2021 Roland Garros...ATP 2000...Paris, France

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Alcaraz looked very physically strong taking out Bash in 3.

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Roger looks very good. As we all know, no one has the total tennis game he has. If he gets to 4th round, he will probably have a massive ask vs Berrettini. It is tough out there.

[don_budge]

He doesn't have to...he breaks Cilic for the match. Federer really slipped into gear in the final set. He struggled with his form but found a way to win. His ability to adapt to the circumstances were remarkable in this match. On to the third round. Every match a blessing...great for the tournament.

[don_budge]

Match of the Day...Roger Federer vs. Marin Cilic

Roger wins the first 6-2, then Cilic wins the second by the identical score. Roger goes up a break in the third but eventually wins the set in a tie-break...with a Cilic double fault. So Cilic has shown a bit of nerves on his serve although for the most part he has been really tough. Here Roger is up a break in the fourth at 1-4, Cilic serving. He is in position to serve out the match. So interesting it comes down to this. He failed to serve out the match in his last outing. Does he have control of his nerves? It's making me nervous just thinking about it.

He holds at love for 5-2. Textbook.

[don_budge]

Match of the Day...Roger Federer vs. Marin Cilic

Roger wins the first 6-2, then Cilic wins the second by the identical score. Roger goes up a break in the third but eventually wins the set in a tie-break...with a Cilic double fault. So Cilic has shown a bit of nerves on his serve although for the most part he has been really tough. Here Roger is up a break in the fourth at 1-4, Cilic serving. He is in position to serve out the match. So interesting it comes down to this. He failed to serve out the match in his last outing. Does he have control of his nerves? It's making me nervous just thinking about it.

[don_budge]

The ol pro's pro, Kohl up 2 sets vs Karatsev. Kohl has never been past the quarters of any Major. He seems to be an awfully good tennis player to not have had better results at the Majors, but obviously has had to deal with the 3 great ones his whole career, and has a terrible record vs them.

"Cabbage Patch Kid" up two sets to love but down a break in the third. Can he get the horse in the barn? This particular horse is a tough as nails Russian who has shown patterns of inconsistency at times. Kohlshreiber looking particularly good off of the backhand side. Here he just hit a sweet little drop shot and he holds with Karatsev serving at 4-3.

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The ol pro's pro, Kohl up 2 sets vs Karatsev. Kohl has never been past the quarters of any Major. He seems to be an awfully good tennis player to not have had better results at the Majors, but obviously has had to deal with the 3 great ones his whole career, and has a terrible record vs them.

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Berrettini up 2 sets vs Coria looking like a real contender. His forehand is on the short list of best out there after Nadal. His serve is a real weapon. His drop shots off both sides are great, a real contrast to his power game. His slice backhand is as good as any 2 hander's out there. And like Fed, he can hit his drop shot with the same looking shot as his typical slice backhand.

[arturohernandez]

Roger looked great on clay. His opponent as you say could not have been hand picked any better. Roger is a great clay court player, for many years, the 2nd best clay court player in the world. Who knows how many FO's he could have won if Nadal were not around? His match vs Nadal in 2019 was Nadal's toughest match that FO. All that being said, as great as he is, it is hard to be optimistic about his chances of advancing deep into this tournament.

And yet, we had no expectations in 2019 and he made the semis. The champions find ways to win. He might surprise us and himself once again.

Here is hoping...

[arturohernandez]

Tipfoe tiofoed himself out of there to me, as db pointed out. It is not an aberration in his career. No way he should have lost that match. He really really needs to address that.

You can only live with suboptimal strokes for so long. The upkeep is high and all the practice in the world does not make up for his weaknesses.

Nadal did a similar thing to Shapovalov in Rome. You can play well until someone finds a way into the match. Nadal went after Shapo's backhand. On clay, it could not stand up to Nadal's barrage. In his case, he could not slice and mix up his backhand to try and get back to his forehand. His slice is not good enough to reset the point. He only knows how to hit through people. And hitting through Nadal on clay is virtually impossible.

Tiafoe is also the product of this modern tennis which emphasizes hitting big, hard and through people. This takes people really far. Any one of us would be so lucky to play at this level.

But going one more step up takes something else. It takes hiring a new coach and doing whatever it takes to get to the very top. Think of Stan who just got in phenomenal shape and got a forehand that matched his already great backhand. And Stan's slice is serviceable. His serve not the greatest but big enough to get him going.

If I were Shapo or Tiafoe, I would go hang out with Stan for a whole summer and take notes. You can be really good and reach high. But to get to the top takes something else.

Stan is an example of doing this something else that took him from the 20's and up into the top 5 and winner of multiple majors.

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Super impressive 1st set win by Tommy Paul over Medvedev. Paul is a formidable clay court player. He clearly has a much better forehand than Medvedev. And his 2nd serve, very heavy, if he double faults, a massive aberration. Very interesting match.

[don_budge]

The American Report...

Mackenzie McDonald loses a tough, tough five setter to Christian Garin of Chile. Ouch...tough loss. He hung in there the entire way only to lose serve at 5-6 in the fifth. Steve Johnson is even after two and a half sets against Thiago Monteiro of Brazil. South Americans also have the reputation of being clay court specialists, much as I alluded to the Italian contingent. John Isner is through after taking out Filip Krajinovic. Reilly Opelka took down Jaume Munar as well. Rough going as usual for the American in Paris. Americans do not have the reputation of being clay court specialists.

Steve Johnson up 5-0 in the third set tie-break to go up two sets to one. He is a gritty player. Not the prettiest...but he doesn't go away either. Easily.

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Very good matches tomorrow. Novak vs Cuevas, Roger vs Cilic, Nadal vs Gasquet, Bash vs Alcaraz, Kohl vs Karatsev. Novak and Rafael are of course huge favorites. I could see Cuevas really extending Novak. Gasquet has never matched up well vs Rafa, never beating him in a lot of tries.

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That 1st set was about it. Fucsovic just was not competitive with Fognini after 1st set.

[don_budge]

Really good 1st set Fognini vs Fucsovics. Great atmosphere. These 2 seem to not like each other. The best set of the tournament so far to me. Fognini wins it in a tiebreaker.

I think I'll check it out a bit. Thanks for the heads up. I've been watching the best legs of the tournament...Caroline Garcia. Unfortunately she lost so no more of her beautiful legs. It was actually a nice "ladies" match. A tattooed lady vs. the legs. Decent service motions as well.