Mutua Madrid Open ATP1000 02-11 May 2014

[Murat Baslamisli]

Good call from Nole. I don't like the fact that he had another "flare up" though. It is different than simply not being ready. I hope he fixes it permanently and it does not become a chronic thing with flare ups here and there.

His side of the draw has possibilities now.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Smart choice for Novak. And to think that some defended his decision to play Monte Carlo.

 

[Denis]

Good call from Nole. I don't like the fact that he had another "flare up" though. It is different than simply not being ready. I hope he fixes it permanently and it does not become a chronic thing with flare ups here and there.

His side of the draw has possibilities now.

Maybe he said he had a 'flare up' to ensure he could withdraw from Madrid? Its mandatory after all. Disappointed he can't compete yet, but hopefully this will enable him to be ready for Rome and RG.

 

[Kirijax]

So now Nadal-Federer-Murray will bang each other around while Stan The Man will cruise to the final!

 

[Denis]

Smart choice for Novak. And to think that some defended his decision to play Monte Carlo.

Congrats on the title btw BS

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Prudent Choice by Novak to not play in Madrid. (Fool me once, shame on you;
Fool me twice, shame on me).

Novak is a guy who never had wrist issues in his whole life. He had just won
both IW and M and that too had a remarkable victory against Rafa in M.
He was defending 1000 points in MC. He is getting close to recapturing
his #1 ranking. He feels some minor pain in wrist after intense practice
on clay courts and/or workouts. He consults a doctor and gets MRI taken.
The doctors tell that there is no rupture and there is no need for surgery.
Realizing that his wrist issue is not serious enough, he decides to play
in MC. As he plays in MC, it gets worse. Hence, he uncharacteristically
comes to the net more often and finishes the matches fast in the first
two matches. The same tactic does not work against GGL and he is
forced to play three sets. Against Roger, after losing the first set,
Novak wisely decides to tank the match instead of flaring up the
wrist even further. All decisions are quite logical without the aid
of hindsight which some folks have.

 

[Moxie]

^ This. I don't know if anyone actively "defended" Novak's choice to play MC, but it's not impossible to understand, for the reasons you say. He's a young guy and an athlete who trusts his body. And they live with aches and pains all the time. Since he was on such a winning jag, it's hard to see him deciding to sit out MC, even if during the week there, he told the press that he hoped the wrist would feel better as the week went along…which seemed wildly optimistic at the time, even. Anyway, hindsight is easy, and this decision is different: now he knows he has something more than a passing niggle that wants a bit of tending to. Frankly, Rome is next week, and he may well sit it out, too. He probably needs to rest the wrist more than he needs the match play.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

That's quite a cluster at the bottom:

Fognini/Dolgopolov, Gulbis/Janowicz, Cilic/Sousa, and Novak. The first two pairings don't feel like first-round matches.

Suddenly, the bottom 1/8th of the draw does not look unfair, with Novak dropping out.
I would rather see a lot of decent players fight it out between themselves to take the
seat of Novak in Quarterfinals instead of just one decent player getting there by pure
luck of the draw.

 

[nehmeth]

It's official. Novak is out of Madrid. Hope he's ok for Rome.

http://m.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/05/19/Madrid-Sunday-Djokovic-Withdraws.aspx?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Best news I've read all week. Should never have been considering it in the first place.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Roger won't get revenge match against Robredo as he was sent home by Agut.

On the Qualifier front Thiem makes it and Tomic folds it.

 

[Moxie]

^Good news about Thiem. He's making good progress as one of the young ones we're watching.

 

[Moxie]

Some good matches tomorrow, even if the marquee players aren't in action:

MANOLO SANTANA
3:15 Seppi v. Verdasco
Delbonis v. F. Lopez
9:30 Dimitrov v. Carreno Busta

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO
11:00 Dodig v. Nishikori
Tsonga v. Roger-Vasselin
Giraldo v. Hewitt

STADIUM 3
Copil v. Granollers
Gabashvili v. Isner
Youzhny v. B. Becker
Paire v. Simon

STADIUM 6
Niemenen v. Haase
Thiem v. Tursonov
Ramos v. Mahut

 

[GameSetAndMath]

^Well , a lot happened in the last month that was not "realistic" . If similar stuff happened and Nole won this thing, he is numero uno again. I am still not willing to bet against Rafa on clay though. I think this is where he picks it up and makes his run towards RG.

Now that Novak has withdrawn, obviously the #1 ranking cannot change after this week.

Currenly Rafa has a lead of 50 points over Novak, if you take away the Madrid and Rome
points for both Rafa and Novak. Hence, if Nadal wins one of Madrid or Rome outright, then
he is guaranteed to go into RG as #1 independent of what Novak may do at Rome. Also,
he does not have to win Madrid or Rome to enter RG as #1; basically, he needs to earn
as many point in both the tournaments put together as Novak does in Rome alone. That
should be a piece of cake. So, for all practical purposes, Rafa will go into RG as #1
(and hopefully come out as #2).

 

[Luxilon Borg]

Some good matches tomorrow, even if the marquee players aren't in action:

MANOLO SANTANA
3:15 Seppi v. Verdasco
Delbonis v. F. Lopez
9:30 Dimitrov v. Carreno Busta

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO
11:00 Dodig v. Nishikori
Tsonga v. Roger-Vasselin
Giraldo v. Hewitt

STADIUM 3
Copil v. Granollers
Gabashvili v. Isner
Youzhny v. B. Becker
Paire v. Simon

STADIUM 6
Niemenen v. Haase
Thiem v. Tursonov
Ramos v. Mahut

An actual,American in the draw??? :clap

 

[Moxie]

Some good matches tomorrow, even if the marquee players aren't in action:

MANOLO SANTANA
3:15 Seppi v. Verdasco
Delbonis v. F. Lopez
9:30 Dimitrov v. Carreno Busta

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO
11:00 Dodig v. Nishikori
Tsonga v. Roger-Vasselin
Giraldo v. Hewitt

STADIUM 3
Copil v. Granollers
Gabashvili v. Isner
Youzhny v. B. Becker
Paire v. Simon

STADIUM 6
Niemenen v. Haase
Thiem v. Tursonov
Ramos v. Mahut

An actual,American in the draw??? :clap

Based on Gabashvili's recent results, and despite being a qualifier…not for long, I fear. :nono Isner had better bring the hammer.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

Some good matches tomorrow, even if the marquee players aren't in action:

MANOLO SANTANA
3:15 Seppi v. Verdasco
Delbonis v. F. Lopez
9:30 Dimitrov v. Carreno Busta

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO
11:00 Dodig v. Nishikori
Tsonga v. Roger-Vasselin
Giraldo v. Hewitt

STADIUM 3
Copil v. Granollers
Gabashvili v. Isner
Youzhny v. B. Becker
Paire v. Simon

STADIUM 6
Niemenen v. Haase
Thiem v. Tursonov
Ramos v. Mahut

An actual,American in the draw??? :clap

Based on Gabashvili's recent results, and despite being a qualifier…not for long, I fear. :nono Isner had better bring the hammer.

I agree. I would be surprised if Big John can get through.

 

[Moxie]

Some good matches tomorrow, even if the marquee players aren't in action:

MANOLO SANTANA
3:15 Seppi v. Verdasco
Delbonis v. F. Lopez
9:30 Dimitrov v. Carreno Busta

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO
11:00 Dodig v. Nishikori
Tsonga v. Roger-Vasselin
Giraldo v. Hewitt

STADIUM 3
Copil v. Granollers
Gabashvili v. Isner
Youzhny v. B. Becker
Paire v. Simon

STADIUM 6
Niemenen v. Haase
Thiem v. Tursonov
Ramos v. Mahut

An actual,American in the draw??? :clap

Based on Gabashvili's recent results, and despite being a qualifier…not for long, I fear. :nono Isner had better bring the hammer.

I agree. I would be surprised if Big John can get through.

He does, however, have decent clay results, so not to be completely despondent.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

Some good matches tomorrow, even if the marquee players aren't in action:

MANOLO SANTANA
3:15 Seppi v. Verdasco
Delbonis v. F. Lopez
9:30 Dimitrov v. Carreno Busta

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO
11:00 Dodig v. Nishikori
Tsonga v. Roger-Vasselin
Giraldo v. Hewitt

STADIUM 3
Copil v. Granollers
Gabashvili v. Isner
Youzhny v. B. Becker
Paire v. Simon

STADIUM 6
Niemenen v. Haase
Thiem v. Tursonov
Ramos v. Mahut

An actual,American in the draw??? :clap

Based on Gabashvili's recent results, and despite being a qualifier…not for long, I fear. :nono Isner had better bring the hammer.

I agree. I would be surprised if Big John can get through.

He does, however, have decent clay results, so not to be completely despondent.

Oh I agree, I am basing my feeling on recent results and the ankle, and very little match play.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

It is literally true. Isner is the only american in Madrid draw. That's scary for the future
of american tennis.

We used to count how many americans are left in the draw (after a few rounds) before.
Now, we are reduced to counting how many are in the draw to begin with.

 

[Moxie]

^ Kinda related, kinda not…Robbie Ginepri (remember him?) got the WC to RG from the US.