Simple blood.

Keep Smiling

Oh this is sad but funny at the same time. I guess no one is here. Everyone is over at Crisis Centre trying to pump up Gaba for the upset. I wonder if he will be able to pull a rabbit out of a hat tonight? Doubt it.

oh my. i've been watching dolly this spring, now i'll be watching him even more closely.

thanks pete!

Jamaica Karen,
I think most people are frazzling over Nadal. I've only seen a handful of newly converted Gabashvilli fans :)

That's a strange disease Dolgopolov describes.

That's really too bad. Only seen him play once so far but was very impressed.
Hope his health will allow him to keep improving.

This post feels like the written equivalent to rubber-necking at a car wreck.

What CWATC said.
I'm impressed with Dolgopolov and looking forward to great things from him already. Will follow him even more closely.

Pete: I really love it when you write about these unheralded players.

Thanks Pete! Hope everything will be all right with Dolgopolov

Judging by the symptoms described, it is possible that Dolgo suffers from thalassemia (the same thing Pete Sampras has).

Pete this is the best post from you in quite a while. I love Doglo (need to think up another nick) since the clay season where he played fairly well against Nadal. I hope his blood disease doesn't derail him. A lot of people think he looks like Martina H.

His match against Ferru at Wimbly was great as he kept digging and would not give up.

Angel - a nickname that's appeared on here is "Dolly" - which is easy for me to remember as that's my fictional daughter's name - and possible future dog name though my 16-yr-old George shows few signs of his advanced age.
But I can relate, nevertheless.

Keep them coming Pete. Juicy stuff!

tina I can't stamd that nickname. I think AM started it.

I hope Dolgo has a bright future even if he hangs around the top 30.

Why couldnt it be somone with no talent like Fish or Blake that has this ?

How unfortunate for both him and tennis , he was the only original thing I've seen since in quite while.

Tough for Dolgopolev with that illness ... saw him player a few matches on clay earlier this year, a very interesting, original talent. Prefer the "Dolgo" nickname, "Dolly" sounds a bit demeaning, IMHO.

petewho-----Why would you wish this or any illness on anyone else? Maybe in the sight of heaven should be asked to carry this burden, Mr Scrooge.

"Why couldnt it be somone with no talent like Fish or Blake that has this ?" Is it some kind of sick joke?

Yeah lose the Dolly , its is more than little demeaning - esp with his fashion accessory ( soccer players where this too sometimes ) so not entirely unheard or a hint at some cross dressing , though I think a tennis kilt for Murray would be a good idea - and distraction if worn tradionally - hehe

No joke Nina.

Fish pretty much is self a confessed waster , as evident by his recent change of diet.

Blake was always considered an overachiever at best ,who had one good match with Agassi that got the ol Yanky doddle dandys wetting their panties.

whats difficult to understand about that ?

petewho-- I'm not a big fan of Blake's tennis, but it's hard to argue that he didn't make the most of this talent. And, of course, Blake has already HAD his fair share of debilitating illness and major injury problems, to put it mildly.

Slate has a feature on wooden racquets and composite racquets and how today's players would fare with wooden racquets:

http://www.slatev.com/video/could-todays-tennis-pros-win-wood/

Well, if people find Dolly demeaning, they can always call him Alexandr or Dolgopolev and type his name out. Or find a new nickname. For me personally, when I scan over "Dolgo", part of my brain thinks it sees "Delpo" - the wishful thinking part, I suppose, as I truly miss Juan Martin.

I don't know - we could call him Vitamin D? Or Type A?

I sometimes have to get intravenous stuff, too - but I'm glad I don't feel ill "all the time".

creig bryan - it's great to see your Keep Smiling tag on here. :)

Chris- Blake reached no 4 in the world ( most top 5 players usually win a slam ) though there are exceptions like Bjorkman .

My point is that ( my little dolgo :) ) , can do a lot more , with far more variety than any American since the fab 4 ( agassi, pere , jim and mikey ) ,

Hes breake from the mould of players who all have look the same , pretty act the same and usually - for the better part have games that " manufactured " the same.

Hes more cut from the oldskool mold that creates the most memorable players i.e. players whose personality seemed to extend and transcend beyond the boundaries of their games , while reflecting their pesonalities within it ( even mynamesake had this )

From courier cramped style to Petes hang dog - son of BEEP - serve , they all had it until Fed came along with a little bit of everything , but not much of one thing.
You can debate this all you want , but Fed is not really exception , but rather very very good at everything .

Any way, Dolgo has the unbalanced balance that makes him more interesting to watch IMO than just a generation of clones who all do everything the same.

In the past it was the way where the guy who utilised their wepaons the best , dominated - and to be honest that was a lot more exciting than the same shades of gery we have now.

If it wasnt for the quality of Nadal / Fed - esp the rivalry it brought , Tennis would be dead , because Murray , Djoker and Delpo sure as hell dont do anything better or are any more appealing than likes of those bygone heroes like Andre , Jim or Pete at their best.

While Ferrer's a grizzled competitor and deservedly won the match, I like Dolgopolov's game more. If he learns from experience and keep improving, he'll be fun to watch.

I'm looking forward to Murray vs Lacko. I don't pick him to win, but Lacko plays a crisp game that could keep the contest interesting, if he's game for the duration. Hopefully Lacko's feeling good and brings his A-game, otherwise Murray will just paste him.

Murray will use his Scottish charm to put him to sleep with his " mean " variation of Nadals game.

If onyl he wore a tennis kilt, with BARRS Irn-bru logo on the back on it .

Enjoyed this article Pete. I have liked what bits I have seen of Dolgo play when I have managed to catch it on the Direct TC court feeds, etc. He has a fascinating game to go with his rather interesting looks (agree that he does have kinda androgynous looks that you could see in paintings of a Renaissance aristocrat).

It is too bad to hear about his disease- I hope he is able to rise more in the rankings despite it.

Thanks, Lady Julia. You bring a lot of interesting gifts here and to TW.

Alex will be back today in doubles--last match on Armstrong (available @USO live).

Generally speaking, giving a player a nickname is rather a term of affection providing it isn't obviously downright insulting or used in a derogatory manner. Dolgopolov is
quite an interesting character and certainly has the game to attract the public's attention. I wish him every success.

Ross - "Thanks, Lady Julia. You bring a lot of interesting gifts here and to TW."

Totally agree with you Ross. Really appreciate your perspective and thoughtful opinions ladyjulia!

Morning all -- propped my eyes open to watch a bit of Rafa -- highly entertaining match. Not used to the Darth Vader look on him though.

Wonderful story about Dolly (I like the nickname..)

"Blake reached no 4 in the world (most top 5 players usually win a slam ) though there are exceptions like Bjorkman"

petewho-- This is simply incorrect. If you look over the players who made it into the top five over the last 20 years you will find that the vast majority have not won a slam. Not even close. Just in the last decade (for year-end rankings), we have Murray, Davydenko, Soderling, Ferrer, Ljubicic, Coria. etc. It's not unusual.

My larger point was that it's particularly odd to "wish" injury on Blake simply because he's already suffered far more in this department than most. Can't think of any other current players who have come back from breaking their neck.

Thanks for the post Pete. A good one.

I've been fascinated by Dolgopolov for some time now, I think ever since he gave Nadal some small trouble earlier in the year.

I feel REALLY bad for this guy, I hope his health is ok :/

I'll definitely be solidly behind him from now on.

A rush of blood , I dont wish ill on any one ( if you knew my own history you know why ) but I simply am frustrated with the blandness of the tour .

Blakes not the worst culprit of this by a long shot , but he was never going to be real threat in the same way someone with talent and charisma to boot might be.

As soon a Fed leaves Tennisis going to be in helluva state for personalities - you almost wish McEnroe was 40 years younger then.

Nice post Pete, thanks a lot.

We say Nalby for Nalbandian etc., but the meaning of Dolly can indeed be demeaning, so I'll change it for Dolgy. I liked Dolly, but ok. And I like the player since I saw him play with Rafa not so long ago.

petewho et al.,
When I read "most top 5 players usually win a slam" I immediately thought that could not be true, so thanks Christopher for checking. But I did not need to check. My point is that checking is not necessary if you have some basic understanding of the combinatorics and probabilities involved. I often recommend the book "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences" ("El hombre anumérico" in Spanish) when I see these things.
A side point is, petewho, that you seem to invent "facts" too lightly. Shame on you.
And again wishing anybody illness, shame on you. Saying "Why couldnt it be somone with no talent like Fish or Blake that has this?" is not only logically close to magical thinking (as if there is a given illness that has to be assigned to one person or another) but also morally disgusting.

Pete, your post was a total fiasco, because "if you step on court, you're fit to play" (who said that? -the question is not rethorical, I think it was Fed but I'm not sure).
Of course I'm kidding. My point is: doesn't that statement sound uncompassionate and even cruel in the case of Dolgy? Well, for me it's the same in every case. Who can judge to what extent a tennis player's accomplishments (or a person's in general) are attributable to grace or hard work, to talent or will? To what extent his will is his own merit or part of his given nature? To what extent a players health or fitness is a gift of nature or his merit to take care of himself and put in the work? And to what extent his putting in the work is his merit or his nature? To what extent saying "I was sick" or "I was injured" is an excuse or a justification or a legitimate explanation? So let's give people the benefit of the doubt and let them talk about the elephant in the room. Federer having so few injuries is his merit or his luck? Rafa's fighting spirit is his merit or his luck? To what extent a player's accomplishments are due to talent or fitness or mentality, and to what extent those are his merit or his luck? I have no clue, and I DON'T REALLY CARE, because I just admire the miracle of animal coordination and neuronal and muscular agility and will they display, and don't dizzy my brain trying to assign merits or excuses.

Well, if the last paragraph was cumbersome, badly written, repetitive, recursive and even self-contradictory, that's good, because that's how it usually gets with those matters, and that was part of my point: don't go into that and just admire their achievements. Stop the gossip "he's a bad loser" because you simply cannot judge. Just admire what's admirable in this life while it lasts.

I'm sorry Dolgy has that sickness and I think it's perfectly legitimate to talk about it in terms of explanations (which are not excuses) and human sympathy. I wish him the best. And I also wish to make the point that we apply that same standard to any other player with any other ailment, big or small.

By the way, Delpo deserves his wrist injury because of his playstyle.
Yes, I'm kidding :-(

petewho, we cross-posted.
It seems I misunderstood you (like others) and thought you somehow wished the illness went to Fish or Blake (whom I like a lot, btw.)
It seems that's not the case, so my apologies.

Somehow related: yesterday I heard Rafa was asked (and I'm not quoting! just as it comes from my fallible memory) what his best weapon was: his shots, his head, or what.
And he answered: the shots are much more important than the head! If you have great shots and no head, you can still do well; but if you have great head and no shots, you can do nothing! And he laughed.

I knew it, of course, but he put it very well.
Sometimes I wish common sense were more common.

And Pete, nice try, but by the time you said "I have to admit, I was having fun with all of the obvious options" I already knew the previous paragraph was for real and feeling for the guy.
Good plan, bad execution, as they say. (But I don't blame you, this is just a blog ;-)

(or maybe I misunderstood your intentions --were you trying that we thought that paragraph were inventions you were entertaining? I admit to having reading understanding issues sometimes.)

Dolgopolov is the poster boy for druggies in tennis, the kid's father has been souping him up and juicing him up since he was 13. No wonder he's got blood problems, with all the EPO, CERA, and hi-tech steroids he's been on.

Mark my words if anybody tests positive in ATP it is going to be Dolgopolov.

I have marked many words by many people saying so and so tennis player is taking substances (mainly Nadal) and those words have basically never been true.
So my experience predicts your words won't be true either, mark them or not.

Donald Young is chip and charging...is this what it has become to?

Sorry wrong thread. lol

I agree that we sometimes rush to judgment that people "deserve" their injuries such as Nadal with his knees. It's never been proven that anything he's done causes the tendonitis. There's a good chance he was born with bad knees and was destined to have trouble since the day he took his first step.

A player's fitness and stamina, however, are a much different story. The stamina is a function of the time and hard work, or lack thereof, devoted to conditioning. This is why I have low tolerance for players like Djokovic, Monfils, Baghdatis, Bartoli, Kanepi, etc. to name a few.

Watched all Dolgopolov's matches in Toronto. He'd lose the first set, then win the next two. Except against Berdych. He won the first and lost the next two. Alexandr was flamboyant and versatile. He hit flat forehands, and looped them. Had a consistent backhand slice, good volleys, the nerve to hit a drop shot off a serve, and a serve that rocketed off his racquet before you knew it, as you said Pete.

He also annoyed his opponents with the hangdog behavior, after every point. It was hot in Toronto and I didn't know anything about his unnamed blood disorder -- and I hope the juice story isn't true. Against Phillipp Pestzchner Dolgo, which is his 'official' nickname according the ATP website, the kid hypnotized the German into believing he'd retire after, well, the next point, then the next point. But Dolgo spun the ball, looked as if he'd fall over between points, and once another one began he ran like Wiley Coyote -- his eyes pealed on the yellow fuzzy object of desire.

Berdych had more than a few looks up to his box after Dolgo whizzed a few winning shots by the big man. Berdych had a smile on his face, but he wasn't having fun. Yet, he broke in the third and got the 'w.' Top ten, versus a hopeful kid that might not have a lot of desire to win. I hope not. If he could tame the wild side, we'd have an entertaining youngster. But I've been waiting for Gulbis to come around for years, too.

Phillippe lost and didn't shake Dolgo's hand at the net, which didn't bother the kid. He signed some autographs and away he went with his thin-as-a-rail girlfriend.

sounds like Dolgopolov suffers from chronic pernicious anemia. If so it's surprising he's able to stay on the tour at all, much less stay in the top 50.

Last night was quite shocking. Nadal was taken to two tiebreakers by a player ranked #93 in the world. That does not bode well for his US Open run.

Great post, Pete. I am glad D. is still able to play the game at the pro level. Wish him best luck.

Well that explains the scoreline because I really was expecting a more competitive match between he and Ferrer. He's still one to watch for me though.

Well this thread has really turned into something I was expecting. If Dolgo was juicing I would expect him to be a bit bigger than he is.

I don't think he is top 10 material but I like the fact he can trouble some of the bigger guys. Once again I hope he can manage his illness and stay on the tour.

embug, nice post.

JJB, fair enough, but still not my position. Djokovic's problems with breathing are another very clear example of someone with lots of chances to just have been handed a bad hand. Even the extent to which a person can have the will to walk the extra mile into their conditioning is not clear to me (I guess I'd have lots of trouble with the philosophy of freedom or, more practically, being a judge when judgement must be made). Luckily in tennis there is no need to judge! So I stick to admiring the admirable (of what there's tons!) and be happy with it.

Swiss Bliss, don't be so sure. I heard Gabashvili played very well, and first rounds are often like that (and not even straight-set affairs). Rafa served better than ever (at least faster), and his main issue prolly being his backhand still has time to improve before the big challenges (semifinal, if he gets there of course). Count off Rafa at your own peril :)

Wow, Dolgopolov has really shined through. Great article Pete.

"He was a semifinalist at Queens Club, and at Wimbledon he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round, 10-8 in the fifth."

Pardon? He was a semifinalist in Eastbounre ;)

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