First-round action in Rome will wrap up on Tuesday, when an intriguing contest pits Borna Coric against a red-hot Stefanos Tsitsipas. Denis Shapovalov, meanwhile, reached the Madrid semifinals and will try to keep things going at Tomas Berdych’s expense.
Borna Coric vs. (Q) Stefanos Tsitsipas
Coric and Tsitsipas, who are separated by just two years and three ranking spots, will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they clash in round one of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Tuesday. Tsitsipas has been one of the stars of this clay-court swing, with a second-round performance in Monte-Carlo as a qualifier, a runner-up finish in Barcelona, and a semifinal showing in Estoril. The 19-year-old finally ran out of gas amidst a heavy workload, losing third-set tiebreakers in the Estoril semis (to Joao Sousa) and in the Madrid first round (to Evgeny Donskoy). With some much-needed rest between the two Masters 1000 events, Tsitsipas got back in gear to beat Mikhail Kukushkin (in another third-set tiebreaker) and Dusan Lajovic to qualify for the Rome main draw.
In three tournaments outside the Masters level this season, Coric has won a total of four matches. In four Masters events, he has won 11 matches–including a semifinal run in Indian Wells, a quarterfinal trip in Miami, and a third-round result in Madrid. The 21-year-old Croat could have fared even better last week, but he failed to serve out a potential win over eventual finalist Dominic Thiem and lost 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. Aside from when he has been physically spent, Tsitsipas has been incredibly clutch in pressure-packed moments this spring. That, along with his current confidence and outstanding clay-court form, should help the world No. 43 survive another competitive affair.
Pick: Tsitsipas in 3
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Denis Shapovalov vs. (15) Tomas Berdych
Berdych remains the seeded player in this matchup with Shapovalov unseeded, but roles could be reversed sooner rather than later. In fact, with Berdych defending runner-up points in Lyon and semifinal points at Wimbledon, he could be surpassed in the rankings by the 19-year-old Canadian sometime this summer–especially if the 17th-ranked Czech loses Tuesday’s head-to-head showdown. Berdych is a modest 10-7 in 2018 and has lost three straight matches dating back to the Miami third round, including opening losses in Monte-Carlo (to Kei Nishikori) and Madrid (to Richard Gasquet).
Another tough draw awaits the 32-year-old, as Shapovalov is in fine form and has already earned more than half of his career ATP-level match victories (15 of 29) this season. The world No. 29 all but clinched a French Open seed by making his second-ever appearance in a Masters 1000 semifinal last week in Madrid, where he beat Tennys Sandgren, Benoit Paire, Milos Raonic, and Kyle Edmund before succumbing to eventual champion Alexander Zverev. Becoming increasingly comfortable on clay, Shapovalov should able to withstand Berdych’s power and showcase enough variety to frustrate a struggling opponent.
Pick: Shapovalov in 3
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dude, i’m telling you. you are not listening. If it is a left hander (especially Delbonis) make your predictions 3 sets automatically, and then have the righty winning ultimately. It is a pattern every single week with lefties.
Coric in 3.
Berdych 3
Berdych has given no reason to back him but this is the type of match he would win. He doesnt like younger dudes with an ego to match his beating him and will find some of his old spark without the pressure of it being a big match.
…and its getting close to the grand slam.
Berdych in 2, maybe 3.
Stef in 3
Shapo in 3
Those are my votes. In my bracket I picked Coric because I didn’t know if Stef would win his last qualifying round or where he’s place, if he did.
Tough first rounds for them and both matches could go either way.
Titsi in 3; Berdman in straight.
Tsitsipas got a bit lucky there, Coric retired apparently some neck problem. So, Tsitsipas through to meet Delpo. Tsitsipas playing well, I hope he continues his good form when facing Delpo.
Berdych is being overpowered by the more powerful younger player, who can hit as hard as he does but a lot quicker.
If Berdych is not going to step up now, I think he’s going to lose the match. I don’t think he can win the third set TB when Shapo is serving so well.
Mark that down as the end of Berdych. This is the worst start to a year in his entire career. Reckon glimpses of his old self will be few and far between from now on. Retirement in < 2 years,
Maybe even 12 months. Depends how good theseyoung guys get. Berdych wont be hanging around if he’s not winning 50% matches.
It seems that after he’s married, he’s not that focused on his career anymore. Perhaps his marriage life is good, and he’s spending lesser time training; or it’s just him getting old and injuries catched up with him; not everyone is like a Fed or a Rafa who can still play top class tennis despite getting old.
It’s the same for Djokovic after getting a kid aswell really. They realise that there is things much more important for them suddenly, and Djokovic who were driven by the insane force of desire of want to win more than anything in the world, was one of the parts that made him number 1 in the world. With realising there are other and more important things in life + less time on training, is the difference between being a dominant top 3 and where he is now.
I don’t think that is the case. Fed has four kids. But he is still at the top in the sport. He hasn’t lost the passion and desire to win.
I think Novak has a kind of burnout. He just seems to have lost that desire to win now. Having kids doesn’t mean you stop wanting to compete. Fed wanted to play long enough so that his kids would get to see him play and appreciate it.
I agree,Djoko had a mental burnout just after he completed the career grand slam. We never saw that kind of mental problem with Fedal,they always gave everything and never stopped fighting even when they hit their lows in form. IMO,it was a combination of mental but also physical problems that made Novak enter the current slump he’s in at the moment.
Federer is a born super natural tennis talent. He doesn’t need to fight for every point, Djokovic does. And without training almost nonstop, Djokovic is never getting to the top again. And as Boris Becker said himself, that was just the case with him, he didnt want to train as much as he used to, because he wanted to spend more time with his family.
Sure Djoko lost his commitment regarding training,but that’s not the only reason he has fallen in form. His body has started to decline,as normal and expected as he ages,and he keeps playing the same way he did on his young years. I mean,it’s no easy to keep outgrinding everyone when you hit 30’s,he’s no more that huge tank of consistency,he has to change his game.
Fed has to work for his wins and practice and train just like everyone else. People need to stop with this mythology that Fed is so talented that he doesn’t have to work at it like other mere mortal players. Give me a break!
Fed switched to a bigger racket and took some time to adjust to it. He worked on strengthening his backhand to make it less vulnerable. He has become more aggressive with his game, moving into the net and shortening points. He has had to adjust as he has gotten older.
Novak’s problems are different. He has gone through firing his whole team, using different techniques and methods, but nothing has worked. He did gave an elbow or shoulder issue, which compounded the problem. But niwcgw is simply not competing anymore. He can put together one really good set of tennis and that’s it. Some of it could be aging, but losing the will to win is not something you can fix by magic. We don’t know his personal life. If it was really about not wanting to train anymore and be with his kids, then he should retire. But he is still playing, which seems to contradict the idea that he just doesn’t want to train anymore.
Absolutely, when Novak won the 4th straight slam he lost the desire that had kept him going strong. But also Gaviria is right that Djoko is now on the wrong side of 30 and the norm is to decline. Nadal has had to deal with it as well, at least on non-clay surfaces.
Fed is a special case, not just because of his talent. He is able to keep playing with four kids not only because he is good enough but because 1) Mirka allows it; and 2) (and not unrelated) he can afford it financially. The first condition could change at any time, including because the kids get sick of all the travel or daddy being away so much. The day that happens, imo, Fed will retire.
Fake news from the nail clipper ‘phobe.
Rafa has more post 30 slams (2) than Fed did (1) at rafas age and Rafa is favoured to win his third at the French.
Rafa has the highest percentage of slams won that he’s entered compared to any past or current great in the modern era.
Rafa and Serena are more special cases than the hypodermic fountain of youth ex GOAT.
Everyone is declining as they age TBH, Fedal are no exception; it’s just that they’re still good enough to win slams and beat most guys even on their non fave surface.
All the TOP players trained hard to be where they are, it’s a myth that Fed doesn’t need to; Fed trained very hard at Dubai, may be as hard as Rafa at Mallorca!
Djoko still has the desire imo, it just that it’s not as strong a desire now perhaps; his body has broken down and he’s getting thinner and I feel that his fitness and stamina are no longer as good as before.
He’s still hitting with depth, still good enough to beat some of those he used to beat but the precision and timing of his shots are not there yet. He can be slow in reaching some of his shots, I noticed. It’s still a WIP for him to try getting back his game.
Of course the top players have declined, especially including Federer given that he’s much older than the rest of the big 3. The reason he’s the #1 player in the world even after decline is because 1) he started from such a high plane; and 2) the larger racquet has allowed him to obtain an advantage that he had missed out on during his prime (which ended roughly 2010-11).
Talking about natural talent, everyone of these TOP players have their own natural talent, I mean what’s unnatural?
However, imo, a player who can improvise or hits a shot that’s rare and comes naturally to him esp during crunch moments and without much thinking, I call that natural talent.
I say all the big four have their own talent, and they train so hard that some of the shots just become naturally to them, whether they’re difficult ones or not.
I watched the young players these few years, I know people are crazy over Kyrgios and then Sasha and now Shapo, I know they’re all talented but if I’ve to pick one imo who is the most naturally talented, I’ve to say it’s Kyrgios.
Kyrgios reportedly didn’t train hard but the guy is just so naturally talented, he could just hit any shot that comes naturally to him without thinking or without putting in much effort. I feel his shots don’t have to come from routine training, they sometimes don’t follow certain pattern of play.
In Shapo or Sasha, I can see certain patterns of play which are obviously results of consistent practices and training. With Kyrgios sometimes you don’t know what to expect. I even think that Kyrgios has the so called natural talent in playing tennis above that of the big four, and that’s why he’s so difficult to beat even for the big four, if he decides to be serious and games on.
Roger Federer is blessed with supreme talent . No other player in tennis history makes tennis look that easy.
Kyrgios!
Fed plus hard work make his tennis looks easy. Kyrgios without hard work makes his tennis looks easy.
Nonsense.Kyrgios hasn’t got Feds feel or touch.Fed is more like McEnroe,who never worked hard
What nonsense? Fed worked hard for his game. In terms of touch and feel, Murray is also right up there.
McEnroe is the only one who compares to Fed in terms of pure tennis talent, imo. If Mac had worked as hard as Fed has, he would have dominated the entire ’80s. But he never won a slam after his best year, ’84.
Kyrgios is undeniably talented, and probably has more raw athletic (as opposed to pure tennis) talent than Federer. But he hasn’t worked hard, and it shows.
Who was it said genius is 90 percent perspiration?
If McEnroe have come along later,he’d have had to work hard to achieve anything.
‘and 10 percent inspiration’
The nailclipper ‘phobe’s “IMO” LOL who’s opinion is that non-hets are automatically an assault threat to others (see https://tenngrand.com/roger-federer/comment-page-27/#comment-296027).
And to overlook Serena as a candidate for goat of all sport is sexist.
On the contrary, Nadal has the highest percentage of slams won compared to slams played than any other player in the modern era.
Jeff Sackmann’s excellent ELO analysis clearly lays out why Federer is not the definitive GOAT. As does this piece written by Jim Smith.
https://realsport101.com/news/sports/tennis/roger-federer-dont-believe-the-hype/