2020 TEREGA Open Pau Pyrenees...ATP Challenger...Pau, France

[don_budge]

Guess who's in the house? Leo Borg...that's who. Who's Leo? Leo is the son of the great legend Björn Borg. I have been hearing some rumblings about young Leo Borg. But that is only because my ear is close to the earth. Here in Sweden the tennis base has been effectively destroyed by a socialist tennis program. No one-handed backhands! No don_budge...NO!!! Trust me I have heard the screaming here. The nasty looks. How dare you buck Jante's Law. Crummy American!

Well it's a business. And the Commies have it under control here. How do I know? They told me so. I submitted a proposal to the number one honcho here in Sweden some ten plus years ago. I thought it was a terrific one. Just moving the pieces around. Logistical stuff. It doesn't make sense for anybody to be a competitive tennis player here in Sweden. The logistics are all wrong to make a tournament schedule worth the time, money and effort. The number one honcho sent me a short email that assured me..."we've got it well under control". Sure you do Buddy. Not one single hint of progress that I can see in the foreseeable future.

Back in the days of Björn Borg he ignited the "social" inspiration for the Swedes to play with a passion. A blip on the radar. They were phenomenal for such a small country for years after the Borg sensation. But they haven't had their "Borg" to follow in a long, long time. So the Swedish brain trust is dormant. No...it's worse than that. The only thing Sweden has had to offer the tennis world in the ten years since Robin Söderling flamed out with mononucleosis is a pair of brothers who are actually Ethiopian. Nothing blue-eyed or blond about them. Where is the inner Viking? Dormant. Dead. Here comes Leo the Lion Hearted.

Ladies and Germs...meet Leo Borg versus Ernests Gulbis. Your Tennisplayer.net match of the day. Courtesy of yours truly...don_budge.

https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/current-challenger/pau/9162/draws

[doctorhl]

DB, can you (briefly) comment a little more on current Swedish centralized control? It seems that centralization of power, either with private or public financing can have its pros and cons. There is a lack of historical literature on the rise and fall of national tennis powers and their causes.(any reference source appreciated). Spain’s rise, fall and rise again comes to mind.

[don_budge]

DB, can you (briefly) comment a little more on current Swedish centralized control? It seems that centralization of power, either with private or public financing can have its pros and cons. There is a lack of historical literature on the rise and fall of national tennis powers and their causes.(any reference source appreciated). Spain’s rise, fall and rise again comes to mind.

Excellent thoughts! It has me thinking trying to condense the long answer. But I will begin with this...the Swedish paradigm is a mirror image of its socialist philosophy. It has some interesting supposedly benevolent aspects but in the end it is self destructing. Anyone thinking that socialism is the answer to America's problems is barking up the wrong tree. Just beyond socialism lies that evil dog...communism. I am watching the process in real time. Fifteen years ago one might have thought that Sweden was some sort of Utopia. But the rooster is coming home to roost as a result of over doing the feminist...aka the socialist. The policies are going to bankrupt this country. There are problems so ripe that they are ready to burst. So how does this relate to the tennis program? It gets interesting.

[don_budge]

Ladies and Germs...meet Leo Borg versus Ernests Gulbis. Your Tennisplayer.net match of the day. Courtesy of yours truly...don_budge.

https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/cu...pau/9162/draws

Leo Borg was something of a dud up against Ernests Gulbis the other night. I watched some of it with some rather detached interest. I watched solely because it was Björn Borg's son. Leo in of himself is not much to see. The same old...same old. Forehand, mediocre serve and of course...the Swedish staple, the two handed backhand. Where oh where is that Inner Viking? It's dead for all intents and purposes. Bred out of society by a rabid feminist spirit. They are afraid to let go with the other hand. Afraid!

But how about this? Ernests Gulbis. Once a darling of this forum when we were analysing his fishy forehand. I forget where the fishy came from. I'll dig it up. It's buried here in the forum with a lot of other golden thoughts. Apparently the Nastase vs Ashe thread was of little interest. That's ok. No harm in trying. But there is another buried pearl of the past forum here in this draw...none other than Jerzy "Joe" Janowicz. Wow! Where the hell did "Jerzy Joe" go? I'll tell you went...he went to #1039...that's where he went. Man...that is a long ass fall. From #14 in 2013 to his current status. Injuries after injuries. Another really tall fellow trying to make a living on the ATP Tour from the backcourt. A surefire recipe for physical problems. This guy was built to go forwards...not side to side like a Labrador Retriever.

Hopefully Jerzy gets it going in the right direction. Forwards. Otherwise he is just going to aggravate the injuries and he will disappear. How much do you want to bet that he doesn't go forwards. What are the odds? Looking forwards to Jerzy and Ernests meeting in a couple of rounds. Actually it would be the finals. What are the odds? Slim and none?

[stroke]

I remember at one time on the forum we were rather high on Jerzy. I remember seeing him play a very good match vs Grigor on a outside court in Cincinnati. I had a very good up close seat. It was a great match.

[klacr]

Those courts are lightning fast. If Janowicz keeps serving at that level he will be tough to beat.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Delray Beach
SETS Consulting

[don_budge]

Come on Jerzy "Joe" Janowicz. Jerzy gathering a full head of steam as he goes up against the number one seed. Ernests still alive in the bottom half. Hoping for a Jerzy versus Ernests final. Just for the halibut.

[don_budge]

Jerzy Janowicz ranked #1039 defeats Jiri Vesely ranked #71 to reach the finals. He will play none other than Ernests Gulbis. Ernests had what amounts to a little tizzy in the second set tie-breaker but coasted to a 6-1 third set. Should be an interesting final between a couple of real characters trying to find their way home to the tour.

[don_budge]

Those courts are lightning fast. If Janowicz keeps serving at that level he will be tough to beat.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Delray Beach
SETS Consulting

Yeah...I think you are absolutely correct about the courts. Ernests Gulbis takes the first set 6-3 in a lightning fast set. The points are short and fast.