2021 U. S. Open Tennis Championships...ATP 2000...New York, New York

[stotty]

JB defense on full display in winning 1st set 6-2 vs Karatsev. His defense is as good as Novak and Medvedev to me, not the rest of his game, but his defense is top shelf.

Tend to agree...though Karatsev has been disappointing much of the time since his stella performance at the 2021 Aussie Open run. The few matches I have seen of his since then have been error strewn and this match v JB is following a similar pattern.

[stroke]

JB defense on full display in winning 1st set 6-2 vs Karatsev. His defense is as good as Novak and Medvedev to me, not the rest of his game, but his defense is top shelf.

[stotty]

Alacraz was something else against Tistsipas. Hitting incredibly hard off both wings and seemingly lacking any fear. He's tough mentally and I simply cannot believe his improvement since I last saw him play. I find his serve decidedly dodgy however...just a dodgy as Tsitsipas's in fact...if not more so. But he doesn't rely on his serve like Tsitsipas does. It's hard to know who to liken Alcaraz to. I wouldn't liken him to Roger or Rafa...and he clubs the ball harder than Novak.

When you watch Alcaraz you can see where the game is headed...even more power. Sadly there is very little substitute for power. Slicing and dicing can have great effect but it is a more intricate and difficult game-style to carry out compared to the 'bludgeon', and a player has to be at the high end of the continuum (like Roger and Evans) in terms of natural talent to be able to do it well enough. Not sure who of you watched the Evans v Popyrin match but the two low volleys Evans pulled off in the final set tiebreaker were positively old school and something no one else on the tour can do...no one, save Roger of course. It's worth watching that tiebreak on replay if you can find it. Popyrin was hanging in by virtue of his first serve in the final set, but his serve fell away in the tiebreak and Evans gobbled him up like a dog's biscuit.

[arturohernandez]

https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/car...academy-644703

Very interesting article on Alcaraz, and thoughts on him from JCF.

Great article. Thanks for sharing!

[arturohernandez]

https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/car...academy-644703

Very interesting article on Alcaraz, and thoughts on him from JCF.

He still reminds me of Sampras in his explosiveness. Federer is smoother. Don’t get me wrong in his prime he was plenty fast. But Sampras was more flexible and could just unload on shots.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zAAdKm_tK7I

Alcaraz is so explosive. I mean he was out hitting a player older bigger and stronger than him.

The past doesn’t repeat itself. But boy does it rhyme.

[stroke]

Opelka vs Bash an interesting match. I like Opelka in this matchup as Bash goes for so much on all shots, one service game for him where he makes too many errors that is probably pretty much the set. Opelka the one American right now to me with a realistic hope of winning a Major.

[stroke]

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/naomi...reak-fernandez

Mental issues. But I could have told you that with that "Black Lives Matter" spectacle she put on a couple of years ago. She makes a terrific spokesperson for those of that ilk.

No doubt. She has been passed the baton. It is in good hands. By way of contrast, the non woke(my guess) Stef handled his brutal loss press conference like the professional he is, and he was not handled with kid gloves by the questioners.

[don_budge]

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/naomi-osaka-us-open-tennis-break-fernandez

Mental issues. But I could have told you that with that "Black Lives Matter" spectacle she put on a couple of years ago. She makes a terrific spokesperson for those of that ilk.

[don_budge]

Match of the Day (Under the Radar)...Daniel Evans vs. Alexei Popyrin

No doubt the Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Carlos Alcaraz drew a lot of attention, but it doesn't surprise me in the least. Without seeing the match I know one thing...the Tsitsipas serve did not blow the young upstart off of the court like it should. Stefanos is never going to live up to his potential unless he gets that service motion right. As classy and elegant as his groundstrokes are they are not going to be enough and so far this has held true. He has been close...but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

Daniel Evans on the other hand gets all that he possibly can from his service motion and pound for pound I give the nod to him over Tsitsipas in this regard. In the sense of getting the biggest bang for the buck out of their toolbox. Evans went ahead in the first set but lost his momentum and found himself down two sets to love. I only saw a bit of the second but it looked to me that the Popyrin game was too big for Evans at that point. After tuning out and heading for the sheets, Evans turned it around and ran off three sets in a row. Bully for him. I have seen Popyrin a few times and he looks to be a bit casual and nonchalant in his approach to the game. Daniel is anything but that in his approach. He is always probing and digging looking for inroads. I can see in my mind's eye what happened in this match. Evans tenacity just got the better of Popyrin.

Next up for Evans is Daniil Medvedev. On paper it is all Medvedev, all of the time. But Evans has definitely got an "X" factor in his match play philosophy. He isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. He doesn't have to win with the cleanest of ball striking. He does such a great job of bringing the tall men down to his size. He does it with an ingredient that is a combination of old school tactics and true grit. He uses the backhand as a neutraliser much of the time and patiently waits to get the ball on his forehand. He isn't the biggest of hitters on that side either but tactically he is rather unparalleled in the modern game. It will be interesting to see what he can do with Medvedev, who is a bit of an enigma himself. This match is a rarity in modern tennis where you will see contrasting styles pitted against each other among other contrasting aspects of the players. Evans is measured at 5' 9" and Medvedev at 6' 6". There has been some talk in these neck of the woods regarding the relative merits to taller players and someone said something about the shorter Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall. Here we can substitute the diminutive Evans...even though his heart has a bigger appetite that many of the others.

Would love to see a great performance out of Evans. Even though on paper he doesn't stand a chance. These are the kind of matches I believe he likes to play. Out gunned but never say never.

[stroke]

https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/carlos-alcaraz-rafael-nadal-roger-federer-juan-carlos-ferrero-coach-academy-644703

Very interesting article on Alcaraz, and thoughts on him from JCF.

[stroke]

It’s funny how it starts with comparisons and then eventually they fade away. His touch and explosiveness are unreal. Apparently, he goes on the court thinking he can beat any opponent.

with those weapons I can’t blame him.

He is something, I think I would put him as the 3rd favorite for the FO right now. And his stock is rising very quickly here at US Open. What a match by both players. Their forehands are both BG model type 3's, but Stef's backhand let him down too much. Carlos really outplayed him from the backhand side.

Oddsmakers have certainly taken note of Carlos. He is now tied with Berrettini for 4th favorite to win the title, behind Novak, Medvedev, and Alex.

[stroke]

Stefanos Tsitsipas Press Conference | 2021 US Ope…: https://youtu.be/dq1X3iNWMxQ

[glacierguy]

I will say Stef is not breaking any rules, and he is clearly not going to be intimidated by anything anyone says about how he is conducting his business. If I were his opponent, I would simply leave the court also, and make sure I was gone at least 10 minutes or so ha. No use sitting around bitching about it while he is gone. Nothing is going to change right now, and you are probably only hurting yourself by getting pissed.

If you're sure he wasn't texting his coaching team whilst sitting on the lav...

[arturohernandez]

I disagree, He to me reminds me of a combo of Novak and Nadal, not that it matters.

It’s funny how it starts with comparisons and then eventually they fade away. His touch and explosiveness are unreal. Apparently, he goes on the court thinking he can beat any opponent.

with those weapons I can’t blame him.

[stroke]

A star is born. He is not like Nadal, Fed or Nole. He reminds me of Sampras. Huge firepower and speed. Sampras and Chang the other youngest to make it to the 4th round of US Open.

Wow!!!

I disagree, He to me reminds me of a combo of Novak and Nadal, not that it matters.