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Young vs Kozlov Analysis: Like Creed vs Balboa
141 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Bios
Stefan Kozlov vs Donald Young was an interesting clash on stadium court at Indian Wells. It was a rematch of their Newport meeting last summer won decisively by Young in straight sets. Young has been hot in recent weeks with excellent wins against Taylor Fritz Ivo Karlovic and John Isner. Kozlov lost to Steve Johnson in Delray and has been knocking on the door of entering the ATP top 100. Kozlov took the early lead with an early break when Young bungled a few short balls but then Kozlov twice double-faulted in the 4-2 game and let Young back into the match. Young ended up winning a tight first set 7-5. It was an intriguing set of the NEXT GEN rising star and the former US teen prodigy both trying to build their statuses from far different career points. The set was hard fought and also sloppy as was a little bit of the commentating with Carillo at least twice calling Kozlov not Stefan but “Dennis” – perhaps she was getting him mixed up with Denis Kudla or Dennis Novikov? After the match I spoke with Stefan’s father Andrei who also pointed out another error Carillo made. Carillo said Kozlov’s coach is Stanford Boster of the USTA and that Stefan was coached by his father until age 12 when he was sent off to the USTA. That’s untrue as Andrei is still the co-coach of Stefan (as is said in the current ATP media guide) and Andrei has always maintained a good coaching relationship with his son for his entire life.
The fascinating confrontation continued to be a tight battle through the second set, featuring wonderful dueling, tense tennis and each roaring with ferocious intensity and fiery passion. Young obviously gets extra inspired to NOT lose to a young American teen and he seems to play his best tennis against his younger US compatriots. Still the “crafty” and fierce Kozlov hung in there impressively. The match turned into a brawl with the cocky Young assuming the role of veteran “Apollo Creed” and Kozlov as the lowly-ranked contender “Rocky Balboa.” Young’s arrogant air was shook in the second set by Kozlov’s desperate rally. Kozlov raised his level which saw him stave off several break points with astoundingly clever play and stunning winners. Young began to show facial expression of panic and a twinge of self doubt but he hung in there and despite four straight double faults in the tiebreak eventually recovered his nerve and finally survived 7-5 in the tiebreaker. At the end Young reacted with a huge roar and an animated celebration – for he knew he managed to evade disaster and escaped with a valuable quality win over quite a dangerous adversary. Young needed his best level of tennis – and (I just remembered) a silly timeout when down the break in the first set because (ahem) the chair ump microphone stopped working so Young decided he was going to stop playing claiming he couldn’t hear the umpire’s calls which was absurd. This bit of DY bulljive annoyed the fans who subsequently took Kozlov’s side but it assisted Young to get back on track to ultimately win this match 75 76 to set up a showdown with Sam Querrey in the second round.
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« Previous 1 2 3Hartt · March 13, 2017 at 4:58 pm
Catherine, so Kerber pulled it out in the end. I was busy making what we call biscuits so I missed parts of the match, including the 2nd set. But saw the first and most of the third. I wasn’t very optimistic for her early in the third, and, as you said, she really hung in there.
catherine bell · March 13, 2017 at 5:05 pm
Hartt –
Yes she was 1-4 down in the 3rd, came back and won on a great drop shot ‘get’. She looked stunned and exhausted at the end.
Whatever happens now that’s Angie’s best result for a long time.
catherine bell · March 13, 2017 at 6:04 pm
Actually Angie was 2-4 down and it wasn’t a dropshot 🙂
Apart from that, great efforts from both in 94 deg heat.
Simona out in SS. Not surprising but I didn’t follow match so don’t know if any injury problem etc
Andrew Miller · March 13, 2017 at 8:05 pm
My name is Simona and I am officially overrated. My ranking may be top ten but my spiritual ranking is top 210.
Hartt · March 13, 2017 at 8:10 pm
That explains why I couldn’t recall a dropshot then!
I only saw the first few games of Simona’s match but did not see any sign of injury at that point.
My sports channel is giving “bonus” coverage of Pospisil v Lajovic right now. So far it is a close match, on serve in the decider. From the huge support for Vasek you can tell there are a lot of Canucks in the crowd.
Scoop Malinowski · March 13, 2017 at 8:11 pm
Cmon now – Halep earned every single one of her rankings points – she is a top ten player – no free points given out to the WTA and no points available for purchase – you gotta earn every single one of those WTA points and Halep did just that – She has had confidence issues every now and then but she is a TOP TEN player –
Andrew Miller · March 13, 2017 at 8:19 pm
Top ten thousand.
I like Halep.
Andrew Miller · March 13, 2017 at 8:27 pm
Pops may be struggling with an affliction known as Post Epic Win Losing Syndrome, whereby a player gets the win of his life only to find himself or herself in a tough match with a less formidable opponent. This is also known as Right side of the bed yesterday wrong aide of the bed today, as well as I just couldn’t play my game and execute out there-itis. Sadly these three closely related maladies affect most players that do not own a top ten ranking, also known as most players.
More common than the common cold.
There are also other afflictions such as I am my countryman’s doormat at big tournaments, which affects Wawrinka whenever he plays Federer, as well as We’re not in Rio or Australia anymore, which Monica Puig and CocoVanderwe came down with rather suddenly affect the olympics and the Australian open.
Andrew Miller · March 13, 2017 at 9:12 pm
Halep lost to Mladenovic, no shame in that. Mladenovic has been playing well!
Pops lost to Lajovic. His Murray win has made everyone in his quarter confidant they can make the semis.
NISHIOKA D BERDYCH! wow, as a lucky loser too. Scoop called it again.
And I love Lucy Safarova is gone, out to the great Venus Williams. The best pure lefty is out of Indian wells.
Hartt · March 13, 2017 at 9:18 pm
I agree that these are common maladies, but I think Vasek’s affliction is simply he can’t play well several matches in a row. I have been watching him since 2013 and this is a long-standing malady.
As for Puig, I think she played beyond herself in Rio and it is highly unlikely she will come close to that lofty height again.
Hartt · March 13, 2017 at 9:39 pm
Am in a state of shock – Djokovic/Troicki beat the top doubles team Herbert/Mahut! What next?
Chazz · March 13, 2017 at 9:41 pm
Nishioka appears to be the comeback kid. I was checking the scores earlier and I’m pretty sure he was losing something like 1-6, 2-5 before coming back and forcing a tiebreaker in the 2nd and then winning the 3rd.
Hartt · March 14, 2017 at 6:42 am
So many top 100 players who are out of IW are playing in Irving that it looks more like an ATP tourney than a Challenger. They include Granollers, Khachanov and Tiafoe. The fans there should have a real treat.
catherine bell · March 14, 2017 at 8:30 am
Simona should be ok – if she stays injury free, gets enough match play and takes a long term perspective. And stops worrying about what other people expect from her. That not easy in Roumania I don’t imagine.
Or takes a leaf out of the Kerber tactics manuel, ie: ‘I’ll play 50 tournaments a year if I die in the attempt’.
Andrew Miller · March 14, 2017 at 12:49 pm
They should play dubs! Wasted opp.
Andrew Miller · March 14, 2017 at 12:56 pm
Mike Joyce to work with Azarenka according to tennis dot com. Finally, an applause worthy coaching move! Halep may want to make hay while she can, as Azarenka and Sharpie are due back soon and the tour ain’t getting any easier.
Andrew Miller · March 14, 2017 at 12:56 pm
Radwanska I think is burned out.
Chazz · March 14, 2017 at 1:41 pm
Really looking forward to the matches today. So many great matchups.
catherine bell · March 14, 2017 at 2:33 pm
Andrew –
Doubles – I heard Simona entered IW doubles as a WC but she didn’t play. But she may want to tune up for Fed Cup in Miami.
BTW – I’d be surprised if Maria S turns out to be such a threat after all. The tour is probably much the same as it was last year. Ups and downs and some new names.
Simona just has to go on playing, with belief. I hope that’s what Cahill’s telling her.
And yes, Radwanska seems approaching the point of no return. I wonder if she minds ?
Hartt · March 14, 2017 at 2:42 pm
Nishikori vs. Muller on TV. Muller already down 2 breaks and Kei about to serve for the set. In last game Kei hit 2 beautiful lobs, one after the other. But Muller’s 1st serve is MIA. If he does not find it soon this will be a short match.
Chazz · March 14, 2017 at 3:59 pm
Donald Young with a big 3 set win over Pouille. Nishikori is up next for him.
Andrew Miller · March 14, 2017 at 5:21 pm
Radwanska might be angling for a Pennetta or Myskina/Majoli run, a slam plus retirement package.
Andrew Miller · March 14, 2017 at 5:22 pm
DY! Scoop was right Kozlov scared the daylights out if DY. Now he’s entering every match as if it’s independence day.
Scoop malinowski · March 14, 2017 at 5:47 pm
Young beating Isner in memphis 76 in the third was a career changer. First win vs Isner out of five tries. Confidence levels at new high. Made narrow win vs Kozlov possible. Young is on a roll now but Kei is a stiff test.
Jg · March 14, 2017 at 6:14 pm
Crafty vets tend to beat the next gen players, Jiziri does it this time.
Andrew Miller · March 14, 2017 at 7:22 pm
Maybe Jiziri took the oath that Zverev the Elder took to defeat all next Gen players not named Alex or Sacha
Andrew Miller · March 14, 2017 at 7:28 pm
Sharpie is ready to get her share of slams given the collective unwillingness of the Kerber/Muguruza/Coco/Puig coalition to get while the getting is good. I guess they prefer the return of Azarenka and less pressured Serena and even Sharpie’s return to the uncertainty caused by real opportunities to win slams in the wide open wta tour that Kuznetsova rightly critiques for having fewer great players.
Andrew Miller · March 14, 2017 at 7:30 pm
And having described this wta era as having fewer great players, Kuznetsova of course sees herself as one of those fewer great players 😉
Hartt · March 14, 2017 at 8:02 pm
Disappointed that Sascha lost but at least the match ended before Fed v Johnson began.
Andrew Miller · March 14, 2017 at 8:56 pm
Day could study Safarova. I’d like to see Safarova have her Pennetta moment and win a singles slam. Day had some interesting shots, but even a lefty junior still has a junior game unless they were coached by some wacko genius who preaches all court tennis.
Day was brave, but ultimately plays a lefty version of a right game that bores to tears.
Scoop Malinowski · March 14, 2017 at 11:04 pm
Spectacular win by Sock over Grigor – Felt the whole way Sock would win because he exuded that air of belief and he did it by saving four match points and a wild finish in the third set tiebreaker – Sock’s backhand is far better than Andrew’s low grade and that backhand produced several key strikes tonight – I picked Sock to win this title and he looks very ready to do just that –
Scoop Malinowski · March 14, 2017 at 11:07 pm
Kyrgios is a different player now and it looks like Dr Hewitt Frankenstein has gotten through to Kyrgios and created a monster – I repeat a monster – Very very impressive dominant win by Nick tonight over Zverev –
Scoop Malinowski · March 14, 2017 at 11:10 pm
Gosh Jaziri got wiped up by Berankis at US Open last year and since then he’s been the ascending player while Berankis has stagnated – Jaziri was called an extraordinary talent by Goran however as talented as he is he did not have sufficient coaching according to Goran – Nice to see Jaziri putting it together at age 33 – Beating Fritz is a very valuable win for Jaziri –
Chazz · March 14, 2017 at 11:16 pm
Scoop, that was an amazing gritty win for Jack. Maybe that tenacity is how he is against elite opponents, and he just gets bored when he plays lesser opponents. It’s tough to figure out what’s going on with him mentally from match to match, but he looked far more exhausted than Grigor yet he played smart tennis and dug deep after being down a break and fighting off 3 match points.
This point is why I will watch Kyrgios whenever I can, just jaw dropping:
https://youtu.be/-COnQZxvPI8
Scoop Malinowski · March 14, 2017 at 11:57 pm
Chazz; Agree with you in that it’s natural for a lot of players (if not all) to be extra inspired to play the best players where they are the underdog and conversely that same player can tend to be less inspired about a match against a lesser known player that he or she is expected to beat – Sock vs Jaziri is a tricky one for Sock who just said on TC that he barely beat Jaziri in Stockholm last year 76 in the third – I think Sock would have preferred to play Fritz who probably is more overall threatening (Sock won two five setters last year vs Fritz at Aus Open and US Open) – How Sock handles Jaziri will tell us a lot about Sock –
Scoop Malinowski · March 15, 2017 at 12:01 am
Chazz; That was a muhammad ali like point by Kyrgios – it was like watching young Ali doing the Ali shuffle and throwing bolo punches at an outclassed opponent – Nick Kyrgios is an Ali like showman who is so ridiculously talented and confident that he can play around and toy with great players like Zverev and even Djokovic as we saw in Acapulco – Nick Kyrgios is the most entertaining showman in tennis today and I hope he continues to dazzle us with his sensational skills for years and years –
Andrew Miller · March 15, 2017 at 12:36 am
Sock was feeling it and to me the shots that won this match were his brain, his huge serve, his enormous forehand, and several sterling volleys. Not the backhands. He hit a few because he was feeling it, which is like a broken clock that’s right twice a year. I’ve said it over and over, I like how Sock plays and respect his mind games, his protect the backhand at all costs by running around it umpteen times, and his vastly improved volley and finishing skills. He has a horrible backhand and most of the good ones he hit fell short. It ain’t a weapon out there.
It also helped he played Dimitrov, who plays beautifully but mindlessly.
I root for Sock. But I pity that backhand. It’s a bad shot. He reminds me of Roddick with a lesser backhand.
Anyways. Yes, Jaziri is a fine player. No surprise he bested Fritzy. Jaziri has a good tennis mind out there. I don’t get the sense Fritz employs a strategy other than hit the ball hard and stay ahead.
catherine bell · March 15, 2017 at 5:00 am
Andrew
There was never a WTA era when there were lots of ‘great players’ – just one or two.
I wonder does Kutzenova put herself up there with them ?
She’d better hurry up if so 🙂
catherine bell · March 15, 2017 at 5:05 am
Sorry – ‘Kuznetsova.’
See – I can’t even remember her name 🙂
catherine bell · March 15, 2017 at 7:39 am
Few players do dejection like Angie. She really looked as though she didn’t want to be there.
IW is just not for her.
Hartt · March 15, 2017 at 8:43 pm
I am probably the only person on the planet who was watching Felix Auger-Aliassime playing the Drummondville Challenger at the same time as watching Kyrgios v Djokovic. Felix has the exact same kit as Nick, so that was sort of surreal. Felix was down a break early in the third set against Swiss player Bossel, but he showed he is a clutch player and finally broke back and went on to win the match.
Felix has the talent and the mental toughness to be a top player in the future. I hope it works out for him because he is an appealing kid, someone it is easy to root for.