2020 Australian Open...ATP 2000...Melbourne, Australia

[stroke]

That last get by Novak to win the 2nd set, on a very very good dropshot by Roger, was of the highest level.

[stroke]

Thiem is about a 2 to 1 favorite over Alex. This seems a little strong to me, but the oddsmakers do not need my help ha.

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I wonder if they meet again at the FO whether Thiem can at least win a set. I realize that Nadal is the king of clay but he looks a little funny moving compared to the past.

He doesn't seem to be able to change direction as well and I wonder if that might start to happen on clay.

Thiem vs. Zverev should be interesting. Zverev looks better but he has not faced the firepower of Thiem.

I do think this may be the year for Thiem at the FO. He needed this win over Nadal at a major to get his belief where it needs to be to possibly take out Nadal at the FO. Although Nadal's legacy at the FO will not really be altered whether he ends up with 12. 13, or 14 titles.

[klacr]

Two names in the women's draw I'm following closely, well three actually. Arantxa Rus, Viktorija Golubic and Garbine Muguruza. I may explain later.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Delray Beach
SETS Consulting

Well, Muguruza is into the finals. Rather interesting if I do say so myself. Why did I pick her nearly two weeks ago? Is there something I knew beforehand? Was it just dumb luck? Not saying I'm Nostradamus but I'm certainly not a dummy. Glad to see Garbine do well. Marginal adjustments, big gains right!?

Federer was not 100%. But making no excuses as he was up in the first set and should have had it.

Here's a stat: Dkokovic's last 4 tiebreaks vs. Federer: 0 Unforced Errors
Djokovic has also won the last six tiebreaks vs Federer

How great was it to see Thiem play great, choke, recover and pull out the victory against Nadal. A herculean effort.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Delray Beach
SETS Consulting

[don_budge]

2020 Australian Open Semifinals...Roger Federer vs. Novak Djokovic

So inevitably he asked me if Roger Federer has a chance against Novak Djokovic today? This was after a little discussion about Mr. Nadal and how some athletes have been led to believe that they are somehow actually better than the rest of the human race. Which is not true. These are just men. Which was somewhat the point of the discussion of Kobe Bryant. I was just wondering if Kobe ever thought that he was "The King" of the world flying in his helicopter over the ants below on the I5 freeway. An illusion that all of the ants actually contributed to. I was thinking out loud.

But when it came to Federer's chances today I was more or less at a loss of words. You see...I want to believe that he can win. But the reality is somewhat different. So the only thing to do is to go to the oddsmakers. Because when you weigh in on the facts that tennis is a game of energy and balance I am confronted with the truth that apparently Federer has gone beyond his physical limits whereas Djokovic is licking his chops at the prospect of exacting his revenge on the man that stands between him and what he really wants. He wants to be "The King". It is a game that all of these guys who are paid the king's ransom for playing games begin to lose themselves in. The facade that they build themselves up to in their minds. They believe that they can defy gravity. "No one here gets out alive"...a quote by the late and great Jim Morrison was one of the last things I said to Gustaf yesterday.

But Roger Federer seems to have separated himself from the rest of these Spoiled King's in the sense that this wonderfully talented and gifted athlete always seems to have his feet planted squarely on the ground. I gave a lot of credit to his wife as a matter of fact. I also told Gustaf that behind every great man is a good woman. It was a very interesting conversation. His exhibit exceeded my expectations. I think he will make a great architect some day. I had him read "The Fountainhead" too.

With all of those things in mind that I was discussing with my protege and much more...Roger Federer came out swinging. It reminded me of an interview that johnyandell did with Mats Wilander once in Cincinnati. Mats made some seemingly off the wall comment that maybe the opponent of Djokovic should just launch a ball or two into the stands. I imagine to just shake things up. Well Roger surely managed to shake things up for a moment and then what happened? Gravity took over...that's what happened. I notice as I get older how the gravitational pull of the earth seems to be heavier and heavier. Roger got to that point. He got to that point when he was leading 1-4 and love-40 on the Djokovic serve. John McEnroe at that point said something about what were the odds of Federer winning the first set 6-1. Another reason why John McEnroe has fallen so far in my estimation. He cannot be taken seriously anymore.

Love-40 on the Djokovic serve and he couldn't make it happen. A bad, bad sign. They traded holds on their serves and then it was time for Roger to serve it out. What was my comment?

Federer to serve for the first set at 5-3. A very tricky point of the match and one that requires nerves of steel. Considering the opponent. Djokovic can at any point right the ship and become the human wall where everything comes back with interest. Although Federer apparently dominated this set it is not out of reach for Djokovic.

It's a telling moment. Serving out a set. When Roger is going full throttle you can almost guarantee that the money is going to be in the bank. But not in this case. The first point was a double fault. Demons...demons in the head. Roger himself talked about the demons in his post match interview with John Millman. The rest of the tie-break was just more vintage Novak Djokovic. One of the points went some 20 something strokes and it was Djokovic who was winning it. Everything Roger hit over the net came back with interest. Too...too predictable. Tie-break and set to Novak Djokovic and it was all over but the crying.

But as I said in my conversation to Gustaf, Roger has more or less separated himself from the rest. In my mind he has at least. Novak came to the microphone after the match and did his very best to be...how do you say? All of it. He tried to be Roger. Witty, charming, intelligent, humble and all of the rest. He came in second. He always will.

For Roger's part he is a person that I actually admire in many ways. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I am a fan of his. It's more than that...and less than that. I don't have that kind of adulation that the Nadal fans do for him. I respect Roger in the same quiet way that he goes about his business on the court. He is in my tennis teaching paradigm and he has never let me down in that sense either. In some ways I would even say that he is inspirational. He makes me measure my efforts against his. Am I doing my best? Truly doing my best? Or am I just pretending. I do that very same measurement with my father. Such is my admiration for him. IN fact it is a thousand fold of what I feel for Roger Federer. You see...I don't actually know Roger Federer. I have tried to get inside of his head for the past ten years or so. Covering and writing about every single match he has played. But you never know. I have met him once or twice in my dreams and he was always living up to his image. Down to earth. Feet on the ground. Win or lose. Through the years.

He came out blasting it into the stands just as Mats suggested. But in the end he ran out of empty chambers in that gun. The one he played Russian Roulette with at the 2020 Australian Open this year. He said he was very happy with his tournament. Well he should be. He's playing on experience now. The legs are long gone. By the time he got to the line to serve out the first set they were like rubber. The mind was there and knew exactly what he wanted to do. But the legs were not. It is a game of energy and balance. You cannot have one without the other. You cannot have it both ways. He shook hands like the great sport that he is and he moved on. Being Roger Federer. It is what he does.

[stroke]

Very good match Thiem vs Alex. Alex wins the 1st set outhitting Thiem. In the 2nd Thiem came back with his power clay court game and took it. Still not certain about Alex's second serve. A couple of doubles creeped in 2nd set, back to back. His 2nd serve woes seem to come somewhat clustered. Certainly Alex does not have the classic 2nd serve kicker that Thiem has.

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Beautiful 3rd set tiebreaker by Thiem to take a 2 sets to 1 lead. He is using his slice backhand very effectively in the rallies. He really has a nice one. Not as good as Roger's maybe but very good. Certainly better than Novak's or Rafael's.

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Thiem gets through it in 4th set tiebreaker with some massive forehands. It appears to me he had certainly earned it and right now certainly has the best chance of all players out there to possibly take Novak. On a side note, Alex's girlfriend is very very attractive.

[don_budge]

McEnroe is making an ass of himself with the interview. Bring back Courier.

[stroke]

Courier is just a naturally more likeable guy than Mac, but I have seen way worse than Mac with the post match interview.

[arturohernandez]

Beautiful 3rd set tiebreaker by Thiem to take a 2 sets to 1 lead. He is using his slice backhand very effectively in the rallies. He really has a nice one. Not as good as Roger's maybe but very good. Certainly better than Novak's or Rafael's.

I thought Thiem battled through nicely. Sasha really struggles to attack. He is trying but it is just not in his nature to attack.

Or...

Back to the idea of height and movement. He is out of my range of the very best players in terms of height.

Maybe Brian can comment on biomechanics and height. But it just seems that all of the little adjustments needed to hit inside the court become very difficult for tall guys. So in a way it might discourage Sasha from attacking too much.

If Delpo was coaching, I would bring him in as a forehand specialist. Zverev needs a Delpo like forehand to move to the next level. He just loops it in and is not able to attack that way either. So what is left is someone who plans on the other person missing.

Thiem will miss some but he will make you pay for just getting it in by creating a forehand.

I will make a bold prediction.

Thiem in five over Novak. He did it at the FO.

The time is now and Thiem has the Wawrinka-like game to push Novak back and make him chase balls near the KIA and 1593 signs.

[stroke]

I thought Thiem battled through nicely. Sasha really struggles to attack. He is trying but it is just not in his nature to attack.

Or...

Back to the idea of height and movement. He is out of my range of the very best players in terms of height.

Maybe Brian can comment on biomechanics and height. But it just seems that all of the little adjustments needed to hit inside the court become very difficult for tall guys. So in a way it might discourage Sasha from attacking too much.

If Delpo was coaching, I would bring him in as a forehand specialist. Zverev needs a Delpo like forehand to move to the next level. He just loops it in and is not able to attack that way either. So what is left is someone who plans on the other person missing.

Thiem will miss some but he will make you pay for just getting it in by creating a forehand.

I will make a bold prediction.

Thiem in five over Novak. He did it at the FO.

The time is now and Thiem has the Wawrinka-like game to push Novak back and make him chase balls near the KIA and 1593 signs.

Deipo an interesting comparison, about same height and movement. Alex will never have a forehand like Delpo's, which to me is one of the top 4 in tennis, maybe just behind Fed and Nadal, but Alex does have a much better backhand and Alex will get better just as Thiem has. I still think Alex's game at his best is closer to Novak's, but obviously his return of serve and movement will never be as good.

[don_budge]

The Ugly American...my best friend called from Hawaii this morning. He was watching the "Ladies" final and alerted me to as much. So we were watching it from opposite sides of the globe together catching up on life. He has had a recent bout of Bell's Palsy...a particularly nasty malady. Interesting to hear him deal with it. Here's a guy who absolutely prides himself on communication and leadership and when he first had it he sounded "mentally retarded". Ironically it was him who called me "Retardo" in front of a very nice Parisian couple that I was having the most interesting conversation with at a little sidewalk cafe. My poor friend. But he manages. That is what he does. I have never known such a character as my friend. Living large.

But the final was pretty bad tennis. Gabriella Muguruza double faulted so many times. Three times to almost hand the crown over to the American...who's name I do not know. Yeah...if you think I am critical you should get a load of "the Ugly American". He makes me look like a shrinking violet. But the tennis was pretty bad. Not good. Totally uninspiring.

[don_budge]

Sofia Kenin. The American 2020 Australian Open Ladies Champion. The #14 seed.

[stroke]

The Ugly American...my best friend called from Hawaii this morning. He was watching the "Ladies" final and alerted me to as much. So we were watching it from opposite sides of the globe together catching up on life. He has had a recent bout of Bell's Palsy...a particularly nasty malady. Interesting to hear him deal with it. Here's a guy who absolutely prides himself on communication and leadership and when he first had it he sounded "mentally retarded". Ironically it was him who called me "Retardo" in front of a very nice Parisian couple that I was having the most interesting conversation with at a little sidewalk cafe. My poor friend. But he manages. That is what he does. I have never known such a character as my friend. Living large.

But the final was pretty bad tennis. Gabriella Muguruza double faulted so many times. Three times to almost hand the crown over to the American...who's name I do not know. Yeah...if you think I am critical you should get a load of "the Ugly American". He makes me look like a shrinking violet. But the tennis was pretty bad. Not good. Totally uninspiring.

I forgot it was even on. I totally believe uninspiring. I will be up for Thiem vs Novak. I think Thiem is ready to extend him. We will see.