ATP Masters 1000: MIAMI

The main draw is out.

Some potentially excellent first round matches: 

Federer-Del Potro

Paire -Gulbis

Coric-Murray

Nadal has a stupidly easy draw. Raonic will probably be replaced by a LL.
Hopefully Stan will teach him a  lesson.

Oh, I just noticed, Rubi got a WC!!!
He may get to play Goffin as his second match.
Davai Andrei!

Federer has shit end of the stick again - but I don't care as long as he manages a swan song slam (that now looks very unlikely).

Couldn't give a fig about Masters when it comes to the very top players.

If Raonic's pathetic performance the other day was anything to go by - he won't be the winner he should be.

FedererKing wrote:Federer has shit end of the stick again - but I don't care as long as he manages a swan song slam (that now looks very unlikely).

Couldn't give a fig about Masters when it comes to the very top players.

If Raonic's pathetic performance the other day was anything to go by - he won't be the winner he should be.

I agree.
For them it's all about slams and glory.

These tournaments are great for youngster's watch though, even if the final result is not in doubt. Rublev lost to Inigo Cervantes (?) in straight sets, got broken 5 (?) times, managed to break his opponent only once. Back to the drawing board, there's a lot of work to do.

Zverev pushed hard by Mmoh, came back from 2 breaks down in the 2nd set to win the tiebreak. Both very error-prone, maybe because of the wind?

Rublev played particularly bad at his last tournament. Not sure why. he is certainly going through ups and downs. His serve is usually pretty good. So something wrong there obviously.

I suppose the tournament begins tomorrow.

Couple of good matches.

I read a really weird thing today where Fed said he injured his knee when he was bathing children.

His boys are nearly 2!!!

I know he's a softie and loves his chikdren, but doesn't he have a wife or a nanny?

Or is Mirka busy maintaining her weight watching soaps on TV? 

Actually I just re-read it...he was preparing to bath the girls, and they are nearly 7!


No wonder he wants to play as long as he can.
I would as well if I were in his shoes.

Poor guy...

noleisthebest wrote:I suppose the tournament begins tomorrow.

Couple of good matches.

I read a really weird thing today where Fed said he injured his knee when he was bathing children.

His boys are nearly 2!!!

I know he's a softie and loves his chikdren, but doesn't he have a wife or a nanny?

Or is Mirka busy maintaining her weight watching soaps on TV? 

Langue de vipere!

I wanted to see Ymer v Delbonis but teh lights went off. ..Only in America!

I saw Ymer in Roehampton.
No obvious weapons, but a quality young player.

Rubi is the only young one that plays the old-fashioned all out attack.

Maybe Thiem, too.



Match of the Day:

Federer- Del Potro

It's got to be good! 

Will miss it again!

Tenez wrote:Will miss it again!

Actually, I'll be out  till 8 so even I may miss it..

Looks like we will all miss it. Still in Dover! 5h delay! Queue to ship starting 15km before dover. Awful.

Tenez wrote:Looks like we will all miss it. Still in Dover! 5h delay! Queue to ship starting 15km before dover. Awful.

Guess what!
Even Roger missed it! :yiks:

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2016/03/federers-return-from-knee-surgery-delayed-by-stomach-virus/57964/#.VvWmTPDfWrU

This is what I meant in my post.

Tenez wrote:This is what I meant in my post.

I was in a car checking scores and saw Zebalos playing Delpo...really weird!

I was really looking forward to seeing Fed play this week.

His excuses are beginning to sound like Nadal's when he had the silent ban...

Some interestng scores from last night.

Troicki had to save 4 MPs in 3 TBs in order to beat Cervantes (who knocked Rubi out).
A very tough player in fact...similar to Ferrer but more pace on the shots.

Kyle Edmund was a nice surprise: he too can really hit the ball!
Just never looked fast enough for Djokovic whose relentless pace and length variation eventually prevailed.
His excellent defence helped him again, but you could see Edmund caused him more trouble than Murray already.

Nice easy win for Pouille over GG Lopez and Paire over Youzhni.
I'll miss these two SBH veterans when they go...

And of course, Zebalos made the most of his Luck in being the Lucky Loser beating Del Potro...talk about being in the right place at the right time!

Young Zverev fell to Johnson in two TBs, I managed to catch one point where he looked very tired and slow on one BH, sending it into space....

In the meantime.....

Here are Nole-Edmund highlights.

Some nice, hearty shots from the youngster. There is hope for English tennis!

Nadal retires, 3-0 down in 3rd set.

luvsports! wrote:Nadal retires, 3-0 down in 3rd set.

Feel sorry for fans who came to Miami to see Fed and Nadal; they'll have to do with Zeballos and Dzhumur now.

DONALD TRUMP wrote:

luvsports! wrote:Nadal retires, 3-0 down in 3rd set.

Feel sorry for fans who came to Miami to see Fed and Nadal; they'll have to do with Zeballos and Dzhumur now.

Imagine how excited are all Zeballos and Dzhumur fans!

DONALD TRUMP wrote:

luvsports! wrote:Nadal retires, 3-0 down in 3rd set.

Feel sorry for fans who came to Miami to see Fed and Nadal; they'll have to do with Zeballos and Dzhumur now.

It's not that Nadal is playing worse. Dzumhur has clearly caught up to Nadal's talent because Nadal is now in the prime of his life.

Happy Easter, everyone!

O happy day!!! 

Interesting interview with Dzumhur to B92 in which he said he also wanted to retire in yesterday's match.

He said after one long game he felt dizzy and couldn't run as fast any more...

He also said Nadal only dropped physically slightly in the third set.

I reckon he retired just to save face.

http://www.b92.net/sport/tenis/vesti.php?yyyy=2016&mm=03&dd=27&nav_id=1112593

noleisthebest wrote:Interesting interview with Dzumhur to B92 in which he said he also wanted to retire in yesterday's match.

He said after one long game he felt dizzy and couldn't run as fast any more...

He also said Nadal only dropped physically slightly in the third set.

I reckon he retired just to save face.

http://www.b92.net/sport/tenis/vesti.php?yyyy=2016&mm=03&dd=27&nav_id=111259

For sure. Dzumhur, 175cm tall, destroyed Nadal on hard court. Who would say that before the match. Toni needs to focus more on transforming his game.

Excellent tennis from Nole.
Playing quite fast & with the renewed fire for the ball.

Reminded me a lot of his old days.

noleisthebest wrote:Excellent tennis from Nole.
Playing quite fast & with the renewed fire for the ball.

Reminded me a lot of his old days.

That was a really good from Nole and his forehand better than ever, nicely loose shoulders. Sousa is a great competitor, which is what Paire misses. That is a shame.

Yes, I saw only a little of Paire-Gasquet...that really was a disaster from Paire.

He is not cut out for this era, unfortunately which is such a shame as he is a fantastic player and I still love him to bits! 

noleisthebest wrote:Yes, I saw only a little of Paire-Gasquet...that really was a disaster from Paire.

He is not cut out for this era, unfortunately which is such a shame as he is a fantastic player and I still love him to bits! 

When he is playing without a red scarf in front of his eyes, he is an amazing player, despite the fact that his FH terrible. I think he is only well ranked player who runs around his FH and plays BH, which is one of the best.

Whn Paire is on - he is the deadliest player, mainly thanks to his serve.

He and Dolgo are just amazing.

I don't mind they are not robots...life is more than money and glory!

paulcz wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:Interesting interview with Dzumhur to B92 in which he said he also wanted to retire in yesterday's match.

He said after one long game he felt dizzy and couldn't run as fast any more...

He also said Nadal only dropped physically slightly in the third set.

I reckon he retired just to save face.

http://www.b92.net/sport/tenis/vesti.php?yyyy=2016&mm=03&dd=27&nav_id=111259

For sure. Dzumhur, 175cm tall, destroyed Nadal on hard court. Who would say that before the match. Toni needs to focus more on transforming his game.

Top notch analysis from both of you, I'll remember next time I need to analyse a situation to ask one of you guys.

noleisthebest wrote:Whn Paire is on - he is the deadliest player, mainly thanks to his serve.

He and Dolgo are just amazing.

I don't mind they are not robots...life is more than money and glory!

I would pick Monf's tricks on the court, where he is more an entertainer than a player sometimes.

Monf really is a first class showman, and I like the fact he uses his talent to have fun.

Not everyone can be single-minded and determined like Nadal!

Mind you, we keep being told he made tennis popular...scary!

Some good matches on today:

Dolgo-Nishi
Tsonga-Agut
Dimitrov-Murray
Monfils-Cuevas
Mannarino-Kuznetsov

Plenty of great skill on display!

Just read that Pouille beat Ferrer, fantastic win for him! 


I actually saw the score 7::6 6:1 last night but thought it was Ferrer that won by grinding Pouille in that long first set.

paulcz wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:Excellent tennis from Nole.
Playing quite fast & with the renewed fire for the ball.

Reminded me a lot of his old days.

That was a really good from Nole and his forehand better than ever, nicely loose shoulders. Sousa is a great competitor, which is what Paire misses. That is a shame.

He has definitaly improved the forehand.

For me, it was more the way and the spirit he played with...aggressive and full of confidence.

He is timing the ball so well now, sending back a lot of pace with great length.

I'd like another Nole-Simon match, just to see how he'd handle his no pace counterpunching this time.

Simon is one of the rare players that brings his brain to the court.

I am interested to see Thiem vs Nole.

Nole will demolish him.

Dimi has a great game...but he is such a choker....worse than Stan at the same age.

he shoudl have won this second set 6/2 but found himslef a point to 5 all. Just managed to close the set!

Murray played poorly in those last 2 sets. He was tired due to long rallies under Miami heat. Dimi played ok. he coudl play much better but lacks confidence. It's really obvious.

I only saw some of the first set, both played well.

It looks like all the energy is going into the pace of shots now rather than the length of rallies. 
Everyone is striking the ball as hard as they can.

Very happy for Dimi. He needed this win badly. 

Also happy Kuznetsova beat Serena from a set down.

Sveta played like she had to prove something. 

Quite cool and funny how both Zeballos and Dzumhur are still going!

My  is bleeding for the TD...

noleisthebest wrote:Quite cool how both Zeballos and Dzumhur are still going!

My  is bleeding for the TD...

It's about time we change the old guard.

Tenez wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:Quite cool how both Zeballos and Dzumhur are still going!

My  is bleeding for the TD...

It's about time we change the old guard.

It does feel a bit like that, doesn't it?

Only Nole going strong and not declining

luvsports! wrote:I am interested to see Thiem vs Nole.

Me too 

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:

luvsports! wrote:I am interested to see Thiem vs Nole.

Me too 

Unlike your posting frequency!

Welcome back!

Murray can't even smash a racquet