Madrid Draw

[Front242]

What a point there by Haas.

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wow, what another beaut by Haas to setup break point!

 

[kskate2]

He put a few nice points together and ends up w/ the break 3-2.

 

[Front242]

Haas kicks aas (sic)

 

[jhar26]

Fed indeed played poorly, but unfortunately for him and all players at this point in their careers, we have to wonder if these poor performances are the sign of a severe decline in ability rather than one-offs. I know I should be careful what I wish for, but I actually hope that he's not done yet. I still want to see him in the thick of things this year. Until some of the youngsters show they're absolutely for real, tennis is more fun with him around.

I think that Fed played two poor-ish sets and one very good one. His play was very uneven today. But that's probably more a matter of being a bit rusty than a sign that he's declining. He's got time to play himself back into shape again, especially since I think that he wants to peak at Wimbledon, the USO series and the USO itself.

 

[kskate2]

Back on serve 4-4. A little sloppy Tommy

 

[Front242]

Two brilliant shots in succession. Firstly from Ferrer to reach match point and from Haas to save it.

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What a great finish. Shame for Haas but great finishing point from Ferrer. Great match and shame he lost the break in set 3 as he did against Ferrer in Miami.

 

[Alex]

Why does Tommy always do this!? That's two just-barely defeats to Ferrer within the last couple of months.

 

[Front242]

Why does Tommy always do this!? That's two just-barely defeats to Ferrer within the last couple of months.

A real shame alright. Really thought he'd win today but wasn't to be. Some magic shots by Ferrer at the end there in fairness.

 

[Moxie]

Why does Tommy always do this!? That's two just-barely defeats to Ferrer within the last couple of months.

Well, Ferrer IS #4 for a reason.

 

[kskate2]

I think Tommy ran out of gas and his effectiveness at net suffered in the end. Plus you know Ferrer isn't going away. Great win for David. He had to bring it the last 3 games and he did.

 

[Alex]

Fed indeed played poorly, but unfortunately for him and all players at this point in their careers, we have to wonder if these poor performances are the sign of a severe decline in ability rather than one-offs. I know I should be careful what I wish for, but I actually hope that he's not done yet. I still want to see him in the thick of things this year. Until some of the youngsters show they're absolutely for real, tennis is more fun with him around.

I think that Fed played two poor-ish sets and one very good one. His play was very uneven today. But that's probably more a matter of being a bit rusty than a sign that he's declining. He's got time to play himself back into shape again, especially since I think that he wants to peak at Wimbledon, the USO series and the USO itself.

Well, it's hard to say, I think. One can argue that he's been "rusty" virtually all year then due to so much time off. It's hard to judge his "real" level of play. I would say that if I were a Fed fan, I would be a bit concerned at this point, although we should wait until Wimbledon-ish to draw any real conclusions.

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Why does Tommy always do this!? That's two just-barely defeats to Ferrer within the last couple of months.

Well, Ferrer IS #4 for a reason.

Absolutely. Just frustrating that Tommy always seems tantalizingly close, and I think that despite the gap in rankings, their games match up so that Tommy has a great shot against him.

 

[herios]

Why does Tommy always do this!? That's two just-barely defeats to Ferrer within the last couple of months.

A real shame alright. Really thought he'd win today but wasn't to be. Some magic shots by Ferrer at the end there in fairness.

Just a few hours ago, you were saying that Ferrer plays right now like crap. Thi is just a reminder that he shouldn't taken lightly when it comes to fight. And no shame to lose to him on clay.

 

[Front242]

Why does Tommy always do this!? That's two just-barely defeats to Ferrer within the last couple of months.

Well, Ferrer IS #4 for a reason.

Absolutely. Just frustrating that Tommy always seems tantalizingly close, and I think that despite the gap in rankings, their games match up so that Tommy has a great shot against him.
[/quote]

Tommy's ranking is flying up and he's gained points this week and will next week too in Rome assuming he's playing as he didn't last year. He'll be top 10 soon and there really isn't much between him and anyone outside the top 5 at all imo in best of 3. Best of 5 is a different matter obviously when it comes to stamina but he's looking pretty fit right now. This match was there for the taking but Ferrer took the match rather than Tommy losing it really. Just played some great points last few games in particular.

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Why does Tommy always do this!? That's two just-barely defeats to Ferrer within the last couple of months.

A real shame alright. Really thought he'd win today but wasn't to be. Some magic shots by Ferrer at the end there in fairness.

Just a few hours ago, you were saying that Ferrer plays right now like crap. Thi is just a reminder that he shouldn't taken lightly when it comes to fight. And no shame to lose to him on clay.

No shame at all. Agreed. He got his mojo back just in time. Once Ferrer gets the momentum back as he did towards the end there it takes a good few games before he loses focus again. Unfortunately for Tommy the momentum swing came too late in the set. Very entertaining match.

 

[Kieran]

Ok so did you seriously think he played well there? And no besides RG '08 I've yet to see a match where Nadal really regularly thumps him and again that was clearly a case of one guy playing amazing and the other pure crap. But regardless of how well Fed played that day he wasn't beating Nadal in that form. Many of their matches have been 4 or 5 set matches. If those equate to being thumped to you fair enough. Beaten yes, thumped no.

He always thumps Federer when it matters, my friend. You suffer from a syndrome called Doogansquestitis, and basically this is a form of blindness that insists that every match is on Federer's racket and he only loses because he plays badly, not because the other guy outplayed him.

But don't worry, there's a cure for it: you can become a Nadal fan...

 

[Denis]

I can recommend Dimitrov - Wawrinka which is going on at the moment.

 

[Front242]

Ok so did you seriously think he played well there? And no besides RG '08 I've yet to see a match where Nadal really regularly thumps him and again that was clearly a case of one guy playing amazing and the other pure crap. But regardless of how well Fed played that day he wasn't beating Nadal in that form. Many of their matches have been 4 or 5 set matches. If those equate to being thumped to you fair enough. Beaten yes, thumped no.

He always thumps Federer when it matters, my friend. You suffer from a syndrome called Doogansquestitis, and basically this is a form of blindness that insists that every match is on Federer's racket and he only loses because he plays badly, not because the other guy outplayed him.

But don't worry, there's a cure for it: you can become a Nadal fan...

I repeat he may beat him when it matters but he hasn't thumped him in a long time. You may choose to cite Miami 2011 and Indian Wells 2013 as thumping, for example, but anyone without giant biased goggles on could clearly see Fed played extremely poorly in both.

Regarding recent slam encounters. yes Nadal won them but I think you need to research the definition of thumped on google. Enlighten me please besides those 2 I named above, which of the following has been a thumping, baring in mind that as brilliant as Nadal was in RG '08, Federer was complete shite. Or maybe you think RG 2011 with 3 very close sets and one blowout 4th set where Fed self destructed was a thumping. Most wouldn't. Fed lost today. Was he thumped though? No. His poor play greatly assisted Nishikori's win. Not that Nishikori didn't hit a few nice winners (as he did), but mostly it was errors from Federer that contributed there. 31 winners to 30 errors is a poor ratio to anyone not suffering from insanity or blindness, which I definitely don't.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-To-Head.aspx?pId=F324&oId=N409

 

[Denis]

ok its getting quite sloppy now. Dimitrov takes the first set 6-3.

 

[jhar26]

Well, it's hard to say, I think. One can argue that he's been "rusty" virtually all year then due to so much time off. It's hard to judge his "real" level of play. I would say that if I were a Fed fan, I would be a bit concerned at this point, although we should wait until Wimbledon-ish to draw any real conclusions.

Well, I am concerned but not yet panicking. As you say, he's been playing so few tournaments that it's hard to say where his peak level is at at the moment. But now that he's going to play a number of events in quick succession he should be able to find his mojo back if it's still there. We'll see.

 

[Kieran]

I repeat he may beat him when it matters but...

You know - and I do - that when it comes to squeaky bum time between Rafa and Wodger, your guy gets thumped. He hasn't beaten Rafa at a slam since 2007. It's gotten to the stage where I relax if I see Federer is next up in a slam. I doubt I'd even break a sweat if Wodger won the first two sets. Nadal plays crap and still knocks Roger off in four.

In common with my old buddy Doogans, you always give Roger credit first for his defeats, then the other guy. And then you have the neck to accuse Rafa fans of being excuse-makers.

Rich...

 

[Denis]

Dimitrov looks so much fitter than Stan. Also, much more explosiveness and power.