2025 Tennis thread

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Shapo rallies from a set down to dispatch Marcus Giron 4-6 6-3 6-2 in Acapulco just now. Slow start from Denis and he was losing his mind a little bit in the opening set, but he managed to settle down and played much better over the last two sets.

[Erick Estrada]

Flashes of bad Shapo last night in the first set. From the opening serve he looked frustrated and arguing ELC line calls is just nonsensical. Fortunately he turned things around in the last two sets.

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Felix in a battle once again with Halys who took the first set 7-5 but Felix just now won set 2 6-4. FAA is not in top form today but let's give some credit to Halys, he's really playing well and really forcing the issue. One set to decide who plays in he final on Saturday.

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Felix is into the final as he rallies nicely after dropping the first set to take down Quentin Halys 5-7 6-4 6-3. What a start to the season for FAA, he awaits the winner of Oikos vs. Griekspoor.

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It will indeed be Felix vs. Oikos in the Dubai final on Saturday. How's this for an unbelievable stat? Stef is 0-11 in ATP 500 finals thus far in his career. Can Felix add to his misery? It's going to be tough, Stef is playing excellent tennis this week.

[Nadal Fan]

Felix is currently 3rd in the rankings (only including 2025 tournaments) who saw that coming in March

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Originally Posted by Nadal Fan

Felix is currently 3rd in the rankings (only including 2025 tournaments) who saw that coming in March

It's amazing what being fully healthy can do to a guy's confidence and I don't think Felix gets enough credit for his foot speed, I'm not saying he's Charlie or De Minaur fast, but he certainly extends rallies by getting to a lot of balls. Also, he's sped up his service motion and he's hitting his spots (much more accurate) and generating a lot of free points as well as bailing him out of some tough spots.

Despite his strong play this season, he's the underdog against Oikos on Saturday and it does make sense as Stef is the higher ranked player and this is the 3rd time he has made the Dubai final. Felix will have to play very well to win this title, but I wonder how much the 0-11 record in ATP 500 finals might play with Stef's head?

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Well, Shapo's run ends tonight in Acapulco with a 7-6 7-6 loss to ADF. He should have won this match though, he served for the opening set at 5-3 and set 2 at 6-5. Last last night, he was letting things get to know and just appeared to lose focus at critical times. Oh well, still a good week and he's back inside the top 30 in the rankings.

[CedarMeter]

Felix had him on the ropes there but couldn’t break him.

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Originally Posted by CedarMeter

Felix had him on the ropes there but couldn’t break him.

Yup and then proceeds to get broken up 40-love and then a second break of serve just now allows Stef to win the opening set 6-3. Felix started out great, but may have hit the wall here.

[dash_pinched]

This court level angle is fantastic and shows how athletic both guys are. The intensity has ramped up big time here in set 2.

[dash_pinched]

That's a missed opportunity for Felix as he had a break point but couldn't cash in. On serve here in set 2 and Felix is playing well, little to choose between both guys at the moment.

Edit: And there's the break for Stef immediately afterwards.

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Stef takes Dubai 6-3 6-3. The score line doesn't reflect how close the match was in my opinion but there's no denying Stef was the better player on the day and fully deserving of the title. As for FAA, another great week, nothing to hang his head about, he just needs to keep playing this way and he'll be on the winning side more often than not.

[dash_pinched]

With Stef's win today, we have a 1HBH back in the top 10. It's not quite dead yet lol

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The courts at Indian Wells might be a little quicker this year along with a lower bounce, it should benefit both Felix and Shapo if it is indeed the case.

Big change at Indian Wells.

This year, Indian Wells has changed the surface provider from Plexipave to Laykold. Laykold is the same one used in Miami and the US Open, which are typically quicker hard courts.

Traditionally, Indian Wells always had a slower and higher bounce due to the desert conditions... they used Plexipave for the last 25 years.

We can usually expect a lower bounce and faster courts with Laykold, but we won't know for sure what the conditions will be like until the matches are played.

James Blake on using Laykold at Miami Open:

“Laykold is such a well-respected company with a proven track record and that's why we trust that they're going to do a great job of making sure that the courts are exactly what we ask for. If we ask them to speed up the courts a tiny bit or to slow them down a little, Laykold always delivers the pace we require. Our experience of working with them over the years has been really positive.”

[dash_pinched]

I guess we will have to wait and see if Stef's racquet switch is permanent...

https://twitter.com/user/status/1894135622786584594

Edit: Just to re-emphasize that Felix was running on fumes, a lot of three set matches in a short period of time.

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IW qualifying started yesterday for the women and both Rebecca Marino and Marina Stakusic lost their respective matches. Better news today for the men as both Gabriel Diallo and Alexis Galarneau won their respective matches.

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Hearing that Jack Draper might play Joao Fonseca and the winner of that match might play Felix if FAA can take care of business.

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Also, Shapo will play a qualifier and if he wins that match will likely play Charlie.

[dash_pinched]

Congrats to Victoria, well deserved wildcard...

https://twitter.com/user/status/1897021733317591159