Honestly I expect Ocheatnik to win, but if Don makes it happen, I'll be so happy!! This has been a great week, so happy and proud of the progress Don has made. One more win and top 100 again
Comes out in a couple of weeks I guess since the RG cut off came this week. Maybe like 2-3 weeks. I'm just so happy he's back on track. This is basically the best run of form he's had since he made the top 100 in 2007 at the end of the year. He has a few more challengers coming up after a week off to gain more points as well.
The good thing for Don is, he has these next two tournaments coming up where he can gain points, before his Carson and Ojai points come off in late May. He defends over 100 points those back to back weeks, meaning he needs to try to buffer those lost points by performing well on the clay.
Then in late June-early July, he defends over 80 points in back to back tournaments at Winnetka and Aptos. However, after that, he doesn't defend much for the rest of the season. So, he took advantage of the poor start of 2010 he had and gained a lot of points. I think he's in the proper mindset where these things won't affect him too much and he's just going to keep at it, keep working hard, and playing at a virtual home event in Georgia should be a good thing for Donald.
I really hope Don plays and beats Matosevic again sometime soon. That would be a huge win for Don for so many reasons. It really feels like this may be Don's moment for real, not just a flash in the pan.
DY is playing the USTA French Open wildcard tournament this week: http://bit.ly/f7WxaN
I don't know why there are only 6 entrants. Notably absent are Harrison and Sock.
That's a weak draw. Hopefully Don takes it, and doesn't wear himself out too much. Should be great for his preparation for the two challenger clay events coming up.
I think he has improved his fitness and speed, he's definitely gotten fuller. But most importantly, he's more confident. And that's been the key. He's older, he's wiser, and he believes in himself.
Domination. Don should beat Tim, 2-1 H2H advantage, confident and he should be better on clay. Hope he gets it done. Back to back major direct MDs would be a good thing for Don, a reward for his play this season.
He's 6-2 against Smyczek. He could possibly play Rome too, he's 5th on the ALT list for qualies, could play in Nice qualies as well. Be nice to see him in one of these two tournaments to prepare him for Roland Garros.
The H2H is indeed 6-2 (2-2 in the last 4 meetings). Maybe it will be a real battle. It will be best of 5 sets, correct?
I don't see how Don can play Rome, especially if he goes deep in Savannah. Also, he is not on the Nice Qual list. I guess he could ask for a wildcard if he wins tomorrow and doesn't have to play FO qualies.
But the important thing is, Don won the H2H last year and has a clear advantage in this matchup. It would be nice to see Don play one of the qualifying events on clay in Europe, I'm guessing if he beats Smyczek he will for some practice before RG.
He lost to smyczek in 4 sets. He will have to qualify to get into the French open, probably better for don anyways so he can get some points. Hopefully he does well in sarasota and savannah.
You can probably see why Don has been so motivated this year. I guess as a big "fuck you" to all of his doubters and those who he feels have wronged him.
Honestly, this will probably help him for next week, if the reason he lost is more mental than physical or tactical, then he'll probably use this anger as fuel. At least I hope so.
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