CAMELOT FANTASIES
Camelot Tennis Universe => General Pro Player Discussions => Topic started by: Clay Death on February 24, 2014, 09:08:00 pm
-
Fully agree, Lady TT.
Nole summed it up pretty well in his interview (I've bolded some phrases for emphasis...):
"That was definitely a relief in the end of the match. The last point when he hit the backhand in the net, I just focused on each point individually. Didn't really try to think about what happened or what's going to happen, if it happens. I just tried to be in the present moment and that helped, especially in the tiebreak of the last set. "
"It was a very even match. One break was enough for him to win the first. It was exactly the same for me in the second. As I said before the match today, very few points will decide a winner, and that's what happened. "
"I know that he's not going to give me anything, you know. As the match progressed, I felt like he started to make a little bit more unforced errors, and it allowed me to step into the court. Of course when I served for the match, he played a fantastic game." "I made I think all my first serves in and he returned well, he was aggressive, he made a couple of winners. I couldn't do much about it." "I was under pressure. I managed to regroup and get into the tiebreak. That was absolutely great for me, I mean, from the first to the last point. "
"I'm just very happy and thrilled to be able to win the first title in this season. It was the first final that I played this year. It was necessary for my confidence, and hopefully I can carry that into Miami and the rest of the season."
Again, well done to Novak in another tough match between the two.
Oh, by the way, Novak also confirmed that though Boris Becker wasn't present, that he was on the phone with him and also he with Marian Vajda throughout the tournament. And that Boris would be in Miami. He also spoke about the relationship:
"Boris is new to our team, so it's still a process of getting to know each other, and, you know, people of course always question if Boris should be there or not be there, you know, now that Marian, first tournament he won the title with me, and Boris didn't do that in Australia and Dubai.
But, look, it's the start of the season. We are all working together as a team. It doesn't make any difference now. Boris is the head coach and Marian respects that, I respect that, and we hope for success. "
Oh, and before someone accuses me of being biased toward Novak, :) I'll include what Roger had to say about the match, mostly near the end of it:
"I think I played a good game to break back. Got the first serve returns back, and then played well from the baseline.
I think I was playing with the wind at that moment, as well. A bit more wind coming from my side, which made it more difficult for him maybe to serve it out.
It would have been easier for me to get on the offensive, you know, in the rallies. And then the same thing switched around in the breaker. He then played the first six points with the wind. He took advantage of that, and, you know, maybe against the wind that's when you have to get those easy points and those service winners I couldn't get and he couldn't get.
So it was an interesting end to the match, no doubt. But I think he played well, you know. At the end he made sure he kept the ball in play and I might have made a few too many errors when it really mattered.
But, you know, I think he made a crucial sort of 20 minutes, half an hour midway through the second set and third set where things could have gone either way. But credit to him for toughening it out and winning that second set and getting the breaker in the third."
Interesting that Federer gave his technical reasons regarding the wind why he was better able to do well and why Djokovic had a more difficult time in that game to break.
When asked about his satisfaction regarding his level of play, he responded:
"Yeah, very happy. I think I'm playing really good tennis. I'm moving well. Serving well, consistently well, you know.
So many things are working. I'm just surprised that I'm able to keep it up week for week now. I expected myself to have a breakthrough tournament, but then maybe a couple of early exits. Who knows, maybe that's all upon me, I don't know (smiling).
But overall I'm just happy I'm playing consistent tennis and I'm going deep in tournaments and I'm giving myself chances to win. So clearly would have been amazing to win here and win back to back tournaments with Dubai.
But I got very, very close, so it's encouraging for Miami and for the rest of the season, no doubt."
About playing or skipping Miami he said:
"I mean, normally I'll go. I'm going to leave tonight to Miami, and then I will see how I feel over there. But I will definitely go to that direction and have an event as well over there, so most likely, yes, I will play."
Respectfully,
masterclass
I have to admit that I was pretty surprised. I thought Nole would win outright with little doubt as to the winner, but Federer very nearly pulled it off. Those stats were crazy. The most even match I think I've ever seen.
-
Fully agree, Lady TT.
Nole summed it up pretty well in his interview (I've bolded some phrases for emphasis...):
"That was definitely a relief in the end of the match. The last point when he hit the backhand in the net, I just focused on each point individually. Didn't really try to think about what happened or what's going to happen, if it happens. I just tried to be in the present moment and that helped, especially in the tiebreak of the last set. "
"It was a very even match. One break was enough for him to win the first. It was exactly the same for me in the second. As I said before the match today, very few points will decide a winner, and that's what happened. "
"I know that he's not going to give me anything, you know. As the match progressed, I felt like he started to make a little bit more unforced errors, and it allowed me to step into the court. Of course when I served for the match, he played a fantastic game." "I made I think all my first serves in and he returned well, he was aggressive, he made a couple of winners. I couldn't do much about it." "I was under pressure. I managed to regroup and get into the tiebreak. That was absolutely great for me, I mean, from the first to the last point. "
"I'm just very happy and thrilled to be able to win the first title in this season. It was the first final that I played this year. It was necessary for my confidence, and hopefully I can carry that into Miami and the rest of the season."
Again, well done to Novak in another tough match between the two.
Oh, by the way, Novak also confirmed that though Boris Becker wasn't present, that he was on the phone with him and also he with Marian Vajda throughout the tournament. And that Boris would be in Miami. He also spoke about the relationship:
"Boris is new to our team, so it's still a process of getting to know each other, and, you know, people of course always question if Boris should be there or not be there, you know, now that Marian, first tournament he won the title with me, and Boris didn't do that in Australia and Dubai.
But, look, it's the start of the season. We are all working together as a team. It doesn't make any difference now. Boris is the head coach and Marian respects that, I respect that, and we hope for success. "
Oh, and before someone accuses me of being biased toward Novak, :) I'll include what Roger had to say about the match, mostly near the end of it:
"I think I played a good game to break back. Got the first serve returns back, and then played well from the baseline.
I think I was playing with the wind at that moment, as well. A bit more wind coming from my side, which made it more difficult for him maybe to serve it out.
It would have been easier for me to get on the offensive, you know, in the rallies. And then the same thing switched around in the breaker. He then played the first six points with the wind. He took advantage of that, and, you know, maybe against the wind that's when you have to get those easy points and those service winners I couldn't get and he couldn't get.
So it was an interesting end to the match, no doubt. But I think he played well, you know. At the end he made sure he kept the ball in play and I might have made a few too many errors when it really mattered.
But, you know, I think he made a crucial sort of 20 minutes, half an hour midway through the second set and third set where things could have gone either way. But credit to him for toughening it out and winning that second set and getting the breaker in the third."
Interesting that Federer gave his technical reasons regarding the wind why he was better able to do well and why Djokovic had a more difficult time in that game to break.
When asked about his satisfaction regarding his level of play, he responded:
"Yeah, very happy. I think I'm playing really good tennis. I'm moving well. Serving well, consistently well, you know.
So many things are working. I'm just surprised that I'm able to keep it up week for week now. I expected myself to have a breakthrough tournament, but then maybe a couple of early exits. Who knows, maybe that's all upon me, I don't know (smiling).
But overall I'm just happy I'm playing consistent tennis and I'm going deep in tournaments and I'm giving myself chances to win. So clearly would have been amazing to win here and win back to back tournaments with Dubai.
But I got very, very close, so it's encouraging for Miami and for the rest of the season, no doubt."
About playing or skipping Miami he said:
"I mean, normally I'll go. I'm going to leave tonight to Miami, and then I will see how I feel over there. But I will definitely go to that direction and have an event as well over there, so most likely, yes, I will play."
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
Thanks for the stats General. Interesting match. Overall, Federer didn't play throughout the match as well as he did against Dolgopolov, especially on serve, but he wasn't poor either. Djokovic played better than he did the whole tournament, but still had lapses, but shorter in scope.
The result? A very even match. It could have gone either way in the end. Even stats, almost even # of games won/lost, almost even # of total points won, Djokovic 99 points, 98 for Federer.
Federer played well the first set, aggressively, charging the net at just the right times, while Djokovic looked nervous early and got broken, which was enough for Federer to take the set, as he continued to serve well at crucial times. He was over 70% won on both 1st and 2nd serves.
Federer seemed to let off the aggression pedal in the second, I don't why, and stayed back and rallied. His 1st serve also declined significantly. I think this let Djokovic back into the match, and Djokovic got stronger, more consistent and confident, while Federer looked weaker and more tired as rallies and points played longer. Djokovic broke Federer once and that was enough for the second.
Djokovic continued to look strong at the start of the third set, while Federer still seemed lost or tired or something, giving an early break to Djokovic, and it looked like that would be enough for Djokovic, until he tried to serve out the match. Then Federer, with his back against the wall, played some great attacking tennis, 3 points in succession for love-40, which seemed to startle Djokovic out of his zone of good play, and Federer broke him at 15 to even the match at 5-5.
Federer once again regained confidence serving to love in his next game for a 6-5 lead, but then looked disinterested on the Djokovic serve and seemed content to have it decided in the tiebreak. Not sure I agreed with that way of thinking, even at that moment, not after the fact. I think Federer was on a roll and should have gone all out as in the 4-5 game to break Djokovic. But he didn't. Perhaps the effort to break previously sapped him a bit, and he was saving himself energy.
Then the tiebreak was a poor effort from Federer. Djokovic didn't need to do much but play steady, as Federer had 4 unforced errors on his serve. One certainly can't expect to win a tiebreak like that.
Regardless, Djokovic did up his game in general from the previous matches in the tournament, still had some lapses here and there, but it did not deter him, and he won it in the end. Federer's play was up and down, brilliant at times, and then seemingly on cruise control at others. He did very well to break Djokovic at the end of the third, but didn't take advantage of that, and played a poor tiebreaker, and due to that did not deserve the victory. With his former career #1 tiebreaker record .649 pct, now #2 just behind Isner .650, who has played about 1/2 the tiebreakers Federer has, one would think he should have done better.
Congratulations to Nole, his fans, and his team. He should play with more confidence after this.
Commiserations to Roger and his supporters. I don't think this loss hurts him a lot. He played a good tournament, just missed, so his level looks good going into his next training block before his clay season starts in Madrid. He said he had not expected to be at his best level till after the next training block so to have these good results prior to that was a bit of a surprise to him.
Maybe General CETSVids will have the match and some interviews to share with us. :)
On to Miami!
Respectfully,
masterclass
I thought that was weird too. Federer was playing great and then stopped employing the very tactics that got him the first set. I also agree that Nole seemed unusually nervous in that first set, too. I wonder why? There seems to be a very strange dynamic between the two of them.
Overall, I thought it was pretty good quality regarding play, but full of fluctuating momentum.
Good showing from both and sets us up for great tennis moving forward.
This is going to be a very interesting tennis season.
-
Sure General, no problem.
Read this about Becker's issues...
https://www.euroweeklynews.com/news/mallorca/itemlist/tag/Majorca (https://www.euroweeklynews.com/news/mallorca/itemlist/tag/Majorca)
Respectfully,
masterclass
Wow! It's one thing to have a ton of money, but it's another thing to be able to manage it and be culpable for everything everyone else does, regarding permits, licenses, etc.
#GladI'mBroke.
-
Yes, your story is always the same and predictable. LOL I've been laughing for the better part of the last hour. Now you sure that I'm bitter. More mind reading. Maybe I can take notes. What sarcasm? I'm just using your own obviously impeccable reasoning to add support for your incredible story. Seems to work for you.
Anyway, I need to get back to the real world; things to do before bedtime. Have fun!
Respectfully,
masterclass
And that wasn't sarcasm at all. And what incredible story? The fact that I said that Nole path was tougher? Yes, it was. Maybe someday when you stop being a blind Federer supporter, you will see it too.
In the world I live in, Nole beat Cilic, Inser and Federer to win the title. And from the beginning of the 3rd set, he was always in winning position including the TB and that's the reality of it.
-
Yes, your story is always the same and predictable. LOL I've been laughing for the better part of the last hour. Now you sure that I'm bitter. More mind reading. Maybe I can take notes. What sarcasm? I'm just using your own obviously impeccable reasoning to add support for your incredible story. Seems to work for you.
Anyway, I need to get back to the real world; things to do before bedtime. Have fun!
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
Anyway, a couple of positives to take from Federer (for me anyway): first, he looked rather happy even after the loss. I take it he understood that Nole was the better player especially towards the end of the match, perhaps from 2nd set on. Second, his speech was nice so he was rather gracious in defeat. But of course he's won so much that any win at this point is just a pure bonus.
-
My story remains the same while you remain bitter. Your problem is, not only you were overly confident about a win by Federer, but you also wanted it so badly that you are not even seeing the obvious.
And you can be as sarcastic as you want but you did pick Benneteau to upset Nole, in case you need me to remind you. So you need to rewrite your own history there, buddy. You can't hype Benneteau up only to hype him down for your own argument's sake.
And I see both Cilic and Isner far more worthy opponents than both Dolgo and Anderson. Anyone who truly follows tennis should see it too - plain and simple. Dolgo is not even consistent to be a real threat and Anderson whilst he's playing really well lately, his win over Wawrinka was huge to pull another big upset right after. So as I see it, your Federer got lucky one too many times.
Anyway, sarcasm is only known as a defense mechanism. There's nothing more there.
-
Keep talking... Your story gets better... Back in Tennis4You form, I see.
Here, let's see if I can do it also:
We obviously shouldn't forget the 3 stalwart unseeded players Nole had to beat, one of them, a surprise true champion challenger ringer who had never won a tour level match before this tournament, who somehow managed to get a set off Nole, which had to weaken Nole for his following matches. And don't forget the dangerous Benneteau who had previously beaten Nole the last time they met at Indian Wells. That proves the draw was extremely tough for Nole. Landmines everywhere. That he got through to the quarters was amazing.
Now some might say that neither player had to play a top 10 ranked player till the final. However, the #2 Djokovic had to unexpectedly face a dangerous near top 10 player in the semifinal, and an in form Cilic who was highly motivated to win his first match in 8 tries against Nole, while the #8 Federer was fortunate enough to play a top 20 player who must be close to retirement in the round of 16, and warm up in his first round against a poor unseeded player. Also as you mention, Kevin Anderson, though a top 20 player, definitely proved an easy QF opponent for Federer after he must have played way over his head beating undefeated in 2014 Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka, So definitely easy pickings there. And Dolgopolov definitely lost form after gaining confidence cruising through and winning every match he played after beating Nadal until he met Federer.
We can't forget that the #8 player had a projected much easier task facing the much less accomplished #2, while the #2 had an almost impossible task in facing the #8, who is acknowledged world wide as one of the greatest of all time and expected by many of his fans to play that great until he retires at 40 in another 7 years or so. For Nole to come through that was a near miracle. Well done, Mr. Djokovic!
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
I am sure both Cilic and Isner are far more lethal than Anderson right now. Only a blind supporter would consider otherwise. And if it weren't for Dolgo, Federer wouldn't have even made the final here. He got lucky when someone else took Nadal out if I am to be honest. Perhaps it's only Federer fans who read too much into his new 'comeback', when in reality he did get beat by the same old Nadal at the Australian Open yet again and now here in Indian Wells as well but this time by Nole.
And if Federer played a 'poor TB' and then Nole too played a poor game to give away the break at a point when he was serving for match. So yeah, let's include that as well. Let's call it even in the true sense.
-
Cool story. Very entertaining... ;D
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
If you go by the points - 98 to Federer and 99 to Nole - then yes, it does seem like a close match or an even match, but in reality Nole was always ahead in the final set. He pushed Federer in at least two of his service games and converted one. Was also serving for the match at 5-4 but ended up getting tight. Nole also dominated the TB. After Nole won the 2nd set, Federer was always on surviving mode and was trying to catch Nole up whereas Nole was on more control of the match. So I didn't think it was all that even and the deduction based on the points is misleading.
Anyway, 34 winners and 34 errors from Federer so the match wasn't very pretty by any means. It had drama, yes but the supposedly 'high quality' wasn't there from either party. There were glimpses but that's all that were there.
Nole did have a tougher path to the final and beat some on form players like Cilic, Isner and Federer to win the title, so definitely the best man won. Dolgo would have been much more affective against Federer had he met with him early like he did against Nadal. But by the time he met with Federer in the semi, the long path and the glorious victory was already behind and I don't think he had much left in the tank to offer at that point. Tursunov, early in the tournament, did give a glimpse of Federer true form if anyone was watching.
-
Thanks for the stats General. Interesting match. Overall, Federer didn't play throughout the match as well as he did against Dolgopolov, especially on serve, but he wasn't poor either. Djokovic played better than he did the whole tournament, but still had lapses, but shorter in scope.
The result? A very even match. It could have gone either way in the end. Even stats, almost even # of games won/lost, almost even # of total points won, Djokovic 99 points, 98 for Federer.
Federer played well the first set, aggressively, charging the net at just the right times, while Djokovic looked nervous early and got broken, which was enough for Federer to take the set, as he continued to serve well at crucial times. He was over 70% won on both 1st and 2nd serves.
Federer seemed to let off the aggression pedal in the second, I don't why, and stayed back and rallied. His 1st serve also declined significantly. I think this let Djokovic back into the match, and Djokovic got stronger, more consistent and confident, while Federer looked weaker and more tired as rallies and points played longer. Djokovic broke Federer once and that was enough for the second.
Djokovic continued to look strong at the start of the third set, while Federer still seemed lost or tired or something, giving an early break to Djokovic, and it looked like that would be enough for Djokovic, until he tried to serve out the match. Then Federer, with his back against the wall, played some great attacking tennis, 3 points in succession for love-40, which seemed to startle Djokovic out of his zone of good play, and Federer broke him at 15 to even the match at 5-5.
Federer once again regained confidence serving to love in his next game for a 6-5 lead, but then looked disinterested on the Djokovic serve and seemed content to have it decided in the tiebreak. Not sure I agreed with that way of thinking, even at that moment, not after the fact. I think Federer was on a roll and should have gone all out as in the 4-5 game to break Djokovic. But he didn't. Perhaps the effort to break previously sapped him a bit, and he was saving himself energy.
Then the tiebreak was a poor effort from Federer. Djokovic didn't need to do much but play steady, as Federer had 4 unforced errors on his serve. One certainly can't expect to win a tiebreak like that.
Regardless, Djokovic did up his game in general from the previous matches in the tournament, still had some lapses here and there, but it did not deter him, and he won it in the end. Federer's play was up and down, brilliant at times, and then seemingly on cruise control at others. He did very well to break Djokovic at the end of the third, but didn't take advantage of that, and played a poor tiebreaker, and due to that did not deserve the victory. With his former career #1 tiebreaker record .649 pct, now #2 just behind Isner .650, who has played about 1/2 the tiebreakers Federer has, one would think he should have done better.
Congratulations to Nole, his fans, and his team. He should play with more confidence after this.
Commiserations to Roger and his supporters. I don't think this loss hurts him a lot. He played a good tournament, just missed, so his level looks good going into his next training block before his clay season starts in Madrid. He said he had not expected to be at his best level till after the next training block so to have these good results prior to that was a bit of a surprise to him.
Maybe General CETSVids will have the match and some interviews to share with us. :)
On to Miami!
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
here are the stats for the match.
(https://www.camelotfantasies.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1322.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fu572%2Fspartacus120%2Fspartan%2520images%2Fthis%2520is%2520sparta%2Fsparatus-1%2Fcool6%2Fstatindian-1_zpsb6f4a8e1.jpg&hash=9a752ad0a3cee98eb7ace84eea69553b66cacefb) (http://s1322.photobucket.com/user/spartacus120/media/spartan%20images/this%20is%20sparta/sparatus-1/cool6/statindian-1_zpsb6f4a8e1.jpg.html)
-
Sure General, no problem.
Read this about Becker's issues...
https://www.euroweeklynews.com/news/mallorca/itemlist/tag/Majorca (https://www.euroweeklynews.com/news/mallorca/itemlist/tag/Majorca)
Respectfully,
masterclass
fascinating.
becker is actually wealthy beyond belief.
he has a lot of stuff going on in Dubai these days also.
-
that may happen now general backspin:
nole just snatched the 2nd set.
-
My pick for the final would be Novak in 3.
But it wouldn't surprise me one bit if Roger takes the title.
-
Sure General, no problem.
Read this about Becker's issues...
https://www.euroweeklynews.com/news/mallorca/itemlist/tag/Majorca (https://www.euroweeklynews.com/news/mallorca/itemlist/tag/Majorca)
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
what is Becker doing in Mallorca?
-
this is why Camelot is required reading.
we said last year that federer was coming back strong this year.
general masterclass can you fire up my federer thread at mtf and add 1 more title.
I think federer is taking this.
-
I agree General if Federer plays like he did yesterday, and Djokovic continues to play like he did the whole tournament.
But I hope that Nole ups his game a bit to make it interesting. He can't afford those lapses for a set and a half.
The match will be gone before he knows it.
Vajda is back in the Djokovic coaches seat. I think Becker is out of the picture for now. I hear he has some personal issues in Mallorca.
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
I am picking federer today in straights.
I think he is going to try to attack as much as possible.
his plan has to be to make sure that nole does not find much rhythm off the ground.
that means serving big and going on the attack with the forehand.
-
I missed the live match, but fortunately found this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx5SI58ReJ0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx5SI58ReJ0)
First, it looked like conditions were breezy to start the match, but dropped as the match went on.
Federer - Dolgopolov was played in 15-17 mph winds, gusting to 25 mph.
Djokovic - Isner was 11 down to 9 mph, sometimes gusting to 17 mph.
Second, I think something was either wrong with Isner from the start, or it was his choice to serve slower than normal 1st serves.
His first serve speeds in the 1st set rarely went over 120 mph. In the second set he did increase the speed at times, going up to 137 mph, but he wasn't consistently up in that range. Maybe it was his strategy to mix it up, I don't know. But it seems odd to purposely diffuse your best weapon.
I thought Nole looked good in the 1st set, and Isner fair but it remained even until Djokovic was serving at 4-5. Then he seemed to collapse with 3 unforced errors to go down 0-40. But Isner had 3 set points and failed to take any of them, and especially the 15-40 point, where he set himself up very well with a deep shot wide to the Djokovic backhand, which Djokovic, could only manage to get it back short in the court. However, Isner looked like he was too anxious to put away a winning shot to take the set, and just mangled the put away with poor body positioning. Djokovic came back to take the game to even it up at 5-5, and then broke a disappointed Isner, and served out for the set.
The second set was back and forth, but then Djokovic broke a tiring and hurting Isner (he was having treatment from the trainer for what looked like some muscle stiffness in his quads just above the knee), to go up 5-4 and serve out the match, but Isner fought back with gritty determination helped by some poor play by Djokovic to break Djokovic back. Djokovic broke Isner again, and then Isner broke Djokovic again to bring it to a tiebreak. It was trying and frustrating times for Djokovic and his camp, as he just couldn't finish it. Isner dominated the tiebreaker as he usually does and took the set.
But I think that effort sapped most of what Isner had left. His movement seemed increasingly hampered by whatever was wrong with his leg, and his service became vulnerable. Djokovic took advantage and just ran away with the set for a 6-1 triumph in the decider.
Congrats to Nole and his fans. Condolences to Isner and his supporters.
Not a great match, but it definitely had drama. It was worrying that Djokovic got broken twice serving for the match. I don't remember that happening for a long time. But as Djokovic said later, maybe it was fitting to lose that set after escaping in the 1st set.
Here are Novak's thoughts following the match, about it, and the upcoming final vs. Federer.
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:10614564 (http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:10614564)
At any rate, Nole will need to play much better in the final if Federer is anything like he was against Dolgopolov.
Here is Federer's post match on court interview including Funny part about Federer's missing coaches. :)
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:10614676 (http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:10614676)
Game time is 2 pm. Weather forecast is for hot and dry (90 F. 10% humidity), but only light variable winds (< 5 mph). So it should be perfect playing weather.
[2] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. [7] Roger Federer (SUI)
Call it!
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
It's 3-1 Nole in the final set. If Nole wins this will be the first one that I got right this (crappy) tournament.
This has never happened where I have been wrong throughout the tournament on every single match.
Upset.
-
dolgopolov also rakes in a lot of points for making the semis.
he was not going to beat Fed under any conditions. Federer is playing well.
-
Well, one semifinal is done, and fast. The conditions entered the picture big time. Very windy. Dolgopolov hung in there for about 1/2 set, but he was clearly uncomfortable in the wind and finally got broken, and Roger finished the first set 6-3. After that, Federer's play even got better, and Dolgopolov was left talking to himself, getting broken in his first service game in the second set, then getting broken again in a very long service game for 4-1, then again to lose the second set 6-1.
Federer had 12 winners and 12 unforced errors, which was very very good for the windy conditions. Dolgopolov had 12 winners and something like 25 unforced errors and as usual a poor 1st service in percentage (maybe 40%?) that he couldn't overcome.
He was basically schooled in these conditions, which was unfortunate for Dolgopolov who was playing better than that, but I'm sure it was a good learning experience, and for making it to the semi's he still earns over $200,000, so not so bad on the whole.
If it stays windy, I think Djokovic is going to have a difficult time. Wind usually favors the better server as long as he doesn't have a high toss. But, who knows, right?
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
I agree. isner has a chance at an upset.
he took nole out at the last cinci masters as well as general masterclass has pointed out.
isner can get him by dragging him into a couple of breakers.
general Tee is correct. this could happen.
-
You're probably right General Hercules, but....
I think Federer should beat Dolgopolov in the first match. But you never know. It's an early afternoon match with a sunny day and warm temps predicted (high of 32 C/90 F), so the balls will be flying fast and bouncing relatively high if it with topspin. Dolgopolov is playing with house money at the moment. No real pressure, and if he can really get on fire, he certainly has the athleticism to challenge Federer. He's very speedy and has a variety of shots. But I'm not sure about his stamina. If Federer can't succeed well enough with his normal aggressive game, he might go to plan B and try to wear Dolgopolov out. Similar to what he did with Andy Murray at the Australian Open after losing the 3rd set tiebreaker. He knew Andy was not match fit, stopped serving and volleying, made the games and points drag out and took advantage of that in the end. Anyway, we will see. I think Federer should win it in 2, but if he lapses, then it could go three, and who knows?
The second match is too close for me to call. Isner loves this tournament's conditions during the day. He's unbeaten against Nole in the USA masters. The balls fly fast in the desert making it good for servers, but then once the ball is in play, the court is very gritty and the ball bounces high giving time for even the worst movers to get to the ball easier. His serve comes from the clouds and he has a great kick second serve which on this surface threatens to go over a player's head. I think Nole has trouble with those, more than the first serve. Isner is difficult to break, and most of the time he has balls of steel in tiebreakers unless you can exhaust him. That has to be Nole's strategy in my opinion. Get as much as he can back, hope Isner has an off day serving, move Isner around, and try to tire him out. If he can do that better than Isner can serve, then I think Nole will win. If Isner serves well and doesn't have many long rally points, I think Isner will take it, especially if he can get it to a tiebreaker or breaks Nole (less likely). Another intangible might be the result of the 1st match. If Dolgopolov wins, I think Djokovic will find a way to beat Isner, come hell or high water.
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
I believe that Isner can upset Nole just like he did a couple of years ago in Indian Wells ;)
-
it is looking like a Federer vs Nole final to me.
dolgopolov's train ride ends today.
-
So Isner beat Gulbis in two straight tiebreakers. He has a superb record in tiebreakers.
And Djokovic beat Benneteau comfortably, 6-1, 6-3.
So now the semifinals are set.
Saturday's schedule:
Stadium 1 - 12:00 Noon
[28] Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) vs. [7] Roger Federer (SUI)
Followed by:
[12] John Isner (USA) vs. [2] Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Not before 5:30 pm:
[1] Bob Bryan (USA)/Mike Bryan (USA) vs. [2] Alexander Peya (AUT)/Bruno Soares (BRA)
Who do you think will win? Whom would you like to win?
Respectfully,
masterclass
Think will win-Dolgopolov Want to win-Dolgopolov
Think will win-Nole Want to win-Nole
Hate that Nole will increase his points on Nadal, but can't get into Isner, at all.
-
So Isner beat Gulbis in two straight tiebreakers. He has a superb record in tiebreakers.
And Djokovic beat Benneteau comfortably, 6-1, 6-3.
So now the semifinals are set.
Saturday's schedule:
Stadium 1 - 12:00 Noon
[28] Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) vs. [7] Roger Federer (SUI)
Followed by:
[12] John Isner (USA) vs. [2] Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Not before 5:30 pm:
[1] Bob Bryan (USA)/Mike Bryan (USA) vs. [2] Alexander Peya (AUT)/Bruno Soares (BRA)
Who do you think will win? Whom would you like to win?
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
I think I'll be at home just in time to catch Isner and Gulbis match. Not only I think it will be a great match but also it will be fun time for me since I like both. So ho hum. But perhaps that's also going to be my last match watching as my friend and sister will be staying with me over the weekend.
-
As I said yesterday, there was no better time for Dolgo to get Raonic than now and he did that. Raonic tends to get a bit overwhelmed after he beats a worthy opponent and it's easy to get him after that. Dolgo was smart enough to realize that and didn't leave any room for mistakes for Raonic.
Anderson, like Raonic, also came out very flat after that big win over Wawrinka. No wonder Federer was all over him. That's a shame. I wish these players wouldn't get so overwhelmed by these occasions.
On a different note, I don't see Raonic beating Murray as an 'upset'. None of the QTR final losses were upsets. I don't even see Anderson beating Wawrinka a true upset. Somewhat maybe but definitely not as big an upset as taking either Nadal or Nole out who are/were the main threats of this tournament.
Frankly, I don't see any player who is ranked within 30 taking either Murray or Federrer out as an upset.
The only true upsets happened when the likes of Nadal, Berdych, Tsonga went out early in this tournament.
So I don't buy into this 'upset' hype. All that matter is who is in what kind of form at the moment. If a red hot player goes out early who was a true contender of the title is what I consider a true upset.
-
Federer will be ranked #4 in the world if he can snatch this title.
Dolgopolov is surprising everybody this year. evidently he can perform his magic on any surface.
-
Ok, so one semifinal is set and one upset in the bag.
Dolgopolov toyed with Raonic, beating him 6-3, 6-4. He even spotted Milos a 3-0 lead in the second, and came back to break Raonic twice and take the match going away. He obviously read the Milos serve well, allowing Raonic only 4 aces. Very consistent good play from the Ukrainian Speedster.
Maybe the best I've seen from him. He'll need it. He faces Roger Federer next, who is in excellent form.
On a coolish windy evening, after a fairly close first set, at least in the scoreline, Roger Federer blasted past Kevin Anderson like he was standing still. Federer was almost untouchable on serve for long portions of the match. He was in most of Anderson's service games, Kevin escaping from a love-40 in the 1st set once, but not the second time at the crucial 5-6 juncture to hand Roger the set. Federer broke Anderson right away in the second set and then again, and in about 15 minutes was up 5-0, and finished it out in a total of 69 minutes with a breadstick, 7-5, 6-1.
It seems that Federer needed to finish quickly to get a few hours rest for his all important semifinal doubles match in the morning at 11:45 am. ;)
Congrats to Dolgopolov and Federer and their supporters. Commiserations to Raonic and Anderson and their fans. They played about as well as could be expected.
Novak has the early afternoon singles match against Benneteau at 1:30 pm, followed by Isner vs. Gulbis.
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
haha, Em, I'm sure you're joking. ;) These guys need to earn their wins over the top guys.
If they don't earn it, they don't deserve it.
Giving it to them is not going to help them in the long term.
Besides, these days, they have a good chance with some of the inconsistent play I've seen lately at the top.
I'm predicting at least one more upset before the final.
Respectfully,
masterclass
I have a feeling you are very keen on Nole vs Gulbis or Nole vs Isner match. ;)
-
haha, Em, I'm sure you're joking. ;) These guys need to earn their wins over the top guys.
If they don't earn it, they don't deserve it.
Giving it to them is not going to help them in the long term.
Besides, these days, they have a good chance with some of the inconsistent play I've seen lately at the top.
I'm predicting at least one more upset before the final.
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
If I am to be honest, I'd kick both Federer and Nole out of the tournament and let one of the remaining guys to win the title. That would be so refreshing and interesting at least for once.
-
So the quarterfinals are set. I'll bold my wants.
[28] Dolgopolov vs. [10] Raonic
[17] Anderson vs. [7] Federer
Isner vs. [20] Gulbis
Benneteau vs. [2] Djokovic
I'd like to see one of the underdogs win this time. I'd be happy with any of them Dolgopolov, Anderson, or Benneteau. It would be a landmark victory for them and cap off their career so far. Not fond of Gulbis or Isner, so...I'll go with those I do like. Note: This is not who I think will win, rather who I want to win.
Lady TT, if the results follow the upset trend so far this tournament, you may have your desires... :)
Respectfully,
masterclass
Ha ha ha. It has been a topsy-turvy tournament. I'll be happy for anyone who wins, after all it is their profession! It would just be nice to see a new winner and the look on their face.
-
So the quarterfinals are set. I'll bold my wants.
[28] Dolgopolov vs. [10] Raonic
[17] Anderson vs. [7] Federer
Isner vs. [20] Gulbis
Benneteau vs. [2] Djokovic
I'd like to see one of the underdogs win this time. I'd be happy with any of them Dolgopolov, Anderson, or Benneteau. It would be a landmark victory for them and cap off their career so far. Not fond of Gulbis or Isner, so...I'll go with those I do like. Note: This is not who I think will win, rather who I want to win.
Lady TT, if the results follow the upset trend so far this tournament, you may have your desires... :)
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
Betting odds to win the tournament... but what do they know... ;) Ask the experts at Camelot. ;)
Djokovic N. 1.64
Federer R. 3.71
Gulbis E. 13.20
Raonic M.16.00
Dolgopolov A. 19.60
Isner J. 23.20
Anderson K. 58.80
Benneteau J. 76.00
Respectfully,
masterclass
I am failing to see why Dolgo and Raonic are above Isner but then again the bookies were dead wrong about the AO. haha
-
So the quarterfinals are set. I'll bold my wants.
[28] Dolgopolov vs. [10] Raonic
[17] Anderson vs. [7] Federer
Isner vs. [20] Gulbis
Benneteau vs. [2] Djokovic
I'd like to see one of the underdogs win this time. I'd be happy with any of them Dolgopolov, Anderson, or Benneteau. It would be a landmark victory for them and cap off their career so far. Not fond of Gulbis or Isner, so...I'll go with those I do like. Note: This is not who I think will win, rather who I want to win.
-
Betting odds to win the tournament... but what do they know... ;) Ask the experts at Camelot. ;)
Djokovic N. 1.64
Federer R. 3.71
Gulbis E. 13.20
Raonic M.16.00
Dolgopolov A. 19.60
Isner J. 23.20
Anderson K. 58.80
Benneteau J. 76.00
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
The H2H between Isner and Raonic swings in Isner's favour though and I don't think it will change if Isner is fit and fresh.
-
I am very happy to see Anderson do well. this title will probably be very tough to get his hands on but what a story it will be if it happens.
-
I would personally like to see USA's Isner vs. Canada's Raonic in the final. What a blast and lift that would be for North American tennis! 8)
But as long as the final has great tennis played, it doesn't matter to me who is there. ;D
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
I am cool with anyone winning this title as long as Federer goes out next.
Personally I'd love for either Nole or Gulbis to take it, but Isner or Dolgo or Anderson will be equally welcoming.
Gulbis has a very tough match ahead of him but if he keeps head cool and doesn't get tentative or angry, I really see him getting past Isner.
First meeting for Dolgo and Raonic. No better time for Dolgo to get Raonic and he totally should.
Really hope Anderson is not over the moon after beating Wawrinka. He needs to stay on course.
And best of luck to Nole.
-
Spot on general. Doubles helps with focus, reflexes, returns, placement, and net play when done properly.
And Federer/Wawrinka have made it to the doubles semis defeating the #4 seeds, Paes/Stepanek in the super tiebreaker. So it is guaranteed that an American pair will be in the final, as the doubles #1 ranked Bryan brothers will now play Isner/Querrey, while Federer/Wawrinka will play the #2 doubles seeds, Peya/Soares.
Note that there have only been 2 men in the history of Indian Wells (since 1976) that have won the singles and doubles title in the same year. Jim Courier did it in 1991 with Javier Sanchez, and Boris Becker did it in 1988 with Guy Forget. Can this be the third time it happens?
Novak Djokovic took the final QF spot with a come from behind 3 set victory over Marin Cilic for his 8th win without a defeat against him. I still don't like his level, but it has been sufficient to get him through his fairly easy draw so far where none of his 3 opponents ever had a victory over him and he only played one seeded player, #24 Cilic. His next match will see him play another unseeded player, Julian Benneteau, who has only a single victory over Novak in 6 attempts, which was at Indian Wells in 2006. I'm afraid he might be undercooked when he gets to the semifinal and has to play either big serving Isner or the mercurial Gulbis, but we will see. If Isner and Djokovic get through, we will see a rematch of their 2012 semifinal, where Isner prevailed in the deciding set tiebreaker.
So the quarterfinals are set. I'll bold my picks.
[28] Dolgopolov vs. [10] Raonic
[17] Anderson vs. [7] Federer
[12] Isner vs. [20] Gulbis
Benneteau vs. [2] Djokovic
Isner-Gulbis should be the most interesting match. Gulbis has a slight edge in the H2H, 2-1, but I'll give the edge to Isner on these courts. The ball flies through the air fast, especially during a hot sunny day, which allows the big servers to do their thing, but the court is slow and high bouncing, which allows even the worst movers to balls it off the ground that they normally would not. And Isner can bring his serve down from the clouds and make it bounce higher and as fast as anyone left in the draw. I pick Raonic for similar reasons. Only the last quarter does not feature a big server, so I'll pick the better retriever, but Djokovic has to be steadier than he has been so far.
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
there have been lots of surprises in Indian Wells. that is for sure.
Federer is having a great year. he made the semis in Melbourne and he snatched Dubai.
I think he eyes an opportunity here. his serve is there and he is still armed with a massive game.
I don't know why some of the other players don't learn from Federer: he is a family man and now also old as dirt.
and he is still out there schooling them. it is called intelligent fitness training and intelligent scheduling.
he has never ever had to retire from a match.
he is so fit and so healthy now that he can do both: he can shine in singles as well as in doubles.
general masterclass and I had an advice for him about doubles fully 2 years ago: we suggested that he should start playing more doubles to go along with his singles. why? because it works for him. it actually makes his singles game sharper because he plays his doubles the right way.
for instance, doubles did not help my singles game because I stood on the baseline rocketing forehands and backhands. I played doubles purely for a social activity. but for those who play doubles as it is supposed to be played and needs to be played, it can help your singles game to some extent.
doubles can also help extend your tenure on the ATP circuit well into your late 30s and even 40s. so you want to stay in the sport for a very long time. no problem.
start playing doubles.
-
With both Mr. Murray, OBE's, and Spartan Stan's departure, there are now only 2 Top 10 ranked players left in the draw before the quarter finals. Roger Federer is through to the QF with an excellent straight set performance versus Tommy Haas who played fairly well in a losing effort, but couldn't win enough of the big points. Novak Djokovic will be taking the court later with Marin Cilic, to whom he has never lost.
Andy lost a tough one, but Raonic played well in the final two sets to snatch it. Milos was misfiring in the first set, especially on his normally reliable forehand wing, which might have made it a bit easier for Andy to win the set. I still don't think Andy is quite right with his back, especially when stretching to his backhand side. There was a point where he doubled over and clutched at his left hip where I thought he seemed in real pain. Hopefully it is nothing serious, but thereafter, I didn't see him trying as hard when going wide to his backhand. Also, as the match went on, Andy's 1st serve weakened significantly, and we won't talk about the 2nd serve. Milos, on the other hand looked stronger as the match went on, and in the final game produced aces with about 140 mph speeds, and he also shored up his forehand. Raonic will face the streaky Dolgopolov, who blew away the Fog, in the top bracket of the quarterfinals. I think Andy is capable of making a better showing in Miami, but as I said at the beginning of the year, I don't see him being near his best form until somewhere between the start of the grass season and the US Open hard court series, that is if he stays healthy.
Spartan Stan lost a hard fought 1st set in a meek tiebreaker to Kevin Anderson, after late in the set appeared to suffer a mishap with his back. He went off the court to have the trainer work on it, came back, was a bit tentative at first as the back seemed to be still affecting him, but later seemed to be feeling better, perhaps as some pain killers took hold and took the second set. However, the effort seemed to be too much for him, and Anderson served very well in the 3rd set, while Stan just didn't have it, and Kevin took it easily. His reward? A meeting with Roger Federer in the quarterfinal.
The bottom half has seen Ernests Gubis defeat Bautista-Agut in 3 sets, John Isner beating Verdasco also in 3 sets, and the last Frenchman remaining in the draw, Julian Benneteau, straight setting the last Spaniard in the draw, Feliciano Lopez. Bennetteau will play the winner of the Djokovic-Cilic match, while Isner will face Gulbis.
Which players do you see taking the men's single's quarterfinals?
Oh, by the way, Federer is one of the two last remaining single's player, along with Isner, also alive in the doubles as of now. He and Stan are scheduled to play the #4 seeds, Paes and Stepanek in the doubles QF later on in this evening, but I'm not sure if Stan will be able to play.
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
I have lots of expectations from today's matches but I can't state those, alas.
-
Lots of good matches today. I am really hoping they will call it a day at work any moment and let us go home because of the snow storm situation. We are likely to get 15-20cm today so the commute will be abysmal.
-
Some good matches today:
Robredo vs Cilic
Thiem vs Benneteau
Gasquet vs Verdasco
Gulbis vs Dimitrov
Gonzalez vs Nole will be quite flat I take it - given first time meeting, even so.
-
I couldn't agree more general. I think it's time to call it a day on the hard courts. He's had a lot of success there in the last year, but you can't cheat the odds so long.
"Clay is the wellspring from which his game flows."
Now I'm not in Rafa's camp, but if it were me, here is what I would do. I think I would withdraw from Miami. Other than last year's anomaly, nothing good in Nadal's career came from playing the late winter, early spring hard courts. They have been the source of many injuries and his later problems. Use the time between now and Miami to completely rest and recuperate any remaining back problems. Then when it looks good, get on his Manacor clay courts (not his practice hard court abomination), and get that needed foundation under himself before playing Monte-Carlo.
If he doesn't do this, I think he'll be facing much of what Federer did last year. Poorer play caused by compensating and trying to protect his injury, followed by declining confidence levels leading to bad decisions, leading to more poor play and more lack of confidence. He needs to halt this spiral in its tracks now.
His serve is inconsistent at best. He did serve some 120 mph first serves yesterday, but had only a couple of aces. His second serve was very returnable.
But the serve has hardly been his forte anyway. What is hurting him is his return. It is woeful. He's again returning from the fence, maybe he should stand in the desert. This is just a big signal to his opponent that he has no confidence. The return comes back short so many times with nothing on it and his waiting to be punished. But now this trend is carrying to his ground strokes. He's fallen into that pattern of running around his backhand and opening up his forehand side because of the lack of confidence or power in his backhand. Dolgopolov took full advantage of that yesterday and spanked so many balls with angle on Rafa's forehand side beyond Rafa's reach that I lost count. Rafa needs to get out on the practice court and just hit backhands for about 3 or 4 hours per day once he is healthy again.
I'll stop now. I'm sure general Hercules could come up with other things that need sorting out.
As far as the tournament goes, this upset in the top half adds to the big list of upsets in the bottom half and will send another shock-wave throughout.
I wouldn't be surprised to see another upset of one of the big guns remaining in the top half.
Tommy Haas plays Roger Federer next. Raonic plays Mr. Murray, OBE, and Spartan Stan Wawrinka plays Kevin Anderson.
It starts to get very interesting now for these players with Nadal out of the picture. It's one less hurdle to climb to get to the final.
Respectfully,
masterclass
that is a perfect post. you could not be more spot on if you tried.
this is not rocket science and his camp should be figuring this out by now. basically he gave all he had last year. he delivered the world a year for the ages. 10 titles and #1 ranking that included 2 slams on 2 completely different surfaces.
but the point is that he went all out on the hard courts until he snatched the u.s. open. something had to give so his level started to drop rather significantly after the u.s. open.
fatigue is cumulative for him because of his demanding style of play. he continued his hard court activity which, in turn, continued to exact a toll on his body which would finally quit on him in Melbourne. sooner or later something had to give.
and then he goes farting around with nole in south America that nets him $10-$12 million. the cost there was much needed rest at home and the resumption of serious training at home. so he basically shows up with less than optimal preparation and even some accumulated fatigue. he never let the last season end.
so that $10 million meant a much more serious opportunity cost: he lost a slam which he could have easily won. and now his body is in dire straits still because he would not let the last season end.
he is not hurting for money. his 8 RG crowns are worth nearly $1 billion over the next 40 years.
and as you have pointed out, this is not a new revelation. this has been happening to him over and over again his entire career. he played and won more matches on the hard courts than anyone alive or dead in 2008.
so what happened? he took home the Australian Open but he was nearly dead by the time Oz ended. instead of going home and resting and recuperating, he went to Rotterdam where his body would finally quit on him. he had to finish the final against andy murray on 1 leg.
they offered him a massive appearance fee in Rotterdam so he felt obliged to go take it then try to put on a show for them. he worked way too hard for his wins there while already having been depleted of his mental and physical capital.
he does not know when to back off.
only clay can fix all that ails him now. his ground game is shot now as a result of his back. the bad back wont let him get into any kind of rhythm.
clay is forgiving and soft. he has to go get on it asap after a few days of rest. and even when resting you never take a day off in this sport. never.
vilas, lendl, and muster never did.
lance Armstrong never missed a single day of training. even after his heavy chemo treatments he would go on 50-60 mile training rides.
brian Gottfried practiced for 6 hours on his wedding day.
-
I only found out this morning Nadal lost. I was following his match on my phone last night and the last time I checked the score they were in the 3rd set, Nadal was serving to stay in the match at 4-5.
This is probably not a bad loss for Nadal if he's having back issues. His confidence might also not be there as much after the AO final debacle. But the upcoming clay season should really help to repair all the damages.
-
Rafa played like crap for a second match in a row and deservedly lost this time. Happy for Alex, one of my favorite players.
Now I am wondering if he is going to go to Miami and win some points back. Monte Carlo starts on April 13 which is 34 days from now. If he chooses to play Miami and let's say reaches the Final, he will have less than 2 weeks before Monte Carlo. Interesting decision coming up in the next couple of days.
He may play a few matches, but not go all out, just for the points. I think that's what I'd do.
-
I am afraid its is going to be an early exit in Miami also at this current rate.
I know what he said in his interview: he is full of ****.
he said his back is ok but that the problem was the backhand the forehand. bullshit.
the problem is the bloody back. it is keeping from doing his thing out there on the court.
the guy can barely serve at the moment. the hard courts are not really helping right now with the back issue that wont go away.
that back should have healed and gotten stronger by know. that is my biggest worry.
I don't really give a damn about indian wells and Miami masters titles for him right now.
my worry is the back, the clay season, and RG. he really cant afford to falter on clay.
he nearly lost to andujar and should have in Rio. he was not playing well at all.
rafa and his camp need to make some quick adjustments now to minimize the damage and get healthy fast. that means getting off the hard courts ASAP.
Agree with everything you've said. Sometimes an early loss works for Rafa, because otherwise he won't stop playing. It's always better to sacrifice the smaller prizes in this instance.
Plus, we can't expect him to win everything, so let's save our "grief" should a more devastating loss occur.
I also like Dolgopolov, so it wasn't too bad.
-
I couldn't agree more general. I think it's time to call it a day on the hard courts. He's had a lot of success there in the last year, but you can't cheat the odds so long.
"Clay is the wellspring from which his game flows."
Now I'm not in Rafa's camp, but if it were me, here is what I would do. I think I would withdraw from Miami. Other than last year's anomaly, nothing good in Nadal's career came from playing the late winter, early spring hard courts. They have been the source of many injuries and his later problems. Use the time between now and Miami to completely rest and recuperate any remaining back problems. Then when it looks good, get on his Manacor clay courts (not his practice hard court abomination), and get that needed foundation under himself before playing Monte-Carlo.
If he doesn't do this, I think he'll be facing much of what Federer did last year. Poorer play caused by compensating and trying to protect his injury, followed by declining confidence levels leading to bad decisions, leading to more poor play and more lack of confidence. He needs to halt this spiral in its tracks now.
His serve is inconsistent at best. He did serve some 120 mph first serves yesterday, but had only a couple of aces. His second serve was very returnable.
But the serve has hardly been his forte anyway. What is hurting him is his return. It is woeful. He's again returning from the fence, maybe he should stand in the desert. This is just a big signal to his opponent that he has no confidence. The return comes back short so many times with nothing on it and his waiting to be punished. But now this trend is carrying to his ground strokes. He's fallen into that pattern of running around his backhand and opening up his forehand side because of the lack of confidence or power in his backhand. Dolgopolov took full advantage of that yesterday and spanked so many balls with angle on Rafa's forehand side beyond Rafa's reach that I lost count. Rafa needs to get out on the practice court and just hit backhands for about 3 or 4 hours per day once he is healthy again.
I'll stop now. I'm sure general Hercules could come up with other things that need sorting out.
As far as the tournament goes, this upset in the top half adds to the big list of upsets in the bottom half and will send another shock-wave throughout.
I wouldn't be surprised to see another upset of one of the big guns remaining in the top half.
Tommy Haas plays Roger Federer next. Raonic plays Mr. Murray, OBE, and Spartan Stan Wawrinka plays Kevin Anderson.
It starts to get very interesting now for these players with Nadal out of the picture. It's one less hurdle to climb to get to the final.
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
I am afraid its is going to be an early exit in Miami also at this current rate.
I know what he said in his interview: he is full of ****.
he said his back is ok but that the problem was the backhand the forehand. bullshit.
the problem is the bloody back. it is keeping from doing his thing out there on the court.
the guy can barely serve at the moment. the hard courts are not really helping right now with the back issue that wont go away.
that back should have healed and gotten stronger by know. that is my biggest worry.
I don't really give a damn about indian wells and Miami masters titles for him right now.
my worry is the back, the clay season, and RG. he really cant afford to falter on clay.
he nearly lost to andujar and should have in Rio. he was not playing well at all.
rafa and his camp need to make some quick adjustments now to minimize the damage and get healthy fast. that means getting off the hard courts ASAP.
-
Rafa played like crap for a second match in a row and deservedly lost this time. Happy for Alex, one of my favorite players.
Now I am wondering if he is going to go to Miami and win some points back. Monte Carlo starts on April 13 which is 34 days from now. If he chooses to play Miami and let's say reaches the Final, he will have less than 2 weeks before Monte Carlo. Interesting decision coming up in the next couple of days.
-
Agreed general hercules, and the upsets continue with a vengeance in the bottom half of the draw with Novak as the chief beneficiary in his QF where a guaranteed unseeded player will be on one side of the net.
Bet on the clay court retrieving type players or players that love a high bounce - balls are bouncing high on the IW "blue clay" as usual in the desert sun.
Attacking players are having to risk too much and are spraying unforced errors left, right, into the net and over the baseline in an effort to win a point instead of playing not to lose a point. Only chance for these kind of players is if an unlikely desert cold front storm arrives that drops the temps like it did a couple of years ago.
#6 Del Potro withdrew.
Bautista-Agut beat #4 Berdych
Benneteau beat #9 Tsonga
Thiem beat #21 Gilles Simon
Lu beat #22 Kohlschreiber
Kukushkin beat #25 Pospisil
Nieminen beat #26 F. Mayer
Gonzalez beat #31 Dodig
So who is left in the Djokovic half of the draw?
#8 Gasquet now heads the 3rd quarter (formerly #4 Berdych's), and he will play #30 Verdasco next. I wouldn't count Verdasco out.
The winner of that match will play the winner of unseeded Lu and #12 John Isner. Isner should take that, he loves the high bounce into his 6'9" frame, and his kick second serve bites and takes off like a rocket on the gritty court.
In the other 1/8, #15 Dimitrov and #20 Gulbis will face off and the winner of that match will play one of the unseeded players, Nieminen or Bautista-Agut.
In Djokovic's quarter, the top 1/8 will showcase 4 unseeded players. Lopez vs Kukuskin and Thiem vs. Benneteau.
Djokovic's 1/8th will have #16 Robredo vs. the in-form #24 Cilic and the winner will play the winner of unseeded Gonzalez vs. Djokovic.
I would like to see Isner vs Dimitrov in the 3rd QF.
Djokovic's 4th round vs Robredo or Cilic will likely be his toughest match of the tournament till the semifinals.
Much like at the AO, I think the winner of the depleted bottom half will half the best chance to win the tournament.
The top half guys will be fighting hard just to make the final and the last man standing will probably be out of gas.
But you never know. The top half could open up for a player and it might get easier.
Respectfully,
masterclass
Good stuff, masterclass. That list of who's gone is scary.
This has been a tournament riddled with upsets.
-
Roberto bautista agut's upset of the #4 seed is simply massive.
the Spanish warriors just keep coming.
You like your Spanish warriors so much that you were even pulling Andujar over Andy the other week. I am sure you like Andy but I am also sure you don't like him over your 'spanish warriors'. lol
-
del potro knew he had that wrist issue. I wonder why he chose to play both singles and doubles to begin with.
He must have entered much earlier and decided to wait until the very last minute to pull out. He must have wanted to see how his wrist was feeling at that point of time.
-
Rafa continues to struggle with lower back issues. this may open up some opportunities for others as the tournament progresses.
I have a feeling that Federer is quite capable of making a deep run here. I think he will run down Stan in the quarters.
top 1/2 could see a surprise. Nole may not be the one to make the final. we will just have to see. Isner has lost some of his edge that he displayed 2 years back but he could be coming around.
Cilic may be playing the best tennis of his career. And then there is Dynamitrov. His stock is definitely on the rise.
-
Agreed general hercules, and the upsets continue with a vengeance in the bottom half of the draw with Novak as the chief beneficiary in his QF where a guaranteed unseeded player will be on one side of the net.
Bet on the clay court retrieving type players or players that love a high bounce - balls are bouncing high on the IW "blue clay" as usual in the desert sun.
Attacking players are having to risk too much and are spraying unforced errors left, right, into the net and over the baseline in an effort to win a point instead of playing not to lose a point. Only chance for these kind of players is if an unlikely desert cold front storm arrives that drops the temps like it did a couple of years ago.
#6 Del Potro withdrew.
Bautista-Agut beat #4 Berdych
Benneteau beat #9 Tsonga
Thiem beat #21 Gilles Simon
Lu beat #22 Kohlschreiber
Kukushkin beat #25 Pospisil
Nieminen beat #26 F. Mayer
Gonzalez beat #31 Dodig
So who is left in the Djokovic half of the draw?
#8 Gasquet now heads the 3rd quarter (formerly #4 Berdych's), and he will play #30 Verdasco next. I wouldn't count Verdasco out.
The winner of that match will play the winner of unseeded Lu and #12 John Isner. Isner should take that, he loves the high bounce into his 6'9" frame, and his kick second serve bites and takes off like a rocket on the gritty court.
In the other 1/8, #15 Dimitrov and #20 Gulbis will face off and the winner of that match will play one of the unseeded players, Nieminen or Bautista-Agut.
In Djokovic's quarter, the top 1/8 will showcase 4 unseeded players. Lopez vs Kukuskin and Thiem vs. Benneteau.
Djokovic's 1/8th will have #16 Robredo vs. the in-form #24 Cilic and the winner will play the winner of unseeded Gonzalez vs. Djokovic.
I would like to see Isner vs Dimitrov in the 3rd QF.
Djokovic's 4th round vs Robredo or Cilic will likely be his toughest match of the tournament till the semifinals.
Much like at the AO, I think the winner of the depleted bottom half will half the best chance to win the tournament.
The top half guys will be fighting hard just to make the final and the last man standing will probably be out of gas.
But you never know. The top half could open up for a player and it might get easier.
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
Roberto bautista agut's upset of the #4 seed is simply massive.
the Spanish warriors just keep coming.
-
order of play for Monday:
looks like Federer has double duty: both singles and doubles.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Scores/schedule.aspx?EventId=404
-
del potro knew he had that wrist issue. I wonder why he chose to play both singles and doubles to begin with.
-
Juan Martin del Potro has withdrawn prior to his first scheduled singles match.
Not sure why he didn't withdraw prior to the IW draw as he just withdrew in Dubai due to his left wrist injury.
Now a lucky loser, Brit and world #160, James Ward, replaces del Potro in the 6th seed slot in the Djokovic quarter, will inherit the del Potro bye, and will play Feliciano Lopez in the 2nd round.
#9 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is the highest remaining seed in the Djokovic quarter.
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
order of play for today:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Scores/schedule.aspx?EventId=404
-
order of play for Saturday is here:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Scores/schedule.aspx?EventId=404
-
order of play is here for Friday:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Scores/schedule.aspx?EventId=404
-
Men's doubles draw (http://www.atpworldtour.com/Share/Event-Draws.aspx?Year=2014&EventId=404&Draw=md)
Favorites #1 Bryan brothers are in the top half, and the #2 seeds Peya/Soares are in the bottom half.
8 out of the top 10 seeded Singles players are playing doubles at Indian Wells.
Top Half
#6 Del Potro/Cilic
#9 Tsonga/Mahut
Bottom Half
#2 Djokovic/Krainovic
#3 Wawrinka/#7 Federer
#5 Andy Murray, OBE /Marray
#8 Gasquet/Erlich
#10 Raonic/Gulbis
Only the #1 seed Rafael Nadal and #4 Tomas Berdych are not playing doubles. I guess Marc Lopez couldn't convince Rafa to play, and Stepanek is playing with Paes instead of Berdych :)
The Swiss, French, British, and Italian pairs may be looking to get some matches in for the all important Davis Cup QF preparations (Apr 4-6).
Other notable normal singles player pairings:
Isner/Querrey
Fognini/Seppi
Verdasco/Marrero
Janowicz/Kohlschreiber
Robredo/Feli Lopez
Simon/Chardy
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
Here's the link to the Singles draw:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/share/event-draws.aspx?year=2014&eventid=404&draw=ms
-
I don't think it gets tough for Rafa till the QF. Stepanek/Istomin are no match, Dolgopolov and Monfils/Fognini are all very inconsistent.
Murray might have the toughest road.
Respectfully,
masterclasss
Indeed. On top of that, he doesn't do well in IW.
-
great stuff general masterclass.
thanks for posting the draw.
-
I don't think it gets tough for Rafa till the QF. Stepanek/Istomin are no match, Dolgopolov and Monfils/Fognini are all very inconsistent.
Murray might have the toughest road.
Respectfully,
masterclasss
-
Men's Singles Main Draw in post #1....
Potential QF's
Nadal - Murray
Wawrinka - Federer
Gasquet - Berdych
Djokovic - Del Potro (he's injured, but playing? Tsonga is in Del Potro's eighth)
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
rafa still has back issues.
he is asking for trouble if he plays doubles along with singles.
it is also a waste of time for him and it takes the all important focus away from his singles.
-
Seems that Marc Lopez's doubles partner, Marcel Granollers is out until Miami.
I wonder who will be Marcel's replacement? Didn't Rafa and Marc win the doubles championship at Indian Wells in 2012, and 2010 if memory serves?
Respectfully,
masterclass
-
lets get ready to party.
it is nearly show time in Indian Wells.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Ew it, ew it (strobe light flashes on and off.
-
lets get ready to party.
it is nearly show time in Indian Wells.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
-
lets get ready to party.
it is nearly show time in Indian Wells.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Speaking of which, here's Rafa's IW kit.
http://rafaelnadalfans.com/2014/02/06/rafael-nadals-nike-spring-2014-outfit-lunar-ballistec-shoes-crew-turf-tee-gladiator-shorts/
-
lets get ready to party.
it is nearly show time in Indian Wells.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
-
I remember last year very well as I saw a lot of the matches live. Del Potro was on a solid run beating 2 top HC specialists on his way to the final and then eventually running out of gas. He gave some memorable performances there. Too bad he didn't get the title. Just ran out of luck with the draw. It's a crazy requirement to beat Murray, Nole and Nadal in succession in a Masters tournament. Given his form at that time, he could have won his first Masters title. Another time he came very close was back in 2009, I think, in Montreal, where he won the first set but then lost the next two to Andy. But he then went on to win the USO by beating Nadal in straight in the semi and then Federer in a very well fought 5 sets match in the final.
But I still feel his Indian Wells performance was higher quality than the Montreal one or even the USO one.
-
Totally agree.
Everyone has a lot to play for.
It will be difficult for Rafa to defend this one, but I sure hope he does.
-
this is almost here.
lets get this party started.
competition is going to be absolutely brutal there this year.
-
06.03.2014 BNP Paribas Open
Indian Wells, U.S.A. Hard $ 4,720,380
($ 6,169,040) SGL 96 DBL 32 Email Inquiry
+1 800 999 1585
Men's Singles Main Draw
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bh69_H4CQAARhbG.jpg:large)