Rotterdam ATP 500

[stotty]

This after FAA went up 2 sets to love on Medvedev at the Australian, so maybe he's starting to make a move.

One problem for players that burst on the scene early is that we (ok, maybe me and not you) tend to get impatient, think that they "haven't done anything yet with all that talent" because it seems as if they've been around forever when they're still young. I remember McEnroe ridiculing Fed for "not living up to his potential" and "hasn't won a 'Slam yet".

Not everybody is Borg or Rafa.

My amateur guess: FAA went through a big growth spurt, getting to 6 ft 4 in a couple of years back. It seems to affect his game, where he had to get used to his new frame and regain lost consistency.

He's also a rhythm server, can be on, can be off. Prior Aussie he was erasing Karatsev, a good returning, then lost it. Boom. Gone. Out.

Seems like a good guy, too.

Stef-Felix rivalry goes way back. I remember that FAA can won perhaps 5 straight going back to juniors plus their first two ATP meetings. Then it looked like Stef "Solved Him" and rattled off four straight across both hard and clay courts. Until today/ last night.

Back to the earlier theme, Stef is only 23 yo. Has beaten Rafa twice (Once on clay !), beaten Fed at AO bum rushing the net, and beat Djokovic twice, both on hard courts. AND coulda', shoulda' won a 'Slam title at Roland Garros where he led Novak 2 sets to love.

It's so hard to predict what a player might be capable even when it's right under your nose and only a few months from happening: Roger being just such an example. I think we all knew it when we saw Rafa but that's extremely rare.

I like FAA, he seems to play life with a straight bat, a decent young man. He played well today and looks like he might be on the brink of a significant breakthrough.

[stroke]

It looks like it more likely than unlikely that no one will hold the #1 ranking for a lengthy time, as we have become accustomed to.

[arturohernandez]

FAA seems to benefiting from uncle Toni in his box.