Rotterdam-ATP 500

[stotty]

Fucsovics wins the first set looking like a great tennis player in doing so. He has a top shelf slice bh, particularly for a 2 hander. And he and Coric are clearly supremely conditioned players. Watching Fucsovics, hard to believe he has only had a best ranking of 31.

Yes Fucsovics is good, isn't he? He knifes his sliced backhand and hits it so fluently for a two-hander. Hit's his sliced backhand so well you would think he was a one-hander. Outclassed Coric in that second set. He was great yesterday against Paul in the first set...steered the ball all over the court.

[stroke]

Fucsovics just absolutely routines Coric, which is unbelievably impressive. Fucsovics is just a great tennis player in supreme shape(as is Coric). Absolutely no idea why he has not had better career results. A real test tomorrow vs the Goblin. I am sure he knows what is coming. Winning 500's ain't easy.

[don_budge]

Hammer Hitting Nail on Head...2021 Rotterdam Finals...Two Cookie Cutters

Ok...surprise me. First of all, there is no Roger Federer. The potential for an overall snooze fest is enormous. Nice try though. I have perused the draw and even with the most optimistic spirit and hopefulness I see one match that might be of any interest. Just one match. Sure...there are a number of matches that can be dressed up as "interesting". It might be interesting to see where exactly Andy Murray is in the food chain. My suspicions are that he has a tough road to hoe in order to reach even the semblance of where he once ate his way too. Wawrinka too. He has more or less struggled to recover any sort of form since his last injury. The rest of them...all pretenders. Except the one match that might be of interest and that may never materialise either based on the lack of consistency by the performers.

Only Stefanos Tsitsipas versus Daniil Medvedev have any hope of saving the day for this draw laden with boring drones of tennis players. Not a single player stands out with a flair. Any kind of style whatsoever. Tsitsipas has been really inconsistent and probably spends a good deal of time looking in the mirror before his matches. Medvedev has been a tad more consistent and this will be a good test for him as the top seeded player. On paper, he should dominate his way to the final. Realistically we must wait and see.

So far Nadal's withdrawal is the big news. That gets a huge yawn from yours truly. Who cares? Ditto for his chances at the French. Nobody cares. The tour lost all of its allure and glamour with Roger being relegated to injury/retirement zone. The "deadly virus" has done anything to revive it. It only gives it a surreal 1984ish feel. Something out of the future. Something so painfully monotonous and lack of any diversity it is painful to watch. Strange too, for all of the want of diversity all we have are the cookie cutter boring drones. The passion has been surgically removed from the game. Much as I suggested back in 1984..."they have taken all of the art out of the game!" Thirty-seven years later the game is dead in the water. Unrecognizable from the original. A mere facsimile and a poor one at that. The best player in the world so one dimensional and lacking in any all court game. The two best players. All of the players. Nobody listened then. Nobody listens now. Who cares?

The only hope for the tournament rests on the fruition of the one match that might be of any interest and that is no guarantee. Did anyone see the semifinal between these two at the Australian Open last month? I didn't think so.

Can somebody give stroke a spot on? Come on...Man!

If in the Netherlands I recommend the Van Gogh Museum on a Sunday afternoon. Stop by one of the local establishments and pick up a mushroom or two. I don't know...is anything open in the Netherlands. I think there have been some protests there. Maybe I was thinking of Denmark. The people are getting restless. For want of something to do. Nobody will be seeing this match in person. It is a strange world isn't it? But you have to admit all of these improvements have been making life so wonderful as of late. Things seem to be getting better and better all of the time. It's evolution BABY!!!

"And he and Coric are clearly supremely conditioned players."

Yes, they are stroke. Two players in very good shape. That is about all that can be said about this impending snooze fest. Somebody let me know if they watch the entire match without falling asleep. That being said...if you do watch the entire thing it is probably safe to say it was a slow Sunday afternoon or morning, depending where you tune in from. Both cookie cutters. Saw Rublev as a junior in Paris. He hasn't changed one iota. A little bigger. A little faster. But virtually the same. Fuscovics? Currently ranked #59 in the world. He beat the #26, #56, #51 and #38 players in the world to get to the finals.

The one match that could have saved the tournament would have been Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas but neither could be bothered to hang around. Rublev ranked #8 should be able to hold his own here. Fasten you seat belt or rather get you favourite pillow and blanket ready. A sleep inducing final for sure. It will go great with a siesta. A Mexican napster.

[stotty]

I guess the smart money is on Rublev today but I am rather hoping Fucsovics can keep up his good form and make a game of it. Rublev has been playing so well thus far...virtually knocking people off the court.

[stroke]

Oddsmakers have Rublev at about 79% chance of winning, obviously a strong favorite. I am really impressed with Fucsovic's game, a very good all court game with a top shelf slice bh(particularly for a 2 hander). Rublev really stands up close to the baseline and backs up his opponents(like Agassi and Davydenko used to). He really bullied Stef and hit an huge amount of winners. Fucsovics surely knows what's coming.

[stotty]

Great first set…neck and neck all the way. Rublev so good at opening up the court with that big forehand of his. Fucsovics has risen to the occasion well and showing no signs of nerves. Good match so far.

[stroke]

Yes very good set, both players with more winners than errors. Fucsovics did not get bullied, he was right there but just did not get it done in the tiebreaker.

[stroke]

Rublev gets the first break of the match to start the 2nd set. Rublev just seems to really like to work out there.

[stotty]

3-1 starting to look ominous. Hard to understand why Fucsovis hasn't had a more successful career. He moves and defends well...and can dish it out too. Starting to throw in a few inexplicable errors here and there now though. He did a lot of that in the 2nd set against Paul.

[stroke]

3-1 starting to look ominous. Hard to understand why Fucsovis hasn't had a more successful career. He moves and defends well...and can dish it out too. Starting to throw in a few inexplicable errors here and there now though. He did a lot of that in the 2nd set against Paul.

I agree. He seems to have at least a top 15 game.

[stotty]

Rublev just a bit too good in the end. Played so well behind his serve. Good match.

[stroke]

Yes, Fucsovics hitting the ball very big off both sides but Rublev just cannot be knocked back. He really holds his ground.