https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/cu...chtype=singles
It's a tourney! Roger Federer in the House that Rod Laver built. Harry Hopman too. Down Under they know their tennis...they have a huge tennis tradition. Harry Hopman was a big disciple of Bill Tilden. Hopman considered "Match Play and the Spin of the Ball" the tennis player's Bible. Needless to say I AGREE with him. So did my dear old tennis coach. The great Sherman Collins.
What about Roger? What are his chances? Let's see...Novak Djokovic at 5/4, Roger Federer at 26/5 and Rafael Nadal 9/1. I saw Alexander Zverev's odds but I won't dignify them except to say he has two chances...slim and none or a snowball's chance in hell. Forget about him. I'll take Stefanos Tsitsipas. That being said this may not be a tournament for the newbies yet. It's a man's job. Time to man up...boys.
I like Federer's draw. I hope that he does. With a bit of luck we can maybe project him out to the round of 16 where he will once again encounter young Stefanos Tsitsipas. But Stefanos has some serious navigation to do if he wants to get there to see Roger on the other side of the net. Not that Federer doesn't. He showed just how vulnerable he can be at the U. S. Open. One of the strangest Federer losses that I can remember. But that is way back in the rearview now. A distant memory for Roger. In fact he surely has put it clearly out of his mind. It's all positive thoughts now...mingled with the reality of the situation. Only he knows how his body feels and whether or not he is up to this for the long haul.
Fafa Nadal making a rare appearance once again. He has a new service motion...have you heard? Like bman I am skeptical. The Nadal camp might as well try to come up with some Tom Foolery to distract from his latest hiatus from the Tour. Never before in history has there been a top player of his magnitude to disappear and then reappear. To disappear then reappear. You cannot trust this guy any further than you can throw him.
Novak Djokovic in the driver's seat. He bowed out early to somebody in Qatar just so he could get some rest and some practice. He is borrowing a page out of Roger's book now as he picks and chooses a bit more discriminately. Is that a bad word yet...discriminately?
There's lots of subplots and early round action to come but still the old axiom applies...the match of the day is Roger Federer versus Anybody. Anybody just happens to be Denis Istomin who is a handful on any given day. He has had some pretty rough days against the Swiss Maestro however...0-6 in the Head to Head department. But he cannot be counted out either and I know one person who isn't counting him out. Roger looks at this guy in only one light...he is standing in the way.
It's a tourney! Roger Federer in the House that Rod Laver built. Harry Hopman too. Down Under they know their tennis...they have a huge tennis tradition. Harry Hopman was a big disciple of Bill Tilden. Hopman considered "Match Play and the Spin of the Ball" the tennis player's Bible. Needless to say I AGREE with him. So did my dear old tennis coach. The great Sherman Collins.
What about Roger? What are his chances? Let's see...Novak Djokovic at 5/4, Roger Federer at 26/5 and Rafael Nadal 9/1. I saw Alexander Zverev's odds but I won't dignify them except to say he has two chances...slim and none or a snowball's chance in hell. Forget about him. I'll take Stefanos Tsitsipas. That being said this may not be a tournament for the newbies yet. It's a man's job. Time to man up...boys.
I like Federer's draw. I hope that he does. With a bit of luck we can maybe project him out to the round of 16 where he will once again encounter young Stefanos Tsitsipas. But Stefanos has some serious navigation to do if he wants to get there to see Roger on the other side of the net. Not that Federer doesn't. He showed just how vulnerable he can be at the U. S. Open. One of the strangest Federer losses that I can remember. But that is way back in the rearview now. A distant memory for Roger. In fact he surely has put it clearly out of his mind. It's all positive thoughts now...mingled with the reality of the situation. Only he knows how his body feels and whether or not he is up to this for the long haul.
Fafa Nadal making a rare appearance once again. He has a new service motion...have you heard? Like bman I am skeptical. The Nadal camp might as well try to come up with some Tom Foolery to distract from his latest hiatus from the Tour. Never before in history has there been a top player of his magnitude to disappear and then reappear. To disappear then reappear. You cannot trust this guy any further than you can throw him.
Novak Djokovic in the driver's seat. He bowed out early to somebody in Qatar just so he could get some rest and some practice. He is borrowing a page out of Roger's book now as he picks and chooses a bit more discriminately. Is that a bad word yet...discriminately?
There's lots of subplots and early round action to come but still the old axiom applies...the match of the day is Roger Federer versus Anybody. Anybody just happens to be Denis Istomin who is a handful on any given day. He has had some pretty rough days against the Swiss Maestro however...0-6 in the Head to Head department. But he cannot be counted out either and I know one person who isn't counting him out. Roger looks at this guy in only one light...he is standing in the way.
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