Australian Open 2018

[gzhpcu]

Too bad he has no heir apparent for his all court game. Will be boring when he retires...

[don_budge]

Woke up today without the prospect of news from the Australian Open. A bit of a letdown. That was an exciting two weeks and the final did not disappoint. Roger Federer versus Anybody...in this case Marin Cilic. Cilic did not disappoint and fought all the way to the handshake at the end of the match. His Hawkeye challenge at the end of the match was slightly less obnoxious than that of Nadal's last year. He challenged a blazing serve that caught some millimetres of the line on match point. More on the match...my thoughts.

Actually there was a replay of the match on EuroSport here in Sweden this morning. I watched the fourth and fifth sets in between rain, taking the horses in and grooming them. Brushing the water off of their hides. Training the nine month old to be handled. We have grandma, daughter and foal along with another American horse in the stable. Daughter (Swedish National Champion) is with foal again as well. Eight months along in a 11 month gestation period.

But never mind. Interesting to watch a second time. You pick up on things that you may miss the first. It was interesting to watch Federer in the fourth. Once the fourth was out of reach it seemed that he noticeably let it go. Subtly, yet noticeably. He was conserving energy for the fifth. Preparation...micro view. Cilic on the hand sort of shot his wad and was actually expending unnecessary emotion in celebration each and every winner. He looked completely flat in the fifth. At one point one camera showed an angle where he actually had the crying look in his face. As if he wanted to cry. Perhaps Cilic has more to learn about the big moments. He is getting a crash course this past year at the hands of the master.

Match point was actually a second serve. Federer was up 40-love and he went for a big one into the backhand corner on the first serve. He barely missed and he hit a huge kick out wide that barely caught the line. Cilic barely got his racquet on it. What a great feeling that must be to have three championship points and be able to just let it hang out on the second serve.

I don't get tired watching Roger Federer. He won't be around forever. As the announcer said..."Father Time will win the last point at some point". It's true. Nobody here gets out alive.

[don_budge]

Watch the complete 2018 Australian Open Men's Singles Final in just 36 minutes and 18 seconds.

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

[bottle]

Nobody here gets out alive.

I thought you were a Christian. And that Christianity means a hereafter.

[arturohernandez]

Too bad he has no heir apparent for his all court game. Will be boring when he retires...

Their is no heir apparent. I still have hopes for Shapovalov to break through and win a few majors. He seems like the only one that is naturally aggressive enough to win.

Everyone else plays like Nadal or Djokovic. The problem is that tournaments are speeding up the courts again.

The AO apparently did not think that a 6 hour final was a good idea.

So maybe the tide will turn and we will get some more all court players again.

[arturohernandez]

Watch the complete 2018 Australian Open Men's Singles Final in just 36 minutes and 18 seconds.

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

I also noticed a few things the second time:

Federer has a little wiggle in his windup. I think others have alluded to this. Funny that it helps him but not Dimitrov who seems to have imitated it but his much stiffer than the original.

Cilic has a little hitch in his backhand. He seems to take it back and then hesitate a bit. I notice that his timing goes off on that side. I had never noticed it before but it seems to me that this is a minor weak point that others can exploit.

Djokovic, Nadal and Murray are much smoother.

Anyone else see a hitch in Cilic's backhand? I am not a two hander so maybe this is a normal variation.

[stotty]

Roger's Road The 2018 Australian Open Title

A Bedene - Ranking 51
R Gasquet - Ranking 31
M Fucsovics - Ranking 80
T Berdych - Ranking 20
H Chung - Ranking 58
M Cilic - Ranking 6

Rafa Road to The 2017 US Open Title

D Lajovic - Ranking 85
Taro Daniel - Ranking 121
L Mayer - Ranking 59
A Dolgopolov - Ranking 64
A Rublev - Ranking 53
Del Potro - Ranking 28
K Anderson - Ranking 32

You can only beat who is front of you but both draws were a mess. Roger had no one to play until the final and Nadal had no one to play at all. Rafa played 20 feet behind the baseline and still managed to win despite handicapping himself. Roger strolled around barely breaking a sweat until someone pops up who can finally give him a game.

Roger could win Wimbledon aged 40 at this rate and Rafa could win 4 more French Opens. I find it a bit depressing.

It was a shame they closed the roof for the Aussie final because there was no good reason for it. The temperature was 3c below being mandatory to shut the roof. Roger is unplayable indoors and Cilic had played all his matches outside in the sweltering heat. It was a terrible blow to Cilic who had prepared for the 37c day and felt it swung things a little his way. Cilic is the one man who could have beaten Roger and they took what would have been a key advantage away.

[seano]

Arturohernandez -

Cilic's BH backswing is a little more elaborate than it needs to be. Cilics bring the racquet head up past his head and slightly opens the racquet face. But you are correct that it can be the cause of unforced errors. I noticed Cilic having difficulty going the racquet around quick enough when stressed (ex: When Federer hit body serves at him). Someone 6'6" shouldn't need such a high and complicated backswing.

[don_budge]

Roger's Road The 2018 Australian Open Title

A Bedene - Ranking 51
R Gasquet - Ranking 31
M Fucsovics - Ranking 80
T Berdych - Ranking 20
H Chung - Ranking 58
M Cilic - Ranking 6

Rafa Road to The 2017 US Open Title

D Lajovic - Ranking 85
Taro Daniel - Ranking 121
L Mayer - Ranking 59
A Dolgopolov - Ranking 64
A Rublev - Ranking 53
Del Potro - Ranking 28
K Anderson - Ranking 32

Once upon a time in tennis there was a big four...including Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. These four were expected to be present and accounted for in every semifinal of any given Grand Slam. Not anymore. I don't Andy will ever be the same again. He has been away so long as it is and his recent surgery puts him further and further away from the point where he peaked. How long age was it now? Novak Djokovic may be back and possibly can improve on his best. He isn't that old...but does his style of play enhance or detract from his chances? Most definitely they detract. Rafael Nadal is the real question mark. He is never straightforwards about his physical status. Early on in the tournament he looked to be fit for fight but then he comes up lame and later complains of an obscure injury.

Nadal won the U. S. Open last year but the draw was handed to him. Roger Federer was not fit for their date in the semifinals so he took a powder against Del Potro leaving Nadal with a pretty smooth sail to the title. Look at Roger's draw for the Australian and it was cleared away with Djokovic going lame and disappearing to Chung who subsequently disappeared against Federer. This isn't giving the sport much in the way of a good reputation. The hoped for repeat of Nadal and Federer in the final was spoiled not by Nadal's disappearing act but by superior play by Marin. Cilic looked as if he was on the verge of kicking some Spanish ass when Nadal made the decision to throw in the towel.

Both tournaments are illustrating a point that I have been making for years...the talent pool is depleted. The fall after the "Big Four" is precipitous and it is unlikely that the pool is going to get any stronger. In fact it looks as if it is going to be shallower and shallower. Players like Raonic, Wawrinka, Nishikori along with Djokovic and Murray have been dropping like flies. What we may be seeing is that the style of play is prone to injuries after the miles add up.

[don_budge]

It was a shame they closed the roof for the Aussie final because there was no good reason for it.

Actually if the reason to close it was to give the advantage to Roger Federer it was a very smart decision. At least according to none other than Mats Wilander and no surprise...I actually agree with him.

Wilander suggested that the ATP or whoever it is that is setting up the tournament should be working to swing whatever advantage they can to Federer. He mentioned the quicker surfaces at the Australian and Wimbledon favouring the Federer style of play. There isn't a handful players together on the tour that can measure up collectively to the immense popularity of the Swiss Maestro.

There was a very good reason for closing that roof on the final but it might not be the one you want to think of.

[don_budge]

Arturohernandez -
Cilic's BH backswing is a little more elaborate than it needs to be. Cilics bring the racquet head up past his head and slightly opens the racquet face. But you are correct that it can be the cause of unforced errors. I noticed Cilic having difficulty going the racquet around quick enough when stressed (ex: When Federer hit body serves at him). Someone 6'6" shouldn't need such a high and complicated backswing.

Yeah he gets that backswing up there doesn't he? It looks to me like a left handed forehand...with the right hand on the racquet. He was playing it pretty darned flat with little margin for error. He made some errors too. Federer kept pouring it on with judicious use of the slice. At key points Federer would throw in that sliding ball...low and plenty of spin...around the service line at the most acute angle he could muster. Cilic made some really bad plays on that type of ball. This is a tactic that Federer has been using for many, many years against the two handed game. Making a decent living at it too. It is the weakness of the two handed game...the short, angled and sliding ball. Now you have opened up the court and you have options.

The thing that really impressed me about Cilic...or you might say I was unimpressed with...was the speed of his backswing in his service motion. Way to quick. He was losing rhythm at the most important points in the match when he failed to consistently pour that first serve in with perhaps a little less speed but more accuracy and spin. At his height he should have a huge advantage on the serve but it didn't appear to be the case abasing Federer.

That quick backswing can be the kiss of death when the tension is mounting. The nerves start to take over and it just gets quicker and quicker. It can play havoc with your control. Not only that but in some of the side views of his serve he looked to be more awkward in the delivery of the racquet head to the ball. Less fluid. Interesting.

[stotty]

The thing that really impressed me about Cilic...or you might say I was unimpressed with...was the speed of his backswing in his service motion. Way to quick. He was losing rhythm at the most important points in the match when he failed to consistently pour that first serve in with perhaps a little less speed but more accuracy and spin. At his height he should have a huge advantage on the serve but it didn't appear to be the case abasing Federer.

That quick backswing can be the kiss of death when the tension is mounting. The nerves start to take over and it just gets quicker and quicker. It can play havoc with your control. Not only that but in some of the side views of his serve he looked to be more awkward in the delivery of the racquet head to the ball. Less fluid. Interesting.

It's a rushed looking motion. He has a fairly low toss yet a full wind up. Added to this he has an early knee bend. So his whole serve looks odd in every aspect of the wind up stage. I don't like it much either. That said, I wouldn't like to face it.

I think if you are going to toss the ball low - and I guess there can be some advantages in doing so - then the swing needs to be abbreviated somewhat to match it.

I do think Cilic's height get's him out of jail.

[don_budge]

It's a rushed looking motion. He has a fairly low toss yet a full wind up. Added to this he has an early knee bend. So his whole serve looks odd in every aspect of the wind up stage. I don't like it much either. That said, I wouldn't like to face it.

I think if you are going to toss the ball low - and I guess there can be some advantages in doing so - then the swing needs to be abbreviated somewhat to match it.

I do think Cilic's height get's him out of jail.

It would be fun if John would use Marin Cilic's current serving motion possibly even in comparison with the one he was using at the U. S. Open when he defeated Roger Federer in the quarterfinals.

Either the backswing is abbreviated to accommodate the lower toss or the timing of the toss is altered. The release is a bit later. His tossing motion is awfully quick to. Even the multiple bounces in the pre-shot routine don't match the motion. If you are going to slap the thing into play you might as well rush through the pre-shot routine and really catch your opponent off guard. Not quick serving...but pick up the pace so that everything matches everything. Once you get into the rhythm you just keep serving bullets...machine gun style if you will.

But another thing that I noticed about Cilic is he has pretty good hands around the net. I mean...if he can manage to get himself into position there. I will never understand how a guy of this man's proportions is playing this game scrambling around in the backcourt when he could be making such an impression on his opponent at the net. But he would have to change his serving philosophy as well to play this kind of game. First serves in would be a critical factor without the fear of losing the rhythm.

There are some interesting possibilities about Marin. I definitely see him playing the one-handed backhand as well. It isn't an act of God or Magic to hit a one hand backhand as many are interpreting the Federer one-hander. It is like anything else a matter of technique and practice. This has to be done when the whole object of the development is not on the basis of winning or losing as a little tyke or as a promising junior who has everything to lose by switching from two-handed. This has to be part of the long range vision from the beginning. You must accept that the learning curve is longer in duration and plan accordingly.

It's like what Bobby Jones said about playing golf into a strong wind..."accept your loss of distance and hit the ball comfortably down the fairway".

[stotty]

Someone mentioned the Cilic backhand...

I always find Cilic slightly rushed in all departments of his game. He has less time than other players...or so it seems. His backhand is a little cramped as he tucks the elbows in at the start of the shot and doesn't hold them out that little bit more like Djokovic. He does sort the the mechanics out better later in the stroke however if you look carefully. His preparation is slightly late which no doubt makes him difficult to read.

But if you are going to learn a two-hander, Djokovic is the model, just as Roger is the model for the forehand.

On the human side I find Cilic a worried and anxious individual. His whole game has a bit of anxiety to it. "Who's the nervous, sweaty bloke", my wife said when she entered the room to fetch Pancho and put his lead on.

And yes it's a very good point that Cilic doesn't play quite to his physique. With a wingspan like that and the fact he is capable at the net, you would think getting to the net more might be a given.

[arturohernandez]

Ahhhh!!!!! It's nice to get some discussion going on the forum.

It's funny because I have the sense that some of these big guys might be more natural one handers. I know we debated whether you need a one hander to attack the net.

The fact that his backhand is funky and he has a really nice one handed volley also makes me think the two hander is constraining.

I just looked up his record and saw that he won four doubles tournaments as a junior.

I see many cases where Cilic waits for the ball and then pounds it from the baseline.

I am sure he would get passed more if he came in.

But just the threat at his height would make a huge difference.

Also not sure why he runs around so much...