[federer express]

I remember seeing youzhny for the first time at wimbledon in 2001, where he lost a tough 4 setter to rafter. And earlier that year at queens he beat andy roddick in straight sets. So youzhny who is regarded as incredibly talented, has in the last 5 years done nothing in comparison to a guy who is thought to have considerably less natural ability in roddick. Why? Roddick's serve? No...youzhny's mentality! I could have pulled my hair out when i saw him gift nadal their match at the aussie open this year. He is throwing away big chances every year to make a real breakthrough.

At least since wimbledon he has shown some consistency. I hope he maintains it, because if he can there is no reason why he cant be a consistent top 10 player and a threat at every major tournamnet. He is great to watch, with a stunning backhand and would be a good addition to the latter stages of any tournament.

 

[oneandonlyhsn]

Misha is 1 of those who has enormous potential but needs a new brain

 

[Saumon]

at least misha won the davis cup

 

[adee-gee]

His forehand isn't strong enough in my opinion. It's ok, and his serve is ok but I'd say they both need to be better if he's to make the top 10. Backhand is a class shot no doubt about it, and he's very talented but I agree mentally he's not quite good enough.

The match point he missed against Nadal was very funny, he had an extremely easy putaway if I remember correctly.

 

[federer express]

His forehand isn't strong enough in my opinion. It's ok, and his serve is ok but I'd say they both need to be better if he's to make the top 10. Backhand is a class shot no doubt about it, and he's very talented but I agree mentally he's not quite good enough.

The match point he missed against Nadal was very funny, he had an extremely easy putaway if I remember correctly.

you do remember it correctly. it was a shocking miss....and off topic, you're back?

 

[adee-gee]

you do remember it correctly. it was a shocking miss....and off topic, you're back?

I had money on Raf. It was one of my most pleasing victories ever

And off topic, it looks that way

 

[federer express]

I had money on Raf. It was one of my most pleasing victories ever

I had money on youzhny. It was one of my most annoying losses ever

But more importantly i think of youzhny as comparable to gasquet. Both incredibly talented shot-makers who are good for the game as a viewer and fan. I really hope he has a good US Open and kicks on from there

 

[Sjengster]

He's got talent and style, but rather like Robredo I don't think he has enough weight of shot to be a Top 10 player. His strokes are too flat and fragile, they break down under pressure, and he doesn't serve big enough to worry the best players or possess enough weapons to dispose of the consistent baseliners. See virtually any match against Coria, especially that 0 and 0 beatdown in Stuttgart two years ago, for what I'm talking about. The AO has definitely been a case of missed opportunities, let's not forget the collapse against Roddick there two years ago when he was only a handful of service holds away from a first ever Slam QF.

 

[federer express]

His strokes are too flat and fragile, they break down under pressure, and he doesn't serve big enough to worry the best players or possess enough weapons to dispose of the consistent baseliners.

i dont think he is really lacking anywhere except mentally. its his mental fragility that causes the collapses and breakdown of his shots. besides his backhand, he is a good mover and has a better transition game than most. and i'm sure he could use his serve more effectively. agassi's became much better over the years and so could mikhail's. tommy has a similar problem ie in the head. also robredo is stubborn on court and refuses to change a losing tactic and gets himself drawn into hitting contests with bigger hitters than himself. an example being his defeat to roddick at the us open last year. (to mention just one)

 

[Sjengster]

Well, the mind is certainly a big weakness - it's a Russian phenomenon, but you can't expect anything else when you have a fired-up maniac like Sobkin as your coach, pumping fists at you from the box and clutching his head in his hands despairingly when you make a bad error. Honestly, I would hate to have someone like that coaching me, and Youzhny is rather like Gambill in previous years in that he gets far too worked up and highly strung at important moments. I feel sorry for him at times, tennis seems like one big ordeal.

He served well for a while against Roddick in Cincy, but then his game fell apart. I really don't think it can ever be big enough to be a major weapon, it won't improve to an Agassi level, let alone a Federer/Roddick one. Robredo is simply a poor man's everything; his main weapons are his speed and his forehand, but I could easily name half a dozen quicker players and a dozen better forehands. Thus as you say, he tries to match fire with fire and makes tons of cheap errors by muscling the ball, or else he goes into retriever mode and is overwhelmed by players with a greater weight of shot. And it doesn't matter which style he uses against Roddick, it isn't going to get him a win. That priceless moment at the US Open where he tried to hold up Roddick midway through his service motion was a sign of just how desperate he had become.

 

[federer express]

you can't expect anything else when you have a fired-up maniac like Sobkin as your coach, pumping fists at you from the box and clutching his head in his hands despairingly when you make a bad error.

possibly the most accurate description ever given on these boards!

 

[adee-gee]

Youzhny does amuse me when he shouts and fist pumps when he wins a point at 40-0 down on Roddicks serve :shrug:

 

[propi]

He's got talent and style, but rather like Robredo I don't think he has enough weight of shot to be a Top 10 player. His strokes are too flat and fragile, they break down under pressure, and he doesn't serve big enough to worry the best players or possess enough weapons to dispose of the consistent baseliners. See virtually any match against Coria, especially that 0 and 0 beatdown in Stuttgart two years ago, for what I'm talking about. The AO has definitely been a case of missed opportunities, let's not forget the collapse against Roddick there two years ago when he was only a handful of service holds away from a first ever Slam QF.

Robredo will reach top 10
I hope it doesn't take it much longer

 

[Action Jackson]

There are more frustrating players than Youzhny, but he can play well on all surfaces and as for making the top 10 anything can happen, but I see him somewhere between 15-30 as a general rule, then again he has that much more natural ability than Davydenko and the PMK has settled in the top 10 quite well so far.

 

[federer express]

come on mikhail! win this tie-break!!!

 

[adee-gee]

Allez Xavier (I have money on him )

 

[federer express]

Allez Xavier (I have money on him )

it's looking safe...

 

[d_b_prince]

Bump.

 

[Action Jackson]

The Colonel has made the top 10 and good to see.

 

[Alex999]

I like Youzhny. Although I'm not sure. Marat is going to be next #1.