2015 ATP 250 Doha

[MargaretMcAleer]

^ Correct.

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGdVslMlGM4[/video]

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXZWwPB6P-8[/video]

 

[GameSetAndMath]

My commiserations for the Nadalites.

Rafa might have been better off playing in Hopman cup, which gives you a guaranteed 3
singles and 3 doubles match (independent of whether you win or lose) and an additional
singles and doubles match if your team makes it to the finals. This is because the primary
thing he needs now is match practice and does not matter who it is against at this time.
But, there is no Spanish Team there. I don't how they select which countries participate
in Hopman Cup.

But, Rafa will still get plenty of practice as he is apparently scheduled to play one
with Verdasco, one with Philliposis and with an Australian teenager. After that practice,
he can also use the early rounds of AO as additional practice hopefully. But, I don't
expect anything beyond a QF for Rafa in AO.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

We were teasing GSM, there was no hate. His comment came with a huge dollop of hope-it's-true attached, which I don't mind. We're all fans of somebody...

That is your spin and not a fact. People who read all my posts in Abudhabi thread will know it.

Being a fan of X does not necessarily imply wishing bad luck for Y, except perhaps when it is X vs. Y.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Some facts about Michael Berrer.

1. He is ranked 127th.
2. He is a qualifier.
3. He is 34 years old.
4. He is father of two children.
5. He has already announced that he will be retiring at the end of this year ((I believe before his win against Rafa).

 

[shawnbm]

Folks are too quick to downplay Nadal in Melbourne this year. As was the case with Roger in 2011 and 2012 (and may still be after last year), you do so at your peril. Nadal has plenty of time to thump a number players before the second week and then those that face him will have their worries. He's still one of the two or three players to beat.

 

[mrzz]

I must say that I am finding very difficult to understand where Nadal's game is right now. Sometimes it seems that he just needs to shake off the rust, sometimes it seems worst than that. And I am not judging by the results, but from what I saw (which, by the way, is not much: two video highlights, even if long ones). Some fantastic shots here and there, but his ball seems consistently short. He had enough practice time to fix that.

At least the shot he made on the winner at 1-0, 0-15, first set, was beyond absurd.

P.S. GSM, you could add that Berrer is lefty.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Man, all Nadal needs at the AO is to be on the same side of the draw with Roger...then he will be like " Just make it to the semis, just make it to the semis..." And the easy win in the semis will give him all the confidence he needs for the finals and then who knows what will happen in the finals?

:snigger

 

[herios]

Man, all Nadal needs at the AO is to be on the same side of the draw with Roger...then he will be like " Just make it to the semis, just make it to the semis..." And the easy win in the semis will give him all the confidence he needs for the finals and then who knows what will happen in the finals?

:snigger

I hope Milos meets this version of disoriented Nadal :laydownlaughing

 

[the AntiPusher]

My commiserations for the Nadalites.

Rafa might have been better off playing in Hopman cup, which gives you a guaranteed 3
singles and 3 doubles match (independent of whether you win or lose) and an additional
singles and doubles match if your team makes it to the finals. This is because the primary
thing he needs now is match practice and does not matter who it is against at this time.
But, there is no Spanish Team there. I don't how they select which countries participate
in Hopman Cup.

But, Rafa will still get plenty of practice as he is apparently scheduled to play one
with Verdasco, one with Philliposis and with an Australian teenager. After that practice,
he can also use the early rounds of AO as additional practice hopefully. But, I don't
expect anything beyond a QF for Rafa in AO.

I always thought there isnt one human being on Earth who despises Rafa Nadal presence on a tennis court as much as Darth Fed, I was Wrong :devil

 

[Luxilon Borg]

My commiserations for the Nadalites.

Rafa might have been better off playing in Hopman cup, which gives you a guaranteed 3
singles and 3 doubles match (independent of whether you win or lose) and an additional
singles and doubles match if your team makes it to the finals. This is because the primary
thing he needs now is match practice and does not matter who it is against at this time.
But, there is no Spanish Team there. I don't how they select which countries participate
in Hopman Cup.

But, Rafa will still get plenty of practice as he is apparently scheduled to play one
with Verdasco, one with Philliposis and with an Australian teenager. After that practice,
he can also use the early rounds of AO as additional practice hopefully. But, I don't
expect anything beyond a QF for Rafa in AO.

To be TOTALLY fair, I have seen Berrer play many times, going back ten years, and he is in better shape now, by a long shot. He must be at least 15 lbs lighter than his "prime". Funny how seeing the end of the rainbow provides an incentive to actually work hard.

He also quite frankly played out of his freaking mind. This will have no impact on his AO IMO.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

My commiserations for the Nadalites.

Rafa might have been better off playing in Hopman cup, which gives you a guaranteed 3
singles and 3 doubles match (independent of whether you win or lose) and an additional
singles and doubles match if your team makes it to the finals. This is because the primary
thing he needs now is match practice and does not matter who it is against at this time.
But, there is no Spanish Team there. I don't how they select which countries participate
in Hopman Cup.

But, Rafa will still get plenty of practice as he is apparently scheduled to play one
with Verdasco, one with Philliposis and with an Australian teenager. After that practice,
he can also use the early rounds of AO as additional practice hopefully. But, I don't
expect anything beyond a QF for Rafa in AO.

I always thought there isnt one human being on Earth who despises Rafa Nadal presence on a tennis court as much as Darth Fed, I was Wrong :devil

I wonder who that is? I know it is not me and nothing in my quoted post is despise.

 

[the AntiPusher]

My commiserations for the Nadalites.

Rafa might have been better off playing in Hopman cup, which gives you a guaranteed 3
singles and 3 doubles match (independent of whether you win or lose) and an additional
singles and doubles match if your team makes it to the finals. This is because the primary
thing he needs now is match practice and does not matter who it is against at this time.
But, there is no Spanish Team there. I don't how they select which countries participate
in Hopman Cup.

But, Rafa will still get plenty of practice as he is apparently scheduled to play one
with Verdasco, one with Philliposis and with an Australian teenager. After that practice,
he can also use the early rounds of AO as additional practice hopefully. But, I don't
expect anything beyond a QF for Rafa in AO.

I always thought there isnt one human being on Earth who despises Rafa Nadal presence on a tennis court as much as Darth Fed, I was Wrong :devil

I wonder who that is? I know it is not me and nothing in my quoted post is despise.

someone mentioned Rafa applying for a WC for Sydney, do you know the deadline

 

[isabelle]

Poor Manacor's bull, 2015 starts bad for him and his fans

 

[Kieran]

We were teasing GSM, there was no hate. His comment came with a huge dollop of hope-it's-true attached, which I don't mind. We're all fans of somebody...

That is your spin and not a fact. People who read all my posts in Abudhabi thread will know it.

Being a fan of X does not necessarily imply wishing bad luck for Y, except perhaps when it is X vs. Y.

No, you're still at it, my friend. Predicting Rafa to make the QF at best in Oz. At the moment, I wouldn't even predict that for him, but you're certainly among the category of Fedfan who makes a statement like that, as if to say it might solidly make it true. I don't mind this, because as I say, we all hold similar thoughts about our champion's rivals...

 

[Federberg]

My commiserations for the Nadalites.

Rafa might have been better off playing in Hopman cup, which gives you a guaranteed 3
singles and 3 doubles match (independent of whether you win or lose) and an additional
singles and doubles match if your team makes it to the finals. This is because the primary
thing he needs now is match practice and does not matter who it is against at this time.
But, there is no Spanish Team there. I don't how they select which countries participate
in Hopman Cup.

But, Rafa will still get plenty of practice as he is apparently scheduled to play one
with Verdasco, one with Philliposis and with an Australian teenager. After that practice,
he can also use the early rounds of AO as additional practice hopefully. But, I don't
expect anything beyond a QF for Rafa in AO.

I always thought there isnt one human being on Earth who despises Rafa Nadal presence on a tennis court as much as Darth Fed, I was Wrong :devil

Perhaps I'm missing something here. Where was the hate exactly?

 

[Federberg]

It's the domino effect. It starts with how well he's feeling physically (not to say he's injured, but he's had a injury-filled year and is obviously not in peak shape as he bids to put them behind him), then you have the fact that he is suffering one bad defeat after the other (starting with Wimbledon). As a result, it's going to affect his confidence and the way he's playing, which usually affects the shots you're the least comfortable with (so the serve would be up there, especially since it hasn't looked good since the back issues). When the serve is gone, the forehand just isn't going to look that good since he's not always hitting the shot from an ideal position, and he's going to be reluctant to go for it as the rally progresses. One bad thing leads to another.

On the other hand, it really doesn't take much to go from that to playing relatively well again. It's not like he has to fix these issues at length individually. If he loosens up, goes after his forehand, feels comfortable in the rallies, then he might feel confident in going after the serve as the match progresses, or the other way around.

I'm betting it's all mental. A bit more play and his rhythm and confidence will be back. From what I've seen (not much) technically he looks ok. He'll be fine come Oz

 

[tiptv]

ATP Doha - 07-01-15

The boys cover today's games in the ATP Doha, plenty of games, there are plenty of opportunities for some value to be won here. The games covered were; Andreas Seppi v Joao Souza(13.30), David Ferrer v Fernando Verdasco (13.30), Ivan Dodig v Michael Berrer (14.00), Novak Djokovic, Sergiy Stakhovsky (14.00), Blaz Kavcic v Tomas Berdych (15.30), Richard Gasquet v Simone Bolelli (17.00).

See more at - http://www.tiptv.co.uk/archives/tennis-atp-doha-07-01-15/#sthash.lc5BZkc9.dpuf

 

[the AntiPusher]

My commiserations for the Nadalites.

Rafa might have been better off playing in Hopman cup, which gives you a guaranteed 3
singles and 3 doubles match (independent of whether you win or lose) and an additional
singles and doubles match if your team makes it to the finals. This is because the primary
thing he needs now is match practice and does not matter who it is against at this time.
But, there is no Spanish Team there. I don't how they select which countries participate
in Hopman Cup.

But, Rafa will still get plenty of practice as he is apparently scheduled to play one
with Verdasco, one with Philliposis and with an Australian teenager. After that practice,
he can also use the early rounds of AO as additional practice hopefully. But, I don't
expect anything beyond a QF for Rafa in AO.

I always thought there isnt one human being on Earth who despises Rafa Nadal presence on a tennis court as much as Darth Fed, I was Wrong :devil

Perhaps I'm missing something here. Where was the hate exactly?

reposting what Kirean wrote

Kieran Wrote:
We were teasing GSM, there was no hate. His comment came with a huge dollop of hope-it's-true attached, which I don't mind. We're all fans of somebody...