Murray loses to Pospisil. The Canadian served and volleyed and limited Andy's chances in return games. Andy lost to Mischa Zverev in Aussie Open, another serve and volleyer. Interesting...and beautiful.
Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton
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Stefan Kozlov...
Stefan Kozlov showed up on the tennisplayer.net forum radar screen at one point a couple of years ago. I believe that it was Stotty that flagged him first. Here he is now ranked #116 in the world and probably rising. He seems committed and if he doesn't burn out he may find himself in the top fifty in a year or two. He lost to Donald Young in a couple of close sets in the first round...7-5, 7-6. A better showing than their first meeting when Young drubbed young Kozlov 6-0, 6-4 on grass. Next up for "The Donald"...Sam "The Bam" Querry. A maiden voyage for these two...it could be interesting. Young showing signs of being more competitive and Querry making a landmark statement winning in Acapulco last week.
Here is his record to date...not earth shattering by any stretch of the imagination.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/playe...layer-activityLeave a comment:
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The highlight of Swedish tennis happened yesterday in Stockholm at the Kings of Tennis event. Jonas Bjorkman was victorious against Philippoussis. Always loved Jonas.
Early rounds of Indian Wells have come and gone. No real stories. Seeded players (all with byes) have been resting comfortably in their desert oasis haciendas. This weekend we will see the big boys flex their muscles.
American players are 0-9 on the stadium court so far in the tournament. Not good.
Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca RatonLeave a comment:
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Turnabout is Fair Play...
Sweden's hapless tennis program takes another shot on the chin. It's going nowhere fast as they say. Elias Ymer who is currently ranked in the neighborhood of #158 in the world is Sweden's highest ranking player. It's the pits of the world as "The Great One" used to say. There is no hope in sight. The system refuses to adapt in any way shape or form.
In the latest fiasco of Swedish tennis fortunes Ymer won two qualifying rounds to get into the main draw at Indian Wells. He bet Canadian Peter Polansky, no relation to Roman Polanski, and then he beat the Japanese player Yoshioka Nishioka who is ranked #70 in the world 6-3, 6-1. A pretty good performance relative to their rankings. But as luck would have it Ymer drew Nishioka in the first round of the main draw. Nishioka was a "lucky loser" evidently and he returned the favor to Ymer with a 6-4, 6-1 drubbing. Say good night Elias...say good night Swedish tennis.
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Indian Wells....
Well it is certainly and attractive venue, attractive in the modern sense. By that I mean slick and minimalist. The problem with minimalism is it lacks soul and earthy vitality. I visited a minimalist home a few weeks ago...some tennis parents. The problem is the home told me nothing about who lives there, their character....nothing gets revealed. I found that disheartening for some reason. The sofa looked lovely but was actually very uncomfortable to sit on. Putting looks before comfort has always been a bit weird to me...get your priorities right, please.
A more normal, natural home betrays who lives there; a minimalist home tells you nothing, quite boring actually. Indian Wells has the same effect on me. Pretty and nice to look at...but a bit soulless.
I hear the food is really good though....
Last edited by stotty; 03-09-2017, 04:07 PM.Leave a comment:
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Thanks for kind words don_budge.
I played on the Indian Wells courts last year with fellow tennis player.net contributor Dave Hagler. The courts were slower than your normal hard court and the ball seemed to sail or float an extra few inches on my shots, especially my volleys which if I were on any other court would have landed in.
Courts will be tough proposition for Federer. But looking forward to seeing him in Miami, at sea level.
Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca RatonLeave a comment:
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Wishful thinking my good friend klacr. I follow your trail but Federer doesn't have a taste for this one. Number one...the courts are way too slow to suit his slash and attack mode of play at this point in his career. He is in it for one last hurrah as if the Australian Open title wasn't enough. What a glorious win that was...if only Nadal the skunk had not done his best to muck it up with his match point challenge and his hogging of the microphone at the award ceremony. This should have been Roger's moment...only Roger's.
But Indian Wells is "only" an ATP 1000 and Roger only has eyes for 2000's and above. In fact he has narrowed his sights on two tournaments...Wimbledon and the U. S. Open. A heavy emphasis on Wimbledon. I think the year end in London may be in his sights as well...if he qualifies and he is healthy. It's only Wimbledon now for the Swiss Maestro. That is some four months away and he will stealthily be tracking his target with meticulous preparation. Leaving no stone unturned. He did the same thing for the Australian and played himself into form during the tournament. What a feat. These four months he will be measuring every step in order to arrive on the hallowed grass with the optimal shot at one more Slam. Rest is an important ingredient at this stage of the game...in Federer's world. An early out of Indian Wells will give him more time to rest. Perhaps he will even to lose to Steve Johnson after playing him to the brink like he did in the last tourney in Dubai. After that loss in Dubai what do you think Roger was doing? Plotting. Planning. Preparing. For Wimbledon. By losing to Johnson he avoids a potentially disappointing loss to Nadal in the round of sixteen. Why risk that when he has the psychological advantage after destroying him Down Under in the Finals? Pure speculation...just trying to get into the head of the man...The Living Proof.
You reveal yourself klacr. Your are a classic at heart. Remarkable and a godsend. Tennis is going to need guys like you very shortly. They are going to speed the courts up a notch or two. Mark my words.
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The 5th slam!
Indian Wells Tennis Garden is a sight to behold. The event should be on every tennis fans bucket list. High level tennis in a gorgeous environment.
The bottom quarter of this draw is absolutely stacked. Pity the player that is in that quarter. However, you could make an argument that of all the players in that quarter, there is only one that could get stronger as the competition ratchets up, and thats Federer. He did it Down Under, he can do it in the Desert.
Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton
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2017 BNP Paribas Open...ATP 1000...Indian Wells, California USA (Trump Land)
The ATP website is trumpeting Roger Federer's quarter as the toughest in history. More hyperbole. Fake news is the standard these days. But it's a tough draw and one that Roger will probably let go of without straining his milk.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/score...ells/404/draws
The top half of the draw may well be the most boring in history as the most boring number one ranked player in the world Andy Murray is on top virtually all by himself. I sort of rifled through the draw and didn't see anyone in the top half that should be able to dent the defense of Murray. At least not on paper. You would think that I might mention Stan Wawrinka but Stan is a real disappointment week in and week out. He more or less somehow chooses where he is going to play on a given week and then he has another decision to make. Will he compete?
The bottom half of the draw has a lot of interesting names. Consider these: Marin Cilic (lame #6 seed), Grigor Dimitrov, Sam Querry (beat Thiem, Kyrgios and Nadal last week), Kei Nishikori, Rafael Nadal, Fernando Verdasco, Roger Federer, Nick (The Jerk) Kyrgios, Alexander Zverev, Juan Martin del Potro (The Jolly Green Argentine) and Novak Djokovic.
It's stacked. Unbelievably. I would suggest a redraw.
Last edited by don_budge; 03-08-2017, 05:21 AM.
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