2016 Swiss Indoorsl, Basel Switzerland...Erste Bank Open, Vienna Austria...ATP 500's

[don_budge]

2016 Swiss Indoors Basel and 2016 Erste Bank Open...ATP 500 Tournaments

The interest is waning. The air is gushing from the balloon. Do you hear that? That sucking sound is the vacuum that has been created in the absence of Roger Federer.

Here...take a look at this venue. What's missing?

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/current/basel/328/draws

I already gave it away...it is Roger Federer that is missing from his home tournament. What a difference one player makes in the draw when that one player is Roger Federer. The problem is it isn't just that it is Roger...it is tennis itself. Without the poster boy of "The Living Proof" of classic tennis we are left with a void. A void that no one player can fill from the current roster of professional tennis players. The fact of the matter is that even the current number one player in the world, Novak Djokovic, cannot come close to filling that void. Besides he has more important things on his mind...he's trying to hold it together. He is being faced with existential questions on the home front and just remember...hell hath no fury as a woman's scorn.

But it's Stan Wawrinka's house too but the question is...is he interested? Probably not that interested in hanging around to the end. He has already gone the distance twice and it is questionable how much longer he wants to hang. Afterall he is still reaping the rewards from his third Grand Slam triumph at the U. S. Open and he can afford to exit the stadium at any given point. Stan isn't that great of a performer week in, week out. Let's face it. He doesn't really care all that much for a measly ATP 500 tournament.

I saw Stan put the finishing touches on Donald Young last night. Now it is Mischa Zverev next. Zverev almost sent Novak packing in China last week or the week before. He was pretty impressive. Although it's questionable how much Novak really cares these days either. It's amazing how much questioning you can make about these top players if you want to. The desire does seem to be questionable in most cases week in and week out. A little further down the draw one might make an argument for the Juan Martin del Potro and Kei Nishikori match but in the end I know in my heart that if I started to watch it that I would be bored with it in no time.

Meanwhile...the second seed in the tournament Milos Raonic has quietly disappeared leaving a real vacuum in the bottom half of the draw. Milos is another character whose overall desire doesn't seem to be present and accounted for every other week. Besides he is playing "injured" most of the time. It is only a matter of time before this "high pockets" is done with the game. His body type is not conducive to being jerked all around the court from side to side. He investigated the idea of playing forwards with the Great John McEnroe for some time but decided that Johnny Boy isn't for everyone. Particularly him.

Ok...ok. So Roger Federer isn't in Basel...well he isn't in Vienna either. But Andy Murray sure is. It looks like Andy just might be the heir apparent. He is nipping on the heels of Novak for the top spot in the game but he sure is disappointing as a box office appeal. No mater how you cut it...his haircuts will always hold him back. His image is untidy and his attitude is surly. He is a bore with a capital "B" and his wife is a plain looking Jane. How is this going to cut it? Andy has struggled with two three set victories himself. Last night I saw him put the finishing touches on Gilles Simon just after Stan Wawrinka was putting the finishing touches on Donald Young. Amazing how you can be in two places at once these days. Viktor Troicki took out home grown favorite Dominc Thiem. Thiem is "Next Generation" isn't he? He has a hard time putting together long stretches of invincible performances. He isn't the next Federer.

Other than that there isn't a whole lot to be excited in this tournament either. Afterall it is only an ATP 500 event and the big names can't be bothered. It is too much to ask...to care.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/current/vienna/337/draws

[klacr]

Basel and Vienna. Beautiful cities. But they are simply the appetizer for the Masters Series event in Paris. Paris Indoors is where all the questions will be answered when it comes to the final 8 that qualify. Berdych is hanging on by a thread. He's had a brutal fall season. Lost 1st match in Tokyo, Shanghai, Vienna. Limping into Paris. Needs a deep run to secure his spot and some early losses by Goffin and Cilic to cement his place in London.

Murray can get close within a whisker of #1 with the Vienna title. And there is no one left in the draw that seems to have the game to threaten him.
Things can happen in Vienna. But I think Murray will eventually get to #1, Vienna is just another step on the ladder. There seems to be a buzz and urgency in his camp to clinch it this year. No rush though. He needs to stay the course. Vienna title waits for Murray.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZdiXvDU4P0

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

2016 Swiss Indoors Basel and 2016 Erste Bank Open...ATP 500 Tournaments...the Finals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZdiXvDU4P0

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Great to see the Billy Joel video. Another great act from the past...the 70's. Speaking of Vienna...it's Andy Murray in the finals courtesy of a WO from "The Energizer Rabbit" David Ferrer, against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Tsonga a big strong guy...but does he have what it takes to stand up to Murray. This is a question that will be answered today. Andy Murray in form looking invincible at this point.

But over in Basel there is, or rather was a rather interesting spectacle being played out. Misha Zverev has been making a rather large splash in his comeback attempt. A couple of weeks ago he nearly took down Novak Djokovic in China. This week he takes out an uncommitted Stan Wawrinka and then gives Marin Cilic a serious scare in the semifinals. His interesting mix of serve and volley and tactical use of the slice backhand has my attention. Shades of Classic Tennis. He's left-handed to boot which gives his conventional tactics an unconventional twist therefore keeping his opponents just a tad off balance. This is the name of the game and Zverev is doing it by moving forwards and playing the game the way it was meant to be played. Both times he was on the edge of a major, major breakthrough his lack of match toughness over the years of being injured has hampered him. But as he gets his legs under him there is a whole new world to be explored. He isn't going to win every time but he is going to give his opponents something to think about.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/mischa-zverev-basel-2016-feature

But other than this there isn't a whole lot to be interested in at this point. It's Marin Cilic vs. Kei Nishikori in the Basel final.

[klacr]

Great article on Mischa Zverev. Thanks for the link.
You beat me to it. Zverev has been having some great results as of late and his serve and volley game has been giving opponents some handful dilemmas. He probably should have beaten Cilic yesterday in the semis. Had numerous chances. I love to see Mischa carve it up on the court. I really hope he imparts his serve and volley wisdom on his younger brother so that The Next Generation star has that tactic in his arsenal and uses it often.
Anyone take notice to Mischa Zverev's forehand? Very minimal.
Cilic took out Nishikori in Basel.
Murray won Vienna. Close to surpassing Djokovic as #1

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Murray won Vienna. Close to surpassing Djokovic as #1

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

I saw most of the match. Tsonga was a little unlucky in the tie-break. He might have gone 3-0 up but for a net cord on the first point on the tie-break. He had the volley covered easily but a net cord bamboozled him a flipped the ball over his racket.

Murray is going to take some stopping. The only person who can stop him is Djokovic himself if he can steady his ship and get his game and composure back on track, and even if he does it might not be enough the way Murray is rolling. This could be Murray's time.

Federer, a while back, said Djokovic would fold under the exhaustion of winning match after match and tournament after tournament. He said he knew from experience that when you go for years losing just a hatful of matches a year, it gets harder and harder physically and mentally. Murray will never have a better chance to steal the thunder.

Stotty

[don_budge]

Tennis Coaches Take Note...

Great article on Mischa Zverev. Thanks for the link.
You beat me to it. Zverev has been having some great results as of late and his serve and volley game has been giving opponents some handful dilemmas. He probably should have beaten Cilic yesterday in the semis. Had numerous chances. I love to see Mischa carve it up on the court. I really hope he imparts his serve and volley wisdom on his younger brother so that The Next Generation star has that tactic in his arsenal and uses it often.
Anyone take notice to Mischa Zverev's forehand? Very minimal.
Cilic took out Nishikori in Basel.
Murray won Vienna. Close to surpassing Djokovic as #1

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

I would say that it is too late in the game for Alexander to implement this into his game. He is a dyed in the wool "Next Generation" product. A product of limited means...strong gripped ATP 3 forehand, two handed backhand and a serve designed for one thing and one thing only. It is only power from the baseline and the occasional foray to the net motivated to chase down a drop shot.

Mischa Zverev does make a statement about the game today. It is retarded. For years I have wondered why Roger Federer got away from using the slice backhand tactically like he did early on in his career. I have to put some heavy blame on his coaches here. Mischa has shown me that it is an effective neutralizer on the two hand backhand. Roger used to make a good living on neutralizing the two hand backhand before delving in for the jugular. He beat Robin Söderling a million times in a row by getting the big lug to play the ball low on his backhand and then he was lunch meat for the Swiss Maestro. Mischa has resurrected these tactics out of necessity perhaps. His serve isn't the best but he is using it so tactically and fundamentally soundly that it is serving his interests and getting him to the net. He isn't the greatest athlete and perhaps he is getting on in years to be a real threat deep in tournaments but he is making a point. There is more than one way to play this game. Every one is playing the junior game. Half of these guys should have been weaned off of the two hand backhand despite what Rick "Slick Rick" Macci says about the advantage of playing two handed.

Should the "brain trust" decide to speed up the courts just a tad...just a little incrementally, you will see that this way of playing tennis is very effective against the prototype modern player today. Roger Federer was "The Living Proof"...once he switched to slightly bigger equipment he started to resurrect this part of his game back into his repertoire.