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A lot of interesting matches 1st round matches: Murray vs Gasquet, Grigor vs RBA, Karatsev vs Cilic, Isner vs Norrie, Tiafoe vs Humbert, Fognini vs Bash, Anderson vs Khachanov, Alcaraz vs Sonego, FAA vs Fucsovics. . I don't like Murray's chances vs Gasquet. The Gasquet backhand will look like a highlight reel.
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Last edited by stroke; 08-16-2021, 07:47 AM. -
I almost started this thread in good old don_budge fashion when I heard the news about Roger Federer having yet another knee surgery performed. I remember the music video johnyandell composed in homage to Roger's forehand..."Forehand Not Gone". He videoed it at this tournament site. That was Cincinnati when Cincinnati was Cincinnati. The Western & Southern. Ah Cinncinatti...a stones throw from my old college. Ohio University. The Bobcats of Athens, Ohio. But be that as it may...I think that, I too, am done. I cannot sustain the energy. The passion. The love for the game that I once felt. True...I lost it a long, long time ago. With the advent of the new equipment. I went full ghetto on the game. I was furious. I knew what hate meant for the first time in my life. The fury has abated somewhat. Yawn.
Roger is gone. All of that beautiful tennis is gone. All of those who went before him. My heroes. I loved them all. I was brought up on Nastase, Connors, McEnroe and Borg. Just to name a few. There were so many. A plethora. But now...alas it is what it is. It is nothing...as my golf partner likes to say. Nothing.
So here is my point...the matches of disinterest:
Fabio Fognini-Nikoloz Basilashvili...no interest
John Millman-Jan Leonard Struff...no interest
Jannik Sinner-Federico Delbonis...no interest
Taylor Fritz-Albert Ramos Vinolas...no interest
Marton Fucsovics-Felix Auger Aliassime...no interest
Yoshihito Nishioka-Lloyd Harris...no interest
Daniel Evans-Diego Schwartzman...a match of interest as pits too under sized players with completely different styles and one of them being a "Federesque" type player.
Filip Kranjinovic-Alex De Minaur...no interest
Kevin Anderson-Karen Khachanov...no interest
Richard Gasquet-Andy Murray...interested but too late, midnight here in Sweden. A nostalgia match. Two competitors from the Roger Federer era of Modern Tennis.
Brandon Nakashima-Mackenzie McDonald...a twinge of interest but on too late.
When I say "no interest", I mean zero interest. I wouldn't go to the end of the driveway to see them play. Not that I don't like "critiquing" the draw as it plays out. The "Forehand Not Gone!" video I could watch over and over. I just watched it three times as I was typing this post. I wrote a post on this video once. It was one of my best...I think.
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Fabio looked very good in taking Bash in 2. Fabio like Fed cannot be rushed on groundstroke exchanges. It is a very short list of players more talented than Fabio as we know.Comment
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Grigor looked superb winning 1st set 6-4 vs RBA. Obviously a very tough 1st round matchup as often happens in these 1000''s. Grigor had 21 winners and 9 unforced errors. His spin rates, which is being provided for this tournament, were the highest forehand and backhand numbers together that I have seen, just better than I have seen for Tsitsipas, who was the highest combo I have seen. We all know Grigor's game is very easy on the eye.Comment
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Cilic takes the first set versus Karatsev...rain delay.
Lot's of fine players in the draw. I just don't see a player who can dominate the tour in the manner we have become used to. It could end up like the WTA where players simply win and lose to each other in any phase of the draw. I hope I am wrong because it won't be good for tennis. Everyone likes household names in whatever sport they follow.StottyComment
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I do not think that will happen with the ATP. But that is certainly the case with WTA. Can't help but think Steffi or Monica in their prime would still win more than their share vs today's competition. As for the men, well Lendl passed the baton to Sampras and Agassi, who passed to Fed(very briefly solo) and was quickly joined by Nadal and Novak. It will be interesting to see what the future holds.Originally posted by stotty View PostComment
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Let's hope you're right. I just cannot see a clear frontrunner at this point.Originally posted by stroke View PostStottyComment
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Copy that. If I had to bet, it looks like Sinner and Stef as the Sampras/Agassi, with Medvedev, Zverev, Berenttini as the Edberg/Becker/Wilander supporting cast. The 3 thing is dunzo no doubt. And definitely a couple of Moya type 1 hit wonders thrown in.Originally posted by stotty View PostLast edited by stroke; 08-17-2021, 01:28 PM.Comment
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Denis "The Menace" Shapovalov shot down once again. Time to start looking for a new coach. Or?Originally posted by don_budge View Post
I find Denis "The Menace" Shapovalov just as annoying in high definition as I do in any other format. Trust me...that stroke is all flash and not enough substance. The grip? It's Wawrinka like...nothing inherently wrong with that. But he cannot or doesn't want to transition to a grip that would enable him to slice the ball effectively.
Yes...the variety of stances. Not a single one of them worthy of a Wawrinkaesque evaluation. This guy looks like a clod in slo-motion compared to Roger Federer. Granted...that is an unfair comparison but it also explains why he has such spotty results. A good win here and there...mixed in with many dismal defeats to lesser ranked players not to mention players with less "talent". I am also starting to question the talent of Shapovalov. I don't find him nearly as impressive as I once wanted him to be. He is not going to be a player who can be counted on day in and day out to deliver the goods. He is going to give a flashy performance here and there. That about sums up the backhand as well...all flash. Denis cannot be bothered to get himself set twice in a row the same way to get himself set to hit the ball. There is too much left to chance and changing structures. This isn't a diversity contest. Homogenous stances. The less diversity the better. The more times approaching the ball the same way the better chance of achieving a higher level of consistency. As it is...he is harebrained. Willy nilly.
Denis is a very disorganised tennis player. It is reflected in his sloppy appearance with the backwards baseball cap and the absolutely meaningless act of bouncing the ball between his legs in his preserve routine. It is reflected in his tactical approach to the game. Or his lack of it. Somehow he gets quoted all of the time talking about himself as a very dangerous player. Someone who can beat anyone in the world. He isn't clear in who he is realistically. He is mistaking bombast with confidence. This is reflected throughout his entire tennis game. Most certainly in the backhand. This business of jumping in the air is rather ludicrous. I am certainly not buying it. I think he is a hot dog. A first rate hot dog. He is going to have to emerge from that personna to ever be something more meaningful...more stable. You see the lack of stability in his backhand follow through. Most of the time he is falling off balance and not in perfect balance like a ballet dancer. Ala Federer.
The most provocative thing about Denis at the present is how big of an underachiever he is. The serve and the forehand are huge at times...but somehow they seem to become less steady and less deadly as certain matches progress. The flash in his game is not nearly enough to compete with the highest level of steady in the men's game. I love the comparison and how much was made of his match with Novak Djokovic. As if he had arrived because he played stroke for stroke with one of the steadiest of champions ever. I don't really believe that he came that close. Djokovic had him measured up and had him fit like a glove. He never felt threatened. He basically kicked Denis in the ass for three straight sets. Denis handed him the first set in the tie-break with his hare-brained play. It may have been a different story should he have won that set...but I sincerely doubt it.
The nickname that I chose for Denis "The Menace" Shapovalov is a perfect one at that. He is a bit too goofy to be taken ultimately seriously. Just last week in his hometown of Toronto, he lost to Francis Tiafoe who subsequently lost to straight sets to Gael Monfils in the next round, who subsequently lost to John Isner in the next round straight sets who subsequently lost in straight sets to Daniil Medvedev. Get the picture. The food chain. He not only lost to Tiafoe...he lost to him convincingly 6-1, 6-4. This was after his announcement to the world that he was an ever and present dangerous opponent. Some think that he may have gained in confidence with his Wimbledon performance, which to me was hardly earth shaking. But I think that it only contributed to his inflated opinion of his own game. He doesn't have a realistic view of where it is he exists on the food chain of the ATP tour. He had a couple of big wins...but he hasn't been able to sustain anything. Except his stupid preserve routine of bouncing the ball between his legs.Comment
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You know...men and women are different. That's a good thing. But these days everything is political and the roles of men and women are no exception. Here is an example:
Naomi Osaka further demonstrating either mental illness or some sort of diva madness. On one hand the women in athletics demand that they get equal pay and the obvious disqualifier is that men and women are anything but equal. That goes double in sports. Women are not equal to men. Why the argument for the equal money? Out of sympathy because they can turn on the tears?
You cannot tell a woman to "man-up". They don't understand what that means. Women are not inferior to men on any basis. Not when you compare them to other women. But if they were equal they would play in the same draw and they wouldn't break down in tears at lame questions from asinine reporters and try to make a big stink out of it. Naomi thinks she is doing everyone a favour by drawing attention to here favourite causes, but I think that there ought to be a rule against athletes using their athletic platform to advertise their cause of the day. Athletes are to be seen and not heard as far as I am concerned. I am not interested in anything they have to say as a rule...unless it has to do with either their performance or their sport generally speaking. Just keep the politics to themselves...please.Comment
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Zverez demolished Rublev with some great serving and returning. Everything in between was pretty darn good too. His backhand down the line was something else.
If he can find a coach who can stabilise that second serve, he's pretty much there.StottyComment
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That is pretty much it. It is very seldom, with the small margains in the ATP, one sees such a comprehensive win by a player at this Master's 1000 level. That was impressive. He clearly has shown to me that at his best, he is the best of all the next up guys right now. Sinner may beOriginally posted by stotty View PostComment
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I think we saw the problem with Rublev. His serve. It has no punch and the second serve was a lollipop. Zverev just manhandled him. Of course, he was coming off an epic win over Medvedev. He may not be ready quite yet.Originally posted by stroke View Post
Zverev looks to be improving. More aggressive and his forehand is much better. He can attack now and players cannot just hit over there until he misses.
He must be riding a high and if he keeps at it, he might just take the US Open.
Meanwhile, Thiem is pulling a mini-Wilander. Although Mats managed much longer with a more physically punishing game.
It took so much out of Dominik to win the US Open. I wonder if he has anything left or if that was his peak.Comment
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