Okay, so today I finally sat down to really watch that Berrettini vs Tabilo match I’d been meaning to check out. It wasn’t live, had to find a replay, which is always a bit of a hassle, you know?
Getting Started
First off, finding a decent stream took longer than I expected. Kept buffering on one site, another had annoying pop-ups. Finally found a stable one. Got my notebook out, because I wanted to track a couple of things specifically. Not just watch passively, but actually look at stuff.
Main focus points I set for myself:
- Berrettini’s first serve placement. Is he still going for the big T serve as much?
- Tabilo’s footwork, especially on the backhand side. Heard some talk about it.
- How both guys handled the pressure points. Big difference maker, always.
Watching the Action
Settled in. The first few games, Berrettini really came out firing that serve. Pretty impressive power, like usual. I was trying to jot down where they landed – wide, T, body – but honestly, the camera angles weren’t always the best for that. Kind of frustrating when you’re trying to do a bit of analysis. You make do, right?
Tabilo, on the other hand, seemed to be soaking up the pace pretty well early on. His movement looked smooth, yeah. Especially noted how he adjusted his steps returning serve. Quick little adjustments. It’s subtle stuff, but interesting to watch closely. Made a note about his split-step timing.
Then came a patch where Berrettini’s first serve percentage dipped a bit. That’s when things got interesting. You could see Tabilo trying to step in more, be more aggressive on the second serves. I was watching Berrettini’s body language during these moments. Does he rush? Does he take extra time? Seemed pretty composed, I gotta say, even when missing first serves.
Mid-Match Observations
Had to pause a few times. Life gets in the way, phone rings, you know how it is. But I tried to keep my focus points in mind whenever I got back to it. Tabilo’s consistency was definitely noticeable. He wasn’t hitting crazy winners all the time, but just getting balls back deep, making Berrettini play an extra shot. That’s a grind.
There was this one long rally, must have been over 15 shots. I replayed that specific point maybe three times. Just watching their court positioning, how they reset after each shot. It’s easy to just see the winner, but the work before the point ends is what I was trying to capture in my notes.
Wrapping Up
Finished watching the whole thing. Didn’t quite get the detailed serve placement stats I wanted because of the stream quality and angles, but still got a good feel for it. Berrettini still relies heavily on that first strike, obviously. Tabilo’s game seems built more around rhythm and making the opponent work hard for every point.
Overall, a useful session. Didn’t uncover anything earth-shattering, but watching with specific things to look for makes it more engaging than just having it on in the background. Added a few pages to my notebook, mostly observations on patterns of play during crucial points. Good practice.
