CAMELOT FANTASIES

Camelot Tennis Universe => General Pro Player Discussions => Topic started by: masterclass on December 13, 2013, 09:11:53 am

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 10, 2014, 09:01:28 am

Quote from: thetruth on June 10, 2014, 02:14:36 am

Quote from: Clay Death on June 09, 2014, 11:38:16 pm

great to see you general postpre.


healthy and reasonably fit clay warrior cannot be defeated in full combat (best of 5 sets battle) at RG in a final.



it is just a very tough ask.


only a fool would bet against him. steve tignor, jon wetheim, and Darren cahill were such fools. they have learned very little about Rafa even after watching him at RG for 10 long years.


the guy has something like 91-1 record in a best of 5 sets matches on clay in his lifetime.

as the great general masterclass has indicated, Rafa was not quite himself there this year. he would hit 38 unforced errors. his backhand was horrible for 1/2 of the match and he returned poorly by his standards. he was often 16-18 feet behind the baseline and gave up too much real estate.

he had even dropped some of his usual supreme fitness this year.

compare that to his best like in 2008 when he hit just 7 unforced errors in the final against a very dangerous opponent.

he was there to be had this year and still he willed himself a victory.

I cant afford to bet against him.

His will is unbelievable. He never ceases to amaze me.

Remember when he went up in the stands and whispered to Toni. This is reportedly what he said. I got this from FB but couldn't get the picture.

Rafa to Toni: "Call an ambulance"....
Yeah,my heart skipped a few beats,too, when I read this. In case you didn't see this,when Rafa went up to greet his family, he hugged Toni but then murmured something to him. He told Toni that he(Rafa) had had cramps since the 3rd set and that Toni should call an ambulance. Toni,however, thought of something better. Dr. Angel Ruiz (who I think is the Davis cup doctor) was there and Toni asked for his help.After the ceremony, The doctor gave Rafa the needed serum,and Toni assured the journalists that everything was fine now.

he did whisper something in tony's ear.

it had to be that he was not feeling well.

thank god the back held up anyway.


That's true. The back did hold up. It was the conditions that did them both in. When have you ever heard of Rafa cramping up in what was a reasonably short period, for their matches? I think the temperature swing was very difficult, and it affected them both.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on June 10, 2014, 07:57:05 am

Super Slide Motion:

Watch them and weep, CD!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gum0KGXtJJY

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on June 10, 2014, 07:53:03 am

Fans Memories of Roland Garros:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94w3rye_S_A

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on June 10, 2014, 07:30:39 am

The Best of Roland Garros:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRjIPW_8wPQ

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on June 10, 2014, 02:14:36 am

Quote from: Clay Death on June 09, 2014, 11:38:16 pm

great to see you general postpre.


healthy and reasonably fit clay warrior cannot be defeated in full combat (best of 5 sets battle) at RG in a final.



it is just a very tough ask.


only a fool would bet against him. steve tignor, jon wetheim, and Darren cahill were such fools. they have learned very little about Rafa even after watching him at RG for 10 long years.


the guy has something like 91-1 record in a best of 5 sets matches on clay in his lifetime.

as the great general masterclass has indicated, Rafa was not quite himself there this year. he would hit 38 unforced errors. his backhand was horrible for 1/2 of the match and he returned poorly by his standards. he was often 16-18 feet behind the baseline and gave up too much real estate.

he had even dropped some of his usual supreme fitness this year.

compare that to his best like in 2008 when he hit just 7 unforced errors in the final against a very dangerous opponent.

he was there to be had this year and still he willed himself a victory.

I cant afford to bet against him.

His will is unbelievable. He never ceases to amaze me.

Remember when he went up in the stands and whispered to Toni. This is reportedly what he said. I got this from FB but couldn't get the picture.

Rafa to Toni: "Call an ambulance"....
Yeah,my heart skipped a few beats,too, when I read this. In case you didn't see this,when Rafa went up to greet his family, he hugged Toni but then murmured something to him. He told Toni that he(Rafa) had had cramps since the 3rd set and that Toni should call an ambulance. Toni,however, thought of something better. Dr. Angel Ruiz (who I think is the Davis cup doctor) was there and Toni asked for his help.After the ceremony, The doctor gave Rafa the needed serum,and Toni assured the journalists that everything was fine now.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 09, 2014, 11:38:16 pm

great to see you general postpre.


healthy and reasonably fit clay warrior cannot be defeated in full combat (best of 5 sets battle) at RG in a final.



it is just a very tough ask.


only a fool would bet against him. steve tignor, jon wetheim, and Darren cahill were such fools. they have learned very little about Rafa even after watching him at RG for 10 long years.


the guy has something like 91-1 record in a best of 5 sets matches on clay in his lifetime.

as the great general masterclass has indicated, Rafa was not quite himself there this year. he would hit 38 unforced errors. his backhand was horrible for 1/2 of the match and he returned poorly by his standards. he was often 16-18 feet behind the baseline and gave up too much real estate.

he had even dropped some of his usual supreme fitness this year.

compare that to his best like in 2008 when he hit just 7 unforced errors in the final against a very dangerous opponent.

he was there to be had this year and still he willed himself a victory.

I cant afford to bet against him.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: postpre on June 09, 2014, 09:55:19 pm

Quote

welcome to Camelot general postpre.

long time no see old friend. please make yourself at home.

Thanks, Clay.  Before Roland Garros, I warned a young high school tennis buddy of mine (who hits with my 9 year old son at times) that the Serbian Slayer cannot yet compete with the Clay Monster when the highest order of clay combat is demanded.  He didn't believe me then, but does now.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 09, 2014, 01:59:59 pm

thanks lady TT.

what a historic win for the ages. this will be remembered forever and ever.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on June 09, 2014, 10:04:51 am

Quote from: Clay Death on June 08, 2014, 06:03:29 pm

welcome to Camelot general postpre.

long time no see old friend. please make yourself at home.



our man did it. this is truly a herculean feat of staggering proportions.



I knew he would get it done in 3 or 4 today but I remain in disbelief.

You were adamant that Nadal would still win, even though you weren't pleased with his play. Good call on never giving up on our guy. You were right, as usual.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on June 09, 2014, 10:03:07 am

Quote from: postpre on June 08, 2014, 04:27:53 pm

I am not happy that for the longest time I was not happy with the clay warrior.

True, it was a difficult time for Nadal fans, starting with Australia and the back issues.

Apparently, these back injuries will continue to flare up intermittenly throughout tournaments going forward, but I'm hoping he'll play for several more years, at least.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Mr.Tee on June 08, 2014, 06:41:20 pm

Congratulations to all Rafa fans in here, well deserved victory! After the first set Rafa steadied the ship and except for that 4:2 service game in the fourth set was pretty solid. The forehand produced many inside-out and down-the-line beautiful winners and the serving was pretty descent.

On to the grass, hopefully Rafa is ok physically and makes it further than R2 at Wimbledon this year.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 08, 2014, 06:10:16 pm

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/06/23/Roland-Garros-Final-Nadal-Djokovic.aspx

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 08, 2014, 06:03:29 pm

welcome to Camelot general postpre.

long time no see old friend. please make yourself at home.



our man did it. this is truly a herculean feat of staggering proportions.



I knew he would get it done in 3 or 4 today but I remain in disbelief.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: postpre on June 08, 2014, 04:27:53 pm

I am not happy that for the longest time I was not happy with the clay warrior.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 08, 2014, 01:56:08 pm

great summary general masterclass.


Rafa was not to be denied on that centre court today.


he puts tennis in the global spotlight in achieving this seemingly impossible Herculean feat.


nole has nothing to be ashamed of. they are both great champions.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: masterclass on June 08, 2014, 12:48:13 pm

Congratulations to Rafael Nadal, his team and his fans for his 9th, that's right, 9th Roland Garros title and 14th major overall!

Commiserations to Novak Djokovic, his team and supporters. He's now lost 2 Roland Garros finals, 0-6 in matches overall to Nadal, and like Roger Federer, understands how difficult it is to beat Nadal at Roland Garros. 

It was a very physical match with the weather hot and humid, and both players were in and out of there games here and there, with Nole probably being the worse for wear.  Nadal did not start off well, hitting short returns, of which Nole took full advantage. Rafa's backhand was also very suspect in the first set, much like in the match against David Ferrer and Nole took the first set 6-3.

In the second set, Rafa's forehand began to get stronger and his backhand was much more steady. His return still wasn't that great, but good enough, and Djokovic tiring, faltered at the end of the set, much like Ferrer to lose it 5-7.  He looked absolutely exhausted at the start of the 3rd, quickly getting broken by Nadal, and really just hung in there.  I thought too much. In my opinion, he should have given up the set easier than he did, except for his last service game.  I thought this was his only chance to get the 4th set. But he didn't do that, lost his last serve to lose the 3rd 6-2, and Rafa started serving in the 4th. 

Rafa kept in front, and broke Nole and was up 4-2, but then looked like he hit the wall, and was bending over frequently as perhaps his back was bothering him. Djokovic broke back, got back to 4 all, but then Rafa won his serve and Djokovic broke himself with a Double fault in the last game to lose the set and the championship.  He was clearly tired, and Rafa wasn't far behind in that regard.

Very tough for Novak Djokovic, with Nadal's forehand working and his ball really taking off, bouncing high in the warm weather once the court dried out from the watering it gets before the match, by the second set. Nole didn't look 100% healthy, in one part of the match was spitting up bubbles, almost vomiting on the court. 

In any case, well done to Rafael Nadal, Roland Garros champion for the 9th time. Rafa, now 28 years old, who received his trophy from the great Bjorn Borg, who won his 6th and final French Open at age 25, said after the match that he thinks Novak has a good chance to win in the future.  That may be if Rafa decides he has had enough.

But for now, he's still reigning champion and King of Roland Garros.
Congratulations again to Clay Warrior.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on June 07, 2014, 03:30:34 pm

Quote from: Clay Death on June 07, 2014, 09:34:54 am

if rafa allows his backhand to be more engaged and returns well then he has a very good chance to finishing this deal.



that is how I am seeing it.


those 2 things will take some pressure off his own serve. his biggest liability remains the return against a player like nole. that is why he has lost 4 straight times to him.


nadal can beat the world but when he does lose, he returns horribly and wont allow his backhand to get into rhythm. and that is the statistic that gets masked.


that puts him under pressure and it puts his serve under pressure.

and now nadal himself acknowledges it but absolutely refuses to do anything about it. his backhand was just horrible yesterday and he never gave it a chance either.


general masterclass have talking about this for years. the game becomes a little easier for him when he plays a little closer to the baseline and is also able to control the center of the court a little bit better.


you cant play this game at the very highest level hitting only forehands deep from your backhand corner.


people need to take a look only at the last match. he left an enormous amount of space to be had.


andy had no legs and was very flat. you cant judge rafa's performance by that match.


or at least I cant. I saw a very poorly performing rafa who was looking at every possible opportunity to run around his backhand.

that wont cut the mustard.



and now the good news. I said this before the tournament. rafa only needs to play one great match and it will be in the final.

so if he uses all the gears available to him and catches nole a little bit off and shaky then rafa takes it in 3 or 4 sets.


I agree with general masterclass: it is too risky for rafa to let it go into the 5th set because then anybody can win.


rafa can do this and I think he will. he just has to produce one good match at these championships.


for the longer run, he needs to work on his fitness and try to improve.

Even a novice like me knows that Andy wasn't in top form in that SF. And I have learned about that running around the backhand to get to the forehand. It's pretty evident, once you know.

I don't care what his tactics are, I just want him to get it done. This would be a monumental win. The best thing is that he appears to be confident, so that's a help. I guess we'll have to wait and see. Drat!

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 07, 2014, 09:34:54 am

if rafa allows his backhand to be more engaged and returns well then he has a very good chance to finishing this deal.



that is how I am seeing it.


those 2 things will take some pressure off his own serve. his biggest liability remains the return against a player like nole. that is why he has lost 4 straight times to him.


nadal can beat the world but when he does lose, he returns horribly and wont allow his backhand to get into rhythm. and that is the statistic that gets masked.


that puts him under pressure and it puts his serve under pressure.

and now nadal himself acknowledges it but absolutely refuses to do anything about it. his backhand was just horrible yesterday and he never gave it a chance either.


general masterclass have talking about this for years. the game becomes a little easier for him when he plays a little closer to the baseline and is also able to control the center of the court a little bit better.


you cant play this game at the very highest level hitting only forehands deep from your backhand corner.


people need to take a look only at the last match. he left an enormous amount of space to be had.


andy had no legs and was very flat. you cant judge rafa's performance by that match.


or at least I cant. I saw a very poorly performing rafa who was looking at every possible opportunity to run around his backhand.

that wont cut the mustard.



and now the good news. I said this before the tournament. rafa only needs to play one great match and it will be in the final.

so if he uses all the gears available to him and catches nole a little bit off and shaky then rafa takes it in 3 or 4 sets.


I agree with general masterclass: it is too risky for rafa to let it go into the 5th set because then anybody can win.


rafa can do this and I think he will. he just has to produce one good match at these championships.


for the longer run, he needs to work on his fitness and try to improve.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on June 07, 2014, 02:22:35 am

Quote from: masterclass on June 07, 2014, 12:16:13 am

What can you do general? 

Nadal makes it harder on himself, by taking the easier path (to him). He has a lot of confidence in his forehand right now, and not much on the backhand, and it's obvious. The player who can tactically take advantage of that will beat him.  We saw Spartan Stan do it in best of 5 in Australia and he overpowered Nadal to a point where Nadal strained so much to get to balls, his back went out on him.  We saw Almagro do it to him, in best of 3, because he has a lot of power, and Nadal was not good that day and it was only best of 3. 

Novak Djokovic is capable of doing it as well if he is healthy. He can hit with power from both wings and take advantage of the space Rafa is leaving open when he runs around the forehand.  Nadal has two options.  Rely on his backhand more (which is too late now to work on), or his forehand has to be devastating when he runs around it.  It has to be a winner or near winner that results in a poor shot by Novak.  If Nadal's shot is too weak, landing on the service line or before it, Djokovic will hit the forehand down the line to the empty space, and Rafa just doesn't seem to have that speed that he once had to run everything down.

It's hard to know what each will bring on Sunday.  They both are under pressure.  Rafa is defending champion again, and is going for #9 at RG and #14 overall to tie him with Pete.  Djokovic is trying to break through and win his first.

I think Novak should have a bit more pressure, unless he plays like he has nothing to lose. But I can't see that happening if he goes up a set.  Once he thinks he might have a chance to win, the pressure will hit him. The best strategy for him would be to keep it close if he can and get it to a fifth set and hope to wear Nadal down and take advantage of the space Rafa gives away.

Rafa should try to obliterate Novak from the start like he did with Andy Murray.  Come out smoking hot, and whip his forehand around and use the clay to his advantage.  Novak gets nervous if he feels problems with his footing. Nadal should try to wrong foot him as much as possible, or hit straight to Novak's body.  Rafa has to vary his serve like he did with Murray.  Murray who usually returns very well against the biggest servers, couldn't handle Nadal's variety of spins and pace change, and generally returned very poorly.  If he can do all this and keep it up, I think Rafa should win in straight sets or drop a set at most.  I don't think the pressure will get to Rafa unless it goes deep into a 5th set.

That's how I see it sports fans, but I have no crystal ball to know for sure. :)
Let's see what really happens... :)

Best of luck and health to both players, and may the best player win!

Respectfully,
masterclass

Great post, but a crystal ball sure would come in handy, either that or a Ouija board. Desperate times, I tell you.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: masterclass on June 07, 2014, 12:16:13 am

What can you do general? 

Nadal makes it harder on himself, by taking the easier path (to him). He has a lot of confidence in his forehand right now, and not much on the backhand, and it's obvious. The player who can tactically take advantage of that will beat him.  We saw Spartan Stan do it in best of 5 in Australia and he overpowered Nadal to a point where Nadal strained so much to get to balls, his back went out on him.  We saw Almagro do it to him, in best of 3, because he has a lot of power, and Nadal was not good that day and it was only best of 3. 

Novak Djokovic is capable of doing it as well if he is healthy. He can hit with power from both wings and take advantage of the space Rafa is leaving open when he runs around the forehand.  Nadal has two options.  Rely on his backhand more (which is too late now to work on), or his forehand has to be devastating when he runs around it.  It has to be a winner or near winner that results in a poor shot by Novak.  If Nadal's shot is too weak, landing on the service line or before it, Djokovic will hit the forehand down the line to the empty space, and Rafa just doesn't seem to have that speed that he once had to run everything down.

It's hard to know what each will bring on Sunday.  They both are under pressure.  Rafa is defending champion again, and is going for #9 at RG and #14 overall to tie him with Pete.  Djokovic is trying to break through and win his first.

I think Novak should have a bit more pressure, unless he plays like he has nothing to lose. But I can't see that happening if he goes up a set.  Once he thinks he might have a chance to win, the pressure will hit him. The best strategy for him would be to keep it close if he can and get it to a fifth set and hope to wear Nadal down and take advantage of the space Rafa gives away.

Rafa should try to obliterate Novak from the start like he did with Andy Murray.  Come out smoking hot, and whip his forehand around and use the clay to his advantage.  Novak gets nervous if he feels problems with his footing. Nadal should try to wrong foot him as much as possible, or hit straight to Novak's body.  Rafa has to vary his serve like he did with Murray.  Murray who usually returns very well against the biggest servers, couldn't handle Nadal's variety of spins and pace change, and generally returned very poorly.  If he can do all this and keep it up, I think Rafa should win in straight sets or drop a set at most.  I don't think the pressure will get to Rafa unless it goes deep into a 5th set.

That's how I see it sports fans, but I have no crystal ball to know for sure. :)
Let's see what really happens... :)

Best of luck and health to both players, and may the best player win!

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 06, 2014, 09:47:05 pm

que pasa general masterclass.



I just finished watching the rafa match. he was taking way too many shortcuts again. the man just cant help himself.


he refuses to let his backhand get into rhythm and yet he publicly complained about the ineffectiveness of his backhand.


he just wont let himself have a backhand so what can you do.


andy was totally flat and totally worn out which made things easier for rafa. in my estimation rafa should have used this opportunity to prepare a little bit for the final.

he cant play with his forehand alone from his backhand corner against nole.

if nadal is going to take the final then he will have to let his backhand be a bigger part of the equation.


as you have suggested, this affects everything:

1. you don't return well because you are constantly trying to run around your backhand
2. it affects your forehand as you are almost always lunging and reaching for it because you have left all that space unaccounted for.
3. it affects your confidence in general

4. you cant keep giving up so much real estate at this level.

I guess tony cant tell him anything because rafa is surely not listening to him.


I think about the only people rafa listens to are his dad and his mom.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: masterclass on June 06, 2014, 12:03:10 pm

Congratulations to Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, their teams and supporters.
Commiserations to Ernests Gulbis and Andy Murray, OBE, and their fans.

So it will be a Nadal vs. Djokovic final for the second time at Roland Garros.
Nadal took it the first time in 4 sets. Will that change this time?

Weather is forecast to be rather warm (28C./84F.) in the afternoon, with a chance of thunderstorms from morning to early in the afternoon, prior to the match.

Rafael has never lost a final here, and is going for #9 at Roland Garros and #14 overall to tie the great Pete Sampras who never won here.

Nole is still looking for #1 and has won his last 4 matches against Nadal including Rome on clay prior to this tournament 

Good luck to both players.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 05, 2014, 06:54:27 pm

here is the order of play for tomorrow:



http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/index.html?from=atp

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on June 04, 2014, 11:55:49 pm

Quote from: Mr.Tee on June 04, 2014, 10:41:46 pm

So, both semi-finals are on Friday. A nice day of rest for Rafa, hopefully he serves well against Andy. And cuts down on those unforced errors, he was horrible today for the first 2 sets!

Yes, he was. The errors were alarming, but maybe it served some useful purposes. First, he had to buckle down, focus, and groove his game. Ferrer is good at feeding opponents plenty of balls. That will be good going forward as Andy is light years above Ferrer in mindset, talent, and mentality.

So far Rafa had not been challenged, so the sooner he was challenged the better off he was. Losing that first set, in retrospect, turned out to be good preparation for his Murray match. It's doubtful that he won't do his best to be focused from the start.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Mr.Tee on June 04, 2014, 10:41:46 pm

So, both semi-finals are on Friday. A nice day of rest for Rafa, hopefully he serves well against Andy. And cuts down on those unforced errors, he was horrible today for the first 2 sets!

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on June 03, 2014, 12:48:37 pm

Quote from: Clay Death on June 03, 2014, 11:26:19 am

milos and berdych are just not mentally strong enough in the clutch on the biggest of stages.

that is something they are going to have to work on.


only way to fix mental issues to practice, practice, and then practice some more.


they are both significantly improved this year but there is this question of testicular fortitude.

milos should have been totally fearless and grabbed at least 1 of the first 2 sets. he certainly had his chances.

Agreed. You can't put money on these guys when things get tight. That's for sure. You can cut Raonic some slack though, since he is new to this, but Berdych should know better by now.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 03, 2014, 12:09:08 pm

order of play for tomorrow:



http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/schedule16.html

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 03, 2014, 11:26:19 am

milos and berdych are just not mentally strong enough in the clutch on the biggest of stages.

that is something they are going to have to work on.


only way to fix mental issues to practice, practice, and then practice some more.


they are both significantly improved this year but there is this question of testicular fortitude.

milos should have been totally fearless and grabbed at least 1 of the first 2 sets. he certainly had his chances.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 03, 2014, 10:38:57 am

milos had his chances to break and he had his chances to drag the set into a breaker.


he got tight and choked.

his only chance is to drag the next 2 sets into a breaker and then try to make it happen.


he is not very good at the net and he doesn't move well enough to deal with nole off the ground.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on June 03, 2014, 10:11:17 am

Quote from: Clay Death on June 02, 2014, 06:31:20 pm

hard to believe that verdasco is a top 60 these days.

he was a top 10 player in 2009.

Yeah, he went off the boil for a few years, but seems to be getting it back. The only thing is, is it too late?

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 02, 2014, 06:31:20 pm

hard to believe that verdasco is a top 60 these days.

he was a top 10 player in 2009.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on June 02, 2014, 02:07:42 pm

Quote from: Clay Death on June 02, 2014, 10:12:02 am

I am watching andy murray vs verdasco battle right now.

they look like twins. they are wearing the same colors and the same outfits.

Verdasco played well, but he needs help when it comes to playing the big points. That's where the Big Four excels; in rising to the occasion and understanding the relevance of a point and the time in the match.

Verdasco lost it in the big moments, but then Andy's Andy and if Verdasco had upped his game, Murray would have matched it and exceeded it. He is a master strategist and he's going to be a tough out here. Did you notice how much he was coming to the net? Yikes!

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on June 02, 2014, 01:59:04 pm

Quote from: Clay Death on June 02, 2014, 10:10:43 am

Quote from: thetruth on June 02, 2014, 01:17:01 am

Quote from: Clay Death on June 01, 2014, 03:04:55 pm

I am glad I turned off the tele after a few games.


he did not come out to play and compete hard. he came out to get his bloody paycheck and leave the facilities.

Who didn't come out to play? Isner? But, I feel you. I can't stand watching non-competitive matches. Waste of time.

Tsonga.


he was just hopeless yesterday. he did not show any fight at all.


where the hell is his pride?

So true. I overestimated him. After that shocking loss to Ferrer last year I thought he would want to redeem himself. I mean, c'mon, this is his home slam. He played like a darn junior. It's ridiculous and disrespectful to the fans. A top ten player should be able to give a better accounting of him or her self.

But don't come out there playing like an imposter. Not that he would've won, but this effort was even worse than last year's performance.

Anyway, Tsonga is over rated. He may be a shot maker, but he has noodles for brains.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 02, 2014, 11:36:07 am

order of play for tomorrow:

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/schedule15.html

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 02, 2014, 10:12:02 am

I am watching andy murray vs verdasco battle right now.

they look like twins. they are wearing the same colors and the same outfits.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 02, 2014, 10:10:43 am

Quote from: thetruth on June 02, 2014, 01:17:01 am

Quote from: Clay Death on June 01, 2014, 03:04:55 pm

I am glad I turned off the tele after a few games.


he did not come out to play and compete hard. he came out to get his bloody paycheck and leave the facilities.

Who didn't come out to play? Isner? But, I feel you. I can't stand watching non-competitive matches. Waste of time.

Tsonga.


he was just hopeless yesterday. he did not show any fight at all.


where the hell is his pride?

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on June 02, 2014, 01:17:01 am

Quote from: Clay Death on June 01, 2014, 03:04:55 pm

I am glad I turned off the tele after a few games.


he did not come out to play and compete hard. he came out to get his bloody paycheck and leave the facilities.

Who didn't come out to play? Isner? But, I feel you. I can't stand watching non-competitive matches. Waste of time.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 01, 2014, 03:04:55 pm

I am glad I turned off the tele after a few games.


he did not come out to play and compete hard. he came out to get his bloody paycheck and leave the facilities.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on June 01, 2014, 01:32:40 pm

Quote from: Clay Death on June 01, 2014, 09:36:39 am

berdych express rolls on. runs right over isner in straights.


http://www.tennisexplorer.com/live/#inscore_ifheight_xdc_1218

Nice to see Berdy get through.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on June 01, 2014, 01:13:23 pm

Quote from: Clay Death on June 01, 2014, 11:32:46 am

I cant watch this nonsense. Tsonga cant return anything.

and in a rally he hits ever 2nd or 3rd ball into the net or out.


I thought he would have learned something from his experiences here.

bottom line is that he is simply not good enough. he is too inconsistent.


general masterclass had this right: Tsonga needed to ambush nole early on and steal the first 2 sets in order to have a chance.


but how can you when you are playing challenger level tennis. I don't what Tsonga can do now. he has no belief at all right now.

Pathetic display. You would think that after last year choking miserably in his home slam, he would have channeled that energy into something positive, but he came out worse. He acted like he was scared to play. There is no way a top ten player should play that horribly without an injury.

Not that he would've won, but that was a p!ss poor effort if I ever saw one.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 01, 2014, 12:07:43 pm

order of play for tomorrow:


http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/schedule14.html

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 01, 2014, 11:32:46 am

I cant watch this nonsense. Tsonga cant return anything.

and in a rally he hits every 2nd or 3rd ball into the net or out.


I thought he would have learned something from his experiences here.

bottom line is that he is simply not good enough. he is too inconsistent.


general masterclass had this right: Tsonga needed to ambush nole early on and steal the first 2 sets in order to have a chance.


but how can you when you are playing challenger level tennis. I don't what Tsonga can do now. he has no belief at all right now.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on June 01, 2014, 09:36:39 am

berdych express rolls on. runs right over isner in straights.


http://www.tennisexplorer.com/live/#inscore_ifheight_xdc_1218

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on June 01, 2014, 06:24:56 am

Quote from: masterclass on May 31, 2014, 06:24:05 pm

Well, the last day of the Round of 32 - the 3rd round at Roland Garros is not quite done and dusted as they say.  The top half played today, and what a day it was. 

In the Nadal quarter, Rafael Nadal got through his match in straight sets as expected, but one of them was not without drama, where in the second set, Leo Mayer certainly had his chances. But Nadal held on to win it 7-5, and then cruised in the 3rd as he did in the first, though it looked like the Nadal serve may have been affected a bit by a bit of a back problem. We'll have to keep an eye on that.

Ivo Karlovic was forced to retire to Kevin Anderson with a bad back after only a set.  A shame, because he was having a great tournament.  David Ferrer got it done in straights against Seppi in similar fashion to Nadal. One tight middle set, that went David's way in the tiebreaker and two easy sets and he will play Anderson next. Dusan Lajovic also got it done in straights against Jack Sock, and he'll play Nadal next for his reward. 

The Murray quarter certainly had the most drama, as 3 of the 4 matches went the full distance and two are not complete yet. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (GGL) got it done against Donald Young after losing a 2 set to 0 lead with a 6-4 victory in the deciding 5th set. And in a strange up and down match where it looked like Gael Monfils was done physically after 4 sets against Fabio Fognini losing the 4th in a bagel, Monfils reversed the tide, took the decider easily 6-2 and advanced to play GGL next.

The two late matches Verdasco vs. Gasquet, and Murray vs. Kohlschreiber were not completed as mentioned and will finish tomorrow.  #24 seed Verdasco leads #12 Gasquet 2 sets to love and they are knotted at 2-2 in the third.

In what was probably the most thrilling match of the day and the tournament thus far, #28 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber and #7 seed Andy Murray are locked in a battle royal, tied after 3 1/2 hours in the fifth set, suspended by darkness, 7-7 with Murray to serve.

Kohli took the first set 6-3 with some fine aggressive side to side play that had Murray scrambling.  In the second and third sets Murray reversed the trend coming up with some much more aggressive play of his own, belting forehands and down the line backhands past the talented German, who is coming off a title win last week.  Murray went ahead 4-2 in the 4th set, 2 service games from victory, and then simply collapsed on serve with some sad and ugly double faults to hand Kohlschreiber a break back, and give him new life.  Kohli took advantage of a suddenly passive Murray again, and stormed back to snatch the final 3 games to take the 4th set. 

In the fifth set, Murray struck first and broke Kohlschreiber and was ahead 2-0, but Kohli hung in there and Murray got a bit passive again, and Kohli broke back straight away for 1-2, and then held his serve for 2-2.  Murray was shaken and stirred to get broken for a second time in the set, and Kohli had a break lead in the match for the first time since the first set, 3-2.  But yet more drama was in store, as Murray got aggressive again and Kohli was unable to hold his advantage and was broken himself for the second time in the set. Murray sealed his break and held serve for 4-3, but not without some concern as he was grasping his left hamstring during the game (again, he had done some similar grabbing earlier, but it didn't seem to affect his game at the time) and sure enough the trainer came on during the changeover. 

After a rubdown, but no Medical Time Out, Andy was back out, and on the receiving end of a solid love service game from Kohlschreiber out of nowhere for 4-4.  Andy returned the favor at love in his own service game, and went ahead 5-4 and got another rubdown. Philipp held serve again to love for 5-5, and with light fading, Murray survived a tighter service game with a big shot at 30-30 and held from there for a 6-5 lead, and earned yet another rubdown from the trainer.  Kohlschreiber survived his next service game after being down 15-30, but took 3 straight points to hold to get it to 6 all. 

As it got darker and even more tense, with no tiebreaker to relieve the suspense, Murray was again passive, and it almost cost him. He double faulted at 40-30 to give Kohli deuce and a chance. Kohli took his chance with gusto and produced two big shots, the last of which Murray could only look at as it buzzed past him for a break point.  Murray faced with almost certain death if he got broken, buckled down and took the next 3 points and held on for a 7-6 lead and his final on-court rubdown of the day.  At the changeover the officials decided to let them play one more game in the darkening gloom and Kohlschreiber did not fail to tie it up in another nail biting deuce game, 7-7, match suspended due to darkness. 

So this match, and the Gasquet-Verdasco match will continue tomorrow, both will be the second match of the day. Gasquet-Verdasco on Chatrier after the ladies, and Murray-Kohlschreiber after Berdych-Isner. 

Who will take the exciting Murray-Kohlschreiber match?  Murray to serve with the "scoreboard advantage".  Who will be ready? Which player will be advantaged by the darkness suspension?  The winner of course. :) 

Good luck to both players.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Excellent update, and as it happened. 

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 31, 2014, 07:17:22 pm

great update general masterclass.


looks like verdasco and andy should be able to get by.

andy really should have removed kohli from the facilities in 4. he had the inside track after snatching the 2nd and the 3rd set.

he had kohli on the ropes.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: masterclass on May 31, 2014, 06:24:05 pm

Well, the last day of the Round of 32 - the 3rd round at Roland Garros is not quite done and dusted as they say.  The top half played today, and what a day it was. 

In the Nadal quarter, Rafael Nadal got through his match in straight sets as expected, but one of them was not without drama, where in the second set, Leo Mayer certainly had his chances. But Nadal held on to win it 7-5, and then cruised in the 3rd as he did in the first, though it looked like the Nadal serve may have been affected a bit by a bit of a back problem. We'll have to keep an eye on that.

Ivo Karlovic was forced to retire to Kevin Anderson with a bad back after only a set.  A shame, because he was having a great tournament.  David Ferrer got it done in straights against Seppi in similar fashion to Nadal. One tight middle set, that went David's way in the tiebreaker and two easy sets and he will play Anderson next. Dusan Lajovic also got it done in straights against Jack Sock, and he'll play Nadal next for his reward. 

The Murray quarter certainly had the most drama, as 3 of the 4 matches went the full distance and two are not complete yet. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (GGL) got it done against Donald Young after losing a 2 set to 0 lead with a 6-4 victory in the deciding 5th set. And in a strange up and down match where it looked like Gael Monfils was done physically after 4 sets against Fabio Fognini losing the 4th in a bagel, Monfils reversed the tide, took the decider easily 6-2 and advanced to play GGL next.

The two late matches Verdasco vs. Gasquet, and Murray vs. Kohlschreiber were not completed as mentioned and will finish tomorrow.  #24 seed Verdasco leads #12 Gasquet 2 sets to love and they are knotted at 2-2 in the third.

In what was probably the most thrilling match of the day and the tournament thus far, #28 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber and #7 seed Andy Murray are locked in a battle royal, tied after 3 1/2 hours in the fifth set, suspended by darkness, 7-7 with Murray to serve.

Kohli took the first set 6-3 with some fine aggressive side to side play that had Murray scrambling.  In the second and third sets Murray reversed the trend coming up with some much more aggressive play of his own, belting forehands and down the line backhands past the talented German, who is coming off a title win last week.  Murray went ahead 4-2 in the 4th set, 2 service games from victory, and then simply collapsed on serve with some sad and ugly double faults to hand Kohlschreiber a break back, and give him new life.  Kohli took advantage of a suddenly passive Murray again, and stormed back to snatch the final 3 games to take the 4th set. 

In the fifth set, Murray struck first and broke Kohlschreiber and was ahead 2-0, but Kohli hung in there and Murray got a bit passive again, and Kohli broke back straight away for 1-2, and then held his serve for 2-2.  Murray was shaken and stirred to get broken for a second time in the set, and Kohli had a break lead in the match for the first time since the first set, 3-2.  But yet more drama was in store, as Murray got aggressive again and Kohli was unable to hold his advantage and was broken himself for the second time in the set. Murray sealed his break and held serve for 4-3, but not without some concern as he was grasping his left hamstring during the game (again, he had done some similar grabbing earlier, but it didn't seem to affect his game at the time) and sure enough the trainer came on during the changeover. 

After a rubdown, but no Medical Time Out, Andy was back out, and on the receiving end of a solid love service game from Kohlschreiber out of nowhere for 4-4.  Andy returned the favor at love in his own service game, and went ahead 5-4 and got another rubdown. Philipp held serve again to love for 5-5, and with light fading, Murray survived a tighter service game with a big shot at 30-30 and held from there for a 6-5 lead, and earned yet another rubdown from the trainer.  Kohlschreiber survived his next service game after being down 15-30, but took 3 straight points to hold to get it to 6 all. 

As it got darker and even more tense, with no tiebreaker to relieve the suspense, Murray was again passive, and it almost cost him. He double faulted at 40-30 to give Kohli deuce and a chance. Kohli took his chance with gusto and produced two big shots, the last of which Murray could only look at as it buzzed past him for a break point.  Murray faced with almost certain death if he got broken, buckled down and took the next 3 points and held on for a 7-6 lead and his final on-court rubdown of the day.  At the changeover the officials decided to let them play one more game in the darkening gloom and Kohlschreiber did not fail to tie it up in another nail biting deuce game, 7-7, match suspended due to darkness. 

So this match, and the Gasquet-Verdasco match will continue tomorrow, both will be the second match of the day. Gasquet-Verdasco on Chatrier after the ladies, and Murray-Kohlschreiber after Berdych-Isner. 

Who will take the exciting Murray-Kohlschreiber match?  Murray to serve with the "scoreboard advantage".  Who will be ready? Which player will be advantaged by the darkness suspension?  The winner of course. :) 

Good luck to both players.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 31, 2014, 03:13:13 pm

order of play for sunday:


http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/index.html?from=atp

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 31, 2014, 03:09:15 pm

Sunday's key matches:


SUNDAY, 1 JUNE 2014   


 

 Singles - Fourth Round
 [13] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs. [2] Novak Djokovic (SRB)
 [18] Ernests Gulbis (LAT) vs. [4] Roger Federer (SUI)
 [6] Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs. [10] John Isner (USA)
 [8] Milos Raonic (CAN) vs. Marcel Granollers (ESP)

 Doubles - Third Round
 [5] Michael Llodra (FRA)/[5] Nicolas Mahut (FRA) vs. [11] Julien Benneteau (FRA)/[11] Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA)
 Jack Sock (USA)/Joao Sousa (POR) vs. Andrey Golubev (KAZ)/Samuel Groth (AUS)
 Feliciano Lopez (ESP)/Jurgen Melzer (AUT) vs. Marin Draganja (CRO)/Florin Mergea (ROU)

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 31, 2014, 12:17:44 pm

what a tournament GGL is having.


congrats to GGL and all his fans. well done.


Young has improved. he looks strong and fit out there.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 31, 2014, 10:52:58 am

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/index.html?from=atp

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 31, 2014, 10:50:05 am

monfils stays alive. removes fog from the facilities in 5.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 31, 2014, 10:17:37 am

fog vs monfils marathon battle continues:


http://www.tennisexplorer.com/live/#inscore_ifheight_xdc_2161

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 30, 2014, 07:30:54 pm

here is the order of play for tomorrow:


http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/index.html?from=atp

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 30, 2014, 11:24:04 am

Quote from: britbox on May 30, 2014, 10:40:23 am

Howdy Camelotonians,

How's it going?

Roland Garros is unfolding with a few shocks - none bigger than Serena getting caned by the unheralded Spaniard  Garbine Muguruza.  Put a gun to my head and I'd put Maria Sharapova as the new favourite in the ladies singles.

Men's draw...  Can't look too far beyond Novak and Rafa.  Djokovic was unimpressive against Cilic - he's going to have to ramp up the tempo and find that killer instict - particularly when he's seemingly coasting in matches.  I don't think Nadal has been that impressive either... but expect them both to make the finals.

 t

great to see you great baron of United Kingdom and Australia.



what about Roger Federer? I think he might be the story of the tournament if he can make the final.

he just has to improve with each match.

he can return better for instance. that will fix a lot of things fast.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: britbox on May 30, 2014, 10:40:23 am

Howdy Camelotonians,

How's it going?

Roland Garros is unfolding with a few shocks - none bigger than Serena getting caned by the unheralded Spaniard  Garbine Muguruza.  Put a gun to my head and I'd put Maria Sharapova as the new favourite in the ladies singles.

Men's draw...  Can't look too far beyond Novak and Rafa.  Djokovic was unimpressive against Cilic - he's going to have to ramp up the tempo and find that killer instict - particularly when he's seemingly coasting in matches.  I don't think Nadal has been that impressive either... but expect them both to make the finals.

 

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 30, 2014, 09:06:46 am

amazingly isner is still in it.



here are all the scores:


http://www.tennisexplorer.com/live/#inscore_ifheight_xdc_2601

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 29, 2014, 07:56:09 pm

rafa won easily but he is playing horrible tennis. I have never ever seen him move this poorly.


this is going to get real tricky for him. he has to find a way to lift his game. his next opponent is not much of a test but it will start getting more difficult after the 4th round.

he is moving poorly and his shots lack the depth and the venom. I am watching his match against dominic thiem now.


I am just hoping that he can find a way to hit his stride by the time semis arrive.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 29, 2014, 05:50:09 pm

thanks for posting the order of lay emma.

these are the key matches:


KEY MATCHES - FRIDAY, 30 MAY 2014


   

 Singles - Third Round
[25] Marin Cilic (CRO) vs. [2] Novak Djokovic (SRB)
 [31] Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) vs. [4] Roger Federer (SUI)
 [6]Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs. [27] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP)
 [8] Milos Raonic (CAN) vs. [29] Gilles Simon (FRA)
 [17] Tommy Robredo (ESP) vs. [10] John Isner (USA)
 [13] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs. [22] Jerzy Janowicz (POL)
 Radek Stepanek (CZE) vs. [18] Ernests Gulbis (LAT)

Doubles - Second Round
 Andre Begemann (GER)/Robin Haase (NED) vs. Alexander Peya (AUT)[2]/Bruno Soares (BRA)[2]
 Andrey Golubev (KAZ)/Samuel Groth (AUS) vs. David Marrero (ESP)[4]/Fernando Verdasco (ESP)[4]
 Michael Llodra (FRA)[5]/Nicolas Mahut (FRA)[5] vs. Santiago Gonzalez (MEX)/Scott Lipsky (USA)
 Mate Pavic (CRO)/Andre Sa (BRA) vs. Treat Huey (PHI)[7]/Dominic Inglot (GBR)[7]

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 29, 2014, 11:22:05 am

Gasquet dismisses Berlocq in straight sets.

Tomorrow's schedule is out in the meantime.

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/schedule11.html

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 29, 2014, 08:25:53 am

you are just too good princess TT.


lopez is out. gasquet might be next.


here are all the live scores.



http://www.tennisexplorer.com/live/#inscore_ifheight_xdc_3898

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on May 29, 2014, 04:33:12 am

Quote from: Clay Death on May 28, 2014, 06:28:56 pm

KEY MATCHES - THURSDAY, 29 MAY 2014 

 

Singles - Second Round
[1]Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Dominic Thiem (AUT)
 Simone Bolelli (ITA) vs. [5]David Ferrer (ESP)
 Marinko Matosevic (AUS) vs. [7]Andy Murray (GBR)
 [12]Richard Gasquet (FRA) vs. Carlos Berlocq (ARG)
 Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) vs. [14]Fabio Fognini (ITA)
 Axel Michon (FRA) vs. [19]Kevin Anderson (RSA)
 [23]Gael Monfils (FRA) vs. Jan-Lennard Struff (GER)
 Pablo Cuevas (URU) vs. [24]Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
 Donald Young (USA) vs. [26]Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
 [28]Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) vs. Denis Istomin (UZB)
 [32]Andreas Seppi (ITA) vs. Juan Monaco (ARG)

Doubles - Second Round
[1]Bob Bryan (USA)/[1]Mike Bryan (USA) vs. Jonathan Eysseric (FRA)/Marc Gicquel (FRA)
 [3]Daniel Nestor (CAN)/[3]Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) vs. Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP)/Igor Sijsling (NED)
 [6]Rohan Bopanna (IND)/[6]Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) vs. Jonathan Erlich (ISR)/Marcelo Melo (BRA)
 Jeremy Chardy (FRA)/Oliver Marach (AUT) vs. [9]Lukasz Kubot (POL)/[9]Robert Lindstedt (SWE)

Doubles - First Round
Santiago Giraldo (COL)/Alejandro Gonzalez (COL) vs. [7]Treat Huey (PHI)/[7] Dominic Inglot (GBR)

Just off the top of my head, without any forethought, and having just seen this, I'm going out on a limb and predicting

F Lopez and R Gasquet are possible upsets.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 28, 2014, 06:28:56 pm

KEY MATCHES - THURSDAY, 29 MAY 2014 

 

Singles - Second Round
[1]Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Dominic Thiem (AUT)
 Simone Bolelli (ITA) vs. [5]David Ferrer (ESP)
 Marinko Matosevic (AUS) vs. [7]Andy Murray (GBR)
 [12]Richard Gasquet (FRA) vs. Carlos Berlocq (ARG)
 Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) vs. [14]Fabio Fognini (ITA)
 Axel Michon (FRA) vs. [19]Kevin Anderson (RSA)
 [23]Gael Monfils (FRA) vs. Jan-Lennard Struff (GER)
 Pablo Cuevas (URU) vs. [24]Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
 Donald Young (USA) vs. [26]Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
 [28]Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) vs. Denis Istomin (UZB)
 [32]Andreas Seppi (ITA) vs. Juan Monaco (ARG)

Doubles - Second Round
[1]Bob Bryan (USA)/[1]Mike Bryan (USA) vs. Jonathan Eysseric (FRA)/Marc Gicquel (FRA)
 [3]Daniel Nestor (CAN)/[3]Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) vs. Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP)/Igor Sijsling (NED)
 [6]Rohan Bopanna (IND)/[6]Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) vs. Jonathan Erlich (ISR)/Marcelo Melo (BRA)
 Jeremy Chardy (FRA)/Oliver Marach (AUT) vs. [9]Lukasz Kubot (POL)/[9]Robert Lindstedt (SWE)

Doubles - First Round
Santiago Giraldo (COL)/Alejandro Gonzalez (COL) vs. [7]Treat Huey (PHI)/[7] Dominic Inglot (GBR)

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 28, 2014, 12:45:39 pm

But what I worry about this is that, Andy might get all grumpy over this and give a somewhat whatever performance. Hopefully that will motivate him instead.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 28, 2014, 12:42:56 pm

Quote from: masterclass on May 28, 2014, 12:37:38 pm

Never mind, I found him.  They have him on Court 1, not on Chatrier, or Lenglen... insult in my opinion.

Respectfully,
masterclass

The French are getting their priorities as you can see Gasquet is scheduled to play on Philippe right after Nadal's match and Monfils is on court Suzy. French crowd and all, didn't surprise me much really.

And Andy is ranked 7 at the moment so I guess that also went into consideration.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 28, 2014, 12:39:50 pm

Townsend is a very good up and comer but she's a big girl. Moves very well for a big girl but I still feel she needs to get a bit more in shape. Doesn't look very athletic though but a powerhouse no doubt.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: masterclass on May 28, 2014, 12:39:05 pm

Quote from: Emma on May 28, 2014, 12:36:27 pm

Tomorrow's schedule is out. Nadal is on Court Philippe and Andy's on Court 1.

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/schedule10.html

Yep, I just saw him, thanks, and thanks for the schedule Emma.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: masterclass on May 28, 2014, 12:37:38 pm

Never mind, I found him.  They have him on Court 1, not on Chatrier, or Lenglen... insult in my opinion.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 28, 2014, 12:36:27 pm

Tomorrow's schedule is out. Nadal is on Court Philippe and Andy's on Court 1.

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/schedule10.html

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: masterclass on May 28, 2014, 12:34:38 pm

Where is Andy Murray, OBE?

Shouldn't he be playing tomorrow?

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 28, 2014, 08:54:36 am

wow - big girl Serena and the No. 1 seed is out on Day Four - 2  and 2. Who called it and are now bragging about it?

Anything is possible, folks!

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 28, 2014, 08:28:16 am

Federer is rolling along. takes the first set 6-3 from the argentine Schwartzman.


nole wins comfortably in straights.


here are all the scores:


http://www.tennisexplorer.com/live/#inscore_ifheight_xdc_4340

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on May 27, 2014, 11:41:43 pm

Who's going to win the 2014 RG video.

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on May 27, 2014, 11:28:18 pm

Quote from: Emma on May 27, 2014, 12:38:02 pm

Quote from: Clay Death on May 26, 2014, 06:49:12 pm

Stan basically got hustled by GGL today emma.


and in a way its not really a surprise considering the way GGL had been playing before arriving in Paris. he was solid and focused.

congrats to GGL and his fans.

not sure what is going on with Stan. he may be carrying an injury. I don't think he moved well enough today.

Stan is just dealing with a different kind of pressure now that he's won a Slam. This is even unknown to him and he doesn't know how to deal with it. Also, drawing GGL in the very first round was not ideal for him at this stage. He'll learn and grow from this and perhaps will show a bit more respect towards others. He was getting carried away with his recent success. A loss like this will make him humble. Same goes for Dimitrov.

Agree and agree, Emma. This is new territory from both. A little humility goes a long way. Either they will learn their lesson or crack under pressure. There is a maturation process that both of them have to go through.

Milos, on the other hand, is doing very well with handling this crucial stage.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 27, 2014, 10:13:04 pm

I would have to agree with you emma.

you have the right to be furious.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 27, 2014, 06:48:38 pm

And maybe in the future Uncle Pistol Pete, Uncle Rafa, Uncle Muzza courts? ;D ;D ;D

But how come all the major courts or the main courts are under the guys' name? I mean Arthur Ashe? Sexist? I mean come on. Emma furious!

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 27, 2014, 02:34:27 pm

court suzy and court uncle chatrier.



 ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 27, 2014, 12:56:29 pm

Quote from: Clay Death on May 27, 2014, 12:49:51 pm

Quote from: Emma on May 27, 2014, 12:40:11 pm

Tomorrow's schedule is out, folks. Federer is on court Suzy (lol) and Nole is on court Philippe.

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/schedule9.html

I was actually about to look for the order of play for tomorrow.



thanks for posting it.


nole is probably going to be on centre court the whole 2 weeks.


he has a big contract with a French car maker (Peugeot cars). and they are a big time sponsor of RG this year.

herc, Nole's opponents are noteworthy and deserve CC in my opinion. Robby was allowed only 3 games in the 2nd set and was bageled both in the 1st and 3rd sets. No one in their right mind would pay for tickets to see a match like that. I know I wouldn't. Nole's 1st round match was far more competitive than that.

As to Federer, he definitely should play at least 1 match on court Suzy so that's not unfair or anything. I was only laughing at the name you came up with (court Suzy) the other day. I thought it was very funny!

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 27, 2014, 12:51:59 pm

Quote from: Clay Death on May 27, 2014, 11:12:25 am

andy coughed up the 3rd set but has now put himself in a position to escort golubev off the facilities.



andy is serving for the match at 5-3. and its done.

congrats to andy and his fans at Camelot.

Abysmal 3rd set from Andy. Only 41% first serve in. This is a big liability for him. He needs to pay utmost attention to this and make immediate improvements. He must raise it to a much more consistent level. His concentration is another factor that needs improvement. In fact, that just might be the main culprit here since a serve needs total attention and he seems out of focus every time he gets a comfortable lead. It's frustrating for him and it's very frustrating for us. Other than that, just a typical Murray match, really.

Andy did say he wanted to play a percentage tennis against a player like Golubev and he did. He knew Golubev was going to go for his shots so Andy needed to stay cool and be more patient with him. But missing so many 1st serves wasn't at all cool in  my book. That tends to be the downfall for him at times. This is one aspect of Andy's game that needs serious improvement if he wants to be more consistent and see higher results.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 27, 2014, 12:49:51 pm

Quote from: Emma on May 27, 2014, 12:40:11 pm

Tomorrow's schedule is out, folks. Federer is on court Suzy (lol) and Nole is on court Philippe.

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/schedule9.html

I was actually about to look for the order of play for tomorrow.



thanks for posting it.


nole is probably going to be on centre court the whole 2 weeks.


he has a big contract with a French car maker (Peugeot cars). and they are a big time sponsor of RG this year.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 27, 2014, 12:40:11 pm

Tomorrow's schedule is out, folks. Federer is on court Suzy (lol) and Nole is on court Philippe.

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/schedule9.html

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 27, 2014, 12:38:02 pm

Quote from: Clay Death on May 26, 2014, 06:49:12 pm

Stan basically got hustled by GGL today emma.


and in a way its not really a surprise considering the way GGL had been playing before arriving in Paris. he was solid and focused.

congrats to GGL and his fans.

not sure what is going on with Stan. he may be carrying an injury. I don't think he moved well enough today.

Stan is just dealing with a different kind of pressure now that he's won a Slam. This is even unknown to him and he doesn't know how to deal with it. Also, drawing GGL in the very first round was not ideal for him at this stage. He'll learn and grow from this and perhaps will show a bit more respect towards others. He was getting carried away with his recent success. A loss like this will make him humble. Same goes for Dimitrov.   

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 27, 2014, 11:12:25 am

andy coughed up the 3rd set but has now put himself in a position to escort golubev off the facilities.



andy is serving for the match at 5-3. and its done.

congrats to andy and his fans at Camelot.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 27, 2014, 08:47:54 am

almagro and dimitrov are out.


here are all the scores:


http://www.tennisexplorer.com/live/#inscore_ifheight_xdc_4453

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on May 27, 2014, 12:47:08 am

Quote from: Clay Death on May 26, 2014, 06:49:12 pm

Stan basically got hustled by GGL today emma.


and in a way its not really a surprise considering the way GGL had been playing before arriving in Paris. he was solid and focused.

congrats to GGL and his fans.

not sure what is going on with Stan. he may be carrying an injury. I don't think he moved well enough today.

I don't know if he was carrying an injury before today, because he put himself in contention saying that he and Federer were the 3rd and 4th contenders, but now after the match he's saying he did have an injury.


Entering Roland Garros after experiencing a back issue late in the claycourt season, Wawrinka was out-hit by Spaniard Guillermo “G-Lo” Garcia Lopez 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0.

“I’ve had ups and downs,” Wawrinka said. “That’s why I’m saying I am not at the level of Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, because they have been around for many years, and they win everything. I know I’ll have the level. I could defeat them, but it’s different…I need to put the puzzle back together, find solutions, because the pressure is different.”

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on May 27, 2014, 12:42:24 am

Quote from: Clay Death on May 26, 2014, 08:45:33 am

affirmative. tough break for nishikori.

here are the rest of the scores:


http://www.tennisexplorer.com/live/#inscore_ifheight_xdc_3464


Yeah, that was some serious bad luck. Kei stays injured quite a bit.

well we knew there was 90% chance for rain.


also they deliberately screwed with rafa's schedule. he was in the top 1/2 and the top seed. he should have been given a chance to play on the first day.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on May 27, 2014, 12:41:22 am

Quote from: Clay Death on May 26, 2014, 08:45:33 am

affirmative. tough break for nishikori.

here are the rest of the scores:


http://www.tennisexplorer.com/live/#inscore_ifheight_xdc_3464




well we knew there was 90% chance for rain.


also they deliberately screwed with rafa's schedule. he was in the top 1/2 and the top seed. he should have been given a chance to play on the first day.

All of the slams fix the schedule to benefit their favorites. I have never seen Maria or Roger dogged out by the schedule in ten years, or given certain courts.

I remember Serena and Venus being stiffed many times while Maria gets to waltz in and get the prime time schedule time after time.

Only thing is, they don't realize that they're actually motivating them. So, the jokes on them.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 26, 2014, 07:54:38 pm

I found this at tennis x. good read:



http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2014-05-26/15849.php

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 26, 2014, 06:49:12 pm

Stan basically got hustled by GGL today emma.


and in a way its not really a surprise considering the way GGL had been playing before arriving in Paris. he was solid and focused.

congrats to GGL and his fans.

not sure what is going on with Stan. he may be carrying an injury. I don't think he moved well enough today.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 26, 2014, 06:46:49 pm

this was the very first time I saw the argentine play. he was certainly in no mood to go away today against benneteau.

what a battle between the two.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 26, 2014, 03:19:56 pm

So Day 2 has seen a couple of major upsets- Stan and Nishi. And what a match for Bagnis. I am really happy for him.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 26, 2014, 02:56:33 pm

Well, the 3rd seed and one of the main contenders Stanman is gone and was bageled in the 4th set. What happened?

They came into this match with record 2 all on clay. But then again Stan has supposedly improved and I believe he has but Garcia-Lopez as a first rounder was definitely going to be a real thread.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 26, 2014, 02:37:19 pm

here is the order of play for tomorrow:


http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/index.html?from=atp

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 26, 2014, 01:46:00 pm

3rd set goes to GGL.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 26, 2014, 01:40:14 pm

GGL still in the game. leads 5-2 in the 3rd set.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 26, 2014, 12:42:51 pm

GGL snatched the first set against Stan.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 26, 2014, 12:42:26 pm

benneteau is starting to get the cramps. he needs to finish it here.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 26, 2014, 12:23:34 pm

Oh My God Benneteau and Bagnis. Finish the bloody match already.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 26, 2014, 10:03:35 am

Nole gets broken the 2nd time in the 3rd set. Not a very bright set. And Sousa holds 4-5. Nole can still serve it out though. Strange 3rd set nonetheless.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 26, 2014, 08:55:15 am

Well, Nole's playing today too and his play is actually suspended at the moment so they must have screwed his schedule too. And Andy is not even starting until tomorrow if you can imagine that. That's a major screw up then but I don't think, in reality, that it is. There's a lot going on behind the scene that we don't know. Top players do put through requests and sometimes the organizers do honour some of those wishes. I was told Federer often put through requests to play night matches. It's not coincidence that he tends to play most night matches than any other player especially in Slams

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 26, 2014, 08:50:40 am

Quote from: Clay Death on May 25, 2014, 06:38:40 pm

Isner also doesn't understand why a player and a champion of nadal's stature is being relegated to a side court.


its just the French organizers being inconsiderate and ignorant. I am not too happy about it.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2014/05/25/french-open-2014-rafael-nadal-opening-match-suzanne-lenglen/9572277/

As I mentioned before, it could very well be Nadal himself who put the request through to the Organizers to play on Suzanne Lenglen court and it's the 2nd biggest court, not a side court. Top players are supposed to play at least one match over to Suzanne and Nadal's opponent is ranked 279 after all, so it's really not crying for a bigger draw as big a player as Nadal is. 

In any case, it's not about the ego but getting the job done. Can't speak for anyone else but I'd be perfectly fine with Andy not opening his first match on CC at Wimbledon though I am quite convinced most Murray fans would see it as an insult.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 26, 2014, 08:45:33 am

affirmative. tough break for nishikori.

here are the rest of the scores:


http://www.tennisexplorer.com/live/#inscore_ifheight_xdc_3464




well we knew there was 90% chance for rain.


also they deliberately screwed with rafa's schedule. he was in the top 1/2 and the top seed. he should have been given a chance to play on the first day.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 26, 2014, 08:41:31 am

Too bad about Nishikori. He did tell the Japanese media prior to RG that he wouldn't have played this week if this wasn't a Slam. He hasn't recovered from his injury that happened against Nadal in Madrid final yet.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: masterclass on May 26, 2014, 08:14:29 am

#9 Nishikori escorted off the premises by Martin Klizan in a rather easy 3 after a tight first set.  Martin played well, and not much fight from Kei after dropping the first set in the tiebreaker.  But he's probably playing injured.

Raining now.  Sousa serving 1-4 to Djokovic, who got broken just before the rain suspended play.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on May 26, 2014, 05:17:42 am

Quote from: Clay Death on May 25, 2014, 06:38:40 pm

Isner also doesn't understand why a player and a champion of nadal's stature is being relegated to a side court.


its just the French organizers being inconsiderate and ignorant. I am not too happy about it.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2014/05/25/french-open-2014-rafael-nadal-opening-match-suzanne-lenglen/9572277/

That some absolute BS! I don't know people can be so nasty. An 8 time champion is put behind two no time winners, and two one time winners? That's ridiculous.

It's just a total mind game. There is no excuse for that. At all.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 25, 2014, 06:38:40 pm

Isner also doesn't understand why a player and a champion of nadal's stature is being relegated to a side court.


its just the French organizers being inconsiderate and ignorant. I am not too happy about it.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2014/05/25/french-open-2014-rafael-nadal-opening-match-suzanne-lenglen/9572277/

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on May 25, 2014, 06:11:36 pm

Quote from: Emma on May 25, 2014, 12:33:13 pm

Tomorrow's schedules, folks. Nadal is opening on Suzanne Lenglen court. Looks bizarre but I understand he's not comfortable with the conditions at Philippe Chatrier just yet as reports say he's sort of complained about it and may have personally asked for Suzanne specifically.

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/schedule7.html

Thanks for posting this, Emma.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 25, 2014, 06:09:45 pm

I think the French organizers are just being rude and ignorant.


the guy is a 8 times RG champion and a defending champion. they had no business putting him on the side court tomorrow.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on May 25, 2014, 05:45:22 pm

Quote from: masterclass on May 25, 2014, 05:22:00 am

Haha , yes funny!

Here's another funny one.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BoeGTHxCYAEDcD9.jpg:large)

Translation:

1st frame:  Stan sweating as French media headlines put the pressure on him.  Stan favorite for Roland Garros, second grand slam, #1 in the world

2nd frame:

"Going to ask Roger how he handles pressure to spend quiet nights..."

3rd frame:  No translation needed.  Haha

Respectfully,
masterclass

That is hilarious. Thanks for the translation. It's amazing how so many words have the same root in so many languages.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 25, 2014, 12:48:40 pm

Robby Ginepri, Nadal's 1st round opponent, is ranked 279!! lol I honestly thought he had retired. Somehow he made it to the draw again. Has no credential on clay after all these years. Should be a very easy match for Nadal.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 25, 2014, 12:36:27 pm

While Isner won in straight sets he really had it in 3 tough sets. Looks like Herbert put up a strong fight against Isner in the opening round. A few 5 setters here and there but not serious upsets. The top seeds got it done in 3.

Monday still looks rainy but Tuesday and Wednesday have cleared up so far. It's looking much  better now.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Emma on May 25, 2014, 12:33:13 pm

Tomorrow's schedules, folks. Nadal is opening on Suzanne Lenglen court. Looks bizarre but I understand he's not comfortable with the conditions at Philippe Chatrier just yet as reports say he's sort of complained about it and may have personally asked for Suzanne specifically.

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/schedule7.html

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 25, 2014, 08:11:18 am

Federer and Raonic shaking and baking in Paris as expected.



here are all the scores:


http://www.tennisexplorer.com/live/#inscore_ifheight_xdc_1553

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 25, 2014, 08:10:33 am

excellent stuff general.

keep it coming.



 ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: masterclass on May 25, 2014, 05:22:00 am

Haha , yes funny!

Here's another funny one.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BoeGTHxCYAEDcD9.jpg:large)

Translation:

1st frame:  Stan sweating as French media headlines put the pressure on him.  Stan favorite for Roland Garros, second grand slam, #1 in the world

2nd frame:

"Going to ask Roger how he handles pressure to spend quiet nights..."

3rd frame:  No translation needed.  Haha

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on May 25, 2014, 03:31:03 am

Quote from: Clay Death on May 24, 2014, 09:37:50 pm

(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1322.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fu572%2Fspartacus120%2Fspartan%2520images%2Fthis%2520is%2520sparta%2Fsparatus-1%2Fcool%2520pix%2Fbull%2520logos-1%2FBoZtEFICAAEHw9Y_zpsfe4caa30.png&hash=b5a6d5837f6a6bcaf0c10133a0949cc14a31bff5) (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/spartacus120/media/spartan%20images/this%20is%20sparta/sparatus-1/cool%20pix/bull%20logos-1/BoZtEFICAAEHw9Y_zpsfe4caa30.png.html)

This is unbelievably funny! People!

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 24, 2014, 09:37:50 pm

(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1322.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fu572%2Fspartacus120%2Fspartan%2520images%2Fthis%2520is%2520sparta%2Fsparatus-1%2Fcool%2520pix%2Fbull%2520logos-1%2FBoZtEFICAAEHw9Y_zpsfe4caa30.png&hash=b5a6d5837f6a6bcaf0c10133a0949cc14a31bff5) (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/spartacus120/media/spartan%20images/this%20is%20sparta/sparatus-1/cool%20pix/bull%20logos-1/BoZtEFICAAEHw9Y_zpsfe4caa30.png.html)

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 24, 2014, 08:04:41 pm

Quote from: masterclass on May 24, 2014, 01:55:38 pm

Order of Play for Sunday Day 1 - Bottom half first (http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/index.html)

Respectfully,
masterclass

great stuff general.

roger will get his campaign started tomorrow. he should not have any issues at all tomorrow.



best of luck to roger and his fans.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 24, 2014, 06:23:20 pm

thanks for posting the order of play general masterclass.



let the battles begin.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: masterclass on May 24, 2014, 01:55:38 pm

Order of Play for Sunday Day 1 - Bottom half first (http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/index.html)

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on May 23, 2014, 10:59:34 pm

RG Player Party:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVoiQgc3WlM#t=20

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on May 23, 2014, 10:36:06 pm

Quote from: Clay Death on May 23, 2014, 09:20:32 pm

Quote from: masterclass on May 23, 2014, 07:22:05 am

Could have been worse for Rafa, but not much. 

Pitfalls:

2nd round - the rising Thiem might make it tough, or could be easy pickings if overwhelmed by the occasion.
4th round - Almagro if he makes it past Haas who is still nursing a shoulder issue
QF - Ferrer -  possible 3rd round with Giraldo, and 4th with Dimitrov, should make it through
SF - Wawrinka - can be there if he makes it past GGL in a tough 1st round match, Fognini in the 4th round and Murray in the QF

Rafa could face 3 players that have beaten him this year.  Chance for redemption I guess, but certainly not easy.

Murray has it tough.

1st round Golubev if he is on can be dangerous, though he is probably better on hard court.
3rd round Kohli destroyed Murray the only time they met at Monte Carlo.
If he makes it to the 4th round, likely Verdasco or any of Berlocq,  Gasquet (but he might withdraw), Hewitt (doubt it)
QF - potentially Wawrinka who is unbeaten on clay vs. Murray in 3 attempts. The last time in 2013 Monte Carlo was not pretty

Respectfully,
masterclass

I am not happy with the draw because I wanted andy murray in nole's 1/2. I wanted to see a 5 set battle between andy and nole.



other than that, the tough draw for rafa might work out. he has to cast out his demons.

he needs the work. tougher draw will prepare him best for the final.


he has to roll up his sleeves and dig deep for this one.

I think Rafa will be ready. He has a lot on the line at this year's RG, and he usually rises to the challenge. This is what I wish for.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 23, 2014, 09:20:32 pm

Quote from: masterclass on May 23, 2014, 07:22:05 am

Could have been worse for Rafa, but not much. 

Pitfalls:

2nd round - the rising Thiem might make it tough, or could be easy pickings if overwhelmed by the occasion.
4th round - Almagro if he makes it past Haas who is still nursing a shoulder issue
QF - Ferrer -  possible 3rd round with Giraldo, and 4th with Dimitrov, should make it through
SF - Wawrinka - can be there if he makes it past GGL in a tough 1st round match, Fognini in the 4th round and Murray in the QF

Rafa could face 3 players that have beaten him this year.  Chance for redemption I guess, but certainly not easy.

Murray has it tough.

1st round Golubev if he is on can be dangerous, though he is probably better on hard court.
3rd round Kohli destroyed Murray the only time they met at Monte Carlo.
If he makes it to the 4th round, likely Verdasco or any of Berlocq,  Gasquet (but he might withdraw), Hewitt (doubt it)
QF - potentially Wawrinka who is unbeaten on clay vs. Murray in 3 attempts. The last time in 2013 Monte Carlo was not pretty

Respectfully,
masterclass

I am not happy with the draw because I wanted andy murray in nole's 1/2. I wanted to see a 5 set battle between andy and nole.



other than that, the tough draw for rafa might work out. he has to cast out his demons.

he needs the work. tougher draw will prepare him best for the final.


he has to roll up his sleeves and dig deep for this one.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: masterclass on May 23, 2014, 07:22:05 am

Could have been worse for Rafa, but not much. 

Pitfalls:

2nd round - the rising Thiem might make it tough, or could be easy pickings if overwhelmed by the occasion.
4th round - Almagro if he makes it past Haas who is still nursing a shoulder issue
QF - Ferrer -  possible 3rd round with Giraldo, and 4th with Dimitrov, should make it through
SF - Wawrinka - can be there if he makes it past GGL in a tough 1st round match, Fognini in the 4th round and Murray in the QF

Rafa could face 3 players that have beaten him this year.  Chance for redemption I guess, but certainly not easy.

Murray has it tough.

1st round Golubev if he is on can be dangerous, though he is probably better on hard court.
3rd round Kohli destroyed Murray the only time they met at Monte Carlo.
If he makes it to the 4th round, likely Verdasco or any of Berlocq,  Gasquet (but he might withdraw), Hewitt (doubt it)
QF - potentially Wawrinka who is unbeaten on clay vs. Murray in 3 attempts. The last time in 2013 Monte Carlo was not pretty

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on May 23, 2014, 06:04:55 am

Quote from: masterclass on May 23, 2014, 05:11:20 am

Full Men's main draw in Post #1

Projected QF's
Nadal vs. Ferrer

Wawrinka vs. Murray


Federer vs. Berdych

Djokovic vs. Raonic

Respectfully,
masterclass

Interesting matches, sort of, I don't think Berdych can take Fed out on clay, or Raonic take out Nole. Not even Nadal/Ferrer, so the only interesting one to me is Andy/Stan.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: masterclass on May 23, 2014, 05:11:20 am

Full Men's main draw in Post #1

Projected QF's
Nadal vs. Ferrer

Wawrinka vs. Murray

Federer vs. Berdych

Djokovic vs. Raonic

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: masterclass on May 23, 2014, 02:20:08 am

Roland Garros draw Live in just over two hours
Roland Garros draw Live in just over two hours (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0R9a49qSQE)

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 22, 2014, 07:46:46 pm

Quote from: masterclass on May 22, 2014, 05:47:17 am

Yes, general hercules, Federer has a big game.  Question is with the birth of his twins, will he be ready?

It seems he went to Roland Garros early this year after his early loss in Rome. 

Here is Federer in game practice with the talented Grigor Dimitrov - "Dynamitrov"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX74l1z6PDo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX74l1z6PDo)

Looks like Grigor has some work to do.

Respectfully,
masterclass

awesome stuff general masterclass the magnificent.




thanks for posting it and sharing it with us.



dynamitrov is a rising star but I think his best surface is going to end up being the faster courts. he will do his best work on the hard courts in the long run scheme of things.

he is great on clay but not great enough for the top guns.


he moves well for a big guy but he is not consistent enough for the red clay.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: masterclass on May 22, 2014, 03:19:50 pm

Agreed Lady TT.

Less than 12 hours till the draw!

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on May 22, 2014, 12:06:04 pm

Quote from: masterclass on May 20, 2014, 11:53:47 am

General hercules, Lady TT, I have no idea how Roger Federer will play at Roland Garros. 

Physically he is probably fine, but he is probably undercooked a bit in match play which leaves him susceptible to upsets if he is rusty early against the wrong player. 

Mentally, who knows what planet he is on after the birth of his twin sons?  It might take hims some time to find his mental equilibrium again, maybe not. 

I would hope for him to make it at least to the QF at Roland Garros, and then play well in Halle, perhaps a final, and be ready for a full assault at Wimbledon with enough match play, and being relatively rested, he should be tough to beat there.  But again, who knows? 

Anything more he does is gravy on his plate.  He's probably playing more for the fun of it at this point, though he has done some serious conditioning, so it's obviously not without effort to be fit enough to do well.  Doesn't seem to be taking his losses in the finals too hard, though I thought he didn't look so happy after his upset to Chardy in Rome.  We'll see what happens. 

It's a major life change to add two more children to the family, but if anyone can handle it, it is multitasking Roger Federer, with the great help of his wife, family, and friends of course. ;)   He could retire this year, and I wouldn't be surprised, or he could go on till 40 and I wouldn't be surprised either.

Respectfully,
masterclass

While all that is true, masterclass, one thing we know about Roger is that he likes to make a statement. It's when people give up on him that he comes back to settle the score. Fed is in the best position possible. He still has major game and the pressure is off of him, so to speak.

I think he'll know when to quit. It may be abruptly or he may ease out of the game, but we don't know for sure what motivates him and it's entirely possible that he can still have a swan song.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: masterclass on May 22, 2014, 05:47:17 am

Yes, general hercules, Federer has a big game.  Question is with the birth of his twins, will he be ready?

It seems he went to Roland Garros early this year after his early loss in Rome. 

Here is Federer in game practice with the talented Grigor Dimitrov - "Dynamitrov"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX74l1z6PDo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX74l1z6PDo)

Looks like Grigor has some work to do.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 20, 2014, 12:48:32 pm

Federer has such a big game that he can make the quarters and the semis of any slam he pleases.

all that is required is that he is healthy and fit. the man is still armed with immense motivation.


some people have pointed out that he will be a factor at this Wimbledon.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: masterclass on May 20, 2014, 11:53:47 am

General hercules, Lady TT, I have no idea how Roger Federer will play at Roland Garros. 

Physically he is probably fine, but he is probably undercooked a bit in match play which leaves him susceptible to upsets if he is rusty early against the wrong player. 

Mentally, who knows what planet he is on after the birth of his twin sons?  It might take hims some time to find his mental equilibrium again, maybe not. 

I would hope for him to make it at least to the QF at Roland Garros, and then play well in Halle, perhaps a final, and be ready for a full assault at Wimbledon with enough match play, and being relatively rested, he should be tough to beat there.  But again, who knows? 

Anything more he does is gravy on his plate.  He's probably playing more for the fun of it at this point, though he has done some serious conditioning, so it's obviously not without effort to be fit enough to do well.  Doesn't seem to be taking his losses in the finals too hard, though I thought he didn't look so happy after his upset to Chardy in Rome.  We'll see what happens. 

It's a major life change to add two more children to the family, but if anyone can handle it, it is multitasking Roger Federer, with the great help of his wife, family, and friends of course. ;)   He could retire this year, and I wouldn't be surprised, or he could go on till 40 and I wouldn't be surprised either.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: thetruth on May 20, 2014, 12:50:41 am

Quote from: Clay Death on May 19, 2014, 11:58:09 am

Federer still has monster game. and we all know that he can be a beast on clay.

now he just has to go out there and do his thing in Paris.

Agree. People better not take Federer for granted. He is a beast on clay, and he's rested. Not good for the field.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: Clay Death on May 19, 2014, 11:58:09 am

Federer still has monster game. and we all know that he can be a beast on clay.

now he just has to go out there and do his thing in Paris.

Title: Re: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Draw info in Post #1)
Post by: masterclass on May 19, 2014, 07:42:27 am

You have that right general hercules.

Wonder which halves #3 Wawrinka and #4 Federer will fall into?
Will it be like the AO, or the reverse?  Personally, I'd like to see the reverse this time, but I don't know if either or both will make it to the semis.

Nadal vs Wawrinka and Djokovic vs. Federer  semis or even the reverse would probably make the sponsors and fans of those players happy.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: Clay Death on May 19, 2014, 12:34:02 am

so it is coming up soon then general masterclass.

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: masterclass on May 19, 2014, 12:30:37 am

General hercules, here is the scoop on the draw:

Qualifying draw: Monday, May 19, 6:00 p.m.  TODAY!

Main draw: Friday, May 23, 11:30 a.m.

So the main draw is just 4 days and a few hours from now.

I'll put this info in post #1 as well.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: Clay Death on May 18, 2014, 08:36:23 pm

who has the info on the draw?


RG has a sunday start so this is happening soon.


lets get this party started.

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: Clay Death on May 17, 2014, 09:20:10 am

 ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: thetruth on May 17, 2014, 03:25:29 am

Quote from: Clay Death on May 16, 2014, 08:14:47 pm

Quote from: Emma on May 16, 2014, 10:09:03 am

I must admit I was not aware of this thread especially given that it was opened as early as December 2013! lol

Have you guys voted? I guess we don't have enough people to do that but maybe we will in the future.

I never vote really since I like observing things as they play out rather than predicting it. Other times it's just too easy to know it though you don't want to get too caught up on that.

que pasa princess emma.

we are sort of pro-active at Camelot. we do everything well in advance.


that reminds me: how about the Wimbledon thread? it will be here before you know it.

Ha ha ha. You are so funny!

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: Clay Death on May 16, 2014, 08:28:29 pm

since they talk about the French open in this article also, let me go ahead and post it here as well:


http://www.tennishound.com/?p=20227

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: Clay Death on May 16, 2014, 08:14:47 pm

Quote from: Emma on May 16, 2014, 10:09:03 am

I must admit I was not aware of this thread especially given that it was opened as early as December 2013! lol

Have you guys voted? I guess we don't have enough people to do that but maybe we will in the future.

I never vote really since I like observing things as they play out rather than predicting it. Other times it's just too easy to know it though you don't want to get too caught up on that.

que pasa princess emma.

we are sort of pro-active at Camelot. we do everything well in advance.


that reminds me: how about the Wimbledon thread? it will be here before you know it.

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: thetruth on May 16, 2014, 06:44:48 pm

Quote from: Emma on May 16, 2014, 10:09:03 am

I must admit I was not aware of this thread especially given that it was opened as early as December 2013! lol

Have you guys voted? I guess we don't have enough people to do that but maybe we will in the future.

I never vote really since I like observing things as they play out rather than predicting it. Other times it's just too easy to know it though you don't want to get too caught up on that.

I don't vote in polls on other forums, but I will here for the sake of solidarity.

Not that it matters, since I'm only voting with my heart and not using any sort of statistical analysis.

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: Emma on May 16, 2014, 10:09:03 am

I must admit I was not aware of this thread especially given that it was opened as early as December 2013! lol

Have you guys voted? I guess we don't have enough people to do that but maybe we will in the future.

I never vote really since I like observing things as they play out rather than predicting it. Other times it's just too easy to know it though you don't want to get too caught up on that.

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: Clay Death on May 16, 2014, 09:04:58 am

Quote from: masterclass on May 16, 2014, 01:38:36 am

Quote from: Clay Death on February 12, 2014, 05:35:16 pm

Quote from: masterclass on February 12, 2014, 08:42:52 am

Nadal is like the hunted beast at Rafael Garros.  Everybody knows he is the favorite every year he plays.
He is one of the top 3 clay court players in history, maybe the best.
Best of 5 sets on clay is always on his racquet. The only thing that can stop him is himself if he overplays and gets himself hurt or exhausted.
He only needs about 15 matches on clay before RG to be ready.   I would not play Madrid if I were in his shoes.

Play Monte-Carlo the week of April 13-20.
Play Barcelona the following week - April 21-27. 
Skip Madrid the week of May 4-11. 
Play Rome the following week, May 12-18.
Rest a week and get to Roland Garros May 25th, fresh and ready to win his 9th French Open and 14th slam overall to tie him with the great Pete Sampras.

Before the clay season, he should limit his hard court play.  Play Indian Wells, singles only.  Withdraw from Miami and get back to Majorca and start practicing on the clay. 

If he does all of the above, he can make it to each of the clay finals, and probably win them all.   Then he might have enough gas to do better at Wimbledon.  If he overplays before RG, either on hard or clay,  I think he is risks getting beaten at RG.

Respectfully,
masterclass

great post general.

I could not agree more.



he is likely to get a few more match than just 15 going into that final at RG:


1. he will get 6 at RG (going into the final)
2. he may get 4 at rio open. I think he loses to ferru there while he gradually tries to increase intensity
3. he gets 5 at monte carlo: (he is going to take back monte carlo this year)
4. he will get 5 in Barcelona: he wins barcelona
5. he will get 5 in rome: he wins rome masters


i am not sure if he is going to skip Madrid. lets assume he does. that gives him a total of 25 matches on clay going into the final.


historically----before nadal's reign of terror at rg---winners there have needed to play 20 matches on clay on the average going into paris.


I changed the equation for nadal: we might as well count the 6 that he is going to play going into the final.



he is going to be very hard to stop in the final.

Well, now that time has passed, let's see how many clay matches Rafa will actually have..

General, I'm not going to count Rio, since he played 2 tournaments on hard court after that and didn't keep practicing on clay.  And his results on clay thereafter show that lack of preparation.

So that leaves us with:

Monte Carlo:  3
Barcelona: 3
Madrid: 5 (almost had to play here after MC and Barca fiascos)
Rome: 2 so far
RG:

So he has only 13 so far.  He must make it to the final in Rome, which will give him 2 or 3 wins more for 15 or 16 maximum.
That's a bit light historically going into Rafa Garros, but then as you say, he'll have 6 matches prior to the final, which will give him 21 or 22 matches going into the final at RG.  That should be enough as long as he makes it to the final.  He knows his way around RG.

Respectfully,
masterclass

you are 100% spot on general. now he is in a bit of a bind:

not sufficient practice on clay and certainly not enough match play on clay.

he just could not help himself. you and I have been saying this for years. he just wont let go of his infatuation with hard courts.

he also wont let go of his infatuation with a multitude of extracurricular activities.


he totally neglected clay and now finds himself behind the curve.


that is not my biggest worry:

my biggest worry is that he has neglected his fitness. you heard what general Tee said about rafa's performance in Miami. he said that Rafa looked slow and sluggish.

that is very true. he has looked slow and sluggish to me on clay also.

his movement is not there and he does not look lean and mean. there is some loss of lean muscle tissue also.

even the analysts have made a few remarks about the speed of his shots. they were not up to speed in monte carlo.

his shots lack the usual speed and the venom in rome also. that is what is enabling all the players to get to them so easily.


he is also making it easier for them by continuing to run around his backhand. they are able to read his shots better when he gives up the control of the center of the court.

all that being said, I think he is still the man to beat at RG. I don't see anybody being able to stop him there in the final. he needs to play only one great match and he can do that in the final.

it is a lot harder for the players to deal with him in a best of 5 sets matches on the red clay even when he is not quite himself. he usually finds a way.

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: masterclass on May 16, 2014, 04:00:43 am

All true Lady TT.  Even if Rafa hasn't impressed, no one else has either.  So in best of 5 on clay, he is still the favorite to win, but that doesn't mean he will, even though he has only 1 loss there in many many years. 

If someone is in his draw that has good endurance and plays at a good level prior to the QF, and catches Rafa on one of his "off" days, they can beat him, even in best of 5, because he is light on matches and not in top form yet.

But I think if he can make it to the semifinal stage, he'll have 20 matches on clay under his belt and will be difficult to beat.

But there is another factor if he makes the final. The pressure will build to take his 14th major to tie Sampras. We can't dismiss it.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: thetruth on May 16, 2014, 02:51:44 am

Um guys,I don't know. While I am not that good on the technical aspects, Rafa seems to be pretty far from a lock this year.

So far, no one looks very good. This has been a patchy clay court season.

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: masterclass on May 16, 2014, 01:38:36 am

Quote from: Clay Death on February 12, 2014, 05:35:16 pm

Quote from: masterclass on February 12, 2014, 08:42:52 am

Nadal is like the hunted beast at Rafael Garros.  Everybody knows he is the favorite every year he plays.
He is one of the top 3 clay court players in history, maybe the best.
Best of 5 sets on clay is always on his racquet. The only thing that can stop him is himself if he overplays and gets himself hurt or exhausted.
He only needs about 15 matches on clay before RG to be ready.   I would not play Madrid if I were in his shoes.

Play Monte-Carlo the week of April 13-20.
Play Barcelona the following week - April 21-27. 
Skip Madrid the week of May 4-11. 
Play Rome the following week, May 12-18.
Rest a week and get to Roland Garros May 25th, fresh and ready to win his 9th French Open and 14th slam overall to tie him with the great Pete Sampras.

Before the clay season, he should limit his hard court play.  Play Indian Wells, singles only.  Withdraw from Miami and get back to Majorca and start practicing on the clay. 

If he does all of the above, he can make it to each of the clay finals, and probably win them all.   Then he might have enough gas to do better at Wimbledon.  If he overplays before RG, either on hard or clay,  I think he is risks getting beaten at RG.

Respectfully,
masterclass

great post general.

I could not agree more.



he is likely to get a few more match than just 15 going into that final at RG:


1. he will get 6 at RG (going into the final)
2. he may get 4 at rio open. I think he loses to ferru there while he gradually tries to increase intensity
3. he gets 5 at monte carlo: (he is going to take back monte carlo this year)
4. he will get 5 in Barcelona: he wins barcelona
5. he will get 5 in rome: he wins rome masters


i am not sure if he is going to skip Madrid. lets assume he does. that gives him a total of 25 matches on clay going into the final.


historically----before nadal's reign of terror at rg---winners there have needed to play 20 matches on clay on the average going into paris.


I changed the equation for nadal: we might as well count the 6 that he is going to play going into the final.



he is going to be very hard to stop in the final.

Well, now that time has passed, let's see how many clay matches Rafa will actually have..

General, I'm not going to count Rio, since he played 2 tournaments on hard court after that and didn't keep practicing on clay.  And his results on clay thereafter show that lack of preparation.

So that leaves us with:

Monte Carlo:  3
Barcelona: 3
Madrid: 5 (almost had to play here after MC and Barca fiascos)
Rome: 2 so far
RG:

So he has only 13 so far.  He must make it to the final in Rome, which will give him 2 or 3 wins more for 15 or 16 maximum.
That's a bit light historically going into Rafa Garros, but then as you say, he'll have 6 matches prior to the final, which will give him 21 or 22 matches going into the final at RG.  That should be enough as long as he makes it to the final.  He knows his way around RG.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: masterclass on May 16, 2014, 01:21:51 am

Many are asking who are the favorites to win Roland Garros this year.

Don't delude yourselves.

There is only 1, that's right, ONE, favorite to win at Roland Garros. ;)

If you don't know who that is, I'm not telling. 8)

The rest will be either fighting for the runner up spot, or getting in good ground work preparing for Wimbledon, or looking for a bigger paycheck than usual in whichever round they lose.   :-\

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: thetruth on May 15, 2014, 03:16:30 am

Quote from: Clay Death on May 14, 2014, 11:09:16 am

this is the big one sports fans.


I am all fired up already.

I kind of figured that. I started laughing what I saw the thread.

Do you think Rafa will be ready in time?

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: Clay Death on May 14, 2014, 11:09:16 am

this is the big one sports fans.


I am all fired up already.

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: Clay Death on April 21, 2014, 06:58:36 pm

anybody see this? Federer believe that he and wawrinka will challenge nadal for the title at RG:


http://www.stevegtennis.com/2014/04/federer-believes-he-and-wawrinka-will-challenge-nadal-and-djokovic-for-the-french-open-title/

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: thetruth on February 13, 2014, 12:39:42 am

Quote from: masterclass on February 12, 2014, 10:12:05 am

Lady TT, if you hear about someone being bet as even money, that is 1-1 odds.  It usually means they have a great chance of winning compared to the rest of the field.
From a monetary point of view it means for every dollar (or whatever currency), you put in, if your pick wins, you get your dollar back plus another dollar.   Bet a dollar get back a total of 2 dollars.   2 to 1 or 2/1,  means put in a dollar and you get a total of 3 dollars back, your original dollar plus 2 dollars.

So in Rafa's case at 4/5 it means bet 5 dollars and get 9 dollars back,  your 5 plus 4.

Djokovic - 19/10 - bet 10 and get 19 back plus your original 10 for a total of 29.

Stan - 25/1 -  For every dollar you bet, you get back 25 plus your dollar.  So a $40 bet on Stan would return you $1000 plus your original $40.

Now how do they decide what the odds are?  Usually the bookies or some authority determine the starting odds.  But then as money is bet, the odds change, reflecting the money bet per contestant, as compared to the total pool.

In Thoroughbred Horse racing, the sport of kings, I recall the great Secretariat going off at 1/10 odds, an overwhelming favorite to win the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes, the third and final leg of the Thoroughbred USA Triple Crown races.  He paid $2.20 for a 2 dollar bet to win in his thrilling record breaking romp.  Or if you had bet $10 you would get $11 dollars back, 1 dollar plus your original 10.

Here is that race for your viewing pleasure.  Set view settings for HD.

I'll never forget the announcer exclaiming: 
"He's moving like a tremendous machine..." 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfCMtaNiMDM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfCMtaNiMDM)

Respectfully,
masterclass

Thank you so much. It's still a little confusing figuring out how much you would win, math phobia and all. But, it sounds like the favorite would pay less and longshots would pay more.

If I'm understanding this, Nadal wouldn't pay much considering he's a favorite, but Nole would pay more if you bet on him, and Stan would be off the chart.

I used to go to the horse races and put down cheapie bets. It was exciting even though I didn't know what I was doing.

It seems that if you want to gamble on sports or whatever, you really need to know what you're doing. Too hard, considering injuries and all, but at least I have a better understanding.

Thanks again.

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: Clay Death on February 12, 2014, 05:35:16 pm

Quote from: masterclass on February 12, 2014, 08:42:52 am

Nadal is like the hunted beast at Rafael Garros.  Everybody knows he is the favorite every year he plays.
He is one of the top 3 clay court players in history, maybe the best.
Best of 5 sets on clay is always on his racquet. The only thing that can stop him is himself if he overplays and gets himself hurt or exhausted.
He only needs about 15 matches on clay before RG to be ready.   I would not play Madrid if I were in his shoes.

Play Monte-Carlo the week of April 13-20.
Play Barcelona the following week - April 21-27. 
Skip Madrid the week of May 4-11. 
Play Rome the following week, May 12-18.
Rest a week and get to Roland Garros May 25th, fresh and ready to win his 9th French Open and 14th slam overall to tie him with the great Pete Sampras.

Before the clay season, he should limit his hard court play.  Play Indian Wells, singles only.  Withdraw from Miami and get back to Majorca and start practicing on the clay. 

If he does all of the above, he can make it to each of the clay finals, and probably win them all.   Then he might have enough gas to do better at Wimbledon.  If he overplays before RG, either on hard or clay,  I think he is risks getting beaten at RG.

Respectfully,
masterclass

great post general.

I could not agree more.



he is likely to get a few more match than just 15 going into that final at RG:


1. he will get 6 at RG (going into the final)
2. he may get 4 at rio open. I think he loses to ferru there while he gradually tries to increase intensity
3. he gets 5 at monte carlo: (he is going to take back monte carlo this year)
4. he will get 5 in Barcelona: he wins barcelona
5. he will get 5 in rome: he wins rome masters


i am not sure if he is going to skip Madrid. lets assume he does. that gives him a total of 25 matches on clay going into the final.


historically----before nadal's reign of terror at rg---winners there have needed to play 20 matches on clay on the average going into paris.


I changed the equation for nadal: we might as well count the 6 that he is going to play going into the final.



he is going to be very hard to stop in the final.

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: masterclass on February 12, 2014, 10:12:05 am

Lady TT, if you hear about someone being bet as even money, that is 1-1 odds.  It usually means they have a great chance of winning compared to the rest of the field.
From a monetary point of view it means for every dollar (or whatever currency), you put in, if your pick wins, you get your dollar back plus another dollar.   Bet a dollar get back a total of 2 dollars.   2 to 1 or 2/1,  means put in a dollar and you get a total of 3 dollars back, your original dollar plus 2 dollars.

So in Rafa's case at 4/5 it means bet 5 dollars and get 9 dollars back,  your 5 plus 4.

Djokovic - 19/10 - bet 10 and get 19 back plus your original 10 for a total of 29.

Stan - 25/1 -  For every dollar you bet, you get back 25 plus your dollar.  So a $40 bet on Stan would return you $1000 plus your original $40.

Now how do they decide what the odds are?  Usually the bookies or some authority determine the starting odds.  But then as money is bet, the odds change, reflecting the money bet per contestant, as compared to the total pool.

In Thoroughbred Horse racing, the sport of kings, I recall the great Secretariat going off at 1/10 odds, an overwhelming favorite to win the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes, the third and final leg of the Thoroughbred USA Triple Crown races.  He paid $2.20 for a 2 dollar bet to win in his thrilling record breaking romp.  Or if you had bet $10 you would get $11 dollars back, 1 dollar plus your original 10.

Here is that race for your viewing pleasure.  Set view settings for HD.

I'll never forget the announcer exclaiming: 
"He's moving like a tremendous machine..." 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfCMtaNiMDM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfCMtaNiMDM)

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: thetruth on February 12, 2014, 09:22:20 am

Quote from: masterclass on February 12, 2014, 09:08:50 am

Best Betting odds as of now:

Rafa - 4/5 -  BWin,  19/20 - BetFair
Novak - 19/10 BWin
Juan - 22
Andy - 22
Stan - 25
Roger - 28
David - 33
Tomas - 65
Jo-Willy - 65

Everyone else over 100 to 1 shot.

Wawrinka is not a bad bet at 25 to 1.   100$ on Rafa, 40$ on Stan.     

Respectfully,
masterclass
[/quote

masterclass,

How do odds work? What does Nadal's and Djokovic's odds mean? I have never understood how odds work.

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: thetruth on February 12, 2014, 09:19:54 am

Quote from: masterclass on February 12, 2014, 08:42:52 am

Nadal is like the hunted beast at Rafael Garros.  Everybody knows he is the favorite every year he plays.
He is one of the top 3 clay court players in history, maybe the best.
Best of 5 sets on clay is always on his racquet. The only thing that can stop him is himself if he overplays and gets himself hurt or exhausted.
He only needs about 15 matches on clay before RG to be ready.   I would not play Madrid if I were in his shoes.

Play Monte-Carlo the week of April 13-20.
Play Barcelona the following week - April 21-27. 
Skip Madrid the week of May 4-11. 
Play Rome the following week, May 12-18.
Rest a week and get to Roland Garros May 25th, fresh and ready to win his 9th French Open and 14th slam overall to tie him with the great Pete Sampras.

Before the clay season, he should limit his hard court play.  Play Indian Wells, singles only.  Withdraw from Miami and get back to Majorca and start practicing on the clay. 

If he does all of the above, he can make it to each of the clay finals, and probably win them all.   Then he might have enough gas to do better at Wimbledon.  If he overplays before RG, either on hard or clay,  I think he is risks getting beaten at RG.

Respectfully,
masterclass
[/quote

I have to get Rafa's personal email and send this information to him.

It sounds perfectly well thought and logical.

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: masterclass on February 12, 2014, 09:08:50 am

Best Betting odds as of now:

Rafa - 4/5 -  BWin,  19/20 - BetFair
Novak - 19/10 BWin
Juan - 22
Andy - 22
Stan - 25
Roger - 28
David - 33
Tomas - 65
Jo-Willy - 65

Everyone else over 100 to 1 shot.

Wawrinka is not a bad bet at 25 to 1.   100$ on Rafa, 40$ on Stan.     

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: masterclass on February 12, 2014, 08:42:52 am

Nadal is like the hunted beast at Rafael Garros.  Everybody knows he is the favorite every year he plays.
He is one of the top 3 clay court players in history, maybe the best.
Best of 5 sets on clay is always on his racquet. The only thing that can stop him is himself if he overplays and gets himself hurt or exhausted.
He only needs about 15 matches on clay before RG to be ready.   I would not play Madrid if I were in his shoes.

Play Monte-Carlo the week of April 13-20.
Play Barcelona the following week - April 21-27. 
Skip Madrid the week of May 4-11. 
Play Rome the following week, May 12-18.
Rest a week and get to Roland Garros May 25th, fresh and ready to win his 9th French Open and 14th slam overall to tie him with the great Pete Sampras.

Before the clay season, he should limit his hard court play.  Play Indian Wells, singles only.  Withdraw from Miami and get back to Majorca and start practicing on the clay. 

If he does all of the above, he can make it to each of the clay finals, and probably win them all.   Then he might have enough gas to do better at Wimbledon.  If he overplays before RG, either on hard or clay,  I think he is risks getting beaten at RG.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: thetruth on February 07, 2014, 11:04:41 am

Hopefully Rafa can recover completely and be ready.

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: Clay Death on February 06, 2014, 07:53:19 pm

nole posted this on his facebook page:


It's no secret that I'm all set to win ROLAND-GARROS, but how about my new sponsor Peugeot !! They made me start clay court preparations a bit sooner than i planned  haha, better safe than sorry! Fingers crossed it works 

 Nije tajna da sam potpuno fokusiran na osvajanje RGa ove godine, ali tek moj novi sponzor!!! Haha, zbog njih sam mnogo ranije nego planirano otpoceo pripreme za sljaku  sto je sigurno, sigurno je




(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1322.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fu572%2Fspartacus120%2Fspartan%2520images%2Fthis%2520is%2520sparta%2Fsparatus-1%2Fcool%2520pix%2Fnolefacebook-1_zps4ddb093d.jpg&hash=4e5061402c13b6a10efca37b610f526766238a5d) (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/spartacus120/media/spartan%20images/this%20is%20sparta/sparatus-1/cool%20pix/nolefacebook-1_zps4ddb093d.jpg.html)

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: Clay Death on January 30, 2014, 05:38:43 pm

now some people believe that stan can win the French open:



http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1941979-why-stanislas-wawrinka-can-win-the-2014-french-open

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: Clay Death on January 30, 2014, 05:31:07 pm

its time bump this and sticky it.

RG is the next slam.

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: Clay Death on January 13, 2014, 01:43:22 pm

Camelot is going to be something special general shanks.


the hardest hurdles have been crossed and conquered.


now we just have to build this place and keep getting the word around.



the great Rafael nadal center is looking good.


we keep trying to add engaging content there and at others parts of the forum.

it is the engaging content and the cool features that will drive this or any site.


I think you will like this place. we continue to make progress.

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: Start da Game on January 13, 2014, 01:33:02 pm

greetings to camelot tennis society.......i suggested last year that french open should be renamed rafael garros.......great to see masterclass is of the same opinion.......i don't think rafa can be defeated if he gets to the final at roland garros.......it has to be before the finals if at all it happens......

 

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: thetruth on December 13, 2013, 09:29:51 pm

Quote from: masterclass on December 13, 2013, 09:11:53 am

<iframe src="http://free.timeanddate.com/countdown/i3xo6tng/n195/cf11/cm0/cu3/ct2/cs1/ca0/co1/cr0/ss0/cacf90/cpcf90/pc000/tcfff/fs120/szw256/szh108/tatRafa%20Garros%2C%20Paris/tacf90/tptTime%20since%20Event%20started%20in/tpcf90/iso2014-05-25T11:00:00/bat6/bacf90/pa3" frameborder="0" width="158" height="44"></iframe><br>
<img src="http://media.giphy.com/media/5NNrfnwHoqFTW/giphy.gif" alt="Rafa Garros" height="174" width="316"></img>



Do you still enjoy this tournament? 
Is the winner a foregone conclusion? 
I'll put up a poll for kicks.

Discuss anything you want about this tournament...

I'll post the draw here in this post when it becomes available.


Respectfully,
masterclass

Quote from: masterclass on December 13, 2013, 09:11:53 am

<iframe src="http://free.timeanddate.com/countdown/i3xo6tng/n195/cf11/cm0/cu3/ct2/cs1/ca0/co1/cr0/ss0/cacf90/cpcf90/pc000/tcfff/fs120/szw256/szh108/tatRafa%20Garros%2C%20Paris/tacf90/tptTime%20since%20Event%20started%20in/tpcf90/iso2014-05-25T11:00:00/bat6/bacf90/pa3" frameborder="0" width="158" height="44"></iframe><br>
<img src="http://media.giphy.com/media/5NNrfnwHoqFTW/giphy.gif" alt="Rafa Garros" height="174" width="316"></img>



Do you still enjoy this tournament? 
Is the winner a foregone conclusion? 
I'll put up a poll for kicks.

Discuss anything you want about this tournament...

I'll post the draw here in this post when it becomes available.


Respectfully,
masterclass

I love the FO. Some of the best tennis goes on in this tournament.

You need a lot of craft, foot speed, and endurance.

I don't think any tournament is a foregone conclusion and I don't know how long Rafa will continue to prevail, not just because of Novak, but because every good thing comes to an end.

It would be great though is he can get ten!

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: Clay Death on December 13, 2013, 05:49:07 pm

Quote from: masterclass on December 13, 2013, 09:11:53 am

Do you still enjoy this tournament? 
Is the winner a foregone conclusion? 
I'll put up a poll for kicks.

Discuss anything you want about this tournament...

I'll post the draw here in this post when it becomes available.


Respectfully,
masterclass

this is great stuff general.


RG is one of my favorite tournaments.



 ;D ;D

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Colloque Printemps (Spring Symposium)
Post by: Clay Death on December 13, 2013, 01:37:35 pm

there are some questions:


how important is it for nole's belief to win a couple of big clay events going into RG!

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Spring Chats
Post by: Clay Death on December 13, 2013, 12:21:21 pm

Quote from: masterclass on December 13, 2013, 11:02:14 am

Hopefully you don't mind this thread being created so early. :)
Many other "popular" forums with over-moderation will delete threads like this if they aren't created at the "right time". ;)

Respectfully,
masterclass

but you are a part owner of Camelot general.


all of Camelot is at your disposal.


nobody can get in your way here.


we should start getting some more folks here in the next 2 months.

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Spring Chats
Post by: masterclass on December 13, 2013, 11:02:14 am

Hopefully you don't mind this thread being created so early. :)
Many other "popular" forums with over-moderation will delete threads like this if they aren't created at the "right time". ;)

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Spring Chats
Post by: masterclass on December 13, 2013, 09:59:43 am

Affirmative General Hercules. 

It would take a player of unnatural herculean strength and resolve to beat Rafa at Roland Garros unless he hurts himself.

He has been his own worst enemy, playing in too many unnecessary events when he is relatively healthy.

The big question this year is, has Nadal learned from 2008-2009?
2013 resembled 2008 pretty much (switch Wimbledon with the US Open). Will 2014 look like 2009 for him?   
He started out 2009 grabbing his 1st and only Australian Open title, but then made some odd choices in scheduling that cost him dearly for the rest of the year. 

Respectfully,
masterclass

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Spring Chats
Post by: Clay Death on December 13, 2013, 09:48:56 am

I think nadal knows now that he can lose early at Wimbledon. the clay campaigns simply take too much out of him.


it is for that reason that I think there will be some extra effort to make sure he gets to the final at RG.

Title: Re: 2014 Rafa Garros (French Open): Spring Chats
Post by: Clay Death on December 13, 2013, 09:16:14 am

excellent stuff general masterclass.



this is definitely something to think about.

Rafa is a sure bet to be in the final. only question is who will be across the net?

Title: 2014 Roland Garros (French Open): (Nadal d. Djokovic wins 9th RG Title!)
Post by: masterclass on December 13, 2013, 09:11:53 am

Do you still enjoy this tournament? 
Is the winner a foregone conclusion? 
I'll put up a poll for kicks.

Discuss anything you want about this tournament...

Draw information:

Qualifying draw: Monday, May 19, 6:00 p.m.

Main draw: Friday, May 23, 11:30 a.m.

(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FGs6GHpW.jpg&hash=4e60dae81224652b0ed6ef5d7728a81d6a996258)


Respectfully,
masterclass