Delray Beach 250 HC

[herios]

Draw:

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/current/delray-beach/499/draws

Delpo watch, he opens against Kudla.

 

[10isfan]

Best of luck to Potro. Good to see him back. Despite his defeating Fed at USO, I like him.

 

[herios]

John Patrick Smith (AUS) ranked 133, who comes through the qualies upsets Dr. Ivo:
6-3, 3-6, 6-2

 

[herios]

WC Rubin Noah upsets Sam Groth: 6-4, 4-6, 7-6

 

[mrzz]

Just watched the del Potro match. So far, so good. I would expect more rust...

The only problem is that he sliced around 90% of the bh's...

 

[isabelle]

Just watched the del Potro match. So far, so good. I would expect more rust...

The only problem is that he sliced around 90% of the bh's...

He wants to protect his wrist I guess

 

[Front242]

That's the same thing he did last time he returned and he promptly left not long afterwards. It's clearly not healed if he's still slicing all the time. Thought as much but had been trying to be positive. Shame but this guy's career is probably done and dusted if he can't do anything but slice on the backhand. I'll give him till Wimbledon or so to start hitting it properly and if he hasn't cut down on the slices by then it's probably game over 'cos he won't beat anyone good just slicing.

 

[Fiero425]

Gawd, no one cares I guess! Tried to give Johnson a glance, but knowing he's going nowhere makes it hard! How many players allow these kinds of leads to disappear? Mon dieu. we're talking, up a set, 2 breaks, with a point for a 3rd! He gave it all back; methodically losing in 3! He reminds me of the guys playing back "in the day;" nice solid players, but nothing that'll hurt anyone! I hope he has an education because if he intends on performing like this, he's going back to the Challenger ranks! ;-)

 

[isabelle]

Delpo could win, he's the best of all players there. Wish him good luck

 

[Riotbeard]

That's the same thing he did last time he returned and he promptly left not long afterwards. It's clearly not healed if he's still slicing all the time. Thought as much but had been trying to be positive. Shame but this guy's career is probably done and dusted if he can't do anything but slice on the backhand. I'll give him till Wimbledon or so to start hitting it properly and if he hasn't cut down on the slices by then it's probably game over 'cos he won't beat anyone good just slicing.

I wouldn't start getting to fatalistic yet. Getting confidence back in that wrist will take time. If it is healed, I actually think introduction of more sliced backhands is an interesting wrinkle into his game, combination of extreme power and occasional off-paced low balls would be difficult to acclimate to for a lot of players.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

If the opponents know that he can only do slice on BH, it is very easy for them to take advantage.

 

[Riotbeard]

If the opponents know that he can only do slice on BH, it is very easy for them to take advantage.

To be fair, in the highlights I saw it was more like 50-50 slice versus flat not 90-10.

 

[Front242]

That's the same thing he did last time he returned and he promptly left not long afterwards. It's clearly not healed if he's still slicing all the time. Thought as much but had been trying to be positive. Shame but this guy's career is probably done and dusted if he can't do anything but slice on the backhand. I'll give him till Wimbledon or so to start hitting it properly and if he hasn't cut down on the slices by then it's probably game over 'cos he won't beat anyone good just slicing.

I wouldn't start getting to fatalistic yet. Getting confidence back in that wrist will take time. If it is healed, I actually think introduction of more sliced backhands is an interesting wrinkle into his game, combination of extreme power and occasional off-paced low balls would be difficult to acclimate to for a lot of players.

Yeah, occasional off-paced balls are indeed good for alternating the tempo but the thing is that's the only way he's hitting his backhands for quite some time now and any good player will punish him. He can run around his backhand and hit forehands against the nobodies but any decent player will exploit his backhand and beat him easily. They will show no mercy whatsoever.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

I have not watched Delpo so far, but if he is really just slicing his backhand most of the time, I do not understand why he would return. If you are not physically and mentally ready to hit your backhand drive, why are you even bothering? I mean, there can be two reasons you are not hitting the double fisted backhand:
1- You are trying to protect your wrist, which means it is not ready and you should not have come back
2-You are afraid to hit it, which means you are not mentally ready and you should not have come back.

Am I missing something? I mean, a wrist injury is not something like conditioning, where you can play yourself into match form by playing. It is either healed or it is not.

 

[Kieran]

It's easier to attempt the slice, and I imagine he's still having difficulty with timing etc, so it's not unusual for a player to grab the conservative option when on their way back from a prolonged absence...

 

[Riotbeard]

Plus, he hit plenty of regular backhands in that match, just way more slice than usual. It would surprising if he had a ton of confidence in his backhand pain aside, so he is taking it slow.

Also, he won again!

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

It's easier to attempt the slice, and I imagine he's still having difficulty with timing etc, so it's not unusual for a player to grab the conservative option when on their way back from a prolonged absence...

That I get, but to be able to come back to the professional tour, he must have been playing and training for at least a couple of months. I can understand the conservative approach when you step on the training court for the first time, not an ATP court. You should have solved your issues by the time you play an ATP match, no?

Either way, I like the guy and I hope he knows what he is doing.

 

[Kieran]

It's easier to attempt the slice, and I imagine he's still having difficulty with timing etc, so it's not unusual for a player to grab the conservative option when on their way back from a prolonged absence...

That I get, but to be able to come back to the professional tour, he must have been playing and training for at least a couple of months. I can understand the conservative approach when you step on the training court for the first time, not an ATP court. You should have solved your issues by the time you play an ATP match, no?

Either way, I like the guy and I hope he knows what he is doing.

I agree to an extent but I think that even after practice matches, his first occasions in court in a tournament, with a crowd etc, will be tentative ones filled with a lot of personal emotion, and so I would expect him to be cautious and anxious for a while until it becomes habit again. He may also still be testing the limits of his recovery under match conditions, which as you know would be more heightened than the more relaxed setting of practice...

 

[mrzz]

If the opponents know that he can only do slice on BH, it is very easy for them to take advantage.

To be fair, in the highlights I saw it was more like 50-50 slice versus flat not 90-10.

Maybe the highlights are a bit biased... but it would be nice to hear from someone who saw the second match. The first I saw almost entirely, and it was indeed around 90-10 (I would say closer to 80-20).

 

[isabelle]

Vamos Juan, win that