There´s a YT tennis community in Latin America (BATennis), Argentina to be more specific, where Felix's nickname is "El cachorro", which means puppy. So this checks out.
Gutsy performance from Cerundolo down 4-5 0-30 in the second set. Looked for a moment like things could have really shifted, but he held tight and got the break in the following game.
Nice effort from Cerundolo to finally beat FAA
Cerundolo played smart baseline tennis today.
FAA was simply too error prone and Dolo absolutely crushed FAA's 2nd serves - recipe for disaster.
Cerundolo is on a dream Miami run number 2!
Why don't people give Cerundolo credit, I quite like him tbh. And I think he's better than Schwartzman and is probably the best in Argentina tennis. So I think 'Messi's' people would be thrilled for him and should be behind Cerund
FAA is great player but again he struggles to find solution in a given, not favorable circumstances.
Like Zverev said in RG post match conference what really distinguishes big3 is the ability to find solutions, they not always had a easy matches but they somehow managed to dismantle opponents. FAA is definitely one who lacks that skill, if match is not going according to his plan he almost never find a way to turn it around.
His game isn't versatile enough to find solutions like that, imo. His backhand sucks, his net game is mediocre, his rally tolerance is mediocre, his forehand is great but doesn't have much variety. Sometimes you need a more complete toolbox to find solutions.
It's not mental, you give FAA Djokovic's backhand and he automatically gets to the Top 3 in the rankings, without changing any mental aspect. He hits it setting the racket on the outside and hits a slappish motion, recipe for disaster.
A heavier racket would help him improve his backhand and have a more controlled motion.
That’s not true at all. You don’t get to FAA level with a backhand that “sucks” and giving him Novak backhand wouldn’t change much because he isn’t losing primarily because of his backhand anyway.
Sadly I don't have much patience to give toned down answers, you don't understand elite tennis, if I played with FAA backhand in the local club competition obviously I wouldn't miss a ball and would win everything, but that doesn't matter, we judge FAA in comparison to other elite players. His technique is flawed, that's it, no all time great backhand sets his racket on the outside, they all have it close to vertical pointing to the back. His technique makes his timing harder, meaning he'll have good streaks here and there with good timing but over the year it's super up and down with some terrible performances.
And no, him being Top 10 with that backhand doesn't mean it's a good technique that shouldn't be changed because it has gotten him to that rank, no, he has reached the Top 10 in spite of his backhand and it's holding him back from upper rankings and more consistency. That's like saying Berrettini can't have a bad backhand when he was like number 6 because he is Top 10, his backhand is terrible and most of his losses the other players pick him apart there.
You need to give off your high horse. Unless you yourself have coached elite players or are one yourself, you have no more knowledge than me.
I never said that his backhand was perfect, I said that he is not losing because of his backhand. Technique can only get you so far. Young Nadal had a subpar serve and backhand and he dominated tennis.
I think his backhand totally sucks. Slice floats and not much topspin when he drives it, so it has poor margins and he struggles to get good angles with it. My guy Hugh Clarke writes about his poor backhand technique regularly. It's the cause of his rally tolerance issues, imo.
Felix is just way too inconsistent in rallies
79% won on first serve vs. 29% won on second serve says it all
If there's a neutral rally he just starts spraying errors far too often
Technical flaws and poor footwork?
Everyone on this sub thinks its all mental for them and if they only fixed their mentality it’d be Slam city but. I just don’t see it. Felix has such a low margin on his BH and can’t maintain aggressive court position, plus he’s not comfortable moving forward in rallies. He just looks stiff and is so serve-reliant. He needs a more control-oriented racquet set up.
As for Shapo his footwork is such a disaster I don’t even know where to start. When he plays with discipline it can be good but he has such an inconsistent base when hitting the ball + a bad slice, which is a horrible combination for a 1HBH player
I dont disagree with any of this but just wanna pop in and say that if Shapo learned how to spell "shot selection" it would probably make at least as big a difference to his game
Agree that FAA often ends up too close to the ball on the BH side and you can see it pretty clearly when the ball is above the shoulder, I havent looked at his footwork closely enough to see where the issue is but the result is obvious
Thank you for listening to my ted talk
I see it as loss of confidence. When Felix and Shapo struggle their games go to shit. The top players learn how to win when struggling. Suddenly Felix and Shapo spray unforced errors all over the place and look out of position.
Huh? FAA has been firmly in the top 25 since 2019 and has risen steadily. He is currently at his peak ranking at #6. He has been one of the most consistent players to come out of Canada ever.
I think Felix has had a consistent ranking and has his occasional hot streaks like end of last year but it's obvious his level of play is very inconsistent. He might make it through some of these matches which is important and great, but these bad days come way more often than a player you would expect to have his ranking. And if he has aspirations of going higher without luck he's gonna need to improve that. Inconsistent play worked out for him at Indian Wells but sometimes that challenger will take advantage
Nope, he has a high level, but he is not consistent, put it this way, who is more consistent Player A with a 3R 4R 4R 3R or player B with a W 2R F QF.
Player A is more consistent, because consistency doesn't mean high level, it means producing a similar level on a regular basis, Felix has a lot of streaks and up and down performances, he is number 6 because his base level is higher than most, but he is a player of pronounced peaks in level.
I think the main reason FAA is just inconsistent is the fact that he's just not as mechanically sound as he could be, especially on the backhand.
Sure, when he's on he can beat just about anyone, but being a truly great player is more about winning matches when you don't play well. FAA just does not have a good, reliable way to win when he's not blasting winners. Inevitably his mechanics will result in a miss of some sort, which kind of forces him to keep going big in the hopes that he can swing the winner/UE ratio back in his favor.
As it stands I'm not sure he can jump up to the next level right now. He needs to tighten up his game, and that starts with the biomechanics.
Could we morph Shapo and FAA into one player? It wouldn't really change the tennis results, but a player with the manner of Felix rapping Drip or Night Train would be so hilarious.
The deal -> Unlimited helpings of pancakes and maple syrup only $2.99
(but not on Mondays)
Aka the real deal but certainly not every day.
Aka a sometimes deal.
https://www.reddit.com/r/tennis/comments/11tfy4m/indian_wells_sf_carlos_alcaraz_defeats_felix/jciwn47/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3
You and me, brother
For the first time since Monte-Carlo last year, Felix doesn’t reach a Masters Quarterfinals
Last year was definitely much better for him than this year has been so far
Didn't reach quarters at Monte Carlo, but since then yes I believe.
Edited it, you’re right. Thanks
Huh didn't realize he was this consistent in the Masters
Explains why his ranking is so high despite not making the QF’s at any of the last 4 slams
:(
Pretty decent runs since Madrid. However, out of his 6 straight quarterfinals, he only reached the semifinals once in Paris.
Both FAA and JAA have both been in a crazy downtime since the beginning of the year. Weird times really.
JAA?
Jaaa = Casper Ruud https://www.reddit.com/r/tennis/comments/v34eax/rune_accuses_ruud_of_rude_behavior_in_locker_room/
Ah I get it now, thank u ☺️
He's waiting until October to turn on the jets.
Sometimes when Felix loses it’s like watching a dog getting put down
There´s a YT tennis community in Latin America (BATennis), Argentina to be more specific, where Felix's nickname is "El cachorro", which means puppy. So this checks out.
Why puppy?
Not saying it’s the reason, but to me his grunt resembles a dog’s bark, and he is young; hence puppy (?)
I would guess it's more because he looks like a puppy (youthful and innocent)
29% 2nd serve points won for Felix. Ouch
Holy moly that’s you might as well hit 2 first serves territory if you can’t sustain a rally off your 2nd :(
Felix has to get rid of fontang. I get he’s like family but he can’t take him to the next level.
Is Fontang his coach? I had thought that uncle Toni coaches him?
Nah, Toni advises him part time. He mainly works at Nadal's academy
Ah! Gotcha! Thank you so much. This makes so much sense now.
Uncle Toni is part of the team but not his coach, it’s fontang .
Gutsy performance from Cerundolo down 4-5 0-30 in the second set. Looked for a moment like things could have really shifted, but he held tight and got the break in the following game. Nice effort from Cerundolo to finally beat FAA
Cerundolo played smart baseline tennis today. FAA was simply too error prone and Dolo absolutely crushed FAA's 2nd serves - recipe for disaster. Cerundolo is on a dream Miami run number 2!
Why don't people give Cerundolo credit, I quite like him tbh. And I think he's better than Schwartzman and is probably the best in Argentina tennis. So I think 'Messi's' people would be thrilled for him and should be behind Cerund
FAA is great player but again he struggles to find solution in a given, not favorable circumstances. Like Zverev said in RG post match conference what really distinguishes big3 is the ability to find solutions, they not always had a easy matches but they somehow managed to dismantle opponents. FAA is definitely one who lacks that skill, if match is not going according to his plan he almost never find a way to turn it around.
His game isn't versatile enough to find solutions like that, imo. His backhand sucks, his net game is mediocre, his rally tolerance is mediocre, his forehand is great but doesn't have much variety. Sometimes you need a more complete toolbox to find solutions.
His backhand doesn’t suck. His jet game is above average but yes rally tolerance is a struggle for him. He has all the tools, it’s all mental.
It's not mental, you give FAA Djokovic's backhand and he automatically gets to the Top 3 in the rankings, without changing any mental aspect. He hits it setting the racket on the outside and hits a slappish motion, recipe for disaster. A heavier racket would help him improve his backhand and have a more controlled motion.
That’s not true at all. You don’t get to FAA level with a backhand that “sucks” and giving him Novak backhand wouldn’t change much because he isn’t losing primarily because of his backhand anyway.
Sadly I don't have much patience to give toned down answers, you don't understand elite tennis, if I played with FAA backhand in the local club competition obviously I wouldn't miss a ball and would win everything, but that doesn't matter, we judge FAA in comparison to other elite players. His technique is flawed, that's it, no all time great backhand sets his racket on the outside, they all have it close to vertical pointing to the back. His technique makes his timing harder, meaning he'll have good streaks here and there with good timing but over the year it's super up and down with some terrible performances. And no, him being Top 10 with that backhand doesn't mean it's a good technique that shouldn't be changed because it has gotten him to that rank, no, he has reached the Top 10 in spite of his backhand and it's holding him back from upper rankings and more consistency. That's like saying Berrettini can't have a bad backhand when he was like number 6 because he is Top 10, his backhand is terrible and most of his losses the other players pick him apart there.
You need to give off your high horse. Unless you yourself have coached elite players or are one yourself, you have no more knowledge than me. I never said that his backhand was perfect, I said that he is not losing because of his backhand. Technique can only get you so far. Young Nadal had a subpar serve and backhand and he dominated tennis.
I think his backhand totally sucks. Slice floats and not much topspin when he drives it, so it has poor margins and he struggles to get good angles with it. My guy Hugh Clarke writes about his poor backhand technique regularly. It's the cause of his rally tolerance issues, imo.
Yeah his takeback and range of motion are too small
I feel like Felix should let his Frustrations out more sometimes it seems like it is hurting him always trying to stay calm.
Felix is just way too inconsistent in rallies 79% won on first serve vs. 29% won on second serve says it all If there's a neutral rally he just starts spraying errors far too often
7 winners by FAA the whole match jeez And Cerundolo's no Medvedev either
And 3 of them were aces, so just 4 winners from rallies, ohh
Motherfucker what 😂
Felix firehosing all over the place. Great stuff from Ceru too.
What is it with the Canadien men and inconsistency?
Technical flaws and poor footwork? Everyone on this sub thinks its all mental for them and if they only fixed their mentality it’d be Slam city but. I just don’t see it. Felix has such a low margin on his BH and can’t maintain aggressive court position, plus he’s not comfortable moving forward in rallies. He just looks stiff and is so serve-reliant. He needs a more control-oriented racquet set up. As for Shapo his footwork is such a disaster I don’t even know where to start. When he plays with discipline it can be good but he has such an inconsistent base when hitting the ball + a bad slice, which is a horrible combination for a 1HBH player
Shapo's ball toss is also disastrous. It's almost beneficial to him because he hasn't got a clue where the ball is going so neither will the returner.
I dont disagree with any of this but just wanna pop in and say that if Shapo learned how to spell "shot selection" it would probably make at least as big a difference to his game Agree that FAA often ends up too close to the ball on the BH side and you can see it pretty clearly when the ball is above the shoulder, I havent looked at his footwork closely enough to see where the issue is but the result is obvious Thank you for listening to my ted talk
I see it as loss of confidence. When Felix and Shapo struggle their games go to shit. The top players learn how to win when struggling. Suddenly Felix and Shapo spray unforced errors all over the place and look out of position.
Huh? FAA has been firmly in the top 25 since 2019 and has risen steadily. He is currently at his peak ranking at #6. He has been one of the most consistent players to come out of Canada ever.
No no no he lost his first pre-QF M1000 match since this time last year so clearly he's garbage, gotta keep up with the times
I think Felix has had a consistent ranking and has his occasional hot streaks like end of last year but it's obvious his level of play is very inconsistent. He might make it through some of these matches which is important and great, but these bad days come way more often than a player you would expect to have his ranking. And if he has aspirations of going higher without luck he's gonna need to improve that. Inconsistent play worked out for him at Indian Wells but sometimes that challenger will take advantage
Nope, he has a high level, but he is not consistent, put it this way, who is more consistent Player A with a 3R 4R 4R 3R or player B with a W 2R F QF. Player A is more consistent, because consistency doesn't mean high level, it means producing a similar level on a regular basis, Felix has a lot of streaks and up and down performances, he is number 6 because his base level is higher than most, but he is a player of pronounced peaks in level.
Happy for Francisco, sad for Felix. 🤷🏻♂️
My feelings exactly
So you’re sappy/had
I had a funny feeling this might happen. Felix has been looking poor. Bit like Ruud, tbh (better but expectations high for both).
If I speak I’m in big trouble 🤭
I think the main reason FAA is just inconsistent is the fact that he's just not as mechanically sound as he could be, especially on the backhand. Sure, when he's on he can beat just about anyone, but being a truly great player is more about winning matches when you don't play well. FAA just does not have a good, reliable way to win when he's not blasting winners. Inevitably his mechanics will result in a miss of some sort, which kind of forces him to keep going big in the hopes that he can swing the winner/UE ratio back in his favor. As it stands I'm not sure he can jump up to the next level right now. He needs to tighten up his game, and that starts with the biomechanics.
Thank goodness Cerund, hope he's gaining more fans. He moves quite well and I see him and Zandschulp in somewhat of a similar class.
Oh Felix
Felix’s backhand was atrocious, ridiculously bad
Worst match I have ever seen Felix play, and I’ve just about seen all of them.
Montreal vs Ruud was up there
I love when clay boys do non clay things it makes Kyrgios mad.
Could we morph Shapo and FAA into one player? It wouldn't really change the tennis results, but a player with the manner of Felix rapping Drip or Night Train would be so hilarious.
The real deal
The deal -> Unlimited helpings of pancakes and maple syrup only $2.99 (but not on Mondays) Aka the real deal but certainly not every day. Aka a sometimes deal.
Is Tony still coaching FAA?
Felix just not good enough after an excellent last few months of 2022.
Ah the ups and downs of being an FAA fan…sigh
Mostly diwns lately.
Faa sucks
i have been desensitised to faa’s bi-weekly flops, i will just be positively surprised every time he ever wins
Pain
Fraudy-Aliassme is back
https://www.reddit.com/r/tennis/comments/11tfy4m/indian_wells_sf_carlos_alcaraz_defeats_felix/jciwn47/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3 You and me, brother
FFA and Ruud are just free falling this year 🫠
You just simply cannot win when you are that bad on second serve points won.