2018 Libema Open...ATP 250...Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

[don_budge]

Well, well. There is a New Kid in Town. But first do me a huge...listen to this song. Listen to the beauty The Eagles. What the heck...listen to "The Hotel California" as well. See if you can make heads or tails of it. "On a dark desert highway...I was thinking to myself, this could be heaven or this could be hell."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR_Ii0hXLEk

Yes it is a beauty and so is Stefano Tsitsipas. I have had my eye on this kid from the first time I saw him. Nineteen years old and ranked number 37 in the world of professional men's tennis. Not too shabby.

The best thing about it is that he has earned every single spot. No gimmes...no gimmicks. Straight up tennis player. Six foot four inches tall and 187 pounds. Just nineteen. You watch. Make up your mind. But don't forget I told you so. I would have told you over a month ago. In fact I was...I had already spotted him before I had to see that woman in Finland about a dog...a wolf dog.

The draw...come on Kid. You are the man...very soon to be the man. He's got the look. I see Borg. I see Federer. He's young...there is a lot of work to be done. But if I am not mistaking he has that look that says he loves to play. He's got his father in his corner.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/current/s-hertogenbosch/440/draws?matchtype=singles

[don_budge]

Investing in Tennis...on the Cheap

I just ordered the full match of Richard Gonzalez/Charlito Pasarell, a month subscription to TennisTV and a free month of tennisplayer.net. My subscription had run out and I had decided not to subscribe again. Why would I pay to be insulted on a daily basis? Actually I had planned to come back for Federer's comeback. To finish off what I had started and what I have been hammering away at for about seven years now.

With my subscription to tennisplayer.net now in limbo, it will hinge on a couple of things. But one thing is for certain. I am going to copy and paste all of my writing here on the forum to my Pages on my iMac.

TennisTV is a pretty good bargain on a monthly basis. At 15 bucks a month I have signed on for Federer's comeback. Right now I am watching "The New Kid in Town", Stefano Tsitsipas. He had lost the first set to John Smith but in typical Tsitspas fashion he weathered the storm, took the second set and now is up a break in the third. This is one thing that I have noticed about Stefano...if he loses the first set or is down in a match he has the wherewithal to hang in there, get his teeth back into the match and play it to the end.

I think the kid has game.

[stroke]

He looks like he could be a French Open winner to me in a couple of years. Beautiful game and movement. Or 3 or 4, Nadal is only 32.

[klacr]

He looks like he could be a French Open winner to me in a couple of years. Beautiful game and movement. Or 3 or 4, Nadal is only 32.

Tsitsipas is good. But I see Thiem taking over that mantle after Nadal leaves, when he leaves, if he leaves.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

The New Kid in Town...Stefano Tsitsipas

Well, well. There is a New Kid in Town. But first do me a huge...listen to this song. Listen to the beauty The Eagles. What the heck...listen to "The Hotel California" as well. See if you can make heads or tails of it. "On a dark desert highway...I was thinking to myself, this could be heaven or this could be hell."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR_Ii0hXLEk

Yes it is a beauty and so is Stefano Tsitsipas. I have had my eye on this kid from the first time I saw him. Nineteen years old and ranked number 37 in the world of professional men's tennis. Not too shabby.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/current/s-hertogenbosch/440/draws?matchtype=singles

I'm not one to hype. Stefano Tsitsipas has my eye. When did I first mention him? But I was watching him in Dubai at the end of February. I remember hoping that Roger Federer would take the wild card that they saved for him but alas...he did not. But there was Stefano making some noise in a quiet sort of way. He is not one to draw unnecessary attention to himself. He lets the racquet do the talking for him.

At Dubai Stefano took down Mikhail Kukushkin in the first round. In typical Tsitsipas fashion he lost the first set but was nonplussed by his slow start and came back to win 5-7, 6-3, 7-6. Ah I said to myself...that's pretty impressive for a nineteen year old kid. Kukushkin is a pretty tough customer it seems to me. Not the most elegant but straight up in the mold of the modern paradigm...two hand backhand, strong gripped forehand and makeshift serve. Interesting to see the kid keep his cool and methodically hunt down his opponent. A experienced veteran who wouldn't want to lose to a kid. Next up was another first time encounter with another experienced veteran...Philipp Kohlschreiber. Only this guy is much higher ranked than Kukushkin. High 20's compared to mid 80's. No problem. The Kid loses the first set once more but comes back for a very nice 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win. Kohlschreiber is another of these guys who doesn't go away after losing the first set. It's a great trait to have...in a tennis player.

Stefano's next opponent was the man he will face today in his next match at Hertogenbosch...Malek Jaziri. Jaziri himself was on quite a roll in Dubai as he took down the number one seed Grigor Dimitrov and then took down Robin Hasse. Malek Jaziri defeated Stefano Tsitsipas 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. It had been a physically demanding week for Stefano and he really seemed to get his feet under him during this tournament. The next week I remember watching him lose to Dominic Thiem in three sets at Indian Wells and that was really impressive. He beat Thiem the next time they played in Barcelona where Stefano made the finals in an incredible run before losing to "The King of Clay"...Rafael Nadal.

This is going to be a fascinating match to watch. I don't think that Malek Jaziri has the all court tools to play with any sort of creativity on the lawn. So this is going to one more stepping stone for young Stefano in the development of a possible future champion. Possible I say and emphasise. Nothing is set in stone at this age. He is young and there is tremendous potential here. I know that he and his father must be somewhat surprised but at the same time feel this is where they belong. All of the signs look impressive. Keep an eye on him if you know what is good for you.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/stefanos-tsitsipas/te51/player-activity

[don_budge]

The New Kid in Town...Stefano Tsitsipas

The New Kid in Town...Stefano Tsitsipas

I'm not one to hype. Stefano Tsitsipas has my eye. When did I first mention him? But I was watching him in Dubai at the end of February. I remember hoping that Roger Federer would take the wild card that they saved for him but alas...he did not. But there was Stefano making some noise in a quiet sort of way. He is not one to draw unnecessary attention to himself. He lets the racquet do the talking for him.

Stefano's next opponent was the man he will face today in his next match at Hertogenbosch...Malek Jaziri. Jaziri himself was on quite a roll in Dubai as he took down the number one seed Grigor Dimitrov and then took down Robin Hasse. Malek Jaziri defeated Stefano Tsitsipas 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. It had been a physically demanding week for Stefano and he really seemed to get his feet under him during this tournament. The next week I remember watching him lose to Dominic Thiem in three sets at Indian Wells and that was really impressive. He beat Thiem the next time they played in Barcelona where Stefano made the finals in an incredible run before losing to "The King of Clay"...Rafael Nadal.

This is going to be a fascinating match to watch. I don't think that Malek Jaziri has the all court tools to play with any sort of creativity on the lawn. So this is going to one more stepping stone for young Stefano in the development of a possible future champion. Possible I say and emphasise. Nothing is set in stone at this age. He is young and there is tremendous potential here. I know that he and his father must be somewhat surprised but at the same time feel this is where they belong. All of the signs look impressive. Keep an eye on him if you know what is good for you.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/stefanos-tsitsipas/te51/player-activity

At some point in the future this kid is no longer going to be "The New Kid". Even now he is regularly mixing it up with nearly all of the cagey veterans on the tour. Yesterday he showed another trait that is instrumental in the make up of a champion tennis player and he did it in now what is becoming "typical" Tsitsipas form. He lost the first set. Things were going along pretty smoothly. He had some chance to break the Jaziri serve early but it Malek who ended up getting the break and winning the first set.

Just as the first set was concluded Stefano called for the physio...they teach them young these days...and the rain began to fall. They quickly covered the court and the match was delayed some hours. I missed the entire second set unfortunately as Malek Jaziri held a MATCH POINT on Tsitsipas but failed to get the horse in the barn. Stefano slithered from his opponents grasp and managed to win the match going away. The third set was basically conceded by Jaziri as the announcers noted that he wasn't the same after losing the match point and the tie-break.

Jaziri showed he has some game. Nothing elegant to be sure but he was scrappy and willing to mix it up. Surprisingly when Stefano was approaching the net on the backhand of Jaziri, Jaziri would at times use a one hand drive to try to pass. Normally he hits two handed off of the backhand.

Stefano Tsitsipas is growing with every match and reinforcing what he has already established in previous matches. It is almost as if you see his development before your very eyes. Already he played with an air of confidence that you don't see on ninety percent of the players on the tour. His one hand backhand is so good that players of Jaziri are not able to overpower him on that side. The grass season is going to write another chapter in his development. He stated that he loves to play on grass and he has won the Junior Doubles at Wimbledon. He actually has a nose for the net! Already when he get forwards in the court you can see him anticipating the shot and moving FORWARDS and not just laterally.

There are now precisely two matches to watch on the ATP tour. Roger Federer versus Anybody and Stefano Tsitsipas versus Anybody. I hope that the two of them square off in the near future. In fact I would like to see them face off in the quarter finals at Wimbledon and see Stefano beat Federer in five. Just as a nineteen year old Federer did in 2001 to Pete Sampras. Comparing Federer and Tsitsipas at the same age is really fascinating. Federer started to make a statement when he was nineteen as well. The win over Sampras was almost out of nowhere as I believe that Federer's first ATP win was that year over Xavier Mattise. Something like that. I wasn't following tennis so closely in those days as I was out on the golf course making an assault on that game.

Richard Gasquet next. Wouldn't you know it...Stefano already is 1-0 against him head to head. Now this is a match of another color. Another type. Here he has already defeated his opponent so now he has to find the motivation from another angle. I think that Stefano already has this angle figured out. You can rest assured I will be watching. With Aztec eyes.

[don_budge]

He looks like he could be a French Open winner to me in a couple of years. Beautiful game and movement. Or 3 or 4, Nadal is only 32.

I usually think of things in terms of 365. Three hundred and sixty-five balls constitute the path of any given shot. Imagine the path I say to the student. The same is true in life. Stefano Tsitsipas has had an amazing run. It is unprecedented since I began writing on this forum. I haven't seen anything like it. Nothing even remotely close. But I am always on guard with regard to getting ahead of myself. Just as in tennis...in life the best perspective is the point right in front of your nose. The present. Staying in the moment. But in terms of development we can measure in increments of 365. One year. Let's see where this goes in a year starting from the beginning of this year where the kid started making inroads on the pro level.

That being said I am sure that the brain trust of Stefan Tsitsipas is well aware of the danger of getting ahead of things. This is why everyone on the forum is busy getting excited about a player such as Alexander Zverev I must hold off until he actually does something. But I know that I have my own bias' and I was hoping that Dominic Thiem was going to make a splash. But I have cooled on him in the last year as well. Now these two just might start contending for the number one spot in tennis but that will only be because of attrition. Both players have atrocious holes in their entire games.

But this is where this kid might just be different. It is this whole argument that I have been making for the one-handed all court game for the time I have been writing here. Sure...the two-handed backhand game is a viable option. Certainly a tough nut to crack. But Roger Federer validates my belief system as well as my paradigm for teaching tennis. It is the all court game that is going to prevail more often than not all things being equal. Not always...but more often than not.

But one match at a time. I am really looking forwards to this contest between Stefano "The New Kid in Town" Tsitsipas and Richard "Formerly Cocaine Lips" Gasquet. Two beautiful one handed backhands. Which is better? Perhaps a mute point...the game might just come down to relative strengths in the forehand and serve where Tsitsipas may have the edge in both categories.

What a great matchup. Tsitsipas versus Anybody.

[stroke]

Bernard Tomic in the final 4 here. He plays Gasquet next. I could certainly see him winning this tournament.

[klacr]

Bernard Tomic in the final 4 here. He plays Gasquet next. I could certainly see him winning this tournament.

Tomic is a very crafty player, and for grass court tennis thats exactly what you need in your arsenal. He plays a different game than most. Pushes the ball around, picks spots, improvises. I've seen Tomic play many matches and the turf is where he looks the most comfortable and at peace with tennis and himself.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Tomic is a very crafty player, and for grass court tennis thats exactly what you need in your arsenal. He plays a different game than most. Pushes the ball around, picks spots, improvises. I've seen Tomic play many matches and the turf is where he looks the most comfortable and at peach with tennis and himself.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Spot on.

stroke and I have often lamented how Tomic has wasted himself. Such a shame. He could have been top five if he had the application and a better temperament.

[stroke]

I have seen Tomic play a couple of times in person very good seat, behind him very close up. He is different from all others from the warmup on. He is certainly crafty, he has all the shots, but he can absolutely club the ball off the fh. He just picks his spots. It is like he is playing with the minimal amount of effort. He only clubs it occasionally, certainly not just for the sake of hitting it hard as most do. His big problem is 2fold. Certainly, he has commitment to the sport issues, and probably related to that, he has certainly never gotten into as good of physical shape as almost all others on the tour.

[stroke]

There are 2 great matches tomorrow. Certainly the match of the day is Fed vs Kyrgios, but I am also looking forward to Gasquet vs Tomic.

[don_budge]

I have seen Tomic play a couple of times in person very good seat, behind him very close up. He is different from all others from the warmup on. He is certainly crafty, he has all the shots, but he can absolutely club the ball off the fh. He just picks his spots. It is like he is playing with the minimal amount of effort. He only clubs it occasionally, certainly not just for the sake of hitting it hard as most do. His big problem is 2fold. Certainly, he has commitment to the sport issues, and probably related to that, he has certainly never gotten into as good of physical shape as almost all others on the tour.

Psychological issues aside...he has the issue of the two hand backhand. This has more than anything limited his potential to be the player that you guys are so brilliantly alluding to. He is crafty. He has a certain "savour faire". His head is certainly a problem...and not the asset that it needs to be. But without the versatility on the backhand side he was never destined to be all that he could be.

"Curious Kyrgios" is in the same boat. Both of these Australians "almost" embody what is Australian tennis. Traditionally speaking. But somehow these big hulking characters were taught to play as juniors and they never "grew up". They never let go of the crutch on the backhand. Perhaps if either or both of these guys had been weaned off of the two handed backhand when they were coming of age they would not be such babies now.

[stroke]

Psychological issues aside...he has the issue of the two hand backhand. This has more than anything limited his potential to be the player that you guys are so brilliantly alluding to. He is crafty. He has a certain "savour faire". His head is certainly a problem...and not the asset that it needs to be. But without the versatility on the backhand side he was never destined to be all that he could be.

"Curious Kyrgios" is in the same boat. Both of these Australians "almost" embody what is Australian tennis. Traditionally speaking. But somehow these big hulking characters were taught to play as juniors and they never "grew up". They never let go of the crutch on the backhand. Perhaps if either or both of these guys had been weaned off of the two handed backhand when they were coming of age they would not be such babies now.

to me they would both be babies even if they had a 1 handed backhand. I do not find Tomic nearly as inherently dislikeable as Kyrios. Nick is the worst, with his too cool for school fakeness. And I wish he would stand up, give me a break. But that being said, he is something to see play. With that Ivanisevic type serve, his strokes being very good off the fh and bh, Monfils type athleticism, and good feel, he is stand alone. I have never seen a guy with that kind of serve have the rest of the game he has.

[don_budge]

Richard Gasquet defeats Stefano Tsitsipas 7-6, 7-6

It was an excellent match played by two players with really nice one-handed backhand. I thought that Gasquet had a slight edge on the backhand side...but only barely. Stefano has every bit as much game on that side as Gasquet. What I really like about Stefano's backhand is the depth that he hits with it. He seems to concentrate on hitting the ball deep.

They played pretty even as the score would indicate. I thought Tsitsipas was looking just a bit fatigued. He has had a pretty high energy schedule for a nineteen year old kid. I hope he will get some rest in between putting in all of the hard work. He's on the men's tour now and there isn't much room for taking a break. The week in and week out grind of living out of a suitcase can take its toll.

Super match though for the kid. Gasquet no doubt was motivated to pin the whipper snappers ears back a bit. I really liked the kid's attitude throughout the whole thing. He's a little like Bjorn Borg in that he doesn't give much away about how he is feeling. He sort of goes about his business the same way when he is behind and when he is up. There doesn't seem to be any quitter in him. He got down a set and he went right back at it.

Gasquet's backhand was superb. He took a couple of very deep balls and just drove them down the line for winners. He also displayed a bit of a new wrinkle I thought in his "Federer Featherer". The fake backswing on the forehand and it turns into a drop shot. Gasquet has the additional advantage in disguise on this shot as his forehand grip appears to be rather weak...as in towards the Continental side of the racquet. So when he looks to be taking a normal backswing he suddenly pulls up short in the backswing and it turns into sort of volley stroke. Voila! You've been fooled.

I wonder where Stefano is next week. Ranked mid 30's now. Just great for guy his age. He doesn't seem to be overly impressed with his own success. He seems to be very level headed. He is facing another kind of pressure now...expectations. He seems to be managing extremely well. I feel that Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem spent the last couple of years trying to manage the expectations. I wonder if Zverev will ever get over it plus I really wonder if he has the game. He beat a player in the top 50 for the first time in a Grand Slam event at the French. Thiem also pulled up with a very lame performance in the French Open Finals.

At the highest level of the game it is all about performance. Mentally it can be very challenging. It looks to me that Tsitsipas is ahead of the curve compared to both Zverev who is 21 and Dominic Thiem who is 24.