Dubai and Acapulco ATP 500's

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In Dubai, Thiem had a 1st round bye and lost his first match in the 2nd round to the athletic Lloyd Harris. Not a good loss for Thiem there. Rublev and Shap looking good.

In Acapulco, a couple interesting matches today. Alex plays Christian Ruud. On clay, it would be hard for me to pick Alex here but he is the strong favorite. Tsitsipas plays FAA,

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Lloyd Harris takes out Nishy to move to semis in Dubai. He is looking very comfortable out there. Where has Lloyd been?

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https://photos.app.goo.gl/2rGR2rUDcVwaMmHz9

Lloyd looks comfortable

[stotty]

I see Karatsev beat Sinner in 3 sets. I would like to have seen that one. Good to see Karatsev is keeping up his form. Nice backhand...hardly misses one.

[don_budge]

Forget About Sinner...His name is Lorenzo Musetti

I would say watching Jannik Sinner is about as interesting as watching paint dry. Decent enough player but as boring as the day is long on Midsummer Eve here in Sweden. Here are some highlights of a match down in Acapulco, where incidentally the real Don Budge used to hang many, many years ago at the Acapulco Princess Hotel. Lorenzo Musetti is his name. Another Italian youngster. Here taking down "Baby Fed"...Grigor Dimitrov. The Bulgarian Playboy.

https://theglobalherald.com/sport/tennis/lorenzo-musetti-vs-grigor-dimitrov-best-shots-moments-acapulco-2021/

[stotty]

Musetti is a must see player. Just turned 19 and already getting great results. Amazing how a player can be that good so young.

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He plays Tsitsipas at today. I plan on watching that match. Tsitsipas certainly one of the best clay court players in the world. Should be a great match so see where Musetti is.

[stotty]

Great win for Harris. He was by far the most conservative of the two in the last set but missed less than the swashbuckling Shapovalov. He played and even more conservatively in the final set tie-break but then found a touch of unexpected aggression at 5-5. Good win. He showed a really fine temperament.

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Harris earned that win. Most impressive. Denis played well, it could have gone either way. The slimmest of margains.

Karatsev in 3rd set vs Rublev. Karatsev brutal off forehand and backhand. He is really bullying Rublev. I don't think I have seen anyone hit the ball harder off both sides.

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Karatsev wins with 41 winners for the match. He looks to be able to outhit anyone when he has it going.

[don_budge]

Karatsev wins with 41 winners for the match. He looks to be able to outhit anyone when he has it going.

Yes...it was most unusual to see Herr Rublev on his heels and unable to get his feet under him as often as his fellow Ruskie was pushing him around off balance. Very unusual and indicative of the not only the pace he was playing but also his proximity to the baseline. He was toeing the baseline and not backing down. He knocked the grunt out of Rublev. When Rublev is set up and delivering the big payload on his forehand he makes a huge exhaling grunt when he is on his game. But Karatsev was rocking him and pounding him...into submission. He largely silenced Rublev.

Much is made of the backhand...but it is the forehand that is doing the most damage. This is an interesting case of another doubles player suddenly coming to his senses realising that he doesn't have to play second fiddle to anybody. He has taken his doubles game to the singles court. He plays the return as aggressively as possible yet knows when to "lay up" and get the ball in play. Taking the ball early takes time away from his opponent and it really showed against young and petulant Rublev. His ability to get to the net and his instinct for closing down the angles is another doubles attribute he takes to the singles court.

The serve is a bit funky but once again it is the doubles game that has taught him to hold serve with a possible weaker delivery. It isn't so much of a liability as it isn't much of a weapon comparatively speaking of other top players. Although service motions in the modern game are noticeably flawed. He makes up for the delivery somewhat with some smart serving tactics. He did have a couple of hiccups trying to serve out the match.

Lloyd what's his name has put on quite a surge lately himself. The victory over Denis "The Menace" was a good case in point. Solid tactics and good defence over the brainless onslaught of Shapovalov. But maybe some of this is not entirely lost on "The Menace" as he does show some signs of taming it down a bit. The guy has so many good things going for him in terms of his physical presence and his left handed serve it would be a shame to not fulfil his potential. His coach may be a good fit for him though. A fellow Russian who actually is from Russian he just may be the conduit to get Denis in touch with his DNA...his Ruskie roots. These Russian guys are showing so much macho confidence. The Americans are just too woke and sensitive I have come to conclude. The program is really flailing. The Russians are prospering and on the move. Tennis metaphoring life? Again? I believe it to be true.

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In Karatsev's run to the AO semis, I saw an article that pointed out he was on average hitting the ball the hardest of all players off both sides. And you are correct about that forehand. It is definitely scarier than his very good backhand. I did not know anyone could bully Rublev out there, but he did it for 3 sets. Rublev was fortunate to win the 2nd set. But to Rublev's credit, he hung in there and competed, even though he was getting pummeled. Karatsev is the oddsmakers favorite in the final. After watching him yesterday, certainly no surprise. Tsitsipas favored over Alex in Acapulco.

[stotty]

I see Musetti was defeated comprehensively by Tsitsipas. From the clip don_budge posted, it seems like Musetti's formative years have been spent on a clay court. Rooted miles behind the baseline at times...and even further than that sometimes. He can certainly dish it out on his backhand having said that. But you have to believe players are going to spot his court positioning and exploit it. He is an unknown quantity at the moment but it won't stay that way for long. It will be interesting to see how he adapts.

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I certainly don't see any reason why Karatsev cannot enter the conversation at FO.

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Karatsev brutalizing Harris thus far. He is simply hitting him off the court with that forehand. It is so compact and effortless, similar technique to Fognini maybe, but more brutal than Fabio's. Massive flip and lag on that forehand.