Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Not Quite Mid-Year Review
Well someone posted today about how boring the blog has been and I agree. The blog has gotten very boring over the last week or so. See what happens when everyone is kind to each other. Yawn. No surprises in the winners of the 4.5 and 5.0 singles down in Corpus. Never heard of the guy who won the 4.os. Next Major Zone a little more than 3 weeks away up in Waco, home of the best tennis facility of any of the Texas Major Zones. Before that, there is Copperfield locally for those interested. Deadline is May 9. Usually a fun tournament if for no other reason than John Kutrick keeps the keg of beer flowing all weekend long, which is great for those who lose early as well as those who care more about free beer than how they play. With 4 Major Zones come and gone, have there been any major surprises to you guys? Players you would have thought would have a great year in 2008 who so far have not? Players who seem to be on the fade? Players you never heard of that have emerged as forces? Newly bumped 4.5s who have either exceeded or disappointed since moving up from 4.0? Players who seem to have disappeared from the scene? Alfonso Rodgriquez coming back looking like he has spent the last couple of years on the tour? Players you have completely grown tired of talking about?
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Journeyman, disappointments I’m sure we all had many this year, but what everyone seem to forget is that it's only early May and the competition is just getting "HOT". Good luck to everyone the rest of the year! Where is the Great "S"?
So far in 2008 the tournament scene has been lame and boring. Maybe we need Tim Green around to get people fired up. The only truly exciting event so far was the 5.0 at the Gallery Furniture.
The 4.5 draws have been laced with average-at-best players and the 4.0 draws are absolutely pathetic (there is a reason you've never heard of the 4.0 Corpus winner Journeyman).
Maybe the 2nd half of the major zone season will be better but so far I'd have to say its the worst year I've seen in at least the last 10.
"So far I'd have to say its the worst year I've seen in at least the last 10."
Wow, that's a pretty strong statement dude, not that I don't disagree with it.
the Great "S", was over hyped and there's too much pressure for him to play. he joined the summer league and haven't even played a match.
5.0 draws have been disappointing but continue a trend in place over the past few years.
4.5s - Alfonso in the mix with Reader and Dibua last year would have been interesting but his winning 3 in a row has nothing to do with weak draws. He is good.
4.5s - Where have the top dog 4.0s from last year disappeared to? Kern has played all of 1 tourney that I am aware of. Warren, only 1 major zone. Janek? Did he move from the state or something?
Doubles has bee a major disappointment at all levels. Where are the strong teams that showed up consistently last year?
This year is truly the year of "The LOSERS"...
Janek been injured so he hasn't been playing much. I did notice him and Foad sign up for 4.5 KTSU Classic (Non-Sanctioned).
The 5.0 field is always expected to have few entries. More players should make effort to play more events. Does anyone think the 4.5s has gotten boring because Rodriguez is Sandbagging, why wont he move up to 5.0 since he is so good. See how he fares vs. Green, Dibua, Reader, Morton.
Alfonso has already beaten Tim and that was back when Tim was playing a whole lot more than he does now. Reader is great but I really think Alfonso would get him on fitness. Now Dibua would be a great match for Alfonso. I would have to call that one a push.
Lord of the Strings, once again we're not worthy of your trashing. Dude, it would be awesome for Solis & Rodriguez to play 5.0s in Alamo City. Also throw in Knutson for an added bonus!
As much as I hate to admit it,Reader is right,if your going to accuse someone of cheating,dont be a whimp and hide behind anonymous and then give bullshit excuses about it.Whoever you are,you must be a big pussy.As much of a dick Reader is,at least hes got the balls to say his name as well as the game to back it up.Just because you dont like the dude,the fact that he likes to party,do drugs and drink as much as everybody says he does,he must be a very talented individual to kick as much ass as he does.Im not a stalker, I just looked at his win/loss record from this year and the last.
I personally wouldn't say half of the things Reader says in here b/c I don't want to get beat up or shot at!
Alot of what is said about individuals in here is basically just a bunch of cheap shots and classless. I understand Reader's frustration when people talk shit and post anonymous, he just needs to leave it alone and let them talk shit. He obviously is a good player, and I have played against him in doubles before. My experience was nothing but pleasant in regards to him, but his partner did throw some tantrums. But they were nothing i havent seen before from other players.
i say no to drugs
When did that start?
Yeah,if Reader sucks,then why has he only lost a hand full of matches in two years? Looks like hes not to shabby in doubles either. Sounds pretty good to me.Has any one seen him play that might have some input?
Who said Reader sucks? Only thing I read is that someone thinks a guy who has won 3 4.5 major zones in a row could hang with Reader and probably edge him in the fitness category. Doesn't sound like much of an insult to me.
I was referring to previous comments about Reader in the past. I Mean some of the comments are pretty ruthless.
I played Reader in Houston in the mens 30s back in 2003.He was a very cool dude.Beat me in straight sets too.By the way,sumbitch hit the best drop shot Ive ever seen.
If you have never seen Reader play, the guys is very talented. Despite what everyone says about his fitness, alleged drinking and weed smoking, and whatever the hell else has been said, the guy can play some fu**in tennis. He may not appear to the the norm for what everyone sees as a tennis player, but get on the court with him before you start trash talking him.
Long live lord of the strings a.k.a. Thomas Reader.
Journeyman, how do you recover from being up 5-love, 40-love in a set and end up losing it. I saw some dude do that and I truly felt sorry for him. BTW he lost that match 7-5, 6-0.
rodriguez would get killed by about 5 players in 5.0.
Out of curiosity, who would kill Rodriguez that currently plays 5.0 tournaments?
Besides Brian Smith, name one. You said killed, so that implies a lot more than you think someone like Reader could probably beat Rodriguez. Killed implies a beating like 6-1, 6-2 or something like that. So please, list away.
That guy,(Reader)has got one of the nastiest kick serves Ive ever seen as well.But what the fuck is up with the nose ring?Looks like that hurt.
Reader would beat Rodriguez just based on his talent and weird spin.But it would be close unless Reader jumped on him early.I saw him do that against Herb Morton in the Coke Quarter finals,very impressive match.
I have played both Reader and Rodriguez. They are both very strong. Reader is tricky and his being a lefty makes some of his shots deadly. Rodriguez has a very strong serve, strong forehand, solid backhand, and solid net game. This would be a toss-up. I like Reader too but it is a stretch to declare him the obvious victor in this match up.
amit garg would kill rodriguez. reader would beat him pretty badly. arun nanjappa would kill rodriguez. ricardo rivas would beat him comfortably. brian smith would kill rodriguez. those are 5. i'm sure that means there more. if he disagree, then he should play 5.0 and see what happen.
2 of the guys you named have never played a tournament so I would say they are not quite relevant. There are plenty of guys with a 5.0rating that would beat Alfonso but this is supposed to be about guys who actually play tournaments. I will agree that Amit would more than likely beat Alfonso. But again, I don't know about kill. I could see it being something like 6-3, 6-3. A solid win but not a killing. Reader could win but no way would he kill him. Smith would probably kill him. So would James Blake, which is about as relevant as the other 2 names you listed.
Would Sarosh kill Alfonso? Where have all the Sarosh lovers gone anyway?
how about dibua? that would be a contrast in styles
sarosh aint even in that league.
"Sarosh aint even in that league."
Amen to that brother.
The only person that might KILL Rodriguez is Arun Nanjappa, the rest of the guys mentioned would beat him, but i doubt kill him is a good way to describe Rodriguez losing to them.
Arun with fresh legs would kill anyone. he's just that good.
umm sure. rodriguez game matches well with nanjappa. both steady consistent from back. i think you would surprised. brian smith and amit garg would match better against rodriguez with their games. i think reader would match well with rodriguez also. by the way what happened to trautman? just because he lost badly once doesnt mean he shouldnt be mentioned among these names right
Breaking News! Sarosh won his first 4.5 league match 6-0, 6-0. didn't even break a sweat, because the other team defaulted the line.
"arun with fresh legs would kill anyone". are you serious? he's good, but not thaaaat good.
I met Reader and thought just the opposite of what Im hearing.The guy isnt cocky at all in person,which tells me hes just having fun with all those pricks hating on him.The truth is,he parties and still whips ass!That might stir up some jealousy.
Troutman quit once, then lost badly to rodriquez, that makes it 2loses in back to back tourneys. And he has the strokes to compete with any of the players mentioned above but lacks the mental toughness needed to fight and gring matches vs. these guys.
Interesting tidbit....So far this year, there were 326 players who played at least 1 3.5 tournament match, 353 players who played at least 1 4.0 tournament match, 189 players who played at least 1 4.5 tournament match, and a whooping 33who have played at least 1 5.0 tournament match. That is quite a drop off from 4.5 participation to the 5.0s. Probably won't change much either cause there will not be that many local guys that play the 5.0 level at the upcoming major zones whereas there will be pleny of locals that come out for the other events. Alfonso could move up now and still have a good shot of finishing the year as #1 at 5.0s, depending on how many majors Reader and Green go to.
that should have said "a whopping 33".
I have played Rodriguez, Tim, and Joe. Rodriguez is no doubt the best of those three players. Rod. could have easily won the 5.0 Corpus.
I have played Alfonso, Tim, Schornick, both Dibuas, Reader, and Amit Garg. And I have lost to them all badly, though I did manage a couple of wins against one of these guys. I would say Reader is the one that can make you feel completely foolish out on the court with some of the spins he produces. He basically yanks you all over the court like a puppet on a string. Amit is probably the all around strongest of the group with solid fundamentals in every category of the game. Green has the best net game. Schornick is in your face competitive and a very tricky lefty, just like Reader but not as talented in the shot making department. The Dibuas are just complete athletic beasts with an ability to do something big with the ball anywhere on the court. Of all of these, Rodgriguez reminds me the most of Amit in that his game is that well rounded. He could is definitely capable of beating every one of these guys with the possible exception of Amit.
instead of people trying to guess who you are, just tell us since i for one dont wanna look up who you might be...
Copperfields 4.5 draw is going to rival any Major Zone this year. Have you all seen the players that have signed up?
Red
Herb Morton
Kris Knutson
Greg Schmucker
Chris Paciotti
Also Kelly Ward is playing Open as well as both of the Dibua's.
Question though where is Foad?
Foad sucks
Janek and Foad signed up for 4.5 KTSU Classic (Non-Sanctioned). It runs the same weekend as Copperfields tourney.
Looking at the top seeds in the Copperfield.....who do you think poses a serious threat if they are playing well......?
The Copperfield 4.5 and Open draw are really good this year.
Picks for Cooperfield:
Men's Open Singles - Kelly Ward
Men's 5.0 Singles - John Patch
Men's 4.5 Singles - Kris Knutson (sorry Goldberg)
Men's 4.0 Singles - James Rice
Men's 3.5 Singles - ???
I pick Daniel Morales for Copperfield 4.5 draw
Morales...?? I think the finals will be Schmucker vs. Halm...........any other predictions....?
4.5 winner will be Red Benzon, if he shows up.
Dude....Schmucker will beat Halm
No....Halm will beat Schmucker...!!! It will be close though.....Who is Red Benzon
They ought to make Copperfield a 200 pts. Event b/c of all the good players in it. This tourney has always been tough to win in any division and is one of my favorites of the year. Good luck to everyone this weekend!
As big of a tennis city as Houston is, surprisingly we only have one Major Zone, and one 200 point tournament. GO FIGURE!!!
Copperfield, get an upgrade to 200 points. If Beaumont can be a 200 point tournament, I doubt the Copperfield would be denied. Of course, the more points, the more entries. Have to have the court availability to do it. Are any other clubs willing to give up member time for Copperfield?
I don't think 200pt status is something that you just have to pay up for. Copperfield is a great little club and runs a good tournament but I would not see a 200 pt tourney being in the cards for a facility with 10 courts in use. Beaumont has a 200pt tourney for the same reason that Abilene has a major zone. It is the only reason anyone from out of town would go to those events. I don't see USTA contemplating how they can get more non-Houston players to show up at Copperfield. And Red Benzon will win the 4.5 draw if he shows up for his matches.
Copperfield tourney for its share size and points (100 pts) sure packs up a lot of good players! Unfortunately, 100 pts ain't gonna cut it when you are chasing points to finish in top 8 for the "Players Masters" in Austin in November!
with the amount of tennis that Red plays, 7 days a week, he better win the tournament. otherwise, i pick Halm. Halm is an around court player, and Schmucker is just a consistant baseliner.
Go FOAD!!!!
Halm wins Copperfield!!! Dude are on on something or what! No Fat Boy who smokes (with exception to Thomas Reader) will win this tourney in 4.5s.
Just because someone is a "fat boy", does not mean they cannot play tennis and be competitive. You might want to give the guy some credit, he is out there in the summer heat competing. Where are you going to be? On your fat a** at home drinking beer and pork rinds?
You got that right dude!
Fat boys can hit tennis. Lets name some names with their approximate weights.
AMEN to that.
The queen of the strings has spoken, so now we all must listen.
Halm won Lost Forest Open.......thats not the most difficult tournament of the year but it is not easy.
Halm does have an all around court game. In addition, he moves extremely quickly....
Halm is not actually that fat anymore....I still don't think he wins Copperfield///
Red is just as fat as ever but I still think he does win. I would love to see him playing against Knutson just to see the look on his face as Knutson unleashes his unique blend of shit tennis. It would be lefty on lefty and Red wants to be at the net so I do not think Knutson's crap would work against Red.
How about James Rice winning the 4.0s? He's been away for too long but he can match up and beat anybody in that draw. Welcome back Rice.
Dude....I am a firm believer that Halm can toe the line with anybody in 4.5 or 5.0 and have them thinking twice if they can win the match....!!!!
Copperfield favorites
Red
Herb
David M.
Red was bumped to 5.0 last year until he won his protest
I know that I cant compete with the Elite players but I Can compete with just about anybody for a 2 out 3 set match in 4.5's. There are no Readers,Dibuas and no Sandbagging League Players playing in Copperfield so I should be fine. I respect Morales,Schmucker,Kallus,Goldberg,Knutson,Mcmullan,Halm but at the same time their ability to play at High Level consistently is what gets them Through a tournament. I'm just trying to compete and build mental toughness nothing more. I wouldn't count me or Herb out though because we have played some big matches before. Best of luck to all playing this weekend.
Red
Yeah the 4.5 draw is really loaded with some good players. I think Schmucker, Red, and Morton would be my picks. Schmucker because he never tires and has a very good baseline game, Red really good serve and an awesome net game, and Morton has a good serve and a really nice slice backhand.
Looking forward to some good tennis this weekend.
James Rice is a nice guy and a solid player but he is not ready to win a tournament just yet. Give him time and he'll be on top of the 4.0 world again soon.
Where's Kallus? Doesn't he usually play Copperfield? I bet he did not sign up because the draw looked too strong and he knew he didn't have a chance of winning. Schmucker, did you scare him out of playing?
Kallus is going to be out of town this week and won't be able to get back in time to play his first Rd. on Friday. He ain't scared of anyone so quit picking on the poor guy.
How come nobody ever mentions Goldberg in the Fatboy conversations
I'm sticking to my guns and going with James Rice in 4.0s Singles. He is the only complete player in the draw and if he starts playing some MZs, he couuld finish the year as No. 1 in that division. As for 4.5s, it will be interesting to see if Schmucker shows up for his 2nd Rd. match vs. Knutson. For the records, Knutson owns Schmucker with an impressive 8-1. My guess is Schmucker will be a no show b/c he has to work that day! My pick in 4.5s is Red Benzon and in 5.0s I go along with John Patch. Men's Open winner is gonna be Brian Smith. Nuff said.
You seem overly knowledgable regarding Greg's lifetime record vs. Knutson. You aren't by any chance, oh I don't know, maybe....Knutson.
I really doubt Knutson is 8-1 against Schmucker.
Me no Knutson, but I'm betting on him to have a walk over over Schmucker in the 2nd Rd.
Who is this Red Benzon and how come he hasn't played any 4.5 tournaments before....?
The Coke 4.0 winner will win this tournament too.
"The Coke 4.0 winner will win this tournament too."
Are you saying in 4.0s or 4.5s?
You obviously have never played league. Red is one of the most active and visible players in Houston. In fact, from what I understand, league tennis is pretty much his full time profession. He just doesn't play tournaments all that often. Maybe it has to do with rules established by the league union.
red was number one in the state in 4.5 singles one year and still plays a ton of tennis. he also won a 5.0 major zone last year. still, i have no idea how ready he is for this tourney.
I have just been informed the draw was released and thought I would drop by the blog. Good luck to all at Copperfield.....the only tournament which gives out a high quality T-Shirt....! My prediction is that Christian Stevens turns up the heat and gets to the finals in the bottom half...!!!
Hey Halm, Christian Stevens is a cool dude, but as far as winning the bottom half of the draw, Nah.
Who's better Christian Stevens or Andrew Stevens? Any relation? Halm must be right on Christian I heard hits the ball a ton.
I will go back to the good ol' kallus rule - If you can't beat kallus then you must not be very good. Christian Stevens lost at least twice to kallus in straight sets, including at Copperfield based on the results I found under his name. And they weren't exactly close loss's. If you can't beat kallus, you definitely ain't winning the bottom half of a draw with this many good players in it. Halm, if nothing else you must be a really good friend to talk up your buddy like that. Cheers.
Kallus is my friend. You leave hime out of this.
He's your friend, but notice how you didn't go so far as to say that he does not suck.
We all have good days and bad days in tennis dude. I don't think Kallus sucks. He was self taught and that by itself is pretty impressive man! He is not fat either so you guys quit picking on his weight. If he sucks, then you all suck too.
Someone has a Kallus "man crush"
Alot of the Kallus bashing is just to mess with him. Overall, Kallus is a good guy, and honestly, a good competitor on the courts. He does get a little "bent" with distractions (ex. mention the net is high and he will not quit talking about it, wind etc.).
No "man crush", just pure fact "MORON".
Red should play Morton or McMullan in he 4.5 final. Ballesteros should beat Patch with little trouble in 5.0. I do not know two of the 5.0 players.
Dinker
The sad thing is that Ballasteros could not win the 4.5 draw or the 4.0 draw but might win the 5.0 draw.
Tim has spoken. Really no need to even play the rest of the tournament out now. Jut have Herb play McMullan and the winner play against Red. Frees up a lot of courts. You guys can still stop by to pick up your t-shirts and drink some beer. Congrats to Red, Herb, and David on your strong showing at the tournament.
LOL. That's funny dude.
Saying Rodriguez would have "easily won Corpus 5.0" does not seem reasonable. I played him once and he beat me 6-4 in the third at the Coke. We were both cramping in the third set and he continued cramping bad in the next match losing 6-0,6-1. I would not call myself an easy win for Rodriguez. He does however have scoreboard 1-0 and is a great tennis player.
Dinker
Yeah the 5.0 draw is significantly weaker than 4.5 draw.
dinker you lost get over it.
I'm gonna play 5.0 next year for the points. I'm currently playing 3.5 but what the heck, what do I have to lose anyhow!
Journeyman, I think we need a new thread here. Running out of bad things to say and that's pretty sad!
It's not possible to run out of bad things to say. But you do have to scroll down quite a ways to same them. So a new thread it shall be.
Tim,
You don't know sh^t about tennis. Red my ass! Red is too fat and don't forget it's going to be hot. Red is good for one match only and thats it.
I bet the other finalist will be either Knutson or Schmucker whoever wins that match.
Don't forget Kallus is 2-0 against Red in doubles so what does that tell you.
Sorry Kallus not trying to disrepect you just tired of certain over hyped players.
My theory is that I should be the litmus test for 4.5.....beat the Halm and you are amazing and should be playing Mens Open. Lose to the Halm and you are probably a damn good tennis player, just didn't have it that day....
Well Sarosh Ahmed beat the Halm 0 and 1 or something like that so he is ready for the tour. Ahmed would beat Tim Green 6-0 6-0. Ahmed would beat Benzon 6-0 6-1.
That is correct.....beat the Halm.....ready for the tour.....! For the record....how many people have beaten Leonardo Solis in straight sets......not even Alfonso Rodriguez can say that....!
There is no way Ahmed would beat Tim 0 and 0. He would be lucky to beat Tim at all.
I may not have the best tennis strokes but I do think I know my share about tennis. Sarosh is a good player but will never beat me 6-0 6-0.
My predictions of who should do well at Copperfield are what they are...predictions. I am never surprised by Knutson winning singles matches but he should have trouble against a player like Red B. It is just a bad matchup for Knutson.
David Guy does play more golf than tennis and will probably lose to Red if they match-up. But again I would not be surprised by Guy playing well.
Have fun guys.
Dinker
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