2019 Noventi Open...ATP 500...Halle, Germany

[don_budge]

There is a tournament set to be played in the country that was once know as Germany. Why do I say that? Anyways, Roger Federer is in the house so things take on a different perspective. There is going to be some tennis played. Real tennis.

real tennis
noun
BRITISH

1. the original form of tennis, played with a solid ball on an enclosed court divided into equal but dissimilar halves, the service side (from which service is always delivered) and the hazard side (on which service is received). A similar game was played in monastery cloisters in the 11th century.

Did you know that the original game of tennis was called "real Tennis". Isn't that ironic? I thought so. Seeing as the present form doesn't look to be tennis realistically speaking to me. The definition has changed.

But as in my tennis teaching paradigm...Bill Tilden is the Book. Richard Gonzalez is the model...with the Don Budge backhand. Harry Hopman is the coach and Roger Federer is the Living Proof. Roger is the last remaining link to the original game of tennis...real tennis. Funny how that works. How everything is linked by three little dots. It's a silly thing really. Not that I don't get tired of "beating the dead horse".

But nevertheless he is in the house and coming off an electric performance at the French Open where he made the semifinals with seemingly effortless play. So why didn't he play those two years? Why did he deprive the tennis world of his presence. None of my business. He's a man and he made a decision. Enough already...don_budge. klacr has been dozing through the clay court season. stroke appears to love it. Strange isn't it...clay hasn't been an American thing. But neither is grass anymore...or any other surface.

Roger to face John Milman in the first round. That's all we need to know. No bye for Roger in this tournament. That's a smart thing all the way around. More revenue...more real tennis. The Italians had it right when they upped the ante for the Roger Federer Show at the Italian Open. It will be interesting to see just how many rounds Roger needs to declare himself fit and ready for fight for the "Big Show". Wimbledon of course.

https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/current/halle/500/draws?matchtype=singles

[stroke]

Wimbledon odds:
Novak 6/4
Fed 3
Nadal 6
Alex 11
Raonic Stefanos Cilic 14
Del Po 16
Nick 25
Thiem and Anderson 40

No surprises here. All these Majors now are I suppose are about the final Major tally for the 3 and their mind boggling totals.

[don_budge]

Roger Federer avenges his strange loss to John Mailman at the U. S. Open last year. A surgical strike. Using the serve like a scalpel. Next...Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.

[don_budge]

Roger Federer avenges his strange loss to John Mailman at the U. S. Open last year. A surgical strike. Using the serve like a scalpel. Next...Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.

I only saw the 1st set with Nick vs FAA, but I will take your word for it. Nick is nearly impossible to pull for, almost at a Serena like level. I did see his 1st match vs Carbelles Baena. Nick should have progressed through the code violation protocol in that match but the umpire just let him get away with his unacceptable behavior. He has Fed level talent and ability and as you say, probably at some point long after his career is over, he will see what he wasted.

Nick Kyrgios is very talented but sadly we will never know just how talented he was because he is never going to show us. Roger Federer on the other hand is just making a mockery of the ATP tour in the sense that he prepares himself so well for everything even at his age and it should be nie impossible for him to do it. Where does the motivation come from? Just like yesterday against Jo-Wilfred Tsonga...Tsonga really upped the ante after the first set and took it right at Federer. Somehow Federer could suddenly start feeling his age and just toss in the towel. But now...his immense pride in his ability and his confidence in finding a way to win saw him through once more. He struggled with his form somewhat but he found what it took to win when he truly needed it.

He is marking his steps on the "path to Wimbledon" as hockeyscout once started a thread about his daughter's development. I wonder how that is progressing...wish them all the best of course!

Next up...Roberto Bautista-Agut. Federer currently 8-0 against head to head. He has to love these matchups.

[stroke]

Nick Kyrgios is very talented but sadly we will never know just how talented he was because he is never going to show us. Roger Federer on the other hand is just making a mockery of the ATP tour in the sense that he prepares himself so well for everything even at his age and it should be nie impossible for him to do it. Where does the motivation come from? Just like yesterday against Jo-Wilfred Tsonga...Tsonga really upped the ante after the first set and took it right at Federer. Somehow Federer could suddenly start feeling his age and just toss in the towel. But now...his immense pride in his ability and his confidence in finding a way to win saw him through once more. He struggled with his form somewhat but he found what it took to win when he truly needed it.

He is marking his steps on the "path to Wimbledon" as hockeyscout once started a thread about his daughter's development. I wonder how that is progressing...wish them all the best of course!

Next up...Roberto Bautista-Agut. Federer currently 8-0 against head to head. He has to love these matchups.

RBA really wants to beat Fed as he has never done so and RBA is a real competitor. Roger and Nadal just always stay in the fight for the entire match. Novak is right there with them with his accomplishments, but he is not as strong mentally to me. What happened in that French Open match vs Thiem, where he just kind of gave away the 1st set, would never happen with Fed or Nadal. The margains are so small in men's tennis with so many great players that they want to give themselves the best possible chance to win, which they both want to do very badly, all of the time. They are not going to give anything away ever. When they play each other, it is always special and a big part of it is everyone feels it, knows that no one is giving anything away and there is no chance of either getting down or discouraged to the point where they kinda check out. I actually thought Fed came closer to beating Nadal at the FO than Thiem, even though Thiem won a set. Fed really wanted to win that match, as did Nadal. They both wanted it a lot. Those 1st 2 sets were very close, Fed just could not get it done. Nadal was just too good. The 3rd set, Fed may have possibly gave in a bit, but even Fed may not be able to come to terms with the situation of being down 2 sets to Nadal at the FO and stay completely postituve. Fed is absolutely primed to win Wimbledon at 37 years old, and I think he is the favorite even over Novak.

[don_budge]

Roger Federer carbon copies Roberto Bautista-Agut as he beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Not his sharpest self but finds a way to win. Next up...Pierre-Hughes Herbert. Another in a string of hyphenated opponents.

Again down below...surprise semifinalists? I remember Stefanos Tsitsipas referring to Matteo Berrettini as a great player in his interview after his loss to Nadal at the Aussie Open. He had beaten Matteo in the first round and counted that among his successes at the Open. Berrettini routined Karen Khachanov in a very impressive performance. The travails and sadness continues for Alexander Zverev as he loses to David Goffin whom he had defeated four consecutive times. Goffin had a Vitas Gerulaitis moment as he was heard to say that "nobody beats Goffin five times in a row". Goffin is a good competitor as evidenced by his losing the first and not getting discouraged against the chosen prince of the ATP. But it appears that the "best laid plans" of the ATP are on hold for the foreseeable future as Zverev cannot fight himself out of a paper bag. The bullseye on his back seems to have gotten larger...much larger. I feel a bit sorry for him now...which is unusual in of itself. So just what is it that Ivan Lendl is supposed to be doing with him? Ivan might be just a figurehead coach.

This could be a dog fight between Berrettini and Goffin...or does Berrettini overpower him?

[don_budge]

Interesting comment by one of the commentators...if Federer wins at Halle he will be seeded number two at Wimbledon. This would be a huge development as he could potentially have Nadal and Djokovic in the other half.

[stroke]

If he does not win Halle, I think we all will be surprised.

[don_budge]

If he does not win Halle, I think we all will be surprised.

No surprise stroke. It was a clinical performance all week. He dropped a couple of sets but that only serves to his advantage in the end. He got to feel some pressure. He got to get the feel of grass court tennis. He won another title in his chase for Jimmy Connors record of tournaments won. He is fit for fight.

He sort of trudged through the opening set against David Goffin and he seemed to be able to afford to do it. You get the feeling that there is nothing Goffin could do to put in him serious trouble. That loss to Goffin in London a couple of years ago at the Tour Championships will always stand out in my mind as one of those strange losses. But every Federer lost to anyone other than Nadal or Djokovic is sort of strange. Stranger things have happened I suppose.

This was classic Roger Federer doing his homework getting ready for the big show. Roger is the show at Wimbledon. No matter who is favoured...no matter what. The match of the day continues to be Roger versus Anybody. He is basically the only player playing who can keep your attention on his own merits for an entire match. Be that as it may...that's a lot of Halles.