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By Scoop Malinowski

Stefan Kozlov looked like a dispirited, broken player at the US Open where he lost first round of qualies to Guido Andreozzi in straight sets. One tennis observer said he though Kozlov looked “finished… he has no weapons.”

Kozlov took a month off and returned to Challengers, winning Las Vegas over one of the red hot Tour players Liam Broady. This week in Charlottesville, VA he’s beaten Broady again, in another marathon battle 64 46 64 and is now ahead of Denis Kudla in the quarterfinal match 64 42.

There is a noticeable difference in Kozlov now. He’s blasting winners now off both wings, especially the forehand wing which was a previously criticized, flawed stroke. And to many tennis observers, Kozlov’s forehand was far too defensive. Also his serve has a heavier heft to it and it’s setting up many easy finish second balls.

But that forehand is a cracker now. Where not long ago Kozlov looked like a junior finessing and flimflamming his way to wins over heavier hitters, he now looks like a bonafide ATP machine ready for the main Tour. The counter punching is still there, the defensive savvy, the cat and mouse cleverness, deep returns off first serves to set up baseline dueling. You can see Kozlov’s game evolving and maturing. And now Kozlov’s results are ascending in the right direction. He just finished Kudla 64 63 and will play the winner of Smyczek vs Laaksonen in the semis.

He is ranked 126 after falling to the 150 region of the rankings. But I see him as a totally different, more explosive player right now than he looked over the last couple of years.

I asked his dad and co-coach Andrei what happened after the US Open and he said “we changed coach.”

I then asked to who? The reply: “It’s a secret…Andrei Kozlov and ???”

Could it be…. Andre Agassi?

It certainly looks like Kozlov is pulverizing the ball like Andre Agassi.

Agassi · ATP · Kozlov

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