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Roger looked great on clay. His opponent as you say could not have been hand picked any better. Roger is a great clay court player, for many years, the 2nd best clay court player in the world. Who knows how many FO's he could have won if Nadal were not around? His match vs Nadal in 2019 was Nadal's toughest match that FO. All that being said, as great as he is, it is hard to be optimistic about his chances of advancing deep into this tournament.
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Karatsev's brutal game on display winning 1st set. He has such a strong build physically. He reminds me somewhat of Dimitri Tursunov in that respect.Comment
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Tidbits...French Open 2021
I was watching Steve Johnson play Francis Tiafoe and Tiafoe was up two sets to none when I had to leave the match. When I came back later and looked at the results I was surprised to see that Johnson won 6-7, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. It looks by the score that he won going away. Tiafoe was in complete control when I left. Amazing turnaround. I really, truly believe that someone should talk to Tiafoe about tennis and some of the tradition. He went out on the court looking like he was going to the gym. The way he walks and "trudges" around the court is not a good look. Some things matter...and some don't. It depends upon the person.
I read an article where he was pontificating on culture and "race" the other day. Tennis is a culture too. A rich and storied history of culture. I know that he doesn't mean to be disrespectful...but the look is not one of respect for the game. Alexander Zverev is another who is "guilty" of an atrocious look.Comment
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I was telling my daughter that practice and athleticism can only take you so far if you have faulty technique. I know that we marvel at Tiafoe and Khachanov's forehand but something has to give. You cannot hit with extreme technique for a long time and get away with it. All things being equal extreme technique catches up with a player eventually. Look at McEnroe who can still play at a very high level today using a continental grip. HIs game has held up extremely well and he is the antithesis of extreme, at least in the ground game. The serve is idiosyncratic but excellent at the key points.Originally posted by don_budge View PostTidbits...French Open 2021
I was watching Steve Johnson play Francis Tiafoe and Tiafoe was up two sets to none when I had to leave the match. When I came back later and looked at the results I was surprised to see that Johnson won 6-7, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. It looks by the score that he won going away. Tiafoe was in complete control when I left. Amazing turnaround. I really, truly believe that someone should talk to Tiafoe about tennis and some of the tradition. He went out on the court looking like he was going to the gym. The way he walks and "trudges" around the court is not a good look. Some things matter...and some don't. It depends upon the person.
I read an article where he was pontificating on culture and "race" the other day. Tennis is a culture too. A rich and storied history of culture. I know that he doesn't mean to be disrespectful...but the look is not one of respect for the game. Alexander Zverev is another who is "guilty" of an atrocious look.
Johnson was slicing Tiafoe to death. It was like Graf in the afterlife as a man. Slice, slice, slice and then hit a forehand. It won't work against the best but if you continually make a limited player hit a ball with no pace and generate their own pace, eventually they will get gassed.
Technique limits your game eventually and a two-handed backhand with an extreme forehand work on high bouncing courts with very deep topspin. Slice is a lost art. Even Francis was slicing some drop shots. He won a few points but he got caught in Johnson's web. If you play the opponent's game, they will beat you at it. It's their game not yours. And Tiafoe was not playing his game, he was playing Johnson's.
It looks like that is what happened. Johnson Grafed (or Steffied) Tiafoe out of RG.Comment
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Tipfoe tiofoed himself out of there to me, as db pointed out. It is not an aberration in his career. No way he should have lost that match. He really really needs to address that.Last edited by stroke; 06-01-2021, 02:44 PM.Comment
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I saw this about Carla Suarez Navarro and all that I could think of was what a gutty performance this was. A real opponent...cancer. Not mental illness. Something that is in your head. Something that you imagined or cooked up in an abyss of neurosis. Nope...this is the real thing. What a great, great story this is and what courage. This only illustrates how pathetic our poor little mentally challenged Naomi Osaka is in her lost and dazed state of life. She imagines that she is a victim and plays it for all it is worth. I only imagine that the players union has some sort of procedure for players to get attention for any issues they might have. Perhaps a doctor's note or her psychologist would have sufficed. She could of avoided this confrontation but it plays better in the media to play the victim.
Carla makes me so proud of my last name today. Knowing that she dug deep to find the strength to manage her emotions and anxiety to keep her head in the most difficult of life's challenges. The players seem to have rallied behind her too. They are all connected and know that in their midst was a real warrior who fought a real opponent and she won. No trophy. No pay check. Just the satisfaction of being brave and surviving the sternest of tests. Much more difficult than any interview could ever be. Carla's story reduced Naomi to a drama queen which she most certainly is. Never mind Princess Diana...she is more the Megan Markle type. She is capitalizing at the expense of everyone around her. A conniving you know what. Can I say it? Better not. Some things are better off left unsaid.Comment
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A lot Meghan Markle going on with Naomi, well said. At least Meghan did not really get any traction with her disingenuous(to put it very nicely) act. Borderline psychopath would probably be more accurate with Meghan. Naomi, she is just way too woke, and she not surprisingly to me is getting some traction. So sign of the times.Comment
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Really good 1st set Fognini vs Fucsovics. Great atmosphere. These 2 seem to not like each other. The best set of the tournament so far to me. Fognini wins it in a tiebreaker.Comment
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I think I'll check it out a bit. Thanks for the heads up. I've been watching the best legs of the tournament...Caroline Garcia. Unfortunately she lost so no more of her beautiful legs. It was actually a nice "ladies" match. A tattooed lady vs. the legs. Decent service motions as well.Originally posted by stroke View PostComment
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That 1st set was about it. Fucsovic just was not competitive with Fognini after 1st set.Last edited by stroke; 06-02-2021, 10:18 AM.Comment
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Very good matches tomorrow. Novak vs Cuevas, Roger vs Cilic, Nadal vs Gasquet, Bash vs Alcaraz, Kohl vs Karatsev. Novak and Rafael are of course huge favorites. I could see Cuevas really extending Novak. Gasquet has never matched up well vs Rafa, never beating him in a lot of tries.Comment
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The American Report...
Mackenzie McDonald loses a tough, tough five setter to Christian Garin of Chile. Ouch...tough loss. He hung in there the entire way only to lose serve at 5-6 in the fifth. Steve Johnson is even after two and a half sets against Thiago Monteiro of Brazil. South Americans also have the reputation of being clay court specialists, much as I alluded to the Italian contingent. John Isner is through after taking out Filip Krajinovic. Reilly Opelka took down Jaume Munar as well. Rough going as usual for the American in Paris. Americans do not have the reputation of being clay court specialists.
Steve Johnson up 5-0 in the third set tie-break to go up two sets to one. He is a gritty player. Not the prettiest...but he doesn't go away either. Easily.
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Super impressive 1st set win by Tommy Paul over Medvedev. Paul is a formidable clay court player. He clearly has a much better forehand than Medvedev. And his 2nd serve, very heavy, if he double faults, a massive aberration. Very interesting match.Comment
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You can only live with suboptimal strokes for so long. The upkeep is high and all the practice in the world does not make up for his weaknesses.Originally posted by stroke View Post
Nadal did a similar thing to Shapovalov in Rome. You can play well until someone finds a way into the match. Nadal went after Shapo's backhand. On clay, it could not stand up to Nadal's barrage. In his case, he could not slice and mix up his backhand to try and get back to his forehand. His slice is not good enough to reset the point. He only knows how to hit through people. And hitting through Nadal on clay is virtually impossible.
Tiafoe is also the product of this modern tennis which emphasizes hitting big, hard and through people. This takes people really far. Any one of us would be so lucky to play at this level.
But going one more step up takes something else. It takes hiring a new coach and doing whatever it takes to get to the very top. Think of Stan who just got in phenomenal shape and got a forehand that matched his already great backhand. And Stan's slice is serviceable. His serve not the greatest but big enough to get him going.
If I were Shapo or Tiafoe, I would go hang out with Stan for a whole summer and take notes. You can be really good and reach high. But to get to the top takes something else.
Stan is an example of doing this something else that took him from the 20's and up into the top 5 and winner of multiple majors.Comment
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