Your preferences, master?

[britbox]

I was thinking about @Nekro's comments on the WTF, mainly on what people preferred watching - obviously majors will top the list, but got thinking which Masters Events I look forward to the most and why... some far more than others, even though on paper they are supposed to be equals.

1. Indian Wells - Tops my list because it bridges the gap between the AO and the Clay Season and we have to wait a little while after the AO. Most of the top guys usually are in attendance because they haven't played any gruelling tournaments since Melbourne and chances of picking up injuries in the meantime are lower. I think Ellison has done a great job with IW. The facilities are spectacular, the prize money is good... maybe Indian Wells is usurping other Masters as the closest thing to a major outside the real thing.

2. Rogers Cup (Canada Open) - I like this for similar reasons to IW and Monte Carlo. It's the first Masters in a while and opens up the run-in to a major.

3. Monte Carlo - Not a mandatory masters anymore, but the opening "big" tournament of the clay swing... and possibly the most picturesque venue in tennis.

4. Miami - Once upon a time this was classed by some as the "5th slam" and it's still big. The downside is it follows straight on from Indian Wells... and sometimes pays the price with absent injured players.

5. Cincinnati - I like Cinci because it's fast, fast, fast.... Maybe this should be my #4.

6. Rome - Once vieing for "5th slam" status with Miami, Rome has dropped in prestige IMO. It's too close to Madrid and RG.

7. Madrid - Tiriac has tried to carve out a niche for Madrid, with ridiculous trophies, blue clay, shifting around the calendar.... he's yet to nail it.

8. Shanghai - Always seems to lack any sort of atmosphere, plenty of empty seats in the crowd and the players seem half-assed about wanting to be there.

9. Paris - Everyone is thinking of the Holiday Season early. Half the players are injured or pretend they are. Least favourite masters by some distance.

 

[DarthFed]

Making me think hard this early in the morning! I guess I will give it a go:

1. Indian Wells - It's the first big tourney after a long break following the Australian Open and at this point it seems to be the most prestigious.

2. Cincy - I know this is biased but it's by far the fastest MS event on tour, and I've also gone to it a couple times now. It is also a nice lead in to the last major of the year.

3. Miami - It's still the 2nd biggest one after IW, those 2 events have the larger draw and more prestige than all the rest. It also provides a nice boost to the winner as the tour heads into clay season. One of the drawbacks on Miami and IW is that they are the only MS events that don't precede a huge event (one of the slams or the YEC). I also hate the surface, it practically is clay.

4. Rome - It is a big boost to whoever gets that one as it is right before RG. A lot of people don't play Monte Carlo and Madrid plays nothing like RG so this is the most important of the clay MS events and one of the best to watch.

5. Monte Carlo - This is still big because it plays so much like RG and it's the first big one on clay and can set the tone for the rest of the clay season. It is also probably the most prestigious of the clay events even if they usually suffer from some big absences.

6. Canada Masters - A decent break after Wimbledon and this one now plays similar to the USO. A few years ago I'd say this was considerably slower than the USO which was a little slower than Cincy.

7. Shanghai - Even though it's the Fall season this is still a tightly contested tournament and you usually have a lot of players jockeying for a top 8 spot and sometimes there are 2-3 players dueling it out for #1 at the end of the year.

8. Madrid - It's just not really clay much like Miami is not really a hard court. Madrid does not provide good prep for RG and it's one a lot of players sit out if they are carrying even the slightest discomfort.

9. Paris - Despite the fact there are a lot of players dueling it out for a top 8 seed and possibly #1 (see Shanghai) at this point the players are tired and many historically skip this event unless there is a big reason to play. I think by then most of the fans are ready for the YEC to start and for the end of the season to get here. Us fans have to rest too of course

 

[mrzz]

Well, WTF high above them all to begin with (so people can cast the first stone).

And, just to inspire the answers (and more stones), let me give a big reason to people bash me:

The one Masters tournament I liked the most, by far, was the blue clay edition of Madrid. It was a fantastic viewing experience. The courts had just a perfect pace. I thought it was fantastic (and I had this opinion before Federer won it).

As for the actual question:

1) Rome. Beautiful clay courts, fantastic center court, fantastic matches in its history. 1st place by far on my list.

2) Indian wells. Too big, it seems like the one players want more, on average, so it has a "slam feeling". The organization reflects this.

3) Cincinnati. I am with BB on this. Bloody fast.

 

[shawnbm]

(1) Miami, and not just because I live near the event, but it has great history and is the last of the big hard court events until after SW19 months away. It is a lovely venue and Miami is Miami, which makes the South American Slam so to speak.

(2) Rome, as it was with Miami as the 5th slam and has great history and the Eternal City says it all. I love the Campo Centrale and the lovely clay.

(3) Cincinnati for the reason above--plus I have a soft spot in my heart for the city on the Ohio River.

(4) Indian Wells, which has gotten bigger and bigger over the years, has always seemed a runup to Miami.

The rest I view as largely equal to one another, apart from Monte Carlo being so lovely to the eye. I always liked Hamburg's odd center stadium with those shadows on the court. I miss the old German Open, which used to be a big event as well.

 

[Moxie]

There's a reason Paris/Bercy features last on a few lists above, and it's the same reason the tournament has been wanting to move to February...it's the end of the season, and gets a lot of doctor's notes for skipping. Though I'd put Shanghai as my least favorite, if I had to. Late in the year and no good reason to stay up all night.

I'd rather pick other favorites by surface, but here's my list:

1.) Monte Carlo: So beautiful. Lovely clay.

2.) Indian Wells: Great tournament. Co-Ed. Get's my vote for best non-Slam.

3.) Rome: I love Rome and I love clay, and it's a co-ed event.

4.) Miami: It's also co-ed, it's in the US, and my time-zone. Great atmosphere.

5.) Roger's Cup: At least it's not as hot and humid as Cincy.

6.) Cincy: (see above, but in my time zone, and lead up to the USO.)

7.) Paris: (as I said)

8.) Shanghai: (ditto)

 

[isabelle]

it could have been Paris if players weren't exhausted or injured....I still remember Nalby's triumph in 2007, I was there and sooo happy to be....if not, MC and Roma are both great