Paris BNP Paribas Masters - Oct. 28-Nov. 3

[NADAL2005RG]

What's the time allowance between a first and second serve?

Its optional unless you get a warning. And giving a warning is optional too.

 

[Denis]

Rule 30 "Play shall be continuous from the first service until the match is concluded, in accordance with the following provisions:

(a) If the first service is a fault, the second service must be struck by the Server without delay.

The Receiver must play to the reasonable pace of the Server and must be ready to receive when the Server is ready to serve."

 

[Denis]

Well Rafa looked in fine form to me. Don't see anyone stopping him before the finals.

 

[Front242]

Great match and ended with the same scoreline as their last match. Sadly

 

[GameSetAndMath]

What a weird tournament; All the qualifers to WTF are in Quarterfinals.

p.s. Paris is supposed to be a tournament where underdogs have their day.

All seeds made it to QF except for my finalist pick (Tsonga). Even he is
replaced by No. 9 seed in QF.

 

[Moxie]

Fun match! Janowizc looked pissed off to lose…which is good! He's got things to work on, but real up-sides, I think.

 

[Kieran]

Rule 30 "Play shall be continuous from the first service until the match is concluded, in accordance with the following provisions:

(a) If the first service is a fault, the second service must be struck by the Server without delay.

The Receiver must play to the reasonable pace of the Server and must be ready to receive when the Server is ready to serve."

Thanks Denisovich, so the second serve should follow as quickly as the first serve should follow the end of the previous point, that is, within 20 seconds.

I thought Rafa played a lot better today. It was as straight-forward a match as could be when facing a loose cannon like JJ...

 

[Moxie]

So the QFs are set, and so is the YEC. Everyone who plays tomorrow has qualified for the O2.

 

[Front242]

A load of points lost for Jerzy tonight. Doh :/

 

[Kieran]

So the QFs are set, and so is the YEC. Everyone who plays tomorrow has qualified for the O2.

Yeah, that's a tasty prospect, eh? I think both Rafa and Nole still look strongest in this field though...

 

[Denis]

What a weird tournament; All the qualifers to WTF are in Quarterfinals.

p.s. Paris is supposed to be a tournament where underdogs have their day.

All seeds made it to QF except for my finalist pick (Tsonga). Even he is
replaced by No. 9 seed in QF.

Yeah, this is really remarkable. Seems everybody is still hungry. VERY different from last years. Maybe even more invested in this then in the WTF?

I think for everyone there is an explanation.
Nadal: maybe wants to make up for his poor indoor record and is seeking the WTF crown (also Djokovic still marginally on the hunt for no 1)
Djokovic: probably wants to end on a high note after two slam final losses
Federer: wants to make up for a terrible season
Ferrer: defending champion
Wawrinka and Gasquet: wanted to qualify for the WTF, having a great year
Berdych: always does good indoors
DP: on fire at the moment

 

[Front242]

JJ dropped from world number 14 back to world number 21.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Janowicz is such a gimmicky player. He obviously has a lot of upside and should learn how to construct points better/improve shot selection as he matures, but for now, there's a lot wrong with how he goes about his "gameplan."

Yes, crushing the ball, returning aggressively and mixing things up with drop shots are good tactics against Nadal, but Jerzy needs to realize he's not playing a juniors player or on the challengers circuit. These top players will adapt if you abuse something long enough. Once Nadal started anticipating the drop shots and reading his serve better, Janowicz looked a bit out of ideas for a period of 4-5 games (end of the first set till midway through the second). He actually looked surprised when some serves came back and was not ready to play the next ball. To his credit, he settled down towards the end of the match, played his game, and did better, but that was after he had gotten broken so it was too little too late. The first set was a serve fest, so there's not much there.

He also has some mobility problems, which is expected. Every time Nadal went behind him with his cross court forehand, Janowicz netted the ball, even when he wasn't necessarily stretched out. That bailed Rafa out on many occasions, especially given that he wasn't hitting his inside out forehand well, and it's a shot that looks pedestrian indoors, usually.

 

[brokenshoelace]

What a weird tournament; All the qualifers to WTF are in Quarterfinals.

p.s. Paris is supposed to be a tournament where underdogs have their day.

All seeds made it to QF except for my finalist pick (Tsonga). Even he is
replaced by No. 9 seed in QF.

Yeah, this is really remarkable. Seems everybody is still hungry. VERY different from last years. Maybe even more invested in this then in the WTF?

I think for everyone there is an explanation.
Nadal: maybe wants to make up for his poor indoor record and is seeking the WTF crown (also Djokovic still marginally on the hunt for no 1)
Djokovic: probably wants to end on a high note after two slam final losses
Federer: wants to make up for a terrible season
Ferrer: defending champion
Wawrinka and Gasquet: wanted to qualify for the WTF, having a great year
Berdych: always does good indoors
DP: on fire at the moment

Agreed. There's also the fact that reaching the Quarter finals for the top seeds in this tourney means winning two matches only (the first of which generally against a player they should be able to romp through), something they should be able to accomplish. So while it is remarkable to be sure, it is in some ways expected.

 

[NADAL2005RG]

Today JJ was less impressive than the last time these guys met (Montreal). Got to wonder if the current 'new balls' (Dimitrov, Tomic, Raonic, JJ) will ever take over. The way things are going it will be years before any of them break into the top 4 (and it will probably be when guys like Ferrer and Federer retire). And even then, a good chance Tsonga or Berdych will still be around the top. Maybe the next elite will come from the generation after the 'new balls'. The only new ball near the top is Raonic, and I see no elite potential in him at all.

 

[Front242]

JJ reminds me a bit of Djokovic and Gulbis with the ill timed overuse of the dropshot. It worked wonders here last year but people know his game now and expect it and the element of surprise is gone. Especially when he does it around 4-5 times in a single game! Nuts. I always wish he'd use the body serve more. Been saying it for ages. He did the same against Murray at Wimbledon. Played 1 great set and then got totally predictable on serve and Murray was reading it like a book. When your biggest weapon is neutralized you're toast.

 

[Denis]

Janowicz is such a gimmicky player. He obviously has a lot of upside and should learn how to construct points better/improve shot selection as he matures, but for now, there's a lot wrong with how he goes about his "gameplan."

Yes, crushing the ball, returning aggressively and mixing things up with drop shots are good tactics against Nadal, but Jerzy needs to realize he's not playing a juniors player or on the challengers circuit. These players will adapt if you abuse something long enough. Once Nadal started anticipating the drop shots and reading his serve better, Janowicz looked a bit out of ideas for a period of 4-5 games (end of the first set till midway through the second). He actually looked surprised when some serves came back and was not ready to play the next ball. To his credit, he settled down towards the end of the match, played his game, and did better, but that was after he had gotten broken so it was too little too late. The first set was a serve fest, so there's not much there.

He also has some mobility problems, which is expected. Every time Nadal went behind him with his cross court forehand, Janowicz netted the ball, even when he wasn't necessarily stretched out. That bailed Rafa out on many occasions, especially given that he wasn't hitting his inside out forehand well, and it's a shot that looks pedestrian indoors, usually.

Thanks for that breakdown. I only saw the last part of the match but that inside out forehand looked pretty good in the last games when he was running around his backhand.

 

[brokenshoelace]

JJ reminds me a bit of Djokovic and Gulbis with the ill timed overuse of the dropshot. It worked wonders here last year but people know his game now and expect it and the element of surprise is gone. Especially when he does it around 4-5 times in a single game! Nuts. I always wish he'd use the body serve more. Been saying it for ages. He did the same against Murray at Wimbledon. Played 1 great set and then got totally predictable on serve and Murray was reading it like a book. When your biggest weapon is neutralized you're toast.

Yeah, "predictable" is actually spot on when it comes to Janowicz. This is especially ironic because for the first 40 minutes or so, he's completely unpredictable. Except that he keeps repeating exactly the same patterns he used in those 40 minutes to where it turns into being predictable, if that makes any sense. Case in point, the crazy drop shots. Yeah, at first, they're out of nowhere, but it only takes a 5 or so before seasoned players start picking up on them.

He seriously needs to alter his serving patterns too, especially given his ridiculous abilities with the serve.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Janowicz is such a gimmicky player. He obviously has a lot of upside and should learn how to construct points better/improve shot selection as he matures, but for now, there's a lot wrong with how he goes about his "gameplan."

Yes, crushing the ball, returning aggressively and mixing things up with drop shots are good tactics against Nadal, but Jerzy needs to realize he's not playing a juniors player or on the challengers circuit. These players will adapt if you abuse something long enough. Once Nadal started anticipating the drop shots and reading his serve better, Janowicz looked a bit out of ideas for a period of 4-5 games (end of the first set till midway through the second). He actually looked surprised when some serves came back and was not ready to play the next ball. To his credit, he settled down towards the end of the match, played his game, and did better, but that was after he had gotten broken so it was too little too late. The first set was a serve fest, so there's not much there.

He also has some mobility problems, which is expected. Every time Nadal went behind him with his cross court forehand, Janowicz netted the ball, even when he wasn't necessarily stretched out. That bailed Rafa out on many occasions, especially given that he wasn't hitting his inside out forehand well, and it's a shot that looks pedestrian indoors, usually.

Thanks for that breakdown. I only saw the last part of the match but that inside out forehand looked pretty good in the last games when he was running around his backhand.

Yup, Nadal's best forehands of the match came in the last two games or so, in key moments where he felt he needed to step up the aggression. Before that, it was quite ordinary, which makes sense given A) the surface and B) the fact that he's playing against someone who gives him no rhythm, so it's hard to get a feel on the shot if it's not clicking from the get-go.

 

[Front242]

That 49 second 4 ace game a record btw? Must be right up there if not!