2015 Wimbledon Championships…ATP 2000…London, Great Britain

[klacr]

Yes, an eventful day at Wimbledon.

The problem is Stotty is burnt out. Eight hours in the hot sun...I'm sunk. You know how it is, as a fellow coach.

Saw Kyrgios's antics. If being a personality is acting like an ass, I'll settle for robots any day. In my country we call a guy like that a "paper hat". I hope he watches himself on the highlights and cringes.

I will post tomorrow. I'm too drained to type right now. Now...where is that ice cold beer....

Hang in there stotty! Those 8 hours on court may be tough but you're making an impact in a student's life. Sometimes more impact than you'll ever know.

Wild day in SW19 for sure. Berdych was an absolute disappointment.

Kyrgios as well for other reasons. Gasquet was solid and only did what he needed to do.

Djokovic in battle with South African and Delray Beach resident Kevin Anderson. I see Kevin often putting in hard yards on the beach in Delray. I'm doing my runs and he's doing his. He's in the 4th round of Wimbledon and in 5 sets with Djokovic...and I'm just writing about it. Kevin is a super nice guy and happy for his successes on tour.

Federer cruised. Bautista Agut is a good match up for Fed and the swiss maestro played accordingly.

Wawrinka overpowered Goffin. But what a nifty player David Goffin is.

Murray chopped down the tree that is Ivo Karlovic.

In other news....and news that I predicted weeks, possibly months ago, Dimitrov and coach Roger Rasheed have decided to part ways. It was Dimitrov that pulled the trigger. Didn't wanna put in the hard yards in the gym anymore with Rasheed. Needs a new voice and new ideas. Sadly, if those ideas don't include "stop sucking of your mgmt's teet and stop living like a grand slam champion" then I doubt it will have any effect.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Those people clearly don't know or understand tennis then. And that's ok. Apologies if my love for the game and it's most prestigious event exceeds most.

Djokovic in a 5th set with Kevin Anderson. Match suspended due to darkness. Resumes tomorrow.

Quarterfinals are...
Djokovic/Anderson vs. Cilic
Wawrinka vs. Gasquet (One Handed Backhand fans take note)
Murray vs. Pospisil
Federer vs. Simon

Here we go...

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Yes, an eventful day at Wimbledon.

The problem is Stotty is burnt out. Eight hours in the hot sun...I'm sunk. You know how it is, as a fellow coach.

Saw Kyrgios's antics. If being a personality is acting like an ass, I'll settle for robots any day. In my country we call a guy like that a "paper hat". I hope he watches himself on the highlights and cringes.

I will post tomorrow. I'm too drained to type right now. Now...where is that ice cold beer....

[klacr]

Those people clearly don't know or understand tennis then. And that's ok. Apologies if my love for the game and it's most prestigious event exceeds most.

Djokovic in a 5th set with Kevin Anderson. Match suspended due to darkness. Resumes tomorrow.

Quarterfinals are...
Djokovic/Anderson vs. Cilic
Wawrinka vs. Gasquet (One Handed Backhand fans take note)
Murray vs. Pospisil
Federer vs. Simon

Here we go...

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[GeoffWilliams]

Most people got bored with serve/missed return/missed volley points.

[klacr]

Just another Manic Monday

This post has been dead the last 48 hours

C'MON!!!!!
It's Manic Monday! All Round of 16 matches are being played. The 2nd week of majors are where things get juicy. The normal cast of characters are there. Djokovic, Federer, Berdych...

Nadal is out and Vasek Pospisil has taken full advantage of that section. Coming back from two sets to love down against Viktor Troicki. Pospisil is an accomplished doubles player and likes to use the occasional serve and volley in his singles play. Most players I have a hard time watching, Pospisil keeps my interest longer than most.

But C'mon...It's Manic Monday...Wimbledon is getting interesting.

Now if they only brought back the mixture of 70% Perennial Rye and 30% Creeping Red Fescue...

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[klacr]

Dustin has shown that tactically he is going to use the forecourt as often as possible. He is bringing his opponent forwards and forcing him to hit up whenever possible. He has made some mistakes in doing so but he sticks with it. If he made some more solid deep volleys a bit more often it might be wise…but who can argue. He is holding his own here and he has just broken serve.

Good observation. I noticed that as well and it's a tactic I use and encourage often. And why not? I want my opponent to beat me from a place that they are not comfortable in and a place I feel at home. They can't play the net nor do they possess the shots or mentality, I thrive up there. Welcome to my lion's den.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

The Brown Service Motion...

Dustin's super quick service motion is very interesting. Somewhat like Dogopolov, and an old Wimbledon winner, Goran.

Funny that you say so. I was looking at his motion from another perspective. It looks to me as if it is a more classic motion from the past when serve and volley was the staple of the game.

Whenever the conversation comes to leaping for serves or the "kickback" phenomena I always refer to the way that the game is currently being played. Hit the big serve and retreat behind the baseline. Brown's delivery is designed to propel him to the net so he doesn't leave the ground. Interesting observation…stroke.

Dustin hit an incredibly short drop shot returning serve against Troicki! Never saw that before. His matches are incredibly entertaining.

I use this shot all of the time on clay. But I don't think I have ever seen a drop shot spin so much on grass that it spins back and drops on the original side of the net. This must be testimony to the texture of the grass as well. More velcro than slick.

Dustin has shown that tactically he is going to use the forecourt as often as possible. He is bringing his opponent forwards and forcing him to hit up whenever possible. He has made some mistakes in doing so but he sticks with it. If he made some more solid deep volleys a bit more often it might be wise…but who can argue. He is holding his own here and he has just broken serve.

[gzhpcu]

Dustin hit an incredibly short drop shot returning serve against Troicki! Never saw that before. His matches are incredibly entertaining.

[stroke]

Dustin's super quick service motion is very interesting. Somewhat like Dogopolov, and an old Wimbledon winner, Goran.

[don_budge]

Taking Shape…The Draw Sheet of the 2015 Wimbledon Championships

Four players are looking ominous: Federer, Wawrinka, Murray and Djokovic. All four look comfortable. You have to believe one of them will win the event and no other player can wreck the party.

Can anyone see a party wrecker on the horizon?

Any one see a sleeper in the draw? Let's finish the third round and reconvene. There are plenty of potential wreckers out there…waiting for an opportunity. After completion of the Cilic/Isner match we may catch a glimpse of a potential "Sleeper"…as Cilic turned out to be in last year's U. S. Open.

http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/scores/draws/ms/msdraw.pdf

I watched Gasquet, Kyrgios, Djokovic and Wawrinka yesterday. Gasquet and Dimitrov was particularly interesting. The Gasquet and Kyrgios match is looming large. All good stuff. Some good stuff coming up today. Interesting stuff.

Looking comfortable is a big part of it. Anytime you ask a golfer how he felt after playing a great round he will tell you…"I felt comfortable over the ball today". These guys are trying like hell to play themselves into their comfort zones. It's all about getting into position and believe me…they are all jockeying for position now.

I am really curious as to how "Downtown" Dustin Brown reacts to his big win over Fafa Nadal. Is he ready to up the ante? Or is he satisfied with his fifteen minutes of fame? How about Tsonga/Karlovic? Can Tsonga avoid making costly forehand errors when they matter most? These two met once before in the round of 32 at Wimbledon. Guess who won? Ivo Karlovic by 76 67 75 76.

Seppi/Murray? Seppi has been showing some signs of stepping up to the big boys, but if Murray manhandles him it will be a surefire indicator Andy means business. "The Amazing" Mr. Monfils and Gilles Simon? Which French monsieur has the upper hand? Roger Federer? Any questions?

Match of the day…no doubt about it. "Downtown" versus Victor Troicki. I would love to see Brown versus Murray in a couple of more rounds. It's probably too much to hope for.

[stotty]

Four players are looking ominous: Federer, Wawrinka, Murray and Djokovic. All four look comfortable. You have to believe one of them will win the event and no other player can wreck the party.

Can anyone see a party wrecker on the horizon?

[klacr]

two of the four Men's semifinalists from last year are out.

Gasquet d. Dimitrov
Kyrgios d. Raonic.

Kyrgios will face Gasquet in 4th round. Last year, Kyrgios saved 9 match points and came back from two sets to love down to win against Gasquet

Wawrinka looked good as well. Has not lost a set yet. He and Verdasco were absolutely slugging the ball.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[gzhpcu]

And now Kyrgios beats Raonic! Interesting wimbledon this year!

[klacr]

Sure, we all get this. Dustin played well. But Dustin didn't throw anything at Nadal that hasn't been thrown at Nadal before and which Nadal hasn't comfortably coped with in the past. He can almost expect players to throw everything and the kitchen sink at him, it's normal.

Nadal gave Dustin plenty of opportunities on a plate. Nadal was absolutely rank by his standards. He's vulnerable right now on all surfaces...even clay.

Nadal did give Brown plenty of chances and opportuities. But Brown stepped up, in the biggest match of his life, at centre court of Wimbledon, and handled the pressure superbly. How many players could handle themselves like that in the holy temple of tennis.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Sure, Nadal may not have played that great, but let's not be completely naive. Dustin Brown had something to do with it. Nadal admitted so in press conference afterwards. Said it was difficult to find his rhtyhm against Brown because Brown was disrupting it. Nadal said he never hit three balls in a row the same way and when it was time to pull the trigger on a particular shot he didn't have confidence to execute it.

Let's give credit to Dustin Brown. Nadal is out of Wimbledon and the assumptions as to his decline could vary but what's done is done. Let's celebrate a game style and player willing to use it.

I come to praise Dustin Brown, not to bury Nadal. Whether Nadal comes back to compete for grand slams or not, his confidence and game have taken huge hits at AELTC, and considering Wimbledon is in fact a historic place and shrine for all tennis, it hurts a bit more. Dustin Brown deserves his 15 minutes and much much more.

Dustin Brown should celebrate tonight.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Sure, we all get this. Dustin played well. But Dustin didn't throw anything at Nadal that hasn't been thrown at Nadal before and which Nadal hasn't comfortably coped with in the past. He can almost expect players to throw everything and the kitchen sink at him, it's normal.

Nadal gave Dustin plenty of opportunities on a plate. Nadal was absolutely rank by his standards. He's vulnerable right now on all surfaces...even clay.