Miami Open - ATP Masters 1000

[Moxie]

Medvedev in real trouble.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Bautista really returning the serve of Medvedev well and gets another break 4-1 Vamos!
Also I really love the footwork of Bautista,love the way he moves out of the corner's of the court.

 

[rafanoy1992]

There's something about Miami that RBA really likes...if he wins tonight, it will be back to back years (2019 and 2021) that he will beat the number 1 seed in the tournament.

 

[Moxie]

Medvedev seems to have given up, and that is a shame.

 

[Moxie]

Medvedev is tanking, and I hope he gets a fine for this.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Medvedev is tanking, and I hope he gets a fine for this.

Why would he tank for?

 

[Moxie]

Why would he tank for?

Did you see some of those points? I have no answer for what is wrong with him, but he has rather given up. Call me wrong when he mounts a real effort to break in this game.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Did you see some of those points? I have no answer for what is wrong with him, but he has rather given up. Call me wrong when he mounts a real effort to break in this game.

Quite frankly he has not been playing well all tournament....yes some of those points he seemed to give up,though if he wants to consolidate his ranking you would think that winning this tournament is his number one priority?

 

[rafanoy1992]

There it is...there are now zero ATP Tour 1000 winners currently in the Men's draw. There will be a guarantee 1st time ATP 1000 winner this Sunday on the Men's side.

Also, let's go Sinner! Get that maiden ATP Tour 1000 maiden title!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Well done to Bautista Agut 64 62 over Medvedev who now has a H2H 3-0.....really good performance
I still cannot work out Medvedev's form at all....he does my brain in at times.

 

[Moxie]

Quite frankly he has not been playing well all tournament....yes some of those points he seemed to give up,though if he wants to consolidate his ranking you would think that winning this tournament is his number one priority?

I haven't seen him playing especially less than well. And yes, I would think that winning this tournament would be top priority, given that it was such an opportunity, and that he's #2 in the world. All that being said, and watching the match, I think he was too passive, in general. I think he expected to win the match without more effort, even though that would seem overdetermined, given the H2H. Or maybe I'm wrong, and he just can't figure out RBA. That I think is less likely. But given all of that, he could have put in more effort. He could have made it look like he was trying to win. When he lost to Rafa at the WTF in 2019, being 5-1 up in the 3rd, he was asked in the presser if he had a sports psychologist. Ouch. But now I would ask the reverse question: having seen how Nadal turned it around on him in that match, did he learn nothing about digging in and turning around a match? I would say clearly, no. I really like Medvedev, and I'm pulling for him to be one of the next top guys, but this performance leaves me disappointed and pessimistic.

 

[rafanoy1992]

I haven't seen him playing especially less than well. And yes, I would think that winning this tournament would be top priority, given that it was such an opportunity, and that he's #2 in the world. All that being said, and watching the match, I think he was too passive, in general. I think he expected to win the match without more effort, even though that would seem overdetermined, given the H2H. Or maybe I'm wrong, and he just can't figure out RBA. That I think is less likely. But given all of that, he could have put in more effort. He could have made it look like he was trying to win. When he lost to Rafa at the WTF in 2019, being 5-1 up in the 3rd, he was asked in the presser if he had a sports psychologist. Ouch. But now I would ask the reverse question: having seen how Nadal turned it around on him in that match, did he learn nothing about digging in and turning around a match? I would say clearly, no. I really like Medvedev, and I'm pulling for him to be one of the next top guys, but this performance leaves me disappointed and pessimistic.

To be fair Moxie, in the 2020 ATP Tour Final against Nadal and Thiem, he lost the first set and dig deep and won the last two sets. So, it's not like he does not know how to dig deep when he is in trouble. I think the main problem with him is that when he gets in trouble or frustrated, he does the overdrive mode meaning he will go super aggressive either out of frustration or lack of clarity etc...

I do think he needs a sports psychologist to help him combat his frustrations/emotions during rough times in the match.

 

[Moxie]

To be fair Moxie, in the 2020 ATP Tour Final against Nadal and Thiem, he lost the first set and dig deep and won the last two sets. So, it's not like he does not know how to dig deep when he is in trouble. I think the main problem with him is that when he gets in trouble or frustrated, he does the overdrive mode meaning he will go super aggressive either out of frustration or lack of clarity etc...

I do think he needs a sports psychologist to help him combat his frustrations/emotions during rough times in the match.

I definitely give him credit for, as an example, making a match of the USO final. But I will say that it's hard to forgive him for not taking this opportunity. I know that the guys coming up are not the Big 3, but Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have all said they they've each made the others better players. I keep hoping that the Big 3 make the rest better players, too. This Miami 1000 was a great opportunity for the rest of the field. Medvedev, above most, should be the one who sees the window and jumps through it. The fact that he missed that opportunity, but also rather limped away from it is something that I find disturbing. I'll be very interested to see who actually seizes it and how they do it.

 

[rafanoy1992]

I definitely give him credit for, as an example, making a match of the USO final. But I will say that it's hard to forgive him for not taking this opportunity. I know that the guys coming up are not the Big 3, but Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have all said they they've each made the others better players. I keep hoping that the Big 3 make the rest better players, too. This Miami 1000 was a great opportunity for the rest of the field. Medvedev, above most, should be the one who sees the window and jumps through it. The fact that he missed that opportunity, but also rather limped away from it is something that I find disturbing. I'll be very interested to see who actually seizes it and how they do it.

It is why we as fans should tamper our expectations regarding the next group of players in terms of winning every single major tournament once the Big 3 have officially retired from the game. Now, I am not saying Medvedev should lost in the earlier rounds every in major tournament then suddenly wins 2-3 tournaments in a row. What I am saying is that no three great players like Big Three will dominate the sport for a while. That means there is a potential that in every major tournament played, a different player wins the major tournament.

And as much I hate Medvedev's performance against Djokovic in the AO Final and this match against RBA, he is still 17-3 for the year with 1 title and 1 Slam F appearance. So for his standards, he is doing quite well for 2021. Now, we will see how he performs on both Clay AND Grass this year. Let's see if he made some improvements in those surfaces.

 

[Jelenafan]

Medvedev. Obviously the grumpy Russian woke up from bad nap time.

The reason expectations are higher for him is because he’s one of the few of the NextGen whose track record shows he can win 3 or 4 straight tournaments on a tear.

I hate it when he starts tanking by trying to clock every shot for a winner, knowing damn well thats low percentage and he can’t maintain that pace. Usually when a player is injured he does this to shorten the points, but it’s inexcusable in this case.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Bautista really returning the serve of Medvedev well and gets another break 4-1 Vamos!
Also I really love the footwork of Bautista,love the way he moves out of the corner's of the court.

I have been saying RBA is the real thing for the past few years.I am not convinced that he has the two weeks endurance that is needed to win a GS titles but he is a pure nightmare for almost anyone not named Nadal or Federer. Today, he exposed Daniil Medvedev weaknesses against a player whom strokes are more consistent than his. Against a player like Novak or RBA, Daniil without his serve is extremely a vulnerable player. Since Stan's game is rapidly processing and trending towards the end, RBA may be the last of Novak's boogeymen to secure Rafa's all time GS legacy if and when he passes Roger at RG.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I have been saying RBA is the real thing for the past few years.I am not convinced that he has the two weeks endurance that is needed to win a GS titles but he is a pure nightmare for almost anyone not named Nadal or Federer. Today, he exposed Daniil Medvedev weaknesses against a player whom strokes are more consistent than his. Against a player like Novak or RBA, Daniil without his serve is extremely a vulnerable player. Since Stan's game is rapidly processing and trending towards the end, RBA may be the last of Novak's boogeymen to secure Rafa's all time GS legacy if and when he passes Roger at RG.

Well RBA is well in the running to win the Miami Masters,he does play well on HC.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Medvedev seems to have given up, and that is a shame.

RBA broke Daniil will..Just like Novak did at AO and how Rafa did in Montreal/Toronto 2019.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I do not buy all this talking of 'tanking' by Medvedev if you want to see a tanker go and watch the King Of Tankers Bernard Tomic!Why would he want to tank away this match when he could have reached the final and gain points? that is just insane to me
Also let us give credit where it is due to RBA he deserved his win.
I also agree 100% with Rafanboy we expect too much from these players, like Medvedev,Sasher,Thiem,Stefenos etc they are not in the class of Federer,Nadal and Novak.

 

[Front242]

First set to RBA. Medvedev thinks he should be winning this, but he's not. Get over yourself, Meddie. Win it, or don't but stop being petulant. Not a good look. Cue the bathroom break. People can remember that everyone takes a bathroom break when they need a reset. @Front242

You have no bearing on this match. The mustache has more chance of affecting his play. I would argue that his insistence on a passive stance would have even more.

I didn't watch this as it was on at 1:30am here but did he take a bathroom break before RBA was about to serve for the match ? Very much doubt it.