Rome Masters 2015

[Federberg]

^Always a good sign when Roger takes out Berd-man comfortably

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI7WiaOCCRk[/video]

 

[BalaryKar]

Thanks for the highlights

 

[britbox]

Same ole Berdych, just complaining about everything. Maybe he does that to give himself an edge , what a head case.

Yeah, Berd is turning into a right grumpy git - he was moaning about being distracted by people in the crowd using paper fans to cool off the other week.

 

[britbox]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI7WiaOCCRk[/video]

Darth will love this.

 

[DarthFed]

Maybe Roger has turned a bit of a corner with Berd. 2 comfortable wins at IW and Rome can bode well if they meet in a slam later this year (or in a couple weeks).

 

[El Dude]

I watched some of it and Roger looked masterful without needing to be overpowering.

Watching Berd always reminds me of how important the mental aspect of the game is; he is such an imposing figure but doesn't seem to be able to handle set-backs really well. A stronger mental game and Tomas might have a Slam or two by now, similarly to Tsonga.

 

[Federberg]

^At that level it's the mental that separates them generally

 

[nehmeth]

Novak out to a quick start against Kei (3-0).

 

[golds girl]

Novak out to a quick start against Kei (3-0).

The question is whether Nole will go on one of his mental walkabouts in the 2nd and let Kei back in?

 

[Fiero425]

Very impressive start by Nole over Kei! Seemed to be a normal start with 2 holds of serve until Nole decided to come back from 40-15 on Kei's to break then consolidate for 3-0! He even attacked the net 3 or 4 times without failing to win the point! Kei finally holds to make it 3-1!

 

[Kieran]

That's a fairly routing score for Roger, sounds like he's on his game. Would hope now that Rafa gets through. Who knows how many more Fedal matches we have to look forward to...

 

[nehmeth]

A few tense moments, but first set to Djoker.

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkkoIPqTZT8[/video]

 

[Johnsteinbeck]

That's a fairly routing score for Roger, sounds like he's on his game. Would hope now that Rafa gets through. Who knows how many more Fedal matches we have to look forward to...

:snicker

 

[brokenshoelace]

Berdych is such a giant baby. Jesus.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

^Always a good sign when Roger takes out Berd-man comfortably

That is great. This means Roger is willing to take home the Coupe des Mousquetaires, if others find it too heavy to carry.

 

[nehmeth]

Novak out to a quick start against Kei (3-0).

The question is whether Nole will go on one of his mental walkabouts in the 2nd and let Kei back in?

Good call. Not sure it was a mental walkabout, but he definitely ceded the baseline to Kei in that 2nd set.

Nishi folded like a cheap tent there. 6-1

 

[Riotbeard]

Novak out to a quick start against Kei (3-0).

The question is whether Nole will go on one of his mental walkabouts in the 2nd and let Kei back in?

Good call. Not sure it was a mental walkabout, but he definitely ceded the baseline to Kei in that 2nd set.

Nishi folded like a cheap tent there. 6-1

Novak has won by scorelines like this a lot this season.

 

[Great Hands]

Couldn't watch the Novak-Kei match, only follow the score.
When Murray has lost a couple of final sets very comfortably to Djokovic in the last few months, people go on about his 'mental demons'. So, was it mental here for Kei too?

Nishikori is a guy who can win tough 5 set matches - e.g. won 2 back to back at USO last year - so why the crushing by Novak in the 3rd set here? Thoughts?