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Whoa in Washington, Ryan Harrison takes out Hewitt
46 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Scoop
Guess that spinny forehand and mechanical backhand aren’t too bad after all. Ryan Harrison defeated former ATP No. l Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets today.
After a disappointing first half of the year hampered by repeated difficult draws, Harrison, now l0-l6 for the year, seems to be finding his groove now. He made the semis last week in Atlanta, bowing to finalist Kevin Anderson. Harry’s reward – a date with world no. 7 Juan Martin Del Potro who has won two titles in Washington.
Hewitt, showing plenty of flashes of his former greatness in recent weeks, made SF in Atlanta, falling to Isner in a three set classic.
In other results, Fish is on the board with his first (d. Ebden) win since beating Reynolds in Indian Wells, next up he plays Benneteau.
Blake, a QF in ATL, was ousted today by Marinko Matosevic.
Defending champ Alex Dolgopolov lost today to the struggling Somdev Devvarman. That’s three first round losses in a row for Dolgo.
Radek Stepanek has returned to DC where he won the title two years ago, his win today against Steve Johnson was his seventh straight in the nation’s capital.
Jack Sock defeated Igor Sisjling, and will face Kei Nishikori in a very interesting second round duel. Something tells me Sock will be jacked up for this clash of young titans.
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Andrew Miller · July 30, 2013 at 11:04 pm
Dont like the forehand. But beating Hewitt is definitely legitimate. Congrats to Harrison R.
Andrew Miller · July 30, 2013 at 11:43 pm
Alex Kuznetsov gets the official attaboy! For what it’s worth, Devvarman is making good on his smack-down of Harrison C. by taking out Dolgopolov.
Doogie · July 31, 2013 at 3:45 am
Isner`s opponent at Atlanta:
CHara lost vs Devvarmen: 0:6 1:6
Blake lost vs Matosevic 2:6 6:7
Hewitt lost vs RHara 3:6 5:7
No fear I dont want to start Isner debate again. What I am thinking about this results??
It shows how much influence a smart schedule can make to earn important points (250 is quite a lot in comparision to beaten opponents).
Generally the mickey mouse tournaments (AND challengers), as I call the 250er events, in the States are lot weaker than europeans.
I claim – I know it is not the same surface but anyway – that Hewitt, RHara, Blake aso would not win any matches on old continent.
Imo it is not that these players improved in last weeks, but their opponents are just at same level.
So fighting and running as hell can be enough to win.
Wait until the Europeans arrive, u will hardly see any wins. Here and there one round yes but no semifinal or even quarter.
Scoop Malinowski · July 31, 2013 at 8:29 am
TO beat a player ranked about 50 spots ahead of you, who was a former no. l and coming off a nice tourney, this is a huge win for Ryan. THis could be his catapult. “Rumble, young man rumble.”
Scoop Malinowski · July 31, 2013 at 8:30 am
C HArry must have been tired or something to lose that badly. Devvarman seems to play his best in DC, he played college in VA which is nearby.
Scoop Malinowski · July 31, 2013 at 8:32 am
Doogie, that’s just the way draws work out, a new week is a new week. Believe it, there are plenty of Europeans who will suffer on the court from the process of being Iznerized as well, Izner does not discriminate on who he prefers to beat down )
Patrick · July 31, 2013 at 10:21 pm
Harrison return to greatness?
Does. Not. Compute.
Patrick · July 31, 2013 at 10:23 pm
Dolgo baffles me. I watch him play and I see a top ten guy. But then he randomly loses to seemingly inferior players.
Dan Markowitz · July 31, 2013 at 10:59 pm
Patrick,
What, are you Scoop’s cousin? You see a Top 10 player when you watch Dolgo play? Come on, he’s not even as good as guys like Gulbis, Izzie or Tomic and a whole host of other players. The guy is going backwards. His magic has been quieted this year.
Andrew Miller · August 1, 2013 at 12:35 am
DC’s draw (which now has both the ATP and WTA, these guys are smart!) is international, so it should give a good gauge of where players are at prior to Canada and Cincy. I think Isner has momentum (he beat Kuznetsov today 7-6. 7-6 – Isner’s winning ugly! And Kuznetsov really has built himself a nice comeback story). Given DC’s draw is especially strong this year it should prove harder than Atlanta and therefore give some insight into who’s playing well now.
It’s probably fair to say the U.S. players are building momentum, and that the non-U.S. players are better than ever. It’s that hard to break through.
As for Dolgo and Dan, I think Dan has it. Dolgo hits shots that few could fathom (somewhat like Rios, but far more reckless). But that does not make him top 10. It makes him a threat against himself.
Andrew Miller · August 1, 2013 at 12:45 am
Fish won also (vs. Benneteau)! Tim S. is at 1 set a piece with Haas. Will stick with the assessment that U.S. players are doing better and the non U.S. players are better than they have ever been. No one these days is rocketing up the rankings.
Harold · August 1, 2013 at 9:18 am
Seems like some of the professional writers and bloggers here, are more the cup is half full(except Dan, where Fed’s concerned) as far as American tennis. Sort of like sales people pushing a product, they take wins in 250’s and make them out to be career changers.
Sorry, I don’t see any American from Isner to Q, all the way to the Socks and Harry brothers ever doing major damage at a Major.There’s not a 5 set player in the bunch, whether they lack the mental strength or the physicality
Win’s over Hewitt, a HOF past his prime, caught him in a first round, after a tough loss the previous tourney,where he couldn’t close out a final, don’t have the same value as if he’d beaten him 5 years ago.
Scoop Malinowski · August 1, 2013 at 9:34 am
Dolgopolov, FYI, was once Ranked #l4. Just a couple of wins from top ten. Not sure why he’s plateaued but he has.
Scoop Malinowski · August 1, 2013 at 9:38 am
Raonic, TOmic, Dimitrov have all stagnated as well. Only Janowicz has shot up. The rest of the ATP young guns are pretty much all in holding pattern, with guns still in holsters.
Scoop Malinowski · August 1, 2013 at 9:41 am
Harold bet you never saw the Janowicz of a couple years ago ever doing damage at a major, or the young Thomas Johansson, Martin Verkerk, Todd Martin, Volchkov, etc. Some players just come outta nowhere. It can happen to Harrison and Sock, it can happen to a lot of players. This is one of the great attractions of tennis, trying to identify who will do it.
Doogie · August 1, 2013 at 10:30 am
To some point I have to agree Harold. U should not interpret to much into this Mickey Mouse tournaments. (and their very weak field esp in USA).
I for my part take a close look about techniques and game plans, tactics, movement aso and I build my opinion about future of a player.
And in this field I have to agree 100% to Harold. The US Boys just have so many wholes in their game. They have power yes , but no1 of them will be one part of tennis history.
If I compare the young US “guns” with Vesely or Thiem , they are some steps behind these two for example. And one good tournament or couple does not change my view that they are just limited.
Andrew Miller · August 1, 2013 at 11:18 am
I take Harold and D.’s points. But let’s puts some stats behind this, just so this is out there. The U.S. as of today is fourth in terms of number of players in the top hundred in the world, tied with Germany. It is behind France, Spain and Argentina – no shame there. If you burrow down into the 2nd tier, rankings from 101-200, the numbers show that the U.S. and Germany have the most players ranked in those spots, with the U.S. having THREE of the players in the #101 – #110 positions (or four of the #101-#120 positions). In other words, the U.S. is not doing horribly, it’s doing about as well as everyone else in terms of number of players in the top 200 (Spain has 19 players in the top 200, U.S. has 18 in the top 200). And with players like Johnson, Harrison and Kudla in the 101-109 spots, the U.S. could conceivably, given the U.S. hardcourt swing, have 9 players in the top 100 by the start of the U.S. open. That would make them the number three country globally for tennis as measured by number of top hundred ranked players. If you take the long view on things, you see Spain will stay in good shape, France too, and then Germany and the U.S. But given things like momentum (which I don’t think is artificial), and motivation (this batch of up and coming players works harder I think – they have no illusions), as well as changes in how wildcards are given for slams (based om competition vs. favoritism, different from the past) I’d say the U.S. has a pretty decent shot of being prominent (rather than “borderline relevant”) in something like 600 days, about two years time, by end of the Key Biscayne tournament in 2015. Based on the numbers, I’d conclude (and here’s the leap of faith) that U.S. players are doing better than expected and they will outperform the low expectations. We may say Harrison is hyped, but let’s not diminish Lleyton Hewitt here – they were both in the semifinals in Atlanta last week, and for Harrison to beat a player with quite the hard court resume in straight sets is a good win. Anyone who beats Hewitt will take that win.
Spain: # of players in top 100, 13 as of today.
U.S.: # of players in top 100, 6 as of today.
U.K: # of players in top 100, 1 as of today.
Argentina: # of players in top 100, 7 as of today.
France: # of players in top 100, 14 as of today.
Germany: # of players in top 100, 6 as of today.
Czech Republic: # of players in top 100, 4 as of today.
Australia: # of players in top 100, 3 as of today.
Croatia: # of players in top 100, 3 as of today.
Canada: # of players in top 100, 2 as of today.
vs. Number of players ranked in the 101-200 positions
Argentina: Seven
Australia: Three
Belgium: Four
Canada: Two
Czech Republic: Three
France: Five
Germany: Twelve
Great Britain: One
Italy: Five
Netherlands: Two
Spain: Six
U.S. TWELVE
So, out of the top 6 tennis playing countries,
Dan Markowitz · August 1, 2013 at 11:57 am
Let me say a couple of things. First off, Harold, was I not right about Federer? He stunned me winning Wimbledon last year, but I’ve been saying for the last couple of years, his game was on the down slide, and not just a little, but by a lot. And I’ve been right. I still can’t believe when I hear a guy like Courier says he thinks Roger will win another slam or two. That’s impossible. He might make another slam semis or two, but that’s also doubtful.
Now, I don’t know Vesely or Thiem at all, other than seeing today Thiem beat Muster yesterday. But you can’t compare these guys to RHarry. I’ll kick Harry enough, thank you, w/out you folks doing it, but Harry was top-50 by 20. This guy Thiem is No. 268 and he’s from Austria at 19. The Austians make good opera, not so good in tennis.
As for Vesely, he’s 20 and No. 98, but he’s a Challenger player right now. He lost to James McGee the No. 1 Irish player in the U.S. this year. Nuff said. You’re comparing these guys to Harry!?
But Andrew, I’d be careful in comparing bulk numbers in the Top 100 to truly quality players. You know for a fact that guys Johnson, RWilliams, Klahn and probably Kudla, and maybe RHarry, too, will not be quality players.
Harold · August 1, 2013 at 12:04 pm
Meant no offense to any of the writers and bloggers. Love going to qualies and watching the practices to see who is up and coming.
Saw a lot of Brands at last years qualies, thought he would get out of playing qualies every week, shocked by hi play on clay. in a good way.
I guess as I got older, I started thinking like the top players, where Tennis success only matters in the Masters and Majors.
Guys are fighting for their livese in 250’s and 500’s, but in my mind you can never trust a big win over a top player in an early round, because 1)they are probably looking ahead to a bigger tournament, and. 2)Appearance fee and it’s “Tank you very Much”.
If it’s in the semi’s or final, then it’s much respect.
Doogie · August 1, 2013 at 12:40 pm
First of all I am from Austria 🙂 and we have very good opera indeed^^
From time to time we produce some successful players for our small country (Muster, Skoff, Koubek, Melzer,..)
For young players u have to see how their body is built and due to this Hara was earlier on ATP level then other ones who are at same age. When I look back how he looked like when he won his first ATP match at age of 15.
Other like Thiem need more time – he was at age of 18 still a kid.
It is always difficult to compare young players but I lean my out of window that Vesely will reach a higher career ranking, no matter how much he will win in next year or two.
About players from 90 – 200 in rankings:
As i wrote last time, challengers are not same on whole world. There are f.e. 9 Asian players in Top200 who are only that high because the tournaments there are a complete farce. Of course it is not their fault – it is just the way it is. And bit (!!) is same for American Challengers. Best example for me is Mischa Zverev; since he joined US tournaments he is on way back to top100.
To resume our all views (pls correct me if i am wrong):
There is no “Next One” from the States. Brave players yes but no Nr1. So we are concludent. No need to clash.
Mitch · August 1, 2013 at 1:54 pm
Dan – you can’t say you were right about Federer. Winning Wimbledon and getting back to #1 was not a blip, though I don’t disagree with your current outlook for him.
I appreciate Andrew’s analysis, but not sure I agree that quantity is the best indicator of relevance. The U.S. has a good crop of players in the Top 200, but very few contenders. That group of players might include a lot of young talent, but where would those kids be without the abundance of dinky 250 tournaments and wild cards?
Scoop Malinowski · August 1, 2013 at 1:59 pm
Guga, Janowicz, Bogie, Brian Baker, Benjamin Becker, Nishikori, young James Blake, have pretty much come out of nowhere. It can and will happen again. I remember I updated Guga’s Biofile when he was at US Open playing doubles a few years ago and he said a funny memory was when he was a teen and he was trying to get financing to turn pro and the prospective investor changed his mind because he felt Guga was too skinny and not strong enough. About a year later, Guga proved him wrong. I mean, this is the thing about tennis, you can’t always go by the book, surprises do happen. Janowicz is the latest example. There will be more. many more. Sock Klahn Rhyne Harrisons Kozlov Thiem Vesely…we’ll see.
Scoop Malinowski · August 1, 2013 at 2:04 pm
Excellent research Andrew, very interesting. Like I said, you can’t condemn Patrick McEnroe, no other tennis super power is dominating in producing young talent, everyone is struggling to create a Nadal, Sampras, Agassi, Fed type dominant superstar. The US is right there in the mix in both mens and womens. And true about beating Hewitt, I never saw Hewitt tank a match or a single point in his life. Surely, Harrison earned that win, I can say that without having seen it, knowing what a bulldog Hewitt is.
Scoop Malinowski · August 1, 2013 at 2:08 pm
Dan. Bogomolov played Fed early in his career (about 04) and two years ago in Cincy and he said Fed was an even better player the second time around, more shots, more spins, different serves and locations. He said every single serve he hit was different. Bogie said Fed is clearly better now. The difference is IMO he doesn’t have the same drive, confidence and desire to fight it out. His hunger to win is a fraction off and that’s all it takes in the fine line between winning and losing. Fed when at his best today is still an amazing player. But you also have to consider Nadal Djok Murray Berd Delpo Jo are all better players now. So I disagree with this notion that Fed’s game is in a tailspin. He is still a great player, like he said he plays for the love of playing more now than to be a machine and try to break more records.
Scoop Malinowski · August 1, 2013 at 2:11 pm
Courier obviously has a lot of respect for Federer and like Sampras showed, you just can never count out these super champions, you never know when the stars will align and Fed can summon his greatness once again. Agree with Courier, as long as Fed still plays, he is always capable of showing his magic once again in a major tourney, if not more.
Scoop Malinowski · August 1, 2013 at 2:13 pm
Doogie, don’t forget, if you’re going to name famous recent Austrian tennis players, Gilbert Schaller who beat Sampras at the French Open rather decisively. And the veteran doubles player Julian Knowle who is still out there grinding away and getting the job done )
Scoop Malinowski · August 1, 2013 at 2:16 pm
Harold you should try to go to more events, like the Bronx Challenger or any other Challengers though I know you prefer the glitz and glamour events like the Open and London World Tour Finals ) The Sarasota Challenger is one of my favorite events, I’m sure you and Dan, and any tennis fan would love it.
Dan Markowitz · August 1, 2013 at 2:59 pm
Nice to have an Austrian on the site. I was only halfway joking when I said the Austrians are not so good in tennis. But besides Muster, let’s be serious, the other players you mentioned go from being good to decent, they weren’t standout players or, as you say, contenders to being No. 1.
And I disagree with you to a degree at looking at a player’s body to determine his future success. Of course, there are players with great bodies, like Federer, Sampras, Murray and Djokovic. But then you have guys like Becker (too big), Chang (too small) and Ferrer (too small), who succeed regardless of their body type.
I go by results. If you’re 19 and No. 268, your chances of making it big time are pretty slim. By 19, if you have the goods, you’re going to break through at some level and at least start playing the slams. I’ve never seen Thiem or Vesely in a slam.
And Bogie is full of it. Fed was a better player in 04 when he toyed with top players. Now, or even last year, he isn’t nearly as dynamic. You think Fed would’ve been changing his sticks back in 04?
Scoop Malinowski · August 1, 2013 at 3:18 pm
Fed got better, I’ll take Bogie’s word for it, he was on the court with Fed not watching from the press box or on TV. The problem for Fed is that the other players got better too.
Doogie · August 1, 2013 at 3:30 pm
@ Dan
surely they were not – we will probably never have a shot for a Nr.1 again (and I believe this have to be said for Switzerland too).
U got me wrong (no wonder my English is still not at a high level). I meant the body is important to be able to compete on ATP level. In juniors u can win with 40 kilos too. Your body do not determine anything as u said – u just must be a “man”. Hope u got me this time^^
Scoop Malinowski · August 1, 2013 at 3:48 pm
Delpo took out Harrison 6l 75 today. F-Lo was sightseeing and took a photo at White House, which I saw on twitter. Suggested he take a bike ride around Rock Creek Park and Georgetown like Dan and I did a few years ago. Don’t know about you Dan but I’m missing DC right now, really enjoy that event.
Dan Markowitz · August 1, 2013 at 4:02 pm
Yes, Doogie, but the Swiss have had a nice history in men’s and even women’s tennis. Rosset, Jakob Hlasek (man, that dude was good-looking, looked like a Teutonic Brad Pitt) and now Wawa and Fed. And, don’t worry about your English. It’s fine. Start worrying if we convert this site to Austrian.
I do miss DC, but didn’t like that the matches started at 4 pm. Guess they’ve changed that. But to have a tournament in a beautiful park like Rock Creek and in the middle of D.C. instead out in a borough like Queens is nice.
Andrew Miller · August 1, 2013 at 4:23 pm
I think Dan and Mitch have great points. Sure, quantity of players in top 200 is not necessarily an indicator of player talent – but it is a real thing for whatever it’s worth. On Mitch’s point about the 250 tournaments, sure – small tournaments account for the players’ points. But it’s not as if non-U.S. players don’t feast on them either. It sounds like career suicide to me to just play slams and Masters events – not even Djokovic does this. Those players for the most part use those tournaments so they can avoid qualifying for the large tournaments – I don’t think they are crazy for wanting direct entry and it seems pretty sound to me to play small events to boost the ranking, keep improving, and then hit the big events with some confidence.
As for the players Dan mentioned, Johnson, Williams, Klahn, Kudla, Harrison – with exception of Harrison the other guys’ rankings as of last year were pretty awful (Rhyne Williams improved 200 spots, from 320s to 116 today from a year back, Kudla improved over 300 spots, from 430s a year ago to 109 today; Klahn from #864 last year to #148 (a 700 spot leap); Johnson was in the mid 300s last year and is now at 101, a leap of 200 spots). We can say they haven’t been unbelievable in prime time tournaments but let’s not deny them their due, those rankings leaps are huge. Steve Johnson might be rookie of the year.
Sure, maybe no one is can’t miss. But it’s possible a lot of them will be the caliber of Melzer. Why not?
Andrew Miller · August 1, 2013 at 5:41 pm
As for Federer, who knows. It’s definitely not an age thing – see Haas, Agassi, even Fish. Today’s game rewards knowledge plus fitness, no young guns are doing anything and haven’t since the rise of Nadal, Djokovic, Murray. Even Federer was a “late” bloomer at 22. The question now is Federer’s health and commitment. He took a risk this year in paring back the number of tournaments, but he also seemed to up the amount of relaxation between them! He probably recognizes the mistake vis a vis his goals.
Can he win another slam? Federer’s better than Agassi and Agassi netted an Australian Open at 33 (within a depleted field). He could get some luck here and there to make it back into a slam final. Do I personally think he will? NO. But has Federer proven people like me wrong on a consistent basis?
I think he’s proven everyone right and everyone wrong consistently. Federer’s a living legend and still appreciates the fight. His game is more sound than almost anyone on tour – his groundstrokes are just superior to everyone outside the top 3. So if any player COULD do it, it’s Federer.
I think his best bet is always the US Open. Probably because of his return of serve. Australia these days I don’t think so, as Murray and Djokovic are better on it. Dirt is not happenning. Grass court maybe he will see another semifinal or final (or another 2nd round exit). But at the US Open – I think he could do it because of his return of serve.
Andrew Miller · August 1, 2013 at 7:29 pm
OK, this is big: It’s not just Jay Berger and Harrison’s dad that are coaching him, but Brad Gilbert. Anyone Gilbert works with gets better. He did help out Querrey.
Scoop Malinowski · August 1, 2013 at 8:55 pm
Good to see Team Harrison making some minor changes. Hope BG can say the right words to spark Harry to live up to Mats Wilander’s potential (top 5).
Dan Markowitz · August 1, 2013 at 9:50 pm
Scoop,
Come on, be realistic. Harry is not going anywhere near where Mats plugged him a couple of years ago. Top-3. And am I hallucinating or did Gimel just say on TC that he thinks even Izzie and Kevin A could contend for a slam. Izzie can contend for a title if he goes back and seeks out his first NCAA crown. This guy is not built for 7 5-set matches over 2 weeks. It looks like Q-man is through contending for the quarters of slams (really only the US Open) when he gets beat soundly by Dimitrov.
Geez, when you look at Raonic, Harry, and Tomic, only Dimitrov is really showing any real promise anymore.
What’s with D.C. making guys like Del Po and Kei play two matches in one day and not making Haas do the same.
Brad Gilbert has now officially coached more players than even Larry Stefanki.
Andrew Miller · August 1, 2013 at 11:40 pm
Brad Gilbert only coaches players he believe will make it. And they always make it: dramatic improvement always happens. That said. ever since the end of the Agassi-Gilbert partnership, Gilbert has lasted very briefly with every subsequent player, Querrey included, and they either go back to their coach or find a new one. Despite his obvious positive influence on every player, it must be hard to work with BG.
Andrew Miller · August 1, 2013 at 11:41 pm
Can Harrison make it? If he plays on the baseline (rather than a kilometer behind it) and substitutes his return of serve for his forehand, I think he will ast least hold serve. That’s half the battle against the elite players.
Mitch · August 2, 2013 at 1:10 am
Haas had to finish a match today before he played Dodig. Is Gilbert an effective coach now that he splits coaching duties with broadcasting?
Andrew Miller · August 2, 2013 at 8:53 am
Mitch has a good point. My hunch is he’s not as good with the full time broadcasting and that he’ll never leave the broadcasting. For whatever reason no coaching relationship with Gilbert has stuck since the end with Murray and the LTA. Maybe Gilbert’s star as a coach has faded.
Scoop Malinowski · August 2, 2013 at 9:50 am
I think it goes hand in hand, both gigs help BG. Coaching lets BG be around the scene more he sees more and picks up more stuff which add to his commentating skills.
Andrew Miller · August 2, 2013 at 11:38 am
Gilbert highlight: Haas – Dimitrov, DC, today. Haas wins I think my argument on knowledge, skill + fitness, despite age, has some solid evidence. Dimitrov wins and you can say the barometer favors the new over the old school. I mean, this match IS the match that answers the question, “What if I, now, were to play against a younger version of myself?” When Federer and Sampras squared off at the 2001 Wimbledon, the answer was “you lose to the future”. These days, I think the chips are more evenly weighted. Hopefully this match is a blockbuster.
For what it’s worth, let’s go Tommy Haas. Show em how it’s done.
Scoop Malinowski · August 2, 2013 at 11:59 am
Haas-Dimitrov is indeed a very interesting match on many levels. The new vs. the old, important for both players…going with….Tommy. But barely.
Patrick · August 12, 2013 at 12:40 pm
Dan,
You wrote:
What, are you Scoop’s cousin? You see a Top 10 player when you watch Dolgo play? Come on, he’s not even as good as guys like Gulbis, Izzie or Tomic and a whole host of other players. The guy is going backwards. His magic has been quieted this year.
And then Andrew Miller wrote:
As for Dolgo and Dan, I think Dan has it. Dolgo hits shots that few could fathom (somewhat like Rios, but far more reckless). But that does not make him top 10. It makes him a threat against himself.
My response to Dan is that, yes, I absolutely see a top ten player when I watch Dolgo play. And then my response to Andrew is that what you said makes no sense. You just stated that shotmaking ability is a detriment to success in the game of tennis. That is silly.
Dolgo moves like a cat, he has a surprisingly hard serve for a guy his size, he can do anything he wants with his forehand, he has great touch, and soft hands. I don’t love his tendency to slice his backhand 75% of the time, but, to be fair, he puts it back deep in the court and with a tricky sidespin.
So what is it that Gulbis can do on a tennis court that Dolgo can’t? Why would you say servebot Isner has more game than Dolgo? I actually do like Tomic quite a bit. He has a unique game, but so does Dolgo.
I mean, if Kei Nishikori is the primed to crack the top ten then why shouldn’t Dolgo? I like Kei plenty, but Dolgo serves better and is a better shotmaker and I think he actually moves better as well.
If the response to all of this is: well Dolgo just can’t seem to figure out when to utilize the many tools that he has….well then you’re not even disagreeing with me. I’m not arguing that Dolgo is playing like a top ten player right now. I just said that when I see him play, I see top ten game.
Scoop Malinowski · August 12, 2013 at 2:27 pm
Well said about Dolgopolov Patrick. Spot on. The arsenal is there. The results are not. I think Dolgoplov has to be scrappier, we know he can dazzle the crowd with his shotmaking but the grinders of the ATP Tour like Haas, Harrison, Ferrer, etc., can handle this game. Dolgo has to adjust and adapt his game now. It’s not working as is. He’s a top ten player, he just needs to show that level more consistently. Top 30 is still a remarkable achievement though. I will never forget that first set be played vs. Djokovic at the US Open on Armstrong court on the Sat. afternoon a couple of years ago. One of the best sets I have ever seen. Broke the US Open record for longest tiebreak. Kirilenko broke that record though the same year or the next year.