My debut playing the ATP Fantasy Picks game is off to a terrible start. Paire got blown out. Rosol beat Chardy. Gulbis, Mannarino, Tomic, Istomin lost.
Did anyone see that over two minute standing ovation for Federer in Basel when he was awarded the runner-up trophy? Pretty awesome.
How about this article on Dominic Thiem and his eccentric coach, who has him running at midnight, carrying logs in the forest, and showing under waterfalls. link here…
http://www.tennisfrontier.com/blogs/on-the-cherry-path-an-up-and-coming-player-and-his-unusual-coach/
I read James Blake likes Dimitrov and Raonic as the two best of the young guns. He said Janowicz is somewhat predictable. He likes Dimitrov’s all around skills, live arm, movement, serve. He said Raonic is harder to play because of his serve which is so dominant it can make you feel you are not really in the match even if the score is 3-3. I remember Blake, after losing to Karlovic, said how it didn’t even feel like playing tennis.
No mention of Tomic, Pospisil, Harrison or his buddy and former doubles partner Sock in the article by Richard Pagliaro at tennis.com.
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1 2 Next »Gaurang · October 29, 2013 at 3:46 pm
Btw, on the draw challenge, I have a small lead as of right now (1st round is over + 1 match of round 2) : 😉
grkhetan 10
tennis-prose 8
ubermitch 7
vernonbc 2
http://challenge.atpworldtour.com/atp/show-group.php?GRP=7198&X=1383075945
Gaurang · October 29, 2013 at 3:49 pm
The Blake vs Karlovic was a sad match. Blake was clearly looking like a easy winner after the first 2 sets. Then Karlovic fought back winning the last 3 sets — last 2 were tiebreaks. It was a really close, tough loss for Blake — Karlovic suddenly serving well in the last few sets, esp on the important points, and Blake couldnt do anything!
Scoop Malinowski · October 29, 2013 at 3:59 pm
Gee, can’t believe I’m in second place, felt like I picked them all wrong. There has been a lot of unexptected results so far in Paris. Well done, Gaurang, your ATP fantasy picking experience edge is showing )
Scoop Malinowski · October 29, 2013 at 4:00 pm
How about Dan’s favorite doubles player Nick Monroe getting a win today with Isner.
Dan Markowitz · October 29, 2013 at 5:36 pm
Yes, the Nick Monroe train keeps chugging!
Gaurang · October 29, 2013 at 6:02 pm
Thanks Scoop. Well, the positions are temporary. Positions are mostly determined by the latter rounds since they carry much more points that earlier rounds. Before I loose my lead, I thought I will push in a comment to brag 😉
Who is vernonbc in the challenge.
Btw, looks like the in-form Youzhny retired with injury against Kevin Anderson. As Youzhny was in form (defeated Ferrer last week in the final), I was thinking he could have troubled Federer in the next round — but I dont think Kevin Anderson can.
Dan Markowitz · October 30, 2013 at 7:48 am
How about Kei? Big win against Tsonga yesterday. Only saw a little of the match, but Kei looked on. And taking two breakers from Tsonga indoors is quite an effort. Looks like Kei is letting the hair grow out. Looked like Warren Beatty in that movie he plays a hairdresser.
Anyone see the Jimmy Connors ESPN 30 on 30 movie yesterday? I did and I reveled in it. Connors was such an enormous jerk, but what balls he had. He completely engineered that 1991 run at 39 to the semis by overwhelming both his weaker-minded opponents (PMac, Aaron Krickstein and Haarhuis) and the umpires. Man, if only there was the Challenge System in place then.
But it was astounding to hear that Connors who’s 15 years older than Krickstein never contacted the Michigan flash after he totally scammed him in that USO match. And it was fun to hear the commentary from Johnny Mac about how much the two disliked each other and basically still do. And ESPN even put in a lot of commentary from my old Columbia University writing bud, Thomas Beller, who gave some keen analysis on Connors’ crude and rude persona. Thomas is a basketball guy so I never knew he followed tennis.
They even had Brett Connors and Patty McGuire Connors on in interesting commentary about how with that Krickstein match, the family walked around the house, only coalescing around the tv when they’d hear a roar and even went to church during the match and said a prayer for Jimmy. But that run–to this day–was the greatest run in the history of tennis. Can anyone think of one that matches it? (Maybe Johnny Mac’s run to the semis at Wimby when he was a high school senior and qualifier).
Connors won 109 titles and I’d say had more impact on the game of tennis in America than any single player. What a psycho and achiever he was.
Scoop Malinowski · October 30, 2013 at 9:12 am
Missed that film last night darn it. That Jimbo run was maybe the highpoint of all highpoints in tennis. It was so unlikely for guy pushing 40 to make that kind of run and the spectacular manner in which he did it was beyond what a Hollywood director could even imagine. We were witnessing magic on a tennis court. Connors electrified the sport like not even Federer, Agassi, McEnroe, Nadal could ever do. I call that the single most exciting achievement in tennis history. There have been a lot of other countless other great moments in tennis but nothing really comes close to Jimmy Connors age 39 making the US Open SF. Jim Courier had to ruin the party )
Mitch · October 30, 2013 at 10:34 am
Tsonga was not fit yesterday. Ran out of gas and couldn’t lift off to serve or cover the court. He was still a dangerous opponent, and Kei did well to come through, but I wouldn’t make anything of it.
Dan markowitz · October 30, 2013 at 11:00 am
But particularly thrilling was the way Connors brought the fans along for the ride with him. There’s a point in the film where he’s playing the fifth set breaker against Krickstein where Jimbo–his own wife calls him by this name–says, “The fans would’ve wanted us to go five more sets instead of playing the breaker,” and it was true. The place was in pandemonia.
Scoop Malinowski · October 30, 2013 at 12:09 pm
Tsonga looked fine on the highlight video I saw. Could have feigned those injuries to excuse the disappointing loss.
Andrew Miller · October 31, 2013 at 4:20 pm
Good luck Thiem.
Andrew Miller · October 31, 2013 at 11:36 pm
Connor’s run was incredible. Hard to draw conclusions from it. Nadal-like grit plus a solid all around game spell slam success?
Harold · November 1, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Fed just played a great match against Delpo. All court tennis at it’s best. Hope he has something left against Djoko tom.
Doogie · November 1, 2013 at 9:04 pm
Result of the week for us Austrians:
Thiem d. Krajinovic 6:2 6:1 and reached another challenger final! He is Top130 after this week.
Dan Markowitz · November 1, 2013 at 9:16 pm
Did Thiem play the Open qualis this year, Doogie? And if so, how’d he do?
Doogie · November 2, 2013 at 7:31 am
No he did not because he was NOT directly in Quali Draw at this time! Since week 31 he reached 2 ATP quarter finals, 3 challenger finals (1-1 in finals, 3rd he is playing today).
Tough to say how he would have done because at Open there are different conditions and as u know the Qualis opponents can be soo different (from pure Future player to Dan Evans f.e.)
But in comparision to Vesely he can play on all surfaces because he likes to dictate and is moving better.
His career is really moving in right direction and in few months he is surely top 100 at age 21. (1 year younger than RHara)
Scoop Malinowski · November 2, 2013 at 8:43 am
Doogie did you read that Thiem article about his very eccentric coach and their unique unorthodox training system?
Doogie · November 2, 2013 at 9:06 am
Yes I read it but I knew about it before. His fitness coach is known for his “special” training sessions.
If u want to watch Thiems final against Potito Starace – it is in one hour!!
There is a live stream
Doogie · November 2, 2013 at 9:06 am
No – sorry.
It starts now!
Dan markowitz · November 2, 2013 at 11:24 am
Uh, there’s another match in Paris going on now. Fed is starting to wilt under Djoko pressure in third. Anyone think Nadal has chance in the finals?
Mitch · November 2, 2013 at 11:42 am
Do you mean tomorrow or next week? You have to like Djokovic to win Paris, but Nadal will have a good chance, especially if Novak has another sloppy start.
The announcers said that Rafa is in a round robin group with Ferrer, Berdych, and Wawrinka, so seems likely that he’ll get through that, probably without dropping a match, but I’m not sure if I’d take him to beat Del Potro and Djokovic in the elimination stages.
Dan markowitz · November 2, 2013 at 11:47 am
How much does Fed hate Djoko? He didn’t even turn towards him and acknowledge Djoko after the Serb ripped him 3 and 2 in the final two sets. Once again, Djoko heard boos from the crowd which he clearly didn’t enjoy. But if Fed can’t beat Djoko on indoor hard court, his days of beating anywhere else are slim and none.
Dan Markowitz · November 2, 2013 at 1:19 pm
I was talking Paris, Mitch, but am I dreaming or is David Ferrer up a set and a break against Nadal? If Nadal loses this match I don’t want to hear anyone say Nadal could beat Sampras as Sampras would lose to Ferrer like never and never on a hard court in his prime.
Andrew Miller · November 2, 2013 at 3:25 pm
Federer has had a horrible year (a great year by U.S. standards). Paris semifinals equals Nadal. I’d say given Federer’s year this is a step in right direction.
Andrew Miller · November 2, 2013 at 3:25 pm
Sampras in his last years wasn’t dominant. Neither is Federer.
Andrew Miller · November 2, 2013 at 3:39 pm
Saw some clip. Dan has a point based on how Federer’s playing – he was over-reliant on the serve in set 3. Federer was misfiring because of the Djokovic pressure on his serve, and Djokovic looked like a slam champ. With a healthy Nadal, Djokovic – let alone Murray – slam #18 will be hard to win!
Dan markowitz · November 2, 2013 at 5:48 pm
I give Ferrer tremendous credit. He has as much of a chance to win a slam as Fed, but he’s twice the fighter Fed is.
Gaurang · November 2, 2013 at 5:49 pm
I agree that Federer will find it really hard to win slam #18 with Nadal, Djokovic, Murray and Delpo around but I wouldn’t be totally surprised if he sneaks in one GS before retiring just like Sampras did. He would need some good draw and an upset or two of these top 4, and a time when he is playing with confidence.
I think it’ll always be a folly to count Fed out. Though he is not consistent anymore, he can still up his level for a match or two, just like yesterday when he beat Delpo, who has been #2 player since the US Open. If he ups his level at the right time, he could sneak in a slam. My guess would be Wimbledon (or maybe US Open). I think Novak and Delpo don’t play well on grass, so he has only 2 real obstacles – Nadal and Murray, and if he has to play only one of them due to the draw, he can win it. If Nadal is injured then it’s even easier
Scoop Malinowski · November 2, 2013 at 6:37 pm
Federer has shown this week that he is still ever so close to cracking those top three titans. So close…but some might say, “Yet so far.” On the bright side, at least he’s not going down in flames to Djokovic like 2 and 3. He’s hanging in there. Maybe a new coach can say the magic words and add a new wrinkle to the Fed arsenal.Beating Delpo and losing a close one to Fed is encouraging.
Dan Markowitz · November 2, 2013 at 6:56 pm
Please don’t say Delpo has been the No. 2 player since the Open. Delpo in my mind was incredibly lucky to win one slam. Fed basically gifted it to him. I watched in AA Stadium Delpo lose to Hewitt this year after being up 2 sets to 1. Delpo will never win another slam. The guy hits the ball great, but he’s a sham in my book when it comes to playing big time tennis in the slams.
Harold · November 2, 2013 at 7:58 pm
I guess Delpo will have to fall to the 200’s and get back to number 5 to impress you Dan
Andrew Miller · November 2, 2013 at 7:58 pm
Surprised if Ferrer beats Djokovic. I am shocked Ferrer is still playing this well, indoor no less!
Nadal in my mind isn’t pushing it indoors. This isn’t where Nadal bets his chips.
Del Potro is a legitimate slam champ! His run was capital C Convincing. He has a champion demeanor. He is not a slam contender right now. He may be.
Federer. Match problem was Federer faded (a lot) down the stretch, Djokovic got better and better.
Andrew Miller · November 2, 2013 at 7:59 pm
For what it’s worth, Del Potro has been the #2 player since the U.S. Open.
Scoop Malinowski · November 2, 2013 at 8:39 pm
Dan Federer does not gift majors to anyone, especially not a young Argentine playing in his first major final. Delpo played the match of his life to win that fifth set vs. Roger at US Open. Delpo is a very dangerous player who you can never take for granted. You just never know when he can play that kind of tennis which can blow anyone ANYONE off the court. He can KO anyone on a tennis court. But I don’t agree with that Delpo is #2 since the Open. That’s only an opinion. He has played some nice consistent tennis though.
Scoop Malinowski · November 2, 2013 at 8:41 pm
Rafa losing could have been one of those Jack Kramer “psychological tanks” to avoid a second straight loss to Djokovic which would shift some more of the mental edge balance to Djokovic.
Dan Markowitz · November 2, 2013 at 10:02 pm
That Rafa tanks more than the Philadelphia 76ers who were supposed to tank the year away to get the No. 1 pick in next year’s NBA Draft and are currently 3-0.
Andrew Miller · November 2, 2013 at 11:06 pm
Rafa reminds me of what Agassi said when he lost a match on purpose to Chang to avoid playing Becker.
Gaurang · November 3, 2013 at 3:58 am
Scoop, Andrew, that’s an interesting theory. I did not watch Nadal vs Ferrer. Did Nadal not try his best? It could indeed be a subconscious thing if he was really afraid of loosing to Novak a second time – never thought of this angle.
But overall, as I have said before, I think Nadal is not a top 4 player on fast indoor hard courts. His game is not lethal on them, and he could be beaten by a top 10 player playing inspired, aggressive tennis.
Ferrer has little chance against Djokivic though.
Dan Markowitz · November 3, 2013 at 6:17 am
I completely disavow what Scoop is saying here. I don’t think world class athlete’s minds operate in this fashion. He lost 7 matches in a row to Djoko in 2011, but he came back to get the better of him the last couple of years, so why should he fear losing to Djoko?
I have to say, though, watching Nadal play is not an exercise in aesthetics. Federer plays with such grace as we all know. Djoko has a fluidity on the court, but Nadal resembles a player who does not make things look easy on the court.
In college at George Washington, where I was the last guy on the 8-man team until the NCAA wouldn’t give me eligibility because I was in law school and 25 and had played two years of college tennis as a sophomore and junior in college (back then you had 4 years of eligibility to use in five consecutive years), one of the top guys on the team had this phrase he used when he hit a low volley, “BFD.”
It was an acronym for Big Fucking Deal, meaning he could hit one of the hardest shots in tennis with aplomb. It was no big deal for him to pull it off. Nadal, in a way, makes the game look hard, not easy. His serve is very deliberate and has none of the fluidity of a Sampras or Federer. Johnny Mac’s serve was deliberate, but it was construct of beauty while Nadal’s is better than when he was young, but he can still look like a butcher. Nadal’s volleys are better as well, but the way he approaches the net with heavy feet and sometimes stabs at volleys does not look like the motions of a champion.
Even his magnificent forehand is a shot you’d never teach juniors, as he pops up on the shot with such force and speed. Nadal is a freak of the game, but when I think of smooth and beautiful players–a Sampras, Federer or Borg–I don’t think of the Spaniard.
Scoop Malinowski · November 3, 2013 at 7:20 am
Rafa knows even when he beats Djokovic in a big match it’s all out war and he has to use every ounce of his greatness to eke it out. I think Rafa may feel Why bother to kill myself to beat this guy now when it really doesn’t matter, save it for London if it comes down to me and him, or better yet save it for Melbourne. Rafa has number one pretty much locked, there’s no reason to fully exert himself to beat Djokovic now. Hey if Jack Kramer believed in and openly talked about “Psychological tanks” you have to respect that theory, it makes a lot of sense. And yes Andrew Agassi admitting he preferred to lose to Chang than Becker is a very credible example of evidence which supports the Kramer “psychological tank” theory.
Andrew Miller · November 3, 2013 at 3:35 pm
Gaurang is right also – Nadal’s game indoors doesn’t click as well. Ferrer also had some pressure as defending champ. Nadal’s game looks good these days.
Dont think the tank job is out of the question. Look at Nadal’s indoors – it’s never as good as the outdoors. Sure it’s because he’s worse on it. But is Ferrer really amazing on an indoors court?
Sorry to be cynical but to me there’s a tacit understanding between Nadal and Uncle Toni that the indoors segment is less important which means Nadal’s ok with losing more and taking more vacation time. Remember that Nadal is one of the only top ATP players to say how the season is too long – and that’s probably because if it were up to him he wouldn’t do the obligatory Masters indoors circuit.
But because it IS obligatory, he says – I’ll do well enough but won’t push it when necessary to win. If I win all the better, but if I lose at the later stage, no worries. We all know that if this were another tournament Nadal wouldn’t let Ferrer in the sets.
Scoop Malinowski · November 3, 2013 at 5:53 pm
Well said Andrew. Dan, you watched Delpo lose to Hewitt at US Open with me, you don’t think Delpo might have psychologically tanked that match to his number one tennis hero? Remember after the match I asked Delpo if a part of him likes to see Hewitt win and he actually denied it at first but then a couple of sentences later admitted that he did.
Gaurang · November 3, 2013 at 6:53 pm
Wow — thats a great statement — by Delpo saying that a part of him likes to see Hewitt win, even against him!! Wow, thats huge. Given how easily he has to him 2-3 times, it definitely plays on his mind I think.
Regarding Nadal on indoor fast hard courts — I think he can play well if he really wants to, but he would have to put in a huge amount of hours on the practice court. Just like he may have done done for getting better on outdoor non-fast hard courts. But since there is no slam on these, I think Uncle Toni and Rafa simply dont want to invest such amount of effort. Instead they prefer to take it easy towards the end of the season before starting practicing again in December. They dont consider WTF such an important tournament somehow (atleast not as important as a slam).
Gaurang · November 3, 2013 at 6:55 pm
In the WTF — Nadal has an easy group — he has a lopsided winning record over his peers there — Ferrer, Wawrinka, and Berdych. He would be expected to win all of his matches. But since this is an indoors courts, there is a chance he could loose one.
I expected Djokovic and Del Potro to come out from the group. They will then win their semi-finals, and then have a final against each other. I am not sure yet, who will win between them — but there’s a slight edge to Djoko.
Scoop Malinowski · November 3, 2013 at 7:14 pm
Exactly Gaurang and Andrew, if a major was played on fast indoors, Rafa would master that surface. He masters everything there is to master in tennis, if he wants it bad enough.
Gaurang here are the two questions I asked Del Potro after he lost to Hewitt at the US Open (this will be included in my Facing Hewitt book)…
Delpo flat out denies that he was happy to see Hewitt win but in the very next sentence admits he likes when Hewitt’s winning lol…
Q: Describe the feeling to play your number one hero Lleyton Hewitt.
Juan Martin Del Potro: It’s special, but just before the match, when we go to the court, never think about my opponents. I just try to play my game, to feel good myself. I think tonight was a really tough battle for both, but in the end he play better. He play impressive. The tiebreak on the fourth set he made a very good passing shots. I mean what I say before: he’s a great champion and a great fighter. For the second round, it’s a really difficult player.
Q: Is a little part of you happy to see him win?
Del Potro: Of course not, but I wish all the best. I like when he’s winning and when he’s doing well, he’s healthy. He play like he has a chance to go far in this tournament. Of course, I wish him all the best. I have a good relationship. He’s a very good player to play, and that’s it.
Gaurang · November 3, 2013 at 8:30 pm
Nice Scoop.
Btw, in the draw challenge — I was lucky enough to sneak in a win finally by a slight, slight margin! 🙂
Members Paris
grkhetan 103
tennis-prose 101
ubermitch 94
vernonbc 48
Gaurang · November 3, 2013 at 8:31 pm
Btw we all did well. I am in the top 4 percentile (too lucky this time, I have never been so high before in this game) — Scoop is in top 6.5% percentile.
Dan Markowitz · November 3, 2013 at 8:41 pm
Scoop,
I not only watched that match with you, but I sat next to you in the presser afterwards and when you asked that question to Delpo, he got a little smile on his face and looked at you funny like he had no idea what you were talking about.
Go back and look at what he said. I don’t believe he agreed with you even 1 per cent on the fact that he might have given the match to Hewitt because he was his idol. Now he might psychologically have a difficult time with Hewitt for that reason, but I don’t think he’s blowing the match as a gift for Hewitt. The guy just has trouble in big matches because he’s a little soft in the head.
Scoop Malinowski · November 3, 2013 at 9:02 pm
He “subconsciously” tanked it to Hewitt Dan. “Subconscious tank” is what Kramer called it. Not “Psychological tank” I got mixed up. My bad.