Tweet
An BBC article which covers some interesting points.
-
Stotty -
Denis "The Menace" Shapovalov...Impressive
In a word...impressive. That is the summary of the play of Denis Shapovalov in his opening performance at the 2017 U. S. Open Championship. Next up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the #8 seed. Shapovalov went 7-6, 6-1, 6-2 over Daniil Medvedev who has been very impressive himself over the last couple of months including Wimbledon.
Interesting interview from Marin Cilic discussing primarily his preparation or lack of for the championships. He also devoted some of his airtime to talking about the balls and how they appear to be "lighter" which in his estimation slowed down the game somewhat. He doesn't appear to be one hundred percent confident or committed to winning this thing. Next up for Marin is Florian Mayer aka "The Quirky One". Florian has a rather unorthodox style and tactical approach to tennis that really can throw opponents off. Case in point...Marin Cilic. Cilic is up 3-2 head to head but the matches have been dogfights. Yesterday's "Sleeper" sometimes can quickly morph into todays "Cat Food".
Meanwhile Alexander Zverev is toiling away on Darian King with a two sets to love advantage. The "New Media Darling" is not exactly the Apple of his eye to my great and best friend who resides out in the Pacific Ocean on The Big Island of Hawaii. I wish I had the tape of our conversation...it was a scathing review by the acid tongued Ugly American. He doesn't spare any punches. Interesting guy...we stand on opposite sides of many things, climate change or global warming (whatever they are calling it now) yet the conversation always retains a sense of humor and sense of brotherly love.
Comment
-
I know women's tennis is an off-topic on this forum but I gotta ask, did Anyone see that Sharapova-Halep match. Say what you will about Maria, her technique may not be flawless, or net game is shaky at best, etc, etc...but damn does that woman compete. She's a fighter. Wild opening night at the open. I love this tournament.
Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca RatonComment
-
Shapovalov and Sharapova...kissing in a tree. K I S S I N G. First comes love...then comes marriage. Then comes Maria with a baby carriage.Originally posted by klacr View Post
Having never been a big supporter of Maria Sharapova I am committed to her at the 2017 U. S. Open. She has rocked this tournament. Hypocrites...cheaters...tourney officials...WADA...throw them all in one basket. Call it what you want.
She was banned and she got herself a wildcard. Somehow...the luck of the draw...she drew the number two seed Simona Halep. Maria took her down. I hope that she get to play Bouchard at some point...and destroys her. How can you not love Sharapova now after all of the "Russian Collusion" fiasco. Shapovalov must be a Ruskie deep down in the genes too. It's great...the two of them. Good job klacr...keep transmitting for the forum from the Open. Live...from New York!
Sharapova and Shapovalov rock! Russians rock! All of humanity should have a place at the party. They do at the U. S. Open. The best sporting event in the world. Period.Comment
-
klacr...you rock Brother!
Comment
-
Thank you Sir!Originally posted by don_budge View Postklacr...you rock Brother!
Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca RatonComment
-
Can't they relocate this tournament down south somewhere? It seems to rain every darn year over there in New YorkStottyComment
-
All eyes on Roger Federer. Lost a tightly played first set. Tight in the sense that Roger never felt his legs under him the entire set. He's come out feeling his way into the match in the second set. Tiafoe playing dangerously. Nothing to lose...everything to gain. Roger has upped the ante and is applying pressure. The question will be as always...can he maintain it?Originally posted by stotty View PostComment
-
StottyComment
-
I woke a 3 AM here in Sweden and he was down a break in the first. Tiafoe was playing some rather inspired tennis and had the old guy on his heels. He was just pounding it. But somehow Roger started to nip away at the power game and reigned the kid in. He was jerking him around using the slice backhand and even a slice forehand to slice and dice. The next two sets quickly went Federer's way...he was in complete control. I went to be thinking it was a foregone conclusion. Woke up to see he had won in five. Not a bad start in the sense that if he is healthy he got some of the nerves out of the way. He is going to have them totally under control for the mission that lies ahead for him.Originally posted by stotty View Post
You might be right...it is hard to interpret this as a good sign. I think he has a pretty tough draw ahead of him now that Tiafoe is behind him. It's good he got by him. You could say that.Comment
-
Originally posted by stotty View Post
Here's a 14 day forecast for the weather...mostly sunny. Like my disposition.
Comment
-
Federer gets by,,,but it wasn't pretty. Tiafoe unleashed some haymakers and did not go away. Credit to him.Fed dodged a bullett. I figured he would find a way to win but this was a bit too close.
Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca RatonComment
-
Roger Federer versus Anybody (Francis Tiafoe)
Fascinating match. I woke up at 3.30 AM only to find "The Living Proof" down a break in the first set. Somehow Tiafoe was dominating the play. His groundstrokes were like haymakers from the camera's angle and Federer looked to be on his heels and getting rocked to and fro. Tiafoe let out a war cry after he clinched the first set and this is always a bad idea against Roger. It's a fine balance between being respectful or pissing him off. He got a little testy after that. I noticed there was some indecision as to who was to cross in front of each other at one of the net changes.Originally posted by klacr View Post
Roger had him in his sights and surgically took him apart in sets two and three. He appeared to cruising at this point so I went back to bed. I should have stayed up knowing that Roger versus Anybody is a match worth watching. I would have liked to have seen Tiafoe get back into haymaker form...he looked to be out of it after three. A remarkable recovery on his part. Then the final set had to be riveting with Roger's U. S. Open on the line. Tiafoe will have many years to come. If he can stay healthy.
A couple of thoughts on Tiafoe. Number one is the one dimensional nature of his game. It is all about delivering haymakers. Nothing subtle about it. Number two...he hits the hell out of the serve but it notably deserted him in sets two and three where he had a heck of a time trying to get the first ball in play. The motion doesn't look like one that is designed for perfect timing that withstand all kinds of different influences. The forehand appears to be somewhat unorthodox but the backhand looks to be very dangerous. Perhaps more consistent than the forehand. That being said he is a dangerous opponent when he is hitting on all cylinders. The question will be one of consistency.
I wish I would have stayed up to watch the whole thing. Federer is coming to the end eventually. We are going to miss matches like these...him versus Anybody. Who's Next? Blaz Kavcic or Mikhail Youzhny? Roger should be able to handle that. The next match might not be so easy as it could involve a couple of pretty tough Spaniards...either Feliciano Lopez or Fernando Verdasco. Vasek Pospisil and Andrey Kuznetsov stand in their way in the pursuit of "The King". Nick Kyrgios' path looks to be a bit more straight forward.
One other player of interest...Denis "The Menace" Shapovalov. Oh yeah...don't forget Maria Sharapova. Russians...Russians...Russians. The Russians are coming...get the women and children inside.
Comment
-
Denis Shapovalov gets top billing against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga tonight on Arthur Ashe Stadium. People are starting to take notice. Alexander Zverev and Borna Coric are delegated to the Grandstand court. Hmmm...I wonder of Zverev is getting jealous.Originally posted by don_budge View Post
Comment
-
I just have a feeling that Alex is confident in his overall appealOriginally posted by don_budge View PostComment
Comment