Sunday, February 04, 2024

The Mailman Delivered: Thank you John Millman

Yes,  John "The Mailman" Millman has retired from tennis.  Of course everyone would like to retire with a title aka Pete Sampras, but life isn't always like that. It was the body that let him down in the end.  I mean it's just a fact of life the older you get,  the longer it takes to recover. It's a fact in your teens and 20s going out every weekend and having fun that gets more difficult as you get older,  even more so in professional tennis with the travelling,  the surface changes,  speed endurance of the sport grinds you down after a while.  




Millman was never one of the favoured sons of the establishment or junior hotshot like Tomic who peaked at a young age and had everything give to him.  Unlike many of his peers Millman finished school before attempting to make it on the tour.   It definitely wasn't a smooth rise up the rankings as Millman had suffered a lot of injuries especially to the shoulder,  hip,  in addition to managing an ongoing back condition.   For further information about the early days and emerging career please check an older interview I did with the Mailman  John Millman Interview


It could be argued that Tennis Australia did treat Millman's career as an afterthought.  Online there was a big backlash about Millman not getting a wildcard to the main draw of the Australian Open.   This sentiment was shared with the numerous people of different and diverse backgrounds that I spoke with at the venue.   Yes,  that was universally a poor decision,  though at the same time it was very strange he never got a wildcard to Brisbane,  considering how much he promotes the city,  it was his last event and all of that.

Millman was top 40 in the world,  played Davis Cup,  represented Australia at the Olympics and achieved the rare feat of winning 6-0 6-0 at the Tokyo Olympics,  defeated Roger Federer at the US Open and probably should have done it as well at the Aus Open.   You know the Spanish and French federations would make sure their well established veterans would get a main draw wildcard to their final event.


Connection

I had first come across Millman at the Burnie Challenger many years ago.  Yes,  kids it's fun watching Challengers and qualies at Slams,   especially when you see how they develop their careers.   Even the current big guys played at that level once.

This sums up Millman in many ways. In the words of former Spanish player and former TA coach Felix Mantilla.  " When you play like me that you must be running all the day, I don't have the serve of Sampras or the volley of Rafter or the talent of Agassi, you know. I must be very focus every point. I must be strong mentally",  To adapt that for modern times it would be the serve of Isner,  the return of Djokovic or the talent of Federer.

As Millman did not have the natural talents of Federer,  Kyrgios and other players,  he made up for it with work ethic, fighting spirit and doing everything possible to maximise his talents.  Just like our new Aussie Open Jannik Sinner,   Millman was raised by outstanding parents who can be proud of the man he has become.   A great competitor,  resilient after all the injury comebacks,  an outstanding sportsman who has the respect of fans and peers.

Best Wins

Court 3 at Melbourne Park is easily the best show court at the venue and it's not close.  This is where Millman won his first ever 5 set match against the Luxembourg serving machine Gilles Muller.   The fact Millman was hititng with Wayne Arthurs a leftie who could hit a 100 serves off the same balltoss helped him a lot.




Millman was returning well and showing a lot of positive body language.  Millman is stepping into the court getting the balance right between attack and defence. The crowd are loving it and spurring him on. There was the chant “I believe, I believe, I believe he will win” and the Mailman delivered a great victory in the end.  That was the match that put him over with the crowd and developed a connection with them which became Millmania,  as he is relatable and accessible to the average punter . It was the court that he became familiar with and fitting he played his last match there.

                                                The taste of victory


I was very happy that Millman managed to win an ATP title before retirement,  especially after what happened in Budapest.   On the clay Millman had made his first ATP final and potentially was going to play against Seppi in the final.   This was averted by a certain Italian lucky loser Marco Cecchinato who ended up winning the title and beating Djokovic at Roland Garros.

Luckily Millman was able to get another opportunity to win a final in Kazakhstan against Mannarino and was able to do so.  If there was ever an individual to deserve an ATP title it was Millman.

                          Millman winning the title


In terms of ranking the Mailman delivering the feat of beating Roger Federer at the US Open would classify as his biggest win.  I was at work unable to watch the match but following on the scoreboard.   In the final set tiebreaker decided to take an unscheduled break and watch the buster with shit reception.  I was waiting for the confirmation that he had actually won the match, such a great moment.  Of course everyone in the local media wanted to know about John Millman and the parents got bombarded with media requests.    Yes,  the 15 minutes of fame thing.




Yes,  I still hate the 5th set tiebreaker and Millman had 8-4 against Federer to win in Melbourne Park.  It was the classic playing the situation and not point by point and sadly lost the match.   Tennis is such a brual sport,  there are some days you play well and lose,   others you play like a donkey and win.

Closing Time

Millman after he lost in qualies was working for the local commentary and also on a tennis podcast during the Open.  Yes,  he was outstanding in those roles and hope he comes back next year to do them.  Doesn't talk too much during commentary and adding information at the right time.

Now the new chapter begins back in his beloved Brisbane.   Hanging out with the friends, partner,  pets,  watching Liverpool FC and going down the academic route.   You just know that he will do well in whatever direction life takes him.   From the Burnie Challenger,  the injuries,  the comebacks and the other stuff it was an honour to follow his career.

It's not always about the titles and the money.   There are only so few places at the top of the tennis tree.   After some time to reflect, the question for the athlete is did they give themselves the best opportunity to maximise their abilities

On that note the Mailman definitely delivered.

Sunday, January 28, 2024

The Prince who became the King: Jannik Sinner welcome to the club

Long time readers of this rather idiosyncratic blog know that the great man Andreas Seppi is known as the King of South Tyrol and  Sinner is the Prince.  Now the coronation has been complete with Jannik Sinner winning the Australian Open and doing it from 2 sets to 0 down in first Slam final joining the likes of Gaston Gaudio to do it.   The first Italian man to win a Slam since Adrian Panatta.

It was not a question of if but when, in relation to Sinner winning major titles.  Sinner has a great temperament and excellent work ethic always willing to build and add new things to his game.   He was easily the best player in event, but that counts for nothing unless you get it done in the final.






You don't start building a house with the roof.   The foundations are so important and the fact Sinner played football in addition to being an outstanding skier has helped his tennis so much.  Leaving his home region to work with Ricardo Piatti in the development years,  the original coach in South Tyrol to the current crew of Vagnozzi and Cahill.

Sinner has brilliant balance, the core strength and the ability to hit huge off both sides makes it harder to get him on the defensive.   As well as tinkering with the serve,  he has added some more muscle and improved his defensive skills.




The fact that Sinner beat Mr Australian Open Djokovic in the semis had many people thinking he would just waltz in the final just needing to turn up and defeat the quirky Danil Medvedev.   The gangly Russian who did well to make the final after coming back from 2 sets down twice to win matches and another 5 setter with Hurkacz.   Medvedev was on fire the first 2 sets being ultra aggressive serving well,  returning from close to the baseline and not making errors.

Sinner did not panic,  he started to improve his first serve percentage which helped him get more free points and gave him opportunities to step into the court and dominate with his groundstrokes.  Medvedev could not keep that level up and Sinner breaking at 5-4 to take the 3rd set changed the momentum.

It was obvious the cumulative fatigue was catching up with Medvedev and naturally in pressure situations players tend to revert to type.   The Russian became more defensive,  though Sinner was hitting with more pace,  penetration and depth.   

Sinner's definitely got the South Tyrolean temperament where he is less volatile than say Fognini and other Italians.   He was able to turn around the match and as he was so much fresher than Medvedev who was clearly gassed in the 4th set,  but still got to be good enough to execute the plan.   The thing that was impressive with Sinner besides coming back from 2 sets down was that he played the match instead of the situation.   What I mean is "hey,  I am in the 5th set and close to winning my first major title"   that's the situation and he played point by point to deservedly win the title.









Personally I am very happy for Sinner as he is a good guy, as well as an outstanding player.  He gave a shout out to his parents and it's obvious that he was raised by good people.  Always respectful,  humble,  dry sense of humour and it's great that he didn't have those parents who are trying to live their dreams through their kid.

It's fantastic to see Italian tennis on the rise.   They have a lot of players,  plenty of places to play tennis,  very passionate and knowledgeable fans.   Italian challenger events get excellent crowds as well as the major events.   



The fact the great man Andreas Seppi from the tennis hotbed of South Tyrol had a very successful career definitely helped inspire Sinner in the early days.   Now the transition from Crown Prince to King is now complete.

Monday, January 22, 2024

The final round up, time to leave the circus

Yes,  this is the end of my Australian Open reports as one most of my players are knocked out and two I have to impersonate an employee this week,  as I can't live off my looks.

It has definitely been a different tournament,  the on court action on the men's side for the most part has been excellent.    There have been a lot of 5 set matches, the majority of them have been enjoyable and not a shit show,  though the shit shows can be entertaining in their own way.

The organisers in their wisdom thought the Sunday start would be a great idea in the guise of reducing the late night finishes,  yes maybe on Rod Laver but as to be expected this was not the case and there were plenty of late finishes.    The fact there was 81 000 on the Sunday with a shit order of play will mean the organisers will do it again as it will bring in more money irrespective of the client experience.

The Good

The Carota Boys coming to Australia for those who don't know they are the Jannik "The Prince"  Sinner cheer squad.  Yes,  Jannik was eating a carrot at a change of ends and then a group of Italian lads wear carrot suits and cheer him on.   Too bad they had to go back to Italy,  but they were cool cats and yes I'd like Sinner to win the event to end the Djokovic reign of terror.



Djokovic embracing the heel role,  when that heckler was giving it to him and asking him to say stuff to his face.   The thing these jabronis don't understand is the more you needle Djokovic the more he likes it.   Yes,  he is one of the greatest ever to play the game and if you don't think that,  then grow grass on a highway.  Indifference or silence would annoy him more and when Mannarino more on him later finally got on the board,  there was some sarcastic cheering from Djokovic.





Adrian Mannarino what a guy,  he's a different cat and dances to his own tune.  I mean if you saw the guy just walking around you would not think he is a professional athlete.   He could hardly win finals and now after 34 he has won more title.   His secret is tequila,  that and an unusual gamestyle which works against these forehand factory bots.    Mannarino is one of those guys who have to watch live and see how impressive he actually is,  moves the ball around very well absorbs pace and creates angles.  The match against Shelton was definitely brains triumphing over brawn.



Cameron Norrie lost a very tough 5 setter against the very likeable Sascha Zverev.   He has never got close before,  but this tournament he has been a lot more aggressive and willing to take the game to the opponents.   As he is one of the fittest men on tour,  he was able to win by a war of attrition.   That can only take you so far.   

Last round win over Casper Ruud was an example of that.   The Norwegian had a lot of chances,  but he saved the break point by using his serve to open up the court especially on the backhand side.  Once he was doing that and seeing the floating returns,  he snuck into the net and put away a lot of volleys.   Against Zverev,  he used a lot of drop shots as the big German loves to be 3m behind the baseline hitting forehands.   Zverev was just too good in the buster.

Other stuff

Jakub Menšík has a big future as long as he stays injury free.   He and Zeppieri should finish the year inside the top 100.

Marinko Matosevic is doing an excellent job as a coach with Chris O'Connell and Jordan Thompson.  Of course it helps being injury free,  but they have finished the last few years inside the top 100.   At the end of the day,  the player has to look at themselves and ask have they maximised their ability.   Too bad Thompson doesn't know the meaning of the word woke.

Yes,   John Millman should have got a wildcard to the main draw instead of McCabe,  but he has been doing an excellent job at commentary and yes there will be a tribute about him.

There are a lot more French fans these days and it's a good thing as they provide a fun atmosphere.  Also there are so many Italian players these days as well.

Court 6 is the equivalent of the party hole in golf.   Building a bar next to a tennis court,  not the greatest idea.   The reasoning behind it is,  to get more fan involvement and other buzzwords.   The thing with tennis being played in a quiet environment,  especially at the elite level they rely a lot on sound coming off their racquet and opponents. The Russian player Pavlyuchenkova was getting meow chants from the gronks in the crowd.  Many people are there to be seen and not give a crap about the tennis.

As you get older certain things change. I mean I am not interested in the same women at 18 as I am at 45.  Progress is good, but like anything there are negatives as well as positives.  The fact the event in many ways become uncomfortable for regular punters,  taking a very long time to get into match courts,  congestion and bigger is not always better.

But on a positive note it is always good to run into people I have not seen in a long time.   Watching matches,  shooting the shit,  people watching and all that good stuff.

So thank you Andrew,  Andre,  Sean,  Peta,  Kristen,   Lance,  Owen,  Tim and Lizia and running to Blaz Kavcic again.

Yes,  I maybe grumpy at times,  but I will be back again next year.

Thursday, January 18, 2024

A Day For All Seasons : Round 2

Well today had a bit of everything. There was sun, wind, rain and a variation of this theme until mid afternoon, where there was more on and off that a teenage romance. That's the lot of a tennis player and have to adjust to these things.

Norrie vs. Zeppieri

These were difficult conditions all round.   The young Italian started well with some excellent serving and using his forehand to take advantage of a sluggish start from Kiwi Norrie who has been struggling with some wrist issues.   Two things about Norrie are one that he is ridiculously fit and two that he is a player you have to beat.

Zeppo was playing at a very high level for the first 2 sets and then the delays did impact the momentum of the Italian.  He was not able to dominate as he had previously and Norrie got an early break in the 3rd set.  Once he was able to do that,  Zeppo was unable to find Norrie's backhand often enough to exploit that weaker side.  Norrie,  it depends on who you talk to is either a weaponless pusher,  the solid tradesman who will do an excellent job or someone who has maximised his potential.

Norrie was able to use his greater experience to turn the match around.   He improved his serve with excellent placement to keep Zeppo off balance and frustrated with his own inability to dominate as before.   The Kiwi Brit was just too solid and used his greater experience.




Zeppieri had a good tournament qualifying and winning a match in main draw.   He will learn a lot from this defeat and what it takes to make it as this level.

Davidovich Fokina vs.  Borges

This was an awful performance from Foki.  He was unhappy with his form in the last round thinking he was playing shit.   Tennis is brutal sport,  but at the same time you only have to be better on the day and it's not like ski jumping where you get style points for winning.

Foki up an early break,  then plays a dumb game to get broken back.  In the first set TB he was leading as well but couldn't close out.   Then after that Borges was solid,  absolutely nothing spectacular but effective.

It was difficult to see what was going on out there,  Either there was complacency,  grumpiness and it was a very flat performance.   It's something that Foki needs to achieve the emotional balance,  he's not someone who is going to be an Easter Island moai on court,  but being a raving lunatic does not help here.  Very disappointing result but he did not deserve any better.


Roundup

The run of Hugo Grenier ended in a 4 set loss to Felix Auger-Aliassime.  This was a never in doubt result but happy Grenier got a set and kept the crowd entertained.  This match showed the difference between an elite ATP tour player and a challenger player.   Let's hope the great man Stephane Robert can the best out of Grenier.

As per previous blog Fernando Vicente's summary of Eubanks game was pretty funny and blunt.   The scouting mission worked as Rublev was reading Eubanks serve easily and returning with a lot of interest.  Rublo is no tennis Einstein but he played very well and Eubanks was in no danger of breaking any strings.


My countryman Casper Ruud won a very tough match against Max Purcell in a 5th set tiebreaker.  Purcell is a man who dances to his own tune and the tennis world really needs that.   Yes,  there's the curly mullet,  the moustache,  the junk and the serve volley game which makes a welcome change to the forehand factories that are producing tennis players.  A match like that could do wonders for Ruud and for Purcell if the lessons are learned,


Too bad for the young lad Jakub Menšík who went down in a 5 setter to Hurkacz.  I though the youngster would win,  but a bit of extra experience and fitness got Hubi over the line.  Next year he won't have to worry about qualies barring injuries.

Around the grounds seen the greatest Tasmanian player of the modern times,   Rossignol racquet user and afro Richard Fromberg.  He is just doing the private coaching these days and yes if this blog was around during his days, there'd be a lot of Frommy propaganda.


The great man and Dexter lookalike Blaž Kavčič was also spotted,  he's coaching on the WTA tour these days.   It's definitely a different world for sure.

Today you'd have great value for money with the long matches.  It's 3.15am and Bullshit Russian Medvedev and Emil Ruusuvori into a 5th set.   Huge respect to the fans who have stayed there to the end.



Monday, January 15, 2024

2024 Australian Open : The circus has come to town

Yes,  it has been a while since I have done one of these,  but thankfully there are a couple of people who wanted to read my nonsense related to the event and thank you for that.


Before we get to the matches today,  there are few things that I will point and address now.   Two of my personal favourites as players and as people John Millman and Pablo Cuevas have retired,  they will each get an individual write up after the tournament is over for me.


The organisation have decided to start the event on a Sunday now.  Of course it's a clear money grab,  though there have been some interesting findings of the local government giving the organisation a massive loan that didn't need to repay.   The reasoning behind it was to prevent late finishes and player welfare,  sure you may prevent it on the main courts,  though it won't change on the outside courts.  The fact they had 87K on Sunday means it is here to say,  but an absolute awful customer experience.  There were way too many people for the matches provided and almost impossible to get into courts,  including matches that would normally get their coaches and friends there.


As evidenced on Day 1 with the great man Chris O'Connell defeating Cristian Garin in 5 sets with a great atmosphere and also Diego Galan beating Jason Kubler in 5 sets in 4 hours and 59 minutes.  The Colombian fans are awesome,  always provide a lively atmosphere and the Colombian players are so appreciative,  especially the recently retired Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.


Another addition next to Court 6 is a bar,  not sure how this is going to work.  Seems like they are trying to take from the party hole idea from LIV golf.  Can imagine some drunk gronks annoying some players,  this could be entertaining in its own way.


Now onto the tennis for the day and there was definitely a lot of variety and drama.


Shelton vs.  Bautista Agut


This match was the classic contrast in styles.   Shelton huge serve,  creativity and a lot of energy vs.  Bautista Agut who is the ultimate professional and plays to well rehearsed patterns.   Both guys are in different parts of their careers,   Shelton is in the early part of his career and RBA in the latter part after a difficult year with injuries and looking to restablish himself on tour.


Bautista Agut is a guy who have play well to beat,  but there comes a time in all players careers where they lose that little step.  This impacts in so many ways, especially if they are not a player who is serve reliant. If they are not as fast, then they won't be able to get into position to maximise their groundstrokes,  will lack depth and get punished by opponents.  The jury is out whether he has reached that stage.


Shelton started off a bit nervously,  but the difference in this match was Shelton's serve.  Bautista Agut had lots of break points and the conversion rate was poor,  though this was due to Shelton saving break points through his own play more so than blown opportunities by RBA,   Shelton loves the big stage and the tennis tour needs more characters.


Davidovich Fokina vs.  Lestienne


Foki does have a reasonable draw this time around and has to take advantage.   He is on the cusp of a big result in a Slam,  then again he could the guy who will provide the great moments but riddled with inconsistency.  Then that's part of the charm,  if I wanted to watch a robot then I'd watch Milos Raonic.


Just outside the court where was a mouse that had been walked on.   Not a huge fan of mice,  but even this one needed to be put out of its misery.


The result was never in doubt.   It was humid today and Foki did have the trainer out early in the 2nd set to check his blood pressure.  After the break,   Foki was able to settle enough to win in 3 sets,  though in his words he was playing shit.  Some days you play shit and win, then vice versa.  Only need to be good enough on the day.


Foki Forehand


Daniel vs.  Eubanks


The great man Taro Daniel who made the Auckland final last week and career high ranking against the very well spoken and big serving American Eubanks.  This was another contrast of styles.


Backing up from doing well the week before the Aus Open is never easy.  The match up on this surface was not good for Daniel,  especially as Eubanks was serving from tree, he did not lose his first point on serve until the 2nd set.


Both guys were holding serve comfortably until Daniel lost the 10th game and the set 6-4.  The warm conditions were helping Eubanks as he was hardly missing first serves and consistently in the 220km/h range.   As he was holding so easily,  he was able to more aggressive on Daniel's service games and after the American took the 1st set,  the momentum express was not stopping.


At one point the great man Fernando Vicente the coach of Andrey Rublev was there too look at the opponents.  His commentary was hilarious about how Eubanks would never break as he doesn't use them a lot in the rallies.   


Daniel was under pressure the whole time and was unable to have long extended rallies as Eubanks was teeing off on the groundstrokes, yes including some backhand winners among the ones that bounced into the next twice.

Daniel was getting visibly pissed off or frustrated depending on your take and unloaded on the coach for not giving him any energy and the like.   In this case it's a question of a bad match up on this surface,  with a huge server got to be able to block returns and create some variety to throw them off their rhythm,  but Daniel doesn't have that in his game.   Eubanks was just too good.


Grenier vs.  Muller


Matches between countrymen always carry a different dynamic and this one was no different.   Grenier now coached by the great man Stephane Robert who qualified for main draw.  His former coach Lisnard is now coaching Muller,  so that had the extra edge.


It's really hard to do this match justice.  Was it the highest quality,  well I would not say that but it was damn entertaining and a clash of styles.   Muller does not have weapons,  just a very consistent player where Grenier has a decent serve and is willing to go for his shots.


Muller was up a set and a break,  then Grenier managed to steal the 2nd set.  Muller's level did not vary too much,  whereas Grenier who is up and down having some issues and goes down 2 sets to 1.  Towards the end of the 4th set Grenier started cramping badly,  could hardly walk and was on the pickle juice.  


Grenier serving big and just slapping the ball was able to break back and Muller did not know how to play in this situation.   Muller had an early break in the 5th set,  but Grenier still cramping and fighting hard was able to get it done in the final set tiebreaker.   As much as I hate final set tiebreakers,  the champions tie break is the least worse option.


The Rest


Tough day for Chilean fans both Jarry and Tabilo losing in 5 sets.   Jarry with his massive serve losing from *5-3 up in the 5th was a surprise.


Young Czech lad Jakub Mensik continues on his winning ways against the formerly overrated Canadian Denis Shapovalov.   Mensik just gets it and for a young lad understands the game very well.   He was impressive in qualies and it's not a surprise that he beat Shapo who is clearly underdone,  but even then the best way to describe the Canadian is all sizzle and no steak.


Jakub Mensik


Big shout out to the agent Corrado who manages both Foki and Struff.   Foki was the second match of the day and at the Struff match which went past midnight.  Struff defeated Hijikata in a champions tiebreak,  he has not done well in Australia as of late.  I think Casper Ruud is happy that Struff isn't in his section of the draw.


On that note,  the circus never stops.

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Andreas Seppi : Last drinks

The day has come when the King of South Tyrol, Kaltern’s finest, Seppio or otherwise known as Andreas Seppi exits the tennis circus.

It won’t be easy to write this, but got to embrace the challenges. We all have an expiration date and are replaceable. The machine keeps going, that is the same for sport and life. It’s funny when you arseclown gamblers telling players to retire, cause they lost a bet or aren’t as good as they were. Players know when it’s time to finish, plus if you watch closely enough you can see the signs.

Young Andy

Seppi has been very durable only Feli Lopez and Verdasco had played at more consecutive Grand Slam events. This year when I watched him live in Melbourne, he looked a step slower which is natural in your late 30s though he still looks youthful. As tennis keeps evolving, being a step slower especially without a major weapons, not getting to the ball which means the weaker shots get hammered and more on the defensive. For sure there are still good days but the base level isn’t there. With the Kaltern’s finest getting more injuries and more difficulty playing, it makes sense for him to retire at this time.


As for the Italian federation they have treated Seppi’s career is an afterthought. Then with the farce in Napoli it’s good that he didn’t play there. The fact the federation refused Seppi a wildcard at Florence and Napoli as a way to say goodbye to the Italian fans is disgraceful. He was a top 20 player, played Davis Cup, the Olympics, was the Italian number 1 for a while and huge inspiration for fellow South Tyrolean the Prince Jannik Sinner. There are plenty of young Italian players who won’t struggle to get into events.
King and the Prince

Sure it’s a Challenger but thankfully Seppi finished in Urtijëi which is the name of the town in the dominant local Ladin , St. Ulrich in Gröden or as it’s known on the ATP in Ortisei. Yes, for those who don’t know there are 3 languages in South Tyrol German, Italian and Ladin plus many speak English well. It’s fitting he is retiring in the province, it’s where he’s from, where he met his wife. The families will be there and friends as well, he deserves a good send off.


There are many reasons why people gravitate to certain players. Some it’s the visual, some it’s the game, the attitude, then there are absolute random reasons. As for Seppi, he’s from a region which is known for their winter sports and Reinhold Messner, it was unusual that Seppi took this path but a good thing. Super coach Jack Reader who was living in Italy at time was the first person Seppi hit with, then not long after he met Max Sartori who was his only coach during his career which is admirable.


Seppi was the epitome of professional, totally maximised his ability as a tennis player which is all you can ask. Well respected by his peers, even the controversial cats like Kyrgios appreciate him, as an excellent competitor, and not one with histrionics nor bending the rules. If I had a junior, I’d tell them to watch how Seppi competes and learn from that.


2012 was the golden year for Seppi where he won 2 titles and made 2 finals, sure it would have been great if he had won more titles or made a quarter final at a Slam where he had numerous 4th round exits, but we can’t have everything. Slams are not won because you are a good person.

Staying Cool


Before his peak season Seppi’s improvement was a gradual process, as the game has become more physical and speed endurance is key the majority of players are having later breakthroughs. Seppi did not play that many Challengers earlier in the year, as his coach Max Sartori wanted him to play better players, so once the ranking was high enough he’d play qualifiers at the ATP that was they went. It definitely helped when it came to be competing and helped improvement as it should when playing a higher standard.

Seppi’s first final was in Gstaad and it came out of nowhere as he was in poor form before the tournament and ranked outside of the top 100. He won 2 3rd set tiebreakers to make main draw and managed to get through and was leading 5-3 in the 3rd set before losing 7-5. Only I could support players that lose a lead against Paul-Henri Mathieu haha. Seppi said, “Maybe I was too nervous as it was very unexpected. It was tough to lose 7-5 in the 3rd but it was a good week as I made it back to the top 100”. Then when he won Eastbourne in 2001 it was on a retirement while leading in the 3rd set against Tipsarevic.




Best Wins

The two most memorable matches for King of South Tyrol were both against Swiss players for very different reasons. In 2012 the against Wawrinka in Rome, one thing that is known in the tennis world is that the Italian crowds are very passionate, like to get involved and if they like you then it’s a lot of warmth, if they don’t like you then they’ll get on your case ask Ivan Lendl and Steffi Graf.


Wawrinka was the higher ranked player but Seppi urged on by the Roman crowd who created a great atmosphere like it was Davis Cup, managed to save 6 match points and win the match. Seppi was a player who generally had to beat and wouldn’t just give you matches. The last set tiebreaker is on Youtube and definitely worth watching.



Federer


Seppi had a poor record against Federer like many players. Tennis is about match ups and this one did not favour Seppi. However there was this glorious day in Melbourne where Seppi was the master. There are those rare days where everything just goes well.


From the man himself, “Of course it was the best win of my career for sure. I think beating him in a Grand Slam is very difficult you know. In the last 10 years he was always in the quarters and semis, so beating him was something special for sure.


I’d have to say this was a match where I was very calm and in the important moments I didn’t get very nervous. It’s hard to find that feeling again as I don’t know how it happened. I was feeling very calm and never had that feeling before on the court, so it was a strange situation and that’s how I could beat him”.




Yes, Seppi beat Nadal, Federer and took Djokovic to 5 sets at Roland Garros. Tennis is a bit like wrestling in the way that there are only limited spots at the top of the tree, though some would say wrestling is more believable. At the same time it takes all kinds of players and the sport needs variety especially in these times of uniformity.


Seppi was almost on the tour for 20 years, achieved a lot, maximised his potential, the ultimate professional, one that the Prince Jannik Sinner looked up to and hopefully Seppi will coach Sinner in the future. We are all replaceable and it’s important to know when to go. One great chapter has closed and the new one is beginning. Seppi can spend more time with his wife, 2 kids Liv and Hugo who will grow up in a multilingual environment and there are worse places to be than Boulder and Val Gardena.




It has been a pleasure following your career, yes the wins and losses, but it was never about the results. Andreas Seppi wins at life, that’s all you need to know.

Danke King of South Tyrol

Saturday, September 24, 2022

Roger Federer : Time's Up

This is a rare entry these days, though to be fair Roger Federer is a very rare kind of individual. Finally Federer has retired from tennis, sure he has hardly played for the last few years to injury. Can understand people who believe that the end should have come at his hometown event in Basel where he was a ballboy and is also a big FC Basel fan. Then, who are people to begrudge Federer the manner of how he wanted to finish his career. The achievements and palatitudes from his peers, journalists and most others involved in tennis speak for themselves and there really isn't anything new to add in relation to this.

Time stands still for no person and Federer is no different. We as individuals are a product of our time, which leads to why GOAT debates are irrelevant pissing contests. These have an inevitability of my grandad is bigger than your grandad. Tennis has changed so much it's not funny, not just the equipment, the sports science is a lot better and the surface homogenisation which has impacted on the game to the point of devaluing certain achievements.

There was a time when a career Grand Slam was rare. The grass was so fast and low bouncing, then the different hardcourts and the clay challenges. Federer in 2012 himself said "Anyway, every surface is very similar today, otherwise we couldn't have achieved all these things on all these different surfaces so quickly, like him and myself". He was referring to Nadal there and this definitely includes Djokovic as well. The biggest challenge these days is the movement, not having to adapt their games which leads back to the product of their time.

One of the understated reasons for Federer's appeal was that he started as the talented prodigy in 1998 where he was playing a very attacking game, serve and volley, and being aggressive. At the time tennis on fast surfaces was almost unwatchable, just servefests and the authorities decided to slow down the faster surfaces and use a lighter ball on clay. It made tennis more predictable and took away a lot of the different adaptable skills required to the one size fits all approach.

Early Days

Federer was definitely a prodigy and you could see the ability there, but the question was whether he could harness it and the volatile temperament which would surface now and then as a pro. After the death of his first coach Peter Carter in a car accident, the next appointment was Swede Peter Lundgren which was perfect for Federer at that stage.

Federer and Peter Carter

Lundgren was a very talented player who enjoyed the nightlife in the playing days, but is an outstanding coach. He took the very gifted Marcelo Rios to the top 10, while Federer and Rios were amazing talents temperamentally they could not be any different. Lundgren allowed Federer to develop his game to the changing environment and did not restrain the creativity. It was like the cool older brother and definitely the right fit for Federer.

The Marseille 2000 final was an all Swiss final with Geneva's finest Marc Rosset and Federer. Rogi after he lost the final was in tears. 'It wasn't a pleasant feeling', Rosset recognised. 'I was sad when I beat him in Marseille. I lifted my arms up on the sky after the win but then I looked on the other side of the net and I got heartbroken because I saw he was crying.


Marc Rosset and Federer

It seemed like the end of the world for him. I tried to calm him down telling him that he would have played other finals, but at the same time I understood his reaction because it was his first ATP Final.' Asked if he expected Federer to win so much during his career, Rosset replied: 'Nope. Did I think Federer would be a fantastic player, definitely. Like Rosset, I did not expect him to win that much.

In 2003 it started to come together with his first Wimbledon title and the Masters at the end of the year. The new chapter began when Federer and Lundgren had split out of nowhere, there are some interesting theories around this. Lundgren had given him the tools to succeed and his job was done. Federer went coachless for a few years, many thought he wouldn't be able to succeed without a coach but that was blown out of the water with those dominant years.
Federer and Peter Lundgren



New Challenges

Nadal came along and was able to break down the Federer backhand with his huge and heavy forehand. This presented another challenge for Federer, then a skinny Serbian kid with a lot of ambition and very humourous Scottish lad with big hair. Was it the Big 4 or Fab 4, who knows? Two very important things they all offered different challenges to Federer who was forced to improve because of the other 3 and vice versa taking the game the next level.

Lucky tennis isn't ski jumping as Federer would have won the most style points and the aesthetics with the throwback to a bygone area of tennis was a definite appeal. Federer is one of those athletes who bought people into tennis, the casuals know the name and tickets to his matches were always the hottest around.

When I saw the young lad with the Samurai ponytail did I ever think he would be one of the greatest players ever, absolutely not. Is he the GOAT who knows and who cares. The fact it was a privilege to watch the uber talented young hothead with the aggressive game and his career evolution whose legacy will live on in the tennis world for multiple generations.

Friday, April 15, 2022

Closing Time : Thank you Blaž Kavčič

Today one of my favourite players Blaž Kavčič announced his retirement from tennis. This is was not a surprise as he has been struggling with different injuries over the last few years. As the game has advanced it was getting more difficult for Kavčič to come back and continue to be competitive at the level that he expects. Yes, you see many people online wishing for players to retire, especially when they lose a bet but the reality is the players themselves know when it’s time to pull the pin.

This will not be an easy entry to write and I will do my best to do it justice. Full disclosure you could say I was the lead member of the Norwegian/Australian Kavčič Appreciation Society, then the niche following I have already known this. So, how did this come about? I had seen some results on the Challenger circuit and remember kids Challengers are fun to watch and follow, especially when you see someone come through and do well on the main tour.



Slovenia is not known for its tennis players, sure it has fantastic skiers, ski jumpers, kayakers, basketball and other sports. Back in the day I’m talking around 2008 there were tennis livestreams but the quality wasn’t great. Yes, it’s good to watch tennis via electronic devices but it’s much better live as you get a different feel of the sport, the strokes, movement, patterns and the subtleties. The year was 2009 at the Aus Open qualies where I seen this Dexter lookalike beat Bozoljac easily and I took notice. Then in the next round he lost to the quirky German Florian Mayer after a tough first set, he had no clue as Mayer junked him around with the slices and the funk finishing it off with the donkey kick dropshot.

Australian Open


In that year there was the very prestigious Burnie Challenger in northwest Tasmania. Another great thing about the challenger circuit is the events are smaller, less spectators but they tend to be knowledgeable and also greater accessibility to the players. I was at the event and watched Kavčič beat Ebden, then after speaking with him for a bit I was sold.

From there I was following his career seeing how far he could progress and always going to watch his matches at the Australian Open. 2010 he qualified for the AO and just finished the year inside the top 100 but missed direct entry to 2011 event where he ended up qualifying. The main draw had a couple of interesting moments. He played Kevin Anderson in the 1st round, the match is at 1 set all and one of the stranger things happened. Kavčič ripped his shoes and didn't have any extra, so he looks at Adrian Voinea his coach and says "give me the shoes". Voinea gives them to him and watches the rest of match in his socks. That’s something I have not seen before and not seen since. Kavčič led 2 sets to 1, then was down a double break in the 4th. Once he got used to the new shoes, he took it to a breaker and won in 4.


Voinea and Blaž


The next match was against Youzhny who was in the top 10 at the time. The Colonel won the first 2 sets, then Kavčič comes to back the next 2 sets. When Kavčič was down he played aggressive when he was in front he went into his shell. Youzhny screaming “I can’t make a fucking ball cross court”. The turning point in this match was at 2-1* Kavčič serving. He was struggling very hard, mostly because Kavčič couldn’t make enough first serves and relying on his very weak 2nd delivery. The game went for over 10+ minutes. At Kavčič’s game point, there was a slow ball hit and Kavčič doesn’t play it because it’s out. I didn’t see it at the time, but saw it later and he was right. There was no overrule from Pascal Maria and Kavčič was going crazy at the lack of overrule. This impacted on him and the Colonel was able to break serve and the extra experience and class carried him to victory in this match. Pascal "the Peacock" Maria came up to me after the match and asked me if I knew where Voinea was. I said I didn't know at all, he wasn't happy at all with the spray Kavčič gave him at the end of the match and during the bad call.

The most famous Kavčič match at the Aus Open was with James Duckworth. It was brutally hot about 40 degrees and Court 3 at the time did not have the greatest amount of shade. In the first round Kavčič beat Bellucci who was seeded in straight sets. These conditions were so hot, I remember at the change of sets dunking your head under cold water and you were dry in 10 minutes. Kavčič won in 5, and ended on a drip afterwards and I almost suffered some severe dehydration, needed 3 hours in the ice bath. .



Changes

Not long after this Australian Open, this is where things started to change and the end result wasn’t the best. Voinea had been doing excellent work with Kavčič. You could see Voinea was trying to make him play more aggressively, sure there’d be a few losses in the process but this was what Kavčič needed. What was successful on the Challenger doesn’t work day in and day out on the main tour. This is a point that I will come back to.

Kavčič was not the biggest natural talent but had incredible work ethic which was a strength and a weakness. Voinea knew straight away that Kavčič to stay in the top 100 and do well on the main tour he couldn’t just rely on defensive skills. At the same times you could see the plan working, but at others when struggling he would retreat to type. While Voinea wanted to do better quality work, Kavčič was insistent on doing high volume double gym sessions and double on court sessions, which were a detriment to improvements. Of course, as a player you got to work hard, but it has to be quality work. In addition to that Voinea didn’t want to go to all events and they ended their collaboration way too early.
Blaž and Blaž

Kavčič ended up with a new coach who happened to be the Davis Cup captain at the time. Sure, he had someone with him every week but there weren’t tangible improvements to the game. There were some good results, but it was the classic play lots of Challengers chasing the points for the ranking but not necessarily improving as a player.


What ended up happening was Kavčič was a top tier Challenger player but not quite good enough to prosper on the main tour. Kavčič finished with a 19-17 finals record in Challengers which shows how excellent he was at that tier. In his last year on tour, he made a Challenger final as a qualifier before losing to Rola in the final. In the early days he was at his best on clay, then towards the mid to later part of the career he was predominately playing the Asian hardcourt challenger events which to be fair were of a lower overall standard chasing the points.

When the taxi breaks down

Beginning of the end

As was stated earlier Kavčič has an outstanding work ethic which compensated for the lack of natural ability, whereas his compatriot Žemlja was the opposite. There is an argument that Kavčič did overtrain, as he had a lot of injuries during his career. It was a mix of long term and short term issues with the knee, hand, toe. It was very difficult for Kavčič to build any momentum to have a sustained run in the rankings start getting some good results, get injured, recover, attempt to rebuild the game which requires matches, then that leads to the mental struggles and the cycle continues.


The biggest disappointment for Kavčič would be that he wasn’t able to retire on his terms. It was due to the injuries, leading to the decline in form and ranking where the desire wasn’t there to make the comeback again. At the end of a players career it’s on them as to whether they maximised their potential. Thanks for the memories Blaž it was enjoyable to watch your career unfold, yes that includes the chokes and almost passing out from severe hydration. Now, enjoy the coaching gig and life after tennis.

Sunday, January 23, 2022

The Prince Who Will Become King


Today is the last of my reports. Not sure I'm going to the tournament anymore and most of the fun stuff on the outside courts has finished.

Saturday is the busiest day of the tournament in what I like to call "Bogan Saturday". As it was a very warm day, there was lots of alcohol consumed, the crowd was very loose as more liquid flowed .

Tennis with a bunch of drunks is a very fluctuating experience, sometimes it can be fun and others not so fun. Yes, the siiu needs to get in the bin. Kidney punching is an acceptable punishment for this nonsense, of course Danil Medvedev trolled these gronks expertly.


Bautista Agut vs. Fritz

Definite contrast of baseline styles in this one. RBA who is very solid whereas Fritz is a lot more aggressive and now coached by the legend Michael Russell. With players coached by Mikey Russell, they will be well prepared.

Fritz just came out smoking in the first set. He was slapping forehand winners for fun as RBA was struggling to handle the bouncier conditions. Fritz hands out a bagel with a ration of 12 winners and 4 unforced errors, it's very unlikely to lose a set .



Bautista Agut is a tough competitor and is holding some long service games as Fritz is making a few more errors. RBA was able to get some better depth on his strokes, but still not at his best level where it is almost impossible to hit through. The match is levelled at 1 set all and the same pattern continues in the 3rd set, where both players aren't playing well at the same and struggling with serve. RBA takes the 3rd set, but still under his usual level.

At 2 sets t 1 the match was still up in the air. There wasn't a feeling that RBA was going to run away in the 4th, as he was struggling on serve. Once he was missing serves, Fritz was all over it like a cheap suit and besides the huge forehands is hitting some solid backhands as well to open the court up. .

Fritz is swinging freely, anything slightly short has been getting punished as he turns the match around in the 4th set which he takes. RBA is broken at the start of the 5th set and Fritz unlike in previous sets has been holiding comfortably. The match ends with a double fault from RBA. Fritz definitely deserved the win he had more winners than errors as RBA wasn't able to stem the tide.

Daniel vs. Sinner

The Taro Daniel show continues on with him playing "The Prince" Jannik Sinner. This one is a much different challenge to previous. Sinner is a huge talent with a very professional and excellent attitude.

Daniel started a bit nervously and lost his first service game. It took him a few games to settle into the match. Sinner was a bit up and down and started getting behind in early service games but managed to do enough to take the first.
Jannik Sinner

The Prince had a bit of a letdown as Daniel who improved his level using his beefed up serve to get free points and to open up the court moving Sinner around. Daniel was very solid from the baseline with the forehand dominating stretching Sinner who is making more errors under pressure. Daniel takes the 2nd set 6-1 to level at 1 set all

Even though Daniel took the second set, the feeling of the upset wasn't really apparent. Both guys are starting to play at around the same level. It's great watching tennis as you can see how well balanced Sinner is when he is moving and it's clear the skiing background helped a lot. Daniel still continuing to serve well and has not gone into his shell .
Taro Daniel

Daniel went down 0-40, managed to serve three quality serves to get it to deuce. Sinner was able to break in this service game taking the 3rd set. Once Sinner took a 2 sets to 1 lead, he stepped up with level being a bit more agressive and make the move. He was winning the extended rallies with forays to the net and takes the final set 6-1.

Sinner Winner was too good, he now plays de Minaur. Let's hope he continues in the event. As for Daniel, this was a great tournament for him to continue his excellent start to the year. Thankfully Daniel has been very good in relation to injury prevention and may that continue, he is making changes to his game which are necessary to improve. Based on what I've seen, there is a fantastic base for the year.

Cilic vs. Rublev

Not going to do a full match report on the Cilic vs. Rublev game but what a performance from Marin Cilic. The first two sets he turned back the clock to his US Open title form. Cilic nailed it tactically, which isn't something you would always associate with.

Rublev is the classic example of someone who hits tennis balls and is not a tennis player. He only has the one style, the classic see ball, hit ball and not much else. When it's not working, it tends to be hit it harder. Cilic was getting the first strike in, which was successful if not then he'd be chasing the shadow of the ball.

Cilic stuck to the plan and while Rublev has a sneaky good first serve. The second serve still doesn't have much speed or spin, and Cilic teed off. The great man Fernando Vicente will need to add a few different dimensions. Sometimes take pace of the ball to set up for the big play. Cilic playing FAA next will be interesting.

Observations

Now the Aus Open is over for me. I did enjoy my time, some of the results were shit but Taro Daniel making the 3rd round is a bonus. It was fun to watch tennis live, there are just so many little things you don't see on TV. In addition there are 2 cats who I want to give a shout out to Lance and Owen, these guys are hardcore fans, a love of the obscure and kept me on my toes. .

Hopefully I can get some interviews done this year, but ambition doesn't always match reality.

Friday, January 21, 2022

Day 4 : Taro Daniel making history and Foki loses a heartbreaker


Sorry for the lack of reports yesterday, it was a one match deal and will add the information to the odds and ends bit.

It was a very warm day thankfully not too much humidity, a big contrast to the cool conditions on Tuesday. Then again Melbourne weather is as temperamental as a teenager. Now, on that note time to start reporting.

Bautista Agut vs. Kohlschreiber

This was a glorious beatdown, as Kohli is definitely in the deep south of his career. RBA didn't play that well in the 1st round, but this was better for sure and will need to in the next round against Fritz.

Davidovich Fokina vs. Auger Aliassime

This match had a lot of potential as both are shotmakers and apart from the result, it didn't disappoint. Foki and FAA ae well known to each other as they grew up in juniors. Foki won the Wimbledon juniors and FAA the US Open.

While both are shotmakers, they definitely do it differently. Auger Aliassime is very calm on the court except when he is playing finals where he seems to be very withdrawn. Foki on the other hand is a bit volatile and moody, there are some days when he is under pressure he brings the fight and others he'd be somewhere else.

Both settled fairly quickly in the warm conditions. Foki got an early break with a combination of good play and errors. Unfortunately at 4-3, he plays that one dumb service game which he's liable to do and FAA breaks back not through any great pla. The thing with Foki is very up and down, it's a question of when peaks and troughs happen. Both guys held serve to the first tiebraker, which is the equivalent of the penalty shootout. FAA was more solid and took it.

The second set continues in a similar vein to the 1st. Both guys are hitting the ball well. FAA using his forehand to dictate and Foki working the angles and using the dropshot occasionally. They take care of their serves in the set and Foki had the peak during the buster to level at one set all.


Foki forehand winner


Definitely wasn't expecting two tiebreakers nor what was to come. Usually in a best of 5 set matches there tends to be a slight dip in quality, a flat patch at some point which is understandable given the context. This was not the case here and we enter another tiebreaker. The unusual thing here is the quality of serving from FAA. Foki dropped an early point, and was unable to get it back after a miss hit from FAA landing on the corner of the baseline where Foki just misses the backhand.


After the match there was a great embrace at the net where it was played in the proper way. Both guys served over 65% first serve. The fact that FAA's serve held up under pressure which is what got him the win here. Foki had 2/9 break points where FAA had 2/5. Foki had his chances, but FAA peaked where it counted.

Daniel vs. Sir Andy Murray

The Taro Daniel show continues on with him playing Murray. Daniel played Murray once before in Davis Cup and got chopped badly, but this is a different time.

As anyone who has been following this blog knows there is some Taro Daniel appreciation and he has been playing very well this year. Murray after having the new hip and a huge week in Sydney, there were some questions about his physical state after a 5 set win in the first round.

This was a very different match for Daniel for two specific reasons. One he was not favourite and in essence was playing with the houses money. Two, while Murray maybe gassed he still has the experience and his style of game can throw people off.
Taro Daniel taking it all in

Daniel had settled into the match quickly. Serving well against one of the best returners and used his heavy forehand to move Murray around to expose the physical limitations. Once, Daniel managed serve out the first set convincingly, he settled down and stuck to the plan and was rewarded with another straight sets win.

For sure, I am delighted with the Taro Daniel result. Personally, you want to see good people having success, which is happening here. 2022 has been good so far. Qualified for the week 1 in Adelaide, defeated Musetti in 1st round without facing break point before losing a tough match to Tommy Paul. That has been built on here with 5 wins without dropping a set. Going to very tough in the next round against Jannik "The Prince" Sinner but whatever happens, the first time in a third round of a major is a fine achievement.

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Day 2 : Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit


Day 2 was much busier than yesterday in the amount of tennis and as the Loaf would say 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

Thankfully all of the matches were on the same side of the complex, though walking to the other side is a good cardio exercise.


Bautista Agut vs. Travaglia

On paper this match looked like it would be a routine straight setter. Then tennis isn't played on paper, if it was just rankings based then the lower ones wouldn't turn up.

Bautigol started slowly, making an unusual amount of unforced errors due to perhaps some nerves and Travaglia was successfully going for broke. He served for the first set and was broken. RBA played a solid tiebreaker and took the set.

Bautista Agut

Bautigol settled into a bit of a groove and improved his level a bit, whereas Travaglia's dropped as the big shots weren't going in as previously, comfortably took the 2nd set.

Based on the above, you'd have believed RBA was going to win it easily. Travaglia raised his level, hitting more winners and took his chances to take the 3rd set. He was unable to sustain that level and Bautigol was there to take advantage to win in 4. Not the best performance but got the W, which is all that counts.


Sinner vs. Sousa

Was watching this match while waiting for the other ones to start.

This was a perfect 1st round match for Sinner as he got to hit a lot of balls but the result was never really in doubt here. As for Sousa, I don't think he will get back in the top 100, but there were some good signs..

Daniel vs. Barrios Vera

This was a qualifer vs. qualifier match. Daniel was the most impressive player in qualies whereas Barrios got through for the first time in Melbourne

The first set of this match was crucial. Both players weren't at their best. It's a big match for them and nerves played a part. Daniel was shanking a lot of forehands and Barrios was just getting the ball in for the most part, but hit some excellent volleys.

The turning point in this match was the 1st set tiebreaker. Barrios was up 5-1 and through a combination of passive play and more aggression from Daniel, the Japanese player was able to turn it around winning 7-5.


Once Daniel had won the breaker. He started serving better, hitting more freely which allowed him to hit more penetrating strokes to keep Barrios pinned behind the baseline.

Halfway through the 2nd set it was obvious that Barrios was gassed and there was little resistance in the last 2 sets, which Daniel took for the loss of 2 games. He plays Andy Murray in the next round, prepared to be junked around.

Davidovich Fokina vs. Bolt

This was a good draw for Foki as Bolt has been in very poor form. Even then Bolt will always get a wildcard as caudillo Lleyton Hewitt is a huge fan and what he says goes.
Davidovich Fokina

The only people who were cheering for Foki were his two coaches, myself and a couple of other people. There really isn't too much to say about this match. Conditions were cool and windy. Foki did enough to keep the crowd quiet and didn't have too many emotional foibles. He should have won in straight sets and he did. He's excited about the next match with Auger Aliassime, whereas today was get the win and get out .

Seppi vs. Majchrzak

This sums up the match perfectly.
Not a good performance from the King of South Tyrol and this maybe the last time we see him in Australia. Hopefully this is not the case, but time is the one thing we can't cheat and every generation has its own disease, which needs to be regenerated.

The cool conditions definitely didn't help Seppi at all, as he has a reasonably flat game the timing needs to be spot on. It was definitely off as there were errors flowing like Santa on speed at Christmas.

In addition the young Pole was swinging very hard and the shots were going in. There were some audacious winners and even the mis hits were landing in good positions..

In tennis just as in life, sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit.

Monday, January 17, 2022

Main Draw Day 1: The Mailman delivers a win and Bublik brings the entertainment


Today was the first day of the main draw and the crowds were not as large as previous year, then the beer virus will do that. Of course there were some drunk bogans around, but it wouldn't be an Aussie sporting event without them.

Today there weren't as many matches on the card that interested me, but at this stage, there are always matches to watch. It's a question of interest and what courts aren't too full.


Martinez vs. Delbonis

Pedro Martinez who was previously coached by the great man Daniel Gimeno Traver who has now moved on to Bautista Agut. DGT did a great job with Martinez getting him to be more aggressive on the forehand, establishing himself in the top 100. Now, Gerry Granollers is working with him. Delbonis is predominately a clay courter, though he has had his moments on this surface.

Martinez started slowly through nerves as he was expected to win this easily. Delbonis was serving well initially and using his forehand to open up the court, going up a break. Martinez breaks back and gets it to a tiebreaker.

In the buster there was an incident where the ballkid collapsed on Martinez's set point. Both players stopped play, waiting with the ballkid to receive treatment before contnuing. Martinez takes the breaker 17-15.
Pedro Martinez


Martinez had a mental letdown, which Delbonis took advantage of and was able to take the 2nd set. During the set there was a medical timeout for Martinez, relating to a foot issue.

The match is at one set all, yet there was never really a feeling that Martinez was in trouble. Delbonis was having footfaultitis, providing too many opportunities to Martinez which he took to take a 2 sets to 1 lead.



In the 4th set Martinez was hitting some excellent groundstrokes, showing his superior hardcourt ability to take the match. He has a big chance against Garin in the next round.

Bublik vs. Escobedo

When in doubt about to watch, there is never a bad time to watch the unpredictable Bublik.

I got there during the 2nd set tiebreaker. Escobedo takes the 1st set. Bublik, he will never change, he had some great strokes and hilarious misses. He's difficult because of his unpredictabiity.

Once Bublik levelled at 1 set all, that was vital for the match. The Russian was able to relax, start playing more consistently, hitting big serves, with the drop shots. Bublik did a great drop shot and lob combination, which is one of the best things in the sport.

Bublik

After taking a 2 sets 1 lead. Bublik steps it up and Escobedo can't live with the heat. One of the enjoyable things about Bublik besides not knowing what you will get is the running commentary he provided. Normally it's in Russian and English, but this time mostly English and joking with the fans after hitting a huge winner.

Bublik closes out the match without too many issues. He's definitely one cat who doesn't like the heat, thankfully today was not too hot.

Observations

The nice Lopez aka Marc Lopez Tarres is loving life as a father. He's joined the Rafa Nadal Academy as a coach, which is good for him as he has an extra mouth to feed, we all need job security in addition Nadal respects him as an individual. Glad he has landed on his feet.

Roberto Bautista Agut was hitting with DGT today. Gimeno Traver hasn't played much, but he still hits a mean forehand. It's interesting watching them coach.

Marinko Matosevic is back on tour, he is working with Chris O'Connell. It's a definite contrast of characters there. O'Connell is one of the best people on tour, will be interesting to see what Matosevic can offer. He has always danced to his own tune, he's a vegan, living in Bali.
Matosevic


Ending the report on a positive note the Mailman John Millman gets his first win of the year over Feliciano "Pretty Boy" Lopez in 4 sets. Millman struggled mentally with Covid last year and the harsh restrictions of entry into Australia until recently. The Aussies and the South Americans are the ones who are away from home the longest time, but the South Americans could get home. Millman hasn't had a break or a pre season, but he delivered a win which is good for the sport.