Monte Carlo Final - Wawrinka v. Federer

[brokenshoelace]

If he has any sense he will immediately
withdraw from that 250 event. No need to unnecessarily play 3 weeks in a row before
RG and screw up one's chances at RG.

He's a tennis player and tennis players play in tennis tournaments.

 

[nehmeth]

If he has any sense he will immediately
withdraw from that 250 event. No need to unnecessarily play 3 weeks in a row before
RG and screw up one's chances at RG.

He's a tennis player and tennis players play in tennis tournaments.

You're going to get a lot of mileage out of that are you?

 

[Riotbeard]

What's frightening is that all the psychological roadblocks in front of Stan should be officially gone...

What I saw him do in the third set was what I expected him to do from the onset of the match - hence my pick for him to win in two. It was wonderful to watch him smoke Fed. :snigger

Agreed, I thought he would figure out that he should be able to beat Fed while trading the first two. He is a real force. Just think, he has pretty much matched Murray's achievements last year already...

 

[Federberg]

I hear you Front.. but I can't help feeling something momentous just happened that could be for the better in mens tennis. For some reason Roger became passive. It happens to him on this surface sometimes. But on the positive side he's hitting the ball great, moving great. This loss was more about getting his tactics wrong. I think Roger can be very stubborn sometimes and he tries to employ the same strategies that worked in the past. He may very well be forced to change his approach against Stan after this. So this is a wake up call for him. Stan is NOT the same guy that could be toyed with anymore!

A few key s&v moments threw him off a lot in set 1 and a few times in set 2 and Roger stopped that and played passive and poor tennis in set 3. Definitely poor tactics. Imo the point Roger hit a slice into the right side of the court instead of belting it for a winner was when he truly screwed set 3. That would've been 2-1 then and not 3-0. Very bad choice of shot.

I agree completely. I got the feeling that Roger didn't expect Stan to put up this sort of fight. As happy as he was for Stan to win the AO, deep down I don't think he gave him proper respect, and he got slapped. He'll learn in future. But frankly the clay season is just for practice and ranking points now as far as Roger should be concerned. If he keeps playing at this level, I think he has a real shot at Wimbledon

 

[Front242]

^ True, it was a WC event for points cushion but still...he'll never get another chance to win here imo and he blew it. He blew more points and a masters title he's never won and probably never will now. Doubt he'll play again next year. This year was an anomaly 'cos of the impending birth of the next kid(s) and he needs the extra points as he'll be missing an event or more later in the year.

 

[Federberg]

What's frightening is that all the psychological roadblocks in front of Stan should be officially gone...

What I saw him do in the third set was what I expected him to do from the onset of the match - hence my pick for him to win in two. It was wonderful to watch him smoke Fed. :snigger

Agreed, I thought he would figure out that he should be able to beat Fed while trading the first two. He is a real force. Just think, he has pretty much matched Murray's achievements last year already...

It reminds me of a teenager in school suddenly realising that the guy who used to push him around when they were younger is now weaker than him. This sort of thing can have a profound effect

 

[nehmeth]

What's frightening is that all the psychological roadblocks in front of Stan should be officially gone...

What I saw him do in the third set was what I expected him to do from the onset of the match - hence my pick for him to win in two. It was wonderful to watch him smoke Fed. :snigger

Agreed, I thought he would figure out that he should be able to beat Fed while trading the first two. He is a real force. Just think, he has pretty much matched Murray's achievements last year already...

Crazy how long it takes for those mental roadblocks to be overcome. He was trying to do in the first set what he was able to do in the third... that "worry" Wodge would get to the ball had him overcooking his shots early on. Hopefully this was the last time it's an obstacle for him.

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlAiq1iwEPU[/video]

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

 

[tented]

I just watched it. I must say I'm surprised by the result, but I'm happy for Stan. Congrats on a great tournament.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

rogers got 600 rank points. big help shoring up top 4 rank and helping with wtf qualification. a decent return from a wildcard entry.

 

[Front242]

rogers got 600 rank points. big help shoring up top 4 rank and helping with wtf qualification. a decent return from a wildcard entry.

It's very good going for a WC result but given the 2 main hurdles were gone (Rafa and Novak) he really made a dog's dinner of the chance he had to make it 1000 points and an elusive title he doesn't have and now likely never will. Happy for Stan at the same time but very disappointing for Roger.

 

[brokenshoelace]

If he has any sense he will immediately
withdraw from that 250 event. No need to unnecessarily play 3 weeks in a row before
RG and screw up one's chances at RG.

He's a tennis player and tennis players play in tennis tournaments.

You're going to get a lot of mileage out of that are you?

What can I say, the forums have (unfortunately?) given me plenty of material for the past few days. Might as well use it.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Disgraceful

What is?

I'll give you a guess and will be shocked if you don't get it.

That he lost?

The way he lost?

You always used to say that when Federer was #1, he should by definition be beating the players lower than him, or else it's an upset. Well, 3 beat 4 today - no upset.

Not a disgrace though, surely...

The tiebreak and 3rd set was.

Temporary 3 beat temporary 4, we will see how it shakes up by year end...

Also I don't think I've ever defined an upset by ranking only. Surely Nadal beating Roger on clay was never an upset even when it was #2 vs. #1. Given that Roger beat Djoker so impressively yesterday and has a game to give Stan problems I'd say today was an upset. And when you add in the fact Roger won the 1st set...it is pretty poor to lose.

The tiebreak was not at all disgraceful. It was basically won by one min-break. That mini-break
was caused by a shank. It is not like Fed won only one point in the tiebreak or something like that.

 

[Kieran]

Even if a guy wins only one point in a breaker, it isn't disgraceful, unless they tank.

What's wrong with giving Stan his props and saying he timed his run in the match perfectly?

 

[shawnbm]

The only guys Federer seems to have real problems with in Monte Carlo are Rafa and the Stanimal.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I think you guys are being too harsh. The plain truth is that absent of mental issues Stan is clearly a better a clay courter than Roger at this point. My ranking for clay right now would be Rafa, Nole, Stan, Roger, Ferrer in that order

I agree with your assessment.

While some folks may want to tinker with your ordering, I think all will agree that these
five are the ONLY CONTENDERS for the RG.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

rogers got 600 rank points. big help shoring up top 4 rank and helping with wtf qualification. a decent return from a wildcard entry.

It's very good going for a WC result but given the 2 main hurdles were gone (Rafa and Novak) he really made a dog's dinner of the chance he had to make it 1000 points and an elusive title he doesn't have and now likely never will. Happy for Stan at the same time but very disappointing for Roger.

I don't even care for the 400 points. The opportunity to win the nice reflecting trophy at
MC is very rare to screw it up. That is why I am so upset.

 

[Front242]

rogers got 600 rank points. big help shoring up top 4 rank and helping with wtf qualification. a decent return from a wildcard entry.

It's very good going for a WC result but given the 2 main hurdles were gone (Rafa and Novak) he really made a dog's dinner of the chance he had to make it 1000 points and an elusive title he doesn't have and now likely never will. Happy for Stan at the same time but very disappointing for Roger.

I don't even care for the 400 points. The opportunity to win the nice reflecting trophy at
MC is very rare to screw it up. That is why I am so upset.

Well likewise, but you win the trophy and you also gobble up the points That's how it works

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbuANSgR8co[/video]

 

[herios]

Thoughts on the all-Swiss final?

Roger will keep the torch, he ain't passing it to Stan.
Straight sets is the desirable outcome.

The torch has been passed Kiu. The commentators kept calling Stan the swiss #1, even when Roger was leading him in the first set.
By the way, congrats to Stan. At least he made me smile today, after my sadness because of Nole's injury.

Allez Stan and stay injury free, please.