Coup Droit wrote:

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Nix wrote:

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Just watching Anton for a bit, from 0-4 down. I wonder if these two games sum up the match so far. Anton is serving, gets the first two points fairly easily, then sets up a point that he really has a lot of the court to get the volley into but hits it long, 30-15, this seems to put him off and he plays a couple of dud points, 30-40 and ends up losing his serve. It's a combination of not doing those finishing touches well and seemingly losing concentration and not just playing each point on its merits. He certainly isn't being outclassed in terms of having a range of shots, just seems to me focus and the mental side. Then he breaks his opponent with a classy game and wins his serve, 5-2. 

-- Edited by Nix on Friday 1st of December 2023 12:40:41 PM

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 I couldn't watch today

It's certainly true that Anton is not a natural volley-er 

That said, his overheads have been brilliant this week (don't know about today)

Which is quite common - good servers are often great at overheads, even if their volleys are really dodgy

It's also well possible that he had a problem of concentration today - it's actually quite difficult to come out day after day and produce top tennis. It's an exercise that Anton (and lots of others) don't get to practice very often. Because they don't go deep very often. And it needs practice (and there are coaching tips for it too). It's one of the good reasons for some players to play lower level events.

Shame that he let his opportunities slip today but it's been a great week to build on 

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 Yes that's true, it's building up a tolerance of winning day in day out. I was more making the point that he isn't that far away from top 250 level, just a few tweaks and building up concentration and confidence. And so pleased for him having such a good week. It's a shame he's not a good volleyer - maybe he needs to play some doubles - as he sets the points up so well, particularly noticeable today.