Mutua Madrid Open...ATP 1000...Madrid, Spain

[stroke]

copy the jewelry, SO need to lose that. Alex will be ok. This Tsitsipas thing will either make him or break him.

[stotty]

I really thought Thiem might beat Novak. He has the Wawrinka-type power to do it. Midway through that second set I thought Thiem would break through Novak's defences and go on to win. He looked like he might get better and better, hitting bigger and harder. It wasn't to be.

I don't give Stephanos much chance against Nadal but you never know. Nadal is a bad match up for Stephanos.

[stotty]

Great win for Stephanos. The boy moves so incredibly well and his temperament is superb. One feels Nadal's French Open reign is in jeopardy unless he can up his game quite a lot. He missed countless routine forehands and easy backhand volleys he would never usually miss in a month of Sundays. He isn't the front runner he used to be at the moment. He should have capitalised early in that third set but instead littered errors at crucial moments. He has a few weeks to right the ship yet but the FO may not be the dead cert it has been for the last umpteen years.

I loved the way Stephanos rode out the latter half of the third set...quite majestic...and how well he moves in all departments. The best shot of the match was a beautiful low forehand volley he hit deep to the corner behind Nadal. Even Frank Segdman would have been impressed with that one. I haven't seen a low forehand volley like that for a 100 years or so...quite amazing. My wife couldn't understand why I jumped out of my seat. I tried to explain but you know how it is....

[stroke]

Majestic is the word. Stefanos just physically matched Nadal and was rewarded. He to me has joined a very exclusive club, players who have physically bested Nadal on clay. Soderling one time, Novak, Fognini, and now Stefanos. Well done. And Stefanos is only 20. The game is in good hands.

[stroke]

Novak the favorite at -275. Stefanos is +240. Novak being well rested going into this match is no small factor. A lot for Stefanos to overcome.

[don_budge]

Majestic is the word. Stefanos just physically matched Nadal and was rewarded. He to me has joined a very exclusive club, players who have physically bested Nadal on clay. Soderling one time, Novak, Fognini, and now Stefanos. Well done. And Stefanos is only 20. The game is in good hands.

What a great match. A breakthrough match. He knew what was on the line and he played his role to a tee. From the warm up he went in there swinging. You could feel and see his intensity right from the warm up. He wasn't backing down an inch and he never did. A little bit of a letdown in the second set which is understandable all things considered. But then right back to work in the third.

I caught on to this young man real early on. One of the things that I saw in him was that he could lose a set and figure it out on the run. Never giving in or giving up. But not just stupidly making the big physical effort...but by adjusting. Adapting. But also he had the nerve and the courage to fight his way out of a deficit. Coming down to tie-breakers in the third set and not getting flustered. Now he has joined some elite company and not with just a great win over Senor Nadal on clay. He is showing the way forwards by plotting and planning his course.

He is playing doubles in all of the ATP 1000 tournaments and he is doing this for a reason...or reasons. One thing you had to notice was the volleying and not only the volleying but the ways and means to get there. Intelligent play. You can say this about Stefanos Tsitsipas too...he plays with intelligence. You was that he had purpose behind every stroke that he could get his teeth into yesterday. He pounded on the Nadal backhand and he made some room for later in the match to strategically attack the forehand. stotty mentioned a low forehand volley. There were a bunch of volleys that show that this is going to be an area of development.

In his post match interview he mentioned the word courage and wouldn't you know it that this is a word that William Tilden emphasized in his writings. It is the hallmark of a great tennis player. One of them anyways.

"Courage embodies patience, philosophy and the vision to lift your eyes to the goal far ahead. It is the ability, in spite of discouragement, disheartening disappointments, even apparent failure, never to lose sight of that goal or belief in yourself and your ultimate victory.

It takes five years to make a Tennis Player and ten years to make a Champion. If you set out to be champion, you must have the courage to look ten years ahead and never waver or hesitate even during those awful period of growing pains when your game seems to be getting nowhere."

Tilden starts off his section called "Match Play Tactics and Tennis Psychology" in his book "How to Play Better Tennis: A fundamental guide to tennis technique and tactics" with that very word. Courage. He uses the lines from Rudyard Kipling's poem "If"..."If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two imposters just the same". These words stand at the entrance of both Wimbledon and at least they used to at the U. S. Open. But I see all of this in this character who has thrust himself on to the big stage of tennis. What's more is the physical development...those shoulders. They are looking to be stronger and stronger. Like I mentioned earlier in something that I wrote Stefanos is looking rougher and rougher.

I saw it in the warm up yesterday. He was positioning himself to go toe to toe with Nadal. He managed it too. Nothing can make me feel better about what I believe about the game of tennis. I want to toss Dominic Thiem's name in here too. This young man is beginning to show evidence of being a serious contender any time he shows up on the court. Both of these young men are really showing some courage in their convictions. In their games. Both of these players exhibit the qualities that I look for in my teaching paradigm...William Tilden is the book. Richard Gonzales is the model with the Don Budge backhand. Harry Hopman is the coach. Roger Federer is the Living Proof.

I am very happy for Roger Federer in this respect. Here are two young men who are going to carry on his legacy...his tennis DNA. Playing remnants of the Classic Game. With the Don Budge backhand.

[stotty]

If you like beautiful tennis, then Tsitsipas is your replacement for Roger. He walks around the court like daffy duck but once the rally starts he's as graceful as they come. He is such a good mover, and he'll get even better too. Let's hope he can develop consistency in his results. Something all the other newcomers have lacked so far. There is a chance his results and recent fine form could inspire other younger players also.

I am really looking forward to the final. I will probably miss the first set because I'm coaching but should hopefully catch the second half.

[stroke]

Well Novak was in the same kind of form he was at the AO when he just gave Nadal no chance. Just too solid. As we have all pretty much said, when he brings his best game, it is just too good. Hard not to put him at favorite for FO.

[don_budge]

Well Novak was in the same kind of form he was at the AO when he just gave Nadal no chance. Just too solid. As we have all pretty much said, when he brings his best game, it is just too good. Hard not to put him at favorite for FO.

Solid but dreadfully boring. No wonder he doesn't get the adulation he needs. But terribly solid and Stefanos Tsitsipas looked worn out. He was up till 4AM before his match with Nadal. He was game though and went down swinging. Not even close to his top form. It's amazing how tournaments play out with all of the ins and outs. Novak gets a walkover in the quarterfinals and put some energy in the bank.

His defence is another dimension. So tough to actually get him out of position and once you do he has that uncanny ability to extricate himself from just about any position. You have to hand it to him.

Not a fan of his preserve routine either.

[nytennisaddict]

Solid but dreadfully boring. No wonder he doesn't get the adulation he needs. But terribly solid and Stefanos Tsitsipas looked worn out. He was up till 4AM before his match with Nadal. He was game though and went down swinging. Not even close to his top form. It's amazing how tournaments play out with all of the ins and outs. Novak gets a walkover in the quarterfinals and put some energy in the bank.

His defence is another dimension. So tough to actually get him out of position and once you do he has that uncanny ability to extricate himself from just about any position. You have to hand it to him.

Not a fan of his preserve routine either.

Just make him run... yup. Would have been interesting if they were both fresh... or at least if ND didn't get a w/o...

"He deserved the victory, he played unbelievable. I couldn't do much," Tsitsipas said. "Physically I was not there. My legs were not coping with my mind. Completely I could feel the fatigue and this soreness, not just in my legs, but everywhere in my body. And yes, he played quite smart. He tried moving me around the court. He knew I had a tough match last night, so he took advantage of that knowing that he's going to have to make me run and suffer more and I just didn't have solutions."

in the end, you need to train to win it all not, just a a single match... and hope for a bit of luck (like w/o). I've definitely won matches i had no business winning, just because of the difficulty of my opponent's previous match(es)

[stotty]

I watched the final on replay. It was a bit of both for me. Tsitsipas definitely had an up-until-4am start to the match, which cost him the first set for sure. And, for me, he wasn't quite as sharp as in his previous two matches.

Tsitsipas has beautiful game save for one ugly shot....his overhead. His serve could smooth out and get better also. He loses balance on it occasionally.

But Novak was immaculate. He was hitting the ball so clean and used every inch of the court at times. Stephanos needed to be as good as he was against Nadal to beat Novak, but he just couldn't muster that same form today.

Novak is still the boss...for now.

[stroke]

Novak the boss, copy that, for now. Like db, I prefer the 1 handed bh, how could one not, the prettiest player of all time uses it. But Novak's bh is just more efficient, he does not get caught deep in the backhand corner in extended rallies and feel the need to reach for the inside out forehand as a way to escape this pattern He is just more able to maintain a forward rally position. And as as much as I love Fed's game and would want it if I could choose one for myself, if Novak and Fed are both in full flight at the very top of their games, Novak's wins.

[stotty]

Novak the boss, copy that, for now. Like db, I prefer the 1 handed bh, how could one not, the prettiest player of all time uses it. But Novak's bh is just more efficient, he does not get caught deep in the backhand corner in extended rallies and feel the need to reach for the inside out forehand as a way to escape this pattern He is just more able to maintain a forward rally position. And as as much as I love Fed's game and would want it if I could choose one for myself, if Novak and Fed are both in full flight at the very top of their games, Novak's wins.

I feel the same. It's Novak's suffocating length that does it. It negates even Roger's brilliant artistry. Today Novak was brilliant because he was so piercingly accurate. I like it when he uses the whole court and is proactive about winning points. For the last couple of months since the AO he has been grinding out victories. His recent match against Agut was abysmal. It really is boring when he plays like that. I could watch him all day when he plays like he did this afternoon.

Unless Rafa ups his game quite a bit Novak goes in favourite for Rolan Garros.

[nytennisaddict]

I feel the same. It's Novak's suffocating length that does it. It negates even Roger's brilliant artistry. Today Novak was brilliant because he was so piercingly accurate. I like it when he uses the whole court and is proactive about winning points. For the last couple of months since the AO he has been grinding out victories. His recent match against Agut was abysmal. It really is boring when he plays like that. I could watch him all day when he plays like he did this afternoon.

Unless Rafa ups his game quite a bit Novak goes in favourite for Rolan Garros.

agreed.

[stroke]

I feel the same. It's Novak's suffocating length that does it. It negates even Roger's brilliant artistry. Today Novak was brilliant because he was so piercingly accurate. I like it when he uses the whole court and is proactive about winning points. For the last couple of months since the AO he has been grinding out victories. His recent match against Agut was abysmal. It really is boring when he plays like that. I could watch him all day when he plays like he did this afternoon.

Unless Rafa ups his game quite a bit Novak goes in favourite for Rolan Garros.

I think Nadal is in the same boat as Fed vs Novak in that if they are both at the top of their games, Novak wins. But I still feel like Novak is more likely to not be in that mode than the other 2. Sometimes, Novak just is not in that Zen top of the game mode like he was yesterday, but when he is, there is no where to go. His backhand is as good as his forehand, very unusual in itself, his movement is as good as any. His return of serve is the best ever.