ATP 500, Basel, Switzerland

[DarthFed]

It still shocks me that Dimitrov is top 30.  Seems like he hasn't done anything at any tournament all year.  Certainly guys below him like Sock, Kyrgios, and Chardy seem to have been better in 2015 than this mental patient.

 

[Moxie]

Moxie wrote:
I like Anderson, but I’ll be pulling for young Coric. Additionally, for Stan, Jack, and, of course, Rafa.

Thank God you changed that avatar @Moxie. Not sure what it was supposed to be, but the thumbnail looked like some sort of religious cult about to drink blood out of a monkey’s skull.

Ha!  That was in response to a comment you made at the start-up about getting our sense of humor back here, and getting away from the tyrannies of over-moderation.  It was a still from Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition sketches.  

 

[britbox]

It’s just good to be back on a tennis chat site with old friends. Of course I chose Basel as my starting point. LoL I’ve shut down my enthusiasm for the rest of the year (thank you Djokovic)….I will watch what happens here Paris & the year end but they are only relative for the year end rankings. Once again thanks for inviting me.

Welcome @MartyB good to see you here.

Djoker is going to be favourite for everything he enterd until further notice... but Fed's still got the game to give him a run in the three setters as we've seen a couple of times already this season.

 

[Moxie]

Rafa still has work to do, but he got Dimitrov in part because he broke down his one-hander, the way he does Roger, and Grigor is no Federer.  And he's just more "clutch" than either Dimitrov or Rosol.  The Bulgarian continues to disappoint, (though he didn't disappoint ME today.  Lol.)  Whatever he lacks in grit, fire-in-the-belly, etc., he seems not to be improving on, and it's been some years now that everyone has been waiting.  I don't see him ever living up to the potential that folks saw in him from early days.  More baby-Gasquet than baby-Fed.

 

[Billie]

They were very nice and prolonged the match so I can watch the last 4 games between Dimitrov and Nadal.  Two break points for Nadal and he makes good on one of them.  Next game Dimitrov had the same opportunity but couldn't break.  Mental resolve.  Top guys have it.

Anderson took care of Coric easily and Dr Ivo took Stan out, well that is a very good result from him.

Richie vs Thiem tomorrow, hopefully it is a nice match.

 

 

[isabelle]

Disappointing for Stanimal as usually

 

[Federberg]

Wow! Donald Young beating Kevin Anderson??? Was that tiredness from a long season on Kevin's part or is the Donald stepping to another level?

 

[Moxie]

Wow! Donald Young beating Kevin Anderson??? Was that tiredness from a long season on Kevin’s part or is the Donald stepping to another level?

I can't seem to watch the early round matches in Basel, and Tennis Channel played up Young's composure, but they do champion the Yanks, so, hard to know.

The two big matches tomorrow are Young v. Sock and Nadal v. Cilic.  I think Sock will take out his countryman.  Cilic should be problematic for Rafa...the biggest challenge yet.  Bigger and better version of Rosol...a style that troubles him, especially on this type of surface.  Obviously, Nadal has to step up a level on serve and aggressiveness.  Cilic, who can be unreliable, will be feeling more pressure than he has in past when facing Rafa, I feel, being now a Slam champ.  (2-1 H2H in favor of Nadal)  He'll feel he should be in the group that's beaten Rafa this year, and he'll be seeing his way to the final, since, IMO, the winner of this match gets past the winner of Karlovic v. Gasquet.  (I pick Gasquet in that one.)  And Roger will likely see off Goffin in straights, even though he's a tricky fellow.  Those are my predictions for tomorrow, anyway.  Oh, wait...did I forget to predict that Nadal beats Cilic in 3?  There it is.

 

[Billie]

I am taking Gasquet (but it's really a toss-up for me in this match), Sock, Nadal and Federer.  I would really like to see Nadal and Federer play, I can't remember if they did it at all this year?

Edit:  if it was unclear, I meant for #1 and #3 seeds playing against each other LOL

 

[Moxie]

I'd love to see another Federer v. Nadal, too.  They haven't met since Nadal beat Fed in the AO 2014.  Surface and home town advantage favors Roger, but I won't jump ahead, as Rafa still has to get past Cilic, which is not a given.

 

[herios]

I am very delighted that Jack was able to beat John. I feel that he has all the talent to bridge the gap and be the one who will take over from John the leadership of the American tennis.

 

 

[Billie]

I am very delighted that Jack was able to beat John. I feel that he has all the talent to bridge the gap and be the one who will take over from John the leadership of the American tennis.

Yeah, Sock seems to be maturing nicely.  What highs can he reach?  Top 10?

 

[britbox]

I’d love to see another Federer v. Nadal, too. They haven’t met since Nadal beat Fed in the AO 2014. Surface and home town advantage favors Roger, but I won’t jump ahead, as Rafa still has to get past Cilic, which is not a given.

Seems an age since the last Fedal match... about time we got another.

 

[brokenshoelace]

I don't think Nadal will get past Cilic. Hasn't been impressive at all this week (the Dimitrov match was painful, as was the Rosol match actually). At least he's winning these close matches which is a step in the right direction, but tennis wise he looked better in Shanghai. I hope I'm wrong, as Cilic is a tough match-up on this surface so beating him means Rafa must have done something right.

 

[Mastoor]

I think this may be the last opportunity for Fedal to play in Basel (if there is an opportunity at all), because Rafa's contract with Basel expires. To my surprise he was paid only US$250,000 p.a. Wiena will try to bring either him or Djoker, maybe both of them next year.

I agree with BS above, just to add that I'm not sure why is he playing there, because all those long matches won't help him much. By the end of Basel he will be exhausted if not injured before more important tournament in Paris.

 

 

 

[isabelle]

I'll support Richie

 

[brokenshoelace]

Missed the match. I have to re-watch it to see how Nadal played. While his level has not always been great, he has beaten some really good players since the US Open on a surface that doesn't suit him that much. I'd say that's an improvement over most of what he's done this year.

 

[Moxie]

Missed the match. I have to re-watch it to see how Nadal played. While his level has not always been great, he has beaten some really good players since the US Open on a surface that doesn’t suit him that much. I’d say that’s an improvement over most of what he’s done this year.

I'll be honest and say I was concerned about this match for Nadal.  He made some adjustments after losing the first, and his first serve percentage got better and better.  His court positioning was sometimes better than earlier in the week, and he generally seemed more consistent and confident than in the first 2 matches.  I have to feel good about his chance v. Gasquet, since the H2H is 13-0 in Rafa's favor.

Federer lost it in the 2nd today and had to go 3 again v. Goffin, but then tidied it back up nicely in the 3rd.  I have to give Sock a decent shot at him tomorrow, though I'd rather see both Rafa and Roger in the final.

 

[Denis]

Nadal is doing quite well for himself on indoors which is surprising. Don't think he'll be his old self ever again but it's clearly going better for him than the American he swing.

 

[Moxie]

Nadal is doing quite well for himself on indoors which is surprising. Don’t think he’ll be his old self ever again but it’s clearly going better for him than the American he swing.

Nadal, until he hangs them up, will always surprise.    He's too tough to go gently into that good night, as he is demonstrating, at the moment.  Whether he gets back to his old self, or a functionally vibrant version of that, remains to be seen.