2018 Gerry Weber Open...ATP 500...Halle, Germany

[don_budge]

The sweet smell of grass is upon us and Roger Federer did not disappoint. He takes the Mercedes Open in stride with a nice routine straight set over anything but a routine player in Milos Raonic. Now it is on to Halle, Germany where Roger has had some limited success. Right from the beginning I would like to state that my ultimate desire for this tournament would be to see Roger meet young Stefanos Tsitsipas. For once we would have a tennis match where I would spell out both names of the competitors instead of "Roger Federer versus Anybody". You would think that I would make an exception for Nick "Curious George" Kyrgios wouldn't you? But the thing is when Nick plays anybody else other than Roger I find him rather unwatchable. Now you are beginning to see my point.

Projecting Roger into the semifinals isn't a stretch by any means but what about young Tsitsipas? A young kid like Stefanos is fair game for any of these experienced pros so he is going to have to get there to get there. No projecting for Stefanos...one match at a time. First up is Lucas Pouille who just might be had by he Greek as he is looking just a bit tired and not all that comfortable on the grass. Lucas is a pretty tough competitor so he would be another great notch on the belt if Stefanos is up for the challenge. He has had a few days rest and practice so there isn't any reason he cannot rise to this occasion. He should be following Roger's lead and get his ass to the net.

Too bad Dominic Thiem is up in Stefanos' quarter as I would have like to see him and Alexander Zverev in the other semifinal. But as it is Alexander, who has been making an adventure of everything as of late, has his hands full in his first round with Borna "Gain" Coric. As in Born Again. Kei Nishikori? Basically unwatchable. Particularly so on the lawn. The other Zverev, Mischa, is in the top half of the bottom half. That might be amusing to see him play little bro in the semifinals.

Another warmup for "The Man". Roger Federer continues to number one amaze us plus he demonstrates another very important aspect of the tour. He shows what little depth the tour actually has. If a 37 year old is on top at the number one ranking, what does this say for the rest of the tour? Answer...it is lacking.

Here's the draw...read 'em and weep.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/score...alle/500/draws

[don_budge]

A Real Tennis Tournament...Roger Federer in the House

One of the amazing things about Roger Federer is that when he is in the house everything else around him becomes incrementally more interesting. Case in point number one...Dominic Thiem defeated Mikhail Youzhny 7-6, 6-2. I watched the match or at least some part of it. Only because it is the Gerry Weber Open and Roger Federer is playing. I am not sorry I did either. Two nice one-handed backhands (ala Federer) one older veteran against an up and comer. It had enough contrast to maintain somewhat of a casual interest. Some nice thoughtful rallies while the players jockeyed for position to deliver the haymaker. Some good backhand to backhand stuff. Trading slice...patiently getting into position to bludgeon. Somewhat interesting. In the old days players would never wait so long to get to the net. Watch the Gonzalez versus Pasarell video.

Thiem's victory is also interesting as it takes him a step closer to a possible Stefanos Tsitsipas matchup. Stefanos has an interesting puzzle to solve in his own right. This tournament has become dual interesting because of the up and coming Tsitsipas. Stefanos plays a wily Lucas Pouille...a French dude who has steadily climbed up the ladder to a ranking of number 18. Interestingly enough...Stefanos is not so far behind at number 35. First time these two have played each other and another great test for Tsitsipas. All he has to do abasing these guys for the time being is to compete. To be as gutsy as he can possibly be. The rest is going to come and come it will. He needs a bit of attention to his service backswing as Stotty pointed out some time ago. Hopefully someone in his braintrust knows what they are doing.

Okay. So it gets interesting doesn't it. Roger is the straw that stirs the drink. All of the subplots are a series of dots that connect to Roger. The three little dots. Ferdinand Celine. More subplots and their themes.

Marton Fucsovics versus Philipp Kohlschreiber...intersting becasue Fucsovics lost to Federer at the Australian I think it was and he may have taken a set from Roger. That makes him interesting for the future. He did win a tournament recently. Connecting dots.

Richard Gasquet versus Florian Mayer...Richard won last week and "The Quirk" is always interesting to watch with his interpretation of the game. No connecting dots here save Roger's impressive record against Gasquet.

Roger Federer versus Aljaz Bedene...See what I mean? Even Bedene becomes somebody when he plays Federer.

Mischa Zverev versus Karen Khachanov...Some serve and volley against some raw power. Is it enough though? Maybe not. But Mischa did play Roger recently...that makes him mariginally interesting coupled with his inclination to actually go to the net in 2018.

So read 'em and weep. Match of the day is Stefanos Tsitsipas versus Lucas Poille hands down. Should he win that won it really gets compelling. Sorry Roger...interesting that your match has taken a back seat. When is the last time that I said that? Never?

[don_budge]

Stefanos Tsitsipas...continued.

The young man continues to impress. He is less compelling than Roger Federer but he is young. He reminds me of Bjorn Borg in a way as Borg did nothing to draw attention to himself and just seemed to go about his business on the court quietly and unassuming. Stefanos played a really sharp first set. He cracked a few backhands and the forehand is always ready to apply pressure...but intelligently so. Nothing wild or without intent. He is the opposite of Denis Shapovalov. He is methodical and thoughtful. When he isn't in position to apply aggressive pressure he is playing it smart and clever and doing his utmost to neutralize.

I have noticed another thing about Stefanos is that he is excellent at anticipating his opponents shots. Perhaps a little Federesque in this regard. Federer knows when he is clearly out of position and he makes an educated guess sometimes as to where his opponent is likely to go. More often than not he guesses right and plays something to get himself back in the point. Tsitsipas is really clever in running down balls and putting up a very high ball or a lob to stay in the point. Very mature for his age. Very, very impressive win today over I would think a heavily favoured Pouille.

Next up for Stefanos is journeyman Dennis Kudla. It's one match at a time for the young man. He isn't going to win anything by his reputation alone and he is already reaching the point where a takedown of him for another player will be a feather in their cap. This is going up the ladder some too as Richard Gasquet demonstrated last week. He was very happy to even up the head to head with Tsitsipas. He may as well get his shots in when this kid is young because it isn't going to get any easier if my hunch is right.

Dominic Thiem may have his hands full in the next round versus Yuichi Sugita. Otherwise we just might be in for a real treat in a match between Tsitsipas and Thiem. T "n" T. Dynamite!!!

We might just get to see our first Federer vs. Tsitsipas encounter if everything goes as planned. don_budge's plan that is.

[don_budge]

The Horse that Didn't Win, Place or Show...Tsitsipas vs. Thiem. TNT BABY!

Stefanos Tsitsipas...continued.

Dominic Thiem may have his hands full in the next round versus Yuichi Sugita. Otherwise we just might be in for a real treat in a match between Tsitsipas and Thiem. T "n" T. Dynamite!!!

We might just get to see our first Federer vs. Tsitsipas encounter if everything goes as planned. don_budge's plan that is.

My horses didn't come in. Stefanos Tsitsipas ran into some rather stiff opposition in Denis Kudla and Dominic Thiem more than had his hands full of Yuichi Sugita. The match will have to wait for another day.
Stotty mentioned the serve of young Stefanos. I mentioned it first. But there is some baggage in the backswing. It is imperfect and therefore subject to nerves and bad serving days. Just when you need it most. I saw his father making an appearance with Stefanos in an interview and I have to mention this...Daddio has to go. He has done a fine job to this point but he has let the imperfect service motion morph into a liability plus I think that he just might be getting on the young man's nerves a bit. He is too close for comfort. Just listening to him talk briefly I came away with the impression that if I had to spend too much time listening to him I would find him very annoying. Just an impression. I think Stefanos is ready to fly on his own. I would gladly take over the reins.

Denis Kudla played a very, very solid game yesterday. The Tsitsipas serve was off incrementally and he wasn't scoring with it. In contrast watch how Federer is controlling his serve with variety of delivery, spin, placement and speed. Radar like precision. How can he do it? A perfect motion certainly helps. Tsitsipas failed to consistently get the ball in play on the return. Kudla has a less than stellar serve but he used it most effectively and was looking for chinks in the armour of the Tsitsipas return game and found the motherlode. Kudla totally was in control of his service game. In fact he made to many inroads of control into the Tsitsipas service game. Rock solid from the backcourt. Nothing too flashy but no mistakes. Hardly grass court material though.

All in all I would say that Tsitsipas didn't look fully prepared to compete yesterday. He was coming off a huge win against the number five seed Lucas Pouille so he may have suffered a bit of a letdown. But never mind...this is the learning curve. Fits of inconsistency. But one thing I think that the young man should pay close attention to before he finds himself to 69 years old with a chink in his backswing...FIX IT!. Feel me...Phil?

Dominic Thiem has got some over expectation problems of his own. He and Alexander Zverev need to emerge from their own shadows if you know what I mean. Zverev suffered another disappointing loss and he was looking to his box for help. I have some bad news for you Alexander...you are out there all by your lonesome. Man up young man. Here is another case where "Dad in the Box" might just have to go. You have to grow up some time. Thiem had some serious problems with his undersized opponent. He never got his teeth in the match. This fellow had him so off balance that he never could unleash the power game that he prefers to play. That he has to play because he has no real backup mode to resort too. Another commonality between Zverev and Thiem...basically one dimensional.

[gzhpcu]

For a moment, against Paire, I thought Federer might lose, as he has lost some tight matches making unexpected errors art the critical moment of the matdh. Luckily, he pulled through

[don_budge]

Aging, Beating about the Bushes in the Quest for MYELIN ViOLEN...and Benoit Paire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xlo1NvEdAw

For a moment, against Paire, I thought Federer might lose, as he has lost some tight matches making unexpected errors art the critical moment of the matdh. Luckily, he pulled through

It sure did look as if he was going to lose. But did you see the bushes that he had to hack through to get to that point. The first set was all Federer. Paire was throwing his racquet and had to control himself to the point that he didn't hurt somebody around him. I was concerned that he was going to lose it in a mad moment and there would be an accident. A racquet slammed into somebody's face by accident. A ball propelled at a million miles a second into some poor unsuspecting ballboy's or lines person's face. He looked positively...possessed. Really angry. He actually was hitting some unbelievable shots but Federer was returning them with interest. Paire could not believe what Roger was doing with the ball on his own best efforts. It was as if Benoit was taking it personally.

Strangely he hung in there the second set and he continued to hit the most unbelievable shots but Roger was having some difficulty resolving the anger of Paire that seemingly was directed at Roger's audacity to hit unbelievable shots off of Paire's unbelievable shots. A tricky piece of match psychology here. But Roger got just a bit tentative and it opened up the door a crack for Paire to come crashing through. And he did.

The third set was a real piece of work. It looked as if Roger had righted the ship but Paire wasn't going away. This guy is a lot like Nick "Curious George" Kyrgios. Could it be we have Benoit "George Curieux" Benoit? But they were duelling away to the inevitable tie-break. Back and forth. Benoit put himself in position to make the fatal thrust...Federer took a big swing off of a backhand return of serve that landed just inside the baseline. Paire returned long.

It was a great match for Federer. He needed to feel like he was a snail crawling on the razor's edge. Paire was opening him up and nearly finished him off. But like a great Houdini...Federer wriggled free of the cutting edge and he lives to play another day.

It was unclear if he was showing a bit of rust but it may just be that the style of Paire gives you no rhythm to play off of. So Federer just resorted to what he does best. He played to win. He got every return back that he possibly could. He "resorted" to slice returns...just to make Benoit play. No freebies. No gimmes...I hope Tsitsipas was watching. He needed to play this game with Denis Kudla. He has to have this one in his DNA. Roger doesn't need to think about changing course in midstream. He feels it. He is aware of all of the nuances. He showed it in the end as once again he surprised even himself at what he can do. I love the expression on his face when he pulls out a match like this one. It is one of disbelief.

Nice to see him dig deep. But I hope this isn't another case of what happened to him at Indian Wells and Miami. The one thing to be concerned about at this point in the run-up to Wimbledon is rust. Lack of match play. But the pressure of this match is going to pay off for him. To once again face that fear of losing and overcome it with nerves of steel. It is really quite amazing. I have to admire his MYELIN. Among the other tangible options.

[stroke]

Fed is 6/4 favorite at Wimbledon, or the oddsmakers have him at about a 40% chance of winning the tournament. He is followed by Novak and Nadal at 13/2(about 13% chance of winning tournament), Cilic at 12/1, Zverev 14/1, followed next by Kyrgios and Raonic.

[don_budge]

Fed is 6/4 favorite at Wimbledon, or the oddsmakers have him at about a 40% chance of winning the tournament. He is followed by Novak and Nadal at 13/2(about 13% chance of winning tournament), Cilic at 12/1, Zverev 14/1, followed next by Kyrgios and Raonic.

I have a feeling that it is not going to happen. But on the other hand who is going to beat him?

[don_budge]

The "Roger Federer versus Anybody" Show goes on...and on. Until it is over and out.

One has to wonder at the ripe old age of thirty-seven how long can this go on. I don't think it can too much longer. A last gasp run at Wimbledon? I don't know if he has the energy. Even with the depleted field that years ago he would have been licking his chop to have at it with. Yesterday against Denis Kudla, Roger sort of had that look that he had at Indian Wells and at Miami. It is a look that is halfway between...what am I doing here and what do I care? He can only make so much money. Why does he show up?

Last week it was sort of funny. They gave him a brand new Mercedes Benz in Stuttgart after beating Milos Raonic. It was sort of like what am I supposed to do with this? A garage is only so big. Don't you think that he has all of his dream cars all parked in a row and he goes out in the morning to admire them. Their precision. All in a straight line. If one is a bit out of line he will move all of them just to get it perfect. He's a perfectionist you know. Too bad you can only drive one Mercedes Benz at a time. Just think if you could drive them all...wouldn't that be lovely?

He plays along. To get along. To pad the bank accounts. To pad his lead over Nadal. But it is getting tiresome. Not to mention boring. Doesn't he look to be just a bit bored at times. Almost frustrated...bordering on anger. Why? Could it be that he wants to be someplace else instead of chasing and lunging about? It could very well be.

Denis Kudla played he part as "Anybody for the Day" well. He got to a tie-break in the first set and suddenly Federer was for real. Not the bored and dull facsimile we saw the entire set. He was Roger once again. Striking out. Lashing about. Take this. Take that. Now I have you. Then he settled down in the second set to being bored. He got a warning for ball abuse at one point. He drove a ball out of the stadium. The crowd loved it. They were amused. Their hard earned dollars were paying off. They smiled to themselves...self assured. They were there and others were not. It pays to have a few bucks.

Denis Kudla? So what in the end. He had his day in the sun against the great one. The rich one. The Magnificent One. He will be able to tell his grandkids about the day that he took Federer to a tie-break. Then he woke up. What the heck was he doing in a tie-break with Roger? Answer: Not much. He got one point.

So next up is Borna "Born Again" Coric. BC. Before Christ. He's "Anybody" today but not just "Anybody". Roger gave him new life back at Indian Wells ealier in the year. Made the kid look like a million bucks again. There was a time when they were talking about this kid as the second coming. Then all eyes were on Dominic Thiem and then Alexander Zverev. But it didn't come to pass. Coric was dancing in front of Federer at the coin toss in Dubai I think it was. Fresh off a win over Andy Murray. Roger calmly looked him up and down and then went out and pinned his ears back.

But Borna is reincarnate. He has new life. He had the day off yesterday as a matter of fact. His opponent had to go potty and couldn't come back for the rest of the match. No matter. Today is another day. How much does Roger have in the tank for this stuff? This is two weeks in a row and he hasn't played for months. Not match play. Match play is more exhausting than practice. It's all preparation and when you are Roger Federer there is no let up. He is a perfectionist and he gets all of his ducks lined up in a row. When one is out of line he gets obsessive. Now he appears to be a bit frustrated.

He should be able to summon the dragon once more for this upstart. Borna certainly has the energy but does he have the game? Federer has to serve a bit better than he has the last couple of outings. His lacklustre serving is a sign of tired legs. Maybe even a little boredom. Come on Roger. Get this horse in the barn and then get some rest. The real battle is looming on the horizon.

[klacr]

Borna clearly has the game. Federer was on edge, unhappy, ornery.

Here's my question: Is it a conflict of interest for Ivan Ljubicic in this match. He's the coach of Federer but he is the manager of Borna Coric. Good day for Ivan huh?

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Neither Roger nor Novak are quite there yet. Both need to find another 10 percent if they are to lift the trophy at SW19.

[don_budge]

Borna clearly has the game. Federer was on edge, unhappy, ornery.

Here's my question: Is it a conflict of interest for Ivan Ljubicic in this match. He's the coach of Federer but he is the manager of Borna Coric. Good day for Ivan huh?

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

That was one strange match.