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Tim Mayotte Interview: “Somebody will come through”
63 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Scoop
By Scoop Malinowski
Our enlightening and educational conversation with former Wimbledon semifinalist and Olympic silver medalist Tim Mayotte at the Newport Hall of Fame continues with his sharing of views and observations on the modern era of tennis…
Question: Novak Djokovic could be the greatest player of all time when he’s at his best. Your comment?
Tim Mayotte: “He hasn’t done it through the holes, he has two of the best players going against him. He could be. He could be. But it’s hard to tell. It depends on how motivated he can stay over a long time.”
Question: He has that winning record against both Federer and Nadal.
Tim Mayotte: “Yep. But I would say what’s also been impressive is I think the way Isner improved. I was very impressed with the way he’s honed his game. And continued to understand how he needed to say in rallies to pull the trigger on the forehand. And obviously he’s super mentally tough. So right now he seems to be pretty much the best (American) player. Querrey, Sock – has major deficiencies that I never thought – I was surprised he got to the top ten. I just think he has so many issues with his backhand and the way he moves.”
Question: Which of the young players will rise to the elite? Eventually Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray are going to move on. Which of the young talents out there will eventually step forward? Tsitsipas, Thiem, Zverev?
Tim Mayotte: “I just don’t see anybody. I think there are some players who are gonna rise to the top. I don’t see anybody as you look at the whole package even close to those three, four, to me, there’s nobody with the efficiency of movement that those three have combined with the stroke production. I just don’t see. I keep looking, trying to find. Thiem, I think, is not a great mover except on clay. He’s a great player but he does well on clay because he does not force to take time away. He can lay way, way back. To do well on other surfaces, he needs to cut the angle off and get closer to the baseline. Actually, I had a long conversation with his coach (Bresnik) at last US Open and tried to give them some ideas, which he was open to, but I think his movement patterns aren’t efficient enough – on fast surfaces. And I think that with Zverev, same thing. He’s so far behind the court. That he’s forced to move so often, he doesn’t neutralize well.”
“I think he’s got a little bit of a problem with his forehand, stroke production. I think any of those guys can win slams but as a complete package, I don’t see them anywhere as close to the best four.”
Question: Why do you think these players today station themselves so far behind the baseline?
Tim Mayotte: “The efficiency of movement and stroke production has to be so great to deal with balls with the velocity that are coming in. And the top three do that better than anybody else. They know how to cut the angles off, because, technically, with the stroke production in relation to their movement, they can do it. Just like Agassi was so efficient. Because of his preparation. Connors. Those guys prepared so early and were on balance. That they could take those balls. I don’t see anybody with that kind of efficiency of preparation.”
Question: In five years, do you see the ATP being wide open, parity?
Tim Mayotte: “No. Somebody will come through. It’s too hard to predict. I do think that one thing that people should look at, that would be considered kind of a joke, is the underhanded serve. Particularly in the women’s game. I don’t understand why it’s not used. I’ve been practicing it myself. It could be a remarkable weapon. If you watch Nadal – twelve to fifteen feet behind the baseline – and why it’s not used…I could hit a drop shot with a little bit of practice, that lands twice, halfway in the service box. And why players wouldn’t be using that I think is a big mistake.”
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« Previous 1 2catherine · August 3, 2018 at 3:14 pm
Scoop- players are human beings. Andy had every right to show his emotion. Other times you’ve said exactly that. I think you’re just calling him a ‘crybaby’ to be contrary. And nobody is at their physical or mental best at 3am. Even Napoleon wasn’t.
Scoop Malinowski · August 3, 2018 at 3:42 pm
Catherine, you are probably right, Andy was probably frazzled and mentally distraught after such an emotional win at a time when he’s usually deep asleep. Body clocks are fragile. I remember I was told about the Yugoslavian boxer Mate Parlov trained for six months in Split for the Mexico City Olympics in 1968 to prepare for Mexico time zone. SIX MONTHS prep. So Parlov was training in the middle of the night to get his body clock ready for Mexico City for six months. He won the OLY gold medal too and later became a world champion as a pro. So I guess Andy was not himself. It’s good he showed his deep emotions and not acted like a robot. I stand corrected. Still you wonder if it was a sign of weakness, Hewitt, Rafa, Connors would never show such weakness. But Fed and Sampras and Hingis and Novotna have so Andy is in special company.
Duke Carnoustie · August 3, 2018 at 4:45 pm
I agree with Scoop that it was a bad look for the sport. I mean it was the third round against Copil. Hardly a momentous occasion. But true that Andy is no robot
Lost in the shuffle is the beat down absorbed by Foe. What happened there. Ridiculous score.
Jg · August 3, 2018 at 4:56 pm
Goffan was playing lights out last night, but what happened to Goffan today? I can’t believe he lost to Tsitsipas, who I thought stood too far back in the court. I underestimated him.
Scoop Malinowski · August 3, 2018 at 5:06 pm
Tsitsipas has now beaten Goffin twice and the one time he lost it was very close. Tsitsipas has solved the Goffin puzzle. Another clue that Tsitsipas is headed to greatness.
Hartt · August 3, 2018 at 6:34 pm
Let’s not forget that there have been many women’s matches in Washington are played in the heat of the afternoon. If they, and their fans, are expected to cope, then the men (and their fans) should be expected to as well.
Duke Carnoustie · August 3, 2018 at 6:44 pm
Murray out of DC and Toronto.
Taking Murray’s place in Canada is Wawrinka, who draws Kyrgios in round one. Another 1R match is Chung v. Djokovic. Also Goffin v. Raonic.
Scoop Malinowski · August 3, 2018 at 10:50 pm
Stan vs Nick will be interesting, let’s see if the big clown is up for the battle or will he tank again? Chung vs Djokovic is also an interesting rematch of Australia.
catherine · August 4, 2018 at 2:26 am
Couple of WTA results – Konta gets put in her place by Mertens, Sakkari bts Venus.
And over in Washington Petkovic wins a 3 setter over Bencic. Andrea has a new coach, but I don’t know who he is. Or maybe it’s the Kerber effect: ‘hey, you’re not the only German’.
What’s happened to Osaka ?
But both weak tournaments. The WTA should just get rid of Washington. The weather’s awful anyway.
catherine · August 4, 2018 at 4:01 am
Andrea’s twitter slogan: ‘German beer makes things okay’.
So that’s alright then 🙂
Hartt · August 4, 2018 at 4:33 am
Andrea is great. I recently saw an in-depth interview with her where she talked about the time when she questioned if she should continue in tennis. She said she’s now enjoying tennis more than any other time in her career.
The German beer reference reminds me that Sascha is a treats-eligible player, so that means German beer if he wins the Citi Open. So go, Sascha!
catherine · August 4, 2018 at 6:20 am
Hartt – hope you get your treat ! When I used to drink (don’t anymore) it was almost always German beer. Very popular in England. Now being overtaken by Polish (large Polish community) but that’s nice too.
You may have seen an interview Andrea did on Youtube – very insightful. She’s done a few others but mostly in German without subtitles.
I like the way the German women of the same age seem so supportive of each other – that generation. Really good friends. And very proud of Angie. It’s been a long wait for a Wimbledon title. I’m only a bit surprised Germany hasn’t won Fed Cup more often, only twice I think.
Scoop Malinowski · August 4, 2018 at 9:08 am
Petkodance is a wonderful character and the WTA needs more Petkopersonalities. Nice to see her in winning form again, would love to see the Petkodance revived.