Giovanni the Giant: 6"8 guy with one handed backhand is making having a breakout year!

a10best

Legend
BH is ugly but he can crush it. The rest of his game looks great.
I wouldn't say the rest of his game is great relative to what we see from the top 10.
He's ranked where he should be 30-60-ish where I don't see great players either. Kind of spoiled by only tuning in to the top 5 for men & women.
 

NedStark

Professional
I wouldn't say the rest of his game is great relative to what we see from the top 10.
He's ranked where he should be 30-60-ish where I don't see great players either. Kind of spoiled by only tuning in to the top 5 for men & women.
His volleying is Top 10 level obviously, though.
 

middleballs

Professional
His draw looks pretty nice now. He’ll face Nishioka next, shouldn’t be a problem and then (most likely) Tsitsipas, who’s just not very good on grass. Probably Musetti in the fourth round, not the worst Wimbledon opponent imaginable (love his game though).
 

buscemi

Hall of Fame
His draw looks pretty nice now. He’ll face Nishioka next, shouldn’t be a problem and then (most likely) Tsitsipas, who’s just not very good on grass. Probably Musetti in the fourth round, not the worst Wimbledon opponent imaginable (love his game though).
If they can both get past their next matches, Giovanni against Tsitsipas should be a lot of fun. It would be interesting to see Tsitsipas trying to return that serve with his backhand (which is the shot I'm sure Giovanni would target).
 

a10best

Legend
He was just ranked 200 in January. He's rising up the rankings fast, wont be where he is for long.
It's the same hype TTW had with Shapo, Cheung and a couple others.
His forehand does crack. Of the few matches I've seen him play he's missed some very easy volleys reminding me of Isner or Fritz.
I'd like him to be carving volleys smooth like Edberg or else he's just going to be a thicker version of Eubanks; (big serve, workable 1hbh, and rush the net).
 

Shaolin

G.O.A.T.
It's the same hype TTW had with Shapo, Cheung and a couple others.
His forehand does crack. Of the few matches I've seen him play he's missed some very easy volleys reminding me of Isner or Fritz.
I'd like him to be carving volleys smooth like Edberg or else he's just going to be a thicker version of Eubanks; (big serve, workable 1hbh, and rush the net).

Hmmm…ok so just hit his volleys like the best player of all time or else he’s a mug.

Check. :rolleyes:
 

a10best

Legend
Hmmm…ok so just hit his volleys like the best player of all time or else he’s a mug.

Check. :rolleyes:
I don't believe in the mug labeling or know where it came from.
- His win over Korda on grass was not a shocker (for me). Korda has always been over-hyped. If Gio beat a top 10 player not named Rublev or Ruud then he's achieved something.
 

buscemi

Hall of Fame
Giovanni eases into the third round with a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 win over Nishioka, adding 27 more aces to his tally. Faces the winner of Tsitsipas and Ruusuvuori. He should have a shot against either. I still hope we get to see Tsitsipas trying to return his serve with his backhand.
 

veelium

Hall of Fame
It's the same hype TTW had with Shapo, Cheung and a couple others.
His forehand does crack. Of the few matches I've seen him play he's missed some very easy volleys reminding me of Isner or Fritz.
I'd like him to be carving volleys smooth like Edberg or else he's just going to be a thicker version of Eubanks; (big serve, workable 1hbh, and rush the net).
A guy at his height is never gonna volley like Edberg, you need the hands and the feet.
 

The Green Mile

Bionic Poster
I don't think many are hyping him up to be the next big thing, unlike what people were expecting or hoping of players like Shapo, Stef, etc, but believe he could at least be the next monster serve player and take over Isner's spot (the potential is even greater IMO), maybe crack the top 10, etc.

He's such a unique player, definitely one of my favs right now.
 

veelium

Hall of Fame
I don't think many are hyping him up to be the next big thing, unlike what people were expecting or hoping of players like Shapo, Stef, etc, but believe he could at least be the next monster serve player and take over Isner's spot (the potential is even greater IMO), maybe crack the top 10, etc.

He's such a unique player, definitely one of my favs right now.
Yeah think so too, especially now that Isner's rightful heir Opelka has gone away.

Helps that he has the coolest name on tour.
 
How would GMP v Tsitsipas have been an interesting match? The best Tsitsipas could possibly hope for is to keep hanging on to his service games and eke out a 7-6 7-6 7-6 win courtesy of a poorly timed double fault or three in the tiebreaks. More likely, it would have been a 6-4 6-1 6-3 beatdown.

If GMP played Tsitsipas in a match in which GMP served every game and the match ended as soon as Tsitsipas broke serve, there's a decent chance the match would rival Anderson v Isner for length. Perhaps even Isner v Mahut.
 
Yeah think so too, especially now that Isner's rightful heir Opelka has gone away.

Helps that he has the coolest name on tour.

I never believed that Opelka's potential was greater than Isner's (as some posters claim to have believed), nor even that it was comparable. I think Isner was significantly better. I can see Opelka having become the Isner of his generation.

Not sure about GMP - have to watch more of him to discern it, but I think he can be at least in the Opelka ballpark, perhaps even the Isner one.
 

veelium

Hall of Fame
I never believed that Opelka's potential was greater than Isner's (as some posters claim to have believed), nor even that it was comparable. I think Isner was significantly better. I can see Opelka having become the Isner of his generation.
I'd say it's comparable. I don't remember too well what a young Isner looked like to compare at the same age.

Not sure about GMP - have to watch more of him to discern it, but I think he can be at least in the Opelka ballpark, perhaps even the Isner one.
Too early to tell but he seems like a cool guy.
 

The Green Mile

Bionic Poster
How would GMP v Tsitsipas have been an interesting match? The best Tsitsipas could possibly hope for is to keep hanging on to his service games and eke out a 7-6 7-6 7-6 win courtesy of a poorly timed double fault or three in the tiebreaks. More likely, it would have been a 6-4 6-1 6-3 beatdown.

If GMP played Tsitsipas in a match in which GMP served every game and the match ended as soon as Tsitsipas broke serve, there's a decent chance the match would rival Anderson v Isner for length. Perhaps even Isner v Mahut.
I think a lot of us just wanted to see Stef struggle even moreso on return lol, I was thinking about this match even during R1 XD
 
I think a lot of us just wanted to see Stef struggle even moreso on return lol, I was thinking about this match even during R1 XD

Some big server should try to focus as hard as they can and see how few points on return they can drop v Tsitsi. Even if their focus on serve made returning harder, it would be worth risking a tiebreak loss for the sake of this experiment.
 

buscemi

Hall of Fame
I never believed that Opelka's potential was greater than Isner's (as some posters claim to have believed), nor even that it was comparable. I think Isner was significantly better. I can see Opelka having become the Isner of his generation.

Not sure about GMP - have to watch more of him to discern it, but I think he can be at least in the Opelka ballpark, perhaps even the Isner one.
I think he has more potential than Isner: better net game and much better movement. If he can improve his ground game over the next few years, he could be really good.
 

mental midget

Hall of Fame
I think he has more potential than Isner: better net game and much better movement. If he can improve his ground game over the next few years, he could be really good.
GMP's movement at least is SIGNIFICANTLY better than isner. We'll see about the rest of his game but he is a very different build from either John or Reilly, truly athletic and balanced for a guy that size. Isner's serve was scarier though.

btw just saw he averaged 126 on 2nd serves against Korda...errr...wow.
 

a10best

Legend
I hope he goes deep & volleys better to prove my earlier critique wrong.

I seem him holding his serve but how can he break Djokovic? It reminds me of Djokovic-Isner match-ups.
 

buscemi

Hall of Fame
Giovanni comes back from a set down to topple Ruusuvuori. 75% first serve percentage, 25 aces, 3 double faults, some great net play, and he even generated 11 break points (although he only converted three).

Next up might be a rematch with Musetti, who beat him, 7-6 (11-9), 7-6 (11-9) in Stuttgart a few weeks ago.
 

The Green Mile

Bionic Poster
Have not seen the giant play. But would need to see how he handles low slices to his one-handed backhand.
I'm thinking this will be more about the serve and the return of both players and who blinks first/takes their chances, but I am interested in that mini battle. I did not see their previous match, will watch and take note of that. You'd think it would give him some amount of trouble anyway.
 

bluetrain4

G.O.A.T.
As others have said, it's MUCH to early to tell. He's been progressing at a fast rate, but still, the data just isn't there.

Some have pointed out his 1HBH as a possible weakness because it's sort of ugly and it's not anything like Wawrinka or Gasquet (though that's a high bar). The biggest thing for me is if him and his coach simply understand his backhand and can avoid it being a weakness that players can pick on to a large degree. From what I've seen, he has a VERY good slice - both offensive and defensive. He can hit drive/topspin backhands too, but I don't think he's going to be regularly engaging in long rallies like Sabatini or Wawrinka with it. Obviously, he's young so maybe his drive/tops spin backhand will become more solid and versatile. But I see nothing wrong with him really leaning on that slice - like Graf or Novotna. Still hit the drive backhand at times, of course, - when there's space and time, when he needs to make a passing shot - but don't feel pressed to be consistently super offensive with it, and don't feel bad about hitting more slices than a lot of other players.
 

Kralingen

Bionic Poster
Musetti didn’t really have much of an issue with the serve in Stuttgart. Went 0/8 on BP and had a better first serve win % than Gio did which is never a good sign. He can block back returns and play the sort of cat and mouse grass tennis that guys like Ruusuvuori can’t. I’d probably take Musetti, but 5 sets is different, and Gio will surely have learned.
 

Soul_Evisceration

Hall of Fame
Musetti didn’t really have much of an issue with the serve in Stuttgart. Went 0/8 on BP and had a better first serve win % than Gio did which is never a good sign. He can block back returns and play the sort of cat and mouse grass tennis that guys like Ruusuvuori can’t. I’d probably take Musetti, but 5 sets is different, and Gio will surely have learned.
I agree with your assessment.

I like GMP but it would really surprise me even with his massive serve to find a way and win this match.

Once there's a rally going on, Musetti exploits the backhand and finishes off at the net.

If GMP does not have a particularly good volley, Musetti can even lob over him.

Musetti will most likely win for those reasons.
 
Musetti didn’t really have much of an issue with the serve in Stuttgart. Went 0/8 on BP and had a better first serve win % than Gio did which is never a good sign. He can block back returns and play the sort of cat and mouse grass tennis that guys like Ruusuvuori can’t. I’d probably take Musetti, but 5 sets is different, and Gio will surely have learned.
Good value bet in Mussetti. There’s a decent chance he wins rather easily in 4 sets.

Edit: I see that Musetti has gone from a -130 favorite down to a -110. I’m very surprised at this.
 

The Green Mile

Bionic Poster
I rushed through the match on tennis tv, Musetti did handle a lot of those serves well with the short bunt chip return, but it's not like GMP responded poorly. I barely saw any points with the slice being utilized in a baseline rally, but you'd think there'll be more of those sorts of points on this Wimbledon grass. It was a pretty interesting and fun little match. Lorenzo handled the unreturnables much better than Nishioka did the other day lol, just smiled and got ready for the next point.

Anyway, Giovanni is playing better this Wimbledon, should be a good one (hopefully).
 

a10best

Legend
I was wrong about Gio. He's had some extended rallies with some great baseliners this tournament. And it was on grass. He's going to improve and become a nice addition to the top 20.
 

BillKid

Hall of Fame
His serve is already exceptional and he seems far less limited than Isner or let's not talk about Karlovic. His forehand is powerful and he has an excellent volley. Despite his size, he looks pretty mobile to me. He also seems friendly and humble, and shows a good mentality. Some people find it boring to see a new ace machine, but I prefer to enjoy seeing a player with a one-handed backhand who doesn't hesitate to come to the net (even on clay). Only time will tell what he can really achieve. The problem with this kind of tall player is often avoiding injury.
 
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