Italian Open, 2018

[stotty]

Probably the second biggest clay tournament in the world, the Italian Open. Once touted to replace the, at the time, defunct Australian Open as a grand slam event in the early eighties, only to be given the thumbs down for crowd behaviour after the crowd threw coins and bottle tops at the great Bjorn Borg in his epic 1977 final with Panatta. Borg vowed never to play there again. If you cannot behave yourself as crowd, your nation cannot be host to a grand slam event. Seems fair to me.

Thus the Australian Open was brought back to life and the idea of the Italian Open becoming a grand slam was shelved.

It should be an interesting week...

[stotty]

Djokovic seems to be gaining confidence each week. Still with an explicable loss but I can see he is now starting to hold himself more accountable, raise his standards of expectations and begin his ascent back to top of the game. When he first came back he said he was just happy to be back and had very little reaction to losses. Now the fire in his belly is growing and he is more competitive.

His serve seems to have improved since the filming of this video. Does not look as bad now as it did. A constant evolution.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

I feel the same. Against Nishikori in Madrid, Novak seemed back on it. Novak has a game that relies on very few errors, sheer percentages. It must be really tough to play like that.

I feel Agassi was right. Novak does need to bulk up a bit. He has got thinner, and the one thing he could do going forward as a trade off for ageing is to hit the ball harder. I would like to see him be more aggressive, especially on grass and quicker surfaces. His volleys are a lost cause so let's not bother with those. Another worthwhile adjustment to his game for me would be his decision making. His execution of drop shots is poor at times and they are often telegraphed or played at the wrong time. Here and there throughout matches his decision making is questionable and often at critical times. This is seldom the case with Roger, Rafa, or Murray.

I think his serve has settled down okay. It seems less abbreviated than it was and it is likely it will morph back to what it was before. I hope so. We need him back while the Next Gen are breaking through otherwise it will be the Rafa show at Roland Garros and the Roger show at SW19. One thing I dislike are one horse races.

[gzhpcu]

Fantastic win in three sets for Fabio Fognini over Dominic Thiem! Great shotmaking and Italian Opera Drama by Fabio. Very theatrical between points, walks slowly between points, playing to the crowd, then shows great speed when playing. His matches are always fun to watch. And, of course, playing before his home crowd in the Foro Italico. Reminds one of the gladiatorial games in the colleseum of ancient Rome. His outfit is his special too, with skulls and arrows. Looks like one of Salgaris pirates...

[stroke]

Fantastic win in three sets for Fabio Fognini over Dominic Thiem! Great shotmaking and Italian Opera Drama by Fabio. Very theatrical between points, walks slowly between points, playing to the crowd, then shows great speed when playing. His matches are always fun to watch. And, of course, playing before his home crowd in the Foro Italico. Reminds one of the gladiatorial games in the colleseum of ancient Rome. His outfit is his special too, with skulls and arrows. Looks like one of Salgaris pirates...

Great match, great atmosphere, Fabio played great. What a career he could have had with a Nadal approach to all his matches.

[stotty]

Fabio Fognini has long been a favourite of mine. He's exciting and a terrific shotmaker who never seems to get nervous. He is incredibly quick around the court. Dominic Thiem again fails to show consistency of performance. One week up, the next week down.

Nadal routed his diddy opponent - whose name I have forgotten how to spell - 6-1 6-0. Can anyone stop him in that half of the draw?...looks unlikely.

Djokovic is fairing better but still making more errors than he used to. As I write he is a set and 4-1 up against another unspellable player who has been around some years now.

[stroke]

Great shotmaking 1st 20 minutes of Denis vs Nadal. Nadal 10 years ago would probably have been unbeatable, but now at his age, I feel like some of these guys like Denis and Zverev now have a chance. It is interesting seeing them try to figure it out against the aging ultimate benchmark.

[stotty]

I like the way the draw is panning out. Djokovic versus Nadal is now a possibility which could be interesting if it comes about. Zverez could be coming of age and has been playing so well. I really do feel Zverez has the game to handle Nadal if he can play at the top of his game. I am kind of hoping it will come about.

[stroke]

Nadal vs Fabio, Nadal is a massive favorite and I think he will win but Fabio has the game to beat him. Fabio is a huge underdog solely for being so mentally unpredictable. Fabio is a world class underachiever.

Novak vs Kei, Novak is a slight favorite. Certainly Novak at his best is the winner. He is the only player in the last 13 years or so that has actually played clay court tennis at a higher level)albeit for only 1 year) than Nadal. Kei is a superb player but will probably never win a Slam.

Cilic vs Pablo. the oddmakers have Cilic at a slight favorite, but I like Pablo here. He is simply one of the best clay court players in the world and he does it every match.

Zverev vs Goffin, Zverev is the favorite and it would appear rightfully so. As we have all said before, he appears to be the next number 1 and future multiple grand slam winner. I think he will end up winning all 4 majors which is to me the highest achievement.

[stroke]

early on, Fabio down 1-3 and he has really outhit Nadal

[stroke]

Fognini breaks back on serve at 3-4. He is really making Nadal look a little flat footed out there. He is hitting the ball off both sides really like no one else could to me. Hard to believe he has no Masters or Major titles.

[stroke]

Fognini wins 1st set 6-4. He just made Nadal look uncomfortable. Outhit him off both sides. He can do so much damage with his fh, taking it so early with that very short takeback. He treated the Nadal fh like just an average pro fh. We will see if he can finish.

[stroke]

well, Fognini has taken the ol 2nd set off and save it for the 3rd strategy. Can't see Nadal going with that strategy. We will see how it works out. I am thinking it is a no Masters or Major titles strategy.

[stroke]

oh well, the ol give up the 2nd set strategy did not work this time. Nadal up 5-2 in 3rd. Maybe next time. At least Nadal won't have to look over the net at Fabio and 2nd guess his own strategy of playing every single point

[stotty]

oh well, the ol give up the 2nd set strategy did not work this time. Nadal up 5-2 in 3rd. Maybe next time. At least Nadal won't have to look over the net at Fabio and 2nd guess his own strategy of playing every single point

That's the deal with Rafa. You may win one set, but can you win the next, because if you don't it will be awfully difficult to win in three. As for a five set match, let's not go there.

I love to watch Fognini play. I made a beeline for his match at Wimbledon last year. The problem is he's a rich kid and doesn't really care that much...or that's the way it seems. He doesn't play to the score in terms of caution and will go for outrageous shots on big points.

Djokovic and Nishikori are up next. I will miss it as I am working. It would be nice for Djokovic to win that one for a crack at Nadal...might fire him up a bit.

[gzhpcu]

Djokovic beats Nishikori in three grueling sets. Glad to see Djokovic getting back in shape, but his I find this style of play so boring. A baseline basher,with no variation. Yawn....