New York, New York!
It is going to take me a while to unwind from a crazy couple of weeks in the Big Apple. With my new business gaining momentum, I was able to work with 5 players at the Open. Here’s the rundown.
Amer Delic – I arrived the Sunday before qualies to welcome back Amer Delic to the tour. I first started coaching Amer in 2008, but he has been off the tour for just over a year with knee surgery. Amer is one of the most popular guys on tour and everyone was happy to see him back on the courts again. He had a tough first round against Michael Yani, going down 6-2, 6-4, but it was great he got through the match and his knee was fine.
I have also been helping the Tennis Canada boys out a little since the Toronto Masters. Super coach, Marty Laurendeau (Canada’s Davis Cup coach), and I have been doing some video work together to help out Canadian’s Frank Dancevic, Peter Polansky and Milos Raonic. Marty is one of the great guys and coaches on tour, and it was an absolute pleasure to assist him with his players’ development.
Frank Dancevic – Frank played an excellent first round of qualifying, defeating #202 Ivo Minar (CZE) 6-2, 6-3. Frank was definitely feeling the ball, and stepping into the court at every opportunity. It was great to see this exciting shot maker feeling good on the court again after some time off with injuries. Frank had a gutsy 2nd Rd q’s win over #129 Stephane Bohli (SUI) 3-6, 7-5, 7-6. Both players were cramping towards the end of the match, but Bohli ended up much worse and had trouble walking towards the end. The only problem with the win for Frank is that it left him with nothing in the tank, and he lost last round of qualies 6-4 6-1 to #147 Kei Nishikori (JPN). Overall, it as good to get a couple of solid wins and be back on tour competing for Frank. Look for a lot of good things from him as he starts to get matches under his belt.
Milos Raonic – Milos was coming off a rough loss in Toronto to #54 Victor Hanescu (ROU), where he made way too many errors. Milos is one of the best players under 20 in the world, and is very much still putting his explosive game together. I used Dartfish Match Tagging to analyze the Hanescu match and Milos was spraying the ball all over the shop – way too aggressive all the time. Fast forward to New York, and Milos and his coach Frederic Neimeyer had made some positive adjustments. Milos defeated #157 Mischa Zverev (GER) 6-4, 6-3 then #250 Alex Bogomolov Jr (USA) 6-2, 7-6 and qualified with a win over #122 David Guez (FRA) 7-5, 6-4. Milos ran into a solid Aussie in #145 Carsten Ball (AUS) in the first round of the main draw, losing 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. This was Milos’ first time to qualie for a Grand Slam, and it won’t be too much longer before he cracks the Top 100.
Peter Polansky – Peter had his first Top 100 win in Toronto over #15 Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 7-6, 6-4 and was rolling into the US Open with a ton of confidence. Marty and I had been working on video for Pete to show him how lethal his runaround forehand is. Peter has a huge forehand, but does not use it nearly as much as he should. That was about to change. Peter came into qualifying unseeded and ranked #205 in the world – but you would never know it by watching him carve through the draw. Peter won his 1st round of qualifying over #221 Santiago Gonzalez (MEX) 6-1, 6-3, then defeated #174 Franco Skugor (CRO) 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 and qualified for the main draw with a hard fought win over #261 John Millman (AUS) 6-3, 4-6, 6-0. Peter’s good form just got better and better and he rolled over #32 Juan Monaco (ARG) 6-2, 7-5 (5), 603 in the 1st round. The run ended in the 2nd round with a tough 4 set loss to #108 James Blake (USA) 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. It was a great tournament for Peter and something to build on for the rest of the year.
Kevin Anderson – Kevin was on a roll coming into the US Open, having gone 9-4 in the U.S. summer hardcourt swing, beating 3 top 100 players and 2 top 50 players. He is definitely starting to find his game, and improving at figuring out what the opponent does not want. Louis Vosloo has been doing a great job with Kevin developing his game this year, and a big Open was the goal. Kevin got off to a great start with a straight-set victory over #98 Somdev Devvarman (IND) 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in the first round. This was an old college match-up that Kevin dominated with big serves and heavy groundies. Somdev is very tricky to play, but Kevin stuck to the plan very well. The next round was one of the most exciting matches I have been a part of. Kevin defeated #28 Thomaz Bellucci (ARG) 6-7 (4), 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (2) in a classic encounter that lasted almost 4 hours. Thomaz’ Brazillian fans created such an electric atmosphere out on court 13, and for Kevin to get up in a 5th set tiebreaker was absolutely thrilling. It’s victories like these that make all the hard work and long hours worth it. Kevin’s run ended in the 3rd round with a 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-5 loss to #38 Richard Gasquet (FRA). Richard played a very smart match in the windy conditions and was definitely the better player on the day.
Overall, it was a fantastic Open, and great development for the Brain Game.