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2019 Fever-Tree Championships...ATP 500...London, Great Britain
Another tournament...one without Roger Federer. But Stefanos Tsitsipas in the house. Tsitsipas in the making. At the beginning. He has climbed a couple of rungs but it is a long way to the top and fraught with mishaps along the way. Just ask Alexander Zverev...the poster boy of developmental dysfunction. No fault of his of course. Its in the genes. You either have it...or you are like the rest of us. Stefanos is in a very similar position compared to Zverev at this point in his young career and everything seemed to go south. Not everything mind you. But far from being a straight shot it has turned into a slippery slope. I remember when Novak Djokovic made his move to the top. I started a thread..."Meteoric" I called him.
Stefanos makes his debut in a way here on the grass court circuit here in the city that was once London. London bridges falling down. It's not the only thing falling down in London lately. Actually the whole concept of grass court tennis has sort of nose dived in the last 18 or 19 years. Nobody serves and volleys like that used to. Devolution I call it. A sign of the times.
Nick Kyrgios in the house as well. But which is which? The good Nick or the bad Nick. What do the oddsmakers make of him? Probably a bit suspicious to say the least. Wary. The guy is loaded to the gills with ability...loosely called talent in his case. But he refuses to capitalize. It's a shame. A crime no less. A waste of God given capital. The worst kind. It's hard to watch...like a slow motion train wreck.
This is an ATP 500 venue in the lead up to Wimbledon. The Big Show. Players are likely satisfied to get a couple of matches in on the grass. But where is the passion? The win at all costs? It's lacking. That can change though. This maybe where Stefanos can assert himself among the rest of the also rans who happen to be anybody other than Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.
Some great match ups in this one. First rounders...Tsitsipas and Edmund. Edmund was climbing pretty steadily there but he seems to have plateaued somewhat. Kyrgios against Mannerino...a tricky left hander who seemingly should be cat food for the enourmously talented JERK. Dimitrov versus Auger-Aliassime...one shooting up the ladder the other hanging on for dear life. Juan Martin and Denis "The Menace". There's more too...check it out below.
Stefanos makes his debut in a way here on the grass court circuit here in the city that was once London. London bridges falling down. It's not the only thing falling down in London lately. Actually the whole concept of grass court tennis has sort of nose dived in the last 18 or 19 years. Nobody serves and volleys like that used to. Devolution I call it. A sign of the times.
Nick Kyrgios in the house as well. But which is which? The good Nick or the bad Nick. What do the oddsmakers make of him? Probably a bit suspicious to say the least. Wary. The guy is loaded to the gills with ability...loosely called talent in his case. But he refuses to capitalize. It's a shame. A crime no less. A waste of God given capital. The worst kind. It's hard to watch...like a slow motion train wreck.
This is an ATP 500 venue in the lead up to Wimbledon. The Big Show. Players are likely satisfied to get a couple of matches in on the grass. But where is the passion? The win at all costs? It's lacking. That can change though. This maybe where Stefanos can assert himself among the rest of the also rans who happen to be anybody other than Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.
Some great match ups in this one. First rounders...Tsitsipas and Edmund. Edmund was climbing pretty steadily there but he seems to have plateaued somewhat. Kyrgios against Mannerino...a tricky left hander who seemingly should be cat food for the enourmously talented JERK. Dimitrov versus Auger-Aliassime...one shooting up the ladder the other hanging on for dear life. Juan Martin and Denis "The Menace". There's more too...check it out below.
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