Here Comes Sebi Korda!

And Angie will be happy to know that Cornet is playing in Moscow.

Tomic loses in qualifying for Antwerp – so he could miss out on entry to AO.

Hartt – well it’s coming to the end of the year for most players and maybe Denis is feeling a bit drained.

BTW – as far as people frequently going on about how tennis doesn’t have a long enough off-season etc I’ve noticed that for a lot of players, WTA and ATP, the tournaments this week are the last of the year. That leaves a fair stretch of time before Australia. Seems long enough to me.
What else is happening, apart from Finals – DC and Fed Cup ? And maybe lower level tournaments.

Tiafoe almost beat Goffin at Indian Wells a few years ago (had match points I think), Tiafoe is due for a big win

I saw a few games of Aragone/Kozlov and Aragone was the quicker more physical player and had some break points to get the first set but Kozlov hung in and must have rolled in the 2nd. Kozlov looks like he is trying to beef up his body, he needs to as he gets pushed round out there.

Last word on Kerber, for the time being – she just doesn’t seem to have the power anymore, mentally or physically, against younger players. We’ll find out for sure next year.
Meanwhile, Monica may be going to fulfill some of her potential.

I think Angie cares – maybe she can’t stop caring. So a proper sabbatical could help. But technically at present she doesn’t have anything to fall back on when things aren’t going her way, and she’s not adjusting her game as she gets older. Perhaps I’m expecting too much.

Monica was a tough draw – 8 aces. 40 winners – can she keep it up ? If she does it’ll be one of the great comebacks in tennis history 🙂

Rebecca Marino, at 26 years old, announced she is returning to pro tennis after nearly 5 years away from the game. She left mainly because of ongoing depression so presumably that is no longer an issue. She said she has no goals regarding results, she just wants to enjoy herself on the court. She will play in 2 upcoming Challengers in Canada.

Hartt – I read about Marino – was going to ask if you knew anything about her, what had happened. Anyway, glad to see she’s on the way back, just happy to be playing is the main thing.
Depression is one of those unmentioned topics in sport – but I’d like to bet Marino isn’t the only victim in tennis. Quite common in cricket – so much so someone wrote a book about cricket suicides – bit grim.

Puig played better than I’ve seen since the Olympics. Really focussed.

When players get into around 29/30 they have to make changes to survive at the top – Serena did that and hence her longevity. She can’t outrun 22 year olds so she outplays them. (or did) Angie hasn’t made changes, or they aren’t obvious. Puig pinned her beyond the baseline just for a start, but oddly the 3 times I saw Angie go near the net she won. She looks miserable though.

Radwanska – have a feeling she’s not too bothered. Maybe liking domestic life now.
I’m looking forward to Singapore – wondering how Simona’s going to cope.

Mind you, Konta chucked her previous coach overboard at the end of last year so the position may not seem too attractive for anyone hoping for long-term employment 🙂

Scoop, just read your Biofile on Marino. Very enjoyable. Thanks for mentioning it (and doing it in the first place).

Hartt – Angie’s been on a downward trend since the beginning of the year, although it wasn’t reflected in her ranking for a while. I expect it to continue, unfortunately, although maybe the year end break will work as a soothing balm 🙂

You may be right about Puig, being inconsistant – she certainly had more of a struggle today.

I imagine the thinking behind Marino’s comeback is to find out for herself if she can cope now in situations which were really fraught for her before.
Depression can be a condition which never goes away, even with support and medication, so facing her past like this shows a lot of courage.

Hingis> Kerber> Woz,and Radwanska

All great players. One mutual problem. They can be overpowered over a 6 or 7 match Tourney. No big weapon, other than smarts, hearts and legs

They can beat a Big Babe here and there, but not 3 or 4 in a row. Woz and Rad were never able to sneak through, Willians, Henin and Clijsters were better. Kerber snuck in 2 Majors, and Hingis got her 5 right before the big hitters sent her to the Bolivian Msrching Powder

I think we should also continue discussing Nick Kyrgios and how he managed to get dumped in Antwerp. Maybe Nick gets homesick ?

Scoop -OK – you heard a rumour and not Angie actually sneeze – I misread. But you still must have your ear to the ground Kerber-wise 🙂

I was pleasantly surprised at how much coverage Rebecca Marino’s return to tennis has received. As expected, the Canadian media gave her return extensive coverage, but tennis sites in a variety of countries have also had pieces about it.

Catherine, I know you are joking about Nick, but it struck me how uninterested I am now in him – had not even known he was playing in Antwerp until stories about his loss started to appear.

For me, the big story was Mischa Zverev winning over 19-year-old Mikael Ymer in Stockholm. I was rooting for Mischa but the youngster played very well, making it a close 3-set match. Definitely a player to keep an eye on. It is the first time I have seen Ymer the Younger in an entire match. The commies said he is considered to be more talented than older brother Elias. I may have to change my Ymer brother loyalty. 🙂

Regarding Marino, yes, I hope it does work out for her. Hopefully she is being honest with herself when she says she does not have ranking goals. She has done some coaching over the last few years, and also competitive rowing so she should be in good shape. She said seeing the Challenger tourney in Vancouver recently was one motivator for coming back. She is still a competitor and realized she is better at tennis than rowing.

With Nick, I agree that he is a decent guy – the fact that so many players say they like him is a testament to that. Several weeks ago the Tennis Podcast did an extensive piece on him, and it helped me to understand where Nick is coming from. He does not seem well-suited to the tennis way of life, and has not worked out good coping mechanisms. He does get homesick, but then so do many players. Shapo, who is 4 years younger and much less experienced on the pro circuit, has talked about missing his family. But he is determined to deal with it, saying he must play a lot of tourneys now to learn how to play well week in, week out.

I think the thing with Nick, and a couple other players who have expressed similar thoughts, is that they don’t love tennis the way so many players do. That does mean they hate it, just that they are not passionate about the sport. So that makes it difficult for them to cope with the negative aspects of the pro tour, and the incredible amount of work necessary to become a top player.

With so many players I am struck by how they started playing tennis as soon as they were big enough to hold a racquet and how they talk about loving it from the very beginning, saying they are at their happiest when on the court. That passion for the sport has to be a huge plus.

I am not paying a lot of attention to Nick now, as I said before, so am not getting upset when he gives up in a match or getting excited when he does well. If he does decide to change his approach in the future will be happy to follow his career again, but am not optimistic about that happening. That does not mean that I never watch his matches, but other players have a much higher priority.

There are so many players that I am paying attention to these days that it’s difficult to keep up with them all! 🙂

Having watched the Kerber – Puig match yesterday, what definitely seemed noticeable was that Kerber played like her shadow — in other words, the shots and form were there, but there was no conviction behind her shots, and on the changeovers/breaks, she looked despondent and somewhat depressed.

Give credit to Puig, she played very well, and certainly deserved her triumph, but it was much more Kerber’s match to win or lose.

At this rate, Angelique may finish the year out of the Top 30.

As for Nick, he has a great love for basketball, and always seemed to be more motivated in Davis Cup/Laver Cup, and he’s said in the past that his parents pushed him into tennis. Kyrgios is happy being a star in the team format, but mano-a-mano, he can be the proverbial deer in the headlights every so often. He simply doesn’t have the desire and drive of guys like Federer, Nadal, Murray, and Djokovic.

Scoop – Of course Nick can play any way he wants – whether anyone will turn out to watch him is another matter.

Well in that case Nick doesn’t want to be a professional tennis player. Not in this day and age.

Was just updating my various players lists, and was struck by how incredibly young Shapo is. There are just a couple players who are younger and doing well. Baby Felix is just over 17 and is ranked No. 153. Kecmanovic is just over 18 but he is ranked No. 299. And there is Denis at not quite 18 years, 6 months, ranked No. 50. I know he will have to work hard to consolidate a top 50 ranking, but it is an amazing achievement in the current tennis world.

Of course the biggest story for a youngster is Sasha Zverev at just under 20 years, 6 months, ranked No. 5 (and having reached No. 4). The kids are coming, or have arrived!

But if Nick continues to have mediocre results will he still be a star? He has pulled the plug on this season, which is probably a good idea – it will give him time to deal with his hip injury. But that leads to another question about Nick, will he train well enough to avoid injuries? Because ongoing injuries can also derail his career.