Australian Open 2018

[don_budge]

Medical timeout for Berdych? No more timeouts period. Not for Nadal...not for anyone. If you cannot answer the bell...you are done.

[stotty]

Roger Federer at his Best...when he is at his Worst

On one key point he threw a seemingly innocuous sliced, chipped forehand at the Berdych backhand and Tomas played right into the Federer hand and drove the ball long.

Yes that was the set right there. The chipped forehand was a little bit of acumen and a little bit of hope....pop the ball back and see what happens. Berdych had to seize that moment right there. He also might of gone for a little more earlier in the rally. He had his chance.

Roger is coasting now. He has missed a few due to complacency...it's that easy.

Maybe the last 100 years has culminated in Federer and now there is nowhere else to go. Sure feels that way sometimes.

[don_budge]

Maybe the last 100 years has culminated in Federer and now there is nowhere else to go. Sure feels that way sometimes.

The book is William Tilden. The model is Richard Gonzalez with the Don Budge backhand. The coach is Harry Hopman. Roger Federer is the Living Proof.

You said it...stotty. I couldn't have said it any better. But to be fair...Roger Federer has not faced a draw full of competitors like it was in the past. He is the only player on the tour capable of playing the game A thru Z. Even he has some rusty issues that he hasn't used in over a decade.

As far as there being nowhere to go...anybody with half a brain will understand that the way forwards is to go back. Follow the dots...they culminate with Federer. The classic game. It takes longer to master. The junior game does not apply to men's tennis...not in my book. Which is Bill Tilden. No...the way forwards is today the road less travelled. Why is it less travelled? For a myriad of reasons...but a big one is the group mindset. Even the announcers like Wilander and McEnroe don't make this connection. All they marvel at is how Federer is playing. I rarely if ever hear any mention about the things that I write about. But I am convinced these things are/were cyclical. All we have been dished up for over a decade is the same old slop. Junior tennis on steroids. Maybe literally.

It is the game that has been demeaned. Certain actors are more responsible than others. More about the Nadal fiasco later.

[stotty]

As far as there being nowhere to go...anybody with half a brain will understand that the way forwards is to go back.

There is no going back, the game has burnt its boats.

[stotty]

I'm optimistic Chung may prove a difficult opponent to beat. They have never played each other before and Chung doesn't have the baggage of having lost to Roger umpteen times like most other players. He beat Djokovic and I didn't think Djokovic was playing all that bad. What I like most about Chung is he is up for scrap and his groundies penetrate. I think he is the type of player who would have handled that chipped forehand from Roger at set point to Berdych. I hope he can come out with his best game to hand and play his socks off.

I like Roger but I want to see him work for it. The game has been based around 4 and half players for the last decade and now 3 and half of them are now getting sidelined with injuries all the time, it's getting dull just watching Roger put on a show.

It's remarkable that Roger is escaping injuries. I know he floats around and moves so well but even so you'd think he'd start feeling it by now. Those hard courts are punishing. There is no give on them so braking and changing direction is a nightmare for the joints.

[gzhpcu]

In Roger ‘s case am sure good anticipation and staying close to the baseline helps...

[don_budge]

All About Novak Djokovic...The Elbow

The 2018 Australian Open may have been an inconclusive tournament for Novak Djokovic and it might be too early to jump to conclusions.

I forgot to mention something that I found very interesting in the Djokovic vs. Chung match. To me it was an extremely important crossroad for Novak. There was a point early on...it was 3-0 in the second if I read my quote correctly. It looked to me as if Novak wanted to pack it in. He was having his ass handed to him by the younger, hungry Chung and he wanted to disappear. Who likes getting their ass kicked when you were once the top dog? But he turned his mental outlook around and made the kid earn it. Just like he should. I am not a big fan of Novak Djokovic but I believe that he showed that he had some respect for the game, his opponent and the crowd that paid good money to come and watch him. In turn he certainly earned my respect for his effort. He's a pro...it was his only option. The only other option was to quit. Once you quit...you are by definition a quitter. More on Nadal later.

I wish him the best of luck and fortune. He knows of course that the only thing this old world truly understands is hard work. You cannot let the other guy outwork you. My dear old tennis coach used to say that it takes five tournaments to get fully prepared for the tournament you want to peak for. Novak has some work to do and he knows it. He got a finger on the pulse of where he stands. He'll figure it out.

[arturohernandez]

Nice to see some discussion around here! Even if it is rehashing of old points. We saw again how variability, movement and balance are so key to tennis.

At certain heights it becomes very difficult to reach the upper echelons of tennis. Kerber and Halep put on a movement clinic making their opponents look like trees.

Sandgryn looked like he was falling half the time.

Federer was looking to attack at any moment. He is so good at reading the ball and being in the best place.

It's not just his movement but it is his anticipation. As Tim Henman noted it is almost as if he has more time than other people do.

[arturohernandez]

Oh and Fed has Mirka. Let's not forget that she can tell him everyday how lucky he is to still be playing tennis. It's a privilege not a burden.

[klacr]

Berdych-Federer

The first set was exactly how Tomas and I drew it up. Get into great rhythm from first ball and stay on top of it.
He was playing first strike tennis and giving Fed little to work with. Fed was playing entirely defense the first 3 games. Then Fed did what all great players do. He found another gear by finding a way to get focused. He started jawing to the umpire. Releasing some nervous energy while giving him more time to collect himself and get energized. After he walked away from umpire, it was a different player and a different match. Berdych was now in the Federer funhouse as opposed to Federer being in the Berd Cage. Berdych blinked, Fed took opportunity, never looked back. Berdych started on offense, ended on defense. Fed started on defense, ended on offense. It's not how you start, it's how you finish.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[bottle]

I love that name somebody came up with for Chung: "Quadzilla." He certainly is exciting.

[stotty]

I love that name somebody came up with for Chung: "Quadzilla." He certainly is exciting.

He is...exciting. His post match interview after the Djokovic match was a little quirky and fun. I found him modest but also confident and relaxed. I liked him straight away.

[gzhpcu]

Chung is the new Chang... . His post match interview was a mix of modesty and self-confidence. He said how Djokovic was his idol. When asked how he felt during the critical tiebreak, he replied, that no, he is a lot younger than Novak and was ready to run for a couple more hours...

[don_budge]

Rafael Nadal...the self centered SKUNK

Don_budge, you are only demeaning yourself with your comments. If your bias keeps you from recognizing the quality of that match, you should not upset yourself by watching Nadal's matches.

Great effort by both players. Unbelievable level from Cilic.

don

I didn't see the match. As a matter of fact I watched the first set, went to town with my broken iMac and left it with a reliable computer repair dude....did the grocery shopping and returned to my home in the Swedish countryside whereupon I turned on my computer only to witness Rafael flat on his back receiving medical attention from a trainer. John McEnroe was a commentator of the match and he was making a number of comments that were not exactly supportive of Nadal's antics...or perhaps you prefer me to say behaviour. Never mind...it was antics.

This whole business of medical timeouts is a cloudy issue. I don't know what they changed the ruling about this sort of "break in the action" in a tournament tennis match. In my view...in my bias...players should not be given this luxury. If they cannot answer the bell they get the point penalties that accrue progressively.

But speaking of the level of play...Nadal looked very healthy in the first set and he was winning. But between the time I left the match and the time I returned Marin Cilic had turned it around and Nadal was on a tether and Cilic was rocking him with haymakers. Perhaps the court was not to Nadal's liking. Too bad...I know he prefers clay. That is his personal bias...which of course he is entitled to. But as it was the court was pretty fast by ATP standards these days and it just so happens that it might favour the Cilic game more than the Nadal game all things being equal.

The problem is that once Nadal got a sense that he was going to have his ass handed to him none too politely by a surging Marin Cilic he pulled up lame. Was he injured to the point where he had to quit? Well that was a topic of conversation that has been buzzing all over and I heard it first hand from none other than Mats Wilander and his partner in the booth. As you know...being a classic tennis aficionado yourself...there was a time once upon a time where the code of honour was that you finish the match, shake hands with your opponent, give him all of the credit in the world and move on without mentioning your own misfortune. But not Rafael "The Skunk" Nadal...he used the whole situation to bring attention to his misfortune, if he was indeed injured, and took everything away from his opponent Marin Cilic who just may have been playing a brilliant tennis match. The problem is we will never know because Nadal with his antics totally took what you refer to as "the level of play" out of the conversation and the conversation became all about Nadal's injury. Just see and hear this video of his post match interview below. He is just whining and complaining...bemoaning his bad luck and he just barely gives any kind of recognition to his opponent. When he does give some consideration to Cilic he does it in such a demeaning and casual way it is pure disgusting theatre...from my point of view. Perhaps you see it as the words of a great and heroic warrior. That would be up to you and I won't put any words in your mouth. Your keyboard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5z4y8JMHtM

This is a disgusting display of the worst sportsmanship that I have ever witnessed. But it is nothing new. Last year on match point "The Skunk" asked for Hawkeye to confirm a clear winner by Roger Federer on Championship Point to steal the Champions his thunder. Just completely ripped Federer off and truth be told...nobody blinked. Except me. That's ok...I stand alone. I'm comfortable with that. It's consoling. If some idiot calls me a dope...I take it as a compliment considering the source.

One of the funny things about this video interview with Nadal is that there was a section that was edited out where Nadal was going off on the ATP and he was full on expressing some grudges about something or other. He mentioned all of the injuries to players. He is just making excuses and blaming everyone and everything except doing the one thing he needs to do...take responsibility. But Rafael Nadal has a long history of injuries and supposed injuries. Absences from the tour that have been questioned by anyone with a reasonable curiosity about the truth of matters.

Nadal is a serial cheater and gamesmanship user. That pre-serve routine that he used for so many years is straight out of "one flew over the cuckoo's nest". His use of the clock and his infinite ticks and seizures that he uses to intimidate his opponents are legendary. He's a skunk alright...but just about everyone is an apologist for him. He's a jerk and I have never witnessed a poorer sport and phoney than him. When he defeated Diego Shwartzman the round before he was so gracious and humble. Giving his opponent a hug and the kindest words you could imagine. But when he is on the other end of the stick he is a whining, complaining coward. Everyone makes excuses for him. Not me...I am going to call a skunk a skunk. If you don't like it...that's alright with me. It isn't a popularity contest...it's about trying to disseminate the truth. It isn't easy these days...everyone tippy toeing around the obvious. John McEnroe wasn't fooled. Neither was Mats Wilander and his partner. Nadal used that whole situation to try and gather sympathy and he demeaned his opponent by not finishing that match...he should have finished even if the score was going to be 6-0 in the fifth.

Novak Djokovic was obviously not happy about his loss to Chung and he may have been feeling some pain in his injured elbow but he manned up and finished. Took it on the chin and gave his opponent what he deserved...a handshake at the net at the end of the match. Tomas Berdych may have injured himself in his match with Roger Federer as he took a medical timeout at one point. But he too manned up and finished and gave it all that he had. Then he managed to get to the net at the end of the match to congratulate Roger. It was what I was trained to look at when a match ended. Thus the bias.

[don_budge]

He is...exciting. His post match interview after the Djokovic match was a little quirky and fun. I found him modest but also confident and relaxed. I liked him straight away.

He's boring. But he is the "Anybody" versus Roger Federer now.

I hope Roger makes him wish his mother never had him. He's dangerous. Plenty dangerous. Federer knows that and he will not be out there playing cutsies with him. I think this match should inspire Federer more than the match up with Tomas Berdych. How many ways can he annihilate an opponent? But Hyeon Chung is a maiden voyage. Federer has not lost a set and he has yet to get his dander up. He's closing in on the championship. He's long in the tooth and knows there are only so many of these opportunities left. I have a feeling Roger is going to be highly motivated for this and comes out with his game face on. I felt he had a hard time getting his teeth into the Berdych match at first. Motivation has to be a problem at this point. How many times can you get yourself that pumped up? You only have so many trips around the world in you before the body and mind cave and say...that's enough.

Chung is the "Next Generation" all wrapped up into one. The "Old Man" is going to want to take it to him. With a vengeance.