ATP Finals

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Ist up today Thiem vs Tsitsipas. Later today, Rublev vs Nadal. I would pick Stef and Rublev. Oddsmakers have Thiem/Tsitsipas as a virtual pick 'em. Nadal of course slight favorite over Rublev.

[don_budge]

Just in time stroke...I thought that you had gone to sleep at the wheel. TNT. Thiem and Tsitsipas. Two of the better one handed backhands in the game yet neither are extremely adept in the use of the slice. I wonder why not?

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Just in time stroke...I thought that you had gone to sleep at the wheel. TNT. Thiem and Tsitsipas. Two of the better one handed backhands in the game yet neither are extremely adept in the use of the slice. I wonder why not?

That's an interesting question about their slice bh's. Obviously not anywhere close to Fed quality, but not even nearly as good as Stan's or Gasquet's. That is a bit unusual for 2 such good players with such high quality one handed topspin backhands. Another player that had a splendid slice backhand was your ol favorite Tomic(and I am being serious about his slice backhand). But for that matter, I do not think Novak or Rafa has a particularly good slice backhand. I guess I would say there is not a top shelf slice backhand in this group of 8 players.

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Thiem wins the 1st set 7-5 in tiebreaker. One thing that was noticeable to me was Stef seemed to be getting more RPM's on his ball off both sides. Shot spot stats at end of the set revealed that. His backhand rpm's were in line with those of Stan and Gasquet. His forehand rpm's were at the upper end of the pro men's game.

[stotty]

Rublev outclassed in all departments and never really found his game -- a bad day at the office. Nadal served so well and bossed the match from start to finish. I was hoping for more from Rublev.

Not sure which commentators you have in your neck of the woods but Mark Pecci over here drives me round the bend...never shuts up. Personally I'm a fan of Frew McMillan, whose commentary is always grounded...never says more than he has to or is needed.

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Well I agree Stotty, I was a bit disappointed in Rublev. Nadal, what else is there to say. Tomorrow I will either do the Costanza thing or more likely, spare this thread my picks ha.

[stotty]

Djokovic looked smooth and clinical today easily outplaying young Diego. Let's Zverev versus Medvedev is more of a contest....

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Novak definitely clinical. Alex and Medvedev a tough call.

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Alex 2nd serve woes came to the forefront once again and basically cost him the 1st set vs Medvedev. Margains are way too small at this level to overcome that issue.

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I would like BG or 10splayer to explain what is going on with that Medvedev forehand because to me it is so not easy on the eye. That being said, I will concede it works for him.

[stotty]

Zverev versus Medvedev

Yes, horrible looking forehand. About as far from Roger's as you will get...on the tour anyway.

Zverev won only 4 points behind his second serve the entire match. That's woeful. He needs to fix that service motion and might be best advised to have a few lessons from our very own John Yandell. He would be a significantly better player if he could overcome his serving problems.

A dull game overall; littered with poor errors, one-dimensional, and virtually no forecourt play.

Tim Henman, when asked if he could name any good volleyers in the game today, said his choices were limited: Rafa and Roger...no one else...and no one on the horizon.

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Zverev versus Medvedev

Yes, horrible looking forehand. About as far from Roger's as you will get...on the tour anyway.

Zverev won only 4 points behind his second serve the entire match. That's woeful. He needs to fix that service motion and might be best advised to have a few lessons from our very own John Yandell. He would be a significantly better player if he could overcome his serving problems.

A dull game overall; littered with poor errors, one-dimensional, and virtually no forecourt play.

Tim Henman, when asked if he could name any good volleyers in the game today, said his choices were limited: Rafa and Roger...no one else...and no one on the horizon.

I would agree with Tim, not one for hyperbole. The only last very good volIeyer I can think of besides those 2 was Radek Stepanek. And Nadal, even though he has become a good forefront player through hard work and massive desire, is still not technically a good forefront player to me, with the exception of his overhead, which is to me one of the best ever.

[stotty]

I would agree with Tim, not one for hyperbole. The only last very good volIeyer I can think of besides those 2 was Radek Stepanek. And Nadal, even though he has become a good forefront player through hard work and massive desire, is still not technically a good forefront player to me.

Yes, Rafa is great at finishing...at mopping up. Not so good below the height of the net. He just doesn't have the hands. Radek was probably the last really good volleyer who, unlike anyone playing today, knew how to cover the net properly. He nearly stretched Novak to 5 sets at 2014 Wimbledon. I watched it on centre court from just a few rows back. He served volleyed the entire match and proved it could still be done. It's fake news that you cannot serve and volley on grass, it's just there aren't any volleyers good enough to do it...no volleyers, full stop.

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Yes, Rafa is great at finishing...at mopping up. Not so good below the height of the net. He just doesn't have the hands. Radek was probably the last really good volleyer who, unlike anyone playing today, knew how to cover the net properly. He nearly stretched Novak to 5 sets at 2014 Wimbledon. I watched it on centre court from just a few rows back. He served volleyed the entire match and proved it could still be done. It's fake news that you cannot serve and volley on grass, it's just there aren't any volleyers good enough to do it...no volleyers, full stop.

Radek was world class in the forecourt, in the class of McEnroe and Pat Cash to me. Just magical hands. As far as Rafa as you say, he is not good below the net. To me, it comes down to his technical deficiency, which to me is not being in a true continental grip for both/either the forehand or backhand volley.

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Great matches today. Nadal vs Thiem and Stef vs Rublev. Rafa and Stef are the oddsmakers favorites. I did not pick the matches yesterday, but if I had, I would have gotten both of them right. I would pick both of the favorites today, but I would not bet on it.