Roland Garros 2013: MOTD : Day 5 30/05/2013

The schedule of play is out for today, it comes late for my time. I hope all players of prediction game can make it in time.

1.


Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
vs.
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) [8]

My pick: Verdasco

2.

Tommy Haas (GER) [12]
vs.
Jack Sock (USA)

Mt pick: Tommy

3.
Lukas Rosol (CZE)
vs.
Fabio Fognini (ITA) [27]

My pick: Rosol

4.
Ryan Harrison (USA)
vs.
John Isner (USA) [19]

My pick: Isner

5.
Denis Istomin (UZB)
vs.
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)

My pick: Davy

6.
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) [9]
vs.
Horacio Zeballos (ARG)

My pick: Stan


The points table and all will be published in some time. As everyone is fine Day2 of the game will be removed and points will be calculated for day1,3,4 till now. ( I have lots of calculation to do )

Tsiparevic

My pick: Tommy

My pick: Fognini (though I'd prefer Rosol....for some reasons )


My pick: Harrison

My pick: Davy

My pick: Stan

=====================

Thanks NITB for the reminder.

Tipsarevic, Haas, Isner, Fognini, Davydenko, Wawrinka

Tenez wrote:My pick: Tommy

My pick: Fognini (though I'd prefer Rosol....for some reasons )


My pick: Harrison

My pick: Davy

My pick: Stan

You forgot to do the Tipsarevic-Verdasco pick

Dimitrov Pouille, and another very tall young player...not that great to watch...

Nole Pella match should be interesting. Pella hits the ball so hard like he's trying to rip it open....and goes for the lines!
It will be either a washout or a very close one , nothing in between. Hope the weather hold out.

is it due before or after Nadal's match?

Tenez wrote:is it due before or after Nadal's match?

It's second on Chatrier.
Stosur should wrap her match fast.
This reminds me of Tuesday, in fact just like Stosur, Bartoli had a set and a break up before the rain and the the match went on to the third set and lasted over three hours

Play resumes!!!

....and so does rain

Oh no.. sphair hasn't given his choices.. Ahh

May I suggest that once all second rounds are completed (or 3rd round maybe?) we each come up with a 3 round winners, 4th rounds, ....Semi and Final and winner....all at once so we do not get cases of some of us missing out.

I believe we have seen enough of the key players strength and weaknesses now to come up with a full projected draw.

I like the daily guesses but if we shoudl accomodate for those with a different time window.

Just a suggestion of course.

Here are my (late, sorry) predictions:

1. Fernando Verdasco (ESP)

2. Tommy Haas (GER) [12]

3. Lukas Rosol (CZE) (wishful thinking)

4. John Isner (USA) [19]


5. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)

6. Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) [9]

Seems I have the same picks as Rotla, not a good sign

With these heavy conditions even Nadal Klizan could get interesting. Klizan plays the ugliest bashing baseline style, so you never know....

http://tenis.as.com/tenis/2013/05/29/roland_garros/1369791821_880168.html

"Interesting" interview from Leconte...esp where he compares how Nadal and Novak handle their injuries...
Or maybe I got lost in translation.....

Yo vi a Nadal en Madrid y le vi cojeando claramente cuando andaba, varias veces. Sé que está jugando con dolor y no está al 100%: quizá al 90%. Pero la gran virtud de Rafa es que se calla. Dentro de ese silencio, sabe ajustar su juego ante estos problemas y termina ganando.

===========================================

This is probably the most comical part I read about a pundit commentating in the last 40 years. "Nadal is a player who plays with pain and is not 100%, closer to 90%. But Nadal's greatest virtue is that he keeps it quiet!"



Wilander is however again spot on. : "Nadal might be possibly impaired by his knee (he clearly is being polite here as a commentator) but the problem he faced v Brands is the problem eh faces against all tall and powerful players."

Nothing to add.

I don't buy the knee pain at all.
If he really had any , he wouldn't be able to move. If it's the tendinitis pain, even without painkillers , it goes away within 10 minutes as soon as the muscle warms up.
If it's severe pain that persist even beyond warming up phase, he'd really be putting his knee at a huge long term damage risk and DEFINITELY would not be able to run and play like he does.

Well especially that it was very clear the damage came from Brands very powerful shots. No different than in 2009: when facing Hewitt he showed no problem cause Hewitt had no weapons to hurt Nadal but v Sod we know what happened.

Djoko is an over-aggressive mood again. SO unlike him I am afraid.

I've only managed to get the stream working at 2:4, and liked what I saw, plenty of short points even on Pella's serve.

And it's nice to see that the crowd has finally started to warm up to Nole, told you I'd show them how it's done

Tenez wrote:Djoko is an over-aggressive mood again. SO unlike him I am afraid.

Are you getting worried you might start liking him?

Djoko

See, T, I told you I don't worry about him. Since 2011, when he really turns it on in his best form, virtually no one can touch him. There's a good reason why he's #1.

SR wrote:Djoko

See, T, I told you I don't worry about him. Since 2011, when he really turns it on in his best form, virtually no one can touch him. There's a good reason why he's #1.

I'd happy to be wrong about his ankle. I woudl need to see a bit more than Pella's challenge which was hit or miss...or hit and miss rather.

What' happened? The matches have been called off for the day or its rain? No match is going on... Nadal's match was about to start.

Rain delay

That's weird. Matches are resuming but Nadal's match is called off for the day. The commentator did not know why but it seems to be a decision from Nadal's camp.

A few other smaller courts also have play suspended (Stan's & Davy's matches), but Paire is on, about to win the second set

Stan's match just started as well! They have a good hour and a half to two hours of play if it doesn't rain.

Nadal didn't want to start a match he can't possibly finish tonight? If so, is it fair of him to pull out like this while play has officially resumed for all the other scheduled matches?

I can't stand this diva treatment Nadal seems to be getting everywhere he goes.
Who does he think he is to be refusing to play and people have paid full tickets for the day...what kind of message does it send to other "lower" players.
Disgusting but not surprising.

SR wrote:Nadal didn't want to start a match he can't possibly finish tonight? If so, is it fair of him to pull out like this while play has officially resumed for all the other scheduled matches?

I am surprised he was allowed to do just that. I am also surprised he chose not to instead of splitting the work over 2 days.

It might not be his say but I understood the commentators leaning towards Nadal's decision and they were not sure why either.

Paire thorugh in straights !!!

Lovely to see President of French tennis association give him a warm, fatherly hug after the match.

Nishikori next.

Stan trying to squeeze through in straights and finish the job as well. Go Stan!

Only 1 out of 6 matches for the prediction game was completed yesterday.

1. Fognini def Rosol.

Making my job of tracking matches and points getting tougher.