Fed news was proper depressing, especially because Fed/Hingis has gone up in smoke.
Originally Posted by Irishguy123:
“Yeah, I think that's what I remember from when I watched him play in Dublin, feeble enough forehand and more of a grinder overall. Probably completely wrong, idk”
That's spot on, tbh. Nobody who's met him has a bad word to say about him.
Originally Posted by ustarion:
“Don't really see anything in Coric's game that makes me think he'll make it to the top of men's tennis.”
Well, he moves very well, but defo has a defensive mindset. Clearly doesn't have confidence in his FH and he's too patchy on return. Currently he wins 20% of return games...the elite returners win over 30%. His fighting spirit/mindset is very good too, which is disappointingly rare among the yoof.
Originally Posted by CLL Dodge:
“Is Kyle injured? All that hype last week and he's falling apart against the world 192.”
The DC win must've taken it out of Kyle emotionally, as they were feelings he'd never experienced before. It's also a big transition to make from soggy, heavy Euro clay to a medium paced HC in North America.
Personally, I think Kyle will prefer the slower HC like IW/Miami as they give him time to set up his deadly FH. He is the second coming of Courier
Originally Posted by
smude:
“Shapovalov is the 17 year old junior Wimbledon champion. The one with the long blond locks
”
Yep, he has a nice game. Very effective wide serve to both deuce and ad, and he's a OHBH lefty who can hit a decent topspin BH. Feli and Llodra could nevah...
Originally Posted by smude:
“I find Dan a bit of an odd one. Tennis is an individual sport I know but he doesn't want to play DC or go to the Olympics. He has played DC in the past but at the moment wants to plough his own little furrow.”
Evo wants to play DC when it's not on clay. Which is fair enough really.
Originally Posted by smude:
“Especially as in athletics they swap countries for fun. Well big bucks are involved.”
Athletics is a farce though, for many reasons. Just depressing to see all and sundry in Qatari vests, shamelessly grabbing 'dem petrodollars.
Originally Posted by
Lisa.B:
“I see Nick was his usual petulant self last night. Bitching about not wanting to play any more. Put down Pokemon Go and put the same effort into bettering yourself as a player.”
Heh, I saw that too. These youngsters broadcast every thought that enters their head on social media, and damn the consequences...
Would you see the big four admitting this publically? Hell no. Sends out a terrible signal to the tour and undermines their aura. Nick's got much to learn, but I'm not sure he'll manage it...
Originally Posted by smude:
“One person who could sort Nick out is Andy. Drag him to his training block in Miami and put him through his paces.”
Nick wouldn't take up the offer. He can't be arsed to get a coach and gets homesick if he's away from Oz for more than 5 minutes. I feel that to make the best of yourself, you either have to love the game, or being on tour and going to new places. Nick's first love is basketball and he clearly dislikes being on tour.
Compare him with someone like Delpo, who was out for really long periods but clearly missed tour life so much that he came back prematurely from his injuries on many occasions. The difference is stark.
Thing is, I doubt Nick will fundamentally change now. Either you fundamentally love tennis/tour life, or you don't. It ain't for everyone. As a result, I wouldn't be surprised if he hung his racket up by 25. Would be a massive waste of talent but it is what it is.
Originally Posted by Jinga:
“I think it's definitely grown in importance over the years. No less an illustrious figure than Nadal said an Olympics gold is lower than a Slam but slightly higher than a Masters 1000. And I bet if Novak had to choose between the two, he'd rather win the Olympics this year than the US Open.
I really wish Andy wasn't going though - he already has Olympic gold, there are no ranking points, ut most of all is that ZIka virus. If he was single it wouldn't matter so much, but I suppose he doesn't plan on adding to his family any time soon. Despite all the criticism he gets, he must be really patriotic.”
I agree with ya. Given what the players say about the Olympics these days, I'd rank it ahead of M1000s and even the WTF actually. It's the fifth major.
Andy has strong love for the Olympics, going back to Beijing even. Beating Fed on home soil four years on just cemented his love affair with it, and I'd say was the catalyst for him finally winning a slam. Who knows if he'll have strong feelings in Rio, but he gonna try, no?
Originally Posted by Jenny1986;*****080:
“Oh thanks, I scrolled through the channels and the guide is saying UFC is on BT Sport 1, but it's actually tennis.”
BT Sport need to stop playing silly buggers with scheduling, so many times I'd tried to watch a match there and it wasn't as advertised.
Originally Posted by CLL Dodge:
“Some lucky losers are luckier than others.”
Innit. If as a player you have good connections with the top players, you can have the inside track and then inherit a very cushy draw as a result. All you need to do is make it to the final qualifying round. Pretty sure Pouille benefited from Tsonga's withdrawal in Rome, for example. He rode it all the way to the semis and seriously boosted his ranking. The way to stop it is by having a random draw for the final round qualy losers, as opposed to just giving the nod to the highest ranked loser.
Originally Posted by Irishguy123:
“Weird news about Roger, and like others have speculated retirement must surely be a possibility. I mean it'd take a miracle for him to win a slam again or even get to a final. Personally I think if he comes back next year he'd be able to maybe reach a couple of SF's & QF's, but to go beyond that would be a monumental task. Still, stranger things have happened, but it's increasingly looking like game over for Roger. Future of the ATP looks quite bleak at the minute, although to be honest it has for quite some time.”
The future of the ATP was always likely to be bleak when the big four departed. Remains to be seen if Fedal fans take to any of the next gen. If they don't, I can see them speeding the courts up and doing away with homogenisation.
Originally Posted by amelia_lee:
“Yes, although he will drop after Cincy as he is carrying points of a win and US open final.
He is number 10 in the race, which also says something, although Rafa is at four and considering his year is amazing and disappointing, because it says something about the players behind him. Rafa didn't play Wimbledon, didn't win a match in Aus and pulled out after the second round at RG. And Kei is number 5, I don't remember him being healthy all year.
The ATP is becoming a bit of a sham, it's Novak then Andy then nobody!”
I'd probably put Milos as #3, he's very consistent when healthy and rarely has bad losses now. Stan's too up and down and Kei spends half the year in the treatment room.
Originally Posted by roger_50:
“I agree Konta is heading towards the top 10. She disguises both her serve and groundstrokes really well.
But I still feel there's a kind of... rigidity to her game. If that's the right word. When her timing is spot on she can be relentless, but when it goes off she leans towards overhitting the ball an awful lot. She's very systematic with her techniques as opposed to being a natural ball-hitter with flair. Which I guess works for her and has taken her this far, so what do I know...”
This is a good assessment. Someone compared Konta with Pliskova, but I think she's the female Cilic. Awkward looking but big serve, powerful and consistent BH (especially CC), FH comes and goes. Move pretty well considering their height. Not really keen to change pace or use variety. Biggest threat on grass/medium-fast HC where they can get many free points with their serve. Hell, they are even similar emotionally - never going too high or too low, preferring to remain on an even keel.
Flair only gets you so far, particularly in the women's game. Weapons matter much more...especially serve. Matches are slugfests from the baseline, and you can't bring a knife to a gunfight. Robotic as it is, Konta has a very effective game for modern conditions. It won't change until the conditions change, or poly strings are banned.
Originally Posted by Irishguy123:
“So much to say about Federer's withdrawal from the season, so many streaks being broken and potential records that won't be fulfilled. One of the most interesting aspects is that when or if he returns at the Australian Open next year he probably won't be a top 16 seed, meaning he could play Djokovic or Andy as early as the 3rd round, imagine that!”
I think Fed would, er...magically land in another section. Organisers know which side their bread is buttered