2021 Roland Garros...ATP 2000...Paris, France

[stroke]

Fed has the best overall tool belt tennis wise ever. No debate. Rafa has the forehand and the focus, only winning the next point, like no one ever. Novak can when he is in the mood go into lockdown mode like no other. All 3 are just the best ever. Fed's last stand on the clay here is the story of the tournament. If he can get past Berrettini, that will be something. I expect Berrettini will be the favorite. But Fed is still Fed. All the shots like no other.

[stotty]

Watching Isner v Stephanos at the moment. Isner has nicked the first set...dull match so far...Isner does zero for me. Let's hope Stephanos can get in some kind of rhythm going. Dull game...not sure I can sit through it. I'll try.

[stroke]

Copy that. If Stef goes out, certainly the FO loses some luster. I had him as my #1 chance to beat the King , not that it matters.

[stotty]

Stephanos goes 2 set to 1 up. Thank god for that. For a moment I thought the tournament was going to go horribly wrong. Stephanos should have too much game for Isner from now on...fingers crossed. Isner is thoroughly unwatchable.

I like Stephanos. I like his determination and self belief. He's the one player I have no trouble getting my wife to watch either.

[don_budge]

Federer's Play...against bouncy/bouncy Cilic

It was a tense psychological battle with Marin Cilic yesterday. Cilic was hammering everything he could get his racquet on. Roger was shanking more than his share of shots. Cilic is now an official member of the bouncy/bouncy club with the two most notorious members/cheaters. Novak Jerkovic and Fafa Nadal. Marin was clocking in with thirteen or fourteen bounces on each and every serve. I don't understand why receivers put up with this. The server is making them wait and wait and wait until they are good and ready to pull the damn trigger. What to do?

Roger has been discussing how it is to return to competition after such a long layoff. Getting used to the conditions and all of the extra things. The subtle things. Unseen to the untrained eye. He talked of doing the interviews and taking his time through the match. Thinking his way through situations. Well he came up with a stroke of genius and I haven't heard it discussed much.

At some point in the third set I think it was he strolled across the court after a point to get his towel to give his face a brush of the cloth. The umpire called him for it and gave him a penalty which put him in position to lose a point if called for it once more. Something to that effect. I am not up on the details of the rules. But after getting called for this infraction...taking too much time, he put up a lengthy beef. He even called Marin Cilic in on the discussion asking Marin if he was playing too slow. What a joke! Roger plays at a steady pace. He gets to the service line without undue stalling and he immediately gets to the task of getting the ball in play without all of the rigamarole.

At first glance it seemed that Roger was belabouring the point. He really made a point of sticking to the conversation and it seemed to go on for a rather lengthy spell. But what he did was very clever. He made Cilic aware that he was milking the shot clock and everyone knew it. Maybe it got just under Cilic's skin just a little. He was being called out by the King. Imagine calling Roger for slow play while the other moron is bouncing and bouncing the ball endlessly before he serves. I was glad to see him do it. It may have looked a bit out of character for a guy like Roger to put up a beef over a seemingly trivial detail but he was very clever in what he did.

Later in the evening it was "The Rafa Numbskull" show against Richard Gasquet. He was putting on a terrific ass kicking on the French man in front of absolutely nobody. An empty stadium. Yet he goes through the same ritual every single time on first and second serve. My wife always asks me...what is he doing? He's cheating...that is what he is doing. Stefanos Tsitsipas said that Nadal makes you play bad and that is a talent. He is looking at the shot clock all the time looking to how much time he can milk out of it and make his opponent wait. If I was playing him I would do something. I wouldn't let him play me like that. For sure, I would get thrown out. For sure. But I wouldn't let that MF get away with the BS...if you know what I mean.

Jerkovic and Nadal are two of the top players in the world. Their nonsense is appalling and it gives the sport the pansy reputation that it has had forever. No wonder. What a contrast Roger is. He looks even better because he is surrounded by a ship of fools. Everyone standing around afraid to say anything. Stefanos Tsitsipas tip toed all around it in that interview after he lost to Nadal. He doesn't have that great a serve, he said. I know what he was getting at.

I keep thinking about "The Incident". I remember watching it thinking how uncharacteristic is was of Roger to be putting up such a ruckus about something that to the untrained eye was only incidental. Roger delayed play for a little over three minutes as he engaged the umpire in French regarding his warning for delay of game. Apparently Cilic had complained that he wasn't getting ready to receive serve quick enough. But isn't that strange. Cilic wanted Federer to hurry up so he could make him wait as he went through his prolonged bouncing ritual. There were some serious mental gymnastics going on between the players and the umpire. If anybody was playing slow it was Cilic as he made Federer wait for 13 or 14 bounces on each and every serve.

I can just imagine watching my opponent bouncing the ball endlessly and then he quickly at some point just launches a howitzer in my direction. I noticed on Cilic's last bounce before he served that he went extremely quickly into his serve motion. So he could be bouncing it 13 times over and over, point after point, and if he wanted to throw off his opponent he could surprise him on the 11th or 12th bounce then serve. There are no accidents out there on the court. These guys know exactly what they are doing and how it affects their opponent. Federer asking Cilic if he was playing too slow was comical. Nobody has ever accused Roger of playing too slow. Cilic had his eye on the shot clock the whole time. Making his opponent wait...and wait...and wait.

If some journalist had the thoughtfulness to ask a single decent question of Nadal, Cilic or Jerkovic...why don't they ask them about their stalling technique. The gamesmanship tactics. Their infernal preserve routines. I wouldn't pay to watch either Nadal or Djokovic. I did once and never again. Actually I didn't pay...the ticket was paid for by "The Ugly American" in Paris five years ago. "Am I playing too slow, Marin?" That is just fucking hilarious. Marin had to realise what a jerk he was and Roger was calling him out in front of everyone.

[stroke]

Alcaraz really has a stern test going on vs Struff, who has a big game. Struff has won the 1st set. Alcaraz really has the Spanish fighting spirit to go along with his very good game. He will probably be battling Tsitsipas and Sinner in a lot of FO matches in the future.

[stroke]

Sinner looks very good going into round of 16.

[stroke]

I was hoping Norrie could maybe extend Nadal into a 4th or 5th set, but the Nadal forehand was too much a weapon. If Sinner is to take Nadal, it will not be a tired Nadal.

[stotty]

Roger nicks the first set. It was everything physically he didn't want but at least his nose is in front. I am not writing Koepfer off at this point as he looks like he looks like he could run all day to me.

[stroke]

Koepfer has a great game and is playing well. The meastro had to show his greatness to win that 1st set. As you say, still a long way to go.

I read somewhere that Fed came out and said there is no way he can get past Novak here. I am not at all certain he believes that.

[stotty]

It's good Roger won that first set because Koepfer has nothing else to do for the evening it seems other than to belt balls a thousand miles an hour. He's a bit of a machine. I feel I can't relax here until Roger goes two sets up.

[stotty]

Roger 5-6 down in the second. No shortcut rallies are on offer for Roger. Koepfer is going nowhere. What worries me most is Roger looks worried.

[stotty]

6-6...tiebreak. Really need Roger to win this.

[stotty]

1 set all. Make no mistake this is going to be physically taxing for Roger to win this from here. The German ain't for buckling and is going nowhere. Roger's usual, so reliable feel isn't quite there today.

[stroke]

1 set all. Make no mistake this is going to be physically taxing for Roger to win this from here. The German ain't for buckling and is going nowhere. Roger's usual, so reliable feel isn't quite there today.

I am making no mistake. This is a huge physical test for Roger vs a very strong physical player that is in the moment and believes.