Tennis Prose




Aug/14

21

Daniel, Coric, Jabeur, Rusty Shine on US Open Qualies Thursday

2108-174406

Michelle Larcher De Brito was beaten by Barbora Krejcikova AND her coach Jana Novotna 76 63. Novotna was doing a lot of coaching especially through the first set. Her presence has to be a bit intimidating as she implored her charge on with intense sounds and provocations.

Lleyton Hewitt hit with Federer on Ashe in the morning. I was told by ATP scribe Joshe Meiseles that Djokovic was asked about being “rusty” at his press conference at John McEnroe Academy on Randall’s Island, and the ATP World number one humorously replied, “There’s only one Rusty and that’s Lleyton Hewitt.”

Borna Coric won the hotly anticipated teen showdown with Stefan Kozlov, 26 62 62. Coric erupted late in the second set when the chair umpire overruled a call at 30-all. Coric played with a contained rage after that and dominated from there on. Tim Mayotte commented that Kozlov has a lot of intangible qualities but his forehand lacks some cohesion.

Alexander Zverev lost 76 (5) in the third to veteran Marsel Ilhan. I was told Zverev had a linesperson banished, even though the official was not making outrageously bad calls. Observers were not impressed by young Zverev’s behavior today.

Impressive Taro Daniel continued his fine play with a three set win.

Remember the 80s pop group Wang Chung? Well Jimmy Wang beat Chung in straight sets. Everybody is Wang Chungin’ tonight.

F Lopez was hitting on grandstand with Agut. Kyrgios was with Dimitrov but the young Aussie stopped the session about twenty minutes early and left he court.

Ryan Harrison’s dad Pat told me Ryan had a some shoulder pain and that’s why he retired up a set vs. Rosol in Winston Salem. And he doesn’t want to risk it before having to play 3 out of 5 here. Harrison again got a brutal draw – he’ll play #7 seed Grigor Dimitrov. Harrison has had maybe the worst major draws in the last two decades.

Ons Jabeur of Tunisia is one my favorite players in the qualies. From Tunisia, she has the most unique game. I once saw her hit two between the legs shots from the baseline in one rally during a junior match. She has a Rios like flair. And boy does she love the drop shot. And boy can she make some beauties too. The best one came at match point 65 in the third set breaker. It was a backhand chip drop that kissed the netcord and dropped over. Her German opponent T. Maria stood there at the baseline dumbfounded. Jabeur apologized. Final scoreline: 06 75 76.

Steve Darcis crushed Iron Mike Russell 64 63. Darcis served for the match at 52 but was broken at love. Then he broke Russell at love to win the match.

Bogomolov lost in straights to Tiafoe conqueror Tatsumi Ito. Bogie made the main draw last year where he beat Paire, his ranking could drop outside 200.

Maria Sanchez is one impressive physical specimen. She clobbered Yulia Putintseva in straight sets.

Martin Alund is out, the talented but mercurial Alexander Kudrayvtsev disposed him.

Ricardas Berankis dominated Colin Altamirano after losing the first set. Berankis is coached now by Rainer Scheuttler.

No tags

30 comments

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 21, 2014 at 11:19 pm

    Forgot to mention, Kyrgios was blasting serves on grandstand vs. Dimitrov that were going over the blue wall and into the crowd. US Open might have to make fans in front rows of grandstand wear a helmet with facemask.

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 21, 2014 at 11:32 pm

    Thiem and Gulbis could clash in second round.

  • Ryan Balon · August 22, 2014 at 8:49 am

    Scoop, Dan

    Hopefully I will see you both at this years Open. I arrive this sunday and most likely will depart Thursday evening.

    I’m looking forward to seeing the newly built stadiums 4-6 and some great first round match ups on the mens side:

    Tsonga vs Monaco

    Paire vs Benneteau

    Wawrinka vs Vesely

    Youzhny vs Kyrgios

    and lastly Monfils vs Donaldson ( 17 year old WC from my hometown RI)

    Keep up the great work love reading your blogs!

  • dan markowitz · August 22, 2014 at 9:07 am

    When you think about it, Scoop, for Russell to break Darcis at love at 5-2 and then to get broken at love to lose the match, that is a very rare occurrence in pro tennis. How often do you think that ever happens?

    Russell did something I’ve never seen a pro player do ever watching a match. After losing the first set, he motioned for his wife, who was sitting by the baseline on one side, to move up higher and not sit directly on the baseline.

    I don’t know if she was distracting him. I’ve heard that she serves as her coach, but she doesn’t look like a player or a trainer. At one point he asked her if a shot he hit was good or not, but then he seemed to want her out of his sight line.

    I think Russell was surprised Darcis had the firepower to subdue him. Keep in mind, Darcis is playing pro tennis 10 months after having rotator cuff surgery on his right, hitting, arm. The guy is not putting a lot on his serve, but he has one of the nicest one-handed backhands I’ve ever seen.

    Darcis is also an example of a player who plays with a relaxed air about him, kind of the anti-Nadal, and even a nonchalance. He’s trying hard, but I saw Russell and he walk out of the player/media center before the match and Russell looked very much the alpha-male, leading the way, walking faster than Darcis and with a determined look on his face while Darcis looked like he was going out for a morning stroll with his tennis bag around his shoulder.

    Scoop, do you think there’s anything to this idea that the player who looks the meanest or most determined is most of the time going to win the match? That winning a big time pro tennis match is a little like winning a Presidential Election, in the debates, you have to show that you’re really serious and capable.

    I watched the beginning of the Jan Mertl versus Ilya Marchenko match yesterday. The great thing about going to the Qualis is you can come to a court on the grounds and either not know the players from Adam (like I did with this Ernesto Escobedo yesterday) or you’ve heard of the players, but don’t know what they look like, so you watch them warm up and try to guess which one is who.

    At first, I thought Mertl because he was blond and seemed more Eastern Block was actually who turned out to be Marchenko, from the Ukraine. Their games looked almost identical in the warmup, but right before the match began, Mertl who I thought was Marchenko, asked the ballboy for a towel and he did so with a smile and a thank you, and I thought to myself, “Uh oh, this guy doesn’t have the eye of the tiger. You can’t smile and thank the ball boy. It’s better to treat him like he’s either not even there or like Roddick used to, like he’s hired help and you’re not too pleased with the job he’s doing. Maybe throw the towel back at him after he’s handed it to you and you’ve wiped your face.”

    I remember Spadea at one point, because he’d been criticized for not being nice to the ball boys, purposely loudly said, “Thank you,” every time a ball boy would toss him a ball. It was almost funny, but Vince later in his career wanted to act like he was a nice guy. And Vince is mostly a nice guy, but I think the guy who usually acts like ball boys don’t exist are the one’s who usually win the match. For example, Kokkanakis, who I am going to refer to from now on as Kokkydoodle, at 18 asks the ball boy for the towel, never looks at him when he delivers it, and then takes like one dab at his face with the towel and throws it back at the ball boy. Kokkydoodle is obviously going to go far.

    Now this Escobedo yesterday was one of the big surprises in my 40 years of watching tennis. Shit, I sound old. “Yes, when I used to watch Smith play against Laver (for the record, I never saw Stan Smith play Rod Laver live, but they did play 13 times and Smith won 7 of those matches, but he didn’t win his first against Laver until ‘the Rocket’ was 32 and the other wins came when Laver was 35 and older)…”

    Anyway, this 18-year-old kid with the Hispanic name and sporting a No. 500-ranking, came in and beat Duckworth, who quailed this year at both the French and Wimbledon, badly in the second set breaker to seal the match. This Escobedo is solid off both wings with a big serve and he crossed himself and looked to the skies after duking out Duckworth, who didn’t look too all that upset when he walked off the court.

    Do you notice that a lot of Aussies walk like Lleyton Hewitt (who it was pointed out to me is the last natural-born top Australian player). They have this jaunty stride with their shoulders pulled back. They look very athletic, like Californians but more so. Anyway, watch out for this Escobedo, he looked better than any super young American I’ve seen play and that includes Rubin and Kozlov and Tiafoe. It’s funny how some players get the hype and others don’t.

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 22, 2014 at 9:27 am

    Ryan, greatly look forward to your arrival and having some fun at the US Open. It’s going to be a fantastic week even beyond Newport ) Thanks for the kind words about the site,

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 22, 2014 at 9:38 am

    Dan, Darcis actually was a top 3 junior, had a big junior career, he’s obviously a class player but struggled to maintain big results in ATP but we saw his greatness when he beat Rafa. Regarding pre match relaxed vs. intensity. In talking to players about Facing Rafa, a few have mentioned the big difference with Fed and Rafa, Rafa is a hyper maniac before the match, pumping up music, junping up and down, doing sprints in the locker room, making sure his hair and everything (tape, wrist bands, socks, etc) are perfect. While Fed just sits and there relaxed and when it’s time to go he picks up his bag and saunters out to the court like a leisurely stroll along the river walk. Two ends of the spectrum. Some are animal fighters, some try to emphasize being relaxed and cool in the face of battle. I like to watch the players march out to court for battle. One of the most memorable was Gulbis in Delray, he was turning the corner for the far court in the back and just as he came into view you could see he was yawning. Of course he summarily dismissed the young American he was playing but I forget now who it was, all I remember is that yawn.

  • tom michael · August 22, 2014 at 11:11 am

    Scoop, It was nice seeing you at the qualies yesterday. Have a great day.

    Tom

  • Andrew Miller · August 22, 2014 at 12:15 pm

    Dan i am getting on the Escobedo bandwagon.

    Mayotte is so accurate it is scary. I think Mayotte has big plans for u.s. tennis. I wonder whether he is thinking of getting some players to modify their strokes to get the most out of their games.

    On Harrison i thinkit is harrison’s fault he gets brutal.draws. he has a free pass to the u.s. open despite a terrible for him ranking and not even being a top what, top ten u.s. player? He has to be canon fodder for better players because he has reality to deal with – he isn’t as good as his competiton at the moment. If he works on his game and takes the good advice and sharpens up he will have his chances. Expect dimitrov to dominate like he didin his final two sets in the wimbledon first round. If harrison getw himself a set or two or three i will be shocked and cheering. i believe in any given day in the tennis world but this is like asking ito to beat djokovic. Likelihood of that is slim to none with slim on vacation.

  • Andrew Miller · August 22, 2014 at 12:17 pm

    Salzensteins dad and cousin are great coaches.

  • Dan Markowitz · August 22, 2014 at 2:37 pm

    You know Jeff’s dad and cousin? They’re tennis teaching pros?

  • Dan Markowitz · August 22, 2014 at 2:38 pm

    McGee was bagel end in first set by Zhang, but he’s up a break in second. And it’s McGee not McGhee.

  • Coach Skelly · August 22, 2014 at 2:50 pm

    Thanks for great info Scoop anf Dan!Keep bringin it!

  • Andrew Miller · August 22, 2014 at 4:02 pm

    Know the cousin. He said that Jeff’s dad was a great coach and he was working on helping Jeff hit his groundies more flat and with a more open stance. Remember this was a while ago – as in 14 years ago or more, after he spent a summer working on his serve. Also got the story of how he beat up on Ryan Wolters and Scott Humphries AND Paul Goldstein – just way better than them to get #1 slot at Stanford. Had a tough time with Cecil Mamiit when Mamiit in 95-96 played on the ATP, tough player. In 95 he lost to USC’s Hansen (got this one from google) and his cousin said he owned the guy and somehow lost in the NCAAs – he was probably going to beat Sargasian, one of Agassi’s best friends, in the NCAA finals that year and then if he could handle Mamiit would have beat him too in 96. Not meant to be.

    His cousin said Salzenstein was really improving his game, doing some things at the latter stages he could have earlier. Just goes to show – no matter when you iron out the flaws in your game, things go right and very well after that.

  • Andrew Miller · August 22, 2014 at 4:04 pm

    Go McGhee!

    As for Escobedo…gone. Like JJ last year, got final round of qualies and nothing in the tank, I guess!

  • Andrew Miller · August 22, 2014 at 4:07 pm

    Scoop – one reason i respect Rosol is that he took Nadal tactics, used them vs. Nadal at Wimbledon – the fired up etc routine, jumping everywhere and running to the baseline – unnerved Nadal. Afterwards Uncle Toni was so angry – as if it were Rosol’s fault! Then this year when Nadal at Wimbledon played Rosol and beat him, Uncle Toni said to the effect Rosol was no gentleman.

    Sorry to break it to Uncle Toni, but if all’s fair on the court (excluding illegal stuff etc), then Rosol was totally within his rights to make Nadal feel what it’s like to play against routines like his own – a taste of his own medicine. Is it nice? No. Is it like a gentleman? No. Is it somewhat offensive? Sure – and that’s the point. Nadal does this and thinks nothing wrong – and there isn’t. But when someone does it to him, Uncle Toni, likely Nadal himself too, doesn’t like it.

    Touche.

  • Jack · August 22, 2014 at 5:20 pm

  • Jack · August 22, 2014 at 6:22 pm

    To summarize the article, USTA funds are going to cronies , instead of youth development.

  • JG · August 22, 2014 at 8:28 pm

    Dan, I know jeff S’s stepfather, a very successful lawyer in Denver. What do you all make of the juniors outclassing their opponents in the Qualies but coming up short, the junior tournament may be pretty interesting, seems like a lot of them won their first sets or were ahead then couldn’t believe they were in that situation and tanked. Also did Izzie tank in Winston Salem and just pull out of the match or tank it, seems strange he would just pull out, I would think he assumed he had a good shot at winning the tournament before he entered it, also Harry pulled out of his match, he can’t be saving himself for the open?

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 22, 2014 at 10:12 pm

    Very emotional win for McGee, crying at the end, fell down on the court, cramps, got the big win after blowing 52 lead. Huge win for Team McGee and Coach Salzy.

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 22, 2014 at 10:14 pm

    Tom thanks and pleasure to see and chat with you also. Hope to see you again next week. Give my best regards to Dr. Gustarhymes. And Don’t work too hard )

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 22, 2014 at 10:16 pm

    Great point Andrew Miller. Rosol was so smart to play it like that, it definitely spooked Team Rafa. Tennis is a lot about mind games and Rosol was too smart that day.

  • Dan Markowitz · August 22, 2014 at 10:24 pm

    There will be a big article on McGee before his first round match.

  • Dan Markowitz · August 22, 2014 at 10:28 pm

    McGee couldn ask for a more fortuitous first round opponent in the 108th ranked player in the world, a 27 year old like McGee but from Kazakstan. Harry must have bad karma for all his tough slam draws.

  • Andrew Miller · August 23, 2014 at 12:33 am

    McGhee earned it big time. ! From usopen.org Meanwhile, over on Court 8, James McGee became just the third men’s player from Ireland in the Open era to make it into a US Open main draw. He recovered from a shaky first set to defeat Ze Zhang of China, 0-6, 6-4, 6-4. The 27-year-old has been toiling away for years on the lower levels of the tour and had yet to make it into the main draw of either a Grand Slam or ATP tournament, so he was understandably overjoyed after the win.”

    Salzenstein must be psyched. Man I am psyched!

  • Bryan · August 23, 2014 at 12:55 am

    Been on the Borna Coric since seeing him at a 250 in Poland back in February. He lost in the first round but showed a lot of fight and skills. He had a big breakthrough at Umag last month to make the quarter finals. Def one to watch.

  • You Know Who · August 23, 2014 at 12:59 am

    I didn’t know his coach was Salzenstein until Scoop told me. Me and my buddy were chuckling that after Mcgee won a point Jeff would either give one fist clench or two. It was a bit troubling that McGee was cramping toward the end and couldn’t get a first serve in. But really nice when he closed it out. McGee had the most joyous reaction I can recall from this week. I wasn’t able to move around to the proper side to get the reaction shot. The price of attending with other human beings is you have to talk to them instead of taking photos… Anyway, I did see Jeff walk on the court after it was over and it looked like he was taking a photo or video with his phone so maybe he was able to capture a special moment for his player.

  • You Know Who · August 23, 2014 at 1:05 am

    “To summarize the article, USTA funds are going to cronies , instead of youth development.”

    Time to review the ‘ol Director & Officer Liability Policy. 🙂

  • jblitz · August 23, 2014 at 4:51 am

    “the fired up etc routine, jumping everywhere and running to the baseline [snip] Uncle Toni said to the effect Rosol was no gentleman.”

    It wasn’t the fired up routine before the games, it was Rosol’s behaviour during the match that annoyed Toni (and Rafa). He was being very unsportsmanlike during play, especially during Rafa’s serves, with his movements and shoe squeaking and trash talking and making weird noises plus the stare downs and fist pumping in Rafa’s face and flinging his racket towards Rafa over the net when it was over. Plus this year he kicked over Rafa’s water bottle during a changeover. Of course all these things are allowed and Rosol can be as big a dick as he wants on court (and off) but Toni is also allowed to express his opinion as to what he thinks of it.

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 23, 2014 at 8:50 am

    About Coric, he told me Goran reached out to his team when he was about age ten because Goran heard about him and wanted to see how he played. This kid is a phenom. Also he told me his last book read was about Mike Tyson. This kid is a champion who thinks outside the box. No pun intended. )

  • Bryan · August 23, 2014 at 12:34 pm

    Interesting he read a Tyson book. The kid’s a natural fighter so it makes sense he’d want to pick apart Tyson’s mind.

<<

>>

Find it!

Copyright 2010
Tennis-Prose.com
To top