Down a set and break to Thiem today, Rafa just did not have the same full throttle, full fury intensity at the end. It looked like Rafa was coasting to the finish, thinking, Why kill myself to beat Thiem today, I have to save my best for Roland Garros.
Similar to the Canadian Open final last year when Federer was down a set and break to Zverev and then seemed to downshift his intensity and coasted to the finish without putting up an all out desperate fight. Fed seemed resigned to the fact that the young gun was the better player on this afternoon and it’s okay I’ll throw the kid a bone but US Open is what really counts.
Just as Federer seemed to subconsciously tank the Canada Open final to Zverev last year after falling bedind, Rafa seemed to let the younger man have his moment today without giving it his very very best.
I’m more than sure we will see Rafa grunting and roaring like a raging bull if he gets into trouble at Roland Garros against Thiem or any other opponent.
We did not see the very best of Rafa today.
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dan markowitz · May 11, 2018 at 11:13 pm
Not buying it, not from Nadal and certainly not in Madrid and in Spain.
Is there any doubt from anyone on this site that Shapovalov will one day be the #1 player in the world and win multiple slams? The guy just has that slashing, take-no-prisoners style. If he becomes #1 and wins multiple slams, he’ll be the shortest at 6-feet even to do so since Agassi and Hewitt.
Shapovalov’s mother is a trip. I don’t want to disparage her, but she looks like she just walked out of a concentration camp. She’s got those haunted eyes, hollow cheeks, and wary visage. She’s the most important momma in the game since Judy Murray. No one ever saw Sampras’s mom or Agassi’s or Courier’s or Roddick’s. Mom’s don’t usually play too big a role in men’s tennis.
I can think of Johnny Mac’s mom with her premature white hair, by the way, saw Borg v McEnroe and I liked it, but I can definitely see why Johnny Mac didn’t. He’s portrayed in almost a comically-negative light with none of the youthful pluck, humor and coolness Johnny Mac definitely gave out, only a nerdy, paranoid black hole. But Shapovalov’s mom, she’s always front and center.
catherine · May 12, 2018 at 2:43 am
Dan –
You don’t want to disparage Shapovalov’s mother ? And then ‘ she looks like she just walked out of a concentration camp’ ? She might be ill for all you know. Not just a ‘trip’.
I had to laugh at Scoop’s comments. Maybe, as he sympathetically remarked about Halep on the previous thread, Nadal just didn’t feel like playing yesterday. Happens to us all 🙂
dan markowitz · May 12, 2018 at 6:46 am
I didn’t see the Nadal match, but Nadal never “just doesn’t feel like playing.” Give Thiem credit and then there’s the fact that Madrid with its faster playing surface is never one of Nadal’s best clay court tournaments. Federer even beat Nadal in Madrid.
Now Catherine, if Shapo’s mother wasn’t feeling well, would she come attend her son’s tennis match? Not likely, Shapo’s mom is just one of those spectator’s, family member’s who feel stricken when they watch their son play. I know the feeling. I can get downright sick when watching my son play. Last night in a tournament in Long Island, which took us two hours to get to from Westchester, crazy Friday night traffic, every time my son made a mistake, my wife would look back at me. She just wanted some company in commiseration, but in my amped state, I thought her looking back at me was her way of blaming me for his mistakes because I work on his game with him, and I blurted out, “stop blaming me for his play.” Totally irrational comment, but that’s the way I get when I watch him play. I can’t relax until he either wins or loses the match.
Hartt · May 12, 2018 at 6:54 am
Dan, Shapovalov’s mother is one of his two coaches. Martin Laurendeau is his main coach, but she is an official coach as well. Right now Laurendeau is not in Madrid, I think he will join them in Rome, so Denis’ mom is taking a more prominent role.
She was his coach when he was a kid and taught him his terrific shots. She was also wise enough to let him follow his natural inclinations – his aggressive style and his one-handed BH. Others, including Brad Gilbert, advised them to switch to a two-hander. Thank goodness they did not follow that advice, or we wouldn’t see Denis’ dramatic one-hander today.
I wrote a series on mothers who coached their sons during the tennis player’s development, and there are more of them than most people realise.
Hartt · May 12, 2018 at 6:59 am
Do you suppose that Nadal is human and simply had an off day? He said he couldn’t feel the ball during the match.
And Fed absolutely did not tank during the Rogers Cup final. He was injured and you could see the moment it happened. Roger is such a professional that he finished the match, even though perhaps he shouldn’t have. He then had to miss Cinci, a tourney he usually does very well in.
Hartt · May 12, 2018 at 7:21 am
I have been thinking about what makes Shapo so special. He has excellent skills – the serve, FH, and BH, and he is decent at the net. He is extremely quick around the court, many players have remarked how surprised they were at just how quick he is. He has that aggressive, fearless style.
But I think his greatest strength is that he is a superb competitor. He will fight to the last point, and he remains cool under pressure. He can play the big points so well, going for the strong serve or the tough shot when it matters the most. As we know, not all tennis players, even some very good ones, are great competitors.
The other important thing about Denis is his attitude. He looks forward to a tough match, says it will be “fun.” He is “honoured” to play the top guys, but he is not afraid of them. And he understands that he is still learning the game, and that every match, whether he wins or loses, provides him with valuable experience. He said he has been studying Rafa, looking to see how Rafa uses his leftiness to his advantage. Nothing like learning from the best!
And Denis is true to himself. The videos of him as an 8-year-old, hitting with his mother, show him playing the same way he does now, with the aggressiveness and the “flashy” shots.
Denis, from his too-small cap, to his toy animal mascot, “Storm,” is a colourful character. Commies talk about his “x” factor, his great appeal for the fans. Denis is indeed a breath of fresh air for tennis. He shows that you can be colourful without being a jerk. I hope he is able to fulfill his remarkable potential.
Scoop Malinowski · May 12, 2018 at 8:03 am
Shapovalov has that glow, that extra force of energy around him, that intensity, that you just know he’s going to get there. Young Rafa had that, so did young Roddick. It’s hard to describe, you see them practice and play and there is a different energy, a different extra urgency in their body language. I still forever remember seeing it in younng Roddick at US Open in practice when he was a teen and touted with Levar Harper Griffith as the next ones. A lot of players just have that go through the motions gear and then some players have that extra gear where they have that fury and extra intensity extra driving force inside, young Rafa, Roddick and Shap have it. Of Course Shap has the game and the weapons but it’s that his engine is a little different too. He’d run through a wall to get a shot back. I see a lot of young Shap in young Roddick but I think Shap will be better.
Scoop Malinowski · May 12, 2018 at 8:07 am
Hartt, Fed subconsciously tanked that match, I believe he pretended to act hurt with that back gesture after he threw the kitchen sink at Zverev and was still down a set and break. he said the heck with it, I gotta save it for NY. If he was hurt, why was there no injury medical timeout????????? Zverev was simply incredible that day and Fed tried his best to subdue the kid but gave up in the second set. It also gave him his out of Cincy. At 35 he just can’t do Cincy and Canada and NYC back to back to back anymore. Yes I 100% believe Fed decided to subconsciously tank to Zverev after trying his best but still being down the set and break.
Scoop Malinowski · May 12, 2018 at 8:11 am
Dan, if Rafa felt like playing, where were the full fury grunts? Why didn’t he try an injury timeout to freeze Thiem in the second set? We have seen Rafa at fully fury and using injury timeouts to ice opponents before but yesterday Rafa didn’t play those options. I think he subconsciously tanked because Paris is far more important than Madrid. Rafa is smart and won’t deplete himself by using his 100% best tennis in Madrid or Rome, the target to reach the peak is Roland Garros.
Hartt · May 12, 2018 at 8:19 am
Scoop, Roger did not take a MTO because it would not have done any good. If he was having spasms. which is what it looked like, he would need medication and that takes time to take effect, time he did not have at that point.
catherine · May 12, 2018 at 8:24 am
Dan- do you think Callum knows how much his parents are emotionally invested in his game ? Does he play better when either you or your wife aren’t there ?
Parents have always been around tennis, at the tournament level, but not so obviously in the past. Many took a back seat, if they were present at all. I can think of a couple of top players whose parents never came to watch their offspring once past the junior level. What’s best ?
The best thing Shapovalov has going for him is his onehanded backhand. I’d like to bet he doesn’t have hip surgery when he’s 30.
catherine · May 12, 2018 at 8:36 am
Scoop – you don’t ‘subconciously’ tank. It’s a decision a player would make at the level of consciousness although they are obviously not going to admit it. That’s what a tank is. It’s giving up. You must have seen enough of that in boxing.
When BJK tanked her Wimbledon final she certainly didn’t plan it in advance but she was fully aware, later, of what she was doing.
As for Nadal, I didn’t see the match but I’d guess on the day Thiem took advantage of Nadal’s slightly lower level of play and Rafa may have been taken by surprise and then didn’t summon up the extra effort needed to win. He would have known that.
Doesn’t take anything away from Thiem. He played well enough to create the situation in the first place.
Scoop malinowski · May 12, 2018 at 8:56 am
How could Roger know the supposed back injury was so minor he could proceed playing without further damaging it? Jack Kramer introduced his “subconscious tank” theory in his book The Game. Yes i agree and believe players tank without consciously knowing it. Will post article about it soon…
catherine · May 12, 2018 at 9:39 am
Scoop – how do we know what goes on in the ‘subconscious’ ? By definition it’s below the level of consciousness and maybe, if we believe that stuff, we should call just call it the ‘unconscious’ tank and just see how many worms come wriggling out of that can.
Nevertheless I’ll be interested to read your article.
catherine · May 12, 2018 at 9:43 am
And ‘tank without consciously knowing it’ sounds pretty much like just losing, to me.
Hartt · May 12, 2018 at 10:20 am
Scoop, my own back issues caused me to learn a lot about the back. Spasms, although extremely painful, don’t cause long-term injury, so Roger was not endangering his back by continuing. I have had spasms last a couple days or for weeks on end. Not a lot of fun!
catherine · May 12, 2018 at 11:37 am
Oh – and surely a ‘decision’ is a conscious act. You can’t decide to do something subconsciously.
A ‘tank’ is an intentional loss. So a ‘subconscious tank’ is a contradiction in terms.
Players lose, and they aren’t quite sure why/how they lost. Sometimes spectators can have a better view. That happened last year after Simona lost badly and the press asked her ‘what happened’ ? and she said ‘I’ve no idea. If you guys can explain it to me I will be pleased to listen.’
Dan Markowitz · May 12, 2018 at 2:37 pm
Yes, I think Callum knows how much his parents are invested in his game. Honestly, almost every parent I’ve met who’s son plays at the level Callum does has at least one parent who’s very invested in their son’s game. There’s no way around it with lessons, racquet stringing, clothes buying and tournament driving that one parent can’t be very invested.
Now a lot of parents are less emotional than my wife and I, but mostly me. I just have a problem with junior tennis in the most part in that the cost of the sport is exorbitant unless you as a parent are a coach and have access to indoor court time and the tournaments are often run poorly, with either not enough courts at an indoor facility or never enough linespeople. There’s cheating and hours of time spent waiting to play when in baseball, which my son also plays at a high level, there’s a game scheduled at a certain hour, field and with two umpires.
Does my son play better when I’m not around, sometimes, but I need to be around because that’s my payback I feel for squiring him around and paying the bill and I need to know what to work with him on and tell his coach what to work with him on. Fritz Buehning, his coach, will call me on the court sometimes before a lesson and ask me what he needs to work on.
catherine · May 12, 2018 at 2:59 pm
Thanks Dan – I’m sure a lot of tennis parents feel the way you do. Maybe as Callum progresses up the junior ladder the pressure will lessen – and I suppose at one point he’ll have to choose between tennis and baseball as his first sport, in terms of high school and then looking for a college scholarship if he’s not going into the pro ranks. It’s a long road.
catherine · May 12, 2018 at 3:08 pm
On court – Kvitova and Bertens are into the 3rd.Petra is going to be exhausted going straight on to Rome. Fed Cup, Stuttgart, Prague, Madrid and then RG. Too much.
Rome have given Schiavone the WC they denied her last year – the least they could do as I imagine it’s probably her final appearance.
Hartt · May 12, 2018 at 3:50 pm
Somehow Petra pulled out the win in that never-ending match. Both women looked like they were on their last legs by the end. It is Petra’s third Madrid title and her 4th title this season. She has that amazing will to win, whatever the circumstances. A few times during the match she let out a huge scream after a big point.
People are speculating that she will withdraw from Rome – it will be interesting to see what she decides to do.
catherine · May 12, 2018 at 3:59 pm
Kvitova wins. And now for some rest.
catherine · May 12, 2018 at 4:05 pm
Hartt – you got there before me – I was checking on the volcano.
She really should withdraw from Rome – the body can only take so much and she wants to be in a good state for W’don. I noticed she had her thigh taped – so maybe that will be enough to keep her out of
Rome.
Incredible performance, 4 titles, – makes some of the women look like minnows. And taking CR to Fed Cup final.
Hartt · May 12, 2018 at 5:25 pm
Sascha had an easy win over Shapo today, totally dominating the youngster in the 2nd set. But, given how little clay-court experience Denis has, he actually did very well this week, and was the youngest semi-finalist in Madrid tourney history.
Rome comes up so quickly, and he will face Berdych in the first round.
catherine · May 13, 2018 at 3:32 am
Hartt you are right, Rome comes up so quickly and it’s a badly placed tournament for players who reach the later rounds and then have to go on to Paris.
I have to say I can’t predict anything for Rome, men or women, except maybe Simona will do better there than in Madrid and she didn’t have a good time last year, rolling her ankle. Rome used to be considered slower than Paris but I don’t know if that’s true now.
Kerber is back after injury – she needs the match practice. She’s drawn Makarova in the 1st round and TBH I can’t see her stay in the Eternal City lasting long – she should sample the coffee, do some shopping and fly/drive/take the train to Paris.
Angie’s building her summer around W’don – playing Mallorca on grass, skipping Birmingham where there’s often rain, so I hope that works for her and she doesn’t put too much pressure on herself, suffer an early loss in SW19 and go into a decline.
Noticed Boris Becker courtside watching the women’s final in advance of Sascha’s match. No doubt he also reported back to Barbara Rittner, who had no reason to travel to Madrid, German interest on the women’s side being minimal.
catherine · May 13, 2018 at 5:44 am
I fully expect to see Federer and Mirka at The Wedding.
Hartt · May 13, 2018 at 8:10 am
Shapo’s take on his Madrid experience was interesting. He said he was pleased at the way his body held up, but felt his focus was off. Imagine he was thinking of his match against Sascha – he was certainly focused when he played Raonic. As usual, he said it was a good learning experience.
I had hoped he could get some ranking points before he had to defend all those points from Montreal and the USO, so the Madrid SF points already match his Rogers Cup points.
It’s good to hear that Kerber is back. I haven’t looked at the women’s draw yet, will do that now.
Scoop Malinowski · May 13, 2018 at 9:36 am
Shapp will be top 5 before we know it. Looks like Kvitova wants to win another major this year. She’s due.
Hartt · May 13, 2018 at 11:12 am
There is a great pic of Petra kissing the Madrid trophy. It looks like it is made up of many small glass squares – more interesting than many trophies.
It would be so wonderful if Petra could win Wimby again. If she keeps playing at this level she has to be a favourite.
I hope that Shapo can finish in the top 30 this year, that would be a wonderful accomplishment for his first full year on the main tour. Right now he has the advantage of few points to defend. Then, of course, he will face the tough sophomore year next season.
Hartt · May 13, 2018 at 2:42 pm
Sascha just won the Madrid final comfortably in SS over Dominic. He played outstanding tennis, did not lose a set for the entire tourney. In fact, I don’t think he was even broken once during the tournament.
catherine · May 13, 2018 at 3:51 pm
Petra withdraws from Rome. Good move.
Scoop Malinowski · May 13, 2018 at 4:28 pm
Thiem had been 4-1 vs Zverev with all four wins coming in three sets and the other a four setter at RG. Zverev’s win was three sets in China in late 2016. Four meetings in 2016, one last year and one so far this year. Looks like we have a new rivalry. The win that seemed to spark Zverev out of his slump from late last year seemed to be the 76 in the fifth in Davis Cup vs Deminaur in Australia. Then he handled Kyrgios in straight sets in that tie. Zverev clearly back on track now but he still has to solve the Nadal puzzle, Nadal just hammered Zverev in Davis Cup in SS.
Duke Carnoustie · May 13, 2018 at 5:44 pm
Challenger final between Millman and Tomic was moved indoors to hard courts and off the clay. Millman took advantage and crushed his buddy 1 and 2.
Bernie is off to Paris for the RG qualifiers.
Duke Carnoustie · May 13, 2018 at 5:53 pm
How about Dusan Lajovic? Plays 6 matches in 7 days in Madrid, loses in the QF. Then heads to Rome for qualifiers the next day and wins his first match before losing to the great Tsitsipas.
Foe reaches the main draw and Fritz does not. Foe could face Madrid champ Zverev in round 2.
Big wins for Johnson and Harrison and Sock in Rome. Harry can avenge his Aussie Open loss to Cilic.
Scoop Malinowski · May 13, 2018 at 6:43 pm
Nishioka won a Challenger in Korea. Kozlov plays Hugues Herbert in Bordeaux, rematch of a grass court win by Kozlov last year. Still no sign of Tommy Paul. Kokkinakis only playing Challenger doubles this week. Sock scores a huge win vs Ferrer and Johnson sends Stan packing. Would hate to see Stan turned into a journeyman. Hopefully Stan the man has one or two last hurrahs left.