ATP MASTERS 1000: Monte Carlo

I can't believe it's already April and the heart of tennis season is just about to start. 

Monte Carlo has lost a lot of its appeal since it was downgraded to a non-compulsory event, mainly as Federer chose to skip it.
This year, it's not the case and the field is absolutely fantastic:

Nadal, Djokovic, Wawrinka, Federer, Ferrer, Berdych, Fognini, Gulbis, Gasquet, Tsonga, Dimitrov, Haas, Dolgopolov, Paire, Raonic, Stepanek, Chardy, Tursunov, Monfils, Kohlschreiber, Agut, Janowicz, Almagro, Robredo, Youzhny, Vasselin, Simon, Verdasco, Melzer, Karlovic....

The only one missing is Murray, but I don't think he would have done well there anyway.

The draw is coming out on Saturday at 12.00

Should be a wonderful week of tennis!

Good to see it resembles a masters 1000 field which is rare for it...  still a little weak Top 10 wise.

Federer as usual did Nadal a huge favor by pushing behind the scenes (along with Nadal of course) to have it remain a 1000 event when the ATP wanted to downgrade it to a 500...     It's a beautiful tournament though.

He, he...nothing like a bit of a pre-tournament trash talk, esp if it comes from tennis's most famous Uncle.
I find the way he talks in first person plural hilarious...just adds to the mysterious aura of "Team" Nadal...

"These first months of the season have been good, but definitively not great. We weren't lucky in Australia, where Rafa just couldn't put up a fight in the final. In Indian Wells and Miami things started to get better, but Novak Djokovic played at a very high level. Rafael didn't play bad in Miami, but as soon as he found a very good opponent as Novak is, he failed to find a way to beat him, especially on hard courts.

Obviously Djokovic is a much harder opponent than Federer to face for us. Looking at the Head-2-Head it's easy to see that. With Novak is not easy. There might be some peculiar aspects of each opponent you find very hard to deal with, no matter what the name of your opponent is. I wouldn't say that Djokovic is a better player than Federer, as Roger still is the best out of the two, but Rafael finds it easier to adapt to Federer's game rather than Djokovic's. Novak can move very well, he is very attentive and has a great mentality, so that when he is dominating the rallies, the only thing you can do to escape is to hit a winner. When we play against Djokovic, we already know that it is going to be a tough match, and unless you keep playing at a very high level for 2 or 3 consecutive hours, you'll end up losing the match.

The problems at Rafael's back seem finally gone. The second serve has been affected the most by those problems, because Rafa couldn't rotate the ball as he wanted. I hope things are going to get better on clay, as on that surface serve is not such a determinant shot. We'll see what happens so we'll know if we did a good job or not.

At Wimbledon things haven't gone really great over the past years. Rafael faced many challenges in London, as he had to stay low and put weight on the knees, failing to give his very best. This year his knees are doing much better. Grass can adapt very well to Rafael's game, as the 5 finals he reached in London are there to demonstrate"

Novak can move very well, he is very attentive and has a great mentality, so that when he is dominating the rallies, the only thing you can do to escape is to hit a winner. When we play against Djokovic, we already know that it is going to be a tough match, and unless you keep playing at a very high level for 2 or 3 consecutive hours, you'll end up losing the match.

Hehe....indeed!

exactly...Toni's tactic against everybody else....Nadal being slayed by his own sword! What Toni does not say on this occasion is that it is still Djoko pulling the winners most of the time. He clearly wants Nadal to pull those winners and that is indirect but obvious admission that Nadal is not good at hitting winners!!!

Makes me really laugh when some consider his shots, in particular his FH as one of the best of all time!!!...The fact is without his stamina and legs Nadal's FH would bring him 3 winners on average per match! To me considering he has more power in his arm than anybody else, his FH is probably one of the worst!

Nadal's forehand is a really nasty shot, it mocks tennis. It's a cowardly combination of unnatural strength and little skill.
Someone once said it's a FH only his mother can love.
But spin is the name of the game today and he really took it to a mad extreme...or should I say his uncle aka "They".

And yes, the blindness of people that can't see beyond the bicep.
What can you do...good thing is there still are some very nice FHs around.

I wouldn't say that Djokovic is a better player than Federer, as Roger still is the best out of the two,....

That is so mean from Toni! ..and of course Federer not being as good as Nadal ..the latter is the" bester"!

While we wait for Monte Carlo draw to come out tomorrow, here's a handy preview of the coming clay season:

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2014/04/clay-court-preview-men/51151/#.U0g3W8u9KSM

Tenez wrote:

I wouldn't say that Djokovic is a better player than Federer, as Roger still is the best out of the two,....

That is so mean from Toni! ..and of course Federer not being as good as Nadal ..the latter is the" bester"!

I was wondering if you were going to notice that sentence

noleisthebest wrote: Grass can adapt very well to Rafael's game, as the 5 finals he reached in London are there to demonstrate"

So...the grass has been adapted to Nadal's game...Interesting comment Toni.   


I love this: Federer tweeted "Back on my beloved clay, that's where it all started for me!"


and when someone asked: "beloved clay? You sure rog?"


He answered: "Very sure! The press thinks i don't like it! Actually I love it!"


Nice    Second best clay courter there is.

Am I the only one that thinks Nadal is not the best on clay?
He is the beAst on clay.

Polly 81 wrote:

noleisthebest wrote: Grass can adapt very well to Rafael's game, as the 5 finals he reached in London are there to demonstrate"

So...the grass has been adapted to Nadal's game...Interesting comment Toni.   


I love this: Federer tweeted "Back on my beloved clay, that's where it all started for me!"


and when someone asked: "beloved clay? You sure rog?"


He answered: "Very sure! The press thinks i don't like it! Actually I love it!"


Nice    Second best clay courter there is.

Yes...nice slip up from Toni. It's true that playing on grass with basketballs certainly helps Nadal.

yes Federer would probably have won 6 FO as well without the beast.

noleisthebest wrote:Am I the only one that thinks Nadal is not the best on clay?
He is the beAst on clay.

Well easy:

Over a set there are probably 10 players better than him. Federer clearly is better than Nadal over a set. Fed and Medvedev have the most efficient tennis on clay. Almagro can also produce a better tennis, Davydenko, Delpo, and many others.

Best of 3 sets....then it's a very different story! I'd say 3 to 4 players can beat him and produce a more efficient tennis.

best of 5. Only one has beaten him but a few came close. So I'd say no-one has proved he is better than him. In Federer's favour, Federer often cut through the FO draw with more ease than Nadal proving again that Fed's game was more efficient (better?) than Nadal...but unfortunately when it came to their encounter....Nadal simply outlast the player who first outsmarted him.

Over 10 seasons...Nadal is sadly the best.

He certainly has the best results, and he moves really well on it, too, but tennis...I don't think so.
Clay may require a bit more patience and a few extra shots in a point compared to grass, but what Nadal produces on that surface, at least for me, is just brutal punishment.
Could he have done it without the bicep and all that goes into it?

Tennis on clay can be really beautiful.

I enjoy watching movement on it and the craft behind the point construction.

The only best I can give Nadal is that he looks least painful on that surface.

But if I have to look at the best display of tennis, I will look at Federer's first sets often v Nadal. 2006 first set was really impressive for instance. Fed did not need to be patient. Almagro also made Nadal look stupid on clay.....for a set only unfortunately.

I admit, I have never been a fan of Fedal, and I don't think I saw any of their RG matches.
I vaguely remember their Madrid final in 2009 I think
I like Fed's tennis on clay a lot. Particularly his win on blue clay..that was such an interesting tournament.
Btw, what happened Blue Clay?
I suppose he'll be back once Nadal starts doing well...

Madrid 2012 got me thinking now...that was very slippery clay, the fine dust wouldn't bond with the base surface and apparently was very slippery.
I noticed that straight away with Nole's movement, it got affected a lot, which was so strange to see, he couldn't get the footing in it to save his life!
Yet, Fed, Tipsarevic, Berdych did, even Verdasco.

I wonder if that was the problem in that last RG SF against Nadal.
The clay was very dry and flying thin under Novak's feet.

Or is it a bit far fetched?

noleisthebest wrote:I admit, I have never been a fan of Fedal, and I don't think I saw any of their RG matches.
I  vaguely remember their Madrid final in 2009 I think
I like Fed's tennis on clay a lot. Particularly his win on blue clay..that was such an interesting tournament.
Btw, what happened Blue Clay?
I suppose he'll be back once Nadal starts doing well...

I think Blue clay knew he was lucky to have predicted a few very close matches right but knew his chance would turn so left before.

noleisthebest wrote:Madrid 2012 got me thinking now...that was very slippery clay, the fine dust wouldn't bond with the base surface and apparently was very slippery.
I noticed that straight away with Nole's movement, it got affected a lot, which was so strange to see, he couldn't get the footing in it to save his life!
Yet, Fed, Tipsarevic, Berdych did, even Verdasco.

I wonder if that was the problem in that last RG SF against Nadal.
The clay was very dry and flying thin under Novak's feet.

Or is it a bit far fetched?

I can;t remember what it was exactly but there was certainly some arguments about watering the courts. I think one of them wanted watered and one said no.....and the most popular player won the argument.

Yes, Novak wanted it watered towards the end of the 5th set, but Pascal Maria wouldn't allow it even after 12 games in that set!!! (because the humbler player with a more angelic smile wanted so)

Still, I find it so strange he can't grip the surface if it's dry and finds it so unstable under his feet. It only happened on blue clay and last RG.
His ankle was also injured or at least very fresh after injury, I remember he was a big question for Monte Carlo last year....so maybe that all played in his mind.
Even when I saw him live in Chatrier (first and only time on clay) against Goffin, he looked a bit strange, almost like on grass, where his movement looks most out of place....I thought I was maybe imagining it as it was live, not TV as I was used to seeing him.

I am just trying to find an explanation/excuse around it as I'd hate it if it's the slippery surface that will prevent him from winning RG.

He has quite a unique stance/movement/posture on hard courts, very light on the feet when moving forward.
Federer is usually well balanced on both feet ready to pounce forward when on the base-line, whereas Nole often shifts weight between two feet as he mainly moves laterally, left and right along the base-line.

Nadal just powers around in every direction, always firmly on the ground.

truffin1 wrote:Good to see it resembles a masters 1000 field which is rare for it...  still a little weak Top 10 wise.

Federer as usual did Nadal a huge favor by pushing behind the scenes (along with Nadal of course) to have it remain a 1000 event when the ATP wanted to downgrade it to a 500...     It's a beautiful tournament though.

I didn't like one bit when Hamburg was reduced to a 500 event, after well over 100 years of tournament history. MC lost its its field strength as a ATP1000 event after being made non-mandatory. They should have removed IW or Miami or even Rome.

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:

truffin1 wrote:Good to see it resembles a masters 1000 field which is rare for it...  still a little weak Top 10 wise.

Federer as usual did Nadal a huge favor by pushing behind the scenes (along with Nadal of course) to have it remain a 1000 event when the ATP wanted to downgrade it to a 500...     It's a beautiful tournament though.

I didn't like one bit when Hamburg was reduced to a 500 event, after well over 100 years of tournament history. MC lost its its field strength as a ATP1000 event after being made non-mandatory. They should have removed IW or Miami or even Rome.

Completely agree. Well Madrid more than Rome, imo.

The draw is out:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/posting/2014/410/mds.pdf

Paire, Dolgopolov, Gulbis, Federer all in Nole's half     

Good draw for Roger, nothing overly difficult before SF. Some potentially interesting opponents for Rafa - Dimitrov, Raonic, Stan.

I think Nadal Andujar coudl be interesting in the second round. Yes then Dimi and hopefully Rao.

Order of play out for tomorrow with a must watch match: Gulbis-Dolgopolov

followed by Mahut-Thiem.

Gasquet pulls out of Monte Carlo with back injury.

Ouch! Knowing him a bit I doubt he will play through pain...so it might be a long break.

Bit of a shame to have dolgo/gulbis so early.

Yes it is, isn't it...
They both play so well on clay, I just hope I find some stream for the match as tennistv starts showing MC only from tomorrow
I love match ups like theirs  where different skill and style clash and you can enjoy watching how each player deals with it, without the need of drugs, gamesmanship, grunting etc...pure tennis and pure fun!

As for Gasquet:

"I only picked up the racket again on Tuesday, very steadily. But I've been in pain since yesterday and today, after 20 minutes of training, I couldn't carry on. I could hardly even carry my bag. I thought things would be fine after 15 days without doing anything. But no, not at all."


Shame...
Looks like Monfils has an injured ankle, as well.
The season's barely started and so many walking wounded...

Yes. They are all pushing too much. The slow courts and in particular the slow HCs are to blame.

True. I find it miraculous that Nole has not been injured much, bearing in mind how many matches he has played on those courts.
You are right to point his height.  I suppose it helps that he is light and very flexible, also a very natural athlete. That's where he differs most to Murray.

Dimitrov looks quite similar to Nole size and weight wise, but not as nimble. He really needs to watch himself under Rasheed, I can't see him last long with his  current style of play.

I hope Tsonga recovers his old self soon.

That aside, nice to have things served on a plate by ATP

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/04/15/Monte-Carlo-Preview.aspx

And now off to find the stream for Dolgo - Gulbis

Can't find a stream      
Looks like Dolgo is demolishing Gulbis, 6:2 in the first set.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/04/15/Monte-Carlo-Sunday-Djokovic-Preview.aspx

interesting article.

I just read it, too.
Nothing new regarding his emotional side and how much he lets it get in the way of things...like being obsessed with winning RG last year.
It wasn't the first time, either...he was heavily burdened with The Streak in that 2011 RG SF against Fed.
I  wish he got everyone incl Serbia off his back and just played tennis...

He says it's changed now, and I hope so...but I'll believe it when I see it, the calmness in Miami and composure from start to finish without customary wobbles certainly were a good sign.

I found this line from him telling:

"It's easier to lose confidence than to gain it."

noleisthebest wrote:I just read it, too.
Nothing new regarding his emotional side and how much he lets it get in the way of things...like being obsessed with winning RG last year.
It wasn't the first time, either...
I can't help thinking that he was heavily burdened with The Streak in that 2011 RG SF against Fed...

But isn't what streaks are about? pressure mounting as they extend? I also think that the fast balls that year helped Federer quite a bit.

He says it's changed now, and I hope so...but I'll believe it when I see it, the calmness in Miami and composure from start to finish without customary wobbles certainly were a good sign.

I found this line from him telling:

"It's easier to lose confidence than to gain it."

Well it's never going to be easy for him. He can beat Nadal convincingly but there are a few players out there who can stretch him. But yes confidence is a big factor.

I reckon Nadal is far from finished and he'll want to prove it this season more than ever.
Good thing is I think more and more players are able to challenge him now and that may give belief to others.
Look at AO: Fognini, Dimitrov, Nishikori...all came close, closer than ever. Then, Stan finally beat him in the final.

Then Raonic also took a set off him recently...and Nole dismantled him in Miami.

Every extra set he has to play on clay before the final weekend helps the opposition...

He must be feeling them all, breathing down his neck, will be so interesting to see how he copes with them all this year!

Of course Nadal is not finished. But as you say he is being pushed harder but I also think that even in his best years he was also always pushed. In 2010 his clay season was with lots of up and down despite winning most of the clay tournaments.

I just think he might struggle retaining any of his clay title this season.

Tenez wrote:

I just think he might struggle retaining any of his clay title this season.

That was worth the red highlight!
Wouldn't it be something of it came true. He can keep biting the one in  Barcelona....14 times if he wants to...  


"I'm not going to win 14 (titles in a row). There's a start for everybody and there's an end. I know that I'm not going to keep winning all the tournaments on clay forever and (there is) going to arrive a day when I'm not going to win one more ... hopefully not yet."

Look forward to seeing Paire today. He is playing Momtanes (again!) to whom he lost in Casablanca a couple of days ago.

I saw a few games of that match, Paire has filled out a little during his 3 month knee injury break and came across a bit match unfit, but the BH was as deadly and beautiful as ever, allez!

I am interested in the Step/Karlo match.

Should be fun and the winner play Federer.

That one has probably already started. Two 35-year olds...
I expect an easy win for Step.
He is doing really well and seems to be enjoying his tennis more and more!

I was right...Stepanek already 6:1 3:0 up!

Monte Carlo looking as beautiful as ever. I love the colour of clay there, the warm shade if strong, bright orange, what a contrast to La Mer.....I nearly went there this year!

Fognini-Sousa next. Will have a quick look at that one, too. 
Nothing better than watching style and guile outplay and send the basher running & scratching his head...

Fognini looks so natural on clay, great to watch a talented player one with the surface.
To me, the visual beauty of clay is the movement, it's like a dance, that extra bit of time on every shot, the elegance of sliding...and then there is that gorgeous background!

Monte Carlo has got to be the most beautiful place to play tennis.
Wimbledon - the sublime and the thrill.
Roland Garros - emotional, it demands all.
USO - just one crazy disco mumbo-jumbo...


Tennis has come home - to spring and Europe, it's time to get excited!  

Can't watch unfortunately.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/

Can you see the picture of Verdasco, in the ATP current banner, jumping in the pool? Those veins are carrying a thick rich blood.

I'll be enjoying it for both, then

Ouch, that looks awful....can't they catch him?

Montanes is such a classic, boring Spanish grinder, Paire is doing well but has no chance in longer rallies against a much lighter opponent....allez Benoit!!!!!

Awesome claycourt tennis from Fognini, serving for the 2nd set after being 2:5 down...
Forza Fabio!!!!!

Both Paire and Fognini taking their matches into 3rd set.   




Rotla, when are you going to add those extra smileys? No pressure, but the season is getting hot and we need a bit more expressive creativity here even in that department   

And Fognini through, I really enjoyed that match!

Sousa is a bit of a basher, but at least a gutsy one, provided a good contrast to crafty Fabio.

At one point the commentator said something really funny: Fognini played both the villain and the hero in that match, so true!

Paire lost as he just didn't seem to play with confidence, despite numerous opportunities rarely dared to move forward, which really was his only option today.
His footwork lacked sharpness, a bit heavy on the feet. 
Should get better with a few more matches played.

As the match was played on Montanes's terms, it was quite a dull and negative viewing.

noleisthebest wrote:Both Paire and Fognini taking their matches into 3rd set.   




Rotla, when are you going to add those extra smileys? No pressure, but the season is getting hot and we need a bit more expressive creativity here even in that department   

I understand the urgency...  Will try tomorrow afternoon.