2019 Western & Southern Open...ATP 1000...Cincinnati, USA

[stotty]

When the big three are gone, I think there will be no consistent dominant players anymore. A different winner for each big tournament. A lottery. Zerev goes out early, Kyrgios out already...

Someone might emerge over the next year or two. FAA looks a reasonable bet if he can improve his serve and a few other bits and bobs. Kyrgios is definitely good enough but has mental health issues. Zverev suffers from anxiety and unless he can get over it, it looks like he might not happen. Stephanos is still feeling his way around the upper echelons of the circuit and the jury is still out on him.

Sampras once said, once you get up there it's about figuring the game out.

[don_budge]

Match of the Day: Roger Federer versus Anybody...(Andrey Rublev)

Some talk here in the thread about who is going to inherit the mantel. I've got news for you...nobody. As it looks now. There is hardly a single player that you can sit down and watch an entire match while staying conscious. Strangely enough this is at a time when the world's number one player just happens to be the most boring number one player ever. At least that I can remember. But never fear...Roger is in the house and once again his match is the match of the day.

As I type on my "warrior's keyboard" I tried to watch a bit of Nishioka and "The Demon". It is not watchable. On another screen I had Richard Gasquet and Little Diego Schartzman. I saw some of the tie-breaker in the first set and that is just about enough of those two. Nick Kyrgios is becoming a can't miss character but for all of the wrong reasons. Last night I woke in the middle of the night and watch Nick come back from 3-5 down to take the first set in a tie-breaker. Hoping this is a sign that he is turning the corner and growing up I saw that there was more disturbing behaviour from the dysfunctional Aussie. Dysfunctional in the sense that after all he is a professional tennis player but every time he hits the pavement he is an accident waiting to happen. After showing a bit of guts in the first set he finished off the match by showing his ass in the third. Another confrontation with a hapless umpire and Nick bows out without a whimper. Maybe some whining though.

So it brings up Roger Federer who has just a tad of incentive over the upstart Andrey Rublev. Rublev took down Roger's countryman Stan Wawrinka in straight sets so it appears that Roger best be on his toes. I can just about guarantee that he will as he is the consummate professional who is the final reverent link to the classic game of tennis. Reverence means having a deep respect for something or someone. Look it up...you just might find a picture of Roger under the word. Andrey Rublev is ranked number 70 in the world and Roger is going to give him the royal treatment. Somehow I don't see Rublev challenging Federer but that doesn't mean that Roger will be taking him for granted. Nope...I anticipate a match where Roger will be doing some rather serious rehearsing for the next match that he will be cherishing and that should occur sometime during the U. S. Open. Would love to somehow see him face Rafael Nadal. What is it now...six of the last seven and counting?

There isn't anybody coming down the pipe to fill the shoes of Roger. Not even close. Interesting to see Andy Murray who looked to be a mere shadow of his former self. He is a figment of the past. Already forgotten. His appearance in Cincinnati did little to revive any memories about him. Roger on the other hand will be sorely missed. When Roger is missing from the draw the tournament tanks from day one. There is not a single player who is compelling to watch like the Swiss Maestro is. So get a load of him while you can. Roger makes the whole draw that more interesting. The winner of Federer/Rublev will be the winner of Medvedev and Struff. See what I mean? The fact that Federer is in the draw makes that match all the more interesting. Novak Djokovic on the other hand is towering there on top of the draw yet his quarter of the draw is a snoozer. It became a snoozer the moment the last whine out of Kyrgios' mouth was dissipated in the breeze.

You know it has hit rock bottom when Kyrgios is the main draw...the main attraction. Tournaments have been putting him in the spotlight matches as of late. Reason why? There is nothing else of much interest.

[stotty]

Rublev made short work of Roger. I haven't seen him play much before but he can certainly belt a forehand. He's looks like someone you visualise in a Dostoyevsky novel...a Raskolnikov perhaps. Well, the tournament might be over for Roger and someone else I know but it could be a blessing in disguise for Roger's chances at the US Open. Roger didn't look too fussed about his loss to Rublev to me. It's all about the slams for the Big 3 right now rather than some 1000 event they've each won umpteen times. It's all about fine tuning, you know.

[stroke]

It is all about history now for the 3 great ones. All about the GS's at this point. 20 for Fed, 18 for Rafa, 16 for Novak. Novak and Rafa clearly have a more impressive Masters 1000 resume than Roger. I give that more credit than most. I think these 1000's are close to as tough to win. This US Open is big for all 3, as is all the GS's. Total weeks at #1 is definitely in the mix historically speaking and Roger looks real good there.

[gzhpcu]

You know it has hit rock bottom when Kyrgios is the main draw...the main attraction. Tournaments have been putting him in the spotlight matches as of late. Reason why? There is nothing else of much interest.

Because it is sensational, which the public likes. Gladiatorial games, like in ancient Rome. Tabloids sell if they have shocking headlines, good news sells less.
His behaviour was disgraceful.

[stroke]

Disgraceful. completely not ok, He ought to be banned for about 6 months and not allowed to play until the grass court season, missing the US Open and AO. If he truly does not care, ok then. I suspect he would care, and change his ways.

[gzhpcu]

He makes John McEnroe look like a choir boy....

[stroke]

He makes John McEnroe look like a choir boy....

To me he is more like Connors on one his revealing days, like vs Krickstein at US Open. There is nothing much worse than someone who bullies just because one can. And at other times thinks he is charming. At least Mac did not ever pretend to be charming, or a good guy. But no doubt Nick has taken it to a whole nother level.

[gzhpcu]

I doubt he will be banned for the US Open. He fills seats, brings in money...

[stroke]

I personally think the US Open would be just fine without him.

[don_budge]

To me he is more like Connors on one his revealing days...

He makes John McEnroe look like a choir boy....

Major difference between Nick Kyrgios and the two American "Bad Boys" is that those two played to win. Every time they stepped on the court there was no tanking in them. Super competitors. Not Saint Nick. Nick is his own "jerk". He's not even in the same league with Ilie Nastase.

[stotty]

Bad boys bring in the money and often break the rules and get away with it. Nastase even got reinstated after being officially disqualified in a match against McEnroe. Imagine that. Two bad boys playing each other in the same match. The whole thing was a farce, by the way. Nastase behaved terribly and got disqualified, the crowd then went bonkers, so the referee overruled the umpire's decision and reinstated Nasty...mindboggling.

People love to fume over bad behaviour and to have someone to vent about. Ultimately the audience craves drama and bad behaviour more than anything. That's a why a soap like Dallas was so incredibly popular. Everyone loved to hate JR Ewing. He was perhaps the most hated character on TV ever. But the baddest of the bad just had to be watched because it's compelling viewing. And I can tell you I just loved JR Ewing. Hagman played that part so incredibly well.

The best thing about Nick is he expresses what he really feels whereas as Rafa and Novak...and Roger too, don't. Nick doesn't mind being unpopular and may even actually like it. He isn't trying to please anyone so gets to say and do what he likes. There is great freedom in that approach. I am not defending him necessarily but I certainly think any tournament is better off with him in it.

[don_budge]

Match of the Day: Andrey Rublev versus Daniil Medvedev

After Andrey Rublev's clinical dissection of our boy Federer and Daniil Medvedev's annexation of Jan-Leonard Struff there is a match with some residual intrigue made all the more interesting because of Roger's involvement. See how that works. None of the other matches compare standing alone on their own attributes. But this one is a modern tennis classic...so to speak in a round about way. Two Russians. I wonder what they think about the whole Russian Hoax that was perpetrated on the entire American Nation.

Rublev played a Roger Federer who was barely interested in winning this particular match. Stotty correctly assessed the situation in that maybe it is better that Roger mozies on over to the Big Apple to get further prepared for the torture on his thirty-eight year old body...three out of five. Andrey is a rather compelling looking character and I compared him to Raskolnikov in the past. He has that certain look. Could he possibly kill an old woman with an ax just because he deserves to have money? What a novel...Crime and Punishment. Rublev is a real actor on the tennis court too. I saw him at the French Open Juniors about five years ago and he was playing Stefan Kozlov. He's an actor alright. Good stuff.

Daniil Medvedev on the other hand has shown himself to be perhaps the closest thing to an up and comer that we have seen in the past several years. He's rolling and he's been rolling for some time now. Certainly last year and this year. His are the only consistent results we have seen from this "Next Generation" group of rather dysfunctional comers and goers. Nobody has been really able to seize the bull by the horns. Dominic Thiem at times has. Alexander Zverev held the torch briefly at times but really never established any sort of consistency over a period of time. Stefanos Tsitsipas looks to be mired in the Zverev Syndrome now...more impressed with his press clippings and adoring fans than his opponents. But Daniil has served notice. The shellacking that he gave Struff was rather surprising I thought. Struff has been coming on as of late. In the past year anyways. But Medvedev rolled him. He rolled him into next week.

The rest of it is of little interest. Richard Gasquet is a nice player as is Bautista-Agut. I know that they are playing now but I cannot bring myself to tune in. Who are the rest of the suspects? Novak Djokovic versus somebody. Lucas Pouille. Nice tournament so far Lucas but now for the moment of truth. Hear that Lucas...that's the bell and it is tolling for thee. Man up or be prepared to be sent packing touts suite. That's Djokovic for you. He'll roll you too. No messing around. This little fellow...the Japanese. Nice little player. Lots of guts and a nose for the ball. A tactical sense no less. David Goffin? He reached a level that appears to be his comfort zone. He's not going to ruffle any feathers. Not the top echelon anyways. But he's a gamer too. He shows up to play...and compete. Should be an interesting match.

Nick...put an empty chamber in that gun Nicky. Remember "The Deer Hunter"? Remember when Robert DeNiro was a real actor and not a two bit political punk. But Nicky was played by Christopher Walken, another sort of wacko. Walken's character gets hooked up in a terrible game of "Russian Roulette" played with real bullets. Talk about PTSD. Speaking of Russian Roulette and all things Russian...Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote a super excellent novel about his gambling problems that took place in Baden Baden, Germany. I was in Baden Baden in 1989 when Gorbachov was in Berlin. My body and I went to the same casinos that good old Fyodor did. We went to the spa as well. Total nudity. There was this excellent German Fraulien my buddy said was eyeballing me. Of course you didn't know which way to look. It was all happening so fast. Like a merry go round in some sort of dream.

But it all comes back to Roger. He makes everything so much more interesting. Even now he is gone from the tournament and all of this stream of thought can be connected back to Roger. Just connecting the dots. The three little dots. Maybe the last bit about Baden Baden was a little bit of a stretch...but Stotty did mention Raskolnikov. Didn't he?

[stroke]

Medvedev and his quirky Florian Mayer type forehand and a rock solid Novak level backhand and very good movement has definitely stepped forward. That is why I was surprised at the total beatdown Nadal put on him on hard courts in Montreal. Nadal really worked him over. It was brutal. And talking about "getting the horse to the barn", yikes. I do think Medvedev matches up better with Novak than Nadal. Novak does not send his opponents to the unfamiliar areas with the hook spin obviously like Nadal. Even the Nadal serve was problematic for Medvedev. Nadal seems to get an unusual amount of side spin movement on his serve. It will simply be more familiar tennis to him, albeit at the gold standard of hard court baseline play. Should be a lot of long tiring rallies. I hope Novak is in the mood for it. I think Medvedev will certainly be, especially after the Nadal beatdown.

[stroke]

Major difference between Nick Kyrgios and the two American "Bad Boys" is that those two played to win. Every time they stepped on the court there was no tanking in them. Super competitors. Not Saint Nick. Nick is his own "jerk". He's not even in the same league with Ilie Nastase.

Certainly agree with that. I meant that to me behavior wise Nick is closer to Connors than Mac. He his equally not close to either when it comes to desire to play and win matches.