TCU Men's Tennis - 2020-2021

[Jared7]

Taylor Fritz ended up beating Johnson 4 and 4 so he's Cam's next opponent in the semis at Los Cabos. He's ranked 37th and has had almost as good of a year as Norrie, reaching 3 semis. He had a freakish leg injury at the French, but bounced back quickly playing with a leg brace at Wimbledon. The brace is now gone and he now appears healthy. The winner of Isner-Nakashima will be the finals opponent. Can Cam win his first ever ATP title?

 

[Atom]

Norrie playing now on the Tennis Channel

 

[Jared7]

Norrie playing now on the Tennis Channel

And Cam is in a zone so far - leading 3-1, up a break in the 1st set. This is the 7th time they've played each other and they're tied 3-all; the most recent a Fritz win at Miami earlier this year.

Norrie takes the first set 6-3. It was the early break that did it - Fritz started slow but revved it up after the first few games.

And Cam gets an early break in the 2nd set! 1-0!

3-0 now - Norrie up 2 breaks and cruising. Fritz appears very frustrated.

 

[Jared7]

And Cam takes it easily 3 and 1 over Fritz - advancing to his 4th final this year against either Isner or Nakashima tomorrow. He's playing just about the best tennis I've ever seen him play. He looks as fit as I've ever seen him and he's like a human backboard; making very few mistakes. (Although I think that new tattoo might be one...). Can he finally get that breakthrough ATP title??

 

[jake102]

And Cam takes it easily 3 and 1 over Fritz - advancing to his 4th final this year against either Isner or Nakashima tomorrow. He's playing just about the best tennis I've ever seen him play. He looks as fit as I've ever seen him and he's like a human backboard; making very few mistakes. (Although I think that new tattoo might be one...). Can he finally get that breakthrough ATP title??

Yeah that was a beautiful performance. His ground game is absurd right now. His improvement is unreal…. Rare to see this type of jump in mid 20s

 

[Jared7]

Yeah that was a beautiful performance. His ground game is absurd right now. His improvement is unreal…. Rare to see this type of jump in mid 20s

The ATP 2-year roll ranking system has really obscured his rise. In my view, he is clearly Top 20 and possibly Top 10 right now (officially 30th). This is really kind of stunning. Djoker's Grand Slam chances are certainly the top tennis story of the year but behind that it could just well be Norrie's advance. But he really needs that first title tomorrow.

 

[Longfrog]

His improvement is unreal…. Rare to see this type of jump in mid 20s

Has Lugones been getting some of the credit for Cam’s improvement? I don’t get to watch the broadcast too often. I remember thinking it was a little weird to pick his college teammate but it’s obviously working.

 

[Longfrog]

In my view, he is clearly Top 20 and possibly Top 10 right now (officially 30th). This is really kind of stunning.

This list of guys who’ve played in 4 finals this year has to be pretty short. And he’s done it on grass, clay, and now hard courts.

 

[Jared7]

Brandon Nakashima beat Isner 7-5, 6-4 last night, so Cam will be going for his first-ever ATP title against the 19 year old Californian who is ranked ATP #134. Nakashima graduated early from HS and spent one semester at Virginia before turning pro in 2019. In his first ATP event - the Delray Beach tourney in 2020 - he beat Norrie to advance to the quarters. His first Slam main draw was a few weeks ago at Wimbledon where he ended up losing to Fritz. He's unseeded at Los Cabos, but he beat J.J. Wolf, Sam Querrey, Jordon Thompson and now Isner so he's on a hot streak too. Cam will be heavily favored though.

 

[jake102]

Yeah Nakashima will be a tough draw. Very sneaky finals opponent. Obviously Norrie will be nicely favored and he will win if he plays like he did against Fritz

 

[jake102]

The ATP 2-year roll ranking system has really obscured his rise. In my view, he is clearly Top 20 and possibly Top 10 right now (officially 30th). This is really kind of stunning. Djoker's Grand Slam chances are certainly the top tennis story of the year but behind that it could just well be Norrie's advance. But he really needs that first title tomorrow.

Agreed. Norrie is easily a top 20 guy at this point, and I think by this time next year he may be inside top 10.

 

[Jared7]

Has Lugones been getting some of the credit for Cam’s improvement? I don’t get to watch the broadcast too often. I remember thinking it was a little weird to pick his college teammate but it’s obviously working.

Among the tennis media, yes, Facundo is often shown on the Tennis Channel and mentioned in the commentary. In the wider sports media, no, they've barely noticed Cam, why would they notice Facu?

Norrie is now tied with Djoker for most match W's this year. Only Tsitsipas and Rublev have more. (Of course he's played more tourneys). Tonight's final is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. (CDT) on the Tennis Channel.

 

[Jared7]

Norrie has taken the first set against Nakashima 6-2 at Los Cabos! Looking good!

And up an early break in the 2nd 2-1.
But Nakashima breaks right back in what was easily his best game of the match 2-all.
3-2! The Camster breaks back himself with a poor service game from Nakashima.
4-2! Cam takes control with a really nice forehand down the line and then a smash.
5-2! Cam crushes some winners for another break! He'll serve for his first ATP title!

 

[Longfrog]

Cam's winning 59% of return points.
Closing in...

 

[Jared7]

Cam takes the Los Cabos title with an easy 2 and 2 W over Nakashima! Just a little nervousness in that one break from Nakashima, so it wasn't as good of a performance as against Fritz in the semis, but it was still solid. After 4 previous finals losses, he finally broke through. (By contrast Auger-Alliaseme has lost 8 straight finals). He's won 3 Futures and 2 Challengers but never a ATP tour-level event. This should earn him some nice ATP points and continue his upward climb in the rankings.

Congrats to Cam - the best current ATP player who played at a U.S. college!

 

[jake102]

Awesome for Norrie! Huge! He’s playing so well

side note - he has the money, needs to hire a sports psychologist for his serve toss issues. Really bad

 

[Longfrog]

Total demolition this week. Played eight sets and won em all. First one he won in a tiebreaker, next seven were all 6-3 or better.
Now on to Atlanta where he's the #3 seed. Gets a bye but will have a tough one right off the bat as he gets winner of Anderson vs Kyrgios.

 

[Longfrog]

 

[Longfrog]

side note - he has the money, needs to hire a sports psychologist for his serve toss issues. Really bad

Have to admit that after the Ramos Vinolas match when he couldn't get over the line, plus the poor performance on center court vs Federer, I have wondered whether the moment does kind of get to him. I didn't see the match tonight but social media definitely backing up what you/Jared said. With how often he finds himself in high leverage matches these days, any help at all in those situations would be a good investment.

 

[Longfrog]