re: 2017 Non-GS Tennis Thread

novak absolutely can't touch his serve at the moment

He let a ball go that I think he could have volleyed to break, but Novak had a similar derp earlier in that game. So, I guess it evens out.

Dang. Mighty impressive match from Kyrgios.

Early break for Fed.

Grandpa Fed is insane.

His backhand looks the best it's ever been.

Second point of that third set breaker was epic.

They should use new balls every 3 games in this slugfest.

I didn't think anyone could go toe to toe with Stan in backhand rallies, but Thiem actually has the upper hand most of the time.

I hope there is a legitimate reason for this if not that would be extremely disappointing.

Eta I guess he has food poisoning. Tough situation for everybody involved especially the fans. Personalizing it I imagine there's a dad there with his kid who splurged on tickets to see Roger Federer play Nick Kyrgios. That would suck so bad.

So, I read something a while back that suggested that Kyrgios has a fear of success, similar to how people have a fear of failure. At the time, I didn't realize there was such a thing. But, as time goes on, the idea is starting to make some sense.

I don't remember all of the details, but supposedly it has to do with not wanting the responsibility that comes with success, and when you're the type who rebels against "the man", the idea of becoming the man goes against your instincts.

It could also explain why he's always arguing with chair umps, line judges, the crowd, people on twitter, etc. It's a built-in excuse for when he loses.

It just seems lazy to say he doesn't want it, or he doesn't care about tennis. Of course I could be 100% wrong. It's an interesting case study regardless. Anyone with experience in the psychology field care to chime in?

ETA: I'm not referring to today's withdrawal only. He could very well have had food poisoning.