Miami Open, ATP Masters 2018

[Moxie]

Who ever wins today will have the advantage to have one day off but not those who play tomorrow, on Friday will be the semis for everyone

Whichever of these two wins is going to need it.

 

[Moxie]

Del Potro gets it done. As the commies say, he's playing the best tennis in the game, at the moment.

 

[ftan]

That was such an entertaining match, my 4 year old was cheering with me for the Pink Guy and she said, mama the pink guy will win

 

[ftan]

I have never warmed up to Raonic and Delpo is my no. 2 after Fed. Raonic has improved a lot from being just a big server but like everyone I have been itching to see Delpo live upto his potential

 

[Moxie]

Let's face it. Roanic is not hard to admire, but not easy to love, unless you're Canadian. I'm hoping Juan Martín wins the Sunshine Double, but I'd be happy with any of the guys still in.

 

[ftan]

I am hoping for the same Moxie, but would not mind Coric taking it too

 

[Moxie]

Call me crazy, but I think I picked a Coric v. del Potro final.

 

[ftan]

Call me crazy, but I think I picked a Coric v. del Potro final.

Lol, I had Fed vs Delpo again..i think Coric makes to semis in my draw

 

[ftan]

Federer, Raonic and Isner have messed up my draw pretty bad

 

[Moxie]

Lol, I had Fed vs Delpo again..i think Coric makes to semis in my draw

I went with the slightly more imaginative choice. I could still be wrong, but I have a better shot than you.

 

[ftan]

I went with the slightly more imaginative choice. I could still be wrong, but I have a better shot than you.

Well you know it's hard to root against my fav player , especially when he had been doing well.

 

[Moxie]

Well you know it's hard to root against my fav player , especially when he had been doing well.

Fair enough. I never pick against Nadal. It would seem too disloyal. I respect that. With Nadal not playing, I was fairly free and loose with my choices. Apparently that was the way forward. I don't know if we can say categorically that this is the most inroads that NextGen has made in a MS1000, but it feels like it.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I really do think that Raonic is more than just a big server....

Sure, he is a big fat server.

 

[ftan]

They have been moving forward since last years with Zverev, Dimitrov taking big titles, but yes this is probably the first time when the 70% of QFs are next gen. But again we can argue that it was only Federer who was holding the baton for old timers(The Lost Gen is truely A Lost gen). Maybe things would have been different if Rafa was also playing, but ofcourse we can only speculate and wud never know

 

[ftan]

Sure, he is a big fat server.

:lulz2:and the clothes are a bit too tight

 

[Moxie]

Sure, he is a big fat server.

That's unfair to Raonic, imho, because he has way more shots than that. I don't think you get to 3-4 in the world with a completely one-dimensional game. I don't love his game, but I respect that he works hard to develop it and has done pretty well at that.

 

[Moxie]

They have been moving forward since last years with Zverev, Dimitrov taking big titles, but yes this is probably the first time when the 70% of QFs are next gen. But again we can argue that it was only Federer who was holding the baton for old timers(The Lost Gen is truely A Lost gen). Maybe things would have been different if Rafa was also playing, but ofcourse we can only speculate and wud never know

It's rather easy to forget that Djokovic was in the tournament, given how quickly he went out, but the Big 4 will be less and less represented, and do less and less well, over time. And the NextGen will go deeper. I'm with you. I do think that the LostGen is a less-talented or less-capable generation. I no longer believe that the likes of Dimitrov, Raonic, Nishikori will ever win a Major. I think the Oldsters are still better than they are, and the youngsters will jump over them.

 

[Chris Koziarz]

I don't think you get to 3-4 in the world with a completely one-dimensional game.

There are exceptions to that rule. Roddick was pretty one dimensional: big serve and a subsequent forehand. OK we may call it 1.5-dimensional then. But if any player was able to read Rod's serve and just block it and retrieve the next forehand, then the exchange became equal, and the returner likely to break Rod who was rather poor at long rallies.
Despite that, Rod won USO 2003 & got to #1 in Nov 2003, a year after he was ridiculed by Fed in Basel 2002. Fed is one of those players who could easily read Rod's game. I think Rod's 2003 season & #1 was just a lucky fluke. Afterwards, he quickly fell to #8-9 for his entire career and never posed a serious threat to Big4, often losing against lower ranked opponents. The reason was his 1.5-dimensional game I described above. Still, this game gave him #1 and even the induction to the hall of fame.

 

[Moxie]

There are exceptions to that rule. Roddick was pretty one dimensional: big serve and a subsequent forehand. OK we may call it 1.5-dimensional then. But if any player was able to read Rod's serve and just block it and retrieve the next forehand, then the exchange became equal, and the returner likely to break Rod who was rather poor at long rallies.
Despite that, Rod won USO 2003 & got to #1 in Nov 2003, a year after he was ridiculed by Fed in Basel 2002. Fed is one of those players who could easily read Rod's game. I think Rod's 2003 season & #1 was just a lucky fluke. Afterwards, he quickly fell to #8-9 for his entire career and never posed a serious threat to Big4, often losing against lower ranked opponents. The reason was his 1.5-dimensional game I described above. Still, this game gave him #1 and even the induction to the hall of fame.

I hate to find myself here defending Andy Roddick, as I wasn't a fan of his game either, but I will. At a certain point, aren't we too hard on players that have achieved so much? Roddick did have a Major and was #1 for a time, back when they were passing it around more casually, OK, but he was top 10 in the world for a decade. Whatever else he had beyond his serve was including grit, work, ambition and more than a few good shots. I do think he got out of the game because he realized that the Big 4 had passed him, but he had a great run. By the same token, I don't under-value Raonic. He's not my favorite, by a long stretch, but he's worked hard for what he's achieved, and it's not a small thing. Let us not sneer at what it takes to be #4 in the world in men's tennis. Ivo Karlovic has a huge serve, but he's never been top 10.

 

[Federberg]

I hate to find myself here defending Andy Roddick, as I wasn't a fan of his game either, but I will. At a certain point, aren't we too hard on players that have achieved so much? Roddick did have a Major and was #1 for a time, back when they were passing it around more casually, OK, but he was top 10 in the world for a decade. Whatever else he had beyond his serve was including grit, work, ambition and more than a few good shots. I do think he got out of the game because he realized that the Big 4 had passed him, but he had a great run. By the same token, I don't under-value Raonic. He's not my favorite, by a long stretch, but he's worked hard for what he's achieved, and it's not a small thing. Let us not sneer at what it takes to be #4 in the world in men's tennis. Ivo Karlovic has a huge serve, but he's never been top 10.

This is one of the things that always makes me laugh when I read posters disparaging these guys. Name another endeavour in life where you're the 3rd or 4th best in your field where you're dismissed as irrelevant?

Wrt Roddick. I actually think that he ruined his game trying to contend with the evolving game. Roddick initially had a huge serve and a monstrous forehand. Few will recall, but there was a time when we talked about the lethality of the Roddick forehand, and compared it to some of the great shots in the game. I can't remember who the coach was, Gilbert? But someone convinced him to change his forehand from a primarily offensive weapon to a more spinny shot. He was never the same again. He remained very consistent for years, but to my mind didn't retain that 'any given Sunday' dangerous vibe. He is worthy of a bit more respect than is doled out to him now. It's unfair to compare him to a Novak. He's clearly not in that class, but that doesn't make a deserved #1 and slam winner a scrub all of a sudden