Gerry Weber Open...Halle, Germany & Aegon Championships...London, England (ATP 500's)

[klacr]

Sorry klacr for posting over your post. I did the same thing on your post yesterday then I deleted mine and posted an hour later. I think each post deserves some "air" and I like to give everyone's post some air time. If you know what I mean.

Koslov did earn his spot in the draw via qualifying. He is making a nice and mean face for his picture to go along with his profile on the ATP website. See below link.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/stefan-kozlov/ke64/overview

Developmentally he seems to have hit a bit of a retarded streak. Retarded in the sense that he hasn't made the kind of meteoric progress that we would like to envision for him. Just playing with the word...I don't know why. He has a "nice" game and it plays well on grass. But it is a bit soft and one doesn't get the impression that the ball is exactly exploding off of the strings as it does with a number of the up and comers. He's 19 so he has some time yet but soon he is going to have to start showing some signs. I would have liked to see him as a one handed backhand player. He seems clever enough to have pulled it off.

All good don_budge. Didn't even notice the posting til later. Not your fault. Koslov earns his spots through qualies outside of the states, but at home in USA he's the king of wild cards.

Give him time as he is just 19. But many tennis folks here in states are getting tired of it.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[klacr]

Some time ago, I posted a thread of Koslov along with some clips I took of him at Wimbledon when he was 15 years old. Everyone said the same thing...great junior but no one could see him developing weapons. Maybe that is his destiny? To be great junior and nothing else.

When Chang won the French Open aged 17 everyone thought the kid was amazing. But, they said, how was he going to improve and go further? He couldn't, and didn't....improve that is. He was all done and dusted at 17--ish. Even that bigger, longer Prince racket couldn't do much for him. That's tennis for you. No one's entitled to anything based on one's younger achievements.

What is fascinating is how well Koslov can play on grass, and how well he does despite having so little power. He's clever, but as you suggest, clever ain't enough.

Chang was much faster than Koslov. That helped Chang immensely. Koslov is smooth, but not explosively quick.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

How many more years can Koslov keep getting wildcards from USTA? In the states, we have been force fed him for years. He has been given wildcards for years. He has 5 wins on tour in his career...all on grass. He has a smooth game and great tennis IQ, but that is not translating to any long term progressive development. Will be interesting where he ends up and if that game can be injected with any more power.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Some time ago, I posted a thread of Koslov along with some clips I took of him at Wimbledon when he was 15 years old. Everyone said the same thing...great junior but no one could see him developing weapons. Maybe that is his destiny? To be great junior and nothing else.

When Chang won the French Open aged 17 everyone thought the kid was amazing. But, they said, how was he going to improve and go further? He couldn't, and didn't....improve that is. He was all done and dusted at 17--ish. Even that bigger, longer Prince racket couldn't do much for him. That's tennis for you. No one's entitled to anything based on one's younger achievements.

What is fascinating is how well Koslov can play on grass, and how well he does despite having so little power. He's clever, but as you suggest, clever ain't enough.

Sorry klacr for posting over your post. I did the same thing on your post yesterday then I deleted mine and posted an hour later. I think each post deserves some "air" and I like to give everyone's post some air time. If you know what I mean.

Koslov did earn his spot in the draw via qualifying. He is making a nice and mean face for his picture to go along with his profile on the ATP website. See below link.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/stefan-kozlov/ke64/overview

Developmentally he seems to have hit a bit of a retarded streak. Retarded in the sense that he hasn't made the kind of meteoric progress that we would like to envision for him. Just playing with the word...I don't know why. He has a "nice" game and it plays well on grass. But it is a bit soft and one doesn't get the impression that the ball is exactly exploding off of the strings as it does with a number of the up and comers. He's 19 so he has some time yet but soon he is going to have to start showing some signs. I would have liked to see him as a one handed backhand player. He seems clever enough to have pulled it off.

[bottle]

See number 16 for a response to number 18 .

"I won't deal with it, can't in fact. He makes me seem like an idiot. And no one wants to seem like an idiot."

A voice from the sky: "But what if you ARE an idiot?"

[stotty]

How many more years can Koslov keep getting wildcards from USTA? In the states, we have been force fed him for years. He has been given wildcards for years. He has 5 wins on tour in his career...all on grass. He has a smooth game and great tennis IQ, but that is not translating to any long term progressive development. Will be interesting where he ends up and if that game can be injected with any more power.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Some time ago, I posted a thread of Koslov along with some clips I took of him at Wimbledon when he was 15 years old. Everyone said the same thing...great junior but no one could see him developing weapons. Maybe that is his destiny? To be great junior and nothing else.

When Chang won the French Open aged 17 everyone thought the kid was amazing. But, they said, how was he going to improve and go further? He couldn't, and didn't....improve that is. He was all done and dusted at 17--ish. Even that bigger, longer Prince racket couldn't do much for him. That's tennis for you. No one's entitled to anything based on one's younger achievements.

What is fascinating is how well Koslov can play on grass, and how well he does despite having so little power. He's clever, but as you suggest, clever ain't enough.

[don_budge]

The Russians are Coming...call Nancy Pelosi!!! The FBI!!! People are just going to lose it! When logic and proportion...have fallen sloppy dead!

I see Koslov is still underpowered comparative to most tour players. I wonder how he is going to resolve that. He hit a poor length in the games I saw and was relatively easy fodder for Cilic. I notice Koslov had changed his service motion a little. I cannot tell exactly how, I just know it's not how it was a few years ago. His first serve percentage was woeful from what I witnessed. He was still in the match at 3-3 in the second set and needed to serve well to try and find his way into a tie-break. Anything is possible once you reach a tiebreak. A bit of luck and roulette and the set can be yours...against the run of play.

I still like Koslov. His temperament is terrific. It was always going to be interesting to see how things panned out with him. Compared to Zverez and Kyrgios he's struggling. Let's see what the next two years bring.

I remember that video that you posted that brought Stefan Kozlov to our radar screen. He was playing Kyle Edmund. Even Edmund has surpassed Kozlov at this point in time. Kozlov doesn't have anything to really separate himself from the herd at this point. He beat a couple of decent players in the qualifying and a questionable victory over a possibly injured or otherwise disoriented Steve Johnson (I saw the end and it wasn't pretty). But the big thing I think that is going to hold him back is the lack of a big serve...but even his forehand isn't the big weapon that the modern game is so typical of. He doesn't even possess the grit of Kyle Edmund which is going to pay some dividends for Kyle. I saw Kozlov play Andry Rublev in the French Open qualifying a couple of years ago and it appears that Rublev has a "bigger" game than does Kozlov. Enter Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime on the Canadian front and Kozlov gets pushed further to the back of the bus.

Rublev and another Muscovite rising star Karen Khachanov take to the stage in less than an hour and this could be a real collusion, I mean a collision. The Russians seem to be making the news...or rather the fake news lately but this one is for real. Karen is only 21 and climbing the ladder...currently ranked #38 in the world. He is another competitor that seems to be getting more and more comfortable with playing the big names and not getting intimidated. Andrey Rublev sounds, looks and acts like he could be a character out of a Fyodor Dostoyevsky novel. His attitude at the French Open qualifying was a wicked blend of confidence and arrogance. It will be interesting to see how the 19 year old stands up to his senior countryman. I wonder if he will pay him any respect. No head to head on the ATP tour but they have split a pair on the Challenger circuit.

Sam Querry and Gilles Muller will tee it up in London in an hour as well. Gilles Muller is a lefty who seems to have developed a bit of a nose for the net. He has two ATP titles to his name and wouldn't you know it...both of them were this year. This is nothing short of surprising as Gilles is 34 years old. Has he also discovered some magic potion like the one that Stotty longs for in order that he might teach forever. The fountain of youth? Go ask Alice...when she's ten feet tall I guess.

Marin Cilic and "The Donald" Young meet in London where London Bridges are falling down all over the place. The clash of civilizations is the hallmark of the multi-cultural society these days. According to several news sources...mainstream and otherwise. Afterall...Marin owns Young 2-0 head to head. But "The Donald" is another guy who has doggedly been pursuing his dream and making some headway. He just can't seem to get any serious traction. It's like one step forwards then two steps back...then climb again. It's a tough road to hoe and nobody said that it is going to be easy. But Donald is stuck in my opinion in that he is still playing the junior game...as so many current ATP players are. Sure their games get bigger as they do but the foundation is still the same. Hit the first serve as hard as you can with any old motion that will do...blast away on the forehand side and play solid defense with the two hand backhand. The most boring recipe ever for tennis...in the history of the game. But Young needs to break through somehow...but the question is how is he going to do it and then the question will be how is he going to sustain it. Perhaps an all-American semifinal in London will make somebody happy. Why not Donald Trump? Yeah...why not.

Richard Gasquet and Robin Hasse in Halle...I'm going with the former "Cocaine Lips" just because Hasse robbed us of Dominic Thiem. I find myself longing for one hand backhand matches. Particularly so on the grass. Something traditional...like the Russian Orthodox Church. Perhaps to go forwards we will have to go backwards at some point.

Which brings us to Roger Federer and Florian "The Quirk" Mayer. Florian will be a crowd favorite in his homeland of Germany but Roger Federer is no small potatoes anywhere in the world and the Swiss are neighbors to the Germans. Roger will have plenty of fans...everyone loves a winner. And what a winner he is. He is tuning his pitch for the hallowed grass of Wimbledon. This tournament is just a warmup and it shouldn't surprise anyone to see him duck out early if he sees fit to catch up on some rest. That seems to be his mantra lately..."I've got to catch up on some rest". I suppose that I should cut him some slack but it's just that I am overly curious about the truth of the matter and the reality of things. But that sort of attitude can make one irrational. I better cut it out. It will be fun watching Roger dissecting the UNORTHODOX Mayer because in reality that is what he is. I love him for it though.

So that pretty much takes care of it. There's Grigor Dimitrov and Daniil Medvedev. A first time clash against another Muscovite with nothing to lose. More Russian collusion I am sure. At least the Democrats are sure. They are hacking the ATP computers! The Russians are coming! Get the women and children in the house! The dog too!. Here's hoping that Grigor's one hand backhand prevails...that's all. The Russian thing doesn't concern me. But on the other hand "Grigor Dimitrov" sounds Russian too if you ask me.

Speaking of Russians...does it never end. Another Russian transplant in Alexander Zverev (Li'l Bro) against Roberto Bautista Agut. Now this is getting ridiculous. Nobody can tell me that there are this many Russian's in the draws and there isn't something nefarious going on. Manchurian candidates all of them! Call the FBI...where's Comey when you need him! Get Muller...not Gilles you dummy...I mean Robert or whatever the hell his name is. You know...the Prosecuter! I swear these draw sheets are enough evidence to swing an election...if you know what I mean.

[bottle]

See number 16 for a response to where is it? Oh, it disappeared .

[bottle]

Your ascription of hysteria and paranoia to the left would be laughable if so many of the nuttiest Republicans (Oh yes you are) didn't constantly do the same thing-- all stupidity, projection, baiting and cliche. In the next moment, if you can take a break from slander, you're worried that Donald Trump will be assassinated. Too big a jerk. Won't happen. He's no Abraham Lincoln or JFK or even good enough to be classified with James Garfield or William McKinley. In the past, you've accused me of being "unhinged." But you and people like you (the old "ditto-heads" of Rush Limbaugh) make me feel like the Rock of Gibraltar. And you guys are unmoored. I like the word "unmoored" better than "unhinged" to describe youse guys. Persisting question for you: Has Vladimir Putin become a Man of the Cloth yet or would that be just in your view?

[klacr]

I managed to watch the last four games of Cilic v Koslov.

I see Koslov is still underpowered comparative to most tour players. I wonder how he is going to resolve that. He hit a poor length in the games I saw and was relatively easy fodder for Cilic. I notice Koslov had changed his service motion a little. I cannot tell exactly how, I just know it's not how it was a few years ago. His first serve percentage was woeful from what I witnessed. He was still in the match at 3-3 in the second set and needed to serve well to try and find his way into a tie-break. Anything is possible once you reach a tiebreak. A bit of luck and roulette and the set can be yours...against the run of play.

I still like Koslov. His temperament is terrific. It was always going to be interesting to see how things panned out with him. Compared to Zverez and Kyrgios he's struggling. Let's see what the next two years bring.

How many more years can Koslov keep getting wildcards from USTA? In the states, we have been force fed him for years. He has been given wildcards for years. He has 5 wins on tour in his career...all on grass. He has a smooth game and great tennis IQ, but that is not translating to any long term progressive development. Will be interesting where he ends up and if that game can be injected with any more power.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

I managed to watch the last four games of Cilic v Koslov.

I see Koslov is still underpowered comparative to most tour players. I wonder how he is going to resolve that. He hit a poor length in the games I saw and was relatively easy fodder for Cilic. I notice Koslov had changed his service motion a little. I cannot tell exactly how, I just know it's not how it was a few years ago. His first serve percentage was woeful from what I witnessed. He was still in the match at 3-3 in the second set and needed to serve well to try and find his way into a tie-break. Anything is possible once you reach a tiebreak. A bit of luck and roulette and the set can be yours...against the run of play.

I still like Koslov. His temperament is terrific. It was always going to be interesting to see how things panned out with him. Compared to Zverez and Kyrgios he's struggling. Let's see what the next two years bring.

[don_budge]

Set number two.

Logic and proportion fallen sloppy dead. I meant to say set number one. Mushrooms...white knights...queens...chess pieces telling me where to go. I love that song. But anyways...Roger cleared the board and served out just a tad tepidly but he moves on to play Florian "The Quirk" Mayer.

The second set was even steven until four games all when Roger turned up the heat. Zverev was sort of dictating play...at least on his serve. He never made much of a dent in Federer's. Not that Federer served all that great...the best is yet to come I am sure. But at four all Roger sort of came alive and broke Zverev and then he served it out.

It's a tournament. Roger is alive...warming up for Wimbledon.

[klacr]

klacr...your call on the upcoming match? You know...Berdych versus Shapovalov.

I was confident Berdych would take out the young gun but it was closer than it needed to be. Impressed by Shapovalov.

Berdych now must play another lefty in Feliciano Lopez. A rematch of last week's Stuttgart quarterfinal. Let's see what he's learned.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead
And the white knight is talking backwards

And the white knight is talking backwards...what a line. When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead...sort of reminds me...I can't put my finger on it. Somebody...something from the past. A blurred memory. Self induced. Thank you Lord.

Speaking of giving thanks...Roger might just cast a not to the heavens. He managed to eek out the first set tie-break against an ever improving genuine serve and volley player. Mischa Zverev. Something is missing thought. Sustainability? We'll see. He's solid with the serve and he is backing it up with ever increasingly solid volleys. If "lil' Bro" added this chapter to his book perhaps the "Next Generation" wouldn't look so bleak.

Set number two. From Federer's point of view can he begin to maintain some sort of consistent pressure on Zverev. With Zverev serving at 4-5 to stay in the set Federer pressed him into a service game that was over ten minutes long. Even though he didn't win the game he put a lot of pressure on Zverev and it all adds up in the end. Zverev was a touch shaky in the tie-break and he didn't volley with the same decisiveness. Federer capitalized.

[don_budge]

The White Knight Is Talking Backwards...

I will make a point of watching Shapovalov when I get the chance. I'm worked off my feet right now...seems every Tom, Dick and Harry wants to take up tennis. I dread picking up the phone in case I have to fit yet another student in. I really must get younger. Have they invented an get-younger pill yet?

But I hope Shapovalov is the all court player you say he is. The game needs it so badly right now.

I looked for the highlights video on youtube and strangely it isn't there. It speaks well of you that you are in such demand. They do have the youth pill only it isn't available to you and me. But ask Federer...or go ask Alice. Whichever you think will give you the pill.

White Rabbit...Jefferson Starship (1967)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WANNqr-vcx0

One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you, don't do anything at all

Go ask Alice, when she's ten feet tall

And if you go chasing rabbits, and you know you're going to fall
Tell 'em a hookah-smoking caterpillar has given you the call

And call Alice, when she was just small

When the men on the chessboard get up and tell you where to go
And you've just had some kind of mushroom, and your mind is moving low

Go ask Alice, I think she'll know

When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead
And the white knight is talking backwards
And the red queen's off with her head
Remember what the dormouse said
Feed your head, feed your head

I think I will go ask Alice...I think she'll know.

[bottle]

Only one thing is going to cure the current game of its doldrums and that would be a return to where it all began. Much as Putin is advocating in Russia.

He is? The evidence? Advocating a return to God-fearing folk in America? And to God-fearing folk in Russia? With him, Putin renouncing his private holdings and donning clerical robes?

Do you really think I'm going to let you get away with looney-tunes blather like this?

Good on the tennis though.