Tennis Acumen

NICK CHAPPELL: WINNING AND LOSING

This is one of twelve excerpts from an exclusive interview with Nick Chappell at the 2022 Columbus Fall Challenger. They will be posted over time in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Tennis Acumen: There's a spectrum in players’ motivations, Nick. There are guys that absolutely love to win and guys that are more motivated because they hate to lose. Where do you fall on that spectrum?

Nick Chappell: Oh. I would say I'd love to win. I'm not a crazy competitive guy in everything I do off court. I'm pretty relaxed and I take that to my play. I really enjoy the process of getting better. I like the ins and outs of how I'm doing, what I'm doing. I try not to take the losses seriously. I know some people feel like they can't lose, ever. And I do a pretty good job of using losses to improve. So, I am definitely more on the side of enjoying the wins.

Tennis Acumen: I had a moment three and a half years ago. Challenger in Savannah, on the clay. Sitting in the lounge, Riley Opelka walks off court. He had just lost and he's just pacing outside, steaming. He's just devastated by the loss. When he came inside and sat down next to me, I said: “ Reilly. Look at me. If you don't play guys that can beat you, you'll never get better.” And his shoulders just relaxed. So, the pressure of avoiding loss, I think, is pretty heavy on some guys.

Nick Chappell: Yes, definitely.

Rinky Hijikata: WINNING AND LOSING

Tennis Acumen at the  Columbus Fall Challenger 2022. And we are here with Rinky Hijikata, from Australia.

(photo  credit: Karl Corbett)

Tennis Acumen: Rinky, let me ask about your spirit, your attitude. Some guys absolutely love to win, and some guys absolutely  hate to lose. Where are you on that spectrum?

Rinky Hijikata: I definitely go both ways. I feel like I'm somewhere in the middle. When you win, there's no other feeling like it, I think. And especially when you're in tight matches,  when the stakes are high. There is  all kinds of adrenaline. The euphoria when you win can't really be compared to anything else. And then, obviously, when you lose the tough one, it's the same level of emotion. It's a tough pill to swallow and it can be pretty painful. But, when you're on the tour, you pretty much lose every week. There's only one winner. I feel like I've tried to become a better loser. I guess I'm trying to not take it as hard as I have in the past and try to move on a little bit quicker.

Tennis Acumen: Thanks for talking with us. I hope to run into you a few years down the road, maybe a decade or so. I'll ask you about life after tennis.

Rinky Hijikata: Perfect. That sounds good.

(This exclusive interview has generated seven ‘quick read’ excerpts, to be posted at tennisacumen.com over time.)

NICK CHAPPELL: THE DAILY GRIND

This is one of twelve excerpts from an exclusive interview with Nick Chappell at the 2022 Columbus Fall Challenger. They will be posted over time in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Tennis Acumen: How do you deal with the daily grind? I lived next door to a guy who played in a Super Bowl. I asked him: “What's the hardest part about playing in the NFL?” I expected, he’d say it was fourth down and inches to go in a big game. He said: “No, it's the drills. It's the summer camp where you just get up every day and do it over and over again.” You're pretty experienced at getting up every day and doing it over and over. What is that like? Where does the discipline come from?

Nick Chappell: It's easy to feel like you're doing the same thing every day, which you are. You have to be creative and keep things interesting. That's the most important thing, because it's really easy to get in a rut, especially if you're losing. If you're winning, you're probably feeling good no matter what. Especially when you're losing, it is hard to keep being motivated and find things to work on. I guess that's normally what a coach would do. But if you're traveling by yourself, it's even more important that you find ways to engage yourself in practice. That’s really where matches are won.

Tennis Acumen: What is the most important aspect on tour, practicing before the tournament, or finding ways to practice once you've lost in the tournament.

Nick Chappell: During a tournament, you have to taper a little bit and manage your body. But when you have weeks off or you've lost early, it's really important to really hit it hard and work on things and get better. So, the hardest part is finding ways to do that. Finding ways to work on things and get better while also keeping it fresh and interesting because otherwise it's going to get boring.

NICK CHAPPELL: COLLEGE TO THE PROS

This is one of twelve excerpts from an exclusive interview with Nick Chappell at the 2022 Columbus Fall Challenger.

They will be posted over time in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Tennis Acumen: Now, making the transition from college to the tour. What was that transition like ?

Nick Chappell: It took me a little while before I made a little breakthrough. It took me about a year, I guess, on tour before I made it to the finals in a couple of Futures tournaments. That got me into a few more Challengers. But it took about a year for that to happen. And I am trying to think of what really made the difference, coming out of college. Maybe I put a little too much pressure on myself right away. It took me a little while to get out of my own way on the tour. I actually played better in the team environment than coming out and going solo. Now it doesn't matter. I can't even remember what that felt like because it's so long ago. But immediately out of college, it was weird going from a team environment with a lot of people supporting you and playing for something bigger than yourself, and then coming out on and playing individual matches. That was a little bit of a letdown. The atmosphere isn't quite the same. Even at these tournaments, there are matches where you play with fans. But, on average, it's not quite the same environment as a team college atmosphere.

Tennis Acumen: Bigger crowds at college. as opposed to, say, breaking into Futures.

Nick Chappell: Yes. Oh, Futures especially. Yes. Yes.

Tennis Acumen: And do crowds affect you when you're on court?

Nick Chappell: Yes. I wish I could play in front of a huge crowd every time. I love playing in front of people.

Nick Chappell: GETTING STARTED

 

Tennis Acumen: This is Tennis Acumen at the Columbus, Ohio Challenger, Fall of 2022. And we are here with Nick Chappell. Thanks for joining us, Nick. Tell me, how did you get started playing tennis?

Nick Chappell: Well, my mom played tennis and her mother was city champion in Fort Wayne, Indiana, so our whole family played. Tennis was really big in our family. I have a brother who's four years older than me. He started playing pretty young, I was constantly out on the courts, watching him practice. It felt like I was always on a court, actually, by the time I was five years old.

Tennis Acumen: It's in your DNA. You are wired, Nick. And what point did you think you might take it seriously?

Nick Chappell: At age 13 or 14. I was playing national tournaments in the ten- and twelve-year-old age brackets, but still playing other sports. And then about sophomore year of high school, I started doing online school to free up my time, and thought I would want to be a pro.

Tennis Acumen: And did anyone tell you how hard it was going to be ?

Nick Chappell: Probably not. I had a good junior career, especially playing some of the bigger ITF events. It was great motivation and everything, but probably a little skewed. You don't realize how much tougher the pro circuit is than the ITF circuit. But once I got to college, it was a little more eye opening. The college level of play is very good and that started giving me more perspective of where my game is.

This is one of twelve excerpts from an exclusive interview with Nick Chappell at the 2022 Columbus Fall Challenger. They will be posted over time in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Rinky Hijikata: Getting Started in Tennis

Tennis Acumen at the  Columbus, Ohio  Fall Challenger 2022. And we are here with Rinky Hijikata, from Australia.

(photo credit: Karl Corbett)

Tennis Acumen: How did you get started in tennis? What was it like growing up?

Rinky Hijikata: My dad's a tennis coach. I grew up in Sydney, Australia. My older brother and sister used to play a little bit. I used to just go down the courts with them and pick up balls for them and started hitting a little bit. And  I really loved to play because I was pretty active as a kid. So, I tried to do everything that I could. I would play any sport. And yes, tennis happened to be the one for me. .

Tennis Acumen: Excellent. And did anyone tell you how hard it was going to be for? .

Rinky Hijikata: Not right away. When you pick up a racket, when you're five, six years old, then you're just playing for the fun of it. You know, your career was never really in mind. So, I was just trying to have fun. And then maybe a bit later on, people were telling me, it's not going to be easy, but it's something that I really wanted to do. And I'm happy that I'm out here playing. .

Tennis Acumen: Are there any other sports that you played growing up? .

Rinky Hijikata: Well, I did whatever I could. I played rugby, surfing, lifesaving at the beach, whatever I could do. I just loved being active and getting out there and playing sport.

Tennis Acumen: Your parents wanted to get you out of the house because you were bouncing off the walls. .

Rinky Hijikata: Yes, the longer I was out of the house, the better.

(This exclusive interview has generated seven ‘quick read’ excerpts, to be posted at tennisacumen.com over time.)

NICK CHAPPELL: PLAYING COLLEGE TENNIS

This is one of twelve excerpts from an exclusive interview with Nick Chappell at the 2022 Columbus Fall Challenger.

They will be posted over time in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Tennis Acumen: How did you get recruited into college and make the decision to go to college?

Nick Chappell: Well, it was interesting cause I wasn't really looking at TCU. I was looking at a lot of Big Ten schools, including UCLA and North Carolina. Texas Christian wasn't really on my radar. I hadn't really even heard of the school, to be honest. And then my brother transferred there during my sophomore year of high school. The TCU coach, David Rodito, who is still the head coach, took over my senior year of high school. For me, the decision was a last-minute thing. My senior year of high school, I was ready to commit to Georgia. I surprised the recruiters when I went to visit TCU and that swayed me, having my brother there.

In college, they take their practice very seriously. Everything is arranged and scheduled, so you just go out and do it. But it's a little different when you're on the road and you have to do it yourself and you have to do it week after week after week. Maybe one of them could have a good result one time, but to get ranked 200 in the world, you have to have 15 good results. You have to do it repeatedly. It is mental stamina, to not just have the level, but to be able to repeat it over and over.

Tennis Acumen: Okay. I'm hearing the same thing from both you and Tennys Sandgren.

Nick Chappell: Yes, definitely.

COLLEGE TO THE PROS (PART TWO OF TWO)

Tennis Acumen had an exclusive interview with Tennys Sandgren at the Columbus, Ohio Fall 2022 Challenger.  Here’s part of that conversation.

(photo credit: Karl Corbett)

TA:  The business aspect, the logistics, going from college, where everything is done for you, to going out completely on your own. How did that work for you?

Tennys Sandgren: At college, they take care of everything. They take care of the travel arrangements, hotel, food,  training times. All your schedules are laid out for you.. It suits my personality that I take responsibility for those things and to not lose your way. But it's an added burden. You've got to think about that stuff. It's not fun to lose on a Tuesday, then try to make travel arrangements to go play in the next tournament. And sometimes there are difficult travel arrangements and it's challenging and it's not fun.

TA: Did you get used to it fairly quickly?

Tennys Sandgren: As a pro? Well, my first three or four years, a lot of it was in the States, so a lot of it was driving, a lot of it. I used to get in the car and go drive to the next match, which is nice. I like to drive. So, it's, it's not a bad thing. I would much rather drive than fly, that's for sure. Interesting.

TA: Moving from college to the pros, and the experience of being part of a team versus all of a sudden going out on your own, what was that transition like?

Tennys Sandgren: Actually, the tour is easier for me. I like playing on a team, but one of the things that I love about tennis is that it is just you, on your own. And so, it's more natural for me to play this sport on my own, but team sports are great. And playing tennis when it's in a team format is great. But I like the solace of playing tennis on your own, on your own side and doing your own thing.

TA: Interesting. And talk about crowds in terms of college, I imagine you have more audience than you do in the Futures and the Challengers. How is that different, to step out and make the change and there's no support there.

Tennys Sandgren: It's a challenge to pick yourself up day in, day out without much of the crowd you are accustomed to. You might have three or four hundred people watching your stream, but that's not people, being there, eyes on you. When something is observed, it changes, the thing literally changes. And so, when you're being observed and observed by a lot of people, it changes how you go about things on the court. And here at the Challengers, everybody knows it's being streamed, but it's not the same thing.

This interview is broken into four different ‘quick reads’ that will be posted here over time.

Photo of the Day: Tennys Sandgren

Just turned 22, American tennis player Tennys Sandgren caught our eye at the 2013 Lexington, Kentucky Challenger event. 

He qualified into the tournament on his birthday, ranked at # 253 in the world. Read our exclusive 2019 interview with Tennys Sandgren here: (LINK)

tennyssandgren

 

FROM COLLEGE TENNIS TO THE PRO TOUR (PART ONE OF TWO)

Tennis Acumen (TA): Tennis Acumen here at the Columbus Fall Challenger 2022 with Tennys Sandgren.

(photo credit: Karl Corbett)

TA: Sang, it has been a while. Nice to see you again. I'm doing I'm doing a series on college players that turn pro. So, I would like to ask you to just step back in your memory. Give me anything you can about the differences between the college and the professional tour. You know, just hold forth on the transition. I'd love to hear it.

Tennys Sandgren: Well, the level of play isn't much different. There's a couple of things that I always notice when I practice with the  college guys at MTSU (Middle Tennessee State University). The Tennessee State guys are good. They're not highly ranked college players and they're good players. But do they  know what happens when the points get going? One difference between college and the tour is court position. In college, court position stays pretty deep in the court. Nobody's particularly great at taking the angles by moving forward....   and second, there's  just the level of drop off in matches. You see ebbs and flows in matches and you see college players, when they're not at their top form, and stay off track for a game or two. With the high-level pro guys, there are only very small windows, maybe just a minute here and there, and they are back to top form. College guys can take a set hiatus, they can go down a break in the first set, and that might be the day. So, it's just that mental flexibility,  bend but not break and it's all about that level of concentration. You know, everybody has different levels of ability. And you're out there for 2 hours, 3 hours. It's a long time to stay focused. It's a long time to keep your mental energy up, to stay energized. It's a skill in and of itself: How well can you actually stay focused on the task at hand and how long does your mind drift? Do you get negative? Do you not believe in yourself? How long does that happen? Because you're not at your best when that's happening. So that's another thing that’s just different from the tour. It's not like the level of play is worse. It's just little factors that come into play when you're playing matches that really make a big difference.

This interview is broken into four different ‘quick reads’ that will be posted here over time.

NICK CHAPPELL: FAVORITE CITIES ON THE TOUR

This is one of twelve excerpts from an exclusive interview with Nick Chappell at the 2022 Columbus Fall Challenger. They will be posted over time in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Tennis Acumen: You mentioned different countries, different cities. What are some of your favorite cities on the tour?

Nick Chappell: Los Cabos, in Mexico, is great. Earlier this year, and that tournament was only my second ATP tournament. It was my first appearance in a main draw, and I qualified for it. The tournament was really well run. All the matches were at night, so it had a really fun environment. A lot of people coming out after work just to watch. After that I went to Lima, Peru for a Challenger. The tournament was just standard, nothing special about it. But the city was really cool, with really healthy food. Food is really big with me and that made the whole trip. My girlfriend even got to come with me. But I really liked Mexico City when I was here in April of this year. Oh, yes. That was really best of both worlds. Really fun tournament plus a really cool city.

Tennis Acumen: You got to do some sightseeing.

Nick Chappell: Yes. Honestly, all the Challengers I've played in Mexico have been among my favorite tournaments. Puerto Vallarta was another one. That was an unbelievable tournament. It was just a huge party atmosphere, and they got a lot of people out, which is something I really enjoyed.

Tennis Acumen: So, you love the crowd.

Nick Chappell: Yes, I do. I've really enjoyed traveling in Europe as well. I played quite a bit in Europe. Usually in the summer I would go to Europe for a couple of months. This year, since there were more tournaments in South America and in the US, I just stayed in the US. But typically, I've gone a couple of summers, played in France and really enjoyed that. I played some Challengers, one or two Futures and even played club matches there. France was the most fun place I've played tennis, actually, because the people really appreciate good tennis. It's just really nice to play in France.

Photo of the Day: Alexander Zverev

In 2019, German ace Alexander Zverev came into the Cincinnati Masters tournament on a roll. He made it to the quarterfinals in Montreal, just the week prior. Here, his luck ran out, as he lost his second round match to Novak Djokovic’s hitting partner, Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, in three sets.

photo credit: Karl Corbett, (c) Tennis Acumen

Photo of the Day: Nikolay Davydenko

Nikolay Davydenko, born in 1981, is a former Russian professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3 in November 2006. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament was reaching the semi-finals on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open, losing to Roger Federer in 3 of those 4 matches. Davydenko retired in 2014.

 

photo credit: Karl Corbett, (c) Tennis Acumen

Pictured here in Cincinnati, 2005: Davydenko played great tennis, defeating Sebastien Grosjean, Paul-Henri Matthieu and Fernando Gonzales before losing to Lleyton Hewitt in the quarterfinals.

Photo of the Day: Andrey Rublev

Andrey Rublev fights off a shot to the body, and loses his first-round  match in Cincinnati, 2018. Kei Nishikori won the contest, 7-5, 6-3. Rublev’s  world ranking dropped from #38 to #71, as he dropped points from the US Open in 2017, where he reached the quarterfinals. At this posting, Rublev has just made it in to the top 10 for the first time.

photo credit: Karl Corbett (c) Tennis Acumen

Halep & Tsitsipas Exit US Open Immediately

PETE ZIEBRON

 

Simona Halep, the #7 seed in the women's draw and Stefanos Tsitsipas, #4 seed in the men's draw each lost their first match at the 2022 US Open.

For Halep, it was the third time in her last five appearances in New York that she lost her opening match.  The Romanian who won the title in Montreal a few weeks ago, was taken out by world #124 Daria Snigur of Ukraine.  The Qualifier rebounded from a bagel set in the match to win 6-2 0-6 6-4.  Halep reached the US Open semifinals in 2015.  Thus, Snigur has now defeated two former US Open semifinalists in four matches, as she also beat Yanina Wickmayer in the second round of qualification.  Wickmayer advanced to the semis in 2009, losing to Caroline Wozniacki.

Tsitsipas also lost to a Qualifier, world # 94 Daniel Galan of Columbia, who was making his first appearance at the US Open.  Galan won the opening nine games of the match and raced to a 6-0 6-1 3-6 7-5 victory.  The Greek was a Finalist in Cincinnati and defeated world #1 Daniil Medvedev en route to the final.  Tsitsipas, who stated in press that he played like an amateur, has never advanced past the third round in New York in five appearances.

 

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Evan King: End Game

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed American Evan King at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:

Tennis Acumen: At what point do you say: “I'm done playing tennis.”?

Evan King: I think when I stop feeling that I can improve. I reached, I think, #185 in the world a couple of years ago, late 2018. And then my singles ranking was going down. When I decided to stop, I was about #380 and my doubles ranking was still # 130. So, I'm pretty good at this. Let's see if I can crack top hundred or top 70. This is my first year of focusing solely on doubles. I want to see how that goes. I have had some ups and downs, some good results, some poor results. Next year, I’ll try to use what I have learned and make a couple of better decisions and play better moments. It is a different scoring system with no-ad and ten-point tiebreakers. Picking partners, finding what skill sets you match with and see what people that you match with. Because you have to vibe as a person and get along, strategize, all that kind of stuff.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: I've heard it said that playing doubles can be a bit like a marriage.

Evan King: Yeah, totally. you spend a ton of time together. You are traveling together; you're practicing every single day together. You're eating majority of meals together unless you don't like each other. it is a ton of time together, so you need to know what makes each other tick. If I feel I plateaued at a ranking or get stalled at a prize money that's not sustainable to live on, then I will stop. There are things I can definitely improve on. There's more that I can learn. So, until that happens, I'll keep it going.

 

More of this exclusive interview is available at Tennis Acumen. Go to the interviews category, shown on the upper right hand side of the screen.

Tags: @EvanKingChicago

J. J. Wolf: Winning and Losing

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed American J. J. Wolf at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:

Tennis Acumen: That's well said. Last year, we talked about the fact that some guys absolutely loved to win, so they're just obsessed with it, while some guys try to avoid losing. Is it winning or avoiding a loss that's more important to you?

J. J. Wolf: Oh, it's a hard question. I don't really think about it too much on the court. I'm just real competitive, so obviously I love to win. But, I'm not afraid of losing. Every time you lose a match, it's a chance to look at what you did wrong and what you can improve on. So, I think it's a good thing, really. There's going to be a lot of losing. If you play pro tennis, you get used to it.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: Do you "watch film", as they say?

J. J. Wolf: Yeah, I'll watch every match I play after I play it, whether I win or lose.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: And what do you gain from that? I'm trying to get inside the mind of a professional tennis player,.

J. J. Wolf: I'm extremely visual, so it's good for me to see what it looks like from the outside. It's really hard to see what your ball even looks like while you're hitting it. I talk to coaches who will tell me: “You don't have to hit the ball so crazy hard.” Maybe I don't think I'm hitting it any harder than the guy I'm playing against. So, then I go and watch the film and I'm saying: “That forehand might have been one hundred and five miles an hour. Why did I hit it that hard?” Because it looks cool, but I probably don't need to do that.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: So that's part of your discipline. After a match, you watch a video recording. Do you watch with a coach or just on your own?

J. J. Wolf: That can vary, sometimes with a coach, sometimes without. Sometimes we'll watch separately and then come back together and talk about what we thought.

 

More of this exclusive interview is available at Tennis Acumen. Go to the interviews category, shown on the upper right hand side of the screen.

Tags: @jjwolf5

Aleks Vukic: Winning and Losing

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed Australian Aleks Vukic at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:

Tennis Acumen: There's a spectrum. You see guys that just absolutely love to win and guys that hate to lose. There's a different set of motivations here.

Aleks Vukic: I think my feeling of losing is definitely stronger than my feeling of winning. I get more affected by a loss than I do a win. But I love to win, but I get hurt more when I lose, and I'm happier when I win, if that makes sense.

 

Tennis Acumen: It's very hard to understand that, because there are  32 guys in the draw here, 31 of them are going to lose by the end of the week. And no one likes to lose. How do you rebound from that?

Aleks Vukic: Oh, it's nonstop. I think I'm getting better at that, but it's one of those. You got to have a short-term memory when it comes to that and learn from it, but then just focus on the next week. That's the best thing about tennis. There is a tournament next week, and you can do great things there. So, it's just forgetting about it and just keep going with a long-term vision of where you see yourself going.

 

Tennis Acumen: I'll tell you a story. The Challenger in Savannah a couple of years ago, Reilly Opelka, who was just up and coming. No one had ever heard of him. He comes off court. He's just suffered a loss, sits down next to me and he's just shaking. He's so upset. He can't stand it. And I said: ”Reilly, if you don't play guys that can beat you, you'll never get any better.” And I could just see a weight come off his shoulders. I don't think he's hated losing as much since then.

Aleks Vukic: Yeah, yeah, definitely short-term memory. And then move on.

 

More of this exclusive interview is available at Tennis Acumen. Go to the interviews category, shown on the upper right hand side of the screen.

Tags: aleks.vukic, Vuki_SMASH23

 

French Open 2022 quarterfinal expert picks: Djokovic vs. Nadal

This article originally appeared on The Grandstand.

Photo credit: New York Times

Expert picks are back on Tuesday for the French Open quarterfinal clash between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. A three-team panel previews the highly-anticipated action and makes its predictions.

Ricky Dimon: Nadal is coming off a five-set slugfest against Felix Auger-Aliassime. I don’t think that’s the worst thing in the world because it means the Spaniard is battle tested and he also looked good physically throughout that match while also playing at a consistently high level. I actually think it could help him in the early stages against Djokovic. In the long run, though, Djokovic’s full tank should come in handy for what will surely be a physical fight. The Serb wore down Nadal in last year’s quarterfinals and I think he can do the same again. Nighttime conditions won’t help the 13-time champion, either. Nadal is too good in Paris and playing too well right now to get blown out, but pretty much all signs are pointing toward Djokovic. Djokovic in 4: 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-3.

Cheryl Murray: Djokovic and Nadal will meet for the 59th time on Tuesday. It’s absurd, really–absurd that the two GOATs are contemporaries, ridiculous that they have smashed into each other almost 60 times. But perhaps the most unbelievable aspect in the most prolific rivalry of all time is each man’s consistent ability to find their way to the business end of tournaments they enter. It’s not like they bump into each other in the third round. Nope. They have never met prior to the quarterfinals in a “regular” (not Davis Cup or year-end championship) tournament…. Not once…in 59 meetings. It’s just…yeah. I get a bit misty-eyed each time they run into each other. It goes beyond special. It is completely unique to them, a narrative told in intimate detail for 16 years, offering the world a first hand look at wild joy and bitter disappointment, elation and agony, brilliance and baffled frustration. They are warriors locked in a battle of attrition that goes one way, then the other, then back again. And each time they add a chapter to their story I wonder if I’m watching them for the last time. Djokovic probably has the edge this time–even though it’s on clay and even though it’s at Roland Garros. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t doubt Nadal’s abilities or his will. I know well enough that he understands how to win in Paris better than any human ever has. But the injuries have been so disruptive, I just don’t think he’s match tough enough to get past Djokovic. He’ll give it everything he has, though; that you can be sure of. Djokovic in 5: 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(4), 3-6, 7-5.

Pete Ziebron (Tennis Acumen): Djokovic will be slightly fresher after making quick work of all four opponents so far, while Nadal had to go the distance in the previous round against Auger-Aliassime. In fact, the Serb has won 22 consecutive sets on clay–having corrected course after falling to Carlos Alcaraz in the Madrid semis and then rolling through the field at the Rome Masters. Nadal arrived in Paris without a clay title this year and in serious pain less than two weeks prior to the start of the French Open. Nonetheless, he has once again found a way to recover and excel on the terre battue to set up this clash. The Mallorcan will need to clean up his break-point conversion significantly from the 6-for-22 performance in the last round. Meanwhile, Djokovic is serving immaculately–hitting just two double-faults in four matches. Both sets of stats are in the past, however, and are rendered meaningless once the court is taken in this highly anticipated quarterfinal. Look for Nadal to win a few more of the bigger points in the match. Nadal in 5: 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.

Evan King: College to Pro Tennis

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed American Evan King at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:

Photo credit: University of Michigan

Tennis Acumen: Making the change from college to professional. I've heard guys say that first off, the level of play and competition goes up and the crowd size and support goes down. Is that your experience?

Evan King: I wouldn't so much say about the level of play. If you play near the top of your lineup in college, that's more or less the same levels as Futures. Unless you have a bunch of wild cards going in, you're going to start at Futures. Crowds are different, certainly. At the University of Michigan matches, you will have more than just tennis fans. You'll have fans of the university that want to support Michigan athletics. The same person will go watch tennis, softball, hockey, volleyball just because they love University of Michigan. For people to go out to these tournaments (Challenger level), they have to love tennis or a specific player to come out. So, it's two interesting dynamics. When you're playing in college, you're playing for university, your teammates and coaches, the people that you're practicing with every day. You have the bigger crowds behind you. When you turn pro, you're playing for yourself. As you go up to the Challenger circuit, the level of play is better than the college level, for the most part. Beyond that, you have the ATP circuit. When you're out as a professional, you have to muster up your own energy. You have to back yourself because unless you have the money to hire a coach or physio or a team behind you, you're out there alone. I would say that's the most difficult part. You have to hold yourself more accountable because there's not a coach on you. You're not representing the other six people on your team. If I lay an egg during a college match, I affect everybody else. The university, the coaches, the athletic department, everybody. I'm letting a whole bunch of people down. If I lay an egg on the pro circuit, I'm only letting myself down. So, it's a different kind of energy, different pressure and a high enough standard where, letting yourself down is the same as letting other people down.

 

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Tags: @EvanKingChicago