Miami Draw out

Fed in Ferrer quarter-,  Murray and Djoko in other quarter-     Fed has a solid chance to make semis and possibly finals if Djoko gets upset.  Possible match against Dimitrov who is in Ferrers path.

Djoko probably feeling good getting a struggling Murray, but could play Guilbus which might be interesting.

Nadal in Delpo quarter,  Stan and Berdych in other quarter.    Nadal has some tough early rounder matchups, but has good shot into the semis with Delpo not his usual self and has had trouble on the Miami courts as well.


With Murray still struggling, Ferrer and Delpo hurting-  it seems Stan has the really tough quarter with Berdych.


For Fed- I think this draw will entice him to stick around and play..  He doesn't like the Miami courts at all- but has to be confident he could get some semifinal points and solidify top 4 ranking, and he does get 5 days rest before he plays.    At his presser last night he said the plan was to fly to Miami and work with Edberg for a few days and then decide on whether to play based on how he was physically holding up..

Fed has a good draw, but the circuss castrato straw man is surely going to use all mighty uncle tricks to succeed there. Going through Tursunov, JJ,  Delpo, Stan/Berd, that will need another kind of a cheat. We have already had knee, patella, back, not sure what happen there. It is a shame that Delpo doesn't seem to be ready for heavy fights. But Turs and JJ could heat up the court nicely for our straw dummy.

Thanks Ruffin. I doubt Federer would be interested in a semi and its 360 points. If he plays it's either to turn up for sponsors ( a couple of rounds) or to win the whole thing. I think he will not make the mistake twice and will probably not play beyond 2 rounds if he does not feel right.

I'd like to read his presser cause the way he played yesterday I am not sure he is keen to get too tired again.

I think 90% chance he won't play beyond 2nd round....unless they have sped up the courts this year. Any one heard players' feedback on them?

Tenez wrote:Thanks Ruffin. I doubt Federer would be interested in a semi and its 360 points.  If he plays it's either to turn up for sponsors ( a couple of rounds) or to win the whole thing. I think he will not make the mistake twice and will probably not play beyond 2 rounds  if he does not feel right.

I'd like to read his presser cause the way he played yesterday I am not sure he is keen to get too tired again.

I think 90% chance he won't play beyond 2nd round....unless they have sped up the courts this year. Any one heard players' feedback on them?

a couple of twitter mentions that court is slower than IW- slow as ever and quite humid there right now...   balls won't fly. It will be a snails pace court.

I'll post the full presser once it's up. 

Rolex is one of the sponsors and he didn't play last year, so certainly you have a point in terms of that aspect..  btw- Friends at Rolex invited me to the box for the week, but I can't make it due to prior commitments to the local WTA tourney we are in final preperations for.   I didn't think Fed was playing so didn't rearrange my schedule like I should have... darn.

paulcz wrote:Fed has a good draw, but the circuss castrato straw man is surely going to use all mighty uncle tricks to succeed there. Going through Tursunov, JJ,  Delpo, Stan/Berd, that will need another kind of a cheat. We have already had knee, patella, back, not sure what happen there. It is a shame that Delpo doesn't seem to be ready for heavy fights. But Turs and JJ could heat up the court nicely for our straw dummy.

Comms mentioned yesterday during Djoko/Fed match that Nadal stayed in IW to relax at Ellisons house and had been playing "nonstop rounds of golf" on Ellisons private course..Fowler said he actually played some holes with Nadal and Nadal plays righty and whacks the heck out of it  Guessing his back must be feeling quite well if he's not trying to rest it and swinging the clubs.   I know when my back is acting up- no golf for me.

Nadals press team have said his back does not require taping anymore, and is ok.

It's the mental confidence he needs back.

truffin1 wrote:....  btw- Friends at Rolex invited me to the box for the week, but I can't make it due to prior commitments to the local WTA tourney we are in final preperations for.   I didn't think Fed was playing so didn't rearrange my schedule like I should have... darn.

woww unlucky. I thought you were not active in that field anymore. You must have made long good friends in the business.

truffin1 wrote:

paulcz wrote:Fed has a good draw, but the circuss castrato straw man is surely going to use all mighty uncle tricks to succeed there. Going through Tursunov, JJ,  Delpo, Stan/Berd, that will need another kind of a cheat. We have already had knee, patella, back, not sure what happen there. It is a shame that Delpo doesn't seem to be ready for heavy fights. But Turs and JJ could heat up the court nicely for our straw dummy.

Comms mentioned yesterday during Djoko/Fed match that Nadal stayed in IW to relax at Ellisons house and had been playing "nonstop rounds of golf" on Ellisons private course..Fowler said he actually played some holes with Nadal and Nadal plays righty and whacks the heck out of it  Guessing his back must be feeling quite well if he's not trying to rest it and swinging the clubs.   I know when my back is acting up- no golf for me.

Yes truff, his back must have been miraculously healed by a help of Ellison   
I had also trouble with my back and elbow from my golf attempts, so I needed to quit it afterwards.
Everything about Nadal is ridiculous, that all normal fans know.

truffin1 wrote:

paulcz wrote:Fed has a good draw, but the circuss castrato straw man is surely going to use all mighty uncle tricks to succeed there. Going through Tursunov, JJ,  Delpo, Stan/Berd, that will need another kind of a cheat. We have already had knee, patella, back, not sure what happen there. It is a shame that Delpo doesn't seem to be ready for heavy fights. But Turs and JJ could heat up the court nicely for our straw dummy.

Comms mentioned yesterday during Djoko/Fed match that Nadal stayed in IW to relax at Ellisons house and had been playing "nonstop rounds of golf" on Ellisons private course..Fowler said he actually played some holes with Nadal and Nadal plays righty and whacks the heck out of it  Guessing his back must be feeling quite well if he's not trying to rest it and swinging the clubs.   I know when my back is acting up- no golf for me.

Yes, I cannot think of a worst sport than golf for the back.....and others (like GP) think it's terrible for knees too.

Tenez wrote:

truffin1 wrote:....  btw- Friends at Rolex invited me to the box for the week, but I can't make it due to prior commitments to the local WTA tourney we are in final preperations for.   I didn't think Fed was playing so didn't rearrange my schedule like I should have... darn.

woww unlucky. I thought you were not active in that field anymore. You must have made long good friends in the business.

yes, I retired, but lots of friends and former partners still involved.  I worked with Rolex with my clients for many years- they are extremely active in the sporting world- both through sponsorships/and endorsements. A great company-  structured from a charitable trust.

Julia Santamaria wrote:Nadals press team have said his back does not require taping anymore, and is ok.

It's the mental confidence he needs back.

aah okay- I know you were saying his serving problems at IW were clearly due to continued back problems so glad to hear his team has cleared it up.  So he goes into Miami fully healthy.

paulcz wrote:

truffin1 wrote:

paulcz wrote:Fed has a good draw, but the circuss castrato straw man is surely going to use all mighty uncle tricks to succeed there. Going through Tursunov, JJ,  Delpo, Stan/Berd, that will need another kind of a cheat. We have already had knee, patella, back, not sure what happen there. It is a shame that Delpo doesn't seem to be ready for heavy fights. But Turs and JJ could heat up the court nicely for our straw dummy.

Comms mentioned yesterday during Djoko/Fed match that Nadal stayed in IW to relax at Ellisons house and had been playing "nonstop rounds of golf" on Ellisons private course..Fowler said he actually played some holes with Nadal and Nadal plays righty and whacks the heck out of it  Guessing his back must be feeling quite well if he's not trying to rest it and swinging the clubs.   I know when my back is acting up- no golf for me.

Yes truff, his back must have been miraculously healed by a help of Ellison   
I had also trouble with my back and elbow from my golf attempts, so I needed to quit it afterwards.
Everything about Nadal is ridiculous, that all normal fans know.

My favourite was the torn patella tendon which anyone with a bit of experience with the injury knows the leg MUST be locked into a straight position to heal and to bend it is extremely painful- even for the most minor tears...     Yet- Paparazzi secretly caught  and photographed Nadal a few  days after he claimed he tore it- jet sking with legs bent, jumping off 4 story yacht legs flailing and impacting water--   the guy simply amazes me how is is able to do things while having certain injuries that just isn't realistically possible for mere mortals and other athtletes.. guess that's what makes him special.

Here is the poster child for the agony of a patella tendon tear and knee problems that keeps you out of action for 7 months. The pain on his face just breaks my heart!

http://www.justjared.com/2012/07/10/rafael-nadal-shirtless-sardinia-vacation/

truffin1 wrote:

Julia Santamaria wrote:Nadals press team have said his back does not require taping anymore, and is ok.

It's the mental confidence he needs back.

aah okay- I know you were saying his serving problems at IW were clearly due to continued back problems so glad to hear his team has cleared it up.  So he goes into Miami fully healthy.

Yes his back has improved.

Tenez wrote:

truffin1 wrote:

paulcz wrote:Fed has a good draw, but the circuss castrato straw man is surely going to use all mighty uncle tricks to succeed there. Going through Tursunov, JJ,  Delpo, Stan/Berd, that will need another kind of a cheat. We have already had knee, patella, back, not sure what happen there. It is a shame that Delpo doesn't seem to be ready for heavy fights. But Turs and JJ could heat up the court nicely for our straw dummy.

Comms mentioned yesterday during Djoko/Fed match that Nadal stayed in IW to relax at Ellisons house and had been playing "nonstop rounds of golf" on Ellisons private course..Fowler said he actually played some holes with Nadal and Nadal plays righty and whacks the heck out of it  Guessing his back must be feeling quite well if he's not trying to rest it and swinging the clubs.   I know when my back is acting up- no golf for me.

Yes, I cannot think of a worst sport than golf for the back.....and others (like GP) think it's terrible for knees too.

Yep, Golf is a back killer. And with a righthanded swing also pretty demanding to the left knee (Rafa's bad one). Mind you: the stronger one is, the more damage one can cause to the back/knee/elbow and shoulder. That's why older people usually can play golf without getting hurt, they don't have to power to hurt their own body.
Tiger Woods, the fittest golfer of all, struggled almost 2 years with a serious left knee injury. Imaginable, given his 125 m/ph clubhead speed.
Rafa on a golfcourse with a supposedly back and knee injury is a joke. Even his golfswing is essentially strength based (and not so much technique), so you can imagine how much he is thumping his back/knee when he gets the driver out of the bag. And playing at 50% is almost impossible, because of the unleashing nature of a golfswing (from the tee), just like you can't hit the ball 'softly' with a baseball bat.
So, if he's on the golfcourse, he's simply not hurt at all.

Tenez wrote:

truffin1 wrote:

paulcz wrote:Fed has a good draw, but the circuss castrato straw man is surely going to use all mighty uncle tricks to succeed there. Going through Tursunov, JJ,  Delpo, Stan/Berd, that will need another kind of a cheat. We have already had knee, patella, back, not sure what happen there. It is a shame that Delpo doesn't seem to be ready for heavy fights. But Turs and JJ could heat up the court nicely for our straw dummy.

Comms mentioned yesterday during Djoko/Fed match that Nadal stayed in IW to relax at Ellisons house and had been playing "nonstop rounds of golf" on Ellisons private course..Fowler said he actually played some holes with Nadal and Nadal plays righty and whacks the heck out of it  Guessing his back must be feeling quite well if he's not trying to rest it and swinging the clubs.   I know when my back is acting up- no golf for me.

Yes, I cannot think of a worst sport than golf for the back.....and others (like GP) think it's terrible for knees too.

Yep, Golf is a back killer. And with a righthanded swing also pretty demanding to the left knee (Rafa's bad one). Mind you: the stronger one is, the more damage one can cause to the back/knee/elbow and shoulder. That's why older people usually can play golf without getting hurt, they don't have to power to hurt their own body.
Tiger Woods, the fittest golfer of all, struggled almost 2 years with a serious left knee injury. Imaginable, given his 125 m/ph clubhead speed.
Rafa on a golfcourse with a supposedly back and knee injury is a joke. Even his golfswing is essentially strength based (and not so much technique), so you can imagine how much he is thumping his back/knee when he gets the driver out of the bag. And playing at 50% is almost impossible, because of the unleashing nature of a golfswing (from the tee), just like you can't hit the ball 'softly' with a baseball bat.
So, if he's on the golfcourse, he's simply not hurt at all.

So more mysteries from Nadal....

I actually suspect he is getting "physically" ready for the challenge ahead of him now (Miami (maybe) but also Braca, MC, Madrid, Rome and the FO.

Tenez wrote:So more mysteries from Nadal....

He's not injured at the moment, what's the mystery?

The mystery is when he loses, you'll be saying he is.

Like players and tournament directors I should thank, if not pay, Nadal to keep that forum alive. Without him it would be dead by now.

Tenez wrote:Like players and tournament directors I should thank, if not pay, Nadal to keep that forum alive. Without him it would be dead by now.

By that forum what are you referring to?

FedererKing wrote:The mystery is when he loses, you'll be saying he is.

Firstly that's not going to be the case; secondly if you are so sure then why is it a mystery?

Julia Santamaria wrote:

Tenez wrote:Like players and tournament directors I should thank, if not pay, Nadal to keep that forum alive. Without him it would be dead by now.

By that forum what are you referring to?

this very one. Nadal is the subject which makes us all argue.

Tenez wrote:

Julia Santamaria wrote:

Tenez wrote:Like players and tournament directors I should thank, if not pay, Nadal to keep that forum alive. Without him it would be dead by now.

By that forum what are you referring to?

this very one. Nadal is the subject which makes us all argue.

True.

Del Potro pulls out of Miami.

I didn't realise Miami has already started, Mannarino playing Davydenko atm.

[size=18.66]Roger Federer says 'No' to on-court coaches[/size]
March 14, 2014 -- Updated 1710 GMT (0110 HKT)

(CNN) -- Former world No. 1 Roger Federer had a simple message for those advocates of revamping tennis by allowing on-court coaches -- he hopes he will have retired if it ever happens.
On-court discussion with coaches is currently banned at ATP Tour events, but female players are allowed to call for a coach under certain circumstances.
Federer warned against rules changes in tennis following an effortless 7-5 6-1 quarterfinal victory over South Africa's Kevin Anderson at the Indian Wells Masters -- a win that will see the Swiss star return to the top five of the world rankings.
"If it does happen, it's hopefully after I'm done playing," the 17-time grand slam champion told reporters after the match.
"I really don't think it's necessary. I don't think it's fair, maybe, because not everybody can afford a coach ...it's just not right."

Yes, I saw that a couple of days ago, he also said:

"We'll see girlfriends walking out, we'll see parents walking out.
It's not going to be pretty, you know. It just won't. It will look amateur-like, in my opinion."
Maybe commentary likes it, you can look over to your coach for comfort and support, but other than that, I think tennis could or should be one of those unique sports where you don't get coaching."  

You can just imagine what chaos Stepanek would create....

noleisthebest wrote:Del Potro pulls out of Miami.

I didn't realise Miami has already started, Mannarino playing Davydenko atm.

As expected...which makes Nadal's quarter easier.

Delpo has done a disservice to the draw past two tournies by waiting to last second to withdraw. He should have just shut it down early.  Esp Miami after it was clear a week ago that he wasn't able to play.

True. Do you think it is his say though? I think both the sponsors and the TDs may have asked him to take his time.

So....who's going to win Miami?

I wouldn't mind another Nole-Fed final.

I doubt Roger will be fit for it but if he is I would not mind a decider for sure.

To me Stan more than Delpo is the one who messes up the draw. I don't see him as a consistent force like the other 4s we used to have meaning that whoever has him in his draw is favoured.

Stan has more of a chance and balances the draw better than ferrer has as a top 4 though. The top of the field is a bit of a mess right now really- Delpo hurt, ferrer hurt + not being a real threat, Murray struggling, etc

truffin1 wrote:Stan has more of a chance and balances the draw better than ferrer has as a top 4 though.   The top of the field is a bit of a mess right now really-  Delpo hurt, ferrer hurt + not being a real threat, Murray struggling, etc

Yes...just about though. I'd be surprised if Stan reaches another slam final TBH.

Looking through the draw, don't see Rafa lasting too many rounds here, early exit on the cards.

Somehow the draw in IW looked more interesting - there were plenty of exciting matches in the early rounds.

Fed and Nole cannot meet in the final here - it would be SF.  We could have Rafa vs Fed or Rafa vs Nole final.  Or maybe Haas vs Thiem.

truffin1 wrote:Stan has more of a chance and balances the draw better than ferrer has as a top 4 though.

Stan probably has a better chance to beat the top guys, but he is also more likely to go out early than Ferrer I think.  On balance, I think you are right though - he balances the draw a bit better (or rather: not quite as badly) as Ferrer.

Word out of Miami so far is courts are incredibly slow, but ball is not bouncing as high as IW...  guess take the good with the bad.

Fun fact about Fed vs. Ivo-    Out of 21 sets played-  14 have been decided by tiebreak!!   Federer has won 13 out of those 14 tiebreaks... and 10 out of 11 matches.   kind of crazy when you think about it..  It seems Ivo's serve gets him to the tiebreak, but then doesn't finish the job.

Still that's a tricky 1st match.

Federer was recently overtaken as "the best tie break record of all time"....by another big server: Isner.

A big serve is a huge advantage in breaker and unfortunately not for Karlo v Federer.

I think Fed is happy to play Karlo....as tough as it is. For Fed it means very little running and that's all he cares for now...I am pretty sure.

At least Ivo tries to play decent tennis, however hard it is for him with that height.
I wonder how he would've done in the fast era.
I don't remember any very tall players in the 80s and 90s.

Looks like he is back from injury....

Regarding how he'd fare on faster court, I think, he'd fair very very well. In fact unstoppable....though his serve would have probably been a bit more erratic with those nat strings.

Trick shot from Baghdatis....and bit cheeky to ask the crowd to cheer for it!

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Media/Video-Landing.aspx?/*/Tennis/Media/Videos/Uploaded/2014/3/19/Miami%202014%20Wednesday%20Hot%20Shot%20Baghdatis#ooid=gyOTZhbDpWkYZsiZMLUKxUQe52LXSJ7D

Maybe like Amri  he thinks that's a "genius" shot!

I expect a Nadal Djoko final.....with Djoko winning it.

Things are hotting up in "team Nole": Becker has pulled out of Miami due to his  imminent double hip surgery.

http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8817568

I really hope Nole and Becker stay together for as long as possible.

How do you think Becker can realistically change Nole's game?

noleisthebest wrote:How do you think Becker can realistically change Nole's game?

He can't really help Novak's game... and anyway Nole's problem is not in his game, it's in his head. That's why I believe that if the confidence 'clicks' again he'll be a force to be reckoned with.

However the longer Becker stays on Djokovic's team, the longer that's going to take, so as a Nadal fan I hope Becker stays on the team.
Becker's effect is two fold, firstly it means he will give his advice; second Vajda (who's a damn good coach...) will presumably gives less advice; dual effect to cheer up Nadal fans.

LOL

Tomic's whole match today lasted only 5 more minutes than Nadal and Andujars tiebreak in Rio.

Julia Santamaria wrote:LOL

Tomic's whole match today lasted only 5 more minutes than Nadal and Andujars tiebreak in Rio.

0 and 1...that was quick...against another oldie! Most likely injured.

Apparently it was the quickest loss in ATP history.