This should be interesting. I’m thinking it’s probably a smart move.

April 9th, 2009 at 3:21 pm

I don’t know why Federer reversed his decision, but the result is that all the news is about him. He’s quite good at upstaging others (Nadal and the Australian Open come to mind…..)

April 9th, 2009 at 4:02 pm

sasha
that is interestingly true . I can add to that the racquet smashing in Miami that got all the headlines where it could have gone to credit Murray for his win.
but I don’t think it is intentional. It is just a difficult time in his career and whatever he does positive or negative just attracts so much attention from the media.

April 9th, 2009 at 4:06 pm

good luck, rog, you will need it!!

April 9th, 2009 at 4:58 pm

Yes Sasha. Choosing to read this article proves that Federer is of interest to you if not just to see what shenanigans you think he’s up to. But don’t be silly and equate uncontrollable and demoralizing crying as an premeditated intent to upstage someone. Have you ever wanted something or someone so badly that you were left in deep sorry or anger when it was beyond your reach or worse you obtained your desire only to loose your ability to maintain it. If not you haven’t lived. Move on to another article or grab a racket and give it a try yourself, if you haven’t already.

April 9th, 2009 at 5:01 pm

Smart move, Fed to reunite with his daddy in Monte Carlo. Vamos Rafa.

April 9th, 2009 at 5:39 pm

Some of you guys are just pitiful. If anyone else had announced they wanted a wild card in the tournament – would you have said that person wanted to ‘upstage’ anyone? If you’re going to get on anyone – get on the writers. Evidently they are the ones reporting on every single thing Roger does. So blame them…but don’t think Roger is doing all of this to ‘take something away from Nadal or the other players’. Get real! lol!

Personally, I’m glad he decided to play. Maybe I’ll get an opportunity to see some of his matches, which are always good for me!

April 9th, 2009 at 6:07 pm

hi FoT
I guess whatever Roger does right now will be news. I am glad he decided to participate. It is a decison in the positive direction rather than being passive and staying away.

April 9th, 2009 at 6:27 pm

roger should retire, he stinks and acts in a disgraceful manner.

April 9th, 2009 at 6:43 pm

Roger announced his entire year’s calendar last December. At that point, he was set to play Dubai, Davis Cup and IW/Miami. so that’s like 6 straight weeks of play on hard courts and skipping Monte Carlo made sense. Now he ends up not playing Dubai/Davis Cup and feels fresh enough to add Monte Carlo, where he is the finalist for last 3 years. so what’s the shocker here?

April 9th, 2009 at 7:39 pm

Good move roger, this is what he needs, more matches that will probably bring back the confidence.

its always good to have roger in any tournament….looking forward for top class tennis.

del potro is probably gutted, he would have been seeded 4th and at least play one of the top guys in the semi but now he will have to meet nadal/murray/djoko or fed in the quaters. Will he deliver the way he did in miami ??

excited…bring on monte carlo.

April 9th, 2009 at 8:36 pm

The ATP site did a survey over the last 20 years of the French Open and found that only twice had the French Open Champion had fewer than 15 matches on clay leading up to the French Open the year they won it. Federer had scheduled only his mandatory events on clay, Rome & Madrid. Playing Monte Carlo can only help him preparing for the French Open.

And I agree that his lighter-than-planned schedule that has materialized this year also had a big impact on his decision to play.

April 9th, 2009 at 8:39 pm

Nada:

Ooooops. wow. I didn’t even think for a second that I would inspire something like your reaction when I made my comment.

“…If not, you haven’t lived…Move on to another article…Grab a racket..?” All of this and more because I wrote two brief sentences? I see you are a very, very devoted Federer fan and I respect your loyalty. But I also see that your reaction was defensive and insulting. No need to go there.

It is true that I do not know what Roger Federer was feeling after he lost the Australian Open to Rafael Nadal. I don’t think any of us do, do we? I did think that his tears were genuine, the pain of losing deep. And as Zola pointed out, no matter what Federer does, he attracts media attention, so the “upstaging” isn’t his fault, I agree. I guess I am frustrated with the media then. I would have liked the press to focus on Nadal’s AO win (rather than Federer’s AO loss) longer; on Murray’s Miami triumph, not Federer’s racket incident and all of the ensuing analysis and commentary.

Well, your response has made me wary, I have to say. I read lots of articles and comments, and this is by no means the first time a Federer fan has lashed out at someone expressing their thoughts. Just sorry I made you so mad.

April 9th, 2009 at 8:53 pm

FoT:

I am the one who used the word “upstage”. I apologize. Zola pointed out in a very nice way (without using the word “pitiful” or anything) that it was indeed the media, not federer who put the focus on Federer. I agree.

April 9th, 2009 at 9:02 pm

Also Roger said in his press conference in Miami that nothing was set in stone.

He has the time. He is not playing estoril and by not playing MC, he would give away about 1000 points. I think it makes perfect sense for him to play in MC.

April 9th, 2009 at 9:08 pm

not to mention the preparation for RG .
btw, vocemail1, that was an interesting Stat about at least 15 matches prior to RG.

But before this when I heard Roger had only two clay tournaments, I thought he is trying to focus on Wimbledon and maybe I am wrong. The other theory is that maybe he felt his back or physical condition would not allow him to play more matches. Then his MC participation should be a good sign for his fans.

About Del Potro on clay, that would be interesting. I don’t remember how he did last year. I think to me Fed and Djoko were the ones behind Rafa on clay. Let’s see if things change this year with Murray, Tsonga, Del Potro, Simon…

April 9th, 2009 at 9:16 pm

OK guys. I would also like to apologize if I came across harsh. It’s trying times being a Federer fan right now because it seems like no matter what he does – it’s never right; someone has a problem with it; etc. It’s like a mob mentality – kick a man when he’s down. So I guess I’m a little testy too. Sorry if I came across that way for some of you who are just expressing your opinion.

It’s hard seeing everyone (or a lot of people) kick a person you love when he’s down and right now I guess the ‘in’ thing for a lot of people is to pick on Roger. I hope that people don’t take a lot of things personally because Roger has done so many good things for tennis whether you like him or not.

He’s the president of the ATP player’s council; he has won the Sportsmanship award voted on by the players themselves… so if the players respect and like Roger that much – surely he can’t be as bad as some fans (who probably have never met him) picture him to be. That’s all I’m saying.

So we’re cool here. There are a lot of great posters here and I appreciate reading what you guys have to say.

Thanks Zola and others for understanding.

April 9th, 2009 at 11:50 pm

Godsick: Hey, Roger. Having fun smashing (fill the blank here).
Fed: Yeah. Getting better and better. What’s up? No more exh’s! No JMac for coach!
Godsick: It’s Rolex. They’re doing Monte Carlo this year. If you don’t go…
Fed: Fine. I’m sick of wearing it anyway.
Godsick: They’d want Rafa to wear it since he’s the top dog; or Djork, for the emerging market; or Murray, for that British thing…
Fed: What?!!!
Mirka: Roger, Price Albert is on the phone. Don’t forget next week’s parents warmup class.
Fed: Ok. Tell Albert get his check book ready and I’m in.

April 10th, 2009 at 12:35 am

Pat Cash talking crap re Murray:

“Right at the moment he’s probably the number one or best player in the
world, but he’s missing one of the Grand Slams and that’s the one he wants”

http://www.setanta.com/uk/Articles/other-sports/2009/04/09/Tennis-Cas…

April 10th, 2009 at 12:44 am

FoT,

Please take no offense by my joke above. I was,am, and will be a Fed fan. A happy one :-)).

I understand your feeling. Whenever Fed loses, it’s like: he’s such an evil. the air he breathes is bad for the planet. Let’s throw him onto the nearest railway track and leave him to die there — to make the world better. Amusing indeed.

April 10th, 2009 at 12:52 am

FoT
no problem. It is mostly media hype otherwise the players are doing what they are supposed to do. they will win some and lose some.

See, Rafa was “better than everyone…” just last week. This week he is in the trunk and Pat Cash is writing him off just because he lost in the QFs.Wait till Fed wins a tournament and then he will be the GOAT. It is a roller coaster!

I confess that I get ticked off sometimes by Fed (mostly his comments), but I will try my best to hold it, because I really do not want to hurt you and other Fed fans, especially when he is having a rough time.

April 10th, 2009 at 12:56 am

Why didn’t Federer play one of the smaller clay tournaments? Get a title under his belt for one and he has more of a chance to work on his game, and gives him confidence going into the mandatory tournaments. He doesn’t need another meltdown, that’s for sure. He might also want to hold some gas for wimbledon, in the past this wouldn’t have been necessary, with him complaining about his back problems and other physical fitness issues, who knows what will happen there?

April 10th, 2009 at 3:30 am

The heading of the article makes an unwarranted assumption. How do we know Fed will “take on Rafa”? Somebody else might perfectly well beat him (Fed) first!

April 10th, 2009 at 3:48 am

Good decision by the fed express I think. He needs to rebuild after his meltdown against Djokovic last week.

I get the feeling that he needs to at least reach the final in Monte Carlo next week otherwise his confidence could crumble further.

I will be fascinated about how he plays tactically next week especially if he gets to the final and plays nadal.

I suspect federer will have one or two tight matches in his first few matches and I am not rulling out an early shock loss such is his lack of confidence.

Next week could be a very exciting week as we will see who will step up and meet Nadal in the final!

We all secretly want a fed/nadal final show down…

Cheers

April 10th, 2009 at 9:39 am

petrol rc cars
Fed goes to MonteCarlo and the whole clay season with absolutely no pressure. He said in his press conference, that “nobody expects him to win” ( many do of course!). So it might give him a psychological edge, make him more relaxed and let him play the way he wants.

It should be interesting.

April 10th, 2009 at 10:20 am

I am as big of a federer fan as anybody, but with his confidence level right now I believe there is a good chance he could loose fairly early in Monte Carlo which would only damage his ranking and his confidence, also he would go into Rome and Madrid low on confidence which would be detramental to his French Open and Wimbeldon hopes……On the other hand if he gets to the semifinal of Monte Carlo and beats Murray or Djokovic than plays Nadal in the final he will have defended his points and also will have beaten Murray or Djokovic in the semifinal which would be a confidence boost going into Rome and Madrid before he plays in Paris for the French Open……..Last but definately not least if Roger Federer can play well in Monte Carlo and possibly win it than it could be a career altering tournament and could catapolt him through the clay court season and maybe just maybe he can realize his dream of winning the French Open but it is going to be an unimaginably tough task…….If he can do this than there will be no doubt who the greatest player of all time is……..I hope he can do it but I do not think he can!

April 10th, 2009 at 11:25 am

club pro, you are also making an assumption that Rafa will be in the final. As a poster upthread noted, it’s not guaranteed either one will make it to the final in MC. That’s why they play the matches. Remember Rome 08? How many thought Rafa was going to be in the final?

And petrol rc cars, I’m actually not looking forwad to a Fedal final. I’m so weary of all the drama that seems to go along with them.

April 10th, 2009 at 11:58 am

marron

**club pro, you are also making an assumption that Rafa will be in the final. As a poster upthread noted, it’s not guaranteed either one will make it to the final in MC. That’s why they play the matches. Remember Rome 08? How many thought Rafa was going to be in the final?***

great point. Nothing is guaranteed in tennis and the anything can happen when we leaest expect it. There is lots of pressure on Rafa going to the clay season. Everyone has already given him the crown. I really truely hope that he can hold up and at least win RG. Hope he stays healthy.

April 10th, 2009 at 12:08 pm

Hi gang: Does anyone have a link to a site where I can watch the Houston matches today (besides the TVTennis pay-as-you-go site)? Many, many thanks in advance.

April 10th, 2009 at 1:04 pm

Federer is the ultimate loser. He will never win another grand slam in his life. Nadal will win 25 grand slams.

April 10th, 2009 at 1:35 pm

i don’t know if fed’s psyche can take another clay court season beating by nadal.

April 10th, 2009 at 1:47 pm

Nadal is the GOAT,
Come on now, don’t you have anything better to do? I don’t know what you are but certainly not a Nadal fan!

Andrea,
Fed is a strong person. He has done this battle for three years. The impact will be much less this year because he goes there with less expectations. This is actually more worriesome for Rafa. Everyone speculates that he will win all the clay tournaments. A loss is more dramatic for him. Everyone is expected to lose to him. If fed loses to another player, that will be bad. But if he loses against Rafa, it is the expected and if he wins Rafa it will be extraordinay. So his chances of a goog/bad situation are 66%-33%. It is a wise and good move!

April 10th, 2009 at 2:31 pm

tenisbebe:
Hi, I was wondering what happenend to you — thought you were still cleaning. I myself have been trying to find streaming for Houston, but unfortunately, have been unlucky. I know the Tennis Channel will be broadcasting the finals and I read something about ESPN360.com also showing the final. I’ll post any info I come across. Too bad so many of our guys lost in the early rounds. I had hoped Blake (?) or Mardy would have done much better, possibly even winning the title. Sadly, no can do.

April 10th, 2009 at 3:07 pm

“We all secretly want a fed/nadal final show down…”

Sorry to disappoint you, but not ALL of us want that final — it’s boring!! I’d settle for two other players in the final, and even though I like Murray, I also don’t want for him to keep winning all of the MS shields either.

When the news was announced regarding Fed’s decision to play in MC a few immediately decided it would be a Fed/Nadal final. I’d say based on the performance by both players at Miami, there’s a strong possibility that they could both be knocked out before the SF. That scenario would certainly create chaos for the bookies.

April 10th, 2009 at 3:15 pm

Let’s all not forget that Pete Sampras went over two years once without winning a tournament before winning the US Open.

Writing off Federer and saying he is finished is a bit premature methinks.

He may not be #1 again, but I think the boy still has some wins left in him.

April 10th, 2009 at 3:22 pm

Interesting article:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/10042009/58/reed-federer-capitalise-clay.html

April 10th, 2009 at 3:22 pm

Gasquet is out of MC:

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/10042009/3/gasquet-monte-carlo-open-tennis.html

April 10th, 2009 at 3:24 pm

Gordo
**Let’s all not forget that Pete Sampras went over two years once without winning a tournament before winning the US Open.***

and what about Agassi?

whatever Fed goes through, he is still the same talent. If it is mono, fatherhood, his back, mental fatigue, whatever, it might take some time but he will be back. I personally will never write him off.

April 10th, 2009 at 3:24 pm

Von -

I agree. I think what we all – secretly or openly want is the two best players in the tourney getting to the final and having a great match. I agree Fed and even Nadal might not make it.

But you never know – clay brings out strange things in players.

April 10th, 2009 at 3:24 pm

Gordo: “Let’s all not forget that Pete Sampras went over two years once without winning a tournament before winning the US Open.”

Welcome back!! Yes, but Pete and Fed are two different personalities, and have very different mind-set. Pete had already beaten Emerson’s record, so there wasn’t any pressure on him to prove his credentials. Fed has the self-imposed pressure to equal AND beat Pete’s record, which is the root cause of the problem he faces.

I remember hearing Pete in an interview on his 14 GS wins, and he said he wanted that last GS to shut up the critics. He also said he thought it was a good number and didn’t expect anyone to match it, and/or break his record. He should have looked into his crystal ball and he would have seen Fed’s face in it as the one saying you’re wrong, you should have pushed for the 15th GS.

April 10th, 2009 at 3:32 pm

I am starting to give up on Gasquet, how could you root for your favorite player if he’s not physically fit, is a choke artist, constantly disappoints with his lack of fight. If he doesn’t make some noise in wimbledon this year he will never accomplish anything. Ugh. If only he had a mentality similar to what the top players on tour possess…

April 10th, 2009 at 10:00 pm

Also- Pete had his serve, a stroke that really doesn’t deteriorate that fast. Federer’s serve was never as good as some think, and that’ starting to go, and he has lost his court coverage abilities and is misfiring on his forehands, not to mention his backhand. In my opinion, if he doesn’t win one soon he will not be able to come back and win one two years down the line. He needs to win u.s.open or wimbledon this year to have any realistic shot of breaking Pete’s record.

April 10th, 2009 at 10:06 pm

Zola, Reed is an idiot. Don’t believe all the Brit hype. He also says Murray will be number one by the end of the year. Poor Murray. Being the best in the world yet ranking only fourth while the number one holds three of the four slams – while he holds none -and being beaten badly last time they played on his favorite surface.

April 10th, 2009 at 11:31 pm

Anyone knows about the draw, it’s taking too long?!

blah, Fed’s serve was great! Last year after the clay fiasco against Nadal in MC and Hamburgo he himself said: if it was grass or hard he would never lost the lead cause of the confidence he had on his serve. Now it’s an okay shot, which to me indicates that his back problem are real. The first thing that goes away with back injury is serve.

zola made a good point on people discarting Fed. Right now he is on yellow lights, 1 GS final and 3 semis this year, better then 2008, and he made the finals in the last 4 Grand Slam. Red lights will come when he loses in a Slam before semi-final (something that will eventually happen, same as Nadal losing in RG, he won’t win it 8 years in a row).

To me Fed always play great on Clay cause he doesn’t rush to end points quick as on hard or grass where he feels he needs to play agressive. He becomes more patiant and that is a perfect place to regroup and get more consistancy to close out matches. He really does need to start winning these third, fifth sets. Just remember that last game against Roddick in Miami this year, if he could find that form agaisnt Murray, Djoko or Nadal in pressure moments he will get his win!

April 10th, 2009 at 11:43 pm

Winning service games and the stroke itself are different things; (although they have a lot to with each other in most cases) for example, look at Nadal, who is one of the hardest to break despite not having a great serve.

I would say Federer’s serve is somewhere between 2nd-3rd level on tour as of right now and his serve, even in his peak, was not close to Pete’s. My point is that he doesn’t have a go to shot anymore; if his forehand was still consistent then I’d say he has a good chance of getting 15 or even 16 but with these many defensive guys giving him trouble and without a shot he can rely on it’s hard to see that.

I agree with you though on the point of reaching grand slam final though. Until I see him going out early in slams, he will still be one of the favorites to make the next three grand slam finals, especially considering the draws the top two players usually get and Federer’s experience with five setters.

April 11th, 2009 at 7:04 am

Vared, you know perfectly well (but choose to ignore the fact)that Murray’s loss to Nadal at Indian Wells was not a simple indicator of their relative skills. Nadal did better at remaining calm, certainly, but the main thing was, his game is by its nature better suited to windy conditions than Murray’s. I said as much on this board shortly before the match started.
Since you’re so quick to defend Rafa, what’s your explanation for his loss to Del Potro? And who was it beat Del Potro in the next round?

April 11th, 2009 at 8:42 am

nadal will still defeat fedrer because nadal is world no.1

April 11th, 2009 at 9:16 am

Daniel,
the draw is out ( finally!)… and it is a tough one at least for Rafa.
here is the link:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/common/TrackIt.asp?file=http://www.atpworldtour.com/1/posting/2009/410/mds.pdf

Colin,
tennis is played outdoors half of the season. There can be wind, sun, drizzles, you name it. Murray obviously is an excellent player when everything is perfect, but he could not function in the wind. Staying calm, playing inside the court, with net clearance and moving a lot ( as Rafa said !) , are just some skills that he needs to work on. and I am sure he will. He is a hardworker.

Rafa-Del Potro, Rafa did not play well in IW and played really bad in Miami. even Gil could have beaten him. Credits to del Potro for hanging in there and not giving up, but I don’t think Rafa was concentrated enough or had enough in the tank playing him.

There is a great chance we see Rafa play them both in Monte Carlo. I hope they are all well-rested , especially Rafa!

April 11th, 2009 at 9:18 am

Only Chela or Del Potro will be able to challange Nabal on a Clay. Murray with Federer (as a usual) has a easiest draw. Djokovic has the haviest list of clay court experts, with Ferer, Lopez and Verdasko in it…
here is the extrapolated list:
Nadal: Chela /DelPotro
Murray: Nadal
Djokovic: Verdasko/Lopez/Ferer/Almagro/Montanes
Federer: Monako/Robredo

April 11th, 2009 at 10:03 am

sorray in Murray’s branch it is Nalbandian my mistake… (small mistake :) )

April 11th, 2009 at 10:05 am

gordon
Rafa has also Hewitt in his quaretr.

I don’t think Montanes or Lopezcan challenge Djoko.

April 11th, 2009 at 10:40 am

Zola – fair enough, but I still say Nadal is particularly suited to windy conditions. “Playing inside the court, with net clearance” you say. What do you need to do that? Lots of topspin. Who’s the king of topspin? As for Murray playing his best in “perfect conditions”, would you say the conditions were perfect for the Miami final? Djokovic wouldn’t!

April 11th, 2009 at 11:52 am

Colin,
exactly my point. Wasn’r Miami windy? How come Murray could play there but not against Rafa? I would say it is experience of playing the IW plus Rafa played better than him.
by perfect conditions, I mean indoors, no sun, no wind. he doesn’t need to adjust. But to play outdoors, he still needs to work on his game.

April 11th, 2009 at 12:42 pm

OK, I don’t want to bang on about this all year, but what I was thinking of in the Miami final was the heat. It wasn’t particularly windy, certainly not like Indian Wells, where the players’ clothes were being whipped about to a ridiculous extent. Anyway, let’s hope it’s not too windy in Monte Carlo, though it is by the sea. I have an odd feeling Murray is going to surprise us on clay.

April 11th, 2009 at 3:14 pm

Colin,
sorry! I hope it is windy and hot in Monte Carlo. Rafa has his hands full with a mini RG in MonteCarlo. DelPortro, Murray, Djoko/Fed! OMG!

but everything aside, look at the lineup in MonteCarlo and this is a tournament ATP wanted to wipe out! Players love MonteCarlo. I am so glad it is still a master series.

And I cannot understand what the heck the Madrid organizers were thinking, having a clay tournament in high altitude just before RG! great service to the players! no? Let’s make sure their system gets messed up just right before RG!

April 11th, 2009 at 3:19 pm

Roger just got married to Mirka ! Congratulations to both of them. i just feel he will have a lot of things in his mind hence the continual struggle.

I hope someone like Murray can challenge nadal on clay to make the clay season interesting. nadal had no great challenge on clay in last 4 years.

If Murray and maybe del potro can deliver, I would love to see how nadal can meet the challenge.

April 11th, 2009 at 4:30 pm

The draw is very fairly balanced for the top 4 layers. Nos. 5 through 8 seeds have got the toughest roads through to Round 16. Nadal has quite a few senior citizens in his part of the draw: Stepanek, Hewitt, Safin and Chela. DelPotro has a tough part of the draw and then he meets Nadal.

If indeed, as it has been stated, that Nadal lost to DelPotro at Miami because he played “badly” then this will indeed be his opportunity for redemption v. DelPotro. However, it wouldn’t be a fair match-up considering Nadal’s clay credentials.
______________
Colin: I mentioned this before, but I wonder if Muray was in pain at his IW finals v. Nadal. He injured his groin area playing in the SF v. Federer and I’m can’t help but think he was in serious pain but preferred to not disclose same.

April 11th, 2009 at 5:36 pm

Murray hires Corretja:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/andymurray/5137760/Andy-Murray-gets-expert-advice-for-Monte-Carlo-clay.html

April 11th, 2009 at 5:39 pm

“I hope someone like Murray can challenge nadal on clay to make the clay season interesting. nadal had no great challenge on clay in last 4 years.” Kimmi

Don’t you think Federer was a good challenger?

I think DelPotro has some tough opponents to fight off before reaching Nadal.

April 11th, 2009 at 5:47 pm

Hi Von: federer was a challenger but we all know he never really got it all the way. he reach the finals.. yes, but it always ended up nadal to be the winner.

as much as i admire federer, i don’t think he has a chance on clay against nadal, ball bounce too high for his backhand and he became an easier prey.

Good article about Murray and corretja, hope it works for him…he seem to want to do better, I admire his willingness to learn.

Del potro impresses me when he manage to beat nadal in miami. Even if nadal did not play his best, people have to go out there and actually beat him…it is not an easier task but he just did that. Lets see how he does on clay, but he seem to me as a hard court player.

April 11th, 2009 at 5:58 pm

“as much as i admire federer, i don’t think he has a chance on clay against nadal, ball bounce too high for his backhand and he became an easier prey.”

Well Nadal’s MO against Federer is to target his BH and pepper it until he draws the errors. I watched the ’06 MC final last night and Fed managed to win a set and kept the match close, also, when he employed serve and volley, he was very effective. For some stubborn reason, Fed refuses to use S & V, which is the only way he’ll be effective against Nadal.

“Del Potro impresses me when he manage to beat nadal in Miami. Even if nadal did not play his best, people have to go out there and actually beat him…it is not an easier task but he just did that. Lets see how he does on clay, but he seem to me as a hard court player.”

I agree with you. If Nadal didn’t play well that’s his problem and there shouldn’t be an excuse, it not like he was injured. DelPotro did take it to Nadal and he won. There shouldn’t be any ifs and buts regarding DelPotro’s win. The same analogy is being used for Murray’s loss, that Murray was beaten fair and square, hence nadal was beaten fair and square.

As I mentioned in my previous post, DelPotro’s match-up with Nadal is not a fair match-up, considering Nadal’s clay attributes. Not to mention DelPotro has a tough road before he meets Nadal. Anyway, let’s see how it all pans out.

April 11th, 2009 at 6:10 pm

Von: “Delpotro match-up with nadal is not a fair match-up”

Anybody playing with Nadal on clay wont be a fair match up, the guys need to go out there and play each point like match point. Of the current players no one has the clay attributes even close to Nadal. Nadal is playing to make history right now.

On your post 5:36pm, you wondered if Murray was injured in IW ? Well, maybe Nadal was injured in
Miami and preferred not to disclose it as well. No one will know, but I agree with you they were both beaten fair and square. Poor Delpotro, when he meet the fit nadal, how many game will he manage to win ?

Should we hope the “unpredictable” monfils to do well in MC ? His game suited clay courts very well, and he can slide on the dirt like no one. lets see how he fairs up.

I looked up sam querry and could not see his name , why ? he reached R16 last year, I thought he did very well…oh well, americans never like MC.

Hope monte carlo will bring some exciting “not one sided” matches.

April 11th, 2009 at 6:51 pm

Kimmi:

Yes, let’s see what Mr. ‘Jig’ Monfils can do on clay. Maybe he’ll do a jig or two when running for his points. Ha, ha. The guy’s a character.

Sam’s not playing at MC due to an injury to his hamstring. He had to pull out of Houston (clay) too. That’s just bad luck, considering he did so well last year and has QF points to defend at MC.

I wonder if Sam will play in Madrid? If Nadal plays there I hope Sam is in his section of the draw because Sam did win a set v. Nadal in DC when the US played Spain in Madrid, so I’d like to see how Sam will do. I think Nadal is scared of playing in Madrid. He made a big brouhaha when the Spanish DC Federation chose Madrid as the venue for DC and that guy Munoz got fired because of the problems the Spanish DC team caused with their boycott etc.. It’s strange that they wanted another clay MS tourney in Spain and now that it’s there, they have a problem with the venue.

April 11th, 2009 at 7:10 pm

Hi von, Sam has improved a lot since last time they play in DC, yes, I think he can pose a challenge with his FH. But Nadal is very tough, any lose of concentration of his opponent, he will capitalise big time.

Why nadal does not like madrid ? is this because of high altitute ? mmm, very tricky. I heard the ball flies in madrid and probably not good prep for RG for him, but players who like fast courts will love to play. Lets see how it goes, I would not be surprise if he wont play, most of the time he is very knackered comes humburg if he wins MC, bacerlona and Rome. But if he won’t win in all three then he will be forced to play to guard his # 1 ranking.

I remember him complaining about scheduling last year when he lost to ferrero, was a big deal for him.

If monfils can play aggressive everytime, he will be a force to everybody but the guy drive me nuts when he start retreating far behind the baseline. I watch him play with almagro in… was it argentina? he was so far back in the baseline and was very defensive all along. sheesh.

April 11th, 2009 at 8:26 pm

i guess mirka wasn’t a beard after all.

April 11th, 2009 at 9:21 pm

Even if Federer reaches semis/finals here it may be an illusion; they need to stop giving him these draws that lets him cruise deep into the tournament only to have his game exposed later.

April 12th, 2009 at 1:16 am

Sasha,
No need to apologize. Roger does try to outstage his opponents when he loses. He’s as disgraceful in defeat as he’s in victory. All those tears at the AO were a way of getting the attention on himself.He did the same shit at Wimbledon. Nadal even apologized both times for winning!
The guy’s a magnificent player but he’s a damn whiner and an arrogant sod. When he loses he comes up with more excuses than a cheating husband trying to explain to his wife why he cheated, He got offended when punters put him at par with Murray for the AO. He said that Murray wasn’t in the same category…
Ah, and Nada, I think that you should try to give credit where credit is due. Nadal is doing better now. I read this article because I was reading about Nadal. I know it’s hard for you to take, but Roger’s not doing well at the moment. However, the guy’s one of the greatest ever and regardless of what happens next, nobody can take his achievements away from him. His game seems so effortless- it’s pure elegance and sophistication, and yet it’s so effective. I’ve nothing but admiration for Federer as a player, as a sportsman, however, I don’t. I wish he were more humble.

April 19th, 2009 at 8:39 pm