2018 BNP Paribas Open...ATP 1000...Indian Wells, United States

[stotty]

Five Matches of Interest...The Bottom Half of the Draw

I have to be honest here...I don't think there are five real interesting matches as I scan the bottom half. But there is one...one interesting match. Why is that I ask myself? Self...I answer to myself...it is because Roger Federer is in the top half. Ok...let's proceed and make it snappy.

#1...There really is only one truly compelling match in the bottom half and I had to scroll down to the second quarter of the bottom half to get to it. Guess who? It's Milos Raonic and Felix Auger-Aliassime and I admit that I had to once again peek to get the spelling right. I never claimed to be an expert speller...plus you never want to get the reputation of being an idiot that can spell. But this is a compelling match for a number of different reasons. Number one is Milos himself. Milos won this tournament didn't he? No...I guess he didn't. But Milos has been stuck in a bit of a quagmire as of late. He keeps getting injured. This has been the story of his career for the past couple of years and I am going to predict that the prognosis doesn't get any better. He is playing the wrong game. Come on...with that serve? He should be headed pell mell to the net at every opportunity. I'm glad nobody likes his two hand backhand because I don't think he should be playing two handed anyways. But instead this big lug is a retriever just like the rest of the guys on tour. But he should be headed to the net. Forwards is the way to go for Milos. As for young Felix "The Cat"...I just want to see how he reacts to playing his fellow countryman whom he has grown up watching. But you can throw that all out the window as young Felix is just plain hungry and the big lug is now standing in his way...of the next round. No love lost...well it is tennis. Don't you know that love means nothing.

#2...So this is really stretching because for some reason I don't find this matchup nearly as compelling. I can't find any reason to think that the Novak Djokovic versus Taro Daniel match has any kind of attraction on its own merit. But let's just say that checking out the status of Djokovic's confidence recovery program qualifies it as interesting. And well it should. Novak has only played two matches in how many months? Last we saw of him he was biting his nails fretting over whether to toss in the towel against Hyeon Chung in his match at the Australian Open. He hung in there and toughed it out. He finished to his credit but he was obviously less than one hundred percent. So what fraction is he of his former self now? That's why this match gets the nod as the #2.

#3, #4, #5...Come on guys. I need help here. You know how I harp on the presence of Roger Federer to qualify a tournament as a real tournament. Well even in the bottom half of this draw I find myself not focused on the possibilities because at this point in the play it doesn't effect Roger. Maybe in a couple of rounds.

Only two things concern me about this tournament.

1. How will Novak Djokovic perform? I need him back because I don't want a one horse race every time Roger is in a tournament.
2. Is there a Next Gen that will finally burst through and surprise us. We need someone new, someone bloody good.

The rest we've seen before: Monfils, Isner, Dimitrov and all the rest who have lost umpteen times in a row to Roger, Rafa or Novak...dull, boring.

Looking back, Roger and Novak has always been the best match-up. It's always been nip and tuck throughout their careers and you can never tell who is going to win. That's exactly how I like it.

[bottle]

Five Matches of Interest...The Bottom Half of the Draw

you never want to get the reputation of being an idiot that can spell.

No, I can tell you from personal experience that you do want to get the reputation of knowing how to spell. For if people think you can spell they may think you do other things associated with writing pretty good as well. And this could be very fortunate thought for the writer-- useful to him or her. So I thank whoever or whatever gave me the reputation of knowing how to spoel.

[don_budge]

Only two things concern me about this tournament.

1. How will Novak Djokovic perform? I need him back because I don't want a one horse race every time Roger is in a tournament.
2. Is there a Next Gen that will finally burst through and surprise us. We need someone new, someone bloody good.

The rest we've seen before: Monfils, Isner, Dimitrov and all the rest who have lost umpteen times in a row to Roger, Rafa or Novak...dull, boring.

Looking back, Roger and Novak has always been the best match-up. It's always been nip and tuck throughout their careers and you can never tell who is going to win. That's exactly how I like it.

Daniel wins the first set and jerks Djokovic all over the court in the first game of the second.

[stotty]

Daniel wins the first set and jerks Djokovic all over the court in the first game of the second.

Not good for Novak so far. Unforced errors all over the place. Daniel is taking full advantage and piling it on...moves well, doesn't he?

The encouraging thing is Djokovic is moving well. Other than that it looks a long road back for Novak.

[bottle]

Daniel wins the first set and jerks Djokovic all over the court in the first game of the second.

Sturmy Daniel?

[stotty]

Not a great showing from Novak. I've seldom seen him make so many errors and look the mostly likely to breakdown in lengthy rallies. It looks a long road back and I wonder if he can do it. He and Murray have hardly picked up a racket in 9 months and you wonder if players can have such a long period out and hope to get back again. I thought Daniel stood up to the plate and took his opportunities well. He certainly moves well and hit some corking backhands.

[stroke]

Not good for Novak so far. Unforced errors all over the place. Daniel is taking full advantage and piling it on...moves well, doesn't he?

The encouraging thing is Djokovic is moving well. Other than that it looks a long road back for Novak.

Daniel to me is just another example of how many very good players there are out there now. It is just remarkable that Roger, Nadal, and Novak have dominated so since 2005 or so. Tennis Magazine just ranked the players on their list of all time. Roger 1 of course, Nadal was 3, and Novak 5.

[don_budge]

Not a great showing from Novak. I've seldom seen him make so many errors and look the mostly likely to breakdown in lengthy rallies. It looks a long road back and I wonder if he can do it. He and Murray have hardly picked up a racket in 9 months and you wonder if players can have such a long period out and hope to get back again. I thought Daniel stood up to the plate and took his opportunities well. He certainly moves well and hit some corking backhands.

Daniel to me is just another example of how many very good players there are out there now. Is is just remarkable that Roger, Nadal, and Novak have dominated so since 2005 or so. Tennis Magazine just ranked the players on their list of all time. Roger 1 of course, Nadal was 3, and Novak 5.

My dear old tennis coach emphasized fundamentals and one thing I remember him repeating over and over to me is that it takes five preliminary tournaments to get prepared for the one that you want to peak at. The jury is out on Djokovic at this point. He didn't seem to have the fire power to knock this fellow off balance. In return Daniel was rocking Djokovic with shot after shot in the final set merely illustrating the point that Djokovic is nowhere near his peak performance. After so much time off he is looking at more than the five tournament prelims and most likely he will shoot for the French Open to be in top form. It's an uphill climb for sure and you can wonder if he has the stomach for it. Afterall his rich beyond our wildest dreams so the motivation will have to come for the love of the game and I sometimes doubt how much these guys really love it.

Djokovic's style or lack of style of play works against him as well. He has no options. His net play is not up to a standard that he can rely upon it consistently or in crucial situations...he is first and foremost a retriever now and counterpuncher second. But this can change if he keeps his nose to the grindstone and is philosophical about the setbacks. This puts Hyeon Chung's victory in Australia in perspective. It was not an earth shaking event and it did not signal the arrival of a future king. Novak is a mediocre player on the tour and he was beaten by the same. Look for him to disappear into the limelight very shortly when he meets a player of substance and tournament hardened. I see Leonardo Mayer will be his next opponent as Kei Nishikori withdrew due to "illness". By the way...nobody that Nick Kyrgios also withdrew due to an elbow problem.

Sadly there was no video for my other featured choice...Milos Raonic versus Felix Auger-Aliassime. Two fellow Canadians. Keeping an eye on Felix. It's too soon to see the effects of hype on his psyche as he is up and coming. But once he reaches a certain level where he plateaus we must keep a finger on his pulse and hold him under close observation. The effects of this phenomena is subtle at first and then it becomes more chronic.

Speaking of which...you knew that this was coming. Alexander Zverev. It's painful to watch now. I know that a couple of you had and maybe still have high hopes for this young man. But I am telling you that he has dug a pretty deep hole for himself. This came as a shock to me to see the results of his loss to Joao Sousa. I was watching this match in the morning here in Europe and Zverev was up 4-1 in the third I think. Just now...I see that Sousa came back from the brink of defeat to snatch the victory from Zverev. Another bitter disappointment for Zverev and I strongly recommend to his team for him to take a break from the glare and attention. Maybe a visit to Sherpaville. He needs a good brain rinse.

I was watching Zverev and I am always struck how he is constantly looking to his box for confirmation. As if to ask...wasn't that a great shot I hit? Or...what is going on out here? He is not manning up to the challenge of tournament tennis. There is nobody out there on the court with him and he has got to rely on what he's got on his person. No amount of contact in the stands helps any teeny tiny little bit. Once again it is a problem of limits. He is limited by his technical approach to the game which has vastly curtailed any other options he might have. Sousa for his part never looked like he had any quit in him during the portion of the match I was watching. It sort of doesn't surprise me that Zverev imploded. It doesn't give my any pleasure either. It's kind of sad and again...the foundation is shaky. He is a big man playing the retriever game. That is going to be an uphill struggle at some point for all of these types of players.

[don_budge]

The Big Four...It ain't no more

Remember the days when it was all Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and our boy Roger Federer. What the hell happened? They are all gone. Bye bye. It's a new game now. It is a game of attrition.

The semifinals used to be all Big Four. Look at their head to heads. So many matches between them. You could bank on them making the semi's and having to face one another. Now you have a hard time coaxing them to the tournament site. Novak showed up this week but he is far from peak performance shape. How many weeks will it be? Nadal? Wawrinka? Murray? Federer...keeps on marching. Right up to Roland Garros.

#1...Roger Federer evened the score against Federico Delbonis. I watched the tail end of the match the other night up until the rain delay and caught the tie-breaker on youtube video. A good start for Roger and next up for him is Filip Krajinovic. Krajinovic has been playing really nice steady tennis as of late but he is going to need some additional firepower against the number one player in the world. Enough said.

#2...Going down a couple of matches it is klacr's boy Tomas Berdych versus Hyeon Chung. By now everyone should realize that Chung's win over Djokovic has been "debunked" as almost a fake win. Djokovic is not one hundred percent and has showed that he is vulnerable at this point to anyone that he walks onto the court with. Berdych owns Chung by a 2-0 head to head score and I am looking for him to make it three. Hoping too.

#3...Fascinating match right beneath this one and it is Pablo Cuevas versus Dominic Thiem. They have played three times on the red dirt and Thiem has taken two out of three. Cuevas has the motivation here and coming off a nice little win over Denis Shapovalov. Two beautiful one hand backhands and a couple of guys that like to really kick the ball out wide on the ad court with the serve. It might appear that Thiem has a bit of an edge with fire-power but Cuevas is a good competitor and will absorb some punishment in order to work his opponent.

#4...Fernando Verdasco versus Taylor Fritz rounds out my top five matches and it is going to be interesting to see how these two approach each other. Verdasco has the lone win in the meeting between the two but Taylor has grown some leaps and bounds...hopefully. Fritz had a very convincing win against Andre "Dostoyevsky" Rublev and surely he has to be gunning to live to play another day. Verdasco I am not too sure about. He has created his stir at the tournament and many times it seems that is enough to content him.

[stroke]

I think it is more unlikely than likely Roger will play the FO, but what is easy to almost forget was that for several years, he was probably the 2nd best clay court player in the world.

[stotty]

I think it is more unlikely than likely Roger will play the FO, but what is easy to almost forget was that for several years, he was probably the 2nd best clay court player in the world.

He was.

His position is not dissimilar to Vilas in Borg's era. Vilas finally got the chance to win the FO when Borg stupidly skipped the event in 1977 to play Team Tennis. Other than that it was out of the question that Vilas was ever going to win. Vilas would have been a triple winner in any other era, as would Roger were Nadal not in his. Roger is an awfully good clay court player.

Borg and Nadal stand alone on the surface and it's just rotten luck for others playing in their respective eras.

[stroke]

He was.

His position is not dissimilar to Vilas in Borg's era. Vilas finally got the chance to win the FO when Borg stupidly skipped the event in 1977 to play Team Tennis. Other than that it was out of the question that Vilas was ever going to win. Vilas would have been a triple winner in any other era, as would Roger were Nadal not in his. Roger is an awfully good clay court player.

Borg and Nadal stand alone on the surface and it's just rotten luck for others playing in their respective eras.

Spot on

[tennis_chiro]

So, did you guys notice Chung's performance against Berdych? Pretty solid. Certainly, Tomas lost his mojo when the umpire went against him on the challenge of the service call at 4-4 in the first set, but Chung handled his power easily in most of the match. The backhands down the line were particularly impressive. As painful as it is to watch the lack of hip and shoulder action on that serve, Chung still managed to get 62% of them in and win 73% of his first serves and score 7 aces. He looks more vulnerable on 2nd serves missing 4 or 23 for double faults, but he was still able to win 13 of the 19 second serve points where he got it in. Cuevas should make him work, but I look forward to seeing him play Roger in the quarters.

don

[don_budge]

So, did you guys notice Chung's performance against Berdych? Pretty solid. Certainly, Tomas lost his mojo when the umpire went against him on the challenge of the service call at 4-4 in the first set, but Chung handled his power easily in most of the match. The backhands down the line were particularly impressive. As painful as it is to watch the lack of hip and shoulder action on that serve, Chung still managed to get 62% of them in and win 73% of his first serves and score 7 aces. He looks more vulnerable on 2nd serves missing 4 or 23 for double faults, but he was still able to win 13 of the 19 second serve points where he got it in. Cuevas should make him work, but I look forward to seeing him play Roger in the quarters.

don

I didn't see it tennis_chiro but here is a video from youtube. It is called "Hyeon Chung 5 Brilliant Shots vs Berdych/Indian Wells 2018 Second Round". Actually it was the third round...the round of 32. But no matter...of the five brilliant shots 4 of them are down the line backhands. He's an interesting player but very one dimensional. Just like all of the rest. When these guys are playing against each other it often comes down to movement and he's pretty tough to get out of position. I don't know. I don't think he is very exciting. In fact...I don't think he is exciting at all.

But Roger Federer on the other hand is interesting. Exciting. Interesting and exciting. There aren't any others in this category. Not in my book. You know what book that is. I've got a dim view on all of this two hand backhand backcourt play. It's boring. Except when it is pitted against the Swiss Maestro and then it is only exciting to watch it go up in flames.

But before Hyeon Chung gets another shot at the great Roger Federer he is going to have to get by Pablo Cuevas who is no pushover. Plus he has a beautiful one handed backhand. He's a tactician as well. He lacks the huge forehand and the huge serve at 5' 11" and 175 lbs. but he has looked to be in pretty good form against Shapovalov and Dominic Thiem. A couple more of this Next Generation group that is emerging in the later rounds as the veterans lick their wounds in whereabouts unknown. I have always felt that Chung's win over Djokovic was tainted in the sense that Djokovic was inactive for a bunch of months before their meeting in Australia. But a win is a win. But some wins are better than others. Djokovic was beaten again by Taro Daniel in this tournament and I watched him get shown the exit yesterday. Rather last night here in Europe. Leonardo Mayer dispatched him toots sweet. Taro's victory against Djokovic was tainted by the injury factor. Mayer confirmed it. Just connecting dots and looking for LCD's...lowest common denominators. I like Cuevas in this one...but I don't know if he can stay with the strength and speed of the younger Chung. At any rate the winner gets Roger Federer. Either way it will be the match to watch. Roger vs. "Either One of These Guys".

Speaking of Federer he is in cruise control. He's an amazing performer and this is what it comes down to. Performance. His preparation is always immaculate and when the stage lights hit him in the face it is game on. The level that he finds on a consistent basis is what I think is the most amazing thing in tennis. Historically speaking what he is doing to the rest of the tour in the twilight of his career might be the greatest accomplishment in the history of the sport. Taming Nadal the last five matches. The tour loses a couple of names and Roger just becomes the wrecking ball.

Roger will never contemplate Hyeon Chung before he gets the horse in the barn against Jeremy Chardy. Chardy is an interesting player with a somewhat strange technique. Federer will be looking to poke some holes in that strangeness tonight and he is going to try and get it done without any muss or fuss. Straight sets is what the doctor orders. Then he will think about Hyeon...not before. When he thinks of him he will have to think about the match that Hyeon decided not to play at the Australian Open. In the semifinal Hyeon chose to sit that one out and deprived Federer of the match point. I wonder if that gives Federer a little psychological incentive. What do you think?

I really like the top half of the draw compared to the bottom. It's probably because it is Roger's half. The tournament is limited to this half in my vision until we get to the final. How about that Taylor Fritz? But now it is a red hot Borna Coric. I haven't seen Coric play but just look at those numbers. I like Fritz. Particularly when he is wearing a headband. He looks like a player. He's got the look. Let's see if he has the game. Coric is going to asking some serious questions. Mostly from the backcourt. The match is more interesting only because of the potential of one of the two meeting Roger in the semis...should Federer get that far. Pablo Carreno Busta vs. Kevin Anderson. Don't care.

Tonight is interesting to see how Roger is prepared to take the stage and how he is using this match as preparation for the next round. He measures his steps. He rarely miscalculates. I wonder of he is giving the French any thought at all. I doubt it at this point. He is focused on Jeremy Chardy. Go get him Roger. Put the pressure on and don't let up.

[don_budge]

I like this young girl. I like the kids in the choir. What a beautiful thing it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmx--WjeN7o