Week 17 - ATP 250 - Millennium Estoril Open, Estoril, Portugal (clay)

philwrig · Hall of fame

Week 17 - ATP 250 - Millennium Estoril Open, Estoril, Portugal (clay)

indiana · Tennis legend

philwrig wrote:
The question mark over Kyle's stamina over 5 sets is also a key to being much higher in the rankings.

... or at least him not cramping, which he and / or his camp were saying has not been purely down to stamina. I do think there is at least an element of truth in that in that he fell away too soon in the Davis Cup Final indicating the whole occasion and / or some other factor(s) played their part. And I am sure that he has cramped strangely early previously. His whole prep going into matches has been mentioned as being looked at.

-- Edited by indiana on Thursday 28th of April 2016 08:47:41 PM

Tennis Nut · Social player

RJA wrote:
The Knight wrote:
Difficult for me to specify what Kyle needs to work on as he can't say he has a specific weakness. Maybe just marginal gains on the serve, backhand and movement and keeping making that forehand more world class?

You could add work on the backhand slice and volleys but not sure Kyle will ever be a proper touch player
1. Movement
2. Movement
3. Movement
4. Did I mention movement?

Kyle has the weapons to compete with all but the very best but the more he plays at this level the more players will get used to him and expose his poor movement. For me the difference between him being a top 50 player and a top 20 one will be how much he improves his movement.

Question.......was it movement that lost the match for him yesterday?

RJA · Hall of fame

philwrig wrote:
The question mark over Kyle's stamina over 5 sets is also a key to being much higher in the rankings.

No it isn't. Improving stamina is relatively easy, if you are willing to work hard, and given that Kyle has a fantastic attitude I don't doubt that this is a weakness that he will deal with in time. Improving movement is much more complicated, it involves many factors such as speed, intelligence and instinct.

RJA · Hall of fame

Tennis Nut wrote:
RJA wrote:
The Knight wrote:
Difficult for me to specify what Kyle needs to work on as he can't say he has a specific weakness. Maybe just marginal gains on the serve, backhand and movement and keeping making that forehand more world class?

You could add work on the backhand slice and volleys but not sure Kyle will ever be a proper touch player
1. Movement
2. Movement
3. Movement
4. Did I mention movement?

Kyle has the weapons to compete with all but the very best but the more he plays at this level the more players will get used to him and expose his poor movement. For me the difference between him being a top 50 player and a top 20 one will be how much he improves his movement.
Question.......was it movement that lost the match for him yesterday?

I can't really comment on this match since I wan't able to watch it but my comments about Kyle's movement are based on watching many of his matches over the last few years.

Generally speaking of course most matches involving Paire are decided by Paire. On form and motivated he is a top 10 player, off form and uninterested he can lose to anybody.