The Agony of the Zverev Brothers

I couldn’t see the interview, but the Zverev brothers talked about how much they’d enjoyed playing against each other and hoped to do it again. It may depend on how long Mischa continues to play, he isn’t a spring chicken anymore. But then, he lost so much time because of injuries that he doesn’t have as much actual playing time as many guys his age.

Is it just me or does Sasha bother other people as well? I used to find the guy totally obnoxious and conceited when he was a teen. I remember watching him in the USO qualis playing Dodig on a packed side court, and what a crybaby Zverev was. He contested almost every call and he’d lift the hem of his shirt up like five times a game to show his belly.

Zverev’s attitude has improved, but he’s still an annoying dude. Playing Kei today, he shouts out almost constantly, “Come on. Let’s go!” What is this junior tennis? And secondly, the guy’s Russian/German, I know he trains in the states a lot, but shout something out in Russian/German. Don’t act like you’re so cool you shout out lamentations in English.

The dude has reached one slam quarterfinals, but he acts like he’s the greatest player in the world. He’s got the Mr. T gold chain starter kit around his neck. I’ve seen players have one or two gold chains around their necks–actually I haven’t seen many with more than one–Sasha’s got three. He wins the second set against Kei 5-1 and on the first point in the third set, he misses a return long and starts barking to his box.

What’s that!? It’s the first point of the third set. If you miss a shot, you don’t have to act like you just got sent up road for five years in federal prison. I can’t stand that. No top pro would react that way. I vote Zverev at 21 the most obnoxious pro out there. If my son acted like that in one of his junior matches I’d tell to be quiet and focus on the next point. It’s ridiculous.

I think Sascha is great on court. I watched the match and he wasn’t disrespectful at all. Really positive attitude. Did you watch the press conference with his brother? Great question was what each taught the other. Mischa said that he has too negative an attitude and Sascha is always telling him he is playing well and helps his confidence. Don’t forget Sascha had a ball in his crib and a racket by age 2. Greatness is his destiny and he knows it.

Doubles match in TOR to watch is FAA/Shapo taking on SW19 finalists Ando and Djoker.

Another doubles team is DelPo/Fognini – the Cabos finalists.

Found it odd that a seasoned doubles player like Dodig would take on Kyrgios as a partner.

My pick to win it? Bryan and Jack Sock, of course.

Alright, if nobody finds him weird and annoying, but Tom and me, Zverev is also a strange and unsettling dude. His brother is a much more handsome and chill guy. Sasha’s eyes look like a serio-killer’s eyes. I’m not kidding, if the tennis doesn’t work out he can go to Hollywood and get movie roles as the disturbed young man who strangled female acquaintances. He just looks weird. It’s like when we were kids and a guy would bring his younger brother around who looked like Sasha and after a while you had to tell him to stop bringing the kid around because he just was psycho-looking and made everyone feel uneasy or at least Tom and me.

What’s with DC starting Murray match at midnight and Murray defaulting because of “fatigue?” And then pulling out of Toronto because of fatigue? It was a three set match. I know it ended at 3 am, but after a couple of day’s rest a highly-trained athlete isn’t ready to go in the next tourney? I kind of like it because it makes me figure if Murraycwas taking PED’s this fatigue wouldn’t be a problem.

I don’t have a strong opinion either way about the younger Zverev, don’t love him or hate him, but Dan your observations are hilarious. How do you come up with this stuff?

Less contentious topic – looking ahead to Montreal – W’don final replay if WC Williams gets past Cornet in her first match because Kerber (seeded 4) is drawn to meet her next. Serena will have a lot to play for and I’d take a bet that Angie will lose. Some players have a big come-down after winning W’don.

What is an indictment of the women’s field is that Serena is struggling to get back and still made the SW19 final.

Incidentally, Brad Gilbert was on mine and Scoop’s side that Murray crying was a sign of weakness just so you know.

How about Klizan improving to 6-0 in career finals by crushing Istomin? He has lost only two sets in those finals.
His winning percentage in finals is better than any of the Big 4! HA.

I am super excited. I won tickets for Monday night at the Rogers Cup, and they announced who will be playing then. It is Milos vs Goffin and Felix vs Pouille. As you know, I am a big fan of both Milos and Felix, and they will face tough opponents – 2 guys I am also looking forward to watching.

I have never seen Felix play live, so that is especially exciting. He will still be 17 then, he doesn’t turn 18 until Wed.

Oh and Duke – I’m not apologising for the women’s field (losing all top 10 seeds by the 2nd Monday at W’don was bizarre) but Serena made a special effort for SW19 – she really wanted it, and unluckily for her she met a player in the final who wanted it more.

I think that effort drained her.

Scoop, there is no way I can be louder than my fellow fans, because that stadium will be electric with Canadians cheering for Milos and Felix. I feel sorry for anyone supporting Goffin or Pouille, although both are worthy of support.

Rain, and a possible thunderstorm, are predicted for Monday. If those matches get rained out I will go into mourning.

Regarding Murray’s breakdown, imagine if Nick Kyrgios showed that level of commitment and vulnerability to win a late-night match against a nobody in a 500-level tournament. Yea, Murray showed weakness and for the rest of the season he is only a threat to maybe cause an upset here or there, but he also showed true heart and grit. We all got to witness how hard this comeback is for him emotionally and physically, and him being human. For me it was fascinating to see and I respect how much he loves the competition because he surely could’ve let himself lose that match and slip out the door w no drama.

Anything is possible, but I will be very surprised if de Minaur wins over Sascha. I saw both their matches today (or at least most of de Minaur’s), and Sascha is playing at a higher level.

A few women players missed the Rogers Cup qualies because of deep runs in Washington. That is a shame, because Rogers Cup is a Premier 5 tourney.

There are some matches on the 2nd day of qualies that could be close, including McHale vs Riske and Safarova vs Brady. Two Canadians made it through the first round, Rebecca Marino, who is doing well in her comeback, and 15-year-old Leylah Annie Fernandez.

Much to my surprise, I was pleased that Fognini had the upset over Delpo, winning in SS, something like 6-4, 6-2. Maybe that crazy hairstyle that Fabio had as the result of a bet, was actually a good luck charm. This was his 3rd title this season, and his first on a hard court. He is finally living up to his potential.

De Minaur is the successor to Jimmy Connors. I’ve never seen another player with the grit this young Aussie has other than Connors. That win against Rublev last night was amazing and you have to give Rublev credit because he had to finish off Kudla in the morning.

Look, De Minaur is half Uruguayan, when was the last time a Uruguayan was a top player beside Cuevas. DeMinaur is an Aussie with an asterisk since he spent a considerable part of his life so far in Spain.

But you look at all the young Americans and they don’t match up to de Minaur. Tiafoe losing love and 3 to Goffin in this tournament; Donaldson losing a match he was serving for against Tsitsipas. The young Americans look pretty frail right now although both Tommy Paul and Tiafoe were at the top of the serving speed ladder with 137 mph’ers.

What about Tsitsipas? That was one of the most brutal self-flagellation’s I’ve ever seen in his match versus Zverev. Actually hitting himself in the face with his hand like five times. I know you got to want it, but that kid should be fined a considerable amount of dough because what he did to himself was bad for the game.

De Minaur does have a great fighting spirit, but his small size is definitely a drawback. He is about the same size as Goffin, who has done well but, for the most part, has not been a top 10 player. I expect that de Minaur’s career will be similar.

I wonder why the American youngsters aren’t fiercer competitors.

It is hard to predict the future, especially when injuries can derail a promising career, but I expect the current youngsters who will make it to the top include Sashcha, Tsitsipas, Coric, Shapo, Auger-Aliassime and perhaps Tiafoe, Chung and Rublev. It is too early to tell, but 17-year-old Molleker also looks promising. Sascha thinks that if Kokkinakis can avoid injuries, he will be a contender for big titles, so I will add him to the list.

One of these Americans will win 2 matches in Winston Salem, and this board will be back to predicting Slam titles for them.

Goffin has been in the top 10 for 2 years, great achievement, but he should aspire to the same career as David Ferrer. Life in the top ten, but just a taste of greatness. A great career, tons of cash, but no Slams.

Someone is going to have to win Majors starting in 3 or 4 years, after Fed, Nadal, and Djoker. Seeing who steps up, seeing if any of them can get to 6 or 7 slams will be interesting

Goffin made the top 10 in Feb., 2017 and got as high as No. 7. I think that may be the best Goffin can achieve. He is now ranked No. 11. It won’t be easy for him to get back to the top 10.