Sunday, January 20, 2013

Simple Simon trolls Monfils. Seppi on the brink of history

Very mixed day this one. It was very frustrating at the beginning because I didn't see a point of the Tsonga vs. Kavcic match.

There are specific reasons this happened, but the nicest thing that will be said that there was an admin error. Stupid Saturday at the Aus Open is the worst day when the crowds are at their largest, nearly impossible to see matches on the outside courts especially if Tsonga is playing.

Could not see Kavcic in his biggest match at a Slam, it doesn't matter the result whether he won 1 game, 1 set. Just wanted to see this moment, but wasn't able to due to no fault of my own. It was a fantastic week for him, hope he can build on it.

Seppi vs. Cilic

Thought this was a tough but winnable match for Seppi and thankfully I was able to get into see the last 2 sets after all the crap beforehand.

While Cilic was leading 2 sets to 1, never really felt that Seppi was out of the match at all. It's about managing the momentum shifts and Seppi managed to keep hanging in there and was able to take the 4th set.

Cilic gets the early break in the 5th set for a 2-0 lead. The absolute turning point to this match was Seppi holding the service game for *1-2 when apart from the last point he basically served a game of second serves and the Seppi second serve is still a liability.

This was huge for Seppi who got confidence from serving so poorly yet holding on that game. He stepped up his game, became steadier and Cilic was leaking errors from both sides. Seppi's improved durability backing up from a long 5 setter against Istomin in the heat served him well and while Seppi did improve his level, what was disappointing was the Cilic performance in the last set leading 2-0 and then losing 6 games in a row.

Seppi now plays Chardy for a place in the quarter finals this is a massive opportunity for him. Seppi isn't the most naturally talented player, but has maximisied his potential, kept working very hard at his game to be the best player he can. The rewards came last year and started the year in an impressive manner, better he than a ballbashing buffoon like Chardy, who won't back up the big win in the next round.

Raonic vs. Kohlschreiber

Raonic is looking even more like Chief Wiggum than usual. This was a very comfortable win for Raonic especially after he won the first set buster. He was in good serving rhythm and hitting huge kickers to Kohli's backhand who couldn't return the serves at all.

With the first set down Raonic was able to use the serve and forehand combo to dominate from the baseline. Kohlschreiber looked like a little kid at the beach with sand kicked in his face by Raonic.

Simon vs. Monfils

Hahaha, what to say about this match. Not really sure words could do justice. It was so hilariously bizarre that it had to be watched until its completion for the sheer ridiculous nature of it.

These guys thought it was a hitting drill just paddling the ball back and forth without too much pace. Yes, they had a 71 shot rally, plus a few in the 40 stroke territory. Tactically Monfils isn't known for his mensa like abilities and this will be highlighted later on.

Simon likes pace, so Monfils wasn't trying to give him any well so the theory looked like. The first 4 sets there was more pushing than a woman giving birth to sextuplets. As bad as this was, it was still more watchable than a WTA match or when Simon played Robredo in Bercy.

Monfils with the ham acting early one, he loves the drama and the clowning as much as an alcoholic loves alcohol. He claimed he was injured and then Simon while leading 2 sets to 0 actually takes an injury timeout. You'd have to be a pretty big douchecanoe to take a timeout when leading 2 sets to love if you weren't injured.

Simon always looks like he is asleep or there is something wrong at the best of times. After the timeout Simon was just existing on court running now and then, whereas Monfils can't actually say he was playing better than before, not even he could stuff these 2 sets up against a guy who looked ill and was cramping.

The bizarre nature of the match where both looked like they were gasping for their last breath, the nonsense paddling rallies and general surreal nature of watching this deserved a 5th set. Simon got slightly more energised and Monfils not exactly sure what to do about this and ironically the tennis was more watchable in this set.

Monfils showed why he is a tactical genius. Yes, it's hard playing a friend or someone who is ailing, but the ball is still round and yellow, it needs to be hit. Instead of moving Simon around the court, a few times side to side, then go in behind that corner to test whether he can turn or not. Perhaps some drop shot and lob combos as well. No, the genius decides to hit up the middle of the court.

Simon fighting through all this crap and gets it done. He still doesn't know how he won this match and probably better off not knowing how either. Monfils well he can always join the circus. Yes, Simon will be fodder for Murray as per usual, but the fact he won such a bizarre and hilarious match will make this event memorable.

Should those two be charged for bringing the match into disrepute, well not sure about that. The fans who paid their tickets for this should be given free tickets.

Friday, January 18, 2013

Seppi and Kavčič beat the heat

Yesterday was a brutal day 3 5 set matches and the mercury reached 40.8, so there was no blog from last night. Dehydration, cold showers and electrolytes were my friend last night.

Before getting into the matches from the second round. There were a couple of quirky moments that I forgot to mention previously. In the Sela vs. Davydenko match in the 4th set when Sela had a break point on second serve. Someone possibly a member of the Davydenko camp threw one of the balls over the fence on the court, so Davydenko gets 2 serves which he held. This guy must have laid some cash on Davy holding the service game.

Quirky moment number two was in the Ram vs. Garcia Lopez match when Garcia-Lopez lost serve in the 4th set. He smashed a ball down the court and almost cleaned up Rampras on the side of the head. Ram naturally wasn't impressed and glared down the court and the umpire had to do some work in this one. You don't get these moments on the main courts for the most part.

Melzer vs. Bautista-Agut

This wasn't a bad match overall. Initially it was about all the idiots who kept walking in between points that was pissing both players off. Most of the cattle really have no clue about tennis etiquette.

Melzer was a little bit off, bitching about everything and Bautista was his solid self hence this was the reason it went to 5 sets. Bautista had an early chance in the 5th but once he missed that and Melzer took it, he ran away with the last set as Bautista was tiring.

It's clear Bautista-Agut has improved and should stay in the top 100 for a while barring injuries. He moves well and has a flat game for a Spanish player, his differences between clay and hard aren't say to the level of Andujar.

Stepanek vs. Lopez

This was such a clinic, the real handsome beast Stepanek showed LaLo how to play tennis. He was toying with him, just moved the serve around enough to get the burro out of position, then would come in on LaLo's backhand or hit the winners from the back while keeping him off balance.

Sure, Feli had his Justin Bieber like fangirls supporting him, but this was just too easy and fun in the process watching Thunder Lips just block back the returns of Lopez to the neutral position and then work him over and finish him off quickly.

Seppi vs. Istomin

These two had another tight 5 setter at a Slam. Since the Aus Open organisers like to troll me and put both Seppi and Kavcic on at the same time, this is where this match is a mixture of mine and Sammy's experiences.

Very few chances in the first set with the extended rallies that were dominant in this match, but Seppi was more aggressive in the breaker and the forehand held up well and he took it.

Second set was more of the same there was the feeling that Seppi was just in front. Then all of a sudden at 15-15 at *5-6, Seppi decides to be like Santa and serve two double faults in a row to give Istomin 2 sets points, which he took to level it.

Seppi started to be a bit passive but when it's almost 40 degrees it's not always to have clear decision making. The match hit a flat patch until the 4th set buster and in this period Istomin was the slightly better player but he wasn't dominant.

Once Seppi took the buster, then he stepped it up and was able to run through the 5th set with momentum on his side. This was the first time he has made the 3rd round at the Aus Open and has a tough but winnable match with Cilic.

Seppi has bought a big crew down to Melbourne. Max, the coach's brother is here as well huge AC Milan fan, cool guy. He summed up Inzaghi perfectly with the feet he was nothing, but he always where to find the goal.

Kavčič vs. Duckworth

Thankfully had some more time to digest this match. What a great fight from both guys this was not necessarily about the quality of tennis in brutally hot conditions. It was a big opportunity for both players to make the 3rd round of a Slam for the first time and that added some extra spice to the match.

Kavčič got the early break in the 1st set, then Ducky who has an outstanding serve for a player of his height consistently hitting 215km/h wide took the first one comfortably.

Kavčič started to make more returns and once he was able to do this, then he was dominating the baseline rallies though he wasn't as aggressive as he was against Bellucci. Then again the circumstances and conditions weren't comparable, that match he was the underdog and here he was the favourite.

As the momentum changed with Kavčič taking a more offensive position in the court and taking the 2nd and 3rd sets there were no major indications of the major drama to follow.

Duckworth called for the trainer first, but he must have been over at the Melbourne Storm training ground since it took him a good 15 minutes to get to the court. This was before the medical assessment, then the treatment took place, so it seemed like 25 mins.

It helped Duckworth who improved his serving again, starting to hit some good forehands. Kavčič was struggling physically and Ducky was getting energised from the crowd who helped him through a tough time to take the 4th set.

Kavčič gets the early break then at *2-0 at 30 all decides to serve 2 double faults to give the break back. There were about 6 Kavčič fans and the rest of the crowd was very pro Duckworth as expected. They had the "quack, quack, quack" chants, especially when there was a challenge which is much better than "Aussie, Aussie , oil oi oi".

Now this match was about who could take their chances, endure the brutal conditions and take this big opportunity. Kavčič had to take a medical timeout, both guys were feeling it and were only chasing down drop shots when they were so poor that they had to be dealt with.

Kavčič has improved the serve which was key in this set, apart from when he tried to serve the match out at *5-3, where he was so nervous and had no acceleration on his shots played it so carefully and Ducky broke easily. There is a reason when Kavčič serves out matches, that getting in the brace position is common.

Both guys giving it their all and struggling against the elements. Kavčič blows another 4 match points through a mix of passive play, clutch serving from Ducky. Finally something had to give and it was Duckworth who hit the ball long. If Kavčič had more energy then there would have been a greater celebration.

Good to see Channel 7 who broadcasted the match didn't show the Kavčič camp at the end of the match and John Newcombe is still as biased as ever. Ducky has a big upside to him as a player and the IV drip Kavčič was on after the match was worth it after this big win.

Nieminen vs. Dodig

Match of the tournament so far and easily so. It helped that the conditions while warm weren't oppressive which was different from the early matches.

Dodig is great to watch, this guy is so determined and came from nothing that he is an inspiration to other players. He fights for everything, but doesn't play a negative gamestyle which makes it all the better.

He was serving from the tree in this match, hitting the corners regularly with good pace on serve and Nieminen who is a good returner wasn't able to get as many balls back in play as per usual.

Neither player were taking a backward step from the baseline moving each other around with flat and deep groundies mixed in with some angles. Nieminen trying to pass when he could and Dodig for the most part coming to the net and making volleys.

Main difference in this match was Nieminen was slightly down from his level against Haas, while Dodig was playing a very high level of tennis. They split the 4 sets which wasn't a surprise, Nieminen who has an excellent 5 set record didn't make many first serves initially and was down to the weaker 2nd delivery in which Dodig attacked either hitting for winners or making volleying winners from weak Nieminen shots.

There was a game where Nieminen had break back points, but Dodig was serving like Karlovic saved them with ease and was able to run out a comfortable winner in the end.

This match was played in great spirit, both sets of fans were in a good mood, high quality tennis involving all aspects of the game, good serving, baseline rallies, volleying, desire from Dodig and excellent passes.

Seppi provided the stability, Kavčič provided the drama and Dodig/Niemien provided the quality.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Australian Open Day 2: What you gonna do when "Dextermania" runs wild on you

It was Slovenia Day on Day 2 at the Aus Open and the guys weren't handed easy draws for their matches. Naturally it would have been good for all of them to go through, but this didn't happen.

Kavčič vs. Bellucci

For those who don't know Kavčič looks like Dexter, so that's the reference in the subject title just in case it was lost on some readers. This was not an easy draw on paper for Kavčič, as we know tennis matches aren't won on paper.

Bellucci does have some poor days, so this was the chance for Kavčič to get him. They played on clay at Gstaad and Bellucci beat him comfortably. The first set is always the key for the lower ranked guys when it comes to playing a seeded player, this was no different. It was going along comfortably on serve for both guys, then Bellucci played a poor service game and Kavčič broke. Normally when Kavčič serves out sets, it's time to get in the brace position as they show in the safety demonstrations on aeroplanes.

What was noticeable and continued through the match was Kavčič was playing aggressive tennis standing just behind the baseline and moving Bellucci around who looked even more disinterested than usual. Yes, there was some classic defensive stuff from Dexter, but the second set was a high level and Bellucci had a mental break.

Start of the 3rd set Bellucci broke, but Kavčič broke back straight away. The theme continued from the previous sets with Bellucci even moonballing whereas on clay when he hits the forehand well it has some big spin and pace. Here, he was brushing up the back of the ball too much and not even racquet head speed into the ball.

Kavčič served at 69% first serves for the match that was a big factor in the result and also that he wasn't passive as he can be, especially when he has a lead. Good winners down the line exposing the poor hardcourt movement of Bellucci. You know it's a big performance from Kavčič when he serves a set out to love.

Big opportunity for Dexter next round when he plays Duckworth.

Seppi vs. Zeballos

As this was on at the same time as the Kavčič match. I didn't see as much of this match as I should have but what I did see it was a training clinic for Seppi. He was hitting well from both sides especially the forehand side and was breaking when he felt like it.

Zeballos has a bit of a belly at the moment, but he was being rushed into errors from Seppi. He should be able to maintain his top 100 ranking and it showed the level from challengers to the big stuff.

On a side note, the South Tyrolean Sex Machine's girlfriend is here in Melbourne. Lets say this, she is pretty easy on the eye and not a diva at all, so unlike most of the ones on tour, it suits Seppi down to a tee.

Žemlja vs. Granollers

This was quite a brutal match for the time it lasted. There were plenty of extended rallies and Granollers defending like Franco Baresi getting to everything, of course he is not as stylish as Baresi but very effective.

Žemlja was trying to make more of the play, but one thing he wasn't doing and it's necessary against a guy like Granollers is that you have to hit behind the guy. Žemlja was mostly hitting open court in fact 97% of the time in rallies it was open court and Granollers was anticipating it well, making the shots putting them into difficult spots.

The first tie breaker was hard fought and Granollers was making running forehand passing shots, then on his set point. Žemlja works him around the court, gets Granollers at the net and Grega has a very short ball drills at Granollers who makes the reflex volley winner.

At 4-4 in the 2nd set Žemlja who always looks tired and asleep at the best of times, was really struggling not moving his feet. He fought hard to get to the TB, but Granollers was too solid and he could have ran for another 5 hours. The grunting was on and off in this match.

Cool to see Fernando Vicente there and yes he was smoking at the side of the court, though at least he is not in the Dirk Hordoff league.

Bedene vs. Becker

Bedene has improved for sure, but there is still some work to be done. He isn't working with the academy in Austria anymore. His brother Andrjaz is working with him as a hitting partner after retiring. One thing I noticed about Aljaz he has a touch of the Seppi about him build wise, wouldn't say the same game wise.

This match was a case of missed opportunities for Bedene. Becker was his usual self hitting big, but he has his moments where the game goes off and Bedene needed to take advantage of these which he didn't in the last 2 sets.

Bedene broke back at 5-5 in the 3rd, then to serve to take it in the TB, he played a poor game. Then Bedene was up a break in the 4th set, but a combo of not making enough first serves, some average shot selection and Becker making some winners.

As for how far Bedene will go, it all depends on whether he can keep injury free. He is good enough for top 30 in a couple of years, but who knows what can happen.

Haas vs. Niemien

Fun match between the 2 veterans. No moonballing here, just a lot of all court tennis but this is the one that got away from Haas.

Nieminen still serving the 110km/h second serves which were dealt with for the most part. Have to give it to the Shark, saving the match point against him with a sexy serve and volley.

Haas getting broken at 6-6, through 2 double faults and a poor dropshot that was amateur stuff from such a seasoned pro.

Nieminen very pumped after the win and was mobbed after the match. It was funny he was walking while doing an interview with Finnish radio and the security.

Slovenia went 1 for 3, but Dexter will survive to Saturday.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Australian Open Day 1 : So close to comfort, so close to joy

Sorry for the lack of updates after qualies, there were quite a few annoying side issues going on at the time which needed to be sorted out.

Yesterday was a long day and there will be some help from one of my best friends Sammy who was at matches, that I couldn't make, so there won't be a lack of snark in the reports. Before we get under way have to say that I was immaculately turned out in a Wigan Athletic football shirt and a bright red Sporting Gijón hat with fluro socks. It's all about the looks.

Benneteau vs. Dimitrov

Dimitrov has a lot of fangirls in general and they call him "Baby Fed". One played well in Brisbane, then the other in Sydney and Mats Wilander summed up Dimitrov pretty accurately. "He has mind set on imitating Federer and yes it looks good. But he has no idea what to do on the court".

Sammy said Benneteau played some good tennis and was solid but Dimitrov was awful and if he is "Baby Fed", then it must be the left handed, can't hit the ball in court, leaden footed version of Federer. It's the classic all sizzle and no steak. He has the potential to do very well, but it's up to Dimitrov to work it out for himself.

Gimeno-Traver vs. Kubot

This was quite a good standard match out in Court 22 aka the "Car Park". Tight 1st set with a classic poor DGT breaker giving it to Kubot who was his usual aggressive self coming in on everything.

Second set was the key to this match. DGT went up a break twice but failed to follow the cardinal rule of not confirming his break of serve. The only way he was going to win the set was to break which he did to take it 6-4. Kubot was off his game for a bit and Gimeno-Traver steamrolled him with the usual solid first serve and massive forehand combo.

Kubot pulled himself together and was attacking even more, the forehand wasn't leaking the errors and he was coming to the net on anything short from DGT and having success taking the 4th set.

DGT had the advantage of starting the 5th set serving, in my own eyes it's a big advantage to be serving first whether you have a good service or not. Pressure on is from the start against the player serving second, which is even more of a mental battle in a 5th set.

There were some absolute morons at this match for some reasons and no I'm not talking about the young Poles who were supporting Kubot. The 5th set was DGT trying to dominate with the forehand and Kubot trying to make Gimeno-Traver defend on the forehand which he has problems with due to his grip and can't make the grip changes quickly.

Kubot had break points and DGT played some very good tennis, though there were some classic DGT backhands. The guy has a top 20 forehand, reasonable serve but a village level backhand.

At match point on Kubot's serve, the only one Gimeno-Traver had in the match ended in a delicious irony. Kubot worked the point to come in on the DGT backhand expecting a passing shot bouncing into the net or halfway up. Nooo, he stayed down on the ball and swung through making a fine backhand pass to take out the match.

Yes, Gimeno-Traver won his first ever match at the Aus Open on a backhand pass. He was over the moon and one of the morons were going about his reaction. I just told them, "you see this is his first ever win at the Aus Open, not everyone can and will peak for the second week, hope this helps".

Harrison vs. Giraldo

Went there after being in the car park. Giraldo's coach Francisco Clavet is still looking like a better looking version of Jerry Seinfeld. This is match where Giraldo will be kicking himself for losing this in the manner he did.

Harrison wasn't too bratty just the odd whine, but nothing over the top. After splitting sets Giraldo was up a break in the 3rd, playing reasonably well and then as he can do, decided to play his dumb service game where his lack of defensive skills and at times poor shot selection came in cost him.

Got to give Harrison credit, he was just massaging the ball around as Giraldo doesn't like the pace off the ball and in the 4th Giraldo dominating from being up an early break, loses 3 games in a row two of them on his serve. Harrison takes it, but he will be fodder for Djokovic.

Bautista-Agut vs. Fognini

It was good to see Bautigol in person to see how much he has improved and it's pretty clear. The only Spaniard in the top 100 with a continental forehand grip and better on hardcourt than clay, but the level between the surfaces isn't that great so he should be able to stay in the top 100 barring injuries for some time.

What can be said about "the Fog" what we already don't know. He was his usual grumpy self as Bautista gives him a bagel in the 1st set, hitting deep, flat and too the corners.

Fognini wakes up a bit and Bautista drops his level slightly so the Fog takes the 2nd set. The Fog was complaining about the conditions, being footfaulted, the crowd in general. The main difference in this match was Bautista kept a fairly constant level and the Fog was a mix of the "I don't give a shit", trying when he felt like it. Once Bautista got the early break in the 5th, the Fog folded the tent.

Bautista's coach is a Sporting Gijón fan he loved the hat as you'd expect.

Millman vs. Ito

This was the toughest result of the day. In the first 2 sets Millman was making too many forehand errors, pulling off the ball not staying down for long enough. Ito was just solid not doing anything spectacular but it was effective.

Millman lifted his game in the next 2 sets, but couldn't get the early break in the 5th which would have helped him. Ito served for the match, but Millman broke easily as Ito was so passive in the game.

Millman had a break point at 5-5, played a very good point but he doesn't have good hands at the net after a big forehand which put Ito on the defensive he hesitated coming in. Once he came to the net after the hesitation, he hit a volley which was neither short nor deep. Ito got a lob into the corner and then held that game and broke for the match.

This was a huge missed opportunity for Millman, but he will learn from this and come back better and stronger for the experience of his first Slam match but that is small consolation at the moment.

Stepanek vs. Troicki

Got there at the middle of the 4th set. Said to Sammy that Steps is winning in 5 sets even when Troicki was 0-2 up. Such a difference between these two games. Trociki is the big serving grinder, ugly but effective whereas Stepanek with the cagey serve, smooth volleys but without the power.

There was one drunk idiot who was totally on Troicki, he must have had a bet on it. Every single point he was screaming out something, but it wasn't funny. Use some humour it always works better.

Troicki had more fans in number, but that was only cause of nationality not his game. Stepanek who can get tight when serving out matches failed at the first time of asking at 5-4, then he broke Trocki straight back and served it out.

Always a good day when Troicki loses from 2 sets up and Stepanek was just his usual sexy self with some fine volleys, good backhands and got to admire someone who can still survive with a continental forehand.

Big day today got to watch Kavcic, Bedene, Zemlja, Seppi, Weintraub thankfully all are in the same area of the complex.

Pretty good results all round, though the Millman one was tough coming back from 2 sets down, not taking the break chance, where he could have attempted to serve it out. It's all about taking your chances as within any field.

Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Australian Open Day 1 Qualies

Yes, first report of the year, figured I'd start it off at a Slam. The scheduling sucked with all the matches I wanted to see at the end, but overall not a bad but long day.

No photos so far, will try and make it a bit better, but laziness is a problem. They are doing some major restructuring to the venue. The great old court 4 doesn't exist anymore, it used to be a practice court but it had one of the best Aus Open matches in ages. The Antonio Veic vs. Dani Koellerer 5 set classic, there were only 3 rows on side that were full, the walkways were full. The other side was all grass in between Court 6 which is a showcourt. Every supervisor was there, players like Darcis, Melzer, Rochus watched it, plenty of antics with Koellerer getting warnings, bitchung about people walking. Best of all the top 2 tiers on Court 6 were watching clapping loudly while interfering in the Monaco vs. Gulbis match which was on that court. Goodbye Court 4.

Now onto business.

Brown vs. Moriya

Brown was struggling with the wind initially and Moriya wasn't missing too much. The 4-4 where Brown was broken he played a dog of a game, then at 15-30, Moriya gets a netcord over Brown at net to get 15-40. Moriya serves 2 doubles yet manages to win 6-4.

Brown got footfaulted second serve break point down to lose his early serve, which he was less than amused about. He broke back straight away, was hitting some huge forehands, yes the love affair with the dropshot continued worked well for the most part.

Dreddy created a lot of break chances, through a mix of solid Moriya play and Brown's erratic play kept it closer than it needed to be, eventually Brown broke for the 2nd set.

He started playing better and Moriya's second serve makes Seppi's look like Sampras. Best part was the woman who footfaulted Brown made another tight call, which set him off. He said "I didn't get footfaulted before this, nor after this. Moriya's shot hit the line, yet mine was out in the same spot. This is not a coincidence. You know it's not easy playing 3 against 1."

After this he steamrolled the final set.

Weintraub vs. Odesnik

Pretty tight match and reasonable standard as well. Surprisingly Odesnik had more support, he must have imported a crowd here to cheer for him.

Weintraub's backhand was working very well such a well produced stroke, though his forehand is pretty ugly and was missing some simple mid court ones.

Odesnik was being his usual rat self, wasting time in between points, took an injury timeout for the sake of it at the end of the 2nd. Usually it's the toilet break after he lost the 1st set.

Weintraub when he rushed Odesnik was the better player which is what he did in the 1st and 3rd set. He missed a few more shots in the 2nd and was a bit passive and the Rat took advantage.

Amir did the tennis world a favour.

Young vs. Sektic

Good old DY, didn't get there in time to see if he had the pimp headphones on. He is an example of how not to manage a teenage talent.

Man DY was passive, some huge moonballing on and if he played a better player it would be just fodder. Sure there were some good volleys, but a poor showing all round.

Stebe vs. Ignatik

Ignatik went up the early break in both sets, but once he did then he lost the initiative and conditions at the time were up and down. He didn't handle them that well, whereas Stebe was just solid played the big points well when he needed to and was a comfortable winner in the end.

Pashanski vs. Ward

Boris is a hardcourt hack, there was no weight on his shots at all. Ward served fairly well, but didn't do anything special.

As for antics Boris was quite calm, though he bitched about being footfaulted and wanted a linesman changed due to lacking vision. Even then he was subdued by his standards.

Other stuff Antonio Veic got footfaulted on the first point of the match and typical Veic style it was a grind, but couldn't get it done.

Robert Farah, the wrist tendonitis impacted on him badly really looked like he didn't want to be there and could tell it was his first match of the year.

Freddie Niemeyer had another kid so he is staying in Montreal to coach the Canadian kids, whereas Frederic Fontang is working with Pospisil.

Saw some Diez and Cervenak. Diez is a fiesty little guy who is always talking to himself in Spanish as for Cervenak the guy had some chances in the 3rd but too chicken shit on the shots to hit them and was too passive. He needs to play Stuttgart to show some good stuff.

That's it for today.