Cincinnati 2014: Western and Southern open

[herios]

Interesting semis...on paper the semi should be the final for Roger whereas if Milos wins I think Ferrer could definitely beat him in the final. If Roger beats Milos and loses to Ferrer or Benneteau in the final...I give up

I know you will not find this amusing, but it surely made me smile, once Milos was interviewed, a few months back and was asked who is the player he finds most difficult to play against and he said...Ferrer

 

[TsarMatt]

Gutted that Wawrinka lost. I actually was saying to myself the other day that he might win this thing with the likes of Nole and Nadal out. Oh well - hopefully he'll bounce back come the US Open.

I didn't see the Federer/Murray match, but I'm not too surprised with the result. Putting things into perspective, 2014 has been such a positive year for Federer. '13 was a pretty grim twelve months, but he's bounced back really well, even if he doesn't have, like, numerous titles under his belt. I hope he wins it from here.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Roger is 25-2 against the other players left in the tourney.

Milos 5-0
Ferrer 15-0
Julian 5-2

However, I do not draw any conclusions from this.

 

[DarthFed]

Interesting semis...on paper the semi should be the final for Roger whereas if Milos wins I think Ferrer could definitely beat him in the final. If Roger beats Milos and loses to Ferrer or Benneteau in the final...I give up

I know you will not find this amusing, but it surely made me smile, once Milos was interviewed, a few months back and was asked who is the player he finds most difficult to play against and he said...Ferrer

Certainly could see it being tough for him on slower surfaces. On super fast Cincy court Milos has a chance to beat anyone I'd say.

 

[Moxie]

Gutted that Wawrinka lost. I actually was saying to myself the other day that he might win this thing with the likes of Nole and Nadal out. Oh well - hopefully he'll bounce back come the US Open.

I didn't see the Federer/Murray match, but I'm not too surprised with the result. Putting things into perspective, 2014 has been such a positive year for Federer. '13 was a pretty grim twelve months, but he's bounced back really well, even if he doesn't have, like, numerous titles under his belt. I hope he wins it from here.

Wawrinka's loss was a little mystifying. He won the first easily, but then Benneteau righted the ship. However, Stan went strangely meek and unfocused. It didn't seem to be about injury, and there was no MTO, I believe. I think he as not really dealt with the pressure to follow up the AO win. But, with Djokovic out in his half of the draw, I would have thought he'd have fought harder for a place in the SF/F, given that he was offered an opportunity.

 

[TennisFanatic7]

Roger is 25-2 against the other players left in the tourney.

Milos 5-0
Ferrer 15-0
Julian 5-2

However, I do not draw any conclusions from this.

I'll be shocked if Julian resists the grind of Daveeeeed.

If Roger beats Milos, this is his title. (At least you'd think so but can you really trust Federer in serious finals these days?). If Milos wins that semi final - he really should have the measure of Ferrer or Benners, although Daveeeeeeed is 4-0 against Raonic... Perhaps this is the most unlikely of destinations of Mr Ferrer's second Masters title?

 

[NADAL2005RG]

I think The Fit Express has this QF.

I know my tennis :clap

 

[herios]

Interesting semis...on paper the semi should be the final for Roger whereas if Milos wins I think Ferrer could definitely beat him in the final. If Roger beats Milos and loses to Ferrer or Benneteau in the final...I give up

I know you will not find this amusing, but it surely made me smile, once Milos was interviewed, a few months back and was asked who is the player he finds most difficult to play against and he said...Ferrer

Certainly could see it being tough for him on slower surfaces. On super fast Cincy court Milos has a chance to beat anyone I'd say.

That statement was before his string of good results he had this season, when he is a few notches higher than in the previous ones. So I would also assume that this time around Ferrer would not be as difficult for him as in the past.

 

[TennisFanatic7]

Interesting semis...on paper the semi should be the final for Roger whereas if Milos wins I think Ferrer could definitely beat him in the final. If Roger beats Milos and loses to Ferrer or Benneteau in the final...I give up

I know you will not find this amusing, but it surely made me smile, once Milos was interviewed, a few months back and was asked who is the player he finds most difficult to play against and he said...Ferrer

Certainly could see it being tough for him on slower surfaces. On super fast Cincy court Milos has a chance to beat anyone I'd say.

That statement was before his string of good results he had this season, when he is a few notches higher than in the previous ones. So I would also assume that this time around Ferrer would not be as difficult for him as in the past.

Milos may have said that about Daveeeeed earlier in this year, but if he can get past Roger tomorrow (which I hope he won't but that's besides the point) then there's no way he should be accepting a loss to Daveeeeed in the final.

I really don't like Raonic's brand of tennis, or his lack of personality, or (on a much more petty level) his slicked hair style, but I am willing to give the credit where it is due, and if he can go on and clinch a Masters crown this week, which is very possible, then well done to him. If he outplays and beats Roger in tomorrow's semi-final, he may even have my backing on Sunday.

 

[TennisFanatic7]

A statistic stolen from Mr Rothenburg on Twitter - having levelled his H2H with Murray, Federer now only has a losing match up with Rafael Nadal and one Federico Delbonis.

 

[NADAL2005RG]

I don't like big servers, but I admire Raonic's businesslike and professional approach.
The younger generation needs to learn that its not about how well you play on your best day, but how well you play on your worst day. Raonic understands this better than the others, hence his consistency. And he made SF of Rome, QF of Roland Garros, SF of Wimbledon. Highly impressive.

 

[Moxie]

I don't like big servers, but I admire Raonic's businesslike and professional approach.
The younger generation needs to learn that its not about how well you play on your best day, but how well you play on your worst day. Raonic understands this better than the others, hence his consistency. And he made SF of Rome, QF of Roland Garros, SF of Wimbledon. Highly impressive.

I like Milos fine, for the reasons that you say. (He gets a bit of a hard knock, because of his boring tennis, and that net touch.) But if Murray couldn't beat Roger, I'm not seeing Milos at it. Roger is looking pretty crisp. And I think Ferrer gets Benneteau, who will be at the end of his nice run. But, either way, Roger should break his jinx at the finals of the big tournaments.

 

[El Dude]

A statistic stolen from Mr Rothenburg on Twitter - having levelled his H2H with Murray, Federer now only has a losing match up with Rafael Nadal and one Federico Delbonis.

Against active players, that is. He's got losing match-ups against quite a few retired players, who he mainly played in the late 90s and early 00s. For example, he's 0-3 against Patrick Rafter, 1-3 against Thomas Enqvist, 1-2 against Gustavo Kuerten, 2-4 against Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 2-3 against Alex Corretja, and 0-1 or 0-2 against about a half dozen other players.

Given age differences he'll almost certainly end up with a losing record against Novak Djokovic (currently 18-17) and probably Andy Murray (11-11). I think Ernests Gulbis and Kei Nishikori (both 2-2) have a good chance of edging Roger before the Maestro is through.

As for Cincinnati, this really is Roger's tournament to lose. But so was Toronto. Oh, and Monte Carlo. That said, I'm more afraid of Julian Benneteau than I am Milos Raonic or David Ferrer.

 

[Moxie]

As for Cincinnati, this really is Roger's tournament to lose. But so was Toronto. Oh, and Monte Carlo. That said, I'm more afraid of Julian Benneteau than I am Milos Raonic or David Ferrer.

I'd agree with both of those statements.

 

[NADAL2005RG]

I don't like big servers, but I admire Raonic's businesslike and professional approach.
The younger generation needs to learn that its not about how well you play on your best day, but how well you play on your worst day. Raonic understands this better than the others, hence his consistency. And he made SF of Rome, QF of Roland Garros, SF of Wimbledon. Highly impressive.

I like Milos fine, for the reasons that you say. (He gets a bit of a hard knock, because of his boring tennis, and that net touch.) But if Murray couldn't beat Roger, I'm not seeing Milos at it. Roger is looking pretty crisp. And I think Ferrer gets Benneteau, who will be at the end of his nice run. But, either way, Roger should break his jinx at the finals of the big tournaments.

It will be a minor disaster if Federer doesn't win Cincy.
Its all very well to have moral victories and consistently go deep into big events, but Federer needs a win (I know he won Dubai over Djokovic, and won Halle, but its not the same).
Been a long time since Federer won a slam/masters event, and if we go by the theory that Wimbledon is Federer's best chance at adding to the slam count......it will be important for him to win a masters event before next year's Wimbledon, just for self-belief purposes.

 

[Kieran]

Unbelievable stamina and resilience from a 33 year old to come from 2 three set matches in succession and then beat Murray in straights - after a long week in Toronto!

Unprecedented and exceptional! :clap :clap

 

[Moxie]

I don't like big servers, but I admire Raonic's businesslike and professional approach.
The younger generation needs to learn that its not about how well you play on your best day, but how well you play on your worst day. Raonic understands this better than the others, hence his consistency. And he made SF of Rome, QF of Roland Garros, SF of Wimbledon. Highly impressive.

I like Milos fine, for the reasons that you say. (He gets a bit of a hard knock, because of his boring tennis, and that net touch.) But if Murray couldn't beat Roger, I'm not seeing Milos at it. Roger is looking pretty crisp. And I think Ferrer gets Benneteau, who will be at the end of his nice run. But, either way, Roger should break his jinx at the finals of the big tournaments.

It will be a minor disaster if Federer doesn't win Cincy.
Its all very well to have moral victories and consistently go deep into big events, but Federer needs a win (I know he won Dubai over Djokovic, and won Halle, but its not the same).
Been a long time since Federer won a slam/masters event, and if we go by the theory that Wimbledon is Federer's best chance at adding to the slam count......it will be important for him to win a masters event before next year's Wimbledon, just for self-belief purposes.

El Dude made that point earlier, I think, that Roger was 0-6 in his last "big" event finals. I think he'll be looking to turn that around. Especially as there is a real opportunity here.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

^^i wouldnt call it unprecedented..Agassi and Connors within the last 30 yrs have done similar stuff as did laver and rosewall in the late 60s early 70s..

(unless you were being sarcastic, you were not were you ?.)

 

[NADAL2005RG]

I suspect Federer won't duplicate what Agassi did at age 35= won THREE 5-setters at the US Open and took a 6-2 set off the World #1 in the Final (and lost a tie-breaker).

I know people like to discredit Agassi's durability by pointing out that he took hiatus during his career.....but Agassi was never as athletic as Federer, so its a huge achievement for Agassi to deliver so big at age 35 regardless. And despite missing many slams (Australian Open obviously, and some Wimbledons) Agassi never missed a US Open, and he was a prodigy and played a lot at a young age, so he still pushed his body quite hard.

 

[TsarMatt]

I can't say I'm too excited for the semifinal matches. I'm not too big on watching guys like Milos, Benneteau and Ferrer play. Would like to see a Federer/Ferrer final, though. These two really don't play each other all too much, especially when you take into account how long they've been on tour.