2019 Winston-Salem Open...ATP 250...Winston-Salem, NC, U. S. A.

[don_budge]

One thing about this tournament got my attention. The second step of Andy Murray's comeback to singles play on the ATP tour. It came to an end in the first round at the hands of Tennys Sandgren...7-6, 7-5. How far back can Andy make it back? He's been MIA for a long time. I wish him the best as he is sorely missed.

[klacr]

Berdych won his 1st round match against Seppi. Wasn't pretty but they don't give style points in tennis. Just get the W and advance. Happy to see the Czech back. Quite possibly his last season on tour. Will be a sad day at Chateau LaCroix when that announcement happens.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Berdych won his 1st round match against Seppi. Wasn't pretty but they don't give style points in tennis. Just get the W and advance. Happy to see the Czech back. Quite possibly his last season on tour. Will be a sad day at Chateau LaCroix when that announcement happens.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Bye Bye Byrdie. Foiled in the first match of his comeback. He plays a qualifier in the first round of the Open. Match of the Day...Andrey Rublev versus Denis "The Menace" Shapovalov. Rublev to play Tsitsipas in the first round of the Open.

[don_budge]

An interesting tournament as it turns out...partly in due to a rainout. Two matches played on Friday. Both the quarterfinals and the semis. Benoit Paire completely threw the second set to Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarters and it was a very smart move considering he knew if he won he would have to play again against the winner of Steve Johnson and John Millman. Benoit was playing a hunch and it paid off for him in spades. He had won a tough first set in the tie-break and got behind early in the second. Rather than waste a lot of energy in trying to get back into the second he focused on the third. He won 6-3. Bill Tilden talks about this a bit in his chapter on "Match Play Psychology and Tactics". As it turned out Steve Johnson was going full machine to win his quarter from a set down so he looks like he ran out of gas against Paire in the semifinal.

Down below this Huber Hurkacz is looking more and more formidable. Seeded number three he exceeded expectations by defeating Francis Tiafoe in three sets before dispatching Denis "The Menace" Shapovalov in straight sets. Hubert has taken the bull by the horns in the past year to raise himself within jockeying position of the elite players in the game. At 22 years old he is a "Next Generation" player who has sort of zoomed in under the radar. Much as Daniil Medvedev has. The less attention the better. Alexander Zverev and now Stefanos Tsitsipas both seem to be labouring under undue weight as a result of the heaps of fawning and adulation that the ATP has exposed them too. The ATP and the powers that be are desperate for someone with rock star status as stroke likes to say to be the "next". It seems like the better or easier road is under the radar. The less the expectations...the better. Too much pressure to live up to the hype.

Benoit Paire versus Hubert Hurkacz...don_budge match of the day. An easy pick.

[stroke]

This letting sets go is commonplace now and seems to work out sometimes. I still prefer the Roger and Nadal way of never letting one go though. And DB, you are certainly spot on about the Next Gen taking the big step to a consistent top player. Alex has lost his way about as unfortunately as I can recall for someone who seemed on the cusp of becoming a true top player. And Stefanos certainly has hit a bump in the road and he has a very tough 1st round of US Open vs Rublev, nearly a toss up there to me. Side note, that is not really of interest to anyone, Tomic declined to enter qualies, hoping to make the draw outright, which did not happen with his ranking where it now is.