Dubai, Acapulco, Delray.....

I can't believe they are starting Nadal Almagro match 10 PM local time...
Can Almagro do it?

...And the funny thing is that Berdych exploses in joy believing he has just beaten the 17 slam champion...well that Federer would not have won many slams.

noleisthebest wrote:I can't believe they are starting Nadal Almagro match 10 PM local time...
Can Almagro do it?

He certainly can! Whether he believes he can, I seriously doubt.

Tenez wrote:...And the funny thing is that Berdych exploses in joy believing he has just beaten the 17 slam champion...well that Federer would not have won many slams.

Yes, the "beauty" of H2H....

truffin1 wrote: Yesterday Fed is wearing a compression shirt, has no arch to his back during serve (how he served so well was there was no pressure) but they were going on and on about what a beautiful service motion he has, how he's never hurt,etc....... Uh- you don't notice the guy is using a different service motion than the past 1000 matches? That he's wearing a compression shirt?

Something similar on SKYSPORT. Saying how great Berdych was playing but ommitting to say anything about Fed's form. I guess it's part of their job ethic. I had arguments with that and unless it's dead obvious like there is an MTO request, they usually don;t (want maybe) talk about it.

Tenez wrote:

truffin1 wrote: Yesterday Fed is wearing a compression shirt, has no arch to his back during serve (how he served so well was there was no pressure) but they were going on and on about what a beautiful service motion he has, how he's never hurt,etc....... Uh- you don't notice the guy is using a different service motion than the past 1000 matches? That he's wearing a compression shirt?

Something similar on SKYSPORT. Saying how great Berdych was playing but ommitting to say anything about Fed's form. I guess it's part of their job ethic. I had arguments with that and unless it's dead obvious like there is an MTO request, they usually don;t (want maybe) talk about it.

Fed should let his camp leak it out... It's the truth and should be known.
This is turning into a disaster season, and in my experience- at this point in a carreer- it's hard to regain or reclaim the momentum and desire needed to get back....

noleisthebest wrote:Why do you want him to retire?

I wouldn't worry too much about today's loss. And remind yourself about this time last year, did you think, he'd recapture number one and win Wimbledon?

He obviously has some impediment and most likely it's his back. Pure wear and tear. So the only way to "fix" it is to rest it. I'd definitely do hula-hooping, as that relaxes and destiffens the lower back no end, whatever the exact problem is, as there are so many different things that can can go wrong there (I suspect is sciatica).

sciatica is a definite possibility-- I mentioned in another thread a week or so ago-- the way he was squatting, moving in his South African video is exactly what I do when I am in the midst of sciatic pain..

Congratulation to Tomas, to win it from 3 match points with Fed on his surface with most of crowds behind his back is the great success despite Fed is over his peak. Tbh I rather believed Fed, because he lost his match at UO and his surface, so a motivation had to be strong on his side.


Tomas has become by a margin better player than he used to be one year ago. The match showed that Tomas has grown up into a real opponent of top 4. I see as a key break point the DC win in November. Tomas is more confident and believes himself on key points of the match, which was his weakness in the past. The match was pretty close, Tomas won just 3 more total balls, had more 2 Bps vs. Fed 5 more aces. My perceptions was that Tomas was better all court player and Fed had no real weapon how to get the match under his control.

We can speculate how Fed was limited by his back, but this match showed that Tomas has confidence when playing with Fed and Fed's game does not harm Tomas. Tomas leads 4:3 on their h2h from 2010.

Tomas worked very hard for this season, his aim is to get into top5 and get a GS. I wish him and hope that he will do it. Well done

truffin1 wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:Why do you want him to retire?

I wouldn't worry too much about today's loss. And remind yourself about this time last year, did you think, he'd recapture number one and win Wimbledon?

He obviously has some impediment and most likely it's his back. Pure wear and tear. So the only way to "fix" it is to rest it. I'd definitely do hula-hooping, as that relaxes and destiffens the lower back no end, whatever the exact problem is, as there are so many different things that can can go wrong there (I suspect is sciatica).

sciatica is a definite possibility-- I mentioned in another thread a week or so ago-- the way he was squatting, moving in his South African video is exactly what I do when I am in the midst of sciatic pain..

I agree, that sciatica is probably the cause of his trouble. I gues that his low back trouble has been initiated by his SHBH and quite heavy racket. His upper body rotation with his swing is enormous, so his back shows consequences. Let's hope that his back will hold together and he is going to play many matches.

Berankis vs Vasselin, Ferrer vs Fognini just started, anyone watching?
Berankis goes down in 2 easy sets.

Yes...I watched some of the Berankis match. really bizarre. He is very erratic, not focused. A very different player from what we saw at the AO. The conds seem very slow as well for a HC.

I also think his short size will be an issue for his further progress. He seemed able to compensate by a huge talent at the AO...but not so sure now.

Nicolas Almagro.....

Fed's motivation in the recent times have not be the best in my opinion. This has been the case since his AO loss to Murray. His body language suggests he appears "OKAY" with the result and has accepted it. His desire to win is reduced.

He signed autographs for fans after the AO semis loss and also yesterday. He had time and energy even for that?? Some years back he said losing in a final is bad because one has to sit out waiting for the entire Presentation ceremony unlike a earlier loss where one can quickly pack up and head to the locker room. He doesn't like losing to Murray and Berych yet he stayed on court even after the match.

Maybe he is beginning to accept that he can't play like he once did. Its like the normal aging process and though people don't like it in the beginning and try to work towards it, they do eventually accept it.

No good signs at all if he plans to play the Rio Olympics.

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:Fed's motivation in the recent times have not be the best in my opinion. This has been the case since his AO loss to Murray. His body language suggests he appears "OKAY" with the result and has accepted it. His desire to win is reduced.

I saw it differently. He may not have cared about Rotterdam but he seemed genuinely annoyed yesterday...though resigned to his fate as he could not do much. He was not very friendly in his handshake either and seemed angry to see Berdych celebrating his win obliviant of Federer's conds. 5DFs is a bit much for Fed in a 3 setter.

He signed autographs for fans after the AO semis loss and also yesterday. He had time and energy even for that?? Some years back he said losing in a final is bad because one has to sit out waiting for the entire Presentation ceremony unlike a earlier loss where one can quickly pack up and head to the locker room. He doesn't like losing to Murray and Berych yet he stayed on court even after the match.

Sure he doesn't like it but he can see beyond and appreciates all the cheering he got during those matches. He is mature and serein enough to take those losses well. I certainly expects that from him.

Maybe he is beginning to accept that he can't play like he once did. Its like the normal aging process and though people don't like it in the beginning and try to work towards it, they do eventually accept it.

Yes that's more like it but I don't think it's a "normal" aging process. He had back problems already in 2003 so it's only getting worse with age but not meant to be in the first in the first place.....just his achille heel. Look at Tommy Haas considerably older (by tennis pro terms) but looks fresher than Fed nowadays.

No good signs at all if he plans to play the Rio Olympics.

I wonder if a bit of steroids would not help!

Tenez wrote:Yes...I watched some of the Berankis match. really bizarre. He is very erratic, not focused. A very different player from what we saw at the AO. The conds seem very slow as well for a HC.

I also think his short size will be an issue for his further progress. He seemed able to compensate by a huge talent at the AO...but not so sure now.

I had similar thoughts about Berankis last night. I cab't out ny finger in it, but he looked like someone took his wings away.
Vasselin's simple but classuc style strangely made Berankis look mechanical, pattern playing Bolettieri type.
Although, there were a few really good points that remindwd me of why I liked him so much AO.
Maybe he was tired, he played a lot of tight three setters plus qualifications.

Tenez wrote:Nicolas Almagro.....

I even saw a couple of games of Ferrer Fognini and Nadal Almagro match in full slam sofa mode!

Ferrer and Nadal are so boring and monotonous to watch on clay. Fognini looks like a king of style compared to Ferrer, but the grinder simply outlasted him. I only saw a few games of the second set but it was more than enough!
Fognini would have definitely given Nadal a better match in the final.

As for Almagro, great groundstrokes when he's got there on time to hit them properly, but for some reason time and time again was a step too close on those high bouncing backhand balls and lost a lot of points just because he didn't focus a little bit better on that aspect.

Nadal looked the same as in Brasil in terms of wild forehands, but he seemed happy to run just like in the old times.
I have also never seen him sweat so much, it was literally pouring down him, twice as bad as Roddick at his worst!

Great to see a bit of Nole love in Dubai.
GO NOLEEEEEE FOR YOUR 36TH TITLE!!!!!!!!!! (and 55th final)

O-LEEEE O-LE O-LE NOOOOOO-LEEEEEE NOOO-LEEEEE

And Number Uno does the job in straight sets 7:5 6:3.

Not the most exciting match, but both the winner and the loser (and this fan ) knew the outcome before the match started......

Bravo Nole, good week for Berd, too

and now.......

VAMOS DAVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and gulbis!

Congratulation to Nole, 17th win in a row and also credit to Berd, his 2nd consecutive loss in a final.
Nole owns mental armour, I do not know any similar player with such a strong mentality in tennis. Nole, well done

paulcz wrote:Congratulation to Nole, 17th win in a row and also credit to Berd, his 2nd consecutive loss in a final.
Nole owns mental armour, I do not know any similar player with such a strong mentality in tennis. Nole, well done

Yes, credit to Berd!
He has finally matured and nobody can call him a headcase any more.He said that his goal is to try and squeeze in top 5, and he would definitely be a better replacement for Ferrer.

I had a look at the atp race table (which is again now available on their website after two years of mysterious disappearing act) and guess who is second on that list after Nole? Quite a sobering sight!

www.atpworldtour.com/Rankings/YTD-Singles.aspx

Haas & Gulbis to start soon.

I enjoyed Richard Pagliaro's of Tennis.com write-up of today's final, particularly this paragraph:

"This is a comfortable match-up for the six-time Grand Slam champion because he's the more agile athlete, he's quicker around the court, a better ball-striker on the run and shrewder at changing up the spins on his shots, which gives him access to angles the flatter-hitting Berdych can't consistently produce. Though Berdych has scored significant doubles victories in leading the Czech Republic to the Davis Cup, he often looks averse to the front court and is prone to playing clunky volleys under pressure. It cost him when he hammered a backhand down the line to open the court, but bungled a routine high forehand volley, slapping it into net to drop serve for 4-all in a deflating donation."

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/03/dubai-djokovic-d-berdych/46661/#.UTJJoRml3go

noleisthebest wrote:

paulcz wrote:Congratulation to Nole, 17th win in a row and also credit to Berd, his 2nd consecutive loss in a final.
Nole owns mental armour, I do not know any similar player with such a strong mentality in tennis. Nole, well done

Yes, credit to Berd!
He has finally matured and nobody can call him a headcase any more.He said that his goal is to try and squeeze in top 5, and he would definitely be a better replacement for Ferrer.

I had a look at the atp race table (which is again now available on their website after two years of mysterious disappearing act) and guess who is second on that list after Nole? Quite a sobering sight!

[url=http://www.atpworldtour.com/Rankings/YTD-Singles.aspx

www.atpworldtour.com/Rankings/YTD-Singles.aspx[/quote[/url]]
loco smoking David better of Murray, so that is something and before clay season Andy needs to be a better listener to Ivan. Otherwise I do not know whether Murray has a health trouble, perhaps is ok.

noleisthebest wrote:I enjoyed Richard Pagliaro's of Tennis.com write-up of today's final, particularly this paragraph:

"This is a comfortable match-up for the six-time Grand Slam champion because he's the more agile athlete, he's quicker around the court, a better ball-striker on the run and shrewder at changing up the spins on his shots, which gives him access to angles the flatter-hitting Berdych can't consistently produce. Though Berdych has scored significant doubles victories in leading the Czech Republic to the Davis Cup, he often looks averse to the front court and is prone to playing clunky volleys under pressure. It cost him when he hammered a backhand down the line to open the court, but bungled a routine high forehand volley, slapping it into net to drop serve for 4-all in a deflating donation."

[url=http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/03/dubai-djokovic-d-berdych/46661/#.UTJJoRml3go

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/03/dubai-djokovic-d-berdych/46661/#.UTJJoRml3go[/quote[/url]]

Nice truthful article.
It seems to be that Nole loves playing BPs, SPs regardless in which position he is. Nole converted 3 out of 4 and Berd just 1 out of 5. So still the mental edge is clearly on Nole's side. That is something what you can get by your confidence, but Nole is beyond Eearth standard.
Very good to see an extra confidence on Nole's serve. Nole has no problems with playing on fast hc. It is his kingdom.

[quote="paulcz"]

noleisthebest wrote:I enjoyed Richard Pagliaro's of Tennis.com write-up of today's final, particularly this paragraph:

"This is a comfortable match-up for the six-time Grand Slam champion because he's the more agile athlete, he's quicker around the court, a better ball-striker on the run and shrewder at changing up the spins on his shots, which gives him access to angles the flatter-hitting Berdych can't consistently produce. Though Berdych has scored significant doubles victories in leading the Czech Republic to the Davis Cup, he often looks averse to the front court and is prone to playing clunky volleys under pressure. It cost him when he hammered a backhand down the line to open the court, but bungled a routine high forehand volley, slapping it into net to drop serve for 4-all in a deflating donation."

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/03/dubai-djokovic-d-berdych/46661/#.UTJJoRml3go[/quote]

Nice truthful article.
It seems to be that Nole loves playing BPs, SPs regardless in which position he is. Nole converted 3 out of 4 and Berd just 1 out of 5. So still the mental edge is clearly on Nole's side. That is something what you can get by your confidence, but Nole is beyond Eearth standard.
Very good to see an extra confidence on Nole's serve. Nole has no problems with playing on fast hc. It is his kingdom.

Confidence does play a big part, but with Nole in particular confidence shows best in the way he plays his forehand, not so much BPs.
With BPs and even much worse, when he is MPs down (remember The Shot?), it's not the confidence, it's just his character, the daring spirit, the madness to step one step beyond although he doesn't have a clue what he's stepping into, that's the pure daredevil side of him. I know

In Delray, Gulbis won the first set, but is a break down now. Time to tune in, although not particularly curious to watch him, he's changed stg in his tennis, I think it's his forehand, not the same as before. There's always Tommy's backhand to save the day, though

[quote="noleisthebest"]

paulcz wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:I enjoyed Richard Pagliaro's of Tennis.com write-up of today's final, particularly this paragraph:

"This is a comfortable match-up for the six-time Grand Slam champion because he's the more agile athlete, he's quicker around the court, a better ball-striker on the run and shrewder at changing up the spins on his shots, which gives him access to angles the flatter-hitting Berdych can't consistently produce. Though Berdych has scored significant doubles victories in leading the Czech Republic to the Davis Cup, he often looks averse to the front court and is prone to playing clunky volleys under pressure. It cost him when he hammered a backhand down the line to open the court, but bungled a routine high forehand volley, slapping it into net to drop serve for 4-all in a deflating donation."

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/03/dubai-djokovic-d-berdych/46661/#.UTJJoRml3go[/quote]

Nice truthful article.
It seems to be that Nole loves playing BPs, SPs regardless in which position he is. Nole converted 3 out of 4 and Berd just 1 out of 5. So still the mental edge is clearly on Nole's side. That is something what you can get by your confidence, but Nole is beyond Earth standard.
Very good to see an extra confidence on Nole's serve. Nole has no problems with playing on fast hc. It is his kingdom.

Confidence does play a big part, but with Nole in particular confidence shows best in the way he plays his forehand, not so much BPs.
With BPs and even much worse, when he is MPs down (remember The Shot?), it's not the confidence, it's just his character, the daring spirit, the madness to step one step beyond although he doesn't have a clue what he's stepping into, that's the pure daredevil side of him. I know

Yes nitb, his confidence is mostly shown in his FH and by his effort to go to the net. But he is abnormally able to increase game intensity when the ball really matters, to step in the court and play with a high risk. That you can not do without confidence unless you are really mad

He is really mad.
And now one of my often quoted lines from Shakespeare (it's actually J. Dryden, but Shaky used it as the inspiration line for Hamlet):

"There is a pleasure in being mad which none but the madmen know"

and another one:

"If all weren't a little mad we'd be totally insane."

noleisthebest wrote:He is really mad.
And now one of my often quoted lines from Shakespeare (it's actually J. Dryden, but Shaky used it as the inspiration line for Hamlet):

"There is a pleasure in being mad which none but the madmen know"

and another one:

"If all weren't a little mad we'd be totally insane."

Fortunately
..and one Czech similar "if all people were clever, then people would go insane from that"

And Gulbis eats Haas in a brilliant third set tie-break with some Russian roulette style drop-shots

YES go gulbis!

paulcz wrote:Congratulation to Nole, 17th win in a row and also credit to Berd, his 2nd consecutive loss in a final.
Nole owns mental armour, I do not know any similar player with such a strong mentality in tennis. Nole, well done

Nadal was as strong when he was physically superior to verybody else....and Djoko was not that strong mentally when he wasted so many SPs and MPs v Nadal before 2011. He was not that strong mentally when he gave away sets v Murray in that USO12. He is certainly now mentally very strong.....but I'd just say as strong mentally as he is physically stroong....no more no less.

Ferrer -Nadal about to start. Commentators talking about how should the opponents treat Nadal's disrespect when he keeps them waiting at the net. They should sit and sit as long as it has to, never get up till Nadal is up.

OMG!! what a complete ownership by Nadal. Ferrer barely avoided a double . Such a shame, Top seeded, 3 time defending champion and such a meek loss.

Ferrer or dear..

Yes the score is really one sided. We have to bear in mind that was Ferrer's 10th match in 12 days at 31! ...and Nadal certainly made him run his fair share. So though I am surprised by the result maybe we could have anticipated that.

Almagro on the other hand!

I think its Nadal's 2nd consecutive week of final as well. So I'm not sure Ferrer will get the excuse of fatigue. Besides I saw the full match live. It was just not a case of Ferrer running out of breath. Against anyone else he would have been able to run for 3 more hours and still come out the winner.

His shots are so less penetrating, Nadal pounced on every single occasion and ended with a winner. Ferrer simply has nothing to hurt Nadal, not even this Nadal.

I wished Ferrer and Almagro and the other Spaniards had a little less respect for Nadal, they simply don't like to beat him.

I saw the last 4 games of the match only.
I saw a beatable Nadal and an extremely frustrated Ferrer who was playing extra short points by hiting his inside-out forehand with all his might, going for the lines exclusively. Or netting his backhands (all of them).

I don't know what happened in the first set, but what I saw was really buzarre.

Nadal played 2 weeks in a row...2 weeks ago. He took a week off before Acapulco....and he is a bit younger than Ferrer. I am pretty convinced Ferrer was tired exhausted....he woudl have provided a better fight if fit....it's obvious. Not saying he woudl have won but just a normal Ferrer woudl have been much tougher to handle for Rafa.

As expected, heavily injured Nadal playing with permanent pain wins Acapulco with Feru in a grandiose way. Only problem he has on clay is Nole and from that derived Morybundus.

Tenez wrote:

paulcz wrote:Congratulation to Nole, 17th win in a row and also credit to Berd, his 2nd consecutive loss in a final.
Nole owns mental armour, I do not know any similar player with such a strong mentality in tennis. Nole, well done

Nadal was as strong when he was physically superior to verybody else....and Djoko was not that strong mentally when he wasted so many SPs and MPs v Nadal before 2011. He was not that strong mentally when he gave away sets v Murray in that USO12. He is certainly now mentally very strong.....but I'd just say as strong mentally as he is physically stroong....no more no less.

There is a big difference between Nole and Nadal in mental approach when playing key points. Nole often steps into the court, Nadal does the opposite, he steps away. It is the most obvious when they play against each other. So Nole is quite another league.

I am impressed by Vasselin!!! He beat Isner in three sets last night and it will be him vs Gulibs for Delray title tonight.

come on gulbis, get back in the big time!

Tenez wrote:Nadal played 2 weeks in a row...2 weeks ago. He took a week off before Acapulco....and he is a bit younger than Ferrer. I am pretty convinced Ferrer was tired exhausted....he woudl have provided a better fight if fit....it's obvious. Not saying he woudl have won but just a normal Ferrer woudl have been much tougher to handle for Rafa.

Are you kidding me? Nadal won because he is a much better player on clay than Ferrer is. Also, Ferrer is never tired, he is like the Energizer Bunny. Nadal looked pretty strong as far as I could see (I only saw the second set.) Nadal is injured like I am the King of Siam! I think another FO is coming Nadal's way this year.

paulcz wrote:There is a big difference between Nole and Nadal in mental approach when playing key points. Nole often steps into the court, Nadal does the opposite, he steps away. It is the most obvious when they play against each other. So Nole is quite another league.

I give you that...but he has lost a few close matches because of that....often pushing the ball long or netting it.
And also though he steps into the court....he does go for winners...his shot are still measured and pretty safe....unless he is MP down.

BlueClay wrote:

Tenez wrote:Nadal played 2 weeks in a row...2 weeks ago. He took a week off before Acapulco....and he is a bit younger than Ferrer. I am pretty convinced Ferrer was tired exhausted....he woudl have provided a better fight if fit....it's obvious. Not saying he woudl have won but just a normal Ferrer woudl have been much tougher to handle for Rafa.

Are you kidding me? Nadal won because he is a much better player on clay than Ferrer is. Also, Ferrer is never tired, he is like the Energizer Bunny. Nadal looked pretty strong as far as I could see (I only saw the second set.) Nadal is injured like I am the King of Siam! I think another FO is coming Nadal's way this year.

I did not see the match but cannot say....but Ferrer is not energiser bunny he was 2 years ago. He really can get tired...especially if he plays 10 matches in 12 days....there is a limit to what the energiser bunny can do. It's certainly that and Nadal getting back to his best which explains this very sided score.

Tenez wrote:

paulcz wrote:There is a big difference between Nole and Nadal in mental approach when playing key points. Nole often steps into the court, Nadal does the opposite, he steps away. It is the most obvious when they play against each other. So Nole is quite another league.

I give you that...but he has lost a few close matches because of that....often pushing the ball long or netting it.
And also though he steps into the court....he does go for winners...his shot are still measured and pretty safe....unless he is MP down.

When the ball really matters then I see Nole as one who plays with the highest risk margin against his standard.
Yes, instead of huge bashing he rather steps up into the court and plays angles, but he is the best on doing this, so why he should take a big risk to go for clear winners when his racket and slimmer body does not allow him to do it easily.
Nole's avg BL ball speed can not be as fast as Fed/Berdych. Nole plays with a bigger frame and string pattern 18/20.
Even if he hits flatter, he would not generate such a power. He just does not have a huge body of Berd or Fed's racket. I am convinced that his semiwestern grip suits him well because he uses his wrist quite often and eastern grip would not allow him to play around it as he likes.

Nole's racket is chosen due to his game, which is great base line with controlled hitting. It matches with his superb body elasticity, body weight and stamina. But his switch to a smaller frame shows that he was going to speed his hitting up, to help his serve and net game. So, the way he goes is absolutely right.

Murray plays with 2 inches smaller frame (98sq.inch.) and these 2 inches are fairly visible when he serves, bashes winners and also on his volleys.

If the game is going to speed up, then it is on the place to think about another frame decrease. But if it works now well for Nole,then there is no reason why to change it atm, especially if his the biggest goal is to win RG this year.

BlueClay wrote:

Tenez wrote:Nadal played 2 weeks in a row...2 weeks ago. He took a week off before Acapulco....and he is a bit younger than Ferrer. I am pretty convinced Ferrer was tired exhausted....he woudl have provided a better fight if fit....it's obvious. Not saying he woudl have won but just a normal Ferrer woudl have been much tougher to handle for Rafa.

Are you kidding me? Nadal won because he is a much better player on clay than Ferrer is. Also, Ferrer is never tired, he is like the Energizer Bunny. Nadal looked pretty strong as far as I could see (I only saw the second set.) Nadal is injured like I am the King of Siam! I think another FO is coming Nadal's way this year.

The Morybundus comeback shows that his supermoonballing game is so simple game, that he does not miss any match experience and is able within a couple of weeks beat top 10 players. Every other player would struggle with timing and net game, but Morybundus just does not need it.

BC, you are right. It is really sad truth, that Nadal's game is such a physical crap, that except Nole nobody can compete with him on the dirt surface.

I agree also with Ten, that Ferru is not such an Energizer as before, but a worse thing is that he got a Morybundus complex in his head. In addition to this Ferru is too short to handle with high supermoonballed balls. I would not bet a penny on Feru with Morybundus.

Gulbis Vasselin playing atm 3 all in the first set. I'd be happy for either to win.