Tennis Prose




Jul/16

20

Turning it around

mail.google.comSteve Johnson started the year off with a very disappointing 6-14 record – stumbling after a career high ranking finish to close out 2015. The most devastating shattering loss was in the second round at Delray in February blowing a set and two break lead to Benni Becker to lose in three sets. A down and probably depressed Johnson staggered through a very poor and frustrating stretch until June when suddenly he regained his groove on grass at Nottingham where he won his maiden ATP singles title defeating Pospisal Anderson Seppi and Pablo Cuevas in the final – all in close tough hard-earned matches. From there the 26 year old Johnson has been rolling – reaching the round of sixteen at Wimbledon (his career-best result at a major) and the quarterfinal at Newport. This week Johnson has continued the win streak in Washington at CITI Open with a first round win over France’s Mannarino in straight sets. So you just can never tell what the future holds for a tennis professional – from 6-14 Johnson has surged and savored a superb 12-3 record and now a career-high no. 25 ATP ranking. With Johnson’s impressive career turn-around this year you wonder who will be the next ATP and WTA Steve Johnsons who suddenly snap out of their tennis doldrums and transform into one of the hottest players on the tour? Will it be Ryan Harrison? Could it be Dudi Sela? Robin Haase? Andrey Rublev? Rafa Nadal? Giorgi? Putintseva?

No tags

96 comments

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 24, 2016 at 8:28 pm

    I have total respect for Ivo – this guy is incredible how he keeps getting these great results at 35 plus – Dr Ivo is one of the wonders of the tennis world –

  • catherine bell · July 25, 2016 at 2:55 am

    Scoop – the super powered strings and raquets would have just added to the fearlessness and aggression! 🙂

  • Dan Markowitz · July 25, 2016 at 6:47 am

    This is a big problem, Andrew, these breaks. They have to be stemmed, especially in a three-set match. Who really needs a break, well, maybe in celsius-popping D.C., in a three-set match?

    My son had the same problem this weekend. In a 12’s event, he’s only just turned 10, after only having played one hour this week because he’s on his town’s travel baseball team, he beat the no. 1 kid from Westchester in the 12’s 3 and love and then he got a bye in the semis because the kid he was supposed to play got hurt. So we show up for the finals at 2 on Saturday when it was scheduled and the other semis was still going on. We had to wait for that match to end and then the kid who won got to take an hour break so we’re sitting around for 90 minutes before the match begins.

    I think Cal got tight, maybe we should have left and come back later when the match was starting later, but he ended up being really tight the first set losing 6-1 and he had his chances in the second but dropped that too, 6-4. It was a bad scene–another “I suck” coming off the court and he refused to accept the runner’s up trophy even though I forced him to take it, then he ran out of the club onto the streets of New Rochelle and I’d just eaten so I couldn’t chase him down (it was like 95 outside) so it took him about an hour after the match before he’d get into the car and go home.

    The problem is these top kids he plays literally take a lesson every day (or at least the kid he lost to does). Cal had always beaten this boy, but his parents are rich and even in the winter, before a school day at like 6 am, he gets a private lesson and he has a personal trainer come to his house and work out his brother and he. So it doesn’t matter how much bigger Cal hits–at least at this age–because this kid just throws up deep heavy spin balls, never comes to net, and he runs down everything. It’s frustrating because Cal has to devote more time to tennis, but he’s playing baseball and basketball too.

    Anyway, had friend drive up to Binghamton and he said the tourney up there was great. $6 to get in for the day. Held in a public park, he said he watched Klein match in the quarters (if he won his ranking would’ve been high enough to get entry in US Open Qualis) and he lost to this Indian guy, like Ramananthan, in three grueling sets. Klein, my friend said, looks awkward on the court and in the heat he looks like he’s going to collapse, but he called the trainer a couple of times too and looked like he couldn’t go on, but he kept on soldiering on.

    Once he complained that his opponent kicked him on the changeover. He can be a bit of a head case Klein, but it’s brutal out there in Binghamton during a heat wave. He said Kozlov retired in his match and my friend who’s a big Kozlov fan, has watched a number of his matches on the computer, walked up to Kozlov, everything’s in the open there and the players are easily accessible, and started talking to him about all the matches he’d seen him play and his game. The Koz to his credit listened to him.

  • Dan Markowitz · July 25, 2016 at 6:55 am

    Serious Quali in Kentucky this week with Yo Adrian Manny being top seed with Jaziri no. 2 seed. Jaziri just beat Kevin Anderson in D.C. Then you’ve got Tiafoe, Paul and the Koz. Klein has his work cut out for him. He’s got to play Quigley in first round and then winner of Paul-Tiafoe match in second round.

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 25, 2016 at 8:59 am

    Klein is definitely a character on the court who is not unprone to ratchet up the drama and extra curricular smokecreens injuries fake limps or whatever – he supposedly hurt his knee vs Baker in Newport but not only finished the match and gave a great fight till the very end but he also played and won the doubles later that day – Klein is a very interesting character on the court – Looks like Cal really hates losing and that’s good – he should be proud he reached the finals – the 90 minute wait definitely was a factor – I had the same thing happen – had to wait TWO HOURS at a 35s indoor tourney because all the matches were long – and my intensity and body fell asleep with all the waiting and watching – we didn’t get on till like 1030 at night and I lost the first set and won the second then lost a third set tiebreaker to a guy I was 2-0 against – I blew two mps too – but no way I lose that match if it started on time –

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 25, 2016 at 9:08 am

    Wow – Jesse Witten qualified for the Lexington Challenger main draw – I thought Witten hung up the racquets about three years ago – unbelievable –

  • Jg · July 25, 2016 at 11:28 am

    Which club in New Rochelle, Dan? I read Taylor Fritz was playing lacrosse until 15 when he started to concentrate on tennis, he wasn’t an elite player until then, assuming many of the 12 year old champions fizzle out, especially ones who do privates every day and have a personal trainer at 12, that’s over the top, and shows the kid doesn’t have a good base.

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 25, 2016 at 11:38 am

    Agree with jg. It’s okay to lose now. He is TEN. TEN playing up. No rush. He’s in the mix with the best players and has plenty of time and room for improvement. Enjoy the journey. Fritz was supposedly a mediocre player a few years ago but they were talking about him at Eddie Herr two years ago in Dec 2014. So even though he was not highly regarded quite yet they were talking about how hard he hit the ball. Big power was the word about Fritz. Then he obviously found his groove and put it together at 17. That Lexington Challenger is a big deal. Good friend of mine goes every year.

  • Andrew Miller · July 25, 2016 at 1:16 pm

    Aren’t we unfair in telling anyone, “don’t be upset, don’t be angry?” Suppressing the emotion doesn’t work for pro players and I guarantee you it won’t work for C$. Better he work through the response and keep the line of communication open.

    Frustration, will say it again…useful fuel. It’s an art to know how to direct it. I pretty much quit the sport at 14, facing the 18s in one of the country’s “it” tennis regions (back then) – I thought it was unfair having to play the country’s top players in the first round of nearly every tournament. One week it would be New Jersey’s #1. The next week, a top 20 national player. The next week, Texas’ #1. The following week, some of South America’s top players. In a good week, I’d only face the region’s top players!

    And, lose, lose, lose, lose, lose.

    But what if I actually was able to feel the frustration, identify it as frustration, listen to it and use it to concentrate, focus? Get more out of the experience? Actually develop an appreciation for the sport, its ins and outs? Breathe better?

    Always the flip side. Opportunity.

    That’s why, looking at Harrison now, I’m like Harrison “should change”, he “should do this”, he “shouldn’t be ticked off on the court” blah blah blah.

    Who am I to judge.

    Point is these guys need to feel it.

    The world’s best players know what they are experiencing and work with it to their advantage.

    The world’s mediocre players just avoid the feelings and when the going’s getting tough in each match they fold. Suffering from the thought of losing a lead, etc.

    You see it on tour today. It’s managing emotions – not suppressing them. Focusing on responses, not reactions.

    I dont blame the kid. I think there should be a few guard-rails, such as if you abuse your racquet you get to buy the next one, etc. Or yell at the sky, not your opponent. But other then that, let er rip.

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 25, 2016 at 1:36 pm

    Andrew I think every pro player is a volcano of emotions but they contain them and hide them from the public’s eyes – Just in Newport I was talking to a coach of a player (who went deep in the draw) in the front row of centre court and the player saw this and motioned to the coach (while standing on the baseline ready to return serve) to SHHHH – instantly the coach went silent – Then when the player blew five set points (he had two set points when he SHHHHshed the coach) he lost it and pointed at the coach with his arm and was clearly in a rage for about two seconds – he showed that flash of rage when for the rest of the match he looked totally stoic like just going through the motions – emotions run wild on the court and the pros are able to (like you say) manage their emotions – but certain times the pressure and stress of a match is just too much and they snap and explode on the court – They have to explode and vent and Harrison is no exception it’s just that right now with three years of struggling and suffering he is just a whole lot more pissed off and frustrated than 98% of the rest of the players – I’m fairly sure every player has felt like Harrison but they are able to contain those volcanic emotions from busting out –

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 25, 2016 at 1:41 pm

    I would say the most pissed off I ever was on the court was this year in a tourney match I was up 64 51 and lost 64 67 46 in four hours and ten minutes – i threw the Volkl three or four times and actually put a crack in it – first crack in about five six or seven years – The racquet just broke and bent out of shape on Saturday – Blowing that kind of lead is the most infuriating thing – I should have finished the match 64 61 – was two points away at 51 30 all – Then I refused to mentally crumble in the third set despite feeling so annoyed and actually hung in there to 4-4 in the third but then lost the next two games – There’s just no way I could tolerate that kind of lead give away – 64 51 – if any player could gracefully lose that kind of lead and not blow up I take my hate off to him or her –

  • Andrew Miller · July 25, 2016 at 2:42 pm

    Scoop, I think the volcanos are fine, it’s normal. I think banging up the equipment, that one I attribute to players getting free stuff – racquets, balls, strings. Once you know the racquet’s on your dime, doubtful you chuck it when tempted.

    What I’m saying is the guys who don’t vent in a healthy way or acknowledge the emotion both lose and lose it outside of the courts. I think with some guys they turn the heat on themselves and that’s dangerous. So to me it’s how to vent, not that venting is bad.

    Just doing it in a way that works versus hurts. If you direct the hate at yourself you’re done. If you direct it at your opponent you’re done also. But if you yell, get the burst out and then re-focus (like Federer has done many times), it works. Same thing with celebrate. Celebrating in a healthy way works.

    A fist pump, a roar after getting the break or saving one. That’s champions territory.

  • Dan Markowitz · July 25, 2016 at 2:51 pm

    You know the club, Jon, it was New Rochelle Racquet Club. Growing up in southern Westchester, not that I frequented these clubs because I never took indoor private or group lessons ever, there were only three clubs, and they were NRRC, Sound Shore and Rye Racquet Club.

    One of Jon and my friend’s in high school, took lessons every week from Paul Gerken at RRC I think. Gerken had been a player who had played in the US Open. I’m pretty sure this friend of ours never plays tennis anymore even though he lives in Houston, a big tennis city. Now, there are literally about 20 clubs in southern Westchester, but probably fewer real good tournament junior players.

    There’s a chance this boy will burn out who takes all the private lessons, but he doesn’t play any other sports and I think with the Chinese–which this boy is–and Indian players–which populate the top ranks of many junior divisions in the East–tennis is IT. It represents having made it in the American way. It’s a club sport, prestigious and one doesn’t have to be physically big to get to the top.

    But Greg Anderson, obviously who’s brother is 6-8, said that he doesn’t see any top Indian players (or Chinese for that matter) on the men’s pro tour because especially the Indian players, they’re very skinny (think of Rajeev Ram who’s very skinny even though he’s tall). You do see some Japanese men playing well on the men’s tour, but Greg said they’re usually built more solid than Chinese players, who also tend to be very skinny (Michael Chang was the exception).

    Callum is half-Chinese, but then coaches see me and I’m 6-2 and one of them even said, “Well, if he grows as tall as you he’s going to clocking the ball when he gets older and able to play much closer on the baseline.”

  • Andrew Miller · July 25, 2016 at 4:29 pm

    Harrison’s won 6 of 7 matches…
    (3 matches in DC including 2 qualies, 2 matches in Canada including 1 qualie)

    THAT CONFIDENCE TANK IS FILLIN UP ON THE PREMIUM GRADE.

    Watch out folks, Harrison is writing his ticket to the US Open main draw. And he’s earning it.

  • Andrew Miller · July 25, 2016 at 4:34 pm

    Should I mention that he also got Kusnetsov, Andrei back for the loss at the Australian Open? Or that he did it in (not joking) 50 MINUTES?

    This is a Masters, folks. And that’s a quality win right there against the world #45 who’s played good ball all year round and reached the 2nd week of the Australian.

    Tennis is for the brave.

  • Ryan Balon · July 25, 2016 at 5:20 pm

    Harry would need a WC to get into the Open and there is too much young talent out there to waste one on him.

    He plays the winner of Isner Sela and as I’m writing this Isner just lost the first set but 6-4 but is up 3-0 in the second

    Love Sela- great backhand

  • Andrew Miller · July 25, 2016 at 5:46 pm

    Waste? Umm, two top 50 and one top 60 wins in one week. I’d like to see where any other U.S. player who’s not Taylor Fritz, who’s already direct entry, is pulling that off.

    Look at it this way. There’s no U.S. player between #63, Taylor Fritz, and #100. Direct entry ends around #104. Assume one of those guys won’t play and then Brian Baker gets to keep his protected ranking and enter into the main draw. Kudla at #102 is also directly into the draw because he is higher than #104. MacKenzie McDonald is also direct entry because he is NCAA champion. Then some junior will be in the draw too because he will have won Kalmazoo or something like that.

    Who are the rest of the U.S. players who are eligible?
    #115 Fratangelo
    #118 Ram
    #119 Smyczek
    #130 Krajicek
    #131 Novikov (if he were Novacek now THAT would be awesome)
    #144 Harrison

    Judging from how all those guys are playing, I’m willing to say Harrison’s going to move up a ton of spaces simply because he’s playing well and the guys ahead of him and behind of him are not. He will leapfrog Novikov and Krajicek, maybe even Smyczek, which will mean he’s one of the top three “non direct-entry” guys looking to get to the US Open.

    Consider the rankings of the next next & lower ranked vets

    #147 Donaldson
    #157 Tiafoe
    #159 Kozlov
    #190 Rubin
    #210 Paul
    #221 Krueger
    #224 Sarkissian
    #235 Nguyen
    #264 Escobedo
    #274 Bangoura

    This is an easy decision. Crowd-pleaser Harrison makes the draw and the next next guys battle the qualies for the glory of making the draw.

    Harrison will have earned it through his play this summer. Like I said he’s won 6 of 7 matches – that’s not the case for any other U.S. guy.

    So he’s almost at a “this guy should get a wild card” status. Everyone else is losing! And the next next guys, they have to battle it out in qualies.

  • Ryan Balon · July 25, 2016 at 5:53 pm

    Andrew

    Agreed Harry is playing well this summer but he’s received a few WC into NYC in the past and I would think the Open would want to show case new talent and the next next who some people haven’t seen yet.

    Isner seems to be in control of this match now and I’ll be very interested to see how Harry battles the big man.

    Sock up a break to Kudla- when will he break through and make it happen when it counts?

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 25, 2016 at 6:42 pm

    I just saw the DVD: WCT: The Road To Open Tennis – great doc and it showed Niki Pilic doing a fist after a backhand return winners – first fist celebration in tennis history? Then Laver Rod Laver flung his racquet and kicked it yes KICKED it after losing a point to Ashe – so if Rocket Rod Laver had to vent so does a three year frustrated Harrison who crushed Kuznetsov today in Toronto – huge huge win for Harrison who is suddenly on a roll – Ryan B: Perhaps all that Harrison venting in Newport is paying dividends now –

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 25, 2016 at 6:47 pm

    It’s a good question why the Indians aren’t very successful in singles – Devvaran had disappeared – Bopanna Paes are still around – The Chinese dont excel because – as a top ex Aussie player who coaches in China said the boys are all so rich they don’t have the drive but the girls in China do – he said in a few years the Chinese girls will excel in the WTA – lots of good talents rising up in China junior tennis –

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 25, 2016 at 6:48 pm

    Andrew: If Lloyd Carroll calls Harrison what he called Fish a few years ago Harrison will be top ten 🙂

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 25, 2016 at 6:51 pm

    Wow Isner is struggling but Sela does well vs Isner and Karlovic which is incredible considering he is short and so is his wingspan – Harrison has a lot of losses to Isner and you would think he would prefer to play Sela – RyanB: you should create The Ryan Harrison Fan Club 🙂

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 25, 2016 at 6:54 pm

    Who gets the USA wildcards for US Open will be a very interesting decision – lots of worthy candidates – They all deserve it –

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 25, 2016 at 6:56 pm

    RyanB: Harrison has a lot of close frustrating losses to Isner – based on that lousy head to head record you can conclude Harrison is not delighted about having to face Isner again – record has to be like 0-7 with a lot of very close sets – would be a HUGE win if Harrison can finally beat Isner – Perhaps his career best win –

  • Ryan Balon · July 25, 2016 at 8:49 pm

    Scoop

    I’m a fan of Harry and his game just not when he’s venting and acting immature

    Harry vs Isner will be a good one, Isner I think is still bitter about his loss to J Willy at the all England club and his Davis cup defeat while Harry is riding high with confidence. Let’s just hope Harry’s towels are in the right place and hawk eye is working

    First time watching Shapovalov – wow give this kid a WC at the Open.

    Qball vs Frank up next hopefully Sam doesn’t peak too early want to see him make it to the second week at the Open

  • Andrew Miller · July 25, 2016 at 9:19 pm

    Ryan, I’d take Shapovalov with a grain of salt just because he’s in front of a Canadian crowd. But I’d agree he’s making a case for the next best thing from Canada since Milos and Genie and before Felix, who seems to have a legend even before he hits the tour. Heady territory.

    I think what I’m saying is Harrison is making the case for the wild card. He’s worth supporting now because he seems to have his mojo back. As for the yelling and stuff, I think this is just part of who he is. When he’s behind that’s what you can expect until he’s finding his game, where he’s a different player.

  • Dan Markowitz · July 25, 2016 at 10:35 pm

    Geez, what’s happened to Tommy Paul? Last year he qualied at Open and took set off Seppi. This year he’s been nowhere and Tiafoe and Fritz have left Paul, Opelka, Mmoh, Rubin and Kozlov in the dust. Tiafoe beat Paul today in Lexington 1 and 3. Ouch!

    Brydan Klein beat Quigley so now he faces Tiafoe next. Not a good chance, but BK is going to have to beat Tiafoe and Manny to get into US Open Qualis.

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 26, 2016 at 9:19 am

    RyanB: You have to understand the suffering and struggling Harrison has endured which causes the venting and frustration – give the guy credit for persevering and not giving up – Harrison is a great inspiration –

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 26, 2016 at 9:21 am

    Incredible win by Shapovalov but now he has a big fat X on his back because everyone knows who he is now – Now we will see how he handles that type of pressure and expectation thrust on his shoulders so early -Will he be an Oudin? CiCi Bellis? Or a Boris Becker? Rafa Nadal? Because beating Kyrgios at 17 is beyond incredible –

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 26, 2016 at 9:25 am

    Whoa: That’s red alert for T Paul – He’s had an ordinary season so far – life on the pro tour aint an easy one especially for a rookie trying to earn his keep – But Kozlov went through a bad period last year and bounced back very strong – These bad stretches are to be expected – The breakouts happen when you least expect – as Harrison has just proved bouncing back so strong suddenly out of that debacle loss in Newport to Dancevic –

  • Andrew Miller · July 26, 2016 at 10:02 am

    Shapovalov result is great, credit where it’s due. But, it’s in Canada aka home against a player who also likes a fast tempo. But again, credit where it’s due.

    You know the young players (from Coric to Zverev to Fritz) are breaking through very fast. I think this is because the ATP tour has been rewarding experience but the average age for the top 50 has increased every year. As players retire, this has opened up opportunities for the young guys. I think we’ll have a top-to-bottom replacement of the top 50 in the next few years and NONE of us will know who anyone else is!

    I think we’re heading back to the era of teenage slam champs.

  • Andrew Miller · July 26, 2016 at 10:05 am

    To me Paul is fine, all of them are doing fine. They are coming along at the right time, as the ATP is turning over players and the U.S. has a corp of very good young players, the most since the last great group here in the U.S.. Being too hard on any one of them (we did this to Kozlov before and we were wrong!) is missing the boat. They are motivated by each other, we will see their names up on the scoreboards at ATP tournaments for a long time.

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 26, 2016 at 11:56 am

    Yeah I don’t see Paul or any others of the young gun suddenly falling off the face of the earth – they are all in this for the long run and will be in it for the long run – Paul is ranked inside the top 200 already and that’s very good – took Darian King to the age of 25 to get inside 200 – Probably took Estrella Burgos a lot longer –

  • Dan Markowitz · July 26, 2016 at 3:16 pm

    Sure if you want to be top 100 like Estrella Burgos. Most guys aren’t going to be satisfied with his career. I’m sure Paul wouldn’t be. Look, he’s 18 or 19, but its not a good sign when you’re getting beaten 1 and 3 by a guy you were supposed to be better than last year.

    Who the hell is Darian King? Just because he wins a couple of Challengers and he’s from Bermuda, it’s a nice story, but it doesn’t mean he’s going to make the 3rd round of a slam anytime soon. We mention guys like Steppy who didn’t really make his mark until he was 24, but those guys are very few and far between.

    Paul and his people at the USTA are probably panicking a little bit now.

  • Hartt · July 26, 2016 at 4:00 pm

    Denis Shapovalov said he likes the big stage, which I think is a plus for a player who wants to get to the top. I can see giving him a wild card for the qualies of the USO but would be pleasantly surprised if that actually happened.
    Denis was offered a place at Tennis Canada’s national training centre in Montreal but chose to remain in the Toronto area and continue working with his regular coach. So that means he has had limited financial support from Tennis Canada (although apparently that might change). So he had the slog of a lot of Futures tourneys – at first his ranking was so low he had to qualify for them, and then he won 3. So he has had some real experience already in his young career.
    He and Felix Auger-Aliassime both talk about how their friendship and rivalry helps them. I think Denis will avoid the worst pitfalls of early success – at least I hope so.

  • Andrew Miller · July 26, 2016 at 6:31 pm

    Dan, though I agree in principle I think we’ve all been pleasantly surprised by guys like Steve Johnson who’s up at #21. Nobody saw him there, nobody cared about him-even after he won back to back NCAA titles-yet there he is as the U.S. #2. He’s ahead of every single touted junior player.

    His claim to fame is being #7 in the U.S. before going to college. That’s it.

    I think we’re getting to the point where no one has a clue who will be good in the pros. True enough that if you’re going to strike it helps to strike fast like Taylor Fritz, or like Nadal and Gasquet and Federer did, rising up to top rankings as teenagers.

    And I think like a lot of folks have said, Alexander Zverev – I mean that guy is just ridiculously good as a teenager.

    But we have a lot of examples like Ginepri, who wasn’t top 100 until age 20, and Ginepri got to top 15 as a US Open runner up. Then you have other players like Quinzi, Wimbledon Junior champ, who’s yet to do anything on the tour.

    So that’s why I look at a guy like Paul and say, jury’s still out. We’ve written off a lot of players but a lot of them come back.

    They could be any number of U.S. players who failed. But they might not be and one year isn’t enough time to say, well, game’s up.

  • Andrew Miller · July 26, 2016 at 6:37 pm

    Yeah Hartt, you might be right on Shapovalov. I thought he practiced badly, but like Harold would say, can’t base anything on one flimsy practice. For all I know it may have been his second or third the day I saw him.

    I can’t see US Open granting a WC to Shapovalov because what would they get in return? It’s a lot more valuable to exchange it with Australia or Wimbledon or French Open if there’s a reciprocal system. One spot in that draw is the equivalent of a spot in other slams, and Canada has nothing to offer outside of spots at its Masters. Judging from tons of U.S. players who had to play the qualies in Canada this year to get into the main draw, like Novikov etc, the US Open owes Canada nada.

  • Andrew Miller · July 26, 2016 at 6:39 pm

    sorry, Ginepri was us open jr runner up to Roddick. But even that is no gimme – the pros test the players’ mettle.

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 26, 2016 at 10:52 pm

    D King could make some noise at US Open – Shapovolov just made a lot of noise in his first ATP match against a top 20 star in Kyrgios – now King has new confidence and could go on a bit of a rampage – King is a guy with out of Barbados with mediocre coaching and training and comp to play as a junior but look at where he is right now – Incredible story and journey and you have to watch out for a late bloomer like this – King is 5-0 vs Kozlov which proves this guy has something special – Paul has nothing to worry about unless he bombs out for the rest of the year and his ranking plummets – Donaldson is holding steady at 150 range – not the best 12 mths but he’s just one good run away from the top 100 and he’s still a teenager –

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 26, 2016 at 10:55 pm

    Shapovalov looks really good with that lefty one hander which he can rip – this was no fluke win – he has something very special in his tank and he has a perfect body to be a devastating lefty nightmare – Tennis Canada is doing a fantastic job – Can see Canada vs USA in the Davis Cup final in three or four years –

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 26, 2016 at 10:59 pm

    Andrew: I called Johnson for top 25 during his rookie year after USC – you can look it up on this site I know I said it a few times – Johnson always impressed me despite his okay backhand – his from was always solid and compact – Just like the way he moved and carried himself – Saw Johnson hustling through the outer courts by the US Open food court about four years ago and I yelled You’re the man Johnson and he gave a thumbs up and smile – I just knew that guy had IT – Just took a while to win his first GS singles match after a few brutal heartbreaks – But he got it in that five setter in Paris vs Lokoli I believe and that opened up his door to be an ATP force – now he has the same exact total of ATP titles as Spadea (one) –

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 26, 2016 at 11:00 pm

    Ginepri was US Open SFist losing to Agassi in five sets –

  • Andrew Miller · July 27, 2016 at 11:28 am

    Scoop, Pete Bodo and Brad Gilbert both liked Steve Johnson also. They are astute analysts like you and Dan, so they don’t miss things like character etc, hard work, competitiveness when it comes to evaluating a player. I like Bodo’s take on Johnson a few years back.

    “Johnson didn’t get where he is because he had pretty strokes. He’s living proof that it’s not about technique.”

  • Andrew Miller · July 27, 2016 at 11:43 am

    Root for Rhyne Williams. He was injured for a year and is in the 1200-1300 ranking range. When he makes it back this is going to be the biggest story (for a day) in tennis.

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 27, 2016 at 1:01 pm

    Rhyne Williams could pull a Brian Baker or Lucic Baroni – Hope he does – hope Jamie Hampton does too she has been out for over two years now with that hip –

  • Andrew Miller · July 27, 2016 at 1:08 pm

    Yep, Hampton and Giorgi, the Williams, Lisicki and Safarova. All players that can do something special with the ball.

1 2

<<

>>

Find it!

Copyright 2010
Tennis-Prose.com
To top