Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain, ATP Masters 1000, 2019

[herios]

AZ plays poorly against younger players. Let’s see if he can keep it together mentally vs Tsitsipas. I think AZ vs Nadal would be slightly more competitive. Nadal would roll over Tsitsipas.

I couldn't care less how competitive or not will be Stefanos vs. Nadal, most likely I will not watch it anyway.
All I want is Stefanos to beat Sasha, to make a statement.
I am all behind him among the top youngsters.

 

[don_fabio]

All I want is Stefanos to beat Sasha, to make a statement.

Statement was made

 

[herios]

Statement was made

Good job. Way to go.

 

[Fiero425]

Statement was made

Yeah; Lendl needs to find a different "apprentice!" I don't think it's too early t/b concerned about strides Sasha's making; or not making!

 

[DarthFed]

Good job. Way to go.

That ain't making a statement.

 

[Moxie]

Nadal rounding into form now. Beat Stan 1 and 2.

 

[10isfan]

Probably will be a Nadal vs Thiem final. Djokovic has done very little outside the majors. Maybe he’s decided to save himself to have a shot at 21 instead of more Masters titles.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Thank you Rafa!

 

[herios]

That ain't making a statement.

It is, for the long run. It will come a moment when the Big 3 are gone, and based on the last 2 years results Sasha was the most likely heir to the throne.
If Stefanos starts beating his peers, the current projection will change.

 

[Fiero425]

Probably will be a Nadal vs Thiem final. Djokovic has done very little outside the majors. Maybe he’s decided to save himself to have a shot at 21 instead of more Masters titles.

Yeah, he'll relent that honor to Nadal! After getting his "Golden Masters," having more "1000's" is superfluous after all's said and done!

 

[Fiero425]

It is, for the long run. It will come a moment when the Big 3 are gone, and based on the last 2 years results Sasha was the most likely heir to the throne.
If Stefanos starts beating his peers, the current projection will change.

We've already started seeing some of those dynamics/projections taking hold! We had hopes for Shapo, but he's fallen to his compatriot FAA the last couple matches on the big stage! Is there any reason that should change? You know how some of these rivalries are; not really so when ownership's established early and often! The only relatable thing with Sasha is his inconsistency! He had better make the SF in Rome or Lendl might have to rethink being his mentor! I had high hopes for him, but he's being eclipsed by the next wave already! :whistle:

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Thiem moves to #4 in the live rankings. Unfortunately, he won't be seeded #4 in Rome as the official rankings come only on Monday and the draw will be made before that. However, he is almost virtually guaranteed to get #4 seeding at RG.

 

[Fiero425]

Thiem moves to #4 in the live rankings. Unfortunately, he won't be seeded #4 in Rome as the official rankings come only on Monday and the draw will be made before that. However, he is almost virtually guaranteed to get #4 seeding at RG.

He might be able to hold onto #4 for a while even though defending a lot of pts in Rome being the finalist last season to Nadal! :whistle:

 

[El Dude]

We've already started seeing some of those dynamics/projections taking hold! We had hopes for Shapo, but he's fallen to his compatriot FAA the last couple matches on the big stage! Is there any reason that should change? You know how some of these rivalries are; not really so when ownership's established early and often! The only relatable thing with Sasha is his inconsistency! He had better make the SF in Rome or Lendl might have to rethink being his mentor! I had high hopes for him, but he's being eclipsed by the next wave already! :whistle:

Your hyperbole is part of your charm, Fiero, but this is just ridiculous. Zverev is 22. He's won 4 big titles, which is more than every other player born 1992 or later combined. Among his NextGen peers, only Karen Khachanov has even won a single big title. Now he may very well be surpassed by players like Tsitsipas, FAA, and Shapo, but he's still in the mix and will be in the mix for years to come. He's not perfect, but none of these guys are.

That said, I still like FAA for upside, and probably give Tsitsipas the edge over Zverev - in terms of future outlook. Maybe Shapo too, but he's the hardest to project, in my opinion.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

He might be able to hold onto #4 for a while even though defending a lot of pts in Rome being the finalist last season to Nadal! :whistle:

It was Sasha who was the finalist in Rome last year (and so he will defend 600 pts). Thiem lost to Fog in his opening match last year in Rome and so is defending only 10 points. So, Thiem is virtually guaranteed to be seeded #4 at RG (unless Sasha wins Rome, which is almost impossible, especially considering his form).

 

[Fiero425]

Your hyperbole is part of your charm, Fiero, but this is just ridiculous. Zverev is 22. He's won 4 big titles, which is more than every other player born 1992 or later combined. Among his NextGen peers, only Karen Khachanov has even won a single big title. Now he may very well be surpassed by players like Tsitsipas, FAA, and Shapo, but he's still in the mix and will be in the mix for years to come. He's not perfect, but none of these guys are.

That said, I still like FAA for upside, and probably give Tsitsipas the edge over Zverev - in terms of future outlook. Maybe Shapo too, but he's the hardest to project, in my opinion.

I'm looking at how Sasha makes his job so much harder than it needs to be; esp. in early rounds! Some players are slow in kicking it into gear, but he makes himself more vulnerable to bad losses because doubt is still there even with Lendl's support! I expect more with a 24/7 news cycle and Social Media fueling the narratives! :whistle:

 

[atttomole]

Nadal’s warm up for RG has begun in earnest. He is crushing opponents.

 

[Moxie]

Slight sidebar note here, but during the Nadal/Wawrinka match, on the point that Nadal got the first break against Stan in the 2nd set, the chair checked the mark and confirmed the ball out. TV showed Hawkeye, which is unused on clay, but the TV likes it, anyway, and it showed to have caught a sliver of the line. Commentators went on to debate that this is why Hawkeye should be used on clay, as well. But what they never mention in these debates is that it's not used because the margin of error is too great. Meaning that the sliver that Hawkeye showed was outside of the margin of error. I'm not saying anything about that match. It almost certainly wouldn't have made a difference in the outcome of the match. Just saying that they love the technology so much that they trust it more than the chair, and they have forgotten why it isn't used. I'm sure we'll have it sooner rather than later on clay, though, as soon as the tech catches up.

 

[britbox]

Well not the worst clay start but it's annoying that he's getting an embarrassing H2H vs the middleweight.

I didn't see the match. Hardly seen any tennis at all lately with the English Premier League and Champions League going on right now, but I didn't expect Fed to get past Thiem here. The scoreline tells me he was competitive and had chances to win. Did you watch the match?

 

[El Dude]

I'm looking at how Sasha makes his job so much harder than it needs to be; esp. in early rounds! Some players are slow in kicking it into gear, but he makes himself more vulnerable to bad losses because doubt is still there even with Lendl's support! I expect more with a 24/7 news cycle and Social Media fueling the narratives! :whistle:

Clearly he's got some mental issues. But here's the thing: even with those issues, he's still managed to win 4 big titles and 10 overall - all before turning 22 years old. With proper coaching and more so, maturation, what more is possible?

For some reason I'm reminded a bit of Marat Safin. His attitude is problematic in a different way, but there's an atittude issue. Like Safin he's a big, strong kid who hits the ball hard but moves surprisingly well. Rewatching highlights of Safin-Federer in the 2005 AO SF (which Safin won) I was impressed by how it seemed Safin barely moved from the center of the court, while hitting the ball hard corner to corner, sending Roger flying all over the place. I could see a best-case scenario of Zverev being a more consistent version of Safin in that tournament. If he can get there, he should win a handful of Slams. I still don't see him doing any worse than winning a Slam or two. If he doesn't win at least one Slam, he'll be one of the biggest disappointments in Open Era history.