ATP 500 Basel and Vienna

[Miss_Vee]

The Fall season is going full tilt into the last tournaments that pack any punch, before Paris Masters, and then the WTF.  A few players are still vying for the 8th qualifying spot to play in Turin. It’s presently occupied by Musetti.  So if he falters he can be overtaken this week.

Headlining Basel are Fritz and Shelton….the latter attempting to comeback after his shoulder injury at the USO.  This tournament is stacked.

In Vienna, Sinner leads the charge with Zverev at the bottom of the draw.  This tournament is also stacked…lol.  I think I will spare some time to watch these tournaments from Europe.

[Sekasi_ChangeIsComing]

Fonseca straight set over Mpetshi.

Shapo lost the first set to Giron but took second set serving a bagel. Onto the 3rd we go.

Shelton has his hands full with Majchrzak (never heard of him)

[Sekasi_ChangeIsComing]

Shelton in trouble.

[Sekasi_ChangeIsComing]

Shapo survives, played very patiently in the 3rd set TB. Should be able to get to the quarter finals.

[Sekasi_ChangeIsComing]

Kamil chokes, Ben grabs the win.

[Miss_Vee]

I saw Shapo in the first set, and he was playing well.  Giron has always been a headache for him.  So I stopped watching and recorded it, so that if he won, I can watch it later today…lol

Saw the finish of Shelton’s match.  His opponent is a new kid on the block.  Have seen his name previously.  He may be around age 19 or 20 years old.  Have to check.  Stan at age 40 is now on court.

[Miss_Vee]

Sek, I got it totally wrong about Shelton’s opponent today.  His name is Majrchrzak, from Poland, and he is now 29 years old.  That’s why we don’t see his name.  He must be popular in Challenger circuit …..lol. I think I got him confused with another name which starts with M, from one of the Eastern European countries.

[Sekasi_ChangeIsComing]

Miss_Vee, did you see how that Majr guy choked that MP at the net, lol. I felt for him. 

Here is my issue with Ben, yes he has a good serve but most of these guys can read his serve and put the ball back in play. 

[Miss_Vee]

Yes, I did see that moment.  I too felt bad for him.  You know that he became anxious ay that moment, and he the whole court open to drop a nice volley.  Instead he pushed it too long.

Just read that Djokovic will not play Paris Masters.  Sinner will not play Davis Cup.  However team Italy is still a force.

[Sekasi_ChangeIsComing]

Surprisingly, Sinner is playing this week in Vienna. Why?

[Miss_Vee]

Sek, I think Sinner is hoping that if Carlos slips up, he may still have a shot at ending the year as ATP No1.  However, when he had to retire in Shanghai, without defending championship points, I think his goose was cooked.  He still has defend Champion points at Paris indoors, as well as Champion in Turin.  That’s 3000 points right there.  Carlos is still way ahead of him in live rankings, and can only gain points now at these end of season tournaments.  Last year, Carlos lost early at this point in the season.

Sinner might also trying to bump up his points before the end of the year as a buffer towards next season.  He cannot gain anymore points this year, but can lose points if he fails to defend Paris Masters, and WTF points.  As we know, anything can happen…like the cramping he suffered in Shanghai.  That’s not  likely in Europe…lol.

[Sekasi_ChangeIsComing]

He should have let the other guys win this event. Now, I have no interest in this event.

[realtennist...@gmail.com]

V.V is out first rd Fritz was like hell no buddy the stardust you had in Shanghai doesn’t work here welcome to the top 100 we will dig deep to beat you 

[Sekasi_ChangeIsComing]

Fritz fought hard for that win. I think V.V is here to stay.

[Miss_Vee]

Fritz lost today going down in str8s to Humbert, who has just had 1 loss indoors since 2024.  Shapo is a close second, and he will be facing Fonseca tomorrow in qrts.  FAA is on the opposite side of the draw, so they have both made qrtrs in Basel.

Several ATP players have withdrawn from the last Masters in 2025….Djokovic, Draper, Fils, Tiafoe, and someone else..

[Sekasi_ChangeIsComing]

I did not know that Humbert is another indoor specialist.

Munar owns Shelton. Shelton needs to find a way to turn these matches around.

Shapo-Fonseca should be good. 

[Miss_Vee]

Humbert is 21-1 on indoor hard courts.  Shapo is 20-2 indoors since 2024.  It would be fascinating if they met in the final.  Both lefties…both dynamic ball strikers, who can use the entire court. 

[Miss_Vee]

Just as the players are calling for changes to their schedule…..meaning less tournaments….lol, there is another tournament added to the schedule.  Might not be until 2027 or 2028.  Roddick has made the announcement on his Served Podcast.  He and his panel are discussing the vagaries of this announcement.  

The word Mandatory does not apply to this Masters 1000.  Saudi Arabia wants it, and by gosh, they will get it.  It might mean shoving out some tournaments being played in South America in February, because it’s the only month that can accommodate an extremely lucrative (for the players) tournament.

Thoughts?!?

[Sekasi_ChangeIsComing]

Players need to do what is best for their health. That might mean getting fined. 

[Sekasi_ChangeIsComing]

Just tuning in here for this Shapo-Fonseca match, Shapo has given up and is just hitting wild errors. What in the world is this?

[Miss_Vee]

I did not watch Shapo’s match after he started losing in the second set.  He had set himself up to get back on serve, and it seems after he lost that second set, he wasn’t in this match any longer.  Just hate that attitude.

[Sekasi_ChangeIsComing]

Oops, I posted about the retirement in the wrong post. They were saying Shapo had an injury from previous weeks.

[Miss_Vee]

Oops, after I said that to you, I did wonder if he had an injury.  I didn’t realize he had retired from the match.  Makes sense.

[Miss_Vee]

Sek, I’m not reading anything about an injury re: Shapovalov.  Everyone is calling him a sore loser.  Apparently he was booed off court.  He has to do better mentally.

[Miss_Vee]

Sekasi, I now understand why Felix retired from his match today.  Then Shapo retitled after he lost his serve in the 3rd set, and it seems he was pissed about something Fonseca was doing at the other side of the net.  Then afterwards I saw the remaining results, abd Ruud also retired after he lost the first set in a tie break to ADF..

Paris Masters starts next week, and I think FAA and Ruud would like a few days rest, before they play that tournament.  They both have a chance of reaching the WTF in Turin, if Djokovic decides not to play, or Musetti doesn’t qualify first.

[Miss_Vee]

Guess who Shapo sees first round in Paris….Fonseca!!

[Sekasi_ChangeIsComing]

Well, hopefully this time he will be mentally ready. Dimi is in the draw as well.

[realtennist...@gmail.com]

I don’t care for Sinner he is full of shit he starts the cramping shit when things get tight  there should be no medical time outs for cramps  if you can’t continue match is over 

[sugarplum876]

Right Bianca, I really used to like him 

[Sekasi_ChangeIsComing]

Fedex, congratulations. Your boy Fonseca is ending the season on a positive note.

[Sekasi_ChangeIsComing]

Sinner is not my cup of tea. I appreciate his athleticism but he is too much of an AI robot.

And now he is back to his old ways of MTOs.

[Miss_Vee]

Leave Sinner alone.  Word on him has always been, that he has to work hard to become more durable.  Remember he was so skinny and tall, and used to have a difficult time maintaining physicality, when he first started on tour.  Sure, he has worked very hard to become stronger and fit.  However, the long tough matches, and reaching finals everytime he plays, take a toll on players.  He still has more work to do.

Of course he seems robotic…lol.  Isn’t that the world in which we are heading anyway….😂?!?!