Wimbledon

[stotty]

Watched last night. For a set-and-a-half it looked like Fritz would steamroll Musetti then, the Italian did several things.

First, his deep return position was actually an advantage. Musetti repeatedly blocks returns -- got them extremely deep, or hit chip forehands and backhands. Completely neutralized Fritz's serve. Since Fritz never serves and volleys he had no answer.

Secondly, he used tactics I recall Fed using against tall players -- moving them diagonally. Shot selection was far different but the effect was the same, Musetti made Fritz look awkward, constantly reaching, scooping up low balls, being out of position.

Third, Musetti really committed to the dropshot -- even when they weren't initially working and followed them up masterfully. I counted 5 times Musetti hit a drop shot then took Fritz's response out of the air in no-man's land and put them away, every which way. Touch lob-volley to the baseline, swinging forehand drive off a shot at shin level, etc, etc.

Finally, Musetti upped his second service after Fritz brutalized it in the opening set. Fritz has moving in and blasting returns, then Musetti did more with his second - varied spin, placement, went for more -- and Fritz's advantage there disappeared.

Graph from TheAthletic: Fritz's serve worked great all tournament, until a set and a half into their quarterfinal. The 65% won by Fritz on first serve actually overstates how well it worked, since he was at 88% in the first set.

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Interesting. Just goes to show how important it is to be able to serve volley and against a returner who sits deep in the court. It should be impossible to win from deep positions on grass if the opponent knows his way around the net. As McEnroe has said many times, a player doesn't even have to hit a decent volley...just drop it over the net.

[jimlosaltos]

I missed the match but had Fritz down to win that one, mainly because of Musetti's deep court positioning, which is far from optimal for grass. Could Fritz not take advantage of that?

Watched last night. For a set-and-a-half it looked like Fritz would steamroll Musetti then, the Italian did several things.

First, his deep return position was actually an advantage. Musetti repeatedly blocks returns -- got them extremely deep, or hit chip forehands and backhands. Completely neutralized Fritz's serve. Since Fritz never serves and volleys he had no answer.

Secondly, he used tactics I recall Fed using against tall players -- moving them diagonally. Shot selection was far different but the effect was the same, Musetti made Fritz look awkward, constantly reaching, scooping up low balls, being out of position.

Third, Musetti really committed to the dropshot -- even when they weren't initially working and followed them up masterfully. I counted 5 times Musetti hit a drop shot then took Fritz's response out of the air in no-man's land and put them away, every which way. Touch lob-volley to the baseline, swinging forehand drive off a shot at shin level, etc, etc.

Finally, Musetti upped his second service after Fritz brutalized it in the opening set. Fritz has moving in and blasting returns, then Musetti did more with his second - varied spin, placement, went for more -- and Fritz's advantage there disappeared.

Graph from TheAthletic: Fritz's serve worked great all tournament, until a set and a half into their quarterfinal. The 65% won by Fritz on first serve actually overstates how well it worked, since he was at 88% in the first set.

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[stroke]

https://www.si.com/tennis/tennis-mailbag-novak-djokovic-message-to-the-wimbledon-crowd-makes-waves

[jimlosaltos]

Largest age difference in a semi at Wimbledon in open era

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[jimlosaltos]

I missed the match but had Fritz down to win that one, mainly because of Musetti's deep court positioning, which is far from optimal for grass. Could Fritz not take advantage of that?

I haven't seen it yet. But Musetti must be doing something right on returns. He beat two of the best servers around, Gio and Fritz, back to back.

Held Mpetshi Perricard to 10 aces and Fritz only won 65% on first serves and Fritz had fewer break points (4/9 vs 6/13 )

[stotty]

I really thought Taylor was going to win that match, but Lorenzo certainly earned it with his beautiful game. Lorenzo loves to stay back a la Gasquet and produce his shots, and Taylor let him do it too much.

I missed the match but had Fritz down to win that one, mainly because of Musetti's deep court positioning, which is far from optimal for grass. Could Fritz not take advantage of that?

[stotty]

Me, too. Real shame. Demon's injury came on match point, too.

Yet another player hurt by slipping on the slick grass. "Alex de Minaur's injury came on match point of his previous round against Arthur Fils. He went to slide into the ball – it was match point, after all, and he was giving it his all – and the cartilage tore between his abs and his adductor."

Players are saying that when the roof is closed during the rain that the grass gets wet and unsafe. Wimbledon is saying that doesn't happen because of their great ventilation system.

This from a freelance journalist, I believe after Dimitrov tore up his knee:

"Indoor grass remains the most dangerous surface in tennis, as the last few minutes have shown once again,"
-- Ben Rothenberg

When I first went to Wimbledon in the 70's play would often go on in drizzle or even light rain. Player's would skate around here and there but it was generally accepted that playing in drizzle was the norm. One drop of rain these days and the players are straight off. What was once accepted is now perilously dangerous it seems. It's what I most dislike about modern tennis...that it's gone all soft.

[stroke]

I really thought Taylor was going to win that match, but Lorenzo certainly earned it with his beautiful game. Lorenzo loves to stay back a la Gasquet and produce his shots, and Taylor let him do it too much.

[jimlosaltos]

Top serve speeds for the men aren't likely to change much going forward, so here you go.

At least 23 ATP players are serving over 130 MPH, with Shelton and Mpetshi Perricard hitting 140 MPH.

Juncheng "Jerry" Shang made the list at 132 MPH and he's 5 ft 11 in and 162 lbs.

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[jimlosaltos]

Perfect "treatment" for a bum knee, Djokovic is into the semifinals without having met a player in the top 10, and gets an extra day off.
The average ranking of his opponents is 143. Oddly, the highest ranked player Novak faced, Rune, gave him the least resistance.

Djokovic Draw

R1 _ Alex Bolt rank 234
R2 _ Jacob Feeney rank 277
R3_ Alexei Popryn rank 47
R4_ Holger Rune rank 15

Q - Alex De Minaur WO

[jimlosaltos]

de Minaur pulls out with a hip injury. What a bummer. I was looking forward to watching that one.

Me, too. Real shame. Demon's injury came on match point, too.

Yet another player hurt by slipping on the slick grass. "Alex de Minaur's injury came on match point of his previous round against Arthur Fils. He went to slide into the ball – it was match point, after all, and he was giving it his all – and the cartilage tore between his abs and his adductor."

Players are saying that when the roof is closed during the rain that the grass gets wet and unsafe. Wimbledon is saying that doesn't happen because of their great ventilation system.

This from a freelance journalist, I believe after Dimitrov tore up his knee:

"Indoor grass remains the most dangerous surface in tennis, as the last few minutes have shown once again,"
-- Ben Rothenberg

[stotty]

de Minaur pulls out with a hip injury. What a bummer. I was looking forward to watching that one.

[stroke]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/zRcAZv3KUS3ZBEFA8

Betting odds.

[jimlosaltos]

Med's knows his best serve is the wide flat serve, particularly to the ad side(Nick, who imo is a much better commentator than player), pointed that out. Med to his credit believes in doing what does best. One cannot really coach or fake self belief.

Well put.

Did not see while I was this popping in and out {and muting announcers while I worked}. Sinner was sick.

Per WImby site:
Broken for 1-2, Sinner at last called the trainer. Yet instead of indicating an injury, he described something which prompted his oxygen level to be monitored and his pulse to be taken. Clutching his brow and looking clammy, Sinner left the court with the medical staff. No medical timeout was announced.

“This morning I didn’t feel great,” Sinner explained later. “I didn't want to go off but the physio told me better to take some time because I didn’t seem in shape to play. I was struggling physically. I didn’t vomit, no. I was quite dizzy but you don’t want to retire in a quarter-final of a Grand Slam.”

And this:
“You can’t beat Jannik easy. At one moment he was not feeling good but I knew that could change. You want to make him suffer a bit more – in a good way. But everything is well when it ends well, so I’m pretty happy.”

-- Daniil Medvedev

I can't recall seeing so many players get ill as I have this year. Perhaps they just didn't report them before. Several food poisonings. Casper Ruud with a parasite that lasted weeks. Now this.

[stroke]

Agree (Particularly about the drama).

Peculiar match. The kind where Sinner won most every stat -- except the one stat guys say has the highest correlation, number of first serve points WON ( NOT % won, not % in).

Medvedev went after Sinner's backhand return, despite Sinner having the highest rated backhand overall per the ATP stats you shared.

That's 42 points won by Medvedev serving to Sinner backhand in the ad court with 1st and 2nd combined.

Every point Medvedev on his second serve to the ad court was to Sinner's backhand.



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Med's knows his best serve is the wide flat serve, particularly to the ad side(Nick, who imo is a much better commentator than player), pointed that out. Med to his credit believes in doing what does best. One cannot really coach or fake self belief.