Miami Open observations today. Yoshihito Nishioka is just falt out amazing. He got trounced by Jordan Thompson in the first set -1 but then dominated 64 63 showing wizard-like tennis that had the Aussie shaking his head in awed frustration. At duece in the first game of the third set Jordan slammed a missed ball high into the air that Nishioka caught in his pocket Bahrami style. The crowd laughed and the 21 year old cruised from there to a 3-0 lead. I asked Nishioka about it after and he said he was practicing that trick and this was the first time he ever used it in a match. Nishioka has the artistry of Rios and the fire of not quite Hewitt but not far away from that . Bollettieri told me later that Nishioka got pummedled at his academy for a few years but he kept battling and he stuck with his western grip. Nick advised Nishioka to study and emulate Rios at 16 and Nishioka told me “I love marcelo Rios” but he also was inspired by Verdasco and Nadal but now it’s Rios…
Nick was also watching Tommy Haas vs Jiri Vesely at the end at 5-4 in the third and he said Haas left his academy at eleven crying because he didn’t speak English and he stayed over for Christmas because his sister was in the Orange Bowl but then Haas returned at 13 and the rest is history. Haas again battled to the finish line but fell just short again 7-5 in the third because he’s not match tough. During the match on court one an iguana was on the scoreboard and then ran onto the court which stopped play for ten minutes. Haas actually took a selfie with the lizard… Brenda Schultz is here working with Lauren Davis since the US Open last year and Davis is on fire lately even winning a tournament. Brenda said Davis had her self belief kicked out of her by constantly hearing she’s too short etc but Davis has battled back and her belief is growing. A former WTA top tenner Brenda feels Davis can be top ten and that she reminds of Arantxa Sanchez Vicario with a less top spinny forehand… I watched Ernesto Escobedo blast Dan Evans off the court in three sets with his monster forehand. Escobedo is the real deal. He had Evans on the verge of a meltdown and then Evans did crack and uttered a verbal obscenity which a lineswoman tattled to the chair ump which cost Evans a crucial penalty point on game which gave Esco 4-2 lead in third after Evans blew two break points. I could Evans was muttering “Stop fn feeding him balls. You’re feeding him.” Evans half-heartedly denied the charges but there is no way the lineswoman would make it up. Escobedo did a Biofile with me after… I saw Dominic Thiem doing some savage core exercises on his back with a ball by the media center steps. The kid is a beast… Nadal’s practice with Cilic was beyond packed with fans… Steve Johnson was battling with Verdasco on a practice court while Isner was hitting with a hitting partner I did not recognize… I watched Amanda Anisimova win the first set from Taylor Townsend. AA is a hot junior who is 15 but has been touted for years by insiders… Donald Young continued his winning ways taking care of Dustin Brown in three sets. DY is at a new level now and his confidence is soaring since beating Isner in Tennessee… Raimon Sluiter is working with Kiki Bertens and they were out watching the Escobedo vs Evans battle… Brenda Shultz told me for “Facing Steffi” that she never beat Steffi but had match point in the Tokyo semifinal but Graf hit a wicked running forehand up the line which injured her knee but she continued to play and won the match but had to default the final to Hingis… Bollettieri told me he loves this event and Indian Wells equally for different reasons – he said he told Larry Ellison his desert event is like “tennis heaven” and Key Biscayne is always special because of the energy and location. Nick said Showtime is filming a documentary about his career to be shown in the summer.
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« Previous 1 2 3 4 Next »Andrew Miller · March 26, 2017 at 11:04 am
I like Halep, a player I’d like to see with a slam. Halep, Safarova. I’d like to see Serena beat Court’s singles slam count. Many players I’d get behind. I just dislike the mindless baseline bashing style, which to me is the lazy juniors game that perpetuates a style of play that shouldn’t have survived the leap from juniors to pros.
Hartt · March 26, 2017 at 11:46 am
Regarding Cahill and Simona, another possibility is that he urges her to do different things and she just does not do them. A coach can only do so much.
The word on Raonic is that he is very “coachable,” that he will try what his coaches suggest. I suppose that approach can have flaws as well as pluses, but I wonder why have a coach if you aren’t going to pay attention to them? If it is not working out then you need to find a new coach. Am not saying this is necessarily what is happening with Simona, just a possibility.
Also, young players need to follow their own strengths and not get swept up with “the current thing.” A good example is Denis Shapovalov who, as a young kid had a one-handed BH and was a very aggressive player. He was advised to play differently, but his mother, his coach at the time, wisely let him play his own style, even if he might take longer to develop as a player.
catherine bell · March 26, 2017 at 12:12 pm
Hartt –
You’re right of course. You can take a horse to water etc….
I think Simona can be stubborn. So Cahill is left offering platitudes. She can also seem easily pleased with herself, and then the opposite. Up and down.
I remember during one OCC conversation he said to her ‘You know what to do’. Does she need someone to throw the switch ? Possibly.
catherine bell · March 26, 2017 at 12:15 pm
Konta just took out Parmentier 4 and 0. Now why did Kerber have such a problem with her ?
Hartt · March 26, 2017 at 12:58 pm
I am one unhappy tennis fan right now. Milos has withdrawn with the hamstring injury acting up again. I am beginning to wonder if he will ever be able to play a full tourney again! Am just feeling sorry for myself because was really looking forward to his match today. 🙁
catherine bell · March 26, 2017 at 1:16 pm
Bad news about Raonic – does sound as if that injury is chronic. And playing 7 rounds at GS events may be a wish too far.
Great shame.
Scoop Malinowski · March 26, 2017 at 1:18 pm
Raonic withdraws. Hamstring issue again. Press conf just finished but i skipped to post the Fed Stan post eventho press conf was literally 20 steps from my deskspace. This really helps Donaldson who plays winner of Sock v Vesely for QF slot. Remember Donaldson saved mps vs Edmund 1R and now is on verge of becoming the leader of the US NEXT GEN pack.
Andrew Miller · March 26, 2017 at 1:22 pm
Scoop, isn’t this us next Gen leadership a merry-go-round? That was the point, right? Have Fritzy,Tiafoe,Donaldson,Kozlov and others constantly out duel one another while veterans ahead of them, Sock, Johnson, Querrey, Isner, DY go into flight or fight mode and start pushing themselves in the process?
catherine bell · March 26, 2017 at 4:06 pm
Kerber squeezes past Shelby Rogers. I’ve never heard of her next opponent, Ozaki. But Angie must feel a bit happier.
Scoop malinowski · March 26, 2017 at 8:31 pm
Andrew; it is a shape shifting, evolution process right now but eventually one will emerge when the dust and red clay settles. Isner was dominant and i think one of the NEXT GEN will eventually dominate the others. If not then it will be a constant struggle. Brian Baker told me he likes Opelkas potential the best if he stays healthy. He likes Donaldsons work ethic. Also like Fritz Tiafoe Kozlov but he thinks Kozlov is “a little behind them mentally.”
Scoop malinowski · March 26, 2017 at 8:34 pm
Baker also likes Escobedos power and work ethic. USA is stacked right now. Hopefully Sock dy and Qball will go deep in the draw which will continue the positive surge.
Andrew Miller · March 26, 2017 at 8:45 pm
When Fogman is on it’s just a tough outing.
Andrew Miller · March 26, 2017 at 8:49 pm
Yeah these young fellas are going to make sure the tour stays exciting. A lot of variety, showmanship, personality. Chutzpah. Something for everyone. And a nice Zverev vs the world byline unless Kyrgios clamps down quick.
Andrew Miller · March 26, 2017 at 10:53 pm
Halep found her range vs Kontaveit…
catherine bell · March 27, 2017 at 3:03 am
Simona has the draw from heaven – Stosur next.
More on OCC from the fatuous bunch of idiots that calls itself the WTA – Simon wants more OCC because some of the coaches have ‘great personalities’ – so that’s presumably what we all watch then – not the players of course.
This pernicious rubbish should be stopped. I haven’t seen one single comment in favour so far.
What’s the ITF up to ? I thought it was in charge of the overall game, the rules etc.
catherine bell · March 27, 2017 at 3:25 am
Coaches should be invisible at matches.
Simon would presumably like to see them all getting into punchups and yelling and screaming on the court. He thinks tennis is basketball.
The women’s game in on a fast route to becoming a travesty, in all but the GSs.
catherine bell · March 27, 2017 at 3:44 am
And what’s the reason Serena Williams has never used OCC ?
She doesn’t need it.
Hartt · March 27, 2017 at 6:26 am
If Simon gets his way I will be watching even less WTA than I do now. Because TV usually switches to commercials during OCC I can pretty well ignore it, but if they have coaching during matches that won’t be possible. Catherine, I think you are right, it looks like he thinks the matches themselves are not interesting enough on their own. If that is the case improve the matches instead of trying to divert our attention.
As far as hearing from coaches what is interesting is when they do an in-depth interview. Recently I came across an old Youtube interview with Urszula Radwanska’s coach at the time. He talked about both her and Aga and how he needed a different approach for Urszula than he would use for Aga – he gave examples of the strengths of each, showing how different they actually were. Maybe the casual fan would not want so much info, but a brief clip from a coach before a match on some aspect of coaching could be fun. But no coaching during the matches!
catherine bell · March 27, 2017 at 8:01 am
Hartt –
Re mention of A Radwanska, looking at her dismal start to the year – I wonder if she is losing her grip on the game, is distracted (I think she’s getting married in the near future) or could benefit from a new coach. She can’t be happy the way things are.
I confess to following women’s tennis now (mainly Simona and Angie until someone else turns up)as much out of loyalty than anything else and because I can remember back to the beginnings – but I have to say I never imagined that 40 or so years later we’d be discussing things such as glamour and lipstick and other disasters of the women’s circuit such as OCC and baseline banging.
But same old, same old – if you criticize then you’re seen to be anti-women blah blah – sometimes I just can’t be bothered.
(I hade a look on the comments on tennis.com and discovered guy called Peter F who on my calculations would have been Virginia Wade’s exact contemporary at Sussex University – they even did the same course, Maths and Physics. Now what significance does that have ? )
Andrew Miller · March 27, 2017 at 8:55 am
OCC is a joke. Players use it to catch a breath or disrupt momentum. It’s the same as a fake injury, or deciding to chide the ump over a semi bad ruling, or taking too long to towel off. Players use it to chide their coaches. And all the while they are losing the bead on the match.
Andrew Miller · March 27, 2017 at 9:00 am
If you’re gonna do it bring in fans like that game with lifelines. Can you imagine? “Now Garbine, who would you like to call? You can dial your mom, ask the crowd, or get an unbiased opinion from a commentator”
Andrew Miller · March 27, 2017 at 9:05 am
Haha I thought Radwanska may have that going on. The question is for her is retire on a high note or just let go now. They see others like Ivanovic who make a twitter announcement close to when they make other major decisions and say wow Ana walked away, Flavia left after a major title, how am I going to end this? I’m losing to much lower ranked players, I’m not preparing well for tournaments…she has a strong memory of playing a Wimbledon final and making a go of it too, only to see four straight years of Huh? tennis.
Hartt · March 27, 2017 at 9:07 am
Andrew, love the “lifelines.” 🙂
Andrew Miller · March 27, 2017 at 9:08 am
Radwanska has been losing badly, as in my mind is in other places badly or my heart’s not into it badly. I can’t say that about a player like Bouchard, who is for the most part losing close matches. Poor Radwanska is giving opponents career highlights.
catherine bell · March 27, 2017 at 9:47 am
Don’t jest about lifelines Andrew, it can happen 🙂
Hartt · March 27, 2017 at 9:56 am
Am bewildered about what is happening with Aga. I enjoy watching her matches (except when she is losing badly) because she does have variety – in her groundies, coming to the net and making good lobs. Usually there will be a couple shots in a match where I sort of gasp and think “How did she do that?”
So I hope she finds her form soon.
catherine bell · March 27, 2017 at 10:20 am
Just remembered – there was a short-lived experiment with interviewing players DURING matches (women only of course) – I watched Pam Shriver shove a mic into some some baffled and bemused wretch’s face – this innovation was quietly dropped.
At least I haven’t seen it again.
Scoop malinowski · March 27, 2017 at 10:30 am
Occ doesnt ever see. To work. It also gives the impression that Wta players are unequal and weaker and needy. But it does provide some entertainment value and it sparks discussion and buzz w fans and media. Maybe the monotony of the action needs extra spice.
Andrew Miller · March 27, 2017 at 10:51 am
Maybe networks suck at tennis. Tennis is a gladiator sport. They might want to upgrade their video equipment to zoom in on Thiem obliterating his racquet or wta players who do it, who are many. I’ve seen some fine racquet destruction watching wta players.
Andrew Miller · March 27, 2017 at 10:53 am
We all know that there’s a wta player waiting in the wings ready to pounce on the tour. Some crazy tennis parent somewhere is training some girl who serves like Serena, hits a backhand like Henin, and plays lefty like Rios. Don’t laugh this always happens in the sport!!!
Scoop malinowski · March 27, 2017 at 12:41 pm
Safarova just eked out first set vs Cibulkova. Now Lucie leads 4-0 in second. Lucie seems to know how to stretch DC who when stretched nets the ball. Fine play by Safarova.
catherine bell · March 27, 2017 at 12:44 pm
Why don’t we just chuck the WTA tennis out of the window and have racquet smashing competitions with highlight clips of the savagery ? – networks would come running.
And prizes for the sexiest outfits and makeup.And a raffle for a date with the winner.
Think I’ll send a proposal to Simon 🙂
Andrew Miller · March 27, 2017 at 12:49 pm
Best lipstick contest. Actually that would probably work better than the ultra glamified brochures. Are those what the players want or is that a directive from the wta leadership? I’d guess the latter because every shot is glam.
Hartt · March 27, 2017 at 1:07 pm
Strycova used OCC during her match against Ka. Pliskova. I made myself watch it, one of the few times they did not go to commercial. She and her coach spoke in German, which I don’t understand. But it was clear she was venting, trying to get rid of her frustration at being dominated by Karolina. When players want to use OCC to release frustration they should just let out a roar, surely just as effective and a lot quicker than OCC!
catherine bell · March 27, 2017 at 1:44 pm
Hartt-
Didn’t help Strycova did it ? As you suggest a good full throated roar would have sufficed – Serena does that !
(btw haven’t seen Kerber use OCC – or maybe only couple of times, but I could’ve missed it)
Andrew – these directives come from the WTA and the players comply. Pose for glamour shots, pile on the slap, grow your hair long (in case you come over a bit butch) have a vacuous Twitter account…do anything in fact to prove you are a real woman except volley because real women can’t volley as we know……..
Snarky ? Yes, because I really feel fed up with the way the game is being sold by the WTA.
catherine bell · March 27, 2017 at 2:35 pm
Muguruza retired – Woz into quarters.
Scoop malinowski · March 27, 2017 at 4:45 pm
Graf vs Seles was the last true great rivalry in Wta. Serena just never had any sustained great rival. Wta needs a a great rivalry to emerge.
Hartt · March 27, 2017 at 8:49 pm
I watched Kyrgios vs Karlovic and Sascha Zverev vs Isner at the same time – both were close matches with the youngsters winning in both cases, but Sascha really pulled it off at the very end. As you would expect with an Isner match there were 3 TBs. I thought Isner played well in general, he was making a lot of groundies and volleys and of course had something like 28 aces.
Hartt · March 27, 2017 at 8:54 pm
Doubles news: I know Jack Sock is a good doubles player but for Monroe/Sock to win over a top team like Kontinen/Peers is excellent. As mentioned before, Baker/Nestor got a WO when Herbert had to withdraw with an injury.
Mirza/Strycova won (so Strycova still alive after her singles loss) and Chan/Hingis won over Barty/Dellacqua.
Scoop malinowski · March 27, 2017 at 9:03 pm
Hartt; I was at the end and Sock was the best player on court e his serve and bh and fh winners and also clutch volleys. Monroe did well but he was clearly riding coattails in Sock. Biggest win of Monroes career I imagine.
Scoop malinowski · March 27, 2017 at 9:33 pm
Halep was down a set and 3-5 but now is up a break in third! Scheduled to do a biofile interview w Simona if she wins!
Scoop malinowski · March 27, 2017 at 9:34 pm
Simona is 4-4 career vs Stosur.
Chazz · March 27, 2017 at 9:47 pm
Too bad for Isner, he played incredibly well and was an inch or so from winning the match on a shot down the line. Dr. Ivo also pushed Kyrgios to the limit. Unfortunately for them, these outcomes will be more and more common because Sascha and Nick will keep getting better and better. Has Sascha adopted the Dikembe Mutombo finger gesture as his own now? He must have done it 5+ times. Lots of swagger from the teen.
Chazz · March 27, 2017 at 10:29 pm
Can’t wait for Sock-Donaldson and Fognini-Young tomorrow. Wawrinka-Zverev, too. Sock needs to serve a lot better than he did vs. Vesely. He must have been below 50% on his first serves and had about 6 or 7 double faults in 2 sets. Sock and Fognini better watch out because Donaldson and Young are both playing really good tennis.
scoopmalinowski · March 27, 2017 at 11:37 pm
Sock went right over to the adjacent practice court after the doubles win today against the no 1 team in the world to practice his serves w Monroe returning. Straight to practice after the win.
Andrew Miller · March 28, 2017 at 12:30 am
Woz has stayed strong since us open. As for zverev the younger and Kyrgios, they are getting ready for winning big titles and Sock’s looking to get his share also.
catherine bell · March 28, 2017 at 3:52 am
Kerber may struggle v Venus if V is in form. But whatever, it’s been an encouraging tournament for Angie – she seems to be getting confidence back.
Simona will be previewing Fed Cup when she plays Konta
interesting from both sides.
Scoop – yes, WTA needs a rivalry but to have that you’ve got to have some stability in the game and two dominating players. But I wonder if those days have gone, and what’s going to happen in the men’s game after Fed etc.
Funny thing – you had a rivalry like Chris/Martina and people moaned that they were meeting too often 🙂
catherine bell · March 28, 2017 at 4:04 am
If Angie and Simona both win I think they play each other – my favourite mini rivalry.
catherine bell · March 28, 2017 at 5:20 am
Fashion note to WTA – apparently many women these days are now going for shorter hairstyles to show their strength and independence.
So I look forward to some of the top tennis ladies taking shears to their locks 🙂
catherine bell · March 28, 2017 at 5:49 am
Did I see Simona cross herself when she beat Stosur ?
Yes I think I did.