ATP Masters 1000: MADRID

That's some impressive defending from Federer, Kyrg doesn't know where to hit him any more...

I feel for Kyrg, but welcome to life sunny, it ain't fair!

Yes I am sure a professional court has a lot to do.

Kyr is not a choker but his ego bubbling up!

Gotta go now

Brilliant tennis from Fed, shame Kyrg bumped into him and not Nadal...

Fed played so well when it mattered.

Was that a roid rage from Kyr? no reason to lose his temper like that on a bad call.

And Fed breaks straight away in the second set. I fancy Fed to win Madrid..if he keeps on playing like that.

Yes Kyr is finding out that Federer is no Nadal!

Nick obviously thinks he's on Monfils level already and SHOULD be taking Fed down... alot to learn in manners..

These 3 sets all in tiebreaks and the final against Cuevas last week = 4 tiebreaks in a row Painful to see that.

Lol Kyrgios had 3 match points, then Federer jumps back to life and saves.

11-10 in the TB, reminds me of DP v Fed at Olympics

12-12 and that's 5 match points saved. The fat lady isn't ready to sing

Fed is out 7-6 (14-12) in the 3rd, unfortunate match for him..

Yes Fed looked really tired from the second set onwards....He clearly is not sustaining long matches anymore...especially after his tough week in Turkey.

However had he been a bit less careless he could have won that one 64 63. He might regret a couple a shots which cost him dearly.

I never thought he would lose today Tenez then he went very safe and timid on his own MP in the tiebreak and then I knew that would be the end for him. Nick will need to play like this (or better) to beat Isner too

AceofDeath wrote:I never thought he would lose today Tenez then he went very safe and timid on his own MP in the tiebreak and then I knew that would be the end for him. Nick will need to play like this (or better) to beat Isner too

I said yesterday that it would not surprise me but when watching the first 2 sets clearly I did not expect it . Fed played very well for a set and a half but threw away key points.

Agree, Isner will be tougher to beat cause Federer is getting easy to beat over the distance nowadays...not the case of the younger generation.

What to make of Fed's form?   I have yet to see a full clay match and will watch the rerun tonigt, but his results have been poor.   Espeically after a long training block which he usually comes out of on fire.   His season's mostly about the grass I think, but he needs to start finding form again!

Tenez wrote:

AceofDeath wrote:I never thought he would lose today Tenez then he went very safe and timid on his own MP in the tiebreak and then I knew that would be the end for him. Nick will need to play like this (or better) to beat Isner too

I said yesterday that it would not surprise me but when watching the first 2 sets clearly I did not expect it . Fed played very well for a set and a half but threw away key points.

Agree, Isner will be tougher to beat cause Federer is getting easy to beat over the distance nowadays...not the case of the younger generation.

I didn't expect this when I left.
I was reading your comments and saw he broke at the beginning of 2nd set thinking - job done!

But with Kyrgios...he must have kept going and bombing shots in...and they all landed in.
You're right, he's not a choker, just a gambler.

Ah well...you can't have it all: a big paycheque in Istanbul and raising popularity of tennis there and success in Madrid back to back.

The question is, does he have any regrets about Istanbul now?

I don't mind him even skipping Rome, I just don't want to see him play without confidence in RG, please no 2013, pleeease!

truffin1 wrote:What to make of Fed's form?   I have yet to see a full clay match and will watch the rerun tonigt, but his results have been poor.   Espeically after a long training block which he usually comes out of on fire.   His season's mostly about the grass I think, but he needs to start finding form again!

yes....though he just won a tournament on clay. The strange thing is he played very well but was careless....including in that first game of the first set. Then certainly got tired.

noleisthebest wrote:

Tenez wrote:

AceofDeath wrote:I never thought he would lose today Tenez then he went very safe and timid on his own MP in the tiebreak and then I knew that would be the end for him. Nick will need to play like this (or better) to beat Isner too

I said yesterday that it would not surprise me but when watching the first 2 sets clearly I did not expect it . Fed played very well for a set and a half but threw away key points.

Agree, Isner will be tougher to beat cause Federer is getting easy to beat over the distance nowadays...not the case of the younger generation.

I didn't expect this when I left.
I was reading your comments and saw he broke at the beginning of 2nd set thinking - job done!

But with Kyrgios...he must have kept going and bombing shots in...and they all landed in.
You're right, he's not a choker, just a gambler.

Ah well...you can't have it all: a big paycheque in Istanbul and raising popularity of tennis there and success in Madrid back to back.

The question is, does he have any regrets about Istanbul now?

I don't mind him even skipping Rome, I just don't want to see him play without confidence in RG, please no 2013, pleeease!

I#'d be surprised if he were to skip Rome.

It's annoying he let the match slip...but fatigue would've caught up with him pretty quickly, anyway.

He clearly liked the conditions in Madrid...played so crisply, esp the BH...but even while I was watching he kimd pf kept Kyrgios in the point, sending him short mid balls, not many times, but he did.

It's tough playing Fed's complex all-attack tennis on clay durning a long match, esp against a mobile good server.
Kyrg is almost like an aggressive version of Monfils, except that Monfils defends much better.

Wow, I just went t see today's scores and matches still going on!
Nishi-Goffin, I'll have a peek

That's an interesting comment about returning...because while I was watching, he was returning really well (from being 1:2 down to winning the first set).

He usually settles in his returning game and gets better as the match goes on...
I remember him saying it took him 3 sets to work Nole's serve out during the Wimbledon final.
But Kyrg's serve is very good, very fast and has a high kick, simply too fast for any adjustments.
Still, Fed is Fed and never had trouble with big servers.

I have a feeling Kyrgios's tempo and unrelenting presence could have rushed him (however odd that may sound), and must have cost him a few slips...and that was enough.

He played so well in that first set I couldn''t imagine him losing, which is weird because he played worse in Istanbul but kept winning...

I suppose the good play today is the main thing and that will keep him going.
At least from what I saw.

What?!!!!!
Murray-Kholi STARTING!!!!
It's 1 past midnight in Spain!
This is Kholi's 5th match in the last 4 days, second against Murray...

They cannot be serious....

Nishi-Goff into the 3rd set, looking pretty close, 2:2 deuce...
Nice ball-striking but not much soul...

No offence nitb but if feds says that, i believe him more.

I wonder if he will play Rome despite hinting before he wouldn;t.

But what did YOU think of Fed's returning in the first set?

Didn't watch, hence my view.

Fair enough...I only saw the first set anyway.

Murray -Kholi finished at 3 am apparently.

It's about time Madrid got demoted to 500 and Halle become grass  Masters 1000.

But time has inevitably gone with the wind...we have had so little opportunity to admire Fed on grass.
Two measly tournaments a year!!!

Still, plenty of matches going today...Dimi-Stan should be good.

I want Stanimal to awake!!!

noleisthebest wrote:That's an interesting comment about returning...because while I was watching, he was returning really well (from being 1:2 down to winning the first set).

Very similar to Wimby 2010 when he lost to Tsonga.

He returns very well at the beginning (for 2 sets) and then can't move much. He looked tired after that first set and a half. "That's what disappointing" but he doesn't say.

That match was still lost on serve, whatever he says. First serve percentage well below par and it made the main difference in the match. Kyrgios just found the big first serve more often than not when needed, while Fed was hopeless. I think he hit 5 second serves in a row in one of the tiebreaks. It's not like Kyrgios got too many looks into Fed's first serve deliveries when they came. He also was superior in winning behind his second serve, Kyrgios didn't even win half of his.

When you are leading with a set and a break, holding serve is of much higher importance than playing good on return. Also - atrocious record on tiebreaks this year, that won't end well. Shades of 2013 all over.

Still, what bad luck and unforgiving draw. I thought as the No. 1 seed you are supposed to have it easier. If that's what you get as the No. 1 seed, then there's no need to fight for better ranking. That was a draw from hell if I ever saw one.

Nadal otoh, ever so lucky. Draws Johnson for his first round match to ease into the tournament, a guy with neither backhand nor movement, next up Bolelli and then Dimitrov/Wawrinka who aren't exactly in the form of their lives. Simply incredible.

Draw in Madrid has been hand-picked by Toni.

I bet he did not bank on Kyrgios beating Fed, though...so he is now my only hope in that half.
Though...he is a bit like Monf - one match brilliant the next one disaster...

The top half is Nishi's to lose, though he is still unreliable to even make it to the final.

So, the queen can look forward to hugging her favourite Spanish son on Sunday...

Really dull match between Stan and Dimi...both playing safe.

Tenez wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:That's an interesting comment about returning...because while I was watching, he was returning really well (from being 1:2 down to winning the first set).

Very similar to Wimby 2010 when he lost to Tsonga.

He returns very well at the beginning (for 2 sets) and then can't move much. He looked tired after that first set and a half. "That's what disappointing" but he doesn't say.

I've been wanting to ask you for some time: how long do you think Fed plays these days before his arm tires?

On regular clay.

To me, it looks two sets max...every Tom, Dick and Harry can now hit their BH safe, hard and even with angles for ever it seems.

Dimi playing with no confidence, Stan receiving miles behind the baseline...

The only thing keeping Stan in the match is his serve.

Dimi's returning's very average.

In short:

Real gutsy play from Stan to save BP.

make that 2 BPs.

...but not the 3rd one!

Stan can't handle the pressure and just like Berd, can't find the 1st serve i...even doublefaults...

Dimi through.

Servefest gala between Isner and Kyrgios!

3:3, Isner lost 2 and Kyrgios 3 points on their serves so far

And Izzie breaks!!!
Whoever says he's just a serving tree is wrong, there is one gutsy player hiding in that oversized body.

It's actually fun watching two big servers play each other.

They have a special way of thinking...and Isner seems to be more aware of it than Kyrgios.

The audience in Madrid is bad.
It is unacceptable to bring in babies. Wimbledon have the no under 5s rule and rightly so.

Kyrgios yelling back at them to "shut up"...

Players shouldn't have to be managing the crowd though...another example of Madrid's poor organisation.

I have just realised Isner's in Nadal's half...there is hope!
Go Izzy!!!

Wow these guys have loads of variety!

If only they had a big serve to go with their durability ....

You can tell these 2 would rather play Fed/Nadal than each other.

Kyrgios is the taller/darker version of Roddick, gamewise. With his angry mouth he should work with A Rod

noleisthebest wrote:It's actually fun watching two big servers play each other.

They have a special way of thinking...and Isner seems to be more aware of it than Kyrgios.

Yeah, maybe because Kyrgios is more than "just" a big server. He has a lot of game. And he is so incredibly strong on important points, he won his next tiebreak.

Nadal match as expected. Bolelli had his chances and blew them, don't even know how. Next thing you know, he offers Nadal some chances who takes them, no questions asked. Thank you very much.

noleisthebest wrote:I have just realised Isner's in Nadal's half...there is hope!
Go Izzy!!!

No trust in Berd?