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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?

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96 comments

  • Dan Markowitz · July 21, 2016 at 10:05 am

    Talk about turning it around. Harry goes from being a basket case in Newport and losing to no. 258 in the world to being a top 30 player in D.C.

  • Ryan Balon · July 21, 2016 at 11:37 am

    So at 24 years old Harry is back at it again. He has had a miserable year with barley any appearances into a main draw ATP event and with how he performed last week in Newport I’m shocked that he’s back in the winners circle.

    Dan, Scoop and I witnessed just a complete breakdown by Harry as he was getting handled by Canada’s Frank Dancevic at the Hall of Fame. Swearing at his box, pulling his hair on change overs and literally acting like a mad man.

    I thought he was finished and now I’m looking forward to seeing how he performs against Johnson later today.

    This site is obviously very pro American which is great and nice to write and read about American tennis – but how about some insight into the likes of a Pablo Cuevas ( one of the best back hands I’ve ever seen) or even a Albert Ramos-Vinolas who just won his first title last week.

    There are so many great European players on tour that not only do I hope all you readers go out and watch but also blog about so we all can be more informed.

    The summer hard court season is like Christmas for six weeks straight!

  • jg · July 21, 2016 at 11:53 am

    I think Harry plays well on the slow hard courts, especially when they are just resurfaced and the ball sits up and bites the court, maybe why Harry played well in Mexico on those hard courts which appears to play similar to DC. He probably doesnt do well in challengers because they are less likely to resurface right before the tournament and it gives him less time for that loopy forehand –just a thought.

  • jg · July 21, 2016 at 12:14 pm

    Troika may be a bigger hot head than Harry, did you see him arguing with the DC cop when practicing with Tomic, they refused to get off the court due to incoming bad weather.

  • Andrew Miller · July 21, 2016 at 1:04 pm

    Cool that JG caught that Harry match.

    I went last night and I’m afraid I may have been in a version of Dan’s inferno, watching some mind-less ball bashing from one of tennis’ two tours, which I won’t talk about. I think I get now why Dan obsesses about Mac’s style. That’s probably because on one of the tours, it’s as if, in watching a lot of in person matches, there was no Mac of Navratilova that ever existed. Few volleys. No taking initiative, moving forward or anything like that.

    So I’ll stay focused on just a few matches that weren’t like that.

    Last night’s conditions were perfect for summer tennis. Just beautiful. It was cool, maybe mid to high seventies, light to no breeze – probably the opposite of the earlier conditions where I’m sure they peeled a few players off of the deco turf or whatever surface they’re putting down these days. On some playing courts, not more than 25, 30 meters from the park’s deep green canopies, you could hear the constant hum of night crickets, and it was something that helped the players – that constant humming alloweing them to settle down and hit their best ball. Sadly NO ONE was practicing in the evening – maybe because, well as the tournament goes on, the players lose and leave and the player population thins out. Could also be these courts are far from player hotel(s). Or that the prime practice courts have no lights. More than anything that’s the state of non-US open pro tournaments – facilities that are often very good, but need some basic things, even after being resurfaced to pro specifications.

    Onwards.

    Let’s start with Kevin Anderson vs Malek Jaziri as it was still sunny outside – not twilight, just light, no overhead lights needed. Perfect conditions. I thought for sure, in this match going down the wire in the third set, somewhere Kevin Anderson, with his perfect strokes and all court game, would take it from Jaziri. But let’s credit Jaziri here – having faced one giant earlier in Opelka (who is the next John Isner, the guy serves out of a tree house) – he was primed to return Anderson’s serve. And return he did. This was a huge display of all court tennis from two vets doing battle – Anderson moved extremely well, big guy or not. But Jaziri knew that if he could lure Anderson into hitting one more shot he would, invariably, misfire on the forehand long. And he did. Jaziri did one other thing well – guessing well in the tiebreak on Anderson’s serve, hitting back a lighting-fast serve to the ad court that looked like a winner, shocking Anderson and allowing Jaziri to take over the tiebreak momentum and run away with it.

    Wow.

    I’ll give you some Baghdatis-Millman too. First of all, I had no idea how good Millman is. He has a great game – he hits every shot and works well. Nice flat strokes and he blasts away shot after shot. But what Baghdatis did during this evening match, was mix it up. He would slice after slice after slice before then ripping a shot or a gentle topspin lob that Millman would chase after. The Bag also looked like he has been training hard, no pouch or anything, he’s the most fit I’ve seen him. Fatherhood seems to have done him well, turning tennis into a job that he hates a little less. Baghdatis still misfires on a lot of shots and his backhand isn’t as stable as it should be. But his variety and willingness to go to the slice for a few consecutive shots and points helped save his big shots for the right points.

    The Europeans really do play a different game. It’s the clay game and it works on slow courts – point construction and every thing. They think out there and it shows up. I also like Jaziri’s style against the best American player in the draw.

    Yep, that’s because Kevin Anderson has a U.S. passport.

    Around no more euro stuff. Back to the yankees vs. the mets.

    Sock played Lacko last night and Lacko’s a nice player for sure – great groundstokes, light on his feet, plays some nice textbook tennis. Moves well, takes the short ball, knows how to volley. Plays a nice game. Compare that with Sock, who is so uncomfortable moving to the backhand side and hitting it. Thought he hit a few clean backhands, it was unsightly for the most part to watch a high ranked pro hit such a flawed shot.

    But what makes Sock, or any guy in the top 30, better than his hungry opponent with textbook shots? That gets us to what makes Sock special. He has a rapport – he jokes with himself and he stares at the official after a call he doesn’t like (after he wins a point and then stares at him for having to have had to replay it, thereby winning it twice, then the stare). Priceless – the guy is full of antics that show some personality. It’s like he looks around in mock disapproval before hitting ace after ace, then has a conversation, gentle but disapproving, with the official while all the time moving the match in his direction.

    Telling you, Sock is smart on court. He uses variables you never knew existed. The crowd, who becomes part of the match, the funny glances at things, the shaking of his head. The guy’s a character. But what makes his playing special? The classic parts of the u.s. game since Roddick came on the scene – enormous serve, enormous forehand, and creating every opportunity to hit it.

    I’ve never seen anyone run around his backhand like Sock. He literally doesn’t let himself hit many backhands, slowly moving himself all the way to the left side of the baseline to hit it, even on shots aiming for his backhand.

    Sock also took care of his serve, just hammering ace after ace or unreturnable serve after unreturnable serve. His serve is awesome and that forehand is too – he accelerates so quickly that the ball comes off with something extra. His forehand is the equivalent of an Isner serve.

    And that’s why he won. He just hit that serve and forehand so well. It worked the other day. But I still think this may make an upper bound for Sock’s ranking, or for longer matches where he can’t finish up quick, like slams and late stages of masters.

    How about Isner-Duckworth? No question about it, Isner is the best U.S. player and he’s superior to this and the next next generation (for now). He’s the consummate U.S. professional, his serve is the best on tour and unlike most u.s. players he can hit a backhand. He proves that last night against Duckworth, who plays a little like Lleyton Hewitt. A little. Games with four aces when he needed it. Probably ticked about Davis Cup and this is redemption.

    DY-Tomic. I felt like I was watching DY-Spadea. Tomic is a similar player to Spadea – great backhand, service-able forehand, weird but decent serve (Vince’s was better). Tomic is a much better match player and rattled the DY with his consistency, whereas DY was getting bothered by fans’ talking during the match and small things, somewhat like Harry actually. As usual I’d watch DY and marvel as his ability to change direction on shots, or put away a volley or and overhead or hit a sweet touch volley, even a backhand winner. Or an incredible slice – just beautiful.

    As usual though the lack of consistency, or willingness to draw out the point a little longer, hurt DY. The us impatience on hard courts just hurts them, and DY inconsistency, and unwillingness to draw the point out longer, hurt him.

    Last but not least, Sock-Johnson versus Soares-Melo. Doubles makes us players better. Sock and Johnson were all over this match, which ended with a super tiebreak. They looked very professional out there, their volleys and approaches were crisp and they were filling up that confidence tank with wins earlier in the day or evening and a win at night against the tournament’s top seed. They were great.

    Whoever says doubles doesn’t matter is wrong! It makes good players much better – and Sock and Johnson’s performance as top 30 players show this. They were finishing point beautifully and were displaying the forward-attacking games that compensate for bad backhands, to some extent.

    Fritz & co, take note…

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 21, 2016 at 1:04 pm

    Harrison has filled up his confidence tank with two very good wins – he said in Newport he didn’t have any confidence – how quickly things can change – Now Harrison will play Johnson which will be a very interesting showdown –

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 21, 2016 at 1:09 pm

    Ryan: I disagree slightly about Harrison in Newport- he was just very very frustrated and he had to vent and how he vented was controlled rather nicely – from a guy who has blown up on the court in the past on occasion πŸ™‚ – Harrison just lost to a red hot player in Dancevic who had jut won two very tough close matches before the Harrison clash – then Dancevic was up a set and in a tiebreaker Ivo who eventually won the title – So Dancevic was playing very well on grass and Harrison just couldn’t get going in what was his first match on grass in Newport which is different than Wimbledon – So Harrison was deeply annoyed that he couldn’t get his game going and show his best stuff which he is showing this week at CITI Open – We always feature Euro and non American players here at TP Ryan perhaps you are not tuning in enough – I will do a Biofile interview with Cuevas this summer just for you πŸ™‚

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 21, 2016 at 1:12 pm

    JG: I interviewed Troicki once and he was a perfect gentleman but I have heard that he has had some big blowups on court which I feel is par for the course as there are so many pressures and tensions about being a top 100 ATP player – most players can hold it in till they get to the locker room – some like Troicki can’t – Put it this way: There are a LOT of hotheads in the ATP 100 – A LOT –

  • Ryan Balon · July 21, 2016 at 1:50 pm

    I don’t know Scoop you were calling break points against Harry ” career ending points”

    Yes he was upset with the surface and FD was playing solid but his outrage was insane!

    After Harry won his first round against Robert he spoke with Tennis Channel and his insight into the game is fantastic – he has a job waiting for him if he ever wants to commentate.

    I will admit I’m not a huge fan of Harry but would like to see him do well especially over the next few weeks.

    The schedule for today in DC is amazing – my boy Coric plays Monfils which will be enjoyable to say the least

  • Andrew Miller · July 21, 2016 at 2:04 pm

    Monifls=great. One of most popular players world-wide. Stands were PACKED for Wozniaki-Stosur (they were on grandstand).

    Stayed away from the Coric match. Sadly, can’t quite over-look his enormous tank-job at the 1st rd of Australian Open. It was one of the least professional matches I’ve ever seen, and as a fan, looked at it said, this kid is really missing it.

    He’s probably feeling good on his game with the Davis Cup match.

  • Dan Markowitz · July 21, 2016 at 4:19 pm

    A few observations as I watch Harry-Stevejo. Firstly, I think Harry doesn’t do well at Challengers because he fully believes he should be at the ATP level no matter what his ranking is and he doesn’t get up for Challengers. A guy like Spadea hated playing Challengers too, but at least he won a lot of them.

    Harry has a great serve, akin to Sampras’s in its easy motion and great pace. Of course, Sampras hit his serve better.

    I just heard an interview with Lauren Davis and she’s played well in DC Gimel said because the courts are quick.

    DY has a sub-par backhand. He buries a lot into the net because he crosses over too much with footwork and can’t hit from open stance. He should hire Spadea before he’s ranked like 91.

  • Dan Markowitz · July 21, 2016 at 4:28 pm

    Ryan,

    You’ve been put on the mat. Brett Haber on Tennis Channel just said Harry gave up drinking alcohol at the beginning of year. Are you sure he was imbibing champagne in Newport.

    Paul Annacone: “Ryan tends to boil over” Really, you don’t say, Paul!

  • Andrew Miller · July 21, 2016 at 5:04 pm

    Dan, Harry does believe that re: his “true” level. To his credit, he has a better game now than ever before. And he’s also aware how his experience, even if it feels like a burden, is valuable – he knows what the young guys will encounter once the new-ness of the tour wares off and they realize that this is a job. Fritz is trying hard to dispel the illusion – he’s taken on the trappings of adult-hood in seemingly every way.

    But Harry’s issues surfaced in ATP events and slams also. It wasn’t just challengers where he seemed to feel he didn’t belong. It was erupting everywhere (saw it in his match with Kozlov, his first one – he got the Koz back later). But it was erupting regardless of the type of tournament – ATP 250, ATP 500, Masters, Slam…you name it, “bad harry” made an appearance and the cameo never helped. And not unlike a female player I saw who absolutely exploded yesterday (who will go un-named, few know them anyhows!)

    My worry on this is, without a healthy way to vent – or without Harry learning how to go for a big shot and give that frustration a huge enormous outlet – that that emotion will grind him into the cement rather than propel him through a match. The fuel of frustration is useful. It either destroys a player or turns them into a warrior on court.

    In D.C. I saw him holding it in check – I think because he pulled off some big shots and you could tell he was feeling more confidant in his step. That he kept focusing and focusing and became the stage manager rather than the one-act play. It was pretty cool, honestly, to see the guy grow in front of you. That’s what working through does for guys who know how to do it. Accept the frustration and make it work on your behalf.

    The best guys do this, focus it into problem solving.

  • Andrew Miller · July 21, 2016 at 5:39 pm

    SteveJo won. To me, it’s the doubles! SteveJo won 2 matches yesterday and took the double confidence into the match, with Sock’s winning ways rubbing off. Twice the real-life scenarios and dubs as practice for singles.

    The confidence tank theory strikes again.

  • Jg · July 21, 2016 at 6:22 pm

    Courts look slow to me ball sitting up

  • Jg · July 21, 2016 at 6:55 pm

    Jack sock just said fast court, Kudla was complaining it’s slow

  • Jg · July 21, 2016 at 7:18 pm

    Watching Monfils, he’s amped up his game a bit

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 21, 2016 at 8:57 pm

    Not exactly Ryan: I was calling those points at the end of the second set of Dancevic vs Harrison as “career point” for Harrison – glad he proved that idea wrong πŸ™‚ Coric could be breaking out right now – that Davis Cup win vs Sock could be a career changing win for Coric – after a big win like that you have to wonder what is left in his gas tank for this week though –

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 21, 2016 at 9:03 pm

    Johnson has a lot of confidence right now – 14-3 in his last 17 singles matches and he also won a doubles title not long ago I believe – Johnson is rising fast and he could be a top 15 player by the end of the year – Harrison ran into a hot player in Johnson so it’s not a bad loss – lot of positives to be taken this week but he will still need WCs and to survive qualies to get back to main draws in ATP –

  • Andrew Miller · July 21, 2016 at 9:36 pm

    True. Johnson was playing great last night in the dubs match with Sock. His serve, fh, volleys, slice bh all looked good. His two hander he didn’t seem to attempt.

  • Ryan Balon · July 22, 2016 at 9:51 am

    Dan,

    First off of all the Tennis Channel announcers I cant stand Brett Haber – he’s annoying, tries to be funny and at times I have to mute the TV if he’s on.

    As for the comments he mentioned re: Harry I found them pretty interesting.

    Harry went to Fish and Mardy suggested he diet and stop drinking. Now how much was he drinking where he had to completely stop? I mean if he was having a glass of wine here and there I don’t see how that would hurt his game. So right there that comment suggests he had more than the occasionally drink – and I know what I saw on the roof top deck at the Viking and he wasn’t taking Fish’s advice that evening.

    Haber also mentioned he was working with a mental coach- that hasn’t seemed to work either after his stunt in Newport and then yesterday at 2-2 in the first set when he was complaining about Hawk Eye being incorrect.

    Watching Harry is bothersome and from here on out I hope he does well but wont waste time to see him play. He’s engaged and acts like a 3 year old.

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 22, 2016 at 10:57 am

    Ryan: I don’t know if you ever lost a lot in tennis but if you did you would know how excruciatingly painful it can be – now magnify that agony by ten because a pro player has dedicated his life to winning tennis matches – when a pro player loses loses and loses lots of matches his whole life is crushed and his ego and identity are crushed – this is what a pro player deals with mentally when he suffers the agony of a long bad streak of losing matches – it’s an unbelievable amount of stress and tension – Harrison has been suffering through this for like three years now – give the guy a break – he’s absolutely entitled to blowing his stack on court – he’s entitled to blow a gasket or two or three –

  • Ryan Balon · July 22, 2016 at 11:10 am

    Scoop,

    Exactly he is a supposed “professional” he should act like one……

    People pay money to see pros play tennis not whine for 2 hours on court.

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 22, 2016 at 11:38 am

    Frustration agony and suffering are part of the sport – it’s a cruel cold hearted business out there on the court – He is professional but he shows his imperfections as he is human – Federer Agassi Rios Djokovic Andy Serena and other great champions of the sport have also shown their negative emotions on the court just like Harrison – you’re too hard on Harrison – try to have empathy – I will ask Cicma if you ever showed any blowups on the court like Harrison πŸ™‚

  • Ryan Balon · July 22, 2016 at 1:04 pm

    Oh believe me when I was playing daily and battling the likes of Cicma I was very animated on court.

    I’m not saying that behavior should never happen but the consistency of Harry doing it time and time again is getting old. So he’s been on a three year losing steak – how is yelling about it and acting like a child going to help that?

    Overall he needs daily guidance from a coach who won’t tolerate that behavior, his talent is there but his head is out of it and in tennis you need both.

    Hoping to see Sock, Johnson and Qball make it through to the semis – love Paire what a backhand.

    Toronto right around the corner each week just gets better and better!

  • Andrew Miller · July 22, 2016 at 2:49 pm

    Sorry, but this is the real Harrison. When he’s on a roll he’ll be the most positive player. When he’s not, he’ll be dour and moody. You see this in Murray even today – when he’s triumphing in a Wimby final, he’s on top of the world. Catch him though getting his hat handed to him, and I’m sure he’s yelling at his box.

    Yeah it is ugly to see him take it out on himself. Same goes for seeing DY, like Harry, get annoyed with minor stuff at tournaments like spectator noise (with Harry it was about towel placement).

    For what it’s worth this was a “good” tournament for Harrison. I guarantee you if he gets a chance to play alongside his brother and gets some more wins, we’ll see less of the self-sabotaging Harrison and more of the winning character. They are part of the same person, that’s just him.

  • Andrew Miller · July 22, 2016 at 4:48 pm

    Ymer made a QF in ATP Switzerland Gstaad. Awesome! I like the Ymers – both of them are very good players.

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 23, 2016 at 7:35 am

    Ryan: It’s called venting and Harrison needs to vent – and there is nothing offensive about the way Harrison does his venting – if it was that offensive you and other people would have gotten up and left the court but as far as I could see not a single person left the court during Harrison’s venting versus Dancevic –

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 23, 2016 at 7:37 am

    I like Ymer too he is a little guy but he can really wallop the ball – Saw Kozlov lost again to Darian King – he is now 0-5 vs King – Ivo is on fire beating Sock to reach the Citi Open SF – Ivo now a darkhorse contender for US Open πŸ™‚

  • Ryan Balon · July 23, 2016 at 8:53 am

    My final Harrison remark

    Maybe Zoloff will help his insanity

    Solid win for Johnson and great performance by Monfils

    Looking forward to his match tonight against Sasha

  • Andrew Miller · July 23, 2016 at 9:06 am

    Johnson d. Isner-again! Isner still affected by Croatia Davis Cup loss? Johnson – from an awful slump to becoming top U.S. player. He’s playing special tennis these days.

    Monfils takes out Querrey in 3. Who wouldn’t cheer for Monfils? He’s the best player on tour for fans by far. He gets to play Zverev in the semifinals.

    Scoop is right on Alex Zverev, that guy might even make a slam semifinal at the US Open.

    Johnson gets Karlovic now, who beat Sock in straight tiebreaks. Say what you will. Karlovic probably beats Johnson too. I can think of no other player that has improved so much as Karlovic on tour over the past ten years.

    On the rest of the tour.

    Feliciano Lopez looks to be heading for another title in Switzerland after handling D. Brown. The veterans are showing poise in their thirties – Karlovic, Lopez, etc.

    Up in Montreal, the qualifier draw has a huge number of Canadians for the Masters. Surprising there are so few people can actually identify.

    I’m also surprised how many ATP tournaments there are this week! Seeing Paolo Lorenzi in the winner’s circle – I mean, I can’t remember ever seeing Lorenzi. Or his opponent.

  • catherine bell · July 23, 2016 at 1:22 pm

    Andrew – your comment re number of ATP tournaments applies as much to WTA I think, and not to latter’s advantage. Tiny events scattered all over the place.

    Women’s tennis could showcase much better with fewer tournaments, stronger fields and consequent increased interest and greater ‘recognition factor’ πŸ™‚

    That’s my opinion anyway for what it’s worth – or maybe I’m living in the past……

  • Andrew Miller · July 23, 2016 at 2:25 pm

    hi catherine, just seems like so many to me! I think I was used to one in the u.s. and a parallel one in Europe or somewhere else in the summer. Must be hard for players to keep their rankings, for sure. If a player’s doing well they must be doing REALLY well. If they are doing only “better” than they did, could be treading water!

  • Andrew Miller · July 23, 2016 at 8:14 pm

    Is Alex Zverev top 20 by Monday? Wow, already #27. There was talk we’d never see another teenage slam champ. I think we will now.

    For Ryan, now we know we’ll have two European players in the DC final. Karlovic (who took out Steve Johnson) and Monfils or Zverev.

  • Andrew Miller · July 23, 2016 at 8:16 pm

    catherine, which WTA player do you feel have the all court games and don’t need to win from the baseline? I think I was put off by only seeing a few players moving forward to win points (one of which was Giorgi – who’s comfortable when finishing off certain points but doesn’t do anything like a serve volley. Nonetheless she knows how to finish there).

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 23, 2016 at 8:24 pm

    Andrew: Johnson beat Isner in DC a couple of year ago – Johnson can handle the Isner artillery – Johnson is on his career high right now and so too is Ivo who since losing the first set to Dancevic in Newport has been superb – Lopez is as good as ever and should beat Haase for his first title in years – Big fan of the Lopez play style – Zverev will be no 1 in a few years –

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 23, 2016 at 8:27 pm

    Harrison not insane – he just needs to vent his frustration and anger on occasion πŸ™‚

  • catherine bell · July 24, 2016 at 8:05 am

    Andrew – from what I’ve seen over the past few years (and I don’t get to watch that much live now)
    I wouldn’t say any current top woman plays an all court game in the sense of that style being their fundamental approach. You see players who might get a few points by moving forward but sooner or later they’re back on the baseline (or behind it). It’s not just a matter of skill – more a mind set.

    I’ve watched Simona Halep quite a bit because she’s an attractive player who has the potential to be more varied but just doesn’t keep it up. She’s fast, the right build, good court sense etc but time and again you find yourself praying for her to just get in to the net and take the point but she won’t. She’s not alone – it’s frustrating. (I except Serena from some of this – she’s created her own style)

    By the way – if you do spot any WTA players out there serve/volleying – do let us know !!

  • Andrew Miller · July 24, 2016 at 9:39 am

    catherine, maybe Dan or Scoop have seen juniors employing more of the forward-attacking style? They might be a better indicator. I think I was more fair on this one before going to a tournament for the first time in a while. Last one I went to had Henin playing at the top of her game, so it’s been almost a decade for me.

    I don’t want to assume that everything WTA is now mindless baseline bashing (watching a few players like Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Angelique Kerber, it’s clear it’s not entirely that!). But from the observations this week on a few courts in d.c….it seemed like “somewhat mindless” baseline bashing is the norm.

    Mindless meaning, sort of autopilot. No real urgency to finish off points. Not much strategy going on out there other than the predominant one of waiting for an error. Another reason I like Giorgi – she may not be able to executive her all-instinct style of play, but she employs an up tempo, forward moving and explosive style that is a far cry from just waiting for stuff to happen.

    Maybe the WTA pro level has devolved into the juniors. Maybe these ladies don’t play much doubles. Maybe the whole I have no friends on tour nor would i ever want them and i hate my locker room mates thing is getting in the way of skill development on the wta tour. How a drop shot here and there and a decent slice can compensate for a whole generation’s abandonment of the mid-court game is beyond me. We can’t call today’s WTA tour an all court game. It looks more like a back-court game with some players who can do much more of “it all” than others.

  • Andrew Miller · July 24, 2016 at 9:47 am

    Scoop- Johnson may be top 20 by Monday! Like you said, what a turnaround from the beginning of the year. He’s even better than he was at the end of last year with the stellar indoor play. Isner even said this – said Johnson was doing awful (that’s coming from Isner!) and turned it all around, even lobbing Isner during their match.

    Yes, Scoop’s been right on Karlovic for a long time. He’s a fan favorite now and the guy has a great personality. Long live Ivo. May he play into his 40s on the ATP.

    You know, I look at the WTA draw again, I wonder if players played a little less seriously here in order to prep for the Canada Masters tournament. Nearly all of them are in the qualies draw up in Canada. Giorgi, Lisicki are both in the qualies despite their decent rankings. Why suffer in the heat here at the business end of the tournament when you can put yourself in contention for an even larger pot of money up there.

    Harold once said this, right, look at the money. From that point of view, it’s clear – you get a lot more money there than here.

  • catherine bell · July 24, 2016 at 10:32 am

    Andrew – I think you’re right about the WTA game overall – regardless of the effect of Canadian event on DC.

    This is a complex subject – crosses over into fraught area of male/female differences and a bit too much for exploring in short posts. I did a write a fair bit about changing styles way back in the 80s and I recall blaming Chris Evert for some aspects which was most unfair. She did popularise the 2 handed backhand but she wasn’t to blame for some of the consequences….

    Mostly I’d say it’s the coaching – girls beginning in the game are coached in the prevailing fashion – 2 handed backhand/baseline. And it’s hard to turn yourself into a different type of player once you’re past say late teens. An attacking style is also a good deal riskier. Young S/V type players tend to get passed a lot and have to learn to deal with that as juniors.

    (It’s also true that women players, whatever we’re told, don’t socialise quite the same way men do. Always been so. Very little cameraderie. But I don’t think that has any effect on the game.)

    On the whole I can’t see a return to an all-court style until coaches see it as an attractive option. Or another BJK/Martina etc turns up.

    BTW – is Scoop’s post on Bunge/Kiyomura match just a coincidence ? Tennis for those with short attention spans πŸ™‚ And Bettina’s right – those synthetic courts were lethal.

  • Andrew Miller · July 24, 2016 at 11:20 am

    catherine, very true about players’ games. Rules of the road have something to do with this also. I remember when the Williams came up in their early, early teens – as in, 13, 14, they both knew how to volley, finish points at net. They already had the games that would push them and keep them at the top of the sport for decades.

    Maybe the men’s tour, with its hunger-games ethos, with players spotting and exploiting opponents’ weaknesses, ensures that players, more or less, have a well rounded game. Take Lukas Lacko from Slovakia. No one talks about this guy, but often he wins a few rounds at almost every ATP event he plays and he employs a well rounded game complete with volleys, droppers, over-heads, angled shots. Sure, he’s a smallish guy. He seems like he’s just a good over-all athlete. Point is though he knows point construction.

    I think catherine you may be right about the coaching and what’s being taught. In terms of styles, just a lot of doppelganger out there.

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 24, 2016 at 11:24 am

    When i was in Miami for the Miami Open this year I counted one point where a woman serve and volleyed – it was T Pereira of Brazil who lost in straights against Ana Ivanovic.

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 24, 2016 at 11:27 am

    Short attention spans or a fearless aggressive mindset πŸ™‚ I read the comments last night and saw Bettina’s post on Facebook with this video which another friend shared with her and I decided to do a post about it thinking it would interest readers especially you Catherine and Andrew πŸ™‚ Plus Bettina’s comments about it were very interesting.

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 24, 2016 at 11:29 am

    Ingrid Neel was an aggressive junior who attacked the net a lot but has backed off that at the pro level because it’s not the most successful style to play and she’s kind of a smaller woman, though still a teen I believe. Haven’t seen her in the results lately so I wonder where she is or if she’s injured. Gabby Price of Macci’s academy was also touted as an attacking player but she too is also smallish and about 14 now. I’ve seen a bit of Eddie Herr junior action and most of the players are of course baseliners.

  • catherine bell · July 24, 2016 at 2:21 pm

    Scoop – it’s me who has the short attention span πŸ™‚
    One reason I prefer attacking tennis no doubt.

    Those players from the past had the fearless aggressive mindset !!!

  • Andrew Miller · July 24, 2016 at 8:15 pm

    What a day. Monfils d. Karlovic in three tough sets after over 2 hours. Wow. Supposedly this was a pro-Monfils crowd (I think actually EVERY crowd, at every tournament, is a pro Monfils crowd!) It’s too bad because Karlovic is a special player and Scoop’s support of the guy is warranted. But like I said. Every crowd is pro Monfils, everywhere. He is the player of the people because he embraces the crowds everywhere.

    Even as he drinks coca cola on changeovers. Hope he never does that again.

    Harrison has now won 5 of his last 6 matches by winning 3 in DC (qualies + two matches) and his two qualies in Canada. He beat Alex Zverev’s older brother today in a tough 3 setter from the scoreline. He must be feeling good about that.

    Darian King, also known as the man who knows Kozlov’s achilles heel and aims for it every time (Scoop’s posts) won Binghampton challenger over Mitchell Krueger. With the narrative about the new next generation and everything, it’s easy to forget guys like Krueger who sometimes outperform their peers.

    Jo Konta beat Venus Williams. I was watching this match at the gym and it totally confounds me. Venus had a huge comeback and was playing the attacking style I love, step in and rip it, but Konta took a huge break, maybe ten minutes? and threw off the Williams momentum. Venus still has the magic, though she’s not as consistent. I’m surprised Konta pulled this off – her game to me is classic in terms of its one-dimensionality, but she has a backhand for sure.

  • Andrew Miller · July 24, 2016 at 8:20 pm

    Scoop, do you think that the men’s tour forces players to play all court, know how to volley? In DC this week I was impressed by how every player I saw had a good transition game. From Jaziri to Lacko, all the way up to Isner. Johnson I know has an all court game he worked on in college as a doubles champ.

    Point is they know how to finish and take the opportunities to do it despite the risks of being passed at net. It was a pleasant surprise.

    I’m not trying to draw anyone into saying well, men just do this better. But when I saw it, I thought – wow, even Wozniaki, who when she made the US Open some time back, she knew how to approach, volley, win points at net, attack. Even she was back at the baseline just playing it safe-ish. Doesn’t seem so safe to me!

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 24, 2016 at 8:23 pm

    Yes they did Catherine but they also didn’t have the super powered strings and racquets to have to worry about like the players do today πŸ™‚

  • Scoop Malinowski · July 24, 2016 at 8:26 pm

    Konta has beaten Venus before so this is not a shocker – Konta is a tough player who has a lot of pop on her shots – she has really turned around her career this year – The support Lamonf gets in the USA proves that the people of this country are not racist – Gael is a huge favorite in the USA and everywhere – Well done by D King and Krueger who has been in the shadows for years – very good result for Krueger who needed it –

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