Djokovic, Murray Begin Play Wednesday In Paris; Berdych, Tsonga Win Openers

Love the picture,Nole looks very sexy,very stylish,i would happily get on the back of that bike with him,yummy.

October 31st, 2012 at 3:18 am

I can remember at the start of the year djoko said, ” i dare to dream” on repeating his feat this year. Couldn’t quite make the dream come true . But the year end no. 1 title should be enough to make him happy :)

October 31st, 2012 at 5:39 am

Yes, very nice for him, but i think he should be grateful to Roger for withdrawing from Paris, that has helped him along the way to achieving the Nol 1 spot again. Let’s not forget guys that Roger has finished Year-end No. 1 4 times!!!! Lets see Novak beat this!!!

October 31st, 2012 at 6:30 am

I am watching Gasquet:Anderson now and this court doesn’t look fast to me, anybody else watching?
Watching Anderson I wonder how come he is not doing better than he is, he has got nice game?

October 31st, 2012 at 7:48 am

I’m watching it. Certainly is not fast. Andersen is similar to Raonic, Isner et al – when he’s on he can trouble anyone. However, so so return game and just isn’t consistent enough. Fun match. Gasquet is always a pleasure to watch, when his game is clicking.

October 31st, 2012 at 8:20 am

“isn’t consistent enough” that’ll be right.
He looks like a nice guy to me.
Anyway he is set up.

October 31st, 2012 at 8:36 am

Goodness, what happened? I went out for a bit and returned to see Reechard trailing 1-5 in the 3rd.

October 31st, 2012 at 9:33 am

Ouch! Nole bagels Querrey. No sign of any ailments.

October 31st, 2012 at 10:19 am

Oh No1-le, dear No1-le…
6-0, 2-0…
Devastating.

October 31st, 2012 at 10:25 am

The rest – not so much :-)…

October 31st, 2012 at 11:12 am

http://english.blic.rs/In-Focus/9169/Father-Srdjan-in-difficult-health-condition For Nole fans.

October 31st, 2012 at 11:13 am

We’re going the distance.

October 31st, 2012 at 11:15 am

Querrey breaks. Nole does not look happy out there, or even like he wants to be there.

October 31st, 2012 at 11:37 am

Thanks Giles. Yeah I knew about his dad, and that Nole flew back to Serbia to see him in the hospital, which was why he canceled his live stream. He must be feeling it. He sure dropped a few levels in the second half of this match. Looks like he’ll be going out early here at this rate.

October 31st, 2012 at 11:42 am

Great play Mr. Querry. Well deserved win.

Is Nole our new #1??

October 31st, 2012 at 11:58 am

Well, didn’t see that coming at 6-2, 2-0 up. Nole went away completely in the 3rd.

October 31st, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Too bad for Nole, sigh. :( He fought, but starting in the second set, he wasn’t hitting nearly as many winners and Sam upped his level too. Good win for Sam. I’ve always liked him: battle of the big servers next: Sam and Milos – or does Milos have another match first?

October 31st, 2012 at 12:01 pm

@Skeezer,
Roger is still our #1. But on November 5,2012 Nole WILL be our #1. LOL

October 31st, 2012 at 12:06 pm

Milos plays tonight against Llodra, after Andy’s match. Querrey beat him at Wimbledon this year if I remember correctly.

October 31st, 2012 at 12:06 pm

Querry had more winners overall in the match and got Bageled in the first by Nole. Very wierd.

@theDA was 6-0 not 6-2….

October 31st, 2012 at 12:06 pm

WOW- did not see that coming at all!

What happened?

Nole was 6-0 up, leave the match thinking it is as good as over and then this?

Well done to Sam though, a big win for him no doubt!

October 31st, 2012 at 12:09 pm

Oops, no that’s wrong. Isner plays Llodra next. Raonic plays Chardy.

October 31st, 2012 at 12:09 pm

@Ngentot

Ahh you caught my little dig, :-)

Nole will be a fine #1…..he has never been “great” this time of year..hope is Dad is ok..:(

October 31st, 2012 at 12:11 pm

skeezer, This is only his second loss before the semifinals in any event he’s played in all year. Not sure if you read the article Giles posted, but Nole’s dad is very ill, in Emergency, so maybe that is in the back of his mind, plus he was not feeling great himself (stomach flu) and considered pulling out. I think he came out and played excellent trying to get through quickly, but his energy faded and Sam also upped his level and won it. In the end, Nole couldn’t find it in him, and Sam’s aces held off all those break back points in the 3rd. Nole was fighting, but today he lost. It happens!

October 31st, 2012 at 12:12 pm

Thanks the DA. Yes, I figured Milos had another match ahead of him.

Hope Muzz wins – if he wins the whole thing, I believe he is within less than 1000 of #2. I can’t watch; have to run to work. Enjoy the match!

October 31st, 2012 at 12:18 pm

Bearing in mind Nole’s loss today would Fed have had a chance of clinching year end No 1 had he played Paris? Somebody needs to do the Maths.

October 31st, 2012 at 12:27 pm

^ Yes, I think so Giles. But he would’ve had to win both Paris and WTF, I think? Not sure. We need better math people. :)

October 31st, 2012 at 12:29 pm

Who is the smart guy who thought that scheduling the Paris Masters just before the year-end championship is a good idea?

October 31st, 2012 at 12:37 pm

When ATP “confirmed” that Djokovic will be the number one ranked player of the year, that was because Federer withdrew from Paris. Had he not withdrawn, Roger may have had the slimmest of chances to be number one. That would have needed a combination of factors for him to do so. I am sure somebody here would be able to come up with the computation if it is at all possible.

October 31st, 2012 at 12:54 pm

wow Congrats to Sam Querry,i dint see that one coming,suffering a 1st set bagel,then coming back like that to take the match true grit,i only saw the ending as i was at work,so sorry to hear about Noles dad,and i wish him and the family all the best,probably the stress got to Nole and his mind wasnt fully on the game,add to that he didnt feel too well either,Noles had a rather tough year he loosing his grandad,yet still played on both occasions shows real strength of charater,well done Nole.

October 31st, 2012 at 1:29 pm

Noooooo, Roger mighta still been able to hold on to #1 if he had played Paris. Slim, slim, slim chance but NOOOOOOO!! Then again, Novak probably would have played differently if the #1 ranking were still on the line. Oh well… looking forward to the YEC, now. Paris could be a good chance for Murray to gain a lot of ranking points.

October 31st, 2012 at 1:35 pm

Llodra beats Isner aww how cute was it to see his little boy coming to give him a hug?

October 31st, 2012 at 1:43 pm

That hug from Llodra’s little boy adds a lot more to the joy of winning. Kids do make the world a happier place. I remember Roger’s twins cheering for their dad when he won Wimbledon. I love looking at happy kids.

October 31st, 2012 at 1:48 pm

I think Federer made the right choice, regardless of Djokovic’s performance. After the week is out and their points drop off, the rankings will look like this:

1. N. Djokovic: 11,790
2. R. Federer: 11,315

So, that’s a 475-point spread with Federer defending another 1,500 at the WTF and Djokovic 200. Given that, the rest for Federer this week seems important since he can’t shrink that gap in London. Djokovic will get some rest, too, though who knows if he’ll head back to Serbia to see his dad before the WTF.

While we won’t know how the chips land until after the WTF, if Federer keeps the distance between him and Djokovic relatively close (which he can do by repeating in London), then he puts himself again in good shape to make a move in Australia, where Djokovic is defending the title (2,000 points) and Federer a SF appearance (720 points).

Tough day for Djokovic, but he looked mentally rattled from the later stages of the second set onwards. Props to Querrey for keeping it together and fighting on his own service games to hold onto the break in the third.

October 31st, 2012 at 1:50 pm

More like

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October 31st, 2012 at 2:02 pm

lol what a world number one we have here

*note sarcasm

October 31st, 2012 at 2:44 pm

This was simply a case of Djokovic losing on indoor hardcourts, just as he has been losing in the past three seasons. Novak’s second round loss at Paris indoors supports what I had said:
(a) Djokovic’s worst surface is indoor hardcourts [Novak’s winning percentage on indoor hardcourts is about 71.8%, which is significantly worse than on outdoor hardcourts 85.2%, grass 77.0%, and clay 76.7%].
(b) the Paris Masters is Djokovic’s worst Masters tournament (his career winning percentage is just 65%, 11-6)
(c) Djokovic’s World Tour Finals career winning percentage is even worse at 50% (9-9).
(d) On indoor hardcourts, Djokovic is vulnerable to more players. Suprrisingly, Djokovic was vulnerable even to Querrey, whose career indoor 53% puts him at only No. 43 among active players on indoor hardcourts. As well, Djokovic is vulnerable to losses in conditions he is expected to win (this is Djokovic’s first loss this year after winning the first set as well as to player outside the top 20). His matchpoint-saving luck does not work as well in this situation.

Djokovic was so ‘stressed out’, distracted and sick before the match that he was clowning around with a Halloween mask. This possibly pissed off Querrey for 8 games. Halloween joke backfired on Djokovic, as Querrey had the last laugh.
http://tinyurl.com/ct36cb4

According to Swiss newspapers, Djokovic’s mother was “laughing in the stands” as Djokovic was initially crushing Querrey. Did anybody see camera shots of his mother? What’s his mother doing in Paris if his father is really so ill in hospital (which all magically happened after Federer announced he forfeited Paris)? Acute Respiratory Syndrome is a bad lung infection (SARS is Severe ARS, a viral infection).

October 31st, 2012 at 2:46 pm

thought the exact same thing Dave

Nole so ‘worried’ by personal issues he came to this event a week early and clowned around with halloween masks

he really is getting as pathetic as Nadal with the “i dont want to make excuse, NO” line

October 31st, 2012 at 3:07 pm

Dave i hear what your saying but no offence sometimes you do whatever you can in times of trouble to try to take your mind off things when my late mother had breast cancer i carried on working,likewise when my late father had kidney failure,it might sound heartless but different people have different ways of dealing with these things,its their way of coping,no harm or foul but is it fair to pass judgement when we ourselves dont know the ins and outs of the situation?

October 31st, 2012 at 3:17 pm

It’s Halloween. People wear masks on Halloween. What’s wrong with that? I see no need for psychoanalysis in this case.

October 31st, 2012 at 3:19 pm

hehe…typically crass French crowd.

October 31st, 2012 at 3:21 pm

alison, if people don’t like you, they tend to attach bad connotations to whatever it is you do. Some people are quite judgmental.

October 31st, 2012 at 3:23 pm

@scineram:

My ranking points figures are in reference to *actual* ranking points (i.e., the 52-week rolling tally used to determine current world ranking), not YTD race points.

October 31st, 2012 at 3:26 pm

With or without Paris Novak is #1 from monday onwards.
Some like some don’t. I like it, as for others….tough luck.

NO1E

October 31st, 2012 at 3:29 pm

Andy takes the 1st set 7-5. Had a bit of rust to shake off.

October 31st, 2012 at 3:33 pm

Hopefully we will get a Murray/Delpo final now,i only hope they dont suffer from burn out ahead of the WTFs on Monday,Nole and Roger will be the freshest now going into the WTF,im hoping for an open and well contested week of brilliant tennis,with the whole 8 players at the peak of their game,soo looking forward to it cannot wait.

October 31st, 2012 at 3:40 pm

Like Andys short hair.

October 31st, 2012 at 3:46 pm

The kit looks sharp too.

October 31st, 2012 at 3:48 pm

NO1E has two spare tournaments nex year if he is short with points Basel&Paris, and they will not be played one week after another, including YEC, or they will?
Who cares, Nole is NUMERO UNO second year in a row, that is what matters.
Now, go Andy, all the way!

October 31st, 2012 at 3:53 pm

Up a double break and cruising now. Delpo is through in straights 6-2 6-2.

October 31st, 2012 at 3:55 pm

Spoke too soon.

October 31st, 2012 at 4:02 pm

Andy through in 2.

October 31st, 2012 at 4:14 pm

@Dave: I’m a Federer fan through the best and worst of it (as are you), but I couldn’t help but notice your mention that it was the Swiss papers commenting on Djokovic’s mother…heh.

October 31st, 2012 at 4:23 pm

Djokovic doesn’t need “rest” right now. He hadn’t played in 2.5 weeks – he promptly lost his first match after securing the No. 1 ranking!!

If Fed wins the YEC, the No. 1 ranking will again be up for grabs at the AUS open. If you combine the YEC and the AUS open, Fed is defending 2220 points, Djoke is defending 2200. Neither can afford to trip up, and both have chances to gain points. Paris was where Djoke could have surged ahead – but not anymore.

I can see Murray smiling somewhere in the background!!!

DelPo seems to be bent on totally exhausting himself by the time the YEC comes along. I don’t know if ANYONE has EVER won a tournament in the 4th week of playing 4 consecutive weeks!!

October 31st, 2012 at 4:30 pm

Someone asked the question: had Federer played Paris, would he have had a chance of clinching year end No 1 given Djokovic’s loss today? Of course Roger would have had a chance if he played Paris. Here are the hypothetical scenarios:

Djokovic’s 2R loss (45 points) gives him 11,455 year-to-date race points at end Paris. Federer should actually have 9,555 after Basel (since his 90 points from Doha should be countable as he has four 500 events, including one after US Open)). The difference is 1,900.

If Federer wins Paris (1,000), the difference is 900 after Paris. In this scenario, Federer needs to win 900 points more than Djokovic does at WTF:
-if Djokovic loses all three round robin matches (like he did a few years ago), then Federer needs to win all three round robin matches and his semifinal.
-if Djokovic wins one to two round robin matches (200 – 400), Federer needs to win WTF (dropping one RR match is OK);
-if Djokovic wins three RR matches, Federer needs to win WTF without dropping a match. As long as Djokovic loses at or before the semifinals, Federer can take or tie the No. 1 ranking by winning the WTF.

If Federer is Paris runner up (600), the difference is 1,300 after Paris. In this scenario Federer needs to win the WTF: if he wins all five matches (1500), he finishes No.1. If he loses a RR match, he ties for No.1.

So had Federer not forfeited Paris, he still would have had a chance. However, a few things happened since the middle of Basel that might have affected Federer’s performance at Paris and once he got stuck in a long match with Delpo, he chose to focus on WTF. Federer should have not played Davis Cup and Basel and instead played Beijing, Shanghai, Paris and WTF, just like Djokovic.

*****

alison: They are public celebrities. If these celebrities publicize such information and their supporters are going to use such excuses to downplay their losses, then we have every right to analyse assess and pass judgment. Especially celebrities with publicity and public relations consultants to manage their image and information about them.

In my experience, when there are contradictions that smell fishy, there tends to be more to the story than portrayed.

I’m very sorry to hear about your parents. How people cope with chronic, slow illness tends to be different from acute, sudden-onset illness. Your examples of breast cancer and kidney failure are chronic, long-drawn situations where you can’t be expected to be providing 24 hour care. On the other hand, an acute respiratory syndrome is… acute. If your spouse was suddenly hopitalized for an acute viral respiratory infection such as severe flu or pneumonia, you’re likely going to be in the hospital everyday with him. If you fly off to another country to watch a sporting event you could watch on TV, it’s probably because your spouse is getting better.

*****

the_mind_reels: yeah, I saw it in the Swiss papers but didn’t check other sources. Actually the Swiss papers have been kinder to Djokovic at Paris than they have been to Federer during Basel (due to Wawrinka’s blabbering about Davis Cup and the Basel organizer’s leaks about Federer’s appearance fees… they pay him only about $500,000, which is 1/3 what Nadal got for 2010 Bangkok) which led to a public backlash against Federer while he was playing Basel. Roger wasn’t too happy having to deal with this PR issue in a welfare state that expects Federer to play for free in Basel.

October 31st, 2012 at 4:49 pm

I honestly thought that Nole is going to pull out of Paris after Roger did. Reason why is, he would have probably to play, if he passed Sam, Raonic, Delpo, Tsonga, Murray and to go stright London for YEC. I didn’t see him winnig Paris anyway so it is not big loss, and as far as I remember Paris was never high on the priority list of Roger either, for a reason:)
I see Murray as his main rival for#1 next year and to be honest I would like Andy at #2 sooner rather than later so they don’t have to meet before final. Andy has chance for that even before AO, not a big but if he winns Paris and Roger underperform in London…well here we go.
Even if I don’t like Andy, which I do, I have to be pragmatic as Nole fan. Delp, Tsonga and Andy will not be really rested for London?

October 31st, 2012 at 4:57 pm

@Dave, “the Swiss papers have been kinder to Djokovic at Paris than they have been to Federer during Basel (due to Wawrinka’s blabbering about Davis Cup and the Basel organizer’s leaks about Federer’s appearance fee…”

Are Stan and Fed not friends anymore? If they still are, i would assume stan’s leaking of that info would definitely drive a wedge between them.

October 31st, 2012 at 5:36 pm

Dave thanks and fair enough,it was just a theory thats all.

October 31st, 2012 at 5:54 pm

@alison, So sorry to read of your losses. it must have been a very difficult period for you to deal with. a lot of people sink themselves into their work to take their minds off their problems not only sickness related, but divorce, and financial problems as well. Hopefully, you’re over that bad patch and can look forward to happier times.

October 31st, 2012 at 6:45 pm

Alok thanks it was,but it was a long time ago now,my mother was too young,but my father had led a full life so no complaints there,i suffered with depression both times,but i had the love and support of a great husband and family to get me through,my life is really good now im pleased to say thanks.

October 31st, 2012 at 6:56 pm

alison, because of your family history, I hope you are having regular check-ups and screening procedures.

October 31st, 2012 at 7:41 pm

Polo yeah thanks and deffinetly,goes without saying,nothing to worry about on that score,im so pleased to say.

November 1st, 2012 at 4:56 am

Hope Muzz wins – if he wins the whole thing, I believe he is within less than 1000 of #2. -Jane

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

November 1st, 2012 at 7:53 pm

I’m hoping Fed will win WTF, and the AO2013 so that he will be able to reclaim the No. 1 ranking ASAP.

November 1st, 2012 at 8:06 pm