2015 ATP General Tennis News

[the AntiPusher]

Any chance that Rafa will take a WC at Estoril or maybe another tourney before RG..

It would show desperation, but he's the one that confessed he needs the match play; even if he had to do the South American tour at events that he would normally skip in favor of rest! :angel:

WHo gives a damn about desperation, Rafa is in dire straits to get back to number 3 or 4.. He needs matches to prepare mentally for RG.. However, the ego of his team will not concede .. so he will suffer to prepare..typically not given into the reality of the moment by team Uncle Toni Rafa

 

[herios]

Any chance that Rafa will take a WC at Estoril or maybe another tourney before RG..

It would show desperation, but he's the one that confessed he needs the match play; even if he had to do the South American tour at events that he would normally skip in favor of rest! :angel:

WHo gives a damn about desperation, Rafa is in dire straits to get back to number 3 or 4.. He needs matches to prepare mentally for RG.. However, the ego of his team will not concede .. so he will suffer to prepare..typically not given into the reality of the moment by team Uncle Toni Rafa

The draws are out for all 3 events following week and Rafa has not entered in any of them.
But Radek Stepanek is back in action for the first time since the USO last year. He has entered the Qualification round in Munich.

 

[Carol]

Any chance that Rafa will take a WC at Estoril or maybe another tourney before RG..

It would show desperation, but he's the one that confessed he needs the match play; even if he had to do the South American tour at events that he would normally skip in favor of rest! :angel:

WHo gives a damn about desperation, Rafa is in dire straits to get back to number 3 or 4.. He needs matches to prepare mentally for RG.. However, the ego of his team will not concede .. so he will suffer to prepare..typically not given into the reality of the moment by team Uncle Toni Rafa

I think Uncle Toni and the team don't have anything to do with, Rafa has had bad luck with the injuries and when those problems were getting better then he had to go through the appendicitis surgery.
Any great athlete can go through this "down" under those circumstances. Only himself has to know how to get out of that distrust and to try to clear his mind, then he will be again the superb player that he has been and he is

 

[the AntiPusher]

It would show desperation, but he's the one that confessed he needs the match play; even if he had to do the South American tour at events that he would normally skip in favor of rest! :angel:

WHo gives a damn about desperation, Rafa is in dire straits to get back to number 3 or 4.. He needs matches to prepare mentally for RG.. However, the ego of his team will not concede .. so he will suffer to prepare..typically not given into the reality of the moment by team Uncle Toni Rafa

I think Uncle Toni and the team don't have anything to do with, Rafa has had bad luck with the injuries and when those problems were getting better then he had to go through the appendicitis surgery.
Any great athlete can go through this "down" under those circumstances. Only himself has to know how to get out of that distrust and to try to clear his mind, then he will be again the superb player that he has been and he is

Either his team just aren't making the proper adjustments to his game or his execution is flawed

 

[herios]

Nole announced he skips Madrid:

http://www.si.com/tennis/2015/04/27/novak-djokovic-withdraws-madrid-open-2015-atp-masters

 

[Fiero425]

Nole announced he skips Madrid:

http://www.si.com/tennis/2015/04/27/novak-djokovic-withdraws-madrid-open-2015-atp-masters

I have no problem with this at all! He's managing his time on court and has every right to do so! Why kill himself to win that title when it means nothing in the grand scheme of things? I'll have to look forward to Rome, but will watch and wonder which top players will get upset in Madrid! uzzled :nono :angel:

 

[tented]

Nole announced he skips Madrid:

http://www.si.com/tennis/2015/04/27/novak-djokovic-withdraws-madrid-open-2015-atp-masters

Smart move. He has zero points to defend (not that he needs to worry about points, but still ...), and why play on the Madrid clard courts, anyway? MC and Rome are much better surfaces on which to prepare for RG.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

He still has to give a reason though. Anyone knows?

 

[tented]

He still has to give a reason though. Anyone knows?

Buried further down in the article is this:

"While the Madrid Open is a mandatory ATP event, Djokovic has earned an exemption under the rules given his length of service and is allowed to skip one mandatory event without any penalties. The ATP rules allow a player to skip one mandatory event if he has (1) played more than 600 matches in his career, (2) been on tour for 12 years, or (3) reaches the age of 31. If a player reaches all three milestones, as Federer has, he may skip any and all Masters without penalty."

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

He still has to give a reason though. Anyone knows?

Buried further down in the article is this:

"While the Madrid Open is a mandatory ATP event, Djokovic has earned an exemption under the rules given his length of service and is allowed to skip one mandatory event without any penalties. The ATP rules allow a player to skip one mandatory event if he has (1) played more than 600 matches in his career, (2) been on tour for 12 years, or (3) reaches the age of 31. If a player reaches all three milestones, as Federer has, he may skip any and all Masters without penalty."

Thanks Tented. It is amazing how long nole has been around and how far he has come.

 

[Puppet Master]

Nole announced he skips Madrid:

http://www.si.com/tennis/2015/04/27/novak-djokovic-withdraws-madrid-open-2015-atp-masters

Is this a legitimate source? I have to check the ATP site, but I doubt I can find anything related.

 

[tented]

Nole announced he skips Madrid:

http://www.si.com/tennis/2015/04/27/novak-djokovic-withdraws-madrid-open-2015-atp-masters

Is this a legitimate source? I have to check the ATP site, but I doubt I can find anything related.

It's "Sports Illustrated", so yes, it's a legitimate source.

 

[Denis]

Nole announced he skips Madrid:

http://www.si.com/tennis/2015/04/27/novak-djokovic-withdraws-madrid-open-2015-atp-masters

Smart move. He has zero points to defend (not that he needs to worry about points, but still ...), and why play on the Madrid clard courts, anyway? MC and Rome are much better surfaces on which to prepare for RG.

We discussed this after MC and I expressed my hope he would do this. He has already played a lot of tennis this year and there is absolutely no reason for him to play there. He can fully charge the batteries and have an optimal preparation for Roland Garros. Go Novak!

 

[Denis]

Nole announced he skips Madrid:

http://www.si.com/tennis/2015/04/27/novak-djokovic-withdraws-madrid-open-2015-atp-masters

Is this a legitimate source? I have to check the ATP site, but I doubt I can find anything related.

GSM pulled out the atp rules after MC and confirmed it. Novak is entitled to skip Madrid.

 

[Denis]

Side question: is Novak already allowed to skip masters events on the basis of his resume?

Djokovic had 604 wins in his career at the beginning of 2015 and so he barely met
the requirement of having 600 or more wins at the beginning of the calendar year that
would help him skip a mandatory Masters ATP 1000 tourney. But, I doubt that he will
actually make use of that.

Here is the rule:

1.08 Reduction of ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Commitment
A. A player’s number of ATP World Tour Masters 1000 commitment tournaments shall be reduced by one (1) tournament for reaching each of the following milestones:
1) 600 matches (as of 1 January of the commitment year);
2) 12 years of service;
3) 31 years of age (as of 1 January of the commitment year).
If all three (3) conditions are met then the player has a complete exemption from the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 player commitment.

Here you go.

 

[Puppet Master]

Nole announced he skips Madrid:

http://www.si.com/tennis/2015/04/27/novak-djokovic-withdraws-madrid-open-2015-atp-masters

Is this a legitimate source? I have to check the ATP site, but I doubt I can find anything related.

It's "Sports Illustrated", so yes, it's a legitimate source.

http://www.madrid-open.com/en/noticias-tennistainment/novak-djokovic-y-serena-williams-protagonizaran-el-charity-day-del-mutua-madrid-open/
Here it says that Djokovic will play a charity event in Madrid, but he isn't playing the tournament itself, that is the only reason I found it odd but whatever.

 

[herios]

Nole announced he skips Madrid:

http://www.si.com/tennis/2015/04/27/novak-djokovic-withdraws-madrid-open-2015-atp-masters

Is this a legitimate source? I have to check the ATP site, but I doubt I can find anything related.

It's "Sports Illustrated", so yes, it's a legitimate source.

ATP is never the initial source, they usually have a slight delay. They will post something later today, surely.

 

[Carol]

Is this a legitimate source? I have to check the ATP site, but I doubt I can find anything related.

It's "Sports Illustrated", so yes, it's a legitimate source.

ATP is never the initial source, they usually have a slight delay. They will post something later today, surely.

I wouldn't be surprised, he skipped last year too

 

[Carol]

Is this a legitimate source? I have to check the ATP site, but I doubt I can find anything related.

It's "Sports Illustrated", so yes, it's a legitimate source.

http://www.madrid-open.com/en/noticias-tennistainment/novak-djokovic-y-serena-williams-protagonizaran-el-charity-day-del-mutua-madrid-open/
Here it says that Djokovic will play a charity event in Madrid, but he isn't playing the tournament itself, that is the only reason I found it odd but whatever.

Remember what happened in 2013 playing against Dimitrov? that's the reason, very absurd because most of the crowd were Bulgaries

 

[Fiero425]

It's "Sports Illustrated", so yes, it's a legitimate source.

http://www.madrid-open.com/en/noticias-tennistainment/novak-djokovic-y-serena-williams-protagonizaran-el-charity-day-del-mutua-madrid-open/
Here it says that Djokovic will play a charity event in Madrid, but he isn't playing the tournament itself, that is the only reason I found it odd but whatever.

Remember what happened in 2013 playing against Dimitrov? that's the reason, very absurd because most of the crowd were Bulgaries

Why put up with the high altitude, rude crowds, and another useless Masters? This will put pressure on Federer to live up to that #1 seed! Can he even make the final? :ras: :nono :angel: :dodgy: