Western and Southern Masters 1000

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1st day underway. From what I have seen so far, Opelka, Fritz, FAA, and Stuff(very impressive win over the Demon) all looked like contenders. Arguably one of the most interesting 1st round matchups, Murray vs Tiafoe, was not particularly well played by either, Murray winning the 1st set in a tiebreaker, neither player to me looking like a title contender here. The winner here to get Zverev. These Masters 1000's are so tough from 1st round on, even without Roger and Rafael.

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Raonic serve is still putting him in the conversation with a straight set win over Sam. The Raonic serve, along with Isner, Opelka, Karlovic, and Nick, still the best out there.

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Tremendous first set Evans over Rublev 7-5. It is very weird watching that quality of tennis with no fans.

[don_budge]

stroke...where are you watching this tennis? The free streaming that I had been watching doesn't appear to function. Love that Daniel Evans...old school. Oddly enough it works. But it figures doesn't it? I hope he can close it out.

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TennisTV

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Just a tremendous 3 set win by Evans over a very very tough Rublev in brutal conditions. So impressive. 1st round win. And now he gets Raonic in the 2nd round. It is hard to believe how many of these 1000's have been won by Roger, Rafael, and Novak when you really think about what it takes to win just one.

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The schedulers have done Evans no favors as he is 1st match up 11am vs Raonic, after his tough win yesterday afternoon. Other matches of particular note: Denis vs Stuff, Opelka vs Schwartzman, Murray vs Alex. Novak, complaining already of neck pain, Medvedev, Thiem, and Berrenttini, also tee it up today.

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Well Evans gave it his all, never went away and tried to pump himself up. Raonic, with no discernable emotions, dispatched him in 2 routine sets with that almost unfair serve. I have said before, the 2 best sub 6' 10" servers in tennis, Milos and Nick. I guess I would give the nod to Milos simply because he is very unlikely to go off the rails, unlike Nick. This no fan tennis, where the more dramatic players I think are out of their element a bit, is just perfect for a robotic player like Milos(probably the polar opposite of a Nick).

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Stuff very good win over Denis in 3. On to Murray vs Alex, 2nd round tough ask for both.

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Murray wins in 3, but it was not impressive, way more just not good play by Alex. He has so digressed to me from a couple of years ago. His serve particularly. Hard to watch. Murray, still not looking like a contender to me even after 2 good wins here on paper.

[stotty]

Murray wins in 3, but it was not impressive, way more just not good play by Alex. He has so digressed to me from a couple of years ago. His serve particularly. Hard to watch. Murray, still not looking like a contender to me even after 2 good wins here on paper.

My thoughts exactly. The two main shots in tennis: the forehand and serve, completely deserted Alex deep in the third set. That 2nd serve of his is a liability. I would rather he went for two 1st serves. I can't believe he hasn't improved it over the long layoff he's had. Andy muddled through somehow by hacking and hustling away but it weren't pretty to watch. I suppose from Andy's standpoint it is encouraging given the length of time he has been out of the game.

It could be an interesting US Open as many players will be rusty as hell in the match play department.

[glacierguy]

At least Murray was commited and fighting, despite his form. Zverev looked uninterested and flat. Will be similar contrast between Murray and Raonic, since Raonic appeared to be deep in meditation against Evans.

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I think Murray's good fortune has come to an end vs the servebot. The most interesting matches to me today are Berrenttini vs Opelka, Stuff vs Goffin, and Isner vs Tsitsipas. I have long felt that Stefanos' return of serve is his biggest weakness, even though his somewhat forehand grip on the serve is also an issue. Should be an interesting match. Stuff has been playing huge, but Goffin a very tough out. Opelka could be the first giant to win a major to me, and the Berrenttini forehand is top 5 in tennis to me. I like his serve grip way more than Stefanos'.

[don_budge]

I think Murray's good fortune has come to an end vs the servebot. The most interesting matches to me today are Berrenttini vs Opelka, Stuff vs Goffin, and Isner vs Tsitsipas. I have long felt that Stefanos' return of serve is his biggest weakness, even though his somewhat forehand grip on the serve is also an issue. Should be an interesting match. Stuff has been playing huge, but Goffin a very tough out. Opelka could be the first giant to win a major to me, and the Berrenttini forehand is top 5 in tennis to me. I like his serve grip way more than Stefanos'.

What I like most of all...is that these primadonas are now faced with their own management of their own towels. Now that is what I call taking responsibility. It is probably the real reason that Nadal is absent. I really wonder why the ball boys and girls are wearing masks. Why is anyone wearing a mask?

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This no fans seems to favor the non drama queens. Raonic seems to have hit some kind of nirvana or zen. Drama queen Paire did not even win a game 1st round and just quit the match. I have a feeling Nick would be completely out of sorts also if here.