2015 Miami Open…ATP 1000…Miami, Florida USA

[klacr]

When Ivan Lendl was Andy Murray's coach Andy was a different kind of player. He was almost stomachable. Not quite…but almost. If only because he had Lendl in his corner.

Ivan Lendl may well be one of the most underestimated champions in the history of the game. This guy dominated the game as it was being reinvented. Do you have any idea what that means? It means that his roots were entirely in the old classic game yet his fundamentals were so good that he immediately adapted on the run to the "new" game in town.

Ivan did it in full stride to without missing a beat. Hell…he didn't even bother to switch racquets. What a incredible stud he was. Tough as nails. He wasn't very popular…he didn't give a shit about image or Andre Agassi for that matter. He just kicked everybody's ass that happened to be on the same court as him. That goes for the two bad American actors…Jimmy Connors and Johnny McEnroe. Lendl was one bad ass…but he didn't play the image game so he will be short changed in the history books. But not in mine.

He managed to rub off just enough badass on Andy Murray when he was in Murray's corner to gain a little respect for Murray. But it was only a matter of time. Ivan is top drawer and Murray has no class. Berating his team in public is disgraceful. What a baby. I was wondering what the hell was coming out of his pie hole when he is screaming at the top of his lungs.

His game is ugly too for that matter. An all around jerk. Not very smart I would imagine. It just goes to show what an overall mess the game is in these days where he is one of the "Big Four" who are slowly losing their stranglehold on the goings on in professional tennis. I won't get into any personal observations because it isn't personal. I just see through all of this nonsense and what a sham it has become.

Roger Federer is the only player that has any semblance of class. They are all human of course and nobody is expected to be perfect. It isn't really their fault either. As stroke say…everybody surrounds themselves with enablers. The team…of enablers.

If Tomas Berdych has any sense at all he would immediately hire his fellow Czech Ivan Lendl and try to get a bit of badass in his giddy-up. What Lendl did for Murray he could do in spades for klacr's Mr. Nice Guy. But instead what does Berdych do…he hires Murray's reject. What does he expect to change?

http://www.tennisplayer.net/bulletin/showthread.php?t=1926&highlight=McEnroe+Lendl

http://www.tennisplayer.net/bulletin/showthread.php?t=1910&highlight=McEnroe+Lendl

Berdych and Lendl met last year after the Shanghai masters in fall of 2014. Berdych wanted him. Lendl did not want to get back on tour from his couch and do the grind. He admittedly is too lazy and doesn't have the desire to travel and put up with the practices and match regime, at least not yet. So he did not commit to Berdych but he did recommend Dani Vallverdu who was in Murray's corner.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

No credit…sorry. He let it slip. He showed his true colors. He immediately goes to social media for a propaganda blitz. Damage control. Image is everything. Agassi was right in the end.

These days it's all about the image. Djokovic's team probably includes a promoter…of course he does. The agent immediately calculated what that little slip of the tongue was going to cost him in dollars and cents…they all put their heads together and came up with a tweet. The twits. He doesn't give a shit otherwise he wouldn't have done it in the first place. Shouting something like that at the crowd. It's all so phoney. Holden Caulfield was right in the end. Of course he was. He just saw it all coming. The Catcher in the Rye. J. D. Salinger.

“Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be.”

A truly great post. I wasn't falling for that Djokovic propaganda stunt either...cringeworthy. It's the way things have gone, isn't it? Political correctness. Must be seen to be doing the right thing...make amends darned quick if you don't. Just an apology would have been better than an outpouring.

As for Murray, there is no excusing the way he treats others. I mean what is the physio supposed to do if Murray's leg gives out under extreme duress (if it truly gave out at all)? Why is it the physio's fault? Ridiculous in my view. I'd rather starve than work for a bloke like that...the gutter would be preferable.

Once again....great post.

[don_budge]

Novak Djokovic's place in history...

What is amazing about Djokovic is the things he can't do. His overhead and volley are less than world-class and his court sense at the net is almost amateur. His touch game is pretty average too. He makes far less drop shots than he pulls off. And his sliced backhand is also average (by world-class standards). To add to all this his lapses in decision making can be downright bizarre. Yet...

...despite all this he is the best player in the world...by a long way on his best day....maybe the best ever. He makes you reevaluate tennis in terms of what to focus on in tennis and what a player can get by just fine without. Federer is the most complete player ever in tennis yet even he cannot dent Djokovic on a slow or medium hard court. He made no dent at Wimbledon either...although he came close.

He's the reigning top gun. That's all. Stotty points out the deficiencies in the Djokovic game and they are quite vast when taken into consideration.

The fact is that Novak Djokovic dominates in the current game due only to the conditions. If you speed up the courts only incrementally then he is fair game. But who is there to exploit his weaknesses? Nobody. Everybody plays the same game…or else they do not play the alternative game effectively enough. Except for Roger…who is six years older and has been around the world so many more times. In this case…it is the miles. Not necessarily the terrain.

Some of the commentatoes are starting to hawk Djokovic as the greatest of all time…just as they were with Nadal. Both are impostors and have serious limitations if the game was to be played under the conditions that they were in the past. Take away those huge monstrous racquets and you will get down to the bottom of the deceptiveness. For anybody to even dare to compare these million dollar babies with the past is a thought crime. These guys would be severely exploited under any conditions other than these totally manufactured ones.

For a champions such as Novak Djokovic to be so mediocre in some really fundamental aspects of the game of tennis should tell you a thing or two. Whether you want to believe it or not is entirely up to you.

[don_budge]

Social Media…Novak and damage control

Credit to Djokovic for recognizing his mistake as he yelled out and scared a ball boy. He posted a video message as well to apologize.

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83228290/

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

No credit…sorry. He let it slip. He showed his true colors. He immediately goes to social media for a propaganda blitz. Damage control. Image is everything. Agassi was right in the end.

These days it's all about the image. Djokovic's team probably includes a promoter…of course he does. The agent immediately calculated what that little slip of the tongue was going to cost him in dollars and cents…they all put their heads together and came up with a tweet. The twits. He doesn't give a shit otherwise he wouldn't have done it in the first place. Shouting something like that at the crowd. It's all so phoney. Holden Caulfield was right in the end. Of course he was. He just saw it all coming. The Catcher in the Rye. J. D. Salinger.

“Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be.”

[don_budge]

Ivan Lendl and Andy Murray…Ivan Lendl and Tomas Berdych? Why not?

That was a fine post, Klacr.

He makes you reevaluate tennis in terms of what to focus on in tennis and what a player can get by just fine without. Federer is the most complete player ever in tennis yet even he cannot dent Djokovic on a slow or medium hard court. He made no dent at Wimbledon either...although he came close.

Murray is a disgrace the way he treats those around him. I am glad you witnessed that first hand. Puts him a whole different light when you witness it for yourself. Lendl was having none of it and Murray knew that from the outset. It made a lot of difference.

Murray just ran out of will and gas in the end. Djokovic is just a tougher bloke. That's about all you can say in the end.

Stotty, I agree with you about Murray. It is just sad the way he looks to and treats his box. I was watching the match on tv and Brad Gilbert relayed what Murray had said(acting like a baby) to his trainer. Kyle, I am disappointed in Novak for what he said to the fan(in Serbian) also. As everyone else has said, Lendl could possibly have made a difference in Murray's attitude, but he just surrounds himself with enablers. Like most bad habits, Murray is just getting worse.

When Ivan Lendl was Andy Murray's coach Andy was a different kind of player. He was almost stomachable. Not quite…but almost. If only because he had Lendl in his corner.

Ivan Lendl may well be one of the most underestimated champions in the history of the game. This guy dominated the game as it was being reinvented. Do you have any idea what that means? It means that his roots were entirely in the old classic game yet his fundamentals were so good that he immediately adapted on the run to the "new" game in town.

Ivan did it in full stride to without missing a beat. Hell…he didn't even bother to switch racquets. What a incredible stud he was. Tough as nails. He wasn't very popular…he didn't give a shit about image or Andre Agassi for that matter. He just kicked everybody's ass that happened to be on the same court as him. That goes for the two bad American actors…Jimmy Connors and Johnny McEnroe. Lendl was one bad ass…but he didn't play the image game so he will be short changed in the history books. But not in mine.

He managed to rub off just enough badass on Andy Murray when he was in Murray's corner to gain a little respect for Murray. But it was only a matter of time. Ivan is top drawer and Murray has no class. Berating his team in public is disgraceful. What a baby. I was wondering what the hell was coming out of his pie hole when he is screaming at the top of his lungs.

His game is ugly too for that matter. An all around jerk. Not very smart I would imagine. It just goes to show what an overall mess the game is in these days where he is one of the "Big Four" who are slowly losing their stranglehold on the goings on in professional tennis. I won't get into any personal observations because it isn't personal. I just see through all of this nonsense and what a sham it has become.

Roger Federer is the only player that has any semblance of class. They are all human of course and nobody is expected to be perfect. It isn't really their fault either. As stroke say…everybody surrounds themselves with enablers. The team…of enablers.

If Tomas Berdych has any sense at all he would immediately hire his fellow Czech Ivan Lendl and try to get a bit of badass in his giddy-up. What Lendl did for Murray he could do in spades for klacr's Mr. Nice Guy. But instead what does Berdych do…he hires Murray's reject. What does he expect to change?

http://www.tennisplayer.net/bulletin/showthread.php?t=1926&highlight=McEnroe+Lendl

http://www.tennisplayer.net/bulletin/showthread.php?t=1910&highlight=McEnroe+Lendl

[klacr]

Stotty, I agree with you about Murray. It is just sad the way he looks to and treats his box. I was watching the match on tv and Brad Gilbert relayed what Murray had said(acting like a baby) to his trainer. Kyle, I am disappointed in Novak for what he said to the fan(in Serbian) also. As everyone else has said, Lendl could possibly have made a difference in Murray's attitude, but he just surrounds himself with enablers. Like most bad habits, Murray is just getting worse.

Credit to Djokovic for recognizing his mistake as he yelled out and scared a ball boy. He posted a video message as well to apologize.

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83228290/

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stroke]

Stotty, I agree with you about Murray. It is just sad the way he looks to and treats his box. I was watching the match on tv and Brad Gilbert relayed what Murray had said(acting like a baby) to his trainer. Kyle, I am disappointed in Novak for what he said to the fan(in Serbian) also. As everyone else has said, Lendl could possibly have made a difference in Murray's attitude, but he just surrounds himself with enablers. Like most bad habits, Murray is just getting worse.

[stotty]

I was there! Oh boy was I there!

Before I go into sordid details about it I have to say that overall and looking at the stats it was a very sloppy match. Atrocious net play. Poor decision making. But some spectacular shotmaking.

Did either one of these players understand that the other one is just as fast as they are and therefore hitting a drop shot from a poor position and on ahard court was ill-advised? And since both players use two hands when they set up for the drop shot it is easily telegraphed.

There is a saying, "You are only as good as your second serve" If this is true, then the better player won today. Djokovic trumped Murray in the department. Murray was rolling in second serves at 75 and 80 mph. Against the best return of server in the game, pretty sure that just won't do.

There were some highlights though.
Incredible gets and defense by both men. Some pure hitting and impressive angles. Really pleasing stuff when both men were engaged. Some great opportunities to get to net, but they only teased me and stayed back just to get another ball in play and make their opponent suffer. And boy did Djokovic make Murray suffer.

No one is better at recovering momentum when it seemed they had lost it. Djokovic would get broken, breaks right back. Murray gets up 40-love in a game, Djokovic claws back and makes Murray earn it. Djokovic loses 2nd set, crowd going nuts for Andy, Djokovic says "ok, you asked for it" steps up a gear and makes Andy sorry for keeping him out there longer than he needed to be.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

That was a fine post, Klacr.

I have watched both players at Wimbledon from a similar vantage point to yourself and can report much the same. There are far more stand out players to watch than Djokovic who is quite tame viewing from the stands. But it's consistency with him and he's all of that. He's the most well balanced player off both flanks I have ever seen.

What is amazing about Djokovic is the things he can't do. His overhead and volley are less than world-class and his court sense at the net is almost amateur. His touch game is pretty average too. He makes far less drop shots than he pulls off. And his sliced backhand is also average (by world-class standards). To add to all this his lapses in decision making can be downright bizarre. Yet...

...despite all this he is the best player in the world...by a long way on his best day....maybe the best ever. He makes you reevaluate tennis in terms of what to focus on in tennis and what a player can get by just fine without. Federer is the most complete player ever in tennis yet even he cannot dent Djokovic on a slow or medium hard court. He made no dent at Wimbledon either...although he came close.

Murray is a disgrace the way he treats those around him. I am glad you witnessed that first hand. Puts him a whole different light when you witness it for yourself. Lendl was having none of it and Murray knew that from the outset. It made a lot of difference. How Mauresmo is getting on in there I have no idea. She is a truly amazing person and I hope she is not getting used as a doormat. At least she is independently wealthy so can walk whenever she wants. I've always fancied that position myself in life...will probably never happen.

Murray just ran out of will and gas in the end. Djokovic is just a tougher bloke. That's about all you can say in the end.

[klacr]

I was there! Oh boy was I there!

Before I go into sordid details about it I have to say that overall and looking at the stats it was a very sloppy match. Atrocious net play. Poor decision making. But some spectacular shotmaking.

Did either one of these players understand that the other one is just as fast as they are and therefore hitting a drop shot from a poor position and on ahard court was ill-advised? And since both players use two hands when they set up for the drop shot it is easily telegraphed.

There is a saying, "You are only as good as your second serve" If this is true, then the better player won today. Djokovic trumped Murray in the department. Murray was rolling in second serves at 75 and 80 mph. Against the best return of server in the game, pretty sure that just won't do.

There were some highlights though.
Incredible gets and defense by both men. Some pure hitting and impressive angles. Really pleasing stuff when both men were engaged. Some great opportunities to get to net, but they only teased me and stayed back just to get another ball in play and make their opponent suffer. And boy did Djokovic make Murray suffer.

No one is better at recovering momentum when it seemed they had lost it. Djokovic would get broken, breaks right back. Murray gets up 40-love in a game, Djokovic claws back and makes Murray earn it. Djokovic loses 2nd set, crowd going nuts for Andy, Djokovic says "ok, you asked for it" steps up a gear and makes Andy sorry for keeping him out there longer than he needed to be.

The best words I heard all day were from my student Jason. I invited him down with me as a small token of my appreciation for his hard work over the past few weeks on his game. And to get him to see some big boy ennis and make him realize that in the grand scheme of things, I'm not the greatest player he's ever seen.
He's only been playing seriously and taken lessons from me for less than a year. He was a weekend warrior for three years before he decided he wanted his game to go to the next level. He knows the players but does not watch tennis regularly. He has no strong opinions or my views brainwashed into him nor does he have a favorite player, he enjoys the sport for recreation. You may remember Jason from my latest article "Keys to Great Lessons"
https://www.tennisplayer.net/article...great-lessons/
Jason is the president/ceo of an advertising agency here in South Florida. He's no slouch and he viewed the match with open eyes and mind and some curiosity. He mentioned that Murray's shots seem more impressive than Djokovic. However, Murray does not get results like Djokovic. To him, Djokovic does not have one singular impressive trait in his game on any given shot, in fact you don't realize it on one shot. it's his whole body of work that makes it impressive. Like a piece of modern art, perhaps you can't see it up close on one shot, but standing back and viewing the piece as a whole, the whole point, game or set, it is in fact the consistency and quality of the whole that makes it impressive. His ability to scramble, defend and neutralize can't get appreciated n the moment, only after the point or game when you realize what he had to do in the situation and how he turned it into his favor. Djokovic makes tennis boring, until after the tennis moment has ended and you see just what an amazing ability he has to do what he does. Only to lure you back into sleep to perk you up again when you replay and accept the point that just happened.

I sat next to the Murray box. Every lost point Murray looked over at box and muttered negative words. At beginning of 3rd set, after a lost point, Andy grabs his leg, looks in direction of box to his trainer and said "I'M GONE! GOOD JOB!" in a sarcastic way as to blame the trainer for not getting Andy in proper shape

They stared back, blankly, with little emotion or surprise. As if they are so accustomed to it by now. Which is either really sad or really funny. I still haven't decided.

Djokovic was no angel either. During what I remember to be the 2nd set, he had an issue with a patron in the crowd. He yelled "Suck a d**k" at him. In Serbian of course. One of my colleagues is Serbian and she translated it for me.

Although I was near the Murray Box, it was an encounter I had in the breezeway just before the match with a Mr. Boris Becker. No words were spoken. But there was eye contact. Eye contact that was followed by a brief head nod from me, like two elephants passing, the lesser one acknowledging the alpha. Mr. Becker nodded back in acceptance, but there was something deeper we both knew. Perhaps he had read and was a fan of my seven part series on Serve and Volley here on this very site. Or perhaps he knew he had something that I wanted. A Wimbledon title at 17. He earned it. But I wanted it. Badly. A telepathic foray ensued where we both knew what the other was thinking and neither one of us backed away from those thoughts. A wry smile from each as I wished him good luck and we lost eye contact as quickly as it began. But now Mr. Becker knows What I was about, and what I am about.
Thank you Boris and congrats to Djokovic.
In the words of my student Jason "I think Djokovic and Murray are probably better than you, but you are more fun on court"

It wasn't just Novak, I also walked out of that stadium a champion.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

What would you like on your bagel?

That's 8 bagels this year...and it's only early April.

[don_budge]

...

What would you like on your bagel?

[stotty]

Djokovic is a nightmare...just doesn't go away...1-0 in the third to Djokovic, having broken.

Djokovic now 3 love up. Murray looks ready to throw in the towel.

[stotty]

Had my roast dinner, come back into the lounge, and it's only 5-4...

...make that one set all.

Djokovic is a nightmare...just doesn't go away...1-0 in the third to Djokovic, having broken.

[stotty]

Had my roast dinner, come back into the lounge, and it's only 5-4...

...make that one set all.

[stotty]

…and rather boring I might add. A couple of Murray grimaces…a fist pump to Mauresmo when he finally ended it. The gravy was probably more entertaining.

Mint gravy...my speciality with a lamb roast. Yes, it is a grind with these two, for them and us watching.