Unbelievable what's happened to both Felix and Dennis since showing so much promise as teenagers. Shapo's career is almost over and Felix is settling into a top 100 type of journeyman player. It's a bit of a cruel sport but at the same time Felix has flatlined the past two years and for whatever reason is just fine sticking with the same coach for the past 7 years that's taken him as far as he can go. To be the best you have to want it badly and make difficult decisions along the way. It's pretty clear Felix can't or won't make those decisions and is comfortable where he's at as this isn't a minor slump as it's been two years of his prime where he's struggled.
It just goes to show that these top 10 mainstays are on a completely different level in terms of commitment to the game and a refusal to be stagnant.
Even a guy like Milos did whatever he could to stay at that elite level by changing camps, adding to his team and altering his game. You just don't here about guys like Shapo or Felix going to these lengths to be great and you certainly don't see them making big changes to their teams or games.
Diallo is a bit of a breath of fresh air in the sense that he seems very willing to grind and push himself as hard as he can to improve. He had some serious flaws when he was playing in the Calgary challenger a couple of years ago and it seems like he's more than ironed those out to the point that they are almost strengths now. If he stays with it, the sky is the limit next year and I wouldn't at all be surprised to see him in the top 50.
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I hate to tell you this, but I’ve just launched an air biscuit
Gabriel is into his maiden ATP final after a 6-4 6-2 victory over Francisco Cerundolo. Live rankings have him now at #87 which should mean automatic entry into the Aussie Open main draw in January.
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Felix ended up losing to the European Open champ - Not saying he would have gone on to win the title, but just put it down as another missed opportunity.
Liam lost yesterday in the semi-finals of the Calgary Challenger, but overall a pretty good week for the kid. On the women's side, Rebecca Marino plays for the title later today. Let's go Rebecca!!
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Congrats to Rebecca Marino for winning the ITF W75 event in Calgary just now. Live rankings has Rebecca at #118 and with a few tourneys still left to play, she has a chance to get her ranking high enough for direct entry into the Aussie Open main draw (at a minimum, she's already punched her ticket for the qualifying draw).
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Only Sinner and Alcaraz have more tournament titles this season than Tommy Paul who won in Stockholm yesterday. I would not have guessed but the guy has had a really solid 2nd half of the year.
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That Sinner slingshot forehand is incredible - How he manages to square up the racquet face when his strings are pointing to the back fence in his back swing is a marvel and also explains the power he is able to generate on that wing.
the timing of that racquet face flip looks like a nightmare for mortals like us or even lesser pros. Also, his arms are freakishly long even for a tall guy, like he could almost touch his knees while standing straight up. That is a ton of leverage and head speed to tap into.
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His fundamentals are very solid as his wrist action is perfect. I'm always amazed by how fast these guys can drop the racquet head and crush the ball repeatedly over and over while keeping the ball in the court. It's much more difficult to do than the slow motion video makes it out as preparation, footwork, shoulder rotation, etc has to be fundamentally solid. It's really difficult to be that disciplined at the club level as no matter how much I practice, the bad habits always seem to take over when the ball is coming fast at you. Tennis is hard.
Last edited by Erick Estrada; 10-21-2024 at 09:17 AM.
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the timing of that racquet face flip looks like a nightmare for mortals like us or even lesser pros. Also, his arms are freakishly long even for a tall guy, like he could almost touch his knees while standing straight up. That is a ton of leverage and head speed to tap into.
Sinner is weird in that he's tall but not the tallest guy yet he looks very tall. Actually the same height as Felix but he looks much taller and longer on the court.
Also the fact that he didn't really start taking tennis seriously until the age of 12 - He was a darn good skier up until then winning quite a few trophies.
Pretty gifted athlete. What I've noticed about his recent dominance is how mentally strong he is as there doesn't seem to be susceptible to the highs and lows of say Alcaraz who feeds off the atmosphere. He's so business like when on court whether it's in the first round against a qualifier or a top 5 player deep into the tournament he just goes out there and does his job. He may lose a set here or there but no matter who he's facing he seems able to win the big points in the match that turn the tides in his favor. It's a shame about the drug test scandal as it casts a bit of a shadow over a player that is flat out dominating the tour.
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Meddy after being dismissed quite easily by Sinner at the Six Kings Slam - Also, Meddy pulled out of Vienna, he needs to get his shoulder fixed, his serve has been really impacted.
Pretty gifted athlete. What I've noticed about his recent dominance is how mentally strong he is as there doesn't seem to be susceptible to the highs and lows of say Alcaraz who feeds off the atmosphere. He's so business like when on court whether it's in the first round against a qualifier or a top 5 player deep into the tournament he just goes out there and does his job. He may lose a set here or there but no matter who he's facing he seems able to win the big points in the match that turn the tides in his favor. It's a shame about the drug test scandal as it casts a bit of a shadow over a player that is flat out dominating the tour.
Carlos is still ahead on the age development curve but let's see whether he's able to still take advantage of that two year gap. Both are physical and mental freaks in different ways and yet both are universally likeable, which is not something that could always be said during the greatest rivalries in history. I'm glad they came up nearly around the same time because it maximizes the number of seasons they can push each other to insane heights we've not yet seen before, and that's including what we witnessed during the Big 3 era.
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