Fedalistas, The Zedbot Cometh (Zverev)

[rainingaces]

Zed only made 4 UFE?

That's great and all but I don't think it was in Anderson's game plan to rally with him.

 

[abmk]

To my eyes Federer was using Hopman cup as warmup for Auz and took the match very seriously (they both did).

umm, how about a no, ok ,make it a big fat no this time. Maybe that might help ?

Looking at the Rogers Cup draw I don't see anyone who has a remote chance of stopping Zverev from showing up for a Fedal showdown. Kyrgios would have to undergo some sort of resurrection for the undead to not get clobbered in his current form (doubt he makes it the match.) Good chance Zverev makes Rogers final with a full tank. Only Nadal would be a roadblock of any kind. Federer should be there unless Thiemerer comes through and does the unthinkable.

currently he's among the top 3 favs, with fed and nadal. Lets see what happens.

 

[smoledman]

Zed doesn't take Fed smoking him in Halle very kindly. He's gonna be chomping at the bit for revenge!

 

[Meles]

Lol being 1-0 against Djokovic in his worst year is not owning. I admit he does do good against Wawrinka and can trouble Nadal if he isn't playing great on HC. You already mentioned Murray and Zverev isn't touching Fed if he is at his usual standards this year.

I'm not doubting that he's getting better at beating players who he should beat(outside of slams at least) but the jump to #1 is enormous in the Big 4 era. It is probably the single hardest task a non-Big 4 member can have; even more than winning multiple slams. If 2018 is like 2002 or something, then I can see Zverev with a chance at #1 next year.

Zverev just passed Wawrinka for 4 in the race and no one is catching him before Auz where he'll be top 4 for sure. Wawrinka has been in a similar position and done quite well with 1/10th the talent. Cilic's Cincy win drops tomorrow and Zverev will be very close to him by the end of Rogers Cup passing him if he makes the final. Good chance for Zverev to be seeded 4th for US Open even if Murray plays.

Don't think there is a servebot in the game who can beat him. Speed is the only thing that can hurt Zverev and he just destroyed Nishikori, so we're talking pretty flea sized players and I can't think of any good enough on hard courts.

 

[Meles]

Zed only made 4 UFE?

Maybe 5, but two were double faults and he was hitting quite a few 125 mph+ 2nd serves.

 

[BeatlesFan]

To my eyes Federer was using Hopman cup as warmup for Auz and took the match very seriously (they both did).

This is absurd. Fed has NEVER taken an exo seriously. Z, being only 19 then, probably put his heart and soul into. Not 35 year old Roger.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Don't think there is a servebot in the game who can beat him. Speed is the only thing that can hurt Zverev and he just destroyed Nishikori, so we're talking pretty flea sized players and I can't think of any good enough on hard courts.

Meles, let's not get carried away. Z has never made it past the fourth round of a major. Let's see how his game will stack up at the USO and if he can handle 3/5 set format. The last time he played a truly great player he was destroyed by Fed in Halle.

 

[Meles]

This is absurd. Fed has NEVER taken an exo seriously. Z, being only 19 then, probably put his heart and soul into. Not 35 year old Roger.

Did you see the match?

 

[Meles]

Meles, let's not get carried away. Z has never made it past the fourth round of a major. Let's see how his game will stack up at the USO and if he can handle 3/5 set format. The last time he played a truly great player he was destroyed by Fed in Halle.

Same could have been said of Thiem after Rome. Halle is garbage data just like Thiem's match with Nole in Rome. Good chance Zverev will have the same excuse again if he makes Rogers Cup final, but with the way both are playing we'll find out before too long.

 

[Hyde]

currently he's among the top 3 favs, with fed and nadal. Lets see what happens.

What about Cilic?

 

[metsman]

Zverev just passed Wawrinka for 4 in the race and no one is catching him before Auz where he'll be top 4 for sure. Wawrinka has been in a similar position and done quite well with 1/10th the talent. Cilic's Cincy win drops tomorrow and Zverev will be very close to him by the end of Rogers Cup passing him if he makes the final. Good chance for Zverev to be seeded 4th for US Open even if Murray plays.

Don't think there is a servebot in the game who can beat him. Speed is the only thing that can hurt Zverev and he just destroyed Nishikori, so we're talking pretty flea sized players and I can't think of any good enough on hard courts.

Zverev is really in prime position to end the year at #3 given how depleted the field is. That would be very nice and hopefully he can contend for slams next year. Hopefully makes at least QF/SF at USO. Would be nice if he made the finals of at least one of Montreal/Cincy. It's been a while but at least there is one player who is starting to make moves and looks legit. In 1-2 years FAA, Shap, Rublev should follow suit.

 

[metsman]

What about Cilic?

he's not playing.

 

[JRAJ1988]

Zverev will skip the NEXGen Finals for the WTF's no doubt. Or he has to fly from Milan to London every day. .

I'm happy that another young star has joined the top 10 along with Mr Thiem. We want new blood, it's trickling and there's a load of Russians, Americans, Canadians and Australian youngens rising also.

 

[guanzishou]

Will he lose 1st round USO to the new and better Federer Bhambri???????

 

[Hyde]

he's not playing.

Damn. Haven't seen that many injured top players in a while.

 

[Deleted member 743561]

.

 

[Meles]

Zverev is really in prime position to end the year at #3 given how depleted the field is. That would be very nice and hopefully he can contend for slams next year. Hopefully makes at least QF/SF at USO. Would be nice if he made the finals of at least one of Montreal/Cincy. It's been a while but at least there is one player who is starting to make moves and looks legit. In 1-2 years FAA, Shap, Rublev should follow suit.

I expect Thiem to maintain his edge on clay narrowly. The field is only depleted at the very top and Fedal as good as any at the very top of the game over the last four years. The Fedal vs Thiemerev dynamic with the age gap is going to be a real treat. I'm liking the current crop of US players more and more. I'll believe it when I see it with the three you mention. The Canadians are too far out. Hoping FAA well enough to qualify for US Open. He's due to tangle with the big boys.

 

[ncgator]

If Zed goes deep in Montreal, he'll skip Cincy and be fresh for US Open. He strikes me as a smart guy with a great team around him, sort of like Fred.

No way he'll skip Cincy. Another Masters 1000 with almost two weeks until USO, and he's young and doesn't need as much recovery time. Especially if he keeps the BO3 matches relatively short.

 

[metsman]

I expect Thiem to maintain his edge on clay narrowly. The field is only depleted at the very top and Fedal as good as any at the very top of the game over the last four years. The Fedal vs Thiemerev dynamic with the age gap is going to be a real treat. I'm liking the current crop of US players more and more. I'll believe it when I see it with the three you mention. The Canadians are too far out. Hoping FAA well enough to qualify for US Open. He's due to tangle with the big boys.

FAA is the future I believe if he can avoid physical issues. That kind of movement, feel, and power you only see in Safin. All the rest may have to vulture their slams before FAA reaches maturity and goes peak Fed on the field.

 

[Meles]

Aside from Fed, who'd you rather? Precisely. This could occur, easy-peasy.

A Federista with some sense. The Halle mauling of Zverev is quite misleading and Zverev improving by the week at this point. He's put together two air tight finals at big events, so if he's fresh deep in an event he'll be a handful. With Federer not playing clay and a lighterer schedule 10,000 points may due the trick and with Zverev ensconced in the top 4 he'll be taking up residence for a long, long time and get some great draws as a result.

 

[Meles]

No way he'll skip Cincy. Another Masters 1000 with almost two weeks until USO, and he's young and doesn't need as much recovery time. Especially if he keeps the BO3 matches relatively short.

He's not really allowed to skip unless he's injured.

 

[Meles]

FAA is the future I believe if he can avoid physical issues. That kind of movement, feel, and power you only see in Safin. All the rest may have to vulture their slams before FAA reaches maturity and goes peak Fed on the field.

I'm underwhelmed with his and Tiafoe's strokes, but they are achieving very well for their age as well as Shaps. Coric had amazing early success (ranked almost 30), but we're having to wait for him to fully develop physically and hit the tour with regularity. Ditto Kokkinakis.

I will have to say that I am very, very impressed with the offense Shaps is developing at a young age. His game screams Fedberg and a lefty to boot. Rankings progress:

It's a bit early on FAA. You never know when you'll have a Coric on your hands who was as hot a prospect as anyone.

 

[Meles]

What about Cilic?

It's not just the blisters for Cryic, he's got adductor issues so he'll probably fade a bit back in the pack. Hopefully he's back on track for WTF which he's almost sure to qualify for with over 2900 points and counting.

 

[metsman]

I'm underwhelmed with his and Tiafoe's strokes, but they are achieving very well for their age as well as Shaps. Coric had amazing early success (ranked almost 30), but we're having to wait for him to fully develop physically and hit the tour with regularity. Ditto Kokkinakis.

I will have to say that I am very, very impressed with the offense Shaps is developing at a young age. His game screams Fedberg and a lefty to boot. Rankings progress:

It's a bit early on FAA. You never know when you'll have a Coric on your hands who was as hot a prospect as anyone.

What is wrong with FAA's strokes? Shap plays a nice game but has no standout weapon yet and has to improve returning a lot.

Coric and Felix are not even comparable. Felix both has way more power and way more feel. He could be Safin with a proper head with the forehand/backhand balance reversed which is even more deadly.

 

[Hyde]

Zverev is really in prime position to end the year at #3

Exactly 10 years ago, the 20-year old prospect Djokovic ended the year at #3 behind the established tennis stars Federer and Nadal.
Would be kind of funny if now, a decade later, a 20 year old Zverev would also end the year at #3 behind Federer and Nadal.

 

[Meles]

What is wrong with FAA's strokes? Shap plays a nice game but has no standout weapon yet and has to improve returning a lot.

Coric and Felix are not even comparable. Felix both has way more power and way more feel. He could be Safin with a proper head with the forehand/backhand balance reversed which is even more deadly.

I must confess I haven't watched FAA since probably last year. Agree on the Shaps return. I really don't/didn't like FAA's forehand, but the same could be said of Zverev less than a year ago.

I think you've been watching too many old videos when you compare with Safin. It's really not much different than lauding Shaps for playing like Edberg. The all court game is almost extinct. Only Fed is pulling it off (truly amazing). It's all about serve, return, and power today. Speed is always important (something Rublev lacks despite being a bit scrawny), but not the dominating factor it has always been. A player like Zverev is just taking all sorts of time away from opponents. He made peak Mr. Anderson look like a troglodyte today and Nole not much better in Rome. Federer was able to blow that up in Halle, but for most it is hard to pull off that kind of magic against the power and depth of Zverev.

I just bring Coric up as an example that shows you don't know what you're going to get until a player physically matures. Zverev started taking off this year, but you really don't know until these players generally hit their 20s. Djokovic was good, but we didn't know he'd be a real force until he took off just before turning 20 in 2007.

With FAA we don't know how big he'll get. Last I checked he was 6' 3" and if he ends up as big as Janowicz well then that's a problem. If Shavopalov gets a touch taller he may suddenly have all sorts of weapons (it all looks good when he's playing well recently). Freaking Tommy Paul at a young 20 just played out of his mind at the Citi Open frankly looking like a superior prospect to Nishikori who he was pummeling. It's just a little too early on FAA.

I'm not paying so much attention to the younger players because of this mindset, but stringer seems quite on about Kuhn and perhaps Kecmanovic. I've got a blind eye out for those two.

 

[Meles]

Zverev will skip the NEXGen Finals for the WTF's no doubt. Or he has to fly from Milan to London every day. .

I'm happy that another young star has joined the top 10 along with Mr Thiem. We want new blood, it's trickling and there's a load of Russians, Americans, Canadians and Australian youngens rising also.

I think he'll play. It's a shorter event and WTF starts up right after it. Best of 3 every two days isn't exactly grueling plus Milan has those ridiculous format changes that will shorten the matches a lot.

 

[smoledman]

Why would Zed bother with NextGen finals when he can play the real deal? Of course he'll skip it.

 

[Thundergod]

Why would Zed bother with NextGen finals when he can play the real deal? Of course he'll skip it.

$

It would be funny though if he placed better in the real WTF than the Next Gen one.

 

[metsman]

I must confess I haven't watched FAA since probably last year. Agree on the Shaps return. I really don't/didn't like FAA's forehand, but the same could be said of Zverev less than a year ago.

I think you've been watching too many old videos when you compare with Safin. It's really not much different than lauding Shaps for playing like Edberg. The all court game is almost extinct. Only Fed is pulling it off (truly amazing). It's all about serve, return, and power today. Speed is always important (something Rublev lacks despite being a bit scrawny), but not the dominating factor it has always been. A player like Zverev is just taking all sorts of time away from opponents. He made peak Mr. Anderson look like a troglodyte today and Nole not much better in Rome. Federer was able to blow that up in Halle, but for most it is hard to pull off that kind of magic against the power and depth of Zverev.

I just bring Coric up as an example that shows you don't know what you're going to get until a player physically matures. Zverev started taking off this year, but you really don't know until these players generally hit their 20s. Djokovic was good, but we didn't know he'd be a real force until he took off just before turning 20 in 2007.

With FAA we don't know how big he'll get. Last I checked he was 6' 3" and if he ends up as big as Janowicz well then that's a problem. If Shavopalov gets a touch taller he may suddenly have all sorts of weapons (it all looks good when he's playing well recently). Freaking Tommy Paul at a young 20 just played out of his mind at the Citi Open frankly looking like a superior prospect to Nishikori who he was pummeling. It's just a little too early on FAA.

I'm not paying so much attention to the younger players because of this mindset, but stringer seems quite on about Kuhn and perhaps Kecmanovic. I've got a blind eye out for those two.

Felix hasn't grown as much the last year as far as I know so 6'3"-6'5" will likely be his final height but he has those dancing feet and excellent mobility. Even then, JJ had a lot of potential if he wasn't a nutcase and always got injured.

You gotta fix your eyes, FAA FH is straight fire, probably the heaviest forehand ever at that age.
Safin didn't really play all court either but there are tons of similarities between him and FAA in terms of mobility/power/size/feel and FAA has the FH/BH balance reversed which is even better.

 

[Alba Barragan]

Zverev will skip the NEXGen Finals for the WTF's no doubt. Or he has to fly from Milan to London every day. .

I'm happy that another young star has joined the top 10 along with Mr Thiem. We want new blood, it's trickling and there's a load of Russians, Americans, Canadians and Australian youngens rising also.

Why would Zed bother with NextGen finals when he can play the real deal? Of course he'll skip it.

Alex already said he's planning on playing both, he's ambitious and likes the challenge so there's no reason for him to play one instead of the other

 

[Chadillac]

Glad he won today, as a Fed fan he is the only player im worried with atm

 

[Gary Duane]

Pretty much statistically the Zedbot is half Roddick (serve)/half Sampras (return). ********* is going to need to come up with some new magic tricks to deal with Zverev. Nadal 2013 USOpen probably not good enough. If Zverev were to retain anywhere near these numbers ongoing pretty much book him for GOAT. Zverev likely will be number 1 by sometime in 2018 given Fed's light schedule.

Most certainly his current run is the most impressive thing we've seen from a young player in a very long time. But book him for GOAT?

What does that mean?

I agree that he will most likely be #1 not too far in the future if his present trajectory stays true - which also means he will continue to stay incredibly fit, healthy and injury free.

 

[SpinToWin]

 

[Deleted member 688153]

Fedal in 2.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

To quote my main man Barry Allen.

''There is something mystical about him. Magical even.''

 

[Red Rick]

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exhibition

Federer lost to Roddick in Kooyong exho just before the AO in 07. We all saw what happened at the AO when they met.

Federer just doesn't take any exhos that seriously, unlike say Nadal.

LOL

Actual tournament finals (complete destruction) don't matter, but an exho earlier in the year at the start of Fed's comeback is evidence that Zed actually smokes Fed.

The confirmation bias is off the charts

Confirmed it by only looking at the Fed claim.

 

[tennisaddict]

The ********* dismissal is about like what Zed just did to Kei (beating up a player who's had some tougher matches.) The reality is that Zverev beat this Federer at Hopman Cup. Sure Fed has improved some, but it was clear to anyone with a brain cell he was back in a big way and Zverev much improved in early 2017. Doubt ********* has improved as much as Zed since Hopman. Same can be said of Zverev playing Rafa at Auz where they went five sets. Rafa is a bit betterer, but Zed has pulled ahead in the meantime. With any luck we'll at least see Zverev vs Nadal at Rogers Cup.

As Zverev's serve game gets stronger his slam stamina improves exponentially. The Zedbot cometh.

Zverev won a 500 and so much noise ? Did we forget that 4 weeks back he was humiliated by Fed and he could not even beat RaoMUG is his poorest form who again was taken to task by the Sexi god

 

[tennisaddict]

I like Zverev but that guy is still not got past 4R at majors.

He is not beating Fed in a BO5 at USO

 

[Meles]

Most certainly his current run is the most impressive thing we've seen from a young player in a very long time. But book him for GOAT?

What does that mean?

I agree that he will most likely be #1 not too far in the future if his present trajectory stays true - which also means he will continue to stay incredibly fit, healthy and injury free.

He's ahead of Fed on all counts (by age) and will never fall behind.

 

[Meles]

Zverev won a 500 and so much noise ? Did we forget that 4 weeks back he was humiliated by Fed and he could not even beat RaoMUG is his poorest form who again was taken to task by the Sexi god

Zvero just getting betterer by the week. And the stats. Now 75.5% points won on serve for the week. Isner in full bot mode at Paris last year was 74.4%. You have to admit he's getting better all the time, getting so much better all the time.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Zvero just getting betterer by the week. And the stats. Now 75.5% points won on serve for the week. Isner in full bot mode at Paris last year was 74.4%. You have to admit he's getting better all the time, getting so much better all the time.

My dream is to one day be high fived by Alex.

 

[Meles]

 

[tennisaddict]

Zvero just getting betterer by the week. And the stats. Now 75.5% points won on serve for the week. Isner in full bot mode at Paris last year was 74.4%. You have to admit he's getting better all the time, getting so much better all the time.

He can keep getting better all he wants but Rog is somewhere else

 

[mike danny]

What I didn't like about Zverev this year is his inability to handle Fedal on their favorite surfaces. He was obliterated by Nadal on clay and by Federer on grass.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

 

[Poisoned Slice]

 

[Slicerman]

This is a friggin' joke..

 

[BeatlesFan]

Fed - Zverev is the Final we should hope for at the USO...

That would be a dream come true for Fed fans. I like Z but there is no way he's mentally (or physically) ready to win seven matches in a best 3/5 format. The moment would be way too big for him and Fed would steamroll him, almost certainly. The scoreline would be similar to the WImbledon final. Sasha will win slams, but not in 2017.

 

[Deleted member 743561]

This is a friggin' joke..

Sweet monocle.