Indian Wells

[Luxilon Borg]

Agree, Stan is very much the favourite based on form at this stage. Remains to be seen how he fares against a guy who's never lost to him should they meet. But we all know that means nothing.

You are wrong. That guy lost to Stan in 2009 Monte Carlo.

Ah yeah, forgot there was one loss. My apologies.

I'm leaning 60/40 Stanimal.uzzled

 

[GameSetAndMath]

And just to restate: Nadal was down 2-5 in the 3rd, and he got it to a TB. He lost to a creative and inspired Dolgopolov, but there is almost (?) no one in the game with more fight.

You are attempting to make it dramatic. When the score was 2-5, it was Rafa's serve.
So, basically Dog just had a one break lead. I am sure there are lots of lots of players
who came back and evened after being break down.

Good try at dramatizing though, but does not work with people who saw the match.

 

[Front242]

Love to see Stan v2.0 versus Roger v2014, on the mend compared to last year, but older and erratic and yet very hungry to prove he's still in the mix. Should be very interesting. With Rafa's early exit and Roger making it through a tough double tiebreak encounter today he's already proven he's still in the mix in any case.

I see the opposite: If Roger were in-the-mix, he would have taken down Tursunov much more easily and faster, instead of two tiebreaks, over 2.5 hours. I'm not seeing so far the guy who won Dubai.

Well my point was he still won. Yeah he mucked up when serving for set 1 and wasn't great overall but he fought through and won which says a lot compared to last year. Plus, form differs so much from match to match it's all up in the air as to how anyone plays till they hit the courts for their next match.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Agree, Stan is very much the favourite based on form at this stage. Remains to be seen how he fares against a guy who's never lost to him should they meet. But we all know that means nothing.

You are wrong. That guy lost to Stan in 2009 Monte Carlo.

Ah yeah, forgot there was one loss. My apologies.

Not only that. The last time Stan beat that guy, Mirka was pregnant.

 

[Front242]

^ And also I thought Tursunov played great. He was far better than Dolgo anyway.

 

[Front242]

Agree, Stan is very much the favourite based on form at this stage. Remains to be seen how he fares against a guy who's never lost to him should they meet. But we all know that means nothing.

You are wrong. That guy lost to Stan in 2009 Monte Carlo.

Ah yeah, forgot there was one loss. My apologies.

Not only that. The last time Stan beat that guy, Mirka was pregnant.

May happen again. Stan's playing fantastic right now.

 

[Kieran]

Oh don't be so bitter, GS&M! You always have a sneer at Rafa and his fans.

Moxie is right, Rafa came back dramatically, winning 9 points in a row. The way he was serving in that match, trust me, holding twice in a row was dramatic...

 

[Moxie]

And just to restate: Nadal was down 2-5 in the 3rd, and he got it to a TB. He lost to a creative and inspired Dolgopolov, but there is almost (?) no one in the game with more fight.

You are attempting to make it dramatic. When the score was 2-5, it was Rafa's serve.
So, basically Dog just had a one break lead. I am sure there are lots of lots of players
who came back and evened after being break down.

Good try at dramatizing though, but does not work with people who saw the match.

I was watching it too. You don't think that last set was a bit dramatic? Perhaps you're just jaded. I understand the difference of a one break lead. And I understand the psychological advantage of a 5-2 lead, however ephemeral. I didn't try to over-dramatize it, just was pointing out that Nadal is always a tough out. Am I wrong? :angel:

 

[golds girl]

Agree, Stan is very much the favourite based on form at this stage. Remains to be seen how he fares against a guy who's never lost to him should they meet. But we all know that means nothing.

You are wrong. That guy lost to Stan in 2009 Monte Carlo.

Ah yeah, forgot there was one loss. My apologies.

Not only that. The last time Stan beat that guy, Mirka was pregnant.

And this is the case again currently, no?

 

[GameSetAndMath]

So, we now have two Ukranians who have beaten the two GOATs within the last year.
The Russians better be careful.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

And just to restate: Nadal was down 2-5 in the 3rd, and he got it to a TB. He lost to a creative and inspired Dolgopolov, but there is almost (?) no one in the game with more fight.

You are attempting to make it dramatic. When the score was 2-5, it was Rafa's serve.
So, basically Dog just had a one break lead. I am sure there are lots of lots of players
who came back and evened after being break down.

Good try at dramatizing though, but does not work with people who saw the match.

I was watching it too. You don't think that last set was a bit dramatic? Perhaps you're just jaded. I understand the difference of a one break lead. And I understand the psychological advantage of a 5-2 lead, however ephemeral. I didn't try to over-dramatize it, just was pointing out that Nadal is always a tough out. Am I wrong? :angel:

I agree with your conclusion that Rafa is a great fighter, in isolation. But, I don't agree with your
premise that a comeback from one break down is a dramatic thing.

But, I will not blame you. I understand. You are just trying to find a silver lining in every cloud.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

[attachment=82][attachment=83]ALL HAIL THE DOG!

 

[Front242]

Nice, I see we'll have Gulbis v Dimitrov again soon. Hopefully better than the last encounter 'cos the potential for a very entertaining match is right up there.

 

[herios]

So a quick trivia, except the 2 famous quick exits at Wimbledon, when was the last time Rafa was eliminated in a tournament (R3)?

 

[Moxie]

So, we now have two Ukranians who have beaten the two GOATs within the last year.
The Russians better be careful.

Forgive me, are there any good Russians on the men's side these days? The puniest best seem to be playing for Khazakstan. Not sure what THAT says.

 

[Kieran]

And just to restate: Nadal was down 2-5 in the 3rd, and he got it to a TB. He lost to a creative and inspired Dolgopolov, but there is almost (?) no one in the game with more fight.

You are attempting to make it dramatic. When the score was 2-5, it was Rafa's serve.
So, basically Dog just had a one break lead. I am sure there are lots of lots of players
who came back and evened after being break down.

Good try at dramatizing though, but does not work with people who saw the match.

I was watching it too. You don't think that last set was a bit dramatic? Perhaps you're just jaded. I understand the difference of a one break lead. And I understand the psychological advantage of a 5-2 lead, however ephemeral. I didn't try to over-dramatize it, just was pointing out that Nadal is always a tough out. Am I wrong? :angel:

I agree with your conclusion that Rafa is a great fighter, in isolation. But, I don't agree with your
premise that a comeback from one break down is a dramatic thing.

But, I will not blame you. I understand. You are just trying to find a silver lining in every cloud.

That's just patronising nonsense.

If Roger came back from the same, you'd be singing his praises to high heaven. Try just a smidgen if objectivity next time, you'll feel better for it...

 

[Luxilon Borg]

^ And also I thought Tursunov played great. He was far better than Dolgo anyway.

I saw Tursanov rip through Monaco like he was a child...the guy is a pure ball striker..I also saw
him in his prime...I remember thinking this guy was Safin II.

Tennis Channel claimed Fed "cruised" past DT..7-6,7-6 is cruising?

 

[Luxilon Borg]

And just to restate: Nadal was down 2-5 in the 3rd, and he got it to a TB. He lost to a creative and inspired Dolgopolov, but there is almost (?) no one in the game with more fight.

To be honest, I thought he was going to snatch it. I was surprised at his nervous, passive, and tentative play towards the end.

 

[Moxie]

And just to restate: Nadal was down 2-5 in the 3rd, and he got it to a TB. He lost to a creative and inspired Dolgopolov, but there is almost (?) no one in the game with more fight.

You are attempting to make it dramatic. When the score was 2-5, it was Rafa's serve.
So, basically Dog just had a one break lead. I am sure there are lots of lots of players
who came back and evened after being break down.

Good try at dramatizing though, but does not work with people who saw the match.

I was watching it too. You don't think that last set was a bit dramatic? Perhaps you're just jaded. I understand the difference of a one break lead. And I understand the psychological advantage of a 5-2 lead, however ephemeral. I didn't try to over-dramatize it, just was pointing out that Nadal is always a tough out. Am I wrong? :angel:

I agree with your conclusion that Rafa is a great fighter, in isolation. But, I don't agree with your
premise that a comeback from one break down is a dramatic thing.

But, I will not blame you. I understand. You are just trying to find a silver lining in every cloud.

OK, I get the point, and LB took me task on it, as well. I guess we have different definitions of "dramatic," and, surely it was more dramatic for me than a non-fan. If you folks want to turn a big upset into something less than dramatic, I'll concede, but I think you're taking all of the fun out of it. :ras: :snigger

 

[Kieran]

And just to restate: Nadal was down 2-5 in the 3rd, and he got it to a TB. He lost to a creative and inspired Dolgopolov, but there is almost (?) no one in the game with more fight.

To be honest, I thought he was going to snatch it. I was surprised at his nervous, passive, and tentative play towards the end.

Yeah, at 4-2 and 5-5 in the breaker, he played weakly. Tentative is a good word for it. I suppose it shows that even great players can tighten up. This is why I love tiebreaks, by the way, they capture high sudden tension so well...