Re(1): Very Questionable Game 2 Posted on February 8, 2024 at 02:34:34 PM by Craig G
"Toucoullet’s “win” punctuated by Bixente’s drop"
Ok, took a look at that replay.
A couple of takeaways. 1 - If you think that Bixente wanted to lose the point, why did he throw a near chula on the preceding shot? Too risky. 2 - If you review his 'drop' at slow speed or even freeze frame, you can see that Tuco's shot came from high off the front wall with a lot more pop than Bixente expected. He had to jump up about one foot off the floor (you can see it clearly) with full arm extension, and couldn't pull it in. 100% believable to me.
As for Aaron, that was ugly, and you could see when he released it that it looked like a disaster. However, it may well have been an attempt for an instant winner long outside placement. About one foot too high into the pad. Not much different than a very long dejada that falls embarrassingly short. Great if works, but booed off the court if it fails. That's where in a partido, you can easily recover from a bad play, but in quin games it's often a fatality.
My biggest problem with that shot is in terms of strategy. Aaron is one of the top performers in singles and he was facing one of the lowest ranking opponents. There was no need to do anything risky, because the odds are hugely in his favor to win any kind of normal rally.
Not only that, but I have to wonder how often Aaron could successfully execute that shot in a practice session. Chances are it is seriously losing proposition. And even if it went in 50-50 (highly doubtful), there is still a chance the opponent could read it, and make a play.
I also wonder how many times during this meet that a shot like that has been tried right off the serve by anyone.
Another question might be, "If you wanted to deliberately lose a point in singles, is calling attention to yourself with a totally wild-ass play the best option?"
FWIW, Tuco's other two points played were totally normal.
