2019 Western & Southern Open...ATP 1000...Cincinnati, USA

[stotty]

“However stupid a fool's words may be, they are sometimes enough to confound an intelligent man.” - Nikolai Gogol

Medvedev is a deceptive, cunning player and is no easy match-up for Novak. I don't what it is about some of these Russian tennis players with faces that conjure up characters in Russian novels. If Rublev is Raskolnikov then Medvedev fits Gogol's Chichikov very nicely. A slippery, deceptive player you don't want to do business with.

Medvedev is doing a lot of winning lately as is Agut. Medvedev had a lousy game against Nadal last week and I expected him to do far better. He has the backhand to cope with Nadal's forehand and he can send in difficult, low-bouncing balls like no one else, other than Roger. It could be an interesting game tonight...expect some rather long rallies here and there for sure.

[don_budge]

Should be a lot of long tiring rallies. I hope Novak is in the mood for it. I think Medvedev will certainly be, especially after the Nadal beatdown.

It could be an interesting game tonight...expect some rather long rallies here and there for sure.

Rarely if ever have I seen Novak Djokovic not in the mood for "it". But I think too, that Medvedev is using all of his mental resources to get himself over the hump. To meaningfully participate among the top players in the game without embarrassing himself as he most certainly did against Nadal in Montreal. Daniil showed signs of going toe to toe with Djokovic down under at the Australian Open. But he sort of hit the wall and Novak just plain out lasted him. Novak doesn't get tired of it no matter how mundane his game looks. The most boring best player in the world ever. That's Novak. He's not ashamed of it either. He is just as stubborn as any of them and this is what Medvedev will be up against. A mind set that he is unfamiliar with.

I am surprised how easily Medvedev has made his way through the draw this week. You would think that Andrey Rublev after a Roger Federer takedown would be more game than he was for his fellow Russian. After all, that would have been a huge feather in his cap to reach a semi-final and have a shot at another of the "Big Four Minus One". Which leads me to think that maybe Roger didn't show him the whole enchilada. He was more or less content to make his way over to New York and meticulously prepare for the U. S. Open. But that doesn't and shouldn't matter to Medvedev. The problem with Medvedev is he doesn't have the margin of error built into his game as does Nadal and Djokovic. Whenever Nadal or Djokovic need to reset the point they are more than comfortable to play the ball three, four or even five feet over the net. I haven't seen that in Medvedev's game. The same is with the serve or maybe the serve goes first as in as the serve goes so does the rest of the game. Medvedev's serve plays with a slimmer margin than does either of the other two aforementioned.

Regardless...I anticipate a dreadfully boring match and I wonder if anybody reading this will watch it from beginning to end. I will not see any of it as the match begins at midnight here in Europe and hopefully I will be sleeping rather soundly. Good to see Richard Gasquet in the semi here. It would be nice to see him make the final where he would just be another...well we'll see how it goes.

[stroke]

Novak is strong favorite at -266, Medvedev at +245. I think betting on Medvedev is a solid play. He matches us very well with Novak to me, and he really wants to put that mark Nadal put on him in the rear view mirror. His attitude is just about right, he wants it and believes in himself. Should be very interesting match.

[stotty]

Novak is strong favorite at -266, Medvedev at +245. I think betting on Medvedev is a solid play. He matches us very well with Novak to me, and he really wants to put that mark Nadal put on him in the rear view mirror. His attitude is just about right, he wants it and believes in himself. Should be very interesting match.

The problem is he is playing Novak and Novak tends to deal with these ambitious pretenders quite well. The question I ask myself is what does Medvedev have that can dent Novak? Not a lot in my view other than his ability to make life difficult for opponents. The one thing Medvedev has, though, is what Kyrgios has: not too much respect for the old guard. That's healthy and is what might make the contest intriguing to watch. It's starts late here in the UK. I'll watch the first set for sure. I stay up if it an upset looks on the cards. Other than that we will be relying on you, stroke, for an accurate match report.

[stroke]

Novak came out at his clinical best and routines the 1st set. Medvedev hung in the 2nd and about halfway through seized control to his credit. Way different feel vs Novak than vs Nadal last week where the Nadal ping pong expanding the court spin made him look non-competitive.

[stroke]

Well that was super impressive by Medvedev. He weathered the Novak vintage clinical storm, hung in and rattled his cage in the 2nd set, and finished strong in the 3rd and took the match. That is how it is done.

[don_budge]

Well that was super impressive by Medvedev. He weathered the Novak vintage clinical storm, hung in and rattled his cage in the 2nd set, and finished strong in the 3rd and took the match. That is how it is done.

You didn't watch the entire thing...did you? Now that is what I would call impressive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdGUEy7uI-Y

I could barely make it through fourteen minutes of "highlights". If those are highlights I would like to have seen the lowlights. But realistically I would bet that all of the points looked the same...more or less.

Takeaways? Not to many. Some subtle observations. But "Mr. Pencil" is certainly a force to be reckoned with on any given day. He is piling up the wins and the matches. By consistently getting deep into tournaments he is getting a ton of experience and this is what is going to separate him from Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas and the rest if he continues. Too many early exits by the flavour of the day "Next Generation" stars. Medvedev has his nose to the grindstone and is grinding out match after match.

This is a match that may or may not have been important for Novak Djokovic...but I have a sneaking suspicion that he isn't going to lose any sleep over it. It seems to me that ever so slightly I see some of the miles accumulated on the Djokovic body and legs beginning to take their toll. The younger players could be snapping at his heels just a bit more if they could just press him more physically. This is what Daniil Medvedev did...he forced Novak to go the distance enough to ask him the question. Just how badly do you want this one? The game they are playing is basically, purely a backcourt game of attrition. Let the rallies and the sprints across the court add up and the last man standing wins. It is just relentless crosscourt, down the line, drop shot...trying to create angles to out maneuverer the other guy. Once and a while they are "trapped" into a position where they more or less must go forwards but this is the last and least option.

Even so I was watching Novak in close and I think that I saw a couple of interesting facets of his forecourt game. He is basically going to try to hit something "cute" with touch and/or angle to win at the net. Whether it is on a return of drop shot or a volley. But he appears to be just a tad more versatile on the backhand than the forehand. When the ball is in the air he is much more comfortable going forwards to intercept then he is on the forehand side. He really lacks a crisp closing forehand volley. He typically is standing still and trying to bunt the forehand into an unreachable angle or short. This leaves him vulnerable if he doesn't really hurt his opponent. Rarely is he in position for a second closing shot.

Daniil Medvedev moves really, really well for a big fellow. I watched him and Djokovic individually at times in the highlight video and it is interesting how on every single shot they are eliminating a certain area of the court and covering the other. My friend the "Ugly American" misquotes me quite a bit...he doesn't think that I give the modern players any credit. I will say this...they are good at what they do. They are the best in the world at what they do. But the other side of the coin is this...they don't do much. All back court all of the time unless "forced" to take the initiative going forwards. Daniel Evans is the only player recently that I have observed to take the initiative to go forwards as a first option against Nadal in Montreal. He actually almost bagged the first set. But back to the modern player and the down side...the racquets are casting an illusion as to just how good they are. There "greatness" is magnified by a factor of the ratio of the modern racquet to the classic racquet. The area. A simple mathematical formula. It really isn't that great...fewer variable with fewer tactical options or preferences has created a rather dumbed down, boring to watch version of the REAL thing.

But as Jimmy Connors famously said..."I am probably the wrong person to ask. The tennis public seems to be happy with it." He wasn't happy with it.

[gzhpcu]

Medvedev is a cool customer, plays with a poker face, gets the job done. He will be a favorite at the US Open. Very flat backhand, great serve. Refreshing change to Nike's antics... Cool like Borg...

[don_budge]

Medvedev is a cool customer, plays with a poker face, gets the job done. He will be a favorite at the US Open. Very flat backhand, great serve. Refreshing change to Nike's antics... Cool like Borg...

"Mr. Pencil".

[stotty]

Typical of Stotty's luck. I watched the first set which was classic Novak and I could see no end end or change in sight. So I went to bed. I wake up to find Medvedev had reeled off the next two sets.

No chance to watch the highlights. I have a full day's work then I fly off to Stresa, Italy in the wee small hours tomorrow. The weather forecast for Stresa next week is awful but set to be beautiful here while I'm away.. Still, a least the food should be good. Those Italians know how to cook.

[gzhpcu]

Here is a good article on Medvedev:

[don_budge]

Typical of Stotty's luck. I watched the first set which was classic Novak and I could see no end end or change in sight. So I went to bed. I wake up to find Medvedev had reeled off the next two sets.

No chance to watch the highlights. I have a full day's work then I fly off to Stresa, Italy in the wee small hours tomorrow. The weather forecast for Stresa next week is awful but set to be beautiful here while I'm away.. Still, a least the food should be good. Those Italians know how to cook.

Yeah...real hard luck guy. Traveling to Italy. Married to a beautiful Italian. Italian cuisine. Hard luck. Your second string can be my first string. Couldn't stay awake for a good dose of boredom. Why take a sleeping pill? Watch Novak Djokovic highlights instead. Have a safe trip old boy. Pleasant dreams.

[stotty]

Well I don't think Novak, or Roger for that matter, will lose too much sleep over Cincinnati. None of us can see a 'great' on the horizon but there are a glut of decent players sporadically starting to get a foothold here and there...like a bunch of White Walkers of in the distance. They're starting to nibble away at Winterfell but there isn't a hope in hell they'll reach King's Landing so long as Roger, Novak and Rafa get all their ducks in a row.

[stroke]

Yes the 3 great ones stand alone. Watching this final I am struck by how the game has sped up. Back in the 90's, I can think of 2 players that could play this taking it on the short hop kind of style, Andre and Rios. Now they are commonplace.

[don_budge]

Medvedev is a cool customer, plays with a poker face, gets the job done. He will be a favorite at the US Open. Very flat backhand, great serve. Refreshing change to Nike's antics... Cool like Borg...

Another break through performance for Daniil Medvedev. He has progressed gradually and steadily. David Goffin said that it was like playing against a wall. That's a tough opponent but unfortunately he brings very little flair to the game. "Mr. Pencil". I wonder about his chances now at the Open. Three out of five is a different ball game and the "Next Generation" seems to have had their share of problems navigating their way through.