Week 20 - ATP Masters 1000 - Internazionali BNL d'Italia - Rome, Italy (clay)

indiana · Tennis legend

RE: Week 20 - ATP Masters 1000 - Internazionali BNL d'Italia - Rome, Italy (clay)

JonH · All-time great

I missed the fact that this had started, Kyle won the first set v Verdasco but it is 5-4 to FV in the second set and he is serving a break up. Looks like a 3rd set on the cards

Jan · Hall of fame

Third set it is.
Kyle was a break up in the second....

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

Went from 6-4 4-1* to 6-4 4-6 0-1*, 6 games in a row to Verdasco who has won 17 of the last 18 points.

And then holds to love for a 7th straight game or 21 of 22 points.

-- Edited by Ace Ventura on Monday 13th of May 2019 10:59:36 AM

Jan · Hall of fame

A very long game there with umpteen deuces, but FerVer breaks yet again for *3-0

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

Having lost 10 games in a row, Kyle finally gets a game on the board breaking to 15. Still down *1-5 in the decider though.

Edit

Then holds to love. 2-5*

-- Edited by Bob in Spain on Monday 13th of May 2019 11:35:13 AM

flamingowings · All-time great

Oh Kyle. Snatching defeat from jaws of victory is not a good look.

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

L56: Fernando Verdasco (ESP) WR 38 defeated Kyle Edmund WR 27 by 4-6 6-4 6-2 cry

Kyle led by *4-1 in the second set... His confidence must be at rock bottom at the moment.

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

You have to think that there is a huge confidence issue going on with Kyle at the moment. I know Verdasco can blow hot and cold, but to lose 10 games in a row from 6-4 4-1* up has to be more than that.

I still have faith that Kyle will get it right as I know his level of dedication and commitment but he is clearly going through a difficult time at the moment. As I mentioned last week, perhaps some fresh faces around might be an option.

flamingowings · All-time great

Hopefully Cam & Dan can give us some hope! It was going so well for Kyle in IW/Miami and now we've gone backwards.

indiana · Tennis legend

Yes, the wheels have come off for now for Kyle. I wonder even more about the effect of losing his previous main coach, he is maybe someone that really does need the right motivation to get him up and maybe struggles a bit as a self motivator.

Hope he can turn things around fairly soon. He has such proven ability to be doing very much better, particularly on clay.

-- Edited by indiana on Monday 13th of May 2019 11:52:50 AM

Michael D · All-time great

indiana wrote:
Yes, the wheels have come off for now for Kyle. I wonder even more about the effect of losing his coach, he is maybe someone that really does need the right motivation to get him up and maybe struggles a bit as a self motivator.

Hope he can turn things around fairly soon. He has such proven ability to be doing very much better, particularly on clay.

I thought Mark Hilton was still there, who was responsible for coaching Dan to his initial breakthrough? Whatever ails, i suspect BIS is right and he may need a coaching switch now, Freddie Rosengren seems to have been the person who made the mental difference for Kyle.

indiana · Tennis legend

Michael D wrote:
indiana wrote:
Yes, the wheels have come off for now for Kyle. I wonder even more about the effect of losing his coach, he is maybe someone that really does need the right motivation to get him up and maybe struggles a bit as a self motivator.

Hope he can turn things around fairly soon. He has such proven ability to be doing very much better, particularly on clay.
I thought Mark Hilton was still there, who was responsible for coaching Dan to his initial breakthrough? Whatever ails, i suspect BIS is right and he may need a coaching switch now, Freddie Rosengren seems to have been the person who made the mental difference for Kyle.

Fredrik Rosengren was his main coach from late 2017 until February this year. He retired from the tour to spend more time with his family. Kyle himself said Rosengren worked on his positivity and court presence as well as clearly technical issues. Yes, Mark Hilton is still there.

Undoubtably last year saw Kyle's best year in a number of aspects. Basically, for whatever combination of reasons, he played near his best more consistently with some shot making appearing to have developed. And without some illness issues the year could have ended even better.

Julia Carrot · All-time great

indiana wrote:
Yes, the wheels have come off for now for Kyle. I wonder even more about the effect of losing his previous main coach, he is maybe someone that really does need the right motivation to get him up and maybe struggles a bit as a self motivator.

Hope he can turn things around fairly soon. He has such proven ability to be doing very much better, particularly on clay.

-- Edited by indiana on Monday 13th of May 2019 11:52:50 AM

My feeling is it's not coach related. More to do with general stamina/wellness, physical and mental, and likely connected to that long period he had with recurring viral (?) illness culminating in having a tonsillectomy.

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

Michael D wrote:
indiana wrote:
Yes, the wheels have come off for now for Kyle. I wonder even more about the effect of losing his coach, he is maybe someone that really does need the right motivation to get him up and maybe struggles a bit as a self motivator.

Hope he can turn things around fairly soon. He has such proven ability to be doing very much better, particularly on clay.
I thought Mark Hilton was still there, who was responsible for coaching Dan to his initial breakthrough? Whatever ails, i suspect BIS is right and he may need a coaching switch now, Freddie Rosengren seems to have been the person who made the mental difference for Kyle.

There is no doubt in my mind that Mark Hilton is a high quality coach. He worked wonders with Evo, as you have commented. But different players have different needs and sometimes Good player + Good coach doesn't = good partnership.

I haven't been able to see Kyle's recent performances so I don't know if there are technical problems (not that I could spot them anyway), but the way the scores are going, it seems much more likely the issues are more mental, then technical.

Here is a quote from Simon Briggs.

In Rome, Kyle Edmund experiences a carbon copy of his Monte Carlo defeat. In MC, he lost 11 of 12 games from a set and a break up to Diego Schwartzman. Today, it's 11 of 13 from a set and a break up against Fernando Verdasco.

For Kyle to get into the winning situations suggests that technically he is not far away from best form. The problem seems to be getting over the line. It does give me hope that if he can just get a couple of results, things could turn around very quickly. Confidence is a very fickle thing.

One down side for me is that this has happened in the clay season which is his better surface. If he goes into the forthcoming grass season (his worst surface in my opinion) at this level of confidence, it doesn't auger well. Perhaps the home crowds might give him a boost though.

Meanwhile, RG to play and perhaps another tournament between now and then where hopefully he can get things moving.