ATP World Tour Masters/ WTA 2017 - Rogers/ Cincinnati

[sameerph]

Out of those 61 he has already defended minimum of 45 points this week.

I counted those out. That way he has already earned exactly 61 points this week which nullifies the 61 points he is losing for the rest of the year.

He is on 308 points and will need around 250 more points for top 100. One ATP 250 title and it will be done.

[Rajiv]

Are the qualies points considered for 'LL

[sameerph]

Yes, they are counted. So, RamK gets 16 for qualies and 45 for main draw so far.

[vparam]

Just curious, but how does RamK afford the top level coaching (Emilio Sanchez) he is receiving but Yuki has no sponsors or a top notch coach?

[PKBasu]

Emilio Sanchez isn't Ram's travelling coach, but seems much more invested in him than anyone at Bolletieri's is in Yuki. Nick Bolletieri himself was heavily invested himself in Agassi, but is too old for that now. Nobody else from NBTA has picked up the baton for Yuki. I think it's also true that RamK is better supported financially.

[PKBasu]

RamK's serve is slightly faster than Yuki's but it looked much more potent on grass against Thiem than on the Cincinnati hard courts. RamK's volleying is a work in progress (while Yuki's seems the finished product), his forehand is potent but the backhand is a serious weakness (but already less so than a year ago). RamK works on and improves his game, which is great to see. And he has had no fitness issues so far.

[vparam]

RamK is definitely supported better than Yuki as Ram is constantly traveling around to work to accumulate points. I doubt even if Yuki was healthy that he could afford to play that many matches.

Concerning RamK's volleys, he had a lot of bite on his shots. The commentators talked about how deep he was able to place those volleys which even his 6'7" opponent couldn't reach. RamK also had great placement on his serves last night even if they weren't hit that hard.

[PKBasu]

Basically Yuki is a much more complete player: excellent volleys, superb ground strokes on both flanks and a very effective return of serve. The one thing he lacks is serve velocity, but he also places his serves very well. Serve consistency is also more of a problem for Yuki than RamK. But the latter is fitter and better-supported financially, which goes a long way.
Yuki didn't play in Cincinnati because bitter experience (I surmise) with his body has taught him that a niggle is not worth risking or exacerbating just before a Slam.

[arjun2761]

Nice win by RamK!

Did catch a replay of the final few games on TC this morning on the west coast and was impressed by how effective his serve was.
Was surprised that he didn't have a ton of velocity typically serving between 105-121 on the first serve but he has a lot of variety in his serve beyond simple placement. In baseball parlance, he has fastball, slider, curveball, sinker, and changeup when compared to someone like Yuki who places his serve well but essentially has just a fastball and a changeup. He had a lot more aces (and service winners) than his opponent who had a lot more heat on his serves. He is a little like Federer in this aspect, as Federer also serves very effectively even if he doesn't have the most velocity.

As others noted, his backhand isn't at the level of most ATP players but in this case Eubanks backhand was even worse. Perhaps, he is using serve-and-volley as means to compensate but longer term he will probably need to develop his backhand to be competitive at the ATP level.

[vatsal323]

Ram can easily serve faster. He was serving slower to facilitate his serve-volley tactics.

[Varma]

His opponent was a mighty 6'7" tall, but could only deliver 5 aces while RamK served 14! Additionally, Eubanks double-faulted 3 times as opposed to a lone DF from RamK. That subtly tells a story about our boy's return game, and this statistic made me feel good . All those endless stints in Spain seem to be reaping rewards now (although he received more brickbats - from many of us in this forum - than bouquets for taking that approach). As mentioned by several others, he probably has a much better network with fellow pros compared to any other Indian. I assume he speaks fluent Spanish, which probably helps him gel with a slew of Argentines as well as other South American players. No matter where he travels to, he will have good friends and practice/hitting partners at most levels (Challengers, ATP 250s and above). He sure has raised his game up a notch or two to pleasantly surprise us these last couple of months. His fitness levels have always been amazing; with how effectively he manages his body to stay away from injuries. Can't think of any other fitter Indian player than RamK in the recent past. Leander, of course, has been the fittest of all for a long time, but he hardly played singles for more than two decades. Regardless of who his R2 opponent is, it is going to be a tough one. But then again, he surprised us quite a few times this year already. With his new found confidence, I don't think we can rule out another win!

- Varma

[arjun2761]

Can't think of any other fitter Indian player than RamK in the recent past. Leander, of course, has been the fittest of all for a long time, but he hardly played singles for more than two decades.

Depends on how you define fitness. As far as being free from injury and traveling and adjusting to travel then RamK is a clear winner. LP was certainly more athletic with lightning reflexes at the net (which he leveraged in doubles) and Somdev was better conditioned - quicker on court as well as more relentless in chasing down everything (a little in the Michael Chang mould).

[vparam]

Gosh Amazing,been travelling so missed the party.

Truly deserved to be in MD and as fate would have it,with a confident display through to R2 and earning the biggest paycheck of his career.

Batista Agut it is once again Verdasco inputs will be useful and vital.
He (Verdasco ) is his regular hitting partner in Spain and when on tour, , and later tommorow it will be back on the courts for hours of practice before their respective matches, Intact in Antalya also there were very crucial inputs before Theim match, So Verdasco , Emilio have a big hand in Ram' s achievements.

Quite an exciting match against Batista Agut coming up

Not so fast my friend! RamK will be playing Donaldson tomorrow as he surprised Batista Agut in straight sets.

[Varma]

Can't think of any other fitter Indian player than RamK in the recent past. Leander, of course, has been the fittest of all for a long time, but he hardly played singles for more than two decades.

Depends on how you define fitness. As far as being free from injury and traveling and adjusting to travel then RamK is a clear winner. LP was certainly more athletic with lightning reflexes at the net (which he leveraged in doubles) and Somdev was better conditioned - quicker on court as well as more relentless in chasing down everything (a little in the Michael Chang mould).

You are right, Arjun. I should have been more specific. What I really meant was - "keeping away from injuries thus giving him chances to play more often than most".

- Varma

[Varma]

It is not too wise to look beyond the next round, but RamK's quarter has opened up even more wider. Raonic (his likely R3 opponent) too has withdrawn with an injury. Christian Harrison (240) took up his place and landed directly into R2. His opponent would be the winner between Nikoloz Basilashvili (65) and Berna Coric (50).

- Varma