Tracking the Emerging Stars of Tennis
- Thread starter Mastoor
- Start date
mrzz
Hater
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2013
- Messages
- 6,172
- Reactions
- 2,999
- Points
- 113
I expect him to surely break in to the top 50, fair chance to break into the top 20... above that, possible, but hard to tell. Given that no Brazilian other than Kuerten has ever broke in the top 20, top 20 would be a feat.
On clay he could really do well, but he can be more than a clay courter. As we always say here, you need a weapon, and he has one in his forehand. It is very heavy. When he beat Tsonga in 2016, he went toe to toe with him, and that surely surprised the Frenchman.
He is slowly improving, so I do not expect him to jump in the rankings that soon. But he could surprise and string some results coming the European clay season. If he and his team has patience, things look good.
I am surprised that he can communicate in English language, I was sure he couldn´t.
He has a tough draw at Miami in Troicky. Given that the court is extremely slow, he may have a shot, but I would guess he has no more than 5 matches total in hard courts, in both Challenger and ATP tours together. He lost a close match to Klizan in IW, having set points in the first set.
As he says in the video, he needs to work on his return and on his volley, which is very poor. He also needs a better second serve.
On clay he could really do well, but he can be more than a clay courter. As we always say here, you need a weapon, and he has one in his forehand. It is very heavy. When he beat Tsonga in 2016, he went toe to toe with him, and that surely surprised the Frenchman.
He is slowly improving, so I do not expect him to jump in the rankings that soon. But he could surprise and string some results coming the European clay season. If he and his team has patience, things look good.
I am surprised that he can communicate in English language, I was sure he couldn´t.
He has a tough draw at Miami in Troicky. Given that the court is extremely slow, he may have a shot, but I would guess he has no more than 5 matches total in hard courts, in both Challenger and ATP tours together. He lost a close match to Klizan in IW, having set points in the first set.
As he says in the video, he needs to work on his return and on his volley, which is very poor. He also needs a better second serve.
JesuslookslikeBorg
Grand Slam Champion
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2013
- Messages
- 6,323
- Reactions
- 1,074
- Points
- 113
trevor francis tiafoe qualified for Miami main draw..
back in top100 prob next week, just dipped out of top100 in charts just updated.
back in top100 prob next week, just dipped out of top100 in charts just updated.
shawnbm
Multiple Major Winner
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2013
- Messages
- 3,573
- Reactions
- 1,257
- Points
- 113
Moxie
Multiple Major Winner
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2013
- Messages
- 43,652
- Reactions
- 14,820
- Points
- 113
Hurray, Frances! I saw a lot of his match today. He had opportunities to close it out in the 2nd, and made rookie mistakes that dragged the match out. But he's got talent. Next round, Fed. Oh, well, nice run, Tiafoe.
britbox
Multiple Major Winner
Can't recall where I read it, but Tiafoe is being talked up as having the biggest upside of all the young American coming through.
Moxie
Multiple Major Winner
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2013
- Messages
- 43,652
- Reactions
- 14,820
- Points
- 113
El Dude
The GOAT
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2013
- Messages
- 10,148
- Reactions
- 5,815
- Points
- 113
Moxie
Multiple Major Winner
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2013
- Messages
- 43,652
- Reactions
- 14,820
- Points
- 113
I'd say it may be between Fritz and Tiafoe. Opelka is too tall, IMO. He's nearly 7' tall. (In fairness, I've only seen him play once.) Fritz has made a final on the tour, and Frances has yet to make it out of the early rounds, I think, but Frances is very strong, physically. It'll be interesting to see how they both get along in the next 2 years. Surely, they both have lessons to learn about shot selection, strategy and maturity in managing matches.
mrzz
Hater
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2013
- Messages
- 6,172
- Reactions
- 2,999
- Points
- 113
Tiafoe seemed a fine player in the match against Federer. Solid from the baseline, a good first serve and a lot of power. Needs to be introduced to something called the net.
I saw half a set of a Fritz-Tiafoe match a while ago. At that time, when there was some hype around Fritz, Tiafoe seemed to me the better player.
I saw half a set of a Fritz-Tiafoe match a while ago. At that time, when there was some hype around Fritz, Tiafoe seemed to me the better player.
El Dude
The GOAT
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2013
- Messages
- 10,148
- Reactions
- 5,815
- Points
- 113
Tiafoe definitely looked impressive against Roger, whereas Fritz looks a bit soft (saw a bit of his Kohl match). Regardless, there is a promising group of young Americans on the rise in Tiafoe, Fritz, Opelka, Donaldson, Kozlov, Escobedo, Mmoh, etc.
As I've said elsewhere, it is at least the most promising group since Roddick/Fish/Blake in the early 00s, and maybe even since the great Sampras/Agassi/Courier/Chang group.
As I've said elsewhere, it is at least the most promising group since Roddick/Fish/Blake in the early 00s, and maybe even since the great Sampras/Agassi/Courier/Chang group.
I'll be honest, Tiafoe is not impressive to me at all. Too muggy for a young player. He plays very very short, he reminded me of a sick Nadal. When Nadal has no confidence and is playing short.
We've just bashed Dimitrov, now Dimitrov's first performance against Nadal WAS impressive. He was playing with balls, deep, he was hitting Nadal off the court. Ofc Rotterdam was indoor hard. the surface and the temperature favoured Dimitrov, low bounce cause of all the circumstances etc but i was crapping myself, he took a set from Nadal and made him run all match like a fool.
I couldn't see anything remarkable about Tiafoe, yeah, good fh but nowhere near Nadal's fh, playing too short, no swag like what Kyrgios has, tbh Fritz is much much more promising to me.
We've just bashed Dimitrov, now Dimitrov's first performance against Nadal WAS impressive. He was playing with balls, deep, he was hitting Nadal off the court. Ofc Rotterdam was indoor hard. the surface and the temperature favoured Dimitrov, low bounce cause of all the circumstances etc but i was crapping myself, he took a set from Nadal and made him run all match like a fool.
I couldn't see anything remarkable about Tiafoe, yeah, good fh but nowhere near Nadal's fh, playing too short, no swag like what Kyrgios has, tbh Fritz is much much more promising to me.
mrzz
Hater
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2013
- Messages
- 6,172
- Reactions
- 2,999
- Points
- 113
^It is funny how our preferences for top players tint the way we perceive the young ones. It happens with me a lot -- but I have noticed it in others too.
Example situation is: Top player A wins a close match against young/incoming/whatever player X. Fans of top player A instantly jump on player´s X bandwagon. Fans of top player B are sure the guy is a choker or a fake.
Nekro´s bringing his own impressions during the match is a very good idea, but you will need to wait a Tiafoe Nadal match to make a valid comparison. But I´ll tell you that you found a very good way to assess a player´s level: your own fear he beats your favorite player. We should use it more. Side note: a "sick version of Nadal" was basically good enough to keep him in the top 10 for 2 years. You are still giving the guy a compliment.
And BTW count me out on those bashing Dimitrov.
Example situation is: Top player A wins a close match against young/incoming/whatever player X. Fans of top player A instantly jump on player´s X bandwagon. Fans of top player B are sure the guy is a choker or a fake.
Nekro´s bringing his own impressions during the match is a very good idea, but you will need to wait a Tiafoe Nadal match to make a valid comparison. But I´ll tell you that you found a very good way to assess a player´s level: your own fear he beats your favorite player. We should use it more. Side note: a "sick version of Nadal" was basically good enough to keep him in the top 10 for 2 years. You are still giving the guy a compliment.
And BTW count me out on those bashing Dimitrov.
britbox
Multiple Major Winner
Moxie
Multiple Major Winner
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2013
- Messages
- 43,652
- Reactions
- 14,820
- Points
- 113
Here is the current standing for the "Race to Milan," the NextGen tournament they're going to put on in Nov. Chung just leapt up 6 places on the back of his performance in Barcelona. http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/rankings/race-to-milan
| Thread starter | Similar threads | Forum | Replies | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Tracking the Del Potro comeback | Pro Tennis (Mens) | 13 | |
|
Tracking the Race to London - 2014 WTF | Pro Tennis (Mens) | 598 | |
|
|
[Jesse Pentecost] Tracking all those streaks | Pro Tennis (Mens) | 9 |