CAMELOT FANTASIES
Camelot Tennis Universe => General Pro Player Discussions => Topic started by: Clay Death on October 29, 2013, 11:33:39 am
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take a look at this general. this is mertov's desk at tennis4you.
scott fired up this thread for him on the November of 29th, 2013.
it only has about 124 replies and 4000+ views.
I believe you can do significantly better.
so he starts out by mentioning that mertov is a great writer and he posts some of his work.
and then he just lets it fly.
we can do something similar.
and we will all chip in as much as we can and get it off the ground.
this is scott's opening page post for mertov:
I need to get this on the homepage of Tennis4you as well, I just need to find the time. As always, Mertov is writing some superb articles about tennis. Always a great read for sure. I can still remember a decade ago he had a tennis radio show I think on Tuesday nights, I always listened in as Mertov has amazing insight. Anyhoo, his latest article is up:
Stellar 2012 in Tennis! Well, Almost...
http://my.opera.com/mertov/blog/
Enjoy!
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Hi general, I think you misread my post. I said, I don't need permission from baron britbox. I just want to keep informed as a courtesy, that's all.
Anyway, please go ahead and set up the desk for me. I guess I'll get the hang of how you envision it. I had the feeling it was going to be like a Q & A type of thing, but if it something like just taking some of my analysis and stuff and putting it over there, that's fine.
Thanks!
Respectfully,
masterclass
obviously you can take it in any direction you want general. if you want a separate board for this then that too will be ok.
it is just a question of what you are comfortable with.
a separate board will allow you to create unlimited threads and experiment with different things.
a desk at the main tennis discussion page can house some of your work for people to read and enjoy.
and it can also lead to some Q&A. that way you can keep it alive and keep growing it. that is a way to build a bit of following.
if they see your work then surely they are going to want to interact with you a little bit.
a "desk" implies Q&A.
so we can try the desk concept and then you can add a board if you wish. you are admin so you can create as many boards as you wish.
or I can create a board for you. all you have to do is ask and its done around here.
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que pasa general. I am just on my I phone right now and not at home.
I will set up your desk as soon as I get home.
and I am not going to stop there. I am going to find you a post as free lance sports writer.
we can do it. we just have to get started general.
I believe baron will do right by you as well. he is a good man.
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Hi general, I think you misread my post. I said, I don't need permission from baron britbox. I just want to keep informed as a courtesy, that's all.
Anyway, please go ahead and set up the desk for me. I guess I'll get the hang of how you envision it. I had the feeling it was going to be like a Q & A type of thing, but if it something like just taking some of my analysis and stuff and putting it over there, that's fine.
Thanks!
Respectfully,
masterclass
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I have to pretty much agree with you General.
Spartan Stan put only 38% of his first serves in and still dominated the first set (prior to MTO/injury). Why? How? Because Stan won 100% of those, and he also won 56% of his second serves, and won 36% of his return points. Nadal was hanging in there on his first serve, but only won 1 of his second serves in the first set (17%), including 2 double faults. He won only 26% of his return points, far below his usual tour leading 38-39%. Nadal had 6 winners and 7 UE's, while Stan had 12 winners and 8 UE's.
Stan was hitting hard off both wings when it mattered and Nadal usually had no answer. Stan was playing fairly far back, but showed a lot of strength and good angles. Seeing him well back, Nadal tried to drop shot 2 or 3 times, but they were not good drop shots and he got burned.
The match was pretty sad after Nadal's MTO/injury when he was down 2-0, as Nadal couldn't move well and Stan's level dropped dramatically seeing an injured player/friend on the other side.\
Not sure why he got injured. He looked fantastic against Federer a couple of days ago. Maybe because he didn't get enough rest in the offseason, and not enough intense training? He played in all of those exhibitions on hard courts. Not sure it was a good idea in retrospect.
Now the worry is getting his back in shape for the clay season. He certainly doesn't want a repeat of 2009 where he got hurt early on the hard courts, and then never recovered completely and got beaten at RG and missed Wimbledon. He pretty much must win at Roland Garros or his confidence might go downhill. But who can beat him at Roland Garros? He is so tough on the clay over 5 sets.
Respectfully,
masterclass
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I am not sure I am following you general.
now you need Barron's permission to fire up a thread at other places.
well enough excuses already. we won't ask again.
if all objections first must be overcome nothing ever would be attempted.
I have suggested that you set up such a desk at every forum.
now I am sure you write these blogs for people to read them.
you need to make name for yourself if you want to have following.
are these other forums willing to give you an admission post?
we plan to pay admin here once we get around 300 people here and once we can get some advertising going.
there is zero conflict of interest. baron is a friend of mine and he is a friend of Camelot.
you can and should develop presence at as many as possible. I believe that will get you the following and the recognition.
it does not take any extra time. I am a member at 10 forums and it does not cost me any extra time general.
anyway have no fear. we won't be asking you to do something for yourself again.
why bother with taking such staggering risk.
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there should be absolutely no question that Stan was fully prepared and played superb tennis.
but this is where you take your game to the highest level and meet that challenge head on.
in my estimation rafa did quite the opposite. he had problems returning serve and he problems taking care of his own serve. this left Stan without much pressure. he was free to swing for the fences.
all the pressure was kept on nadal's side of the net.
nadal would have obviously fought better without the back issue but he still had a battle on his hand.
it is very tough to win if you are having problems returning and serving.
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congrats to stan and his fans at Camelot.
injured back or no injured back, nadal did not bring his best level to the slam for whatever reason and it cost him.
he struggled against nishikori and against dimitrov. he had nearly 50 unforced errors against dimi in a 4 set match.
he put together a good effort against Federer and then his level would drop again.
you just cant win if you cant break serve. and you certainly cant win if you cant take care of your serve also to go along with your inability to return serve.
bottom line: nadal returned very poorly and he was not able to take care of his serve.
nadal lost the first sets to nishikori and dimitrov also but he found his way back in the matches.
you just cant keep living on the edge. one day it has to cost you. he could not return well against nishikori and dimitrov also. this is not his best surface anyway.
anyway this pretty much seals the deal for RG: I think his resolve will go up 1000% now to try capture that slam.
so #14 will happen in Paris this year. you can make book on that.
he will gather the momentum he needs on clay going into Paris.
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Thanks for your comments both Lady TT and General Hercules. I do appreciate it.
General, I know sometimes it appears if I'm not listening. But I ask that you please be a bit patient with me, I have several personal things going on, and I don't like to promise to commit to something which might end up taking a chunk of time that I don't have at the moment.
There are pluses and minuses to blogs. One plus is that you can write them as time allows. No instant response need like on twitter and facebook where you are reacting more instead of thinking more. Right now I've committed to Baron Britbox at Tennis Frontier for the blog he graciously set up for me. And actually I'm a bit ashamed that I haven't been able to post as many blog entries as I feel I should because of my personal issues. I also wanted to communicate with Baron Britbox and make sure he didn't have any issues with me having a "masterclass desk" here at Camelot. Not that I need permission, but more just to make sure things are smooth between us.
All that said, general, let's discuss in a PM your good ideas and how much time you think I will need to dedicate myself for this. It may be that I'm misinterpreting your expectations. Thanks as always! :) :)
Respectfully,
masterclass
it will take no more time than what we are doing already general.
its not like we have 500 people here. we have 3 people posting.
you are not doing this for us. you are going to do this for you.
you start "The Masterclass Desk" and you develop/gain a following. it will happen over time.
so it is something worth doing. you get to create but you create excellent content already.
now people have to look for your posts. with your desk, they go straight for your posts and they can even get to ask you a question or two.
it is not different than "the mertov desk". he does not take any extra time. he just shows up once in a while says something.
now in your case, you can get the ball rolling by telling the world about your blogs and give them the link to them.
then either I or lady TT or general Tee or emma will fire away a question or two.
that will let the people know that it is also going to be a bit of a Q&A. that may start to get the attention of the press.
nothing ventured, nothing gained general. stop making excuses.
do something for yourself and have fun with it. who the hell is going to make you an administrator and give you this kind of a platform.
I had to ask scott 20 times to give you a mod status. I had to ask him 30 times to make freaky a mod. mtf took away javi's mod position. so you see that nobody is willing to give us a damn thing. this is why we created our own platform.
I think with admin status, you can capture the attention of the folks so that should help your cause also.
if all objections first must be removed or dealt with nothing in the world would ever be attempted.
this will take exactly zero extra time and may yield some returns for you.
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In the 2014 edition of the Australian Open Final, Spartan Stan Wawrinka was pounding an uninjured Nadal like a drum in the first two sets before Nadal's sudden injury to his back. He was simply overpowering Rafa from both wings, similar to Soderling at the French Open. Nadal had no answers and probably tried to do more than his body could take and unfortunately strained something.
Nadal got some painkillers and recovered enough to hang in there in the 3rd while Stan's level went down dramatically due to playing a visibly injured player. This happens at all levels about 90% of the time if not more. It's natural, most normal people don't like beating up someone who is hurt. One doesn't know if Stan would have taken it in straight sets without the injury, though likely, he might have been nervous to claim his first major title.
It took about a set for Stan to finally reset himself. It actually probably helped him to focus when Nadal looked better. Then in the 4th set, he got back close to his previous form, but was a little nervous when he realized he had a great chance to win. But then he realized he had it on his racquet as Nadal was still having trouble on serve, and he managed to get his level back enough to carry him over the finish line over his reeling opponent.
It was a good match until the injury. In my preliminary review of the match I thought that Stan might get a lot of confidence if he took the first set, and he clearly did. Then it was a huge mental struggle for Wawrinka to deal with Nadal's MTO and injury and this unfortunately caused the level of the match to drop.
Congratulations to first time Slam winner Stanislas Wawrinka, his team, and his fans!
Condolences to Rafael Nadal, his staff, and supporters. Best wishes for improved health in recovery.
Respectfully,
masterclass
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Thanks for your comments both Lady TT and General Hercules. I do appreciate it.
General, I know sometimes it appears if I'm not listening. But I ask that you please be a bit patient with me, I have several personal things going on, and I don't like to promise to commit to something which might end up taking a chunk of time that I don't have at the moment.
There are pluses and minuses to blogs. One plus is that you can write them as time allows. No instant response need like on twitter and facebook where you are reacting more instead of thinking more. Right now I've committed to Baron Britbox at Tennis Frontier for the blog he graciously set up for me. And actually I'm a bit ashamed that I haven't been able to post as many blog entries as I feel I should because of my personal issues. I also wanted to communicate with Baron Britbox and make sure he didn't have any issues with me having a "masterclass desk" here at Camelot. Not that I need permission, but more just to make sure things are smooth between us.
All that said, general, let's discuss in a PM your good ideas and how much time you think I will need to dedicate myself for this. It may be that I'm misinterpreting your expectations. Thanks as always! :) :)
Respectfully,
masterclass
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8 more posts for you lady TT and you will have blasted past 600 posts.
vamossssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.
well done.
anyway I am hitting the sack. I did not sleep well last night so I better make up for that a little bit.
I will catch the Rafa match tomorrow.
take care and have fun.
I will see you all tomorrow.
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general masterclass is the best on the planet on this type of thing.
he and I often see the same things out there which is incredible.
and what is more, we have even seen press read our stuff from time to time at MTF.
he is a master analyst and a masterclass writer.
now the problem with masterclass is that he wont listen. I have suggested that he fire up a thread right here at this section called "The Masterclass Desk".
this will be given top billing as it should. it will generate some interest and he can start building a small following.
and that is how it all starts. sooner or later, with enough exposure of the type that I am suggesting, he will get discovered. some tennis magazine will scoop him up.
blogs are fine but there must be 20 million blogs out there. blogs are not the future. very few people bother with them.
people want instant gratification. that is why they are all addicted to twitter, facebook, livefyre, and a host of other social media innovations.
they want a response and they want it in real time.
that said, there is no harm in continuing with the blog work. post those blogs and the links to them everywhere possible. it will help with gaining a following.
look here is how it is: nothing ventured, absolutely nothing gained.
that desk will also become a bit of a "Q&A". people will come from all around and post their questions if and when they have them.
and in time that will exactly what will happen. it is too much work for many to dig for general masterclass posts and his amazing pearls of wisdom.
this way they can go straight to his desk and see his posts and see some of his work also.
and of course nothing changes in terms of our normal discourse around here. we still carry on as we have been doing and having fun in the process.
sooner or later I am going to get lucky and land a couple of retired pros for Camelot. that will help with the growth and also add some valuable content here.
I have been working on Pat Cash but no cigar. he is just too damn busy for us.
With all due respect to masterclass he should listen to you. You seem like a risk-taker, willing to go all out for the desired result, much like Rafa. There is a steely resolve covered up with humor, but it is still there nonetheless.
I too wish masterclass would get the exposure due to him. I read a ton of sportswriters all over the web and have been doing so for years. Masterclass is worthy of the exposure because of his ability to break things down into manageable pieces.
We have to keep working on him, maybe he'll finally relent, hee hee hee.
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nole has become a bit fragile in critical matches that he pretty much has to win.
and now the field is on a tear so it wont get any easier going forward.
roger and andy are back. and the young guns are also making their move.
What is that one quote? The one about the crown resting heavy on the head...
Anyway, you know what I mean.
It's the usual, as hard as it is to get there, it's even harder to stay there.
Novak is learning this. How to compete day in and day out, year in and year out, while being the hunted .
It's amazing that Rafa and Roger have been able to do this for a decade.
Unreal.
I would have to agree.
it is very tough today to stay at the top. the sport is very demanding today and getting more and more demanding with each passing year.
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general masterclass is the best on the planet on this type of thing.
he and I often see the same things out there which is incredible.
and what is more, we have even seen press read our stuff from time to time at MTF.
he is a master analyst and a masterclass writer.
now the problem with masterclass is that he wont listen. I have suggested that he fire up a thread right here at this section called "The Masterclass Desk".
this will be given top billing as it should. it will generate some interest and he can start building a small following.
and that is how it all starts. sooner or later, with enough exposure of the type that I am suggesting, he will get discovered. some tennis magazine will scoop him up.
blogs are fine but there must be 20 million blogs out there. blogs are not the future. very few people bother with them.
people want instant gratification. that is why they are all addicted to twitter, facebook, livefyre, and a host of other social media innovations.
they want a response and they want it in real time.
that said, there is no harm in continuing with the blog work. post those blogs and the links to them everywhere possible. it will help with gaining a following.
look here is how it is: nothing ventured, absolutely nothing gained.
that desk will also become a bit of a "Q&A". people will come from all around and post their questions if and when they have them.
and in time that will exactly what will happen. it is too much work for many to dig for general masterclass posts and his amazing pearls of wisdom.
this way they can go straight to his desk and see his posts and see some of his work also.
and of course nothing changes in terms of our normal discourse around here. we still carry on as we have been doing and having fun in the process.
sooner or later I am going to get lucky and land a couple of retired pros for Camelot. that will help with the growth and also add some valuable content here.
I have been working on Pat Cash but no cigar. he is just too damn busy for us.
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nole has become a bit fragile in critical matches that he pretty much has to win.
and now the field is on a tear so it wont get any easier going forward.
roger and andy are back. and the young guns are also making their move.
What is that one quote? The one about the crown resting heavy on the head...
Anyway, you know what I mean.
It's the usual, as hard as it is to get there, it's even harder to stay there.
Novak is learning this. How to compete day in and day out, year in and year out, while being the hunted .
It's amazing that Rafa and Roger have been able to do this for a decade.
Unreal.
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For some of the reason's you say.
1. He had not been that strong against the very top players because of getting beaten early in his career and often, and of course their "aura". This produces a lack of confidence. He was in a sense beaten before walking on the court. However, once he got very close to Djokovic last year, his confidence improved, especially against him. He needs a similar match or matches against Nadal and Federer to lift his confidence for them. He might be ready to do that with Nadal now off his recent huge victory vs. Nole. But confidence, though very important, is not the only factor.
2., Stan's movement side to side was not so great in years past which is very essential against the best. He was basically just too slow and lacked stamina. With most of the tour's courts playing medium or slower, it was difficult for him to stay with the best movers with stamina. His footwork is generally pretty good, but he occasionally goes off balance. Even though his side to side movement has improved a lot with his more recent fitness improvements, it still is below the likes of Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, and Federer on one of his good days. But there are not many that move as well all match long as those players other than maybe Ferrer.
3. Stan has the same problem as other one handed backhands against left-handed Nadal. It's very difficult to put much on the ball when it is bouncing shoulder height or higher. I think you would have to be quite tall to be able to deal with it with a single hander.
I think those are the 3 main reasons. There may be others like Rafa forcing Stan into making errors with his good defense..
If you look at the most recent head to head between them, Stan has been making inroads, playing a very tight match in their last meeting at the World Tour Finals losing in two tight tiebreakers. He has been failing better, as his Beckett tattoo says. Now, I think he has all the tools, is moving better, and so forth. He just needs the belief vs. Nadal. His win over Djokovic should help, but Rafa is still a beast when he is playing well. Belief against one player doesn't necessarily translate to belief against every player. It's easy to get down on yourself when believe you are playing well but still being beaten because the guy on the other side refuses to give in, gets fortunate, or is just better on the day. Sometimes, once you break through against someone, you can turn the rivalry around. Sometimes no.
Let's see what happens tomorrow.
Stan had two days off vs. Rafa's one. That should give him a bit of an advantage, but we know how good Rafa is at recovering.
I'd like to see a good, competitive match (not 3 sets), so I'm going to predict (and hope) that Stan takes the first set in his career from Rafa this match. If it comes early, all the better. He might gain tremendous confidence. But Rafa has to be overflowing with motivation. He is so close to tying Sampras and winning his second career slam, he must be salivating. It might create more pressure, or not. We will have to see what happens.
I think the key to the match for Stan will be how well Stan can hit his backhand down the line to Rafa's backhand and keep Nadal pinned there, until the ad court is wide open for an inside-out angled winner. Roger couldn't execute it this time. Stan can't stay back too far, because I think Rafa will drop shot him. Stan has been mixing pace well, sometimes pushing slower deep balls, and then really exploding shots when he gets in a good position on the court. It's a bit risky against someone like Nadal to push too often and too slow. If the ball comes up a little short, Rafa will punish it. Stan's serve really helped him out of tight spots (love-30) against Djokovic and Berdych. He'll need to serve well today to keep Rafa on his heels and guessing.
For Rafa, he needs to continue to keep his shots deep and his backhand cross court working and keep Stan off balance when he comes to net. He needs to return well against Stan's big serve and hope Stan isn't putting a lot of first serves in. It's critical he does something with Stan's second serve. He just can't push it across to the service line. Rafa needs to serve at least as well as yesterday, maybe a bit better.
And of course, he needs to keep his errors down and force Wawrinka to go for too much and make the errors.
Much as I would love Spartan Stan to get his first Grand Slam win ever, I still have to go with Nadal, probably in 4, but I wouldn't be shocked with any result.
That's how I see it Lady TT.
Respectfully,
masterclass
masterclass ((aptly named),
This is all that I wished for and more. I would love to be able to see a match through your eyes. You must literally feel the cogs working inside your brain as you dissect what's going on between two combatants.
Besides becoming a sportswriter you should consider becoming a tennis analyst. What you are telling us is worth $$$. There is no way you shouldn't be getting paid for these insightful pieces.
That you can bring it down to a level that anyone can understand is mind-boggling.
Thank you so much for answering this post. I appreciate every post that you write.
You are seriously, too much.
Really.
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nole has become a bit fragile in critical matches that he pretty much has to win.
and now the field is on a tear so it wont get any easier going forward.
roger and andy are back. and the young guns are also making their move.
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hola hercules and castle!
i am back from holiday, completely tanned and looking brown like nadal...... :D missed almost the entire AO but just in time for the final......
i was so sure wawrinka was going to pose problems for djokovic, i actually wanted to watch that match but couldn't......i saw the highlights today, wawrinka was superb.......too bad he is going to lose to nadal tomorrow but i will take the result as it will only tie rafa with the great pete and also one step closer to the all time tally.......
djokovic seriously needs to rethink his strategy against the likes of wawrinka, haas, dimitrov.......he is having problems picking which way the backhands are directed and hence losing half a second in the rally.......add to that his problems against slice......slice really takes away the zing off his backhand, neutralizes the rally completely and puts him on the defense.......
morning general shanks.
stan played the match of his life against nole. he hung in there and waited for his opportunities.
nole caved just a little bit in the very end under the relentless pressure.
this pressure came in 2 forms:
1. pressure of stan's game
2. pressure of defending the crown
he must have felt that his chances might slip away and sure enough they did.
stan learned a lot from his match against nole in 2013 right here. he came in with a solid plan and executed it to near perfection.
when you can't hit through djokovic, off foot him and open up the court.......that is what stan did......his off backhands were on fire and all through the match djokovic din't know which way they were going......stan backhand kept djokovic honest right through the match......it was a brilliant match from stan.......
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hola hercules and castle!
i am back from holiday, completely tanned and looking brown like nadal...... :D missed almost the entire AO but just in time for the final......
i was so sure wawrinka was going to pose problems for djokovic, i actually wanted to watch that match but couldn't......i saw the highlights today, wawrinka was superb.......too bad he is going to lose to nadal tomorrow but i will take the result as it will only tie rafa with the great pete and also one step closer to the all time tally.......
djokovic seriously needs to rethink his strategy against the likes of wawrinka, haas, dimitrov.......he is having problems picking which way the backhands are directed and hence losing half a second in the rally.......add to that his problems against slice......slice really takes away the zing off his backhand, neutralizes the rally completely and puts him on the defense.......
morning general shanks.
stan played the match of his life against nole. he hung in there and waited for his opportunities.
nole caved just a little bit in the very end under the relentless pressure.
this pressure came in 2 forms:
1. pressure of stan's game
2. pressure of defending the crown
he must have felt that his chances might slip away and sure enough they did.
stan learned a lot from his match against nole in 2013 right here. he came in with a solid plan and executed it to near perfection.
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For some of the reason's you say.
1. He had not been that strong against the very top players because of getting beaten early in his career and often, and of course their "aura". This produces a lack of confidence. He was in a sense beaten before walking on the court. However, once he got very close to Djokovic last year, his confidence improved, especially against him. He needs a similar match or matches against Nadal and Federer to lift his confidence for them. He might be ready to do that with Nadal now off his recent huge victory vs. Nole. But confidence, though very important, is not the only factor.
2., Stan's movement side to side was not so great in years past which is very essential against the best. He was basically just too slow and lacked stamina. With most of the tour's courts playing medium or slower, it was difficult for him to stay with the best movers with stamina. His footwork is generally pretty good, but he occasionally goes off balance. Even though his side to side movement has improved a lot with his more recent fitness improvements, it still is below the likes of Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, and Federer on one of his good days. But there are not many that move as well all match long as those players other than maybe Ferrer.
3. Stan has the same problem as other one handed backhands against left-handed Nadal. It's very difficult to put much on the ball when it is bouncing shoulder height or higher. I think you would have to be quite tall to be able to deal with it with a single hander.
I think those are the 3 main reasons. There may be others like Rafa forcing Stan into making errors with his good defense..
If you look at the most recent head to head between them, Stan has been making inroads, playing a very tight match in their last meeting at the World Tour Finals losing in two tight tiebreakers. He has been failing better, as his Beckett tattoo says. Now, I think he has all the tools, is moving better, and so forth. He just needs the belief vs. Nadal. His win over Djokovic should help, but Rafa is still a beast when he is playing well. Belief against one player doesn't necessarily translate to belief against every player. It's easy to get down on yourself when believe you are playing well but still being beaten because the guy on the other side refuses to give in, gets fortunate, or is just better on the day. Sometimes, once you break through against someone, you can turn the rivalry around. Sometimes no.
Let's see what happens tomorrow.
Stan had two days off vs. Rafa's one. That should give him a bit of an advantage, but we know how good Rafa is at recovering.
I'd like to see a good, competitive match (not 3 sets), so I'm going to predict (and hope) that Stan takes the first set in his career from Rafa this match. If it comes early, all the better. He might gain tremendous confidence. But Rafa has to be overflowing with motivation. He is so close to tying Sampras and winning his second career slam, he must be salivating. It might create more pressure, or not. We will have to see what happens.
I think the key to the match for Stan will be how well Stan can hit his backhand down the line to Rafa's backhand and keep Nadal pinned there, until the ad court is wide open for an inside-out angled winner. Roger couldn't execute it this time. Stan can't stay back too far, because I think Rafa will drop shot him. Stan has been mixing pace well, sometimes pushing slower deep balls, and then really exploding shots when he gets in a good position on the court. It's a bit risky against someone like Nadal to push too often and too slow. If the ball comes up a little short, Rafa will punish it. Stan's serve really helped him out of tight spots (love-30) against Djokovic and Berdych. He'll need to serve well today to keep Rafa on his heels and guessing.
For Rafa, he needs to continue to keep his shots deep and his backhand cross court working and keep Stan off balance when he comes to net. He needs to return well against Stan's big serve and hope Stan isn't putting a lot of first serves in. It's critical he does something with Stan's second serve. He just can't push it across to the service line. Rafa needs to serve at least as well as yesterday, maybe a bit better.
And of course, he needs to keep his errors down and force Wawrinka to go for too much and make the errors.
Much as I would love Spartan Stan to get his first Grand Slam win ever, I still have to go with Nadal, probably in 4, but I wouldn't be shocked with any result.
That's how I see it Lady TT.
Respectfully,
masterclass
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Masterclass,
Why did Wawrinka have so many problems with Nadal in the past? I say in the past because we don't know if the problem still exists.
I know Stan's always had a great game, but was lacking in the mental department. What did Rafa do that stopped Stan from making inroads?
I never could figure that out.
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Ha ha ha, tanned like Nadal.
Glad you enjoyed your vacation.
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from what i am reading, this may have been his best match of the tournament.
congrats to rafa and his fans at Camelot.
all the worry and fears about the terrible blood blister on the left hand are over.
i think he will ready go really hard in the final now. stan is serving amazing and playing the best tennis of his career.
i think it is going to be an amazing battle between the two.
Actually blistergate isn't over. Rafa was fortunate to tough that match out. During the telecast they said the blister had gone from a blister to a wound. There was also an article before the semifinal reporting on the actual state of the injury. So, hopefully the wound will heal sufficiently to allow him to play his best game in the final.
Stan is playing well and we don't know how his confidence may help or hinder him. I hope it will be a good fina, (and that Rafa will prevail).
Why Federer might have upper hand
The 17-time Grand Slam champ renews an old rivalry with his archnemesis
Updated: January 23, 2014, 8:51 AM ET
By Matt Wilansky | ESPN.com
http://espn.go.com/tennis/aus14/story/_/id/10337676/australian-open-why-roger-federer-upper-hand-rafael-nadal
If Roger Federer has an ounce of gratitude, he might want to think about sending Rafael Nadal's racket one of those ironic but heartfelt thank-you notes that Jimmy Fallon has made famous.
What began as an innocuous callus on his left hand turned into a gaping wound for Nadal against Grigor Dimitrov in the Australian Open quarterfinals. It eventually produced a pool of blood and, in some minds, represented a potential field-leveler. It remains a painful, performance-impeding blister, all because of the repeated rubbing between Nadal's palm and his Babolat AeroPro Drive.
It was a grisly scene actually, at least in the relatively modest terms of tennis lacerations. Nadal, who is famously focused, was visibly bothered by the discomfort. It didn't help that he was on the court for 3 hours and 37 minutes, during which his gash was re-taped multiple times.
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hola hercules and castle!
i am back from holiday, completely tanned and looking brown like nadal...... :D missed almost the entire AO but just in time for the final......
i was so sure wawrinka was going to pose problems for djokovic, i actually wanted to watch that match but couldn't......i saw the highlights today, wawrinka was superb.......too bad he is going to lose to nadal tomorrow but i will take the result as it will only tie rafa with the great pete and also one step closer to the all time tally.......
djokovic seriously needs to rethink his strategy against the likes of wawrinka, haas, dimitrov.......he is having problems picking which way the backhands are directed and hence losing half a second in the rally.......add to that his problems against slice......slice really takes away the zing off his backhand, neutralizes the rally completely and puts him on the defense.......
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And Nadal comes through! He wins in straight sets, 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-3.
Congratulation to Mr. Nadal, his team, and his fans.
Condolences to Mr. Federer, his staff, and his supporters.
It was a very tight first set, but one had a sense that it was slightly easier for Rafa to hold his serve, and that the tiebreaker might go his way.
Federer attempted to play aggressively coming to the net when he could and had some success there, but I think backed off it too soon, and began not to use the best judgement on his approach shots. His aggressive game almost totally disappeared in the final two sets, only making his way to the net when Rafa drew him in with a short ball, and even then Federer's net play was weak, missing many easy shots. He made a couple of good drop shots, but those were too few and far between.
Rafa was successful at passing Federer a few times, and this inhibited Federer. It really shouldn't happen. He needed to improve his approaches and judgement and continue to come in. Instead he retreated and began playing the game of attrition, which is always going to be in Rafa's favor. Federer was only broken once in the second set, but that was all that was required, because Federer could make no headway on Rafa's service games. Rafa served smartly, mixing it up, and backed it up with his ground game. He made more errors in the first set, but settled down nicely in the second and third set and let Roger make all the errors, which he did frequently (I think around 50 UE's for the 3 sets). Federer simply played more poorly as the match went on and he was obviously discouraged that not much of his strategy was working.
The key early in the match was Rafa's backhand crosscourt. It was working very well, and was getting to the empty space Federer was leaving when running around his backhand. This forced Roger to have to run hard to his forehand side and forced errors off Federer's forehand. Then when Rafa's forehand finally kicked in during the second set, it was too much for Federer to handle. Rafa's serve turned out to not be much of a factor either way. He only needed to get it in the court for the most part on his first serve. Roger was aggressive on some of Rafa's second serves, but not enough. And Federer simply wasn't consistent enough today, playing more poorly than either against Tsonga or Murray. For some of that, one has to give credit to Nadal for making Federer go for more, and some of that is probably due to Federer having enough of an off night to drop his confidence level.
Federer's serve, both first and second, was very good in the first set, but Rafa was getting a good read by the end of the set and getting into Roger's service game a bit more each time. Roger's serve began to be a bit more inconsistent as the game wore on, not making as many first serves, and Rafa was returning better. But it was really Roger's ineffectiveness in his ground game, which was inconsistent, both on the backhand and forehand side, and his approach/volleying was not quite on tonight that caused his demise.
Rafa played quite consistently and better after he took the first set. The forehand improved and his passing shots were on target for the most part. I don't think the turning point was winning the 1st set tiebreaker. It was the break of serve in the second set that did Federer in, as up to that time, I think Federer still believed he could level the match. And the key point in that break was definitely the unbelievable passing shot Rafa practically from behind himself, off an excellent deep low approach to Rafa's forehand side. Nothing wrong with Roger's shot, Nadal's shot was simply unbelievable. I think Roger pretty much gave up on the aggressive game after that. After getting broken, it got much more difficult for him. It was disappointing that Federer essentially gave up on his aggressive volleying game so soon. One has to be very patient with this game, even if a few passing shots get by you, you must have the mindset to continue going forward and make sure the approach shots are more sound, which in Federer's case they were not on the whole, especially in the second and third sets.
Again well done to Rafa. Good luck to him against the new Swiss #1 - Spartan Stan Wawrinka in the final on Sunday. Rafa's 12-0 against Stan and has never dropped a set, so it looks like it could be easy pickings for Nadal, but Ironman Stan has great confidence coming into his first ever major final. We will see if that matters at all. I think if Nadal plays well, even a good Stan doesn't have much chance. I think he'll have to hope Rafa is off just a bit, so good luck to Stan as well.
:)
Respectfully,
masterclass
that is an awesome post general masterclass.
I must congratulate roger for a great tournament. you saw that the bookies did not give him much of a chance here but he was just one step removed from the final
well done to both champions.
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order of play for day #14:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/schedule19.html
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that is a great post and pretty much spot on.
wawrinka is playing well.
rafa is going to have to play a clean match: 15-18 unforced errors is a somewhat clean match on a quicker hard court with lighter balls.
stan is not going to attack as much as roger so nadal has to get into his rhythm off the ground and take it from there. solid ground game is key for nadal.
force stan to go for more while you play your high percentage tennis.
wawrinka could steal a set. I say rafa takes the final in 4.
there is the decisive mental edge for nadal that is going to come into play: nadal is 12-0 against him. I believe stan is going to think about that going into this match.
it is also stan's very first slam final. he could be slightly overwhelmed by the occasion.
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I just finished watching my DVR's recording of the match. To be honest, I expected much tougher match for Rafa. He was surprisingly solid on both wings, the serve was good (not great), the movement - excellent. Federer on the other hand made many mistakes and rushed the net a lot more than in their previous meetings. Rafa hit some spectacular passing shots and some incredible gets. Also, I don't think Federer was serving as well as in his match against Murray (and Murray , IMO, is a better returner than Rafa).
So, I am not sure what to expect from the final. Wawrinka has been serving bombs and Rafa's returns have been pretty shaky the whole tournament. Also, Wawrinka's backhand is better and more sloid/less error-prone than the backhands of Dimitrov and Federer. I believe he will win at least a set, maybe even 2 or 3 if Rafa doesn't take good care of his own serve.
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from what i am reading, this may have been his best match of the tournament.
congrats to rafa and his fans at Camelot.
all the worry and fears about the terrible blood blister on the left hand are over.
i think he will ready go really hard in the final now. stan is serving amazing and playing the best tennis of his career.
i think it is going to be an amazing battle between the two.
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Agreed Lady TT. Federer is probably unhappy with this result and performance this match, but he has to take the positives out of this tournament as a whole.
He had probably the toughest draw as it played out, and managed to beat two top 10 players to make it to his nemesis, #1 Rafa. So in the big picture it has to be a positive for him. He said earlier that he doesn't think he will be fully fit (playing his best form) until April or May, so overall this is not a bad result. I think his big goal will be to do well at Wimbledon and the US Open, the two biggest disappointments from last year.
Respectfully,
masterclass
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Nothing to add here.
It is just as you said.
I agree that Federer abandoned his strategies too quickly.
When his shots weren't having the same effect as they had had on Tsonga and Murray, he seemed to get a little disheartened.
You could almost sense when he began to lose confidence, and if we as spectators can see it, then of course Rafa can.
Still, we have to remember that Federer is still getting used to the racket and the more he plays with it, especially in big matches, the more comfortable he'll become. So it was an excellent start to the new year.
Congrats to him for getting so far in the draw and I hope Rafa can win one more match.
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Oh well, it seems cuteness is not a significant factor in winning a major semifinal... ;)
Spartan Stan Wawrinka beats Berdych in a rather tight and good quality 4 sets, 6-3, 6-7(1), 7-6(3), 7-6(4).
In the first set, Stan was certainly the better player as Berdych didn't quite looked warmed up enough and was broken.
But in the other 3 sets, they both played well, some amazing shot making by both players, and it was their performances in the tiebreakers that separated them.
In the first tiebreaker, behind a set, Berdych played very loose and calm, while Stan looked a bit nervous, and Berdych took it easily 7-1.
In the second and third tiebreakers, it was Berdych who looked more nervous, and he double faulted twice and once respectively, while Stan looked more calm and was more aggressive. Fortune favors the brave.
Congratulations to Ironman Stan, his team, and his fans! He was really, really, happy after the match, probably more emotional than even after Djokovic, as he realized he had broken new ground to arrive at his first Slam final. Well done to him.
Commiserations for Tomas Berdych and his team and fans. He did play very well in a losing effort, and lost with much grace and gave a big smile as he congratulated Stan at the net. It was a very good tournament for him, just not quite his day as it turned out.
Nice one, Stan. Good luck!
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I DID IT!
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Respectfully,
masterclass
LOL, yeah you don't get any points for cuteness. Berdych played like it was a regular match, not like someone trying to get to a final. He seemed too composed and lackadaisical. I mean, he played a good match, but not a great match.
Berdych needs to get his hunger level up. Big time, or he's going to regret it when his career is over.
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And Nadal comes through! He wins in straight sets, 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-3.
Congratulation to Mr. Nadal, his team, and his fans.
Condolences to Mr. Federer, his staff, and his supporters.
It was a very tight first set, but one had a sense that it was slightly easier for Rafa to hold his serve, and that the tiebreaker might go his way.
Federer attempted to play aggressively coming to the net when he could and had some success there, but I think backed off it too soon, and began not to use the best judgement on his approach shots. His aggressive game almost totally disappeared in the final two sets, only making his way to the net when Rafa drew him in with a short ball, and even then Federer's net play was weak, missing many easy shots. He made a couple of good drop shots, but those were too few and far between.
Rafa was successful at passing Federer a few times, and this inhibited Federer. It really shouldn't happen. He needed to improve his approaches and judgement and continue to come in. Instead he retreated and began playing the game of attrition, which is always going to be in Rafa's favor. Federer was only broken once in the second set, but that was all that was required, because Federer could make no headway on Rafa's service games. Rafa served smartly, mixing it up, and backed it up with his ground game. He made more errors in the first set, but settled down nicely in the second and third set and let Roger make all the errors, which he did frequently (I think around 50 UE's for the 3 sets). Federer simply played more poorly as the match went on and he was obviously discouraged that not much of his strategy was working.
The key early in the match was Rafa's backhand crosscourt. It was working very well, and was getting to the empty space Federer was leaving when running around his backhand. This forced Roger to have to run hard to his forehand side and forced errors off Federer's forehand. Then when Rafa's forehand finally kicked in during the second set, it was too much for Federer to handle. Rafa's serve turned out to not be much of a factor either way. He only needed to get it in the court for the most part on his first serve. Roger was aggressive on some of Rafa's second serves, but not enough. And Federer simply wasn't consistent enough today, playing more poorly than either against Tsonga or Murray. For some of that, one has to give credit to Nadal for making Federer go for more, and some of that is probably due to Federer having enough of an off night to drop his confidence level.
Federer's serve, both first and second, was very good in the first set, but Rafa was getting a good read by the end of the set and getting into Roger's service game a bit more each time. Roger's serve began to be a bit more inconsistent as the game wore on, not making as many first serves, and Rafa was returning better. But it was really Roger's ineffectiveness in his ground game, which was inconsistent, both on the backhand and forehand side, and his approach/volleying was not quite on tonight that caused his demise.
Rafa played quite consistently and better after he took the first set. The forehand improved and his passing shots were on target for the most part. I don't think the turning point was winning the 1st set tiebreaker. It was the break of serve in the second set that did Federer in, as up to that time, I think Federer still believed he could level the match. And the key point in that break was definitely the unbelievable passing shot Rafa practically from behind himself, off an excellent deep low approach to Rafa's forehand side. Nothing wrong with Roger's shot, Nadal's shot was simply unbelievable. I think Roger pretty much gave up on the aggressive game after that. After getting broken, it got much more difficult for him. It was disappointing that Federer essentially gave up on his aggressive volleying game so soon. One has to be very patient with this game, even if a few passing shots get by you, you must have the mindset to continue going forward and make sure the approach shots are more sound, which in Federer's case they were not on the whole, especially in the second and third sets.
Again well done to Rafa. Good luck to him against the new Swiss #1 - Spartan Stan Wawrinka in the final on Sunday. Rafa's 12-0 against Stan and has never dropped a set, so it looks like it could be easy pickings for Nadal, but Ironman Stan has great confidence coming into his first ever major final. We will see if that matters at all. I think if Nadal plays well, even a good Stan doesn't have much chance. I think he'll have to hope Rafa is off just a bit, so good luck to Stan as well.
:)
Respectfully,
masterclass
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agreed general. polls are useless.
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Ok, now the field is shortened...
Can Spartan Stan beat either Clay Warrior or the Swiss Assassin, or does he need to be happy with his first slam final?
Or maybe one can ask, who wins the whole thing?
I have little use for polls... just post your thoughts here. :)
Respectfully,
masterclass
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incredible performance by Spartan Stan. he is playing the best tennis of his career.
he has a massive all court game. it was only a matter of time before he put it all together.
congrats to Spartan Stan and his fans at Camelot.
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Oh well, it seems cuteness is not a significant factor in winning a major semifinal... ;)
Spartan Stan Wawrinka beats Berdych in a rather tight and good quality 4 sets, 6-3, 6-7(1), 7-6(3), 7-6(4).
In the first set, Stan was certainly the better player as Berdych didn't quite looked warmed up enough and was broken.
But in the other 3 sets, they both played well, some amazing shot making by both players, and it was their performances in the tiebreakers that separated them.
In the first tiebreaker, behind a set, Berdych played very loose and calm, while Stan looked a bit nervous, and Berdych took it easily 7-1.
In the second and third tiebreakers, it was Berdych who looked more nervous, and he double faulted twice and once respectively, while Stan looked more calm and was more aggressive. Fortune favors the brave.
Congratulations to Ironman Stan, his team, and his fans! He was really, really, happy after the match, probably more emotional than even after Djokovic, as he realized he had broken new ground to arrive at his first Slam final. Well done to him.
Commiserations for Tomas Berdych and his team and fans. He did play very well in a losing effort, and lost with much grace and gave a big smile as he congratulated Stan at the net. It was a very good tournament for him, just not quite his day as it turned out.
Nice one, Stan. Good luck!
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I DID IT!
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Respectfully,
masterclass
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Tough call for me general. Rafa almost always shows up at a fairly high level against Roger. Roger's level varies more, especially in the last few years. He can be sublime on occasion, good level more often, and sometimes in self destruct mode. It's not clay, so Rafa doesn't have a big advantage. We don't know if it will be played indoors or not, but there is rain and cool weather forecast for Friday.
I think the courts are about the same, but the balls are different, lighter and go through the court faster, which might favor Federer in that it is easier for him to generate winners without as much risk.
He's playing pretty solidly this tournament, especially on serve, only broken twice, losing only one set. The backhand looks good, he's more aggressive, but controlled, sneaking in when he has hit the proper approach shot. However, I was a bit surprised he didn't close it out in 3 sets today vs. Murray as it was on his racquet and he served well the entire match previous to the 5-4 game and the tiebreaker. Seems like he got a bit tight for some reason. And Murray was good enough to seize the opportunity and snatch the set. That won't do against Nadal. Federer can't play a 40 error game vs. Nadal. I would say he needs to hit no more than 5-7 per set, and 10-15 winners/set to do well against Nadal. But that's easier said than done. Nadal forces his opponents to attempt riskier shots and make more errors with his court coverage and defense. Today against Andy, Roger ventured to the net 66 times and won 47 points (74%), quite good vs. someone who returns and hits passing shots like Murray. He won 147 total points vs. 121 (+26) for Murray, and his 2nd serve win percentage was excellent, winning 64% vs. Murray's 49%. Against Tsonga, he was 34 for 41 (84%) at the net, won 69% of his second serves, and won 100 points vs 72 for Tsonga (+28). So Federer was pretty consistent in the 2 matches. If he can play similarly or slightly better, I think he will have a very good chance against Nadal.
Nadal has played well enough to win, but nothing special in the last two matches. Though his draw started out looking tough, it opened up a bit, when Tomic retired and Del Potro lost early. He's faced 3 higher seeded players - #25 Monfils who didn't play well, #22 Dimitrov who played pretty well, and #16 Nishikori who also played well, but no top 10 player. In those latter two matches, I don't think Nadal played all that well, and maybe the hand blister is bothering him, but still managed to win. I think he definitely needs to play better against Federer.
So one question for me, is did Nadal get enough from those matches against those players. He might have trouble raising his level if Federer plays well. But it is best of 5, so he has time to get into the match. I didn't like his forehand today against Dimitrov. He was very inconsistent with it. He's also slicing a lot. Maybe that's due to the hand. The slice won't bother Federer. He needs to be able to get his forehand extreme topspin going to Federer's backhand and the down the line drive shot accurately placed. He also needs to be in the court more and get more depth. If he hits short against this Federer, I think he'll get roasted. Federer is looking to come in on anything short and put it away. But we know Rafa. If he can get that forehand working, Federer will have trouble if the ball gets high and deep to his backhand.
So as in any match, it depends on what game they bring to the table. Federer hasn't beaten Nadal in 2 attempts at the AO, but like they say, each match is different. In general, if both men are pretty much on their game, if the conditions are such that the ball is staying lower, then it favors Federer, otherwise Nadal.
Motivation? Nadal is looking to tie Sampras, complete a second career slam, and get closer to Federer. Federer, well, he's looking for good results following last year's mediocre season. He already has good results by making it to the semifinal beating both Tsonga and Murray. Tough draw? maybe, but what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, unless you are too exhausted. He's 32 going on 33. Can he recover from an hour longer match against Murray then it had to be? I don't know. I'm sure the Swiss Maestro would like that 5th AO and 18th slam to try and pull a little more away from Clay Warrior.
You have to figure that the winner of this match has a great chance to win the Final, probably Rafa a bit more than Roger due to Berdych being fairly competitive with Federer the past few years. On the other hand, if Wawrinka makes it through unscathed his confidence would have to be sky high, and he could pull off another big upset. One thing at a time. Let's see who makes it to the Final.
At this moment, if I were playing it safe and had to choose, I'd probably choose Rafa and Stan based on the recent H2H. But H2H isn't everything, and these matches have been won by the other guys enough to know that their matches are not a given.
I'll probably wait till near game time to attempt a final prediction Nadal - Federer. I'll take Stan in the other one as of now.
Respectfully,
masterclass
Tough call for me general. Rafa almost always shows up at a fairly high level against Roger. Roger's level varies more, especially in the last few years. He can be sublime on occasion, good level more often, and sometimes in self destruct mode. It's not clay, so Rafa doesn't have a big advantage. We don't know if it will be played indoors or not, but there is rain and cool weather forecast for Friday.
I think the courts are about the same, but the balls are different, lighter and go through the court faster, which might favor Federer in that it is easier for him to generate winners without as much risk.
He's playing pretty solidly this tournament, especially on serve, only broken twice, losing only one set. The backhand looks good, he's more aggressive, but controlled, sneaking in when he has hit the proper approach shot. However, I was a bit surprised he didn't close it out in 3 sets today vs. Murray as it was on his racquet and he served well the entire match previous to the 5-4 game and the tiebreaker. Seems like he got a bit tight for some reason. And Murray was good enough to seize the opportunity and snatch the set. That won't do against Nadal. Federer can't play a 40 error game vs. Nadal. I would say he needs to hit no more than 5-7 per set, and 10-15 winners/set to do well against Nadal. But that's easier said than done. Nadal forces his opponents to attempt riskier shots and make more errors with his court coverage and defense. Today against Andy, Roger ventured to the net 66 times and won 47 points (74%), quite good vs. someone who returns and hits passing shots like Murray. He won 147 total points vs. 121 (+26) for Murray, and his 2nd serve win percentage was excellent, winning 64% vs. Murray's 49%. Against Tsonga, he was 34 for 41 (84%) at the net, won 69% of his second serves, and won 100 points vs 72 for Tsonga (+28). So Federer was pretty consistent in the 2 matches. If he can play similarly or slightly better, I think he will have a very good chance against Nadal.
Nadal has played well enough to win, but nothing special in the last two matches. Though his draw started out looking tough, it opened up a bit, when Tomic retired and Del Potro lost early. He's faced 3 higher seeded players - #25 Monfils who didn't play well, #22 Dimitrov who played pretty well, and #16 Nishikori who also played well, but no top 10 player. In those latter two matches, I don't think Nadal played all that well, and maybe the hand blister is bothering him, but still managed to win. I think he definitely needs to play better against Federer.
So one question for me, is did Nadal get enough from those matches against those players. He might have trouble raising his level if Federer plays well. But it is best of 5, so he has time to get into the match. I didn't like his forehand today against Dimitrov. He was very inconsistent with it. He's also slicing a lot. Maybe that's due to the hand. The slice won't bother Federer. He needs to be able to get his forehand extreme topspin going to Federer's backhand and the down the line drive shot accurately placed. He also needs to be in the court more and get more depth. If he hits short against this Federer, I think he'll get roasted. Federer is looking to come in on anything short and put it away. But we know Rafa. If he can get that forehand working, Federer will have trouble if the ball gets high and deep to his backhand.
So as in any match, it depends on what game they bring to the table. Federer hasn't beaten Nadal in 2 attempts at the AO, but like they say, each match is different. In general, if both men are pretty much on their game, if the conditions are such that the ball is staying lower, then it favors Federer, otherwise Nadal.
Motivation? Nadal is looking to tie Sampras, complete a second career slam, and get closer to Federer. Federer, well, he's looking for good results following last year's mediocre season. He already has good results by making it to the semifinal beating both Tsonga and Murray. Tough draw? maybe, but what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, unless you are too exhausted. He's 32 going on 33. Can he recover from an hour longer match against Murray then it had to be? I don't know. I'm sure the Swiss Maestro would like that 5th AO and 18th slam to try and pull a little more away from Clay Warrior.
You have to figure that the winner of this match has a great chance to win the Final, probably Rafa a bit more than Roger due to Berdych being fairly competitive with Federer the past few years. On the other hand, if Wawrinka makes it through unscathed his confidence would have to be sky high, and he could pull off another big upset. One thing at a time. Let's see who makes it to the Final.
At this moment, if I were playing it safe and had to choose, I'd probably choose Rafa and Stan based on the recent H2H. But H2H isn't everything, and these matches have been won by the other guys enough to know that their matches are not a given.
I'll probably wait till near game time to attempt a final prediction Nadal - Federer. I'll take Stan in the other one as of now.
Respectfully,
masterclass
I was hoping you did an analysis on this match.
I'm going for Berdych though, (not because I think he'll win, but because he's so cute). This is why I could never be a sports writer.
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order of play for day #11 is here:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/index.html
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Tough call for me general. Rafa almost always shows up at a fairly high level against Roger. Roger's level varies more, especially in the last few years. He can be sublime on occasion, good level more often, and sometimes in self destruct mode. It's not clay, so Rafa doesn't have a big advantage. We don't know if it will be played indoors or not, but there is rain and cool weather forecast for Friday.
I think the courts are about the same, but the balls are different, lighter and go through the court faster, which might favor Federer in that it is easier for him to generate winners without as much risk.
He's playing pretty solidly this tournament, especially on serve, only broken twice, losing only one set. The backhand looks good, he's more aggressive, but controlled, sneaking in when he has hit the proper approach shot. However, I was a bit surprised he didn't close it out in 3 sets today vs. Murray as it was on his racquet and he served well the entire match previous to the 5-4 game and the tiebreaker. Seems like he got a bit tight for some reason. And Murray was good enough to seize the opportunity and snatch the set. That won't do against Nadal. Federer can't play a 40 error game vs. Nadal. I would say he needs to hit no more than 5-7 per set, and 10-15 winners/set to do well against Nadal. But that's easier said than done. Nadal forces his opponents to attempt riskier shots and make more errors with his court coverage and defense. Today against Andy, Roger ventured to the net 66 times and won 47 points (74%), quite good vs. someone who returns and hits passing shots like Murray. He won 147 total points vs. 121 (+26) for Murray, and his 2nd serve win percentage was excellent, winning 64% vs. Murray's 49%. Against Tsonga, he was 34 for 41 (84%) at the net, won 69% of his second serves, and won 100 points vs 72 for Tsonga (+28). So Federer was pretty consistent in the 2 matches. If he can play similarly or slightly better, I think he will have a very good chance against Nadal.
Nadal has played well enough to win, but nothing special in the last two matches. Though his draw started out looking tough, it opened up a bit, when Tomic retired and Del Potro lost early. He's faced 3 higher seeded players - #25 Monfils who didn't play well, #22 Dimitrov who played pretty well, and #16 Nishikori who also played well, but no top 10 player. In those latter two matches, I don't think Nadal played all that well, and maybe the hand blister is bothering him, but still managed to win. I think he definitely needs to play better against Federer.
So one question for me, is did Nadal get enough from those matches against those players. He might have trouble raising his level if Federer plays well. But it is best of 5, so he has time to get into the match. I didn't like his forehand today against Dimitrov. He was very inconsistent with it. He's also slicing a lot. Maybe that's due to the hand. The slice won't bother Federer. He needs to be able to get his forehand extreme topspin going to Federer's backhand and the down the line drive shot accurately placed. He also needs to be in the court more and get more depth. If he hits short against this Federer, I think he'll get roasted. Federer is looking to come in on anything short and put it away. But we know Rafa. If he can get that forehand working, Federer will have trouble if the ball gets high and deep to his backhand.
So as in any match, it depends on what game they bring to the table. Federer hasn't beaten Nadal in 2 attempts at the AO, but like they say, each match is different. In general, if both men are pretty much on their game, if the conditions are such that the ball is staying lower, then it favors Federer, otherwise Nadal.
Motivation? Nadal is looking to tie Sampras, complete a second career slam, and get closer to Federer. Federer, well, he's looking for good results following last year's mediocre season. He already has good results by making it to the semifinal beating both Tsonga and Murray. Tough draw? maybe, but what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, unless you are too exhausted. He's 32 going on 33. Can he recover from an hour longer match against Murray then it had to be? I don't know. I'm sure the Swiss Maestro would like that 5th AO and 18th slam to try and pull a little more away from Clay Warrior.
You have to figure that the winner of this match has a great chance to win the Final, probably Rafa a bit more than Roger due to Berdych being fairly competitive with Federer the past few years. On the other hand, if Wawrinka makes it through unscathed his confidence would have to be sky high, and he could pull off another big upset. One thing at a time. Let's see who makes it to the Final.
At this moment, if I were playing it safe and had to choose, I'd probably choose Rafa and Stan based on the recent H2H. But H2H isn't everything, and these matches have been won by the other guys enough to know that their matches are not a given.
I'll probably wait till near game time to attempt a final prediction Nadal - Federer. I'll take Stan in the other one as of now.
Respectfully,
masterclass
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so it's the rafa and roger show once again.
interesting. what gives here?
who is going to win?
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general masterclass needs to keep getting more exposure for his work.
one way that i have suggested is to set up a "masterclass desk" here.
very much like the "mertov desk" at tennis4you.
you simply keep increasing your exposure and one day you are discovered. it can happen quickly.
the readership and viewership here is going up.
anyway at the "desk" you simply post some of your analysis like the one yesterday.
and once in a while people will stop by and may have a tennis related question for general masterclass.
and you start gain a small following that way.
it will also help with the growth a little bit. the most important thing is that he will be increasing his exposure to the world.
I think the trick is to be right on the opening page of as many forums as possible.
opening page of main tennis discussion page, that is.
sooner or later some tennis magazine will grab general masterclass but maximum exposure is key for that to happen.
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Thank you very much for your kind words, thetruth! I asked the question, because you said, "Great post Emma", so I was wondering which one of her posts you thought was great. But I guess you meant mine. :)
I have a blog on the Tennis Frontier site if you are interested. I'm probably going to put much of this last analysis in a new blog entry once the quarter-finals are played tomorrow. My dream is to write articles for a major tennis site, like espn, or tennis.com and make some money at what I do for free now.
But who knows, maybe Camelot or Tennis Frontier will become the next major tennis site - there are many knowledgeable and fine people here as well!
Thanks again,
masterclass
Have you tried the Bleacher Report? They are always looking for new bloggers. Even if it's not what you want at first, it could be a foot in the door. You should apply. I read a ton of tennis articles and yours was one of the best I've read.
It would be nice to have someone like you out there, because many writers are too biased and tend to lose their objectivity when writing. What is most impressive is that a person does not get an inkling of who your favorite player is. That, to me, is the real test. Not trying to sway people in any direction, simply stating the facts. Not many people can do that.
Let us know how your pursuit goes. We can say that we have access to a sports writer.
How can I read more stuff? Would I have to join Tennis Frontier? Details, details.
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Roger Federer defeats Andy Murray, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3. Federer had a chance to close it out in 3 on his own serve, both at 5-4 and in the tiebreaker with match points, but Murray took full advantage of Federer's inability to put a first serve at the crucial moments, played very aggressively as he obviously had nothing to lose at that point, and bravely succeeded in extending the match.
Murray was obviously tired in the 4th set, and perhaps had strained his back or hip a bit. He clearly was not able to make a good turn on the ball has he had done earlier in the match, and Federer changed his aggressive tactics from the first 3 sets to make it a much more physical match and that eventually paid dividends as Federer was able to break Murray in the 8th game after Murray had saved two previous very long games on serve, one close to 20 minutes. This time Federer served it out. Federer was probably a bit unhappy that the match went an hour longer, but was still obviously happy to get to his 11th consecutive semifinal at the Australian Open after a mediocre season last year.
Congrats to Roger Federer, his team, and his fans.
Andy Murray, OBE, did so well to hang in the match for as long as he did, and kudos to the Highlander, his team and his fans.
Now it's on to the Australian Open semifinals on Friday.
Berdych vs. Wawrinka and
Nadal vs. Federer.
Should be a treat! Good luck and I hope all players are rested, well, and ready!
Respectfully,
masterclass
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This post is outstanding.
If you're not a sports writer you should look into it, you are that good.
Wonderful analysis and summation.
That was most satisfying with flawless logic and literally no bias.
It was a pleasure to read.
general masterclass is one of the greatest posters and people on the planet.
he and I have known each other for a long time. we have our differences once in a blue moon but he has always stood right by me. this is the man who took on all of MTF for me.
differences are ok. that is what makes us all different and unique. there are differences in families at home also.
my little brother likes to argue with me from time to time. I call him a magician since he can turn anything into an argument.
same with my dad. we could be drinking 18 year old scotch and he will get argumentative and stuff.
we are very much a close family at Camelot. differences may or may not arrive. its all good.
we have set up all of Camelot like a chat thread so any and all talk is welcome and all opinions are welcome.
there are welcome centers everywhere and there are chat threads at every corner here.
people from all walks of life are welcome here. they can say and do anything they please here. they can have their own boards and do their own thing. they can pursue their own ideas and their own fields.
That was funny about your father and brother. Magicians, lol.
Yes, I enjoy Masterclass posts very much. I know he's a sportswriter. He cannot fool me.
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Thanks general. Thanks for the idea. Let me think on it just a bit, and I'll drop you a PM. Ok?
Respectfully,
masterclass
no worries general. take your time.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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night general MC.
;D ;D ;D ;D
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Definitely general. And now, I'm probably not making much sense, probably making typos everywhere, as I'm very tired, almost 3 am here, and I want to try and watch the matches today. Don't know how I'm going to do it. Maybe I'll watch after in the vids section.
Good night all and take care!
Respectfully,
masterclass
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And thanks for your kind words, General Hercules. I see great things about you that some others do not. You've been gang attacked at other places and tried to defend yourself and others, and it's understandable that you occasionally were over the top. I think some were undoubtedly out to get you kicked out and some of their so called rules and rule decisions were simply indefensible.
Look, nobody's perfect. People are bound to differ, as you said, it's natural. But with good communication, one can hopefully eventually overcome the differences as long as you have people that are forgiving and willing to move on.
I think this place is a natural niche for you, and wish you all the success and happiness in the world in whatever you do.
Respectfully,
masterclass
much obliged general.
you are too kind.
perhaps Camelot was the last frontier for us general. in retrospect everything happened for a reason.
we had to endure that learning process of being at different forums and gain that experience along the way.
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Thanks general. Thanks for the idea. Let me think on it just a bit, and I'll drop you a PM. Ok?
Respectfully,
masterclass
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Thank you very much for your kind words, thetruth! I asked the question, because you said, "Great post Emma", so I was wondering which one of her posts you thought was great. But I guess you meant mine. :)
I have a blog on the Tennis Frontier site if you are interested. I'm probably going to put much of this last analysis in a new blog entry once the quarter-finals are played tomorrow. My dream is to write articles for a major tennis site, like espn, or tennis.com and make some money at what I do for free now.
But who knows, maybe Camelot or Tennis Frontier will become the next major tennis site - there are many knowledgeable and fine people here as well!
Thanks again,
masterclass
I am going to set up a "Masterclass Desk" here at this very section general.
that way I can start advertising it at twitter and on facebook. also it will just add to the cool features that we have here.
this top flight analysis can be your first entry there. we have plenty of time to work on the opening page.
we will just fire up the masterclass desk and get the ball rolling.
folks should be able to come and ask any tennis related questions also. I believe it will take off.
what is your take on this general?
do you want to do it or do you want me to fire it up?
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And thanks for your kind words, General Hercules. I see great things about you that some others do not. You've been gang attacked at other places and tried to defend yourself and others, and it's understandable that you occasionally were over the top. I think some were undoubtedly out to get you kicked out and some of their so called rules and rule decisions were simply indefensible.
Look, nobody's perfect. People are bound to differ, as you said, it's natural. But with good communication, one can hopefully eventually overcome the differences as long as you have people that are forgiving and willing to move on.
I think this place is a natural niche for you, and wish you all the success and happiness in the world in whatever you do.
Respectfully,
masterclass
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general masterclass once we have 300+ people here, I can get us some advertising revenue.
we will divide that revenue among the admin members.
all we need is 300 members with about 20 of them posting on somewhat regular basis.
I can actually see that happening in about 2 years time. we will have learned a little bit along the way and accordingly, the site will become a little more attractive.
we are still learning and taking baby steps along the way.
I can see a fairly solid and self sustaining community here in time.
the key is as follows:
1. kind hearted people
2. engaging content
3. cool features
a solid community will capture the attention and imagination of a lot of people around the internet.
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Stan played unbelievable.
but again, Novak gets kind of iffy at the pressure packed moments.
It kind of reminded me of the USO where he goes on a roll and then gets cold.
That last game he played was atrocious.
that is one of the things not many people are talking about today lady TT:
I think the pressure was a factor for both of them but a much bigger factor for Nole. he was the defending champion.
he is the best of the best under pressure but I think the pressure got to him in the end.
stan just would not go away.
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Thank you very much for your kind words, thetruth! I asked the question, because you said, "Great post Emma", so I was wondering which one of her posts you thought was great. But I guess you meant mine. :)
I have a blog on the Tennis Frontier site if you are interested. I'm probably going to put much of this last analysis in a new blog entry once the quarter-finals are played tomorrow. My dream is to write articles for a major tennis site, like espn, or tennis.com and make some money at what I do for free now.
But who knows, maybe Camelot or Tennis Frontier will become the next major tennis site - there are many knowledgeable and fine people here as well!
Thanks again,
masterclass
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This post is outstanding.
If you're not a sports writer you should look into it, you are that good.
Wonderful analysis and summation.
That was most satisfying with flawless logic and literally no bias.
It was a pleasure to read.
general masterclass is one of the greatest posters and people on the planet.
he and I have known each other for a long time. we have our differences once in a blue moon but he has always stood right by me. this is the man who took on all of MTF for me.
differences are ok. that is what makes us all different and unique. there are differences in families at home also.
my little brother likes to argue with me from time to time. I call him a magician since he can turn anything into an argument.
same with my dad. we could be drinking 18 year old scotch and he will get argumentative and stuff.
we are very much a close family at Camelot. differences may or may not arrive. its all good.
we have set up all of Camelot like a chat thread so any and all talk is welcome and all opinions are welcome.
there are welcome centers everywhere and there are chat threads at every corner here.
people from all walks of life are welcome here. they can say and do anything they please here. they can have their own boards and do their own thing. they can pursue their own ideas and their own fields.
-
Which one, thetruth?
Respectfully,
masterclass
You can apply it to any of your posts.
They are so well written, informative, and unbiased.
It's a pleasure to read your posts.
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This post is outstanding.
If you're not a sports writer you should look into it, you are that good.
Wonderful analysis and summation.
That was most satisfying with flawless logic and literally no bias.
It was a pleasure to read.
-
Which one, thetruth?
Respectfully,
masterclass
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Great post, Emma.
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Tennis draws in majors - you just never know what's going to happen with the majority of the field. A draw can look very tough at the outset for a player only to open up if there is an upset or two along the way. Or a draw that looks easy can be a detriment if it turns out too easy, and the player may have a difficult time raising his level at the business end of the tournament when the tough players start meeting. From what I've seen throughout the many years is that in major, for most top players, it is good to have at least 1 tough or scrappy battle during the tournament prior to things getting tough.
It's very interesting to look at the remain possible match ups.
Let's start with the bottom half since the semis are known.
[7] Berdych vs [8] Wawrinka. Overall H2H favors Wawrinka 8-5. Recent H2H (since 2011) also favors Wawrinka 5-1, but Berdych's win came in a 1st round Davis Cup match in Switzerland on hard courts where Berdych won in 4 sets. Many of their matches usually have one close set, usually a tiebreaker. Wawrinka had the last straight set win back in Chennai 2011. Berdych won their only AO meeting back in 2009, while Wawrinka won their last meeting in a major just last year at the US Open.
Of course, Wawrinka is coming off a monster win vs. Djokovic in a tough 5 sets, albeit in cool conditions for Australia. Will he be able to take the positives from that match and use it to his benefit? Who knows? But one would hope, yes, as he'll be overflowing with confidence.
Will he be physically and/or mentally exhausted enough to affect him adversely? I think not. This half has the advantage of a full two day rest till the semifinals. Wawrinka should be able to recover unless there is an injury that I don't know about.
Berdych is coming off a good win vs. Ferrer, but Berdych was up and down in that match, starting off well, while Ferrer started poorly, then when Ferrer raised his level, Berdych couldn't match it and looked quite frustrated. Then Ferrer's level went down and Berdych was able to regain his composure and took the match.
I think both handle the current court conditions well, but perhaps they favor Berdych just slightly. The weather is scheduled to warm up considerably, back to 32 C. (89 F.) None of their previous H2H matches has ever gone to 5 sets.
Wawrinka d. Berdych in 4 sets.
How do these 2 players match up with the potential top half players? If Nadal makes the final, then good luck to either Wawrinka or Berdych.
Wawrinka has never beaten Nadal nor taken a set off him in all 12 attempts, but interestingly, their set scores have been fairly close on hard court, especially recently. Their 2013 WTF RR match was won by Nadal in 2 tiebreakers, both 7-5. Berdych hasn't won against Nadal in his last 16 attempts. Berdych's last win of his total of 3 in 20 attempts was at the 2006 indoor Madrid Open on hard court, where he infamously told the crowd to be quiet and upset Rafa. It appears that Rafa never forgot. He's only dropped 3 out of 38 sets played since then.
If Murray somehow manages to make the final (I don't see this happening), then either Berdych or Wawrinka will probably make it a close battle. There is no clear advantage on hard courts.
If Federer makes it to the final, it's hard to see Wawrinka beating him with their record, but stranger things have happened and confidence does wonders. Berdych has a better chance, as he has played Federer pretty even since 2010 (before that it was all Federer except for their first match in 2004), but in a major final? I doubt it. Federer has too much experience in finals and Berdych one final appearance at Wimby in 2010.
Dimitrov? Don't see him making it either, but if he does, then he is unbeaten in 2 starts vs. Berdych, and winless in 2 starts vs. Wawrinka.
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Now what about the top half?
[1] Rafael Nadal vs. [22[ Grigor Dimitrov
Dimitrov has never won against any of the other 3 players (0-3 vs Nadal, 0-3 vs. Murray, 0-1 vs. Federer). Just can't see him doing it vs. Nadal in best of 5 even though he has taken sets off him. Nadal hasn't looked overwhelming in this tournament, has a blistered hand, but has done enough to win without dropping a set.
Nadal d. Dimitrov in 4 sets.
[6] Federer vs. [4] Murray - Murray is at a big disadvantage this year with zero tour level play vs top 20 players since the US Open. If Federer can play anywhere close to his level vs. Tsonga then he is likely to win. Of course if he plays at 2013 level like Robredo at the US Open, he can lose making a hundred errors. I don't expect the latter to happen. He looks more consistent and in good form throughout the tournament with few lapses. Like Nadal, he hasn't dropped a set yet. His serve has looked very good, and has only been broken 1 time in the tournament, but he hasn't faced a player with the defense of a Murray or Nadal, so I don't expect him to be quite so overpowering on serve. His backhand has looked pretty good, especially against Tsonga. And he has been aggressive, going to net when he spots the opportunity, without being overly aggressive.
Unless error prone Federer shows up, I think this is going to be straight forward win for Federer defeating Murray in 3 sets. 4 if Murray plays very well for a set and Federer is not playing so well. Federer lost his first match in a major to an in form solid Murray at last year's AO in a tough 5 sets, after a tough 5 sets with Tsonga, and clearly looked out of gas. I don't know how he even made it to the 5th set.
Federer or Murray vs. Nadal. Again, even if Murray beats Federer, I don't think Murray's match ready for Nadal. Again, I think that would be a 3 set win for Nadal, 4 maybe.
Federer? Federer has overall only won at a rate of 1 in 3 matches vs. Nadal, but that includes a large amount on clay courts. Their hard court record is closer. Rain and cooler weather is scheduled for Friday's matches - 80% chance. If it goes indoors, then one thinks this would favor an in-form Federer.
Can't call this one yet. The lighter balls and perhaps somewhat quicker courts should favor him as well. It mostly depends on Federer's mindset on the day. When he's on, he can beat anyone including Nadal, but those moments have happened fewer and fewer times as the years have gone by. We know Rafa has hardly any blips. I'll reevaluate on match day.
This is how I see it, but this is tennis, anything can happen on any given day. :)
Respectfully,
masterclass
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Agreed, thetruth. And the game where he gave back the break earlier in the 5th set. I think 4 straight UE's. out of nowhere. Atrocious. Just shows he's human.
Respectfully,
masterclass
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Stan played unbelievable.
but again, Novak gets kind of iffy at the pressure packed moments.
It kind of reminded me of the USO where he goes on a roll and then gets cold.
That last game he played was atrocious.
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Spot on general. If Spartan Stan can recover physically by Thursday, I think he will beat Berdych. He already has confidence playing against him.
His mental strength is simply at a higher level now, and among others like his coach and friends, ironically, Novak helped him get there...
Stan: Thanks for warming me up Roger. Roger: Don't mention it, Stan. You can thank me by beating Novak!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BegYpHVCcAA0c3F.jpg)
Winner! Spartan Stan Wawrinka!
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww3.pictures.zimbio.com%2Fgi%2FStanislas%2BWawrinka%2B2014%2BAustralian%2BOpen%2BDay%2B12SPFoTuYg-l.jpg&hash=a8f4ae08ccf7f1fcef6c78cbc4bc898644175661)(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww3.pictures.zimbio.com%2Fgi%2FStanislas%2BWawrinka%2B2014%2BAustralian%2BOpen%2BDay%2Bb2_yC6nmYAgl.jpg&hash=4cb51641258f0590cbb57f08f03d8c92155d9734)
Novak Djokovic.
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww3.pictures.zimbio.com%2Fgi%2FNovak%2BDjokovic%2B2014%2BAustralian%2BOpen%2BDay%2B9%2BzBDqoDVmupQl.jpg&hash=7a810053e5f98afbec1f5686c0c236bff3e53e0d)(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww2.pictures.zimbio.com%2Fgi%2FNovak%2BDjokovic%2B2014%2BAustralian%2BOpen%2BDay%2B9%2BLdpUS2d_z7jl.jpg&hash=5552d468d472a21df26c62802c3dd45d1c999f0c)
Great match, Man
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww3.pictures.zimbio.com%2Fgi%2FStanislas%2BWawrinka%2B2014%2BAustralian%2BOpen%2BDay%2B4iMlChvhLcsl.jpg&hash=ea1a982780ba87d200cef76b5174349f4f13efc1)(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww4.pictures.zimbio.com%2Fgi%2FStanislas%2BWawrinka%2B2014%2BAustralian%2BOpen%2BDay%2B6DXB0Qsa85xl.jpg&hash=5cb12a05b9e02ff1eda31da9fe3139bbc09c0cb9)
Twitter
Roger Federer @rogerfederer
So deserving for Stan the man #nevergiveup #whatamatch #sohappy
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BefmEudCUAA-TFy.jpg)
Respectfully,
masterclass
great pics general. keep them coming.
tough call with this one. who really knows how this is going to play out.
stan could be slightly sluggish given the mental and physical toll he took in derailing an all time great.
it is not easy to beat nole at a hard court slam. it takes a lot out of you.
I did notice something about berdych in his last match:
(1) he really does not have optimal movement. he misses all too often if you can get him on the run and stretch him.
(2) his shot selection. he is impatient at times and goes for the wrong shot. so I question his court intelligence.
Spartan Stan, on the other hand, does move quite well. and Stan is a thinking man. he was looking for solutions against Nole and found them.
berdych has the tendency to get a little shaken out there.
so lets see how it plays out. I give the slight edge to Spartan Stan. he is a little better going forward as well. he is quite confident at the net.
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I liked the way Bouchard celebrated her win. Any pictures on that, herc?
I don't have any pics of her yet emma.
what an amazing athlete she is. such incredible talent and still so young.
Canadians are coming up. hopefully milos can get going as well.
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I hear that Spartan Stan hit with nadal at least twice.
he may hit with him again.
I bet they have enormous respect for each other. its good to see that they make the time to practice.
andy and nadal are also known to practice from time to time.
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I liked the way Bouchard celebrated her win. Any pictures on that, herc?
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The match of the tournament so far!
When Djokovic won the first set easily 6-2, I didn't think Stan could come back. Still, I had a funny feeling that Stan was going to end Djokovic's reign at Melbourne.
Have to say Stan played the big points with more heart than I've ever seen him do before.
Huge win for him. I hope he can reach his first major final.
I found the quality to be very poor. Lots of unforced errors by both. Also, it's time AO adopts a 5th set Tie breaker. It's brutal for the players to play such long matches in this heat and it gives them no hope to recover in time for their next match.
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I was afraid that Spartan Stan was going to develop cramps. he kept on stretching out there in the latter stages of the match.
well he finally took that next step that we were talking about general masterclass.
this has to be one of his biggest wins ever if not the biggest win. we knew had enormous talent and amazing power off the ground.
he still missed a lot of backhands but some of that had to do with nole's unbelievable court coverage.
nole engulfs the whole court in a mere second with his movement.
stan had to go for more because of that.
now the big question is this: can he make his first slam final?
I don't know if he'll be able to recover from that match mentally or physically but personally I wouldn't want him to make the final anyway. It will be his first final and he's already a pet to both Nadal and Federer and there will be some massive choking; in short, it will be a very ugly final.
Berdych has experience playing in Slam finals and he's deadly to Federer, that is, if Fed makes it and against Murray, he's got results as well, so it's a better scenario for fans. His experience might come handy should he meet Nadal. I hope he keeps things very short against Stan if he were to win.
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Spot on general. If Spartan Stan can recover physically by Thursday, I think he will beat Berdych. He already has confidence playing against him.
His mental strength is simply at a higher level now, and among others like his coach and friends, ironically, Novak helped him get there...
Stan: Thanks for warming me up Roger. Roger: Don't mention it, Stan. You can thank me by beating Novak!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BegYpHVCcAA0c3F.jpg)
Winner! Spartan Stan Wawrinka!
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww3.pictures.zimbio.com%2Fgi%2FStanislas%2BWawrinka%2B2014%2BAustralian%2BOpen%2BDay%2B12SPFoTuYg-l.jpg&hash=a8f4ae08ccf7f1fcef6c78cbc4bc898644175661)(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww3.pictures.zimbio.com%2Fgi%2FStanislas%2BWawrinka%2B2014%2BAustralian%2BOpen%2BDay%2Bb2_yC6nmYAgl.jpg&hash=4cb51641258f0590cbb57f08f03d8c92155d9734)
Novak Djokovic.
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww3.pictures.zimbio.com%2Fgi%2FNovak%2BDjokovic%2B2014%2BAustralian%2BOpen%2BDay%2B9%2BzBDqoDVmupQl.jpg&hash=7a810053e5f98afbec1f5686c0c236bff3e53e0d)(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww2.pictures.zimbio.com%2Fgi%2FNovak%2BDjokovic%2B2014%2BAustralian%2BOpen%2BDay%2B9%2BLdpUS2d_z7jl.jpg&hash=5552d468d472a21df26c62802c3dd45d1c999f0c)
Great match, Man
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww3.pictures.zimbio.com%2Fgi%2FStanislas%2BWawrinka%2B2014%2BAustralian%2BOpen%2BDay%2B4iMlChvhLcsl.jpg&hash=ea1a982780ba87d200cef76b5174349f4f13efc1)(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww4.pictures.zimbio.com%2Fgi%2FStanislas%2BWawrinka%2B2014%2BAustralian%2BOpen%2BDay%2B6DXB0Qsa85xl.jpg&hash=5cb12a05b9e02ff1eda31da9fe3139bbc09c0cb9)
Twitter
Roger Federer @rogerfederer
So deserving for Stan the man #nevergiveup #whatamatch #sohappy
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BefmEudCUAA-TFy.jpg)
Respectfully,
masterclass
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great to see you general backspin.
I was just reading an article about this very match. I think this was one of the greatest hard court matches of all time.
and we have it at the CETSVids Global Tennis Video Center here now.
I will watch it again in a day or so.
here is a take on this match:
http://www.tennisviewmag.com/tennis-view-magazine/article/wawrinka-turns-tables-djokovic-eyes-berdych-next
basically stan held his nerve and hung in there long enough for nole to finally crack just a little bit.
it was stans's all court game and his strong mental outlook this time around that is largely responsible for this win but there was one other element:
pressure.
I think nole finally caved in a little bit under pressure. he knew he had to defend his crown here. his #1 rank had been taken away from him and he had a lot to prove.
I am very impressed with stan. he too deserves his moment in the sun and he showed the world that he has major game.
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The match of the tournament so far!
When Djokovic won the first set easily 6-2, I didn't think Stan could come back. Still, I had a funny feeling that Stan was going to end Djokovic's reign at Melbourne.
Have to say Stan played the big points with more heart than I've ever seen him do before.
Huge win for him. I hope he can reach his first major final.
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ferru is removed from the facilities in 4 sets.
can berdych make the final? he still manages to get a little tight in clutch situations.
he must have had around 62-65 unforced errors today. that is a lot of errors in just 4 sets.
he really needs to take a few months and fix that serve. he is nearly 6 foot 6. he should have a world class serve with that kind of height.
he is not fluid enough with his movement being such a big fellow. so one way to compensate for that is to have a dominating serve.
the toss is too high for one thing. it is difficult to have a consistent serve that is also a dominating serve with a mile high service toss.
I think he can. Though Stan has the lead in the H2H and the last two wins, he is coming off a tough win and a long match. Berdy should be fresher of the two in the semi; however, Stan might want to get to the final for the first time and that should motivate him.
will Stan have enough time to recover from yesterday's match?
he spent a tremendous amount of mental and physical capital out there last night.
this one is tough to call. I am not sure who takes this one.
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I didn't think Spartan Stan could win in the 5th set. But I'm happy to have been proven wrong.
He looked at times on the verge of collapse while Djokovic was rising again, but pulled it together, served well from 6-6 and Nole made a couple of questionable volleys that cost him at the very end. But he is human too.
Well done Mr. Wawrinka! Gallant try by Mr. Novak Djokovic and condolences to his many fans.
Respectfully,
masterclass
I was afraid that Spartan Stan was going to develop cramps. he kept on stretching out there in the latter stages of the match.
well he finally took that next step that we were talking about general masterclass.
this has to be one of his biggest wins ever if not the biggest win. we knew had enormous talent and amazing power off the ground.
he still missed a lot of backhands but some of that had to do with nole's unbelievable court coverage.
nole engulfs the whole court in a mere second with his movement.
stan had to go for more because of that.
now the big question is this: can he make his first slam final?
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ferru is removed from the facilities in 4 sets.
can berdych make the final? he still manages to get a little tight in clutch situations.
he must have had around 62-65 unforced errors today. that is a lot of errors in just 4 sets.
he really needs to take a few months and fix that serve. he is nearly 6 foot 6. he should have a world class serve with that kind of height.
he is not fluid enough with his movement being such a big fellow. so one way to compensate for that is to have a dominating serve.
the toss is too high for one thing. it is difficult to have a consistent serve that is also a dominating serve with a mile high service toss.
I think he can. Though Stan has the lead in the H2H and the last two wins, he is coming off a tough win and a long match. Berdy should be fresher of the two in the semi; however, Stan might want to get to the final for the first time and that should motivate him.
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I didn't think Spartan Stan could win in the 5th set. But I'm happy to have been proven wrong.
He looked at times on the verge of collapse while Djokovic was rising again, but pulled it together, served well from 6-6 and Nole made a couple of questionable volleys that cost him at the very end. But he is human too.
Well done Mr. Wawrinka! Gallant try by Mr. Novak Djokovic and condolences to his many fans.
Respectfully,
masterclass
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I am floored.
unbelievable performance by Stan.
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wow. Spartan Stan has done it.
he removes nole from the facilities in 5 sets.
congrats to Stan and his fans at Camelot.
general Viruzzz will be so happy. he too was cheering for Stan.
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2nd set and the 3rd set to Spartan Stan.
stan takes the 3rd set 6-2.
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stan had to have that first set. it did not happen.
he lost it 6-2.
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general viruzzz Emma's café is at Emma's world now.
we have changed a few things as we are growing a little bit now.
please make yourself at home.
it is good to see you as always.
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que pasa general viruzzz.
I a watching that match right now. I am cheering for stan.
he is off to a slow start and nole is doing just about everything right. so this is quite an assignment for stan.
still I will cheer for him. lets see if he can turn things around.
nole has improved his serve. the guy is a machine. and he is playing the best tennis of his life right now. he has won 27 matches in a row.
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Hello again everyone.
I personally wasn't surprised of Berdych winning, he was showing an amazing level and Ferrer, who was still pretty good, isn't playing like last year or 2012.
Still, the spaniard is making QF or more since AO12, that's a pretty good record.
About this match.
I'm cheering for Stan again, I like what he can do when he's on, but I think Novak's gonna take this one a little more easily than his 2 last slam matches.
Still, let's hope for a good match.
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ferru is removed from the facilities in 4 sets.
can berdych make the final? he still manages to get a little tight in clutch situations.
he must have had around 62-65 unforced errors today. that is a lot of errors in just 4 sets.
he really needs to take a few months and fix that serve. he is nearly 6 foot 6. he should have a world class serve with that kind of height.
he is not fluid enough with his movement being such a big fellow. so one way to compensate for that is to have a dominating serve.
the toss is too high for one thing. it is difficult to have a consistent serve that is also a dominating serve with a mile high service toss.
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try this site and see if it works:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/video/live.html
Thanks.
It came back on, but I missed an entire set!
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Rafa with the day match and Federer with the night match.
order of play for day #10:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/schedule15.html
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try this site and see if it works:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/video/live.html
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Cable doing an upgrade in the middle of the match.
It was in the 3rd set of the Ivanovic-bouchard match and it's still not on.
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berdych leads 3-1.
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affirmative.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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All true.
He usually has a bad round anyway. It's better he got it out of his system before it really gets tough.
Every day is a new day. Moving onward.
I'm sure he'll improve too.
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he was just out of it last night.
I think he will produce better form in his next match.
its tennis. its a brutal sport. its very hard to be in near top form for every single match. I am not really worried about his 3 hours and 17 minutes on the court.
there were a few medical timeouts and stuff. he needs to be out there for another 3+ hours in his next match also.
he was not winning majority of the rallies out there last night. that has to change.
its a damn shame I am not one of his coaches.
in order to break your opponent's spirit and his will, you have to engage him in battle. you have to engage him in the rallies and win majority of them.
that is how you destroy your opponent both physically and mentally.
I am not happy with his pushing so many balls back. that is what kept his backhand from clicking. he has to try to hit the ball.
all that pushing and shoving really doesn't achieve much except for throwing off your rhythm when you have to hit the ball.
so why not just hit from get go. you slice but only when you have to and when you are out of position.
and you slice when you have little or no time.
today most players eat sliced backhands for breakfast.
anyway I am convinced that he will play better in his next match. if he returns well and hits his backhand well, he will be very difficult to deal with.
he can use some depth in his shots but that comes from hitting the ball.
start hitting the ball right from get go and try find your rhythm.
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I think so too.
Too much uncertainty regarding Dmitrov in his first guarterfinal, whereas both Federer and Andy are battle tested warriors.
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Great assessment, Masterclass,
There was nothing Jo could do. Fed was that good last night.
He looked even better following Nadal, lol.
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Thanks for the stats General. Nishikori played a fine match and deserved at least a set, but Rafa was too tough in the clutch and Kei not tough enough when he really needed it in a point here or there. Nadal played too far back again at times. I think Kei was successful on the drop shot at least 7 out of 8 or 9 chances and hit many angled winners. But Rafa did enough to win and is through to play Grigor Dimitrov in the QF.
Federer dismantled a fair-good Tsonga in the evening match in a masterclass performance - check the net stats. He'll meet Andrew Murray, OBE, in the QF.
Here are the stats (http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/stats/day13/1404ms.html).
Respectfully,
masterclass
i found nadal to be slow and sluggish in this match. he returned relatively poorly and he pushed way too many balls back. he did much better when he chose to hit the balls back off both wings.
its not a biting, stinging slice. he has to realize that all these guys can go after those chipped balls that just sit up waiting and begging to be killed.
i saw a picture of his blood blister on his hand. i will post it here if i can find it again. it has to be painful. he said it was not hurting but i am not buying it.
as for the playing too far back, i think put himself in that position by pushing so man balls back and also hitting so short.
on the average, i did not see much depth in his shots. even a few of his approach shots would land short which led nishikori to produce stinging passing shots.
i am rating nadal's performance as quite poor last night. i give him a C.
it is not going to get any easier for him so he has to try to find a better form ASAP. it is the business end of the tournament.
All true. Pretty bad performance. He's lucky Kei didn't usher him out of the facilities.
I hope the blisters gets better, but it is what it is. Hopefully he can continue on in the tournament.
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day #9 preview:
http://tennis.si.com/2014/01/20/australian-open-day-9-preview-novak-djokovic-stanislas-wawrinka/
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key matches:
KEY MATCHES - TUESDAY, 21 JANUARY 2014
Singles - Quarter-finals
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)[8] vs. Novak Djokovic (SRB)[2]
Tomas Berdych (RCH)[7] vs. David Ferrer (ESP)[3]
Doubles - Quarter-finals
Alex Bolt (AUS)/Andrew Whittington (AUS) vs. Daniel Nestor (CAN)/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)[8]
Eric Butorac (USA)/Raven Klaasen (RSA) vs. Treat Huey (PHI)/Dominic Inglot (GBR)[12]
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congrats to Federer and his fans at Camelot.
well done.
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tough question general.
I will just take a wild guess: I think roger and andy get the night match.
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Yes. Roger was tough on his friend Jo. Here is Tsonga's post match interview transcript:
Day 8 - Tsonga interview transcript (http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/news/interviews/2014-01-20/201401201390219500161.html)
By the way, what do you think the day 10 schedule will look like?
Do you think #1 Nadal will get the evening match vs. Dimitrov, or will it be #4 Murray vs. #6 Federer?
Respectfully,
masterclass
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thanks for posting the stats for the Federer match general masterclass.
100 points for Federer and 72 for Tsonga suggests domination.
Tsonga never stood a chance.
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And I am giving Andy D based on what happened in the 3rd set.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
they both passed anyway.
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And I am giving Andy D based on what happened in the 3rd set.
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Thanks for the stats General. Nishikori played a fine match and deserved at least a set, but Rafa was too tough in the clutch and Kei not tough enough when he really needed it in a point here or there. Nadal played too far back again at times. I think Kei was successful on the drop shot at least 7 out of 8 or 9 chances and hit many angled winners. But Rafa did enough to win and is through to play Grigor Dimitrov in the QF.
Federer dismantled a fair-good Tsonga in the evening match in a masterclass performance - check the net stats. He'll meet Andrew Murray, OBE, in the QF.
Here are the stats (http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/stats/day13/1404ms.html).
Respectfully,
masterclass
i found nadal to be slow and sluggish in this match. he returned relatively poorly and he pushed way too many balls back. he did much better when he chose to hit the balls back off both wings.
its not a biting, stinging slice. he has to realize that all these guys can go after those chipped balls that just sit up waiting and begging to be killed.
i saw a picture of his blood blister on his hand. i will post it here if i can find it again. it has to be painful. he said it was not hurting but i am not buying it.
as for the playing too far back, i think put himself in that position by pushing so man balls back and also hitting so short.
on the average, i did not see much depth in his shots. even a few of his approach shots would land short which led nishikori to produce stinging passing shots.
i am rating nadal's performance as quite poor last night. i give him a C.
it is not going to get any easier for him so he has to try to find a better form ASAP. it is the business end of the tournament.
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Some of the players like Del Potro, Tsonga etc. came out really flat in this tournament. Nishikori and Dimitrov looked much better in this instance.
The new appointment of Edberg has added some confidence in Federer no doubt but how long that affect will last that is the question since the game remains the same.
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Thanks for the stats General. Nishikori played a fine match and deserved at least a set, but Rafa was too tough in the clutch and Kei not tough enough when he really needed it in a point here or there. Nadal played too far back again at times. I think Kei was successful on the drop shot at least 7 out of 8 or 9 chances and hit many angled winners. But Rafa did enough to win and is through to play Grigor Dimitrov in the QF.
Federer dismantled a fair-good Tsonga in the evening match in a masterclass performance - check the net stats. He'll meet Andrew Murray, OBE, in the QF.
Here are the stats (http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/stats/day13/1404ms.html).
Respectfully,
masterclass
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here are the stats for the rafa vs nishikori match:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/stats/day13/1401ms.html
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I cant believe andy managed to let that set slip away. now he will have to stay out there a little longer.
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day #9 schedule is here:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/schedule14.html
;D ;D
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Rafa derails Nishikori in straights.
Nishikori is really good. he has a very bright future.
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dimitrov has done it. he derailed Roberto bautista agut in 4 sets.
congrats to dimitrov and his fans at Camelot.
;D ;D ;D ;D
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order of play for day #8 is here:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/schedule13.html (http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/schedule13.html)
Federer vs Tsonga is the night match.
action is heating up.
fasten your seat belts.
I can't wait for Fed/Tsonga! Could be a great one. I'm hoping Roger wins, because I want to see a Federer/Murray semi.
Loving your site, CD. Looks great.
he great general tented in da house.
vamosssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.
I cant wait to see the action unfold either general
let the games begin.
don't be a stranger mate: we consider tennis frontier our closest neighbors and our friends. Camelot gates are wide open for the tennis frontier family forever and ever.
I am glad you are enjoying Camelot. that is exactly why Camelot was built.
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wawrinka vs nole confrontation is on.
this could be a 5 set affair again.
;D ;D ;D ;D
its about the return of serve for the Spartan Stan. if he can return like hell, he has a chance in this match.
you need your break points. you need those opportunities because, quite simply, you cannot win if you cant break serve.
even in a breaker you need a mini break one way or another.
that tends to put a lot of pressure on your opponent.
and of course serving well goes without saying. you have to serve well.
Who do you think will win?
Stan looked awfully good last night.
Can you call it?
my own prediction: Spartan Stan in 5.
it is a very tough assignment for Spartan Stan but I think he breaks new ground this time and takes down the hottest player on the planet.
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I don't think I'm taking it out of context. This isn't the first time I've questioned del Potro's motives. I think everything we say is channeled through our brain and with that, intent and purposes. The first question that comes to my mind when people make some comments is why? I don't see the purpose of del Po's comment when Tomic has never had Nadal in a losing position.
And although Tomic played him "competitively" (I thought I heard that it was a 50 minute match) and he beat him. Why can't Nadal, when del Potro just got another win off of Nadal after four years?
Nope. Doesn't make sense to me, especially considering his hero's Federer's form. Do I see him making comments about Fed like that?
Never have.
I know Del Potro and Andy had an episode back in 2009 (I think) in Montreal final but neither let that affect them in the long run and they got along very well since then. I also know Haas made a comment about Andy (not so long ago in fact) in which he implied Andy faked his injury. I did not see any massive reaction from Andy. Again, he didn't let that bother him too much. Federer, during the semi at AO just last year, screamed at Andy in the middle of the match and said "you facking stopped" which even took Andy by surprise. But Andy in return, took it in his stride and said in the presser right after the match that, it was nothing when they inquired about it. Now if you take these examples, you will see that not only he did not let any of this bother him, he also didn't have time for it. Life is too short to be bothered by every little thing and even worse, too big a burden to carry around. All these grudges don't even have any direct affect on fans, especially when it wasn't even addressed to them but fans get rattled anyway.
As once a wise man said, no one can hurt you unless you let them.
Besides, Del Potro is entitled to his opinion and I'd personally leave it at that. Whether we like it or not that's strictly our problem. I'd rather have more faith in my player than get all worked up on someone else's comments and by that I don't mean you in particular, but I mean it in general. Reality is Nadal, despite the fuss and the drama just before the match, didn't even get to play the whole match against Tomic and Tomic is now out with an injury that will cost him 3 months.
And Nadal is not innocent either. He has made comments about the 90s that wasn't by any means flattering or respectful to those players of that time, but I don't think either Pete or Goran is losing their sleep over it or holding any grudges.
And I am not aware of Del Potro's direct comments about the Nadal/Tomic match. All I knew was this (below) and it didn't seem worth investigating - what a waste time that would be. I know the players and I know what they are capable of and upsets does happen. Why is that even news?
"FORMER US Open winner Juan Martin Del Potro believes Bernard Tomic has the game to trouble Rafael Nadal and the Australian must embrace the opportunity of playing the world's best on one of the greatest stages in tennis, Rod Laver Arena. Far from the groaning heard around the country yesterday, when Tomic drew world No.1 and top seed Nadal in the first round of the Australian Open, world No 5 Del Potro sees it as mana from heaven to face a high-profile player such as Nadal on the centre court of a grand slam."
I hear what you're saying, but I'm not you.
I do care what comes what comes out of people's mouths, because to me, it's a direct link to their character. I know who I want in my life and who I'd rather not be bothered with, based on their words and actions.
I have a great deal of discernment and it has served me well. I'm an observer and I have saved myself a lot of grief by being attuned to people and their motives. In short, I can read people like an open book. So much so that my circle of friends are always astounded at the things that I can tell them before it happens.
I'm not fond of del Potro and that's OK.
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wawrinka vs nole confrontation is on.
this could be a 5 set affair again.
;D ;D ;D ;D
its about the return of serve for the Spartan Stan. if he can return like hell, he has a chance in this match.
you need your break points. you need those opportunities because, quite simply, you cannot win if you cant break serve.
even in a breaker you need a mini break one way or another.
that tends to put a lot of pressure on your opponent.
and of course serving well goes without saying. you have to serve well.
Who do you think will win?
Stan looked awfully good last night.
Can you call it?
-
order of play for day #8 is here:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/schedule13.html (http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/schedule13.html)
Federer vs Tsonga is the night match.
action is heating up.
fasten your seat belts.
I can't wait for Fed/Tsonga! Could be a great one. I'm hoping Roger wins, because I want to see a Federer/Murray semi.
Loving your site, CD. Looks great.
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wawrinka vs nole confrontation is on.
this could be a 5 set affair again.
;D ;D ;D ;D
its about the return of serve for the Spartan Stan. if he can return like hell, he has a chance in this match.
you need your break points. you need those opportunities because, quite simply, you cannot win if you cant break serve.
even in a breaker you need a mini break one way or another.
that tends to put a lot of pressure on your opponent.
and of course serving well goes without saying. you have to serve well.
Yes, but I totally expect Nole to be more than ready this time against Wawrinka - just like Andy was ready for Lopez this time who caught Andy off guard at the USO.
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I don't think I'm taking it out of context. This isn't the first time I've questioned del Potro's motives. I think everything we say is channeled through our brain and with that, intent and purposes. The first question that comes to my mind when people make some comments is why? I don't see the purpose of del Po's comment when Tomic has never had Nadal in a losing position.
And although Tomic played him "competitively" (I thought I heard that it was a 50 minute match) and he beat him. Why can't Nadal, when del Potro just got another win off of Nadal after four years?
Nope. Doesn't make sense to me, especially considering his hero's Federer's form. Do I see him making comments about Fed like that?
Never have.
I know Del Potro and Andy had an episode back in 2009 (I think) in Montreal final but neither let that affect them in the long run and they got along very well since then. I also know Haas made a comment about Andy (not so long ago in fact) in which he implied Andy faked his injury. I did not see any massive reaction from Andy. Again, he didn't let that bother him too much. Federer, during the semi at AO just last year, screamed at Andy in the middle of the match and said "you facking stopped" which even took Andy by surprise. But Andy in return, took it in his stride and said in the presser right after the match that, it was nothing when they inquired about it. Now if you take these examples, you will see that not only he did not let any of this bother him, he also didn't have time for it. Life is too short to be bothered by every little thing and even worse, too big a burden to carry around. All these grudges don't even have any direct affect on fans, especially when it wasn't even addressed to them but fans get rattled anyway.
As once a wise man said, no one can hurt you unless you let them.
Besides, Del Potro is entitled to his opinion and I'd personally leave it at that. Whether we like it or not that's strictly our problem. I'd rather have more faith in my player than get all worked up on someone else's comments and by that I don't mean you in particular, but I mean it in general. Reality is Nadal, despite the fuss and the drama just before the match, didn't even get to play the whole match against Tomic and Tomic is now out with an injury that will cost him 3 months.
And Nadal is not innocent either. He has made comments about the 90s that wasn't by any means flattering or respectful to those players of that time, but I don't think either Pete or Goran is losing their sleep over it or holding any grudges.
And I am not aware of Del Potro's direct comments about the Nadal/Tomic match. All I knew was this (below) and it didn't seem worth investigating - what a waste time that would be. I know the players and I know what they are capable of and upsets does happen. Why is that even news?
"FORMER US Open winner Juan Martin Del Potro believes Bernard Tomic has the game to trouble Rafael Nadal and the Australian must embrace the opportunity of playing the world's best on one of the greatest stages in tennis, Rod Laver Arena. Far from the groaning heard around the country yesterday, when Tomic drew world No.1 and top seed Nadal in the first round of the Australian Open, world No 5 Del Potro sees it as mana from heaven to face a high-profile player such as Nadal on the centre court of a grand slam."
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wawrinka vs nole confrontation is on.
this could be a 5 set affair again.
;D ;D ;D ;D
its about the return of serve for the Spartan Stan. if he can return like hell, he has a chance in this match.
you need your break points. you need those opportunities because, quite simply, you cannot win if you cant break serve.
even in a breaker you need a mini break one way or another.
that tends to put a lot of pressure on your opponent.
and of course serving well goes without saying. you have to serve well.
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It's heating up for sure.
Tomorrow night is going to be banging!
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order of play for day #8 is here:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/schedule13.html
Federer vs Tsonga is the night match.
action is heating up.
fasten your seat belts.
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57 unforced errors from monfls and just 18 from rafa.
it would seem that clay warrior is improving with each match. I will catch this match tonight and try to get a better idea of nadal's form.
nishikori is a tough opponent so it will be a good test. nishikori demolished young so he too is playing well.
That's Nadal's main strength - to keep the errors to the minimum. He tends to lose his confidence with each error which is actually quite normal.
Monfils just wasn't there in the way he can be. I am sure he's better than this.
Btw, I only saw the first two sets of Andy vs Feli and after that, I was convinced Andy was going to win. lol I should now look for the 3rd set and see if CETs has posted it yet. Too soon though.
its high percentage tennis emma darling.
and then when you throw in the heavy topspin and the resulting clearance, you can keep the error count low on a good day.
nadal is the guy who can produce as few as 7 errors in a grand slam final. that does not happen often obviously.
if it does happen then it usually means that somebody is getting demolished.
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57 unforced errors from monfls and just 18 from rafa.
it would seem that clay warrior is improving with each match. I will catch this match tonight and try to get a better idea of nadal's form.
nishikori is a tough opponent so it will be a good test. nishikori demolished young so he too is playing well.
I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Monfils was not clowning. I think he wanted to avenge that loss in Doha.
No mugging, no break dancing, nothing. He was serious, but Rafa was more so.
He injured himself a bit in the second set and it looked scary for a minute.
Can't wait till you watch it. Do share your thoughts.
I loved it.
no worries lady TT. sooner or later I have to catch this match.
I will look for it shortly at our global tennis video center.
;D ;D ;D ;D
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herc and TT, I think you guys are taking DP' comments about Tomic a bit too personally and out of context. I don't think at all he meant the way it's been interpreted. He just found Tomic in his match at Sydney very competitive and was impressed by the way Tomic played. So he felt this version of Tomic could give Nadal a lot of trouble given that Nadal drew him in the first round at AO. If anything, I see it as a cautious signal to Nadal to take him seriously so that he wouldn't be caught off guard.
Even if you feel he meant it the way you are interpreting it, I am not sure why you'd be so bothered by it. Players are entitled to their opinion as well and I don't think they should say things just to please others and be likeable that way. That's a pretentious personality. DP is a nice guy. I have much more faith in him than to take his one comment so seriously to the point that, I'd be happy with the loss. You can definitely be happy about the loss since this opened up Nadal's path all the way to the semi, but I don't think there should be any vindictive wish behind it.
Just saying, okay? I like things to be fair. The context of the comment is much more important than the personal vendetta. Fans (I've seen it most in Federer, Nadal and Murray fans) tend to do that and that doesn't really make things okay. I am sure we can be bigger and fair than this.
I don't think I'm taking it out of context. This isn't the first time I've questioned del Potro's motives. I think everything we say is channeled through our brain and with that, intent and purposes. The first question that comes to my mind when people make some comments is why? I don't see the purpose of del Po's comment when Tomic has never had Nadal in a losing position.
And although Tomic played him "competitively" (I thought I heard that it was a 50 minute match) and he beat him. Why can't Nadal, when del Potro just got another win off of Nadal after four years?
Nope. Doesn't make sense to me, especially considering his hero's Federer's form. Do I see him making comments about Fed like that?
Never have.
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57 unforced errors from monfls and just 18 from rafa.
it would seem that clay warrior is improving with each match. I will catch this match tonight and try to get a better idea of nadal's form.
nishikori is a tough opponent so it will be a good test. nishikori demolished young so he too is playing well.
I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Monfils was not clowning. I think he wanted to avenge that loss in Doha.
No mugging, no break dancing, nothing. He was serious, but Rafa was more so.
He injured himself a bit in the second set and it looked scary for a minute.
Can't wait till you watch it. Do share your thoughts.
I loved it.
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Haha, great photo! Both of them look happy to have won their matches earlier :)
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Excellent win for Grigor over Milos today! What a great opportunity for a QF spot!
That was one of my "bold" predictions for 2014: Grigor to reach the second week of a slam ;)
I am happy for you, Tee. Dimitrov looked sharp, determined and confident. I believe he is finally here. You should make him your No. 1 player and Nadal 2. :)
Thank you, Emma :) I will make Grigor my number 1 player when Rafa retires ;)
Well, maybe then you will appreciate this at least. Two hot guys in a pool! ;D
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BePw6fkIQAAoHyB.jpg:large)
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Excellent win for Grigor over Milos today! What a great opportunity for a QF spot!
That was one of my "bold" predictions for 2014: Grigor to reach the second week of a slam ;)
I am happy for you, Tee. Dimitrov looked sharp, determined and confident. I believe he is finally here. You should make him your No. 1 player and Nadal 2. :)
Thank you, Emma :) I will make Grigor my number 1 player when Rafa retires ;)
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57 unforced errors from monfls and just 18 from rafa.
it would seem that clay warrior is improving with each match. I will catch this match tonight and try to get a better idea of nadal's form.
nishikori is a tough opponent so it will be a good test. nishikori demolished young so he too is playing well.
That's Nadal's main strength - to keep the errors to the minimum. He tends to lose his confidence with each error which is actually quite normal.
Monfils just wasn't there in the way he can be. I am sure he's better than this.
Btw, I only saw the first two sets of Andy vs Feli and after that, I was convinced Andy was going to win. lol I should now look for the 3rd set and see if CETs has posted it yet. Too soon though.
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Just looking at the draw, all the matches at the bottom half now looks much better than the top half. I don't think either Robert or Nishi are any good match to Murray or Nadal, though never say never. And Dimitrov is not going to give up on Agut, so that leaves only Tsonga vs Fedderer match to be the one worthy of watching. I do think this match has the potential to go either way. I am not going to write Federer off no matter who he is up against. He still has the lion self inside him. I hope it turns out to be a great match.
Having said that, unfortunately, I will have to miss all the matches tonight and the match that I will miss the most is the Wawrinka vs Robredo one. I'd love to watch Ferrer vs Mayer too but mostly because of Mayer as I would like to see what he's going bring to the table.
I do think Berdy would have a straight set victory over Anderson and same goes for Nole but these matches are more interesting than most of the top ones.
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herc and TT, I think you guys are taking DP' comments about Tomic a bit too personally and out of context. I don't think at all he meant the way it's been interpreted. He just found Tomic in his match at Sydney very competitive and was impressed by the way Tomic played. So he felt this version of Tomic could give Nadal a lot of trouble given that Nadal drew him in the first round at AO. If anything, I see it as a cautious signal to Nadal to take him seriously so that he wouldn't be caught off guard.
Even if you feel he meant it the way you are interpreting it, I am not sure why you'd be so bothered by it. Players are entitled to their opinion as well and I don't think they should say things just to please others and be likeable that way. That's a pretentious personality. DP is a nice guy. I have much more faith in him than to take his one comment so seriously to the point that, I'd be happy with the loss. You can definitely be happy about the loss since this opened up Nadal's path all the way to the semi, but I don't think there should be any vindictive wish behind it.
Just saying, okay? I like things to be fair. The context of the comment is much more important than the personal vendetta. Fans (I've seen it most in Federer, Nadal and Murray fans) tend to do that and that doesn't really make things okay. I am sure we can be bigger and fair than this.
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Excellent win for Grigor over Milos today! What a great opportunity for a QF spot!
That was one of my "bold" predictions for 2014: Grigor to reach the second week of a slam ;)
I am happy for you, Tee. Dimitrov looked sharp, determined and confident. I believe he is finally here. You should make him your No. 1 player and Nadal 2. :)
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Paire is toast. 2 sets and 1-3 down in the 3rd.
Kudos to Agut for not folding after the big win over Del Potro.
Oh and I am still gutted by DP's loss. He brings lots of interest to any tournament so it's a loss in the genuine sense.
I'm glad he's gone this time. I can't stand when people come out pre, during, or after a tournament and make asinine comments.
Before the tournament he was talking about how Tomic might take Rafa out, when he should have been worried about his own game.
I don't understand why people don't stay in their own lane. It never bodes well for them.
I could not agree more. he should have just kept his mouth shut.
some players just cant help themselves.
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57 unforced errors from monfls and just 18 from rafa.
it would seem that clay warrior is improving with each match. I will catch this match tonight and try to get a better idea of nadal's form.
nishikori is a tough opponent so it will be a good test. nishikori demolished young so he too is playing well.
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Paire is toast. 2 sets and 1-3 down in the 3rd.
Kudos to Agut for not folding after the big win over Del Potro.
Oh and I am still gutted by DP's loss. He brings lots of interest to any tournament so it's a loss in the genuine sense.
I'm glad he's gone this time. I can't stand when people come out pre, during, or after a tournament and make asinine comments.
Before the tournament he was talking about how Tomic might take Rafa out, when he should have been worried about his own game.
I don't understand why people don't stay in their own lane. It never bodes well for them.
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CWOZ the 10th seed is out.
now she can go play golf with her man to ease the sting of this loss.
she got removed from the facilities in 3 sets.
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dimitrov seems to be improving. he showed some poise in that breaker too.
congrats to dimitrov and his fans.
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Excellent win for Grigor over Milos today! What a great opportunity for a QF spot!
That was one of my "bold" predictions for 2014: Grigor to reach the second week of a slam ;)
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order of play for tomorrow is out:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/schedule12.html
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I still cant believe del potro lost.
andy is up 5-2 in the breaker against lopez.
andy seems to be moving well.
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Paire is toast. 2 sets and 1-3 down in the 3rd.
Kudos to Agut for not folding after the big win over Del Potro.
Oh and I am still gutted by DP's loss. He brings lots of interest to any tournament so it's a loss in the genuine sense.
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Radwanska finally wins without any extending drama.
Very solid service game from both Raonic and Dimitrov so far. Just one break of serve to take each set.
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it is going to be interesting emma. that is for sure.
so much history is at stake. and none other that the great Pistol is handing out the trophy.
nadal's level has dropped off significantly since the u.s. open while nole has taken his game to another level.
nadal's movement looks less fluid and he is not returning well. that was something he was doing rather well in montreal, cincy, and at flushing meadows.
by two biggest worries for nadal:
1. the return
2. the backhand
if he can get those cooking then he will be difficult to deal with.
nole, on the other hand, is doing everything a little too well. he is hitting his stride now.
Nadal's level has dropped since the Open I agree but you know, at least, he had a break and Andy too had a break. And Federer had a very nice schedule all year long so he had more than enough rest. It's Nole who's been playing non-top tennis since 2011 so I'd like to be fair to him. I mean we can call him machine but he's human too and his level has dropped at times too. I mean he lost 3 very important matches just last year and that must have crushed him but he picked up and moved on. What a player really.
Anyway, speaking more to your post, I think Nadal's backhand might be a bit of suspect but he's got a great mental game and it's incredibly tough to beat him there.
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Federer is on a roll folks:
he took the 2nd set 6-2 also.
dimitrov took the first set 6-3 against milos.
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So did I, but Cibulkova hopefully will do it.
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it is going to be interesting emma. that is for sure.
so much history is at stake. and none other that the great Pistol is handing out the trophy.
nadal's level has dropped off significantly since the u.s. open while nole has taken his game to another level.
nadal's movement looks less fluid and he is not returning well. that was something he was doing rather well in montreal, cincy, and at flushing meadows.
by two biggest worries for nadal:
1. the return
2. the backhand
if he can get those cooking then he will be difficult to deal with.
nole, on the other hand, is doing everything a little too well. he is hitting his stride now.
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If you count Murray as the contender then from qtr final on, he will have the toughest draw as he will have to play Tsonga/Federer, Nadal and then Nole.
If things go accordingly then Nadal will play Raonic/Dimitrov/Paire, followed by Murray/Federer/Tsonga, and then Nole.
Nole will have to go through Wawrinka/Robredo, Ferrer/Berdych, and the most likely scenario is Nadal.
So you pick. Which one do you think is the toughest and easiest. I personally feel they all have tricky opponents and some of the opponents probably won't even make it, but perhaps Nole is the person who's going to handle most of his opponents the best. He is only vulnerable to Nadal and Murray. He has lost last 4 of the 5 Slams to both Nadal and Murray if I am to point.
This also tells me one thing. If Noel makes the final, he will be very tough to beat. I am sure it took him long to forget about those losses and this AO is his holy grail, so rest assured, he will be on it as if there's no tomorrow.
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Federer is now on my screen. Much better than the ladies. No screaming for a change and silence is beautiful.
So I take it the conditions are much better today and breezy. As the commies stated just now.
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So Jerzy is out and in straight sets to Mayer. Well better him, an experienced player, than Jerzy and Mayer has a much better record against Ferrer too.
Not surprised Robredo won. Just so you know, Wawrinka will find his hands full against Robredo as he leads Stan a whopping 6-1 in the H2H. So Nole's chances are getting better and better to make the final without much trouble. And Querrey couldn't take a set off Fognini so that even make things better for Nole.
Berdych's draw looks good too now that Anderson had to come off a 5 setter. In this heat, I am not sure how much is left in the tank.
I keep telling you this but you are only now just realizing it:
nole is the hottest player on the planet and he is also on his best surface. nole has now won 27 matches in a row.
its nadal who has the toughest draw and nadal is NOT on his best surface.
still I am sticking to my guns: I am picking nadal over nole in the final should that final take place.
and I am calling it an upset.
anyway I think you are right about robredo: he is tough as nails against wawrinka. robredo is just amazing as he is pushing32.
he is the one who removed Federer from the facilities at flushing meadows.
so robredo still has some magic left.
You've got to be kidding me, herc. Nole isn't the hottest player in the world and Nadal doesn't have the toughest paper.
Nole is always ruthless to these lesser ranked players but once he meets his match - be it Andy or Nadal, he's a different player - especially lately And he then lacks both confidence and consistency. I mean this is a fact. All you have to do is look at the previous Slams and see who beat whom to win those.
And Nadal's draw is and was only hard on papers. In reality it all fizzled out a bit too quickly- all that fuss - he didn't even play the whole match against Tomic.
Chances are, Nole will meet Wawrinka in the QTR,, Andy will meet either Tsogna or Federer in his QTR if he survives today and Ferrer would meet with Berdcy, while Nadal would meet either Raonic or Dimitrov - or even Paire if Raonic and Dimitrov get into a marathon match. And that will leave Nadal's QTR as the weakest one. And then there are other possibilities. For instance, Murray might not even make the semi and if that happens then Nadal is having a cakewalk to the final and that's the reality of it. Who cares about what the draw was when one didn't even get to play any one of the worthy opponents, right. Not me.
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and Federer vs gabashvili is about to start.
gabashvili must be playing well if he took out verdasco.
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Robert just bagled Klizan in the first set.
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So Jerzy is out and in straight sets to Mayer. Well better him, an experienced player, than Jerzy and Mayer has a much better record against Ferrer too.
Not surprised Robredo won. Just so you know, Wawrinka will find his hands full against Robredo as he leads Stan a whopping 6-1 in the H2H. So Nole's chances are getting better and better to make the final without much trouble. And Querrey couldn't take a set off Fognini so that even make things better for Nole.
Berdych's draw looks good too now that Anderson had to come off a 5 setter. In this heat, I am not sure how much is left in the tank.
I keep telling you this but you are only now just realizing it:
nole is the hottest player on the planet and he is also on his best surface. nole has now won 27 matches in a row.
its nadal who has the toughest draw and nadal is NOT on his best surface.
still I am sticking to my guns: I am picking nadal over nole in the final should that final take place.
and I am calling it an upset.
anyway I think you are right about robredo: he is tough as nails against wawrinka. robredo is just amazing as he is pushing32.
he is the one who removed Federer from the facilities at flushing meadows.
so robredo still has some magic left.
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I'd like Cornet to remove Sharapova from facilities.
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Yeah, some surprising results. They said that Mayer was 3-0 against Jerzy. I didn't know Mayer had a good record against Ferrer, though. I figured Robredo would beat Gasquet and I thought Fognini would get past Querrey as well.
Nole does seem to have an even more clear cut path to the final.
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berdych is shaking and baking. wins 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
could he be the big story of this first slam of 2014?
He is looking very good. He's getting more confident. He said so in his in the studio interview. He said he's ready to take the next step and he's playing like it.
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So Jerzy is out and in straight sets to Mayer. Well better him, an experienced player, than Jerzy and Mayer has a much better record against Ferrer too.
Not surprised Robredo won. Just so you know, Wawrinka will find his hands full against Robredo as he leads Stan a whopping 6-1 in the H2H. So Nole's chances are getting better and better to make the final without much trouble. And Querrey couldn't take a set off Fognini so that even make things better for Nole.
Berdych's draw looks good too now that Anderson had to come off a 5 setter. In this heat, I am not sure how much is left in the tank.
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nole is on fire. he snatches his 27th match in a row.
congrats to nole and his fans.
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order of play:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/index.html
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jerzy is derailed by mayer in straights.
here are some of the other scores.
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/completed_matches/day10.html
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berdych is shaking and baking. wins 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
could he be the big story of this first slam of 2014?
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good one lady TT. keep them coming.
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AO 2014 Promo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVM6hQi0juw
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good point lady TT.
I know my own situation on the court when I used to play and compete: you sometimes tend to play as well as you need to and also in accordance with how your opponent is playing.
you are more motivated against more talented players and you tend to play better.
and in this case there is that matter of energy and health conservation also. nadal or anybody else cant really afford an injury or too much expenditure of physical and mental capital this early on in a slam.
For sure, Nadal plays only as much as he needs to, I think. He doesn't chase every ball down unless he's playing someone of high caliber. He seemed to me to be doing just enough and pulling the trigger when the opportunity presented it.
He's playing smart. He knows he'll need more for Monfils and other opponents going forward. Look at how energy efficient he's been so far.
I'm loving it.
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key matches for today:
KEY MATCHES - FRIDAY, 17 JANUARY 2014
Singles - Third Round
Denis Istomin (UZB) vs. [2] Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Jeremy Chardy (FRA)[29] vs. [3] David Ferrer (ESP)
[7] Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs. Damir Dzumhur (BIH)
[17] Tommy Robredo (ESP) vs. [9] Richard Gasquet (FRA)
[15] Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs. Sam Querrey (USA)
[19] Kevin Anderson (RSA) vs. Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA)
Florian Mayer (GER) vs. [20] Jerzy Janowicz (POL)
Doubles - Second Round
[6] Marcel Granollers (ESP)/Marc Lopez (ESP) vs. Max Mirnyi (BLR)/Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)
Yuki Bhambri (IND)/Michael Venus (NZL) vs. [10] Jean-Julien Rojer (NED)/Horia Tecau (ROU)
[13] Michael Llodra (FRA)/Nicolas Mahut (FRA) vs. Philipp Oswald (AUT)/Simon Stadler (GER)
[14] Lukasz Kubot (POL)/Robert Lindstedt (SWE) vs. Benjamin Mitchell (AUS)/Jordan Thompson (AUS)
Doubles - First Round
[1] Bob Bryan (USA)/Mike Bryan (USA) vs. Paul Hanley (AUS)/Jonathan Marray (GBR)
[3] David Marrero (ESP)/Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs. James Duckworth (AUS)/Matthew Ebden (AUS)
Chris Guccione (AUS)/Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) vs. [4] Ivan Dodig (CRO)/Marcelo Melo (BRA)
[5] Leander Paes (IND)/Radek Stepanek (CZE) vs. Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)/Lukas Rosol (CZE)
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good point lady TT.
I know my own situation on the court when I used to play and compete: you sometimes tend to play as well as you need to and also in accordance with how your opponent is playing.
you are more motivated against more talented players and you tend to play better.
and in this case there is that matter of energy and health conservation also. nadal or anybody else cant really afford an injury or too much expenditure of physical and mental capital this early on in a slam.
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I like them both too: milos and dimitrov. this one is hard to predict. I will take a guess and say it will be milos.
I saw about set and 1/2 of the nadal match last night. I like them both too: milos and dimitrov. this one is hard to predict. I will take a guess and say it will be milos.
I saw about set and 1/2 of the nadal match last night. nadal was not all that sharp. I counted at least 10 forehand errors alone and they were easy forehands under zero pressure.
I don't what the hell he has been doing but he has to put in longer hours on the practice courts pronto.
that is forehand errors with easy/sitting forehands.
here is the order of play for today:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/index.html
. I counted at least 10 forehand errors alone and they were easy forehands under zero pressure.
I don't what the hell he has been doing but he has to put in longer hours on the practice courts pronto.
that is forehand errors with easy/sitting forehands.
here is the order of play for today:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/index.html
I thought Nadal played fine. Not super sharp, but that's always best, IMO. Plus he was playing an Australian hopeful. He did just enough to save energy for the later rounds.
The good thing about Nadal is that he plays better as the tournament progresses as opposed to coming out all guns blazing and fizzling out in the end.
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I find both Nadal and Nole very machine like. Federer used to be a machine too but he's now more human. He is far too error prone to be a machine really. lol.
Andy has always been a human. Too human maybe sometimes with his on court temper tantrum and falling behind in important matches for no good reason.
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I think nole is in sparkling form.
it is going to take a monumental effort to deal with him.
the guy is a machine these days.
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Yes, but he shouldn't have fallen 1-5 set point behind in the first place against a player like Millot but then again, that's your typical Murray. It's alright as long as he keeps things short for energy sake because he'll need it in this brutal condition.
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I hear Andy took the last 23 points.
he seems to be improving with each match.
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herc, I seem to have forgot or didn't pay as much attention. Has Nole played all the night sessions so far? I can see he's got the night match again tonight.
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As to the bottom half, I'd really like to see Querrey vs Nole. That should be Nole's first test.
And Gasquet is heading for Wawrinka who received a walkover from Pospisil - how nice. That's going to be tough for either. Gasquet has Robredo to deal with first though and they are stuck at 2 all so not an easy path for Gasquet by any means. Which also means a showdown between Nole and Wawrinka is pretty imminent.
I hope Ferrer meets with Janowicz and JJ gets the win this time. I'd love it.
Berdy and Anderson too are heading for each other. Anderson kept things very close for Berdych last time they met but still, Berdy is the better player and has the H2H going for him too.
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I like them both too: milos and dimitrov. this one is hard to predict. I will take a guess and say it will be milos.
I saw about set and 1/2 of the nadal match last night. nadal was not all that sharp. I counted at least 10 forehand errors alone and they were easy forehands under zero pressure.
I don't what the hell he has been doing but he has to put in longer hours on the practice courts pronto.
that is forehand errors with easy/sitting forehands.
here is the order of play for today:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/index.html
But you always say that so you Rafa fans can't be taken seriously. ;D
In all seriousness, I have yet to see a full match of Andy. And I have yet to see any of Nole, Federer and Nadal, but since they all had easy rounds so far, I didn't really care for those matches.
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I am going to go with Dimitrov but it has to be an easy win for either in order to remain fresh for the rest of the tournament.
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I like them both too: milos and dimitrov. this one is hard to predict. I will take a guess and say it will be milos.
I saw about set and 1/2 of the nadal match last night. nadal was not all that sharp. I counted at least 10 forehand errors alone and they were easy forehands under zero pressure.
I don't what the hell he has been doing but he has to put in longer hours on the practice courts pronto.
that is forehand errors with easy/sitting forehands.
here is the order of play for today:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/index.html
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I am extremely torn between Raonic and Dimitrov. Who do I support?
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Tsonga will now face Simon. On hard, by all means Tsonga should prevail. And he's also much fresher of the two.
Federer's 3rd round match is also pretty easy (like his 1st and 2nd) so he should move on too.
Dimitrov and Raonic is going to be a great match. 1 all in H2H and I really enjoy this match up. Hopefully I will be able to watch this live given that Milos is Canadian. lol
And I see Nishikori prevailing against Young though he will have no chance against Nadal in the round after. And he's never faced Monfils before so should he meet him instead, it will be unpredictable. But I totally see Monfils frustrating Nishi and Nishi, as a result, giving up. lol
And I have no idea what Monfils will bring to the table against Nadal - his serious self or the clown self - but at least I hope he makes it competitive.
Paire finally gets the win in a 5 set thriller. He'll play Agut who just beat Del Potro. I see (in my crystal ball) Paire advancing.
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I cannot believe Del Potro and Verdasco lost. I mean Del Potro was struggling from the get go but Verdasco was leading the match 2-1 and to lose it from there. Unbelievable stuff. I want to slap him silly.
Nadal's draw has now opened up big time. There's literally no one there to threaten him in the true sense. Andy is not 100% and Federer is never the threat as much as I hate to say it. Besides, Federer will have to deal with Tsonga first.
And Cilic being the sleeper by experts. I mean really. ::) And what a stupid match that was but was thoroughly expected. I expect nothing less from either.
delp potro just finished finished winning a tournament too. he also has his picture on the cover of the latest Tennis magazine.
Tennis magazine jinxed him.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
here the other results:
Thursday, 16 January 2014
Singles - Second Round
[1] Rafael Nadal (ESP) d. Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) 62 64 62
[4] Andy Murray (GBR) d. Vincent Millot (FRA) 62 62 75
Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) d. [5] Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) 46 63 57 64 75
[6] Roger Federer (SUI) d. Blaz Kavcic (SLO) 62 61 76(4)
[10] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) d. Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) 76(6) 64 64
[11]Milos Raonic (CAN) d. Victor Hanescu (ROU) 76(9) 64 64
[16] Kei Nishikori (JPN) d. Dusan Lajovic (SRB) 61 61 76(3)
Marin Cilic (CRO) vs. [18] Gilles Simon (FRA)
[22] Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) d. Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) 63 63 76(11)
Donald Young (USA) d. [24] Andreas Seppi (ITA) 64 26 63 46 75
[25] Gael Monfils (FRA) d. Jack Sock (USA) 76(2) 75 62
[26] Feliciano Lopez (ESP) d. Michael Berrer (GER) 64 76(6) 64
[27] Benoit Paire (FRA) vs. Nick Kyrgios (AUS)
[31] Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs. Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS)
Stephane Robert (FRA) d. Michal Przysiezny (POL) 76(3) 61 67(3) 61
Martin Klizan (SVK) d. Blaz Rola (SLO) 64 63 57 76(2)
Doubles - First Round
[1] Bob Bryan (USA)/Mike Bryan (USA) vs. Paul Hanley (AUS)/Jonathan Marray (GBR) - cancelled
[3] David Marrero (ESP)/Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs. James Duckworth (AUS)/Matthew Ebden (AUS) - cancelled
[5] Leander Paes (IND)/Radek Stepanek (CZE) vs. Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)/Lukas Rosol (CZE) - cancelled
[7] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) d. Rameez Junaid (AUS)/Adrian Mannarino (FRA) 63 46 76(5)
[11] Julien Benneteau (FRA)/Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) d. Mikhail Elgin (RUS)/Denis Istomin (UZB) 62 64
[13] Michael Llodra (FRA)/Nicolas Mahut (FRA) d. Pablo Andujar (ESP)/Leonardo Mayer (ARG) 63 75
[15] Jamie Murray (GBR)/John Peers (AUS) d. Matt Reid (AUS)/Luke Saville (AUS) 76(4) 76(6)
Max Mirnyi (BLR)/Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) d. Nicholas Monroe (USA)/Horacio Zeballos (ARG) 63 76(7)
Alex Bolt (AUS)/Andrew Whittington (AUS) d. Julian Knowle (AUT)/Vasek Pospisil (CAN) 12 ret. (Pospisil - back)
Simone Bolelli (ITA)/Fabio Fognini (ITA) d. Ryan Harrison (USA)/Sam Querrey (USA) 62 75
Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)/Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) vs. Andre Begemann (GER)/Martin Emmrich (GER) - cancelled
Tobias Kamke (GER)/Florian Mayer (GER) vs. Andreas Seppi (ITA)/Potito Starace (ITA) - cancelled
Robin Haase (NED)/Christopher Kas (GER) d. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)/Andrey Golubev (KAZ) 46 62 75
Daniele Bracciali (ITA)/Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) vs. Jonathan Erlich (ISR)/Andy Ram (ISR) - cancelled
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As to Andy, well, looks like he got completely distracted in the 3rd set. It was more that than Millot raising his level, because had Millot raised his level, then he would have won the set as well. He was leading 5-1 after all but Andy got it together just in time to come back and win the set and the match as well. Against Lopez, I am sure he can't afford it but the good thing is, he's aware of it as well.
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I cannot believe Del Potro and Verdasco lost. I mean Del Potro was struggling from the get go but Verdasco was leading the match 2-1 and to lose it from there. Unbelievable stuff. I want to slap him silly.
Nadal's draw has now opened up big time. There's literally no one there to threaten him in the true sense. Andy is not 100% and Federer is never the threat as much as I hate to say it. Besides, Federer will have to deal with Tsonga first.
And Cilic being the sleeper by experts. I mean really. ::) And what a stupid match that was but was thoroughly expected. I expect nothing less from either.
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first set to roger. he takes it 6-2.
same for rafa. he too snatches the first set 6-2.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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monfils is not fit enough to deal with the clay warrior.
he might be able to steal a set at best but that is ok. clay warrior needs a good workout.
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Monfils has been playing well lately, but you just never know with him.
He does this ad on TTC and his focus, according to him, is on entertaining the crowd and doing trick shots.
Sometimes he acts like the entertainment aspect supersedes the winning.
It will be interesting.
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rafa and monfls are definitely on a collision course:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/draws/ms/index.html
I cant see monfils losing to jack sock.
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Rafa desperately needs match practice. One set against Tomic and now who knows how many sets will Kokkinakkis be able to physically endure in the 108F heat forecast for Thursday.
Monfils was hitting the ball pretty well yesterday, Rafa will be in a world of hurt in R3 if he doesn't find his game until then.
But isn't Nadal coming off winning Abu Dhabi just the week before? That's a tournament that follows AO btw. And did he not beat Monfils there? Yes, he did. Anyway, I kind of agree though that he needs to play the full match, because the more he plays the more he'll get used to the surface, which might be slightly different than AD.
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Too hard on Tomic?
Richard Hinds: Bernard Tomic needs to harden up after Australian Open exit
http://www.foxsports.com.au/tennis/richard-hinds-bernard-tomic-needs-to-harden-up-after-australian-open-exit/story-e6frf4mu-1226802689598?from=public_rss
Clearly Tomic has lost the benefit of the doubt. So much so that, after scans on his sore groin, he was hauled before the media on Wednesday to explain that - honestly! - he really was hurt. For everyone else a press release is sufficient. Tomic now expects the Spanish Inquisition.
''Had the scans in the morning that confirmed that, obviously, I was right (to withdraw),'' said Tomic, before a tournament medical officer jumped in to confirm the diagnosis of a small adductor longus tear.
''Had he played on, it could have been a three to four month injury,'' said Dr Martin Clark in a voice so grave you were unsure if Tomic would need a few days off or to be humanely destroyed. ''The scan is entirely consistent with his symptoms yesterday and completely vindicate him coming off.''
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At the (AO) Open:
Day Three:
Sometimes we forget how brutal the conditions are since it looks the same on TV.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/heat-giving-williams-other-players-150905349--ten.html
Heat giving Williams, other players nightmares.
''I kept waking up in the middle of the night last night, just paranoid,'' Williams, who regularly trains in the Florida heat, said after dropping only three games for the second straight match.
''I just wanted to stay hydrated,'' Williams said. ''The last thing I want to do is to cramp in this weather. It can happen so easy.''
If the forecast of four consecutive days of 40-plus degrees Celsius (104-plus degrees Fahrenheit) temperatures in Melbourne proves correct, it will be the worst heat wave in the city in more than a century.
http://tennis.si.com/2014/01/15/australian-open-day-3-recap/
Serenade of the day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3So5wpDvboM
Eugenie Bouchard ousted Virginie Razzano 6-2, 7-6 (10) and then was serenaded with O Canada.
Must-see video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ii7P_fFUZDU
Jerzy Janowicz fought through his foot injury to beat Pablo Andujar 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), 6-3, in front of a small pack of very rowdy Polish fans. His celebration was awesome.
Tweets of the Day
Alexandra Willis @alex_willis
Rolex signed Bencic two weeks ago, one of 11 sponsors. Which other player had 11 sponsors aged 16?
7:33 PM - 14 Jan 2014
Andy Murray ✔ @andy_murray
Hewitt and rafter pulling in the crowds! Doubles proving to be a big asset for the tour in aus with fed in brisbane now this..
2:01 AM - 15 Jan 2014
Roger Federer ✔ @rogerfederer
Watching Doubles on TV, love it #Hewitt #Rafter c'mon, after that @stanwawrinka the #stanimal
1:49 AM - 15 Jan 2014
I guess I can post YouTube only. Weird.
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Yay!
Hopefully, Rafa will come on at a decent run.
The Oz tests not only the players' endurance, but spectators too, with the brutal heat and programming.
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what up general shanks.
Spartan Stan has a poor record against top 10 but he is making some progress. this could be the slam where he makes the final.
we will just have to see. he won Chennai without losing a set.
by the way have you had a chance to check the Rafael nadal center here. it is starting to take shape.
rafa fans will enjoy it as there is plenty of engaging content there. we will continue to add and build for the future.
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i haven't watched any matches so far and it looks like i am not going to catch any action until the semis.......i will be out for a one week holiday starting this saturday and won't be able to check anything apart from scores on my mobile.......i will miss a lot of action.......you guys don't take your eyes off wawrinka - djokovic and nadal - del potro contests should they happen because they are going to be blockbusters.......
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day #3 photos:
http://tennis.si.com/2014/01/15/australian-open-day-3-photos-novak-djokovic-serena-williams/
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order of play: day #4
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/schedule9.html
andy with the night match and rafa with the afternoon match.
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poor gulbis. he just cant seem to string a few wins together
spartan stan is probably going to abuse falla today. he leads 4-1 already in the first set.
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And so it was.
Gulbis was out of control.
Spraying balls everywhere.
He's like a wild horse.
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it is 6-2, 6-3, 5-3 sam querrey.
I don't see how gulbis can come back from this deficit.
it is looking like a straights sets deal for querrey at the current rate.
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robredo removes julien beneteau from the facilities in 4 sets.
nole running through opposition like knife through water.
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ryan Harrison is 0-20 against top 10 players.
Leonardo mayer is 0-13.
stan is also not doing well against the top 10 players. he has to try to fix that this year. I don't know his stats against top 10 players.
it might be something like 1-15.
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KEY MATCHES - WEDNESDAY, 15 JANUARY 2014
Singles - Second Round
Leonardo Mayer (ARG) vs. [2] Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Adrian Mannarino (FRA) vs. [3] David Ferrer (ESP)
[7] Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs. Kenny De Schepper (FRA)
[8] Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) vs. Alejandro Falla (COL)
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) vs. Richard Gasquet (FRA)[9]
[14] Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) vs. Florian Mayer (GER)
[15] Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs. Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)
[17] Tommy Robredo (ESP) vs. Julien Benneteau (FRA)
[19] Kevin Anderson (RSA) vs. Dominic Thiem (AUT)
Pablo Andujar (ESP) vs. [20] Jerzy Janowicz (POL)
Sam Querrey (USA) vs. [23] Ernests Gulbis (LAT)
Matthew Ebden (AUS) vs. [28] Vasek Pospisil (CAN)
[29] Jeremy Chardy (FRA) vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR)
[30] Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) vs. Denis Istomin (UZB)
Damir Dzumhur (BIH) vs. [32] Ivan Dodig (CRO)
Doubles - First Round
Feliciano Lopez (ESP)/Andre Sa (BRA) vs. [2] Alexander Peya (AUT)/Bruno Soares (BRA)
[6] Marcel Granollers (ESP)/Marc Lopez (ESP) vs. Samuel Groth (AUS)/John-Patrick Smith (AUS)
Benjamin Becker (GER)/Daniel Brands (GER) vs. Daniel Nestor (CAN)[8]/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)[8]
[9] Mariusz Fyrstenberg (POL)/Marcin Matkowski (POL) vs. Tomasz Bednarek (POL)/Ivo Karlovic (CRO)
Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS)/Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) vs. [10] Jean-Julien Rojer (NED)/Horia Tecau (ROU)
[12] Treat Huey (PHI)/Dominic Inglot (GBR) vs. Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL)/Robert Farah (COL)
[14] Lukasz Kubot (POL)/Robert Lindstedt (SWE) vs. Federico Delbonis (ARG)/Albert Ramos (ESP)
Oliver Marach (AUT)/Florin Mergea (ROU) vs. [16] Santiago Gonzalez (MEX)/Scott Lipsky (USA)
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he will just have to get in a few extra practice sessions and keep getting acclimated to the conditions.
it looks like these courts are playing slightly faster.
he has to get 2 things right: the backhand and the return.
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Rafa desperately needs match practice. One set against Tomic and now who knows how many sets will Kokkinakkis be able to physically endure in the 108F heat forecast for Thursday.
Monfils was hitting the ball pretty well yesterday, Rafa will be in a world of hurt in R3 if he doesn't find his game until then.
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order of play for day #3:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/index.html
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congrats to seppi and his fans.
Hewitt pretty much choked in the end. it is really that simple.
seppi hung in there and he went for his shots. Hewitt got tight and it cost him.
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Hewitt just got broken.
seppi to serve for the match now.
Hewitt had a match point in the last game against seppi's serve but could not capitalize.
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Rafa's match is coming up shortly.
I don't know how much longer I can stay up. I need to try to catch at least a set.
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live scores:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/video/live.html
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andy leads 6-1, 2-0.
looks like he is not going to have any problems removing g. soeda from the facilities.
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Federer and verdasco are on a collision course:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/draws/ms/r1s4.html
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KEY MATCHES - TUESDAY, 14 JANUARY 2014
Singles - First Round
[1] Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Bernard Tomic (AUS)
[4] Andy Murray (GBR) vs. Go Soeda (JPN)
Rhyne Williams (USA) vs. [5] Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)
James Duckworth (AUS) vs. [6] Roger Federer (SUI)
[10] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs. Filippo Volandri (ITA)
[11] Milos Raonic (CAN) vs. Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP)
Martin Klizan (SVK) vs. [13] John Isner (USA)
Marinko Matosevic (AUS) vs. [16] Kei Nishikori (JPN)
Daniel Brands (GER) vs. [18] Gilles Simon (FRA)
[21] Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) vs. Aljaz Bedene (SLO)
Bradley Klahn (USA) vs. [22] Grigor Dimitrov (BUL)
[24] Andreas Seppi (ITA) vs. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)
Ryan Harrison (USA) vs. [25] Gael Monfils (FRA)
Somdev Devvarman (IND) vs. [26] Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
[27] Benoit Paire (FRA) vs. Frank Dancevic (CAN)
[31] Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs. Ze Zhang (CHN)
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Hewitt is fighting back after having lost the first 2 sets.
he snatches the 3rd set 7-5.
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milos got it done.
Hewitt is falling behind. he is facing a 2 sets deficit.
I am having a look at the nick kyrgios. he is going to be a big star one day.
he has it all. all he needs is better fitness and some experience on the tour.
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Nishi got the 1st set and Dimitrov is stuck at 5 all 1st set.
Raonic broke back twice in the 1st set to take the 5-4 lead. Not bad but he's not in good shape mentally.
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Raonic is losing his sweet temper. I wonder if an upset is in place today.
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general shanks in da house.
and he is supporting no less than 7 golden stars. 7 star generals but only at Camelot.
vamossssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.
great to see you general.
vamos hercules! your passion for tennis is only growing by the day.......nice to see you again.......i make a post or two at talk tennis once in a while and nothing else.......lately i am out of touch with most message boards.......but i will try to chip in here at camelot regularly.......
vamosssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss general shanks.
dude we are in the process of creating something magical here.
we are all starting from scratch and trying to create a little bit of magic out of nothing and from ground zero.
you should be a part of this amazing idea that is Camelot.
you have always been one of the most informed posters around. I was always telling those people at mtf that.
so those worthless bastards kicked us both out.
this is not your ordinary tennis forum general.
no doubt we will make this forum a big hit among global tennis fans......it is our haters who miss us the most at mtf......they miss us to this date.......people are liking our contribution at talk tennis too.......
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general shanks in da house.
and he is supporting no less than 7 golden stars. 7 star generals but only at Camelot.
vamossssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.
great to see you general.
vamos hercules! your passion for tennis is only growing by the day.......nice to see you again.......i make a post or two at talk tennis once in a while and nothing else.......lately i am out of touch with most message boards.......but i will try to chip in here at camelot regularly.......
vamosssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss general shanks.
dude we are in the process of creating something magical here.
we are all starting from scratch and trying to create a little bit of magic out of nothing and from ground zero.
you should be a part of this amazing idea that is Camelot.
you have always been one of the most informed posters around. I was always telling those people at mtf that.
so those worthless bastards kicked us both out.
this is not your ordinary tennis forum general.
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general shanks in da house.
and he is supporting no less than 7 golden stars. 7 star generals but only at Camelot.
vamossssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.
great to see you general.
vamos hercules! your passion for tennis is only growing by the day.......nice to see you again.......i make a post or two at talk tennis once in a while and nothing else.......lately i am out of touch with most message boards.......but i will try to chip in here at camelot regularly.......
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general shanks in da house.
and he is supporting no less than 7 golden stars. 7 star generals but only at Camelot.
vamossssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.
great to see you general.
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i will be missing most part of the open as i am heading for holiday with my mates......i might be back just in time to catch the semis and final......murray will not be a factor until wimbledon this year.......
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Yo Shank, for the same reason I'd like to watch Andy/Go but, but....it's so late in the morning. grr...
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nadal cannot be defeated in this slam.....book it......he is winning the whole thing......
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I may have to try to take a little nap if possible when I get back from the Imperial Palace tonight.
I definitely want to catch this match and see where Rafa's form is.
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Yo, are you going to wake up early to watch Rafa/Tomic? Or do you need to stay up? Not sure about your timezone.
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kevin Anderson is another one who overcame a 2 set deficit.
well done.
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it is incredible how many players are at this slam that are 30 or over.
31 year old robredo removed lukas rosol from the facilities. davydenko must be 80 years old by now. he is still in it:
http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2014/01/blue/50234/#.UtQsmWeA19A
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I have never seen a draw this tough.
they are all playing quite well.
nole is at his highest level ever.
roger and andy are back.
del potro says he can be #3 in the world so he is confident and playing well.
this is madness: how can all the toughest players end up in clay warrior's 1/2?
Andy is not back in the same way and Federer is not a trouble for Nadal - we all know that. If DP makes and can stay fresh, then he can be trouble but you'd expect that at the stage of the tournament anyway.
And Nadal did have an easy draw just at the 2013 USO. It opened up even more for him in the later rounds.
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ryan Harrison vs monfils is an interesting first round encounter. I think ryan has a chance in this one.
order of play for today:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/index.html
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nole wins his 22nd straight match in a row.
other heavyweights are in action today:
federer, andy, and rafa will get their campaigns going.
and how about jerzy. he comes back from a 2 set deficit:
After trailing two sets to love, Poland’s 20th seed Jerzy Janowicz fought through three hours and 16 minutes on Hisense Arena to overcome Australian 19-year-old wild card Jordan Thompson 1-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1, advancing to a second-round encounter with Spaniard Pablo Andujar.
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who the hell is Jordan Thompson? he has snatched the first 2 sets against jerzy.
PCB vs benneteau battle will be decided in the 5th set.
rosol vs robredo encounter will also be decided in the 5th set.
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here is day #1 order of play:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/index.html
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day #2 order of play is here:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/schedule7.html
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no worries. I will take care of it when I get home.
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CD,
Can you a Health and Beauty section on my board?
Sometimes I find interesting information that we can heed, research, and pass on to our friends.
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affirmative.
and don't forget about our amazing tennis video center which one day will be the very best in the world.
we will have tons of 2014 Australian open matches there.
;D ;D ;D ;D
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I can't believe it's finally here.
Amazing.
I am cleaning up my DVR in anticipation.
Who knows what 2014 will bring? Every year we get surprised. 2011 was the rise of Djokovic, 2012 Federer won another major and Andy won his maiden major. 2013 saw Andy break the duck and the return of Rafa.
What will happen this year? We don't know, but I'm sure it will be thrilling.
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full draw:
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/draws/ms/r1s1.html
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outstanding post general masterclass.
I keep hearing about how fast the courts are playing in Sydney and in Brisbane.
I guess they think, by extrapolation, that the courts must be fast as hell in Melbourne too.
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Well, even though the prep tournaments played faster, it looks like Rod Laver Arena is playing much like last year according to almost all of the top players who have either played or practiced there, with some of the outside courts playing faster than the show courts.
The tournament director said nothing has been changed from last year.
Andy Murray says it is playing exactly the same as last year.
Federer thinks it is about the same, maybe a just a bit faster, but will vary due to weather and time of day, somewhat faster during the hot days and slower at night.
Federer and Sharapova say that Brisbane was definitely faster, but as Federer said, not like lightning quick, while Rod Laver is playing about medium speed, and he and Tsonga played that exhibition the other day on it.
Nadal seems to be the only player who thinks that the Australian Open is faster than it was. But then he hasn't played there since 2012 and he didn't play in Brisbane or Sydney.
I think Nadal will be fine as far as court conditions are concerned. It is likely most of his matches will be at night when it is slower and if the new ball is livelier, it might even give his topspin more height. He'll have far more to worry about with the players in his draw.
Respectfully,
masterclass
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did you folks see this article at tennis.com?
del potro says that the courts in Sydney are playing like grass. he thinks it will be the same way in Melbourne:
Juan Martin del Potro says the courts at the Sydney International are playing extremely quick with a low bounce, and he's concerned the Australian Open courts will also play fast.
Last week, Marin Cilic called the Brisbane courts the fastest he's ever seen. Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt also called Brisbane quick. Both Federer and Hewitt have advocated for faster hard courts on tour.
“I think the bounce are really low,” said the 6'6" del Potro, who likes time to set up for his shots. “Looks like a grass court, because very low bounce and very faster bounce, too. It's not easy to play on the baseline and feel good on the lines, but I'm trying to do the best I can. If I keep winning, it's a good signal for me.”
Del Potro, who will play Dmitry Tursunov in the Sydney semifinals, has had success on grass before, winning the bronze medal at the London Olympics and reaching the 2013 Wimbledon semifinals. But he says he is not prepared for the faster Australian court speed.
“I'm not training for this kind of conditions. I been practicing in hard court, regular hard court, and I was expecting different conditions for this tournament," del Potro said. "Hopefully for Melbourne the courts and balls are slower to play long rallies, to feel the ball like I want. If not, I will have a couple days before start to change my mind and try to play the best tennis I can.”
Petra Kvitova, who lost to former Wimbledon semifinalist Tsvetana Pironkova in the Sydney semifinals, also believes the court speed has increased.
“The courts are faster than last year or two years ago,” she said. "Actually I was happy that they were faster than before, but [Pironkova] likes grass as me… But of course that I prefer this faster surface."
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I had really wanted Rafa to win the AO and the French, but I don't want him to expend so much energy that he doesn't have enough for his most prized surface.
I'll be happy whatever he wins, or nothing at all, because one thing I know for sure, is that he'll compete and try to win and that's worth the price of admission.
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i was at least hoping for del potro to be in nole' 1/2.
this is one tough assignment for the clay warrior. he is going to need some help and a little bit of luck.
and then if this draw is not tough enough, the court speeds are supposed to be significantly faster this year.
lots of interesting challenges here for Rafa.
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I completely agree General Hercules.
In fact, I'll go one step further.
If Rafa somehow manages to win the Australian Open this year, beating all of these tough opponents, I believe the effort he has to extend on the hard courts will cook him for Roland Garros/Wimbledon, just like in 2009.
It could be a blessing in disguise to lose here.
Respectfully,
masterclass
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nothing has ever been easy for Rafa. some people just have the wrong impression about him.
his style of play is quite difficult and demanding. it takes a lot of energy to be able to play like he does.
and he has to work very hard for his wins.
his style of play requires a lot of physical and mental capital.
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I have never seen a draw this tough.
they are all playing quite well.
nole is at his highest level ever.
roger and andy are back.
del potro says he can be #3 in the world so he is confident and playing well.
this is madness: how can all the toughest players end up in clay warrior's 1/2?
Rafa always gets the toughest draws, IMO. This has been going on for years. It would be so cool if the draw opens up for him. It would serve them right.
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I have never seen a draw this tough.
they are all playing quite well.
nole is at his highest level ever.
roger and andy are back.
del potro says he can be #3 in the world so he is confident and playing well.
this is madness: how can all the toughest players end up in clay warrior's 1/2?
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Unbelievably difficult draw. Still, stranger things have happened.
Fingers crossed.
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night general MC.
sleep well.
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True. Tomic could surprise. He seems to be playing well in Sydney. And Rafa isn't always up to speed from the start.
Still, it's best of 5. I just can't see Nadal losing this.
Anyway, Good night General and anyone else who might be lurking... :) It's almost 4 am here.
Respectfully,
masterclass
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becker and nole will probably be throwing a big party tonight:
they don't have to deal with andy, roger, Tsonga, and del potro.
;D ;D ;D
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I could not agree more general masterclass.
even nadal's first match is no easy matter. tomic is tough as nails at home. tomic is about 6 foot 4 and has a pretty tough game.
he has easy power and he has silky smooth ground game.
what he is missing is the mental part.
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General, I think it will be a minor miracle if anyone from the top half can win the tournament. They'll be worn out unless the draw somehow opens up for one of them.
Novak Djokovic and Boris Becker were both at the draw ceremony... >> Tio Toni :(
Check out the last pic in the series (Djokovic's quarter) and look at Becker's reaction.
Some last minute hijinks? :)
Respectfully,
masterclass
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affirmative general masterclass.
I don't think I have ever seen a draw this tough for one player and so easy for the other one.
nole owns everybody in his 1/2. berdy is not really consistent enough for nole.
ferru is too small. nole can easily overpower him on quicker hard courts.
now I will say this: I believe that nadal will be far better prepared for the final if he is able naviagate his turbulent and shark infested waters.
so this might work to his advantage but only if he can do it without spending all of his mental and physical capital.
I believe roger is going to get it together here so it is possible that he can sneak into the final.
it is a tough ask but basically nadal pretty much has be ultra efficient and not let any match go to 5 sets. absent that and he could be in trouble deep in the event.
these courts are faster this year. that will work to roger's advantage. he prefers a faster, low bouncing court.
how the hell did the draw get so one sided?
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thanks general masterclass.
at first glance, nadal has a rough deal. he has the toughest players in his draw.
nole might just coast to the final unless wawrinka can slow him down.
wawa is playing well and looks ready. he won Chennai without dropping a set.
Agreed general hercules.
Top 4 roads (potential roadblocks in bold):
Nadal's likely road - Tomic , Sijsling, Monfils, Hewitt/Nishikori, Del Potro/Dimitrov, Murray/Isner/Tsonga/Federer, Djokovic
Murray's likely road - Go Saeda, Qualifier, Lopez/Llodra, Isner/Kohlschreiber, Tsonga/Federer, Nadal/Del Potro, Djokovic
Ferrer's likely road - Gonzalez, Mannarino/Johnson, Chardy/Dolgopolov, Janowicz/Youzhny, Berdych/Haas, Djokovic, Top Half winner
Djokovic's likely road - Lacko, Montanes, Baghdatis/Istomin/Tursunov, Gulbis, Wawrinka, Ferrer, Top Half winner
Respectfully,
masterclass
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top 1/2 is ultra mega monster super loaded.
I am not believing this.
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lets get this party started. our first slam of 2014 is closer than you think.
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1322.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fu572%2Fspartacus120%2Fspartan%2520images%2FOz-301_zps9dff9406.jpg&hash=c77fd7db3616020433c2b038d50c6dce4210423e) (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/spartacus120/media/spartan%20images/Oz-301_zps9dff9406.jpg.html)
Full draw pdf (http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/draws/ms/msdraw.pdf)
Top Half (Loaded)
Nadal - Del Potro Quarter (pretty tough, no?)
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg23%2F3493%2Fgh12.png&hash=ab42782b46f16b9aae6f4bd3d90e5b4bcca2067d)
Murray - Federer Quarter (Murray's tough road starts at R16 - Federer's tough road starts at R32
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg32%2F4632%2Fde2a.png&hash=a7a4c2b830ee4d076ca773fa18bc2821272b81f8)
Bottom Half (Weakest in years - Only Slam winner is Djokovic)
Ferrer - Berdych Quarter (Ferrer through to Semis again?)
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FxKDrr8J.jpg&hash=c07d6b0fe37f8fb1949262c8a30015bf4218b531)
Djokovic - Wawrinka Quarter (Becker enjoying the cakewalk)
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FJeDqHvG.jpg&hash=6910d3c8f35adc9283b6e5b61db21b609c924715)
bump.
thanks general masterclass for the awesome work.
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thanks general masterclass.
at first glance, nadal has a rough deal. he has the toughest players in his draw.
nole might just coast to the final unless wawrinka can slow him down.
wawa is playing well and looks ready. he won Chennai without dropping a set.
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AO main draw Out! Draw in Post #1. And Mr. Murray is scheduled to play! Looks like he'll have 3 rounds to round into form before it starts getting tougher.
Respectfully,
masterclass
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Don't be surprised if Mr. Murray, OBE, doesn't play in the Australian Open. His match against the #2129 in the world, Mousa Shanan Zayed told us nothing. His match against #40 Florian Mayer told us more. Yes, Mayer played well, but Murray didn't appear fit to play in a seriously competitive best of 3 match, much less best of 5.
This is hardly surprising given that he had back surgery and had 3-4 months off. Training is one thing, match play is another. The normal pattern for return following injury and time off is that it takes roughly twice as long to return to one's best form than the amount of time off. And that supposes that one is completely recovered from the injury. It was worrying that his service speed dropped so much during the latter part of the match. One doesn't know if he may have strained his back or if he was protecting it.
If Mr. Murray's back is completely well, and that is by no means a given, then as I've said elsewhere, one would expect that he might return to his best form somewhere between June and August. I would consider him to be very fortunate to win a title prior to that unless he drops down in class to playing more 250 events.
But the question here is whether he'll give it a go in the Australian Open, or not. He said previously that he would only play if he were 100% ready. But the AO comes a little earlier this year - Jan 13. It's going to be tough. Maybe he'll take a wildcard in Sydney or Auckland, but the top players (other than Ferrer), rarely enter an event the week prior to a major. Frankly, I would be surprised to see him trying to play himself into some kind of shape in the Australian Open.
I think he should take a page out of Nadal's book last year, not travel down under, and skip the Australian Open.
The way to go might be South America as he might get more work on his ground game on clay, but since the clay is not his forte, he might opt toward going to North America and playing in Memphis, perhaps Delray Beach, and then Acapulco (on hard court this year), before going to the Masters 1000's in Indian Wells and Miami. Let's see what he ends up doing. Most of all let's wish him a continued good recovery with his back.
Respectfully,
masterclass
To be honest, I'll be greatly surprised if Andy skips AO so I fully expect him to play. The only reason for him to not play if he's still having issues with the back and needs more recovery time, but judging by some of his comments of late, it doesn't seem that way. So he should be ready though perhaps won't go too deep but then again, you never know. He can totally use the first 3/4 rounds for match practice and get ready for the 2nd week once he feels more in shape. It's going to be tough but then again, that's what is required at the moment. If he's not carrying an injury then he must play everything tournament that he's originally meant to play. That's only how he is going to get match fit and that's only what he needs right now.
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Don't be surprised if Mr. Murray, OBE, doesn't play in the Australian Open. His match against the #2129 in the world, Mousa Shanan Zayed told us nothing. His match against #40 Florian Mayer told us more. Yes, Mayer played well, but Murray didn't appear fit to play in a seriously competitive best of 3 match, much less best of 5.
This is hardly surprising given that he had back surgery and had 3-4 months off. Training is one thing, match play is another. The normal pattern for return following injury and time off is that it takes roughly twice as long to return to one's best form than the amount of time off. And that supposes that one is completely recovered from the injury. It was worrying that his service speed dropped so much during the latter part of the match. One doesn't know if he may have strained his back or if he was protecting it.
If Mr. Murray's back is completely well, and that is by no means a given, then as I've said elsewhere, one would expect that he might return to his best form somewhere between June and August. I would consider him to be very fortunate to win a title prior to that unless he drops down in class to playing more 250 events.
But the question here is whether he'll give it a go in the Australian Open, or not. He said previously that he would only play if he were 100% ready. But the AO comes a little earlier this year - Jan 13. It's going to be tough. Maybe he'll take a wildcard in Sydney or Auckland, but the top players (other than Ferrer), rarely enter an event the week prior to a major. Frankly, I would be surprised to see him trying to play himself into some kind of shape in the Australian Open.
I think he should take a page out of Nadal's book last year, not travel down under, and skip the Australian Open.
The way to go might be South America as he might get more work on his ground game on clay, but since the clay is not his forte, he might opt toward going to North America and playing in Memphis, perhaps Delray Beach, and then Acapulco (on hard court this year), before going to the Masters 1000's in Indian Wells and Miami. Let's see what he ends up doing. Most of all let's wish him a continued good recovery with his back.
Respectfully,
masterclass
A great post, masterclass. I do worry that he's coming back too soon. Skipping the Australian would be hard for him since he got so close last year, but it might prove necessary, and better in the long run. In any case, I know that he'll back, I just hope he's not pressuring himself unnecessarily.
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Don't be surprised if Mr. Murray, OBE, doesn't play in the Australian Open. His match against the #2129 in the world, Mousa Shanan Zayed told us nothing. His match against #40 Florian Mayer told us more. Yes, Mayer played well, but Murray didn't appear fit to play in a seriously competitive best of 3 match, much less best of 5.
This is hardly surprising given that he had back surgery and had 3-4 months off. Training is one thing, match play is another. The normal pattern for return following injury and time off is that it takes roughly twice as long to return to one's best form than the amount of time off. And that supposes that one is completely recovered from the injury. It was worrying that his service speed dropped so much during the latter part of the match. One doesn't know if he may have strained his back or if he was protecting it.
If Mr. Murray's back is completely well, and that is by no means a given, then as I've said elsewhere, one would expect that he might return to his best form somewhere between June and August. I would consider him to be very fortunate to win a title prior to that unless he drops down in class to playing more 250 events.
But the question here is whether he'll give it a go in the Australian Open, or not. He said previously that he would only play if he were 100% ready. But the AO comes a little earlier this year - Jan 13. It's going to be tough. Maybe he'll take a wildcard in Sydney or Auckland, but the top players (other than Ferrer), rarely enter an event the week prior to a major. Frankly, I would be surprised to see him trying to play himself into some kind of shape in the Australian Open.
I think he should take a page out of Nadal's book last year, not travel down under, and skip the Australian Open.
The way to go might be South America as he might get more work on his ground game on clay, but since the clay is not his forte, he might opt toward going to North America and playing in Memphis, perhaps Delray Beach, and then Acapulco (on hard court this year), before going to the Masters 1000's in Indian Wells and Miami. Let's see what he ends up doing. Most of all let's wish him a continued good recovery with his back.
Respectfully,
masterclass
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we are down to just 27 days now folks.
lets get fired up.
from a historical perspective, this particular slam may be the single most important slam ever.
that is how I am seeing it.
;D ;D
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I hope Rafa wins this and gets the double career slam. He will need to serve well and return as well as he did in Montreal.
affirmative.
that is absolutely key on the hard courts:
you have to take care of your serve and you have to be able to return well enough to secure your break points.
nadal is my pick for the title at the Australian open.
;D ;D
I've noticed that whenever Rafa serves well, he ends up winning the tournament more times than not. In his victories over Novak in 2013, I think he was returning better than Novak.
here is a question for you general backspin:
if Rafa could have only one of these, which one would you suggest that he take?
1. a great serve
or
2. a great return of serve
by the way nole has both which is why he is so tough to deal with on hard courts.
For Nadal, I'd go with a. A great serve. He already has a good ROS, just not a great one like Djokovic's.
I agree Djokovic has good serve and an amazing RoS. However, he tends to struggle against good servers on a good day. And right now, Nadal's biggest obstacle to winning more slams is Novak Djokovic.
If Nadal has a great serve, his ground game is so good, I think he'd be the favorite or co-favorite in all the slams.
affirmative. I could not agree more.
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I don't think Nole is his biggest obstacle in winning Slams right now. He has after all beaten him on two Major occasions - RG and USO. Going forward of course things may change. And sometimes they change when we least expect them.
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I hope Rafa wins this and gets the double career slam. He will need to serve well and return as well as he did in Montreal.
affirmative.
that is absolutely key on the hard courts:
you have to take care of your serve and you have to be able to return well enough to secure your break points.
nadal is my pick for the title at the Australian open.
;D ;D
I've noticed that whenever Rafa serves well, he ends up winning the tournament more times than not. In his victories over Novak in 2013, I think he was returning better than Novak.
here is a question for you general backspin:
if Rafa could have only one of these, which one would you suggest that he take?
1. a great serve
or
2. a great return of serve
by the way nole has both which is why he is so tough to deal with on hard courts.
For Nadal, I'd go with a. A great serve. He already has a good ROS, just not a great one like Djokovic's.
I agree Djokovic has good serve and an amazing RoS. However, he tends to struggle against good servers on a good day. And right now, Nadal's biggest obstacle to winning more slams is Novak Djokovic.
If Nadal has a great serve, his ground game is so good, I think he'd be the favorite or co-favorite in all the slams.
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Aussie duo bag wildcards:
http://www.sportinglife.com/tennis/news/article/553/9074598/aussie-duo-bag-wildcards
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I hope Rafa wins this and gets the double career slam. He will need to serve well and return as well as he did in Montreal.
affirmative.
that is absolutely key on the hard courts:
you have to take care of your serve and you have to be able to return well enough to secure your break points.
nadal is my pick for the title at the Australian open.
;D ;D
I've noticed that whenever Rafa serves well, he ends up winning the tournament more times than not. In his victories over Novak in 2013, I think he was returning better than Novak.
here is a question for you general backspin:
if Rafa could have only one of these, which one would you suggest that he take?
1. a great serve
or
2. a great return of serve
by the way nole has both which is why he is so tough to deal with on hard courts.
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we are down to just 29 days now.
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that is spot on general backspin.
I will go one step further: when he is serving well, returning well, and hitting his backhand with confidence, he usually takes the tournament.
that would make anybody difficult to beat but especially Rafa who has all that mental toughness thing going too.
his mental tenacity gets him through in close battles at times.
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I hope Rafa wins this and gets the double career slam. He will need to serve well and return as well as he did in Montreal.
affirmative.
that is absolutely key on the hard courts:
you have to take care of your serve and you have to be able to return well enough to secure your break points.
nadal is my pick for the title at the Australian open.
;D ;D
I've noticed that whenever Rafa serves well, he ends up winning the tournament more times than not. In his victories over Novak in 2013, I think he was returning better than Novak.
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Federer and his agent form a company to represent athletes:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/12/sports/tennis/federer-and-his-agent-start-their-own-firm-representing-athletes.html?partner=rss&_r=0
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strong field for the Australian open is announced:
http://www.sportinglife.com/tennis/news/article/553/9067733/australian-open-fields-announced
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Australian Open update:
just 35 days to go now.
http://www.camelotelitetennis.com/the-great-rafael-nadal-center/
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I hope Rafa wins this and gets the double career slam. He will need to serve well and return as well as he did in Montreal.
affirmative.
that is absolutely key on the hard courts:
you have to take care of your serve and you have to be able to return well enough to secure your break points.
nadal is my pick for the title at the Australian open.
;D ;D
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welcome to Camelot general Backspin.
2014 is going to be one of the most exciting years in tennis in recent memory.
the big 4 are back.
roger is going to be much stronger in 2014.
and now del potro is also significantly improved.
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I hope Rafa wins this and gets the double career slam. He will need to serve well and return as well as he did in Montreal.
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AO exhausts me to no end because of the time difference. I become like a walking talking zombie during it. Still, it's very exciting. Really looking forward to see Andy there, hopefully, finger crossed.
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Back on topic, hee hee hee (The Truth does not drink coffee, wine, or scotch so cannot speak on this subject).
But, to the Australian Open, I am very excited at the articles coming out about Rafa. He sounds like he's ready for the challenge, which is great, and much better than dreading yet another encounter.
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Before I go out and making myself ready I always make myself coffee with milk and sugar pluss some cheap scotch.
It depends what i am doing what kind of scotch I like.
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scotch is pretty smooth if it is at least 12 years old.
12 year old black label is excellent.
chivas regal--- 12 year old-- is also superb.
both are blended.
single malt works too.
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we are down to just 40 days now:
better get ready for Melbourne.
http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?p0=152&iso=20140113T11
;D ;D
Lol, I got nausea for some seconds thinking about it!
Building it up in my head and feelings.
After AO there are tournaments all the time, don't have time for the building up. I need to have the scotch ready for AO...
we are most likely looking at the single most exciting year in tennis in recent memory. 2014 is going to be really something.
I did not know you were a scotch drinker.
;D ;D
I am not this endless wine drinker. If beer I like it dark. Or scotch. Like a man. hehe.
Seriously I don't get as bad hangover when I drink this. And I sleep well. With wine I can't sleep. And sweet drinks gives me a headache.
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we are down to just 40 days now:
better get ready for Melbourne.
http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?p0=152&iso=20140113T11
;D ;D
Lol, I got nausea for some seconds thinking about it!
Building it up in my head and feelings.
After AO there are tournaments all the time, don't have time for the building up. I need to have the scotch ready for AO...
we are most likely looking at the single most exciting year in tennis in recent memory. 2014 is going to be really something.
I did not know you were a scotch drinker.
;D ;D
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we are down to just 40 days now:
better get ready for Melbourne.
http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?p0=152&iso=20140113T11
;D ;D
Lol, I got nausea for some seconds thinking about it!
Building it up in my head and feelings.
After AO there are tournaments all the time, don't have time for the building up. I need to have the scotch ready for AO...
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we are down to just 40 days now:
better get ready for Melbourne.
http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?p0=152&iso=20140113T11
;D ;D
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Oooh!
That is so cool.
You are so cool.
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Australian open update:
http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?p0=152&iso=20140113T11
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AO is really the slam where there are more than 1 favorite to win. It depends on Andy Murray I think. Which shape he arrives there.
Rafa won USO after 3 years. He can win AO again too.
Nole has the perfect game but this year he has more threat in Rafa as ever before there. Rafa hasn't played there in 2 years. He will be fit and injury free. Delpo I don't see winning it.
I am so curious how the draw will be!!!
i have a feeling that rafa is taking it.
it is going to work out just like the u.s. open did. he could not play there last year so he was eager to do well there. he was focused and ready to make something happen.
it is exactly the same scenario in Melbourne: he could not play there last year. and now he has some extra motivation for historical reasons also.
he is going to want to tie pete Sampras and get it over with before moving on to other quests.
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thanks......welcome to camelot......did you see this video?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugXraineODE
I see it, but I can't hear it. I don't know what's going on, but the only place that my sound works right is Facebook. I use it there to play Bejeweled Blitz and I need to hear it, ha ha ha.
But even on YouTube, it's so low that I can't hear it.
Very weird.
[/quote]
i could hear it but i could not understand what he was saying. he said something nalby in Spanish too.
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thanks......welcome to camelot......did you see this video?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugXraineODE
[/quote]
I see it, but I can't hear it. I don't know what's going on, but the only place that my sound works right is Facebook. I use it there to play Bejeweled Blitz and I need to hear it, ha ha ha.
But even on YouTube, it's so low that I can't hear it.
Very weird.
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Australian open countdown:
just 48 days and 19 hours to go
http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?p0=152&iso=20140113T11
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Hi swordtennis, how do you mean 'winning it with Lendl'?
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Start da Game,
That is a great analysis of the Big 4's games.
thanks......welcome to camelot......did you see this video?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugXraineODE
-
Start da Game,
That is a great analysis of the Big 4's games.
-
the title is rafa's......the last time he played he should have won it but had a mental hurdle......this time it's going to 4 sets at max in the final even if it is nole on the other side.......hardcourter nadal is pretty much unbeatable at best of 5 on hardcourts.......so he's my favourite for the title.......
welcome back general shanks.
he has some extra motivation. I think that loss at the O2 arena is going to be the kicker. he will be thinking about it as he starts his preparations soon.
he was playing at 60% capacity in AO 2012, the backhand was still not there.......he will play close to 80% next year like at the us open recently.......i am giving zero chance to djokovic and others.......rafa 3.0 is basically unbeatable at best of 5 on hardcourts.......
No player out there plays 100% of his or her capacity - not just Nadal.
both your favourites do.......djokovic is always the same, his backhand down the line works all the time and the defense is never down......not much variation in level of form.......same thing could be said about murray's game.......
nadal and federer have a lot of variations, both for different reasons........nadal often lands his backhands in the service box and his forehand down the line does not work all the time.......federer's game is just about perfect whenever he faces somebody who is totally capable of beating but his form dips the moment somebody challenges him.......nadal's form rises when he is challenged, like in the roland garros semis 2013.......
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AO is really the slam where there are more than 1 favorite to win. It depends on Andy Murray I think. Which shape he arrives there.
Rafa won USO after 3 years. He can win AO again too.
Nole has the perfect game but this year he has more threat in Rafa as ever before there. Rafa hasn't played there in 2 years. He will be fit and injury free. Delpo I don't see winning it.
I am so curious how the draw will be!!!
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Not sure Murray will be there I can see him rolling at Wimbledon and prob winning it with lendl.
AO probably coming down to Nadal and Djokovic. Either Nadal wins but it will take a herculean and monumental effort to take the title. Novak usually is not an UE machine on those courts.
Nadal wins Delpotro or Djokovic might actually have a weakened Nadal at the FO and take it. Never know lol.
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I am terribly fond of a Sunday start because then I get to see a bit more of a Slam otherwise you know, I am always at work. But at the same time, you must admit AO is pretty good at keeping their schedules on track.
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its will be a Monday start. I wish all slams would go to a sunday start.
just 53 days left to go.
http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?p0=152&iso=20140113T11
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he was playing at 60% capacity in AO 2012, the backhand was still not there.......he will play close to 80% next year like at the us open recently.......i am giving zero chance to djokovic and others.......rafa 3.0 is basically unbeatable at best of 5 on hardcourts.......
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I hope you're right, Start da Game.
This is one of the most interesting Oz's in a long time.
Glad you're keeping up with the countdown CD!
It will be hard for Andy to be in that kind of place mentally, physically, and emotionally at the start of the year, I think, although he may still be a tough out.
I'm hoping Rafa takes it, ties Pete, and chips away at the overall record.
That would be sweet!
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It's a very top heavy era no doubt. Andy will be the underdog because of his back injury. The bookies will probably tip Nole to win as usual. Andy was denied 3 times here. He'll convert it one time, that is, if he successfully makes the final.
I think (and hope!) he'll win it one day, too, but 2014 almost certainly won't be it. Never say never, of course, but it will be too soon after his return to win seven best-of-five set matches, over two weeks. I would consider his getting to the Round of 16 to be a great success, and nothing to be embarrassed about.
If he stays healthy, though, look out 2015! If he wins Wimbledon again in 2014, then gets the USO again, he'll be motivated like mad to keep it up, and get Australia.
As for 2014, I'm hoping it's Rafa, yet suspect it will be Novak. Again.
I expect Andy to be completely ready for the AO but if that doesn't happen then I'd like to go with my 2nd favourite player, Nole. Personally I feel it will be very tough to beat Nole at the AO.
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the title is rafa's......the last time he played he should have won it but had a mental hurdle......this time it's going to 4 sets at max in the final even if it is nole on the other side.......hardcourter nadal is pretty much unbeatable at best of 5 on hardcourts.......so he's my favourite for the title.......
welcome back general shanks.
he has some extra motivation. I think that loss at the O2 arena is going to be the kicker. he will be thinking about it as he starts his preparations soon.
he was playing at 60% capacity in AO 2012, the backhand was still not there.......he will play close to 80% next year like at the us open recently.......i am giving zero chance to djokovic and others.......rafa 3.0 is basically unbeatable at best of 5 on hardcourts.......
No player out there plays 100% of his or her capacity - not just Nadal.
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It's a very top heavy era no doubt. Andy will be the underdog because of his back injury. The bookies will probably tip Nole to win as usual. Andy was denied 3 times here. He'll convert it one time, that is, if he successfully makes the final.
I think (and hope!) he'll win it one day, too, but 2014 almost certainly won't be it. Never say never, of course, but it will be too soon after his return to win seven best-of-five set matches, over two weeks. I would consider his getting to the Round of 16 to be a great success, and nothing to be embarrassed about.
If he stays healthy, though, look out 2015! If he wins Wimbledon again in 2014, then gets the USO again, he'll be motivated like mad to keep it up, and get Australia.
As for 2014, I'm hoping it's Rafa, yet suspect it will be Novak. Again.
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I am feeling it general shanks. I think he is going to make #14 happen at the Australian Open.
he was not able to compete there last year. that also has to fuel his fire.
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the title is rafa's......the last time he played he should have won it but had a mental hurdle......this time it's going to 4 sets at max in the final even if it is nole on the other side.......hardcourter nadal is pretty much unbeatable at best of 5 on hardcourts.......so he's my favourite for the title.......
welcome back general shanks.
he has some extra motivation. I think that loss at the O2 arena is going to be the kicker. he will be thinking about it as he starts his preparations soon.
he was playing at 60% capacity in AO 2012, the backhand was still not there.......he will play close to 80% next year like at the us open recently.......i am giving zero chance to djokovic and others.......rafa 3.0 is basically unbeatable at best of 5 on hardcourts.......
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the title is rafa's......the last time he played he should have won it but had a mental hurdle......this time it's going to 4 sets at max in the final even if it is nole on the other side.......hardcourter nadal is pretty much unbeatable at best of 5 on hardcourts.......so he's my favourite for the title.......
welcome back general shanks.
he has some extra motivation. I think that loss at the O2 arena is going to be the kicker. he will be thinking about it as he starts his preparations soon.
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the title is rafa's......the last time he played he should have won it but had a mental hurdle......this time it's going to 4 sets at max in the final even if it is nole on the other side.......hardcourter nadal is pretty much unbeatable at best of 5 on hardcourts.......so he's my favourite for the title.......
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his Wimbledon win is mega huge.
now he knows he can beat the best of the best. its just a matter of getting healthy now after that back surgery and getting back into the swing of things.
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It's a very top heavy era no doubt. Andy will be the underdog because of his back injury. The bookies will probably tip Nole to win as usual. Andy was denied 3 times here. He'll convert it one time, that is, if he successfully makes the final.
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del potro's problem is the same problem most of the others have:
all these all time greats are in front of them. Fed, nadal, nole, and andy are all time greats.
how the hell do you get through that steel wall?
it is nearly impossible for the others to win even masters events with these sharks around.
Federer took down del potro twice on the indoor hard courts. once in paris and once at the O2 arena. lets see how it goes at the outdoor hard courts.
del potro has not fared well at the Australian open. maybe he can make some progress this time around.
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Federer is a big question in AO. A bit like Andy. How will they play? Makes AO very interesting. So good there is more than Rafa-Novak in focus. God, I hope Andy comes back strong.
Delpo has to prove he can do something now. I don't believe he can win a GS now, maybe not ever.... I thought for years he could be a numerous GS winner one day, but I starting loosing hope.
To see it in another way... not bad being consistent top 5.
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andy will be very hungry to compete at a grand slam again.
he has lost 3 finals there so we know he brings extra motivation with him.
no telling how the draw might work out. I guess ideally, if one is a rafa fan, nole and andy need to be in the same 1/2.
for the nole fans, they would want andy to be in nadal`s 1/2.
I also think we cannot count Federer out. he still has a big game. he could put it all together and end up in the final there.
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It will be one of the most interesting AO in a long time.
56 days... only! Get a bit nervous already!
The draw... which side will Andy go? Rafa or Novak side? Andy has a bigger chance winning Novak than Rafa I think.
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that was an awesome final. they went toe to toe for 4 long sets before Federer was to be tamed that day.
I rate that as one of the best hard court matches I have ever seen. the quality of play was very high for 4 long sets.
my own prediction is that nadal is going to be able to make history there. it is just 56 days away now.
that also partly explains why he keeps playing. he has exos planned with ferru and nole in south America soon.
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Just watched parts of the AO 2009 final.
Federer 13 GS then. Wasn't able to get his 14 and same as Pete. Lost to Rafa.
Will history repeat itself?
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only 56 days and 22 hours to go now for the Australian open:
http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?p0=152&iso=20140113T11
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Embla this slam has massive implications for history.
Andy can signal his return with a title run here.
nadal can tie Sampras with a title.
or nole can stay in the arms race by winning.
I think this becomes one of the most important slams of our times.
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It will be interesting to see in what shape Andy arrives in the slam. Very.
Also Rafa, is he up for this? How much does AO mean for him? I have never heard he speak a lot about AO.
But history can be made, more to his legacy to be added.
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Can't wait for it, really! My project will end which is a nightmare at the moment. lol
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Australian open update:
it is now just 62 days away.
http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?p0=152&iso=20140113T11
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Would like to see Andy back for sure. I don't think it's given to anyone at this point.
lets hope he is back by then emma.
I started a news section for andy at your board. there is some news about this there.
he is definitely looking to see if he can make it there.
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Would like to see Andy back for sure. I don't think it's given to anyone at this point.
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http://2013.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/articles/2013-10-29/201310291383018818939.html?promo=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Australian-Open+%28Australian+Open%29
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affirmative.
last time he was out of it. he had the flu to go along with the knee issue.
his prospects looking much better this time around. lot of history at stake too.
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lets get this party started. our first slam of 2014 is closer than you think.
it is just 76 days away now.
Nadal better be ready this time ;)
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lets get this party started. our first slam of 2014 is closer than you think.
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1322.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fu572%2Fspartacus120%2Fspartan%2520images%2FOz-301_zps9dff9406.jpg&hash=c77fd7db3616020433c2b038d50c6dce4210423e) (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/spartacus120/media/spartan%20images/Oz-301_zps9dff9406.jpg.html)
Full draw pdf (http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/scores/draws/ms/msdraw.pdf)
Top Half (Loaded)
Nadal - Del Potro Quarter (pretty tough, no?)
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg23%2F3493%2Fgh12.png&hash=ab42782b46f16b9aae6f4bd3d90e5b4bcca2067d)
Murray - Federer Quarter (Murray's tough road starts at R16 - Federer's tough road starts at R32
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg32%2F4632%2Fde2a.png&hash=a7a4c2b830ee4d076ca773fa18bc2821272b81f8)
Bottom Half (Weakest in years - Only Slam winner is Djokovic)
Ferrer - Berdych Quarter (Ferrer through to Semis again?)
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FxKDrr8J.jpg&hash=c07d6b0fe37f8fb1949262c8a30015bf4218b531)
Djokovic - Wawrinka Quarter (Becker enjoying the cakewalk)
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FJeDqHvG.jpg&hash=6910d3c8f35adc9283b6e5b61db21b609c924715)