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Tennis - General Discussion

D

Deleted member 231381

Unconfirmed Member
Obvious sarcasm.

I know, I'm just dropping the tardwars for a moment to concede that occasionally Murray matches do have a tendency to do this. :p I think it's because Murray, when he's playing well, relies on courtcraft, which is beautiful. When he's off it's not usually because his movement goes but because his ability to play clever does, so you get returnatron5000. I do think it's exaggerated and he only plays like it on bad days, but still.
 
D

Deleted member 231381

Unconfirmed Member
MIMIC's posts on MTF are extra salty, I think he's still sore about Montreal.
 

Niraj

I shot people I like more for less.
I know, I'm just dropping the tardwars for a moment to concede that occasionally Murray matches do have a tendency to do this. :p I think it's because Murray, when he's playing well, relies on courtcraft, which is beautiful. When he's off it's not usually because his movement goes but because his ability to play clever does, so you get returnatron5000. I do think it's exaggerated and he only plays like it on bad days, but still.

Maybe he's playing down to his competition.

Well at least Federer is cruising.

Title is his to take, clearly.

Hope so. I'm sure if Djokovic makes the final he'll somehow turn it up though :/ though with the way he's playing, he really shouldn't make the final.

MIMIC's posts on MTF are extra salty, I think he's still sore about Montreal.

lol, does he have the same username?

changed matches just in time to see that bizarre shot attempt from Roger lol. I guess when you're up 5-0 you can afford it.
 

szaromir

Banned
Murray and Lopez won their marathon matches and now Roger is steamrolling his opponent - 1st set taken in 21 minutes. He really should make the final and once there he also should be confident being the defending champion and a 6 times champion.
 
D

Deleted member 231381

Unconfirmed Member
Well, I've had my fill of comedy and can't be bothered to stay up and watch this Kanderson NIDfest, so night all.
 
Hope so. I'm sure if Djokovic makes the final he'll somehow turn it up though :/ though with the way he's playing, he really shouldn't make the final.

I just don't see Djokovic beating Fed here, and yeah he still has a long way to go.

Gasquet has a real chance to make the semis now too.

Night Crab
 
That may be the worst I've ever seen Murray play and win. At times he was repeatedly teeing Dimitrov up on his forehand. Dimitrov will have nightmares about that loss for some time. Any mental strength at all and that was his.

Great chance for Gasquet to beat Murray and end his streak of wins over French players tomorrow.
 

Niraj

I shot people I like more for less.
Well, I've had my fill of comedy and can't be bothered to stay up and watch this Kanderson NIDfest, so night all.

Later

I just don't see Djokovic beating Fed here, and yeah he still has a long way to go.

Gasquet has a real chance to make the semis now too.

Night Crab

I'd be surprised as well. Roger just almost always does well here. And yeah, Gasquet played pretty well against Cilic earlier. It'd be nice to see him do well.

What the actual fuck Dimitrov.

Embarrassing stuff man.

That may be the worst I've ever seen Murray play and win. At times he was repeatedly teeing Dimitrov up on his forehand. Dimitrov will have nightmares about that loss for some time. Any mental strength at all and that was his.

Great chance for Gasquet to beat Murray and end his streak of wins over French players tomorrow.

It was pretty bad in that last set. He got so loose on those forehands, just couldn't find the court. Backhand kept breaking down too. Some really poor decision-making in general as well as the match went on.

Federer is definitely in better form than Nadal right now.

Many people are :p
 
So this was Anderson's heaviest defeat on the Tour apparently. Ouch.

Man Rafa really fucked up. It'll be the wrong spaniard getting demolished tomorrow.
 

Deadman

Member
Normally I would say nadal is dodging so he doesn't get destroyed by Federer, but actually I just think this is his level now.

Time to retire.
 
Turned off Murray Dimitrov after the first set, still half expecting him to win despite everything. I was right it seems. Weird match. Weird.

Can't see past federer winning this week. Seems weird to have 2 masters in 2 weeks.
 

sam777

Member
Nadal is done, 2016 doesn't matter as it will make no difference. He is just a standard top 20 player now, sad times.
Also he needs to hire a new coach. He won't though because of his relationship with his uncle but it will most likely be the only way to improve some aspects of his game.
 
D

Deleted member 231381

Unconfirmed Member
Nadal is done, 2016 doesn't matter as it will make no difference. He is just a standard top 20 player now, sad times.
Also he needs to hire a new coach. He won't though because of his relationship with his uncle but it will most likely be the only way to improve some aspects of his game.

I think Nadal will be back in the top five by the end of the year, top six minimum. He was playing really well, but Flopez was absolutely goating (at least in the last half of the third set, which was what I saw of that match). He's definitely not a standard top 20 player.
 

sam777

Member
Okay standard top 20 maybe a bit low but he ain't much better at this current time. A big part of that is his serve and return of serve, which are very poor at the moment. His forehand was actually pretty good yesterday, which is a positive although the fact he couldn't get past Lopez with it was disappointing.
And yeah I reckon he will be top 5 by year end but mainly due to him having no points to defend.
 
D

Deleted member 231381

Unconfirmed Member
Sure, but "top five year end" is by no means a bad achievement for someone who was being written off. I think the critical junction comes if he can get back the 4th seed, stop having to play Djokovic/Murray/Federer/Wawrinka or possibly Nishikori in the QFs, and therefore get more match wins and more confidence. Then we'll see a better resurgence. Not necessarily slam level, but I think he has more Masters in him for sure.

Meanwhile, Murray hasn't lost to Gasquet since 2007 iirc, so he'll probably stagger over the line into the SF then roll over for Federer. Hopefully Federer doesn't win the final, I'd be annoyed if Murray gave up the #2 seed so quickly.
 

John Dunbar

correct about everything
even as a total federertard i am sort of glad he avoided a clash with nadal. no reason to test just how talented roger is at losing to rafa at this point.
 
Isn't federer defending the points he won here last year so he can't overtake Murray? I was under the impression him getting number 2 seed for U.S. open was practically a done deal
 

88random

Member
He can overtake him
http://live-tennis.eu/

Fed isn't some journeyman, he would annihilate this Nadal if he played like last night. Yeah, it's a bad matchup, but in conditions that favour him and Nadal playing like shit, it would be a repeat of Masters Cup 2011 match.
 
D

Deleted member 231381

Unconfirmed Member
Isn't federer defending the points he won here last year so he can't overtake Murray? I was under the impression him getting number 2 seed for U.S. open was practically a done deal

If Murray beats Gasquet, Federer can overtake if he wins the whole thing. If Murray doesn't beat Gasquet, Federer just has to make the final.

Murray hasn't lost to Gasquet in almost a decade, though.
 

MIMIC

Banned
MIMIC's posts on MTF are extra salty, I think he's still sore about Montreal.

Since you're following my posts so closely over there, you ought to know that I had hoped that Djokovic skip/pull out of both Canada AND Cincy. I don't care about these dumb Masters.
 
D

Deleted member 231381

Unconfirmed Member
Since you're following my posts so closely over there, you ought to know that I had hoped that Djokovic skip/pull out of both Canada AND Cincy. I don't care about these dumb Masters.

Personally I hope that Djokovic wins Cincinatti just so he can tire himself out and stop Federer getting the second seed at the same time. :p
 

szaromir

Banned
Sure, but "top five year end" is by no means a bad achievement for someone who was being written off. I think the critical junction comes if he can get back the 4th seed, stop having to play Djokovic/Murray/Federer/Wawrinka or possibly Nishikori in the QFs, and therefore get more match wins and more confidence. Then we'll see a better resurgence. Not necessarily slam level, but I think he has more Masters in him for sure.
Personally I think going forward Nadal is going to occupy the same space as Ferrer and Berdych have for the past few years - many QF and SF appearances at big tournaments but never a real threat and maybe several small titles per season.
One might say that clay still can be the x factor that will differentiate Nadal from those guys, but I think he's done even there - he was already subpar in 2014, that RG victory run was a freak occurence at that point.
 
D

Deleted member 231381

Unconfirmed Member
Personally I think going forward Nadal is going to occupy the same space as Ferrer and Berdych have for the past few years - many QF and SF appearances at big tournaments but never a real threat and maybe several small titles per season.
One might say that clay still can be the x factor that will differentiate Nadal from those guys, but I think he's done even there - he was already subpar in 2014, that RG victory run was a freak occurence at that point.

Honestly, I think he's been playing better now than he was in most of early 2014, he just keeps getting tight on the big points. I genuinely think it's mental at this point rather than physical. In rallies he drops back unnecessarily without being pushed back because he doesn't have the confidence to hit his CC forehand, which is his main weapon, and people take advantage of that, because if you have the opportunity to hit a winning shot because the ball dropped short and you move back to take it, you can't return it with much pace because you have to put a lot of topspin on just to get it over the net because it's dropped even further by that point.

His rallying is fine at this point, I don't think he's even lost that much speed - he was incredible at reaching some of the Lopez dropshots. He just needs to actually step in and hit his forehand when he forces a ball to drop short, it's his main weapon and it's going mostly unused. That's not at all like Ferrer, who uses every single weapon he has (he just doesn't have very many), or like Berdych, who just doesn't have the movement necessary to unleash his forehand properly against someone like Djokovic who can redirect pace so well. It's a confidence thing in Nadal's case.

Murray finished #4 in 2013, #6 in 2014, and will almost certainly finish #2 in 2015 judging by his current level of play. Meanwhile, Nadal finished #3 in 2014, is almost definitely going to finish at least #6 and more likely #5 in 2016, so why are we all so certain he's not recovering for 2017? He's tracking better than Murray did.
 

szaromir

Banned
Honestly, I think he's been playing better now than he was in most of early 2014, he just keeps getting tight on the big points. I genuinely think it's mental at this point rather than physical. In rallies he drops back unnecessarily without being pushed back because he doesn't have the confidence to hit his CC forehand, which is his main weapon, and people take advantage of that, because if you have the opportunity to hit a winning shot because the ball dropped short and you move back to take it, you can't return it with much pace because you have to put a lot of topspin on just to get it over the net because it's dropped even further by that point.

His rallying is fine at this point, I don't think he's even lost that much speed - he was incredible at reaching some of the Lopez dropshots. He just needs to actually step in and hit his forehand when he forces a ball to drop short, it's his main weapon and it's going mostly unused. That's not at all like Ferrer, who uses every single weapon he has (he just doesn't have very many), or like Berdych, who just doesn't have the movement necessary to unleash his forehand properly against someone like Djokovic who can redirect pace so well. It's a confidence thing in Nadal's case.

Murray finished #4 in 2013, #6 in 2014, and will almost certainly finish #2 in 2015 judging by his current level of play. Meanwhile, Nadal finished #3 in 2014, is almost definitely going to finish at least #6 and more likely #5 in 2016, so why are we all so certain he's not recovering for 2017? He's tracking better than Murray did.
Murray 2014 and Nadal 2015 are in different places in their careers. If I remember correctly, Murray had some vertebrae disfigured in his spine and had to have a part of one of his vertebrae sawed off. That's an invasive surgery and recovering had to take a long time, in fact it was pretty incredible that he was already playing AO quarters just months after the surgery. From that point on he has been gradually improving aspects of his game (fitness, intensity throughout the match, 2nd serve etc.) and it all started clicking this season on clay IMO (the prophecy of Clayray that was almost fulfilled :'( ).

The sources of Nadal's worse year appear to be a lot more varied, a combination of aging (he's 2 years older than Murray in 2014), niggles, being mentally jaded and fatigued, worse serve, worse movement. Also, Nadal's decline seems a lot more permanent as he's been below his best since early 2014 - 18 months later and still no signs of going back to where he was in 2013.

In terms of vibe they're giving off in their interviews, Murray in 2014 was all about recovering from the surgery and moving forward, Nadal nowadays is a lot more retrospective. Murray seemed a lot more hopeful, Nadal seems resigned.

As for the rankings, I'm assuming you mean 2015 and 2016, not 2016 and 2017. He's #7 in the race and by no means guaranteed to take over Berdych and Nishikori. He almost definitely won't fall lower than that though.

Murray is unwatchable goddamn.
I quite like watching his matches actually. They're a sweet combination of desperate scrambling 3 meters behind the baseline, ridiculous improvised shots thanks to his great hands and he's actually proactive a lot more often than Djokovic or Nadal.
 

Niraj

I shot people I like more for less.
He's not wrecking him, Stan is simply sending everything out.

I see that now, but either way, the result was obvious which was my only point. He looked about as lethargic as he was against Benneteau last year. Maybe the morning match just isn't his thing :p

Yuck, 33 ufe to 17 winners.
 
D

Deleted member 231381

Unconfirmed Member
I see that now, but either way, the result was obvious which was my only point. He looked about as lethargic as he was against Benneteau last year. Maybe the morning match just isn't his thing :p

Yuck, 33 ufe to 17 winners.

It's the courts. Stan's backswing is absolutely huge, and he doesn't have the time to do it in full when the courts are so fast, so he cuts and short and sprays errors everywhere as a result, as it isn't how he normally plays. Not really sure why anyone expected him to do well in Cincy.
 

Niraj

I shot people I like more for less.
It's the courts. Stan's backswing is absolutely huge, and he doesn't have the time to do it in full when the courts are so fast, so he cuts and short and sprays errors everywhere as a result, as it isn't how he normally plays. Not really sure why anyone expected him to do well in Cincy.

Who did? Personally QFs were about what I expected at best, especially after the Montreal withdrawal and watching his level of play here (thought he would lose to Coric from what I saw of that). He can certainly play better than this though, fairly sure he's made the semis here. Hell, I've seen him play better there in person. Sometimes you're just not on, and it probably doesn't help when your opponent is actually good.


Quick break for Serena.
 
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