G’day from New York,
Qualifying for the U.S. Open started Monday and it was great to walk around the courts and see all the players in action. It’s an ideal time to see young up-and-comers for the first time and get a feel for the new names and faces of the next wave of players as well as the established players trying to fight their way into the big dance.
Here’s a few things to kick off with.
ALEXANDER ZVEREV
I first saw “Sasha” play about a year ago in a Houston Future and I immediately knew he was the real deal. He did not win the Future big his tremendous talent and perfect body type for tennis at 16 years of age was very obvious. So I was very interested to come and see him play here – a year later. Yes, he has improved, and yes he is a going to be a star of the game in the near future. The first thing that stood out is that he has more power in his game now, especially his forehand. At 17, he can totally crush it from all parts of the court and defeated Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-4 6-4. Here’s some important stats from the match.
Aces 9
Unreturned Serves 40%
1st Serves in 70%
1st Serve Points Won 83%
2nd Serve Points Won 73%
Game Broken 0
Returns In 65%
Returns Won v 1st Serve 21%
Returns Won v 2nd Serve 57%
Break Points Won 2/8
Winners 26
Forehand Winners 8
Backhand Winners 4
Forcing Errors 15
Unforced Errors 18
Net Points Won 8/11
Baseline Points Won 29/56
Overall it was a dominant performance and he played very well. The next round he will have an improved opponent in Marsel Ilhan, from Turkey. That will be a real test for him.
THANASAI KOKKINAKIS
I had never seen Thanasai play live so I wanted to make sure I got to see his match and see the young Australian talent. Unfortunately I walked up right about the same time his game went south. From what I understand, he led 6-4, 4-1 and then I arrived and he lost the second set! Not good timing at all. He struggled for most of the third set but I was impressed that still got over the line 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 against Nikola Mektic.
He is impressive but there is still some work that needs to be done with his technique to make it even stronger. He does not drive up enough with his serve and ends up delivering a lot of energy forward, instead of UP to the ball. I think his serve can get a lot better. The forehand is potent and a big weapon which is good, but it is a little whippy and requires excellent timing, which he lacked in the second half of the match and missed way too many forehands. The backhand is ok and needs developing as well. Overall there is a lot of talent there and along with Nick Krygios, the Australian tennis future looks bright! He will now play Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan in the second round.
What is interesting is that Thanasai and Alexander may play each other in the last round of qualifying if they both get through.
NEW US OPEN STANDS
I am a big fan of the new stands between the practice courts and the newly configured courts 4, 5 and 6. It’s a terrific addition and vastly improves the fan experience for viewing. Really well done #usopen.
THE TELEGRAPH – ROGER FEDERER STORY
Please click on the following link to read a I story I was interviewed for in The Telegraph – one of England’s leading newspapers. Author, Simon Briggs, did a great job with it.
GRAND HYATT – NEW YORK
I am staying at the Grand Hyatt and can highly recommend it for anyone coming to the Big Apple to stay. One of the best things is the rooms are quite large by New York standards and the fitness facility is very good. Two thumbs up!!
ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE
Thanks to Brandon Wagner I got my ice bucket challenge completed yesterday. Here it is:
I will be tweeting a lot during the next couple of weeks and taking pics and short videos. So if you are also into Twitter, make sure you follow! Here’s the link.
That’s it for now,
Looking forward to keeping you updated.
Cheers from New York.
Craig