2021 Gonet Geneva Open...ATP 250...Geneva Switzerland

[don_budge]

Finally...a watchable tennis tournament. Roger Federer in the draw and in the HOUSE...and seeded number one. Home sweet home...baby. He plays in his own country of Switzerland. Years ago, he could have swaggered into this draw...looked at it and say, "there are 31 losers and me". Jimmy Connors style. But that isn't Roger's style. I know. I know from "Being Roger Federer" for the past ten years. Watching and writing about nearly every single tennis match he has played. Roger will do well by doing just what he always has...take it one step at a time. For now...he waits the outcome of Jordan Thompson and Pablo Andujar.

https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/current/geneva/322/draws

Denis "The Menace I almost had Rafael Nadal" Shapovalov is the number two seed. New Kid on the Block, Casper Ruud is the third and Grigor "Baby Fed" Dimitrov rounds out the top four.

[stotty]

I see Roger muddled through and got the job done....didn't see it but that's what the scoreline suggests.

Shame to see so many byes in the draw. Seems like a waste when there are so many hungry and capable players about. Every player in the top 200 can play a good enough game of tennis to warrant a place. Byes shouldn't exist in my view and certainly not when they make a top player's path through the draw even easier still.

[seano]

Unfortunately, Federer lost in 3 sets. Heres a story about it

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/federer-geneva-2021-tuesday-reaction

[stroke]

I see Roger muddled through and got the job done....didn't see it but that's what the scoreline suggests.

Shame to see so many byes in the draw. Seems like a waste when there are so many hungry and capable players about. Every player in the top 200 can play a good enough game of tennis to warrant a place. Byes shouldn't exist in my view and certainly not when they make a top player's path through the draw even easier still.

Could not agree more Stotty

[seano]

Federers post-match interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__7YGRez0ZI

[stotty]

Amazing...I thought Roger had won this match because Flashscore had him highlighted as the winner. I guess either Flashscore or the inputter couldn't accept such an anomaly of a second round loss for Roger. Understandable, it must have been years since that's happened.

I hope Roger isn't going to hang around too long if the game's finally up.

[don_budge]

Federers post-match interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__7YGRez0ZI

Thanks seano for posting that. It is most telling to listen to his explanation about what happened and reading between the lines he doesn't seem to be concerned in the slightest. Listen to what is going on in the head of a great champion under some very unique circumstances. This stuff is straight out of the book and you know what the book is. It's Bill Tilden. Roger may or may not have ever read the teachings of Tilden but somehow he has arrived at the same conclusions. He's playing the percentages. His game is so complete that is actually light years more complicated than the "junior" game the rest of the herd is playing. Nadal only has to get his forehand and backhand right. A little on the serve. It's pretty straight forward as he has fewer choices. But Roger is "The Living Proof" and he plays the game that it was engineered to be played at.

"No, I am more referring to the fact...you are playing a certain match and you feel the backhand doesn't work out as well you'll do this and protect it differently. If the forehand isn't working out you will do this. If the serves not working I'll compensate it that way. I wasn't sure how much margin I was having even though I was up 4-2 in the third. Maybe it is also an uncertain feeling you get from not having played, because you are just not sure. But still I was expecting myself to do better. I was struggling to play on the baseline. Maybe that is a clay thing too. It's fast...there are bad bounces. The moment you start thinking about the bounces, you back up and you just hit shots. He was committed...he started to hit some nice shots there. It's nothing I could have done better. Maybe I feel like I should have gone for my serve a bit more. Maybe and 15-love and 4-3...instead of just spinning it in...these are the little mistakes. Or even at the very end the forehand I missed at deuce, I mean I don't even know what I'm doing. These misses really never happen normally. These misses do happen because of the reasons, because of the feeling you get through out the match not because of the moment itself. THE MARGINS ARE SLIM...WE HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN THAT. Today I couldn't squeeze it out."

My dear old tennis coach used to tell me that to prepare for a tournament that you want to peak for you have to play at least five tournaments leading up to it. Roger talks about this process and what it was like in the heat of the moment. He has to put it all in perspective first and foremost and as you hear him speak of the experience he is listening to his inner voice about what happened and how he will react to it going forwards. What a professional golfer is asked after shooting a good round what happened, invariably they say the same thing..."I felt comfortable over the ball." Roger got it to a point where he was actually only having to serve out the match at 4-2 in the third. The most important game of the set per Bill Tilden. But something happened. He explained that this is what was going on the entire match. He was struggling from the rust of being away from competition. His nerves were not quite prepared or maybe it was physical. More than likely it is a combination. The tennis player must balance the emotional and the physical...as well as the belief. The spiritual. He is deep within himself during this press conference yet he gives us a crystal clear view of the inner workings inside of him. Bravo to him. A fine gentlemen and sportsman. He is sorely missed.

He confirms that Roland Garros is not the goal. He is using this time...these "five" tournaments to get prepared for the one he wants to peak for. God bless this fine young man. Although he is rich and famous beyond imagination...somehow he still gives the impression of a vulnerable and sensitive human being. God bless him.

[stroke]

Roger is such a genuine interview, the best interview since Agassi. That interview should be used as huge teaching point for all the "Tennis Psychologists " out there. Of course, he could have just said "Clearly I can play legions better".

[don_budge]

One could make the huge mistake that I am harping on and droning on about the Stefanos Tsitsipas service motion to the point of overkill. But this cannot be emphasised enough and how important this is at the highest levels of the game. Then I saw this article that I read with great interest regarding what advice Roger Federer has for one of his young countrymen. It looks as if this young man is going to a force to be reckoned with. Eighteen years old and a win over Marin Cilic and Marton Fucsovics.

Roger has taken an interest in this young man and it is interesting how he advices him on the path going forwards. Listen up tennis coaches. Aficionados. All Roger had to do was serve out the match in Geneva and he was in the next round. But something went kaflooey. Roger suggested himself he had second thoughts about a choice he made in serving tactics. Just a tad of indecision created a tad of friction in the motion at the wrong time and suddenly he was in the locker room or rather in the interview room explaining why he wasn't going to be around tomorrow. A little rust..."the margins are so small". The difference between serving divinely and human are small at times as well. Perfect motion with astute tactics...tough combination in serving. You not only have to take care of your serve...you have to dictate the terms.

The big takeaway from this tournament is the service motion of Stefanos Tsitsipas that I have written extensively about and criticised rather roundly. Interestingly enough if you are paying attention you see that there is a definite correlation to what I have said about it. This kid is coming on strong and eating his way up the food chain of the game. Progressing quite nicely everyone would say and the announcers and fans are just gushing over him. He's a real darling alright. But his serve has cost him big time and it isn't as if he doesn't serve well at times. But the glitches that create the friction in his motion have a way of rearing their ugly little head just when he needs it to be "perfect". It was never more apparent or obvious in his loss to Novak Djokovic in the semis. The margins are so fine one cannot afford to give away points, games, sets or matches on the tour. The margins are so small...as stroke says now and again. Look at how the lines are called with the electronic devices. Millimetres. Silly little millimetres.

The Tsitsipas game is designed for a certain style of play. That style requires a serve of "Federesque" proportions. Roger alone shows the ability to hold serve on a wham, bam, thank you m'am basis. Once he gets the break in the bag he just starts rolling and clipping the lines here and there. Mixing up the angle...the aim. Ducks all perfectly in a row. This is how the Tsitsipas game was designed to be played. Novak and Fafa don't need perfect motions as there are just baseline robots and that is how they play the game. Stefanos is a bird of a different feather. With a well greased perfect motion his entire game would be at least one notch better and in the "stroke" world of the slimmest of margins he might just find himself to be the inherited of the crown. The Roger Federer crown.

Novak Djokovic was fit to be had and Tsitsipas only had to hold serve to bag him. He failed on numerous occasions as he became somewhat tentative in the clutch not to mention inconsistent. Once you are in position to serve things out it has to be...first serve in on the first point. Knock your opponent out of the court and finish him with one shot...maybe two. Next point...same thing. Knock him out of the court and just hammer him. But Tsitsipas doesn't knock his opponent out of the court enough. Rarely on the second serve as well. Roger is going for it on the second as well once he is in position to serve it out. He has the pedal to the metal and doesn't show any sign of backing off a bit because of nerves. His motion is so good that it just gets better when the nerves might come into play. The oil and the slick delivery comes up with the right combination of speed, spin and placement. His cunning "serving mind" is working on all eight cylinders as well...calculation on the run. STEFANOS!!! You've got to be like that. Once your career is all said and done you do not want to lament that "if only I had worked out the kinks". Get a coach who knows what he is doing. Not one of the celebrity coaches the top players put in their players box as an ornament to make faces as the match plays out. Get a coach who knows what the hell is going on. Or not.

This is not a long article. It is not very complicated. Just like the Federer interview he throws out some "white light" on the subject of serving in the professional ranks. Stricker is listening...what about Tsitsipas? Are you listening to me Stefanos?

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/stri...action-federer

I am going to try and watch this kid for sure.

[glacierguy]

One could make the huge mistake that I am harping on and droning on about the Stefanos Tsitsipas service motion to the point of overkill.

I enthusiastically agree with all you have said about the Tsitsipas serve, and any other serve. You're not alone! Although it is perplexing how kinks and quirks persist in pro serves.

I read the Stricker article, thanks for posting. I still practise serve once or twice a week, for about an hour at a time. I mentioned this to a 20yr old hitting partner, who remarked 'an hour! My arm couldn't take an hour of serving.' In my head I was thinking, 'if you can't serve for an hour, you're doing something wrong.' But you can't fix everyone's problems!

PS I intend to post a video soon, but have found out that I shouldn't have video'ed before without obtaining permission from the tennis centre bods, so have to do that (seek permission)!

[stroke]

No surprise at all to me, Grigor goes down the clay court benchmark player Pablo Cuevas. Cuevas has a beautiful clay court game.

[stotty]

No surprise at all to me, Grigor goes down the clay court benchmark player Pablo Cuevas. Cuevas has a beautiful clay court game.

There are so many excellent clay court players around, unlike grass where there are relatively few good grass court players. Makes Rafa's FO achievements all the more remarkable when you think about it. It's not as if he has been playing dummies the last 13 years.

[stroke]

There are so many excellent clay court players around, unlike grass where there are relatively few good grass court players. Makes Rafa's FO achievements all the more remarkable when you think about it. It's not as if he has been playing dummies the last 13 years.

So true. I have said it probably too much, but Nadal's 13 or 14 FO Titles the biggest accomplishment ever in sports.

[don_budge]

Finally...a watchable tennis tournament. Roger Federer in the draw and in the HOUSE...and seeded number one. Home sweet home...baby. He plays in his own country of Switzerland. Years ago, he could have swaggered into this draw...looked at it and say, "there are 31 losers and me". Jimmy Connors style. But that isn't Roger's style. I know. I know from "Being Roger Federer" for the past ten years. Watching and writing about nearly every single tennis match he has played. Roger will do well by doing just what he always has...take it one step at a time. For now...he waits the outcome of Jordan Thompson and Pablo Andujar.

https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/current/geneva/322/draws

Denis "The Menace I almost had Rafael Nadal" Shapovalov is the number two seed. New Kid on the Block, Casper Ruud is the third and Grigor "Baby Fed" Dimitrov rounds out the top four.

Roger "The Living Proof" Federer being long gone but not forgotten. This is the huge difference between him and his biggest rivals. Roger will live on in memory. As an idea. The other two will just slip down the memory hole. A collective sigh of relief. Thank God it will be the end of the bouncy, bouncy stuff. It cannot end soon enough. Both of them. Especially Nadal. He should be going down the rabbit hole this year at Roland Garros. Down the memory hole. Good bye...see ya never.

But Denis "The Menace" Shapovalov has been given temporary relief from the demons of expectations unrealised. Denis has handled everything thrown at him this week although not without some turbulence. Even in his only straight set victory he was fussing at his opponent, accusing him of sideline coaching. No matter...he played some really big tennis against a real bonafide clay court specialist. Whatever that means these days. It is all clay all the way. Even the grass at Wimbledon is the same on the "stempmeter" as the clay at Roland Garros. But here Denis runs into a figurative wall. Casper Ruud...a Scandinavian of all things. Where does that come from? Casper is being touted as a clay court specialist these days. Essentially this means you have no net game at all. The difference in any court being miniscule. ONE DIMENSIONAL. Jeez...the world is in 3D, why not tennis? Tennis is not metaphoring life in this case and is proving itself to be a dreadful bore. Try and watch this match for start to finish if you don't believe me. Watch, as Denis bounces the ball backwards between his legs on every serve. This move really makes no sense and he looks like an idiot doing it. But he thinks it is cute. So he persists. Somehow he has lost the stupid cap on backwards look which is a step in the right direction. Cap backwards, ball between the legs backwards. Denis...pay attention. Go forwards. Progress. Stop thinking like an teenager. Arrested development.

But here he has a chance. His flash in the pan style vs. "The Norwegian Wall". Denis hit an unbelievable backhand on the run to pass Cuevas coming to the net yesterday. A truly remarkable shot. Good thing he stayed on the ground and didn't attempt his nonsensical airborne style. This guy is preoccupied with looking "cute" and meanwhile time is a wasting. Ruud is having nothing of the cutey pie stuff. No frills. No thrills. Just bring home the bacon. Scandinavians tend to be such people. Remember a guy by the name of Björn Borg? If there is anything redeemable in this matchup...it will be the contrast.

[don_budge]

I enthusiastically agree with all you have said about the Tsitsipas serve, and any other serve. You're not alone! Although it is perplexing how kinks and quirks persist in pro serves.

I read the Stricker article, thanks for posting. I still practise serve once or twice a week, for about an hour at a time. I mentioned this to a 20yr old hitting partner, who remarked 'an hour! My arm couldn't take an hour of serving.' In my head I was thinking, 'if you can't serve for an hour, you're doing something wrong.' But you can't fix everyone's problems!

PS I intend to post a video soon, but have found out that I shouldn't have video'ed before without obtaining permission from the tennis centre bods, so have to do that (seek permission)!

Looking forwards to your video. Absolutely correct...if you cannot serve for an hour, you are doing something wrong. This idea about "friction" makes a lot of sense. Yeah...why the kinks and quirks? For sure the modern game is less reliant on the serve. Years ago, every serve was followed to the net so it was imperative to have a good repeatable motion. There was less reliance on pure speed as well. A lot of these funny motions are somebody's idea of hitting the ball as hard as you can.

Need permission? Tell 'em to stick it where the sun don't shine. I'm not going to do it.