Monte Carlo Masters 2013

[Moxie]

Moxie,

Isner has to beat Gulbis before djokovic which will be a tough ask considering the quick turnaround from houston to monte carrlo. I am glad big john is getting to Europe early, and hope he ends up being a terror on clay, but I am not sure monte carlo will be tournament for him considering his first round draw and jet lag. BTW, I hope Houston may mean he is breaking his slump of late. Almagro on clay is not small feat.

Ernie takes out Big John in the R1: 4-6 6-2 6-3. Three sets is a good effort for John since he had to travel on Sun evening.

I only saw a bit of the match today, but did see Isner getting his back worked on. Anyway, Gulbis is no push-over, if the right Ernie shows up.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

I cant believe isner flew from Houston to the meditterranean after winning on sunday..he must have been destroyed ?? no surprise he lost today..big appearance fee :s:huh:

dimitrov wasted tanko quitsarevic which always raises a small cheer..that feathery backhand to win set one was..dare I say..federeresque,

 

[Moxie]

I cant believe isner flew from Houston to the meditterranean after winning on sunday..he must have been destroyed ?? no surprise he lost today..big appearance fee :s:huh:

I doubt it. I'm sure he had hopes to do well in MC, as well. It's the down-side of winning, but not being ranked high enough to get a bye in your next tournament.

 

[Riotbeard]

I cant believe isner flew from Houston to the meditterranean after winning on sunday..he must have been destroyed ?? no surprise he lost today..big appearance fee :s:huh:

I doubt it. I'm sure he had hopes to do well in MC, as well. It's the down-side of winning, but not being ranked high enough to get a bye in your next tournament.

I think it was the right choice, although I expected Ernie to win because of the Isner having to fly over. i hope big John stays in europe and get a wild card to barcelona, and really tries to play the clay season. If he does this, I think it was a good choice. If he goes back to the states. Monte carlo was a waste of time!

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Nole-Youzhny tomorrow. I know it does not mean anything for their current status in the game, but it is interesting how tough Youzhny has played Nole in the past. Their h2h is intriguing...

 

[Moxie]

I cant believe isner flew from Houston to the meditterranean after winning on sunday..he must have been destroyed ?? no surprise he lost today..big appearance fee :s:huh:

I doubt it. I'm sure he had hopes to do well in MC, as well. It's the down-side of winning, but not being ranked high enough to get a bye in your next tournament.

I think it was the right choice, although I expected Ernie to win because of the Isner having to fly over. i hope big John stays in europe and get a wild card to barcelona, and really tries to play the clay season. If he does this, I think it was a good choice. If he goes back to the states. Monte carlo was a waste of time!

If nothing else, I give Isner points for being a US male player who takes the clay season seriously. It's been some years since anyone else from here has.

 

[tented]

I cant believe isner flew from Houston to the meditterranean after winning on sunday..he must have been destroyed ?? no surprise he lost today..big appearance fee :s:huh:

I doubt it. I'm sure he had hopes to do well in MC, as well. It's the down-side of winning, but not being ranked high enough to get a bye in your next tournament.

I think it was the right choice, although I expected Ernie to win because of the Isner having to fly over. i hope big John stays in europe and get a wild card to barcelona, and really tries to play the clay season. If he does this, I think it was a good choice. If he goes back to the states. Monte carlo was a waste of time!

If nothing else, I give Isner points for being a US male player who takes the clay season seriously. It's been some years since anyone else from here has.

Exactly. I'm hoping his clay-court win in the US will lead him to believe these European events shouldn't be skipped without thought.

 

[Andrew William]

Aha! There you guys are!

How distraught I was to find my tennis family had abandoned its old tidy place at tennis.com! To make a short story even shorter, I followed the trail of temporary forum-hotels to this place and here I am! Good to see all the familiar posters once again.

Just in time to enjoy the always majestic, Monte Carlo. I haven't had the time to watch much of it, but I did manage to make a few observations:

1. Dolg still hasn't matured. I don't know what motivates this fellow, but he really needs to take a lesson from Gulbis who seems to have rededicated himself (good on him), and actually put his talent to good use instead of throwing it in the dirty laundry bin.
2. Staying on that subject, how good did Dimitrov look as he handled tipsy business?! He just might be putting it all together finally. That slice is exquisite.

Looking ahead to the big guns taking the stage!! See ya.

 

[Denis]

It's so funny to see players like Matsevic play Nadal. They are so terrified of Nadal's forehand that their play becomes predictable and forced.

edit: lol Matosevic is finally going for his shots (to the forehand side) and breaks.

 

[coban]

Janko Tipsarevic lost to Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 7-6 (3), 6-1. Jr Federer building up to take the crown from the fallen king.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Nice pass from Nadal to finish the match off. Nice start.
Bad loss for Milos. Last set tie break, he played lame.

 

[Didi]

Tough loss for Marinko. He wasn't as bad as the scoreline suggests and squandered tons of break points to make it 3-0 in the 2nd. He probably would have lost in straights anyway but from that point on he fell apart and Rafa was running away with it. Funny thing is that over the years I've always been considering Marinko as a prospect alongside Tomic but the guy turns 28 this year. Wonder what he's been doing all the years.

Hopefully Novak's ankle is fit and healthy and everything goes according to plan. I would like to see the quarterfinals with Djoker, Nadal, Murray, DelPo, Berdych, Tsonga, Dimitrov and Gasquet. Now that would be something, probably the strongest set of QF matches on clay you could ask for apart from Ferrer and Roger.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Nole's ankle tested. A drop, followed by a lob from Youzhny, which Nole turned into an amazing lob behind the back with a flick of the wrist, and confirmed the ankle is OK, at least for now.

Youzhny up 2 breaks though...

 

[isabelle]

1st set for Misha 6/4
Nole has to wake up

 

[Didi]

I don't know how much the ankle is bothering Nole but Youzhny is playing a clean match so far and executing his game plan very well, especially the backhand is clicking. I still expect Novak to find a way to prevail eventually.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Can someone comment on an observation of Rafa's court position during his service return. Against a player Matosevic(​

obviously not a big server) would it be make sense to stand closer to the baseline when return service to try to tweak that part of his game?

 

[Kieran]

Can someone comment on an observation of Rafa's court position during his service return. Against a player Matosevic(​

obviously not a big server) would it be make sense to stand closer to the baseline when return service to try to tweak that part of his game?

That's true, but it's his first match in a few weeks. I think he'll ease his way into this tournament at his own pace...

 

[shawnbm]

Nadal looked brutally efficient on his preferred surface today. His passing shots and ability to handle the deep flat ball was superb, as it usually is on this surface. No one wants to face the Spanish Bull.

---

I am not watching the Nole-Youzny match, but Mikael is a tough one for any top player on any given day. Nole probably would have had an easier time with the Australian Nadal chewed up today.

 

[britbox]

In case you people wondered where I was - here I am.

I have spent the last 2 or 3 days pacing up and down the living room with worry.

Good to see you made it over.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Nole wins in the 3rd...and one more time, Youzhny played him tough...he had his chances.