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Djokovic 🎥 Mannarino



Wawrinka 🎥 Nishikori



Kyrgios 3 Big Forehands



Dimitrov 🎥 M. Zverev



Match Of The Day: A Zverev 🎥 Haase RESULTS 🎾 💥 = Beatdown

🤕 = Injury

‼️ = Upset



Djokovic d Mannarino 4-6, 6-2, 6-1



Novak was very shaky for the first set and a half of this match. Battling an upset stomach (or possibly a virus) which had given him a bad nights sleep, the Serb just didn't look like himself, pushing backhands way long and generally looking uncomfortable on court. Novak landed only 52% of 1st serves which was particularly bad news given he only won 7/20 2nd serve points in that 1st set. Mannarino, hitting flat as usual, exploited the bad start and comfortably took the opener with some impressive ball striking. With the help of a visit from the doctor, a slightly rejuvenated Djokovic then hustled back to take the 2nd (despite only landing 44% of his 1st serves), before somewhat hitting his stride in the 3rd set, closing out the match comfortably in the end. Novak has not played well on the North American hard courts so far. But crucially, despite this fact, he is still winning.



Haase d A. Zverev 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 ‼️



It should first be said that Haase played great, gutsy tennis and repeatedly came up with the goods when it mattered. But, after splitting sets, the decider was a good reminder of Zverev being very much a 'work in progress' when it comes to tricky matches like this. In the 3rd set the German converted just 1 out of 9(!) break points, while Haase converted 2/3. Haase cleverly mixed up his shot selection to throw Sascha out of his preferred baseline rhythm. Zverev was NOT a fan of being brought into the net and pushed around the court with short, low, junky balls. Sascha still had multiple chances to get back into the match, after going a break down for the 2nd time in the final set, but faltered when it mattered most.



Wawrinka d Nishikori 6-4, 6-4 💥



It feels like Wawrinka should write Rafa Nadal a thank-you letter. Since his match with the Spaniard last week in Toronto, Stan has improved rapidly to the point where he looks close to being back to his best. There were two parts to this match. The first saw Nishikori start very well and jump to a 4-1 lead in the first set. Part two involves Wawrinka winning the next 5 games with blistering groundstrokes to take complete control of the momentum & match. Stan has rediscovered two things. His lateral movement is all of a sudden back to where it needs to be after looking so poor for months of his comeback. And the power behind his groundstrokes is now blowing players off court again compared to his tame, shadow-of-himself offence we saw until last week. Stan was utterly unplayable in the 2nd set, facing 0 break points (to Nisikori's 5) and winning 93% of his 1st serve points and 70% of his 2nd serve points 😳. Stan is back and could once again contend for big titles with this kind of level. Can he sustain it?



Kyrgios d Coric 7-6(1), 0-6, 6-3



Classic Nick Kyrgios scoreline. Nick is currently serving his way through opponents (16 aces today). The rest of his game is probably somewhere around 70% due to his movement being compromised by physical issues (knees/hip). The Australian overcame a bad umpire call in the 2nd set to play some impressive tennis in the decider, winning 84% of 1st serve points and 63% of 2nd serve return points. Coric looked frustrated with the fluctuating tempo and intensity of the match and struggled for parts of the 3rd after dishing out the 2nd set bagel. Nick hit some ridiculously good forehands (and entertained the crowd) which once again made most of us wish for a more consistently healthy player.



Also:



Del Potro vs Chung postponed until tomorrow due to rain.



Dimitrov d M. Zverev: 7-6(5), 7-5

Raonic d Jaziri: 6-3, 7-5

Carreno Busta d Klahn: 6-4, 6-4

Khachanov d Querrey: 7-5, 6-4

Cilic d Copil: 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4

Anderson d Chardy: 7-6(6), 6-2

Goffin d Paire: 5-7, 6-4, 6-2

Fucsovics d Garcia-Lopez: 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-5 SHOTS OF THE DAY 😮 AIR Zverev.

(TennisTV) Ridiculously good dig from Haase.

(TennisTV)

(TennisTV) Behind-the-backer from Mannarino! It even bounced at Novak's feet giving him a nightmare volley.(TennisTV) Full Point Kyrgios ripping forehands. Watch the three biggest ones from his match. Another one.

(TennisTV) INTERVIEW/PRESS BEST BITS 🎤 Kyrgios post-win:



“I knew I was always going to compete in the third set. I competed too hard in the first set to sort of just let the match slip and not compete, give myself a chance to win, at least.”



(Matt): Context = Nick got a bad umpire call in the 2nd set and trailed in the score. Pretty much tanked the rest of the 2nd set and then reset successfully for the third. - “Yeah, the second set, when I was 4-0 down, I knew there was no real point of me going out there and competing and obviously waste energy trying to battle back". - “I knew at 4-0, if I lost the set 6-0, I was going to be serving first in the third set."



- "I’m just going to try and get through the US swing and then just re-evaluate where I’m at. Obviously I’ve got an eye on Laver Cup. I really want to compete my hardest and play my hardest."

Source



(Matt): Bit weird that he's shaping his calendar and injury prevention/rehab around an exhibition event (Laver Cup)... Get healthy first Nick?

Wawrinka post-win:



- "I feel like for sure I gain a lot of confidence from last week. By winning two matches, I start to feel better on the court, to move better. ... Today I was moving really well on the court in defense, in attack, in passing, in drop shot, everything."

Source

Djokovic post-win:



- "I wasn't feeling well, I didn't have a great night and wasn't feeling that well for the first set and a half."



"I kind of made it through, and with the help of the doctor and God...I'm just, you know, happy that I managed to overcome the challenge."

Source



Novak's post-match interview with the Tennis Channel. Full Video



Best bits:



- "We should move to best-of-3 even at Grand Slams. Millennials don't have a great attention span, they want things to happen quickly. To attract new, young audiences we have to keep things shorter."



- "I don't like the shot clock. I just don't like it"



🌶Best of 3 or 5 rant incoming.🌶



(Matt): I found this interview very puzzling. Not only has Novak advocated for best-of-5, epic matches in the past, but this entire interview felt like he was speaking from a third-person 'money-man' perspective rather than how he, the legendary warrior, feels. This narrative of "millennials don't have long attention spans" is so tired and seems to always be trotted out with very little evidence with regard to generation-specific consumption habits. The two most popular products with Millennials and younger? Netflix and Fortnite. Young people devote HOURS of their attention everyday to things they enjoy:



"Fortnite is second only to Netflix in terms of the amount of time (young) Americans are actually spending"

Source



Kids and millennials's attention spans are durable as long as they are consuming something they like. If anything they spend longer concentrating on one thing, entertainment wise, than any older generation ever did!



The other issue with the Best of 3 argument, as it relates to the growth of the sport, is that the vast majority of the greatest matches ever played have been best of 5 matches. The Wimbledon 2008's and Australian Open 2012's are the things that have converted new generations into fans of the sport: the "where were you when..." matches. Bof5 slams allow for more changes of momentum, more twists and more potential for these matches to turn in to amazing stories that transcend tennis and spread out into the wider world, attracting new fans. Would Rafa and Delpo have had that epic embrace post-match if they had played a 2 hour best of three match at Wimbledon a few months ago? And if not, there wouldn't have been that video of two exhausted warriors embracing that was shared tens of thousands of times around the world. Best of 5 pushes players to their limits. And the limits of human performance are where the greatest show the most interesting versions of themselves. These culturally amplified moments & stories are the things that attract new fans, not arbitrarily making matches shorter.



🌶Rant over🌶 WHO'S PLAYING TOMORROW? ⏰ Cincinnati Centre Court

11am Start - Local Time (4pm UK)



Shapovalov vs Raonic (H2H: 1-0) 🔥

Djokovic vs Dimitrov (H2H: 7-1) 🔥 @approx 3:30pm



NB 7pm - Local Time (12:00am UK)



Federer vs L. Mayer (H2H: 2-0)



Grandstand

1pm Start - Local Time (6pm UK)



Del Poro vs Chung (1s Meeting) 🔥

Wawrinka vs Fucsovics (H2H: 1-1) Stadium 3

1pm Start - Local Time (6pm UK)



Cilic vs Khachanov (1st Meeting) (2nd match on court)

Anderson vs Goffin (1st Meeting)

Kyrgios vs Del Potro/Chung 🔥



Court 10 (11am)



Haase vs Carreno Busta (H2H: 0-2)

EXTRAS...🔍🎤📊 Del Potro or Chung will have to play two matches on Thursday. First against each other, and then the winner will play Kyrgios an hour or two later. Rain forecast all day too...🌧

Umpire: "You have to be ready".

Sascha: "I'm always ready."

Umpire: "You turn around everytime he (Haase) is ready (to serve)".

Sascha: "I do that when he is not ready."



Haase was NOT happy. Source

After beating Nishikori, Wawrinka has now won two matches in consecutive tournaments for the first time since the French Open last year.

With A Zverev losing today, Del Potro has locked up a Top 4 seed for the US Open.

After an umpire mistake:



Kyrgios to crowd: "You wanna be the umpire? You're all eligible."



Kyrgios to team: “I’m not going to play if I’m going to get cheated by an umpire.”



Kyrgios to team: "You'll never see a bigger tank than the next three games."

Source



Thankfully Nick didn't tank the 3rd set.

Source The ITF revealed their Davis Cup Plans. Proposing 2 MORE events per year. This would be on top of the ATP's new World Team Cup event as well... The LTA then declared they would use their 12 votes to oppose the changes. Source

-- ITF's response.

Source

--

On a related note...

Source Co-Canadian No.1's? LOL 😂

(TennisTV) Khachanov boshing linesmen.(TennisTV) doublefault28 Players are struggling with the humidity in Cincy. Kei looks like he's just turned on a tap at the back of his head here🚰.

(TennisTV) 'The Racquet' is concise ATP tennis news, stats and analysis, delivered weekly/daily to your inbox. Make sure you never miss an issue: Subscribe Tweet Forward GAME, SET & MATCH 👋 The Racquet is created, and written, by Matt. You can find me on twitter by tapping/clicking this. You early subscribers (Beta testers) get access to 'The Racquet' Discord. Tap/click the Discord button below to join (we even have Jerzy Janowicz emojis). If you know anyone who would like 'The Racquet' here is the link to send them so they can sign up: https://theracquet.co See you tomorrow for Cincinnati Day 5!