Mutua Madrid Open ATP1000 02-11 May 2014

[Murat Baslamisli]

In a tournament like this, where a lot of top guys pulled out or lost, it is very easy to lose concentration or even justify losing. Whomever stays solid upstairs will have a huge edge this week. I know, you can say that for any tournament but this is different a bit. Say you are a top 10 player. You can say " Well, nobody is gaining anything this week, so even if I lose, no biggie" or you can say " Nobody is gaining anything this week, so it is time to step it up". Which player are you?

 

[isabelle]

Nieminen won

 

[herios]

Berdych def. Anderson
Gulbis def. Dolgopolov
LL Kubot (who replaced Roger) def. Simon.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Nadal looking no different than the last couple tournaments so far. Errors galore. Early days though.

 

[Riotbeard]

Nadal looking no different than the last couple tournaments so far. Errors galore. Early days though.

Gives the break back to monaco with little fight.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Matosevic takes Isner to the final set. Good job taking a TB from Isner.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Monaco is so limited in what he can do. Nadal should feel lucky to have him as a first rounder. Maybe he will build some momentum now.

 

[kskate2]

Entering sudden death for Iznah/Mato at 5-4.

John takes the match breaking at 7-5

 

[Moxie]

First break of the match to John Isner and he takes the match. Nice job, Big John. Played some nice clay tennis from what I watched.

 

[bobvance]

How is the clay playing this year? I remember a couple of years back it was similar to an ice skating rink. Also, Rafa's scoreline looked great. Does he look like he could be working himself back into form?

 

[Moxie]

How is the clay playing this year? I remember a couple of years back it was similar to an ice skating rink. Also, Rafa's scoreline looked great. Does he look like he could be working himself back into form?

Haven't heard any complaints about slipping. Rafa always beats the pants off of Monaco on clay, but it wasn't without a fight, or error-free. Not as easy as the score looked. Nadal still has a lot to clean up in his game, but it was a good place to start.

 

[Moxie]

I don't know who this Marius Copil is, but he just took the first set off of Dimitrov.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Nadal looking no different than the last couple tournaments so far. Errors galore. Early days though.

I think Rafa is most vunerable at the beginning of matches.. He needs to feel good about the feel of the ball, his footwork and the conditions hence there is where the early errors is produced.

 

[kskate2]

I don't know who this Marius Copil is, but he just took the first set off of Dimitrov.

5-5 in 3rd set breaker. Now 6-6. This guy has a massive serve

 

[kskate2]

Dimi finally comes through on his 3rd MP. Great win, but Copil gave everything he had. Good fight. :clap

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

lol a close one for sir grigor.

 

[Moxie]

Dimi finally comes through on his 3rd MP. Great win, but Copil gave everything he had. Good fight. :clap

I went out with it all tied up early in the 3rd, thinking that Dimitrov had righted the ship, but I'm impressed by how close Copil got to the upset.

 

[Kirijax]

Too bad. Was rooting for Copil there. Not a Dimitrov fan.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

so what.

 

[Kirijax]

Anybody watching the Murray-Almagro match? Murray leads 5-0 in the first set. Very happy about that but is Murray playing well or is Almagro still in the clouds from his Nadal win?