Cincinnati Masters 2018, Ohio, US, ATP Masters 1000

[Moxie]

You continue to defend that and it's ridiculous IMO. You defended Nadal when he took a bathroom break before Roger served for the match at IW 2012 as well. I think you'd defend him if he drowned a bunch of puppies at this point.

OMG with the cataloguing still of Nadal's bathroom breaks. All I did was correct you when you said that Rafa had an umpire banned. It was incorrect.

 

[lob]

From what I saw on TV, it looked like the umpire overruled the lineswoman's call in his own head ! My mistake if he clarified it at some point in that game . I did not see or hear it. What I clearly heard and saw was that the ball was called out.

..after completely missing the lines-woman's call and then assuming that the ball went in, the umpire announced "40-0" naturally without prefacing it with "overruled". Roger heard the call but didn't react to the announcement of "40-0" *at all* and received the next serve without a peep. May be he didn't want to risk losing challenge. Basically, both behaved as if the lines-woman just was a ghost and the ball went in.

Roger was just pi$$ed after losing the game but he knew he chose not to challenge. That's why he said "it's two for two", as in 'we both f&%$#@d up' after getting the apology he wanted. It didn't help that he's already tussled with this umpire, Murphy, twice this year (AO Berdych and IW Del Potro).

 

[lob]

OMG with the cataloguing still of Nadal's bathroom breaks. All I did was correct you when you said that Rafa had an umpire banned. It was incorrect.

I think unbeknownst to themselves Darth and Moxie are madly in love each other.

 

[DarthFed]

OMG with the cataloguing still of Nadal's bathroom breaks. All I did was correct you when you said that Rafa had an umpire banned. It was incorrect.

Temporarily banned seems like an appropriate description as GSM stated...just saying. And all that because Carlos was doing his job...

 

[Moxie]

Temporarily banned seems like an appropriate description as GSM stated...just saying. And all that because Carlos was doing his job...

Not banned. You understand that word. He wasn't banned from umping any matches, he was just not officiating Nadal's ones.

 

[Moxie]

I think unbeknownst to themselves Darth and Moxie are madly in love each other.

We squabble like siblings, but we really like each other...most of the time.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

We squabble like siblings, but we really like each other...most of the time.

Get a room !

 

[DarthFed]

Not banned. He wasn't banned from umping any matches, he was just not officiating Nadal's ones.

He was temporarily banned from umping Nadal's matches. Again for just enforcing the rules...

No matter what you think of Fed fans we at least call Roger out sometimes when he is clearly in the wrong.

 

[DarthFed]

This match is every bit as flaky as expected. Cilic is Cilic and Nole is obviously still very up and down. All that's missing for Nole's game is consistency and full belief in his shots. He seems to only swing freely when his back is against the wall.

 

[DarthFed]

Djoker wins with pretty good tennis in the 3rd set. Like I said, I think he's going to be really tough to beat come the USO, I think how he's played in the big moments shows he's really starting to get it back together.

 

[Fiero425]

This match is every bit as flaky as expected. Cilic is Cilic and Nole is obviously still very up and down. All that's missing for Nole's game is consistency and full belief in his shots. He seems to only swing freely when his back is against the wall.

Well Nole finished Cilic off in style! I'm glad it went 3 sets; practice was had and it makes Roger get on the court later tonight since the other women's SF has to play out! Goffin's no slug and snuck up on Roger at the YEC IIRC! With Nole and Murray out, you would think he'd take advantage, but was taken to the limit in RR play and eventually was taken out by Goffin in the SF in 3! :whistle:

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Djoker wins with pretty good tennis in the 3rd set. Like I said, I think he's going to be really tough to beat come the USO, I think how he's played in the big moments shows he's really starting to get it back together.

It is funny though, the guy has won Wimbledon, he is in the finals here yet something is still lacking in his game. Is it mental? I am not sure but this is actually bad news for the competition. Were he to get it all together...

 

[Fiero425]

It is funny though, the guy has won Wimbledon, he is in the finals here yet something is still lacking in his game. Is it mental? I am not sure but this is actually bad news for the competition. Were he to get it all together...

I believe if Nole steals this title, he will go into the USO and blow the field away! Tennis' like most anything is about confidence! No matter how skilled a person is, without confidence you just have good showings! Nole's been doing both for years, but if he has that confidence he had from a couple years ago, the field doesn't have a chance! He was embarrassing the best of them then; toying with Rafa by the time they played at FO 2015! :whistle:

 

[Mastoor]

That's about what I asked myself when I saw Nole nervous right after he won the first set and then again when he broke Čilić for 3-1 in the third. Why you get nervous when things go well for you + you are the guy who won last slam.

Anyway, Nole tamed his own nerves and Čilić in the end and is awaiting the other semifinal. I think this was rare even when he was in the finals regularly, to finish his semifinal first. I like it a lot.

 

[DarthFed]

It is funny though, the guy has won Wimbledon, he is in the finals here yet something is still lacking in his game. Is it mental? I am not sure but this is actually bad news for the competition. Were he to get it all together...

He's played awful tennis for about 1.5 years. It takes awhile to get it all back. Even at Wimbledon he was kind of doing the same thing as here. Bursts of great play followed by very tentative and sloppy stuff and then back to great play. During 2017 and the start of this year there wasn't any signs of life though, the Wimbledon win was kind of out of nowhere and now you're seeing more of the old Djokovic.

 

[DarthFed]

Well Nole finished Cilic off in style! I'm glad it went 3 sets; practice was had and it makes Roger get on the court later tonight since the other women's SF has to play out! Goffin's no slug and snuck up on Roger at the YEC IIRC! With Nole and Murray out, you would think he'd take advantage, but was taken to the limit in RR play and eventually was taken out by Goffin in the SF in 3! :whistle:

I'm aware of Mcfly's threat. Roger playing as he should take care of this tourney, this is fast hardcourts and he is still the best there is in these conditions. He needs this tourney too to show signs of life after that debacle of a grass season.

 

[Fiero425]

I'm aware of Mc Fly's threat. Roger playing as he should take care of this tourney, this is fast hardcourts and he is still the best there is in these conditions. He needs this tourney too to show signs of life after that debacle of a grass season.

Love the overconfidence; upsets occur with it all too often! I think I saw it just before Wimbledon! :whistle: :cuckoo:

 

[DarthFed]

Love the overconfidence; upsets occur with it all too often! I think I saw it just before Wimbledon! :whistle: :cuckoo:

It isn't overconfidence pal. Goffin is in with a shot but he will need help from Roger to beat him at Cincy. That goes without saying. I was actually the only one worried he'd lose at Wimbledon to Anderson or Isner. When you see the crazy letdowns in big moments like the IW final, Halle final and Wimbledon loss they become very frequent occurrences with Fed. It was encouraging that he beat Stan in the type of match he has been losing since Rotterdam. Now let's see if he can follow it up with a couple more wins.

 

[El Dude]

I would say this was Roger's preferred result. While it is no given that he'll get past Goffin, to him Cilic is a known quantity while he might benefit from feeling out Djokovic before the USO.

That said, I agree with the view that the tour--especially Fedal--should be concerned if Novak finds his best form. While we never really got to see prime Novak vs. prime Roger, prime Novak usually beats post-prime Roger and prime Rafa. And of course if Novak resurges, it may delay the ascendancy of NextGen to the top.

The USO is turning out to be a very important tournament that may really set the stage for the next year or two, and greatly impact historical records. For instance...

1. If Rafa wins it, he's only two behind Roger, will be very hungry for his second AO and potentially able to tie Roger at RG next year.
2. If Roger wins it, he probably safely distances himself enough to hold the Slam lead, and can put the cherry on top in AO or Wimbledon next year.
3. If Novak wins it, it is one less opportunity for Fedal and all of a sudden he's only three behind Rafa and is the favorite to win AO, his best tournament.
4. If a NextGenner wins it, all of a sudden the door is blown open and anything could happen going forward.
5. If one of LostGe...oh, nevermind.

But who knows...

 

[Fiero425]

It isn't overconfidence pal. Goffin is in with a shot but he will need help from Roger to beat him at Cincy. That goes without saying. I was actually the only one worried he'd lose at Wimbledon to Anderson or Isner. When you see the crazy letdowns in big moments like the IW final, Halle final and Wimbledon loss they become very frequent occurrences with Fed. It was encouraging that he beat Stan in the type of match he has been losing since Rotterdam. Now let's see if he can follow it up with a couple more wins.

Not really! I said long before the tournament that it would be impossible for Roger to duplicate 2017! He was fortunate to retake Aussie Open, but defending the Masters double in March was out of reach; getting to final of only 1 of them! I didn't think he was playing that hot by the time Wimbledon rolled around and I specifically said he was vulnerable to a big server like Isner, Raonic, or Anderson; actually using their names instead of their games! :whistle: :cuckoo: