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 .
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
2 comments:
Thank you Nils, I always look forward to your insightful AO reports. Another facinsating read
So sorry for Cuevas...
And Seppi will always be the King hehe!
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