Nadal, Federer, Djokovic Easily Advance in Shanghai; Roddick Injured

Murray and Nole have their hands full with two “hot” Frenchies – good luck to ’em; unfortunately cannot stay awake to watch. Nole will have to serve much better to beat Reeeshard. : ) A lot depends on Gasquet, perhaps, who keeps us guessing: for e.g., will that backhand be “popping” again, to use blah’s lingo? Wish I could watch. Chardy too, but for other reasons.

October 14th, 2010 at 1:06 am

I’ve been observing Murray…he always goes for the safer shots (crosscourt), can someone tell me why?

October 14th, 2010 at 3:17 am

Jane,

Nole has just destroyed Richard. Gasquet was tired after two matches in one day, but the difference in power was obvious.

It seems there is a lot of humidity in Shangai.

October 14th, 2010 at 5:18 am

Hopefully Roddick will recover and qualify for the WTF. I miss the old Rod these days just so much! I was so happy when he beat Rafa at Miami thinking that he may finally win the WIM with his form, but sadly he lost there and has been goin thro a purple patch. Hopefully Roddick will triumph over adversities again and prove to the world that he’s not goin away anytime soon.

GET WELL DEAR ROD!

October 14th, 2010 at 6:36 am

oh well, no shame in losing to one of the “hottest player on tour right now. congrats to jane and your fav. Just wish he could’ve beaten monfils in uso… that straight set loss puzzled me, he always plays well against other frenchmen, but then again, it’s gasquet. baby steps to becoming relevant again…

October 14th, 2010 at 6:44 am

Roddick’s been encountering more health problems… age? He seems to not be as strong late in the season anymore. get well soon…

October 14th, 2010 at 6:47 am

And Ferrer breaks back! 5-5. Tenacious little f***er, isn’t he?

October 14th, 2010 at 6:58 am

Didn’t do him any good, though.

Incidentally, in one point when serving out the set, Soderling did an excellent approach shot. He then dutifully came in, but I thought with just a sliver of reluctance (my imagination?), and his volley was good but not conclusive. Ferrer got a racket on it and was not that far out with his return. Perhaps this little incident (non-incident?) accounts for the reluctance of even really high quality players like Soderling to come to the net.

October 14th, 2010 at 7:09 am

That’s twice running the Sod’s broken straight back. True, Ferrer’s serve is a bit of a liability though he does what he can with it – but Ferrer’s terrier like qualities seem to come into play primarily when he’s behind. It’s as if he doesn’t feel quite comfortable when in front, at least with a top player.

October 14th, 2010 at 7:21 am

Did anyone see the Djoko v Gas match.. Djoko is in some mean form.. it was almost like he could do no wrong. Poor Gasqet, he just came up against a red hot opponent!
@ Grendel, Djoko’s 1st serve % was well above 80 in the 1st set, so he’s really stepping it up! I hope both him and Fed make the semi’s.. I think it’ll be a cracker;)

October 14th, 2010 at 7:34 am

Oh am somewhat shocked at that result mat4. I expected a tighter match, but Gasquet must’ve been gassed. Looks like Nole really went for it in the return department – won over 80% second serve points. Sorry blah. I do hope Gasquet keeps on returning to form as he’s such a lovely player to watch on song.

Congrats to Murray too for taking out Mr. Handsome. Anyone see any of Tsonga’s matches? Notice he’s making a little more of a comeback here.

Speaking of being gassed I wonder why Nole is playing doubles? I guess it can be good – to get that practice in. But there must be some drawbacks.

It’s 4:45 here so can’t stay up (zzz) – but Melzer, whoa What’s going on in that match?!

October 14th, 2010 at 7:45 am

Wheee jane, our boys beat those French “hotties.” Am especially pleased 4 Andy on 2 points, 1) now qualifies 4 World’s end and 2) apparently was playing “very aggressively” music 2 my ears.
kimmi: I just love “typos,” with your “Andy…has a chance to Nadal.” Lol girl u just invented a new verb:
to Nadal means to never, ever believe u r beaten
to Fed: means to float in the air
to Murray: um, no, not even going anywhere with that one…
Another classic typo from zola, last week, I think, but a more recent when Blessed, while reprimanding skeeze on his spelling, wrote “unny” instead of “funny.” Blessed, I hope u managed a wry smile with that one, but when I read it I let out a conty snort. But conty my snorts are really in the back of my throat, so not sure if they qualify?
Meanwhile, am very glad Meltzer reads tennisx and has taken my advice on how to play Rafa…;)

October 14th, 2010 at 7:47 am

Oh with that win Murray qualifies for 02 – way to go Andy M! But Berdych got knocked out, and so did Ferrer; this will help Roddick’s cause to qualify as those two are right ahead of him.

October 14th, 2010 at 7:47 am

Firsta marcha I ser Nadal unsure in his forehand since clay start.

October 14th, 2010 at 7:47 am

melzer 5-1 up against Nadal. According to Leify, Nadal’s had 75% first serves in – Melzer’s won 50%.
Melzer has ALWAYS been a very dangerous player. But also flaky. Which Melzer will predominate today?

October 14th, 2010 at 7:48 am

nadal is getting blasted off shanghai now… melzer is just playing awesome!!! mind blowing tennis from melzer

October 14th, 2010 at 7:48 am

thts wat u get playing three hc tournies in a row

October 14th, 2010 at 7:50 am

margot – woot. : )

Whyfore howthere Melzer destroys Nadal set one?

October 14th, 2010 at 7:50 am

wow! What’s the deal with Rafa?

October 14th, 2010 at 7:51 am

making lot of errors, serve not placed well either, something wrong with his timing

October 14th, 2010 at 7:52 am

Nadal wins first game of 2nd set easy, and marches back to his chair with a look on his face which suggest he is preparing to invade Mars. I think we’ve had our fun folks, and normal service is about to resume. Spoilsport!

October 14th, 2010 at 7:55 am

oh well can’t win em all, on to the next. But I am surprised Meltzer has the tools to deliver against him. I would have picked wawa as a bigger threat than Meltzer.

At least he beat murray at playstation.

October 14th, 2010 at 7:56 am

melzer hitting some big shots. if he can keep them in, should win. but i think he’s going for quite a lot, going for the kill

October 14th, 2010 at 7:58 am

jane: by taking the ball very, very early. He is a classy doubles player and can do it. Wawa just tried to out hit Rafa, big mistake, also for me, his game lacks variety.

October 14th, 2010 at 8:07 am

Melzer – 13 aces; Nadal – 0 aces. Why do I still feel Nadal will pull through this one?

October 14th, 2010 at 8:08 am

@Jane:

What impressed me, is the difference in raw power. Gasquet tried from the baseline, and was trashed. Then he started to play deeper, closer to the lines, took more risks, and it continued to be a beat down. Novak’s FH was terrifying.

But it was also obvious that Richard was a bit slower, and tired.

October 14th, 2010 at 8:08 am

After huge point won by Melzer, he manouevres Nadal nicely and has his chance, goes down the line and misses by centimetres – didn’t need to hit so hard, Nadal was in Alaska. If it had been in, break point. As it is….

October 14th, 2010 at 8:13 am

nadal just got a banana so melzer should look out

October 14th, 2010 at 8:14 am

yep. a banana, then the break. tony put some coaching notes in that banana skin. no other explanation.

October 14th, 2010 at 8:18 am

Nadal breaks, melzer being what he is, match probably over (Melzer’s no Llubicic). Instructive play at the net this game. First point, Nadal wins at the net – he knew exactly what he was doing, it was calm and clinical. At 30 all, Melzer tried serve and volley despite sending in an only ok serve. Nadal ferociously “passed”. Melzer got a racket on it, but it was too hard.

So despite Melzer being a grand slam doubles champion, Nadal won him where it counted – at the net. I continue to fail to understand why other players cannot follow Nadal’s example and become at nearly as adroit as him at the net. It didn’t come naturally to him – he made the effort. Why don’t others?

October 14th, 2010 at 8:23 am

grendel: match is over, yes. But this is how to play Rafa, why don’t others learn this? And Meltzer, is he 31ish? Rfa big advantage b4 they even start.
BTW isn’t Meltzer’s gf beautiful, whereas Jurgen is not a looker, bit like Davy and his.

October 14th, 2010 at 8:27 am

As I was flicking with red button (some ggezer I didn’t recognize was lying on the ground grimacing, I deduced must be G.Lopez, can’t get a handle on his face for some reason), anyway, flicked to catch Nadal with his mouth wide open. Why is Nadal yawning, I thought to myself, surely he’s not bored? He may be tired of course, but – and then it dawned upon me. That aha moment. Know what I mean? Nadal wasn’t yawning, he was snarling. This is a man of war. Poor Melzer. He doth face retribution.

October 14th, 2010 at 8:34 am

Nadal is really fighting, because he’s not playing well by his standards. Melzer within an ace of winning that service game – that is, just missing, so he hasn’t, consciously, given up. But his level of play has dropped, and he is not taking advantage of Nadal’s relatively poor form. A Murray or Djokovic would be killing Nadal right now.

October 14th, 2010 at 8:41 am

This is still anybody’s match. Nadal was lucky in the second set.

October 14th, 2010 at 8:41 am

if melzer serves well and rips some winners on the return i think he can still do it.
but nadal gave 11 errors in set 1 cleaned it up to 3 in set two. so if nadal maintains set 2 level, gonna be tough

October 14th, 2010 at 8:43 am

2 broken balls in this match…china

October 14th, 2010 at 8:47 am

guy, Melzer just hit a pretty good approach shot, and Nadal not only got a difficult ball back, it was a screaming winner – the dangers of going to the net against Nadal. You’ve got to know exactly what you’re doing. But my point is this, or rather this is Leify’s point: he remarked that Nadal’s remarkable bh pass was in effect a right hand forehand – there was (he said) virtually no left hand on the ball. Nobody else in the owlrd could do that, and it is purely owing to Uncle Toni’s visionary/perverse decision to make Nadal a lefty. Do you take Leify’s point?

October 14th, 2010 at 8:49 am

now, both melzer and Nadal have served faults which have been missed. Umpire intervened on one call, got it badly wrong – and has been mum ever since.
Well, 5-2. margot, is the unthinkable going to happen? We’re both going to be wrong? hmmm. Early days…..

October 14th, 2010 at 8:59 am

@grendel
well i think nadal’s backhand is possibly better than it would have been if he’d played righthanded in some aspects – the stretch pass. yes i’ve thought about this.
but then i look at nalbandian,dav,djoker etc and they all have better backhands overall than nadal and play the backhand left side. which doesn’t support the argument that his rightH dominant backhand gives an advantage.
i would say though, even if nadal’s backhand is better because he plays it right handed,
it’s not enough to make up for the loss he endured on serve,forehand, and probably slice too. because serve and forehand are more important than backhand. why fed won all the slams not nalbandian etc.
in the end i still think toni is an idiot

October 14th, 2010 at 9:00 am

melzer was robbed there i’m afraid

October 14th, 2010 at 9:02 am

oh dear

October 14th, 2010 at 9:03 am

I’m so confused. How did Melzer produce 14 aces? And what is he beating Nadal with? He has a fraction of the power you’d expect needed to beat Nadal.

October 14th, 2010 at 9:03 am

what nxt tournament Nadal is entered in.. Any before Paris?

October 14th, 2010 at 9:03 am

Ugggh!!!!! :-(

I thought after the second set nadal would pull this out. Has his game gone awol? I don’t get it. Meltzer shouldn’t really trouble him?

October 14th, 2010 at 9:03 am

melzer is hitting the ball had with angled..3 match point served

October 14th, 2010 at 9:05 am

oh typos: melzer is hitting the ball hard with angles.

can melzer serve it out…must be shaking here!

October 14th, 2010 at 9:07 am

well yeah i was surprised by melzer’s serve and truth is he’s been smacking 100mph forehands tonight, so he’s got some juice. going for a lot and it’s working for him tonight

October 14th, 2010 at 9:07 am

WOW!

October 14th, 2010 at 9:08 am

3 match points of his own

October 14th, 2010 at 9:08 am

he is done it..unbelivable melzer.

if he carries on to play like this he could break the top 10, even the top 5.. where were you melzer ?

perfect match!

October 14th, 2010 at 9:10 am

nadal though, 1 ace?
17winner 27unforced?
seriously no more matches til paris you’re a maniac

October 14th, 2010 at 9:11 am

does he play another tours before Paris?

October 14th, 2010 at 9:12 am

well, well, well, grendel u and me wrong, surely not ;) That’s the way to do it, folks!

October 14th, 2010 at 9:12 am

well, not the way I wanted to start my day, that’s for sure. Didn’t see any of the match but I still don’t understand.

October 14th, 2010 at 9:12 am

I thought key shot in last game was at 0-15. Melzer again went to the net – despite being roasted repeatedly – but this time executed a lovely drop volley. That took courage, especially from a player not known to be decisive in crucial moments.
Of course Nadal was not himself, wait till he’s had a good break, but this is big for Melzer. Alright, he’s 31. Even so, perhaps he can build on this.

Ben, Melzer has a lethal leftie serve when he gets it right – like McEnroe. For once, power is not all.

October 14th, 2010 at 9:14 am

Rafa played three hardcourts tournaments in three weeks. He had it coming.

October 14th, 2010 at 9:16 am

well played jurgen melzer(did i spell correctly??)
you were fabulous today…. hitting very hard and very flat to all corners of t he court
to Rafa…. u’ve had a fantastic year so now go take some well deserved rest…. come back fresh to win more tourneys….wishing you well
Vamos

October 14th, 2010 at 9:21 am

Awesome win for Melzer. This was a tough draw for Nadal all the way through, a lot of guys who could knock him off if he had a bad day. He didn’t have a bad day exactly, but an un-Nadal day, and Melzer was incredible. Nadal looked tired.

October 14th, 2010 at 9:23 am

great win for melzer and well-earned! good luck to him for the tournament.

nadal didn’t seem disappointed, nor should he be. three consecutive weeks of hardcourts; time for a break! vamos rafa!

October 14th, 2010 at 9:27 am

@kimberly
okay i’ll try and summarize

1stset
melzer came out guns blazing, going for big cuts. they were landing in and he made a lot of aces. nadal struggling on 1st serve and spraying ball more than usual. melzer takes it with two breaks.

2nd set
nadal cleans up game makes only few errors. melzer’s high risk tennis starting to leak errors. nadal’s serve a little better but not great, still wins

3rd set
melzer stays brave the balls go in more than out. ends up with 14aces. nadal making some basic errors again, serve is pretty garbage but makes first ace on match point.
melzer hangs tough after getting a bad call on matchpoint and serves it out.

in summary melzer served better than usual, nadal served badly. melzer played aggressive and made good winner/error ratio even though not spectacular. nadal made more errors than usual.

that’s pretty much it

October 14th, 2010 at 9:29 am

margot, Sky Sports have just done an interview with a young English lad called Ashley Hewitt (never heard of him – you?) who was in Dubai recently. He was called up by Federer to practice with him (“even though I was there too” said a miffed Barry Cowan) for a few days. Interestingly, he said what was noticeably different was not the power and pace (come to think of it, I’ve seen balls hit in tennis clubs Gonzalez would be hard put to smack harder), but Federer’s anticipation, the way he read the game. He shook his head in bemused wonder. Also, he didn’t let up at all in practice, but was thoroughly professional at all times, and it was impossible to tell when/if he was ever tired. He added Federer + family were very nice to him off the court. He got his chance owing to Paul Annacone’s good services. Interestingly, this Hewitt boy also practised with Nadal at Wimbledon. He refused to be drawn on the sort of question we might all want to ask – but he did say the main difference was the energy level Nadal brought to the court.

October 14th, 2010 at 9:34 am

@guy

Thanks for the summary missed the match

October 14th, 2010 at 9:41 am

Only saw the first set where Melzer appeared to be playing above his normal level…the main thing I noticed was it seemed like Rafa was serving at his pre-USO pace…1 ace vs 14 for Melzer is simply not going to make for a comfortable victory on hard courts. Melzer is one of the cooler customers on the tour and I’m guessing he didn’t flinch when it came to crunch time.

October 14th, 2010 at 9:41 am

@ guy—thanks for the summary.

Well I hope Rafa gets some rest and comes back strong in Paris. Can;t wait to see him compete again and hopefully win something else before the year is over.

Still, this has ruined my day and I will be grumpy grumpy grumpy.

October 14th, 2010 at 9:43 am

Nadal played as well he could and he didn’t serve poorly per say but melzer read his serve pretty well but it isn’t that hard nadal money serve is the one to the backhand but today he couldn’t do that as melzer is left handed which meant most of those slice serves went to his striking zone.

Also melzer is quite fit and fast guy so he was able to bring a lot of balls back and made rafa play the type balls he does to people,high loopy and very deep but also the really hard and flat ground strokes which force nadal to hit up and then he had easy put away.

Yes maybe rafa felt the tournaments he had been playing yes but he was well beaten and still almost made a come back.

Nadal relies too much on his opponents making tons of mistakes and today unfortunately for him melzer didn’t oblige.

October 14th, 2010 at 9:46 am

no problem
interesting match, i was impressed with melzer’s mental coz i’d say he’s been pretty weak until this year.
if he could make year end in singles doubles that’s a pretty damn good achievement, should make semi’s here

October 14th, 2010 at 9:47 am

Kimberly, anything that Nadal comes up with during the Indoor season is pretty much icing on the cake – his clay court season was longer and stronger than ever this year so it’s not unreasonable that he might be a bit spent. The ATP is considering shortening the tour which I personally hope they don’t do. I will be most disappointed if Nadal gets throttled again at YEC…he needs to right that ship. (why YEC doesn’t rotate surfaces to make things interesting I know not)

October 14th, 2010 at 9:48 am

Seppi had a breakback point, but then Fed pulled out a couple of decent serves to hold. In general, though, does anyone else think that, whilst fed is playing well (as is Seppi) his serve is alarmingly innocuious for much of the time. he might get away with it against Seppi – but not Sod or Djoko. Here’s hoping he’s feeling his way.

October 14th, 2010 at 9:59 am

to be honest i want Nadal to do will and i think he will at YEC but I don’t think the field is as strong as last year. He should do better. Last year Soderling, Del Potro, Davydenko, Djokovic were all on absolute fire and Nadal’s confidence was sh-t. The only one still showing that form is Djoko. Berdych, Murray, Ferrer, possible Verdasco or injured Roddick, not as menacing.

grrrrrrrr. i need to shake off the bad mood. I’m such a sore loser.

October 14th, 2010 at 9:59 am

Because the YEC is like the indoor hard court slam. The other slams don’t change up their surfaces. You have lead in events on the same surface (hard before AO and USO, clay before FO, and grass before W) and so you have indoor hard events leading to the YEC. Now I know the YEC is different from the slams and it would make sense to change up the surfaces, but that’s probably the way they look at it.

Plus, we all know if the tournament is on clay then Nadal is guaranteed the win and that’s would make the tournament a lot less interesting. At least on hard courts it’s fair game.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:01 am

@kimberly
at least you’re not a nadal and davydenko fan like me…haha

October 14th, 2010 at 10:02 am

unless you are

October 14th, 2010 at 10:03 am

Yeah a nadal fan who want things to be made easier for rafa so he can win,really pathetic,nadal wins mostly because he is left handed and people find it real hard to get his balls back but in indoors he can’t really do that to people so he needs find other ways to win matches instead of just peppering people backhand all the time,that is what true champion do.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:06 am

probably the main reason the courts are so hard dominant is money. clay is more expensive to maintain i believe.
but in an ideal world the tour shouldn’t be so lopsided, and i’m not talking about nadal, a lot of players get a raw deal, basically everyone under 6ft.
clay doesn’t hinder anyone except players who don’t have complete games.
you can’t say the same about hard court.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:07 am

well, just as I say that, naturally Federer serves pretty well to get out of trouble in first game 2nd set. Seppi has really impressive “long” forehand – not sure what else to call it. Fed will hit to the corner, eliciting, you’d have thought, only a weak defensive shot, and blow me if Seppi doesn’t smoothly strike it to the other corner – leaving fed floundering. he has a good game, Seppi. Not made the most of it.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:13 am

i’ve seen seppi perform pretty well sometimes against federer. yeah just some little things missing i suppose

October 14th, 2010 at 10:16 am

The reason I suggest that the surface should be rotated is that it’s about the 8 Masters of the sport. If it is true that a big part of greatness is “mastery” of the various surfaces (Laver) than naturally the tournament that celebrates the Masters should be fair and not biased towards any surface…the surface could be rotated in proportion to the number of tournaments during the year on the various surfaces (I think this breaks down to something like 55/35/10 for hard/clay/grass respectively). By the same rationale there could be one Master Grass court event – the ATP was considering converting Halle for this but apparently the idea fizzled out.

Your comment about Nadal is severely biased for someone I would of expected to assume the role of a neutral moderator on this blog…pretty bizarre.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:17 am

I met Seppi when I was in New Haven (in the computer lab of the hotel, no less). He’s a nice guy. The language barrier made it a little hard to have a thorough conversation but he’s pretty cool. He’s also really big, like, tall and broad.

What does that mean, clay doesn’t hinder anyone?

October 14th, 2010 at 10:19 am

Federer seems to be struggling with his back again,damn i hate getting old.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:20 am

2 absolutely outstanding points from both men – federer wonderfully inventive in each rally – and Seppi wins both of them! He really is some player.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:20 am

So what do you want it to be changed into,grass only murray,federer,roddick,nadal and maybe djoker could win on it.

On clay i don’t see anyone beating rafa even roger at his best couldn’t so what would be the point.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:23 am

guy @ your 10:07 am post

Yes Clay is more expensive to maintain than Hard, by a mile.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:24 am

“Your comment about Nadal is severely biased for someone I would of expected to assume the role of a neutral moderator on this blog…pretty bizarre.”

Me? Of all the things I’ve ever said, that’s the comment you declare bizarre and extremely biased?

It’s still true. As of right now, I don’t think there’s any clear cut favorite for the title in London. It’s really up for grabs. But if it was on clay, then even with today’s loss, Nadal would be above and beyond the favorite. It’s like the fundamental law of the ATP. I’m not saying it wouldn’t be interesting at all, especially for Nadal fans. But for tennis fans in general who don’t want to know the winner ahead of time, it’s better.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:25 am

Yes Zinaldo…you are correct…we Nadal fans desperately need to see Rafa prove himself on Clay. And as you say it’s all about amassing titles. Very astute observation.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:25 am

Damn roger is really old,when you see players like seppi push him around like that.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:25 am

Seppi breaks! Absolutely nothing fluky about it. This is a real match. I have to tootle off now to earn a bit of the ready. fellow has to eat. Thank God for technology. So I’ve got suspense now, and when I come back, the result will be known, but I have to play the tape as if it isn’t. No wonder heart disease and so on.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:28 am

Roger shows why players like seppi should retire and hit some spaghetti bolognese.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:29 am

Lol zinaldo….

October 14th, 2010 at 10:37 am

@ ben
what i’m saying is, clay rewards people who have good all round games.

but hard doesn’t necessary do so. you can get away with just having a massive serve for example. and that is very connected to size, not skill or talent so much.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:40 am

i know everyone makes a big deal about the YEC, but does anyone really remember it? You can’t compare it to GCs. If you ask Davydenko if he would trade in is YEC for a GC i bet he would trade in a second plus pay a good amount of money.

@ Guy–worse than Davydenko, I love Rafa and Gulbis (who crashed and burned in every asian tournament) is up there too. Well I hope Novak can do something here. I’m not anti-fed but want Nadal to remain with most master titles of the year at 3 and overall at 18. Fed could match it/exceed it.

@ Ben–I’m in a lousy mood and looking for someone to take it out on, but I can’t find anything above that you said to attack. Too bad.

@ Zinaldo–welcome back. Haven’t seen your ridiculous comments in awhile.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:43 am

just because nadal is the best on clay it doesn’t mean other players don’t excel on it and wouldn’t benefit results wise. federer, djoker,davy,sod,berd, most the europeans and south americans all great clay players. federer won everything on hard pretty much for a few years, doesn’t mean nobody else could get good results. and you can’t play every tournament. you make more clay, more people will be able to pick some up.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:45 am

Way to go Fed! Keep it comin…

October 14th, 2010 at 10:46 am

guy Says:

probably the main reason the courts are so hard dominant is money. clay is more expensive to maintain i believe.
but in an ideal world the tour shouldn’t be so lopsided,

I think hard courts are more expensive to build initially but clay courts are more expensive to maintain (particularly from a labor standpoint)
I would hope that the breakdown of events by surface is at least an approximation of the global breakdown of court surfaces…again it’s a matter of fairness.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:47 am

Congrats to Melzer for another big win; he’s had a breakout year.

Sorry to Rafa fans, but he can put his feet up now until Paris. Probably just as well, and you can’t win em all.

Congrats to Fed too – does he have Soda pop next? This is like deja vu from the USO: Nole, Fed and Soda on one side of the draw.

Things cleared for Murray now? Melzer has actually played Murray tough in the past, if I recall. At this point he seems almost the bigger threat than Tsonga for Andy M.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:47 am

Haha, another 6-3 6-4 win for Fed.

Kimberely, that’s why you’re awesome.

Guy, would you really say Ferrer has an all around game? Or even Soderling? Any surface REWARDS an all around game, but each surface also lets you get away with certain attributes. Hard courts and grass allow a player to cruise by with their serves and clay lets you win from 15 feet behind the baseline. There are probably better examples but my brain is kind of mush so that’ll have to do.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:48 am

@ kimberly
my advice is let gulbis go. coz if you back a guy who has no work ethic he’ll let you down time after time. you should trade fulbis for verdasco. he’s still a pretty boy but at least he does a pre season…

October 14th, 2010 at 10:48 am

Guy, I think you’re talking about talking about evening out tournaments in general. I’m just talking about the YEC specifically.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:49 am

But clay is more about physical endurance than really having a great game,nadal,federer,murray,djoker,davydenko and maybe in form and fit de potro could really play well and stand the test on their fitness but others would just crumble.

On hard courts someone can get hot and pretty much win tournaments and titles whereas on clay even if you have the match of your life you almost unlikely to beat an in form and fit rafa,which is why i don’t really rate what rafa has done on that surface as his game and that ridiculous tactic of attacking people backhand brings him so much success,call about being one dimensional.

Same thing could be applied to hard court but at least you see some serves and volleys,people taking chances and not rafa just standing as far as he can being the baseline.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:50 am

What makes the sport of Tennis so unique, that unlike Baseball, Basketball, Football, Soccer, etc. it is played on different surfaces. Being successful on all them is what makes an all around courter, not just on one surface.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:53 am

@ben
ferrer has an allround game yes. his serve is weak because he’s 5’8, nothing else.
but the game is certainly better than isner,querrey,even roddick.
soderling and berdych are examples of big guys who do have pretty good allround games hence their good results on clay.

you can’t say every surface rewards an allround game when people like guccione have taken out gasquets and hewitts and ferreros etc on hard courts. something that wouldn’t happen on clay.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:54 am

clay still allows plenty of style variation. i’ve seen pretty aggressive stuff from fed,djoker,davy,berd,soda. i mean i remember stepanek beat federer net rushing a few years ago, although nobody would recommend that

October 14th, 2010 at 10:59 am

blah: You should be proud of Richard, he won two matches on one day, and that’s a lot for any player to have to do, much more Richard, who’s trying to find his form.

I know the Djokovic Klan will say something, as they don’t like to hear the truth, but was Djokovic really on fire, or was it because he was playing very tired players in Ljub and Gasquet?

Ljub went deep last week in Beijing, then he played a very tough 3 setter vs. Zhang, who really tired old Ljub out, which left him with nothing to fight The Djoker. I personally was rooting for Zhang, as I knew Ljub in his state couldn’t be any competititon for the Djoker, and I wanted to see a good match. The Djoker, is smart, he knows when to pounce on players who are injured and tired, which makes for a champion, as they use all whatever opportunities presented to the fullest.

Hence, after not expending too much energy on Ljub and meeting a very worn out Gasquet, of course, any top player, even a top 20 player, could look to be in great form.

I think those who are saying he’s in top form, should ask themselves this question, what was the physical endurance of the Djoker’s competition in both matches, in view of the foreging? Anyway, have fun dissecting what I’ve stated.

October 14th, 2010 at 11:39 am

Ben: So People are only awesome if they agree with you?? Too bad, you’re so biased.

October 14th, 2010 at 11:42 am

Congrats to Rafa for notching up his 100th LOSS !!!

But the poor thing is he couldn’t match the pace of other legends who have completed the century before.

Infact Rafa is the slowest among anyone else in the history of pro tennis.

Rafa has taken the most number of matches (578 matches) ever to reach his 100th LOSS.

October 14th, 2010 at 11:44 am

WOW, awesome win for Melzer. He seems to get better as he ages, as in fine, mellowed wine!!

October 14th, 2010 at 11:44 am

I watched the match and Meltzer came out with the perfect game play to beat Nadal. Many have the game plan but not the game to get it done, OR they can’t keep it up. I thought after he (Meltzer) had lost the 2nd set that it was over and Nadal would go ahead and win. Meltzer’s PACE beat Nadal today along with. Nadal kept the ball too short. Meltzer was pouncing on the short balls by Nadal. I just thought playing 3 straight weeks on hard court would be too much for Nadal. I would have thought he would have skipped at least one of those to be ready for this Master’s event. Oh well. He’s already won just about everything this year so his season was already fantastic with or without this win.

I’m glad Roger came though. He played pretty well in the first set but Seppi started playing better in the 2nd set. Towards the end of the 2nd set, Seppi looked like he wasn’t feeling well. Roger was sweating more in this match than I have almost ever seen! But he came through so that’s all I care about. His first 2 victories have been by the same score (6-3 6-4).

October 14th, 2010 at 12:14 pm

Von,

Another tough break for Roddick – and boy was he pissed. He said something to the effect of “I can’t make it out of this place without something happening” – I don’t see him reading too many fortune cookies or planning return visits to Shanghai. He’s now in a bit of a dogfight to make it to London…which he has shown considerable interest in attending.

October 14th, 2010 at 12:15 pm

Fot,

Hey a fed fan posts! Yes:) What is his match win total now, 720+? Go Fed!

October 14th, 2010 at 12:25 pm

Vulcan:

Thanks for your commiserations. Yes, was my boy ticked off, or what? He was sending *Fs* all over the place. I think if Obama was in the stadium he would have given one to him also, and make a request that they move Shanghai to the US. LOOL. Even the commentators say they don’t blame him, as he’s been having a tough time getting himself launched since April. sheesh. I doubt Andy would woant to see shanhai again. he’s never had any luck there. I think it was Wawa who jinxed him as he was warming up with him outside before his match indoors. Everytime andy has played Wawa, for 3 times, he’s retired hurt. So, In a way, let’s blame it on Wawa and Shanghai. I’m surprised roddick didn’t sending a special *F* to Wawa. OY

My heart went out to him as he seemed really intent on making a good run, and when he was crying, well, I cried too, as I hate to see anyone hurt because they want something so badly. I cried with Fed when he lost the AO, but shhhh, don’t tell anyone, as they think I don’t like Fed. LOOL.

Vulcan, sorry your guy lost, but he’s been blazing through the competition, so this loss shouldn’t hurt him. Take care.

October 14th, 2010 at 12:31 pm

Gordo, not sure if you’re checking in these days, but if you are, here’s a write-up from the ATP site on Milos Raonic:

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2010/10/Other/Raonic-Interview.aspx

October 14th, 2010 at 12:46 pm

Rafa is out in Shanghai. I didn’t see the match but it was in three sets. So must have been some good tennis.

The bright side is that Rafa can rest a bit more till Paris and London.

Von
Sorry for Roddick’s injury. Hopefully he will recover and come back 100% for the upcoming tournaments.

October 14th, 2010 at 1:03 pm

For Nole’s fans who missed the match, I found some highlights – looks like the dropper is working well a.t.m. – a couple nice ones there: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBnPxJWlBX8

And some amazing defense from Fed versus Isner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2xNChTsb8Q

Can’t find Murray highlights: all the Murray/Chardy youtube vids have been removed due to copyright.

Too bad, as with the matches so late/early (basically through the night) all I can see are highlights.

October 14th, 2010 at 1:05 pm

“zinaldo Says:
Roger shows why players like seppi should retire and hit some spaghetti bolognese.”

LOOL, one spaghetti bolognese platter coming right up, or, maybe soon.

October 14th, 2010 at 1:06 pm

guy

**probably the main reason the courts are so hard dominant is money. clay is more expensive to maintain i believe.
but in an ideal world the tour shouldn’t be so lopsided, and i’m not talking about nadal, a lot of players get a raw deal, basically everyone under 6ft.
****

hard courts are harder on the body. If the tour had more natural courts (grass/clay ) the injuries could have been less and thus more money to ATP.

USTA has decided to construct clay courts and teach the kids on clay instead of hard courts. They think clay is a better surface to “learn” tennis. Learn how to construct a point.

I think you are right that it is a matter of money but in the long run everyone will benefit from a more balanced tour.

October 14th, 2010 at 1:08 pm

Zola: sorry about your guy also, but it’s not like he needed the points an d/or the win. Now, he can rest and spend some *quality* time with Xisca.

Thanks, with respect to Roddick. This year began very well for him, but when he took of in April, something seemed to have turned things around, and he hit rock bottom. I hope he won’t repeat that scenario again next year. However, sometimes, these guys think they are superman and can just stop and start in a flash. I think he may have learned a valuable lesson, but my famous last words, only time will tell ….

October 14th, 2010 at 1:10 pm

Von,

I suspect that if there ever was any division between the Roddick/Federer fanbases it has now been dealt a serious blow by Federer’s recent comments about Roddick where he goes out of his way to make it clear how much he likes and admires the guy.

Although I’ve been extremely critical of him at times I hope I’ve at least made it clear that I respect his accomplishments and have to confess that much like a “Karate Kid” villain I do watch with curiosity to see the next thing that he will do…and as is often the case in those movies…one hopes that he will eventually abandon the stuff that wastefully channels his energy in the wrong direction. Perhaps part of my problem with Roddick is because average guys like myself had to spend the bulk of our younger years watching guys like Roddick always get the girl!

October 14th, 2010 at 1:23 pm

Von, no, Kimberley doesn’t always agree with me and that’s a problem. However, when she disagrees with me it’s because of what I actually say, not because she spun something I said into some sort of attack or negative comment. But thanks for your concern.

October 14th, 2010 at 1:50 pm

Vulcan: I think if we, the fans, could stop being so emotional and not become too embroiled in the wars of our personal likes and dislikes of the players, we’d see that the players, have respect and admiration for each other. Fed and Roddick, IMO, have a great relationship, more than some fans realize. Andy, has always been supportive of Fed, even though he beats the hell outta him. Correct me if I’m wrong, but one can have admiration, if one is not on the receiving end of being beaten, but, when the respect and admiration is there, regardless of being the underdog, then, I’d say it’s very genuine. it’s the reason I like roddick as he’s not one, I think, who holds onto grudges. He has a big heart.

“Perhaps part of my problem with Roddick is because average guys like myself had to spend the bulk of our younger years watching guys like Roddick always get the girl!”

I think out of the top 10 players, Roddick has always had an easy life, money wise. He’s come from a very affluent, financially sound, family background and has had it made in the shade (I think his dad’s an investment/financial banker) and as a result, life’s been good. I think it’s why Roddick doesn’t care so much to play in the money tournaments, as money’s not his focus.

As for getting the best girl, he is a handsome little rscal isn’t he? The all-American boy!! I think it’s why someone here doesn’t like him because he chose Brooklyn instead of her. Eat your heart out old girl, it ain’t gonna happen. Do I see some tears?? LOOL.

October 14th, 2010 at 1:58 pm

Von,
Thanks. I too think the loss to Melzer is not too bad. If anything it gives Rafa some more time to rest.

FoT,
I read somewhere that Rafa had to play one ATP 500 after US Open. So he had to play Tokyo and Shanghai is mandatory. Bangkok was more of a holiday and he did not play very hard matches over there. I think overall it has been a long stretch for Rafa. Now he has more than three weeks to rest and hopefully he will come back fresh for Paris and London.

Fed, Djoko and Murray are playing well. I think we will have some very interesting matches coming up. Hard to say who will win Shanghai. I think Djoko has a great chance.

October 14th, 2010 at 2:07 pm

Jane – you are a doll for posting the Milos link. Thanks a lot!!!

October 14th, 2010 at 2:38 pm

In reading an article about Nadal’s loss it was pointed out that Nadal failed to reach the quarters for the first time all year. Which also means his streak of quarters or beyond dating back to 09 FO has been snapped. I must admit this is the first time I’m actually upset that one of Nadal’s streaks came to an end. It was a pretty cool streak and a great achievement and I would’ve liked to see Nadal continue it for another year or so.

October 14th, 2010 at 2:44 pm

@Von:

I was defending Gasquet on a french site a few hours ago: indeed, he was very tired and slower than usual, but Djokovic was playing well.

BTW, Djokovic too has played two matches today.

October 14th, 2010 at 3:19 pm

Ben
*** I must admit this is the first time I’m actually upset that one of Nadal’s streaks came to an end. ***

Are you? really?

I don’t think Rafa was trying to set a record of reaching QFs! Roger has a record for the most semifinals that nobody can touch. a record of QFs seems very insignificant. Rafa has better records. Like the youngest person to claim the career slam in the open era, the only person to hold three GS titles on three surfaces at the same time, a streak of 81 wins on clay, 18 MS titles, and many more! So his fans can live with one less record on his resume. It is not the end of the world!

October 14th, 2010 at 3:22 pm

mat4: Glad to know you defended Gasquet. The poor guy could hardly move.

BTW, with respect to the Joker playing 2 matches today. I belieieve one was a singles and the other a doubles?? If so, I don’t think that equates to playin g two singles matches, no way, as the singles players use the doubles matches as pracxtise time.

Ben, ubelievable. You get my drift — power..

October 14th, 2010 at 3:26 pm

Zolla: Yes, really??? it’s only words ….

October 14th, 2010 at 3:27 pm

Vulcan,

you might not know this, but zinaldo comes out of hiding when nadal loses a match. he’s good at providing us less knowledgeable fans an analysis of how nadal’s play and how he has to wait for opponents to makes mistakes in order to win.

i don’t about you, but until zinaldo informed us i didn’t know that nadal wins matches by waiting for opponents to lose. i thought his mo was to take it to opponents and make them beat him and that’s why opponents have to give everything they have to win against him, even when he is sub par, much like melzer did today. goes to show how much we know about tennis! zinaldo has a lot of tennis smarts, doesn’t he?

October 14th, 2010 at 3:41 pm

And on to tennis,

Go Fed! Hope he continues the low UE’s

October 14th, 2010 at 3:55 pm

Djokovic/Elrich beat the French doubles team :D. I wonder what that means for an important upcoming event…

October 14th, 2010 at 4:01 pm

“If so, I don’t think that equates to playin g two singles matches, no way, as the singles players use the doubles matches as pracxtise time.” Pahah.

How bout a singles + doubles match today, and a singles and potentially TWO doubles matches in <24 hrs! Go Nole! Win them ALL!

October 14th, 2010 at 4:05 pm

mem,

Hehe yes, he could of popped in and simply stated what my High School Coach first explained:

“Tennis is a game of errors”

October 14th, 2010 at 4:14 pm

@Von:

I don’t see what your point is.

October 14th, 2010 at 4:18 pm

@ kimberly
my advice is let gulbis go. coz if you back a guy who has no work ethic he’ll let you down time after time. you should trade fulbis for verdasco. he’s still a pretty boy but at least he does a pre season…

I wish I could….its just that unnameable thing that makes you like a player. I try to write him off over and over again, yet root for him, hope for him in every match and am disappointed time and time again.

I was a huge Safin fan. I wasn’t into Nadal until later, maybe 06-07. I think I finally figured my #1 fav was just not going to put it together mentally and got drawn to Nadal who was so mentally strong. But now I am comparatively more of a Rafa fan than I ever was of Safin. So maybe I utlimately will throw the towel in on Gulbis but not there yet. If Haas would come back I could have another pretty boy replacement.

October 14th, 2010 at 4:34 pm

kimberly,

do not worry, nadal is just mentally and physically fatigued. although melzer played some great, aggressive tennis, i could tell nadal was weary. melzer said something similar after the match; he said that he sensed nadal was uncomfortable and not a 100%, so he tried to keep the pressure on him and take advantage and he did it quite well.

to be honest, after nadal played bangkok and him winning in tokyo, i didn’t expect him to get past wawrinka because i know how tough stan is. actually, he surpassed my expectations in this tournament, so he’s due for some R & R. he can’t win them all! melzer has a chance to go further if he can continue playing aggressive! good luck to him!

btw, nadal has about three weeks off before travelling to the masters in paris, which starts november 7th. so, he gets a well-deserved break! as always, i will be eagerly awaiting his return as will you.

enjoy the rest of the tournaments! there are some great matches scheduled for tomorrow.

October 14th, 2010 at 4:49 pm

well, that was suspense for nothing. Federer just wrapped it up as if it was a whatsit in the park. But it HAD been a tough and quality match – Zinaldo, please note. Seppi had wobbly belly towards the end, that might account for the quick finish.
Talking about returns, I thought there were some wonderful ones by Federer today. Unlike Ferrer, for example, who lashes out like nobody’s business, Federer is undemonstrative on the return (when it’s quality, I’m talking about) and he seems to have played a rather casual stroke, and you’re astonished to see the ball landing on the base line at his opponents feet. One way or the other, that tends to signal the end of the point. Mind you, Seppi’s serve is not exactly spectacular. I’ll be really interested to observe Fed returning Soderling tomorrow and – Zeus willing – Djokovic the following day. That could be very revealing – one way or the other.

margot – I was amused to hear Melzer’s interview. About the second set – he thought he was playing better than Nadal, but he didn’t take his chances. Then when Nadal broke him, his instant thought was, hmm, maybe the end of the match. Great minds and all that, eh?

October 14th, 2010 at 4:49 pm

mem-thank you for your nice words. I too am happy Rafa will have some well-deserved R+R. But of course miserable that he lost as I am spoiled by him winning so much.

Who to root for now (because tourneys get boring if no one to root for) hmmmmmmmm. Maybe Novak. Or Soderling. Can’t seem to get the same warm and fuzzy feeling. At least no racing heart for the rest of the week.

Still grumpy, heading out to get destroyed by my other half on the tennis court in my wozniaki dress.

October 14th, 2010 at 5:03 pm

@Von… did you see the Djoko-Gasquet match at all? Nole was doing EVERYTHING right, even a well-rested Gasquet wouldn’t stand a chance. I think Nole is in a scary form right now, just like I remember him last year during this time of the season.

Novak clearly enjoys playing indoors, it suits his game big time. Federer is also in good form, but I’ll judge after he meets a top 10 player. Both Ljubicic and Gasquet had great runs in Beijing and they were clearly in great form, so no excuse against Novak (and let’ not forget Novak made the finals at USO and won the Beijing tournament so he’s been playing non-stop and he could also be exhausted).

When Nole is on fire he’s unstoppable. And let’s not forget he has been playing like that for the whole USO and after, so i think it’s been long enough to say that he’s in great form and probably the man to beat, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself.

Very impressed with Melzer today, this player has really come around in the latest stages of his career, I think it’s very remarkable. He really had a nice solid game. He should have been top 10 at least.

October 14th, 2010 at 5:25 pm

Zola, yes really. I like streaks. It was a big part of why I loved Federer winning everything in sight. I just enjoy consecutive accomplishments, I don’t know why. The record seems insignificant but I don’t agree, especially when you compare him to the other top 4 guys who’ve had some really bad and early losses. Of course he has other more incredible records, but I particularly enjoyed this one.

Also, Federer also held 3 slams on 3 different surfaces at once.

October 14th, 2010 at 5:28 pm

Why is the tired excuse being used for Gasquet and Ljubicic for making deep runs? Djokovic not only won Beijing but he had to play his final on Monday and then go straight to Shanghai. That doesn’t count to his fatigue?

October 14th, 2010 at 5:30 pm

kimberly,

likewise! i never get bored seeing rafa play or win titles. i would be more disappointed if he had been more fresh and lost, but under the circumstances, i expected him to lose sooner or later, if not today, tomorrow or the next day. although he’s my favorite, i know he’s not a machine.

what’s really surprising is that nadal doesn’t lose any more than he does on hardcourts because it appears the book has already been written and distributed to every player on how to beat him on this surface. i imagine every expert in tennis has had their say in giving players tips on how to beat nadal. you know nadal has to be something special and he is!

i hear comentators discussing how to beat nadal so much until i’m thinking of making a song entitled, “How To Beat Him, Just Beat Him” LOL
all jokes aside, he’ll be back shining before long and we’ll be waiting!

hey, hope your wozniaki dress brings you luck! don’t lose just because nadal lost today. LOL

October 14th, 2010 at 5:34 pm

Nina,

absolutely! djokovic has a right to be exhausted too, although he hasn’t played three back-to-back tournaments, like you said, he has played a lot. goes to show how great he’s playing, not to mention his fitness! very commendable! i wouldn’t be surprise if he wins this tournament.

October 14th, 2010 at 5:48 pm

mat4: My point is simple, singles players play doubles matches in tourneys to help their net game and they don’t have to practise, as they use the doubles match for practise and to sharpen their net skills.. Hence, the doubles match is beneficial to them in both ways. To reiterate, it’s not the same as what Gasquet had to do. Gasquet had to play against two big serving singles players, alone, and then turn around without much recovery time to play the Djoker, who’s a top 4 player..

Nina, yes, I saw that Joker’s match, why?. I saw how Gasquet didn’t even try to run to get some balls, as he didn’t have the strength to do so. Did you see the look of tiredness on his face?

Anyway guys, talk to me when Djokovic has to play two big servers and then play another top 4 player in less then 24 hours. I can hear the complaints already about the recovery time not being enough for just one singles match, much more two. iI’s been done many times right here on this site.

Ben: Why the excuses? It’s not an excuse, it’s what it is. Did Djokovic have to play a first round match, and then double up like Gasquet had to do? Be fair, if you can do that, and logically too, then you’ll have your answer, as you will have fitured it out.

I’m done. As I stated previously, the Djokovic Klan can dissect what I stated whichever way they want. It’s only my opinion, to which I belieive I’m entitled, isn’t it??

October 14th, 2010 at 6:29 pm

errata: “as you will have *fitured* it out.
s/b *figured*.

October 14th, 2010 at 6:35 pm

Nole is probably playing doubles in preparation for the Davis Cup final, in case he has to play doubles there and then. That’s what Bodo thinks too – he wrote about Nole, so here’s the link for the Djoko fans here:

http://tennisworld.typepad.com/tennisworld/2010/10/tk-2.html

October 14th, 2010 at 6:41 pm

Bodo writing a lot about Nole lately. :)

October 14th, 2010 at 7:21 pm

Ha,Ha,Ha. Von you are starting to sound like Rodick at US Open couple years ago…. what else, sars, bird flu…..lol

October 14th, 2010 at 9:22 pm

It’s easy to dominate against any player when he’s tired. Look who was on the opposite side of the court in the Joker’s matches, and then you’ll have your answer. Per Nadal, this is a likely scenario when a player is tired:

“I felt slow on court,” said Nadal. “I had more mistakes than usual. I played shorter than usual. [I was] a little bit more tired than usual, just physically and mentally. [I] just [want to] congratulate him. It’s true, he played very aggressive, but [it] wasn’t very difficult [to] play that aggressive against me today.”

Just imagine how Gasquet felt out there against a fresher opponent, who only had to play 2 singles matches as opposed to his three, two of wwhich were played in the same day.

Tennis Coach: Glad to have provided you with the comedic relief. It’s wonderful to have several nicks.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:26 pm

Hmmm, lots of folks think Nole could win this one. I’d like to be able to say that too but one match at a time.Even Doug Adler seems think Novak can win this.
Interesting piece by Bodo.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:28 pm

Kimberly,

Cheer up! Our Rafa just need some rest! I have been watching the replay of his match on the tennis channel. You know Rafa’s in trouble when he loses a set 6-1! He made errors that you just don’t see him make. Be proud of how he fought back in that second set. He didn’t roll over, but he is shot mentally. Too bad that he had to play these two mandatory tournaments.

Rafa has done more than we could ever have hoped! Just think, this will maybe give us a break from the haters! On the other hand, maybe not! There will always be zinaldo, as mem pointed out. Someone who comes out whenever Rafa loses to tell us all about how he plays. Like he knows anything! He is the one who famously dubbed Delpo the “antiNadal”! That tells you all you need to know about where his head is at.

Rafa will come back fresh and rested for Paris and London. Keep your eye on the big picture, remember? 2011 AO! Chin up! I hate to see Rafa lose, but this was not unexpected. He was lucky to win against Troicki. Ever since he started this Asian swing, it was obvious that he was just mentally fried. The good news is that he won at title at Tokyo! Keep thinking good thoughts and look at the big picture.

I also wanted to say that I watched both of Nole’s matches with Ljuby and Gasquet and this guy is playing some of his best tennis. He is confident, focused and on fire. I could care less if his opponent is tired or not. It’s the quality of his tennis that has impressed me. Ljuby had a number of chances to break Nole in that first set, but couldn’t get the job done.

Would someone say that Melzer’s win over Rafa was no big deal because he’s tired now? No way! Melzer came out and played his game and took it to Rafa. He deserved the win. It’s unfortunate and completely inaccurate to somehow demean Nole’s wins here by saying that his opponents were tired. Look at how much Nole himself is playing! The histrionics are gone, he has settled down and taken care of business. I think he will be tough to beat here.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:29 pm

Dale Carnegie

October 14th, 2010 at 10:36 pm

@tennis coach, I was thinking exactly the same thing!

October 14th, 2010 at 10:37 pm

How quickly we forget! Anyone remember the USO and the comments made as to Djokovic not having enough time to recuperate to play the final. Then, all breathed a sigh of relief when the match was cancelled????????

I wonder what what would have been said if the match wasn’t cancelled and Djokovic lost, (which he did anyway) I’ll bet those who are not Djokovic fans wouldn’t be saying they don’t care if he was tired, because the shoe would have been on the other foot. OY
I’ll leave you all with this one thought, you might just get tht which you wish for, be it your fave and/or any other players. It’s easy to come on here to ingratiate oneself.

October 14th, 2010 at 10:48 pm

correction: “wouldn’t be saying” s/b “would have been saying”

October 14th, 2010 at 10:50 pm

“Would someone say that Melzer’s win over Rafa was no big deal because he’s tired now? No way! Melzer came out and played his game and took it to Rafa. He deserved the win.”

No one has said that on this site, but Nadal did:

“I felt slow on court,” said Nadal. “I had more mistakes than usual. I played shorter than usual. [I was] a little bit more tired than usual, just physically and mentally. [I] just [want to] congratulate him. It’s true, he played very aggressive, but [it] wasn’t very difficult [to] play that aggressive against me today.”

October 14th, 2010 at 11:00 pm

I am with you sar; one match at a time. G-Lo has been playing well this Asian swing, even beating Rafa in Thailand and then winning the title, and he’s come back against Nole in the past. So let’s just wait and see.

October 14th, 2010 at 11:10 pm

Mindy great post on all counts!!!!!

October 14th, 2010 at 11:12 pm

Quiet night on tennisx, no hot debates?

October 14th, 2010 at 11:21 pm

Kimberly how did your match with your husband go?
I think everyone is just gearing up for the quarterfinals, come what may. ; )

October 14th, 2010 at 11:24 pm

Von, okay, let’s agree that Novak won one match easily because his opponent was tired. What’s the big deal? Do you want a whole thread dedicated to it? Do you think a fit Gasquet would reverse the 6-1 6-1 scoreline? Even tired Rafa (who has waayy more reasons than Gasquet to be tired) managed to win a set. Seriously, get over it!

Of course if conditions were reversed you would NEVER have accepted tiredness as a reason for Novak’s loss…

October 14th, 2010 at 11:29 pm

Kimberly,

My question is – is it a quiet night in your household? Now that Rafa is out, is your hubby more relaxed? :)

I really hope that I succeeded in cheering you up. I know it’s hard to ever see Rafa lose, but I just tell myself that everything happens for a reason. It’s a way of protecting Rafa, so that he will be ready for the big events, the ones that count! Our guy needs a breather! This is one loss that Rafa can live with, because he lost to a quality player who gave it his all and he gave it his all, even though his tank was near empty.

Rafa will be year-end #1, has an insurmountable lead in points no matter what happens from now until the end of this tennis year and look at what he has done! No matter how they try, the haters cannot take away the FACTS! Rafa made history this year and he is not done yet.

Just think how nice it will be at home. Maybe you can watch the matches with your husband and it won’t feel like there is a war going on!

As far as tennis, there are some intriguing questions to be answered. Can Nole win back-to-back tournaments? Is Fed playing well enough to stop him? Can Melzer get through to the semis? Will Murray come on strong and maybe get a win? Will there be a spoiler?

I will just sit back and watch it all unfold and hope that Rafa is enjoying some badly needed time off!

October 14th, 2010 at 11:39 pm

Rafa did not in any way demean Melzer’s victory! Nor would he have done so if it had been Nole who got the win. All he did was state the facts about how he has been feeling lately, which anyone with eyes can see for themselves. However, he went out there and played! He competed! He lost to a guy who simply outplayed him on this day.

That could just as easily apply to Nole’s match with Gasquet and Ljuby. So what if Nole beat a player or players who were tired? That’s tennis!

Finally, just because I am a devoted Rafa fan, does NOT mean that I must therefore have blinders on when it comes to the quality of tennis among the other top players. I have no problem giving another player their due when it has been earned. Why isn’t Nole tired now? Shouldn’t he be ready to collapse? He played in the USO final, then played Davis Cup, then played at Beijing in the final and now in Shanghai? Why isn’t he about to collapse from fatigue?

I do not have to tear down another top player, because my favorite just happened to lose. That’s not how I work. Rafa has had a spectacular year. I am grateful that I was able to see it all. The world won’t fall off its axis if I happen to think that someone else just may be deserving of praise!

Who gets to decide just who is being hypocritical and phony here?

October 14th, 2010 at 11:50 pm

stu: You missed my whole point. It’s not a matter of being tired and losing a match, it’s a matter of the guy had to play 3 matches in 24 hours. What would you have said if it were reversed and Djoko had the same deal, and then lost?

October 14th, 2010 at 11:53 pm

@Jane played great but for naught. Massive beat down.
As always.

@mindy your comments make me feel better and i agree. I hope rafa enjoysnhis time off and our household can have some peace. My husband will of course be hoping for fed,his fav. I guess it’s his turn to now, although he sweats more over NCAA football and used to be NFL until the dolphins forgot to play.

My guess is Novak wins this. He looks rally good in all his matches although he could get late stage burnout from the consecutive tournaments.

October 14th, 2010 at 11:59 pm

FYI, We’re all entitled to our opinions, as per forum etiquette. I am entitled to say what I feel, and that’s how I feel.

October 15th, 2010 at 12:01 am

“As for getting the best girl, he is a handsome little rscal isn’t he? The all-American boy!! I think it’s why someone here doesn’t like him because he chose Brooklyn instead of her. Eat your heart out old girl, it ain’t gonna happen. Do I see some tears?? LOOL.”

Hahaha Mrs.Von, loved it!!! So hilarious! :D ;) :)

Old gal must be so pissed off right now, )

October 15th, 2010 at 12:24 am

Zinaldo’s comments are so strange! Dunno why he’s always so critical of players, blaming some players for getting older and accusin others of winning only by eliciting errors from opponents?! I’m not sure Zinaldo actually sees matches before commenting!

I don’t know how one can not acknowledge Nadal’s aggressive shots and take-it-to-the-rivals style of tennis/approach and claim that he wins just on the basis of opponent’s errors! Are you kiddin me?!

And I dunno wat Fed needs to do to make some people happy who keep complaining about him getting aged? Is not Fed entitled to be a human being first, which means aging is natural thing? Fed has done so much yet people’re not satisfied! Now Fed needs to do something super-natural to avoid aging, I guess! I mean, why don’t the insatiable ones produce a lifeless machine Fed to satisfy their dream of seeing it winning everything in sight, coz a flesh and blood man like Fed can’t be so mechanically perfect! However, I as a Fed fan prefer this flesh and blood Federer.

October 15th, 2010 at 12:44 am

Hopefully Fed will win the title. Go Roger!!!

October 15th, 2010 at 1:10 am

i think it’s safe to say that novak would have whipped even rafael 1 and 1. he was playing that good.

i can’t wait for novak to dethrone the bull.

go novak.

October 15th, 2010 at 1:47 am

“Rafa did not in any way demean Melzer’s victory! Nor would he have done so if it had been Nole who got the win. All he did was state the facts about how he has been feeling lately, which anyone with eyes can see for themselves.”

No, Nadal didn’t demean Melzer’s win, he only stated facts as to how he was feeling. But, You did the demeaning on the other thread by saying Nadal just “wasn’t ready to play tennis”. How do you know that? Did he tell that to you personally? If not, then you are some kind of mind reader. Let’s not beat around the bush, you can’t handle any of his losses, but just try to put up a big front. This isn’t about Djokovic and you know it — I’m not buying it. Gotta unleash somewhere.

“Finally, just because I am a devoted Rafa fan, does NOT mean that I must therefore have blinders on when it comes to the quality of tennis among the other top players. I have no problem giving another player their due when it has been earned.”

Really, you had problems giving Roddick his fair due for beating Nadal at Miami. In fact, you had a huge problem, and brought it up just a month ago again, stating that it wasn’t Roddick’s play that won him that match, instead you had a bunch of excuses, and only shut up when others claimed that Roddick was the better player on that day. I can show you your post, but I doubt it will be necessary, as I’m sure, to quote Maurice Chevalier ‘I remember it well … it was in June, no, it was in March, ah, I remember it well…..”

October 15th, 2010 at 3:16 am

Hi huh: Glad to provide some comedic relief.

I hope you get your wish, a Fed/Murray final.

Enjoy the matches!

October 15th, 2010 at 3:57 am

“He [Djokovic]looks rally good in all his matches although he could get late stage burnout from the consecutive tournaments” – Kimberley. Good point. I hope not, because I want to see a good semi.

October 15th, 2010 at 4:35 am

@Mindy “I do not have to tear down another top player, because my favorite just happened to lose.”

I would bow down if I could. :)

October 15th, 2010 at 2:15 pm

Nina,

You don’t have to bow down to me. Thanks for your kind words. Just look at what I had to read about myself from someone that I trusted and liked. So now that I have come out and said the honest to God truth about Nole, I have to be attacked and trashed.

I will let my comments speak for themselves. I am not the one who is intent on demeaning Nole’s resurgence. I have watched his matches. Now what? Are we to once again have to hear that G-Lo was tired, exhausted, whatever? More excuses to try and diminish Nole’s efforts?

Some people just cannot handle it when their favorite is not doing well. Only people who are not living in reality could possibly trash Nole’s tennis.

I have nothing to be sad or upset about at this point in time. Oh sure, I can’t handle his latest loss! That’s why I came here to try and cheer up Kimberly by putting it in perspective. I guess because Roddick didn’t win the career slam, didn’t win RG, Wimbledon and the USO in the same year, that a disgruntled fan has to project her own misery onto people like me. At least I have things in persective.

I think it will be a great semifinal match with Nole and Fed! Good luck to both!

October 15th, 2010 at 4:17 pm