European clay court season

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

Nehmeth mentioned on the Novak thread that Djokovic should perhaps consider skipping MC? Or, at least, he shouldn't worry about it. Rafa, on the other hand, needs to come out strong. And I think Murray should enjoy his wedding and skip it. I like JLLB's notion that Andy should play a smaller one.

How about a small one like Istanbul? :snicker

yes, murray can beat Federer in the final......on clay. LOL.

 

[Moxie]

Nehmeth mentioned on the Novak thread that Djokovic should perhaps consider skipping MC? Or, at least, he shouldn't worry about it. Rafa, on the other hand, needs to come out strong. And I think Murray should enjoy his wedding and skip it. I like JLLB's notion that Andy should play a smaller one.

Novak was playing mediocre tennis today. He seems mentally fatigued and needing a break. Since MC is optional it might be wisdom to take a break.

I don't think he will. This is his prime time and so he would want to play full schedule. His
six non-mandatory events will most probably be Doha, Dubai, MC, Queens, Beijing and DC.

Novak does not have to win MC. It is enough if he does a decent job. Also, he will get
two weeks break after than before the Madrid-Rome doubleheader. That should be good
enough for rejuvenation.

While I agree with nehmeth that there might be wisdom in skipping, he won't. But as GSM says, he doesn't have do more than a decent showing.

BTW, does anyone know when Del Potro is next showing up?

 

[Riotbeard]

Novak was playing mediocre tennis today. He seems mentally fatigued and needing a break. Since MC is optional it might be wisdom to take a break.

I don't think he will. This is his prime time and so he would want to play full schedule. His
six non-mandatory events will most probably be Doha, Dubai, MC, Queens, Beijing and DC.

Novak does not have to win MC. It is enough if he does a decent job. Also, he will get
two weeks break after than before the Madrid-Rome doubleheader. That should be good
enough for rejuvenation.

While I agree with nehmeth that there might be wisdom in skipping, he won't. But as GSM says, he doesn't have do more than a decent showing.

BTW, does anyone know when Del Potro is next showing up?

I believe it's MC. Could be wrong...

 

[Moxie]

I guess we'll find out. As to the rest, I think Kei will be looking to avenge his unfortunate loss in Madrid, and try to gear up for a big showing on the red clay, overall. I think he's the big danger beyond the Big 3. And with Chang in his box, he'll be planning for a quality RG.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I don't think he will. This is his prime time and so he would want to play full schedule. His
six non-mandatory events will most probably be Doha, Dubai, MC, Queens, Beijing and DC.

Novak does not have to win MC. It is enough if he does a decent job. Also, he will get
two weeks break after than before the Madrid-Rome doubleheader. That should be good
enough for rejuvenation.

While I agree with nehmeth that there might be wisdom in skipping, he won't. But as GSM says, he doesn't have do more than a decent showing.

BTW, does anyone know when Del Potro is next showing up?

I believe it's MC. Could be wrong...

Yes both JMDP and Tsonga are expected to restart again in MC.

 

[herios]

I don't think he will. This is his prime time and so he would want to play full schedule. His
six non-mandatory events will most probably be Doha, Dubai, MC, Queens, Beijing and DC.

Novak has not played in Queens in ions. Is there a word he will play this year now that it will be upgraded?
He does not really need much warm up for grass, he won both his Wimbledon titles with almost no preparation (exho for first, nothing for second).

 

[nehmeth]

I think you mean eons herios. Ions are something very different

 

[Moxie]

I also don't see why upgrading Queens would change Novak's mind about his grass preparation. A big appearance fee might, though, I suppose. Plus, the extra week. But, sorry...we were talking about the clay season.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I don't think he will. This is his prime time and so he would want to play full schedule. His
six non-mandatory events will most probably be Doha, Dubai, MC, Queens, Beijing and DC.

Novak has not played in Queens in ions. Is there a word he will play this year now that it will be upgraded?
He does not really need much warm up for grass, he won both his Wimbledon titles with almost no preparation (exho for first, nothing for second).

Yes, traditionally he has not played a warm up before Wimby. But, given that there are
three weeks gap this time and it is a 500 event, I think Novak will opt to play in either
Queens or Halle. Queens is crowded with Andy, Rafa, Cilic, Stan and Grigor in there.
So, he may even opt for Halle. But, I think he will play one or the other.

He usually used to play AO also without warm up and has changed it up.

The interesting thing is that Rafa used to play in Queens and then complained about
tax issues of UK and then moved to Halle. Now he is going back to Queens. Are his tax
problems solved or is he coming under low income group as he is getting ousted early?

 

[Front242]

Halle is much better practice for the early rounds at Wimbledon as it's much faster than Queens. Glad Roger is sticking with Halle so let the rest come less prepared for the bombs in the early rounds when the grass is fresh and fast. Looking forward to Monte Carlo mostly and then Rome.

 

[herios]

I think you mean eons herios. Ions are something very different

You are right, my "English" failed here on me. I know what "ions" mean, learned enough physics and chemistry...

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Halle is much better practice for the early rounds at Wimbledon as it's much faster than Queens. Glad Roger is sticking with Halle so let the rest come less prepared for the bombs in the early rounds when the grass is fresh and fast. Looking forward to Monte Carlo mostly and then Rome.

Roger signed a lifetime commitment contract with Halle a few years ago for an undisclosed sum. According to the contract, he cannot play in some other tourney during the same week as Halle until he retires.

Also, Roger has a street named after him in Halle.

 

[the AntiPusher]

My favorite part of the tennis season.

Coming up (some new tourneys as well):

April
06.04.2015 Grand Prix Hassan II Casablanca, Morocco
12.04.2015 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Monte-Carlo, Monaco
20.04.2015 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadel Barcelona, Spain
20.04.2015 BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy Bucharest, Romania
27.04.2015 BMW Open by FWU AG Munich, Germany
27.04.2015 Millennium Estoril OpenEstoril, Portugal
27.04.2015 TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open Istanbul, Turkey
May
03.05.2015 Mutua Madrid Open Madrid, Spain
10.05.2015 Internazionali BNL d'Italia Rome, Italy
17.05.2015 Open de Nice Côte d’Azur Nice, France
17.05.2015 Geneva Open Geneva, Switzerland
24.05.2015 Roland Garros

Novak, Kei, Stan, and Rafa did quite well last year. Who do you expect to do well?

Rafa did quite well last year

Are you serious.. Last year was Rafa's worst year ever on the clay(He only won 3 titles if I recall)

 

[herios]

My favorite part of the tennis season.

Coming up (some new tourneys as well):

April
06.04.2015 Grand Prix Hassan II Casablanca, Morocco
12.04.2015 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Monte-Carlo, Monaco
20.04.2015 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadel Barcelona, Spain
20.04.2015 BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy Bucharest, Romania
27.04.2015 BMW Open by FWU AG Munich, Germany
27.04.2015 Millennium Estoril OpenEstoril, Portugal
27.04.2015 TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open Istanbul, Turkey
May
03.05.2015 Mutua Madrid Open Madrid, Spain
10.05.2015 Internazionali BNL d'Italia Rome, Italy
17.05.2015 Open de Nice Côte d’Azur Nice, France
17.05.2015 Geneva Open Geneva, Switzerland
24.05.2015 Roland Garros

Novak, Kei, Stan, and Rafa did quite well last year. Who do you expect to do well?

Rafa did quite well last year

Are you serious.. Last year was Rafa's worst year ever on the clay(He only won 3 titles if I recall)

3 and one of them was in South America. In Europe only Madrid and RG.

 

[Puppet Master]

It will be interesting to see where Fed's game is at the moment. Both Rafa and Nole couldn't have made any drastic changes but if Fed catches fire, who knows...
(And also, Nadal hasn't won MC since 2012, so he will surely want to prove himself there).

 

[Denis]

My favorite part of the tennis season.

Coming up (some new tourneys as well):

April
06.04.2015 Grand Prix Hassan II Casablanca, Morocco
12.04.2015 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Monte-Carlo, Monaco
20.04.2015 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadel Barcelona, Spain
20.04.2015 BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy Bucharest, Romania
27.04.2015 BMW Open by FWU AG Munich, Germany
27.04.2015 Millennium Estoril OpenEstoril, Portugal
27.04.2015 TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open Istanbul, Turkey
May
03.05.2015 Mutua Madrid Open Madrid, Spain
10.05.2015 Internazionali BNL d'Italia Rome, Italy
17.05.2015 Open de Nice Côte d’Azur Nice, France
17.05.2015 Geneva Open Geneva, Switzerland
24.05.2015 Roland Garros

Novak, Kei, Stan, and Rafa did quite well last year. Who do you expect to do well?

Rafa did quite well last year

Are you serious.. Last year was Rafa's worst year ever on the clay(He only won 3 titles if I recall)

lol yes I see where you are coming from. Still he did well in absolute terms not by his standards. He won the most important clay event of the year.

 

[Denis]

I'm curious about del Potro. Not really a fan, but always felt he has underachieved on clay. If he ever were to win a slam again I would say it would be RG. Think it will be too early for him this year tho.

 

[Moxie]

I'm curious about del Potro. Not really a fan, but always felt he has underachieved on clay. If he ever were to win a slam again I would say it would be RG. Think it will be too early for him this year tho.

Your post made me curious, so I looked him up. While he's only won 4 smaller titles on clay, (Stuttgart, Kitzbuhel, and Estoril 2x,) he lost 2 5-setters to Roger at RG (2009 and 2012, SF and QF, respectively.) At other big clay tournaments, he's often been ousted by one of the big 4, so his bigger problems on clay have been competition, and, of course, his wrists. Personally, I never took him for a clay man, though plenty touted him on clay before his injuries. Because of his dodgy wrists, his size and his fitness issues, I'd still pick him as more likely on HCs, if he's ever going to win another major. Like you, I think we'll have to wait until next year to see what he's got on clay.

 

[mrzz]

^I think your post ends ups explaining why JMDP results on clay are not up to what you expect when you actually see him playing on it. He seems very much at home, like some kind of giant grinder with killer weapons. His match against Nadal on the DC final in 2011 is proof of that. Yes, he lost (to Nadal, on clay, in Spain, on a DC final) but the match hang in the balance on a lot of moments. To my eyes this match alone shows his credentials on clay, and if can stay healthy for a full season, I am pretty sure he will be a factor on the surface. To begin with, if he gets some momentum by RG he will be a nightmare first round for everyone.

[edit]: Just read on another thread that he's out of MC. "Momentum" seems science fiction now...

 

[Denis]

^I think your post ends ups explaining why JMDP results on clay are not up to what you expect when you actually see him playing on it. He seems very much at home, like some kind of giant grinder with killer weapons. His match against Nadal on the DC final in 2011 is proof of that. Yes, he lost (to Nadal, on clay, in Spain, on a DC final) but the match hang in the balance on a lot of moments. To my eyes this match alone shows his credentials on clay, and if can stay healthy for a full season, I am pretty sure he will be a factor on the surface. To begin with, if he gets some momentum by RG he will be a nightmare first round for everyone.

[edit]: Just read on another thread that he's out of MC. "Momentum" seems science fiction now...

Completely agree. First time I noticed del potro was when he reached his first semi at RG. I really thought at that time he would be a future contender for the RG title much more so than hard courts. His game is very well suited for clay. Injuries and lack of rythm have gotten in the way.