Roger's serve was fantastic. Early in the first set, he hesitated before coming in behind one serve. Roger stayed back most of the first set to find his game and rythym on a windy day against an inspired opponent who stayed with him for a set and a half. And find it he did.
So his great serve and ground game from Paris came with him to Wimbledon. He'll play his way into better volleys and if he can get through the first 3 rounds in straights - hopefully without losing his serve which looks that good - he'll be relaxed enough to focus on a lot more of what Roger does best on grass. Like destroying the competition.
And how about those BH slices? Can't think of a single person - not even Wolfgang Puck - who can slice bread half as good as Roger knifed the ball today. Holy smokes.
ReplyDeleteSo quick! Thanks for the update. So those loopy shots in the first set is also Rog finding his rhythm? BTW, Kukushkin really played very well, from serve to volley, slice even some flat FH, it's unfortunate he had to face Rog so early. He would have won if he played Cilic. XD
ReplyDeleteWind management was apparently difficult in this match. Roger said one end of the court was relatively calm and gusting at the other end. Roof design flaw perhaps?
ReplyDeleteRoger's forward movement in the first set was perplexing. Initially I thought it was due to weird wind patterns. His serve and ground strokes were superb but he didn't get low enough on most of his volleys throughout the match.
At first I thought he was finding his range on grass. But Roger seemed pretty low key throughout. Distracted. Rather than elated, he seemed tired during his on court post match interview.
I wonder if his leg/groin ailment from Paris isn't completely healed yet. It could explain his initial reluctance to move forward and how he rarely got low enough on his volleys. He seemed like he was protecting something rather than in free flowing form. And still, his ball striking and side-to-side movement were fantastic.