Indian Wells - 2019

sphairistike wrote:
Indeed, he has been playing well. I actually like this new more aggressive version of Nadal, especially when he does not waste time btw points, then he becomes watchable.

I am glad you are enjoying it.

Hopefully we get a Fedal match in the semi. Federer in Dubai and IW so far has played far better than AO this year and all of 2018, crushing victories vs Tsitsi, Coric, Stan. Both players on good form, so could be a really close match.

noleisthebest wrote:
If you must know, I am in the middle of divorce, so have plenty on my plate to deal with on a daily basis.
I also prefer to play than watch tennis, so all free "tennis" time goes there.

Hopefully, it all goes back to "normal" soon.

Hope you're okay and it's not too stressful

noleisthebest wrote:

If you must know, I am in the middle of divorce, so have plenty on my plate to deal with on a daily basis.
I also prefer to play than watch tennis, so all free "tennis" time goes there.

Hopefully, it all goes back to "normal" soon.

Sorry to hear that, must be tough. Best of luck with everything! 

This new generation has simply better shots than Nadal and Djoko. They just don;t have the consistency yet but it should come.

This Kraji simply hurts more than Nadal...but more up and down.

Nadal reverting to extreme moonballing hoping to generate the UEs, purposely choosing to play at mid day for max bounce height.

https://twitter.com/MattRacquet/status/1105650165933846533

Djoko back to his dumb levels.

Jahu wrote:https://twitter.com/MattRacquet/status/1105650165933846533

Djoko back to his dumb levels.

I think he is just angry at his BNP PARISBAS Banker! ...and so am I!

What you mean, he has 200M tax free, whats a mill or 2? Greedy he is.

And you, I;m sure you can recoup your loses with some farmers grant from the Gov. French like to dish them out big time 

Jahu wrote:What you mean, he has 200M tax free, whats a mill or 2? Greedy he is.

And you, I;m sure you can recoup your loses with some farmers grant from the Gov. French like to dish them out big time 

As a French farmer I was hoping I'd get a lot of money from the UK contribution to the EU but since you lot decided to brexit I have to rely on my banker.

Shapo once again lose a match in 3 he should have won in 2. Mentally he is pretty weak. He has enough talent to one day overcome that but I fancy it might plug his record big way in his overall career.

Interesting the stat that says Fed's FH spin is similar to his BH's. 44/41. Edmunds is 53FH 25BH.

Federer's level is a joke, just too good.

From what I see, Kasha stands no chance tomorrow.

DEC1M7 wrote:Federer's level is a joke, just too good.

Yes playing well but Edmund did not make him run.

Tenez wrote:

DEC1M7 wrote:Federer's level is a joke, just too good.

Yes playing well but Edmund did not make him run.

It's hard to do that when you're being outclassed.  I wonder what sport you're watching sometimes.  If running about won you tournaments, I am fairly sure you'd see 100 different winners.

Daniel2 wrote:It's hard to do that when you're being outclassed. 

He was being outclassed because Edmund cannot do the running himself. With less risky shots he would have made Fed run a bit more...but for that he needed to move better himself.

I wonder what sport you're watching sometimes.  If running about won you tournaments, I am fairly sure you'd see 100 different winners.

Is that a joke? What have you been watching in the last 10 years? slams have been won by people who could run most, not those with great serve and volleys!

You've somehow managed to reduce tennis to "whoever runs faster and longest wins"

You do realize tennis is about movement, timing, mental strength, tactics, hand eye coordination, technique - right?

Or do you think all players are equally talented or something.  

When Federer is hitting killer forehands and deadly serves down the line - it's a bit hard to "make him run more".  He's the one making you run.

All your posts indicate to me that you're another armchair warrior on this forum; someone who doesn't actually play the game to any real standard - if at all!

Daniel2 wrote:You've somehow managed to reduce tennis to "whoever runs faster and longest wins"

It's a fact. Nadal was the best at it, then came Djoko....and before that Hewitt , Wilande. Borg himself famously said that tennis was a sport of a thousand sprints.

Federer was hardly ever beaten by better shot makers but by roadrunners as he calls them.

You do realize tennis is about movement, timing, mental strength, tactics, hand eye coordination, technique - right?

I hope you realise hand eye coordination drop fast after a few long rallies. This is exactly why guys like Djoko, Nadal and Murray who have no where near Fed's natural skills and shot making ability managed to beat him consistently.  

Or do you think all players are equally talented or something.  

?? I believe you wake up late but I am not sure that even when you are up you are really awake.

When Federer is hitting killer forehands and deadly serves down the line - it's a bit hard to "make him run more".  He's the one making you run.

Yes but even Canas managed to make him run at his (yours rather) peak! If you can retrieve balls in corners you can send them back cross court to force the running.

All your posts indicate to me that you're another armchair warrior on this forum; someone who doesn't actually play the game to any real standard - if at all!

Indeed.[/quote]

Monfils finally finding his best form at 32!

How do you explain Berdych and Ferrer's declining results?

I think Ferrer ran into a patch of injuries and from there had trouble recovering especially since his game was quite demanding. Maybe also had enough.

Berdych is more up and down. I think he also had a few niggles but some of his recent results show he is (can) still be a force.

What's important here is that it;s not only the top 3 who play well late, it's almost everybody else too.

...and very importantly, this sudden aging of the tour is simply due to a stagnation of technical/diet innovation.

Bring a new killing technology and the youngster will have a better chance.

Which injury did Ferrer have?
From what I remember he played tonnes, his level was just worse and he started losing to no hopes.
And Berdych was a far bigger threat in his 20s. Had a positive H2H vs Murray for ages, beat Federer in 2010 Wimbledon, beat Djokovic in Rome 2013, also beat Fed in 2012 USO when Fed was in great form. These days Berdych is useless.

Now he's reaching his 40s, he'll start to run faster!  And when that happens.....  my god the tour better watch out!

I saw Federer vs Gojowczyk where I think he looked fine in the first set but quite poor in the second, and then vs Wawrinka, where I thought he looked good, but Wawrinka was making too many mistakes so Federer was never forced to stay in long rallies.  I think he is playing quite well, but I am not 100% certain.

I only saw Rafa vs Donaldson, but Donaldson was horrible, so it was difficult to judge Rafa's level.

Based on that, it is difficult to say whether Fed or Rafa looked better.  I am inclined to say Fed did, but it may be just because Rafa was not forced to play better vs Donaldson.

DEC1M7 wrote:Which injury did Ferrer have?
From what I remember he played tonnes, his level was just worse and he started losing to no hopes.

I don't think Ferrer and the press would document much on Ferrer's niggles....yet his drop of form was quite sudden. So it is a suggestion.

And Berdych was a far bigger threat in his 20s. Had a positive H2H vs Murray for ages, beat Federer in 2010 Wimbledon, beat Djokovic in Rome 2013, also beat Fed in 2012 USO when Fed was in great form. These days Berdych is useless.

Funny cause you said you cannot judge the level of one player without considering the opposition. In his 20s the level was not nearly as good as in his late 20s as that new generation became much better after 2013. Still Berych was highest ranked in April 2015 he was 29 or 30.

You cannot pick 3 wins to validate your point. His win v Fed at Wimbledon 2010 is well document, Fed was injured. It's like saying Falla was a great grass player in 2010 cause he dragged Fed to a 5th set!!

summerblues wrote:I saw Federer vs Gojowczyk where I think he looked fine in the first set but quite poor in the second, and then vs Wawrinka, where I thought he looked good, but Wawrinka was making too many mistakes so Federer was never forced to stay in long rallies.  I think he is playing quite well, but I am not 100% certain.

I only saw Rafa vs Donaldson, but Donaldson was horrible, so it was difficult to judge Rafa's level.

Based on that, it is difficult to say whether Fed or Rafa looked better.  I am inclined to say Fed did, but it may be just because Rafa was not forced to play better vs Donaldson.

Yes difficult to say cause Federer is very much up and down nowadays. He certainly cannot afford a long match this eve.

Tenez wrote:

DEC1M7 wrote:Which injury did Ferrer have?
From what I remember he played tonnes, his level was just worse and he started losing to no hopes.

I don't think Ferrer and the press would document much on Ferrer's niggles....yet his drop of form was quite sudden. So it is a suggestion.

Suggestion without much evidence though. Surely if his injury problems were serious enough to cause a big decline, he would miss tournaments due to it.

Tenez wrote:
Funny cause you said you cannot judge the level of one player without considering the opposition. In his 20s the level was not nearly as good as in his late 20s as that new generation became much better after 2013. Still Berych was highest ranked in April 2015 he was 29 or 30.

Yeah, it was after he was 30 his ranking declined, aged 25-30 he was a top 10 player.
As for considering opposition, after he was 30 he started losing to no hopers and very lowly ranked players. The new generation are crap. If the whole tour improved, then why would Berdych not improve when entering what you regard as peak years of 31+.

Tenez wrote:
You cannot pick 3 wins to validate your point. His win v Fed at Wimbledon 2010 is well document, Fed was injured. It's like saying Falla was a great grass player in 2010 cause he dragged Fed to a 5th set!!

Fine, forget Wimby 2010.
What about USO 2012 and Rome 2013. I saw both those matches live, and Berdych's level was so high, way higher than it is now aged 33 where he can't even cope with no hopes.

Tenez has openly admitted that he believes the game is defined by running speed.  There's no where else left to go....

Fed wins 6:4, 6:4, just enough play for a win. Serve below 50% in second set, a little loose at the net.

Hurkacz can do some damage next couple of years, not scared to pull the trigger.

DEC1M7 wrote:Suggestion without much evidence though.

The evidence is that he suddenly dropped the ranking! Have you got a better explanation?

Surely if his injury problems were serious enough to cause a big decline, he would miss tournaments due to it.

You are a bit Manichean like your friend Daniel. Have you never watched players on tour who played without being 100%???? You as a Nadal fan sure knows that players can keep on going without being 100%.

Yeah, it was after he was 30 his ranking declined, aged 25-30 he was a top 10 player.
As for considering opposition, after he was 30 he started losing to no hopers and very lowly ranked players. The new generation are crap. If the whole tour improved, then why would Berdych not improve when entering what you regard as peak years of 31+.

More non-sense. The new generation is crap? Crapper than Ferrer and Berdych according to you. There are many reasons why a player would decline after 30. One is age...of course...but nonetheless Berdych was 30 or so when he reached his highest ranking against players much better than those he was facing in his mid 20s.

What about USO 2012 and Rome 2013. I saw both those matches live, and Berdych's level was so high, way higher than it is now aged 33 where he can't even cope with no hopes.

That's 2 matches over 2 years, how can you draw conclusions out of them? Did you watch him live in 2015 when he got to number 4? Surely he did not get to number 4 by beating nobodies only.

Ferrer was in the top 10 from 2010 to 2016 (nearly 7 years...very quickly in a few months he dropped to beyond 20 and 30 and now 143....clearly he is not playing at this best.

...and just checked and it seems his injuries are quite documented in fact:

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2508995-david-ferrer-injury-updates-on-tennis-stars-elbow-and-return

So once again I was right.

Ferrer was a very good and solid player cause he was running a lot (this is for Daniel!)

Jahu wrote:Fed wins 6:4, 6:4, just enough play for a win. Serve below 50% in second set, a little loose at the net.

Hurkacz can do some damage next couple of years, not scared to pull the trigger.

But too many UEs...against Nadal or any top 3 that's not good enough. You will see Kasha make as many this eve sadly.

Tenez, your only response so far has been to say "sorry - actual proof doesn't count".  What, exactly, are you providing as a counter argument?

Berdych and Ferrer being better years ago is not an opinion.

And in spite of an early break, a Kasha serve crippled with UEs gave the break back to Nadal.

Kasha almost lost a second service game against the sun. It;s a bit annoying cause Nadal as a lefty doesn't serve against it! I am pretty sure he chose the hour accordingly.

It was a good set of tennis but again Kasha lacking the extra consistency to really hurt Nadal.

This is the difference between Djoko and Kasha. Kasha hits harder but simply is more prone to errors. Just shows that tennis is not about hitting hard but bringing the ball back.

Nadal just left the court for a refill!

BH DTL is so crucial against Nadal.

And another struggling service game against the sun for Kasha. Amazing that the commentators don't mention it.

It's a huge problem for Kasha.

Nadal having an MTO....I only grabbed the fact that Nadal "heard" something...

....in his knee apparently.

Personally I don;t believe much in it. It's just a way to get some breathing. What was interesting is that it was a sound and not a pain that triggered that MTO for Nadal.

Kacha sending crosscourt FH to Nadals FH who sends them easy down the line.

Kasha BH can not do down the line, just CC.

Kasha sucks, he has no tools, just a huge swing FH that is nothign special, he beat Djoko once, now we're hoping he can beat Nadal too, bs.

Hope at least it goes to 3 long sets, and tire either of them for Fed.

No he looks hampered now.

I;m watching Fed-Nalad Miami 2017 final on TC anyway, this moonballing and ball bashing of Kacha/Nadal is a pain to my eyes.

Tenez wrote:No he looks hampered now.

Who? I’m not watching.

Kasha losing his temper. Clearly troubled by Nadal's injury.

bogbrush wrote:

Tenez wrote:No he looks hampered now.

Who? I’m not watching.

Nadal.....but Kasha is even more mentally troubled by it as Rafa breaks out of nowhere.

And Kasha breaks back.

Before that MTO I thought that Nadal would be Federer....not now.

Nadal's knee improved as the match went on but frankly Nadal's injury troubled Kasha more than Nadal.

Besides 2 drop shots Kasha was only trying to hit through Nadal, without even placing the ball.

That's where a bit more experience would have been crucial.