2019 Nitto ATP Finals...ATP 1500...London, England

[doctorhl]

Btw...it was the court not the crowd that did Novak Djokovic in tonight. The problem was he couldn't do anything to shut them down...shut them up. On a slower court he can do that. But he couldn't prevent Roger steamrolling him tonight and nothing he did quieted down the crowd. I have said it many times in the past but just to remind anyone reading...Roger on a fast court is going to have his way with Novak every single time. What is more...on a slick grass court and a wooden racquet Novak would have had a difficult time beating anyone in the top one hundred in 1981. He was very uncertain around the net and getting there was impossible. Roger used this area of the court to his advantage.

Fed demonstrated how much serve accuracy( in wide and shallow areas of service box) and a slice backhand can achieve, especially on a fast court.

[stroke]

I have noticed the shirt thing by Alex and also find it annoying. And the necklaces, but he is hardly the first offender there, but for whatever reason, he seems to have taken that to a new level of annoyance. Maybe he should just wear some kind of midriff shirt.

[don_budge]

Early on, it does not look encouraging for the potential blockbuster of Fed vs Nadal

There is only one reason that I would have liked to see more of this most obnoxious character is to watch him be humiliated by Roger Federer...again. My advice to Tsitsipas was spot on and Nadal is a snake like no other. Stepanos could not "maintain pressure on his opponent" and paid the ultimate price in a tennis match for not doing so. So here's the thing about "Señor Zorrillo" he has no class. We all saw how the crowd was such a huge factor in the Federer/Djokovic match...well it became a factor in the Tsitsipas/Nadal match as well. Not as bad because Nadal is not nearly as beloved in the tennis community as Federer. He has his followers. But very few of them are as passionately engaged with him as with Federer.

The crowd factor. Roger barely lifted a finger to bring on this amazing outpouring of support. He doesn't have to. He is the genuine article. Nadal? He's contrived. Everything his does is based on attention getting behaviour and controlling the entire performance. He goes to outlandish lengths to do so. All of it. I was watching him with his water bottles and wondered to myself what kind of moron plays with his water bottles in such a manner? Answer...the most egotistical, controlling idiot I have ever witnessed playing professional sports in all of my entire life. Nadal was begging the crowd for their support. It couldn't have been any more obvious as every time he hit a good shot he gave his best gigantic fist pump. What theatrics. He is as bad as NBA or NFL players who celebrate their highlight plays. He has ATTENTION SEEKING DEFICIT DISORDER...that is all this is. The OCD is merely a play...his own MO. All of it. Bush league as my dear old Dad would have said. As Stefanos said..."it is a talent to make your opponent play bad". Terrible talent. Roger has the proper demeanour. He is paid to hit great shots. When he does...he puts his head down as if he is only doing what he is supposed to. Not acting like it was an act of God.

I don't suppose anyone noticed that three of the four players are using the one-handed backhand in the semi's of this year ending event. I am glad that some seem to have awakened to the possibility that the speed of the courts are one of the reasons that tennis is where it is at today. But speed up the surface just a tad and look what has happened. It probably is just a coincidence. Unlikely.

So it is the senior citizen of the draw versus a player who I was drawn to early on in one semi. In the other is a truly emerging workhorse and another player who has had a bad case of deer in the headlights syndrome. Three splendid one-handed backhands. A quicker court where winning the point in under five shots is paramount. Too bad they all aren't using Maxplys, Kramers or Slazengers. Watch for Roger to toe the baseline and fire on all cylinders with the serve. If he does he roughs up young Tsitsipas. It isn't a given though. Tsitsipas is growing and evolving. Dominic Theim looks to be the tougher of the two mentally but Zverev has won this event. He might be coming out of his self induced hypnotic doldrum. But why does he lift his shirt to expose his abdomen on every single serve? That is really obnoxious.

[stroke]

Early on, it does not look encouraging for the potential blockbuster of Fed vs Nadal

[stroke]

Oddmakers now have Fed at 4/6 to win the tournament, clearly the strong favorite. Thiem is next at 3/1. Stefanos was the 3rd favorite at 9/2 before his loss to Nadal. Nadal, previously the 4th favorite, moves up a slot. These conditions favor simply the best tennis player period, and that is no doubt Fed, who has every shot in tennis like no one ever has.

[arturohernandez]

Stephanos Tsitsipas halfway home to the Trifecta at the Tour Championships as he takes the first set from Fafa Nadal 7-6. Remember about the snake...remember how Medvedev forgot to get the horse in the barn. It ain't over until the fat Lady sings. The court definitely favours Tsitsipas but I am not certain that he knows one hundred percent how to take full advantage of it. But it has run true to form as for Roger Federer. Federer won a huge majority of the points that were less than five strokes. He knows how to make that happen.

With Tsitsipas' height I would still consider his serve vastly underachieving. He should just be dominating his serve. He did end the tie-break with an ace. It isn't like it is a liability as I wrote and then deleted about EdWeiss' kid. But there is more potential in it. A vast amount. But I will bet that the coach he has in his corner has no idea what it is. Unimpressed with Monsieur whatever his name is. Very, very unimpressed.

Come on Stephanos. Bully the bully. Get in his face and send his sorry ass to the locker room. You got to be like that. I once told Nicky that...the Serbian fellow that used to post here now and again. You got to be like that.

The fat lady never sung. At least not for the next Gen, or at least not yet. When I think about Nadal vs. both Medvedev and Tsitsipas, I still have to wonder, under stress with the match on the line, does being a bit too tall (or short) hamper a player. Nadal is just quicker on his feet and even for a defensive player he ventures into the net better than his taller competitors.

Tsitsipas is on the edge of too tall. Medvedev and Zverev definitely are. They are just not mobile inside the court at their height. Tennis continues to be about who can get into the court and win a point. Roger is the testament to the fact that the rules might look different. Maybe everyone thinks you can win by playing way back. Yes, you can win but getting to the top is a whole other ballgame. And in that game tennis is not getting taller and getting into the court and attacking is still as important as it ever was. Maybe not for the day-to-day top 100 play. But as you scale up the ladder, 6-6'4" is a good range and with the right tools someone on the outer edges can get to the top.

6'1" is still the idea height for a man. Nadal showed twice that this was true. We can say it is mental but the physical becomes the mental. And physically the bull is mobile and the bulls apparent were not.

Maybe I will be proven wrong this weekend and one of the "tall" guys will win.

[don_budge]

Stephanos Tsitsipas halfway home to the Trifecta at the Tour Championships as he takes the first set from Fafa Nadal 7-6. Remember about the snake...remember how Medvedev forgot to get the horse in the barn. It ain't over until the fat Lady sings. The court definitely favours Tsitsipas but I am not certain that he knows one hundred percent how to take full advantage of it. But it has run true to form as for Roger Federer. Federer won a huge majority of the points that were less than five strokes. He knows how to make that happen.

With Tsitsipas' height I would still consider his serve vastly underachieving. He should just be dominating his serve. He did end the tie-break with an ace. It isn't like it is a liability as I wrote and then deleted about EdWeiss' kid. But there is more potential in it. A vast amount. But I will bet that the coach he has in his corner has no idea what it is. Unimpressed with Monsieur whatever his name is. Very, very unimpressed.

Come on Stephanos. Bully the bully. Get in his face and send his sorry ass to the locker room. You got to be like that. I once told Nicky that...the Serbian fellow that used to post here now and again. You got to be like that.

[arturohernandez]

I personally disagree. We have 4 Majors, 2 on hard courts with roofs at times. I do not think an indoor major would be a good thing.

Ah, but the old US Open and Wimbledon were fast and outdoors. I mean look at Agassi and Fed from 2005 or Sampras and Fed from 2001. There is no way this is the same surface they use today.

They could speed up one of the four slams. No need to make it indoors.

[arturohernandez]

I would say Roger is the favorite at this point.

Just finished watching the match. I think Djokovic was not 100%. He was missing fairly easy shots and the ability to get to the corner was diminished. I know the court is fast but Novak has played on fast courts before and hung in there much better.

He has bounced back many times before but somehow I get the feeling that this will be another dip for him due to physical problems. He has not been the same player since Wimbledon.

Nadal also looked wobbly. Medvedev kind of gave the match away.

Meanwhile, Fed looks like a spring chicken. Bouncing all over the place and dominating the match.

Roger loves to play indoors on fast surfaces. He will be hard to beat the way he is playing right now.

[stroke]

I would say Roger is the favorite at this point.

[don_budge]

Would absolutely love to see Stefanos Tsitsipas pull off the trifecta tomorrow. The surface might help Tsitsipas more than it would help Nadal. But as we saw against Daniil Medvedev you have to completely sever the head of the snake before you can count it out. Nadal is much the same. He is amazing in his focus and his approach to playing the point in front of him.

[don_budge]

Btw...it was the court not the crowd that did Novak Djokovic in tonight. The problem was he couldn't do anything to shut them down...shut them up. On a slower court he can do that. But he couldn't prevent Roger steamrolling him tonight and nothing he did quieted down the crowd. I have said it many times in the past but just to remind anyone reading...Roger on a fast court is going to have his way with Novak every single time. What is more...on a slick grass court and a wooden racquet Novak would have had a difficult time beating anyone in the top one hundred in 1981. He was very uncertain around the net and getting there was impossible. Roger used this area of the court to his advantage.

[don_budge]

Judging by the way Federer's serve is moving through the court...it is fast. Roger is serving lights out. To be continued.

Roger just rolled him. Served lights out. Roger Federer vs. Anybody is the match of the day and the crowd treated Djokovic like just anybody. The quickness of the court obviously favoured Roger and he is not known in certain circles as "The Living Proof" for nothing. Only he has the keys to the past of all the players of the present game. It isn't the same and it isn't as good as it was. Roger's rules...speaking of Michael Jordon.

[stroke]

Novak was certainly ready to be done here. The crowd though, I certainly understand the worship/adulation for Roger, but it is almost a bit disrespectful to Novak.

[stroke]

I like Roger as much as anybody, but I also like Novak. This crowd worship though is almost an unfair advantage. Another thing we will never see again.