Masters 1000 Paris

[stroke]

Great matches today. The demon has taken the 1st set over Medvedev. I don't think anyone moves better on hard courts that De Minaur. Cilic vs Ugo. Zverev(who is playing as well as he ever has) vs Mannarino. And my match of the day, Stan vs Rublev.

[don_budge]

Kyle, good thoughts. Glad to see your input again.

Apparently on extended honeymoon leave. I noticed on the ATP site that Ugo Humbert also plays a mean piano. That's interesting...it seems that would be a tough balancing act to practice tennis and practice piano. It would take a special type of person.

[stroke]

Ugo continues to impress taking out Cilic.

[stroke]

Nadal , and his clean partition model type 3 forehand in particular, really rained down the pain on a 1st set 6-1 beatdown on Jordan Thompson. Hawkeye stats on that forehand confirmed what appears to be the case watching. The Nadal forehand is putting at least 20% more rpm's on that forehand than almost any other player out there. Throw in the hook spin on top of that and the court dimensions have a new look. Nadal stands alone with his ability to dictate play without really taking much risk(with his spin and net clearance on the forehand). I think it is the closest thing we will ever see to a ping pong looking ball fight in tennis.

[stroke]

Alex has his hands full vs Mannarino. Adrian has such a pretty and minimalistic game. He seems to have all day to hit the ball off both sides. To me, a lot of players at all levels could learn something from his game.

[stotty]

Nadal gets his 1000th ATP win. He's in good company looking at the top 8 all time chart below. It's an impressive list.

_115183845_atp_match_wins.png.jpeg

[stroke]

Nadal gets his 1000th ATP win. He's in good company looking at the top 8 all time chart below. It's an impressive list.

_115183845_atp_match_wins.png.jpeg

No doubt, that list does not leave any wiggle room for interpretation.

[stroke]

Stan shows us once again that at this point tennis has plateaued. The next generation players just are not as good as the 3 generation. Jordon says he is not surprised.

[stotty]

Raonic takes out Humbert. Very handy to have a massive serve in a tiebreak.

[stroke]

That serve to me(overall, 1st and 2nd) the best in tennis ever, even better than Isner and Karlovic . Just so smooth. The match of the day coming up, Stan vs Alex. Alex is playing as well as he ever has, but I prefer Stan's game.

[stotty]

Great win for Zverev. It's taken a while but he is finally getting the hang of this game. He served terrific and was even hitting decent second serves late in that second set. The trouble with Stan is he only has one game and he never deviates from it. I do like his forehand drop shot, though.

[stroke]

Match of the day Nadal vs Alex. Alex is really hitting through the court well. We will see. Nadal and Medvedev are favorites of course. Medvedev really competes well and makes adjustments. It will be interesting to see how he does with the Raonic serve.

[stotty]

Good performance from Alex against Rafa. He served great and hit his backhand beautifully. His forehand has been much better than usual of late. He's calmer and playing matches much better since his US open final. Still can't volley for toffee, though.

[stroke]

Spot on Stotty. It will be interesting to see if Alex can hit through Medvedev. Hitting through him is probably next toughest ask after an interested Novak. Oddsmakers have it as a virtual pick 'em. I would go with Medvedev just because his defense is so good. That probably bodes well for Alex.

[klacr]

Medvedev plays chess out there. You feel he's playing a different game. His tennis IQ is high, his strokes don't look pretty but they are sharp and effective. He has a casual intensity and plays better in the bigger moments. Will be a interesting match vs. Zverev.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA, PTR
Delray Beach
SETS Consulting