Shanghai Rolex Masters 2017, ATP Masters 1000

[britbox]

Delpo will play. Match should be on in an hour.

I thought it was a w/o... Kudos to Delpo for giving it a go.

 

[britbox]

Nadal's slider out wide is the best he's ever hit it. Even when he served great in the past, he never quite mastered that serve. I'm really impressed with that aspect, as well as his all-around serving. The backhand has been lethal too. The forehand on the other hand, looks somewhat pedestrian, as it often has on this Shanghai surface. He'll need to hit it with much more aggression no matter who he faces in the final.

I know you don't put too much on coaching but I think Moya deserves some credit with Nadal's improvement on serve.

 

[kskate2]

I think he deserves more than some. He deserves a lot of credit Baron.

 

[Front242]

Best I've seen Nadal serve out wide was that Monte Carlo final against Novak in 2012. Granted Novak wasn't at his best then (it was when his grandad whom he was close to died) but he had no chance of returning the wide serve regardless of the rest of his game as Nadal was hitting it bang on the line out wide for much of the match.

 

[britbox]

I think he deserves more than some. He deserves a lot of credit Baron.

Indeed!

 

[britbox]

Nadal v Cilic Highlights (7/5 7/6)

 

[brokenshoelace]

I know you don't put too much on coaching but I think Moya deserves some credit with Nadal's improvement on serve.

No I completely agree.

My stance on coaches isn't that they can't impact a player's game. That'd be stupid. Of course they can and they do. However, I think that their influence is ultimately limited. There's so much that goes on during a tennis match that's just solely on a player's racket, so a lot of times if a player is going through a bad patch the de facto reaction for many of us is "he needs to change his coach/bring in a new coach."

I also think that a coach's influence is typically at its most effective early on, where the new ideas/tweaks are sensed just by watching the player do new things and improve on them. The serve, in Nadal's case, is a very tangible improvement. It's actually one of the easiest improvements to spot in tennis because it depends purely on him and not on his opponent. And given that this year has been by and large, the best he's served throughout his career over a long period of time (as opposed to small stretches like the 2010 US Open), it's safe to say Moya has a lot to do with that and I don't think it's a coincidence.

On the flip side, I think a coach's effect wears out over time, and that's why we witness so many coaching changes in tennis. There's only so much they can do. That's why I think their effect is largely overstated.

 

[Carol]

Sorry to hear the bad news of DelPo. He deserves a break. May be sometime next year he should be allowed to win a GS without facing a top 100 player.

To win at least it would be great, much better than to lose the quarter final against some of them, isn't?

 

[Carol]

I hope Delpo is full recovered and can finish the match in the best conditions

 

[kskate2]

First blood to the Tower, 5-2

 

[britbox]

Delpo takes the first.

 

[kskate2]

JMDP looks very sharp. Had over 7 aces in the first set.

 

[Carol]

Delpo is very mad because the crowd I awfully noisy

 

[britbox]

Looks like this is going the distance. Fed 5-2 up in the second.

 

[britbox]

Fed evens it up and we head into the decider.

 

[britbox]

Nice S&V from Fed. Levels it up in the decider.

 

[britbox]

Fed gets the early break. C'mon Roger...............

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Delpo is a secret agent, planted in the draws by the Spanish tennis federation with the sole purpose of meeting Roger before he can meet Rafa and better the H2H . He will not succeed this time !!! :fishing::fishing::fishing:

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Fedal it is...

 

[brokenshoelace]

Surface favors Roger and I've been unimpressed with Nadal's forehand. I think Roger takes this.