2023 Tennis Thread

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The only guy to beat Emil at the Miami Open is Jannik Sinner...

https://twitter.com/user/status/1640105971857989632

[cam_calderon]

Shapo is 23, but he's been on tour for a long time. I don't know if he'll ever reach greater heights than he has.

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Originally Posted by cam_calderon

Shapo is 23, but he's been on tour for a long time. I don't know if he'll ever reach greater heights than he has.

The talent is obvious, but he needs to change his approach to point construction (i.e. work the point until he gets himself in a advantageous position and then either go for a winner or an approach shot before trying to finish the point at the net). The other obvious thing he needs to do is fix his serve, a 47% first serve percentage and 7 double faults in two sets is just setting yourself up for failure.

I just wonder if he is truly committed to trying to make the changes to get back into the top 10 (yes, it was a short stay, but Denis was ranked #10 in the world for a week or two). I mean, he's already made over $10 million in prize money and who knows how much more in endorsements, he gets to travel to the best cities in the world hitting a fuzzy yellow tennis ball. It's not a bad life compared to the rest of us lol.

I guess what I'm trying to say is there's a difference between wanting to win and hating to lose and the truly great players are fueled by their hatred/fear of losing. I'm starting to see that transformation in Felix over the last 12 to 18 months, before he just seemed to be happy to get close and if he lost a match, to me he just seemed to shrug it off as no big deal. Now when he loses, he really seems to be pissed off. I think he knows he can beat anybody if he plays his best tennis (well still looking for that first win over Medvedev lol).

[Erick Estrada]

He also served 12 aces to only 5 for Fritz. Was well ahead in winners as well but of course also far more errors. He has the power and the shot variety to go head to head with anyone on the tour but lacks consistency required of a top 10 mainstay player as it's always peaks and valleys with Dennis. Hard to say from where we are if it's commitment, mentally weak, coaching, etc but he's definitely looks like he's nearing the road to wasted potential.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

He also served 12 aces to only 5 for Fritz. Was well ahead in winners as well but of course also far more errors. He has the power and the shot variety to go head to head with anyone on the tour but lacks consistency required of a top 10 mainstay player as it's always peaks and valleys with Dennis. Hard to say from where we are if it's commitment, mentally weak, coaching, etc but he's definitely looks like he's nearing the road to wasted potential.

He's the left-handed Gasquet. Has all the tools but a bit too much flair and a bit too much impatience in a lot of shots. The serving is an absolute mystery why there's so many double faults, especially in the ad court where he can kick in the wide lefty serve.

Perhaps his fitness is not there either, thus having to end points earlier then suitable.

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Originally Posted by GirlySports

He's the left-handed Gasquet. Has all the tools but a bit too much flair and a bit too much impatience in a lot of shots. The serving is an absolute mystery why there's so many double faults, especially in the ad court where he can kick in the wide lefty serve.

Perhaps his fitness is not there either, thus having to end points earlier then suitable.

I do wonder about Shapo's fitness level or maybe it's just his sloppy footwork, I find he's often off-balance when he's hitting his groundies, you need to have that stable foundation for best results and I often see Denis hitting off his back foot, in my opinion, it certainly is something else that needs to be addressed.

[dash_pinched]

Speaking of guys struggling to find form in 2023, I submit to you one Casper Ruud who dropped some significant ranking points yesterday (he made the Miami final in 2022) following a loss to BVDZ. The good news for Casper is that the clay season is coming up.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by dash_pinched

Speaking of guys struggling to find form in 2023, I submit to you one Casper Ruud who dropped some significant ranking points yesterday (he made the Miami final in 2022) following a loss to BVDZ. The good news for Casper is that the clay season is coming up.

He had several match points and should have won that match. Everyone hits the ball so hard now the margins are slim. If the top guys let even little things slide (mentally, physically, diet, etc) in their game they can lose to anyone at any time. If a top guy enters a match not fully invested, a bottom 50 guy like Fuscovics could blow him off the court.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

He also served 12 aces to only 5 for Fritz. Was well ahead in winners as well but of course also far more errors. He has the power and the shot variety to go head to head with anyone on the tour but lacks consistency required of a top 10 mainstay player as it's always peaks and valleys with Dennis. Hard to say from where we are if it's commitment, mentally weak, coaching, etc but he's definitely looks like he's nearing the road to wasted potential.

I've seen him live once, and heard from others recently that can confirm as such, but it borders on embarrassing how he is constantly throwing tantrums throughout a match - you don't really get a true sense for it unless you see it live. He goes from berating himself and/or his box, destroying racquets to fist pumping and encouraging himself in a blink of an eye, and this is obviously impacting his consistency on court during a match.

He really seems like a microcosm of the next generation that is willing to put in enough work to be on tour, but maybe hasn't been told they aren't as good as they think they are enough as an adolescent. To me he's never figured out how to work hard enough to improve true weaknesses in his game - ineffective second serve, not enough returns in play, and a true lack of patience to play the player without reverting to trying to blast winners.

Fritz made Shapo look downright foolish yesterday by just taking what he was given and not making mistakes or going for anything outrageous. A little more patient game out of Shapo would have certainly resulted in a different result, but how many times can someone say that about him in the last 2 years? The road is only going to get worse as he loses the luxury of being a high seed at events.

[dash_pinched]

Speaking of live tennis, I ordered my tickets for the BJK Cup qualifier event coming to Vancouver next month at the Pacific Coliseum (Canada vs. Belgium). Looking forward to seeing Bianca and Leylah in action as they take on Elise Mertens and the rest of the Belgians.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

I've seen him live once, and heard from others recently that can confirm as such, but it borders on embarrassing how he is constantly throwing tantrums throughout a match - you don't really get a true sense for it unless you see it live. He goes from berating himself and/or his box, destroying racquets to fist pumping and encouraging himself in a blink of an eye, and this is obviously impacting his consistency on court during a match.

He really seems like a microcosm of the next generation that is willing to put in enough work to be on tour, but maybe hasn't been told they aren't as good as they think they are enough as an adolescent. To me he's never figured out how to work hard enough to improve true weaknesses in his game - ineffective second serve, not enough returns in play, and a true lack of patience to play the player without reverting to trying to blast winners.

Fritz made Shapo look downright foolish yesterday by just taking what he was given and not making mistakes or going for anything outrageous. A little more patient game out of Shapo would have certainly resulted in a different result, but how many times can someone say that about him in the last 2 years? The road is only going to get worse as he loses the luxury of being a high seed at events.

He must think he's Andy Murray who's infamous for berating himself.

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Nice win for Leylah and Taylor...

https://twitter.com/user/status/1640422674940739603

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Felix is down a double break to Cerundolo. The Argentine is on fire to start this match.

Edit: Francisco takes the opening set 6-2. At least Felix starts set 2 serving, needs to regroup in a hurry.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

He had several match points and should have won that match. Everyone hits the ball so hard now the margins are slim. If the top guys let even little things slide (mentally, physically, diet, etc) in their game they can lose to anyone at any time. If a top guy enters a match not fully invested, a bottom 50 guy like Fuscovics could blow him off the court.

Happening to FAA now. These guys outside the top 30 guys really get up for the top players. And points are so big in an event like this, Cerundolo winning this match and maybe further matches could make his entire season.

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That was a big hold by Felix to start set 2 - That said, he missed a pretty easy sitter at the net and should have been out of that game without having to work that hard.

[Hot_Flatus]

FAA finding a path to winning this match would be another huge step in the win when you're not playing anywhere near your best column that the top players need to be able to do.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

He must think he's Andy Murray who's infamous for berating himself.

Oh Andy has had his moments! The thing with Andy is that you could always tell he would stay within himself and use it on the next point where Shapo just comes unglued. Shapos antics are just completely unhinged and childish when things aren't going perfectly. Andy would also rarely go postal on court and lose his game to the point where he was effectively throwing the match.

[dash_pinched]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

FAA finding a path to winning this match would be another huge step in the win when you're not playing anywhere near your best column that the top players need to be able to do.

Welp, Felix is up against it now, just a terrible service game and Cerundolo is up a break in set 2.

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Felix back on serve as a combination of good returns and Cerundolo making a couple of errors gets FAA back in the match.

[Kidder]

I turned it off after the last break.

Felix can go win now!