Monfils Uses Emotional Adrenaline To Slay Kei in Montreal

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Andrew Miller writes:

Maybe the legend of Shapo will win again? One thing for certain Fritz noticed Shapo's masters semifinal! Surprised Sandgren didn't pull out the win. Fritz rediscovering something not too far from home.

 

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Hartt writes:

I must admit, even as a Canadian, I am a bit bewildered about why Bouchard is big news here, but she is. She does seem to have star power, even when she has not played well for about 3 years. Along with her good looks, she is outgoing and engages with her fans and the press, so I suppose that is part of it. (NP) But she is much more serious about her tennis than she is often given credit for. Those "in the know" have always said she is a hard worker and obviously she is trying to get more match play to try to turn around this long slump.

 

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catherine writes:

Andrew/Hartt - yes, I understand your perspective of Bouchard, and one thing you can say for her - she's not aloof. As for the spotlight, maybe Genie can talk about coping with that to a couple of other players who are or have been REALLY in the spotlight. * I'm one of those who thinks that Genie has never at some level recovered from Kvitova's thrashing. Genie was pretty young then (and she's not so old now I agree !)and Petra took absolutely no notice of that on court, why should she ?, treated her like big experienced competition and totally demolished her. Merciless. Who knows what effect that had on Genie's self-esteem, as a person and a player ?

 

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Hartt writes:

Catherine, I agree that the thrashing Kvitova gave Genie at Wimby had a big effect on her. She went into that match full of confidence, not knowing how fortunate she'd been to have such a good run. But then she faced the player I call "Scary Petra," who would have demolished anyone on that day. (Petra has said it may have been the best match of her career.) It was a rude awakening for a young player. (NP) Then she had a series of injuries that summer, had the meltdown at Rogers Cup, and hit the sophomore slump big time, and never got back on track. Just when it looked like she was finally playing better, at the USO, she suffered the concussion. There have been vague references to family problems being a distraction as well. So I give her credit for continuing to try to come back, but unless something changes suddenly, it does not look promising.

 

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Andrew Miller writes:

Bouchard made a fan of me with her decision to go to the olympics. When I saw her practice up close - with other wta players Mladenovic and Broady - i realized that she wasn't what some press folks were saying about her. It was a little sad to me that the narrative around her and "friends on tour" was so sour because of the Bouchard vs Robson debacle that the British press gobbled up and kept regurgitating. There was indeed something there with the Saviano is my coach thing, but who knows why that even happened - possible Saviano went for the payday or decided his schedule wasn't going to allow him to train both players given the tournaments would be different for each one. When i saw her she was back with Saviano, but this didn't seem like Bouchard the i don't need any friends on tour girl. It was the Bouchard i get along just fine thanks with other players on tour and we all have each other's cell phone numbers, and we may not be friends but we work it out because there aren't enough practice courts and hitting with other players helps to know their games!!! Difference between friendship and sparring partners, for sure. But looking back, was Bouchard really being dishonest? No. However, My guess. She's had misgivings about the tenure with Saviano. Seems her game had more to do with her talent etc than Saviano coaching. Hit harder.

 

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Andrew Miller writes:

Thought: Raonic lost his touch from Olypmics decision. It's possible he would have medaled, and that would have put him in Canada as a hero, and set him up with momentum for the us open. Worst decision he's made as a player after an epic run to the Wimbledon final.

 

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Andrew Miller writes:

Furthermore: Top ten players went to Olympics, so Raonic missed out. They excelled where he didn't, and that's still the case. His team unraveled and his game was troubled by his physical breakdowns.

 

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Andrew Miller writes:

Bouchard a little like Zvereva Natasha, Wimbledon finalist. Went on to hall of fame dubs. I think Bouchard has way more game, but as one TPer pointed out some time back when I said it, Bouchard isn't Seles even if her aggression on court resembled Seles' approach to the game. To me the most Seles of players, Serena Williams. On court ferocity.

 

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Andrew Miller writes:

Seles' array of shots and spins was so impressive. She could do a lot with the ball, though her net play (not her great drop shot!) was...pretty darn weak. Bouchard beats her there and also on serve, but with the groundies Bouchard doesn't have the variety.

 

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Scoop Malinowski writes:

At this point Bouchard is cross between Mary Joe Fernandez and Kournikova, whole lottta power and beauty but not quite there with that lil extra X factor and 'i simply wont be denied' tenacity. Mary Jo didn't have a Mary Jo Army though. Kournikova sure did

 

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Andrew Miller writes:

Back to Shapovalov, amazing play. He's going to get a match we all want against Zverev the Younger. Will one young man put the other in his place? I'm not making a prediction!!! My sense is Zverev gets how momentous the match is and wont want to encourage Shapo. He better start saying oh Denis is so amazing what a great player. Then ambush his younger opponent. If not this isn't going to end well for Zverev the Younger who probably wishes his big brother, who loves beating best generation players to set up his little brother, didn't get a shot at Shapo first and teach him a lefty lesson from the future!

 

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Scoop Malinowski writes:

So what if Bouchard had no friends on the tour? Sharapova does not. Sampras didn't either. Sampras once played eighteen holes of golf with three other ATP players and according to one player, 'Pete didn't say one word to anyone the entire 18 holes."

 

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Andrew Miller writes:

Agree with Scoop, kournikova without music videos!

 

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Scoop Malinowski writes:

Maybe Bouchard overachieved to get to the Wimble final? Maybe she realizes or believes she just isn't quite good enough yet to win a major. Self belief... Can't buy it in a bottle at tenniswarehouse.com.

 

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Scoop Malinowski writes:

Andrew; Fritz got the early break in the first game of the match though Sandgren led that game and that set the tone. Fritz like Paul is a very good player who actually has won a lot more at the ATP level than Sandgren so he is arguably the better player despite his ranking. Fritz is going to awaken again, just like Paul has. Sandgren is playing super ball too. Can't win em all.

 

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Scoop Malinowski writes:

Bouchard is big news. If she sneezes it's going to become a story. Certain athletes have that star power - Agassi, Tyson, Kournikova for a while, Jeter.

 

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Andrew Miller writes:

Scoop, I agree. Fritz is too good to let that talent go. But his footwork was LAZY in Atlanta! And Eubanks rightfully exposed some issues in Fritz game. I noticed that Fritz doesn't seem to have proper attitude heading into his matches - he had this just over a year and a half ago, wiping out veterans on his way to two challenger titles, an Australian bravado performance, then a memorable finals tun in Memphis and good playing in Delray before Querrey kiboshed him in a tight three setter. Maybe that Southern Californian ease could use a change up from the example of fellow Southern Californians like Querrey and others. He had such desire when he stepped on the court and that's way more diluted. Maybe because he doesn't have a great team around him. I don't know.

 

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Hartt writes:

At this point I think winning a Major is the least of Genie's concerns. She would like to win a few matches back-to-back. Getting back into the top 20 would be a huge accomplishment. (NP) The whole friends on tour thing got blown way out of proportion. Bouchard said it was difficult to have close friends on tour because then it was tough to play against them. Seems like a reasonable thing to think and many other players, such as Muguruza, have said exactly the same thing, but they don't get condemned for it. I suspect it is more that Genie is "all business" when she is at work. Andreescu said that about when they practice together, there is not a lot of chat. But Bianca went on to say that Genie is "a nice girl" and she enjoyed practicing with her.

 

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Andrew Miller writes:

Scoop that was funny. It's true, if Bouchard sneezes it will be front page!

 

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Hartt writes:

There has been discussion here about the young up-and-coming American players providing motivation for the older guys. I wonder if that could happen in Canadian tennis, for Vasek Pospisil in particular. Seeing Shapovalov's magical week in Montreal must remind Vasek of his own great run at the Rogers Cup in 2013, when he made the SF, beating players like Isner and Berdych along the way. (He lost to Raonic in that all-Canadian match.) A few months later he reached his career high of No. 25. (NP) But he never fulfilled that early promise, and now sits at No. 75 in the rankings. At 27, he is still young enough to make a push, and I wonder if he can actually do that. Vashy's story is a reminder not to get too excited about a young player's unexpected success. But I think Denis will do better than Pospisil in the long run. He is a very good competitor and sadly, Vasek is not.