2017 U. S. Open Championships...ATP 2000...New York, New York, U. S. A.

[stotty]

4-2...I think it's safe for me to go to bed now. Even Stotty couldn't lose from here...good night!

[don_budge]

Yeah...I don't know what is going on. Youznhy seems to be injured or cramping. He had a trainer out. Strange match. Hard to imagine Federer losing at this point.

[stotty]

It was 5-3 to Roger in the fourth. I went to put the dogs out to spend a penny before their bedtime...when I get back Youzny has broken...now 5-4. What happened there?

[stotty]

Down a break now in the third. He looks as if something is bothering him. The commentators are talking about it. He has definitely lost his advantage in the match. He weakly serves and volleys on a second serve on break point and Youzhny passes him.

He's moving okay now. Whatever it was seems to have resolved itself. Problem is he has now lost momentum and Youzhny is cooking on gas.

[don_budge]

Roger 5-6 down in the second. Did he pull his back there at 5-4? Something happened when he got wrong-footed in that game.

Down a break now in the third. He looks as if something is bothering him. The commentators are talking about it. He has definitely lost his advantage in the match. He weakly serves and volleys on a second serve on break point and Youzhny passes him.

[stotty]

Roger 5-6 down in the second. Did he pull his back there at 5-4? Something happened when he got wrong-footed in that game.

[faultsnaces]

Hashtag of the day at Armstrong should be #nextGenTennis - or maybe #oneOrTwo?

Now up Thiem v Fritz - both absolutely ferocious off both wings...

[stotty]

I saw Andrey Rublev play Stefan Koslov at the French Open Juniors a few years back. Rublev was plenty feisty and even arrogant. He has been on the radar screen for some time now. It looks as he is developing into a formidable men's competitor now. He has taken the second set off of Dimitrov and it is a long road back for Grigor now.

Love 'em or hate 'em, the youngsters are starting to burst through.

[don_budge]

BF is now down a set which had looked like a cakewalk - until Rublev started playing. BF is being forced by Rublev time pressure and pace to rely on his slice, which Rublev is just crushing off the court surface. Hopefully it's a long match.....

I saw Andrey Rublev play Stefan Koslov at the French Open Juniors a few years back. Rublev was plenty feisty and even arrogant. He has been on the radar screen for some time now. It looks as he is developing into a formidable men's competitor now. He has taken the second set off of Dimitrov and it is a long road back for Grigor now.

[faultsnaces]

BF is now down a set which had looked like a cakewalk - until Rublev started playing. BF is being forced by Rublev time pressure and pace to rely on his slice, which Rublev is just crushing off the court surface. Hopefully it's a long match.....

[faultsnaces]

Dimitrov Rublev just got really interesting - Baby Fed was up a break but Rublev played his way back in, up 6-5 in the first.

Never seen a guy take fh so early, almost half volleys it would seem - and he is FAST....

[klacr]

Coric a more physical competitor than Zverev. Alexander Zverev was never a favorite in my mind as he has never been past a fourth round. To win a grand slam, you need to win 21 sets while only losing a maximum of 14. Winning one third more sets than losing in a physical test like a grand slam is tough, much tougher than best of 3. Zverev will need to bulk up, which he will, grow into his body and be ready for the long haul.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stroke]

Odds now:

Fed 7/4
Nadal 3/1
Cilic 7/1
Dimitrov 14/1
Isner 30/1
Thiem 33/1
Del Po 33/1
Querry 33/1
Shapovalov 40/1

I only watched 2 matches yesterday. I watched drama princess Kyrgios and what appeared to be all drama, no injury, not feeling it today. On a side note, the guy he lost to, a fellow Aussie John Millman, is really a class act. John's post match interview was all class. I watched Alex and Borna. I was of course surprised at that outcome, not the 1st time that has happened. Both players really competed for every game for the entire 5 set match. To me, Alex in his post match interview certainly understands the importance of this loss for him. db, as far as this Next Gen stuff the ATP is pushing such as these Next Gen only events, I think it is a real blunder on their part. There is plenty of tennis out there and the rankings do not lie.

[stotty]

I have been watching Shapovalov properly for pretty much the first time this morning...the Tsonga highlights.

He constructs points really well. I like the way he doesn't pull the trigger too early, and the way he uses the full dimensions of the courts. He can also split the court wide open with just a couple of shots. I like his native intelligence for the game. I had seen him play once before but he didn't play anywhere near as well this. I am favourably impressed. He makes the court look a huge place...poor Tsonga is being torn apart in front of me.

I am smitten. I can see myself rapidly becoming a Shapovalov fan.

stroke, what are his odds?

[don_budge]

It's tough to know whether Roger is 100% or not because he is not about to tell Joe Public if he were impaired in any way, for two reasons: It would give the game away if he was impaired and players would know to exploit it...and...he's just not the type who like making excuses as he knows it looks like sour grapes. So all we can do is hope he isn't injured.

Roger Federer is 34-0 against the players in his next two rounds. He will approach the matches as if he is a combined 0-0. This is all he gives away to us. His approach to the game is what you would call picture perfect. The camera cannot penetrate the veneer.

It's too bad that we will not get the Kyrgios match that I was anticipating. The two have played six sets in two matches of competition and every single one of them has gone to a tie-breaker. The match in Miami was the best match of the year so far...at least in the two out of three department and just possibly the best overall. It was wire to wire...point by point. Intense. Constant pressure by both players without letup. Federer was fortunate to somehow beat Nadal the next day. He was on the ropes and he didn't have much under him in the legs department. Once again...Kyrgios is a no show.

Denis "The Menace" Shapovalov is the real thing. This is no media concoction. He either has all of the prerequisites or he potentially has all of the prerequisites. Last night he basically neutered a very powerful Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for another big scalp. He outplayed the "Baby Parisian Bull" from bell to bell with a variety of play that just isn't seen in modern tennis except for you know who. Shapovalov is still rough around the edges and even a tad wet behind the ears but he is sending out a huge message here. Look out...here I come. Two solid rounds of big time tennis. Three out of five.

Interesting when talking about young Denis you need to talk about a lot of things. It isn't just good backhand, big forehand. Suddenly we have an incredible left handed talent that shows signs of playing all court tennis. I was observing his serving tactics on Tsonga and I haven't seen anything like this kid since...well, you know who. He served a ball into Tsonga's body on the forehand side that totally handcuffed him...then he proceeded to serve out the game using this tactic as the basis. He did it again on the next point...won again. Did it again on the next point and lost...no problem. Then he chased the big lug off of the court with the slice and cranked a backhand into the open court.

Speaking of groundies...he slugs the forehand and is so capable of pulling the right hander off of the court wide. When you come down the backhand side he is apt to slug that one as well. He's patient too...he doesn't try to hit shots that he doesn't know he can make. This is perhaps on of the biggest of all of the intangibles. He is quite capable of slugging it down the middle waiting for the short ball or a bit of angle to exploit. He can be equally overpowering. He has versatility...something that cannot be said for many of the other players on tour. The kid has style.

Next up is Kyle Edmund. Kyle is a bull dog who doesn't let go. He doesn't let go that is until he has been clubbed over the head enough times to render him senseless. This is what he is facing going up against this battering ram of a teenager. Looking ahead in the bottom half of the draw should Shapovalov do the unthinkable it looks as if Lucas Pouille may have some good position to make it through to a match against Marin Cilic. Cilic should be considering himself to be in the driver's seat of the bottom half but for him right now it is a question of confidence. Federer made him feel a little too naked on Center Court at Wimbledon...but maybe, just maybe he can put on his "Sleeper" suit once again.