sell vidic, buy djokovic
Tennis Thread 2011
- Thread starter wr8_utd
- Start date
Needs to bulk up.
Well he did take some MTO's the match before so he didn't miss out in Miami
Djokovic is in a great form at the moment. Fed is looking shaky, a lot of UF errors when a big match comes.
Djokovic can genuinely beat Nadal this year on clay, much more mature these days...
Nah I don't think Djokovic will beat Nadal more than maybe once on clay.
Djokovic is by far the King of Hard Courts and Nadal, in his first two tournaments back, really gave Djokovic a run for his money. And this is Djokovic in the form of his life.
Nadal won't let lead slips the way he did at IW and Miami when it comes to Clay imo.
Djokovic is by far the King of Hard Courts and Nadal, in his first two tournaments back, really gave Djokovic a run for his money. And this is Djokovic in the form of his life.
Nadal won't let lead slips the way he did at IW and Miami when it comes to Clay imo.
Looking forward to the Clay court season i must say
As for Djokovic what a year hes having, easily the best HC player around now, on current form hes the Nadal of Clay, will be a big threat at Wimbeldon to.
As for him competing with Nadal on clay though, not a chance, if Nadals anything close to 100% he'll stroll the clay season as easily as ever, no ones in his league on that surface.
As for Djokovic what a year hes having, easily the best HC player around now, on current form hes the Nadal of Clay, will be a big threat at Wimbeldon to.
As for him competing with Nadal on clay though, not a chance, if Nadals anything close to 100% he'll stroll the clay season as easily as ever, no ones in his league on that surface.
Monte-Carlo? If Nadal is fit, I'd be genuinely surprised if he pulled it off here
Madrid? Altitude plus it plays faster than most other clay courts, there's a possibility, but then I think fitness would come into it, and Djokovic would probably tire first
Rome? Maybe, it's his best chance as it's the last tourney before the French Open.
The French Open itself? Least likely. He'd have to blow Nadal off the court like Soderling did and keep up that level for 3 sets which is very unlikely.
Miami and IW are slow hardcourts and Nadal still gave Djokovic in his best form some trouble, with the extra confidence that comes from playing on clay, I think Djokovic would have to really pull off something special to have a chance.
Serena Williams just moved up to number 10 in the rankings despite having not played even one set of tennis since Wimbledon last year 
The Ranking system is so flawed!
The Ranking system is so flawed!
I think it's also the advantage that playing so few tourneys besides Slams gives Serena. If Wozniacki who has lots of points outsides slams and plays lots of events were to be injured for the same amount of time, she'd probably fall out of the top 20.
Yeah I find this system of defending points quite stupid actually. Djokovic is going to lose massive massive amounts of points in the first quarter of next season unless he goes on a 24-0 record again.
It was designed to try encourage lots of different number ones. Unfortuately it just punishes the top players too much when they go through blips in form.
Well it puts more pressure on players to play as much as possible as they have to defend points and hence makes injuries more likely. All the players complain about the number of games they have to play.
Djokovic pulls out of Monte Carlo citing "knee trouble". Shame about that, would have liked to see Rafa end the Djokovic run
Murray 6-1 6-4 Stepanek
First win for Murray since January.
Murray wins Monte Carlo?
First win for Murray since January.
Murray wins Monte Carlo?
Another win for the "The Andy Murray comeback tour".
3rd round: Murray vs Simon 6-3 6-3
NEXT QF: Frederico Gil (Portugal, number 82)
3rd round: Murray vs Simon 6-3 6-3
NEXT QF: Frederico Gil (Portugal, number 82)
Walkover to the semis really for him. Lets see what he does when he plays a top level player. Nadal has to be favorite for this tournament. He's going for 7 in a row. Vamos Rafa!
Melzer is a set and a break up on Fed. Still don't think he has the nerves to see this one out though.
Melzer wins 6-4 6-4
Murray 6-1 6-4 Stepanek
First win for Murray since January.
Murray wins Monte Carlo?
Looks like his attitude and belief is back. Nice to see, if Murray can just forget the pressure and play his game he's a fantastic player.
Nadal wins 6-1 6-3. Routine win. He still is not at his best on clay though. He's been broken a number of times this tournament. Ljubicic towards the end won 6 points in a row, that's the best anyone has done over Rafa on clay in a year or two.
Winner of Murray vs Gil i.e Murray will play Rafa in the semis while Ferrer and Melzer face off in the second semi.
Winner of Murray vs Gil i.e Murray will play Rafa in the semis while Ferrer and Melzer face off in the second semi.
Murray's draw has been laughably easy. Tired Stepanek, injured Simon and low ranked Gil. Have to give him credit today though, he actually played proper clay court tennis and I thought he was impressive even though Gil was kinda rubbish.
Should be interesting against Nadal tomorrow, who in my view has played just merely "good" so far except for some moments against Gasquet.
Should be interesting against Nadal tomorrow, who in my view has played just merely "good" so far except for some moments against Gasquet.
Murray will beat Nadal tomorrow
Yep. Murray's had no real test at all till now which could actually work against him. Agree with what you said about Rafa as well, he's been nowhere near his best till now on clay.
Murray holds on for 4-4 after a 15 min game. Seriously disappointed by Nadal's play on the 2 break points he had when he just suddenly decided to get negative and play so defensively.
Murray has played very well so far.
Murray has played very well so far.
Vamos!!! Nadal takes it 6-4 but it was really difficult! Probably the hardest test Nadal has faced on clay since Soderling in the 4th Round at RG
Murray gets the early break in the 2nd and Nadal just keeps wasting break points. Some moments of magic apart, this has been probably the most poor clay court tennis Nadal has played in 2 years now. He's missing some shots he would hit eyes closed normally.
PS: And a 5th break point comes and goes in one single game
Score is just 6-4 1-3 and it's already been on for almost 2 hours.
PS: And a 5th break point comes and goes in one single game
Score is just 6-4 1-3 and it's already been on for almost 2 hours.
Murray is also a lit bit injured on his elbow.
Sigh. Double break for Murray. Nadal's serve has been horrendous today. Absolutely horrendous. It's almost like learning how to serve on hard courts has made him forget how to serve on clay.
And yet another stupid unforced error.
Anyway Well done Murray. Hugely impressive set there. First person to take a set off Rafa since Gulbis at Madrid last year I think.
And yet another stupid unforced error.
Anyway Well done Murray. Hugely impressive set there. First person to take a set off Rafa since Gulbis at Madrid last year I think.
Nadal wins 6 of 8 games at the start of the 3rd set and breaks Murray.
A bit of swearing from Murray and arguing with the ref. Will he be banned?
A bit of swearing from Murray and arguing with the ref. Will he be banned?
wr8 going 'Vamos!' was
6-1 in the final set to Nadal. Impressive performance from Murray.
One week ago he couldn't take a set off players outside the top 100 and now he takes a set off Rafa on clay
I think that 2nd set was a real wake up call for Nadal because he finally stepped up his level in that final set.
139-4 Nadal’s record on clay since 2005, a 97.2 winning percentage
One week ago he couldn't take a set off players outside the top 100 and now he takes a set off Rafa on clay
I think that 2nd set was a real wake up call for Nadal because he finally stepped up his level in that final set.
139-4 Nadal’s record on clay since 2005, a 97.2 winning percentage
Oh Mr. Engima. Murray played fantastic tennis in the 2nd set and then in the first game of the 3rd set he got broken and suddenly took a MTO. Is he a cheat as well?
Except the match with Gasquet, this has got to be one of Nadal's worst MC tourneys in terms of where his level of play is at. Making errors which he never does on clay and being more defensive.
Good effort from Murray and a commendable week after the two rubbish ones he had.
Good effort from Murray and a commendable week after the two rubbish ones he had.
Exactly. He's just dropped one set but I honestly don't remember the last time he's played this badly on Clay and Monte Carlo in particular.
His serving in particular seems to have deserted him. Broken around 5-7 times today which is around 5-7 times more than normal.
Nadal played a 3 hour game and Ferrer is in form. Won't be too surprised if the 6 year run ends tomorrow.
anyone watching nadal-ferrer final? Wish I had that fecking massive blue yacht that's in the water behind the court.
Nadal took that first set 6-4 and was a break up in the second and now has bee broken and is 4-5 down. I have never seen Nadal's serve as vulnerable as it is right now. He used to serve better on hard courts 2 years ago even when his serve was rubbish.
Nadal takes it 6-4 7-5
This has been Nadal far far from his best but he's done enough all tournament to get the job done. 7 in a row at Monte Carlo. What a beast
This has been Nadal far far from his best but he's done enough all tournament to get the job done. 7 in a row at Monte Carlo. What a beast
No idea what's with Nadal, but with the serve, movement when you play a shot to his backhand, making too much errors, he seemed to have some issues throughout the week. I really hope the two losses against Djokovic didn't affect him more than usual.
But at a level below his best, he's still better than almost everyone out there on clay. So congrats to him, first player in the open era to win 7 consecutive titles anywhere.
But at a level below his best, he's still better than almost everyone out there on clay. So congrats to him, first player in the open era to win 7 consecutive titles anywhere.
Yup it's quite a staggering record he has here and I wouldn't be shocked if he won 8 or 9 in a row at MC.
And yes he has been making far too many errors. Even today he was hitting some backhand shots so far off target you'd think it was a Fed shank. He probably must have dropped serve more times in this tournament than he did in the entire clay season last year.
And yes he has been making far too many errors. Even today he was hitting some backhand shots so far off target you'd think it was a Fed shank. He probably must have dropped serve more times in this tournament than he did in the entire clay season last year.
Nadal's playing Barca again for some reason. It's a 500 Tournament and a bit of a waste of time imo. He needs to play lesser tournaments.
Anyway he's in the quarters and will play Monfils today hoping to increase his run to 32 games unbeaten.
He still doesn't look at his best though. Getting broken with a strangely high frequency.
Anyway he's in the quarters and will play Monfils today hoping to increase his run to 32 games unbeaten.
He still doesn't look at his best though. Getting broken with a strangely high frequency.
Nadal playing some Dodig in the semis. He gets an early break and then once again gets broken back. I honestly don't know what's up with his game but his serving has been absolutely shocking over the two tournaments. He used to be pretty much unbreakable on clay.