After watching tennis for many decades, it's been a long time since I have found a reason to be excited about it. While I have great respect for Federer and Nadal and their accomplishments, it's not healthy for the sport to be so dominated by two players. This is why I find Denis' rise so exciting. No one knows what he'll achieve, least of all himself, but at least, seeing fresh new players like him and the other NEXTGEN players, gives me hope that the game will experience some much-needed rebirth.
I haven't sat up late watching a tennis match in decades, but last night I was glued to the Davis Cup match. Here are some of my thoughts about what I saw:
Denis has an incredible amount of talent which still needs to be molded and watched over. But, he has terrific instincts on the court, and knows how to change his game when he needs to. His ground strokes are gorgeous with a great deal of pace and depth, but his net game needs a lot of work. Still, I like his instinct to go to the net so that it's not all about just hitting long balls at each other until the other guy tires out. That is boring tennis. In fact, players like him, need to be encouraged to develop a net game to be a better overall player.
What impresses me the most is probably the same thing others have mentioned. His mental fortitude. He is so strong mentally, with a wonderful ability to focus. He fully believes in himself, and seems to be more mature than his 18 years. I really like the way he always acknowledges the people who help him, and his team. He is very gracious that way, and it's a nice trait to see in someone his age.
The one thing I find a bit worrisome is that there will be a tendency to over-book himself. He also needs to step back and take good care of himself. His body is still developing, and this isn't a time to push him too hard. There must be a balance between the two.
In the age of the Internet where it's tough to find privacy when you're a professional athlete, I hope he will find a way to have his private/personal life. He deserves that, and let's hope the people around him will honour that, and let him have much-needed personal space.
Hoping to see more of this amazing young athlete.
I haven't sat up late watching a tennis match in decades, but last night I was glued to the Davis Cup match. Here are some of my thoughts about what I saw:
Denis has an incredible amount of talent which still needs to be molded and watched over. But, he has terrific instincts on the court, and knows how to change his game when he needs to. His ground strokes are gorgeous with a great deal of pace and depth, but his net game needs a lot of work. Still, I like his instinct to go to the net so that it's not all about just hitting long balls at each other until the other guy tires out. That is boring tennis. In fact, players like him, need to be encouraged to develop a net game to be a better overall player.
What impresses me the most is probably the same thing others have mentioned. His mental fortitude. He is so strong mentally, with a wonderful ability to focus. He fully believes in himself, and seems to be more mature than his 18 years. I really like the way he always acknowledges the people who help him, and his team. He is very gracious that way, and it's a nice trait to see in someone his age.
The one thing I find a bit worrisome is that there will be a tendency to over-book himself. He also needs to step back and take good care of himself. His body is still developing, and this isn't a time to push him too hard. There must be a balance between the two.
In the age of the Internet where it's tough to find privacy when you're a professional athlete, I hope he will find a way to have his private/personal life. He deserves that, and let's hope the people around him will honour that, and let him have much-needed personal space.
Hoping to see more of this amazing young athlete.