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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Final Qualifying Round Musings

Apologies for the lack of reports, a combination of feeling average and a lack of sleep. So, decided not to write rubbish, well even more than usual. Now onto the fun stuff.

Final day of qualies where it's all on the line. The points and first round prizemoney covers the cost of the trip to Australia. It also helps with the finances that many players outside the top 100 struggle with as life on the Challenger tour is far fom glamorous.


Tabilo vs. E.Ymer

Elias Ymer when he makes the final round of qualies normally makes the main draw. Tabilo qualified here for a couple of years ago, played one of the best 1st round matches against Galan in a festive atmosphere. Both guys had got through to this stage, while not playing that well.

Conditions were a bit different than previous days. Even allowing for this, the scoreline was unexpected at best .

Alejandro Tabilo

Tabilo stepped up this level from the previous two matches. He doesn't have a massive serve but was moving it around to keep Ymer off balance when the rallies started.

Once Tabilo got the early break, he wasn't missing from the baseline and Ymer was making errors. Ymer did not try anything different, no balls down the middle to prevent the angle or a high forehands. If you're getting smoked, then try something different, there are days it will help and others it wont. Tabilo way too good.

Skatov vs. Elias

Came over to this match in the 2nd set. Skatov who was number 1 junior in the world and defeated Seppi for his first professional win. He has been training in Spain .

Elias had a very tough second round match over Varillas with plenty of extended rallies in hot conditions. Skatov definitely looked fresher, he played a very intelligent match and the big points well.

Skatov, you can tell he has been trained in the Spanish school. Mostly used a heavy kick serve to open the court up, using his forehand to push Elias behind the baseline where he was retreating and attacking the weaker backhand side.

Skatov

Unlike the Varillas match, the Elias backhand was being broken down and the slice wasn't as effective. Skatov was patient, going to the forehand at the right time to stretch Elias, then work him over. Deserved win for Skatov, as for his potential who knows. One thing I like the way he constructs points, there is a thought process there unlike some players who are "see ball, hit ball".

Daniel vs. Caruso

The man Taro Daniel who previously played 2 Italians without losing a set against Salvatore "Don't Call Me David" Caruso who had two long matches.

This match had a court change and missed the first few games. Daniel was a bit nervous, not striking the ball or serving well. Caruso is doing what Caruso does, he manages to get the early break.

Taro Daniel flying through to the main draw.

It's never really a break serve unless the player holds their next game. Daniel took his break chance to level up the scores. Once he managed that, he started to settle down and play like he has in the previous two matches. Daniel starts serving better which allows him to use his forehand to work Caruso over . The momentum has changed and Daniel takes the first set.

Caruso is starting the feel the cumulative fatigue from the previous matches. Daniel is playing aggressively working Caruso side to side. He is defending well when he needs to. Daniel finishes the job, qualifying for the main draw without losing a set.

Observations

During the 2nd round match of Elias Ymer and Martinez. In the final set tiebreaker where Elias up 7-0, younger brother Micke was celebrating the win. The physical trainer and myself told Micke, it's a champions tiebreaker here. Either he truly forgot or didn't know.

Gombos what an effort to qualify for the main draw. He definitely dances to his own tune, he's erratic. Capable of world class play mixed in with some rubbish. His 2nd round match with Olivo went to a 3rd set tiebreaker. In this case it's was Gombos being more proactive that got him win, whereas Olivo was too defensive.

Matt Ebden was the last remaining Aussie in the qualies. He and Gombos had a very long match with a contrast of styles. Ebden, doesn't have huge power or spin in his game. He gets by with a bit of craft, using changes of pace and moving to the net. It's a different style that not many are used to playing on the tour these days. Gombos winning in 3 sets after being inspired by the Slovak fans whereas Ebden was irritated by them.

Andrey Rublev really hates tennis balls from the way he smacks them. He and Carlos Alcaraz were having a contest to see who can hit the hardest. Coach Fernando Vicente hasn't given up smoking.

Rublev and Vicente

The Lleyton Hewitt stranglehold on Aussie tennis is still as strong as ever. Maxi Purcell is going to either have to make the top 100 or just play so well he can't be ignored. Interesting that his favourite Alex Bolt got a WC and he turned up to his training session with King of South Tyrol. Not even I stuck around for that.

Speaking of South Tyrol, watching the Prince hit with Auger-Aliassime was a pleasure. Sinner has a great attitude, knows when it's time to work and when to have fun. Sinner will be the Prince until Seppi retires, yes he could have won 4 majors and still be the prince. The next step for him is to go deeper in majors and have more wins against top 10 players.

Sinner Winner

In some bad news the great man Pablo Cuevas has withdrawn from the tournament due to catching Covid. He arrived on Wednesday, trained on Thursday and didn't train on Friday, then he released a video of him in quarantine. This time I don't expect 14 days of entertainment unlike last year. He looked and sounded awful.

Pablo Cuevas

I was going to do a preview but couldn't be bothered. All I know is most of the matches I want to see are on Tuesday. For those who are going to the event, just a note on the mask policy. No mask if you are sitting down, but walking between the courts and indoors then you need to wear a mask. On that note time to get ready for Monday, yes there's a big dark cloud but it will pass eventually.

To end on a positive the Kokk aka Thanasi Kokkinakis won his first ATP title in Adelaide. Winning your first ATP title would be a great moment, even more so when it's your hometown in front of friends and family.

The Kokk has had so many injuries and setbacks, but he has showed resilience and knows which people were there during the dark times. Kokkinakis instead of relying solely on wildcards, decided to play a full season on the Challenger tour last year.

The Kokk

Kokkinakis got stronger physically and was able to play a full season. It definitely helped the first two tournaments were in Adelaide. As for his ranking ceiling this will depend on his body. The tennis game was never in doubt, but the durability is. Let's hope no more injuries for the Kokk.

Day 2: It's Taro Daniel Day

Today was Taro Daniel day and the man did not disappoint, but more on that later. Thankfully the order of play was good enough for me to have a late start. There wasn't anything that needed me to be there at 10am, this plus I could wash my clothes because if I didn't, then they would start walking by themselves. Enough of the jibber jabber and onto individuals hitting round balls over a net in between a set of lines.


Giannesi vs. Heusler

This was an all leftie battle which aren't too commonplace and that has its own interest levels. The classic patterns they use especially on the ad side swinging the serve to the right handers backhand to open up the court, isn't as effective. On a sidenote the great man Pablo Cuevas is the only right hander to win a tournament defeating only left handers.

There was not much between the two players. In fact they played a very similar gamestyle. Pretty much the standard Challenger level, lots of long rallies and moving the ball around moreso waiting for the opponent to make a mistake instead of being proactive.

Marc Andrea Heusler

Unfortunately there was a controversial incident that had a negative influence on the match. There are automatic line calls at this event, whether this is right or wrong, it depends on your perspective.

Heusler had a break, lost it and then Giannessi broke to serve for the match at 5-3. At 30 all, Giannessi serves a clear let that anyone with functioning hearing would have heard. For some reason the let cord machine doesn't go off and Giannessi wins the point. Heusler is naturally very urined off, he gives the umpire a serve and they are unable to overrule the machine. It's a common thing seeing kick serves clearly over the net, yet being called. Needless to say Huseler couldn't behind him and Giannessi closes the match out. Technology is great when it works..

Kamke vs. Gaio

Just a few years ago Tobias Kamke was part of the best matches at the Aus Open with Dolgopolov in 5 sets. He has an excellent game for faster surfaces whereas Gaio is much better on the clay.

Kamke started off quickly with the double break as Gaio was unable to get into the match. Today, Kamke was stroking the ball with good timing and adjusted to the conditions better. There isn't really too much to say about this match. The better hardcourt player won the match. While Kamke played well, the highlight of the match was the presence of the great man Franky Moser.

Daniel vs. Arnaboldi

Daniel had a good week in Adelaide, qualifying for main draw defeating Musetti before losing to Tommy Paul. Arnaboldi is another Italian leftie , not that they play in a similar way but I am always reminded of Alessi "Too Good" di Mauro.

Taro Daniel

Court 15 is right in the back of the complex, which is a great thing. As today was warm, the court was a bit lively and this help Daniel on serve. He was serving well, hitting spots and not being under pressure at all.

Daniel was able to put pressure on Arnaboldi's service games through his heavy forehand dominating and not making errors from the backhand side. Eventually Arnaboldi's serve was broken and continually on the defensive where he had a few good moments but in reality he got bullied around by Daniel .

This was an excellent straight sets win by Daniel. He did everything well, yes including making some volleys. Definitely went for the serve more, got some pace and positioning, once he got the short replies was able to put the Italian on the run with the forehand. If he plays like that, Daniel will easily qualify for the main draw.


Random

Blaz Rola murdered his match against Caruso. He only converted 2/14 break points, had multiple match points in the 3rd but unable to convert through a mixture of passive play and well played points by Caruso. The final set advantage should be played, but the champions tiebreak is the least shit version.

Shout out to Andres "Gringo" Schneiter he is an underrated coach for sure. He did excellent work with Christian Garin who hasn't improved since he left and Londero who has gone backwards after their collaboration ended. Gringo has no issue working with 2 players at the same time.

Now, he is working with Federico Coria who reached his best ranking. Before, he could win at Challenget level, but once he stepped up to tour level he was a walking bye. For sure Coria is best on clay, through Gringo he managed to get him to be more aggressive where has improved their results.’

Gringo Schneiter

Just as I leaving the grounds Matt Ebden was praxctising just after he finished his match. He was very unimpressed with the performance and he won. Ebden is definitely a different cat, makes things interesting. He's playing doubles with Max Purcell if they had a team name it would be the Pariahs, that or the not Lleyton Hewitts.

On that note that's enough for Taro Daniel Day.”

Day 1 Qualies : Here We Go Again

Yes, it's that time of year when this quirky blog actually has some action. I thank the very niche audience who reads this stuff. For sure there was some tennis news relating to anti vaxxer, idiotic government and an organisation who are sketchy at best. My only comment on that subject is, once you get the money, you get the power and that helps.

Ok, enough of the shit and onto the important matters. Today was the first day of the Aus Open qualifying event, which is my favourite day of the event. You get a mix of the hardcore fans who give a shit about the game, the professional gamblers, the wannabes, friends and support staff of the players. It's so peaceful and will be a huge contrast compared to next Monday, so got to enjoy when I can.

F. Cerundolo vs. Cachin

The all Argentine battle was played in good spirit. Cachin is your standard Challenger player, fights hard, no real huge weapons, makes you work hard to beat him and his level doesn't deviate too much.

The Cerundolos are known in the Argentine tennis community, sure they aren't ubiquitous like the Ingebritsens. Francisco is the elder brother who plays totally different from his higher ranked younger brother.

Unfortunately today it was more of the bad side. He was easily the more talented and aggressive player with what he can do with the ball. Took a hard fought first set, but then lost his concentration making a lot of cheap errors to allow Cachin back in the match. Cachin took the 2nd set and maintained his level, unlike Cerundolo who was getting irriated with his own play going for big shots when he hadn't earned the right.

Cachin was solid and played to his strengths and deserved the win today.

Varillas vs. Uchiyama

This wasn't a bad match and on court 5 which was built around trees. It's good for fans but the court services are forever cleaning up the leaves.

Juan Pablo Varillas

Varillas is the lone Peruvian player in the top 200. Peru needs a successor to the great Luis Horna, Varillas like Horna is coached by an Argentine Diego Junqueira who back in the day was very good at Challenger level but couldn't win on tour.

Uchiyama was fighting hard as Varillas was using his heavy forehand to open the couer to dominate the match and stretch Uchiyama. It was a close match on the scoreboard but there was that feeling that Varillas was never losing this match. I do hope he can make the main draw.

E.Ymer vs. Kovalik

This was played in the new Kia Arena. This is not a bad court but definitely there was a lack of air today. Hope it's not a factor when the huge crowds arrive next week, then again I don't see the main courts very often.

The eldest of three Ymer brothers is a veteran of Grand Slam qualies. If he makes the final round, then he makes main draw. When I arrived at the match he was making a lot of errors on the forehand side. Kovalik wasn't doing too much but enough to have a break.

Elias Ymer

Ymer breaks back in the 1st set to level it up and starts to tighten up his game with less errors. After he takes the 1st set, then Ymer settles down and starts to play better. Kovalik is struggling with the low balls on the forehand side and is handing out the errors like Santa on LSD at Christmas time. Ymer keeps playing that side and Kovalik smashes his racquet.

Ymer isn't the most dynamic player but you know that he will grind and he did that to Kovalik.

Marchenko vs. Watanuki

Tennis's favourite Youtuber Ilya Marchenko I hadn't seen him play live for years against the young Japanese.

Marchenko


Marchenko lost the opening service game, well that will happen when you miss every first serve. Watanuki he isn't very tall but has an excellent serve which he used very well in this match, hitting high 190s consistently. Marchenko had a lot of break chances in the 1st set but Watanuki for the most part was able to play an excellent serve to get him out of trouble and take it.

In the second set Marchenko started serving better and had a bit more pop on the groundies. Watanuki was serving well and using the forehand to push Marchenko around. Games were going on serve and then Marchenko takes the 2nd set 6-4 after Watanuki double faulted.

Marchenko was not able to take the momentum from taking the 2nd. He served poorly and was looking gassed as Watanuki kept up his high level of play to run out an easy winner in the 3rd set. After the 3 setter Watanuki asked for some of the match balls as he didn't have enough practice.

Comment Of The Day

Max Purcell wins the day with the best comment about not getting a wildcard into the Aus Open. Credit to Mark McGowan for this.

“I actually was told I’d know on Thursday,” Purcell explained. “[Then] I’m hearing whispers in the Australian locker room from Lleyton saying something to [Australia coach Jaymon Crabb].

“Then, at like 11pm, I messaged Wally [Masur, Tennis Australia performance director] saying, ‘Mate, I’ve got three hours to pull out of [the Sydney Tennis Classic], otherwise I’ll be stuck playing Sydney instead of quallies – what’s going on?’

Hewitt vs. Purcell

“He’s like, ‘Oh, no, Lleyton was supposed to tell you. I wasn’t supposed to tell you. I told him to tell you considering he was the one who didn’t want you to have it’.

“So, I didn’t end up finding out until 11pm Thursday, because I guess he didn’t have the balls to tell me in person.”

Tomorrow is Taro Daniel day.