Yes, my time at the Australian Open is done for another year. As to whether I enjoyed the experience or not. This is not an easy answer, but I will say this you aren't interested in the same girls at 18 as you are when you are 40.
The last match I managed to see was Tommy Paul vs. Davidovich Fokina : There isn't too much report on this one. In the first set Paul had wrongfooted Fokina whose leg didn't move the rest of the body. Paul was playing very well and using the fast conditions. Foki was struggling with his movement, could not push off with the leg and not moving at all to the forehand side. Foki played it out, but could have easily retired. Paul through to the quarter finals for the loss of 3 games.
The Good
The Italians are having a great run at tennis. Sure Jannik Sinner gets most of the attention, but there are other players who have been doing well. Lorenzo Sonego made the quarter finals, this is something that not even Sonego thought would be likely. He hit one of the best shots of all time. His match against the Brazilian teen sensation Joao Foneseca where he silenced a hostile crowd.
Davidovich Fokina who won 2 5 set matches in a row coming back from 2 sets down, involving one of the most bizarre incidents of time. Foki got rid of his old coach last year, then the ranking plummeted into the 60s. Now he has a new team and can see some good signs for the year.
Hady Habib became the first Lebanese player to win a singles match in the main draw. He came through qualies as well. Habib learned to play the game in Beirut, then moved back to the US to improve his tennis. The local Lebanese community came out in force and gave the matches some atmosphere.
Catching up with old friends Lance, Owen, Brauman, Peta, Michael, Mirza, Hobart Hurricanes man, John, Andres and meeting some good people.
The Bad
The Australian Open has ceased being a tennis tournament as we know it. Now, it's an event where people go to be seen and don't give a shit about the tennis. Sure, there was always a small element of those types, but now it's actually rampant to the point where the fan experience is negative.
Just cause you can doesn't mean you should. For example the tournament has sold way too many ground passes, sure on Bogan Saturday it's a zoo where it's overcrowded. That was just one day, whereas now that is a common experience as the courts are not large enough for the people that are there.
You know it's way too many people when people are lining up to Daniel Altmaier and Comesana at Court 15, this was just not German or Argentine fans. As a non profit organisation TA are making all their money in January to cover for the rest of year. It's a lucrative gig, if you can get it.
There has been a lot of discussion around the Aussie Open crowds. As someone who has gone to a lot of punk and metal shows, plus don't mind a bit of wrestling. Yes, the crowds are definitely a lot louder, for the most part trying to get themselves over by being obnoxious and unfunny. Cheer as much as you like, but shut up when they are about to serve.
Then there was the booing of players. The fact that the price of the ground pass has become very expensive and it's not the great value it once was. Before I would recommend people to come to the event. I definitely would not recommend it now, but hey record crowds.
The Bizarre
One thing about this tournament that I will never forget is the moment where I witnessed a match being moved due to excessive crowd noise. For further reading about the match see the link below.
The one thing that needs to be clarified is that the French fans were not going out of their way to disrupt Davidovich Fokina and Auger-Aliassime. They were just casualties of the chants and feet stamping on the temporary stands where the sound reverberated onto their court.
It was my latest finish of the event and ego made me stay that late but thankfully Foki win.
Sinner Winner
Sinner didn't even need to play well tonight, just good enough when it counted. Zverev in his own words was not good enough and that statement could be easily said about this years edition of the Australian Open for different reasons.
Sorry for the lack of a blog yesterday, but it takes longer to recover these days and I wish it was from partying, so there'll be two for the price of one.
Davidovich Fokina vs. Menšík
Both players defeated seeded players in the last round. Fokina who took out Auger-Aliassime in 5 sets whereas Menšík defeated Norwegian Casper Ruud. Foki had a poor 2024, but has made changes and looking to bounce back. Menšík last year had qualified for the event and is now finding his way on tour.
Menšík was serving from the tree in the first 2 sets, hitting big bombs and placing the ball well. Foki came out a bit flat, lacking energy, could not get into the Menšík service games at all and was struggling to get into the match. The young Czech took the first 2 sets comfortably.
Foki is one of the more unpredictable players on tour. There are days when he fights very hard and others not so much. The challenge so far with Foki is to get the balance right between flair and when to defend, limiting the bad days, so far that has been difficult.
In the 3rd set Foki started to serve a little better and Menšík could not keep up that outstanding serving levels. The first 2 sets went fairly quickly as there weren't many extended rallies. Foki had decided to change up the return position, which helped him make more returns as it forced Menšík to look at different options. Foki was finally able to break serve and tried to work the crowd up. Then they traded breaks which lead to the tiebreaker.
This was a memorable breaker, not so much for the standard which was better than before. Foki saved 2 match points and one in particular, Menšík shanked a forehand return and hit a let cord that went over. Thankfully Foki saved it and took the 3rd set.
Both players came back from a kit change. Menšík is starting to feel the pinch, he called the trainer. The conditions have changed as it was warm with the sun out, the balls were flying. As the shadows came over the court, slowing it down Foki was making more returns allowing the rallies to be extended where Menšík was being exposed physically. With a combination of shotmaking and solid net play he was able to take the 4th set, levelling at 2 set all.
Foki was riding the momentum train and raced to a 4-0 lead, luckily for him he had an insurance break as he had lost serve. At 4-2 Foki was able to break and then served it out to take his second 5 set win a row from 2 set down. First time he ever made the 4th round here and did not remember saving he matchies. Good for the game.
Other stuff
One thing about the crowds here, they are a lot worse behaved before. This does not come from someone who wants it to be a church, but there are times to shut up. Had a few drunk bogans next to me who were very annoying. One lady apologised, I said there is only so much you can housetrain them. Sure it maybe the Kyrgios effect, but at the same time TA love talking about the record crowds and nothing will change.
Altmaier vs. Monfils : Monfils is one cool hombre, some people are just cool without trying. I mean 38 years young, won a title last week, got the family with him. Not too sure how long he has left on tour, his matches are always full.
Altmaier served for the 1st set at 5-4 and sadly played a very poor game to get broken. Monfils looked a bit gassed and wasn't really serving hard and going for it unless necessary. Altmaier needed to win that first set for sure, but he was unable do that or put enough pressure to expose a tired Monfils who will play Fritz next up. Altmaier, I can see the potential for improvement, but definitely needs to improve serve and more aggressive on the forehand, as the single hand backhand is world class.
Etcheverry vs. Giron : Tennis is a brutal sport, some days you play well and lose, others you play shit and win. There wasn't much between the players, but Etcheverry will still be kicking himself for losing this one.
Giron has huge quads and is a calfzilla was moving the ball around with timing, whereas Etcheverry was pure grunt using the off forehand to pin Giron in the corner. That was pretty much the match for the 4 sets which were split. Etcheverry managed to lose twice at 6-5 when serving to stay in the set, unable to hold his nerve and serve.
Giron towards the end of the fourth required a medical timeout as there were issues with his back and could hardly move on serve. Etcheverry jumped to an early break in the 5th had points for the double break, but unable to do so. Giron struggling with movement was like that turd that won't flush away. Etcheverry forgets how to play tennis and Giron steals a win.
Coach Horacio de la Pena is very animated during the coaching and at the end was shattered by the defeat.
If Foki wins his next match in 5 sets he will equal his coach Felix Mantilla's record of winning 3 5 set matches in a row. As those great philosophers once said history never repeats. I tell myself before I go to sleep.
Today was meant to be an easy day, then that is like saying you're going to pub for one drink and normally it ends up scaling walls at 9am the next morning.
The rain had put a dent in the plans of seeing Ugo Humbert against Habib as matches got moved which lead to a clash. So, there was only one match for me but it will be memorable.
As anyone who reads this quirky blog knows I am a fan of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and yes that's the match that will be discussed today. As for Foki, I might do a piece on him at a later date.
Davidovich Fokina vs. Auger-Aliassime
Foki had a very interesting 2024 it was a success off the court in getting engaged but on the court it was not. He stop working with his childhood coach and second father Jorge Aguirre, he felt they went as far as they could. Briefly started working with Fernando Verdasco, but now is working with David Sanchez and Felix Mantilla hopefully they can harness the raw talent and minimise the lapses.
FAA on the other hand is definitely a case of too much too young in some ways. There was a lot of hype around him as a young lad, then winning Challenger events while going through puberty will do that. Has he lived up to expectations, that depends on the perspective. FAA is a very intelligent, fair and well spoken individual, he maybe too calm on the court. Started off 0-8 in finals but now has a much better record.
As for the title how bizarre and how it fits into this match. Davidovich Fokina vs. Auger-Aliassime match has suspended due to excessive French crowd noise on the adjacent court in the match between Fearnley and Cazaux. The French fans were so loud that it was interrupting both players with chants, as they were trying to serve, as sound travels. I mean the tous enamble chant is fun and all, but it was so loud. They were even cheering for Felix as well.
Supervisor got called to the court and play was suspended until Court 7 was free and they got moved to that court.
Now we got that out of the way. They played once before at the AO where FAA beat Foki in 4 tie break sers. There wasn't much between them in the first 2 sets where FAA was looking for one-two combo the serve and dominate with the forehand. Whereas Foki was fighting and scrapping, his attitude was excellent today. FAA took the first 2 sets in tiebreakers, the main difference was Foki missed a couple of serves and FAA took advantage to get the mini breaks being strong enough to close it out.
Both took a break to change their kit. The interesting thing for me was how Foki's attitude was going to be. Last year here he was listless, but thankfully he showed resilience and was starting to read FAA's serve better and was able to extend the rallies. He broke in the 3rd set and was able to take that set. Foki break early in the 4th as FAA had a bit of a lapse in concentration, while continuing a good level of play with minimal errors working some good angles to work the bigger opponent around the court.
There was some very interesting officiating as well both FAA and Foki got a warning for slow play. The Foki first one was unfair, as the crowd were not stopping as he was ready to serve. The umpire didn't stop the clock, but the second he got a point penalty for delay of game as he was not ready to the pace of the server. Foki blew up and Andreas "I look like parking inspector" Egli was a busy man and bore the brunt of the frustrations.
Into the 5th set, the fifth game was the turning point as the Foki service game for ages, at least 10 minutes. FAA had numerous break points, but was unable to break serve and this gave Foki confidence to eventually serve out the match while letting out all the emotion of an important win
Having a match suspended because of another crowd is definitely bizarre.
Other stuff
Alex Vukic managed to upset Seb Korda over 5 sets.
Mensik beat Casper Ruud in 4 sets, that's not a surprise as the young lad is a big talent. He, Machac and Lehecka all won today, which was a great day for the Czech Republic.
Going to be running on fumes tomorrow, but the grind must continue.
Today was a long day and for the most part a good one, as they say in the classics you can't have everything. It was definitely a lot easier to get in, but still too warm thankfully there was shade and the mist fans working well. Now down to business.
Cerundolo vs. Bublik
Definite contrast in styles with Cerundolo using the serve to open up the court and blast heavy forehands whereas Bublik you never know what to get, it's all dependant on his mood.
The match started normally, both were holding serve comfortably. Then the turning point, yes it was that early in this one. Cerundolo serving at *4-5 0-30, Bublik had an easy high backhand floater and missed it, does not break for the game. Then the next service game Bublik gets broken by serving 4 double faults, though Cerundolo doesn't close it out and it gets to the tiebreaker.
Bublik is still attempting to serve 200 km/h second serves and for the most part keeps netting them, loses the 1st set. As per usual with Bublik matches there is running commentary in Russian and English. He ends up telling one of the support staff to "shut up and don't fucking talking to me for the rest of the match".
After losing the 1st set, it really wasn't much of a match. Cerundolo was being very solid from the baseline. Bublik was being temperamental, a few good moments but for the most part serving poorly and an attitude to match.
Altmaier vs. Comesana
This goes back to my point about overcrowding. This match was on court 15 which is right at the back of the complex and the court was so full. The fact that the coaches couldn't sit in their usual seats and had to have chairs provided sitting in the sun across the court.
The crowd had some German and Argentine fans who created some good atmosphere, but found out later it was seat stacking as there was a women's doubles featuring an Aussie afterwards.
Altmaier who has a brilliant single handed backhand started the match very well breaking Comesana early. The Argentinian based German was solid in the 1st set moving the ball around well and waiting to use the backhand to finish off points and took the 1st set easily.
Comesana who is 178cm which is short by modern tennis standards has an excellent serve cracking it over 200km/h consistently and started to serve better. Once that started happening, he was able to start dominating the rallies , his level rose a little bit and Altmaier dropped and levelled at 1st set all. There is minimal difference between their rankings and it showed, this was an example of a close match due to good play.
The 3rd set Altmaier had to fight harder to hold serve and working for longer rallies. Comesana was hitting the big serves and waiting for short balls on the forehand to dominate the points. Got to 3rd set breaker and Atlmaier starts to take a few more risks coming to the net which started to work and took the buster.
Comesana is fighting hard, sticking to his patterns of play and Altmaier gets broken from 30-0 up and the German doesn't have a chance to break and going the distance. Altmaier got the early break, now whether it was a tactical and maybe a bit physical, he is moving forward to make volleys after strong groundstrokes. In this set he was being successful, mentally very strong on serve and managed to serve out the match comfortably for his first win in Melbourne.
Shapovalov vs. Bautista Agut
This match was the perfect example of tennis about match ups and a contrast of styles. Shapovalov the left handed shotmaker who is a lot of sizzle and not much steak whereas Bautista Agut is the very steady baseliner with predictable patterns of play.
Shapo when he is on can create a lot of highlight reels, but when he is off might as well play baseball. He started off poorly, winner, a few errors and Bautista was being his solid self taking the 1st set.
Bautigol got the early break in the 2nd, but Shapo raised his level, made less errors he was taking chances and was able to turn the match around. Bautigol, doesn' t have the greatest variation and this is the problem with this match up for him. Shapo loves rhythm and he gets that from Bautista Agut.
Shapo has improved his level, there was the odd temperamental moment. Bautigol is trying to dig it, move to the net a bit more but he's not sticking the volleys and Shapo is making most of his passing shots to take the 3rd set.
The 4th set both players are playing at a very good level. Bautigol sticking to his regular patterns of play side to side, Shapo using his big serve to open the court up and belt winners. They end up in the 4th set breaker and it was just nervous tennis all round, as the level dropped. The first 6 points were against the serve. Bautigol was more solid as per norm he had 5 set points and worst of all there was at 6-5 that he served a double fault. That can't be legislated and Shapo was able to take the match in 4.
Problems that Bautista Agut has in this match up is that he loves going to cross court and also as he is a flat hitter that goes into Shapo's strengths. There wasn't enough attempts to change the directions or balls down the middle preventing Shapo using the angles, got to mix it up to attempt to keep him off balance. If it's too good, then so be it.
Tennis, some days you play well and not win, other days you play shit and win. Ultimately, got to take your opportunities but that's the same in life.
Other Stuff
One of the great things about an international event like this is hearing all the different languages it creates a good buzz.
The Argentinian, Brazilian and Colombian fans creating the noise. After the Etcheverry and Diaz Acosta wins, the Argentine fans started the Argentina Es un Sentimiento No Puedo Parar chant.
Today was the first day of the main draw that I was on the premises. Sorry, Sunday starts don't count as they are just a money grab and the results are normally forgotten about. This edition, they had matches that were meant for today, rescheduled for tomorrow, but can't control the weather.
Onto the positives, it took 20 minutes to get in as there were a huge amount of people but to be fair and the line moved fairly quickly got into the complex. As for the other aspects more on those later.
Mensik vs. Bashashvili
A match between the old and new. Last year at 18 years old Menšík had qualified for the Open defeating the overrated Shapovalov before losing in 5 sets to the big Pole Hurkacz. Menšík is a big talent to anyone with functioning eyesight can see that, but he's still raw.
Bashashvili, well he had some issues in the past and as a player the difference between his best and worst is large. He had qualified for the main draw, that's the thing about tennis the game does move quickly and it's easy to be left behind.
Hard to say much about this match. There was a lot of big hitting, not too much science, both players weren't playing well at the same time. In the end it was Menšík who had the bigger game, served well at times and played the bigger points better.
Menšík
Yes, it went to 4 sets, but there was never in any danger that Menšík was going to lose. It's one of those where the player is happy just to get the win and improve on the next performance.
Daniel vs. Schoolkate
If I wasn't too enthused about the previous match, then this one was worse. Daniel has lost confidence and started the season poorly. Schoolkate is the local Aussie wildcard who has definitely not skipped on gym sessions.
The first 2 sets were close mainly because they were serving well and not too much action on the return games. The 3rd set Daniel had a lapse of concentration and Schoolkate kept up this level with the support of the crowd definitely helped taking a 2 sets to 1 lead.
The 4th set started the same as the first and second, both were holding serve comfortably. Schoolkate got the break in the 4th and closed it out. The reward is a lesson against Jannik Sinner.
Daniel, the serve lacked pop and the shots as well. When he was playing well both the serve and forehand were heavy using each to open up the court to keep the opponent on the move. The lack of confidence is clear and the first place it shows in the movement. Daniel looked very heavy legged and it shows, as he is not in position to hit the good shots.
Davidovich Fokina vs. Shang
Unlike the other two matches this was very entertaining but sadly too brief. Foki has had an interesting career trajectory and not in the right direction. Last year he sacked his long time coach, then hired Fernando Verdasco which was a spectacular failure. Now he is working with David Sanchez and Felix Mantilla hopefully he gets back on track, but that is up to him.
This match was on the pub court aka Court 6. As the previous match had a Chinese player, Shang was definitely the crowd favourite which was mostly Chinese, who were lively. Foki dropped his first service game which was mostly dumb errors.
Shang was using his lefty angles and forehand to dominate the play. Foki was in the mood to fight and start hitting the ball better in the extended rallies, yes there were a few boneheaded plays but not as many as usual. Foki was hitting some very clean forehands and willing to move to the net to finish the point. The 12th game was very hard fought with lots of deuces and break points, Foki managed to take and get it to the buster.
Both players were playing well with the shotmaking. Foki from both sides whereas Sheng was using the forehand to open the court up. Foki was moving very well and only had a couple of slips which is unusual for him. He managed to take the first set TB.
The second set started the same way with Foki losing his first service game, but was able to break back straight away. Not long afterwards Shang started to grab his leg, at the change of ends the physio was checking him out. Foki played it smart, stretching and testing Shang's movement. At 5-2 in the 2nd Shang pulled the pin, just hope he's ok and now Foki is through to the 2nd round.
Other stuff
In the last few years there has been a been a big increase in French fans at the Open. I like the atmosphere that they brink and yes they sing La Marselliase, but to be fair it's one of the great anthems. They managed to get Cavaux to over the line over Sebastian Baez. If we are being honest as good as Baez is on the clay, he really is the Teemu Diego Schwartzman and he's the seed you want to draw.
Chris O'Connell lost a tough 5 setter to Tommy Paul. He is one of the good guys on the tennis tour and disappointed he couldn't win it. I mean he lost his coach Marinko Matosevic to Jordan Thompson, it was O'Connell who recommended Marinko to coach Jordy. It helped both players to achieve their best performances, but now Marinko is focused on Jordy, then he is the higher ranked player.
As for the pack it up, pack it in it fits the scene at Melbourne Park. Tennis Australia will crow about the record crowd numbers, but what's the point of this when it is an awful fan experience for the most part. There are just way too many people and the court seating needs to be expanded. Then again TA are packing in the money, so this is something that will not change.
Yes, it's that time of the year where the tennis circus comes to town and this blog actually some action.
Was debating whether I was going to do one this year. A combination of tiredness, the corporatisation of the event and a case of Idontgiveafuckitis definitely happened, but we all have our battles to deal with.
Before we get into the tennis action of today. Probably the most notable things from the past 2 days were the Nard Dogg aka Bernard Tomic who lost easily in the 1st round. B'Nard was never the quickest around the court and the funky forehand, but he was moving in quicksand. As for Tomic it's admirable, that he is still trying, but in the case of those great philosophers a case of too much too young for him. The other was Cruz Hewitt getting a wildcard, well the case for nepotism is legit, but at least he will learn a lot from this experience, there were so many people. They must have thought that Lleyton was playing.
Dellien vs. Kasnikowski
Dellien the Bolivian hope who is very much a clay court specialist who is coached by the great man Andres "Gringo" Schneiter who is also working with Federico Coria. Schneiter is a well respected coach and has had success with various players and that will come into significance later.
First set Dellien played one poor game, a double fault, 2 cheap errors and lost an early break. Kasnikowski was serving well and holding comfortably and took the 1st set without too many issues. Gringo is a very passionate coach and you want to play for someone like that and no bullshit either.
Dellien was able to able to extend the rallies and once they went over 13 shots, he was winning a lot of them more so in forcing the Pole into error as Dellien does not have a massive weapon. In the 2nd set Bolivian was able to create break point chances but Kasnikowski was able to save them with a decent serves and the odd passive return.
Towards the end of the 2nd set Dellien decided to vary his returning position and was able to create doubt in the Polish player who was missing more first serves. Dellien finally breaks to take the 2nd set and was working with the Pole around the court with his forehand.
At the end of the second set both took a toilet break, it was funny as Dellien took his 2-3 minutes later and came back before the Pole. It was ludicrous how much time Kasnikowski took, he must have had a shower and the search party ready. Once the play resumed, Dellien kept his focus, saved some break points and Kasnikowski was struggling physically and the Bolivian comfortably took out the 3rd set.
Garin vs. Djere
Two former top 30 players who have been injured and struggling to relive their glory days. It was a very interesting atmosphere and lot of up and down play, sometimes there are just bad match ups, then there are moments where the luck favours you.
Djere was serving for the match in the 3rd set but was unable to close it out. Garin holds serve and Djere serving to stay in the match. At deuce, Garin gets a dead net cord to get to match point and the breaks for the match.
Garin got out of jail here, he was also holding his quad during the match. He plays Dellien for a place in the main draw. It's interesting cause Garin beat Hugo's brother in the first round an in addition when Garin was at his peak his coach was Gringo Schneiter, that just adds some extra spice to the match.
Landaluce vs. Trotter
Trotter had beaten the combative Daniel Evans in the first round. Trotter represents Japan and yes he has a Japanese mother. Has an aggressive game and always looking forward to come to the net, also he is a member of the single hand backhand club.
Landaluce, if you weren't aware of him you'd think it was a Spanish Denis Istomin lookalike. I mean the blond fro, the headband and the sunglasses, The young Spanish lad has trained at the Rafael Nadal academy as well.
The key difference in this match was Landaluce was more stable from the baseline, used his serve and forehand very well, Trotter while trying to push forward had made some errors at the big moments and Landaluce took it out in straight sets.
After the match the coach of Landaluce starting singing Happy Birthday and the crowd joined on the serenade. Making his first main draw would be an excellent birthday present.
Other stuff
They have added another bar by Court 16. There is some very silly art as well, it looks like a bit Yellow Submarine artwork, though without the Blue Meanies. It's not really a tournament these days, but it's more an event where most of the people don't know the difference between forehand and forehead.
Final round of qualies tomorrow and that's always fun.
This
week Salto’s finest aka Pablo Cuevas announced his retirement from
tennis. Time waits for nobody and Cuevas is no different.
When it comes to tennis retirements, there are certain themes especially for players who rely on their movement. Not everyone has a serve like Karlovic who at 50 could probably win matches on the pro tour, sure he couldn’t return a phone call but that’s not the point.
Not
having a huge weapon and when a player loses that 2-5%, they are
going to be late to the ball, the weight of shot isn’t there and
it’s a lot easier to attack for the younger opponents. Day in,
day out it gets more difficult to retain consistency. Getting
injured later in the career just accelerates the process.
Pre
Injury
Cuevas
definitely had a before and after career. There was the period
where he was starting out on his way playing the Futures and
Challengers.
In
2005 he made his Davis Cup debut vs. Cuba and won his first of two
Futures titles beating Machi Gonzalez in the process. It wasn’t
until 2007 that Cuevas made his Grand Slam debut losing to Andy
Murray after qualifying at the US Open, he lost in the last round of
qualies to Dusan Vemic at Roland Garros.
After
consolidating his 2007 season with strong Challenger results 2008 was
the year that got Cuevas noticed to a wider audience outside of Latin
America for varying degrees. His singles breakthrough was at Viña
del Mar where he had 2 match points against hometown hero Fernando
Gonzalez but ended up losing 6-7 7-6 6-2, though in the 2nd set
tiebreaker he hit one of the most famous winners, the clip says
enough. The crowd and Gonzalez were really intimidating Cuevas, had
Cuevas won the semi final, it would have been his first ATP title as
Juan Monaco injured his ankle in a doubles match when he collided
with the linesman’s chair and withdrew from the final.
In
2008 Roland Garros Cuevas won the doubles title with Luis Horna.
These were two talented singles players entering for some cash and
having fun, yet they won the title which was refreshing and
surprising. The great ride started when they played the French duo of
Clement and Llodra in the first round, an excellent combo and
competent at singles as well, so they definitely aren’t doubles
specialists. They were handled with ease, then took out Nieminen and
Lindstedt in the next round and after this they took out Dlouhy/Paes
in the 3rd round. They made the quarter finals taking out 2 seeded
combinations.
In
the quarter finals the shenanigans with the Bryans began. The Bryans
were huge favourites, but luckily the conditions were very heavy with
the constant rain, making the court heavier which was better for the
South Americans. The 3rd set tiebreaker was hilarious when Ceuvas
jumped the net and it was clearly nowhere near the Bryans, but after
the match when Lucho and Cuevas won, the Bryan bitches refused to
shake Cuevas’s
hand. “He was really disrespectful,” Mike said. “He jumped the
net right in our face. It’s classless.” But Cuevas’s response
was class. “Maybe I celebrated a little too much. But it’s worth
it,” he said. “It’s not every day you beat the No. 1 team.”
From 4.00
The
semi final against another unseeded team Soares/Vemic was their most
difficult match, as they got closer to the final, they blew match
points, but managed to make it through to the final. Lucky the
conditions were quite heavy and it suited Lucho and Cuevas for sure.
They came out on fire slapping returns that the doubles specialists
weren’t used to handling at all. Lucho ripping on the forehand side
and Ceuvas with the single hander, these devastating shots were too
much for Nestor/Zimonjic who looked all at sea out there under the
onslaught. The first set was over quickly and the second was slightly
more competitive, but the same pattern continued the South Americans
won 6-2 6-3. One could see they couldn’t believe that they won and
Cuevas said afterwards “we weren’t expecting to get that far”.
Better
Than Ever
Up
until 2021, Cuevas had a big win over Andy Roddick at Miami, which
was like playing at home for him. Later in
the year, is where the knee problems started and he was out of the
game for a very long time. One can never tell how players will come
back and Lucho Horna came out and said “if
he recovers from injury, then Cuevas has the potential to be a top 20
player”. Lucho was right as Cuevas
reached 19th
at the world at his peak. Here is an interview with Pablito, where he explains how he became a better player after the injury and his tennis journey Pablo Cuevas Interview
As
outstanding as it was to reach the top 20 after being out of the game
for almost 2 years. His Grand Slam record was not great and never
reached the 4th
round of any Slam. He made the 3rd
round at Roland Garros and there were definitely some opportunities
lost. Tennis is a brutal sport, and don’t get that many chances
need to take them.
In
2014 Cuevas had 2 of his best weeks on the professionaltour. He won his first title at Båstad
by destroying Joao Sousa for the loss of 3 games. Not sure how much
time was spent at Pepe’s Bodega during the week. Next week he won
Umag after qualifying, also he won the Montevideo Challenger later
in the year.
The
biggest tournament win of his career was the 2016 Rio Open and he has
a record that no one has achieved since. Cuevas defeated 5 left
handers in a row, considering how magnificent his backhand was, you
may get the impression he liked playing lefties. He defeated
Bagnis, Monteiro, Delbonis, Nadal and Pella.
The
Entertainer
There
is an old debate in Argentina, whether you are a Menotti or a
Bilardo fan. Bilardo was the arch pragmatist, only results,
whereas Menotti wanted to win but it had to be entertaining. That’s
the thing with tennis it’s not ski jumping, you don’t get points
for style.
Cuevas
delivered a lot of entertaining moments, with the trickshots that
never get old, the ATP Cup ad making the best of quarantine during the Covid time.
Not
everything is measured in wins and losses, unless you’re a bean
counter. Cuevas was very fun to watch especially when he was kicking
the opponent out so wide on the ad side, slaying the backhands and
the variety. Tennis needs all kinds of
players, but that is getting more difficult in the age of
homogenisation.
Congratulations
on a great career Pablito, thank you for being yourself and always
cool with me. Enjoy the asado, skiing, surfing life with your
family in your post tennis career.
In the social media generation, many fans thought tennis started
with the big 3 and especially on clay it was ground zero before Rafa Nadal
started dominating. Facebook was in its infancy, Twitter, TikTok and Instragram
didn’t exist, matches at 3 of the 4 Grand Slams were decided by advantage sets. Time does not stand still and this was the
last really open event at Roland Garros before the Nadal reign of terror.
This being said, no one was expected Gaston Gaudio the mercurial
Argentine to be standing tall at the end of the fortnight, some surprises are better
than others.The final itself was a
ridiculous match with an epic ending.
Most humans like a redemption a story and this was a very popular
victory all things considered.Gaudio was
always a very talented player with a gorgeous single handed backhand, excellent
touch and knew his away around a clay court.In spite of his great tennis talent, mentally he was very fragile.There had been many instances where it was
more difficult to lose and Gaudio achieved it.
In his own words.“I'm from Argentina. With us, there are two possible
ways: the “Menotti” way and the “Bilardo” way (the only two coaches to lead
Argentina to the title of football world champion, before Scaloni.) I've always
been a Menottista. I believe in the beautiful game.”
The low times
Gaudio started doing well
in 2022 winning 2 consecutive titles and losing to the finalist Ferrero.But the fall came in 2023 with Davis Cup in
Malaga.Coria and Nalbandian the top 2
guys were out.Gaudio was in poor form
at the time, but ended up playing the tie.Played like crap against Ferrero on Day 1, then big wins in the doubles
and Calleri got it to a live 5th rubber.Gaudio has the chance to redeem himself but
produces another poor performance losing in straight sets and Spain make the
final. Yes, Gaudio was poor in difficult circumstances but the level of vitriol
and abuse was intense. When he was back in Buenos Aires people would tell him
what a shit performance it was, a disgrace and should never play Davis Cup again.
Ironically Gaudio never played Davis Cup again this was more due to
circumstances (court conditions) or balance of the team.
Rejuvenation
There were signs of life
during the European clay season he was toying with Lleyton Hewitt at Monte
Carlo leading 6-1 5-2 served for the match but choked as he did plenty of times
in his career, while he lost the match it was the start of improvement. He reached
the Barcelona final beating Moya on the way who was top 10 at the time losing
to Tommy Robredo in the final where one of the dodgiest acts of gamesmanship
occurred. Robredo up 5-4 serving for the title in the 5th set 15-40 calls for
the trainer for cramps. First of all, should only happen at change of ends, the
umpire got conned by a bullshit move, while Robredo was celebrating the title
better things were along the way for Gaudio. "The doubt prevails. But it
was my fault, I got distracted afterwards. He used a great tactic, although I
could never do something like that right"
World Team Cup the week
before Roland Garros Gaudio won a couple of matches against Verkerk or Hewitt,
but nothing to suggest that he was going to perform one of the most surprising,
enjoyable Roland Garros tournament victories with a bizarre final that’ll be
very difficult to beat for the drama it created.
Gaudio had never been past the
4th round at any Slam before 2004 Roland Garros nor did he achieve it
afterwards. The potential was always there when in the mood the single hand
backhand is a work of art, can drive well high or low, ability to change
direction, feel on the backhand dropshot, slice wasn’t used so often but used
well. The big key to his improvement was the forehand which was used mainly to
set up the play for the backhand to finish off. Now the forehand was able to
win more points outright with this shot and Franco Davin a calming influence
all contributed.
Roland Garros
As an unseeded player
Gaudio wasn’t going to get an easy Very tough first rounder with fellow
Argentine Cañas in 5, took out the seed Jiri Novak in 5 sets. Gaudio settled
down took out Enqvist and Andreev without too much fuss.
The quarter final with
Hewitt was just brilliant Gaudio hardly any errors at all, the backhand working
its magic, no shenanigans about how crap he was playing when the ball missed by
the strings by 0.000001mm. Hewitt knew he was beaten by the better man and the
Aussie commentators didn’t want to admit it though they weakened eventually.
Next up was David Nalbandian in the semifinal it was another brilliant showing
from Gaudio, both guys were working the angles with the backhand. Gaudio took
the 1st set, Nalbandian served for the 2nd set but Gaudio fought back to get
into the tiebreaker, once he won the TB he was seeing the ball so well and
Nalbandian had an injury problem as well though he knew early in the 3rd set
the fork was in there.
Yes, this has been a very
long article before mentioning the man he beat in the final Guillermo Coria.
There are just some things that aren’t meant to happen. Pineapple shouldn’t be
on pizza, the sun doesn’t spin around the earth, white chocolate isn’t
chocolate and only altitude sickness you will get in the Netherlands isn’t
through the mountains. These two were just never meant to get on, they had a
few incidents and the press loved stirring it up as well since it was good copy.
Coria was the kid who was
bred to play tennis, whereas Gaudio wasn’t necessarily. Coria got support from
the AAT whereas Gaudio and players from his generation didn’t. Before Roland
Garros Coria booked a hotel for the celebration for winning the title as he was
clearly the hottest player in 2004 on clay and expected to win over his foe. In
Viña del Mar Coria won a close match they were giving each other some verbal
shots. Gaudio got the revenge in Buenos Aires he unfurled an Independiente flag
(the football team he passionately supports) and jogged towards Esteban
Cambiasso, the team’s star who was celebrating Gaudio’s triumph. Coria swears
that, while Gaudio was going towards Cambiasso, he “hit” him in the face with
part of the flag.
While these were tasty
the best one was in Hamburg 2003 where they played the semifinal Coria won the
1st set, then Gaudio won the 2nd set. Coria then called for the trainer
claiming he was cramping, he got treatment and afterwards was running around
faster than he did before. It was a
brilliant con job which Gaudio lost concentration losing the last 6-0. After
the match they had to be separated as to whether Gaudio hit him as was
allegedly claimed. The best answer for his was when Gaudio’s friend Lucho Horna
who played Coria after the incident when Coria was whining he said “ shut up,
I’m not Gaudio I will hit you”.
With all this bad blood
before the final which both of them wanted to win so badly impacted negatively
on the match itself, Gaudio was so nervous could hardly get the ball in court
for 2 sets. Coria was very comfortable cruising along, then the French crowd
were bored started doing the wave which relaxed Gaudio who started playing
better. One moment when Gaudio hit a dropshot which Coria couldn’t quite make he
pulled up short at 4-4 in the 3rd, this was when the fun started. After 90
minutes Coria cramps gets treated for it, definitely not due to lack of fitness
more like anxiety and pressure.
Gaudio plays better wins
the next 2 sets against a guy who can’t move. The 5th set was one of the most
ridiculous, bizarre and crazy things to happen on a tennis court. Gaudio so
nervous can’t hit the ball into court against a guy who at times can’t run, then
explode with others. Coria has 2 match points gets tight, then the moment came
7-6 15-40 on Coria’s serve, Gaudio drills a backhand winner and the moment
where his dream became reality. The Paris crowd loved the celebration high
fiving the spectators, it was a popular win one because he was a huge underdog,
two Coria wasn’t universally liked by his peers because of his sneaky weasel
like antics. He was unable to complete his speech at the presentation breaking
down in tears, it didn’t help that the father of Argentine tennis Guillermo
Vilas was there to present the trophies.
Gaudio and Coria will
always be linked together through this bizarre match, the mutual loathing they
had even the fact that Franco Davin had been Coria’s coach previously. Coria was
expected to win Roland Garros but never did, yet there is a delicious irony
that Gaudio who choked many matches was able to come back from 2 sets down and
2 match points to win Roland Garros. He was never expected to win one, Coria
and Nalbandian were meant to be the Slam winners, it’s good to upset the
conventions in cases like this.
Tennis has a changed a lot from those days, as the sport becomes
more professional and a lot less characters.Is it better, well there is more coverage and like anything it is very
subjective.
In the words of Gaudio himself."To those who were waking up to watch my
matches on TV, I tell them that I hope they had a good time with some of my
games. Because at the end of the day, that’s what it's all about, having a good
time. In tennis and sport in general. I tried. I hope to have brought a bit of
joy to someone.”
Yes, John "The Mailman" Millman has retired from tennis. Of course everyone would like to retire with a title aka Pete Sampras, but life isn't always like that. It was the body that let him down in the end. I mean it's just a fact of life the older you get, the longer it takes to recover. It's a fact in your teens and 20s going out every weekend and having fun that gets more difficult as you get older, even more so in professional tennis with the travelling, the surface changes, speed endurance of the sport grinds you down after a while.
Millman was never one of the favoured sons of the establishment or junior hotshot like Tomic who peaked at a young age and had everything give to him. Unlike many of his peers Millman finished school before attempting to make it on the tour. It definitely wasn't a smooth rise up the rankings as Millman had suffered a lot of injuries especially to the shoulder, hip, in addition to managing an ongoing back condition. For further information about the early days and emerging career please check an older interview I did with the Mailman John Millman Interview
It could be argued that Tennis Australia did treat Millman's career as an afterthought. Online there was a big backlash about Millman not getting a wildcard to the main draw of the Australian Open. This sentiment was shared with the numerous people of different and diverse backgrounds that I spoke with at the venue. Yes, that was universally a poor decision, though at the same time it was very strange he never got a wildcard to Brisbane, considering how much he promotes the city, it was his last event and all of that.
Millman was top 40 in the world, played Davis Cup, represented Australia at the Olympics and achieved the rare feat of winning 6-0 6-0 at the Tokyo Olympics, defeated Roger Federer at the US Open and probably should have done it as well at the Aus Open. You know the Spanish and French federations would make sure their well established veterans would get a main draw wildcard to their final event.
Connection
I had first come across Millman at the Burnie Challenger many years ago. Yes, kids it's fun watching Challengers and qualies at Slams, especially when you see how they develop their careers. Even the current big guys played at that level once.
This sums up Millman in many ways. In the words of former Spanish player and former TA coach Felix Mantilla. " When you play like me that you must be running all the day, I don't have the serve of Sampras or the volley of Rafter or the talent of Agassi, you know. I must be very focus every point. I must be strong mentally", To adapt that for modern times it would be the serve of Isner, the return of Djokovic or the talent of Federer.
As Millman did not have the natural talents of Federer, Kyrgios and other players, he made up for it with work ethic, fighting spirit and doing everything possible to maximise his talents. Just like our new Aussie Open Jannik Sinner, Millman was raised by outstanding parents who can be proud of the man he has become. A great competitor, resilient after all the injury comebacks, an outstanding sportsman who has the respect of fans and peers.
Best Wins
Court 3 at Melbourne Park is easily the best show court at the venue and it's not close. This is where Millman won his first ever 5 set match against the Luxembourg serving machine Gilles Muller. The fact Millman was hititng with Wayne Arthurs a leftie who could hit a 100 serves off the same balltoss helped him a lot.
Millman was returning well and showing a lot of positive body language. Millman is stepping into the court getting the balance right between attack and defence. The crowd are loving it and spurring him on. There was the chant “I believe, I believe, I believe he will win” and the Mailman delivered a great victory in the end. That was the match that put him over with the crowd and developed a connection with them which became Millmania, as he is relatable and accessible to the average punter . It was the court that he became familiar with and fitting he played his last match there.
The taste of victory
I was very happy that Millman managed to win an ATP title before retirement, especially after what happened in Budapest. On the clay Millman had made his first ATP final and potentially was going to play against Seppi in the final. This was averted by a certain Italian lucky loser Marco Cecchinato who ended up winning the title and beating Djokovic at Roland Garros.
Luckily Millman was able to get another opportunity to win a final in Kazakhstan against Mannarino and was able to do so. If there was ever an individual to deserve an ATP title it was Millman.
Millman winning the title
In terms of ranking the Mailman delivering the feat of beating Roger Federer at the US Open would classify as his biggest win. I was at work unable to watch the match but following on the scoreboard. In the final set tiebreaker decided to take an unscheduled break and watch the buster with shit reception. I was waiting for the confirmation that he had actually won the match, such a great moment. Of course everyone in the local media wanted to know about John Millman and the parents got bombarded with media requests. Yes, the 15 minutes of fame thing.
Yes, I still hate the 5th set tiebreaker and Millman had 8-4 against Federer to win in Melbourne Park. It was the classic playing the situation and not point by point and sadly lost the match. Tennis is such a brual sport, there are some days you play well and lose, others you play like a donkey and win.
Closing Time
Millman after he lost in qualies was working for the local commentary and also on a tennis podcast during the Open. Yes, he was outstanding in those roles and hope he comes back next year to do them. Doesn't talk too much during commentary and adding information at the right time.
Now the new chapter begins back in his beloved Brisbane. Hanging out with the friends, partner, pets, watching Liverpool FC and going down the academic route. You just know that he will do well in whatever direction life takes him. From the Burnie Challenger, the injuries, the comebacks and the other stuff it was an honour to follow his career.
It's not always about the titles and the money. There are only so few places at the top of the tennis tree. After some time to reflect, the question for the athlete is did they give themselves the best opportunity to maximise their abilities
Long time readers of this rather idiosyncratic blog know that the great man Andreas Seppi is known as the King of South Tyrol and Sinner is the Prince. Now the coronation has been complete with Jannik Sinner winning the Australian Open and doing it from 2 sets to 0 down in first Slam final joining the likes of Gaston Gaudio to do it. The first Italian man to win a Slam since Adrian Panatta.
It was not a question of if but when, in relation to Sinner winning major titles. Sinner has a great temperament and excellent work ethic always willing to build and add new things to his game. He was easily the best player in event, but that counts for nothing unless you get it done in the final.
You don't start building a house with the roof. The foundations are so important and the fact Sinner played football in addition to being an outstanding skier has helped his tennis so much. Leaving his home region to work with Ricardo Piatti in the development years, the original coach in South Tyrol to the current crew of Vagnozzi and Cahill.
Sinner has brilliant balance, the core strength and the ability to hit huge off both sides makes it harder to get him on the defensive. As well as tinkering with the serve, he has added some more muscle and improved his defensive skills.
The fact that Sinner beat Mr Australian Open Djokovic in the semis had many people thinking he would just waltz in the final just needing to turn up and defeat the quirky Danil Medvedev. The gangly Russian who did well to make the final after coming back from 2 sets down twice to win matches and another 5 setter with Hurkacz. Medvedev was on fire the first 2 sets being ultra aggressive serving well, returning from close to the baseline and not making errors.
Sinner did not panic, he started to improve his first serve percentage which helped him get more free points and gave him opportunities to step into the court and dominate with his groundstrokes. Medvedev could not keep that level up and Sinner breaking at 5-4 to take the 3rd set changed the momentum.
It was obvious the cumulative fatigue was catching up with Medvedev and naturally in pressure situations players tend to revert to type. The Russian became more defensive, though Sinner was hitting with more pace, penetration and depth.
Sinner's definitely got the South Tyrolean temperament where he is less volatile than say Fognini and other Italians. He was able to turn around the match and as he was so much fresher than Medvedev who was clearly gassed in the 4th set, but still got to be good enough to execute the plan. The thing that was impressive with Sinner besides coming back from 2 sets down was that he played the match instead of the situation. What I mean is "hey, I am in the 5th set and close to winning my first major title" that's the situation and he played point by point to deservedly win the title.
Personally I am very happy for Sinner as he is a good guy, as well as an outstanding player. He gave a shout out to his parents and it's obvious that he was raised by good people. Always respectful, humble, dry sense of humour and it's great that he didn't have those parents who are trying to live their dreams through their kid.
It's fantastic to see Italian tennis on the rise. They have a lot of players, plenty of places to play tennis, very passionate and knowledgeable fans. Italian challenger events get excellent crowds as well as the major events.
The fact the great man Andreas Seppi from the tennis hotbed of South Tyrol had a very successful career definitely helped inspire Sinner in the early days. Now the transition from Crown Prince to King is now complete.
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