You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post. Posted by Roddick fan from Virginia (Young at Career High #41)
Pete- Donald played 3 tournaments in Asia, Bangkok, Tokyo, Shanghai. He only played Doubles in Tokyo because he made the Finals in Bangkok and missed Qualifying for Tokyo.
It's still nice enough outside to play tennis at our clay club in Edmonton - had a great tournament this weekend and then played with my local hitting buddy for 2 hours yesterday. Glorious fall weather.
Posted by Cotton Jack (thriding)Somehow in the last week, while he was winning Shanghai, I managed to forget that not only did Murray beat Nadal in the final of Tokyo, he also won the doubles with his brother
"...lesser-but-no-less-talent-laden Masters 1000 events."
Of course this Masters 100 event was lesser-AND-less-talent-laden, as two of the three people ranked ahead of him (going in) and whom he's never beaten in a slam weren't there.
Still, good wins for Murray and I wish him the best in the next season.
Tuesday Order of Play
WTA: Moscow at 3 AM - Martic vs Pironkova, Savchuk vs Zakopalova and Safarova vs Parra Santonja scheduled
ATP: Moscow at 3 AM - Muller vs Kravchuk, Kohlschreiber vs Berlocq, Stakhovsky vs Berrer and Chardy vs Starace scheduled
WTA: Luxembourg at 5 AM - Yakimova vs Cadantu followed by Niculescu vs Knapp
WTA: Moscow at 5 AM - Pervak vs Voskoboeva followed by Kuznetsova vs Cornet
ATP: Stockholm at 6 AM - Nieminen vs Copil, Roberdo vs Kamke, Garcia-Lopez vs Anderson, Dodig vs Mannarino and Blake vs Rochus scheduled
WTA: Luxembourg at 6 AM - Brianti vs Tatishvili followed by Hantuchova vs Hradecka ending with Marino vs Pavlyuchenkova
ATP: Moscow at 8:30 AM - Bogomolov Jr vs Lajovic
ATP: Moscow at 10:30 AM - Ramos vs Tursunov
WTA: Moscow at 10:30 AM - Ivanova vs Jankovic scheduled
WTA: Luxembourg at 11:30 AM - Baltacha vs Goerges followed by Keothavong vs Minella
ATP: Stockholm at 12:30 PM - Nalbandian vs Malisse followed by Baghdatis vs Raonic
Another player that I would have given some thumbs up would be Ana Ivanovic,I kow it's a rollor coaster ride but I still feel she's getting there,I'm expecting a very competitive Ana contending in 2012...
"...lesser-but-no-less-talent-laden Masters 1000 events."
Of course this Masters 100 event was lesser-AND-less-talent-laden, as two of the three people ranked ahead of him (going in) and whom he's never beaten in a slam weren't there.
Still, good wins for Murray and I wish him the best in the next season.
@Christopher
Murray has beaten Djokovic, Nadal and Federer several times at masters events which is what the article is about. I'm not sure what Murray's record at slams has to do with anything. He just beat Nadal in Tokyo. He beat Djokovic in Cincy. He beat Federer last year in Shanghai. No doubt the field in Shanghai was easier with Novak and Roger not there but are you suggesting Murray wouldn't have won it because he's never beaten Roger or Novak in a slam?
Hi all
Iona, the fanatic fans always like to distain the good result of others.
Murray has played great in Asia and it doesn't matter who played or who didn't play there, Murray probably would have done the same result
Iona-- No, no, Murray is more than capable of beating Djokovic and Federer in Masters events, as he's demonstrated on many occasions. I was just poking fun, thinking it amusing that the phrase "no-less-talent-laden" was used in this context as this particular event WAS less-talent-laden. But again, as a Federer fan I'm painfully aware of what Murray can do in Masters events.
Now I do think the slams are more important than the Masters events, but that doesn't mean a lack of success (relatively speaking) in the former precludes success in the latter, as again, Murray has shown.
Posted by Aussiemarg,Madame President,Its a Samtastic Day!Pete....thanks
Murray played a great Asian swing.Murray and his brother Jamie won the doubles in Tokyo as well.Murray I believe was the first player in that tournament to achieve wins in both the singles and doubles.
Hmmmm Joe? well at the moment he is coachless and was having good results?
Disappointed with Joe quite frankly on the Asian tour.Maybe a coach is needed.Interrested to see how he fares in Bercy?
Radwanska is my current womens player of the "moment'.Hope to see her in Istanbul.
Aussiemarg,
You will see Agnieszka next week as I do not believe Marion will win Moscow even if Agnieszka lost her first match. Correct on A Murray being the first ATP player to win singles and doubles at same tournament. However, we have seen Murray done well before in the past especially during this part of the year.
Master Ace
I believe Radwanska has earnt her place in Istanbul.
Agree Murray seems to do well in this part of the season.
Posted by Aussiemarg,Madame President,Its a Samtastic Day!Master Ace
Do you know if the courts in Istanbul are med or fast pls?
Posted by Matt - Allez, Roger! Come on, Serena!Do any of you think that Roger will be too exhausted next summer after Wimbledon and the Olympics and will therefore pull out of Toronto?
I might be the saddest I've ever been if that happens. I've waited for 5 years to see him play live and next year I finally have the opportunity to do so. Unfortunately, the Olympics will probably be pretty taxing and might take a toll on Roger.
Thoughts on the probability of Fed playing Toronto next year?
Matt,
Probability of that is about 8%.
Aussiemarg,
No idea on court speed but if I read correctly, tournament will be indoors.
Tesla,
Sarcasm or authenticity?
Definitely not sarcasm!
Just tried to be helpful and provide an answer.
Master Ace
Thanks being indoors will favour some players.
Posted by Matt - Allez, Roger! Come on, Serena!I appreciate the input, I just wasn't sure if you were being serious :P
If that's true, I'll be devastated.
No grade for a definite A performance from Ferrer, especially at Shanghai? I don't know when making 3 back-to-back-to-back comebacks from 1 set down doesn't merit a mention.
Matt: I think the probability of Roger playing Toronto next year is 0%.
Silva, yeah! a definite A perfomance from Ferrer, he deserves a mention too, but like he said after the match "I took too much risk and that made me to do more mistakes, I should to play with more calmness"
Hey, hey. Fed might still play Toronto if he absolutely bombs out of the Olympics and Wimby.
If he meets with a reasonable degree of success, though, probably not. And if he does, he probably won't go far.
Morning everyone. :)
Love Thumbs up, Thumbs down - the logos are fabulous. :) I'd like to give Kvitova a little bit of an added thumbs-up for winning a title after her post-Wimbledon slumping, and Ferrer one for consistent heart and excellence.
Good morning,
Thanks, Pete. I miss also a thumbs-up for David Ferrer for his Asian Swing. I was watching the SF between David and Flo while having breakfast and I was impressed. Great tennis! Since when is Flo playing with those tiny socks? And he looks like the male version of William Wordsworth's "The solitary reaper" :)
Thanks, Master Ace for the OOP. Excellent matches this afternoon/evening in Stockholm. Nalbandian vs Malisse followed by Baghdatis vs Raonic are the ones to watch. And I hope temes wakes up from his almost winter hibernation. Niemine is playing again. :)
Hi, jewell. I hadn't read your comment. You are so right! :)
Hello zenggi!
Lopez had a good Asian swing too I guess - had forgotten that already. :)
Haha, I like this mutual admiration society. :)
Very good discussions yesterday on the previous thread with Jai, Arun, J Balcells and others - lovely to catch up on this morning.
Posted by Aussiemarg,Madame President,Its a Samtastic Day!Good morning Zenggi and Jewell
Maybe Peter forget about David?
Zengii
At least Flo got rid of his "nappy shorts"?
Sigh I havent got much hope for My Tommy his groin has never been the same.
Morning AM. :)
It's impossible to include everyone, as Pete said himself. Not complaining, just wanted to give Ferru another shout-out in addition to Silva's upthread.
Matt - hope Roger will make it there for you. But if he doesn't, you should still go and enjoy yourself watching other players. (I know how it feels - I didn't get to see Rafa open play at Wimbledon in 2009 - but there is no sense in letting not seeing one player, even one's all-time favourite, ruin your tennis watching time.)
Hi, AM.
Many congratulations on your wedding Anniversary. I read you had a lovely lunch with Peter. Well done! Did you get your Jag?
Maybe if Rafa would use the same shorts as Feli some (ehem) habit would disappear? Just saying. :)
I don't know how you know so much about Tommy's groin. Overworked?
Posted by Aussiemarg,Madame President,Its a Samtastic Day!Well David did have a good Shanghai tournament
So I will give him a "gold star"
Hmm well I havent seen Rafa play at the AO for 2 years.....still I enjoyed.Though I can relate to Matt and his feelings
Posted by Aussiemarg,Madame President,Its a Samtastic Day!zengii
Still kind of "waddling" lol!
I am afraid Rafa's habit is too far gone now regardless of the change of shorts
No I didnt get my Jag
Moving On.............
AM,
Men don't get it! What did you get then?
I read yesterday an article in El Pais from JJ Mateo with a nice sentence about David Ferrer. "He's the number one of the "normal" players." I found that a lovely tribute to his tennis abilities, his tenacity and his heart on court.
Posted by Aussiemarg,Madame President,Its a Samtastic Day!zengii
Roses,Chanel perfume and a Hermes scarf (that I hinted strongly for)
Posted by Aussiemarg,Madame President,Its a Samtastic Day!Type pad appears slow?
Maybe its just my laptop
From Soderling. Get well soon, Robin!!
"Dear all. I'm extremely disappointed and sad right now. Playing in Stockholm is very special for me and it’s a title I still miss and dream about. I made an attempt to train, but my body just could not do it. I felt worse after practice and so had to make a tough decision to not play in Stockholm. I have to think long term and plan to play tennis for years to come. I believe the best days are in front of me. I will do everything I can to get through this difficult time and come back stronger and more motivated than ever."
AM,
Those aren't bad gifts at all. I'm proud of Peter!
Pete nice article. Love the fact that Tipsarevic finally won a title! He is hopefully going to be ready to some damage in Moscow now.
Murray gained some serious ground here in these tournaments. Almost the same amount of points like winning a major (250 + 500 + 1000) and some much needed confidence. He reached no.3 and for the first time in his career his ranked higher than Federer. Interesting that both Andy and Novak managed this year for the first time in their careers to be ranked higher than Federer. They have been ranked higher than Nadal when both of them reached no.2 at some stage.
Radwnaska really surprised me with that kind of form. Well done to her.
Ana started well but got injured which is a shame, she just started to cought some fire...
Hi zeljana! I'd forgotten Ana's good start - she had that terrific win over Vera, right?
Off to work, bye all. :)
Posted by Aussiemarg,Madame President,Its a Samtastic Day!zengii
Its been a ongoing process with Peter lol!
Read that from Robin.I am glad he is looking at the "big picture" and listenting to his body and not pushing it to come back to the tour.Being a recoverer from CFS I always listen to my body.
Posted by Aussiemarg,Madame President,Its a Samtastic Day!Bye Jewell and trying to contmeplate Tommys groin is a mind boggling affair.
Posted by Aussiemarg,Madame President,Its a Samtastic Day!Zeljana
I saw some promising signs with Ana.I hope that she stays with Nigel Spears her new coach.
Posted by Cotton Jack (thriding)In the last thirteen years, the Paris Masters has been won by a player who has no other Masters success to his name:
1998 Rusedski
2001 Grosjean
2003 Henman
2005 Berdych
2008 Tsonga
2010 Soderling
Mardy Fish, your hour has come
Posted by Aussiemarg,Madame President,Its a Samtastic Day!Cotton Jack
Thanks for that list
Just watching the women in Moscow.Hopefully more fans will turn up.The place is empty.
Posted by Cotton Jack (thriding)Or how about Del Potro, as yet unMastered
"Or how about Del Potro, as yet unMastered"
Cotton Jack: or Ferrer? He's 30 next year and running out of time to win a Masters trophy. Can't see him winning Paris though, unless his draw really opens up.
Posted by Cotton Jack (thriding)Ferrer in Masters is like Murray in Slams, I fear .....
Here's my pointless prediction for the next eight slams:
2012
AO Djokovic
RG Nadal
Wim Djokovic
USO Murray
2013
AO Del Potro
RG Federer
Wim Murray
USO Djokovic
In 2014 my crystal ball goes murky, but I think Nadal wins Wimbledon
No, I can't justify any of it. Well, I can to myself, but that's different ;-)
"we know he struggles at the Grand Slam events"
If going F,S,S,S for the year in Slams is struggling, just shows the squeeze at the top of the mens game. If you don't go 80 something for 2 then you're a failure.
"Here's my pointless prediction for the next eight slams"
And here's mine:
2012
AO Murray
RG Del Potro
Wim Tsonga
USO Isner
2013
AO Raonic
RG Dolgopolov
Wim Raonic
USO Dolgopolov
In other words, the Fedal-ovic-ray Era is almost over - we just don't know it yet!
Posted by Cotton Jack (thriding)Over lunch I'm going to try to decide which is more outlandish: my
2013 RG Federer
or your
2013 USO Dolgopolov
;-)
Where's Tomic?
Cotton Jack: Tomic wins the Calendar Slam in 2015, beating Dolgopolov in all four finals. It will be a year to remember!
Posted by Aube,Colts,one terrible reason why I do not like race car driving...sad!
Good morning,
not hungry for breakfast,yet have to eat some,going for some tartine with marmelade,"cafe au lait" always...
interest in Sveta against Cornet,hopes Sveta wins in 2,she's got the first set but is broken in the second...oh well that's Sveta, right?
Posted by Aube,one terrible reason why I do not like race car driving...sad!Safarova also in a third set decider...
Posted by Aube,one terrible reason why I do not like race car driving...sad!All right Sveta one more game and you're through...
same with Lucie...
Posted by Aube,one terrible reason why I do not like race car driving...sad!nice and easy for both Lucie and Sveta on their last games...
commies respectivly to Alize Cornet and Parra Santonja and their fans
ok now get up,dress up and show up time!
"Pete- Donald played 3 tournaments in Asia, Bangkok, Tokyo, Shanghai. He only played Doubles in Tokyo because he made the Finals in Bangkok and missed Qualifying for Tokyo."
Why wouldn't Donald have been given a Special Exemption to play in Tokyo singles for reaching the weekend in Bangkok?
I thought the whole point of the SE was for players who missed qualifying for next week's tournament because they did so well (semis or better) at the current week's event.
Interpol09: 500s don't give Special Exemptions.
Wilson75,
That is cruel about 500s not giving special exemptions but a Masters event can(Canada/Cincinnati is an example where that does occur). However, at least ATP gives them, WTA does not give any special exemptions at all which I think they should.
MA: Yeah MS events do give SEs, but I'm not sure about 250s.
Master Ace, I completely agree. I don't know why the 500's get this sort of preferential treatment when the other ATP events hand out the special exemption. I'm assuming the majors don't give special exemptions since I guess their argument is that the players have a choice between qualifying and playing the week before.
And the WTA seriously needs to hand out special exemptions. And get rid of the "did well at event prior, get a bye next week" thing they do.
And good lord, can we PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get rid of the 28-player draws? I could have sworn the WTA promised to do away with it when they did "The Roadmap".
Wilson75,
250s does give special exemptions. Del Potro received one for Delray Beach after making the SF at Memphis as Del Potro ranking at the time would have landed him in qualies.
wilson, the 250's give Special Exemptions. Del Potro got one to enter Delray Beach earlier this year.
Interpol09,
I like the bye system where the player makes SF at the first tournament(Tokyo-Beijing and before calendar switch, it happened at Rome-Madrid). However, the top seeds will always get byes in premier events. If I recall, International events(280 pts to winner) requires a player to win 5 matches. I wish the ATP and WTA would get rid of the 28 player draw but it would not happen as some tournaments want the top players to play there and at times, the top player would make a deep run in the prior week tournament(ie - Murray recently)
So is it possible that potentially there could be 12 players with byes? Premier events generally field 56 women, yes? And if we end up with 9-12 reaching the semis the week prior, would they bump 5-8 from byes? Or get their own? I thought it was where if #9 won the title the previous week, they'd bump #8 from a bye. I don't like that.
And there's just something off about allowing a player to win one match to make a quarterfinal. Didn't Wimbledon years and years ago used to give the defending champion a "super bye" where they'd just have to win two matches to reach the final again? I thought I remembered watching a documentary that made mention of it.
Interpol09,
With the 56 player field, no additional byes are given. Only time the byes were given to SF in a previous tournament is where the field is set at 64(60 after byes) on the tournament the following week.
Interpol09/MA: Thx. for the confirmation.
Posted by Cotton Jack (thriding)While we're on the subject does any know why of the four ATP 250s this week and next, three are fields of 28 but the St Petersburg is a field of 32? The Kremlin Cup has the much higher prize money.
Cotton Jack: I'm guessing that the size of the field is determined by the financial commitments, i.e. prize money and appearance fees, etc. Kremlin Cup would naturally have a smaller field than St. Petersburg because it's a combined event.
I thought Murray and Djokovic have ranked higher than Federer before. But together, I think this is the first time.
I think Rafa will give a push for Paris MS...otherwise, he won't have a single MS (mandatory) title this year, but will have a GS title. Reminds me of Fed's 2008...not a single MS title, despite finals...3 GS finals and one GS title.
ladyjulia: no, this is the first time Murray has been ranked above Fed. He's been ranked number 2 in the past, but Fed was number 1 then. And Djokovic also overtook Fed for the first time this year.
Jai,
Oh ok. I just thought Fed had been #3 for sometime earlier...so somebody other than Rafa must have been ranked above him.
Or is it that Fed never dropped out of the top 2 in the past 8 years until this year?
I'm hoping Ferrer "loses his Masters cherry" at Indian Wells, where Ljubicic finally did. Tipsarevic was over the moon to finally get a title, any title.
Definitely agree with all of these thumbs up and thumbs down, though I'm not so sure about the talent quotient in the depleted field Murray faced in Shanghai.
Is the concept of the streak the new thing we must keep our eyes on? After all these years of reading the slam counts and the head to heads, now we need to know that Murray is 25-1 since Cincy? I figured we'd only keep track of streaks with no losses, as in 26-0. That's not meant as a diss to Murray at all - just a comment on the idea of a streak. Why not just count all the matches Murray has won in the past three weeks? That's *my* idea of a streak.
Terrible news about Soderling, I'm looking forward to seeing him again. Miss those astounding deep groundstrokes of his.
Posted by Cotton Jack (thriding)I think I might see how many 250 tournaments are fields of 32 and try to detect a pattern. One moment.....
Brisbane/Chennai/Doha - all 32
Sydney/Auckland - both 28
GS
Jo'burg/Santiago/Zagreb - all 32
San Jose/Brazil - both 32
Marseille - 28; Buenos Aires - 32
Delray - 32
DC
ATP1000s
Houston/Casablanca - 28
ATP1000
ATP500
Munich - 32; Belgrade/Estoril - 28
ATP1000s
Nice - 28
GS
Halle - 32; Queens - 56
S-Hertogenbosch/Eastbourne - both 32
GS
Newport - 32
Bastad/Stuttgart - both 28
Atlanta - 32
Gstaad/Umag - both 32; LA - 28
Kitzbuhle - 28
ATP1000s
Winston-Salem - 48
GS
DC
Metz/Bucharest - both 28
Malaysia/Thailand - both 28
ATP500s
ATP1000
Kremlin/Stockholm - both 28
St Petersburg - 32; Vienna - 28
ATP500s
ATP1000
YEC
DC
No I can't see any pattern :-/
@ Matt - Allez, Roger! Come on, Serena!
I hope Fed doesn't pull out of Toronto and Cincinnati. I'd like to see him live at Cincy before he retires.
Bodo: Wozniacki is just 21, so she has plenty of time to win that first Grand Slam event.
Time will prove that this assessment is not correct, because Bodo doesn’t consider the fact that time is not on her side. Unfortunately for her , her changing constitution will interfere more and more with her progress. Simply speaking she gonna be heavier as time goes by and will not be able to execute the game that brought her to #1. Her genes show that we are bound to see more thumbs down for her.
BTW, the silence from her fans just proves the point. Even they don’t believe it.
Jai, ladyjulia:
Djokovic overtook Federer for the first time after Wimby 2010. Lost it after Canada. The pattern repeated after the USO 2010 and Shanghai 2010. After IW 2011 Djokovic overtook Federer, for good.
ladyjulia, you're correct, Roger was #3 for several weeks last year and Djokovic was #2 then.
Okay, I remember now - Murray just overtook Fed for the first time, but Djokovic was briefly ahead of Fed last year.
"I'm hoping Ferrer loses his Masters cherry at Indian Wells"
Tina: I wish you had phrased that differently :) but yes, a Masters for Ferrer is on my wishlist for next year.
Dolgopolov as a slam winner? Jai, may your picks come true!! :)
"Jai, may your picks come true!! :)"
Ah Sherlock, but are you prepared for the heartbreak of Dolgo losing ALL FOUR Slam finals to the same guy in 2015? Think about it.
Posted by purity.prydain@gmail.comYou need to get your facts straight about Maria Kirilenko. You say she did not win another match AFTER her wins over Sam Stosur. That's wrong. Kirilenko beat Stosur in the 2nd round of each event and progressed to the quarterfinals which means she WON her 3rd round matches.
She beat Ivanovic in Tokyo and Paszek in Beijing in the 3rd rounds. Matches AFTER her wins over Stosur.
Jai, he he. Well, the way we ended the year with Rafa-Nole, I'm halfway there. :)
Marino gets a breadstick from Pavs. Ouch.
@ Nelson Muntz
I'm not a Caro fan, but she's certainly not heavy (see the pics of her on the beach that are all over the interwebs) it's just that her Stella McCartney dresses are hideously unflattering. For example, see the creepy milkmaid look at the 2011 AO. It was a ruffled nightmare. She's in great shape.
I think his point is there are a lot of women winning their first slams at 28, 29 years of age; she might be able to as well.
I wouldn't be surprised whether she wins one or no but someone not replying to your statement doesn't make you correct.
Oh and my pointless projection for the next 8 slams:
Novak Djokovic
Posted by Cotton Jack (thriding)Time for the ATP to go all WTA.
2012
AO Milos Raonic
RG Dolgopolov
Wim Julien Benneteau
USO Donald Young
2013
AO B Tomic
RG John Isner
Wim Ivan Ljubicic
USO Martina Navratilova
Cotton Jack, lol. Oh, my. Go Martina! :)
Isner winning a slam. Not sure what to make of that possibility.
Milos-Baggy in a few hours, right? Should be interesting.
Del Potro will play Blake tomorrow or Thursday depending OOP
TennisDeb: someone not replying to your statement doesn't make you correct
I’m not that conceited to expect that anybody would reply to my statements. But I believe Bodo enjoys teasing Wozniacky’s fans and they usually are fast to retort. But I don’t see it now.
I was just reading back the earlier posts in this thread. I also agree that there is probably zero chance of Fed playing Canada in 2012.
As for the rankings, I honestly don't care whether Fed is #3 or #4 this year. I haven't read the British press, but I have no doubt they are making a big deal about it.
We are seeing some of the most random choices for major champions here on this thread.
2012
AO-B Paire
RG-K Kravchuk
Wim-B Becker
US-M Yani
All of them will of course defeat Andy Murray in the final. Except at Wimbledon. There, Andy Roddick is the finalist.
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