Monte Carlo Masters 2013

[Moxie]

Sorry for I.Haychew...I see Fognini lost today, too.

@AndyWilliam: Good to see you found us, old friend!

 

[Andrew William]

Compelling was the Djokovic match. Gave a little scare, I imagine, to his faithful. Complete domination from Nadal as usual at this venue. Murray has gotten his clay feet under him quite nicely as well.

For my money, it's Nadal. Not just because of the astonishing run here, which is positively out of this world, but he seems to have rekindled his old magic on clay and that is never good for the rest of the field. Not quite sure if Novak is ready to throw down the gauntlet and go toe to toe with the King of clay at this juncture. I could be wrong though. Hope it happens.

---

Sorry for I.Haychew...I see Fognini lost today, too.

@AndyWilliam: Good to see you found us, old friend!

Moxie! You're a sight for sore eyes! Glad to have found you all once again. I'm sure your toes are tickled after Nadal's crushing performance. Bravo!

 

[Denis]

Sorry for I.Haychew...I see Fognini lost today, too.

Errr... Fognini won against Ramos.

Nieminen beats Raonic, Melzer beats Almagro (!?). :s

I bet some people suffered in their drawchallenge.

 

[Andrew William]

I like how they're on top of the time violations this year. People were abusing time constraints far too liberally in the past. Andy doesn't seem to be none too pleased though!

 

[shawnbm]

Glad to hear they are clamping down more on taking excessive time. Folks around here have been complaining about it for years. Obviously, a little leeway after a 20+ rally should be permitted, but even then it should be in the discretion of the umpire and not an automatic.

 

[Moxie]

Sorry for I.Haychew...I see Fognini lost today, too.

Errr... Fognini won against Ramos.

Nieminen beats Raonic, Melzer beats Almagro (!?). :s

I bet some people suffered in their drawchallenge.

Funny...I read that completely backwards. Well, good for the Fog! My draw challenge is a mess, yes. But I'm glad Monaco won today.

 

[huntingyou]

Moxie! You're a sight for sore eyes! Glad to have found you all once again. I'm sure your toes are tickled after Nadal's crushing performance. Bravo!

there is so much wrong with this post...or my imagination.

Yes, moxie was happy for sure, no? but it's just the 2nd round

 

[rafanoy1992]

I'm curious to see the Wawrinka vs. Murray match-up. If Wawrinka can produce some shot-making, then this match will be fascinating. I do expect Murray to win this match in two tight sets.

 

[Iona16]

I like how they're on top of the time violations this year. People were abusing time constraints far too liberally in the past. Andy doesn't seem to be none too pleased though!

Andy said in his post-match interview with Sky Sports that he agreed with the first warning. What he wasn’t pleased with was the point penalty. The only reason he stopped his service motion was because his opponent was not ready - he was checking his strings.

Andy said: "The only issue I have with it is, in the whole time over four months, I've yet to see the receiver given a time violation; it's always the server that's given it." I think he has a point.

During the Miami masters Andy was given a warning and the commentators on Sky Sports checked how long he had taken and it was only 21 seconds. A fan on twitter said ESPN had done the same thing during an Andy match and on that occasion he was also below the 25 seconds.

There does seem to be a lot of players given time violations. Players that I’ve never thought of as slow. To be honest I would quite like to see a clock on the court.

 

[tented]

I like how they're on top of the time violations this year. People were abusing time constraints far too liberally in the past. Andy doesn't seem to be none too pleased though!

Andy said in his post-match interview with Sky Sports that he agreed with the first warning. What he wasn’t pleased with was the point penalty. The only reason he stopped his service motion was because his opponent was not ready - he was checking his strings.

Andy said: "The only issue I have with it is, in the whole time over four months, I've yet to see the receiver given a time violation; it's always the server that's given it." I think he has a point.

During the Miami masters Andy was given a warning and the commentators on Sky Sports checked how long he had taken and it was only 21 seconds. A fan on twitter said ESPN had done the same thing during an Andy match and on that occasion he was also below the 25 seconds.

There does seem to be a lot of players given time violations. Players that I’ve never thought of as slow. To be honest I would quite like to see a clock on the court.

Hi Iona,

I remember that incident in Miami. It was ridiculous. I think some of the umpires are using this new rule as a way of expressing their true feeling about players, shall we say.

 

[tented]

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.

"... followed the trail of temporary forum-hotels ..."

I love it!

It's great to see you again. I'm glad you found us.

 

[tented]

See this picture:

http://www.b92.net/sport/tenis/masters/vesti.php?yyyy=2013&mm=04&dd=16&nav_id=705685

I understand why Nadal's left arm is twice bigger than No1e's, but I don't understand why is his upper body 3 times bigger than No1e's.

1- Steroids.
2- Food is cheaper in Mallorca than it is in Monte Carlo, so Nadal generally has more access.

Oh, no ... not already.

Broken just throws that one in as a prophylactic.

Sure, I know he didn't mean it, and that he was joking. My response was meant to be a going-along-with-the-joke comment, but I guess it fell flat ...

 

[Moxie]

See this picture:

http://www.b92.net/sport/tenis/masters/vesti.php?yyyy=2013&mm=04&dd=16&nav_id=705685

I understand why Nadal's left arm is twice bigger than No1e's, but I don't understand why is his upper body 3 times bigger than No1e's.

1- Steroids.
2- Food is cheaper in Mallorca than it is in Monte Carlo, so Nadal generally has more access.

Oh, no ... not already.

Broken just throws that one in as a prophylactic.

Sure, I know he didn't mean it, and that he was joking. My response was meant to be a going-along-with-the-joke comment, but I guess it fell flat ...

I know you know...I put it out there, lightly, I hoped, for those who might not.

 

[Moxie]

I like how they're on top of the time violations this year. People were abusing time constraints far too liberally in the past. Andy doesn't seem to be none too pleased though!

Andy said in his post-match interview with Sky Sports that he agreed with the first warning. What he wasn’t pleased with was the point penalty. The only reason he stopped his service motion was because his opponent was not ready - he was checking his strings.

Andy said: "The only issue I have with it is, in the whole time over four months, I've yet to see the receiver given a time violation; it's always the server that's given it." I think he has a point.

During the Miami masters Andy was given a warning and the commentators on Sky Sports checked how long he had taken and it was only 21 seconds. A fan on twitter said ESPN had done the same thing during an Andy match and on that occasion he was also below the 25 seconds.

There does seem to be a lot of players given time violations. Players that I’ve never thought of as slow. To be honest I would quite like to see a clock on the court.

Hi Iona,

I remember that incident in Miami. It was ridiculous. I think some of the umpires are using this new rule as a way of expressing their true feeling about players, shall we say.

I know the ATP has decided to be stricter about enforcement, but I don't agree with it being intrusive, and as in Iona's example, unfairly applied. I believe in the concept of umpire discretion about certain things, otherwise, why is there a chair umpire? Most agree with there being some leeway after a long rally, or in windy situations, for example. It seems that the umpires are being pressured about being strict on the slow-play rule, which would affect their using their own best judgement, IMO.

(For the record, I'm against the on-court shot clock.)

 

[jhar26]

I remember that incident in Miami. It was ridiculous. I think some of the umpires are using this new rule as a way of expressing their true feeling about players, shall we say.

Those umpires can consider themselves lucky that Connors and McEnroe aren't around anymore because I don't doubt that they would have no problem expressing their true feelings about them either.

 

[tented]

I remember that incident in Miami. It was ridiculous. I think some of the umpires are using this new rule as a way of expressing their true feeling about players, shall we say.

Those umpires can consider themselves lucky that Connors and McEnroe aren't around anymore because I don't doubt that they would have no problem expressing their true feelings about them either.

Excellent point!

 

[Andrew William]

Moxie! You're a sight for sore eyes! Glad to have found you all once again. I'm sure your toes are tickled after Nadal's crushing performance. Bravo!

there is so much wrong with this post...or my imagination.

Yes, moxie was happy for sure, no? but it's just the 2nd round

I'm going with your imagination on that one, sport. Good to see you again as well, Huntingyou, I think...

---

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.

"... followed the trail of temporary forum-hotels ..."

I love it!

It's great to see you again. I'm glad you found us.

Hey buddy!

It just wouldn't have been the same at any other forum. I've built up friendships here and there's just something special about this group of individuals. Even the not-so-friendly folk grow on you!

---

I like how they're on top of the time violations this year. People were abusing time constraints far too liberally in the past. Andy doesn't seem to be none too pleased though!

Andy said in his post-match interview with Sky Sports that he agreed with the first warning. What he wasn’t pleased with was the point penalty. The only reason he stopped his service motion was because his opponent was not ready - he was checking his strings.

Andy said: "The only issue I have with it is, in the whole time over four months, I've yet to see the receiver given a time violation; it's always the server that's given it." I think he has a point.

During the Miami masters Andy was given a warning and the commentators on Sky Sports checked how long he had taken and it was only 21 seconds. A fan on twitter said ESPN had done the same thing during an Andy match and on that occasion he was also below the 25 seconds.

There does seem to be a lot of players given time violations. Players that I’ve never thought of as slow. To be honest I would quite like to see a clock on the court.

Hello there Iona! Good to see the biggest Andy Murray fan around is well. You may well be right about that. I wasn't exactly sure on the specifics involving that particular situation. I was only voicing my personal agreement with the pace of the game needing to be enforced a bit. It's true, when I think of slow players between points, Murray does not come to mind. Seems to me like they need to iron out the details a bit better. But the motivation behind the rule I am completely behind. It's just more enjoyable for the fans.

 

[Iona16]

hi Andrew W

Thanks for the welcome. It's good to see you.

I agree that something had to be done about the slow play. It wasn't great for the fans.

If it appears to the umpire that either the server or the returner is deliberately trying to slow down the game then absolutely warn them etc. I do think that umpires should consider weather conditions, length of rally etc. They have to be factors surely.

I don't think anyone can say that the umpires are afraid to warn the top players. I know both Andy and Novak were warned. I didn't see Rafa so not sure about that match.

 

[Moxie]

So someone finally did it: Matesovic kicked over Rafa's water bottles at 2-5 against in the 2nd. Maybe he shouldn't have waited so long:

http://tennis.si.com/2013/04/17/rafael-nadal-monte-carlo-masters-water-bottles/

(You won't see the actual 'crime,' but you will see it give Rafa a laugh.)

 

[tented]

So someone finally did it: Matesovic kicked over Rafa's water bottles at 2-5 against in the 2nd. Maybe he shouldn't have waited so long:

http://tennis.si.com/2013/04/17/rafael-nadal-monte-carlo-masters-water-bottles/

(You won't see the actual 'crime,' but you will see it give Rafa a laugh.)

That's a scream. But all he did was show Rafa how much he's in his head. Must have felt good, though, no?