The Pacific 10 Alliance!

[bfactor61]

Klahn's second serve is nasty! it has a huge kick and so much action!

[Jakes On A Plane]

Originally Posted by SoCal10s

DN is hard worker on and off the court,but he doesn't have any weapons to make it to the next step to be a #1 or prime player or pro.. I hope he can find it soon as time is running out . The YouTube of him against Klahn,I noticed he was hitting so many balls off his back foot and jumping . It's too hard to win consistently playing defense at that higher level of tennis. His volleys are good but they are not decisive put away winners ,they are more like placement volleys . He has a great mental game and knows how to fight ,but I think he's gonna need a bit more.

To be fair to Nguyen, he's 5'10. Klahn's spin, specifically on the forehand, was kicking above Daniel's head. He didn't really have much choice than to be jumping off the back foot. This was also Nguyen's first true test of the season since the fall tournaments. Not only would I love to see this matchup again at Ojai, but I definitely think the score would be closer.

There has got to be someone out there on the college tennis scene that can spin Klahn's spin.

[Automator]

Originally Posted by Jakes On A Plane

There has got to be someone out there on the college tennis scene that can spin Klahn's spin.

Yea, but they're all playing east of the Mississippi River.

[andfor]

Originally Posted by Automator

Yea, but they're all playing east of the Mississippi River.

More specifically about 4 or 5 players on each of the two schools in the Appalachian mountains.

[SoCal10s]

Originally Posted by Jakes On A Plane

To be fair to Nguyen, he's 5'10. Klahn's spin, specifically on the forehand, was kicking above Daniel's head. He didn't really have much choice than to be jumping off the back foot. .

nothing is fair,that's why he lost so bad.. he needed to figure out how to counter that heavy spin.. there are other options that he better use or he'll be the wrong end of matches like this.. go study how Davydenko beat Nadal..

[Jakes On A Plane]

Originally Posted by SoCal10s

nothing is fair,that's why he lost so bad.. he needed to figure out how to counter that heavy spin.. there are other options that he better use or he'll be the wrong end of matches like this.. go study how Davydenko beat Nadal..

I mean, I got that, but even so, that forehand was in beast mode and Daniel looked to be having one heck of an off day. Like I said though, it was really early on in the season. If the Ojai forecast calls for a rematch, I definitely think D-Win can put together a better performance.

[Fedace]

Originally Posted by Automator

Yea, but they're all playing east of the Mississippi River.

only guys that can hit spin serves like Klahn are in top 100 of ATP tour.

[SoCal10s]

Originally Posted by Jakes On A Plane

I mean, I got that, but even so, that forehand was in beast mode and Daniel looked to be having one heck of an off day. Like I said though, it was really early on in the season. If the Ojai forecast calls for a rematch, I definitely think D-Win can put together a better performance.

I hope you are right ,but DWin is not USC #1 player,he might not even get an automatic invite to the Pac10 round at Ojai.. wish him luck all the way ,he's a heck of a fighter that's for sure..

[andfor]

Originally Posted by Fedace

only guys that can hit spin serves like Klahn are in top 100 of ATP tour.

Or Matt Bruch or Chris Suropol?

[Automator]

Originally Posted by Fedace

only guys that can hit spin serves like Klahn are in top 100 of ATP tour.

Or they could be playing #1 singles at Florida or #2 singles at Virginia.

[Fedace]

Originally Posted by Automator

Or they could be playing #1 singles at Florida or #2 singles at Virginia.

I don't think so. those guys have more of a flat serves from what i have seen.

[Automator]

Ah, I misunderstood your post.

[db379]

Originally Posted by Automator

Yea, but they're all playing east of the Mississippi River.

Originally Posted by andfor

More specifically about 4 or 5 players on each of the two schools in the Appalachian mountains.

these schools are way overrated. It looks like you have so many guys who are better than our top players... USC won the NCAA title twice the last two years, and Stanford won the singles. Maybe your guys are underachievers?

[db379]

ITA matches starting now at Stanford! Live webcam available to all.

[Jakes On A Plane]

Originally Posted by db379

these schools are way overrated. It looks like you have so many guys who are better than our top players... USC won the NCAA title twice the last two years, and Stanford won the singles. Maybe your guys are underachievers?

I think overrated and underachiever are the wrong words. I don't think a team that racks up 3 consecutive ITA Team Indoor titles and 2 consecutive NCAA Doubles titles (with different pairings) can fall into the definition of either those two words.

[db379]

Some good action at Stanford during the week-end. Stanford won two tough teams, which played better than their rankings. SC showing some good things as well, despite losing their two matches, including a 4-3 loss to Vandy.

Stanford needs to find a solution to the Kandath and Clayton problems.... Great players but something's wrong with their tactics...

[SuperJimmy]

Originally Posted by db379

Stanford needs to find a solution to the Kandath and Clayton problems.... Great players but something's wrong with their tactics...

I watched both Clayton's matches online. I think it's one part stubborn and one part overthinking the point.

I say stubborn because there were many situations where he should have hit a slice backhand when he was in a defensive position and instead chose to hit it flat and allowed his opponent to attack because it fell short in the middle of the court. Even when he was not on the defensive, he should have still changed up the pace a little so that his opponent doesnt get into a groove. There were other situations where his opponent was at the net, he was slighly on the run, and the best shot would have been a top spin cross court ball that would have given him more angle and either been a winner, or caused his opponent to dig down for the ball giving him plenty of time to recover. Instead, he hit flat with much less angle and ofcourse his opponent put it away.

There were also many occasions where he tried to be too tricky in his play. Instead of hitting it to the open court, he tried to hit it behind his opponent or wrong foot them, and they weren't fooled. A lot of these cases were when Alex was at the net or approaching the net, and not hitting it to the open court allowed his opponents to just stand there and hit passing shots or drill it at him for a weak volley.

I think something can be said for his fighting spirit though. He came back from being one set down in both matches. He won the second match and I think he probably could have won the first one if they played it out.

A little bit dissapointing to me since I was a big fan of his 2 years ago (especially his serve and forehand), but it seems like his level has been declining ever since.

[andfor]

Originally Posted by SuperJimmy

I watched both Clayton's matches online. I think it's one part stubborn and one part overthinking the point.

I say stubborn because there were many situations where he should have hit a slice backhand when he was in a defensive position and instead chose to hit it flat and allowed his opponent to attack because it fell short in the middle of the court. Even when he was not on the defensive, he should have still changed up the pace a little so that his opponent doesnt get into a groove. There were other situations where his opponent was at the net, he was slighly on the run, and the best shot would have been a top spin cross court ball that would have given him more angle and either been a winner, or caused his opponent to dig down for the ball giving him plenty of time to recover. Instead, he hit flat with much less angle and ofcourse his opponent put it away.

There were also many occasions where he tried to be too tricky in his play. Instead of hitting it to the open court, he tried to hit it behind his opponent or wrong foot them, and they weren't fooled. A lot of these cases were when Alex was at the net or approaching the net, and not hitting it to the open court allowed his opponents to just stand there and hit passing shots or drill it at him for a weak volley.

I think something can be said for his fighting spirit though. He came back from being one set down in both matches. He won the second match and I think he probably could have won the first one if they played it out.

A little bit dissapointing to me since I was a big fan of his 2 years ago (especially his serve and forehand), but it seems like his level has been declining ever since.

Thanks for the analysis. I'm sure you're on the money with your observations. Maybe Feddie can get coach Whit to look at this.

[db379]

Jimmy,

I agree with you on your analysis. Clayton was a much better player 2 years ago for sure. What a waste. I don't understand why the coach wouldn't try to bring him back to his former level. CLearly, it looks like Alex is not playing the right tactic, and that's something the coach should help him with. Alex should be able to compete for the 2nd and even 1st spot on the team. That would make the whole team so much stronger!

[db379]

And yes, his BH is weaker than before. I was watching a match from 2009 against the #1 of UCLA, and Alex was reaping winners from everywhere. His serve was better, his FH was more aggressive, his BH was more solid, and his attitude was that of a winner!