2017 Nitto ATP Finals...ATP points award...London, Great Britain

[don_budge]

i would not bet on it either(or concede any Slam to them). I just enjoy talking tennis on a message board here that is not TW.

I enjoy talking tennis too. Always enjoy everyone who makes a positive contribution here and isn't afraid to back it up. It reminds me of something honest.

Sorry to keep banging on about Roger but he has been fascinating me of late.

Who else is there to bang on. Here's some of the video. I've had it on my screen for the past 24 hours. I forgot to post it. It was frozen at the 3.33 mark with Pete Sampras in "trophy position". Man...it's just like I teach it. His racquet is just about to fall behind his back and there is going to be a tremendous explosion at the top of his swing in about one nanosecond. But check out the play and answer me one question. Has the game evolved...or devolved?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tZkFioc_QU

[gzhpcu]

Actually, I found the Goffin - Dimitrov match quite suspenseful. Goffin, 11 cm shorter than his adversary, was surprisingly the attacker, and Dimitrov the defender. The outcome was uncertain up to the very last. Dimitrov has an excellent slice defensive backhand. Time will tell if they live up to expectations.

[stroke]

I remember seeing Goffin play Novak, I think it was court 3(unreserved seats) in Cincinnati in 2013. He was unknown at the time and I remember thinking what a smooth game he had. On a side note, I met and chatted briefly with John Yandell at that tournament, who was there filming.

[arturohernandez]

Great matches! I think Fed was just not 100%. At 36 he is going to have off days and another WTF is not high on the list.

Goffin was smooth as silk and willing to attack.

Goffin is the aggressor and Dimitrov was playing defense. That is the main reason that Dimitrov never lived up to his Baby Fed nickname.

He is similar in strokes but not in temperament.

I remember talking to Peter Lundgren about the future generation a few years ago on a chance meeting at a tournament.

At the time we thought Dimitrov might be the next big player.

Lundgren said only positive things and ended with "really nice guy."

I am not saying he is not a fighter or will dig deep.

But I don't get the sense that he is the aggressor in the way the Big 3 are.

Maybe a little too nice in the end.

I also noticed that Dimitrov has a very loopy backhand.

Maybe it was the warmer climate and the slow courts he grew up on.

Whereas Fed spent a lot of winters indoors on fast carpet.

[stroke]

Grigor to me cannot take the ball early as Fed does off either side, even though his grips and hitting arm structure seem identical. Still a very impressive win for him at this tournament. He worked very hard in all his matches, played to win all sets and points, and was definitely willing to put in all in work wise defensively. The Sock match was a perfect example of a player(Sock) who was not willing or just did not feel like going all in all match. Sock and Grigor played a great match to watch, great shot making and movement from both players. Sock won the 1st set, his forehand being the biggest shot on the court. He fell behind early in the 2nd, broken early, and just was not feeling going all in at all, and just lost the 2nd set 6-0. After all, he won the 1st so he can just crank it back up in the 3rd. Sock did just that, and it was a great 3rd set, but a couple of net cords here and there went Grigor's way, and eventually, the 3rd set went his way. Roger or Nadal, or any player that wants to give himself the best chance of winning, does not do what Sock did in the 2nd set.

[stotty]

Grigor to me cannot take the ball early as Fed does off either side, even though his grips and hitting arm structure seem identical. Still a very impressive win for him at this tournament. He worked very hard in all his matches, played to win all sets and points, and was definitely willing to put in all in work wise defensively. The Sock match was a perfect example of a player(Sock) who was not willing or just did not feel like going all in all match. Sock and Grigor played a great match to watch, great shot making and movement from both players. Sock won the 1st set, his forehand being the biggest shot on the court. He fell behind early in the 2nd, broken early, and just was not feeling going all in at all, and just lost the 2nd set 6-0. After all, he won the 1st so he can just crank it back up in the 3rd. Sock did just that, and it was a great 3rd set, but a couple of net cords here and there went Grigor's way, and eventually, the 3rd set went his way. Roger or Nadal, or any player that wants to give himself the best chance of winning, does not do what Sock did in the 2nd set.

I didn't see the match save the last couple of games. The very last shot Dimitrov played was the classic way to play the modern player. Dimitrov knifed a sliced backhand down the line and Sock couldn't get his forehand underneath it. He netted it. I saw Tommy Haas do that time and again to Djokovic once. Haas was a hair from winning that match. The strong western grip finds that shot a real conundrum to deal with - checkmate.

[gzhpcu]

Stotty, the match point against Goffin was similar, except that Goffin was at the net...

[don_budge]

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/...ew-tuesday-atp

There has been celebrating in the Grigor Dimitrov camp I am sure. Well deserved but caution fellows...keep it in perspective. It was a depleted field and a strange tournament once Roger Federer capitulated to David Goffin.

It will be very interesting to watch Dimitrov as he tries to step out of the "Baby Fed" syndrome once and for all. The psychology of a big win cuts both ways. I can induce a false sense of complacency or it can inspire. Once you take a big one home the rest of the field sets their sights squarely between your shoulder blades. It's pressure and everyone handles it differently.

We have discussed Grigor Dimitrov quite a bit on this forum so he has been on our radar screen. He managed to dodge both Nadal and Federer in this tourney. I guess the next stop is the 2018 Australian Open...the scene of Roger's resurgence last year. Anybody out there believe that either Federer or his clone can take this one home? I have my doubts.

[stroke]

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/...ew-tuesday-atp

There has been celebrating in the Grigor Dimitrov camp I am sure. Well deserved but caution fellows...keep it in perspective. It was a depleted field and a strange tournament once Roger Federer capitulated to David Goffin.

It will be very interesting to watch Dimitrov as he tries to step out of the "Baby Fed" syndrome once and for all. The psychology of a big win cuts both ways. I can induce a false sense of complacency or it can inspire. Once you take a big one home the rest of the field sets their sights squarely between your shoulder blades. It's pressure and everyone handles it differently.

We have discussed Grigor Dimitrov quite a bit on this forum so he has been on our radar screen. He managed to dodge both Nadal and Federer in this tourney. I guess the next stop is the 2018 Australian Open...the scene of Roger's resurgence last year. Anybody out there believe that either Federer or his clone can take this one home? I have my doubts.

Fed will probably be at least a co-favorite with Nadal. Probably the smart money will not be with either.