Alberto Lim upsets Kirkov at Eddie Herr today

Alberto Lim upset the highly touted American Kirkov today at the Eddie Herr Tournament in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals of the boys 18s. Lim looks like a Filipino Mike Tyson on the court, with a huge forehand and Nadal like intensity and spirit. Collette Lewis said it was probably Lim’s best win since beating Ulysses Blanche at the French Open juniors. Lim is very powerful and hits a very heavy ball. The Filipino was dictating the action and unleashed many many winners on poor Kirkov, who hit with Djokovic at Wimbledon this year. Kirkov showed himself to be a fine player today and exhibited excellent tennis but unfortunately he ran into a red hot buzzsaw on this day.

I spoke with Lim after the match and he said he met Roger Federer at Wimbledon while waiting for transportation. Federer saw his credential around his neck and asked Lim if he was in the tournament? Lim answered yes. Federer asked how he did that day and Lim replied that he won his match. Lim said he was awed to meet “the king of tennis.”

Lim trains in Fort Lauderdale with Patrick Carpio and a coach named Weiskopf. Carpio told me Lim is at his best right now after a breakthrough in recent months as a result of having gained experience and consistency and better fitness.

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There are rumors that Rafael Nadal is going to switch over to Head but an insider here said that’s not true. He saw a video of Rafa testing the Head and all of his shots were flying out. The source says Nadal will stay with Babolat.

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I spoke a lot with Wisconsin head coach Scoville Jenkins, a former champion at Eddie Herr when it was played on hard courts. Jenkins beat Troicki in the semis and a French player in the finals. Jenkins talked about his experience on the ATP Tour which included matches at the US Open against Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Jenkins said he had only played big junior events and a few Futures then he won Kalamazoo and got the wildcard into the US Open and drew Roddick as his first round opponent.

Jenkins went from Futures to suddenly playing on Ashe Stadium on national and international TV which was a “nerve-wracking” experience.  Jenkins says that Roddick’s serve was bigger and “thicker” and had more pop than Ivo Karlovic’s serve (Jenkins played Ivo in doubles in San Jose). Then another year at the US Open he played Nadal, who before their night match, was running around the locker room doing sprints, to try to intimidate young Jenkins. It was the year Nadal won his first Roland Garros and Jenkins noted that Nadal was a much more defensive and conservative player back then.

We also talked about Agassi and Sampras and how great that rivalry was. Jenkins feels Agassi and Sampras transcended the sport beyond how Federer and Nadal have, citing the popularity of the two American legends with their contrasting styles and Nike styled outfits and shoes. Everybody knew Agassi and Sampras but that’s not the case with Federer and Nadal.

Jenkins also added that he thinks the element of trash talking and grudge tennis are missing from the sport now. And also the tennis media and broadcasters speak too nice about all the players unlike in the NBA and NFL where the experts will not hesitate to rip players who perform poorly.  I agree on all counts. Tennis would be more interesting if the media and commentators found more inside information and controversial aspects. Everything is too nicey nice now. If Federer and Djokovic and Serena and Maria hate each other, the media should play up those angles and find inside scoops about it. Tennis with grudges and tension would be so much more appealing.

Another interesting thing Jenkins said was about playing Roddick and how all the top players can change up their games and shots and spins and speeds. Jenkins was trading shots with Roddick and all the sudden Roddick could play a tricky slice. All the top players do that.

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Speaking with Bobby Reynolds who said his best career win was probably against Andrei Pavel at the Australian Open. Now the coach at Auburn, Reynolds echoed Jenkins talking about the difficulties playing the top ATP players who have the special ability to mix up their games and shots and tactics, and can calculate strategies, like, okay, if I hit my serve here, the opponent will play his shot here, etc. But most of the NCAA players pretty much play bash tennis without really thinking of where they are hitting to and what they are trying to do, they are basically just baseline bashing.  I asked Reynolds what was his best win on clay and he couldn’t think of one that stands out, and joked that he would have to go search on the internet to find one.

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Ivan Lendl and Steve Denton were watching a boys 18s match on the main court while I was watching Christian Harrison train with his dad Pat and Peter Polansky of Canada. Veteran Polansky just finaled in Knoxville and won a Challenger earlier in the year at Granby. It was interesting to see them drill with Pat Harrison who fed them balls out of a basket. They would do alternate cross court shots and then hit a winner. Then they did backhand slices and a forehand, each player alternating. It was basic fundamental drilling.

I told Harrison that I actually searched his results last week since the US Open and was surprised that he had not played for two months. Harrison qualified at the US Open but then did not play until last week at the Columbus Challenger where he did win a round as a wildcard. Harrison said he felt some discomfort in his hip again and decided to take time off but the injury has healed now and he feels much better now.

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I watched a bit of Miomir Kecmanovic and Benjamin Siguoin play doubles. The top seeds in the 18s in singles and doubles, Kecmanovic has a very easy going style on the court, he looks like he’s playing with minimal intensity and effort level but he still dominates. He appears to be one of those special players who makes the game look easy. Kecmanovic, 17, is likely to end up as the ITF No. 1 player at the end of the year. I wanted to watch some of Siguoin but couldn’t take my eyes off Kecmanovic. Tomorrow I will hone in on the Canadian who is the no. 2 seed in the 18s and will most likely play his doubles partner in the final on Sunday.

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