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.
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.
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.’
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.”
2 comments:
Every day is Taro Daniel Day. Keep up the good work with reports.
Great read! Keep up the good work!
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