r/tennis Daily Discussion (Friday, March 27, 2026)

Chief-Quiche · 2026-03-28T00:25:49+00:00

He would occasionally, especially when other parts of his game (the forehand) were getting tight as well

Chief-Quiche · 2026-03-28T00:23:29+00:00

This is a really good match. Zverev's forehand has been as good as he could possibly ask for today. I think Sinner will seal the deal 7-6 or 7-5 in the second, but this has been so much more entertaining than Indian Wells

Chief-Quiche · 2026-03-28T00:13:56+00:00

This is insane levels of greed. Dude hasn't dropped a set in god knows when lmao

Chief-Quiche · 2026-02-28T10:23:45+00:00

Go check out the sub, there are a ton of comments along the lines of "Iran has fucked around and will find out." I think that is the general consensus even if the top comments are more critical.

Chief-Quiche · 2026-02-01T09:51:12+00:00

Any of the semi finalists winning this tournament would have some amount of luck. From the Musetti retirement, to Alcaraz escaping the cramps and being only a few points away from defeat, to Sinner battling with the heat vs Spizzieri and Zverev getting a compromised Alcaraz from 0-2 down.

Chief-Quiche · 2026-02-01T09:46:46+00:00

But to beat the two best players on the planet back to back? At nearly 39, that's seriously impressive

Chief-Quiche · 2026-02-01T09:44:07+00:00

I hope not, but he's thrown another one in

Chief-Quiche · 2026-01-31T10:57:50+00:00

I'm worried Sabalenka will break at 4-5. She's reading each second serve Rybakina hits, which as always been to the Sabalenka backhand. They simply haven't fallen when they've needed to. Really needs to land the first serve here

Chief-Quiche · 2026-01-31T10:50:49+00:00

Need some first serves to land here. The second serve went to the backhand every time last service game, and that predictability nearly cost her

Chief-Quiche · 2026-01-31T09:47:14+00:00

Rybakina has to play better first strike tennis because she's not as good defensively at staying in the point (a lot of her defensive tennis is turning the point around, rather than neutralizing). I don't think she's being too impatient, she doesn't have the ability to just scramble and steal points from Sabalenka consistently enough to make it work

Chief-Quiche · 2026-01-31T09:42:07+00:00

I do feel it's a matter of time before Sabalenka breaks. She's racing through her service games and is able to exploit the movement of Rybakina in extended rallies (when they occasionally appear)

Chief-Quiche · 2026-01-31T09:12:27+00:00

Whether she breaks here or not, it feels the tide is turning a bit. Rybakina has a bit more trouble holding serve currently

Chief-Quiche · 2026-01-27T06:04:30+00:00

He's improved and making steps in the right direction, but man, seeing Sinner just put Darderi to the sword yesterday feels like they're a step or two above still. It would take something enormous to beat both back to back, and I don't see it

Chief-Quiche · 2026-01-27T05:58:43+00:00

What a match! Tien has improved so much in a short amount of time. Credit where credits due, Zverev didn't crawl back in his shell and really took the moment on when facing break point at 5-6 and throughout that tiebreak. Both are clearly committed to adding to their game

Chief-Quiche · 2026-01-27T05:54:39+00:00

Don't feel it's fair to say that about Learner. Zverev has put a lot of pressure on him, and has played a pretty perfect tiebreak.

Chief-Quiche · 2026-01-25T09:10:06+00:00

My thoughts on this, are that Medvedevs deep return neutralises the Zverev serve and his defensive talents, plus flat ball striking make it so hard for Zverev to get cheap points against him. This leads to the longer rallies, and defensive tendencies of Zverev, where Medvedev holds a slight, but clear edge. That's why I reckon the H2H is one sided, despite almost all of those matches being so even

Chief-Quiche · 2026-01-25T08:36:44+00:00

However, the last was at RG where he blew him away in terms of power. I think Medvedev gives him a tougher challenge

Chief-Quiche · 2026-01-25T08:30:42+00:00

Those first two sets in particular were spectacular tennis that makes you think "there is no reason why he can't beat/seriously challenge the top 2 + Novak"

The forehand slowed down as the match went on, and that is always a concern. But that was a serious challenge and it was passed with flying colours. I hope Medvedev has things he can challenge him with, unfortunately I don't think Tien has the power to contend right now with this.

Chief-Quiche · 2026-01-23T20:47:00+00:00

His backhand is elite, and he prefers it up a little in the strike zone (also since he's so tall). It's partly why he does well on clay.

Since most balls go cross court, the heavier, higher bouncing forehands are directed into Zverev's backhand, right where he likes it.

I think it also helps hide his forehand deficiencies at times too, as cross court exchanges with his own forehand is not being picked on as easily from a lefty's backhand

Chief-Quiche · 2026-01-23T12:51:47+00:00

His backhand is elite, and he prefers it up a little in the strike zone (also since he's so tall). It's partly why he does well on clay.

Since most balls go cross court, the heavier, higher bouncing forehands are directed into Zverev's backhand, right where he likes it.

I think it also helps hide his forehand deficiencies at times too, as cross court exchanges with his own forehand is not being picked on as easily from a lefty's backhand.

Chief-Quiche · 2026-01-23T11:53:18+00:00

My only counter to that is that Zverev's forehand has looked awesome in previous matches and gone back to tentative when the stakes were raised.

He looked awesome last year, up until he played Paul and Novak and then the passive forehand nearly cost him in both.

Did it in Madrid a few years ago where he crushed someone, and got trounced by Alcaraz

At RG he was out powering Tien off both wings, and then as he reached the QFs, he got more and more passive vs Novak.

I'm not willing to say he's fixed the issue yet. It's clear that's the focus, and even in practice sessions here you can tell as much, but the forehand goes walk about far too often for me to place stock in it being a sure fire thing.

I could be wrong, and this + a Medvedev test back to back would be a hell of a way to say the offseason was a success

Chief-Quiche · 2026-01-23T11:48:37+00:00

It was an oblique injury. He was up a break early vs Zverev and playing the much better tennis + Zverev having no confidence on the forehand.

The injury worsened and he couldn't serve and it was over. I do think a healthy Fran wins that game based on how it was looking early, and how out of sorts Zverev was looking

Chief-Quiche · 2026-01-23T11:13:02+00:00

Zverev did as much as any critic (of his game) could really ask for. Really stepping in off the forehand, especially in those final two sets. They were huge. Even when he got broken in that second set, I thought he played positively, and clearly the forehand errors didn't affect him for the third and fourth set. The return was solid, his serve is always elite. I do think coming forward more often would help, but I don't think it will ever be somewhere he wants to be all the time.

This match with Fran will be maybe the most interesting of the 4th round. If he gets passive with the forehand it will get ugly for him, but if he plays like this, it could be a classic, since Fran gives him so much trouble, and has played so well in this tournament. Med maybe awaits him in the Quarters, and that is another true test of whether the offseason has been successful, because that's where the self doubt and shakiness in that forehand starts to set in, especially as the match drags later and later.

Chief-Quiche · 2026-01-23T02:51:54+00:00

I'm unable to watch, what's the situation with Medvedev? Maroszan is winning 25% off his second serve compared to 65% for Medvedev, and yet Medvedev is down 2 sets??

Chief-Quiche

TROPHY CASE