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Aug/16

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Drama King: Fognini is the most entertaining player to watch

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Fabio Fognini gives you more than a tennis match, he gives you drama, theatrics, genius, flair, and a little bit of grudge too. Yesterday I went to see some of Fognini vs Gabashvili and I could not walk away from court ten.
Fabio lost the first two sets and barely nicked the third in a breaker. At 3-3 in the breaker a fan told Fabio as he walked by, “If you win this tiebreaker you will win the match.” Gabashvili heard the indirect insult and made a mental note but he could not finish the job and lost the third set. And the close fourth set.
In the fifth I came back to the court and noticed it was very intense with some grudge between the two combatants. Fognini left the court for the bathroom for the second time – taking his Babolat to the john BOTH times. Never saw a player take his racquet to the bathroom with him.
Fog seemed annoyed at Gabashvili for stalling and also the umpire for unknown reasons. The battle resumed and Fognini got the break and served for the win but failed. And then he finally broke Gabashvili for the epic triumph 6-4 in the fifth.
The court was packed with 100% Fog fans who adore the guy’s penchant for showing great tennis and also a range of facial and body language expressions. He seems to have an innate quality to make a match personal by manufacturing drama and tension with the ump and the opponent. Like if Gabashvili was a little late to leave his chair during a changeover to go to the service line, Fognini would give the ump looks saying, Why are you letting this clown get away with this? He’s the complete opposite of Raonic robotry. I love it and classify Fognini as almost Marcelo Rios-like to watch. He has an incredible game, an amazing arsenal of shots, and the best strut in ATP history. Go Fognini.
    ***
Juan Martin Del Potro received a warm welcome on Armstrong vs Schwartzman and did something I never knew he did before. At the coin toss at net, Delpo rips practice swings with vicious intensity, like a grim reaper. I may start calling Delpo “The Grim Reaper.”
  ****
Sam Querrey was a zombie yesterday vs Janko Tipsarevic on Armstrong. Tipsy got revenge for his pal Djokovic’s loss to Q Ball at Wimbledon and Sam couldn’t get anything going despite a clan of American fans singing and trying to pump him up. This group of fans were also at the Ryan Harrison match the night before and I would guess they were hired by the USTA to root on Americans. They were singing songs like “We love Sam Querrey” and the famous: “We believe he can win we believe he can win…” chant. But nothing could help Zombie Sam yesterday who apparently thrives as the underdog but does not like shouldering the heavy favorite expected to win burden on his back.
   ***
Fan involvement also factored into at least two other matches. I met a group of young guys who were zealously cheering on Ricardas Berankis much to the dismay of Mal Jaziri of Tunisia. At one point Jaziri came over to the fence and asked them, “What did you say?” But the apparent intimidation didn’t work, it only amped up the Berankis support. I asked the guys why they were doing it and one responded that they had just met Berankis’ family and tried to help Ricardas who lost the first set. Guess what? Berankis won in four and was about as pumped up as a young Hewitt throughout the match. The guy, who is from Brooklyn, also said they supported Donald Young in his big win vs Struff. He said Young even credited the great fan support in the post match interview after, saying it was the best support he’d ever gotten in his career.
    ****
Ten seed Karolina Pliskova is being coached by living legend Miroslav Mecir.
   ****
Peng Shuai had a match point vs Varvara Lepchenko in the second set tiebreaker but couldn’t finish the job and then lost 6-3 in the third with legend Peter McNamara watching at courtside. My favorite Su-Wei Hsieh was also there supporting her friend and also former co WTA no. 1 in the world doubles partner. I asked Hsieh if they were re-uniting for doubles but Su-Wei said no. When asked why not, she replied with a smile, “We’re taking a break.” Hsieh told me that she was playing doubles with McHale but they are not in the draw. Perhaps McHale pulled out of the doubles? I don’t know.
   ***
Stefan Kozlov has practiced twice in New Jersey this week with Novak Djokovic – how hurt could his arm and wrist really be if he’s strong enough to practice off site? – but did not get a wildcard into the mixed like he did the last two years. Team Kozlov is not thrilled about the snub which favored certain other American players who have gotten a lot more wildcards this year.
    ****
My friend the former heavyweight boxer Andrew Golota received tickets from the Wozniacki family today and will sit in the box on Ashe vs Kuznetsova.
    ***
My Facing McEnroe book is finished and is available right now at createspace.com and soon amazon.
Facing McEnroe

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50 comments

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 31, 2016 at 2:57 pm

    Also saw the end of Marchenko vs Dodig on 7. Dodig was up a break in the fourth to force a fifth but Marchenko fought back and turned the tables. Then he served for it and after winning the first point there was a guy moving in the bleacher to his right and he stopped before serving and shouted at the guy, “What are you DOING?” Marchenko was really mean spirited in that last game, he really wanted to finish the job. I felt he amped up the nasty ‘tude with a sneering disdain look on his face for the whole service game even before the fan incident to ensure he killed Dodig as quick as possible. This week I have seen so many players serve for matches and blow it. But the first time Marchenko served for it he finished it. You gotta be a killer on the court, especially when serving for it. Most players need to add that element to their mental make in my opinion.

  • Dan Markowitz · August 31, 2016 at 3:52 pm

    How about Wozniaki dating David Lee, the former Knick and Golden State Warrior? Lee was at her match today as she beat Kuznetsova and Caro gave him a big Danish smile when she won. David Lee is a very cool guy. So that could be a great couple. Does Caro like the athletes in all different sports from the golfer to the football player and now Lee?

  • Dan Markowitz · August 31, 2016 at 4:57 pm

    Can Andrew be right!1?? Harry has given Raonic fits, but boy, has Raonic improved his ground game! His forehand is lethal and his backhand is deep and true. I don’t think even with Johnny Mac’s tutelage, his net game has gotten so much better. Harry is down a break in third, but boy has he played well, except for too many double faults.

    I can’t stand the rule that allows Joanna Konta for being able to basically pass out on the court at the end of the second set, be prostrate on the court for heat exhaustion/nerves, take at least 10 minutes and then be allowed to recover and win the match. I’m sorry, if a player can’t continue for heat or nerves reasons, she shouldn’t be allowed to take 10 minutes, recover and play on. What is this little league soccer?

  • Dan Markowitz · August 31, 2016 at 5:51 pm

    Raonic can’t seem to stay healthy. Ryan Harrison goes from losing to Frank Dancy Dancevic in Newport to beating (or he’s about to) Raonic at US Open. You can’t make this stuff up.

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 31, 2016 at 7:04 pm

    Golota was in the Caro box today too – he sat in front row while Lee was second row 🙂 I gave Golota tix for the first two days now he’s hooked up with the Caro clan – Great win for her today

  • Dan Markowitz · August 31, 2016 at 8:19 pm

    What is with these Canadians? What’s in the water up there. First Pospisil was always getting injured and now Raonic. I’d say the big Canuck is pretty much history now to win a slam. He’s 26 when he plays next slam and the guy might just be built for Wimbledon where he has a better chance of staying healthy.

    Andrew Miller, you are the man. Scoop, are you going to join Andrew in Tennis-Prose.com great predictions and take Sock over Cilic?

  • Andrew Miller · August 31, 2016 at 8:36 pm

    Dan, even a broken clock is right twice a day. All credit to Harrison Ryan. I agree that Raonic seems best for Wimbledon, but he has had a heck of a year. Thought the prospect of foregoing Rio Okympic glory was misguided and the canning of Johnny Mac, who wanted Milos to vent during the match and show some emotion, was a mistake too. And to boot yesterday Raonic told a reporter I guess at the press conference dunno that he hadn’t seen Harrison play in a while and might watch some tape or ask around, which sent off alarm bells for me that Moya doesn’t scout opponents like Gilbert did for Agassi, and sounded like Milos was setting himself up for a battle he wasn’t mentally prepared for.

    Such as tennis. You never know with this stuff. Diddi on Konta she did same against Venus Williams in a final this summer that I thought Venus would win and announcers were upset with Kontas break. It is definitely a stunt to stop momentum.

  • Andrew Miller · August 31, 2016 at 8:43 pm

    Scoop priceless in Pliskova and Mecir, he is one of best tennis strategists, know what to do out there, the cat! Also on the fan club cheering players on, that is awesome. Too bad Querrey couldn’t channel, but Tipsarevic has a history of ousting us players at the open, he somehow gets up for those matches at the us open. I like how Tipsy plays. He is quotable also. A little crazy. But when he is playing well he is tough to crack.

  • Andrew Miller · August 31, 2016 at 8:44 pm

    Fognini also married Pannetta so he has good taste!

  • Jg · August 31, 2016 at 9:12 pm

    Caro also dated a Washington Nationals player, scoop how did Golota hook up with them?

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 31, 2016 at 9:45 pm

    I think Raonic is suffering post major final loss blues – he has to be haunted by the ominous thought: Will I ever get another chance to reach a major final? But full credit to Harrison as he has earned this career altering win – Yes Dan I like Sock to upset Cilic – Sock is ready for this – wonder what the head to head is? I don’t believe they ever played –

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 31, 2016 at 9:48 pm

    Andrew: It sounds like Raonic took Harrison lightly that he hasn’t watched him play lately – Saw Raonic smile after making a fh volley in the first set TB and that smile conveyed an arrogance as if to say this is a joke that I’m stuck in a tiebreaker with this journeyman scrub – at least it’s how I interpreted that mocking smile – Incredible win by Harrison – Can I say that yet again?

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 31, 2016 at 9:49 pm

    Love Tipsy and he was so pumped up after with fist pumps and big smiles – he’s a big match player – Davis Cup titan people forget that too – Great player and great character – so sad to see Q Ball play another dud match like he has so many times in big situations –

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 31, 2016 at 9:52 pm

    jg: I had to skip today and Golota had no tickets so we put out the word to some Polish tennis people and Caro’s dad is a boxing fan so they were excited to meet Andrew and it all worked out – Caro seemed inspired to see such a famous and great Polish athlete in her box -Golota lookd awesome too – like straight out of Hollywood casting for an Eastern Euro tough guy mafia type –

  • Thomas Tung · August 31, 2016 at 9:52 pm

    Sock has a good chance, but Cilic must be feeling very confident with that win over Murray recently.

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 31, 2016 at 10:36 pm

    Perfect set up for Sock – he’s underdog against an under the radar star who plays it straight – very interesting third round clash – Sock is confident now after surviving Fritz and routing Zverev the Elder – But Cilic is red hot right now – get your popcorn ready –

  • Andrew Miller · August 31, 2016 at 11:45 pm

    Scoop, have seen Raonic smirk I think it’s just a Raonic thing, no arrogance intended. He’s smirked since 2011!

  • Andrew Miller · September 1, 2016 at 12:38 am

    Rd 2, top half
    Djokovic d Vesely, walkover
    Youzhny d. Pella, 3 sets. Wow, Youzhny love US Open!
    Isner d. Darcis in 4
    Edmund d Escobedo in 3
    Tsonga d. Duckworth in 4. Thought he’d get it done in 3.
    Anderson d Pospisil in 3. Like Dan said, Canada lowballed it.
    On other hand nice work from Anderson.
    Sock d Zverev’s brother in 3. Zverev qualified.
    Cilic d Stahovsky in 3, straightforward
    Nadal d. Seppi in 3. Looked good.
    Kuznetsov Andrei d. Ramos VInales in 3, another good slam
    Pouille d Chiudinelli 5 sets, come back from 2 sets to 0
    Bautista Agut d Delbonis in 4
    Monfils d. Satral in 3
    Almagro d. Cuevas in 3. Almagro really flying under radar
    Baghdatis d Paire in 4
    Harrison R d Raonic in 4. Baghdatis-Harrison should be good

    WTA
    Keys d Day in 2, quickly. Nice to see Keys get through fast, b/c the Riske match as 3+ hours!
    Osaka d. Duan. Never heard of Duan
    Niculescu d Dugan. Lots of Romanian players! Halep not the only one
    Wozniaki d Kuznetsova. Nice win for the Woz
    Konta d Pironkova
    Bencic d Petkovic, nice win for Bencic. Must b for real
    Bondarenko K d. Zheng. Nice run for Bondarenko K
    Sevastova d Muguruza. What is going on with slam champs!
    Vinci d McHale. Thought McHale would make a run, so solid. Vinci too clever.
    Witthoeft d. Putinseva. Haven’t heard of Witthoeft. Saw Putinseva – saw her smash racquets!
    Tsurenko d Wang
    Cibulkova d Rodina. Dommie Cibulkova may have spoken less than fondly about Sharpie, but Dommie backs it up on court! She’s had a string of good results.
    Kvitova d Buyukakcay of Turkey.
    Svitolina d Davis in 3.
    Bellis, all of 17, d Rogers in 3
    Kerber d Lucic-Baroni. Though sad to see Lucic go, gotta admit, Kerber has the will of a slam champ.

    Think Sock’s Cilic match will be tough. He should be able to grab a set.

  • Andrew Miller · September 1, 2016 at 1:09 am

    Sevastova looked good in her defeat of Muguruza! Another good WTA ball striker with good court knowledge and who can do more with the ball than most.

  • Hartt · September 1, 2016 at 1:31 am

    Regarding the Harrison vs. Raonic match, first of all Harrison played very well, making some terrific shots. The one downside was so many double faults, especially in key moments. But in his press conference Raonic said he started cramping in the 2nd set and late in the match it affected his hands so much he was having trouble holding his racquet. He won the first set and broke early in the third. So without the cramping he might still have won the match.

    But Harrison, with his high level of play, certainly put a lot of pressure on Milos. I look forward to watching Ryan in his next match.

  • Dan markowitz · September 1, 2016 at 6:30 am

    Hideous loss for Raonic. He’ll go down as one of those players who had it all set up for his multi-slam career, trained the best way, has the dominant weapon, but still couldn’t make a big dent in a slam.

  • catherine bell · September 1, 2016 at 7:40 am

    Fognini will win the US Open because no true redblooded Italian male wants to play second fiddle to his wife 🙂

  • Jg · September 1, 2016 at 8:52 am

    Good story Scoop, is Golota going to be in players corner next match, maybe he’s inspiring her.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 1, 2016 at 10:03 am

    Could the cramping have been caused by the stress of how well the huge underdog Harrison was playing? Raonic is not known as a cramper -Harrison is the one who should have cramped because he played three quali matches and WTT last week –

  • Andrew Miller · September 1, 2016 at 11:55 am

    Here’s what Harrison said seeing Raonic cramp. “Harrison said, “Once I realised it was just the cramping, and you see a guy who’s kind of labouring out there, it becomes tough initially, especially because when I first started to pick up on it, it was still him up a break in the third.“… All I was thinking once I got to the third set was I really want to make this feel like a long way back for him. If he’s not already feeling physically good, I want it to be a long way back.”
    How about that. THAT is a tennis player right there – you see the cramping, you make the opponent run more. Well done Harrison.

  • Andrew Miller · September 1, 2016 at 11:56 am

    That’s from the ATP website article on the match.

  • Dan Markowitz · September 1, 2016 at 12:45 pm

    Andrew,

    What else would a player do except what Harry did? What’s he going to do, start doing cartwheels on the court because Milos is cramping? Of course, you just extend the rallies, not try and hit winners right away.

    Look Raonic looks real bad in this situation. The guy spends so much money he has a public relations guy traveling with him and yet he can’t be trained well enough so that he doesn’t cramp. Raonic is toast in my book after this outing. He’s the American Izzie only with a better-looking girlfriend and bigger calves.

  • Dan Markowitz · September 1, 2016 at 12:53 pm

    By the way, I too, Scoop, saw Delpo’s furious racket swinging at the net before the start of the Schwartzman match. At first, I thought he was trying to swat away flies or something. It’s like Nadal’s zigzag dash to the baseline except Delpo’s moving his racket and not his feet.

    What do you give SteveJo tonight as for his chances of beating Delpo? Who’s chances do you like better: SteveJo’s against Juan-Martin or Sock’s vs Cilic. I’ll go with SteveJo, though I think both Americans are going down. Geez, Izzie has had a cakewalk into Rd of 16 compared to Sock and SteveJo.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 1, 2016 at 1:07 pm

    Johnson would LOVE to score his career best win vs Delpo and he can do it – Let’s see – Sock had a cakewalk second round win so he should be fresh for Cilic –

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 1, 2016 at 1:11 pm

    Andrew: It’s a wonder Harrison is able to think coherently out there because of how fork holes he has all over his body for how many times Dan has stuck his fork in Harrison declaring he was done 🙂 Has to be one of the great comeback stories of the decade – Bogie Estrella Burgos Baczinsky Darcis (shoulder) C Harrison (seven surgeries) – Nobody but Harrison alone believed he had this in him – He never gave up or stopped fighting – Great inspiration for all –

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 1, 2016 at 1:14 pm

    LOL at Dan’s comparing of Isner and Raonic – BTW I think Raonic parted ways with his PR guy Austin Nunn who was a former ATP staffer – Yes this is a very crushing loss for Raonic – he was so close to the mountain top and now he’s falling down the slippery slope of becoming a “One near hit wonder” – His only hope could be to hire Tonya Harding to bust some kneecaps –

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 1, 2016 at 1:16 pm

    Dan that is the first time I saw Delpo do that – will ask Argentine journos when he started that new ritual – Paes does something similar with his serve motion right before he is about to serve the first point of a game –

  • Andrew Miller · September 1, 2016 at 1:42 pm

    Scoop, I’m a little more cautious as Harrison is playing Baghdatis on the 10th anniversary of Baghdatis’ epic match with Agassi, which Baghdatis lost 10 years and a day ago, with both players hobbling and taking aspirin, in five sets. Though it took place a while ago the set up is the same: Baghdatis vs a U.S. player with overwhelming crowd support, on a surface he looks, and playing spoiler. No matter the outcome I don’t think it will take away from what Harrison accomplished in beating Raonic. And if both players put forth the effort it should be a good match.

    Dan, I agree with you, if you are the player you have to take advantage of it and start running your injured opponent. It’s cruel but this is sport and the gladiators know what it’s about. Raonic had all the trainer support he needed – I think he ran into a tornado. As an observer I’ve been hard on Raonic all summer for the Olympics etc and dodging it out of fear of the zika virus and crime (something Bouchard and Pospisil apparently had no problems with). But Raonic did fine in Canada with the quarters and Cincy with the semis. And in his press conference he was asked about the big four and what it takes to beat him. I think he should have cut all that off but it shows where his mind was at.

    Classic mistake, overlooking the opponent you have in the next round, looking too far ahead.

    I thought Raonic really went into the match unprepared. He was a little nonchalant with his comments, I haven’t seen the press conference when he was talking about his next opponent and I don’t know what the context was. Just that when you say hey we haven’t played in a while I’ll ask a few fellas and watch some youtube – don’t think he did any of that. Don’t think he could foresee the pouring in of the fans to cheer the opponent on.

    Anyways, not to dwell on the epic win.

    I have no idea on Sock and Steve Johnson. My hunch would be Sock has a chance and SteveJo if he sticks with it the whole match. Del Potro could be running on the emotion so he will be tough to beat. And Cilic is former US Open champ with a huge backhand, and it could spell trouble.

  • jg · September 1, 2016 at 1:58 pm

    I can tell you which match will have more slice backhands, maybe a record in the modern era.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 1, 2016 at 2:01 pm

    Andrew: I can assure you 100% that Harrison and Baghdatis will fight for this win like it’s their lives on the line – both are desperate to get their for-years-stalled careers back to relevance – both have been totally irrelevant in GSs for years – who wins this war will be relevant again and a threat for the second week – Harrison thanked the great support he got yesterday by the fans and actually said “anything is possible” if they keep supporting like they did vs Raonic – those are big words but it shows how vital quality fan support is and how it gives the player the extra inspiration – the fan support for the US players has been far better this year – I haven’t even heard that silly guy who says “What time is it? Break time” –

  • Andrew Miller · September 1, 2016 at 3:53 pm

    Dan, if you haven’t seen new NYT on Donaldson & the family’s choice to go to Argentina, highly recommend it. Fascinating how they made the decision & how they said, basically, if anything else it is an amazing cultural experience to learn tennis from another point of view & get the immersion. Also great they said it’s not for everyone but it was for JD.

    Scoop, on Harrison great piece from Pete Bodo on ESPN Tennis that talks about a meeting that took place with the family and with his fiancee after Newport and how that was the basis for his resurgence. Pretty awesome. This more mature Harrison is a long time coming, even if he still scowls or yells, it’s in the service of being the best tennis player Harrison can be rather than the future of something else, the future of himself. It’s awesome.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 1, 2016 at 7:21 pm

    Harrison’s on court attitude is so strong now – so controlled and professional – he has changed a lot – total focus on the task at hand and zero shenanigans or whining – I actually think Wilander could have been right four or five years ago when he said Harrison has top five potential –

  • Dan Markowitz · September 1, 2016 at 11:11 pm

    Scoop, you’re going way overboard on Harry. He has a nice win over Raonic, but look at his record this summer. Who has he beaten? Granted, he had a nice DC and Toronto, but still the best player he’s beaten is Izzie, and Izzie right now is a guy who struggles to beat Tiafoe. Harry was no 120 coming into the US Open. He’s a better player than 120, but let’s see how he does against Bagman before we start making ludicrous Wilander assertions.

  • Andrew Miller · September 1, 2016 at 11:29 pm

    The US Open filming is pretty cool. On ESPN sometimes they start filming in the hallway on the way to the court, and afterwards they follow the player to the ball signing from kids etc, back towards the locker room where the players get congratulated by staff etc. It’s pretty great footage.

    I’ve been watching some Zverev this evening, how did he get down 2 sets to none against Dan Evans. Wow. I’ve also been watching DY come up with shot after shot against Karlovic, with Karlovic’s serve pinpoint deadly. DY is playing excellent tennis. Karlovic’s so much better than 10, 11 years ago where all a player needed to do was get his serve back. Karlovic’s been the most improved player on tour for a decade.

    Del Potro looked too tough. Stevie played so many slice backhands I had to wonder if this was a 1988 Graf replay.

    Also thought the Caroline Garcia match vs Siniakova was great. Can I say this? Shvedova is flying so far under the radar, won her match in 48 minutes.

  • catherine bell · September 2, 2016 at 3:20 am

    Simona’s fistpumps and intimidating stares make me smile – like a lawnmower trying to come on as a tank 🙂 🙂

    I was interested to read after last match that S wants to control her emotions ‘but I don’t know how’ – back to our previous talk about a mental coach. Why can’t someone advise her ?

  • Krzysztof · September 2, 2016 at 4:43 am

    I can’t imagine how Baghdatis or Harrison can beat Monfils

  • Hartt · September 2, 2016 at 5:56 am

    I cannot believe you guys are writing off Raonic after 1 poor match. This is a guy who, in recent months, made the final at Wimbledon, and the SFs at Cincy. His worst result was the QFs in Toronto.

    Andrew, I don’t think Milos underestimated Ryan. In his post match press conference it was clear that Raonic knew exactly what Harrison had accomplished recently.

    And the cramping was not a result of poor conditioning. Raonic is known for working hard on that aspect of the game. As he said in his presser, he had never lost a match before because of cramping.

    I think Raonic’s main problem is the amount of pressure he puts on himself. If he could ease up a bit he’d have a better chance of playing his best tennis, of letting his game flow more.

  • Dan Markowitz · September 2, 2016 at 8:37 am

    Hartt,

    It’s more than one bad match. It’s another slam outside Wimbledon where Raonic has come up a dud. Oh yes, he had a good Aussie O. There is a lot of pressure on Raonic, maybe a lot self-imposed, but in my opinion, Raonic is too laid back. He needs to fire up more.

    I’m frankly amazed at the improvement in his game. I never thought he could hit groundies so well and move so well, and he did lose to Murray and Djoko in the business end of slams this year, so maybe you’re right, I’m pulling the curtain on Raonic too soon, but for me, I’d take kei over him and even Cilic now.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 2, 2016 at 9:12 am

    I will go out on a limb and say Sock will beat Cilic today mainly because I think the Croatians could be tanking the US Open for Davis Cup – Coric went out with a knee vs Lopez and just tweeted that he is in Croatia treating the knee and will be ready for Davis Cup tie – Croatians value Davis Cup over majors – Raonic is still a force despite this backwards loss to Harrison but if you are a Raonic fan you have to be very concerned at this point – it’s very hard to see Raonic ever winning a major —

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 2, 2016 at 9:13 am

    Krzysztof: Harrison said “anything is possible” if the US Open fans keep supporting him the way they did vs Raonic – Look at it this way: beating Raonic is a tougher task than beating Lamonf –

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 2, 2016 at 9:17 am

    Dan I am a believer in Harrison just like Wilander – he’s on the roll of his career right now – he said “anything is possible” with the fans supporting him the way they did vs Raonic – those big words express a gigantic confidence tank –

  • Andrew Miller · September 2, 2016 at 10:06 am

    Hartt, I don’t write off Raonic – he’s had an incredible year – opens it up with a title beating Federer, loses in a close semifinal of Australian Open slam against Murray, makes Wimbledon final and loses to Murray again – can’t make it up. I criticize his decision to ditch the Olympics in a fairly high profile way to put his chips on winning a slam and let’s be honest here – that was a bad idea and gave a bump to his rivals Del Potro and Nishikori, who went and came back with medals, and deprived him of the kind of glory that turned Murray from a potential slam winner into a real one (see 2012, where after Olympic gold he wins his first slam).

    I think he totally under-estimated Harrison and didn’t get that he was about to run into a hurricane. Interviews don’t affect matches generally (once in a while they can motivate a player) but his mind seemed a little distant from the reality and we can’t overlook what McEnroe said on the mutual decision not to work with Raonic for the US Open – sure it was a conflict of interest thing where McEnroe couldn’t call a match on TV and also not be thinking like a coach or scout, affecting media coverage and distracting from either the coaching or media work or both. But this is nothing new, Gilbert did this also.

    Look at what Raonic himself said about the McEnroe effect at Wimbledon – Raonic wrote this a few days ago on the ATP web site. “I was crouching in Wimbledon’s antique locker room when McEnroe lit into me. I returned to the court intent on sending a message. I came back to win and won 4–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4.”

    Not to spare you the details, basically McEnroe said show me you have some guts out there and don’t be a coward. You don’t think that kind of saying the right thing at the right time wouldn’t have helped him this tournament?

    So two dumb decisions right there. I do believe Raonic will get to another slam final, he’s too disciplined not to. Just that the discipline also interferes with the kinds of adjustments he needs to make on the court when things aren’t going his way.

    As for Harry against Baghdatis I think think is a hard match and I guarantee you Baghdatis will be thinking about the Agassi match and that this is a day to set the record straight. Players are people too and they have memories. I caught him at the Citi open on an outer court against Millman and despite Millman’s shot-making (it was breathtaking actually), Baghdatis lulled him into errors and rarely forced the action – he played an intelligent match.

    And I am with Dan here in terms of being realistic. It’s hard to get up from a career changing match and then do it again – one reason Puig’s win at the Olympics, her gold medal, was so exceptional. But tons of players who get this kind of win then go into the next match depleted. I think he’ll be up for today’s match as well as this is a long time coming, but I think Baghdatis knows this territory well himself.

  • Andrew Miller · September 2, 2016 at 10:16 am

    For what it’s worth, Raonic’s letter up on the Player’s Tribune is great insight into how Raonic sees it. Like Hartt says the guy puts too much pressure on himself. Like Hartt suggests also that pressure can turn on a player and in his post on the Player’s Tribune (that’s such a great forum!) Raonic says he hates losing more than he loves winning and thinks his issue is not having the high intensity for huge matches. I think he’s got it all wrong there. He’s too intense there and has no outlet, so he might be destructing mentally even if he isn’t showing it.

    He might want to break a racquet or something to change the dynamic of a match, etc. I’m sure he’ll get there, but without a guy like McEnroe who’s aware of this feature of tennis who knows. Moya struck me as a little too cool out there but Moya should be fluent in this also.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 2, 2016 at 10:31 am

    This was arguably the worst loss of Raonic’s year and he is entitled to have a bad loss or two – all the top players have bad days and I can’t think of any other bad losses by Raonic this year which he has shown excellent consistency – again: all players are subject to suffering a bad loss here and there even Fed Rafa Andy and Djokovic – The loss to Harrison is probably worse by perception because just about everyone rates Harrison so lowly right now even though he is playing far better than his ranking – I believe Raonic sacked Johnnymac because they were working together last Weds on Armstrong in a practice vs Chris Eubanks and it did seem a distance between the two – Just an observation –

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 2, 2016 at 10:34 am

    Said it before and I say it again -Raonic has to show he wants it more – he’s too stoic -to be the best in this era of super beasts you have to roar like a lion out there and feed off emotional adrenaline – Look at Fed Rafa Andy and Djokovic and Serena they all do it – It’s too tough now to rely on just textbook tennis – Raonic seems afraid to dig down into his emotional tank and show the world his inner beast mode – He won’t win a major until he does imo –

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