Re: ATP Masters 1000: Madrid

by noleisthebest Tue May 06, 2014 6:16 pm

Order of play out for tomorrow...Nadal playing his best mate Monaco!

Almagro-Murray may be interesting.

Match of the day has to be Gulbis - Dolgopolov, it's their 3rd this year 1:1 so far!

by raiders_of_the_lost_ark Tue May 06, 2014 6:31 pm

Fogna had some major fight with the chair umpire Lahyani and he even threatened him. http://www1.skysports.com/tennis/news/12110/9299819/atp-madrid-open-fabio-fognini-clashes-with-umpire-in-loss-to-alexandr-dolgopolov

by raiders_of_the_lost_ark Tue May 06, 2014 6:33 pm

noleisthebest wrote:Sijsling beats Haas from a set down. Caught the last game, s&v-ed all the way, nice BH.

Haas is on his last leg. This is the end for him.. Good player.

by Daniel Tue May 06, 2014 8:55 pm

Mirka and I are so incredibly happy to share that Leo and Lenny were born this evening! #TwinsAgain #Miracle

by noleisthebest Tue May 06, 2014 8:58 pm

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:
noleisthebest wrote:Sijsling beats Haas from a set down. Caught the last game, s&v-ed all the way, nice BH.

Haas is on his last leg. This is the end for him.. Good player.

What makes you say that?
I saw him give Nole a real hard time in Wimbledon last year. I think he's just come back from injury, so needs a few more matches, clay has never been his best surface.
He is very fit and doesn't mind rallying in the least, if he stays injury free he could play another two years.

by noleisthebest Tue May 06, 2014 9:01 pm

FedererKing wrote:
Mirka and I are so incredibly happy to share that Leo and Lenny were born this evening! #TwinsAgain #Miracle

Oh, super news!!!!
Twin girls followed by twin boys!!!

Fed doesn't do anything by halves does he Winking

CONGRATULATIONS! Bubbly

ATP Masters 1000: Madrid - Page 2 Bless_with_twins-600x600

by noleisthebest Tue May 06, 2014 9:12 pm

I was going to write about Thiem Stan match and all I keep thinking now is all those babies!!!!
That's going to be a lot of logistics, Mirka will have to be grounded for a while.
I can just imagine Fed and the huge grin on his face...great it's the boys!

Anyway back to Stan-Thiem....
Caught the end of 1st set, surprised to realise Thiem is physically bigger than Stan.
Quite a pair of heavy weights exchanging some potent groundstrokes.
You can see Thiem's inexperience on the big stage showing...but great potential.
Stan looking fitter than ever, his legs actually appear to be toned!
This is the first time I have seen him lighter on his feet than his opponent which is quite strange.

by noleisthebest Tue May 06, 2014 9:22 pm

Thiem settled in the match now, playing with more composure.
You can already see he is more talented than Stan, natural all-court game, 4:1.
It's exciting to have a decent young SBH-er playing proper, attacking tennis.

by noleisthebest Tue May 06, 2014 9:29 pm

And Thiem takes the 2nd set 6:2!
Great stuff, I love it when playes come out our nowhere, without all this media hype and let their racquet do the talking, go Dominic! diva

by noleisthebest Tue May 06, 2014 9:39 pm

I have almost forgotten how exciting tennis could look like on clay, Stan and Thiem really going for it!
I am sick of bland, useless, negative, sweaty Spanish grinding!

by noleisthebest Tue May 06, 2014 9:46 pm

I am really impressed with Thiem.
Superb FH, and BH not far behind!

by truffin1 Tue May 06, 2014 9:51 pm

Twins again!! Good God! What wonderful news.....

Now from a fan wanting to see Fed play as long as possible.... does the issues of traveling with 4 kids now push him out sooner than before?

Wow, what are the odds of having 2 sets... has to be astronomical. Fed doesn't do anything normal does he!!?

Allez Stan!

by Daniel Tue May 06, 2014 9:53 pm

Maybe he wants to see a good doubles match?

by noleisthebest Tue May 06, 2014 10:13 pm

Thiem has done it!!!! Applause

What a player! Federer would have been proud of some of those BHs!

Great competitor, lovely temper, just what the tour needed: a proper full-blooded no-nonsense, no-frills talent, well done Dominic Thiem!!! Bubbly

A night full of excitement diva

by summerblues Tue May 06, 2014 11:30 pm

Interesting result in the Wawrinka-Thiem match.

I am not able to watch any tennis this week so I did not see it but I thought before the match that Thiem was not totally without a chance. He has been doing ok so far this spring, and clay has always been his most successful surface. Also, while Stan appears to be in great form, he is nowhere near as consistent as Rafa, Nole or Fed are. He is always more prone to a shock loss.

Let's hope now that Thiem can go upwards from here. There are good many youngsters who managed even far more impressive one-off results without reaching what people thought might be their potential (e.g., Gasquet, or even Berdych).

by Tenez Wed May 07, 2014 12:04 am

noleisthebest wrote:
Tenez wrote:
noleisthebest wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/v/tAZaHJsPIVI
So the 8 times winner has not had a single of his shots selected!
I am convinced that had Nalby played that year Nadal instead of Federer he woudl have won. He played amazing tennis until he got injured pushed by Federer.
I thought the same!
Federer "stuffed" Nole in the 2011 SF, as well. I am convinced Nole would have annihilated Nadal had he not run into an inspired Federer.
That match had so much poise and history in it!
It's still too emotional for me to rewatch it.

Yep...and yep...Nadal's luck again!

by Tenez Wed May 07, 2014 12:06 am

FedererKing wrote:
Mirka and I are so incredibly happy to share that Leo and Lenny were born this evening! #TwinsAgain #Miracle

Is that true????Twins?

by Tenez Wed May 07, 2014 12:11 am

I also thought Thiem could beat Stan...in fact I think anybody can beat Stan on the day. Stan can play great points but he cannot string them together unless he is helped a bit.

by Polly 81 Wed May 07, 2014 12:13 am

Waaa! So happy for the Federer family!! Nice that it's boys this time. Leo after Leonardo DiCaprio I guess. He always says in interviews that he'd like him to play him in a movie. Lenny after Lenny Kravitz? I think he's a fan.

Sorry, didn't see any matches today, so can't comment on that! Surprised that Stan is out though.

by Tenez Wed May 07, 2014 12:51 am

Honestly they must be on some sort of fertility treatment to have 4 twins. The natural chance of that is extremely slim!

What does our cellular biologist think about it?

by noleisthebest Wed May 07, 2014 1:00 am

I read Federer's sister also had twins and the odds for having two sets is 1:70 000.
I went to school with 2 sets of twins, one pair had another set of twin sisters, the other two sets!!!!!

by raiders_of_the_lost_ark Wed May 07, 2014 4:15 am

noleisthebest wrote:
raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:
noleisthebest wrote:Sijsling beats Haas from a set down. Caught the last game, s&v-ed all the way, nice BH.

Haas is on his last leg. This is the end for him.. Good player.

What makes you say that?
I saw him give Nole a real hard time in Wimbledon last year. I think he's just come back from injury, so needs a few more matches, clay has never been his best surface.
He is very fit and doesn't mind rallying in the least, if he stays injury free he could play another two years.

Isn't this how most players end their careers and hang their boots? Gonzalez, Ljubicic, Nalbandian.. almost all players of Fed's generation had similar pattern in their career before they called it off. Haas had a great 2013, but again how long a 36yo can keep it? He is often getting injured, and hence losing matches and all his points from last year. Will he now have the enthusiasm to fight on not only his opponent but also his own body? Most players don't.. thats why I think he is one half-major injury away from retirement.

But he knows what he is doing.

by raiders_of_the_lost_ark Wed May 07, 2014 4:18 am

noleisthebest wrote:
FedererKing wrote:
Mirka and I are so incredibly happy to share that Leo and Lenny were born this evening! #TwinsAgain #Miracle

Oh, super news!!!!
Twin girls followed by twin boys!!!

Fed doesn't do anything by halves does he

CONGRATULATIONS!

Great news for the Federer family!!

Rome is now out of question. He may just play RG, but I don't know how prepared he would be for it.

by raiders_of_the_lost_ark Wed May 07, 2014 4:23 am

Tenez wrote:I also thought Thiem could beat Stan...in fact I think anybody can beat Stan on the day. Stan can play great points but he cannot string them together unless he is helped a bit.

It was all normal in tennis, wasn't it? Upsets were a bit common once upon a time. Fed was first one I saw who would just strings wins after wins. The current tennis aids cosistency, but its never easy to keep winning all the time.

Thiem is a good player and showing great promise. I hope he can keep it up.

by Tenez Wed May 07, 2014 8:22 am

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:
Tenez wrote:I also thought Thiem could beat Stan...in fact I think anybody can beat Stan on the day. Stan can play great points but he cannot string them together unless he is helped a bit.

It was all normal in tennis, wasn't it? Upsets were a bit common once upon a time. Fed was first one I saw who would just strings wins after wins. The current tennis aids cosistency, but its never easy to keep winning all the time.Thiem is a good player and showing great promise. I hope he can keep it up.

True. And because talent was the main factor, new 20yo talents would arrive on tour with a bang. But not against Nadal, Djoko and Murray!

by noleisthebest Wed May 07, 2014 10:18 am

So we have had two lucky losers this time: HPM and Kubot...Simon must be over the moon, didn't he say how he asked Mirka to "push harder" so he didn't have to play Fed Laugh

Now that Stan is out from bottom half, it's going to be so interesting to see who comes through.
My bet is in Nishi, he is playing really well.
Dolgo has been superb, too.
But they both have to get past Daveed first...

Over the top half...Nadal's got it so easy it's embarrassing...unless Dimi pulls another upset, like he did last year.

by Tenez Wed May 07, 2014 10:22 am

The top draw is a joke...unless Murray can produce some form. He will probably lose v Nadal (if he gets there), but Nadal will lose some feathers before the final. I predict Nishi will win that bottom draw.

by noleisthebest Wed May 07, 2014 10:23 am

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:
Isn't this how most players end their careers and hang their boots? Gonzalez, Ljubicic, Nalbandian.. almost all players of Fed's generation had similar pattern in their career before they called it off. Haas had a great 2013, but again how long a 36yo can keep it? He is often getting injured, and hence losing matches and all his points from last year. Will he now have the enthusiasm to fight on not only his opponent but also his own body? Most players don't.. thats why I think he is one half-major injury away from retirement.

But he knows what he is doing.

I think Haas actually has not had much wear and tear on his body, he spent more time being injured than playing, so probably really hungry.
Ljubicic was burnt out, Nalby just lazy I think...didn't look after his body properly. Gonzo...I think he couldn't push himself into the road-running era, probably loves life a bit more than sweat and tears of ATP circus atm.

I read somewhere he is becoming a coach soon.

by noleisthebest Wed May 07, 2014 10:28 am

Murray looked very lazy last time I watched him, if he is not fired up, which he doesn't seem to be these days, he is very beatable.
Should he get to play Nadal, I'm sure he'd rise to the occasion. They have both reached the clueless stage of their career in which they can't be bothered to push their bodies into road-running any more.
Nadal: because he has no other options and a plan B, Murray, because he is a born pusher and doesn't have any idea or natural drive to play attacking tennis, if he hires Mac - that would be a fascinating viewing, but frankly, a waste of time. Lendl was perfect for him.

I would love to see Nadal, the Son of Madrid get beaten there early.

by Tenez Wed May 07, 2014 10:40 am

As much as I believe one can play close to its best if not its best if injury free till 32/33 I believe that after that it really becomes too hard on the circuit to stay at the top. Federer could certainly win more slams on what I saw this year...BUT he would need to be on fast conditions. in a 3 / 4 rallies .....Will they speed Wimby this year? Very much doubt it....though you never know.

by Tenez Wed May 07, 2014 10:42 am

noleisthebest wrote:Murray looked very lazy last time I watched him, if he is not fired up, which he doesn't seem to be these days, he is very beatable.
Should he get to play Nadal, I'm sure he'd rise to the occasion. They have both reached the clueless stage of their career in which they can't be bothered to push their bodies into road-running any more.
Nadal: because he has no other options and a plan B, Murray, because he is a born pusher and doesn't have any idea or natural drive to play attacking tennis, if he hires Mac - that would be a fascinating viewing, but frankly, a waste of time. Lendl was perfect for him.

I would love to see Nadal, the Son of Madrid get beaten there early.

One can hire a gutsy coach like McEnroe.....it won't make one gutsy.

by noleisthebest Wed May 07, 2014 11:18 am

Tenez wrote:As much as I believe one can play close to its best if not its best if injury free till 32/33 I believe that after that it really becomes too hard on the circuit to stay at the top. Federer could certainly win more slams on what I saw this year...BUT he would need to be on fast conditions. in a 3 / 4 rallies .....Will they speed Wimby this year? Very much doubt it....though you never know.

It would be interesting to calculate what's a year in current conditions worth, say a year in the 90s.

Does your contact in ATP have access to what Kermode's plans are?

He seems to have both a business brain but love for tennis, too. He was a Queens as well as WTF TD (and we know grass there was fastest on tour), he's trying to extend and give more meaning to grass season from 2015, it could be a good sign.

I had a look at someone's Player profile yesterday (can't for the life of me remember who, but some young guy playing Madrid), it mentioned his parents' athletic background etc, etc....then some general stuff and the last sentence: no, not the name of a coach....the name of his PHYSICAL trainer. Sad.

It's got to stop.

by noleisthebest Wed May 07, 2014 11:30 am

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:
Great news for the Federer family!!

Rome is now out of question. He may just play RG, but I don't know how prepared he would be for it.

To be honest, I really see no reason why Fed should not play Rome. I mean, what exactly is he going to do at home?
Cook? Change nappies?
Give Mirka foot massage and TLC?

He is not exactly at the start of his career, and after a miserable last year, should make the most of his regained health and fitness. He hasn't got much time left.

by noleisthebest Wed May 07, 2014 11:36 am

Got to go to some lunch now, really annoyed won't be able to watch Dolgo-Gulbis!

by Tenez Wed May 07, 2014 11:37 am

I am not that convinced Queens grass is/was faster. It may simply have been that the courts were not rolled as hard, or most probably they did not have the same clay/soil ratio but the question is how Queens would play if it had a second week? The balls are what makes the conds quick...and I believe they use the same at Queens as at Wimbledon.

Problem for Fed is that if we play with fast balls, guys like Isner and Karlo are not going to be broken and TBs is a bit of a lottery. well they can always call for footfault when needed. Winking

by noleisthebest Wed May 07, 2014 4:51 pm

You are right, Queens is only one week...
The whole technology+medicine package is a bit like a genie out of bottle...the process of game evolution that led it to where it is will require more than just faster balls to revert all the negative side effects, if that is at all possible.
Getting rid of DBH would be a huge step in the right direction.
To start with, just look how tall and big they are all now compared to Mac or Wilander...
Imagine Isner with a wooden racquet in the 80s....

by Tenez Wed May 07, 2014 6:01 pm

This Copil has actually not a great BH! It's his weakness clearly...but what a phenomenal FH! The best on tour...though not sure of the consistency.

by Tenez Wed May 07, 2014 6:19 pm

Very close match. Dimi is really getting popular. They might taylor the courts for him...which would not be a bad thing!

by noleisthebest Wed May 07, 2014 6:19 pm

I'll have a look!
Coming from the land of Nastase, he should be good!

by noleisthebest Wed May 07, 2014 6:28 pm

noleisthebest wrote:I'll have a look!
Coming from the land of Nastase, he should be good!

It's finished Sad

Looked really close, 3rd set TB 9:7.
Where are all these young SBH-er coming from?!!!
It's really exciting!
2014 keeps getting better and better. ATP Masters 1000: Madrid - Page 2 3755116760

ATP Masters 1000: Madrid - Page 2 3755116760

by Tenez Wed May 07, 2014 6:46 pm

Yes one feesl that though Nadal and Djoko showed the way to beat Fed...quite a few players carried on the classy Federer's style.

Copil is relatively young....just a few months older than Dimi.....he will need a better BH though to do well.

by bluenose Wed May 07, 2014 6:55 pm

As far as I know, the Federer girls are monozygotic twins. There is no treatment to induce embryo splitting, fertility drugs are to induce hyperovulation. I don't think anybody has come up with a cause and/or mechanism for MZ twinning and there are 2 schools of thought about whether there is a genetic factor. However, the nine-banded armadillo always produces identical quadruplets so clearly there is a way to program embryo splitting, we just don't know what it is.

If the boys are also identical twins it would be quite rare but not THAT unusual, and I think that in middle European populations the rates of identical and fraternal twinning are about the same so the chances of 2 MZ or 1 MZ and 1 DZ sets of twins are about the same too.

Girl MZ twins will always show more phenotypic differences than boys because although the girls share the same set of chromosomes they have different patterns of X inactivation - early in development in all cells one of the X c'somes is turned off so in some tissues the mother's X is expressed and in others the dad's X. So we might be able to tell about the boys just from looking in a few months.

I'm happy that Roger was able to get home in time, and all went well. I imagine he wants to spend some time with the girls working on the new family dynamic and settling the logistics. I doubt he'll bow out of the French Open.

by noleisthebest Wed May 07, 2014 7:22 pm

Tenez wrote:Very close match. Dimi is really getting popular. They might taylor the courts for him...which would not be a bad thing!

Dimi seems a genuinely nice guy, (not as sharp as Nole, though) and that's good for The Show. Also the SBH. Not to mention the Mr Sharapova tag. Nike. The full marketing package...
He seems to be doing everything to catch up physically with Rasheed, and I really don't like his game right now, he can play much better than all this scrambling. His shots are similar to Haas's but Haas's game is more compact and focused.

by Tenez Wed May 07, 2014 7:41 pm

bluenose wrote:As far as I know, the Federer girls are monozygotic twins. There is no treatment to induce embryo splitting, fertility drugs are to induce hyperovulation. I don't think anybody has come up with a cause and/or mechanism for MZ twinning and there are 2 schools of thought about whether there is a genetic factor. However, the nine-banded armadillo always produces identical quadruplets so clearly there is a way to program embryo splitting, we just don't know what it is.

If the boys are also identical twins it would be quite rare but not THAT unusual, and I think that in middle European populations the rates of identical and fraternal twinning are about the same so the chances of 2 MZ or 1 MZ and 1 DZ sets of twins are about the same too.

Girl MZ twins will always show more phenotypic differences than boys because although the girls share the same set of chromosomes they have different patterns of X inactivation - early in development in all cells one of the X c'somes is turned off so in some tissues the mother's X is expressed and in others the dad's X. So we might be able to tell about the boys just from looking in a few months.

I'm happy that Roger was able to get home in time, and all went well. I imagine he wants to spend some time with the girls working on the new family dynamic and settling the logistics. I doubt he'll bow out of the French Open.

Interesting BN......though I do not think Fed's girls are MZ as they are quite different from one another.

I agree about Fed probably not missing the FO....unless he really wants to save energy for Wimby.

by Tenez Wed May 07, 2014 7:43 pm

After a second look the girls look like each other...more than I thought.

by noleisthebest Wed May 07, 2014 8:17 pm

Almagro's CC BH is gorgeous.

by bluenose Wed May 07, 2014 8:19 pm

Did anyone watch Milos yesterday? His return game seems to be improving, so his footwork must be improving as well.

by Tenez Wed May 07, 2014 8:21 pm

Murray has abused his body too much.....He is done ..at 26!!!!

This is tennis! very tough on the body and when you move a 6'3" frame around the court like you are short like Ferrer......you don't last as long as Ferrer!

by Tenez Wed May 07, 2014 8:22 pm

bluenose wrote:Did anyone watch Milos yesterday? His return game seems to be improving, so his footwork must be improving as well.

No but I saw he was the only one able to win in straight sets.

by Daniel Wed May 07, 2014 8:42 pm

I think we can all agree the sooner Nadal is no longer a force, the better. As soon as he is gone, tons of silly players will have come through the ranks emulating his play, but not being as good at it. The fans and organizers won't like it and that will be it. All those aspiring Nadal's will be hit with the scythe.

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