2014 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals…ATP 1500...London, England

[klacr]

Slow surface

Roger Federer blames the slow surface at the O2 for lopsided matches.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-1...p-matches.html

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Preparation and Performance…Roger Federer's tactical retreat in Paris continued

http://www.blacklistednews.com/Kissinger_calls_U.S._meddling_in_Ukraine_%27fatal_mistake%27/39105/0/38/38/Y/M.html

I had a couple of friends who travelled to the O2 yesterday to see what amounted to under two hours tennis. They were not amused...rotten luck.

It's been the doubles at the ATP tour finals that have been exceptionally entertaining. These guys are good. If anyone had the pleasure to watch Horia Tecau and Jean-Julian Rojer vs. Bruno Soares and Alexander Peya they know what I'm talking about. Exceptional points and an exhibition of every shot, serves, returns, drive volleys, drop volleys, poaches, overheads, overheads from the baseline, reflex drop volleys off the overhead, lobs, short angled volleys and every other shot you can imagine. Great stuff.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Quite right boys…it's only entertainment now. Image is everything…whatever you can successfully put over on the unsuspecting masses. It's not so hard…tell them the big lie. It's easier than accepting a bunch of little ones. The game at the O2 is a carnival like atmosphere. I can imagine the souvenir sales. Who has the money? I wouldn't go to the end of the driveway to see this "Big Time Wrestling" venue. But Roger Federer has a knack for keeping my head in the game. Keeping it interesting as our tactical unit in Boca Raton suggested earlier in this thread. Our Human Howitzer.

Yesterday I was teaching the usual suspects. Kids that come one or two hours a week for some activity…something to do. I am happy to get their little "gold mines" out of the virtual reality that they are living in these days. But, you know it's tough trying to connect the dots for them. Futile even. Oh well. Meanwhile at the O2…Roger Federer was taking care of business. Showing the little "Samurai Kid" who is boss. Slapped him around a bit for good measure. Good Roger…rough him up. The kid said afterwards that "he doesn't seem to be 33 years old." He's not kid. Some people say you are only as old as you feel…good old don_budge says you are only as old as the woman you feel. Roger probably has some young squeeze. Just kidding…just aimlessly speculating. The world works…in so many ways. The wife is smart…she always seems to be close by.

Roger Federer vs. Kei Nishikori…It's a mismatch on paper. The only possibility when all things are equal as they were yesterday is that somehow Kei lulls Roger into a baseline duel of long points. But when Roger is throwing his full array of tactics at his opponent guys like Kei are always going to come in second. Nishikori tried to match him in wits on a number of occasions and he succeeded at times but overall he doesn't have the tactical spectrum as he is deficient once he is out of his comfort zone…which is camped out securely on the baseline. Andy Murray next for Roger…playing indoors is going to advantage Federer. I still cannot get a feel for the courts but they seem to be on the slow side. Advantage Novak Djokovic.

Andy Murray vs. Milos Raonic…Once again it was a matter of getting the quick drop on Milos. A quick break in the first set and Milos was muttering to himself. He is a bit lethargic and he fights this. But he is what he is…there is no changing that. A lumbering Canuck. He should be serving and volleying and really giving his opponents a dose of his size and strength but instead he camps out on the baseline where he is a sitting duck for smaller and more mobile opponents. The two hand backhand is extremely limiting in his case and in the cases of the larger players on tour. Remnants from the junior game…old habits are hard too break. What if his coach at the age of thirteen had the vision to wean him off of the two hands…it might just be a different story.

For Andy's part he manned up. He played like a meek little puddy cat against Nishikori but he brought some balls to the game yesterday. As for his upcoming match with Roger he senses just how fit and prepared the Swiss Maestro is at the moment. Federer has gaged every step and every moment since the Parisian debacle against Milos Raonic to arrive in London in the fittest and sharpest of condition. He has gaged it exactly right as he has escalated his performance in the first two matches and still seems to have another gear to shift into. I suspect we will see glimpses of that Thursday against Murray. Here is what Murray had to say and he is measuring his words as he doesn't want to piss off the Swiss Knife any more than he already is.

“It will be obviously a very difficult match,” said Murray. “But it will be an exciting match. A good one to be part of. I hope I can play well. We've had some very good matches over the years. I hope on Thursday it will be the same.”

I detect doubt. Whenever I here the word "hope" more than once in a statement it turns out to be pie in the sky. Anybody here remember some unknown pariah preaching "hope and change" to a nation of hopefuls. How about "more of the same"…meet the new boss same as the old boss. I hope Roger pins his ears back. Period.

Wow!

[klacr]

Fortunately or unfortunately, It's been the doubles at the ATP tour finals that have been exceptionally entertaining. These guys are good. If anyone had the pleasure to watch Horia Tecau and Jean-Julian Rojer vs. Bruno Soares and Alexander Peya they know what I'm talking about. Exceptional points and an exhibition of every shot, serves, returns, drive volleys, drop volleys, poaches, overheads, overheads from the baseline, reflex drop volleys off the overhead, lobs, short angled volleys and every other shot you can imagine. Great stuff.

Hoping tomorrow brings just as much entertainment from the singles.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

I think if veterans McEnroe and Stich were in the ATP World Tour Doubles Finals they might have a chance. Or maybe even Newcombe and Roche...

While singles play has gone into the stratosphere, doubles play seems to have plummeted into an abyss.

[stotty]

I had a couple of friends who travelled to the O2 yesterday to see what amounted to under two hours tennis. They were not amused...rotten luck.

I was disappointed in Cilic. He didn't serve to good effect as he did at the US Open. He was serving right at Djokovic. At the US he was cleaning the lines with that first serve. Once Djokovic got a foothold in those rallies he looked impregnable.

As for T-Bird...well...worst game he's played this year. Nothing went right.

Let's hope for better games today. I hope Nishikori and Federer play a blinder. I can see this being a good game to watch.

[don_budge]

Novak Djokovic and Stanislas Wawrinka…Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori

Djokovic and Wawrinka in a couple of good old fashioned shellackings. 61, 61. Any questions? Marin Cilic was not a factor in the match as I watched the first sixty percent of it. Apparently Tomas Berdych was not either…which is somewhat surprising.

The other half doesn't appear to be nearly so one sided and Roger Federer has not clearly distanced himself from the field. Today he needs to serve really well to keep "Samurai Kid" on his heels. If he gets his feet into the match he will make things extremely difficult for the ageing King. The other match? Who cares? Murray hopefully does…Raonic does that is for sure. Raonic is serving well enough to make things difficult but look for Murray to right his ship in time to challenge Federer.

Federer served really well in spots and spells against Raonic. In fits and bursts. He had a spell during the second set where he could not buy a first serve. When he serves low percentage first serves he becomes much more defensive and his game suffers for it. Against Nishikori he will have to serve consistently throughout the whole match as if the Japanese player gets his teeth into the match he is not going to let go. Federer must be a man about this and be aggressive. I think his preparation is right on time to produce a high performance match when he needs it. He showed signs against Raonic but he didn't sustain it…and he didn't exactly need to. Is it a case of being on a need to perform basis? Much as I am on a need to know basis.

[stotty]

No no. Murray wanted Scotland to go free. So say the commentatoes.

Correct

[klacr]

Great to see that Wawrinka has found his form. Hope he holds it for Davis Cup...

Great for Wawrinka. Bad for Berdych. Tberd took it on the chin today. Embarrassing to watch

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[gzhpcu]

Great to see that Wawrinka has found his form. Hope he holds it for Davis Cup...

[bottle]

No no. Murray wanted Scotland to go free. So say the commentatoes.

[GeoffWilliams]

At Iw, where they have a lot of shot spot info, Fed's back hand has increased in mph by 2 mph, and in depth (more important than mph) by 2 feet deeper, after the racquet switch.

[don_budge]

Roger Federer vs. Milos Raonic…and a couple of other things.

Just more proof that Ray man has to work on his return first.

In street fight terms one might say that Roger Federer got the "quick drop" on the seemingly laconic Milos Raonic. Roger came out gunning and he meant to knock out Milos with a stunning right cross right at the opening bell. He elected to serve first, which was a great sign because he was going to tag the kid a couple of times right at the get go and let him know who's boss.

That victory in Paris was a little misleading. But it all works for Federer in the end. The current Master at orchestrating affairs at the professional player level. Should Milos get a bit more confidence he just might steal a couple of majors or rather Grand Slams from Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic which may hinder them from overtaking Roger. Milos' win in Paris has been rendered meaningless in the big picture now…Roger set the record straight. But for Milos it may just serve to boost his confidence in the future. He could develop into a force to be reckoned with…although his stamina in five set matches is still in question.

Roger came out swinging at the lumbering giant and tagged him right off the bat with a service break in his first serving game. Federer just kept pouring it on in his own service game to quickly conclude the first set which is very positive in terms of the big picture as well…conservation of energy. The manner in which Roger served it out in the first set is an indication of his performance level at key points in a match right now. He is feeling it is my guess.

By the time the big guy woke up he was down a set and Roger was sputtering just a bit too. But Roger did a great job of gutting it out and holding onto his serve and when it came down to the tie-breaker Roger got right down to business once more and concluded things with an exclamation point. It all couldn't have gone smoother…a perfect start. He left himself some room for improvement as well which is key in an event like this. The key is to put himself in the best possible position to finish the thing off. He knows this format all too well.

For Milos' part he would do well to take more chance on the return of serve. For me…this would mean that he step in and take the ball earlier. Not move back and take the ball deeper. He would do well to gamble on the first couple of points on his opponents serve and then take stock of the situation. If he can knock off a couple of winners and stake himself to a lead he may just consolidate more breaks. He may have some potential left in him…there are a number of tactical options that he hasn't explored yet.

Kei Nishikori and Andy Murray? Who cares? As boring as it gets. A terrible match and poorly executed. The net play was borderline crummy at best. Nishikori is ample proof of the game of tennis gone wrong. A one dimensional player with a rather unimpressive service motion. Of course he has unbelievable quickness and unbelievable ball striking talent but is that enough? Apparently it is with the game being played the way it is today.

For Murray's part he may as well be coached by a girl because he really played like a pussy yesterday. He may be tired though and not 100% to his capabilities. His long road back from surgery…well, we will never know the whole story about that. His performance was really disappointing. Not to me…I could care less about either he or Nishikori…but to the London crowd. I wonder if Murray voted yes or no…to a free and independent Scotland. I suspect he sided with the royalty and the Queen…there are too many freebies to be passed up for him to go out on a limb for the masses.

[GeoffWilliams]

Just more proof that Ray man has to work on his return first. Hey, ray man, string your racquet tighter! Other wise no chance in the bigger matches, as it's too hard to control under pressure. Fed only cares about the bigger venues, and doesn't try or feel as motivated to burst faster.

[klacr]

Nishikori looked like the younger, faster version of Andy Murray in this match. Slow start for fans at the O2 arena. Both players did little to impress. Murray said the temperature inside the O2 is warmer and the court is faster than in Valencia and Paris.

Getting ready for Federer-Raonic. Thinking Federer has revenge on his mind. Going to show Raonic that Paris was just a practice match before the big show.

Curious about Group A though. Djokovic, Wawrinka, Cilic and Berdych. All players but one captured a grand slam this year. More motivation for Berdych to raise his game and make it through.

Does anyone think the finals won't be Federer-Djokovic?

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Roger…from the horse's mouth

Here's Roger Federer on getting ready for this weeks tournament.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/11/45/London-Finale-Federer-Preview.aspx

He's such a great interview. Revealing in a non-intrusive way.