2021 Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon...ATP 250...Lyon, France

[don_budge]

I should be getting overtime for the title alone. But as it happens...there is a second tournament but this one is without Roger Federer. However, it does have Dominic Thiem, Aslan Karatsev playing Jannik Sinner in the first round and it has Stefanos Tsitsipas way down in the bottom half as the number two seed. One player I want to get a good look at and he plays another player of interest...Peter, I mean Sebastian Korda. He plays Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the first round. Lorenzo Sonego and Felix Auger-Aliassime another first round match of interest.

It will be a busy week coming up. Not necessarily about the tennis. But there are golf courses to be brought to their knees. Weather permitting. It's been a rainy May so far. The tennis has been either a blessing or a curse. Too much of a good thing?

Here's the draw.

https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/current/lyon/7694/draws

[stroke]

Young Frencman Arthur Cazaux, age 18 and ranked in the 500's, defeated Adrian Mannarino 1st round. Average size, but to me very impressive game. Hits very big off both sides, great movement and disposition, and a very very good 1st and 2nd serve. About as good as it gets for a guy maybe 6'. Great service technique.

[don_budge]

One player I want to get a good look at and he plays another player of interest...Peter, I mean Sebastian Korda. He plays Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the first round.

https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/current/lyon/7694/draws

Young Frencman Arthur Cazaux, age 18 and ranked in the 500's, defeated Adrian Mannarino 1st round. Average size, but to me very impressive game. Hits very big off both sides, great movement and disposition, and a very very good 1st and 2nd serve. About as good as it gets for a guy maybe 6'. Great service technique.

Great heads up stroke. I want to take a look at this kid. Sebastian Korda playing Pierre-Hugues Herbert as I type. This will be my first real good look at Korda.

[stroke]

Karatsev vs Sinner last match up. Very interesting matchup with 2 guys no one would look particularly forward to playing at FO. Sinner is a slight favorite.

[stroke]

My match of the day above postponed until tomorrow.

Another big test for young Cazaux tomorrow, the super tough clay court warrior Pablo Cuevas. There are no shortcuts.

[stroke]

Karatsev oppressive game on fire in winning 1st set 6-0 vs Sinner. Sinner impressively took it in stride and is engaged for the 2nd set. Karatsev looks to me the most likely candidate for taking down Nadal at FO. For that matter, Sinner to me may be the 2nd most likely candidate.

[don_budge]

Here we go. Huge moment for the world's #125 to put the finishing touch on Jannik Sinner. Arthur Rinderknech to serve out the match.

[don_budge]

Here we go. Huge moment for the world's #125 to put the finishing touch on Jannik Sinner. Arthur Rinderknech to serve out the match.

Somewhat predictably...the pressure was too much and Sinner broke rather easily. But Sinner turned around and botched his serve. Rinderknech gets another chance. Let's see if he learned anything.

[stroke]

Frenchman #125 Arthur Rinderknech takes out Sinner. Unbelievable depth in men's tennis. Sinner and Karatsev played an outstanding match yesterday, Sinner got through and I kind of liked him to win the tournament. Rinderknech certainly has the tools, great serve, big forehand, good hands, but he is 25 with now his first notable win. We will see what happens next round. I still have Sinner on the very short list of players who could maybe take Nadal at FO.

[don_budge]

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

Yes, you do repeat yourself regarding this favourite fun fact of yours. I detest Nadal so much I almost want to respond with visceral intent. But the wave of emotion is brought under control with a moment of rational. After all...I am the king of repeating myself. And what kind of world would it be if everyone agreed on everything. Boring. So, let's put it this way. I cannot wait until he loses and he is in the rearview. You can repeat it all you like. It's funny. I can't stand him. Is it thirteen or fourteen? Because it is coming to an end this year. I guarantee it. It seems to me that too many players have drawn blood from him and it is time for the matador to go down. Hopefully in a bloody mess as he has made of his opponents for so many years. Just to put that numbskull's bouncy, bouncy routine to rest. It has been a huge boon to see the buffoon not be able to boss the ball kids around.

But back to the tournament. A couple of really remarkable matchups. Screw Nadal. He isn't here. Thank God. He is so detestable. But Stefanos Tsitsipas has a guy on the hook who is going to be around for years to come. Lorenzo Musetti. This should be a good clay court matchup as Lorenzo is close to being a true clay court player. As if you can tell one from another these days when the grass at Wimbledon is as slow as the clay in Paris. All of these players are one dimensional. Every single one of them. Except of course...you know who. Plus there is Daniel Evans. But Musetti should be able to take some air out of the ball against the Greek to make it interesting. Let's see if he can sustain enough pressure on "The Tsitsipatti Kid" to crack the veneer. A great chance for Stefanos to make his seeding come true. He has struggled with this.

Along comes Arthur Rinderknech. Never heard of him and he takes down the next "GOAT" by serving it out on the second try. He really struggled on the first try but he managed to settle his nerves to send Jannik Sinner packing. Cameron Norrie had a massive takedown of a struggling Dominic Thiem and he would like to back up his win with an appearance in the final or at least a chance at "Mr. Hawaiian Forehand" Karen Khachanov. Not certain if I really want to watch any of this. Better to cut the lawn and get the farm looking like an English Garden. I'm well on my way...BTW.

[stroke]

Stef a huge favorite vs Musetti with an 87% implied probability of winning.

[don_budge]

Stef a huge favorite vs Musetti with an 87% implied probability of winning.

...but loses the first set against "clay court specialist" Lorenzo Musetti.

[don_budge]

...but loses the first set against "clay court specialist" Lorenzo Musetti.

Tsitsi plays a really abysmal game at 4-2 to had back the break to Musetti. Very spotty serving Stefanos. The motion looks even more choppy than usual.

[don_budge]

The Tsitsipatti Kid...Stefanos Tsitsipas

First mention on forum March 2, 2018

The next opponent for Jaziri is one that really caught my eye. Stefanos Tsitsipas. Stefanos has a nice look about him. No backwards baseball hat for him...he goes with the bandana. He looks like a tennis player. A pretty nice overall game with a really good looking one handed backhand. It appears that he wants to go forwards to the net at times too. There is something missing in the serve. Some 25 percent or so. It isn't a bad motion per se but there is potential in it as well. You know what potential is...room for improvement. He's got some nice big plays in him on the groundstrokes and the serve at times. Perhaps one could imagine him getting with a great coach and ironing out some of the wrinkles and installing some classic tactics in his hard drive. As with some of the one handed backhands as of late...Stefanos could use some slice in order that he can adapt to his opponents on a one by one basis. He is coached by Apostles Tsitsipas and he is from Athens, Greece. Here is another Next Generation player to keep the eyes on.

This post was on my father's ninetieth birthday. Hard to imagine 1928 America compared to where we are now. Just as it is hard to imagine the progress that Stefanos Tsitsipas has made in these three years. He has dominated this ATP 250 event just as he should. He has gained so much confidence in the last couple of months. You can see the growth. He is in control so far against Cameron Norrie as they play into the second set. It isn't over and it will be interesting to see if Stefanos can close out this match in the fashion that he started it. Dominating. It is interesting what I wrote over three years ago about Stefanos Tsitsipas. Maybe you think I have been hard on him of late. Sometimes you have to whip that horse a bit to get the extra out of him. You have to demand that extra effort and that hunger to improve. The serve has not changed a bit and I don't anticipate anything happening with it although there could be a surprise in the cards. It would be awesome to see him dressed in the serve that I envision him in. If you think he is dominating now...well, you should see him with THAT serve.