Qatar Exxon Mobil Open - Doha - ATP 250

[mrzz]

About Zverev and Thiem... Zverev is my second choice for future elite. Yes, he won two MS which is something, but... in Rome, it was actually Thiem who did the heavy lifting... I simply doubt Zverev could handle Nadal there -- I doubt he would make it even competitive on a clay court. There is the injury factor in Montreal, but, a win is win anyway, good for him (as I said earlier, I like the guy). Thiem has only ATP 500 wins, but his major semis should count for something in the comparison.

What I see on Thiem and can't see in anybody else is the ability to play consistently on an absolute high level (I mean big 3 level) -- even if only on clay just yet. This is not "potential", this is the real deal, he did that already in 2017. I am sure you guys agree that this is not for everyone, and I believe it is far easier to fix or tweak one or another thing here and there surface related than to develop this capacity.

 

[Puppet Master]

Jesus Christ.
I am watching Verdasco vs Rublev right now.
Rublev is dad-dicking him with the forehand. I have only ever seen Delpo bring this kind of firepower.
His shots on the run/strecthed are godawful and he has no defense but he can literally knock the fluff off of the ball.

 

[El Dude]

I love Rublev's forehand, but you're right: the question is whether he can develop the other aspects of his game. If he can, he's going to win Slams. If not, he'll still be a top 10 guy and Masters champion.

 

[mrzz]

Jesus Christ.
I am watching Verdasco vs Rublev right now.
Rublev is dad-dicking him with the forehand. I have only ever seen Delpo bring this kind of firepower.
His shots on the run/strecthed are godawful and he has no defense but he can literally knock the fluff off of the ball.

Hey, PM, good to see you posting again. When I saw this match scheduled I was sure they would need new balls after every seven points, not seven games.... just saw some 15 minutes highlights... 15 minutes of ball bashing. Fantastic stuff. Hope these two draw each other in AO.

Rublev still needs to develop a lot of things, but... he has time, and in fact his back hand slice is already decent. He only needs to use it once in a while... He is a strong candidate for my next favorite player.

 

[Moxie]

Thiem v. Tsitsipas is starting out a corker. Attention to those of you who fetishize the 2HBH...they both have one. Side note: how come no one mentioned to me that Tsitsipas was such a dreamboat?

 

[mrzz]

A bit of hot and cold match, but some fantastic points in between. I highly recommend the highlights for the ones who missed it.

Tsitsipas lost an opportunity to show sportsmanship in a double bounce the umpire missed and he benefited from. I guess he would have known, but... I cannot be sure he did, so ok. Anyway the kid is competitive -- and good. Future top 10 at the very very least.

 

[isabelle]

La Monf in final Thiem W/O (he's sick)

 

[mrzz]

Haahahahaha, Rublev is a freaking beast! He was absolutely hammering everything, including in the deciding tie-break. Pella played one of the best matches of his life, so it seems (I caught the last 25 minutes), but it still wasn't enough. I was thinking whoever wins would destroy Monfils.

If Rublev still has energy in the tank -- it was a grueling match -- he will make holes in the ground with those fluffy loopy moon balls that Monfils plays.

Rublev is definitely one of my favorite players. Just hammer the poor ball down, YEAH!

 

[El Dude]

@mrzz, are we the first two members of the Rublev Fan Club? He's also one of my favorites. I want to like Zverev or Shapovalov more, as I think both will have more successful careers, but I can't help but prefer the temptestuous young Russian.

And yeah, his forehands are monstrous. I watched the highlights vs. Coric - just hammering them into the corners.

We'll see about Monfils. Rublev should win, and is definitely looking like a top 20 player now, but he could become frustrated if Monfils channels his brilliance.

 

[mrzz]

@mrzz, are we the first two members of the Rublev Fan Club? He's also one of my favorites. I want to like Zverev or Shapovalov more, as I think both will have more successful careers, but I can't help but prefer the temptestuous young Russian.

And yeah, his forehands are monstrous. I watched the highlights vs. Coric - just hammering them into the corners.

We'll see about Monfils. Rublev should win, and is definitely looking like a top 20 player now, but he could become frustrated if Monfils channels his brilliance.

Definitely. I guess I first saw him play about a year ago. For some reason I generally sympathize with Russian players (with Russians in general), and with aggressive players, so I had to check out for my bias with double care. What I am seeing in Rublev now is fearless determination -- not just blind aggression -- and a quite good technique, because it takes a lot of skill to fire some of the shots he fires.

Right now I have zero doubt that peak Rublev is miles above peak Monfils. But he will be much more tired, and it is only his second final against a guy who has much more experience. I personally like Monfils, but I really don't like his game (his occasional trick short are surely fun, but 99% of the time he just put the ball back in play). If Rublev plays half of what I have seen today, it will be something like 6x2 6x1.

About the future succesfull careers... really not sure. I always give credit to guys who can play well under pressure -- for instance that is the main reason I think Kyrgios will be successful. And it seems that Rublev can do that too.

 

[Moxie]

I'm going to say that I did call out Rublev from when I saw him at the USO in 2015, on what was a bit of a #NextGen scouting day. I also only saw some of the match today, and I was surprised how well Pella did. I thought it would be over in 2. I like Rublev, but I'm not sure that he "should" win tomorrow. This is a preference for aggression, but, as Mrzz rightly says, Le Monf has the experience. Monfils can be more aggressive than he usually is, but he may just bring his best, as it's a final. Rublev's got a lot of firepower for a guy who is tall, but slight. He still has a lot of filling out to do. I agree he could be a bit gassed tomorrow. Swinging for the fences like that takes confidence, or, in this case, as with Shapo, the carelessness of youth. I'll wait to see how they handle the pressure when the stakes get higher. I'm definitely giving Rublev the credit for sticking with the fearlessness that got him to that tiebreak. That is a lot of poise, when faced with a possible final. (He has one title, to date. On clay, at Umag last year.)

 

[isabelle]

strange final, don't know who"ll win that

 

[GameSetAndMath]

La Monf wins it.

Two pushers, Monf and Simon, won titles in first week.

 

[Puppet Master]

Hey, PM, good to see you posting again. When I saw this match scheduled I was sure they would need new balls after every seven points, not seven games.... just saw some 15 minutes highlights... 15 minutes of ball bashing. Fantastic stuff. Hope these two draw each other in AO.

Rublev still needs to develop a lot of things, but... he has time, and in fact his back hand slice is already decent. He only needs to use it once in a while... He is a strong candidate for my next favorite player.

Thank you, I enjoy your posts as well, but I was never "away". I just don't have the time to post as frequently as I did. Life is too turbulent at the moment.
One thing I have noticed is, back in the old days, after a tough Fed loss, or if Rafa plays like the net is 5 meters high, and of course gets roasted in the process, I would literally come here, and bash the winning player into oblivion.
They lost, what, 15 times combined in 2017? And a fair number of those were to each other. Or in this case, Nadal to Roger exclusively ...
I am expecting a catastrophe judging by how well things are going hahahah.
That's all folks.
Oh and regarding mister Rublev, let's put every aspect of his game aside, the dude is completely batshit insane. A headcase. But I just love how angry he gets. His rage must be fueling those forehands. I kinda relate to him in a sense, I literally look like a lunatic when I play tennis. If anyone noticed, when Andrey starts to bend his racquet in anger but has no intention of breaking it, I have done it so many times LOL.
You would't believe how much stress you vent out without actually destroying the thing...

 

[Moxie]

La Monf wins it.

Two pushers, Monf and Simon, won titles in first week.

If you think pushing won those titles, you weren't really watching. Some categories don't really describe certain players.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

If you think pushing won those titles, you weren't really watching. Some categories don't really describe certain players.

No, I did not actually watch these finals. I was making the pusher comment based on plenty of previous matches of them.

 

[mrzz]

Simon was in fact not pushing, some fine points on the highlights. About Monfils, it was not just pushing too. It was pushing, grinding and moon balling.

 

[Moxie]

Simon was in fact not pushing, some fine points on the highlights. About Monfils, it was not just pushing too. It was pushing, grinding and moon balling.

...and some very fine shot making. Give the guy some credit. He won the title. Just because you and El Dude were bandwagoning Rublev doesn't mean you need to be so grumpy.