I watched most of the matches last week from  ATP season finale  in London and it looked to me like Federer has tweaked his Backhand technique just a  little bit to enable him to rip the face of the racket up the back  of the high balls that he gets as a steady diet from  most opponents.

The court surface played a role for sure in Rogers dismantling of Rafa in the final, but he was just ripping the ball off of the backhand side all week against everybody!

The kind of racket head speed he was producing was reminiscent of Justine Henin's technique that is executed with a much more closed face requiring an explosive upward face movement .

The grip didn't look different but the ball flight he was creating was something new, and could be the result of a couple of degrees of racket angle difference allowing him to cover the shoulder high ball more readily.

I've been critical  of Roger's stubbornness and maybe new coach Annacone's  fresh eyes and  his clear minded look at Federers game have had a beneficial effect on his willingness to modify a few  minor details.

Whether it was the court surface(creating a lower  ball bounce) or a technical adjustment from the Swiss wizard it looks like 2011 will be an interesting year in mens tennis!   

                                                                              Just my opinion, Howie Burnett

My book---- Net Notes ---- is available at AMAZON.COM

 On September 8th I posted an article suggesting that Roger Rasheed ( ATP Tour Coach) dump Gael Monfils like a bad habit.

Rasheed had taken Leyton Hewitt to the top echelon of the sport not to long ago, and after parting ways with Hewitt he took a position with the Frenchman--Monfils.

As a coach I'm always interested in the changes new coaches suggest to their players.

Aside from getting his charge in  Spartan warrior condition, I really didn't see much in the way of either technical or tactical adjustment in the game of the Frenchman.

The amateurish effort he put in against Federer at the US OPEN would have sent most coaches in search of a more committed and earnest client.

It looks instead like taskmaster Rasheed sat Monfils down and made him watch the tape of that match until the foolishness of his play that day sunk in and   ,perhaps through embarrassment,   motivated him to grow up and get professional about the game.

His play this week in the Paris Masters Event was a world class effort. The defensive cat and mouse game that branded Gael as an underachiever was shelved for a forward pressing geometrically based logical game plan.

Perhaps playing at his home court(Paris) or maybe the fast(slick actually) indoor surface had something to do with his  improved results, but from this old coaches perspective it looks like the coach player relationship is beginning to gel!

                                                                                 JUST MY OPINION, HOWIE BURNETT

NET NOTES (common sense ideas to lift your game) is available on AMAZON.COM

 The wrap up event of the Asian leg of the ATP World Tour touted 19 of the worlds top 20 players(Mardy Fish ankle- had to withdraw) but was played to sparse crowds in Shanghai China.

 The final between Andy Murray and Roger Federer was contested in front of a mostly filled stadium but it seems the Chinese populous only wanted to view the very best-- by the nearly empty stadium for the first 5 days of the Masters 1000 event.

Looking at the match stats it looks like a nice crowd showed up for the Final --  but Roger didn't !!!!

 He hit 70% of  his first serves in  but won only 65% of first serve points---He won only 5 - yes I said 5- of 21 second serve points.

On the return side  Federer won only 16 of 53  returning points played for a paltry 30% and was 0 for 6 on break points.  

Either Rog was lucky against Soderling and The Djoker  in  the earlier rounds last week or Murray(I'm not his biggest fan by the way)has finally put it together in a big way!

If Andy can keep his nerve serving big points at crucial junctures of Major tournaments we may have a new grand Slam contender in the mix! 

                                                                                        Just my opinion, Howie Burnett

 At the beginning of the summer tournament season in the US-- I saw Mardy Fish play in and win the Campbell's grass court event in Newport RI.

 In my blog at that time I suggested that Fish would be the guy to watch this summer.

 His well publicized weight loss and fitness regimen were creating some great results on the court, and I was excited about his chances at the Open.

Well, he played great tennis throughout the US OPEN SERIES and came to Queens fit and rested so I was a bit disappointed at his result against Djokovic.

 Little did I know that the Djoker was  completely on fire when he took Mardy out with ease and then edged past Federer on his way to the final. 

Who knew that the Americans best stuff was still to come?

In a little publicized Davis cup Tie against Columbia in Bogotá -- on slow red clay at nearly 9000 feet of altitude-- Fish simply won two( yes two) five set singles matches in dramatic fashion 6-4 in the 5th Friday and 8-6 in the 5th Sunday  in the clinching match.  In between the singles wins he fit in a 4 set doubles win  on Saturday playing with John Isner.

His feat of winning 3 matches in a tie for the US hasn't been done since Sampras did it  to win the Cup in 1995 and has only been accomplished 9 times in the history of US Davis Cup play.

This will be the summer Mardy will look back at as the best of his career!

He may win additional titles as his career goes on but the body of work he has produced in 2010 will surely go unmatched!  
 
18 months ago he was hurt out of shape and had a decision to make about what happens next---It sure looks like the decision was a good one doesn't it?

MARDY FISH---- DAVIS CUP HERO!!!--- WHO KNEW??

                              Not my opinion this time---It's a cold hard fact, Howie Burnett

 FIRST UP ,ALL RESPECT TO RAFAEL NADAL .

 THE GAME WILL CONTINUE TO BE POPULATED BY BETTER AND BETTER ATHLETES WHO TRAIN MORE AND MORE LIKE BOXERS .

 BIGGER --FASTER & STRONGER IS THE WAY SPORT HAS ALWAYS EVOLVED ,TENNIS IS NO DIFFERENT.

HOW TENNIS DOES DIFFER FROM OTHER MAJOR SPORTS, IS IN IT'S FRACTURED AND COMPETING GOVERNING BODIES.

 ATP--- WTA--ITF--USTA ----- WHO'S RUNNING THE SHOW ANYWAY?

CERTAINLY NO ONE WITH THE POWER TO GET A GRAND SLAM MENS FINAL TELIVISED!!

ONE OF OUR SPORTS 4  MAJOR SHOWCASES TO THE WORLD WAS SUBORDINATED TO CATCH AS CATCH CAN CHANNEL HOPPING THAT BASICLY  TURNED OFF  THE UNITED STATES VIEWING AUDIENCE, AND SUCCEDED IN ONLY CONFIRMING  TENNIS AS A SECOND TIER ATTRACTION TO THE PUBLIC AT LARGE.

I FULLY UNDERSTAND THAT IN ORDER TO REALLY ENJOY WATCHING TENNIS, ONE MUST HAVE A RESONABLE UNDERSTANDING OF THE TACTICAL INNER WORKINGS THAT MAKE THE GAME MUCH MORE THAN IT APPEARS TO BE ON ITS SURFACE.

IF THERE WERE A MEETING OF THE COMISSIONERS OF SPORT NEXT WEEK-- GOLF, BASEBALL, BASKETBALL,FOOTBALL AND HOCKEY WOULD HAVE A SPOT AT THE TABLE, AND TENNIS SADLY WOULD NOT.  

I THINK ITS TIME TO RUN YOUR BUSINESS LIKE A BUSINESS--- YOU POWERS THAT BE--!!

BUT I GUESS THE PROBLEM LIES IN JUST THOSE--- POWERS THAT BE.

                                                                                               JUST MY OPINION, HOWIE BURNETT
    

 There is nothing tennis fans wanted more than the ultimate match---ROGER--VS--RAFA , but alas, it's not to be.

My fellow blogger Hartmut Hesse may have misspent his day writing a comprehensive 10 part theory on why RAFA will beat ROGER tomorrow but he'll have to save if for another time.

Novak Djokovic derailed the Federer express this afternoon with as gutty a back to the wall performance as this old coach has ever witnessed.

  The whiner(his alter ego) made a few very brief  appearances but Novak pretty much kept him stifled and out of a position of influence.

  The warrior is the personality that broke through today! Time after time digging back one more ball--resetting the point then going for the crusher at just the right moment.

Federer was out fought today--- It was glib and guile edged out by grit and guts.


Down match points in the 5th, the Serb went for and made, spirit soaring winner after spirit soaring winner, leaving Roger shaken and doubtful.

The emotional let down Djokovic will experience tonight  would surely be enough to give Nadal a clear edge tomorrow, but  combine that with the physical toll todays match exacted and it makes any chance of tomorrows final being a competitive one  pretty much a   long shot..

Jokers satisfaction will have to be taken in todays performance because I don't see him basking in the glory of the championship tomorrow evening.
 
Well done Novak!!   Well done!!

                                                    Just My Opinion, Howie Burnett

 If you were watching the Open yesterday you saw some sad performances by some very good players.

Framer after framer ,clanker then clunker----------Butterfly chasing--Frog capturing-Grasshopper stalking--- activities that lend themselves to lurching and groping were  mere child's play compared with attempting to square up a racket face to a tennis ball during matches played in Ashe or Armstrong on Wednesday.

It was survival mode for the best players on the planet, who's section of the draw had them on court attempting to advance in that maelstrom.

Then came Roger!

"Wind?  Hmmm you know I hadn't noticed, but now that you mention it the guy on the other side of the court looked a little like a rodeo clown trying to scramble away from a crazed bull all night, I guess thats why." ( He might have said)

If you missed last nights straight set victory over Soderling, you missed a performance for the ages.

I'm not one for watching a recorded sporting event if I already know the outcome, but this one is staying on my DRV for future inspiration.

If you are a true tennis fan do yourself a favor and beg the Tennis Channel to add this to the Classic match library even though it seems a routine- quarter final- straight setter.

Adapt and survive is what evolution theory preaches--Federer didn't go to college but he must have caught that class somewhere along the line.  

Wow--- is my comment.  

                          Just my opinion,Howie Burnett

 Being a coach is a very unusual occupation!

Coaches are  very often fired  for a lack of performance by their client-student -team -ect.

In the case of Roger Rasheed he should have stood up ,and in his best Donald Trump imitation yelled at Gael Monfils     YOU'RE FIRED   !!!

If Roger needs the money that badly I'll be happy to contribute to his income in hopes of salvaging what ever remains of his self esteem.

Monfils is an embaressment to professional tennis!

An insult to all the players that work and train everyday to be their best.

 He's a clown and needs to be fired--- BY HIS COACH!

                                                                        Just my opinion, Howie Burnett

 I've been watching the CBS feed of the OPEN today and I've decided I had to speak up after suffering through this garbage for too many years now!

There are no worse tennis commentators than Mary Carillo and Dick Enberg  

They are even worse that Mary Carillo and Ian Eagle

Dick---   DELICIOUS POINTS!!!
  
 Dick---  FASCINATING RALLYS!!!

 ME---WHAT THE ----???     You can fill in the blanks!

Mary started a rant about the challenge system(it seem shes thought a lot about it) and how the chair umpire should trigger all the challenges--- when  John Mc Enroe piped up and  asked her what about in the middle of a point when the player thinks a ball is out and wants to stop play to get it reviewed--

-Well there was total silence from Mary  for 5 seconds (UNBELIEVABLE RIGHT?) then she said --HUH? -

After which  John repeated the scenairo---

Marys response after another 5 second pause was( Well John I'll give you that !)

Quite the deep thinker huh?

She must have pictures of some CBS exectuives in very compromising situations is all I can think!!

As far as Dick Enberg goes they must have him on a huge retainer and are trying to get some hours burned up to keep him from having to do other sports.

If I'm wrong I apologise--And just shoot me now!


                                                             Enough is enough--Just my opinion,Howie Burnett

 The great run that Mardy Fish was able to cobble together this summer  fizzled and sputtered to an end today.

The inspired play that was the hallmark of his new persona was left in the locker room.

The calf was taped so perhaps his movement was at the root of the issues that smothered his spirit this afternoon, but it looked like stage fright to me.

All credit to Djokovic for a comprehensive win from everywhere on the court. His funky serve motion seems to have had the major wrinkle ironed out of it, and his return game was as sharp as I've seen it of late.

If Mardy had a game plan it was flawed---He looked like he was out for a hit around but  the Joker was playing to win a match.

Fatigue ? --perhaps  A slight injury  ?-- maybe

 The emotional tank looked drained and I give Mardy a vigorous round of applause for his rebirth and for giving American tennis fans something to cheer about all summer.
  
You can't blame him for being tight today. You all are players and its happened to you to hasn't it?

Djokovic looked great--maybe its finally his time in Queens!

                                                                          Just my opinion , Howie Burnett