US Open: Thiem, a New Antique?

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

As you know, I love the one-handed backhand. I love the one-handed backhand because it is fluid, it is beautiful. And it looks so much better when hit properly. I’ll let Robbie K guide you through this.



And then you have power, as well as finesse.



And if that wasn’t enough, check out this defense with the use of the one-hander:



And yet it is falling out of use. It is a beautiful thing but, much like the running back and the book, it is starting to be used less. It is starting to be usurped by different technologies and tactics. The two-hander is less ‘flimsy’ and is more defensive, which is an important quality to have on one's backhand these days. Slice, too, is starting to fall out of use, well, at least a little bit. I think a Henin or a Graf would be less effective these days.

It is being taught less and less to hit with only one hand on the backhand. It is going the way of the serve-volleyer. I have written about this a lot because it is an issue close to my heart. I hit with two hands but I love the one-hander so much. It is a beautiful shot and so it is nice to see such an ‘antiquey’ shot being used by the young stars. It is essentially dead on the WTA, but on the ATP Thiem and Dimitrov still use it. They are the last bastion, it seems, of the one-handers. So, as the title says, Thiem is a new antique. He is a European one-hander, with a big serve. He goes for broke. He plays an old fashioned style, but far more physical. As far as backhands are concerned, Rod Laver has the last word.

Well, I shall now get back to what happened in New York. As we are now at the stage where the outer courts are being used less and less, so I will be bringing you matches from the top three courts only.

ARTHUR ASHE: MURRAY d. TSONGA
...Tsonga against Murray might be a slam-defining match. When we look back in five years will we think ‘had Tsonga played his best and beaten Murray would he have upset Djokovic?’ or perhaps ‘if Tsonga had won Murray would never have had the chance to upset Djokovic.’ This is a match which goes beyond just a win or loss. If Tsonga had won he would have cracked the top eight again. He might have made the final. It might have been the end of the Scot's career. It was a match which had the potential to change a slam and several careers. This was no ordinary quarterfinal match. Tsonga was flat. He was not on fire here. The flame was extinguished. He lost 7-5, 7-5, 6-4 in two and half hours. He hit 43 errors. That is not an acceptable stat; especially given the only hit 32 winners. Murray hit an incredible 48 winners with just 18 winners and if he can keep that up Djokovic will have a serious handful. Murray won 71 percent of his serve points and broke five times. He lost his serve just twice. He keeps this up he could have Djokovic. He is serving at the right level. He played at a level that was too high for a flat Tsonga. Will it be good enough to do Djokovic? Murray is running out of time at the majors. He has maybe six more majors at which he has a legitimate shot to win. He will want to take this chance. He is going to give everything he has in that match. Will it be enough?
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ARTHUR ASHE: NISHIKORI D. RAONIC
...Well, Kei has blown up my picks. He now has a 23-10 record in the hard court slams. It is a very impressive win from him. He has a chance to go one better and make his maiden slam semifinal. Raonic did what I thought he should do: make it physical, make it a long battle. It went four hours. It was four hours of physical exertion and Kei’s body held up. How much it is recovered we shall soon know. Nishikori did have to overcome a foot injury. How well he overcame it we shall soon find out.Kei won 4-6, 7-6 [4], 6-7 [8], 7-5, 6-4 but he needed four hours to do so. Raonic hit ten doubles but 3 aces whilst Nishikori went eight and seven. 86 winners for the Canadian but 72 errors do make that winner’s stat look less impressive. Nishikori could only managed 53-41 on the winners to errors count. Raonic served huge with an average first serve speed of 127 miles an hour. Incredibly Kei broke five times making up for his own serve being snapped four times. It was a highlight competitive match, too, with Raonic winning just six points less [181-175] than his opponent. Raonic returned well better than he usually does but it was not enough and he loses in the fourth round in a heartbreaker for the second year in a row. It just gets easier for Kei. He gets the world number three who is starting to hit dizzying heights. Nishikori cannot match him for variety or power and so it is going to be interesting to see the tactics the Japanese man employs. If I were him I would try to really attack the return and put pressure on Stan’s serve.
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LOUIS ARMSTRONG : DJOKOVIC D. KOHLSCHREIBER
...Djokovic has a better gear box than Kohl does. Djokovic wasn’t in the mood for any funny business here. He was looking for a comfortable match and that is what he got. Djokovic did not allow Kohl to get even a foothold in the match. Djokovic is looking for slam number eight here. He will equal Agassi but, of course, Agassi won the grand slam. Two hours. 34 winners, with six aces, to just 29 errors plus winning 74 per cent of serve points were all positives for Djokovic. No breaks conceded and four breaks gained further illustrate the dominance. Kohl served big but he did not much else big. He hit 27 winners and 36 errors in all. It was not a great performance from the German who went down 6-1, 7-5, 6-4. The scoreline accurately reflects the match in this case. We have a candidate for match of the tournament here. We know what happened last time these two met here. Murray may not be in form but he will be fired up. This is a chance to salvage his year. There is a chance for redemption here. If the Brit wins he will most likely be headed to the WTF. If Djokovic loses, Federer has the chance to go for year-end number one.
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LOUIS ARMSTRONG : WAWRINKA D. ROBREDO
...Robredo has the kind of style designed to disrupt, to frustrate and to annoy. He does not have the power to simply out-hit the great majority of the ATP. He relies on guerrilla warfare for success. He relies on making his opponents miss, on frustrating his opponents till they submit to his will and to his game. He has a good head to head against Wawrinka and has beaten a number of very good players. He also has a certain tactic which always works brilliantly -- he will hit seven balls in the same place and then vary it only slightly on the eighth ball. And it works so well, especially on slower clay. The third set proved to be decisive as the Swiss took it 7-5, 4-5, 7-6 [7], 6-2. In the three hour one minute match, Wawrinka hit 75 winners [18 aces] but did hit 58 errors, too. Robredo was disappointing. He only hit 19 winners and hit 31 unforced errors. Robredo did not fully turn up but he still managed to push Wawrinka all the way. Wawrinka broke four times whilst holding every game but two. Wawrinka also won 79 per cent of second serves. That is a big number. I interrupt to point out Fed has just gone up to two sets to none.
Up next for Wawrinka is the man who has ruined my picks. Nishikori is surely going to struggle to go the distance there. Wawrinka should have too much game for the Japanese man, but Kei will be coming out all guns blazing.
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Grandstand Selection: GRANOLLERS/LOPEZ D. PAES/STEPANEK
...There is a certain pressure that comes with being defending champs, but pressure is privilege. It is something you have to earn. The pressure can sometimes be too much. And sometimes this combined with other factors can spell doom for the defending champions. The Baltimore Ravens dropped back a notch and the Red Sox stunk the year after their famous wins in their respective sports. Incredibly the two combined for 65 winners in just two hours. For doubles that is a big number. And only 27 unforced errors in total. This match, won by the eleventh seeds 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, was a high quality affair. There were seven breaks [the sixth seeds broke twice] because the level of serving was not particularly high, but despite this both teams played out a very entertaining match. Up next for the eleventh seeds are the on-form second seeds. Peya and Soares have had a strong year and are looking to cap it off in the best possible way. They are not as vulnerable as the sixth seeds were, so it will be a much harder match for the eleventh seeds.
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Any other notes?

* = The French in Tsonga was too much to overcome. I think he has been poor this whole tournament.

* = Djokovic has not yet dropped a set on the way to the quarterfinals. Andy Murray has found his range but been inconsistent throughout. And yet, Murray still has a chance in that match.

* = There was no way I was going to be able to call those ladies quarterfinals, but I did call Makarova right.

* = I have a tennis related note. I was looking at Sanchez-Vicario’s career today. She was always in the shadow of Graf, waiting. Then Graf started to weaken but Seles came along. Then both Graf and Seles had bad periods, but Hingis came along. She was ranked number two for a long while and behind some very good players. And yet she managed to win four slams. Why do we not admire her more?

* = Wozniacki played in her first quarterfinal since 2012? And is in her first semifinal since 2011?

* = Why can’t Gasquet be more like Robredo?

* = Umm you can caption this. I sure can’t.




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