You may have noticed that this blog is suffering of a quite serious illness (i.e. it is basically dead). This is mainly due to prof. Marucci’s fault, as he retired from his favourite hobby and left me alone; though, also the birth of my daughter, who has killed my already limited free time, didn’t help at all. Anyhow, when Bonfiglio is ongoing, i am happy to resurrect Tennisunderworld and write a few articles. So, here I am, eventually.
Up to 3-4 years ago, Bonfiglio qualification rounds were my favourite section of the tournament. My task was to try to spot some 14-15 year old girls or 15-16 year old boys who were not grown up enough to play in the main draw but were, nevertheless, particularly skilled. Kaja Juvan has played in Bonfiglio’s quali, up to the final. In the qualification rounds I have spotted Elli Mandlik (ooooh… N.B.O….) who still i consider as one of the purest strikers i have ever seen even if, up to now, her results are not matching my expectations.
During the last years things have changed. In the quali it is now possible to find only few good players (the highest ranking seeds) but, beside them, the level tends to be quite low. Most of the players ranking between 100 and 300, the range in which it is most possible to spot young and still unknown juniors, prefer to accede to the main draw of the J2 in Hannover or the main draw of some J3 elswhere, than to pay hospitality to play the quali in Milan and, most possibly, lose in the first or second round of the main draw, if they manage to qualify.
As a consequence, the males’ main draw cuts at around 70, but in the quali are directly admitted players ranking in 600th spot or even lower. The girls’ qualy draw was not even completed this year: girls ranking in 1000 spot were admitted and bye were granted. It seems more a local open than a grade A. Thus, watching the qualifications rounds has become a pretty boring activity in the last editions of the tournament.
Having said this, I still might manage to give a few interesting hints. Hopefully. The males’ second seed Dylan Dietrich plays a different sport compared to the other boys I have seen today. He strikes the ball at double speed and he is a complete baseliner. Maybe, from time to time he is a bit slow. His opponent Fabio de Michele has been unlucky, as he was not indeed the worst player in the draw. Had he benefitted of an easier draw he might have qualified. Fabio managed to gain a tie break in the second set, after having suffered a round bagel in the first one- as he possibly was not used to a level as high as his opponent’s.
I also enjoyed some of the tennis shown by Italians Gaia Maduzzi and Emma Rizzetti. Both of them can play fairly big shots and Rizzetti, in particular, showed some interesting variations.
As per today, I can highlight no more than the above. Let’s hope that the seeded girls who benefitted of a bye will render the second round more interesting. I will try to follow Rizzetto and Maduzzi again, to check how they will perform against their respective opponents, both of them seeded. For sure they will face bigger challenges than today.
