ATP Masters 1000: Paris

Lack disappeared into toilet at 9:9 in the TB, Rublev on serve...
I can't believe it.

Is that true? I thought Rub was not playing.

He is playing in some Challenger.

Just checked the score: he lost 7:6 (11) 6:4

Well......hope he won't turn into another failed promising youngster....he just turned 18 now.....so he is in the race. .

I don't think Rubi will fail. He has a great appetite.

Same cannot be said for Paire.

noleisthebest wrote:I don't think Rubi will fail. He has a great appetite.

Same cannot be said for Paire .

But when that fire gets going - he is fantastic to watch!

I stopped watching.....Tennis without stake is not so great to watch anymore.

Underneath that happy-go-lucky clown facade, Monfils is a bit of a dirty player.

noleisthebest wrote:Underneath that happy-go-lucky clown facade, Monfils is a bit of a dirty player.

oh yeah.....remember v Pouille....in AO last year!

Serving for the match now and was 0:4 down in the second set.

What a win for Paire.
Mag-ni-fi-qu-e!!!!

Monfils after the match:

"He surprised me. He started playing like he was going to let me get that match. Suddenly, he changed, so I also needed to get back into it myself. He was being aggressive and succeeding well in his attacks, and I had to change my game then."

I am not surprised he thought like that..must be his own regular tactic, but how uncharitable to think everyone else is like him and say it in public...

Bottom line, he underestimated Paire, thinking he'd implode and give up, being happy with just taking part in the "show", letting the main clown win.

But am so glad he didn't.

Despite some wonderful shots from Monfils, his tennis was again a grind.
Paire just relaxed and waited for tenseness to leave him, which it did just in time when he was 0:4 down in the second set (and coincidentally the moment I started watching the match ).
I think he did the same against Tomic or someone recently, with the same result, turning match around.

Anyway, he was ultra aggressive and brilliant to watch. One of the few who holds his racquet loosely and will never need his fingers taped.

He showed all his talent: fantastic natural serve, excellent hands and volleys. Just needs to keep working, he's made a big improvement since he's trained with Fed this summer. I hope they do the same in the off-season.

Playing Simon tonight, will be a nice match as Simon is a more disciplined player and certainly fairer, too.

Pouille playing well again.
Comfortable and within himself esp on the FH.

BH not bad either. Just looks natural.

Chardy on the other hand, is forever in a corner for some reason, about 75% of the play.
It's hard to sustain winning like that, however good your FH is.

I suppose you either make run or have to run yourself.

I am not sure Chardy is moving 100%. He played very well recent;y up to a few matches ago.

Karlo has lost all his 3rd set TBs this year.....He might play another one v Roger V now.

Sometimes I think Karlovic is involved in match fixing...
He lost 1set TB 1:7!

Pouille similar to Rublev, just can't last very long.
All of a sudden it's him and not Chardy that looks very tired.

In Pouille's case, legs slow down fast as he is heavier than Rubi.

There is a big gap in stamina between the young and the rest.

Tennistv very rarely show doubles matches...but they are showing one now, yes, it's Paes&Nadal.

Just saw them sit down for a changeover, Paes looking stressed and not his usual smiley self.

Must he that first set they lost.

wow..they were a break up and strolling....in that 1st set.

I only saw that changeover moment...and now the score, straight set loss.
Poor Paes...this was a masters 1000 earnings for him gone.

Coric-Verdasco producing some very boring tennis, mainly thanks to Coric.

Just when I was about to get ready and play.....starts to pour down! not a good day today!

Nadal-Rosol reprise, yes please!

Paris looks like a very slow court...like WTF...made worse by the cam angle certainly....but very slow still.

Yes, it is.
Not only do you have to be aggressive but to bash at the same time, as well.
In a strange way it reminds me of this year's RG.

Fed is not going to try hard...he 'll be gutted about it.

Yes, disappointing from the Frenchies to have conditions that work against their players and good tennis.

Only Stan may be able to make some use of it. Cilic is still raw in the head.

It is sad to see a player of Nishi's ball-striking talent grind points away, his upper legs also look bulkier than before.
But that's the slow court for you. Really frustrating. I feel sorry for players.

Cilic-Dimi could be good.
If Dimi loses - he should retire

Chardy's FH is so good.

A dilemma arises:

Who would be a better player:
Paire with Chardy's FH or Chardy with Paire's BH?

My answer: Paire. Better serve, better hands. Would be leathal.
Maybe even the new GOAT!
DBH one.

i have hardly seen Paire played so can't comment.

Dimi's BH return is almost non-existant.
How on earth did he make Wimbledon SF?

Well done to Dimi for winning that first set.
I know I am a bit hard on him, but that's because he is playing so conservatively with a SBH.

Now that Rasheed's made him fit, maybe he needs to hire someone to help him take his BH earlier.

Dimi does have a big heart to be persevering with the SBH. He is competing really well with it, in fact

noleisthebest wrote:
Dimi does have a big heart to be persevering with the SBH. He is competing really well with it, in fact

Yes...I think you have been hard with him.....he just went through a doubt period but I think he can come back.

Tenez wrote:I think he can come back.

About time. The game needs youngish players desperately, it's getting really stale. I mean, no question who will win Paris + WTF, probably without a decent challenge. 

Shame about those courts.

Autumnleaf wrote:

Tenez wrote:I think he can come back.

About time. The game needs youngish players desperately, it's getting really stale. I mean, no question who will win Paris + WTF, probably without a decent challenge. 

Shame about those courts.

I think things have begun to move a bit.
Speeding up the courts would certainly help against RR-ers as they are the main bottleneck now.

Fact:
Coric is a LIGHTWEIGHT

noleisthebest wrote:I think things have begun to move a bit.

Maybe, but the French at Bercy and the WTF organizers (provided it's indeed the same surface) seem to lag behind.

Looking at the top 10, only Nishikori/Wawrinka are new faces, the rest has been around like forever. It may not be very nice, but I really don't wish to see a guy like Ferrer around anymore. He doesn't add anything new, he just prevents more exciting players from progressing through the draws.

Autumnleaf wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:I think things have begun to move a bit.

Maybe, but the French at Bercy and the WTF organizers (provided it's indeed the same surface) seem to lag behind.

Looking at the top 10, only Nishikori/Wawrinka are new faces, the rest has been around like forever. It may not be very nice, but I really don't wish to see a guy like Ferrer around anymore. He doesn't add anything new, he just prevents more exciting players from progressing through the draws.

What's so sad about it is that it seems those long standing top 10ers are making the most of the non-changing conds/technology. We have now 5 out of 10 players being 30 or over in that top 10. Soon 6 out 10! possibly. It is no coincidence and confirms that without having a tech advantage (bigger frame, new strings, technique etc...) youngsters have little chance overtake mature players.

The key, more than stamina, is probably timing. If you throw longer rallies, it helps to be able to have a consistent timing and there age plays a great role too.

The problem is that even mid-20ies "youngsters" aren't able to break through the likes of Ferrer who hasn't even had the greatest of years.  

He missed huge parts of the actions and he still finds himself in the top 8 easily. Berdych hasn't done anything after Madrid either. Nishikori has regressed throughout the year. It will be a WTF to rival last year's in misery.

Rosol is looking weaker against Nadal this week. It's probably the court, he seems to be returning better. Nadal already with a BP and now a second serve. Done deal for Nadal.

Autumnleaf wrote:The problem is that even mid-20ies "youngsters" aren't able to break through the likes of Ferrer who hasn't even had the greatest of years.  

He missed huge parts of the actions and he still finds himself in the top 8 easily. Berdych hasn't done anything after Madrid either. Nishikori has regressed throughout the year. It will be a WTF to rival last year's in misery.

For the very reasons I have kept mentioning for years!! I am 100% sure that those mid-20ies players will be much better when they are end-20s.....like Stan!

Not convinced. Even with Wawrinka you could see early on that he had game with questionable shot selection and movement, but the current crop all lack severly in some respects. Hope, some of them prove me wrong and improve beyond my imagination.

Autumnleaf wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:I think things have begun to move a bit.

Maybe, but the French at Bercy and the WTF organizers (provided it's indeed the same surface) seem to lag behind.

Looking at the top 10, only Nishikori/Wawrinka are new faces, the rest has been around like forever. It may not be very nice, but I really don't wish to see a guy like Ferrer around anymore. He doesn't add anything new, he just prevents more exciting players from progressing through the draws.

I used to disliike him, but have developed a soft spot for him. He is actually an amazing player all things considered.

WTF is low bouncing but still very slow, which is really annoying.

As it is the best of the best tournament, it should really provide a nice smooth, skidding surface so that at least in that one tournament of the elite, the truly best one wins.

noleisthebest wrote:I used to disliike him, but have developed a soft spot for him. He is actually an amazing player all things considered.

I don't mind him as a player or a man, but he has simply long overstayed his welcome. He's not Federer who can still amaze and innovate past 30. 

At WTF he is just filling up the numbers. But then again you could say that about a few other players as well...

I didn't realise Nadl-Rosol already started...

The court seems not only slow but high-bouncing as well, no wonder Nadal won the first set.
Come on Rossy!

Having said that, he looks worried and far from relaxed, cautious with his shots, BH all over the place...a different man from last week.

Autumnleaf wrote:Not convinced. Even with Wawrinka you could see early on that he had game with questionable shot selection and movement, but the current crop all lack severly in some respects. Hope, some of them prove me wrong and improve beyond my imagination.

I am not sure how you can make a difference between Stan and the existing mid-20s. Exactly the same thing to me. None of us woudl have put a penny on Stan winning a GS before he was 28...and even at 29 it came as a real surprise. As least some of us had more hope about Rao, Cilic, Nishi and Dimi.

Same thing for berdych actually. he was a journeyman for most of his career. he only got better at 27 onwards.

Tenez wrote:Same thing for berdych actually. he was a journeyman for most of his career. he only got better at 27 onwards.

Berdych got better? Surely not results-wise. He won his only masters event in 2005 at age 20, hasn't come close since. He made Wimbledon final in 2010, aged 25. So he certainly wasn't a journeyman before 27. Quite the opposite, he was a real top player and a threat to the very best. Now not so much. With the help of a soft draw he made the SF of the AO and the F of Monte Carlo. He lost in R16 in RG, Wimbledon and US Open, winning just 2 sets in those matches.