Del Potro Announces Clay Schedule, No Monte Carlo

I thought that perhaps he would play even less. Good news! I hope he doesn’t start the FO too tired.

April 11th, 2018 at 10:39 am

It would be nice to see him do some damage in the Clay season.

April 11th, 2018 at 11:10 am

It feels like Del Po’s fitness will undo him during the clay court season. I think his fitness is still a work in progress. I do think he’ll win some rounds but winning any of these tournaments doesn’t seem all that likely (…of course now that I’ve said that, watch him go out and win the FO).

I actually like Del Po’s chances on grass as opposed to clay because:

1) He has a strong serve.
2) He has a massive flat forehand to back up that serve and flat forehands really move through the grass
3) A good slice backhand is actually a weapon on grass
4) Fitness isn’t really an issue on grass
5) He’s had success on the surface before

April 11th, 2018 at 12:31 pm

And he moves well.

April 11th, 2018 at 12:48 pm

SG1, Agree.

Maybe he doesn’t want to grind out too much hence a reduce clay schedule. His FH is a weapon on any surface, but think he will be one of the favorites for Wimbeldon also, together with Fed, Cilic, Dimi and Murray if he gets a soft draw and some decent performance on Queens

April 11th, 2018 at 1:07 pm

Rome and Madrid are supposed to be ‘fast’ courts isn’t it?

April 13th, 2018 at 6:59 am

https://www.perfect-tennis.com/tennis-court-surfaces-and-court-speeds/ Buried on here is an interesting graph from the ATP, which I couldn’t find on the actual site! But the comparatively high altitude at Madrid effects how fast the ball flies through the air, so it’s a bit different from other tournaments.

April 13th, 2018 at 7:43 am

LaTiNo,

Madrid plays a bit faster due to thin air, but it’s still clay, is just a faster clay. In between regular clay and Miami.

Rome is slow. Not slow as MC and Buenos Aires, but slow.

April 13th, 2018 at 10:40 am

MC draw should be out today or tomorrow.

Curious to see where Djoko will land as he will be 9th seed. PCB surpass him in the ranking and will be the eith seed.

He can face Nadal in R16 but hard to see #1 drawn to #9 R16.

April 13th, 2018 at 11:32 am

Kind of a sad statement about tennis these days. There isn’t a single tournament that really is “fast”. I understand the logic. Fans want to rallies. Rallies sell tickets. On the other hand, this “homogenization” takes something away from the game. Slowing down the courts almost forces all players to develop in a specific way. A player like John Isner wouldn’t have been a baseliner 30 years ago. It doesn’t make a lot of sense for Isner to toil away from the baseline. A 6′-10″ guy with a cannonball serve should be all over the net and in reality, he doesn’t even volley well. What chance does he have against the Federers, Novaks and Nadals playing them at their own game? This is something that needs a little fixing.

April 13th, 2018 at 12:50 pm

Agree SG1, that’s why it is easier today to be an “all court player”, where in reality they are more like, one style of play. Hence we saw 3 different players completing the caereer Slam in a Spam of 6 years. Off course, they are all top 10 all time greats, maybe top 5, but even so, slowed surfaces helped them.

April 13th, 2018 at 1:10 pm

http://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Ranking_Atp_Wta/53762/atp-monte-carlo-main-draw-rafael-nadal-could-face-novak-djokovic-in-qf/

Djoko could face Nadal in quarters, should he make it so far. Possible R16: Djoko-Thiem

April 13th, 2018 at 1:59 pm

And possible R64 Djoko- Coric. Wow. But hopefully Nole will pass the qualifier in his first round :)

April 13th, 2018 at 2:35 pm

R32, Not 64

April 13th, 2018 at 2:36 pm

Wow, just realize this is probably the first time in a decade that Djokovic (seed #9) is not having a bye at a torunament.

April 13th, 2018 at 4:16 pm

I Do feel for Novak hes always had to do things the hard way, anyway moving on, any chance of a MC thread please staff ;-)

April 13th, 2018 at 4:39 pm

Willow: Without a specific thread we get a story here , a story there – yes let’s have a thread before it starts.

April 13th, 2018 at 6:38 pm

SG1: Re your comment on Del Potro – fine but – his fitness has to be measured by the 5-set possibilities in many of the matches – not only on clay but also on grass….don’t recall any stunning play by Del-Potro previously when there is a full quota of excellent grass players….he’s got more chance on clay, me thinks.

April 13th, 2018 at 6:48 pm

Really would like to see Nole re-emerging as a very competitive top player – asap….to join Nadal/Fed. and (also Andy+Stan to join him). The next gen. are still flaky….almost as if they are satisfied to reach a level they’ve been at for a couple of years eg Kyrios and co.

April 13th, 2018 at 6:55 pm