Nakashima is a Tennis Terminator

Big story on the ATP site on Pat Cash working with Nakashima. Also another scoop that Nakashima is working with former Big 10 doubles champ Beauregard Treyz – one of the great names in tennis.

If any challenger matches anyone enjoyed let me know! I am trying to get caught up on different players from all tours.

To put this into perspective, the top 6 Americans in the rankings now are 1 – Isner 2 – Fritz 3 – Querrey 4 – Opelka 5 – Sandgren and 6 – Paul.

Isner and Querrey are vets on their way down, we saw Fritz flop this week, Opelka has his limits. Sandgren I thought would challenge for the top American but he can nly play well down under apparently. That leaves Tommy Paul, who has a big match vs Foe this week.

The point is that Nakashima can quickly climb the American ladder. By the end of 2021, he could be the top U.S. player. It is very possible.

That is terrible news about Fed, especially missing a big chunk of the season including IW and Miami.

I saw Nakashima vs Tiafoe on Youtube, but nothing special. Just hitting a ton of balls, even not with James Blake speed of shots, more Spanish like style of playing. It becomes more and more boring because tennis gets so one-dimensional without some diversity. Just have a look at Vasek Pospisil. This guy can play from baseline, he can rip winners, he can hit subtle volleys. Nakashima just bashes the ball and sometimes hits a dropshot. It is not enough.

Fed says his knee has been bothering him for a while. Story on ubitennis and other sites. I scent no conspiracy.

Mugs goes out to Brady who’s having a good tournament – 3 sets and looks as if Garbine ran out off puff in the end.

Catherine, Mugs tanks in a soft way 🙂 Gets her real world match play then heads home. Think she has any records in mind to break? Aranxta slam count?

Old man is injured. What did all expect. Maybe he and Bianca will play solitaire.

Nakashima needs some physio help. That said many players of the past had lazy footwork until they didn’t. If the guy does the work, sure, he could be the top US player in short order – given I’m off on most of this prediction stuff I’ll say “by age 20”, or in two years. Eventually, based on the promise of his game alone, I think Seb Korda, aka Korda the Younger, could also rise high – he has more shots, but probably not the physio. These guys all fail at that level of being able to weather conditions, etc.

Personally I would love for Tiafoe and Tommy Paul to rise as well. It’s been great to see Tommy Paul play more to his potential and especially to put in the work. Tiafoe I think has more ambition than he’s credited, but his consistency (like all US players save Isner, Querrey) is a question mark that never gets answered.

Rio: young Alcaraz loses in 3 to F. Coria. Still wonder how he got his wildcard, even though I know how he got his wildcard. IMG the management agency with big bucks on the line just asked for it. Can’t make much noise down in Rio – players there may be like why is this kid in the draw, but I don’t know how many players are fighting to be a part of the Rio open. Not many. You can pull that off in Rio, but not at, say, Indian Wells I don’t think.

Jon – I’m with you on the books and the ingestion of information in bits. Friend of mine taught a couple of semesters at Cornell and it drove her mad, the reluctance to read a ‘whole book’. It’s a generational change. We’ll regret it, IMO. ‘The Old Man & the Sea’ isn’t very long.

Andrew – that’s it – ‘tanks in a soft way’. Garbine lives in Switzerland I believe. Maybe relaxes with the scenery – or Mugs up the Matterhorn ? Don’t know if she thinks about records – maybe one Slam a year until her dance card is full. Not for the long haul.

No question Fed is gearing up for Wimbledon after last year. He has always shown no respect to the Parisian crowds and is done playing the French Open forever, more than likely. Still, amazing effort by him last year there, much respect.

Millennial generation does not believe in reading books. They think they are smarter and can get their information through videos. That is why so many web sites only have video content.

Poor Djokovic, his dad continues to bash Fed. There may be substance to what he is saying but a poor look.

Jeff, I am sorry for generation whatever and their terrible relationship with books. I think it’s a mistake.

Nakashima went to UVA for a year–he had to read something, no?

Jon – I think in the UK a printed signature isn’t acceptable in many cases. Don’t they teach kids how to write ?

I also think, from my experience, that a lot of young people seriously can’t tell the difference between an original piece of work and something off the internet. Sometimes they get a big surprise when (if) they get to a decent university and find their essays returned and their plagiarism noted.

Maybe the WTA has it right – a few big pictures and some short text at a basic level. That’s the future.

catherine, they have removed cursive writing from the core curriculum of US schools. So I guess kids will just put an X for their signatures!

Harold re antacids I’ll need some TUMS for this wildcard shenanigan stuff 🙂 Yeah, for me, the wildcards drive me a little crazy. Lots of players slugging it out to get into the first round and for all of that effort others gifted into the first round. I think if they wildcard they should wildcard into the qualies for the tournament and if the player can pull a Brooksby wonderful, good job kiddo!

Another way to look at it of course, what does the player do with that gift (which is what it is, it’s a gift). Some players use that opportunity well – Mac McDonald took a wildcard into the Cincy qualies to ride his backhand to the main draw there a while back. We know the Linz story of Ms. Gauff, who lost her qualies final match and then LL lucky loser into the draw to win the whole thing. Mr. Alcaraz the sixteen year old made the most of it, winning a round against a really good player and then pushing it against another guy in the top 120 or so in F. Coria. That’s a nice result for a wildcard given to a kid that spends most of his time on the futures.

I am sure I will lose my hat when all these guys get WC into Miami 🙂

Sascha Bajin is getting weirder and weirder – sending public twitters to Yastremska to encourage her and a number of other odd things – all this naturally from T-T. Dayana hasn’t set the world on fire since Sascha signed up with her. Naomi did right.

And why is he referred to as ‘the German coach’ – does he work for the DTB now ? Don’t think so. He’s never coached a German in his life.

Callum’s coach brought a number of players to the 12’s clay court nationals five or so years ago and he was walking by a court when he heard the sound of shots coming off a racquet and it sounded perfect. He asked one of the coaches what was the name of the boy producing such shots and sounds and was told he was Nakashima.

Do you really think as Asian-American can have such an upside on American tennis? I don’t. I think back to Chang and realistically, is Nakashima going to be as good as Chang? and while he had an upside on American tennis, the Reebok shoes, the long racquet he used, I don’t think too many Americans got enthused over Chang. It was all Agassi and to a smaller degree Sampras and to an even smaller degree Courier. Then came Chang, who didn’t have an effervescent personality and like Krystof is speaking about Nakashima, played a game that didn’t excite many Americans or anyone else.

Sure he was a boon for short players in the sense that they could compete for the #1 ranking and that probably motivated a Hewitt or a Coria and Chang got ridiculed even by Agassi, who I remember watching practice one night late in an empty Cincy stadium court with Brad Gilbert and Agassi said something to the effect of “Chang can’t even reach into his pocket to get the ball out of it is his arms are so short.” (Agassi when he saw me write this and other remarks into my notebook then came over to me and threatened–in not so many words–to give him my notebook which I did not do).

Wow, downplaying Chang. Huge impact, inspired many players I grew up around. We were all lucky to have Chang, Agassi, Sampras. A few guys that didn’t inspire: Wheaton, Martin, Krickstein, Goldie etc. A guy that should have inspired more players and for some odd reason did not: Mal Washington.

To this day, loved Mal Washington, how he went after it. One of most professional pros ever. Guy was like a rock!!!

Yep, Rybakina, Martic doing well in Dubai. Martic reminds me of a more athletic Pennetta, at least in terms of her frame. A little stronger and more athletic. Has a hard time in the later rounds of events. Rybakina still tearing it up in 2020.

Rio: any wrap on Thiago Wild? He was tabbed as one to watch for generation upcoming. He was 0 for 2020 until the Rio event.

Seems like a smart kid

“When I spend time with tennis greats like Rafa Nadal or Ferrero or any other player, I don’t say anything. I listen to everything they say.”

Welcome to the ATP Tour Carlos Alcaraz!

FAA just won a crazy match in Marseille vs Herbert. He fed Herbert a bagel in the first set, but then P-HH played much better in the 2nd set and ultimately won the TB. Then an extremely close 3rd set, when FAA had about 3 MPs on the Herbert serve, but could not convert.

The third set TB kept going back and forth, with Herbert in particular making some unbelievable shots. But then he made a very costly DF, and FAA hit an ace to win the match. I am not sure I can handle any more drama after that match!