Dubai and Acapulco ATP 500's

[stroke]

I don't think I have ever seen another player hit folks off the court like Karatsev did vs Rublev and Harris.

[stotty]

Amazing ball striking from Karatsev. Hitting such an incredible length. So technically efficient off both wings and exquisite timing to go with it. He makes angles off even central balls where creating an angle hardly seems on. What a player. So devastating off second serves, and when you think Harris got a very high percentage of first serves in! Harris had to find a way to stand his ground because as soon as he was pushed back, rallies were as good as over.

The Russians have something going. They train together and with it comes great success. If Medvedev and Rublev can do it, so can I, Karatsev must have been thinking. Back in Australia's golden era it was the same. If Ken can beat him so can Lew...and so it goes on. It is the same at amateur level. If one of my peers had a break through, the I was going to have a break through too, because if he can do it, why can't I. You benchmark each other. That's the great thing about camaraderie and working as a team.

Disappointing for Harris, but there was nothing he could do about it today.

[stroke]

So true Stotty, the tennis quip too good has never been more appropriate.

[don_budge]

On the other hand...Alexander Zverev continues to be an unknown quantity. A nice win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the finals of the 2021 Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC tournament. His "march" to the finals included wins over an up and coming junior in the first round who is ranked #132. He moved forwards with a win over the #54 ranked Laslo Djere and a walk over by his potentially toughest opponent before the final. In the semi's he met half country man Dominic Koepfer who weighs in at #71 in the world rankings. Well...not exactly a march. Almost like spring break vacation for an ATP 500 tournament.

So the tournaments are all getting new looks instead of the same old "Big Four" or "Big Three" or "Big Whatever" look. Without the top names in the draw the field is wide open and new names are cropping up in the finals, semis and the earlier rounds are getting more and more competitive as the new players are reinvigorated with the chance for a title or a good showing. They can see the title round and get a taste of the experience required to get there. Which makes the win by Zverev just a bit watered down. But a nice win over Tsitsipas, who for that matter has yet to show the kind of metal it is going to take to get to the top. These last three tournaments, not to mention the Australian Open, have been Golden opportunities to show the tennis world and his competitors that he is the real deal. Instead we have a bunch of "wannabes" who look for the most part...a bit shaky.

Andrey Rublev and Lloyd Harris were both shaking in their booties when faced with the hard hitting (read heavy hitting) Aslan Karatsev. Heavy hitting. That is the heaviest ball I have seen in a long while. It seems to me he hits a heavier ball than anyone on the tour. The weight of his groundstrokes look like they are laced with cement on the racquets of his opponent and they all seem to be on their heels anticipating that weight as it gets on top of them. Really interesting in the world of physics. Just how does he manage such weight. This is a case of super sleuth johnyandel and his video analysis. Would love to see these strokes in slo motion or frame by frame analysis. I would take a stab at them myself.

Tsitsipas had a nice takeaway from the tourney in his win over Felix Auger-Aliassime. He has struggled with the Canadians superior athleticism in the pass. His three set victory was a morale victory in a sense. A fairly big one. It should ease some of his misgivings about playing him in the future as they are sure to meet on the big stage in a big moment in the future. Nothing will be guaranteed. I feel Lorenzo Musseti's victory over Grigor Dimitrov was also a watershed moment of sorts. The young Italian announced his presence to the tennis world. So this is what the tennis world looks like post "Big Three" or "Big Whatever". It's a good look. Sort of a watershed moment...no circling back. I miss Roger. That is one sweet tennis player. By all appearances...one sweet human being. But we all made of the same stuff. Different DNA's to be sure. But inevitable conclusion is...no one here gets out alive. I like the way Karatsev stepped up to the plate. No prisoners. Zverev and Tsitsipas should take note. Stop the tippy toeing around!

[stroke]

Copy heavy shots by Karatsev. I is a quantitative fact that he is hitting the ball harder than anyone right now. I would love to see the spin rates on that forehand. Have not seen them yet in any of his matches I have seen. It appears massive topspin to me. It may not be a pure BG model type 3 as his elbow is not completely straight at contact, but it is Fognini close. He just appears to have taken this technique to a unbelievably efficient level.

[stotty]

We are all on the same page with Karatsev. What amazes me is how easily he seems to create this ridiculous power. It's so easily produced it must dupe opponents into thinking a slower ball must be coming. What timing and technique Karatsev must have.

And where the hell has he been!? He's 27 and not exactly a new kid on the block.

[stroke]

I actually felt sorry for Harris out there. He is a strong player that was just completely overwhelmed. And I have never seen anyone bully Rublev, which he did basicly for 3 sets. We definitely need that forehand up in the tour strokes section to take a look at. Another player I thought of with a massive forehand is Berrettini. I did see quantitative spin rates on his one time and it was higher than Nadal's. I cannot remember what tournament it was but he was the only player over 60 topspin rate(using their spin rate numbers provided). Nadal was 56, about same as Fognini). But Karatsev forehand was the heaviest looking forehand I have ever seen. It was exploding off the court. I would have loved to see a still shot of the ball being pancaked into his racquet strings on impact.

One more point of interest, his racquet. I read a reliable source reporting he is using a Head PT57a, which is a very flexible racquet that pro players have been using forever. Certainly not a powerful racquet at all.

[stroke]

On the other hand...Alexander Zverev continues to be an unknown quantity. A nice win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the finals of the 2021 Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC tournament. His "march" to the finals included wins over an up and coming junior in the first round who is ranked #132. He moved forwards with a win over the #54 ranked Laslo Djere and a walk over by his potentially toughest opponent before the final. In the semi's he met half country man Dominic Koepfer who weighs in at #71 in the world rankings. Well...not exactly a march. Almost like spring break vacation for an ATP 500 tournament.

So the tournaments are all getting new looks instead of the same old "Big Four" or "Big Three" or "Big Whatever" look. Without the top names in the draw the field is wide open and new names are cropping up in the finals, semis and the earlier rounds are getting more and more competitive as the new players are reinvigorated with the chance for a title or a good showing. They can see the title round and get a taste of the experience required to get there. Which makes the win by Zverev just a bit watered down. But a nice win over Tsitsipas, who for that matter has yet to show the kind of metal it is going to take to get to the top. These last three tournaments, not to mention the Australian Open, have been Golden opportunities to show the tennis world and his competitors that he is the real deal. Instead we have a bunch of "wannabes" who look for the most part...a bit shaky.

Andrey Rublev and Lloyd Harris were both shaking in their booties when faced with the hard hitting (read heavy hitting) Aslan Karatsev. Heavy hitting. That is the heaviest ball I have seen in a long while. It seems to me he hits a heavier ball than anyone on the tour. The weight of his groundstrokes look like they are laced with cement on the racquets of his opponent and they all seem to be on their heels anticipating that weight as it gets on top of them. Really interesting in the world of physics. Just how does he manage such weight. This is a case of super sleuth johnyandel and his video analysis. Would love to see these strokes in slo motion or frame by frame analysis. I would take a stab at them myself.

Tsitsipas had a nice takeaway from the tourney in his win over Felix Auger-Aliassime. He has struggled with the Canadians superior athleticism in the pass. His three set victory was a morale victory in a sense. A fairly big one. It should ease some of his misgivings about playing him in the future as they are sure to meet on the big stage in a big moment in the future. Nothing will be guaranteed. I feel Lorenzo Musseti's victory over Grigor Dimitrov was also a watershed moment of sorts. The young Italian announced his presence to the tennis world. So this is what the tennis world looks like post "Big Three" or "Big Whatever". It's a good look. Sort of a watershed moment...no circling back. I miss Roger. That is one sweet tennis player. By all appearances...one sweet human being. But we all made of the same stuff. Different DNA's to be sure. But inevitable conclusion is...no one here gets out alive. I like the way Karatsev stepped up to the plate. No prisoners. Zverev and Tsitsipas should take note. Stop the tippy toeing around!

Good thoughts here DB. The Majors are going to be interesting now. First, we will see if Nadal can be beaten yet at FO. A lot of dangerous players out there now. Tsitsipas did well to take out FAA as you observed. These Russians, Medvedev, Rublev, and Karatsev are all mentally strong. Karatsev is very interesting character it seems to me after watching 2 or 3 post match interviews. All 3 of them get along well. They are definitely pushing each other toward good things.

[stroke]

https://youtu.be/CkWTD04o0Wc

Interesting guy

[doctorhl]

Copy heavy shots by Karatsev. I is a quantitative fact that he is hitting the ball harder than anyone right now. I would love to see the spin rates on that forehand. Have not seen them yet in any of his matches I have seen. It appears massive topspin to me. It may not be a pure BG model type 3 as his elbow is not completely straight at contact, but it is Fognini close. He just appears to have taken this technique to a unbelievably efficient level.

Couldn’t find Karatsev slo mo video. Here is a good discussion with slo mo on Fognini’s forehand followthrough which is a little different. Fognini and Karatsev seem to take little steps to quickly load up the rear leg with little knee bend, compact stroke and intense core rotation to hit a little flatter, but heavy, fast ball. What say you?

[stroke]

Couldn’t find Karatsev slo mo video. Here is a good discussion with slo mo on Fognini’s forehand followthrough which is a little different. Fognini and Karatsev seem to take little steps to quickly load up the rear leg with little knee bend, compact stroke and intense core rotation to hit a little flatter, but heavy, fast ball. What say you?

Yes doctor, similar look and approach in preparation to hit the forehand. I don't think the follow through reveals that much technically. Fognini does have a high spin rate on his forehand per stats I saw one time during a tournament. In fact, he was right there with Nadal. A very heavy ball. My guess would be Karatsev hits at least as much spin with even faster mph.