2019 New York Open...ATP 250...New York, New York

[don_budge]

The NY Open is also going on this week. Tomic plays Isner tonight. Isner is the #1 seed there. I still have not given up on Tomic. I like his game a lot.

By no means give up on Bernard Tomic. There is a lot to like about his game but it is the lack of a "killer attitude" that prevents him from getting to the next level. He just cannot seem to want it bad enough. Bernard reached a certain level and for sure it took a lot of hard work to get there, but there just doesn't seem to be anything left. He seems to have reached his limit...his comfort zone. He can travel the world making appearances in these event and make a living at it. Sure beats having a real job. Particularly with his attitude. It takes a lot energy to conform and go to the same job every day. You have to be a real Gumby.

One other name of interest here seeing as we gave him a pretty good going over during the Australian Open. None other than Frances Tiafoe.

The question of coachable with regards to Frances Tiafoe. The Hawaiian forehand grip. That is a new one on me. That means western some 2,500 miles west of California. Now that is one extreme western forehand grip. Too extreme? Maybe not the way the game is played on gritty surfaces that grab the ball that way that they do. What to do?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Tiafoe

Let's try to see this from Frances' eyes. His parents on immigrants from some God forsaken place that was in the midst of a civil war. Dad moves to the States and he gets a job at a tennis centre where he is provided living quarters for his twin infant sons and himself. Rather humble beginnings. Young Frances takes up the game at his Dad's work site and lo and behold by the time he is twenty-one years old he has made it to the quarters of a Grand Slam at the Australian Open. Is he coachable?

From some God-forsaken place? Sierra Leonean. That's where. Mr. Tiafoe had a lot of success at that 2019 Australian Open and it will be interesting to see how he reacts to the extra attention that goes along with the territory. But if we can see it through this young man's eyes it appears that he has nothing to lose. His work ethic is legendary as a youngster and there is no reason to believe that he will simply get tired or spoiled at this critical point in his career. No...he has his eyes on a top ten ATP ranking. I'll bet you a dollar he is aiming higher than that. Top five maybe. Through attrition in four of five years he might realistically be in the neighbourhood of that idea.

But let's just slow this thing down a bit. Take a look at Bernard Tomic and always assess the attitude. Also is there anything in his game that limits him from the getting to the next level other than a rather funky attitude. He and soul mate Nick "The Jerk" Kyrgios. Frances Tiafoe on the other hand has no such problem. This fellow has simply nothing to lose. Ever. He knows what it is to be a down and outer. Hell...he was born into that. But he worked his way up. He chewed his way up the food chain. Don't look now but this refugee is #29 in the ATP rankings and he is still hungry. Here he has a great chance to go deep into the New York Open draw.

The New York Open in New York, New York. That is certainly a lot of York's. Interesting story...I journeyed to Helsinki, Finland to meet a lady about a wolf dog. His name is York. Five hour drive to Stockholm and then twelve hour crossing over the sea by ferry. Brutally hot weather...sea as smooth as glass. You could water ski on it no problem. I got the boy on a leash and we were waiting to return to Sweden when this rather "homeless" individual was poking around in the trash looking for some edible. I assume. Bottles perhaps? But anyways this fellow was looking rather in rough shape...it seems that half of his head of hair had been shaved at some point. But he was very, very curious about my boy York for some reason. He spoke to me in English...it wasn't half bad. He was wearing a shirt that was printed..."Los York...New Angeles". Strange don't you think so? A month later President Trump was in Helsinki with a historical meeting with President Putin. Just connecting dots...you know.

[bottle]

Huh?

[don_budge]

The NY Open is also going on this week. Tomic plays Isner tonight. Isner is the #1 seed there. I still have not given up on Tomic. I like his game a lot.

Bernard Tomic dispatched in straight sets. Actually what Tomic needs is a couple of guys in his corner like you. I'll bet everyone has just about given up on him. It's hard to take him seriously. If he doesn't take himself seriously then what is going to come of that? I think that one thing that you like about him is that he is tactical. In his case he is another guy who should have been a one-handed backhand. No reason for a man of his size to need the extra hand on the other side.

Sort of looking forwards to Francis Tiafoe's results. Otherwise it is past my bedtime to watch his match against this mystery player.

[don_budge]

Sort of looking forwards to Francis Tiafoe's results. Otherwise it is past my bedtime to watch his match against this mystery player.

The match comes on at 1.30 AM here in Sweden. There is no way I will see any of it.

[stroke]

Bernard Tomic dispatched in straight sets. Actually what Tomic needs is a couple of guys in his corner like you. I'll bet everyone has just about given up on him. It's hard to take him seriously. If he doesn't take himself seriously then what is going to come of that? I think that one thing that you like about him is that he is tactical. In his case he is another guy who should have been a one-handed backhand. No reason for a man of his size to need the extra hand on the other side.

Sort of looking forwards to Francis Tiafoe's results. Otherwise it is past my bedtime to watch his match against this mystery player.

that could be part of it, I just like his game. It is a shame he does not seem to like it.

[don_budge]

Sort of looking forwards to Francis Tiafoe's results. Otherwise it is past my bedtime to watch his match against this mystery player.

It would be shocking if it weren't for me posting about this difficulty of young players dealing with the marquis of "expectations". Here is the latest to be struck down. Tiafoe goes down to the #140 something player in the world. Jung? I watched the highlights and it was strange to see Francis look so lethargic. It looked like "that deer in the headlights look".

[stroke]

It would be shocking if it weren't for me posting about this difficulty of young players dealing with the marquis of "expectations". Here is the latest to be struck down. Tiafoe goes down to the #140 something player in the world. Jung? I watched the highlights and it was strange to see Francis look so lethargic. It looked like "that deer in the headlights look".

It is unbelievably difficult to get to #1. It is even harder to stay there. There are not many Lendl's, Sampras', Federer's, Nadal's, or Djokovic's. Heck, look what happened to Wilander when he finally arrived and he was a great player. As you say, expectations.

[bottle]

Catnip for Another Hissy-fit?

Echolalia? The Sharks or the Jets? A beagle? No, a bichon frisee.

[don_budge]

It is unbelievably difficult to get to #1. It is even harder to stay there. There are not many Lendl's, Sampras', Federer's, Nadal's, or Djokovic's. Heck, look what happened to Wilander when he finally arrived and he was a great player. As you say, expectations.

No kidding. Those names managed to separate themselves from the herd somehow. I think a lot of it has to do with how they were or are wired. It's a question of hunger or in other words passion for the sport.

My coach, Sherm Collins of Dearborn, Michigan notability, was an excellent source of tennis knowledge. I swear if I ever would have had the opportunity to play any competitive tennis and I could pick a coach he would have been it. I remember him telling me about the peaks and valleys that go with the developmental process. Notice how the second have of the work "developmental" is "mental".

Psychologically guys that we have been discussing like Stefanos Tsitsipas, Francis Tiafoe, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and the like are all fundamentally different as individuals and they all handle the pressure and responsibility of climbing the ladder differently. But there seems to be a bit of a pattern in that they sort of shoot up for a while and then they hit a plateau or even a bit of a valley. The key is to minimise these phases and begin to climb again.

It's a tough racquet this tennis gig. I was really impressed with Andre Agassi's and Jimmy Connors' books as they related the hardships and disappointments of getting to the top and staying there. There are a couple of more players to add to your elite list. But once these younger guys reach the #20 or better rankings they have to have the confidence that the guys ranked in the 40's and 50's and 60's are going to be cat food for them. The problem is that their games are fundamentally incomplete and they don't really do anything fundamentally differently than the rest. But at the point that they hit one of these "plateaus" they should be taking a hard look at possible weak links in their games and strive to strengthen them.

Tsitsipas in this regard has a lot of potential because of the style of his play. Right off the bat one can see that the serve can be a much bigger weapon and even the forehand could use some tinkering. The rest of the lot I am not certain what exactly they should do. Alexander, for instance, seems to have hit a brick wall as opposed to a plateau. He still struggles with players ranked significantly lower than him. Tiafoe found out the very same issue last night as he lost to a fellow that I had never even heard of.

There is a lot of discussion about technique on this forum and not so much of the tactics and match play psychology. Thinking about the word developmental and the mental trunk of it leads me to believe that this part of the game is being underestimated. Not by me of course. That is the point of my posting these tournaments and trying to get into the heads of the players. To me this is the most fascinating part of the game. Technique is certainly an important aspect of the game but is only a means to the end. Not the end itself. Tactics and match play psychology is where it's at.

[bottle]

Tactics and match play psychology is where it's at.

This is the default and I would like to say cliched position of almost every teaching pro I have ever encountered or met. But the most exceptional ones like Brian, Tomaz Mencinger at Feel Tennis or the late Tom Stow are very good at explaining technique and always advance the entire package. So what is this constant disparagement of technique all about? It is a transparent effort by bad teaching pros to keep the stroke part all to themselves. "I know this stuff and you don't, so listen to me and bend your knees-- that will be 98 dollars, please."