Australian Open Update Round 1

cut men — Stef — João — Carlos

I spent the day on the grounds Tuesday. A look back at the men’s first round:

Coaching pods

As part of the ongoing evolution of on-court coaching the Australian Open has provided court level “pods” for each player’s coaching team on the three stadium courts. No longer stationed up in the player box, coaches now assume a ringside cut man role, applying their soothing verbal balms in close proximity. I like this move. In a boisterous crowd it can be hard to hear your team from high in the box, and given the money invested in coaches, along with the coaching rule change from several years ago, this is a step in the right direction.

Coaches also have access to live match data to guide their coaching.

“A few times, I did approach Andy, asked him something about whatever it was, whatever shot. He was giving me his feedback, his guidance and opinion.”

— Novak Djokovic

Getty.

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Tsitipas’ New Normal

Stefanos Tsitsipas went out in the first round on Sunday to young American Alex Michelsen. It was a brilliant display from Michelsen (highlights), who used his flat laser backhand to bully Stef off his backhand mound. Tsitsipas — a four time semifinalist and one time finalist in Melbourne — expressed his thoughts on how the game has changed since he first burst on the scene in 2018 with a four set win over Roger Federer (emphasis added):

“It wasn’t as physical. I’ve had wins over Novak [Djokovic] and felt like I didn’t have to exceed the most extreme version of myself in that particular match. The game has shifted more towards a physical game, so the margins become smaller meaning that you’re not getting as many free points. Innovation has stepped in and allowed players to serve even bigger than before. I definitely put emphasis on that.

“Power has taken over, meaning everyone can hit hard now. You just have to be precise as well, combine those two, and you have the ultimate player.”

“I would actually say that I’m a better player now than I was back then,” he continued.

“Even though I’m losing now and I’m not at my best I still feel like I’m much better as a player than back then.”

I agree with Stef’s assessment that the game has shifted in recent years. The pace is frenetic. Everyone serves big, everyone moves well, everyone hits big, and youngsters today have a fearless risk-taking streak in their play. However, it’s hard to see what Tsitsipas has specifically improved in his game in recent years, or if he has simply stayed still as the game passed him by.

Along with the increased speed, I also feel some of the younger stars emerging have a more complete skillset compared to the Tsitsipas et al., generation.

I’m not sure why this may be.

My theory is that lighter racquets allowed the younger crop to play closer to the baseline and play well in the forecourt from younger ages, enabling them more experience and skill development in the transition area.

Anyway, the last thing I will say about Stef (broken record) is that he needs a better slice backhand. I had the pleasure of watching Berrettini and Musetti on Kia Arena yesterday, and both men protected their backhands so well with that shot. It stays low, it buys them time, it’s uncomfortable when they put a lot of RPMs on it as well. How Tsitsipas has not developed that shot in the last seven years on tour simply baffles me. Against a flat backhand like Michelsen, it would have made the American’s line ball a little more difficult to execute, and likely hit much slower. Instead, the Greek’s heavy but slow one-handed backhand sat up perfectly around the waist of the American, who enjoyed seeing so many balls in his strike zone on that side.

Early hardcourt exits are the new normal for the Greek.

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Fonseca

Readers of this newsletter probably weren’t as surprised as most when Fonseca dismantled world number 9 Andrey Rublev last night.

Despite his junior frame, the Brazilian owns one of the biggest forehands in the game already.

Keeps the left hand on the racquet for a great coil in the unit turn — shoulders turned way past the hips. Racquet head above the hand to generate speed with gravity, and look how hard he drives the legs and hips, with that right foot finishing way inside the baseline.

But as I’ve always maintained, good forehands are littered all the way down the rankings. The reason I’ve always been so bullish on this kid (here, here) is because of the backhand. I’ve touched on how subtle and damaging Djokovic was with his inside-out/line backhand over the years, and Fonseca has that same ability. Note how well he disrupts Rublev in this point, who has to recover past centre to cover the crosscourt shot.

Full takeback, high power position in the backswing. Djokovic style. Look how Andrey has to always recover — and is anticipating — the crosscourt backhand by shuffling past the middle as Joao goes to hit. It means Fonseca can hit this shot at a relatively benign pace and have a huge payoff in damage.

Here is that same quality from a defensive version. Again, note how Rublev is positioned in the “true middle” and is anticipating the higher percentage cross court shot:

And when the match was on the line in the third set buster, the kid absolutely melted a stunning inside-out backhand:

There’s no breathing room for an opponent when you hit the forehand that big and can also change direction on the backhand on a whim.

Other pros:

Nishioka: "Fonseca is so amazing. This level of perfection is so amazing. He will definitely win the tour this year. He will finish in the top 30. This is the ultimate example of modern tennis. Almost all of the balls he hit were better than Rublev's."

Darren Cahill: “I asked Jannik what ranking he thought João Fonseca would be at the end of the year and he replied ‘in the top-25’”

Fonseca takes on Lorenzo Sonego on Thursday. I’m hoping to get tickets this time and see the kid in the flesh. How far can he go now? I think he’s in a pretty handy section of the draw and is an overwhelming favourite against Sonego.

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Carlos

Alcaraz started well on Monday, defeating Shevchenko 6/1 7/5 6/1 after a mid-match mental blip saw him go behind 3-5 in the second set. The backhand looked quite good and suited his super-aggressive court position and tactics. In light of his hyper-aggression on hard courts in recent months (Beijing, remember?) I found it interesting to note that the Spaniard is an outlier in the extended rallies of his own service points:

Source: Tennis Insights

We can see in the 1-4 rally length that big servers and/or great plus-one guys like Fritz, Zverev, and Sinner dominate, but once both men have had two swings at the ball, the genius of the Spaniard rises well above his peers.

Interestingly, on return we see almost the opposite effect. Alcaraz does best at the short rally lengths, and Sinner and Djokovic do better for longer rallies:

Alcaraz is using a heavier racquet this year at the Open, adding weight to the throat of the racquet, which his coaches have noted has helped on his return.

He’s always been excellent on the backhand return of second serves, where the ball gets higher and allows him to flatten out the shot from well inside the baseline. It’s one of the best plays — this crush and rush — that I think is going to get more popular in the coming years. After all, a second serve is a guaranteed short ball.

Look how far up the court Alcaraz advances here:

Alcaraz takes on Nishioka today.

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Other Observations

The practice courts are a hidden gem at tournaments for viewers.

Marozsan was practicing a shortened/lower forehand setup closer to the baseline when practicing on Tuesday, perhaps in a bid to adjust to the fast and lower bounce. He takes on Tiafoe in round 2.

I love Mirra Andreeva’s ground game technique:

The balls from close up did appear to be quite fluffy and soft after a few minutes of hitting. I watched the Musetti match that started in sun and finished in shade in the late afternoon yesterday:

"Today I played practically all afternoon, so I had the chance to try many different conditions. I think that when there is a lot of sun, playing the first match around 1 pm from a physical point of view is more difficult. The evening is the best condition in terms of degrees and temperature, but with the humidity, the game becomes slower."

— Lorenzo Musetti via ticker.tennisform

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I’ll be back mid week with some more updates. See you in the comments. HC