slam get away from his a couple of years ago when Djokovic was having so much difficulty with his footing on the dried up, chewed up grass. The wear on the court is noticeably behind the baseline as has become the standard fare in the modern game of tennis. Becker, Edberg and company were chewing up the turf going to the net just as all of their predecessors had.

The court looks to be getting very worn and I wonder going forward about the footing and if it will make even more sense to get to the net. If the surface speeds up it will be to Federer's advantage over any of the other Big Four. Provided he is serving lights out.

[klacr]

No don_budge, I am in fact old enough to remember Becker/Edberg. Thats the spark that got me playing tennis in the first place.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[gzhpcu]

I found Federer - Zerev a very entertaining match to watch. I like the mix of groundstrokes and volleys. Very aggressive tennis.

[don_budge]

No don_budge, I am in fact old enough to remember Becker/Edberg. Thats the spark that got me playing tennis in the first place.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Interesting point that you made about getting the break of serve and coasting. You always wonder and speculate what is going through a player's mind. At least Roger Federer's. A couple of reasons he may have been contesting games that he may have coasted through. Later on he may just face another formidable lefty in the tournament so he may just have been "rehearsing" and practicing returning the left-handed spin. It was in fact a straight set victory and he hasn't had many matches under his belt lately so he might just trying to suck as much out of each match in terms of preparing himself to be "match tough" when it counts.

Tomas Berdych has a very interesting match coming up with Dominic Thiem. He gave Thiem a good spanking back in 2014 at the U. S. Open...6-1, 6-2, 6-4. I have a feeling that it isn't going to be so easy this time. It is an ideal match up for Thiem to prepare for a possible rematch with Novak Djokovic.

[bottle]

The Quest of the White Knight...Roger Federer and the game of Tennis

But the truth of the matter is that the tennis played in the Becker and Edberg years was just as boring as it is today.

Ah yes, you are so bored with all tennis that is not Roger Federer (which is a lot of tennis), but as my partner of seven years says to her oh so modern granddaughters when they complain that they are "bored," there's nothing more boring than being bored, that she, for instance, is never bored!

If one took the boredom out of baseball, no one would remember an individual game from 53 years ago. Maybe the same thing is true of tennis. The more relentlessly entertaining sports are fun while they last, but I'm sure they are more quickly forgotten.

I'll see if I can find the quote on this subject by the wonderful author Mary Webb. Nope, couldn't find it. What she wrote, though, was that when a boy carves letters into a tree, the fewer the letters, the deeper he carves. Jumping then from that to baseball, the fewer the actual occurrences, say first hit in the seventh, the deeper the impression on anyone involved in the game. So, since we're already jumping, let's jump to the knockout punch in the 12th round of a heavyweight championship fight when up to then the two guys just pawed each other, and then to tennis.

"They traded ground strokes until the fifth game of the fourth set, at which time Mortimer decided to come into net, and..."

A hell of a match. I will remember it always. So boredom is a positive in tennis. And certainly is in most hockey or soccer games. Along with the boredom, of course, comes a building of tension which isn't boring at all.