ATP…Dubai ATP 500, Acapulco ATP 500, Brasil ATP 250

[don_budge]

Three more ATP professional tennis tournaments this week.

Brasil looks like one ho hum affair. Virtually nothing of interest. Please correct me if I am wrong. Acapulco slightly more interesting…Taylor Fritz continues to make noise and signs of promise. He plays "Sudden Sam" Querry in the next round…Querry fresh off of a win over Kei Nishikori. The once promising but seemingly stalled Grigor Dimitrov plays Dominic Thiem who may be showing some signs of fatigue as well. Bernard Tomic in the draw as well and thankfully David Ferrer has been dispatched to the next tournament.

That leaves Dubai…without Roger Federer it disappears from the interest map. As good as Novak Djokovic is he cannot carry a tournament in terms of…well anything really. Just backcourt tennis. But the new darling of Tennisplayer.net is once again playing Tomas Berdych. Nick Kyrgios. What a piece of work. The hairdo, the getup…the entire attitude. "Armageddon" tennis at its finest. Federer is practicing somewhere…the end of his career is coming just in time.

[stroke]

The annoying Kyrgios just defeated Berdych for the 2nd win in 2 weeks vs him, in straight sets again. He appeared to be in complete control of the match, with the better serve, forehand, backhand, and movement. If Kyrgios plays Novak in the final, it will be interesting. Kyrgios' serve has been every bit as good as Raonic's the last 2 weeks, and Nick does everything else better than Raonic.

[stotty]

The annoying Kyrgios just defeated Berdych for the 2nd win in 2 weeks vs him, in straight sets again. He appeared to be in complete control of the match, with the better serve, forehand, backhand, and movement. If Kyrgios plays Novak in the final, it will be interesting. Kyrgios' serve has been every bit as good as Raonic's the last 2 weeks, and Nick does everything else better than Raonic.

Kyrgios is looking ominous all of a sudden....out of the blue. When I watched him last week he was head and shoulders above the rest of the field. He could beat all but the best right now....and, yes, a meeting with Djokovic would provide us with an excellent benchmark to see just where he is at.

[klacr]

Not pleased that that result. Very un-Thomas like.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stroke]

Kyrgios is looking ominous all of a sudden....out of the blue. When I watched him last week he was head and shoulders above the rest of the field. He could beat all but the best right now....and, yes, a meeting with Djokovic would provide us with an excellent benchmark to see just where he is at.

Yes, Nick has been so dominant on serve, but we all know no one returns like Novak. Nick has been dominant on ground stroke rallies, but it has been a while since we have seen anyone get the better of Novak ground stroke wise.

[stotty]

Djokovic

Djokovic pulls out with runny eyes. He got booed off the court for his sins. If that had been Federer, the crowd would have been way more sympathetic, most would have offered to nip out and get some eye drops I imagine. I wonder if the crowd will ever come to love Djokovic one day.

[stroke]

I do not think any player ever will get the crowd love Fed gets.

[klacr]

Fed is the player of the people. Never seen a player have a practice session where the crowd was 15 people deep and they applauded after every point.

Federer could run for political office and win in a landslide.

Djokovic quit due to an eye issue/allergies. But I think it was the serve & volley from Lopez. At least, that's what I'm gonna keep telling myself.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[gzhpcu]

Thiem beats Dimitrov. Thiem is number 15 and climbing fast...

[don_budge]

Nick Kyrgios versus Stan Wawrinka…Big Time Wrestling

Hmmm…what an interesting matchup. The last time these two met they conjured up some considerable bad blood. Nick saying naughty nothings about the love of Stan's life. Low blows. But low blows are nothing new to this "new kid on the block".

Kyrgios is certainly playing tough and Wawrinka is a bit of a question mark going into any given match. But in this one he has to put up or shut up. He drew the line in the sand and now it is duty to be a hero and slay the bad guy…for the damsel's reputation. That's how it used to be…in the old days. Looking for Stan to come out like Superman. He's been known to be a bit of dud at times. Curiously…Kyrgios may have given himself the bully's upper hand with his low brow comments. He's into Wawrinka's head big time and now he is playing big as well.

Novak Djokovic withdraws? What's up with that? This is what the tour is left with after Roger Federer withdraws. Can you say "Big Time Wrestling"? I promise not to say…I told you so.

[don_budge]

Feliciano Lopez versus Marcos Baghdatis

Djokovic quit due to an eye issue/allergies. But I think it was the serve & volley from Lopez. At least, that's what I'm gonna keep telling myself.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Feliciano Lopez is up against a resurgent Marcos Baghdatis.

[stroke]

Oddsmakers have Wawrinka favored. I think Stan, whose return game is not the best, has a match up issue here vs Krygios.

[klacr]

Wawrinka had this first set wrapped up at 4-1. Now Kyrgios is heating up and it's 4-3 with Wawrinka fighting off break points.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[klacr]

Now 4-all. Kyrgios is awake and fully engaged. Stan got passive up 4-1. Now in a bit of a dog fight. This match is more a mental battle than physical between these two.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[gzhpcu]

Another walkover! First Djokovic, now Kyrgios! What is going on?