2019 Wimbledon...ATP 2000...London, England

[don_budge]

I have to get this done early as I have to catch a train in order to catch a plane. I'm traveling. Headed back to the United States of America. To visit my dear and elderly father. The Ugly American is going to be in town and this should prove to be very interesting. You see...he is a Donald Trump hater of the worst kind. He even has a "Fuck Trump" t-shirt though I doubt that he packed it in his bag in Hawaii. It doesn't matter to me. People can think what they will. They normally do...you know. There isn't much you can say or do to change their minds. Once they get it in their noodle it is there to stay. You see...this is the problem with the state of the "Mainstream Media" these days. Goebbels couldn't have done a better job. It's all over the place now...even in tennis literature. You would never know that tennis was once upon a time a very different game. A very real game. But be that as it may..."The Ugly American" has grown his hair for the past two years and from what he says it is down the middle of his back somewhere. I went to the barbershop and got a very short clipping. I'll show him...the dirty rotten guy. The last laugh.

Roger Federer is in the house and this might just be Roger's last stand. His last realistic shot at taking another Grand Slam title home to Switzerland. I think it was me that reported that he will be seeded number two as he won at Halle. It will be interesting to see who lands where in the draw. The draw set to be made on Friday at which time I will have landed and feeling terrible from the anticipated jet lag. I won't be able to shake off the time difference for the two weeks that I shall be there. Going west is the problem. I have been in Hawaii for up to three weeks and never got situated. Heading back east is never a problem...one night of rest and I am good to go. It never ceases to amaze me how these guys get themselves ready to perform traveling through time zones like they do. I wonder if they just sort of get immune to it.

The tournament starts on July 1st...which is on Monday and it ends on the 14th when I will be back and comfortable in Sweden. Out in the middle of nowhere where the motion is the wind and the birds pretty much. Horses in the field...dogs galore. I know that I am in for a culture shock again. Eight lanes of traffic. Endless stores and restaurants. Most of the motion is commotion. Swirling and swirling. No wonder so many people are losing it. Is peace of mind merely a figment of one's imagination? I know that I am forever a man without a country in a sense...having left so many years ago. Fifteen and counting. It's like a past life. Do you believe in Deja Vu? Reincarnation? Just asking. Amazing that I feel pretty much at peace with the idea. The ideas.

Come on Roger! Come on Tsitsipas! Play time is over...time to go to work.

[arturohernandez]

I have to get this done early as I have to catch a train in order to catch a plane. I'm traveling. Headed back to the United States of America. To visit my dear and elderly father. The Ugly American is going to be in town and this should prove to be very interesting. You see...he is a Donald Trump hater of the worst kind. He even has a "Fuck Trump" t-shirt though I doubt that he packed it in his bag in Hawaii. It doesn't matter to me. People can think what they will. They normally do...you know. There isn't much you can say or do to change their minds. Once they get it in their noodle it is there to stay. You see...this is the problem with the state of the "Mainstream Media" these days. Goebbels couldn't have done a better job. It's all over the place now...even in tennis literature. You would never know that tennis was once upon a time a very different game. A very real game. But be that as it may..."The Ugly American" has grown his hair for the past two years and from what he says it is down the middle of his back somewhere. I went to the barbershop and got a very short clipping. I'll show him...the dirty rotten guy. The last laugh.

Roger Federer is in the house and this might just be Roger's last stand. His last realistic shot at taking another Grand Slam title home to Switzerland. I think it was me that reported that he will be seeded number two as he won at Halle. It will be interesting to see who lands where in the draw. The draw set to be made on Friday at which time I will have landed and feeling terrible from the anticipated jet lag. I won't be able to shake off the time difference for the two weeks that I shall be there. Going west is the problem. I have been in Hawaii for up to three weeks and never got situated. Heading back east is never a problem...one night of rest and I am good to go. It never ceases to amaze me how these guys get themselves ready to perform traveling through time zones like they do. I wonder if they just sort of get immune to it.

The tournament starts on July 1st...which is on Monday and it ends on the 14th when I will be back and comfortable in Sweden. Out in the middle of nowhere where the motion is the wind and the birds pretty much. Horses in the field...dogs galore. I know that I am in for a culture shock again. Eight lanes of traffic. Endless stores and restaurants. Most of the motion is commotion. Swirling and swirling. No wonder so many people are losing it. Is peace of mind merely a figment of one's imagination? I know that I am forever a man without a country in a sense...having left so many years ago. Fifteen and counting. It's like a past life. Do you believe in Deja Vu? Reincarnation? Just asking. Amazing that I feel pretty much at peace with the idea. The ideas.

Come on Roger! Come on Tsitsipas! Play time is over...time to go to work.

Funny, you mention the swirl of life on this side of the pond. There is one quiet place left in the US.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/21/opinion/sunday/wifi-wilderness-privacy-reserves.html

But it is not mainstream. Now we use technology to do what nature did for free. Bose headphones, Freedom...

Yes, this is the last stand. I also think RF's window is closing. BTW, he looks really fit these days. He seems stockier to me.

Maybe, he needs this to be strong enough to withstand the rigors of tennis in his late 30's. Or maybe the clay changed his body a bit due to all the sliding.

I wonder if he will play on clay more going forward. It is easier on the body and maybe just maybe playing clay and grass will actually allow him to stay healthier.

Pounding is no fun for joints, especially aging ones.

[klacr]

Wimbledon! My favoroite fortnight of the year. What a wonderful event. The tradition, the green, green grass. Rooting for Roger. Zverev and Tsitsipas already crashed out in 1st round.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stroke]

Tomic sure did look bad in going out in 3 very quick sets to Tsonga. Alex and Stefanos going out in 1st round just reemphasizes what we all already know: when Roger, Rafa, and Novak finally leave the game, it will probably be a long time before we see anyone like them. FAA may make some noise here. It would be nice to see him challenge them. Nick looked very good at times(nothing new) but he is just never going to play every point. I have a feeling Roger and Rafa are going to continue to play every point.

[bman]

Courts/balls too slow this year. Only question is whether Nadal or Djokovic takes the title.

[jeffreycounts]

I'm predicting Kyrgios beating Nadal.

[stroke]

I'm predicting Kyrgios beating Nadal.

I would definitely bet on Nick at +310(Nadal is -350). Oddsmakers have Nick at the 8th favorite to win Wimbledon, but I think most of us feel like he is the one player that could beat Novak, Fed, or Nadal here.

[glacierguy]

I wonder what the market on number of underarm serves would be? I might make 4/6. Rooting for Kyrgios big time.

[stroke]

Nadal is just so good. And the way to deal with Nadal is not to talk trash before a match. Nick set the table for this match well. He talked the talk. He got Nadal's full attention. Nadal brings so much intensity, but he seems to have even amped it up a notch. He amped it up at the FO(I think because he lost a couple of matches on clay he did not want to lose leading up to FO). And now Nick. Not much chance of a letdown for his next match. Intensity, work, and talent. Seems to work. Tsonga goes from Tomic to Nadal.

[gzhpcu]

Keep your eyes on Felix... like that kid...

[stroke]

it looks like the same ol to me, Novak, Fed, and Rafa

[stotty]

Rafa played a brilliant match against Kyrgios. I have never seen him serve so effectively and with so much variation. Both tiebreaks he played immaculately. Rafa is looking really strong right now.

Roger is playing well enough. For a while I thought Pouille looked capable of making their match competitive, but then he folded...shame.

Novak played great against the Polish bloke. McEnroe summed Novak up better than anyone else has so far: ''He's so dependable...his serve, his baseline game, just so dependable".

Last year's semi-final between Rafa and Novak is the best match I've ever seen in terms of one player refusing to yield to the other. I have never seen a match quite like it in that context. I am kind of hoping to see the same again in the final. Who knows? Still a long way to go yet.

[klacr]

Grass courts looking beat up. Nadal looking comfortable as if he's playing on clay. Bad news for Roger.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Worst Wimbledon in Living Memory

It's a disaster. The youngsters all fell by the way in round 1 (FAA lasted a little longer at least) and no one has been able to give the Big 3 a game thus far. The main show courts have offered nothing more than demolitions. It's been unwatchable so far other than the Kyrgios v Nadal match. The Big 3 only lost 19 games between them in their 4th round matches. It's ridiculous. Are these guys really that good or is the level of tennis amongst the others just downright low at the moment?

Can someone wake me up for the Roger/Rafa semi final, please? I think I'll check out until then.

[stroke]

Worst Wimbledon in Living Memory

It's a disaster. The youngsters all fell by the way in round 1 (FAA lasted a little longer at least) and no one has been able to give the Big 3 a game thus far. The main show courts have offered nothing more than demolitions. It's been unwatchable so far other than the Kyrgios v Nadal match. The Big 3 only lost 19 games between them in their 4th round matches. It's ridiculous. Are these guys really that good or is the level of tennis amongst the others just downright low at the moment?

Can someone wake me up for the Roger/Rafa semi final, please? I think I'll check out until then.

To me these 3 are just unprecedented. Think how much worse it would be if there were only 1 or 2 of the 3, any permutation. I am liking Roger to win, but he will definitely have to earn it, going through the other 2