Masters 500 Vienna

[arturohernandez]

I was just watching Paul vs. Millman. In the first set tiebreak, each came in on a very decent approach and both lost with low dipping shots. I think we have to consider the strings and rackets as much as the courts. Just too easy to hit balls at people's feet with this modern equipment.

[arturohernandez]

Very impressive win by Grigor.

Age seems to mean something different these days. Grigor would have been "old" thirty years ago. Now he is right in his prime.

[stroke]

Medvedev goes down to Anderson. Very small margains, Medvedev just did not get it done. Match of the day coming up, Thiem vs Rublev. Thiem is a slight favorite vs the very tough out Rublev.

[arturohernandez]

There is something missing from tennis alright. Like tennis is missing from tennis so you typed in the last remaining link to tennis..."The Living Proof". Roger Federer. Federer on a slick fast court is still too much for either Djokovic or Nadal. Give him 1984 conditions and he mops the court with both of these two imposters. Usurpers.

The reference to defence is ultimately important. I was writing about the importance of defence in an earlier post. Speaking of which...match of the day? Daniel Evans vs. Grigor Dimitrov. Watch the Evans tactics against the modern one-handed game. I'm thinking there might be some interesting contrast.

Remember the Sampras/Fed Exhibitions. Here is Episode 3 in my COVID tennis rerun series.

Sampras started slow. Then it got very good as he began to warm up and forget that he had been out of pro tennis for so long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-1qYRqf4DA

[stroke]

Rublev just outhit Thiem, no easy task. Very impressive.

[stroke]

Sonego just put a Nadal like 6-2 1st set beatdown on Novak.

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LL Sonego takes out a subdued, flat Novak 2 and 1 in 66 minutes. Novak is obviously one of the best ever, but it is really difficult to imagine such a result from Nadal or Roger.

[stroke]

Evans vs Grigor coming up, which to me looks like a bad match up for Evans. Grigor seems to just do everything better.

[don_budge]

Evans vs Grigor coming up, which to me looks like a bad match up for Evans. Grigor seems to just do everything better.

The key operative word is "seems"...but does he? Daniel asks the question. He will try to get Grigor to play it his way. The pride of the UK...number one player in England! He isn't as flashy as a Dimitrov or a lot of other higher ranked players but he has a subtle way about him of bringing it in under the radar....old school. On paper Dimitrov is the clear favorite coming off a big win over up and comer Stefanos Tsitsipas. But Evans will try to drag him down. Down...down...down.

Match of the Day.

[stroke]

The key operative word is "seems"...but does he? Daniel asks the question. He will try to get Grigor to play it his way. The pride of the UK...number one player in England! He isn't as flashy as a Dimitrov or a lot of other higher ranked players but he has a subtle way about him of bringing it in under the radar....old school. On paper Dimitrov is the clear favorite coming off a big win over up and comer Stefanos Tsitsipas. But Evans will try to drag him down. Down...down...down.

Match of the Day.

Can't help but like Evans, true.

[don_budge]

In all of sports it is a combination of defence and offence that wins. Championship teams often are cited for their exemplary defence. Tennis is much the same. Some of the time a player is able to press the issue and be on the offensive. Some of the time a player is playing to the whim of his opponent and is forced to play defence to stay in a given point, game or set. A match even. Much of the game is about how to turn the tables on an opponent when he has the upper hand and forcing him on the defensive. It is a supreme tactical puzzle and Denis "The Menace" Shapovolav seems to have missed the point. He must have missed school that day. Here is a guy who seems to try and pound his way out of any given situation and as you say he inevitably makes a lot of unforced errors. When a player like Denis is on he is extremely difficult to beat. But if he is playing a guy like Novak Djokovic for instance he is going to have a tough time. Novak withstands the onslaught of the best of them and quickly turns the table. Same with Rafael Nadal. Both are capable of playing incredible defence when it is necessary and they aren't ashamed to do it.

Denis acts like he is almost ashamed to grind it out. Any player that thinks they are going to have that low percentage game of slugging it out day in and day out is in for a rude awakening. It is not sustainable. The great Roger Federer is the master of this in my opinion as he seamlessly morphs from defence on the backhand side to all out aggression on the forehand. But defence is the key to championships and it is no different when it comes to tennis. Denis seems to lack the mental clarity to know exactly when to press the issue and when to merely play with defence in mind to turn the table. Denis is potentially capable of beating the worlds best but equally capable of losing to somebody who is lesser ranked.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/sweden-refuses-impose-new-lockdown-measures-saying-people-have-suffered-enough

The same is true in life. For instance it is advisable when to have aggressive policies to fight a "scamdemic" and when to play cautious and defensive. Sweden has seemingly chosen a correct balance.

Daniel Evans should be the role model for Denis "The Menace" Shapovalov. He really does play tennis like "The Menace". He lost early to a guy that Evans routined in the very next round. Excellent contrast in tactical acumen. Denis has on a scale of one to ten...about a three. While Daniel on the other hand absolutely maximises his acumen...he gets a nine. Nobodies perfect. Well except you know who. Hint...he walked on water.

Packs a punch above his weight that Dan Evans. If you played him, though, you would probably want to punch the cocky sod on those nose. I bet he gets right under the skin of a lot of players.

I simply cannot understand this comment about punching Evans in the nose.

The key operative word is "seems"...but does he? Daniel asks the question. He will try to get Grigor to play it his way. The pride of the UK...number one player in England! He isn't as flashy as a Dimitrov or a lot of other higher ranked players but he has a subtle way about him of bringing it in under the radar....old school. On paper Dimitrov is the clear favorite coming off a big win over up and comer Stefanos Tsitsipas. But Evans will try to drag him down. Down...down...down.

Match of the Day.

The key "operative word" was seems.

Daniel Evans versus Denis Shapovalov would have made an interesting match up on paper. Evans is a player who understands tactics as well as just about any player. He doesn't have the biggest weapons on the court so he has the mental wherewithal to drag down the more heavily armed opponents to his level where he uses his ammo judiciously. So if Evans manages to get by his first round it will be interesting to see how he handles the player who is ranked #153 who defeated the #12 ranked "Denis the Menace". If Evans loses...it is just another snooze fest.

More theory.

There is something missing from tennis alright. Like tennis is missing from tennis so you typed in the last remaining link to tennis..."The Living Proof". Roger Federer. Federer on a slick fast court is still too much for either Djokovic or Nadal. Give him 1984 conditions and he mops the court with both of these two imposters. Usurpers.

The reference to defence is ultimately important. I was writing about the importance of defence in an earlier post. Speaking of which...match of the day? Daniel Evans vs. Grigor Dimitrov. Watch the Evans tactics against the modern one-handed game. I'm thinking there might be some interesting contrast.

Rublev just outhit Thiem, no easy task. Very impressive.

Impressive? Perhaps. But the match that I am hoping for is Evans versus Rublev. How to defuse the bomber...Daniel Evans 101.

Great, great match yesterday between Daniel Evans and Grigor Dimitrov. Evans absolutely living up to everything that I wrote on him in this thread and in the past as well. Nothing but praise for this wonderful character from Great Britain. Exceeding expectations. Once he was the scourge of society...he took a wrong turn as many of us do in life. He paid the price with the good and generous heaping of character assassination that goes along with a fall from grace from those "holier than thou" folks. But he is seeking redemption and doing a damn fine job of it I might add.

The match was classic Daniel Evans all the way. Defence is often the key and this fellow knows how to play it. It was chip, slice and dice on the backhand side of Dimitrov for most of the match. But Evans would find a way to exploit the other side of the court when the opportunity presented itself. He dragged Dimitrov down. Down...down...down. All of the pretty boy strokes and personna in the end were no match for the true grit and determination exhibited by Evans. This match was going to be played on his terms come hell or high water and he managed to make it just that. Is that grounds for punching someone in the nose? No...but it deserves a good firm handshake at the net. In this case a casual bumping of racquets...Covid-19 style.

It was interesting to see how utterly defeated Dimitrov really was in the last set as Evans got the early break and settled down to serve it out. During the match he seemed to break serve first and then manage to lose his own. But in the last set he really kept his composure and got the horse in the barn without too much commotion. By slicing to the backhand side of the Dimitrov court he keeps the ball low and makes Dimitrov have to hit over the high side of the net if he decides to go for the big forehand or backhand down the line. Really tough to hit Dimitrov's topspin backhand down the line off of the low liners from Evans or the high floaters. The change of pace was quite elegant in its own way. It was subtle but definite. It left Dimitrov completely perplexed. This was the match of the day and it beats hands down the "slugfest" between Rublev and Thiem. Thiem just doesn't have the grit on too many occasions. He is going to have a tough time living up to expectations at his high level of the game. His defence is suspect as well. These sluggers have off days as well as chinks in their armor. Evans knows how to bring 'em down a notch or two so he can mop them up with lesser weapons.

This is a game that more people can play realistically than the slugfest style of play. But it requires intelligence which in and of itself explains why more players don't play this way.

[don_budge]

Medvedev goes down to Anderson. Very small margains, Medvedev just did not get it done. Match of the day coming up, Thiem vs Rublev. Thiem is a slight favorite vs the very tough out Rublev.

Great job on starting and maintaining the tournament threads. I haven't the energy for it with Roger Federer out of the picture and my main preoccupation with the other great game in the kingdom of recreation...golf. But your threads are keeping the embers alive...and I appreciate it. You and I both know that it isn't important if we agree or disagree...only that we put it out there for consideration. Food for thought. We both agree on one thing though...Blue Lives Matter. Their hands are going to be full next week and my prayers are for them...strength and wisdom.

[stroke]

DB, you memtion Evans as a role model for Denis, and I certainly see your point, but to me, he has that model in his coach. Youzney, who to me had a very sound tactical all court game and made good decisions out there, kind of like Evans. I used to love Youzney's backhand, both his slice and his topspin one. His abbreviated take back on his topspin one hander(where he prepared as if a two hander) and then hit a one hander looked so much in control than Denis' huge take back on his one hander. Denis no doubt has a great shot with his one hander, but he hits it almost exclusively and to me with that big pretty swing makes too many errors on it overall(to me more than Gasquet, whose 1 hander looks most similar to Denis').

[glacierguy]

Watched 1st & 3rd sets of Evans v Dimitrov, great entertainment from both players. I had been slightly disappointed by Evans's previous rounds because he hadn't had to bring his full all-court game, looking more like the herd, but this one was the real deal (think the commentator said 41 net approaches, with 29 won, half way through 3rd set). He just competes very, very well. Looking forward to today's match.

[stroke]

Sonego takes out Evans in 2. His forehand was a real weapon/problem for Evans. Tomorrow he plays the very tough out Rublev in the finals. It will be interesting to see if Sonego can maintain this level. He will have to to have a decent chance of winning. Rublev plays up close to the baseline in rallies, obviously a way different opponent than Evans.

On a side note on that Sonego forehand, he seems pretty darn close to the BG ATP model type 3 on that forehand.