2021 U. S. Open Tennis Championships...ATP 2000...New York, New York

[stroke]

Stef gets through in 5 with a couple of extended breaks at the end of a couple of sets. Stef has definitely adopted a habit of doing this, much to the chagrin of his opponents and a lot of the fans. It will be interesting to see how this habit of his plays out long term. I see a new rule coming out in the near future addressing this new issue Stef has all on his own brought front and center.

[stroke]

Have to say I really enjoyed the RBA vs Nick match. RBA is a pro's pro. A real credit to the sport.

[arturohernandez]

Have to say I really enjoyed the RBA vs Nick match. RBA is a pro's pro. A real credit to the sport.

It is the Spanish approach to tennis. Hard work, great fundamentals and reliability. He is a pro's, pro. There are a lot of them here. They are not all on the ATP tour but they are all pros and take their jobs seriously.

I used to find him boring but have grown to admire Bautista Agut for taking what god gave him and getting 200% out of it.

[arturohernandez]

Stef gets through in 5 with a couple of extended breaks at the end of a couple of sets. Stef has definitely adopted a habit of doing this, much to the chagrin of his opponents and a lot of the fans. It will be interesting to see how this habit of his plays out long term. I see a new rule coming out in the near future addressing this new issue Stef has all on his own brought front and center.

Kind of like the 25 sec clock to stop from slowing the game down a ton. Yes, he is pushing the rules and I think we will get a Stef rule pretty soon. No random fouls under 2 mins.

Sorry, I seem to be mixing my sports up.

[arturohernandez]

Anyone catch Alcaraz. He looked very good during the highlights. Took down the 26 seed Cameron Norrie in the first round. Looks explosive and can play all parts of the court. He is my sleeper. If he can keep it up in the second round, he would have to face Tsitsipas in the third round.

That will be a real test of where he is right now.

[stroke]

Anyone catch Alcaraz. He looked very good during the highlights. Took down the 26 seed Cameron Norrie in the first round. Looks explosive and can play all parts of the court. He is my sleeper. If he can keep it up in the second round, he would have to face Tsitsipas in the third round.

That will be a real test of where he is right now.

He looks like a guy to me that is a serious FO contender starting next year.

[don_budge]

Anyone catch Alcaraz. He looked very good during the highlights. Took down the 26 seed Cameron Norrie in the first round. Looks explosive and can play all parts of the court. He is my sleeper. If he can keep it up in the second round, he would have to face Tsitsipas in the third round.

That will be a real test of where he is right now.

But Stefano Tsitsipas must beat Adriano Mannarino first too. Mannarino was all set to take Roger Federer down when he was unfortunately injured at Wimbledon. Tsitsipas and Mannarino are 1-1 H2H.

[stroke]

But Stefano Tsitsipas must beat Adriano Mannarino first too. Mannarino was all set to take Roger Federer down when he was unfortunately injured at Wimbledon. Tsitsipas and Mannarino are 1-1 H2H.

No doubt. I have always liked Mannarino's game. So efficient. Seems to have all day on his groundstrokes.

[jthb1021]

I’m not enjoying the Steph story line of his cheating. Previously at the French Open he’s circling marks that are in claiming it is out and now he’s trying to control the tempo with the breaks, medical time outs, etc. I can’t stand that stuff! When Nadal played Medvedev in the final a couple of years ago I lost respect for him for controlling the tempo of the match by making Medvedev play slower on his service games. This was a major reason Nadal won the US Open that year!
When I play if my opponent(s) is not aware of the flow of the match and i have the opportunity to control the tempo I’ll jump on that and take control of the flow. The best players do that and it is a huge component of every match. But the gamesmanship we are seeing here is just showing junior players how to cheat leave the court and text your coach or parent etc. (not saying Steph is doing that) but it sure is a good idea for junior players.
Junior tennis is brutal and it is getting harder and harder to encourage good kids to to want to play with the cheating and all the bs. Sure we can say they need to be tougher or whatever but it is so hard to win and do it the right way, especially when you are always seeing the people who cheat succeed. It’ll come back to them we say…does it though? I’m all for controlling the tempo within the rules…it’s what the best players do, but there has to be a limit! These rules have been abused for way too long and Steph has taken it to a whole new level.

[stotty]

I’m not enjoying the Steph story line of his cheating. Previously at the French Open he’s circling marks that are in claiming it is out and now he’s trying to control the tempo with the breaks, medical time outs, etc. I can’t stand that stuff! When Nadal played Medvedev in the final a couple of years ago I lost respect for him for controlling the tempo of the match by making Medvedev play slower on his service games. This was a major reason Nadal won the US Open that year!
When I play if my opponent(s) is not aware of the flow of the match and i have the opportunity to control the tempo I’ll jump on that and take control of the flow. The best players do that and it is a huge component of every match. But the gamesmanship we are seeing here is just showing junior players how to cheat leave the court and text your coach or parent etc. (not saying Steph is doing that) but it sure is a good idea for junior players.
Junior tennis is brutal and it is getting harder and harder to encourage good kids to to want to play with the cheating and all the bs. Sure we can say they need to be tougher or whatever but it is so hard to win and do it the right way, especially when you are always seeing the people who cheat succeed. It’ll come back to them we say…does it though? I’m all for controlling the tempo within the rules…it’s what the best players do, but there has to be a limit! These rules have been abused for way too long and Steph has taken it to a whole new level.

Yes, he is a cheat, and a bad one. I didn't realise it until recently and the FO.

MTO's are a joke. Federer tried an MTO for the first time in his life at the 2018 Aussie Open and it turned his match around against Rafa in the final. MTOs work for the players, not only for what they are designed for, but also to alter the tempo and flow of a match. I have mixed feelings about MTOs but on the whole...I would get rid of them. I would also get rid of the towelling down between points and the chairs at the changeovers. It would help the game if play could be made as continuous as possible.

[stroke]

I’m not enjoying the Steph story line of his cheating. Previously at the French Open he’s circling marks that are in claiming it is out and now he’s trying to control the tempo with the breaks, medical time outs, etc. I can’t stand that stuff! When Nadal played Medvedev in the final a couple of years ago I lost respect for him for controlling the tempo of the match by making Medvedev play slower on his service games. This was a major reason Nadal won the US Open that year!
When I play if my opponent(s) is not aware of the flow of the match and i have the opportunity to control the tempo I’ll jump on that and take control of the flow. The best players do that and it is a huge component of every match. But the gamesmanship we are seeing here is just showing junior players how to cheat leave the court and text your coach or parent etc. (not saying Steph is doing that) but it sure is a good idea for junior players.
Junior tennis is brutal and it is getting harder and harder to encourage good kids to to want to play with the cheating and all the bs. Sure we can say they need to be tougher or whatever but it is so hard to win and do it the right way, especially when you are always seeing the people who cheat succeed. It’ll come back to them we say…does it though? I’m all for controlling the tempo within the rules…it’s what the best players do, but there has to be a limit! These rules have been abused for way too long and Steph has taken it to a whole new level.

"has to be a limit". To me therin lies the rub.

[stroke]

Yes, he is a cheat, and a bad one. I didn't realise it until recently and the FO.

MTO's are a joke. Federer tried an MTO for the first time in his life at the 2018 Aussie Open and it turned his match around against Rafa in the final. MTOs work for the players, not only for what they are designed for, but also to alter the tempo and flow of a match. I have mixed feelings about MTOs but on the whole...I would get rid of them. I would also get rid of the towelling down between points and the chairs at the changeovers. It would help the game if play could be made as continuous as possible.

I am all for doing away with the MTO's. The toweling off, I personally have no issue if done within the shot clock parameters. I realize some umpire discretion/decision making will still be necessary if a returner is purposely delaying the flow of play. But I have also seen a server be unreasonable with his pace of play, just to be irritating.

All that being said, Stef with his now common 10 minute breaks between sets, sometimes two times in a match, is simply unreasonable. And I like Stef.

[jthb1021]

I am all for doing away with the MTO's. The toweling off, I personally have no issue if done within the shot clock parameters. I realize some umpire discretion/decision making will still be necessary if a returner is purposely delaying the flow of play. But I have also seen a server be unreasonable with his pace of play, just to be irritating.

All that being said, Stef with his now common 10 minute breaks between sets, sometimes two times in a match, is simply unreasonable. And I like Stef.

It’s a fine line no question about it! But the umpire’s main purpose in my opinion is to keep the flow of play. They mainly look like push overs when it comes to enforcing what is and isn’t reasonable time. Using the bathroom and the the process of changing out of ridiculously sweaty clothes isn’t easy…I know putting a new pair of socks on takes much longer than normal. I think you should have to use these breaks before your service game as a rule. If you’re going to disrupt the flow it should be you that has to come back a little stiff and less energized and serve.

[stotty]

Sinner comes through in four. The thing I like about Sinner is he continually applies pressure on his opponent in much the same way as Novak does. He is a very mature match player for his age. Of the youngest players coming though, he is the number one to look out for. It will be interesting to see how deep he goes in the draw this year.

[stotty]

Getting back to the toilet break thing. I would rather they call it a 'break to disrupt one's opponent', which is all it has ever been since its inception. Borg said he never needed to go for a pee during a match in his entire career, and McEnroe said the same. Toilet breaks are an utter joke.