Davis Cup video: Canada vs Columbia

[Ten_is]

I recently attended the Davis Cup - Canada v.s. Columbia in Calgary and compiled a short video clip for you all. I will upload more of Dancevic some time soon. It was great to observe the players and tape them for stroke analysis. I do see Frank Dancevic becoming one of the best in Canada. He almost took Lleyton Hewitt at the Australian Open in tight 4 sets. He's 22 and resembles Federer in the type of strokes and style he has.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbeu0LCkRFk

 

[Kid Carlos]

I actually disagree, I know the Canadian guys game really well, and IMHO Peter Polansky and Philip Bester both have more talent than Dancevic. That is Polansky in the video right?

 

[Ten_is]

Yes it is.

Here are my thoughts:
Peter's forehands are beautiful and powerful. Alot of control and he has amazing footwork. His backswing setup is fantastic along with upper/lower body positioning. I saw how hard and clean he was drilling those forehands on Sunday. His base was solid as gold. He did play fantastic.

Dancevic didn't really impress me. He has amazing OHB's which I say resemble Fed. He is a serve and volleyer and has a weaker forehand without proper power/setup. That's what he needs to work on. The way he moves around the court is very much the younger Fed. He has alot of work before he moves up in the rankings, but he is an up and comer for sure. I was amazed by how he served. He would confuse his opponent on second serves sometimes hammering a flat serve down the line. It resembled Sampras in this way. His mental state is poor however as in the second set he almost fell asleep and let his opponent catch up to him. Lots of improvement. I would agree he's not there yet, but I see him getting there as he almost took Hewitt at AO.

 

[Kid Carlos]

I think with Dancevic your seeing a guy that will if he is lucky, will crack the top 50. I just do not think he is athletic enough to keep up with the top guys. As well I do not think he has any major weapons. Polansky on the other hand is athletic, has a great forehand, steady backhand and his serve is pretty big as well. Basically if Dancevic can be a career high of 80 in the world there is no reason that Polansky can not be at least 50-65 in the world. As well I am willing to bet that if they played a match right now Peter would win.

 

[Ten_is]

CALGARY (CP) - Peter Polansky hopes he'll soon be known for his tennis and not for falling out of a hotel window while sleepwalking.

The 18-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., was named the International Tennis Federation's player of the month in January for his 18-1 record in his first month as a professional player.

He won three of four Futures tournaments and moved up over 200 spots in the world rankings to 580 after starting the year at No. 821.

Polansky defeated Carlos Salamanca of Colombia, ranked 300th, 7-6(4), 6-4 in the final match of Canada's Davis Cup tie against Colombia on Sunday.

 

[Ten_is]

As well I am willing to bet that if they played a match right now Peter would win.

I would agree with you. The Columbian he played was far better than the Columbian Dancevic played. He was 6ft 3 inches and had a monster forehand. Great feet. I thought Peter would have a tough time. Not that bad.. maybe the first set was a bit tough going into tie break. Second set he broke him once and beat him. I'd say Peter is extremely calm on court and he takes pressure really well. That's something you can't teach people. Frustration is the number one killer of your game in my opinion.

I'm just saying Dancevic needs to have a power forehand before we see him bloom. He needs lessons or something. And he comes to the net alot. The reason why Fed is #1 is due to his thinking. He thinks about how to out do his opponents and he does it better than anybody else. If he finds a weak spot in Gonzales going to the net once he won't do it again until he desperately needs a point or a break. That's what I love about Fed and I'm not sure most players (including Canadians as we are on this topic) do that. Or do that well right now. Maybe Peter does.

 

[grizzly4life]

thanks for the commentaries and i'll check out the video.

have to agree on dancievic. nice well-rounded player but i don't think he does anything one thing well enough to move way up the rankings.

 

[Kid Carlos]

Peter is currently 514, so in one month hes gone up more than 300 points in the rankings. He is playing a futures in Texas next week so we will see what happens.

 

[Ten_is]

Yeah.
Frank Dancevic is #94 in the world right now. Not too bad. I'd like him to step up his game alot more. I do like how comfortable both these players were this past Sunday. No nerves. Very comfortable even if they didn't hit their shots you could see calmness and no frustration. This is the key to becoming great.

(besides improving your game and technique ofcourse).

 

[sdubz]

where was this match in calgary?! i cannot judge by the video...was it at the university??

 

[Bjorn99]

Weirdly enough, for a country that doesn't have a ton of top players, EVER, Canadians really love their tennis.

Dancevic doesn't have a lot of coordination on the forehand side, its just not there. He doesn't move great, but he moves fairly well. His backhand is pretty, but no one is going to the top fifty based on a top one handed backhand. Not in 2007 or beyond.

Polansky is winning a lot right now, and it is a little surprising. Particularly after his accident. His coach, Dean something or other says that Peter hits for some reason, a lot to his opponents strengths still, which is a little odd, but so does Fed. I don't think the kids backhand is good enough to go top fifty, but maybe I am wrong.

Bester is a *****.

 

[oscar_2424]

It's COLOMBIA, ColOmbia, COLOMBIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! COLOMBIA, COLoMBIA

 

[AndrewD]

no one is going to the top fifty based on a top one handed backhand. Not in 2007 or beyond.

Richard Gasquet.

 

[_mats_]

phew, yes some typos make intelligent people look completely ignorant.

It is indeed, ColOmbia, not ColUmbia.

 

[Ten_is]

The match was at the Stampede Corral. Right at the Stampede grounds basically beside the Saddledome.

Re: Colombia
wwwhhoooops! sorry guys.

 

[Thomas15]

awesome, ive been searching everywheres for Canada davis cup videos. thanks for posting them

 

[Ten_is]

Thomas: Re:Videos - I have more. I'll post them soon.

I just need to figure out how to change the forum name to ColOmbia. sorry everyone.

I do agree with Frank's coordination on forehand side. His footwork is alright. You pretty much nailed alot of what I think. His serving strategies are great. He's a better server than Peter IMO. I do believe Peter Polansky is going further and that his backhand is a little weak too. Damn.. maybe I should join team Canada. lol

 

[Thomas15]

awesome, cant wait for more videos

i like the slow motion at the end of the video with Peter in it

 

[BlankenshipBabaganoosh]

awesome! wish rusedski still played for canaa

 

[Kid Carlos]

Yep, if you could get those videos up that would be great.

 

[Ten_is]

k, I wasn't able to export anything last night.. but I'll get Dancevic and do some other slow motion videos soo.. as well perhaps in flash animation version so it's more clear for everyone.

The game matches weren't all that exciting as they were fast with lots of unforced errors so i'll just edit it all.

 

[raftermania]

were those bombs going off in the end?

 

[Ten_is]

hey guys, as promised.. i've uploaded some videos last night as I was not around all weekend. Enjoy the editing...


Frank Dancevic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa5faIx4tA4

Editing of both Frank Dancevic and the other Colombian guy..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbYtnaSFdXg

oh by the way.. I demo'ed the new k factor tour 90 this weekend.. I'll post my review in another forum..

 

[Ten_is]

maybe we can get some stroke analysis happening here of what's proper and what's not.. and how the pros hit their shots

 

[Thomas15]

awesome more videos, thanks

 

[Ten_is]

check this out.. If Frank Dancevic isn't that good.. then why did he almost beat Andy Murray???

Andy Murray fights back from 4-2 down in the final set to beat Frank Dancevic 6-3 4-6 6-4 at the Memphis International.

 

[Thomas15]

that was a good match, i was rooting for frank all the way. too bad he couldnt pull through

 

[Ten_is]

Andy Murray is good. He beat Federer.. and Frank almost beat Andy Murray. Wow. 4-2 winning in the third set and then lose? I notice Frank loses his concentration quickly. Even when I was watching him in the Davis. He let the other guy catch up to him 5-5 and then he bounced back. He was leading something like 4-1 before that happened.

Would be nice to see some Canadians do well.

 

[BreakPoint]

It is indeed, ColOmbia, not ColUmbia.

Yes, Colombia is a country in South America, whereas, Columbia is an Ivy League school in New York City.

 

[Ten_is]

Yes, Colombia is a country in South America, whereas, Columbia is an Ivy League school in New York City.

This was asked before.. Is there a way to change the forum title?

 

[Ten_is]

Frank Dancevic almost upset Fernando Gonzales in Pacific Life Open. Wow.. he is a talent right behind Andy Murray. Actually, before that Frank Dancevic almost beat Murray. Both matches were really close. Watch out for this kid as he's a huge talent coming from Canada.