Luxilon Borg said:
I will go first:
1) Grigor D:
a) Play closer to the baseline, you do way to much running
to cover balls. This will also give you the opportunity to get in tighter
to the net when approaching
b) Be more efficient. Lots of wasted energy trying to make athletic, one in ten
gets, and too much flailing at shots.
c) Already on the agenda, but physicality has another level to go
2) Nish:
a) Physicality and overall strengthening of vulnerable body parts must be a huge priority.
3) Milos R:
a) Must work on agility. It should be a huge priority.
b) Additional use of serve and voilley
c) Improve slice backhand
4) Stan:
a) Add more subtely. Prefers the club and sledgehammer, and can lead to one dimensional play at times. Variety will only make the power game more devastating.
b) Better shot selection under pressure.
5) The Dog:
a) Add discipline to shot selection, and develop reliable patterns of play, then use improvisational skills to your advantage
b) Add at lest 20% to physicality.
6) JW Tsonga:
a) Discipline and Patience. You cannot hit through every opponent.
b) Down the line backhand must improve
c) Must improve net positioning. Constantly lunging and flailing to react to passing shots.
Excellent post and agree with most it.
[1] Grigor
Agree about Grigor. He needs to move up the court. I maybe in a minority but I still don't think his movement is anywhere near the top bracket. He's not as naturally athletic as any of the "Big 4" and doesn't read the game as well either (anticipation). I'm a fan though and expect him to get better in most departments... but he's not going to be the second coming of Roger Federer. Physically, I think he'll grow into himself, but he needs to work on general fitness, footwork and movement.
[2] Nishikori
I like Nishikori. Great technician. Takes the ball early and clean. He's smart too. Agree that he needs to improve physically but I feel his natural size imposes a ceiling on what he'll achieve. It wouldn't surprise me if this guy actually won a major down the line if all chips fell into place... although right now he's a little fragile physically to put his name in that hat.
[3] Raonic
I don't think Milos is ever going to be a good enough mover to hit the top echelon. For me he is a Joachim Johannson Fringe Top 10. Couple of big weapons. Always dangerous... I'd tend to agree with your assessment - but I'd focus more on working on his strengths more than his weaknesses, other than his return of serve which blatantly needs work. I know Raonic has a little bit of a fanbase on here but I'm not one of them - I don't particularly enjoy watching him.
[4] Stan
I kind of agree, but at Stan's stage of his career, I think he's better concentrating on what he does best. For me, Stan is a confidence player. He's got a game to beat anybody - it's all about execution. On paper, variety might seem an obvious choice, but I think Stan at his best is more of a "Stop me doing what I do best if you can" and if all cylinders are firing and he's playing with confidence then I'd run with that.
[5] Dolgo
Couldn't have said it better. Dolgo has no "go to" game or patterns of play. He's almost predictably unpredictable. Difficult guy to establish any sort of rhythm against but on the same note, lacks any rhythm himself.
[6] Tsonga
Tsonga lacks some things you can't really teach IMO. He lacks the intangibles. He's a great athlete, good hands but lacks things like anticipation, shot selection and knowing when to play the percentages . In short, he's not got a great tennis IQ. Think James Blake. I also think he's overrated on the backhand. Like you said his positioning at the net isn't great but he does have natural volleying ability. For me, this guy would be a frustrating coaching assignment because he has all the tangibles but few of the intangibles.
