'24 Monte-Carlo Masters, MC Country Club

[MargaretMcAleer]

SFs Saturday 13th April,

Not before 1.30pm,
(2) Sinner vs Tsitsipas (12) H2H Tsitsipas 5-3 ( Jannik is the only player to reach the SF's at all the 3 ATP Masters events this season)

Not before 3.30pm,
(1) Djokovic vs Ruud (8) H2H Djokovic 5-0

 

[Fiero425]

Rune is still acting like a jerk, same like Meddy did the other day. Match is finished, he is going out and can't raise a hand to the crowd? Instead of that what he does, he shows that hand sign to crowd like you can still talk, he did the same when he got the warning.

I am glad he lost. This should have ended in 2 sets if Sinner was not too anemic of 0:40 in 2 games in 2nd set.

Being #1 in the World even for a minute has its privileges! It may not be fair, but Rune hasn't paid his dues to get that benefit of the doubt! I can still hark back to 1981 where Borg was going to win his 6th Wimbledon title but for gutless officiating! McEnroe had lost his mind w/ the officials in an early round match and he was allowed to move along in the draw! I can still see him calling the umpire "a bald eagle!" Borg more than likely would've won in the final as McEnroe's game was the only one that worried the likes of Borg! In 1990 John tried pulling the same thing "down under!" The rules had been revised & McEnroe fained ignorance of a change! It took one less offense to get disqualified after insulting officials! So he knew how long he could rant & act a fool before getting tossed, but miscalculated this one time! Funny, a country w/ a history as being a penal colony and the Aussies have more respect for the game, sportsmanship, & rules! Novak was tossed right away at the 2020 USO after accidently hitting a lineswoman w/ a ball! There's never been any consistency concerning this subject! After 50+ years in the game, I still just SMH!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Being #1 in the World even for a minute has its privileges! It may not be fair, but Rune hasn't paid his dues to get that benefit of the doubt! I can still hark back to 1981 where Borg was going to win his 6th Wimbledon title but for gutless officiating! McEnroe had lost his mind w/ the officials in an early round match and he was allowed to move along in the draw! I can still see him calling the umpire "a bald eagle!" Borg more than likely would've won in the final as McEnroe's game was the only one that worried the likes of Borg! In 1990 John tried pulling the same thing "down under!" The rules had been revised & McEnroe fained ignorance of a change! It took one less offense to get disqualified after insulting officials! So he knew how long he could rant & act a fool before getting tossed, but miscalculated this one time! Funny, a country w/ a history as being a penal colony and the Aussies have more respect for the game, sportsmanship, & rules! Novak was tossed right away at the 2020 USO after accidently hitting a lineswoman w/ a ball! There's never been any consistency concerning this subject! After 50+ years in the game, I still just SMH!

Oh please dont make me laugh you are still defending Novak at the USO go look at the rule for starters? his ball hit the lines woman in the throat and made her fall to the ground? regardless if it was a accident? it was a correct call, move on!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Don Fabio,
Agree with your thoughts Sinner should have won in SS, though these 2 players always have had tight battles, so I was not surprised it went 3 sets,
It is a shame Rune still acts like a 'brat' on court as he has all the weapons to be a great player., taking MTO's when his opponent has momentum, eg in the Dimitrov match, Rune plays well on clay, hopefully he will get back on track,, Sinner has always had great composure on court thank goodness.
Seeing Rune is now out of the Top Ten, he should cut out the crap and work harder to get back into the Top Ten

 

[nehmeth]

Fun Fact,
Novak Djokovic has the most Masters 1000's SF with 77, Nadal 76, Federer 66.

A total of 219 between them. Difficult to grasp. If Novak wins MC, he will also have 3 golden masters.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

I would love to see Ruud have a breakthrough and beat Djokovic, but that is a tall task, but who knows.

 

[nehmeth]

I would love to see Ruud have a breakthrough and beat Djokovic, but that is a tall task, but who knows.

Ruud is a player I really like. He works hard. He usually gives a good fight in his matches. He just lacks the athleticism needed to be at the very top. Clay will be his best chance against Djoker.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

A total of 219 between them. Difficult to grasp. If Novak wins MC, he will also have 3 golden masters.

Indeed 3 golden masters, not a bad feat, he still has to win it, first SF for Novak at MC since 2015,

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Ruud is a player I really like. He works hard. He usually gives a good fight in his matches. He just lacks the athleticism needed to be at the very top. Clay will be his best chance against Djoker.

I also like Rudd a hard worker, his bhand still gives me the yips

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Quite frankly Jannik wont have it easy against Tsitsipas especially on clay in their SF

 

[nehmeth]

Indeed 3 golden masters, not a bad feat, still first SF for Novak at MC since 2015,

Almost a decade since he won and he’s obviously not close to his best level.

 

[nehmeth]

Quite frankly Jannik wont have it easy against Tsitsipas especially on clay in their SF

Since Stefanos is still working with his father, Jannik will have a definite edge in the big moments of the match.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Almost a decade since he won and he’s obviously not close to his best level.

I think Novak is getting his clay legs, like most of the players, playing their first clay tournament, he will wont to peak for RG

 

[Jelenafan]

Umpires are inconsistent I agree. Still Rune should accept it and play on. He does the opposite and calls for a Supervisor. That was a joke and again disrespectful to the opponent because Sinner is on another side with 0:30 on Rune serve waiting for his BS to finish.


He played better today than against Dimitrov, but Sinner also played one of the worst matches recently, blew up many chances and still managed to win. If he played more with a killer instinct in the 2nd set it would be an easy victory.

I want to see from Rune that his tennis does the talking. He has a lot to prove still and a lot to improve too.

Here is the thing, LIttle Holger already got a warning for a time violation, which he did NOT dispute. So the Chair adding the second warning for a non obscene gesture to the crowd (the horror he cupped his ears!!) seemed gratuitous. Suddenly that is that type of gesture worthy of a warning? Players do that sort of thing all the time, and it's playing with or against the crowd in an arguably playful manner. Should Holger have kept it together?, of course he could have but that second warning IMO was petty so it triggered him , so asking for the supervisor was not a diss on Sinner but Holger's anger at the Chair's perceived pile on.

If you want to argue that having battles with the chair/supervisor is disrespecting your opponent, then technically EVERY argument a player gets involved with does that, as it interrupts play. Personally I don't think most players are that calculating, as in "If I fight with the chair, my opponent Y will lose concentration." Players argue because of their own temperament/personalities for the most part IMO. To make it clear, I'm not justifying his behavior; but the hilarious thing is that Holger will argue whether ahead 30-0 or behind 0-30, so I don't think it's a specific strategy. Ditto Medvedev. YMMV. IF anything, those flareups I think have a better chance of disrupting your own concentration. Behind 0-30 and starting a lengthy argument can't help Rune's game so if he's harming anyone it's more himself..LOL.

 

[rafanoy1992]

It will be interesting to see on how Rune will handle on being outside of the Top 10 rankings. It might help him as the expectations will not be as a high compared to if he was in the Top 8 rankings.

Also, I still think he should skip the YE championship this year. Now that it seems like Rune and Patrick M are "permanent," it would be beneficial for Rune to rest his body and mind and have a proper off-season training with Patrick.

Alcaraz did it in 2021 (though he didn't qualify for the YE for obvious reasons)
Sinner did it in 2022 (he also didn't qualify for the YE)

 

[Jelenafan]

It will be interesting to see on how Rune will handle on being outside of the Top 10 rankings. It might help him as the expectations will not be as a high compared to if he was in the Top 8 rankings.

Also, I still think he should skip the YE championship this year. Now that it seems like Rune and Patrick M are "permanent," it would be beneficial for Rune to rest his body and mind and have a proper off-season training with Patrick.

Alcaraz did it in 2021 (though he didn't qualify for the YE for obvious reasons)
Sinner did it in 2022 (he also didn't qualify for the YE)

Sorry but that is INSANE to preempt someone from playing the YE ATP finals 7 months ahead of time
* if* they qualify on the outside speculative chance that they will be too tired/fatigued.

Lets revisit this topic come October/Nov before we start predicting how beatup a player will be by then, Again 7 months ahead of time.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Here we go,
Holger Rune on social media,
" Meaning what @apttour? not that you gave me the best conditions in the first place, having to play 2 matches the day before and ending late, leaving almost no recovery time.Chair umpire making crucial mistakes and giving wrong warning that disturbed the game. May the force be with you. Jesus Christ".
Your constant excuses are doing you No Favours. If you refuse to acknowledge your short comings how are you going to improve?
If you want to consistently beat the top guys, and be No 1 you've got to stop finding faults outside of yourself. You'll only get there by controlling the controllables.Jannik just played better.Look at how he approaches things, you might be able to implement yourself.That also goes for some of his fans who also refuse to acknowledge his short comings and keep making excuses for his conduct and his approach to the game
BTW Paris Bercy Masters 1000 last November, due to bad scheduling Jannik Sinner was forced to retire in his match the next day? did he go to social media and complain, no he did not, he said he could not play and recover in time for his next match the following day and withdrew.

 

[lomaha]

Here we go,
Holger Rune on social media,
" Meaning what @apttour? not that you gave me the best conditions in the first place, having to play 2 matches the day before and ending late, leaving almost no recovery time.Chair umpire making crucial mistakes and giving wrong warning that disturbed the game. May the force be with you. Jesus Christ".
Your constant excuses are doing you No Favours. If you refuse to acknowledge your short comings how are you going to improve?
If you want to consistently beat the top guys, and be No 1 you've got to stop finding faults outside of yourself. You'll only get there by controlling the controllables.Jannik just played better.Look at how he approaches things, you might be able to implement yourself.That also goes for some of his fans who also refuse to acknowledge his short comings and keep making excuses for his conduct and his approach to the game
BTW Paris Bercy Masters 1000 last November, due to bad scheduling Jannik Sinner was forced to retire in his match the next day? did he go to social media and complain, no he did not, he said he could not play and recover in time for his next match the following day and withdrew.

You read it wrong. He is complaining about them being biased for good's sake. And frankly I agree with him. No reason for stepping on the guy..

 

[lomaha]

Steff's backhand is on fire today.

 

[don_fabio]

Here is the thing, LIttle Holger already got a warning for a time violation, which he did NOT dispute. So the Chair adding the second warning for a non obscene gesture to the crowd (the horror he cupped his ears!!) seemed gratuitous. Suddenly that is that type of gesture worthy of a warning? Players do that sort of thing all the time, and it's playing with or against the crowd in an arguably playful manner. Should Holger have kept it together?, of course he could have but that second warning IMO was petty so it triggered him , so asking for the supervisor was not a diss on Sinner but Holger's anger at the Chair's perceived pile on.

If you want to argue that having battles with the chair/supervisor is disrespecting your opponent, then technically EVERY argument a player gets involved with does that, as it interrupts play. Personally I don't think most players are that calculating, as in "If I fight with the chair, my opponent Y will lose concentration." Players argue because of their own temperament/personalities for the most part IMO. To make it clear, I'm not justifying his behavior; but the hilarious thing is that Holger will argue whether ahead 30-0 or behind 0-30, so I don't think it's a specific strategy. Ditto Medvedev. YMMV. IF anything, those flareups I think have a better chance of disrupting your own concentration. Behind 0-30 and starting a lengthy argument can't help Rune's game so if he's harming anyone it's more himself..LOL.

It's the way he acts that puts people off. Whether the umpire was right or wrong it's personal opinion. Rune does this all the time and he lacks sportsmanship. It's how he retired against Borna 2 months ago, failing to aknowledge the loss and retire 2 games before the end. Tactical MTOs. Stuff like that. I'm sure there are more examples.

I know he thinks he belongs with the best of them, but he has to prove it on the court and stop making excuses. This is probably the reason why Boris could not work with him, kid is full of himself and temperamental. He needs to sort that and work on his weaknesses if he wants to achieve big things. I like his game though.