Internazionali BNL d'Italia Rome ATP Master

[nehmeth]

What about Herbert? He could be really good when he disengages himself from dubs.

Wow! You like him?? I think he has a lot of upside too. He seems to draw a lot of confidence from his success in the doubles, along with his friendship with Mahut.

 

[10isfan]

But at some point, playing dubs will hurt Herbert's singles game. He is an amazing dubs player so he goes deep every tournament which will distract him from singles. I wonder when he will break the news to Mahut. Definitely not this year with Olympic gold up for grabs.

I hope Thiem beats Nishi so we can see how he matches up against one of the two favorites at FO.

 

[herios]

Juan Monaco withdraws.
Pouille is in the SF. Now, that is a Lucky Loser
:clap

 

[the AntiPusher]

What's does Bellucci on the court that makes Novak so uncomfortable?

 

[nehmeth]

What's does Bellucci on the court that makes Novak so uncomfortable?

First of all, he ups his game to play Novak. I mean, he's played poorly for most of 2016. That first set, it seemed that (for Bellucci) hitting any red was bad. He was painting the lines on almost every point.

He hits very deep and he flattens out his shot, which pushes Novak back and takes away time.
He uses the angles he can create as a lefty, and Nole was unable to return the serve.

Thing is, the Brazilian cannot redline at that level for a whole match. Nole weathers the storm and then gets to work. That first set of tennis was glorious though and while it was Nole getting pasted, I didn't much care. No one would have beaten Bellucci the way he was playing.

 

[the AntiPusher]

What's does Bellucci on the court that makes Novak so uncomfortable?

First of all, he ups his game to play Novak. I mean, he's played poorly for most of 2016. That first set, it seemed that (for Bellucci) hitting any red was bad. He was painting the lines on almost every point.

He hits very deep and he flattens out his shot, which pushes Novak back and takes away time.
He uses the angles he can create as a lefty, and Nole was unable to return the serve.

Thing is, the Brazilian cannot redline at that level for a whole match. Nole weathers the storm and then gets to work. That first set of tennis was glorious though and while it was Nole getting pasted, I didn't much care. No one would have beaten Bellucci the way he was playing.

Acourse playing against the world's most dominant player, you would expect a player to up his game. Hitting the ball deep and all the things you mentioned will keep Novak uncomfortable. However today, Rafa will do the opposite which will play into all of Novak's strategy and strength. It's a shame Rafa is so stubborn and at this point in their rivalry, foolish

 

[El Dude]

Herbert is 25 already and only #83. I wouldn't expect much from him, except maybe some time in the top 50.

The only other french player with significant upside is Quentin Halys.

Pouille is now #31 in the live rankings. He's jumped 21 spots just at Rome.

 

[nehmeth]

Acourse playing against the world's most dominant player, you would expect a player to up his game. Hitting the ball deep and all the things you mentioned will keep Novak uncomfortable. However today, Rafa will do the opposite which will play into all of Novak's strategy and strength. It's a shame Rafa is so stubborn and at this point in their rivalry, foolish

Windy, dusty, blustery conditions out there right now. Rafa should be smiling.

 

[isabelle]

Nadal has a chance if Nole plays like yesterday

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

I doubt Novak is going to be like oh Nadal let me play like I did yesterday. He might take a Bellucci for granted, but Novak doesn't take players like Rafa and Roger for granted.

 

[Mile]

Nadal has a chance if Nole plays like yesterday

Nadal has more than a chance, he needs spot 4 and he need some morale stand for RG. If Djoker see Nadal is wild today, he might loose not even puting too much into the game. Doing that, he puts Nadal into "favorite" for RG.

Knowing next spots, Thiem, Muzza, it would take energy to win here. But would be a spoiler if Nadal wins and then lose next game or final.

 

[nehmeth]

Nadal has a chance if Nole plays like yesterday

Nole didn't play badly yesterday Isabelle. He actually played quite well in the second and third sets (he had to)

 

[Fiero425]

Juan Monaco withdraws.
Pouille is in the SF. Now, that is a Lucky Loser
:clap

This happened earlier in the year; some LL played well and even got a walkover to make 1/4 or semi! Anybody? uzzled

 

[mouse]

Jesus Andy, all you had to do was hold your serve

 

[mouse]

That'll do Andy

 

[Fiero425]

Strange to see Nole and Rafa in a Qtr. even at a Masters! Will it happen again in Paris? I hope so! ;-/

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E6AgjNXcrw[/video]

 

[El Dude]

Wow. Rafa actually up a break on Novak?

 

[DarthFed]

^ I'm not surprised. Nole struggled with a couple cupcakes and Rafa and his uncle know that his career is on the line the next few weeks. They've pulled out all the stops and then some this clay season, of that I have no doubt He has MUCH more to lose today.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Novak rights the ship. Breaks after Rafa after squandering three break points.