I first heard the buzz about Taylor Fritz two years ago at Eddie Herr as insiders were talking about how hard he could hit the ball. Then last year he made his name known as an elite junior by finaling at Roland Garros and winning the US Open. On top of that Fritz won two ATP Challengers at the end of last season. The magic has continued into this year. Fritz qualified for the Australian Open beating Mischa Zverev from 0-4 down in the third set before losing first round to Jack Sock in five sets. This week at the Memphis Open Fritz has continued to prove he has an uncanny ability to win professional matches against far more experienced opposition. He beat Michael Mmoh in straight sets then downed ATP #29 Steve Johnson in two tiebreakers. There would be no letdown after that glorious upset – Fritz beat veteran Benjamin Becker (over $3 million in career prize earnings) in the quarterfinal 76 in the third set. And it was the way Fritz did it than dazzled. Becker served for the match at 65 but failed because Fritz stunningly raised his level. Then in the tiebreak it was the eighteen year old who outcooled and outsmarted the 34 year old. Fritz was the one who came up with the fearless courageous penetrating offensive shots at 5-5 in the breaker to register the victory that will surely send shockwaves around the ATP universe. With all this sudden ATP success by Fritz you get the sense a new movement has begun. You get the sense a brand new tennis star has been born – and Fritzmania has officially commenced in Memphis Tennessee in February 2016.
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1 2 Next »Scoop Malinowski · February 13, 2016 at 9:40 am
Fritz became the youngest American in an ATP World Tour semi-final since 17-year-old Michael Chang won the 1989 Wembley title.
catherine bell · February 13, 2016 at 12:46 pm
Obviously I haven’t seen Fritz play and he sounds very promising – but, to connect to another thread, shouldn’t we hold back a bit on the hyperbole and Next Great Thing…..
So much bigger the pressure and the disappointment if he doesn’t make it.
‘Mania’ is the last thing a young player needs – surely.
Bryan · February 13, 2016 at 1:01 pm
It’s not too early to call Taylor Fritz the next big thing in American tennis. Francis Tiafoe wsa given that label two years ago and has dealt with the pressure. IMO its Fritz who’s the better prospect.
Moskova Moskova · February 13, 2016 at 1:19 pm
Well put Catherine….let’s see a real win over a tenner (and not Becker) before we start popping the Dom perignon and striking up the band ! Lol 😉
More importantly, imo, any mania is premature until if & when any of these teens make a qf/SF at a slam.
Andrew Miller · February 13, 2016 at 2:46 pm
I agree, no more hyperbole. Fritz has done well to win several rounds at a real (admittedly, weaker) ATP tournament. He’s playing with urgency and certainly threatening the established tennis order of “wait your turn” in the U.S. – he really challenged Sock down in Australia (to the point that Sock lost his 2nd rounder after barely beating Fritz), and now beat Johnson, who has a lot to think about as a top 30 player who may not be in the top 50 soon.
Memphis’ draw does look more like a hard challenger up to the finals (like one of those challengers where Stepanek is playing), but weak draw or not Fritz might even pull off the unthinkable, win his semifinal against Berankis and find himself in the final against Nishikori or Querrey.
I agree on the hyperbole. Five years ago it was a star born with a young player who is now a young and struggling veteran. Now another one with Fritz. Much as it pains me to admit it, I think Stathovsky is the best analyst of U.S. tennis in the world, and he cautions against making these predictions, especially when a player’s game isn’t that of the tennis elite – yet.
“Young players are getting huge media support, but they have not yet reached those heights where it’s indeed justified.”
I think Fritz is plenty good and he certainly rocketed through the challengers without scars, and belongs out there with the ATP regulars because he’s earned it. He very well may be the #2 or even #1 U.S. player by the end of the year if Isner doesn’t push himself, or if Sock is complacent (and if Steve Johnson continues his 2016 performance of the man who forgot who to play tennis).
But I think Dan, Moskova, Catherine are right here. The hyperbole doesn’t help the cause. If Fritz is that good his racquet will (keep) doing the talking. Personally I think his game and certainly his fitness leave some work to be done, but momentum also matters and if he’s got a lot of confidence, he can probably keep pulling off the unthinkable.
Andrew Miller · February 13, 2016 at 4:32 pm
Fritz has a bad backhand. He hits this bad backhand consistently – which is helpful, at least he’s not afraid to hit it (like Steve Johnson, who tries as hard as possible NOT to hit his two hander). But it’s still a weak and , as far as tour backhands go, it’s a challenger-level backhand. His big serve, forehand, toughness, speed, nice forehand volley and overhead, and athleticism should keep him in enough points to win a good number of matches this year.
But please – please have Spadea comment on the backhand wing here of Fritz. It’s not a good shot and it will invite some trouble.
Andrew Miller · February 13, 2016 at 4:42 pm
Nadal loses to Thiem on clay in 3 sets. Nadal better read Scoop’s book – his career is officially off the rails.
Scoop Malinowski · February 13, 2016 at 4:47 pm
moskova – Beatlemania started very early in the Beatles professional career – Fritzmania is already as well 🙂
Scoop Malinowski · February 13, 2016 at 5:01 pm
Andrew: I scrutinized the Fritz backhand this year and it’s a lot better than given credit for – it’s doesn’t have the aesthetics of other top backhands like Safin or Agassi or Fish or Simon or Hewitt – but it doggone works – something clicks about it – the timing or precision or the leverage he gets – it works – players like Becker and Zverev went after it ruthlessly but they came up empty handed – that backhand kicked their a55e5 – that Fritz backhand is only going to get better – much better –
Andrew Miller · February 13, 2016 at 8:59 pm
Fritz gets his chance now. It’s Fritz versus Nishikori or Querrey for all of Memphis’ marbles. He survived a three set battle with the #102 ranked Berankis, despite losing the first set badly.
I just took another look at the backhand in the Berankis match. Like I said before, Fritz is comfortable with the way he hits it – once in a while it actually looks mechanically correct (every six times or so that he hits it). It’s effective enough to be a 75 percent rally shot, but it is an ugly shot and Berankis was right to probe it. Berankis didn’t have enough skill to do it and got tight when the ball came back a little harder than he thought it would (a lot of unforced errors from Berankis).
But it’s ugly and it’s not as effective as, say, the Nadal forehand – which can also be ugly. The difference is the Nadal forehand has the world’s highest amount of spin on it, and he can also flatten it out when he needs to (or used to be able to do this).
Scoop Malinowski · February 14, 2016 at 8:46 am
Another marvelous win by Fritz – Berankis was steamrolling the kid off the court with his baseline dominance – quick easy points – but then the Kid with the COURT IQ and VETERAN COURT SENSE figured out how to change the match – he said after it was by serving much bigger in the second set – which he was able to do successfully and it changed the match – another incredible display of tennis brilliance fighting spirit and execution by Fritz – excellent job by Ryan Harrison for two sets as Tennis Channel analyst and Harrison said early in the second set he expected Fritz to change the match with his serve which is exactly what he did – Harrison was just as superb broadcasting as Fritz was playing last night – Harrison shared tons of good anecdotes and insights – once again Fritz outcooled and outsmarted the ATP veteran at the end winning it 64 in the third – I predict 6-8 majors for Fritz – 🙂
Andrew Miller · February 14, 2016 at 12:39 pm
Six to eight majors. Ugh. Lets see the annointed one beat Nishikori today first.
Rob · February 14, 2016 at 1:53 pm
Can I second the comment re Harrison doing commentary. He has very well spoken, remained insightful, returned to personal anecdotes only when they were relevant or asked for.
Does anyone remember Aggasi doing commentary a few years ago at US OPEN? He was great.
Andrew Miller · February 14, 2016 at 3:44 pm
Agassis 07 commentary on Roddick Federer was outstanding.
Scoop Malinowski · February 14, 2016 at 6:04 pm
Agassi was better than great – Hewitt is better than great also at commentating –
Scoop Malinowski · February 14, 2016 at 6:06 pm
Andrew: Not sure if you have seen Fritz play this year but the sky is the limit for him – Kei is too good right now and still it was a good match 6464 for Kei – Very rarely does a young player impress so early so much as Fritz has – and Fritz has impressed in so many ways —
Andrew Miller · February 14, 2016 at 8:52 pm
Hewitt is a very fine commentator.
Scoop, I’ve seen Fritz play and play this year and some clip from Memphis. It doesn’t change how I see it. And players don’t care if I think their backhand has issues – they go with what works for them (for better or worse).
Fritz is very competitive and he has a huge inner drive, which makes a difference out there. The biggest part of his game, as is traditional for most U.S. players these days, is an enormous serve. It is a big, huge serve. He also has a laser like forehand. And he has a rally shot on the backhand side, which if you think about it, is better than Roddick, who didn’t have a rally shot on the backhand wing for a few years on tour.
I wouldn’t say his footwork is great, I think his movement to the backhand side isn’t something to emulate, and his movement in general needs some work.
I wouldn’t say he gave Nishikori all Nishikori can handle – if that were the case it would have been tiebreakers or gone three sets, and it didn’t.
What I’ll say is that he’s a fierce competitor with an enormous serve with a missile forehand. That sounds a lot like Andy Roddick.
Gaurang · February 14, 2016 at 9:17 pm
I watched large parts of his match with Kei. Taylor actually gave him a tough fight. It was a close match in many ways. Kei had to raise his level to his best in order to fend Taylor off. Ofcourse when he did raise his level, Taylor was no match, but before Taylor was giving him a hard time.
I do think that Taylor has a super game. And I believe he will go beyond Jack Sock.
I am not sure Taylor is like Roddick. Though he shares a big serve, big forehand and a big fighting spirit (latter of which is typically missing in US players recently) with Roddick, I think his all-court game, movement, defense, groundstrokes and backhand are quite better than Roddick.
I think he also has a cool head and can play great under pressure. He saves break points like they are nothing. He comes back fighting even when down. He never gives up. Even when Kei began dominating when he raised his level, Fritz didnt give up and kept fighting till the end. He has a great head on his shoulders, and this is another quality that will serve him well.
Fritz is top 20 for sure, and if he keeps working hard with the right attitude (which I think he will), he is headed into Top 10. He has all the ingredients necessary I believe. Top 10 prediction is a great thing these days with so much talent in the top 20.
Andrew Miller · February 14, 2016 at 9:27 pm
I took another look at the backhand – Nishikori went after it and did so successfully. That’s something I talked about – I said a skilled player with the ability to pick on it will go there and Nishikori did. Pulled Fritz wide then pounced in both directions.
Nishikori of course is no ordinary player. But he is someone who shows how do you get at Fritz – and you do it by moving the big guy around.
I think Fritz has a lot of guts. He hits his serve and forehand extremely hard. When he’s in position to hit his backhand, he rips it also. But it falls shorter and he gets a little more cramped with it, which I attribute to poor production and technique on it. Like I said before, it works for him (for now). He’s comfortable with it and he doesn’t have any shame hitting it, a lot different from say a Steve Johnson, who’s more or less embarrassed to hit the two hander. No such holding back from Fritz.
To some extent and on occasion, it does look a little like Connors’ backhand – slight resemblance on the return. It may be that it’s flat and Fritz hits down on it, being a very big guy. He seems also only able to play one speed – lightning fast. That will be attractive to some of his opponents. To others it will be a nightmare.
He’s doing stuff that most U.S. players never will, and he’s already challenged for an ATP title. Big stuff. I don’t think he’ll have it so easy at a tournament with a better field but you can only beat whoever’s in front of you, and no other U.S. players have done this (or gone as far this tournament, in a tournament stocked with U.S. players).
He’s shown up all of his junior peers and he’s showing up the veterans. For all I know Fritz could be named to the Davis Cup team before the end of the month – or even well within the top 50 by the end of the Miami masters tournament. He plays like he belongs and that might well be the case.
Rob · February 14, 2016 at 10:38 pm
Are you guys actually having this debate? Fritz is a child holding on to a racket. Kei should have done the kid 2 and love. Fritz is the winner today it’s not even worth going forward. This was his 6 tour level match or something – persective please.
Dan Markowitz · February 15, 2016 at 2:55 am
I don’t know what Andrew is talking about, Fritz’s backhand looked pretty potent to me. He really drills it. One thing Harrison said about Fritz’s backhand compared to his own, and we all know Harry’s backhand is not a good shot, is that Fritz steps into his backhand and has his momentum going forward while Harry is often backpedaling when he hits it.
Is Fritz’s backhand too flat, does it lack variety, maybe, but I like how he attacks it and hits it hard every time. Yes, he could benefit from having a run through with a guy like Spadea who had one of the best backhands, but Fritz’s doesn’t look like a liability to me. One thing I will say about Fritz and this is something Jimmy Arias said on the Tennis Channel commentary, is that his legs aren’t strong enough yet so on balls hit behind him, he doesn’t have the strength to push off and explode out to the ball. He doesn’t move real well, but he’s 18 and 6-5 or 6-4 and you wouldn’t expect him to be a great mover at this point. Arias said thought that even though his feet are not in the right position on shots, he has such good hands that he hits good shots anyway.
catherine bell · February 15, 2016 at 3:11 am
I think it’s amazing how people see the same match in such different ways.
Scoop Malinowski · February 15, 2016 at 7:55 am
Kei said after he played practice sets with Fritz in CA and lost all of em – I like where that Fritz backhand the way it is right now – 109 in the world – and it’s only gonna get better 🙂
Scoop Malinowski · February 15, 2016 at 7:58 am
Nice analysis Gaurang – that you say Fritz has a better overall arsenal than Roddick says a LOT – I feel the same way – don’t forget that Roddick was the ATP no1 player in the world for 2003 –
Scoop Malinowski · February 15, 2016 at 8:03 am
Rob: Kei said after he was very nervous going into this final with Fritz because he had lost all his practice sets previously with Fritz – for Fritz to be beating Kei in practice sets says a lot more about Fritz than a light opinion – Kei and everybody in memphis this week tried to beat Fritz approximately 2 and love and give the upstart kid some humble pie but they all couldn’t manage to do it – easier said than done —
Scoop Malinowski · February 15, 2016 at 8:05 am
Catherine: Certain shots look a lot more vulnerable than they really are especially on TV or laptop screens – but then you step on the court and it’s a whole different ballgame – Edberg’s forehand – Fish forehand – soft servers – Santoro – etc – Certain players are deceptive in that they look more vulnerable than they really are –
Scoop Malinowski · February 15, 2016 at 8:10 am
This happens on any level – I played a final in a 35s last summer and a guy bet against me with a friend – he saw me and the other finalist play and bet on the other guy – guess what? I won 60 60 – he couldn’t read my shots or my game – and the guy was a high school tennis coach – tennis can be a very deceptive game even to experienced eyes –
Dan Markowitz · February 15, 2016 at 9:01 am
Fritz is one skinny dude. He looks like a smaller, darker-haired version of the Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis in how skinny his arms and legs are. Roddick at 18 was a bigger kid, stronger dude. Fritz and Zverev are both very skinny compared to a Coric, who I think is a year older.
Scoop Malinowski · February 15, 2016 at 9:15 am
Wrong Dan – Roddick was just about as skinny at that age – he bulked up later – Andy murray guga safin and cilic were also skinny in their early ATP years too –
Andrew Miller · February 15, 2016 at 11:38 am
No more practice sets as real matches! We can’t count public park matches, first to eleven, practice tiebreaks, p.i.g., h.o.r.s.e, etc and so forth!
I’ve seen so many high ranked players lose practice sets and then, no joke, limit the same opponent to two games or less in matches completed in well under an hour soon thereafter. Practice sets mean zero.
Nishikori blew Fritz away out there and he should have. Even if the match were played on ice he should have beaten Fritz.
Dan, if you see his backhand that way no problem on my end. I don’t see it as a textbook two hander, he unfurls it from a very scrunched position and seems almost to hit it from behind him. It would be easy to say well he is a big guy and he has to really coil up to hit a two hander, but other players his height hit it out in front with a better looking technique that don’t limit their next shot. I see it as quite a production to hit that backhand and I’d guess it takes a quarter, half second away from him.
Like i said. Maybe sixth, seventh time. It works for him. Players shouldn’t take my advice, they dance with the game that brought them their success. But if Nishikori could pick on it, and that reel is available to any player, don’t think other players wont go there. Nishikori of course isn’t an ordinary player, but there are plenty of opponents who move better than Johnson, Berankis, Mmoh, and Ben Becker. I’d think they pick on the kids movement, tired the teenager out.
Personally i like a textbook two hander. I loved the Spadea backhand and i think it was a big reason for his solid career. The Nadal backhand is not just good it is exceptional. DJOKOVICS backhand is like an enhanced Agassi backhand, but three times more reliable. Federer. Lendl. Becker Boris, Edberg. Murray. Del potro. All of them, great if not superb backhands. Kafelnikov, Safin. It keeps going. Even Sampras.
catherine bell · February 15, 2016 at 1:05 pm
Used to be tennis truism that many top players’ backhands were better than their forehands – looks like from Andrew’s list that this may still be true.
(Sampras I believe took one hand off his backhand side when he was a junior player)
The greatest backhand I ever saw came from Evonne Goolagong (Cawley) – not to be compared with the power of these days but oh it was thing of beauty.
(forehand ‘not so good’)
Andrew Miller · February 15, 2016 at 3:07 pm
Matt Willinsky at ESPN had a nice interview with Fritz. Fritz is well aware of his movement issues. For what it’s worth, he said this.
First, he speaks a lot with Blake and Fish and worked with Fish.
Second, his priority is to improve strength and movement to build up the transition game.
Third, his goal is to hold as often as possible so he can let loose during return games.
Gaurang · February 15, 2016 at 4:49 pm
Andrew, yes agree with those 3 points that Fritz needs to work on. The thing is, I believe the most positive quality Fritz has is his fighting spirit (he plays clutch very well, fights till the end, even when down), and a good head on his shoulders. He has the game as well, but that can improve with practice, knowledge and good coaching (and talking with Blake and Fish). Qualities like fighting spirit, and a cool head are hard things to teach and learn — these are things you just have from early on — either you have them or not. So thats why I have a positive opinion on Fritz.
Obviously this is just the beginning, and I agree with Dan as well that this tournament did not have very good players apart from Nishikori. Next week Delray has top notch talent, but Fritz will probably be tired from this week so I dont expect a big run from him. But he will get plenty of chances to prove himself as the year goes on. Jack Sock is a top-notch player now, ranked 22, and Fritz gave him a tough 5-setter at AO. Shows to me that Fritz is already playing top 30, top 35 tennis. If he stays healthy, I very well expect him to be in the top 50 by the end of the year. Which is a big deal for his age.
Scoop, I do feel that Fritz is probably a better player than Roddick. Or atleast he will evolve into one as he gains more match practice and physical strength. However, he cannot match Roddick’s serve, and Roddick used his serve as a pillar to win matches. Overall, I think he will equal Roddick. Looking at the current top 10 roster, I think Roddick would have been around #7-#10 today. And so I think Fritz will get there too. Give him 3 years.
Rob · February 15, 2016 at 5:54 pm
I thought I’d ask and see what people think – who will the top 5 be in 5 years? I see Fritz and Paul there. It’s not possible to project but I do wonder what the TP community thinks. I have a list but you go first.
Scoop Malinowski · February 15, 2016 at 8:13 pm
Practice sets arent totally worthless – they do play them and they do keep score don’t they? It was a tight 64 64 for Kei who also was fresher than Fritz who was in the doubles SF – he played a lot of tense tennis – His backhand does not look as good as the ones you cite but it can evolve into a thing of beauty – let’s see – I loved Coria’s Safin’s Kafel’s Delpo’s Fish’s Rios’s Ferrero’s Hewitt’s Nalbandian’s – so many nice two handers – didn’t like Roddick’s much but it sure did serve his career quite well —
Scoop Malinowski · February 15, 2016 at 8:16 pm
That’s true Catherine – the backhand flow is actually the more natural motion across the torso than the forehand – a coach explained that to me once – I actually feel better with the backhand under pressure to make important passing shots no matter what the angle – forehand can be a little trickier to get in right footwork position – a lot of top pros have superior backhands than forehands in both ATP and WTA – Dan could probably weigh in on this bh vs fh debate as he was a coach –
Scoop Malinowski · February 15, 2016 at 8:19 pm
Well said Gaurang – thanks for those astute comments as usual – I think Frit’z serve can be just as lethal a weapon as A-Rod’s – perhaps even more so —
Scoop Malinowski · February 15, 2016 at 8:21 pm
Rob: my top five ATP in 2020 is Djokovic Kyrgios Zverev Fritz Kokkinakis or Thiem —
Gaurang · February 15, 2016 at 10:16 pm
My top 15 for 2020 are (in no particular order):
Raonic
Nishikori
Kyrgios
Coric
Theim
Zverev
Fritz
Tomic
Sock
Dimitrov
Visily
Chung
Tiafoe
Kokk
Nishioka
Andrew Miller · February 15, 2016 at 10:25 pm
Circa 2001. Steven Wine, ATP.
“Only then did Andy Roddick act his age: He sat down in his changeover chair and grinned like a kid at Christmas.
The gangly 18-year-old from Boca Raton lived up to the hype and hopes for the next generation of American men’s tennis Sunday, upsetting Sampras 7-6 (2), 6-3 in the third round of the Ericsson Open.
It was a breakthrough victory for Roddick, the world’s No. 1 junior last year.
”Definitely the future of American tennis is looking very good,” a gracious Sampras said. ”He’ll just get better and better.”
Roddick, out of high school less than a year, is ranked No. 119 and climbing. He’s the best bet yet to provide a worthy successor to the generation of Grand Slam champions that includes Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and Michael Chang.”
Andrew Miller · February 15, 2016 at 10:25 pm
No way I’m doing top 10 for 2020! It’s 2016!
Gaurang · February 16, 2016 at 12:40 am
Just read two Steve Tignor articles about Fritz, published last week on tennis.com. In the first one, he highlighted the exact same 2 qualities (fighting spirit, and level head) that I had mentioned above:
“…. But Fritz has also shown a fierce persistence—he saved nine of 11 break points against Johnson—as well as a level head. That alone can take a teenager far.”
( from http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2016/02/real-question/57605/ )
The second article by Steve is pretty good, and talks a lot of things about Fritz and I agree with him a lot — well worth the read:
http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2016/02/putting-fritz/57627
He sees a lot of promise in Fritz. He compares him to Sampras in some ways. He did mention that his backhand is not bad at all. He mentions that apart from his serve, he also has power groundstrokes. He pointed his biggest area of improvement as keeping his balance when defending wide of the court. I agree — to go to the highest level, one needs to have tremendous ability to defend and convert defense to offense these days. I think he has the ability to develop that.
Scoop Malinowski · February 16, 2016 at 8:33 am
The most impressive part of Fritz is not the power of his game but the cool head he maintains when in the moment of truth pressure cooker moments of the match – he consistently and routinely generates his best tennis to thwart adversity and danger – and he especially does this at the very end of the match late in the third set – this type of fighting spirit and alpha male dominance is very rare and abnormal that a kid can do this already against established ATP veterans like Becker Johnson and Berankis – Yet Fritz has shown this remarkable ability over and over already in just his first three ATP events – One can only imagine how much Fritz will develop this most valuable talent as he matures and gains more experience beating these players – His confidence levels are going to soar and Fritz is going to become a full fledged tennis juggernaut leaving countless players left scratching their heads in awe – like Zverev Becker Johnson and Berankis – some day you can easily imagine players like Ferrer Federer Tsonga Berdych etc scratching their heads in awe of Taylor Fritz –
Dan Markowitz · February 16, 2016 at 10:13 am
Touching down in West Palm Beach Florida in 20 minutes, getting my rental car and motoring down to Delray for the Rubin-Groth 11 am match in Delray. I will give Tennis-Prose readers a great insight into the Forgotten teen, Wimbledon Jr. Champ, Johnny Mac disciple, Noah Rubin. Of course, he’s playing against my second favorite player after Dunny Brown, Gigantic Sam Groth.
Tonight after an early dinner at my favorite Delray restaurant, Cubana, I’ll watch and report on the Fritz v Smyczek match and the Delpo makes his comeback vs Kudla. So stay tuned for my firsthand take on Rubin, Fritz and Delpo.
Andrew Miller · February 16, 2016 at 11:14 am
Looking forward to Dan popping the balloon. Too much helium as of now.
Dan Markowitz · February 16, 2016 at 12:28 pm
Rubin takes first set and we’re serve in second at 4-3 Groth. Sam hit a 148 mph serve. Thanks mate to the ball boy when he takes towel. It’s not that hot but he’s sweating profusely. Rubin is very spry; moves extremely well.breaking Grotg is very hard. Rubin backhand very solid. He’s got it to deuce on Groth serve. Rubin gets break point w bh pass he held to last split second than curle cross court. Groth holds than screams out Come On twice.
Scoop Malinowski · February 16, 2016 at 1:07 pm
Groth in a battle – Rubin showing he belongs in the ATP top 100 right now –
Moskova Moskova · February 16, 2016 at 2:46 pm
Haha….scoop comparing fritz to the beatles..
2/13 @ 4:47pm…U cannot be serious! Lol
Dan Markowitz · February 16, 2016 at 3:10 pm
Rubin wins in third set breaker after Groth had two match points on Rubin’s serve at 15-40. Rubin is so smart and he is a major hustler; great attitude. Groth was trying to intimidate him, but Rubin hung tough. He’s got a fine backhand too. His forehand is not big, but he kept angling out wide to Groth’s forehand making the big Aussie try to go for too much and Groth just couldn’t put Rubin down even w his big serves and nifty volleys.
Moskova Moskova · February 16, 2016 at 6:51 pm
masel tov noah !!! the next jewish hewitt lol