Cincinnati Draw: Djokovic Tries To Become A Golden Master, Federer-Murray Quarter?

I think Novak will be out to win this,going into the USO it will be a big confidence boost,even if he doesnt i think he should go deep,although i think he would rather win the USO than winning Cincy,although he will most probably be favorite for both….

August 9th, 2014 at 2:15 am

Hippy Chic,

I’m sure Nole will go deep, but if Federer wins Canada he will get a lot of pundits picking him to do well at Cincinnati. His road to the final is easier than Djokovic’s, even though one day this year Murray will defeat a top 10 player. The bye that the top seeds get will also help Fed next week, although it could be tough for Tsonga should he reach the final tomorrow. He does not have a bye in Cincy and will have to play Youzhny probably on Tuesday.

Should be another good one.

August 9th, 2014 at 8:15 am

Novak had a brutal draw at Montreal. But at Cincinnati, the only Master series tournament he is yet to win, he has a relatively easy draw. Are things finally falling in place for Novak this time around at Cincinnati to complete the illustrious collection of winning every Master series title that is played on tour ? Only time can tell. But this is the best opportunity for Novak to create that record. I hope he makes use of this opportunity to register his name once more in the record books.

August 9th, 2014 at 8:49 am

But it won’t be fair
he gets so many W/O!
He had a W/O to the Miami final this year for gawd sakes!
As did Nadal.

August 9th, 2014 at 9:02 am

Who on earth came up with this Golden masters name? So idiotic. What makes it golden?

btw. walkovers are mostly bad for the players. They want to keep playing.

Cincy has always been a good place for Fed, even last year when his form overall was not great.

August 9th, 2014 at 12:14 pm

Alexandra im not a Novak fan,however when they say Golden Masters i believe they mean completing the set of Masters titles,which has never been done before to the best of my knowledge?its not something even Federer and Nadal have achieved in their careers,so it will be a unique achievement for Nole should he do it?if i was a fan id rather have another USO though as the GS are what the players really want,although he might win both,and he might not win either,who knows,time will tell?

August 9th, 2014 at 12:44 pm

“What makes it golden?” never done before, as hippy says. so clearly not easy.

August 9th, 2014 at 12:53 pm

i know (think?) you’re being facetious cdp, but walk-overs are weird. nole hardly ever gets them – but he’s had 2 this year. the last one he had before these was in 2011. in any case, they can sometimes backfire, as you noted on the other thread.

August 9th, 2014 at 12:59 pm

Jane thats what makes the sport and the achievements of Novak,Roger and Rafa so special,as they all have their own different areas in the sport that are unique to them,Roger has too many records to mention(and i wouldnt know where to start reeling them off TBH),Rafa winning a GS for 10 consecutive years,and has won a GS 9 times,not to mention allthe other CC records,and Novak has his records too,they are all great and that is what makes them and what they have achieved so special IMO….

August 9th, 2014 at 1:08 pm

I blame Gasquet for Murrays defeat lol,he was playing well and had his momentum disrupted….

August 9th, 2014 at 1:11 pm

I tried to find something on Andy and w/o and could not come up with anything. Rafa has a site that lists every tournament he has entered, who he played, the retirements and walkovers for him and his opponent. Andy may have one too, but could not find it. They all have had them in their careers….don’t understand the argument here. I believe Michael did not mean any ill will toward Andy at all…be just made a comment.

@Michael

I know how you feel about the Andy statement, I have made comments before and opened up a can of worms
unintentional, but I guess that is what keeps the discussion ongoing…….controversy!!

August 9th, 2014 at 1:56 pm

Golden Masters sounds completely inappropriate. Surely the word “Golden” should be attached to the Olympics. Maybe it should be called “Career Masters”. Anyway when the Bryan Bros. won everything they didn’t call it anything.

August 9th, 2014 at 2:03 pm

@Jane but of course :)

@okiegal It’s an argument he had made twice, it wasn’t accurate & didn’t even make sense when looked at logically.
And I certainly didn’t overreact to it.
It was a gentle correction (by my standards), that’s all.

August 9th, 2014 at 2:14 pm

Michael i respect you as a poster,but you might have gathered i get touchy and rather defensive when the word lucky gets used to describe my favorite(s),you do here on this forum all the time when some posters refer to their favorites as been a genius for winning a match,and others get described as been lucky,or their favorites rivals merely won because their favorites were a)not at their best,or b)unlucky,its like saying from one poster to another,your favorite won and your happy,but really you have no right to be happy,as your favorite didnt really deserve it,its like an astericks IMO,typical comments were Andy winning Wimbledon last year,he was lucky because Novak was spent due to a marathon match with Delpo the day before,Stan was lucky at the AO as Rafa was injured etc,just a couple of examples,but IMO its most unfair to the winner….

August 9th, 2014 at 2:21 pm

Agreed, but Stan WAS lucky to win the AO.
As Nadal was injured.
But in beating the multiple champion Djokovic to get to the final, I think he can still say he was a deserved winner.
For the record about Wimbledon, Novak had been on court 2hrs less overall than Andy who had also got through a close one with Verdasco over 5 in the QF’s.
Novak was fine for that match (and had said so), as he has been over long 5 setters previously. If anything it was probably the crowd that gave Andy the edge(they both suffered the heat).

August 9th, 2014 at 2:54 pm

@CDP

Yippy Skippy my post garnered a comment!! A gentle correction…..Well and good……but some of the corrections on here aren’t too gentle.

Good match going with the sisters…..V in the lead now

August 9th, 2014 at 3:05 pm

Well exactly,tennis is black and white,there are no grey areas,the winner wins and the loser loses,i do think posters dance around BS sometimes,and try to invent certain scenarios to make themselves feel better….

August 9th, 2014 at 3:06 pm

Speaking of the Rafa/Stan AO match…..what has happened to Stan? Does he have an injury? He has bowed out rather early lately.

August 9th, 2014 at 3:09 pm

@Chic 3:06

Spot on…..agree!

Vee serving for match. 2 points away.

August 9th, 2014 at 3:12 pm

I cant get that match anywhere on cable,and would only watch from time to time anyway.
Jo/Dimitrov is already heating up.
Never liked the sisters playing each other anyway.
Always felt the outcome was arranged beforehand.
Even if it wasn’t, the doubt was always there.
I know controversial.

August 9th, 2014 at 3:20 pm

Okiegal thanks,Venus was always the one i liked the best of the two sisters,IMO shes the most likeable and the more talented of the two,but Serena has always been the more successfull of the two,so glad she got the win against her younger sibling,Venus career has been in a decline for a while,which is sad for such a great champion….

August 9th, 2014 at 3:22 pm

Big sis beat #1 little sis for first time since 2009. Hmmm……Not a real mushy gushy hug between them at the end, Serena mum…..

August 9th, 2014 at 3:23 pm

Okiegal i always wondered how Stan would fair after winning the AO,and i remember getting clobbered by Tiah.post.com or Ahfi,when all i did was ask a pertinent question….

August 9th, 2014 at 3:26 pm

Now, I’m all set for Grigor and Joe Willy.

August 9th, 2014 at 3:30 pm

Serena isnt the player she was,shes 32 now so no spring chicken in tennis terms anymore,if she doesnt win the USO then she will be slamless this year,which will be most unusual for her,so one would have to think she will be starting to reach an inevitable decline….

August 9th, 2014 at 3:33 pm

@Chic…..I remember that incident too. Yes, one simple little comment can bring out the claws, not just from the female gender either!! Lol

August 9th, 2014 at 3:34 pm

I still think when she is `on` no one can stop her. And she is a far better prospect for more slams now than Fed is, although thats mostly to do with the competition.
Serena has had many weird moments like this past Wimbledon and came right back, I’m not writing her off at all.

August 9th, 2014 at 3:41 pm

@CDP

Do you really think the sisters rig their matches?
They both played their guts out today. I will agree with Pam Shriver, best match I have ever seen them play.

August 9th, 2014 at 5:16 pm

i agree with cdp about that…there is a strange feeling when they play each other. maybe it’s just because they are sisters, i don’t know.

August 9th, 2014 at 5:23 pm

Well, I am confident that there would be some reservations when you were playing your sibling as opposed to someone else. I don’t know if you would be able to have that old killer instinct. Serena wanted that bad today and I just didn’t see anything that would make me believe otherwise. I think Renee Stubbs said that if anyone ever had those thoughts, they would be put to rest today, because they both played hard to win. I have watched them play each other a lot and I never could never see it. I personally think that would be hard to do….always playing to win and then make mistakes on purpose to throw a match?? To throw a match that is exactly what you would be doing. Think it would be detrimental to your game. I have heard the commentators on this issue many times, so nothing new.

August 9th, 2014 at 6:02 pm

@Jane…….My post at 6:02 I meant it as a reply to you…

August 9th, 2014 at 6:05 pm

For those wondering what “Golden Masters” stands for, well, there is offical ATP logo for Golden Masters…

http://www.atpworldtour.com/~/media/42CDC131F16F44C7901A7617151E5716.ashx

August 9th, 2014 at 8:45 pm

Okiegal @ 1.56 am

Thanks for coming to my support. That comment was just made in a jiffy. I just didn’t sense the implications it would make and realized rather lately that it would hurt fans who adore Andy. So, I offered my apologies for that caustic remark so that things would be put to rest. The problem here is that we need to be very careful in the way we express our views which must be constructive but not critical. I am trying my best to do that, but as a human I fail sometimes and give into gaffes.

August 9th, 2014 at 11:32 pm

Alison @ 2.21 pm,

Well as I have already explained my predicament to Okiegal, I need to be a shade careful when I express my views. Ofcourse, the term lucky just cannot be explained like God. It means everything and is an abstract concept. So, frequent usage of that word does infuriate some posters for which I have readily apolized. As I have maintained often that the winner deserves respect for what does at court. Even if the opponent is not fit, it is not his problem. But, sometimes in a jiffy, it just rushes into your comment and spoils the whole thing which is also slightly contradictory to your frequent stand on the issue. I have admitted my mistake and I have already apolized. I promise every poster in this Forum including you and Okiegal that it would not get repeated. But as a human, I never know ? Error might just creep in now and then as I am not perfect like the rest !!

August 9th, 2014 at 11:39 pm

@Michael

Yeah, posters can get a little touchy at times…..I also have been there and done that! This is a forum where we can voice our opinions and for sure we are not gonna agree all the time. Don’t worry about it, you have always been a fair poster and your comments are always worth reading!!

August 10th, 2014 at 12:08 am

Okiegal,

Thanks once again !! I appreciate your views !!

August 10th, 2014 at 12:16 am

@Michael

U r welcome…..someone appreciates my views?? I’m gonna faint!! Lol

August 10th, 2014 at 12:54 am

Michael no problem your a great poster,ive said it often enough havent i?there wouldnt be much to talk about if we all agreed on everything now would there?

August 10th, 2014 at 1:47 am

^BTW i often bring up the whole celebrities promoting charities thing,and how irritating it is,just the other day i was called bitter and jealous,simply because i just dont choose to fawn over the issue,but for some reason that seems to be seen as pure sacrilege on this forum,and not to be tolerated^….

August 10th, 2014 at 1:52 am

CDP i wouldnt bet against Serena winning more GS,Federer has it harder as you say because of the competition,but people will start to ask question if she doesnt win the USO,as she will be ending the year slamless,which is most unusual for her,she lost early at the AO to Ivanovic,FO to Murgaruza,Wimbledon to Cornet,very early and to players she usually owns….

August 10th, 2014 at 2:21 am

Alison @ 1.47 am,

Thanks. I do not know I deserve it but still when you repeatedly say that I feel happy. I too highly regard you as a Poster. You may be a Nadal fan, but you have been very fair even at the cost of inviting brickbats from Rafa addicts. Ofcourse, if we all agree on everything, then there is no need for a Forum in the first place. The fun in posting is ignited only when we agree to disagree. It is when we try to impress upon our counter Poster with out thoughts and production of data which we hope would end up convincing them. And when they agree with what we say,then you derive that sense of satisfaction.

August 10th, 2014 at 3:05 am

I have a sneaking feeling that Murray will do better in Cincy. Don’t want to jinx him – but he was the only player to take a set off Tsonga and showed signs of improvement in Toronto. He also made light work of Kyrgios, so I think he’ll well in here.

August 11th, 2014 at 1:30 pm