2018 Miami Open...ATP 1000...Miami, Florida, USA

[1alexander]

Kokinakis lost too verdasco so fuc....the tournament up for everyone to watch. Twat!

[stotty]

What I wonder is why nobody is copying the Federer type game. It has shown to be easier on the body and promotes longevity. Not that it is easy: takes talent and discipline.

That's a good question. I mean, some of the guys are swimming in talent and there is little reason they have to be so one dimensional. John thinks the players find the best way to succeed in a given environment. I think that theory may be out of date.

I think the coaching might be the problem. None of the coaches in my county teach the forecourt game or a full repertoire. My theory is the coaching is dictating the playing style and not the players. Juniors are taught baseline tennis in such an overwhelming way that excludes volleys and other speciality shots. You cannot suddenly change game-style later in life once the baseline instinct has been drilled into you for so long.

Coaching could be the problem because it's become so prevalent to player success. There are no self-taught players anymore. Players are perhaps being brainwashed and are never given liberation or alternative routes. It's deep rooted and has been going on for over a decade. Coaching, by and large, is a young man's job all the young coaches teach the baseline game. They don't actually know any different themselves.

I believe my theory might be close to the truth and that John's theory, while once true, might now be out of date.

[arturohernandez]

That's a good question. I mean, some of the guys are swimming in talent and there is little reason they have to be so one dimensional. John thinks the players find the best way to succeed in a given environment. I think that theory may be out of date.

I think the coaching might be the problem. None of the coaches in my county teach the forecourt game or a full repertoire. My theory is the coaching is dictating the playing style and not the players. Juniors are taught baseline tennis in such an overwhelming way that excludes volleys and other speciality shots. You cannot suddenly change game-style later in life once the baseline instinct has been drilled into you for so long.

Coaching could be the problem because it's become so prevalent to player success. There are no self-taught players anymore. Players are perhaps being brainwashed and are never given liberation or alternative routes. It's deep rooted and has been going on for over a decade. Coaching, by and large, is a young man's job all the young coaches teach the baseline game. They don't actually know any different themselves.

I believe my theory might be close to the truth and that John's theory, while once true, might now be out of date.

I am putting a link here to what I think the fundamental problem is. Not really understanding how things change across time.

This is an example from Soccer.

https://youtu.be/37tszeV6OVg

During early childhood we need to learn some basic skills that can then be applied to a sport.

Actually, the same goes for everything but let's stick to tennis.

A coach's job is to keep his or her job.

So the easiest path to that is to teach a child a basic baseline game.

Being consistent from the baseline will get you a long way in tennis.

You don't even have to have a very good serve, volley or overhead.

Most players cannot bring you into the forecourt and exploit a potential weakness.

You will hit with a two handed backhand because it gives you better consistency at an earlier age.

With the same blueprint most opponents will play very predictably.

So players get good and win matches and parents are happy.

Coaches get to keep their jobs.

I would say that Federer's game does not just require discipline.

It requires time and understanding that what you do today will have a profound and immeasurable impact on what a child can do tomorrow.

Innovation will come from strange places. I don't care about my children even getting a college scholarship for tennis.

I actually tinker with things all the time on the court and always practice on the entire tennis court with them.

After lots of reading and trying things I am convinced that practice should almost be the opposite of playing. It should involve hitting all kinds of balls that we don't normally hit.

But imagine I was being paid and a parent wanted their child to get better now.

I don't have to worry about that so I take a different approach.

My daughter kept fighting me on this with her serve. She was upset that it would go out in practice.

And then I asked her to tell me how often she double faults long.

Almost never.

So for her she needs to serve long, and wide and short and from the back fence.

In a match she will naturally be conservative. It is her nature whether due to her gender or simply because she is a perfectionist.

Thus, only someone with a crazy vision like Pete Fischer will ask a player to postpone winning now and to try playing differently.

Here is the link on the soccer sensei. If we skip over basic skills and worry about competition right away then we get players unwilling to try something new.

https://youtu.be/37tszeV6OVg

We need more people who tinker and if you want to keep your job it is often better to not tinker.

[stotty]

Busta beats Anderson in a final set tie-break. Both men choked in the tie-break but Anderson choked that bit more. In situations like that, winning boils down to who has the most balls. It's been the same since I was a kid. We all knew who choked most and played accordingly.

Zverez v Coric might not be the most entertaining match to watch but I will be interested to see the outcome. Coric is starting to get good results with his relentless, grinding game.

[tennis_chiro]

I am putting a link here to what I think the fundamental problem is. Not really understanding how things change across time.

This is an example from Soccer.

https://youtu.be/37tszeV6OVg

During early childhood we need to learn some basic skills that can then be applied to a sport.

Actually, the same goes for everything but let's stick to tennis.

A coach's job is to keep his or her job.

So the easiest path to that is to teach a child a basic baseline game.

Being consistent from the baseline will get you a long way in tennis.

You don't even have to have a very good serve, volley or overhead.

Most players cannot bring you into the forecourt and exploit a potential weakness.

You will hit with a two handed backhand because it gives you better consistency at an earlier age.

With the same blueprint most opponents will play very predictably.

So players get good and win matches and parents are happy.

Coaches get to keep their jobs.

I would say that Federer's game does not just require discipline.

It requires time and understanding that what you do today will have a profound and immeasurable impact on what a child can do tomorrow.

Innovation will come from strange places. I don't care about my children even getting a college scholarship for tennis.

I actually tinker with things all the time on the court and always practice on the entire tennis court with them.

After lots of reading and trying things I am convinced that practice should almost be the opposite of playing. It should involve hitting all kinds of balls that we don't normally hit.

But imagine I was being paid and a parent wanted their child to get better now.

I don't have to worry about that so I take a different approach.

My daughter kept fighting me on this with her serve. She was upset that it would go out in practice.

And then I asked her to tell me how often she double faults long.

Almost never.

So for her she needs to serve long, and wide and short and from the back fence.

In a match she will naturally be conservative. It is her nature whether due to her gender or simply because she is a perfectionist.

Thus, only someone with a crazy vision like Pete Fischer will ask a player to postpone winning now and to try playing differently.

Here is the link on the soccer sensei. If we skip over basic skills and worry about competition right away then we get players unwilling to try something new.

https://youtu.be/37tszeV6OVg

We need more people who tinker and if you want to keep your job it is often better to not tinker.

More pro soccer players come from Brazil than from anywhere else and they come from the barrios where there are very few soccer fields for the kids to practice. They develop skills early on playing Futsal. The story is told in detail in The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle. A must read for tennis coaches.

don

[tennis_chiro]

Busta beats Anderson in a final set tie-break. Both men choked in the tie-break but Anderson choked that bit more. In situations like that, winning boils down to who has the most balls. It's been the same since I was a kid. We all knew who choked most and played accordingly.

Zverez v Coric might not be the most entertaining match to watch but I will be interested to see the outcome. Coric is starting to get good results with his relentless, grinding game.

Zverev is back to playing well and he has significantly more firepower than Coric. I think he will have a harder time with Carenno Busta. That guy is fast...very fast. That match should have some interesting rallies.

If Delpo has anything left in his body, he will handle Isner, but John may be playing his best tennis ever. He is just absolutely pummeling his forehand. But I think Delpo returns a lot more balls than Isner even though he is facing a tougher serve. And he is stronger on the backhand side and covers a lot more court. I wish we had more readings on the speed of the groundstrokes. I think there will be a lot of big forehands out there in that match. Probably a very close match, but not a lot of interesting rallies.

don

[stotty]

More pro soccer players come from Brazil than from anywhere else and they come from the barrios where there are very few soccer fields for the kids to practice. They develop skills early on playing Futsal. The story is told in detail in The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle. A must read for tennis coaches.

don

I think soccer is a game that can be far more self-developed than tennis. My father played soccer professionally and said much the same. Players learned from each other, in terms of skills.

I was born in Cruziero, Brazil. I remember little of it because I was very young when left the country. But my father told me there was a pride, a kudos in being skilful in Brazilian soccer that doesn't exist in British soccer. British soccer is a hard, fast, physical game. In Brazil players want to be seen as skilful and creative.

[gzhpcu]

Fantastic serving by Isner! Completely dominated Del Potro.

[klacr]

Isner vs. Zverev in today's final. Snooze fest or potential for entertainment. If Zverev gets to the net more than Isner in this match I don't know whether to be embarrassed or sad for Isner.
Zverev possesses a remarkable skill set, but a great serve still remains as the ultimate weapon. How many tie-breaks will we see today?

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Isner vs. Zverev in today's final. Snooze fest or potential for entertainment. If Zverev gets to the net more than Isner in this match I don't know whether to be embarrassed or sad for Isner.
Zverev possesses a remarkable skill set, but a great serve still remains as the ultimate weapon. How many tie-breaks will we see today?

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Well...not too entertaining.

Zverez's game plan seemed sound...get into rallies and win from there. We've seen Novak do it over and over again. But Zverev did it so tamely and passively much of the time, hoping Isner would just breakdown. Zverev failed to be assertive and needed to pull off more big shots.

Isner, to his credit, served well and took his chances when they came round. He was the more assertive.

Nice for the home crowd to be able to cheer their man home.

The food must be good in Miami. I have never seen so many fat people when the camera panned around the stadium between changeovers.

[gzhpcu]

Isner is a nice guy. Kudos to him for turning the match around.

[arturohernandez]

I am wondering if Zverev has a big enough forehand to take the next step. It seems to me that his forehand is particularly safe and he is unable to create space or take away time with it. This leaves him simply hoping his opponent will miss. A bit like Murray's approach to tennis.

Some refer to Nadal as a pusher or grinder in his prime. But no matter what one might think, he did hit the forehand big and always sought a way to find his favorite inside out forehand.

I remember vividly watch him at Wimbledon go for an inside out forehand against Soderling and miss on a crucial point.

I just don't see that capability in Zverev. He doesn't have an aggressive play he can use.

Tennis is tough. You have to be consistent (C) enough to move up the rankings. Then you have to be aggressive (A) enough to keep rising.

And so on and so forth. Then take A and C and keep recombining it in different mixes. Hopefully, all of it falls into place.

[stroke]

I do think Zverev's game is closest to Novak, but I agree, with the exception of his serve, he does not match and in form Novak in any other stroke. His forehand is looking particularly not great for a top 10 player, but I never really liked Murray's either. Anyway, on to the clay, and see if anyone can step up as a true challenger to Nadal. And Nadal certainly is not a pusher. He can play great defense, but his forehand is one of the great shots in tennis history.

[klacr]

Well...not too entertaining.

Zverez's game plan seemed sound...get into rallies and win from there. We've seen Novak do it over and over again. But Zverev did it so tamely and passively much of the time, hoping Isner would just breakdown. Zverev failed to be assertive and needed to pull off more big shots.

Isner, to his credit, served well and took his chances when they came round. He was the more assertive.

Nice for the home crowd to be able to cheer their man home.

The food must be good in Miami. I have never seen so many fat people when the camera panned around the stadium between changeovers.

Miami does have some fabulous restaurants. Sadly, it's is not a Miami epidemic. It's an American epidemic. No portion control, quantity over quality, an addiction to the mightiest drug of them all... sugar. If you think Miami was bad, wait until the Cincinnati event in the summer.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

I do think c game is closest to Novak, but I agree, with the exception of his serve, he does not match and in form Novak in any other stroke. His forehand is looking particularly not great for a top 10 player, but I never really liked Murray's either. Anyway, on to the clay, and see if anyone can step up as a true challenger to Nadal. And Nadal certainly is not a pusher. He can play great defense, but his forehand is one of the great shots in tennis history.

He moves well. He just needed to be more assertive in rallies to prevent Isner getting opportunities on his forehand. At times Zverez just rolled balls tamely down the middle. After taking the first set, he should have cruised home but instead he seemed to lose his nerve at key times.

He still has a way to go to match Novak, but then he is still only twenty.