Tennis Prose




Mar/15

26

Miami Open Thursday, Let’s Get Right Down To It

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I think I saw the future of the WTA – she’s Paula Badosa Gibert of Spain, just seventeen, but big power, intensity and big game. She wiped out Cetkovsa in the first round 6161. And she took on Shuai Zheng today. It was another beatdown. 6175.

This girl is big and strong, bigger than Lindsay and she has that Rafa intensity.

She changed her grip after the first changeover 2-1, then accidentally sat on it, re-gripped, got up and the old grip was stick to her black adidas skirt, like a tail. Kader Nooni had to tell her to take it off. She went out and dominated the first set and was down in the second but earned the win. I believe this girl Gibert will beat Serena someday and is a possible WTA world number one threat. Yep, she’s that good.

Went to watch Grothzilla vs. Alexander Zverev. Groth faltered at end of first set and gave up the break. He netted a forehand backhand dropper and semi-yelled at himself for all to hear, ‘you don’t have that shot.’

A kid in the crowd fainted, kid is named Preston Brown, who is trained by my friend Jose Antonio Fernandez, former friend of Marcelo Rios and Chilean Davis Cupper, at 5-6 0-30. Both Zverev and Groth went over to watch the kid being cared for and lingered there at the fence for a couple of minutes, showing concern. After a five minute delay, Zverev served it out at fifteen. Groth won the second set tiebreak despite losing the first point on his serve. But the kid won the third set. Big win for Zverev who has been struggling.

Jerzy Janowicz looked really good dispatching Eduoard Roger Vasselin 64 62. JJ is one of the only players who wears all white (Gabashvili is the other). The thing about JJ is he makes a lot of different noises and grunts during the point. It seems every grunt has a different sound or variation. Such creativity. With the adidas shades on, JJ plays with the grim and vicious demeanor of an assassin. After the match he took photos for all fans, no words but he did stop and pose for all, something he didn’t do in the past. Polish tennis figures have told him he needed to be more accessible with fans and it looks like JJ is adhering to the memo.

JJ had a funny exchange with the chair ump about his refrigerator door bouncing open and not staying shut. “Thanks for your help,” said JJ, as the ump replied, “Yep, anytime.” Benoit Paire came out to support ERV at 3-3 in the first but left in the second set.

For all the noises JJ made on court during the battle, Vasselin never uttered not even one sound or word, for those keeping track.

Watched a lot of the Malek Jaziri vs. Steve Darcis. Great match. Jaziri served for it at 54 and aced to start the game but ended up blowing the game and the set. He fell down 0-2 in the third then won three games in a row but then he crumbled. A lot of tennis figures were there watching this battle of unique styles – Coric coach Zeljko Krajan who endured a 76 Coric win in the third vs. Haider Maurer. Obviously tired, I saw Krajan yawn three times in one game. He left soon after that. Jamie Delgado, coach of Gilles Muller watched over a set. Darcis will play Muller, who is 36 in the world now, next round. Agent and former player Meilen Tu was also there. Jaziri is a very interesting player to watch.

Remember, the Tunisian is the one Goran Ivanisevic said is extremely talented but he travels around the world with no coach and just wings it. I did a Biofile with Jaziri before the match and he said his best friends on the tour are Goran, Cilic and Djokovic. Jaziri comes to the net a lot, plays great defense and can pop winners, mix up the speeds and spins. If you’re looking for a different kind of style, I recommend Jaziri and also Darcis, who has an effective slice, and drop shot.

While going to meet friends, I saw Hewitt coach Jaymon Crabb running through the food court with a water. I followed him curious to see what was up. When he got to the P court, Hewitt wasn’t there. So Crabb went back to the players lounge area with the water bottle. Bizarre.

Hewitt started his stadium night match with Bellucci at ten pm after Maria lost to Daria Gavrilova, who was a top junior a few years ago.

Also did a Biofile with CC Bellis at the off site practice courts. She gets there every day at 8 am with her British coach, to avoid the sun. Bellis works hard and has that effervescent personality that fans will love. She’s America’s girl next door.

Su Wei Hsieh, the former WTA top ranked doubles player last year, was also at these off site courts but her partner didn’t show up. She was waiting for over 30 minutes by herself. We talked a bit about her Australian Open mixed SF match vs. Paes/Hingis. She said her partner Cuevas, is a clay courter who was nervous in the match. Cuevas misfired a lot of big but errant forehands in the loss, despite the fine play by Hsieh. I asked who she is playing mixed with at the French Open and she said she doesn’t know yet. She’s playing doubles in Miami with Pennetta.

Also, saw the end of Rublev vs. Carrena Busta. Rublev blew the break in the third and tore his shirt off and got a new Nike shirt at 4-4. He broke back for 54 in a deuce game then held another tough deuce game to win the match. Well earned impressive win by the young skinny Russian who reminds me or a morph of Gilles Simon and Billy Bibbitt from One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. Big time win for Rublev, who is just seventeen. Rublev’s only other ATP level win was vs. Dudi Sela in Delray Beach this year.

Rublev also is big on the bling, he’s go the Mr T bling starter kit. When he took off his shirt after the 4-4 game, he had three big necklaces on. Busta was supported by Badosa, Carlos Saurez Navarro and Alberto Ramos in his box, constantly barking out Vamos Pablo. But it wasn’t enough to save the ATP #54.

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9 comments

  • Dan Markowitz · March 27, 2015 at 4:14 am

    Great account, Scoop. Jaziri v Darcis sounds like the match of the day. Groth is having a hard time matching his 2014 results. Saw some of the Sharapova match and she’s slipping, back to back bad losses at IW and Miami, but that young woman who beat her was a lot of fun to watch. That’s a good win for JJ, Roger-Vasselin is tough. I like the Billy Bibbit reference.

  • Scoop Malinowski · March 27, 2015 at 8:15 am

    Grothzilla in a slump. He supposedly choked in the Davis Cup doubles vs. Czech. Now he lost another close one. My friend Andy Lake was there yesterday and he said he played Groth in a tournament in Vegas three years ago. Said both of his serves are lethal, especially the kick, so much action on it. He said you have to try moving around, to try to return from diff positions. Really hard to handle. Also said his backhand is good but the longer the point goes, it seems to breakdown by the fourth or fifth hit. Zverev showed good composure, he didn’t whine or seem uncomfortable. Grothzilla is the one who seemed more uncomfortable.

  • Scoop Malinowski · March 27, 2015 at 8:17 am

    Hewitt lost another tough one. 46 in third. He could be at the end like Chang was at the end, close but just not able to finish off matches. These heartbreakers add up. Tough rut to get out of.

  • dan markowitz · March 27, 2015 at 8:26 am

    The key match yesterday I thought was Harry losing to Melzer in straights. I mean Melzer is a tough out, but the way Harry’s been playing, beating Dimitrov, playing Kei close, you’d think he’d take out Melzer. Did you see any of that match and if so, what’s up with Harry?

  • dan markowitz · March 27, 2015 at 8:34 am

    Here’s the thing about Hewitt, he might be done, but he hasn’t played since Australia right? so you’ve got to give him some matches to get under his belt.

    Bellucci’s pretty bad, though. They had a Challenger in Irving, Tx last week that a guy named Bedene, barely heard of him, won. He beat Smyczek in the finals, but all these good players lost, Muller, Stakhovsky, Thiem and Chardy.

    This Tiafoe is looking impressive. He’s in the quarters of Futures after he won one last week. It looks like Kozlov has hit a road block. He’s losing early in Futures, not a good sign. Taylor Fritz beat No. 1 seen, No. 210 in world, 2 and love. Maybe it’s Tiafoe, Fritz and Donaldson we should be paying attention to and not Kozlov.

  • Andrew Miller · March 27, 2015 at 11:22 am

    Never know when your favorite player’s game gets adopted and adapted by a new player. Funny how rafas game becomes that of a teenage girl! Or how Federer learned some Rios tricks. Or Serena borrowed from seles mental toughness. Tennis is plagiarism and it is flattering.

  • Scoop Malinowski · March 27, 2015 at 9:12 pm

    Andrew she doesn’t play like Rafa, but she has that kind of intensity about her, though it’s controlled. She plays baseline bashing tennis. But she’s physically much bigger and stronger, like Rafa is over most of the ATP. She is probably the most powerful looking woman I’ve ever seen in the WTA and she is only seventeen. Big power. True about players borrowing aspects of other players. I remember young Fed used to do a deep knee bend before serving or returning, like Rios used to. Fed has thrown the uppercut fist pump just like Rafa. Murray did too.

  • Scoop Malinowski · March 27, 2015 at 9:14 pm

    Melzer just beat Djok and Tips in dubs with Lindstedt. Good match I watched most of it.

  • Dan S · March 28, 2015 at 1:23 pm

    FYI: Kozlov has been hurt. In the loss to Thompson he served underhanded the whole first set before getting a tape job and suffering out the rest of the match. So, yes, he’s had a bit of a hiccup, but he should bounce back when he’s healthy.

    Tiafoe had a tough first-round draw–Darian King, whom he’d just beaten in the semis last week. But he got a reprieve while leading 2-0 in the 3rd set when King, angry with the umpire about some line calls, just walked off the court! I expect King will face some kind of discipline for that (especially given his past history).

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