Can Federer Break Connors Record Of 109 ATP Titles?

The powers that be haven’t exactly supported Klahn, have they? His potential is very obvious.

Anyway the Wimby seeds:
GENTLEMEN’S SINGLES

DJOKOVIC, Novak (SRB) [1]
MURRAY, Andy (GBR) [2]
FEDERER, Roger (SUI) [3]
FERRER, David (ESP) [4]
NADAL, Rafael (ESP) [5]
TSONGA, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) [6]
BERDYCH, Tomas (CZE) [7]
DEL POTRO, Juan Martin (ARG) [8]
GASQUET, Richard (FRA) [9]
CILIC, Marin (CRO) [10]
WAWRINKA, Stanislas (SUI) [11]
NISHIKORI, Kei (JPN) [12]
HAAS, Tommy (GER) [13]
TIPSAREVIC, Janko (SRB) [14]
ALMAGRO, Nicolas (ESP) [15]
KOHLSCHREIBER, Philipp (GER) [16]
RAONIC, Milos (CAN) [17]
ISNER, John (USA) [18]
SIMON, Gilles (FRA) [19]
YOUZHNY, Mikhail (RUS) [20]
QUERREY, Sam (USA) [21]
MONACO, Juan (ARG) [22]
SEPPI, Andreas (ITA) [23]
JANOWICZ, Jerzy (POL) [24]
PAIRE, Benoit (FRA) [25]
DOLGOPOLOV, Alexandr (UKR) [26]
ANDERSON, Kevin (RSA) [27]
CHARDY, Jeremy (FRA) [28]
DIMITROV, Grigor (BUL) [29]
FOGNINI, Fabio (ITA) [30]
BENNETEAU, Julien (FRA) [31]
ROBREDO, Tommy (ESP) [32]

What about Klahn’s win over Melzer? I agree with Dan though, even with a top 200 ranking after less than 1 year full time on tour, Klahn can’t be praised yet – he (and the other U.S. players) has not escaped the challengers yet and all of them have yet to show they are within the orbit of much maligned Ryan Harrison (I think their games are better and they CAN be better, but right now – no, they aren’t and that, just to parrot Uncle Toni here, is fact). I think he has a nifty game that translates at the pro game – he should (with that kind of game) develop combinations that allow him to win matches quickly (his serve is better than Nadal in terms of form, he has some nice disguise on his shots – backhand is weak for the pro level, fitness just isn’t there – he hasn’t stepped it up). He’s got to get faster and more fit and just simply better. And fast.

But to me the foundation is intact. SEND KLAHN TO SPADEA AND LANSDORP STRAIGHTAWAY!!! Turn this kid into a top 50 contender. (This is a pipe dream but stranger things have happenned).

And, to echo Scoop, please someone send some Marcelo Rios tape to Klahn and tell him to practice hard. If you’re going to make a mark as a lefty, and no offense to Nieminen or Forget and their smooth games, go big and be clever. Maybe Scoop can give a copy to Klahn…hail I will even invest in that gesture.

I’m with Steve in that the kid has a great game. It’s just not going anywhere without Klahn caring and some other people getting itno the mix. Klahn should be like Brian Baker, sneak up on people and get the job done. It’s not happenning but that doesn’t mean it can’t. It just mean it probably won’t and we’ll have yet another example of potential that didn’t materialize. Happens a lot in the U.S. even though I think that the current crop of U.S. players has a lot more upside than the lost generation that’s barely on tour. I think they have a lot more fire in the belly.

That said, for now Dan’s perspective is the right one. In other words, yeah there’s potential, but they got to step it up or be destined for the Futures that never arrive.

Steve I love Klahn’s game, I don’t mean to put anyone down – not your opinion or anyone’s. I’d love to see Klahn move up and play deep in tournaments and especially slams – if Gilbert could do it I don’t see why Klahn can’t. He’s got a pretty agressive game that should (in theory) help him out on a few surfaces. I just don’t want to see him (and other U.S. players) languish in the challenger zone – it’s as if for once the U.S. actually has a stock of players (a critical number in the right ranking zone) that it can support, and because of the U.S.’ legacy in supporting players (lots of money but no results) it makes sense for these players to seek great coaching and advice from pros that respect the players’ game and help them reach their goals. I think Klahn’s backhand is troubled though (not unlike Blake’s backhand or Fish’s forehand) in that it’s a rally shot without much versatility and to dig into the rankings he needs to make it solid (either hit the ball machine or get someone to see through Klahn’s perspective and make the adjustments accordingly so that Klahn’s backhand doesn’t become the spot for other players to pick on) and he needs to be able to pin his backhands on any part of the court.

That takes work. Will Klahn do it? Players that improve their games reach big results (Blake, Dimitrov, Roddick, Nadal etc). Players that are content (or just mired in the day in day out grind) don’t. Tennis is brutal.

…and Andrew his strokes are probably fully formed and fixing a two-hander that’s a rally shot is not the key of what he would get from the right coach, IMHO. How many of Gasquet’s forehands land short yet he’s top 10?

It’s the transition to the pro-game from being a college champion. The guys that grow up full-time at Bollettieri seem to have an edge in this aspect.

I’ve seen Nadal improves his strokes but most of these guys are fully formed at this level. Even top 16 yr olds are not gonna change things too much stroke-wise.

And yet he played 14 years on tour something Lansdorp never did and was Top 100 for 13 of those years. Couldn’t figure himself out of losing streak but 3 years later was Top 20 again. I’d say that’s figuring it out. At this point, any of these guys like Klahn would be lucky to have V’s career.

And so what if Klahn has all this skill–and I’ve never heard anyone mention a player’s backhand defensive slice as an important part of his game–it’s not showing in the results. You’re going to give him wild cards? He got one at the Open last year.

Steve,

You make me laugh. I don’t know if you’re being serious or fooling around. All fledgling pros should have a career that makes them $5 mil and losing record or not, they win more than 300 matches. I don’t know what fantasy tour you’re following, maybe you only pay attention to the Top 10 players, but besides Querrey, Isner, Baker and Harrison, of all the American men trying to move up the rankings, who has had much success? Good prospects with great strokes are just the beginning.

Listen my huge hope is for that other U.S. lefty to absorb real coaching and work as hard as possible. But the odds of that are also really low – it’s still possible but absolutely improbable.

It is very hard to breakthrough and the U.S. men have done so in odd ways – Fish did it very late in his career, Blake did it around 26 years old. Isner has been moving up in the past two years, but he does nothing interesting at slams. Querrey has more confidence than he did but less than what he needs, and he can’t keep losing these close matches. Ginepri got into the top 20 and then went back into tennis oblivion. None of the players – Harrison included – who are on the “next generation” radar have shown they are consistent top 50 material – they get there and then move way down the rankings list. Brian Baker, sadly, is around the same grouping – he’s injury prone and even with his sweet game you can’t win tourneys if you are sidelined. We are almost at hard court season, which far too many U.S. players look at as their “money” period, even as the rest of the world has figured out how to play on U.S. hard courts.

I think the U.S. contingent will do well – but in all reality and fairness their work is cut out for them. And not a one of them has a game that spells contender yet – for that they really need to visit a Lansdorp of sorts. Their strokes have huge flaws.

Agree Andrew. Nishikori was a challenger player and now he’s in the mix. He was fully trained in the US but obviously didn’t go the college route. The college players are at a disadvantage in the transition phase but it’s okay now as many players peak at 26 these days.

Never said Spadea owes me money. What I said is that the paperback came out and sold more than 2,000 copies right away, and unfortunately, the publisher folder and Vince and I never got the money we were owed. Now the hard cover book sold 5,000 copies, basically the entire hard copy printing, but they didn’t want to make more copies. So Vince doesn’t owe me money.

Second, Vince beat Agassi twice, once in a slam and the other time in Masters event. So Agassi can say what he wants, in their Aussie Open match in 99, the only set Agassi won was in a breaker. Vince always played Agassi close. He lost two matches to him, 6-4, 7-5.

And, for the record, Steve, DYoung has won a total of 38 matches and has won only $1.4 million. Spadea won $5 mil and won 311 matches. Don’t think that’s a good comparison.

Andrew, I do like what Sock, Johnson, and Kudla are doing, but there’s a big gap between these guys and Klahn. The Stanford Cardinal has really fallen back this year.

Dan I hear you about “generation maybe next maybe not”. All I have said is I like Klahn’s game a lot, I think that he gets faster and gets a few Rios-like combinations going, makes that backhand a winner instead of a rally shot, and we’re looking at a more exciting player who may even be a really exciting player (something like a Jamie Hampton, who is now up at 41 on the WTA side of the world). I’ve said before I am bullish on the up and coming U.S. players, but at the same time they are all still in the dog house.

The most talented player of all on the U.S. side is not making any strides and is doing a good job of guaranteeing that they won’t show up anytime soon in the positive ledger of the win column. That’s why I look down the depth charts and see that there’s something interesting in that the hardcourt season hasn’t even begun and Johnson, Kudla, and Sock are threatening to access direct entry into slams and ATP tournaments without qualifying (we aren’t there yet). They are no longer at #138 or #154 or anything like that.

And you are right, Klahn is. So maybe we can make this an anti lefty discussion. Why are the left handed players doing nothing if their name isn’t Nadal (who is a forced lefty?). The evidence is so damning that you might as well a lefty to hang it up – either they’ll go crazy like Rios and patty snyder, or they play themself into the tennis doghouse where they will never make it out. Aint no Goran or McEnroe out the circuit these days showing what a lefty game can do.

I think Klahn can do this – do as well as Sock and Kudla and get within spitting distance of the top 100. But it’s a long slog from 178 down to 100, and there’s no guarantee this will happen.

I saw her play today for the first concentrated time. She was playing Lucie Safarova and she came back from a set and break down to win the match, I think. I didn’t stay to watch the end. She seemed steady and has a nice cross court forehand hook. But she’s small and doesn’t seem comfortable at the net. I wouldn’t think she’s going Top 10. She’s competent, but I didn’t see any magic.

Watching Klahn play from 3 years back ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49KcM2Sol1A&noredirect=1 ) seems to suggest that at the pro level his serve is coming back ( no matter how good it is ). That means he has to be more consistent off of the powerful forehand wing ( which he wasnt in the video ) and “better” off the backhand wing ( not just a rally shot but a weapon, at least not a liability ). In the college level it seems the ball doesnt come back as much off the serve, which means Klahn could get by a lot more off of doing what he did here – just hitting his shots a little harder than the opponent and winning his service games without much fuss, rallies, etc. In the pro level though the ball comes back – that means that the backhand must be reliable and the forehand has to be nailed ( Klahn CAN do this but his forehand wing looks like he needs a ball machine to just make it more consistent – it’s a shot but it’s not too dissimilar from James Blake’s 120 MPH forehand into the net at the worst parts of a match ).

Maybe he didnt do this when Scoop watched. But he’s not playing really sparkling tennis here yet winning handly. On the one hand that’s the mark of a good player – you dont have to play your best and you win. On the other hand, this doesnt fly when everyone gets your serve back, which means the rest of your game needs to be in order.

The good news is Klahn doesnt have to learn how to do the forehand or backhand. But he needs to win points efficiently and he has to be able to rely on the forehand and backhand to keep him in every game and make every game competitive. When he closes into net he needs to end those points quickly – if he hits the ball right back to opponents in the ATP it will be like Christmas.

I mean by this is that Pat Mac and Courier shouldnt be in the business of picking favorites – they should get into the roots and work out the conditions and ensure a fair slate – competitive access to wild cards, no playing favorites, away from the good old boy network and more to the democratic framework – if you win what you have to you get what you want.

Steve you are right Courier is a better coach / player and the kid does need more time / coaching to prove himself. But I think I am harsh here because the tour is hard and because I think he has a GREAT game (not just a good one!). But there are a lot of players with great games who don’t make it. So I am pulling for him and would like to see him (as well as the young WTA players from the states) make it. As well of course Maria Kirilenko. Only because hey she’s is just one good looking tennis player!

Steve, I definitely put money on Klahn if he becomes more consistent, nothing more. He becomes more consistent and solidifies his ground game and I think we have something special. He becomes more consistent, solidifies his game, and gets some combos, strategies and better match prep from the people in his ear, and I think it’s watch out time. All those are ifs. But here’s what he’s got going for him – he doesn’t have the flawed game of other players. He doesn’t have to relearn any groundstrokes like Roddick or Harrison. All of this is doable – but like Agassi said, if it were that easy players would just call in their results. That’s why there’s always an asterisk next to all the U.S. players’names.

There’s only one way to solve the Klahn issue: Scoop’s biofile of Klahn.