Australian Open 2018

[klacr]

I know you believe but next time I'll post a video. The poor sun-drenched Klacr wouldn't last 5 minutes out there...frostbite before you know it.

Are you going to coach again or put your feet up?

It's great to have Edmund to root for...a Brit. I think he has a chance against Dimitrov.

I do not operate in temperatures below 70 degrees Fahrenheit period! It's amazing to think I lasted and flourished up in Michigan as long as I did.

Congrats to you don_budge for sticking it to the man and coming to peace with your inner worker bee self. Work is great if you love it, but if there are issues with staffing or philosophies, it grinds the gears down to dust.

Happy to see Kyrgios lose. Happier to see Dimitrov dig down deep. Federer's tournament now. Last Aussie is out. Djokovic is intriguing. He looks good but has not really been tested. Would love to see him regain that fire and form so he can take it to Nadal if they ever meet this year throughout the season.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

I believe it...but it's hard to imagine. Amazing...I don't miss it. I still find myself thinking about my students though. I hope for the best for them. I still relish slamming the door right in the collective kisser of my ex-partner and the director. It's their problem now. Coffee and a chocolate biscuit...you deserve it.

I know you believe but next time I'll post a video. The poor sun-drenched Klacr wouldn't last 5 minutes out there...frostbite before you know it.

Are you going to coach again or put your feet up?

It's great to have Edmund to root for...a Brit. I think he has a chance against Dimitrov.

[don_budge]

This morning I worked in rain followed by sleet....can you believe that? 'Only mad dogs and Englishman' is an accurate expression of the Englishman's resolve and determination. I am now sitting inside with a mug of coffee and a chocolate biscuit.

I believe it...but it's hard to imagine. Amazing...I don't miss it. I still find myself thinking about my students though. I hope for the best for them. I still relish slamming the door right in the collective kisser of my ex-partner and the director. It's their problem now. Coffee and a chocolate biscuit...you deserve it.

[don_budge]

Roger Federer versus Anybody is still the pick of the litter...

I watched bits and pieces of Nadal in each of his three matches. The pink...the sleeveless shirt. I like Nick Kyrgios more than I like this character. But he looks like he is a lock to the semifinals where hopefully Nick Kyrgios will be waiting for him. I think it's great that Kyle Edmund is through with a real chance to advance. Great for you Brits. Dominic Thiem should advance to a quarter final showdown with who? Djokovic or Zverev? Does Zverev get past Hyeon Chung who manhandled Daniil Medvedev who was looking pretty formidable.

Just a couple of comments:

Djokovic looked very solid from the baseline. He didn't look rusty to me.

Chung is the one who really looked different. I was so impressed with Sasha last year. Chung completely broke him down from the baseline ... and he doesn't seem to mind following his shots to the net. He moves really well. I thought "Gosh, this is a really solid 170 lb 5' 10" guy with terrific mobility and strenghth" and then I looked it up and saw that he is 6' 2" tall and 192 lbs. This guy is fast, strong and agile. I'm looking forward to that match against Novak and I think we will find out whether Djokovic has his confidence back or not. If he is really struggling with that second serve like he was in earlier matches, Chung will take advantage. I think he hits a bigger ball than Novak. But the question will be if he can do it off a ball as deep as Novak's.

KLACR should be really happy. Berdych routined Del Potro.

don

Ironically the only time that Novak Djokovic and Hyeon Chung have met on the court it was Djokovic winning in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 at the Australian Open in 2016. At the time Hyeon was 19 years old and still wet behind the years as a tennis professional. He turned professional at 17. But here we are two years later and Hyeon is coming off the biggest win of his career arguably and Novak is trying to find his way deep into another Grand Slam after being away from the tour for six months or so.

This guy comes in under the radar as opposed to "Next Generation" poster boys Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev. He played like it too against Zverev. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Ideal psychological space from which to play over your head. Here is another golden opportunity for Chung as he faces the "Meteoric" Djokovic who has been on top of the tennis world for the past five or six years it seems. Chung played a really neat match against Zverev as he seemed to have a definite tactic in mind as he attacked the Zverev forehand to open up the backhand. As tennis_chiro notes...he was not afraid to finish things off at the net and he played a very intelligent match. He finished it off in style with a nice bagel and Zverev looked totally perplexed as to what had just happened to him. It was almost like...how did this guy dare to play that well against me? Doesn't he know who I am?

You won't see any of this attitude from Chung. Not now and not at any time in the future. This guy is as serious as a heart attack. He has been making a bit of a steady climb as he was at #100 or thereabouts last year at this time. Look for this guy to play Novak tough. Two years ago he was actually ranked about the same as he is now...#58. The conditions are different though as Novak may just be under the 100% level and this may just be the crack that Hyeon needs to open the door and come barging in. I watched Novak just a bit against Young, Monfils and Ramos-Vinolas. From what I saw I would say that it was inconclusive but I am tempted to say that he may not be match tough at this point. Working in Novak's favour is that he has had a fairly tame draw and Chung is an unknown quantity in a sense.

I think that these four matches in the fourth round in the bottom half of the draw all have some interesting aspects to them. I think that Thiem versus Sandgren is sort of compelling if for the only reason we have a lone American and another unknown quantity. His name just happens to be Tennys too...was he born to play tennis? Berdych versus Fognini is a marketing dream for the fourth round. These two are 2-2 head to head and it promises to be an interesting match up. Then of course there is Roger Federer versus Anybody...this is always the match of the day. Watching Roger make his way through the draw knowing that he is using every nano of information in his anticipation of going forwards. He is focused in the moment with the plan to always go to the next step. He never gets ahead of himself and deals with the opponent at hand. It may be Fognini or Berdych in the next round but Roger will finish off Anybody before he gives either of the other a second thought. His eye is always on the ball. Except for the split second when it leaves his racquet...he is still looking where the ball was.

[stotty]

Just a couple of comments:

Djokovic looked very solid from the baseline. He didn't look rusty to me.

Chung is the one who really looked different. I was so impressed with Sasha last year. Chung completely broke him down from the baseline ... and he doesn't seem to mind following his shots to the net. He moves really well. I thought "Gosh, this is a really solid 170 lb 5' 10" guy with terrific mobility and strenghth" and then I looked it up and saw that he is 6' 2" tall and 192 lbs. This guy is fast, strong and agile. I'm looking forward to that match against Novak and I think we will find out whether Djokovic has his confidence back or not. If he is really struggling with that second serve like he was in earlier matches, Chung will take advantage. I think he hits a bigger ball than Novak. But the question will be if he can do it off a ball as deep as Novak's.

Finally, I was really hoping some of you would pick up the comment I had in the Segura thread about how his 2hfh was really a lefty 2hbh in structure and no one ever attacks that way with a 2hbh.

don

I haven't seen Chung play yet. I hope he goes out and plays well against Djokovic. A lot of players hit a bigger ball than Djokovic but Djokovic hits such and incredible length once he gets into his rhythm it can negate the bigger hitters or the shotmakers. That coupled with sheer consistentcy is much what Djokovic's game centres around. Plus, he can be a difficult customer to put away.

Roger is the best player in the tournament so far. He's had a dream draw thus far and breezed through as you would expect.

But the real break through has come from Kyle Edmund. He has inched his way forward over the last few years and is playing with real authority and confidence. He can hit his forehand as hard as Roger if not harder and it's a real haymaker.

Kyrgios disappointed me a little but not anywhere near as much as Dimitrov impressed me. I like Dimitrov. He seems a nice lad.

I hadn't finished with the Segura thread and your comments on his two-handed forehand didn't go unnoticed. I have some thoughts on the topic myself and more to add.

This morning I worked in rain followed by sleet....can you believe that? 'Only mad dogs and Englishman' is an accurate expression of the Englishman's resolve and determination. I am now sitting inside with a mug of coffee and a chocolate biscuit.

[stroke]

Grigor had to play very well with extremely hard work defensively to win vs Nick. Grigor, unlike Nick, really comes across well on the court. I do agree with Stotty that Nick would have a better chance of beating Nadal or Roger than Grigor. Grigor just does not match up well vs either.

[don_budge]

"The Jerk" Unraveling?

At 3-3 in the second set Nick Kyrgios tried a worthless "tweener" at 15 all on his serve. Dimitrov smashed the little bunny into next week for a 15-30 advantage on the Kyrgios serve. I started to notice little signs in this service game that Nick might be throwing in the towel. These are the situations where Kyrgios is weak mentally. In five set matches you have to go with the ebb and flow. He doesn't have the patience.

There is no good reason under the sun that a man of Nick Kygios's size and strength needs two hands on the backhand. Whoever developed this player lost a big opportunity to change his destiny by continuing with two hands when he was strong enough to swing with one hand. In this case the two handed paradigm limits the potential of the player as it does so much in the modern game. Advantage Roger Federer.

[don_budge]

Very pleased indeed with the Berdych performance. He keeps that up and Federer will have some issues against it.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Take it easy boys. Both players still have a match to win. At least Berdych does. Fabio "Fabulous" Fognini is no push over when he has his head on straight. Head to head they are 2-2...this should be a very interesting match. Berdych did have a huge win over Del Potro...straight sets against Juan Martin in a Grand Slam is no small feat.

[klacr]

Just a couple of comments:

Federer's backhand looked as good against Gasquet as I have ever seen it. Awfully comfortable. Complete control going down the line off the crosscourt.

Djokovic looked very solid from the baseline. He didn't look rusty to me.

Chung is the one who really looked different. I was so impressed with Sasha last year. Chung completely broke him down from the baseline ... and he doesn't seem to mind following his shots to the net. He moves really well. I thought "Gosh, this is a really solid 170 lb 5' 10" guy with terrific mobility and strenghth" and then I looked it up and saw that he is 6' 2" tall and 192 lbs. This guy is fast, strong and agile. I'm looking forward to that match against Novak and I think we will find out whether Djokovic has his confidence back or not. If he is really struggling with that second serve like he was in earlier matches, Chung will take advantage. I think he hits a bigger ball than Novak. But the question will be if he can do it off a ball as deep as Novak's.

KLACR should be really happy. Berdych routined Del Potro.

I'm taking Nadal over Cilic, Kyrgios over Edmund, Chung over Thiem and Federer over Berdych. Federer over Nadal again in the final. The backhand has changed. You had to hear him talk about how it took 14 years for him to learn it in the post match interview. He believes in it now. Sad he would not choose to teach it to his kids.

on a different note, I really enjoyed the fight in the Halep/Davis match. They both gave everything; but I thought Davis blinked a couple of times late when she had 15-30 in the match game twice after 10-10; I'm not sure which games but I'm pretty sure it happened twice. And both times she had a medium to short ball on the second or third shot that she didn't attack as she had a few times earlier in the set. And it cost her. But what an effort...for both of them. But at 5' 1", Lauren Davis is amazing, and she attacks the net!

Finally, I was really hoping some of you would pick up the comment I had in the Segura thread about how his 2hfh was really a lefty 2hbh in structure and no one ever attacks that way with a 2hbh.

don

Very pleased indeed with the Berdych performance. He keeps that up and Federer will have some issues against it.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[gzhpcu]

Diego Schwartzman, who is only 170 cm tall, played a fantastic match against Nadal in a cliffhanger of a match. He hits very hard and is a fantastic retriever. Some of his second serves are only 135 kmh, but he still managed to ace Nadal, who stands ridiculously far back, even for a little guy who rarely serves faster than 170 kmh.

[stotty]

A great win for Kyle Edmund. He is playing rock solid and has the guns to rouble Kyrgios should he play him in the next round. Kyrgios has the trickiest draw if he's going to make through.

[don_budge]

Tennys Anyone?

The last of the Americans...the last of the Mohicans. Tennys anyone? As in Tennys Sandgren. I don't know that I have heard anything about this guy...certainly not all that much. But here he is in the round of sixteen facing thew wonder kind named Dominic Thiem. Best of luck to you Mr. Tennys. Dominic Thiem is another of these young wonder kids...the Next Generation that was over hyped too soon. The extra hype plays havoc on your psyche. Somehow it gives you a sense of entitlement which is the kiss of death on the professional tennis tour. The opponent senses it and it gives him that motivational edge which can get him over the top in a tight duel. Ask Alexander Zverev about this psychic phenomena. Does he understand what has happened to him and does he have the answer to get over it? Existential questions. Before it was a question of when young Zverev was going to win his first Grand Slam. To me the question is always "will he win a Grand Slam"?

In this regard Tennys has a little bit of a motivational advantage and he should feel as if he has nothing to lose. This is an occasion for him to play the match of his life. Get loose and stay loose. A good tactical plan in the bag is absolutely necessary. Go out and play with an idea in mind. How best to elicit errors from "Next Generation" Dominic Thiem. Put pressure on him is absolutely essential so that he might start to feel the expectations of those premature accolades. Thiem seems to be a bit more resistant to the problem than Zverev. Zverev seems fragile mentally to me. The smashing of racquets is a giveaway. There is no call for this type of behaviour from a true champion. Very few can afford this type of lapse of concentration.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/...lian-open-2018

While a win for Tennys may not make American tennis great again (MATGA) it certainly won't hurt. I was impressed with Tennys' down the line backhand. This will be a great starting point in his tactical approach against Thiem. In given situations he should elect to go down the line to press the issue instead of the safer cross court into the strength of the Thiem backhand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koNCsKxWZeE

[tennis_chiro]

Just a couple of comments:

Federer's backhand looked as good against Gasquet as I have ever seen it. Awfully comfortable. Complete control going down the line off the crosscourt.

Djokovic looked very solid from the baseline. He didn't look rusty to me.

Chung is the one who really looked different. I was so impressed with Sasha last year. Chung completely broke him down from the baseline ... and he doesn't seem to mind following his shots to the net. He moves really well. I thought "Gosh, this is a really solid 170 lb 5' 10" guy with terrific mobility and strenghth" and then I looked it up and saw that he is 6' 2" tall and 192 lbs. This guy is fast, strong and agile. I'm looking forward to that match against Novak and I think we will find out whether Djokovic has his confidence back or not. If he is really struggling with that second serve like he was in earlier matches, Chung will take advantage. I think he hits a bigger ball than Novak. But the question will be if he can do it off a ball as deep as Novak's.

KLACR should be really happy. Berdych routined Del Potro.

I'm taking Nadal over Cilic, Kyrgios over Edmund, Chung over Thiem and Federer over Berdych. Federer over Nadal again in the final. The backhand has changed. You had to hear him talk about how it took 14 years for him to learn it in the post match interview. He believes in it now. Sad he would not choose to teach it to his kids.

on a different note, I really enjoyed the fight in the Halep/Davis match. They both gave everything; but I thought Davis blinked a couple of times late when she had 15-30 in the match game twice after 10-10; I'm not sure which games but I'm pretty sure it happened twice. And both times she had a medium to short ball on the second or third shot that she didn't attack as she had a few times earlier in the set. And it cost her. But what an effort...for both of them. But at 5' 1", Lauren Davis is amazing, and she attacks the net!

Finally, I was really hoping some of you would pick up the comment I had in the Segura thread about how his 2hfh was really a lefty 2hbh in structure and no one ever attacks that way with a 2hbh.

don

[stotty]

Yes...about closing that door. I actually slammed it right in their faces. Went out with a bang. My partner was a thorn in my side for five years. But I had to eat...know what I mean. I put up with the nonsense and kept my nose to the grindstone. Showed up every day devoted to teaching the game of tennis. This guy, along with the director, of the club were expendable in my world so I got myself "into position" and delivered the knockout. The only revenge in life is success so they can have their little stupid club and I passed through the opening door. As I said it was fraught with obstacles but solving them only improved my situation. It's all about attitude. A little luck doesn't hurt. Actually I have to admit my faith in God seemed to deliver me. Going backwards is to play it safe. They offered me a nice little package. Too late. To be honest I don't miss it...not a bit. The new door is a wonderful opportunity. To go forwards is to grow. I am grateful for this.

I remember years ago when the company that I worked for for twenty five years was going to change hands to a Russian company...they let me go the day before the sale was to be consummated. The two women managers sat across the table giving me the news and I only looked at them. I had a vision of Jesus on the cross...my suffering was nothing I told myself. I silently sat their observing the conniving bitches. They asked me if there wasn't anything I wanted to say to them. I asked them if it would make any difference. The bitches looked at each other. I was way too strong to do what they wanted me to do...to break down. I looked them in the eye. I've had my revenge...in spades.

The next day I woke up and said to myself..."thank you Lord that I never have to return to that God forsaken place." It was much the same this time. Good bye...see you never. They are in the rearview and it will be left to them to sort it out. My retirement benefits amount to 190% of what I was making. A paid vacation for life. The door is opening...I am peering in.

I left tennis once upon a time. Twice upon a time actually. I have no problem turning my back and walking in the opposite direction. North means cold. That's true. Most people head for the heat...which is why I would choose once again the road less traveled. We will see. We shall see.

Meanwhile Roger has once again shredded Gasquet for the first set...6-2. It's a great matchup for Federer. He probes...he spars. He keeps the unrelenting pressure on. It starts with his service game. It is immaculate. Then he just goes to work on the opponents service game. He's tactically superior to all of the rest. Not to mention technically.

Berdych over Del Potro. Straight sets. Another great matchup for Federer...but Berdych has always been a tough opponent for Roger. I look forwards to watching that.

Life is funnier than shit? I don't know. Some movies would like you to think so. Once Upon a Time in America?

Correct about the movie.

Berdych will fall in exactly the same way Gasquet did. I get fed up of watching these guys fall for the umpteenth time against either Nadal, Roger or Rafa. It's a forgone conclusion 98% of the time, which is why I am rooting for Kyrgios....for some entertainment, nothing else.

I intend to move south when the day comes to put my feet up. I get tired of the wind and the cold. I am lucky because I work a true 'tennis player's club' where members play in all weathers no matter how cold it gets. This morning I worked all morning in light rain. Yesterday I worked all day with the temperature of just above zero. That's my lot in terms of working environment. Of course, in spring and summer it's lovely most of the time. I guess Klacr spends much of the day cooking in high humidity. It's what you get used I guess.

The tournament hasn't caught light yet for me. We need a good match up...a hum dinging five setter somewhere along the way. I watched a bit of Novak before going to work this morning. I was hoping he would be more aggressive coming back from injury and now he's entered his 30s. But no, he was playing identically to how he's always played with not even the slightest change in game style or tactically, at least not from the 5 or 6 games I watched.

[don_budge]

I am rooting for Kyrgios. That is how desperate I am for change. I'm glad he beat Tsonga, because Tsonga, like all the other household top twenty names of the past 10 years, isn't going to spring any surprises or had a hope in hell of winning the tournament. Kyrgios, by contrast, is afraid of no one and could beat anyone, even Roger. There is excitement in that...suspense...a thrill in not knowing who will win if he plays Nadal, Roger or Novak. At least Kyrgios has that going for him.

I'm rooting for him too...but not unconditionally. I am rooting for him to show and man up. If he pulls one of his no-shows he is digging a bigger hole for himself. A leopard cannot change his spots and I am skeptical if Kyrgios can. He is an absolute freak of his own psychic weakness. stroke pegs him pretty much for what he is. He is weak psychologically and hasn't shown much except in a handful of difficult situations. I had his match with Federer in the Miami semis as the best of three set match of 2017. If he was consistent in this sort of effort level he would be a real handful for anyone on any given day. Unfortunately his attention span is like scatter shot. There are a lot of holes in his psyche.

He is at home "Down Under" and he has Rod Laver in his corner. Unfortunately he is fretting over the attention he gets from a Hollywood type such as Will Smith. Kyrgios is a HotDog with a capital "H". His arrogance reveals that he thinks he is bigger than the game itself. This is a fundamental error in attitude. Without respect and passion what is there to fall back on. Slippery sand.

This will be a big moment for him against Dimitrov. Dimitrov is not playing particularly well as the over rated third seed. He is having problems with his backhand as I suspect he is trying to strengthen his grip ala his original. But the clone does not have a feel for it and he is really struggling with it. I watched a no name American, Mackenzie McDonald, push him to five sets by pressuring the backhand side of Dimitrov. Dimitrov didn't look at all comfortable coming over the ball and sliced most of the time. I didn't see much of the Rublev match to see if he had settled down on the backhand side. It will be interesting to see if Kyrgios can get himself interested here to keep the pressure on Dimitrov. The match is scheduled for 9 AM here in Europe. I will be there if it is interesting.

I call him "The Jerk" but it doesn't mean I couldn't like him. But he must show some respect for the game, people watching and his opponent before I could get very interested in him. Otherwise he is free to act like a jerk and be a liability to the game.