2018 U. S. Open Championships...ATP 2000...New York, New York U. S. A.

[gzhpcu]

Good to see Stan the Man winning again. Beautuful backhand.

[stotty]

Interesting comparison...

It's an understandable comparison. Both men are so talented. Nastase was ridiculously talented in my view. I think Nick has more metal than Nasty had, although Nastase really wanted to prove himself by going all the way and winning a slam, which he did, twice. I am not sure Nick wants to do that, but he could surprise if he finds himself deep in a grand slam draw at some point.

Nastase was a nervous wreck whereas I don't think Nick is. Psychologically that's the key difference between the two men when it comes to playing matches.

Nastase was lovely to watch live. He could steer the ball around like no one else. What a waste of a talent he was! But at least he achieved a few good things. I am not sure Nick will.

I doubt there is much between the ears of either man.

[stroke]

I think that match is going to happen in round 3, and it could be something. Roger does not often get perturbed out there, but Nick can certainly do it with his "I can decide to try when I want to and still win the match" attitude. Nick really looked good in his 1st round win vs Albot. His serve and shotmaking power were on full display. I have never seen anything like it, the combo of serve, forehand, backhand, and touch. We all know about his serve(maybe best on tour), but I think his forehand is one of the best on tour also, right behind Nadal and Fed, and right there with Sock, Del Po, and Verdasco. BTW, Luke Jensen did the commentary on Nick's match via ESPN and I thought he did a great job. He likened Nick's demeanor and talent to Nastase. Needless to say, he likes Nick.

[stotty]

I have Europlayer but it doesn't seem to be showing the tennis in my region.

This is Amazon's first stab at live tennis. You would think with all the examples out there they might make a better job of it. I am not impressed. I did see the tail end of the Novak match but by that time all the drama was over and Novak just steamrollered over his opponent.

I just hope Roger's date with the devil comes about in round three.

[stroke]

I have been there in the past. Being stuck with the networks choice of which match to televise is not good.

[gzhpcu]

Stotty, have you tried using the Eurosport Player app, if you have an iPad?

[stotty]

Novak rights the ships and prevails in the end. Great to see Stan upend Dimitrov. Shame the Shapovaloz match ended with Auger-Aliasamme retiring...that was looking interesting.

Nothing to dramatic happening so far. All the usual suspects seems to be pulling though round one.

[stotty]

Unfortunately I am watching though Amazon Prime which does't give the viewer a choice of matches, which is a downer.

Novak seems to be struggling according to the radio commentary...stomach trouble apparently. That could be a problem because the guy he is playing is no mug, I've watched him play before. He's just the sort of player who could knock Novak of if he's under par...interesting.

[stroke]

Novak seems to be in quite a match vs Fucsovics, ranked 41 in world. Fucsovics has a big forehand and seems to not be intimidated playing Novak.

[arturohernandez]

It looks to be a great first week. Lots of questions:

1) Was Roger just saving himself? Most importantly, can he save himself and peak in the best tournaments?

2) Is Djokovic all the way back? He peaked for Wimbledon, can he peak again?

3) Nadal looked great against Ferrer (sad the way the match ended). Will he defend his US Open trophy?

4) Another big unknown is the Stanimal. He looks to be hitting heavy ground strokes again. The surface is playing slow. Maybe it will be Stan that repeats?

5) Can someone finally breakthrough and win one at a younger age? Tsitispas, Zverev, someone else?

[stotty]

Watching the match, it sure did seem to me that Roger was reallly invested in trying to win it. I also think Roger would have really enjoyed denying Novak the last crown of his now completed Masters 1000 titles set.

I felt the same. He wanted it all right. The standard Novak played at was higher than any of Roger's other opponents that week. When I say say higher, I mean not just in quality of shot, but in matchplay. Everything came back, most of Roger's serves were returned and many of his best shots came back too. Novak was relentlessly consistent and that's what breaks opponents down. Above all, Novak controlled his own service games beautifully and his second serve was a revelation. Roger just folded under the strain in the end.

But Roger was a tad off all that week. Normally his basic form hardly alters, but not that week. I just got the impression his best days might be over.

This US Open will tell us more. But I have this feeling Roger could exit early.

[stroke]

Watching the match, it sure did seem to me that Roger was reallly invested in trying to win it. I also think Roger would have really enjoyed denying Novak the last crown of his now completed Masters 1000 titles set.

[don_budge]

Federer in an interview said he really played badly in Cincinatti and was rather tired. He is confident he will play well in New York. Says he feels fit again.

His game had a really funny look to it against Djokovic. A possible semi-tank. Tired? Possible. How does one ever get used to the ever changing time-zones? Hope he gets his beauty rest because there isn't going to many breaks at this point forwards. The possible third round match with Nick "Vanilla Ice" Kyrgios is a fascinating prospect. But both players are going to have to get there first. But if they get there...can you see five tie-breakers?

[don_budge]

Nadal playing Ferrer in 1st round is also an interesting match. Ferrer is a shadow of his past self but no doubt he will give everything he's got for one last battle. Wawrinka and Dimitrov will be a joy to watch. I ran into DImitrov's coach Daniel Vallverdu yesterday on W 57th street outside the Park Hyatt in NYC. I wished him and his player good luck but my heart is with Wawrinka. Dimitrov has the good looks and the Hollywood vibes, Stan is a blue collar kind of guy.

On another note, check out two female players that have been working with a coach on my staff (Julian Alonso) and myself at my club in prep for the US Open. One girl Georgina Garcia Perez lost in final round of qualies in 3rd set and the other one Arantxa Rus is playing Cibulkova in the first round.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

I saw that one too. Nadal versus Ferrer. I can't imagine it amounting to much other than a good sound shellacking of the "EveryReady Energizor Bunny". Ferrer doesn't have what he used to have in infatigueable stamina. Nadal on the other hand appears to be in absolutely top form.

Playing one's own countrymen can be a bit tricky but it won't get in the way of the deeply experienced Nadal. Shapovalov on the other hand just might find he has his hands full with Felix Auger-Aliassime if Felix can bring inspiration into the equation and Shapovalov gets tentative. That would be a recipe for trouble for Denis "The Menace". Feliciano Lopez versus Fernando Verdasco is another case of national versus national. While Lopez actually owns a 5-4 advantage head to head Verdasco has the 31st seed. Lefty versus lefty is always interesting...to bad we cannot watch this one in the mirror.

Daniil Medvedev versus Evgeny Donskoy pits a couple of those pesky Ruskies against one another. Medvedev is a streaky player and is fresh off of an ATP tournament win in Winston Salem. The winner plays the winner of Tommy Robredo and none other than "Kid Galahad" Tsipsipas. The plot subtly develops. Such as it is with these things. You know every picture tells a story. The draw sheet at the beginning, right from the very beginning to the bitter end tells a huge story. Triumph and disaster throughout. Smiles and tears. The two masks of great drama.

Scroll down a couple of matches or if you are in PDF mode just peer down. It is John Isner and Bradly Klahn out to make America great again...on the tennis scene. I just past Wawrinka and Dimitrov on my way down...a donnybrook in the first round. Unbelievable it has occurred in two consecutive Grand Slam events. Next ultra national matchup is little, tiny Diego Schwartzman against fellow Argentine Federico Delbonis. A couple of Spaniards go toe to toe in another first rounder in Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Jaume Munar. Looking further it is Yannick Hanfmann and Phillip Kohlschreiber slugging it out right in the beginning...probably on some back court with a handful of Germans watching for good measure.

There seems to be a move towards more nationalistic views these days. In Europe you here a lot of politicians talking about the "Trump Effect". It's probably nothing...certainly nothing with these first round match-ups. I could live with an all Swiss Final in the end. The odds on that...are probably astronomical. But first Stan must club the Bulgarian Playboy into submission. Grigor is currently dating a gal a bit older than him. A good choice after the female fiasco's in not so Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. At least it is probably quieter in the bedroom as the two former girlfriends have quite a reputation for screaming you know.

[don_budge]

I will be watching Zverev with interest. As don_budge has suggested in the past, he needs to curb his petulance at times. Novak has outbursts, as did McEnroe, but they channel their anger. Zvarev tends to lose control of himself and his game when he flies off the handle...big difference.

I would pick Wawrinka over Dimitrov in their first round encounter, but it's one hell of a first round match.

Other than the first round, none of Roger's matches will be easy if he is a little off form like in Cincinnati.

Alexander is turning into a head case if you ask me. Not that there is anything really wrong with him other than he needs help. Probably an intervention of some type. Maybe he needs to break free from the family shackles or turn more to big bro than papa bear. Zverev is having enormous difficulty staying in the moment. He worries about the outcomes on the court on a minutia scale. The big picture has become unrealistic. His expectations are exceeding his performances now and have been for some time. Too much pressure on the young man and not enough attention being paid to the root cause of his problems...inadequacies in his game. Weaknesses. Word travels fast on the tour and his forehand is being exploited by some rather cagey opponents.

Trust me...I have nothing against him succeeding. He needs an attitude adjustment. It might be difficult for Dad to do this at this point.