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

[tented]

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

Not sure. Querrey hit 10 aces in a row back in 2007, but I don't know how long the games lasted.

 

[Front242]

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

Not sure. Querrey hit 10 aces in a row back in 2007, but I don't know how long the games lasted.

10 in a row lol. Unreal. Yeah, must google fastest service games when it's not so late on the weekend.

 

[tented]

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

Not sure. Querrey hit 10 aces in a row back in 2007, but I don't know how long the games lasted.

10 in a row lol. Unreal. Yeah, must google fastest service games when it's not so late on the weekend.

Roger has played a few four-ace games, but I don't remember how long they lasted, either. ('09 Wimbledon final, maybe?) It is rare, though, obviously, so they do stand out.

It's a little bedazzling as it's happening, but ultimately don't you think it's boring?

 

[Kieran]

Pete often breezed through schmoes with a fistful of aces. Never bored me in the slightest...

 

[Front242]

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

Not sure. Querrey hit 10 aces in a row back in 2007, but I don't know how long the games lasted.

10 in a row lol. Unreal. Yeah, must google fastest service games when it's not so late on the weekend.

Roger has played a few four-ace games, but I don't remember how long they lasted, either. ('09 Wimbledon final, maybe?) It is rare, though, obviously, so they do stand out.

It's a little bedazzling as it's happening, but ultimately don't you think it's boring?

Yeah I've seen one clip online where Roger hit 4 pretty quickly but longer than 49 secs. Yeah it's a bit boring for sure but when the rest of the match is high octane, blood rushing stuff and one guy is struggling on serve and nearly broken and then holds only to witness an onslaught like that, then it can really get in the other guy's head and cause a break next game. Not tonight and full credit to Nadal. But many players would get disheartened seeing that many aces whizz past them and who'd blame them.

In JJ's case he becomes too predictable on serve so he never gets as many aces as he could and he's by no means a boring tall guy only got a serve and nothing else type player, so I don't mind a few instances of a load of aces. With Isner it's different as I personally find the rest of his game dead boring most of the time. But it's entertaining to watch the top guys' strategies to overcome these huge servers. I wouldn't rush home to watch Isner play a nobody but I'd always welcome watching him play a top opponent. JJ I'd like to watch against anyone as he has much more than serve.

 

[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.

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.

You forget the fact that what you are saying (needing to win only two matches
to be in QF) is true every year; but, then why every year the top folks
do not make the quarterfinals. We all know that the primary reason for that
is that many player are usually tired by this time and have no fuel left in the tank.
So, what happened this year is indeed special conisdering this is unusual for Bercy.

 

[Iona16]

I haven't been able to see many matches but I really enjoyed Rafa's match with Jerzy. I'd love a 6th masters title for the year.

 

[Riotbeard]

I haven't been able to see many matches but I really enjoyed Rafa's match with Jerzy. I'd love a 6th masters title for the year.

Jeez Iona. He already tied Novak's record. Why add insult to injury?

 

[Iona16]

I haven't been able to see many matches but I really enjoyed Rafa's match with Jerzy. I'd love a 6th masters title for the year.

Jeez Iona. He already tied Novak's record. Why add insult to injury?

I've no Andy to cheer on :cry so I'm rooting for my other favourite.

 

[tented]

Friday's schedule of play:

http://www.tennisfrontier.com/news/atp-tennis/bnp-paribas-paris-masters-quarterfinals-scores-and-schedule-of-play-friday-november-1/

 

[Moxie]

I haven't been able to see many matches but I really enjoyed Rafa's match with Jerzy. I'd love a 6th masters title for the year.

Jeez Iona. He already tied Novak's record. Why add insult to injury?

I've no Andy to cheer on :cry so I'm rooting for my other favourite.

Not insult to injury for Iona or me. And godspeed to Andy for his recovery.

 

[Denis]

I haven't been able to see many matches but I really enjoyed Rafa's match with Jerzy. I'd love a 6th masters title for the year.

This is becoming a real possibility. In fact, I only see Novak or DP being able to stop him. Or maybe Berdych. 5 is more than enough IMO.

 

[NADAL2005RG]

Berdych lol, that'd be funny.

 

[Kieran]

I haven't been able to see many matches but I really enjoyed Rafa's match with Jerzy. I'd love a 6th masters title for the year.

This is becoming a real possibility. In fact, I only see Novak or DP being able to stop him. Or maybe Berdych. 5 is more than enough IMO.

I don't see Berdych, but Nole or DP would have a more than 50-50 shot based on recent form. I wouldn't write Roger off either, if he could capture old glory and strike a path to the final...

 

[kskate2]

I haven't been able to see many matches but I really enjoyed Rafa's match with Jerzy. I'd love a 6th masters title for the year.

This is becoming a real possibility. In fact, I only see Novak or DP being able to stop him. Or maybe Berdych. 5 is more than enough IMO.

I don't see Berdych, but Nole or DP would have a more than 50-50 shot based on recent form. I wouldn't write Roger off either, if he could capture old glory and strike a path to the final...

Don't think so Kieran. DP & Novak, yes. Fed beating Nadal (even indoors) is not happening right now. :nono

 

[DarthFed]

I haven't been able to see many matches but I really enjoyed Rafa's match with Jerzy. I'd love a 6th masters title for the year.

This is becoming a real possibility. In fact, I only see Novak or DP being able to stop him. Or maybe Berdych. 5 is more than enough IMO.

I don't see Berdych, but Nole or DP would have a more than 50-50 shot based on recent form. I wouldn't write Roger off either, if he could capture old glory and strike a path to the final...

Don't think so Kieran. DP & Novak, yes. Fed beating Nadal (even indoors) is not happening right now. :nono

Roger isn't getting there unless Stan somehow beats Nole and Roger sneaks by DP. I will be happy if he gets by DP as it would qualify as a big win at this point, but he would have no chance vs. Nole right now. Too much defense and all around game for the Roger we've seen.

 

[brokenshoelace]

I haven't been able to see many matches but I really enjoyed Rafa's match with Jerzy. I'd love a 6th masters title for the year.

This is becoming a real possibility. In fact, I only see Novak or DP being able to stop him. Or maybe Berdych. 5 is more than enough IMO.

Nadal needs a favor from Wawrinka/Fed to win this. I don't see him beating Djokovic on this surface and DP would be favored as well.

 

[NADAL2005RG]

Nadal is physically fresher than Djokovic right now. Nadal is also playing better, from what I've seen this week. Pretty sure Nadal will beat Djokovic in the final.

 

[Kieran]

I'd like to share your optimism, but I haven't been hugely impressed with Rafa so far. He got the job done yesterday, but his serve wasn't great. Leave aside the jitters he got occasionally - which are understandable and not too indicative - he didn't look too comfortable in the second set. He doesn't have enough time to load up his forehand, and though his backhand has been fine, he's not hitting through anyone with it yet.

I thought his return yesterday was very good though, and he's not playing lousy, but he's not playing like he did on the summer hards, and that's partly because he was on a tear then, but also, this surface is a bit nippier than even them. He could win this, but not the way he's playing so far...

 

[brokenshoelace]

I posted a stat in some thread a couple of days ago. Now I can't be bothered to look at the numbers I posted, but the gist of it was that Nadal has the highest winning percentage of any player in history on any surface outdoors, but is only 38th indoors (his winning percentage indoors is in the 60's). I think this is pretty telling. So, regardless of form (though Novak has been in better form since after the US Open anyway), Djokovic would be a comfortable favorite on this surface.