generous50
Rookie
Somewhat, and it's probably due to stress.
What the hell happened to Ryan Harrison?
- Thread starter winstonplum
- Start date
Somewhat, and it's probably due to stress.
West Coast Ace
G.O.A.T.
Too late now. Male model after cutting his carbs.
Sweeting married the blonde off 'Big Bang Theory' - he'll never work another day in his life if he plays his cards right.
I think I read most of the posts and didn't see this: much of the talk about his strokes/game is accurate, but above all else - just doesn't have it mentally. He says breaking racquets helps him. But it's a sure sign to his opponent that he's done. I can't remember many (any?) matches where he broke a racquet and won - at least against anyone who was any good.
The forehand
Rookie
The forehand
Rookie
West Coast Ace
G.O.A.T.
And think of the syndication loot. That show will be like 'Seinfeld'. I've never seen is - is it funny or is the show just looking at her? I give her credit for admitting she had the work done - paid off.
tennisaddict
Bionic Poster
There is dearth of good comedy and this show has its spot now.
Credit to Ryan Sweeting for spotting success.
bjk
Hall of Fame
there's no variety in his game. Does RH do anything that every other player on tour doesn't do? LIke a lot of American players, I don't see much individuality in his game. It's all the exact same game. All of the Spaniards play different styles, same for the French. Robredo, Verdasco, Lopez, Nadal, Almagro. The Americans are the exact same serve, forehand, 2hbh, make some lame attempts to "be aggressive" and come to net. It's always the same story.
Christian hasnt played a tour match since last yr. I think I read that he's rehabbing and planning on a return in the fall
I was at that match as well. I think the biggest difference, in that match, as well as the reason Harrison hasnt had the results lately, is his lack of racket head speed on the backhand.
Off the forehand, he was even with Fognini in the rallies, but whenever Fognini targeted his backhand, u could see the lack of pace and spin.
This seems to be a prevalent issue with this generation of Americans, Harrison, Sock, Williams, Johnson, DY, maybe even Querrey. Noticeably weaker and flawed two hand backhands.
Thought the two hander was supposed to be easier to hit??
Cfidave
Professional
That is exactly right. Typical American tennis mentality and training. In Ryan's case, he just does not have the tools to be very successful, playing that way.
winstonplum
Hall of Fame
Spot on. He guides that two-hander something fierce. Very little whip and hit when ball is in the strike zone. Lameonini was also just in a different league with his fitness in that match, which is surprising because I've never bought the "Ryan is fat" idea. He isn't. But he was winded in that third, as opposed to Fraudio, who was moving along at an easy trot.
Tshooter
G.O.A.T.
LOL.
I'm sure Gentlemen Jurgen can appreciate a good joke but he will go out not as a spoiled piece of meat but as one of the last true Gentlemen Tennis Players.
How Berankis beat him even in Jurgen's elderly tennis years is one of the mysteries of the sport that make it so interesting. Jurgen may have been entertaining late the night before understanding that when you are a great sportsman you have great responsibility to your fans, sponsors and others that support you.
SoBad
G.O.A.T.
Corrected it for you.
I doubt it was easy – quite a remarkable feat, considering the Munich linespersons were all extended Melzer family!!:lol: Not easy to win when you have to hit every ball 2 feet inside the line at least!!:lol:
SoBad
G.O.A.T.
I remember how he was destroying the overrated DelPotro in Indian Wells before double-faulting his win away. Kids are a sure way around a prenup, but he'll just have to hang tough while she's still on the cast.
Gonzalito17
Banned
For us maybe. Perhaps not for him. He may have picked up some hefty endorsement deals (hopefully not performance based...) partially based on people swallowing the relentless hype and, if so, hats off to his agent(s). Didn't Wilander once peg Harrison as top 3 potential.
Yes Wilander did predict top 3 for Harrison, Dan Markowitz reported the quotes on www.tennis-prose.com 3-4 years ago during the US Open.
It's a rough time for Harrison but it would be shocking if he were to never enter the top hundred or fifty again. Estrella did it at 33, Harrison just needs to keep battling and get on a roll.
djokovic2008
Hall of Fame
I watched querry play sela this week and his two hander is a disgrace. Yeah sure every time he managed to get to his forehand there was a massive injection of pace and whip but when forced on his backhand it was a stiff looking less accurate shot. Hence when the rally started sela would just get on top. After a while you realise there is no plan b with these guys and so did sela as finished querry in straights.
Tshooter
G.O.A.T.
I thought I read it somewhere...
Anyway, I'm sure you are correct but I did go to your website to double-check. Incidentally, I had to search to find your search box. You really should consider moving it from the bottom to the top of the home page.
This was not the earlier post you refer to but the Wilander prediction is referred to in here as well:
http://www.tennis-prose.com/bios/the-demise-of-a-future-projected-star/
Dan got Harry right (at least the Harry we've seen to date). He was pretty negative on Harrison way back when pointing out his height (or lack thereof as far as top players), his mediocre pro results and his lackluster results in the Juniors:
http://www.tennis-prose.com/article...and-why-is-everyone-so-high-on-ryan-harrison/
But later he sounded somewhat more positive:
http://www.tennis-prose.com/article...an-harrison-bernard-tomic-or-gregor-dimitrov/
Anyway, I can't make too much fun of Wilander's (or anyone's) prediction. As you well know, if you make predictions on player prospects some of them will invariably make you look like a dummy.
I predicted Gulbis would be top 5 (LMAO with hindsight). I was correct on Harry though. But as you said, he still has plenty of time to prove otherwise. I don't think he will. His game is fundamentally flawed. It was your website that I seem to recall you or Dan quoted Tim Mayotte explaining certain defects :
http://www.tennis-prose.com/articles/tim-mayotte-discusses-how-ryan-harrison-can-fix-his-game/
Although Mayotte also said Harry could fix them and be top 10. Seems many were sucked into the THE GREAT AMERICAN HYPE MACHINE. But Mayotte would probably reply that Harry never fixed the defects.
There, I plugged your site multiple times in one post. Now go get those page views !
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Tshooter
G.O.A.T.
I don't know what you're crying about. Melzer is a mensch and was just being supportive of his family getting them jobs. The 2 foot rule when playing against family is probably a local custom. It's all in good fun. Not that Melzer would be caught dead playing the Lithuania F1 Futures but if he were I'm sure he'd have to hit the ball 3 feet in the court against Berankis to get an in call. The difference is that he's a Gentleman and respects local customs and doesn't complain about them. He'd win with a smile.
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SoBad
G.O.A.T.
Sure, if “mensch” is an overcooked noodle left in undrained water for hours – we’ll need BobbyOne to confirm that one. The journeyman wouldn’t have a prayer in the Lithuania F1 where ITF rules are strictly enforced and umpires have integrity. Level field is not the name of the game that Melzer plays. Smile or no smile, he’d get mauled in the first round and he knows it.
Melzer best chance to make a final is right there at home, with his coach in the chair and cousins watching the lines, a la Hamburg 2010. And YET, Golubev stomped him right in front of the pathetic noodle crowd – not even dropping a set unlike the Berankis trampling in Munich a few years later!:lol:
Tshooter
G.O.A.T.
I don't know what or who "BobbyOne" is or if it's some code word I'm supposed to be familiar with or who you are referring to as "the journeyman" but I assume your hostility toward the Gentlemen Tennis Player Melzer is a result of him seemingly snubbing you on an autograph out there on Ct. 7 some time back.
Rest assured Melzer is very respectful toward his fans (including former diehard fans such as yourself hurt by a simple misunderstanding) and he likely wasn't snubbing you; he was simply hyped up after smashing Berankis and ran by you without noticing your autograph plea. You should try again this year and I think you will be more successful.
MrFlip
Professional
Are half the posters on this forum fans of USA tennis and can't recognise the chasm of talent between players like Ryan Harrison and the likes of Federer, Nadal. Heck, there is a huge gap between Fed, Nadal, Djokovic and Berdych, Ferrer.
I'm so shocked this clone of Nick Bolleteri's academy for 90s tennis isn't top 50....
I'm so shocked this clone of Nick Bolleteri's academy for 90s tennis isn't top 50....
SoBad
G.O.A.T.
If you look through the Melzer-terrific thread on the other forum (as you have many times in the past), you will notice that there were about 5 Melzer fans in the world (excluding the obvious socks) at the peak of his journey. Wonder who they are:
1. Journeyman himself
2. his brother
3. petzschner
4. other family
5. you
The only item left for him to sign is the retirement papers. I sure hope he makes a good asterisk on his brother’s journeyman resumee~!~:lol:
P.S. I am sure you don't know BobbyOne -- if you ran into him at a cofffeeshop in central Zurich, you wouldn't even say hello!!:lol:
mbm0912
Hall of Fame
Yes. He looks like a pudgy frat boy, who played baseball in high school.
bluetrain4
G.O.A.T.
Nothing happened. That's my take. This story is repeated over and over and over in tennis. Potential and hype, even raw "talent" don't necessarily mean that a player is going to go onto great things. Yet, we always seem to foist all sorts of huge expectations on players simply because they are hyped or had good junior results or have visible "talent" or had some early success in their pro career.
Harrison is a great tennis player, probably the top 1% of tennis players (all competitive tennis players, not just pros) in the world. But, it doesn't matter. He's not great enough and there's 140 or so players right now who are better.
So few tennis players truly "make it". Of course the number that win Slams and/or consistently win non-Slam tournaments, are consistently ranked in the Top 10 or 20 over their career, and make a lot of money, is incredibly, incredibly small.
Though maybe a little bit bigger, the tennis "middle class" of players who don't consistently achieve a top ranking but are comfortably just below the top tier, and win smaller tournaments, make runs at bigger tournaments, and make a decent living, is also limited to very few people.
It's just the way tennis is structured. Very few people are going to make it. And, Harrison is just another in a very, very, very long line. I don't find his lack of tennis ascendancy mysterious or disconcerting. For every Fed or Nadal (top tier) or Monfils (second tier), for example, there's hundreds of Harrisons.
Harrison is a great tennis player, probably the top 1% of tennis players (all competitive tennis players, not just pros) in the world. But, it doesn't matter. He's not great enough and there's 140 or so players right now who are better.
So few tennis players truly "make it". Of course the number that win Slams and/or consistently win non-Slam tournaments, are consistently ranked in the Top 10 or 20 over their career, and make a lot of money, is incredibly, incredibly small.
Though maybe a little bit bigger, the tennis "middle class" of players who don't consistently achieve a top ranking but are comfortably just below the top tier, and win smaller tournaments, make runs at bigger tournaments, and make a decent living, is also limited to very few people.
It's just the way tennis is structured. Very few people are going to make it. And, Harrison is just another in a very, very, very long line. I don't find his lack of tennis ascendancy mysterious or disconcerting. For every Fed or Nadal (top tier) or Monfils (second tier), for example, there's hundreds of Harrisons.
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Tshooter
G.O.A.T.
Just prior to the USO, you, me and Melzer are going to go to Hallo Berlin on 10th Ave. We're going to have some good Kassler Ribchen with Spätzle and some sausages too. And three glasses of Radeberger Pilsner (to start) and we're going to get you your Melzer autograph plus a photo and work it all out. And you can bring along the young (ish) journeyman Berankis if you like and Melzer can give him some tips on how to successfully navigate the tour and enjoy a long, winning career while still acting like a Gentleman.
SoBad
G.O.A.T.
If eating sausage-cabbage with beer with retired cheating journeymen is your idea of a good time, knock yourself out! Heck, you could probably just get some hotdogs and buds at the Penn Station food court to save you the walk.:lol:
If you had spent any time on the westward slopes of the Great Chimgan range as a kid, I am sure you would have learned that men don’t eat at the same table with jackals. If I join great talented players like Gulbis, Berankis, Golubev, Stakhovsky, or Donskoy for a meal, surely we’ll get catering from the finest Bukharan chefs of Rego Park and there won’t be any jackals seated at the table, that’s for sure!:lol:
winstonplum
Hall of Fame
Finally, somebody is on the right track. You really hit it on the head, bluetrain. An honest and objective take on Harrison and the issues plaguing American tennis. There has been no indication that Harrison is the next Roddick, Agassi or Sampras. But since we(Americans) are so starved for young, successful talent, they slap the 'Hope of American tennis' title on him.
Bottom line, Harrison is struggling and is showing that he has something in common with the rest of us. The same problems us hacks have at our respective tennis clubs. Harrison is showing that he is inconsistent, rushes his shots, has a tendency to go for too much, makes confusing decisions on court and spirals down when other parts of his game fall apart. He lacks confidence and can't get himself out of the hole.
Yes but he was on track up until mid 2012...........was progressing thru some events and his ranking was on a pretty steady upward swing.
The drastic downturn started when he dumped Doyle and took on Tres Davies (travel and full time) and his dad as coach - (If you don't know Pat Harrison does not fly and has to drive from the current Florida base to any and all events).
Tres is a great guy but had no business in this position........add to that the forehand technical changes and racket / string switch and the start of 2013 was a disaster......he was at 45 in the world and he went on a long losing streak. Then another coaching switch to Berger which produced nothing - another switch of equipment.
His main draws in large events were all brutal but that's just part of the game, if he would have continued to have solid runs in the 250 and even challenger events eventually he would have had a good run at a 1000 or even a slam.
His confidence and mental aspect is a total mess.........his errors in matches are not technical ones - his breakdowns are directly connected to his focus - frustrations......etc.
Anyone here claiming he is fat is nuts......he over trained and bulked up a bit and now even had a slight growth spurt last year and is a solid 6' 2"
The drastic downturn started when he dumped Doyle and took on Tres Davies (travel and full time) and his dad as coach - (If you don't know Pat Harrison does not fly and has to drive from the current Florida base to any and all events).
Tres is a great guy but had no business in this position........add to that the forehand technical changes and racket / string switch and the start of 2013 was a disaster......he was at 45 in the world and he went on a long losing streak. Then another coaching switch to Berger which produced nothing - another switch of equipment.
His main draws in large events were all brutal but that's just part of the game, if he would have continued to have solid runs in the 250 and even challenger events eventually he would have had a good run at a 1000 or even a slam.
His confidence and mental aspect is a total mess.........his errors in matches are not technical ones - his breakdowns are directly connected to his focus - frustrations......etc.
Anyone here claiming he is fat is nuts......he over trained and bulked up a bit and now even had a slight growth spurt last year and is a solid 6' 2"
winstonplum
Hall of Fame
Good stuff. I agree with this post also. I guess that's why I named the thread what I named it--when he wsa 19-20, he was shooting up the rankings, and now at 21-22, he's headed the other way. It seems like if he didn't have as much "raw talent" as Dimitrov and Raonic (whom he beat at IW in 2011), he could have at least maintained in the 30-50 range. But he looks like he's on a free-fall.
MIKEPANTELAKIS
Rookie
I haven't bothered to read the comments but I'm hoping Ryan can have a resurgence. The skill is there. I personally believe he is in a slump. Hopefully it ends soon and he can make it back to at least the top 50.
dominikk1985
Legend
He is too fat. he is talented but not THAT talented. he has a big serve and nice FH but in order to be a top 30 player which he probably can he needs to be really fit.
I don't think he has top10 potential but if he gets really fit he can become a top30 player.
I don't think he has top10 potential but if he gets really fit he can become a top30 player.
He can't be that talented if he is too fat. If he would be talented, he would be fit
.dominikk1985
Legend
He can't be that talented if he is too fat. If he would be talented, he would be fit
tell that to nalbandian in his later years.
Carsomyr
Legend
Melzer's problem is that he was raised by jackals and brown bears in a more sinister region of the Alps, a geographic nether zone home to sneak-thiefs, murderers, and ballerinas.
Tshooter
G.O.A.T.
"and ballerinas" :-?
Carsomyr
Legend
It's true - something about the evil mountain air of the Alps lends itself to ballet. I've read in numerous articles that Natalie Portman spent only a week at a base camp beneath the Matterhorn prior to filming Black Swan, and emerged in-character before even being asked to do so.
SoBad
G.O.A.T.
If we (as a society) allowed personal background as a defense, we’d never convict anyone, for every criminal has a tail of woe to tell. The Tombs downtown Manhattan would be just another large seafood restaurant in the neighborhood serving dimsum on weekends from 11am, while Rikers Island would be an amusement park!
Are you really going to argue with Carsomyr now about German ballerinas? You’d have a better shot in a mid/tweener debate against an in-form BreakPoint!:lol:
My favorite dessert at the Dean and Deluca in Georgetown Park is “Anna Pavlova”. If the talented late-bloomer Farrukh Dustov plays Washington next year, I would gladly meet him there for afternoon tea. Other forum members would be welcome to join us, of course, as long as they leave their Melzer-Petzschner in the car. Roll the windows down a bit on a hot day – it’s the humane thing to do!:lol:
Carsomyr
Legend
I don't know anything about that, but I have heard rave reviews about Dave & Buster's "Baryshnikov Burger" with all the fixins', lettuce, tomato, borscht, pickles, etc.
SoBad
G.O.A.T.
I always wondered why beets pickled with garlic weren’t a standard burger topping in the South. What a delightful option that would be compared to Swiss cheese!:lol:
Carsomyr
Legend
Dave & Buster's has always been cutting edge when it comes to food and entertainment. Just last week, I found myself barely missing the top score in their new Trivial Tennis Pursuit shoot 'em up, mere points behind 10ISGENIUS69.
Tshooter
G.O.A.T.
I don't really get the joke. I've been to the Matterhorn and I've never seen a ballerina there. However, I did see a bunch in NYC a week or so ago and, in particular, Svetlana Zhakarova who dances with The Bolshoi. Absolutely a true artist. It struck me that in any discipline arts or otherwise there are a select few that are truly great artists. In tennis we have Federer and I think it's the reason people that aren't into tennis will still appreciate his play. And I'm sure if you saw Zhakarova do her thing you would appreciate the artistry even if you had not the slightest interest in ballet.
soBad is a posting artist which is why I can appreciate his posts even though he denigrates one of the last great Gentlemen Tennis Players. Others on this board are BS artists and they have a talent and purpose too.
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Carsomyr
Legend
When was the last time you were there? In recent years, the Matterhorn has gone the way of Everest; the stink of the dollar sign has made it unbearable, with dishonest sherpas, prostitutes, ballerinas, ballerina-prostitutes, and other ne'er-do-wells.
Tshooter
G.O.A.T.
I guess I don't get your sense of humor.
Something about the juxtaposition of ballerinas and ne'er-do-wells ? But don't you have to tie it back to tennis ? It's a tennis board. I'm sure soBad will explain it to me.
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SoBad
G.O.A.T.
I guess I don't get your sense of humor.
Something about the juxtaposition of ballerinas and ne'er-do-wells ? But don't you have to tie it back to tennis ? It's a tennis board.
This latest argument reminds me of the RG 2008 final. Ryan Harrison has been the ultimate winner in this debate all along – this thread would have been dead and buried a week ago without the auxiliary discussions.:lol:
Some peoples' patience and kindness are only matched by their brilliance and tennis analysis aptitude.
Carsomyr
Legend
I guess I don't get your sense of humor.
Something about the juxtaposition of ballerinas and ne'er-do-wells ? But don't you have to tie it back to tennis ? It's a tennis board. I'm sure soBad will explain it to me.
Where was the joke?
I rate this debate a 3 with my acute understanding of debates.
Tshooter
G.O.A.T.
Where was the joke?
There wasn't (only 90% of my posts are attempted jokes. That leaves about 10% but I don't feel like doing the math now). I was trying to figure out yours. Anyway, sobad is correct Harry is the beneficiary. The thread should die already.
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