Indian Wells, BNP Paribas Open, CA, USA, ATP Masters 2017

[britbox]

Carreño and Cuevas playing a good match, one or the other one will in the final, wow, something new. Cuevas has stoped the match in the third set 5-4 and 40-40 because one of his fingers is bleeding

I didn't expect Cuevas to get this far, so he's had a pretty good tourney all around.

 

[Front242]

Tignor the Kiss of Death picks

Djokovic over Kyrgios
Nadal over Federer


Front ..Steve is a complete azzClown:laydownlaughing

LOL yeah, he did badly this time. Thankfully :snicker h2h Rafa and Roger is now 9-9 on hard courts I believe. Nearly all the remaining matches Nadal won on clay save for Wimbledon 2008.

See what I mean? This guy is hardly ever right. You have to go back years to find a correct prediction and they play tennis 47 out of 52 weeks every year. :cover

Or a few days ago when he picked Nadal over Verdasco and Djokovic over Del Potro. I cut him some major slack at the AO as no one predicted Murray and Djokovic to lose so early. It was the most unpredictable tournament in years. But yeah, Tignor generally sucks.

 

[Front242]

No way should he skip RG. Who says Novak, Rafa or Andy will do well? Anything can happen and the way he's playing now he can beat any of them.

Rog can beat the old guard, but it's the young guns I would be concerned with. A match w/ Thiem, Nick or Zverev at RG could go to the next gen.

True. He lost to Gulbis in 2014. Speaking of him, I hope Ernie is back soon with his new forehand. Apparently he ditched the airplane.

 

[Carol]

I didn't expect Cuevas to get this far, so he's had a pretty good tourney all around.

Me neither Carreno, this guy has improved a lot on HC

 

[Moxie]

I saw only the end, but Carreño Busta saved MPs in each of his last 2 service games, then won in the TB. He showed great calm and form. Pleased for him, though I like Cuevas, too.

 

[El Dude]

Thiem ain't making the final

We'll see. Stan will be difficult, but I think he can beat him. Thiem would be favored over Carreno Busta.

Anyhow, if we have one of Thiem/Carreno Busta and anyone other than Federer in the final, this might be looked back at as the tournament that saw the power really begin to shift - or at least a precursor to it.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Loving the single handed backhands here...Great rallies so far.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

busta douglas vs cuevas was a quiet classic.

the fans who came dressed up as empty seats really enjoyed it.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Thiem has power, but need to put some thought also. Man takes this one.

 

[mrzz]

^I actually saw from the grandstands this two playing each other two years ago, so I knew it would be a good match. And they are doubles partners.

 

[Fiero425]

Thiem has power, but need to put some thought also. Man takes this one.

He's broken back to get "on serve" in the 3rd; 2-3! :angel: :clap

 

[Moxie]

Big battle of the one-handers between Stan and Dominic. 5-5 in the 3rd. I'd love to go to bed, but it's hard to stop watching.

 

[herios]

Big battle, loved it.
Stan comes out on top as I presumed

 

[herios]

Thiem ain't making the final

We'll see. Stan will be difficult, but I think he can beat him. Thiem would be favored over Carreno Busta.

Anyhow, if we have one of Thiem/Carreno Busta and anyone other than Federer in the final, this might be looked back at as the tournament that saw the power really begin to shift - or at least a precursor to it.

What did I tell you

 

[herios]

Thiem was not bad, had his chances but what a lousy TB

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Terrible scheduling. Why did they put the feddie on high noon. I may not be able to watch it.

 

[Fiero425]

Thiem was not bad, had his chances but what a lousy TB

Should have broken Stan before the TB; missed a nothing "moonball" FH under no pressure! I've been picking him along with A. Zverev to be part of that new wave, but he found a way to let Wawrinka off the hook! Stan's been so lucky, barely scraping thru; Q, WC's, & LL in 3rd set TB's! :cover - http://fiero4251.blogspot.com/2016/08/fan-page-novak-nole-djokovic.html

 

[Mary]

I largely agree. The only situation where I fully support protected rankings is in a Seles type situation. Let's just pray that never happens again

Kvitova?

 

[Mary]

I'm a fan of snooker too Mary, but I have to disagree. It's always struck me that the ranking system there is a bit absurd given that injuries are much less likely to happen in a sport that is far less physically demanding. Also a 2yr ranking system will damage the advance of younger players which is unfair and not good for the long term health of the game, particularly in tennis where the old guys just don't seem to want to quit. I think on balance they have it right. One final thing, I personally have no problem with the quarter of death we're witnessing here at IW. I would love to see more of it. Let the toughest guy win. This is sport. The more top level contests we see the better for the game imho

Snooker players are very prone to back, shoulder and neck injuries. Less physical than tennis but very stressful too, there are a lot of pressure issues. They now have the 128 flat draw in a lot of ranking tournaments which helps the younger and lower ranked players. This year has seen real outsiders win eg German, Irish Open which rarely happens in tennis. And the young Chinese players are storming through now. I think younger players suffer financially in both sports - great money for winners but not much for first round losers plus heavy travel and coaching costs is a bigger problem there.

I have no problem with players working to gain points again after illness. Its how many they lose and the pressure they are under to play when not fit that bothers me. And I have enjoyed the quarter of death matches but am glad I hadn't paid for seats on the other days.

There are numerous formulas by which ranking systems can be adjusted. I think it would be good all round for the game for this to be reviewed I've said my bit and won't bore on about it any further.

 

[britbox]