ATP 250/500 2016 - Basel, Vienna

Goffin vs Delpo looking like the pick of the bunch today. Annoyed Sky have gone with Vienna and not Basel! Made some rather irritating moves in regards to it's tennis coverage!

Looking at the race I feel Thiem by the end of the tournament will have enough to see him make safe passage to the WTF.

Can't wait to see the draw for Paris as it will be a straight out dogfight between Berdych/Goffin/Cillic.

Hopefully they can play each other, with Goff beating both!

Goff lost from Korgi a few weeks ago leading a set up.

I think Goff will disappoint in long term same as Dimi and Dolgo, shame.

Jahu wrote:Goff lost from Korgi a few weeks ago leading a set up.

I think Goff will disappoint in long term same as Dimi and Dolgo, shame.

I don't think you can compare Goff with Dimi and Delpo.

In this physical era size matters.
Plus Goff is a choker.

I have always thought Dimi overrated, his BH is not good enough for this era. And his S&FH are not good enough for S&V like Fed.

So, he did the best he could, really.

Delpo has done well to snatch a slam in Fedal era, esp with 3-4 years off with surgeries.

Goff needs a bigger serve for bigger titles. The only "small" player with any chance of a slam & doing well is Nishi.

legendkillar wrote:Goffin vs Delpo looking like the pick of the bunch today. Annoyed Sky have gone with Vienna and not Basel! Made some rather irritating moves in regards to it's tennis coverage!

Looking at the race I feel Thiem by the end of the tournament will have enough to see him make safe passage to the WTF.

Can't wait to see the draw for Paris as it will be a straight out dogfight between Berdych/Goffin/Cillic.

I am afraid Delpo has too much power for Goff.

Also, did anyone notice that Goff has had very tough draws in the last few weeks?
I think this is the second or third time he's playing Delpo.

He did beat Delpo in Shanghai.

Thiem and Goffin out!

Simon with a huge blister! I am sadistic so pop it!!

So who's left in the draw of any interest apart from Delpo?

I can''t imagine anyone non-Scottish paying to watch Murray...
WTF is going to be sooo baaaad.

This season can't end quick enough as far as I'm concerned.

Is Djoko really out or WTF?

That's what I was told... by the same person who told me Fed knew wouldn't play RG back at the beginning of AO, as well as that Nole won't win anything till the end of the year.

No chance that Novak is out of WTF. He's not going to give up on YE1.

Monfils at WTF, niceeee.

Djoko will do a show up of course, finish RR, lose, go home.

Delpo looking good, as is Stan.

Andy tired.

Slippy wrote:No chance that Novak is out of WTF. He's not going to give up on YE1.

I hope so, but I doubt it.

Karlovic giving the young pup Khachanov a lesson in feel around the court.

Good win for Nishi over Delpo, the first of his career.

Ferrer and Troicki was a compelling match. 22 winners by Troicki in the 2nd set alone!

I didn't see anything but shame Troicki lost.

Troicki fluffed it at the end. Had a break, lost his nerve serving for the match and never got it back.

Ferrer withdraws!!

Murray will play an exhibition against Melzer.

Muller takes 1st set against Nishi.

Karlovic 3 DFs!! Gets broken.

Karlovic gone pop! What a choke!

Tsonga does it in 3. Karlovic tries to snap another racquet and fails! 

legendkillar wrote:Tsonga does it in 3. Karlovic tries to snap another racquet and fails! 

when was the last time tsonga beat murray? murray creeping up on the no1 ranking..god help us all of he manages to get it! 

he will get there cause Djoko is going to crack mentally.

Interesting stat that Andy, Jo and Delpo the only 3 to have beaten Federer, Nadal and Djokovic when they were ranked no1 in the world.

Wow, haven't seen Tsonga fire with his FH like this for a lomg time!
Alleeez!

Very unlucky loss for Tsonga.
He played some great tennis.

That was actually a decent match. Some great net points mixed in there.

well that result was always going to be obvious..tsonga such a choker, mentally weak against murray..should be beating him but isnt 
mens tennis is a dire state at the moment, we could actually have the likes of murray be the world no1!! 
if he manages to do it then novaks legacy will forever be tarnished by the fact that murray took the ranking off him without even having to dethrone him
i think that losing the ranking to murray is a far bigger embarrassment then winning 4 majors a greater achievement

I don't thnk Tsonga is a choker. he is simply less solid than Murray. He takes more risk, hence is bound to end up losing in the pressure moments.

Tsonga was very unlucky in the TB with thet let point.

Two totally different schools of tennis him and Murray.

Tsonga is so close yet so near big titles...all he needs to do is solidify his first serve, not go for so much every time and then waste energy and points on the 2nd.

That's where I think Pouille will be more successful in a few years and he has a better BH.

Murray doesn't attack, he "builds" points...

tsonga is very inconsistent but he also has a habit of choking on big points
he doesnt have a winners mentality,he has the ability to blow anyone off the court when he is playing his best tennis,so i would say he is very much an underachiever

Vee, 

shotmakers are an endangered species now and for a reason.
It's not because they choke.

Today, Murray covered the court like a man possessed and snatched already lost points.

And still it was close.

Tsonga's BH could be better...but if he fixed his 1st serve, he wouldn't need to be engaged in the baseline hitting like today and fall short with the BH.

i'm specifically talking about tsonga,not shot makers in general 
i can think of 2 matches at wimbledon against murray that he should have won that he completely blew because he wasnt mentally tough enough to hang onto the lead he had.

Quite impressive Rublev v Paire. 6/3 5/5 in the second set.

He is certainly getting there!

How....a very easy volley missed at MP for Rublev! 6all TB.

And he does it 15/13 in the TB. He is going to be very good.....very soon.

Thanks for mentioning, managed to see the TB.

Great FH, but still no clue inside the court.

Paire for all his B grade forehand at least knows how to play the game, not scared of the net.

Rubi needs to start managing his temper asap, it's got even worse.

Tenez wrote:How....a very easy volley missed at MP for Rublev! 6all TB.

Yes, that was pathetic.

noleisthebest wrote:

Tenez wrote:How....a very easy volley missed at MP for Rublev! 6all TB.

Yes, that was pathetic.

I like the fact he goes to the net. I think the reason he missed is that he saw the Win and forgot the ball....happens at this age. Better learn here in a remote village in France....than at Wimbledon village.

Well, the point is he does not go to the net.

That time he had to, he got a short ball. He is glued to the baseline. 
No reason why he shouldn't try and play like Pouille.

He wouldn't need to play very risky then and be so tense, neurotic almost.

I have seen his last 2 matches and he goes to the net.

OK, boss!

Sure he could go more but he hurts so much from the back that he doesn't have to go as much.....but I have seen him finish points there.

He will have a very tough job v Benetteau tomorrow.

Though he survived 22 aces today....so who knows?!

When you think Pete and Federer served 25 aces at Wimbledon when it was very fast over 5 very close sets.....it tells us how deadly those big serverss woudl be if the ATP 1000 were as fast as the smaller tournaments.

Tenez wrote:Sure he could go more but he hurts so much from the back that he doesn't have to go as much.....but I have seen him finish points there.

He will have a very tough job v Benetteau tomorrow.
Though he survived 22 aces today....so who knows?!

But Benne is a different type of player. I am not expecting Rubi to win. I know I only saw the TB (though it was long!) but I really haven't noticed any improvement with him, maybe a bit with his footwork.
On the other hand temper has gone through the roof. He is almost comical the way he goes mental after every mistake.

Tenez wrote:
When you think Pete and Federer served 25 aces at Wimbledon when it was very fast over 5 very close sets.....it tells us how deadly those big serverss woudl be if the ATP 1000 were as fast as the smaller tournaments.

Yes, Paire's & Rubi's serves and Rubi's FH did fly, but then again, Paire's FH was slower and loopier than ever I can remember.

No wonder Rubi can't make the transition on the main tour.


As for Federer ...he is a good returner, too.

Barely anyone is within 1m of the baseline these days.

Then - the ball was fast, flat and skidding - now monballing and dropping in with height.

It's all crazy and hard to compare.

When I see Federer's FH these days, I can definitely say something has been lost in translation with these modern strings....

Maaan, doesn't it say everything that he came up with SABR?

If that's not The Scream of tennis I don't know what is!

noleisthebest wrote:
Maaan, doesn't it say everything that he came up with SABR?

If that's not The Scream of tennis I don't know what is!

Agree. Good point.

Looks like Rublev fought pretty hard ...but lost. 75 26 63. At least it was close.