2019 Australian Open...ATP 2000...Melbourne, Australia

[klacr]

Thrilling match. Shame to lose Verdasco as he is just great to watch. I just love his forehand. He has always had a good serve but hasn't always put it to good use. It wasn't the serve that let him down on that match point, it was the man. He well known for not having the strongest nerve. You can have all the technique in the world but you need a pair of balls as well if you want to win big.

His forehand alone is worth the price of admission. What a monster of a shot. He did beat Nadal a few years ago in the 1st round of the Aussie Open.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[klacr]

Tomas Berdych continues to look good too. He beats a bona fide tough little hombre in "Little" Diego Schwartzman. He took his time doing it this time...he lost 19 games and a set to boot. But no matter...Tomas is our first hope and line of defence against the Spanish Imposter...Rafael Nadal. Sometimes you just don't like a guy. That was Henry Ford II said just after he fired Lee Iacocca at the Ford Motor Company. Rafa about to take the stage to dismantle another little fighter, Alex De Minaur. I'm not big on Alex. I don't care for his style and a number of other things about him as a player. The service motion has a lot of friction...you can almost hear it like a fingernail dragging across the blackboard. Do they even still have blackboards?

Daniil Medvedev has lost a total of 13 games through two rounds and he is the first line of defence against the other one...Novak Djokovic. Daniil conceivably has a legitimate shot of upsetting Novak. Perhaps not from a bookies point of view...but this guy has been playing some serious ball all year long. But first he must get through David Goffin and Djokovic must get by Shapovalov. Denis "The Menace" seems to ironed out a couple of wrinkles. This will be an opportunity of his young life to get his claws into a big fish.

Berdych is strong. He beat Nadal at the Aussie Open as well back in 2015 I believe. He has the belief. Don't count out My Berdych.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Verdasco is a hot head. He plays by trying to kill the other player. Sometimes that edge turns against him. The right amount of aggression and fight is so hard to find. My sense is that Verdasco is just a bit too hard on himself. I also think had he just broken through against Nadal at the AO many years ago it would have been different for him. Even if he lost the AO final, beating Nadal once in a long match would have given him the confidence he needed.

Such fine margins in this game.

True. I remember that match so well. One of the best matches I've seen outside of when the Big 4 play each other. Verdasco has it all. His forehand is beautiful. Beating Nadal that day might well have made all the difference back then...who knows? Like you say, margins can be so incredibly small.

[bman]

Another Djokovic-Nadal final incoming.

[stotty]

Another Djokovic-Nadal final incoming.

stroke will likely know the odds on that one but, yes, it's well within the realms of possibility. Nadal looks awesome at the moment but so far he has only had opponents he can boss about, and we all know how good he is when he gets to do the bossing. Djokovic looks imperious. I haven't seen Roger play so far yet but he seems to be cruising through nicely.

Can any of the young guns make a dent?

[don_budge]

The Shape of Things to Come...

Another Djokovic-Nadal final incoming.

Things are progressively shaping up at the 2019 Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia. Novak Djokovic just polished off Denis "The Menace" Shapovalov. Denis not quite up to being much of a menace to the big boys in the game. Novak doing what he does best...keeping the ball in play and steadily applying mounting pressure on his opponent. Denis did himself well to get a bit of a new do...new hairdo. Long overdue. He looks messy and he plays messy. His clothes are always askew. The game plan is erratic if it exists at all. At one point in the first set Shapovalov made an incredible forehand to set up a break point. But on the next return of serve he pounded a drive backhand long. What's the point? To hit the ball and be a hero? Or should he get the ball in play and put some pressure on Djokovic. You be the judge. He lacks a sort of common game sense. Novak? What can you say? Human backboard.

Some years back I started calling Marin Cilic "The Sleeper" in the draw at the U. S. Open. That was the year that he won. I get the feeling there is another sleeper but the problem is that this "Sleeper" is going to face Novak Djokovic who puts "Sleepers" to sleep for a living. He eats them for breakfast. Daniil Medvedev has been playing a let it all hang out, slash and bash game for the past some time. I think Medvedev won more matches on hard courts last year than anyone else. Don't forget this is due to attrition if you think of all of the reduced schedules due to injuries. But he showed up and played and he seems to be reaping some rewards in his play. Daniil just took out David Goffin in straight sets and he has not dropped a set in the tournament yet. But Goffin, Harrison and Lloyd Harris are no comparison to Novak.

It starts to look like a Djokovic-Nadal final unless you are not ready to give up on Roger Federer yet. There are two different tournaments going on here...simultaneously. There is the top half with an assortment of sundry names and Djokovic. Then there is the bottom half which is really looking like the marquee half of the draw. All of the matches become that more interesting for a couple of reasons but chiefly it is because of the presence of Federer. Federer versus Anybody is still the match to watch and it will be that way until he is eliminated.

The names and the players in the top half are an interesting lot or not. I can't think of much to say about them. But there are two that deserve a couple of words and they seem to be suffering from the same affliction. Too high expectations...too soon. Alexander Zverev won two matches now but the last one was a five setter and one could argue it was unnecessary. Fortunately he has a rather unheard of player who he should turn away in straight sets...if he is smart. All of those sets add up during the tournament and Zverev tends to ramp up too many miles in Grand Slams until he runs out of gas. Zverev conceivable could find himself in a semifinal matchup with Novak Djokovic and this would be a match that Novak would relish. I believe that he would make Zverev cry if he could in this scenario.

Dominic Thiem is the other player that really worries me. He looked so promising a number of years ago but they ramped up the hype and what happened to his game? He stopped developing. All of that attention gives these guys that deer in the headlights look. They are terrified of taking any kind of chance to change their games and more importantly they lose sight of the goal. The goal is the long run...to develop and improve over time. This is where Federer kept his eye on the prize and why he has been at the top of the game forever. Even he could have afforded to take more chances and change and adapt earlier in his career. In his case better late than never. In Thiem's case and in Zverev's case it is unfortunate that there will be very little development in their games because they have too much pressure to be all that they are supposed to be.

I really hope that Stefanos Tsitsipas will not fall in this trap...and I am pretty he isn't. More on Federer and Tsipsipas who is not just Anybody later.

[stroke]

I have always thought Thiem is truly a big tournament contender only on clay. Alex, I can see him contending on all surfaces. If there is a sleeper, I would definitely go with Medvedev. Regarding Denis, I like his swashbuckler game, reminds me of Henri LeCounte. I don't think Henri could take out Novak in that match either.

[stroke]

Oddsmakers have Fed and Nadal both at about 84% chances of winning their next round matches. And Novak at about 88% vs Medvedev.

[stotty]

I have always thought Thiem is truly a big tournament contender only on clay. Alex, I can see him contending on all surfaces. If there is a sleeper, I would definitely go with Medvedev. Regarding Denis, I like his swashbuckler game, reminds me of Henri LeCounte. I don't think Henri could take out Novak in that match either.

Medvedev is a threat for sure, as is Tsitsipas. Two upstarts in with a shout and with nothing, absolutely nothing to lose.

[klacr]

Nadal-Berdych tonight.

May I remind you of this gem...

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

The Round of Sixteen...Roger Federer versus Stefanos Tsitsipas and the REST

Nadal-Berdych tonight.

May I remind you of this gem...

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Berdych is strong. He beat Nadal at the Aussie Open as well back in 2014 I believe. He has the belief. Don't count out My Berdych.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

So which is it klacr...2015 as the video suggests or 2014 as you suggested in your post? Not that it matters. I'm not counting Berdych out. I'm counting on him...to man up and take that guy down. With impunity. I hope so. I really do. I don't think that I will ever root for "Doubting Tomas" as much as I will in my dreams tonight to take this imposter down. I like. him less with every passing match...every tournament. Sometimes you just don't like a guy.

I would just as soon be done with Rafael Nadal and his new service motion...which there is nothing new about. He has pared down the boring beyond words preserve routine but it is way too late for this fake to ever do anything that will appear to be of a positive nature to me. Colossal ego...colossal tennis racquet. He's a joke in terms of GOAT. Give him a wooden racquet and a slick grass tennis court. He'll whine all the way back to the locker room...bitching and complaining. I read somewhere recently how Roger Federer won't play him on a clay court because he is afraid of losing. What a louse. Come on Tomas Berdych...now or never. Please.

At the top of the bottom is Marin Cilic and Roberto Bautista-Agut. Could be interesting. Could get interesting. Marin is 4-1 head to head but a little foot note here...the one win for Roberto was at the 2016 Australian Open. It can be done. He knows it and Marin knows it. Now all he has to do is go out and do it. Cilic had the narrowest of close calls a couple of days ago against an ageing Fernando Verdasco. Fernando at 35 still show fits and starts of some really tremendous tennis but didn't have the presence of mind to finish it off when he double-faulted on match point. I speak of frictionless motion on the service delivery. You know...like mercury. When the pressure is on the motion just gets better with a bit of adrenaline.

Guess who seemed to agree with good old don_budge...Mats Wilander. That's who. Not that I need a second opinion mind you. But Mats discussed this infamous serve at length...not just once but twice. He spoke of it after the match and then he came back the next day to further clarify. You see...that serve stuck in Mats' craw much as it stuck in mine. Surely it made an impression on Fernando too as he stood there gaping with his mouth wide open for how long? It seemed like a long time. An eternity to Fernando. Did he also double-fault on match point? If he did...certainly I would have the "track engineers" out looking for the friction. On the match point for Fernando he tried to go up the tee for the big winner and missed on the first. Then he managed to dump the second one in the net. Wilander's analysis...why on earth was he going up the tee when his slice wide was taking Marin nicely off of the court and Fernando would be playing a forehand most likely next with a host of options. You see...Mats thinks like I do. Tactically. Percentage wise. It was a real shame for Fernando. To get himself in that position was quite a feat and to not finish it off what a shame. My dear old tennis coach...I can still here his voice...he said that you more or less have to be "fatalistic" with that second one. You have to believe it is going in. You have to will that ball in and just take a swing at it without any reservation or any hint of doubt. I always figured my motion was so good that it was not possible to miss twice in a row. Maybe give it a bit more spin. Maybe even hit it harder. No fear. Poor Fernando. I really felt for the handsome Spanish player. He played one helluva tennis match. So did Marin Cilic. I'm not a big fan of baseline tennis but these guys were just ripping it. Big points...no fear.

Which brings us to you know who...Roger Federer versus Anybody only in this case it isn't just anybody. Anybody is none other than Stefanos Tsitsipas who don_budge has taken a real shine too. It gives me just a tad of hope. I tiny bit of hope for the future. I like this kid. There is something about him that reminds me of Bjorn Borg. Maybe it's the hair...the bandanna. Something about his mystique. Can't put my finger on it. He is really good. A nice competitor. Maybe that is what reminds me of Borg. The same sort of nonchalant killer attitude. That is what I hope I see. Hoping against hoping before the expectations get their hooks in him. Hoping he can avoid that pitfall. So far so good. He doesn't have that deer in the headlights look at all to me. The tour is starting to pile the hype on but so far he seems to be unaffected. Nonplussed. He has a certain attitude...as if he is above the normal pitfalls.

Federer and Tsitsipas teed it up a couple of weeks ago in a preview of what is to come and it was a splendid tennis match. Albeit not officially a tour match. Apparently the Hopman Cup isn't sanctioned by the ATP. Speaking of ATP...what's up with Stan Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic making all of those waves about the future of the ATP's number one guy. And what's up with Justin Timberlake too? I mean Justin Gimelstob. Forgive me again...I don't like this bozo either. Nothing about him.

At any rate I've already mentioned Nadal and Berdych. Berdych just has to man up. Not much more to be said. He has to go out there...and tree as Aaron Krickstein et al used to say. Tree as in playing over your head. How do you put yourself in that zone where you believe in everything you do before you do it? That's where "Doubting Tomas" has to be tomorrow. Play aggressively to the forehand and open up the road to the Nadal backhand...which isn't a picnic either. But Tomas would do well to look for a specific pattern that he can bet the house on and then go out and execute it. Execute him. Matador style. It is all that will do. Nothing less against Nadal. He never gives up. Until he knows he is beaten and then he just might feign an injury. But to get him to do so is tantamount to getting Donald J. Trump to cry uncle. It ain't gonna happen.

Francis Tiafoe versus Grigor Dimitrov? Well...a couple of things. Number one chalk up another beautiful one handed backhand in the draw. That is three out of eight in the bottom half of the draw. But what about Francis? Funky forehand? I guess so. He seems to be a bit unorthodox and is it me or does he walk around like he has something sort of wrong somewhere. The gait looks to be sort of...stiff? But I noticed one thing after a fairly hard match against one of the nicest guys on the tour, Kevin Anderson, it appeared that Kevin wasn't very pleased with something that Francis did during there match. When they were shaking hands there was a comment, a gesture. Some bad blood? Francis then when out in the middle of the court...flexed his bicep and started to pound on it with his left hand. It all seemed a bit unseemly to me. Like way over the top. Federer goes out and waves to the crowd. He does his job without the wild gestures. It is almost as if he is from another era. Back when they all wore white and used white balls. Traditionally speaking of course.

[don_budge]

stroke will likely know the odds on that one but, yes, it's well within the realms of possibility. Nadal looks awesome at the moment but so far he has only had opponents he can boss about, and we all know how good he is when he gets to do the bossing. Djokovic looks imperious. I haven't seen Roger play so far yet but he seems to be cruising through nicely.

Can any of the young guns make a dent?

Yeah...the odd thing about Nadal is he really does push his opponents around. He bullies them. He dictates and they play to his tempo and play his game. Which of course he does better than anyone. But the guys that beat him actually stand up to him...they stand up to the bully and they lay down the law. He can be "hit off of the court". Djokovic does this. Federer has been doing it. Some big hitters in the past have down it. Cilic had him on the ropes when he cried "no mas". No more.

He is tough to slice and dice...but he can be bossed.

[bottle]

Peak moment in the AO so far came on the women's side with A. Anisimova's win over A. Sabalenko 6-3, 6-2 . It was just plain exciting. Ask any biologically normal person who witnessed it in person or even on TV. I don't know why I have to be the person to bring it up here. Call it effortless strokes and flawless accuracy from a tall lean American 17-year-old. But I won't explore how toxic masculinity is seemingly out to exclude all such happenings from its regular discussion. One can find plenty about "toxic masculinity" nowadays under that term at other websites. It's in the news.

[bottle]

That asparagus comment by Zverev sure did earn him a bunch of new fans.

[stotty]

That asparagus comment by Zverev sure did earn him a bunch of new fans.

Nice interview. Lovely to see that side of him. I am just amazed how someone that young can carry himself so well in an interview. His command of English is great. Handsome chap as well.

I wonder if he can break through this year. Now he is fitter and stronger it might make all the difference in the five set scenario. McEnroe has been sceptical of his efficiency in slams in the past and he's probably right. Winning a slam means winning seven matches and you can't waste too much energy along the way. It will be interesting who goes the furtherest between Tsitsipas and Zverev, both in this tournament and in their careers.