ATP 500/250: Dubai, Acapulco, Buenos Aires

noleisthebest wrote:Earnie explains eberything!

"The shoulder didn’t affect me in Wimbledon. In Wimbledon I lost [in the second round] because I played bad. But then later on it affected me during the USA swing, including the US Open.
And then afterwards, end of last year, it was just bad. I was trying to deal with playing tournaments and healing the shoulder but it didn’t work. So I had time in the off-season to heal it more or less. Now it’s almost 100 percent so that’s a good thing. The rest [is down to] matches, you win some, you lose some. It’s a matter of one tournament to win one or two rounds, the confidence will be back. I don’t see a big problem with it.

I have no timing. In practice I have been playing worse than in the match … I’m making everybody very calm, distracted by my bad results and then I’m going to shoot. One good result an I am going to shoot."

and then concludes in style:

"This is a distraction, it’s the calm before the storm.

Rotla will be pleased to know.

What's going on with Dimi. Terrible. His game is all over the place. He serve for the first set 6/4 but completely messed it up....and then lost 7/5. He is not even great to watch.

Tenez wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:

Tenez wrote:What is Coric still doing in Dubai.....he lost in the Qualification....I guess it is worth having Nike as a sponsor.

It keeps getting better!
Baghdatis retired at 4:4 in the third set TB.
http://cyprus-mail.com/2015/02/25/baghdatis-loses-out-in-bizarre-fashion-in-dubai/
If that's not a fixed match, I don't know what is.
Seems Coric is the new "lucky one"...

That's weird....I was wondering what was that 6 all! What was Bagdha's excuse?

Apparently cramps.
Tennis ain't what it used to be. In more than one way.

Tenez wrote:What's going on with Dimi. Terrible. His game is all over the place. He serve for the first set 6/4 but completely messed it up....and then lost 7/5. He is not even great to watch.

I dien't watch it but not surprised.
As I noticed recently - it looks like he's hit the glass ceiling, and probably finding hard to deal with it under the pressure of expectation to deliver.

It can't be easy to put in all that hard work and see no results.

He needs to get a radically different coach asap, though tbh I don't know if a coach can do much with Dimi's BH.
There are quite a few players out now who are getting fitter, have both better serve and FH.

Match of the Day:

Coric-Murray (following Coric's famous line "When I play well I'm like Djokovic, and when I don't I'm more like Murray" Borna had better put his Nole game on today if he wants to win
Federer-Gasquet (one for the soul, SBH feast)
Berdych-Stakhovsky (can anyone see an upset here?)
Djokovic-Ilhan (a wild card taking on the wild one )
Nishikori-Dolgopolov ( it doesn't get much better between two DBH-ers here - a shotmaking bonanza)
Tomic-Ferrer (this is where Tomic has to attack if he wants to win, but will he?)
Troicki-Anderson (go Vik!)
Karlovic-Harrison (time to see if Ryan's win over Dimi last night was a result of poor Dimi or resurgence of his form)

Viva tennis

Coric in Baby-Nole mood 6:1!
He demolished Murray in 31 minutes. Very good at keeping ball in play. Has this difficult looped safe FH, a moonball but minus the energy, keeping Murray at an arm's length and off the baseline.

Very clever serving from Coric - body kick into BH, Murray struggling to do anything about it.

Murray complaining to Llayani about photographers, he doesn't want them to take shots of his notes....so they were HIS notes that time, not from a fan.

Murray still clueless. Coric even winning the very long rallies.

You can see that Murray is biding his time waiting for Coric to drop focus.
I hope he doesn't. Finally a young man playng with some belief.

Murray's quads looking like he's been pulling a WW2 tank up a mountain for the last 6 months.

Wow...he is the perfect anti-roadrunners. Simply a better version than all of them. But clearly can't cope as well versus more agressive players.

Poor Murray. I feel sorry for him actually.

Just switched it on.

What's going on guys ???

It's awful how far back Coric stands.

This is where Murray really starts to step it up, when he's up against an underdog.

Tenez wrote:Wow...he is the perfect anti-roadrunners. Simply a better version than all of them. But clearly can't cope as well versus more agressive players.

Poor Murray. I feel sorry for him actually.

Why?

Wow !

noleisthebest wrote:

Tenez wrote:Wow...he is the perfect anti-roadrunners. Simply a better version than all of them. But clearly can't cope as well versus more agressive players.

Poor Murray. I feel sorry for him actually.

Why?

Cause he was simply clueless. Maybe he was not 100%.

But strange how Coric shoudl not have made it to the main draw and now there he is in the semi final!

Also it seems coric's hair is already thinning.

Very curious to see how Fed does against Coric.....if fed beats gasquet of course.

Tenez wrote:Also it seems coric's hair is already thinning.

Yes, I noticed, but it's cut quite short, so not easy to see. Nole's hair is going the opposite direction!

Tenez wrote:Very curious to see how Fed does against Coric.....if fed beats gasquet of course.

I have no doubt Fed with deal with Coric no problemo.

If his back is fine, it's a no brainer just about against anyone on these courts.

Berdych is becoming a bit of a nasty piece with his little gamesmanship delaying games.
I'm glad he got time violation for deliberately trying to throw Stakh off with that super-slow racquet taping...

Tenez wrote:Very curious to see how Fed does against Coric.....if fed beats gasquet of course.

Federer will annihilate Coric, based on what I've seen of Coric so far. I'm still shocked he beat Murray.

Not surprised actually. never liked him much....and the more it goes the more I know why.

Kim Jong-Un wrote:

Tenez wrote:Very curious to see how Fed does against Coric.....if fed beats gasquet of course.

Federer will annihilate Coric, based on what I've seen of Coric so far. I'm still shocked he beat Murray.

He was impressive today....though Murray was appauling.

noleisthebest wrote:Berdych is becoming a bit of a nasty piece with his little gamesmanship delaying games.
I'm glad he got time violation for deliberately trying to throw Stakh off with that super-slow racquet taping...

Super !

great play from Stak. Great player still with a 1990 frame.

Conan (I think it was him on SKY) made a very good points about increasing teh price money of the lower ranked players (first draw losses etc..) saying doing so will actually make it harder for the new and youngsters to make an entry in the top 100 as that money woudl be used to make the top 100 players better..so harder for those outside.

Tenez wrote:

Kim Jong-Un wrote:

Tenez wrote:Very curious to see how Fed does against Coric.....if fed beats gasquet of course.

Federer will annihilate Coric, based on what I've seen of Coric so far. I'm still shocked he beat Murray.

He was impressive today....though Murray was appauling.

Fed is a superior returner to Murray, so Coric won't be able to win his service games with such ease as he did today.
Not to mention Fed's FH...

Coric isn't a pusher by nature, but still plays quality percentage tennis, still quite far off from Nole there, so Fed will be ok.

Would love to see another Nole-Fed final.

Tenez wrote:great play from Stak. Great player still with a 1990 frame.

I find him one of the most boring players to watch though, from what I've seen he seems to be dominating his service games very easily when his first serve percentage is high. Berdych has to do more on the return.

Ok Stak may lose this match but his winning points are made so much more easily than Berdych (or as Conan says the 2015 players).

Tenez wrote:great play from Stak. Great player still with a 1990 frame.

Yes, nice and loose, single-minded tennis, quite elegant, too.
I'd love him to beat Berd today.

Kim Jong-Un wrote:

Tenez wrote:great play from Stak. Great player still with a 1990 frame.

I find him one of the most boring players to watch though, from what I've seen he seems to be dominating his service games very easily when his first serve percentage is high. Berdych has to do more on the return.

Have tried to serve and volley? you would understand how skillful this is.

Tenez wrote:

Kim Jong-Un wrote:

Tenez wrote:great play from Stak. Great player still with a 1990 frame.

I find him one of the most boring players to watch though, from what I've seen he seems to be dominating his service games very easily when his first serve percentage is high. Berdych has to do more on the return.

Have tried to serve and volley? you would understand how skillful this is.

I don't serve and volley, nope. 
I didn't say Stak was not skilful, he may be so, but when he's serving I find his play one of the most boring in the top 100. Look down for a second and the point's already over.

Anybody can built muscles to play like Nadal as we can actually see nowadays....but Stak's skills you have it or you don't.

What a volley to close the game from Strakh....

Kim Jong-Un wrote:

Tenez wrote:

Kim Jong-Un wrote:

Tenez wrote:great play from Stak. Great player still with a 1990 frame.

I find him one of the most boring players to watch though, from what I've seen he seems to be dominating his service games very easily when his first serve percentage is high. Berdych has to do more on the return.

Have tried to serve and volley? you would understand how skillful this is.

I don't serve and volley, nope. 
I didn't say Stak was not skilful, he may be so, but when he's serving I find his play one of the most boring in the top 100. Look down for a second and the point's already over.

But if you were to serve n volley, you'd be able to appreciate what he does. You'd see the gap between you and him. It's like finding a 100m boring as opposed to a marathon.

Kim Jong-Un wrote:

Tenez wrote:

Kim Jong-Un wrote:

Tenez wrote:great play from Stak. Great player still with a 1990 frame.

I find him one of the most boring players to watch though, from what I've seen he seems to be dominating his service games very easily when his first serve percentage is high. Berdych has to do more on the return.

Have tried to serve and volley? you would understand how skillful this is.

I don't serve and volley, nope. 
I didn't say Stak was not skilful, he may be so, but when he's serving I find his play one of the most boring in the top 100. Look down for a second and the point's already over.

You can train a monkey to play percentage tennis, but what Strakh does is real tennis.
He'd be great in any era, with any racquet. That's the definition of talent.

I hope Stakh breaks back.
Berd is a completely different player when under pressure.

Fed in crisp form today, FH as sharp as it can be!

Most of the time Gasquet is actually taking pleasure in striking the ball, not playing the game.

I take it Gasquet must have retired while I was out, what happened?

yes i think he had a back problem.

Well, that leaves Fed fresh for baby and daddy Nole

noleisthebest wrote:Well, that leaves Fed fresh for baby and daddy Nole

Yes but Daddy nole did not spend too much time either.

I think in the best of 3, freshness means more to Fed than Nole.

Nole looked a bit heavy on his feet today. Fed - light as a feather.

No back issues?

I didn't notice any.
I think with Fed (and I am relating to my own experience here) once you've had a back injury and manage to recover from it, it's just a matter of not putting too much strain on it.
So, it's very tough for him in this physical era of percentage tennis as he has to play long rallies, even the others...everyone is hitting the ball very hard now (think Stan and that WTF SF), so an awkward stretch for the ball can trigger an onset...then he needs a few days of rest to recover or if he is lucky an easy match the following day.
I'm a little surprised he chose a busy schedule on clay. Not sure if he is playing any back to back weeks, though.

I love Suez Navarro's BH!!!