Wimbledon

[jimlosaltos]

Only a few days into Wimbledon and already 19 men have hit serves of at least 140 MPH.
Two (2) players broke the all time record by Taylor Dent. Plus, we've seen second serves in 130 MPHs

And before anyone says "those new < whatever > ..." this includes old players (Dimitrov, Opelka) as well as new.
Top seeds and unseeded, high ranked and not in top 100.

Heat? Only on day one. Must be the strawberries.



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[jimlosaltos]

Apropos of the above serves this exchange ...

Sidebar: Amusing {or cautionary } veteran exchange when Darren Cahill was explaining technique issues with Coco Gauff's serve (I posted in the Aryna thread, which has turned into a Coco thread).

Cahill attempted to show how Coco takes her racket back causing problems, then stopped saying "My shoulder won't do that any more."

Pat McEnroe chimes in: "Mine won't either after 3 surgeries. I probably need a 4th."

As Harrison Ford said in "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "It's not the years, it's the mileage".

[stotty]

Novak was looking exceptionally clinical in his match against Dan Evans. His serving this year is the best I have ever seen it, using all the spins and hitting the spots with pinpoint accuracy. It just goes to show hitting 115 to 120 mph will do the job just as well, and especially on grass — who needs 140+mph?

[jeffreycounts]

Novak was looking exceptionally clinical in his match against Dan Evans. His serving this year is the best I have ever seen it, using all the spins and hitting the spots with pinpoint accuracy. It just goes to show hitting 115 to 120 mph will do the job just as well, and especially on grass — who needs 140+mph?

Like Pistol Pete! Take a look at our match rewind in the upcoming issue to see serving placement at its finest:

https://www.tennisplayer.net/members/points_only/wimbledon/2001_Fed_Sampras/

I thought Dan Evans might give Noak some trouble, but a clinical straight sets win is encouraging.

[jimlosaltos]

Sabalenka quites the crowd vs Emma, taking the first set tiebreaker.

Aryna Sabalenka is now 14-1 in tiebreaks for 2025

[jimlosaltos]

Ben's conclusion to his curfew-delayed match is supposedly the shortest session in Wimbledon history at 70 seconds. Good thing tennis players aren't paid by the hour.

Match suspended match vs Rinky Hijikata took 70 seconds. Play was stopped with Ben set to serve at 6-2, 7-5, 5-4. Next day: Bang, bang, bang, bang. Where's lunch?

[jeffreycounts]

Ben's conclusion to his curfew-delayed match is supposedly the shortest session in Wimbledon history at 70 seconds. Good thing tennis players aren't paid by the hour.

Match suspended match vs Rinky Hijikata took 70 seconds. Play was stopped with Ben set to serve at 6-2, 7-5, 5-4. Next day: Bang, bang, bang, bang. Where's lunch?

Ben said in an interview he told the umpire the day before that he only needed 60 seconds to finish the match so need to stop play. When he came out the next day he was set on keeping that promise. Pretty entertaining stuff.

[stroke]

Goran Ivanisevic blasts Stefanos Tsitsipas after Wimbledon exit: “Never seen such a poorly prepared player” https://share.google/DvKIPkg95x5ikp5fD

Goran on Tsitsipas

[jimlosaltos]

What a crop this Wimbleton. The seeds were planted but most just won't sprout. Out of 64 total seeds across men's and women's singles only 21 remain and we're only into the fourth round. With Barbora Krejcikova out to Emma Navarro, and Elena Rybakina to Clara Tauson we will have our eighth straight, different and I believe first-time champion in women's singles. Meanwhile Carlos ploughs on toward a three-peat, with Jannik Novak and Taylor in hot pursuit.

[stotty]

Novak on the key to a good serve: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/videos/ce8z61g5lnzo

[don_budge]

Goran Ivanisevic blasts Stefanos Tsitsipas after Wimbledon exit: “Never seen such a poorly prepared player” https://share.google/DvKIPkg95x5ikp5fD

Goran on Tsitsipas

Stefanos Tsitsipas has been dancing to the tune of "Zorba the Greek" after his initial burst on to the ATP tour. He has "Daddy" issues, as in he should have canned the father as his coach a long, long time ago. I prophesied from the beginning that parents as coaches don't cut it. That's number one. Number two is closely related to "Daddy Coach" and it is the persistent lack of progress in anything for that matter. Most telling is the service motion. With his size and build his serve should be the toughest on the tour. All that he had to do was take a page out of Roger's book and the don_budge theory of perfect motion. As the serve goes, so goes the rest of the game. The thing about the serve is twofold. Number one...with the necessary changes he holds his serve virtually all of the time. Serving out sets and matches becomes more routine and the norm. Secondly...with such bold confidence in his service game he can take chances on the opponents serve. This is a huge advantage that Roger Federer took advantage of as a staple in his repertoire of tactical play.

Stefanos has been acting out rebellious notions against the father for some time. It is readily apparent on full display in their interactions during matches. Off the court where we are not privy, he has made a real mess of things as well with the women or woman as the case may be. More rebellion. The current coach is not overly bright as far as I can tell and if he hasn't identified the serve as a culprit in the lack of progress of Tsitsipas then going forwards is going to be as much of a crap shoot as it has been the last few years. Now there is a question of the back and who's to say that isn't related to that nasty little hitch in the service motion. It could be. Hitting serves off balance is a recipe for disaster.

Then there is the issue of the lack of idea about the slice backhand. If you are playing the game one handed on the backhand side then you must be aware of the pros and cons. Not to mention tactical options. Once again we look to Roger Federer for the answer. When the chips were down at the end of a match it was the slice backhand that was paying big dividends as Roger would interject the slice to change the pace and to gain CONTROL. Once he was dictating play towards the end of any given match he seized on every single opportunity to CONTROL everything on the court. He CONTROLLED how the match was going to be played on his terms. I think one of the most amazing stats of his career was the number of wins he had against Nadal after he switched racquets. With the switch of the racquet he was able to dictate terms to Nadal and get CONTROL of how the match was going to be played.

Stefanos has a major hurdle to clear now. He has to rethink things in terms of where he is at and where he wants to go and how to get there. Is this coach up to this monumental cerebral task? I doubt it.

[jimlosaltos]

Jannik Sinner is quietly moving through his matches like a hot knife through butter and has lost a Wimbledon record-tying low of 17 games through first three matches. Sinner is the second man in the Open era, which began in 1968, to cede just 17 games through three completed matches at the All England Club. The other player to do that, Jan Kodes, ended up losing in the semifinals in 1972.

[stroke]

A Fritz vs Alcaraz and Sinner vs Novak looks likely in the semis.

[jimlosaltos]

How Djokovic has stayed near the top as his return and backhand have regressed with age.

Answer: His serve has improved every year. Is it "The Goran Factor"?

In BBC interview, Nole credits deception. Can go anywhere with same or similar toss.

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[stroke]

Novak is no doubt the template for what is possible even in the twilight of his career