In between Grand Slams tennis thread

_Bella_

Thought there should be a thread for those who follow tennis outside the Grand Slams.

First big tournament this week since the Australian Open. All the big four are back in action, it will be interesting to see how Murray reacts to beating Djokovic but then losing to Federer.

On the women's side the focus is on Azaerenka. Unbeaten this year so it will be interesting to see if any of the other players can stop her. I think a Kvitova Azaerenka final would be really good for the sport!

RosyLily

Really good idea!! I like!

Looking forward to Indian Wells. The majority of the men are looking really good. Federer is on a great run and will be confident coming into the tournament. Murray will be disappointed he lost the Dubai final but he should be really pleased with his SF performance against Djokovic. Speaking of the Serb, he's defending his ranking points at IW and needs to win. Not as intimidating as he was last year but still many people's pick for the title. Haven't heard much from Nadal since AO. Hopefully, he's healthy for the tournament. Having the top 4 in peak will be great!

Azarenka has been quiet since AO; she pulled out of Fed Cup action and is most likely carefully planning her calendar to avoid any major injury. I'd love to see a Kvitova-Azarenka final. I think those two could have a great rivalry.

_Bella_

Andy Murray out second round. I didn't get to see the match but I'm really surprised, he's on a great run after beating Djokovic in Dubai. That opens up Djokovic's route to the final though he may have to get by Berdych in the quarters.

Pighead

Could be a few fireworks tomorrow evening when Berdych plays Almagro at Indian Wells. They played each other in the Australian Open in January and Berdych refused to shake Almagro's hand after the Spaniard hit him on the arm with the ball. Thought Berdych overreacted myself. The crowd booed him like crazy after the match.

RosyLily

Even a handshake at the end of the Almagro-Berdych match! Didn't get to see the full thing...anything happen?

walshb

Not sure how the draw goes, but if Fed can avoid Nadal I think he has a big chance to beat Novak if they meet in the final. Novak should beat Nadal.

RosyLily

walshb wrote: »

Not sure how the draw goes, but if Fed can avoid Nadal I think he has a big chance to beat Novak if they meet in the final. Novak should beat Nadal.

Unfortunately, Federer is scheduled to play Nadal in SF...provided they beat their QF opponents (del Potro for Fed & Nalbandian for Nadal)

Rjd2

Watched a lot of it random musings....



Ladies side

Women's tennis takes a lot of flak and most of it is deserved but Azarenka is sensational right now, reminds me a lot of Djokovic 12 months ago. A worthy number 1 indeed. The crushing of Radswanka must have terrified the rest of the locker room.
I want to see her and Kvitova play each other but sadly Kvitova has continued her rubbish form in America:(:(

Pleased to see Anna Ivanovic back in form as well, even if it is for obvious male reasons:P:P


Mens side


Delighted to see Nalbandian play so well this week, but without sounding like a killjoy he has to be more consistent.:o

Del Potro needs to avoid Federer for a while, its been ownage in their recent encounters.

Roddick is finished. Once he loses that serve its time up.Lukas ****ing Kubot was breaking his serve at will last week ffs.


Fish may have peaked last year as well, like Roddick his serve is no longer a fierce weapon, so that is half of his game done.

That is it really. Looking forward to the semi finals this weekend.

walshb

Final set tiebreaker here with Isner an Djokovic

walshb

Isner wins.... 7-6 (7-5 in tiebreak)

Rjd2

Pleased for Isner, much more than a serve these days, and unlike Fish and Roddick seems like a nice lad.

RosyLily

Delighted for Isner! He played a great match and made some amazing shots!! Final set, he was well out in the deuce court returning Nole serve and cracked a forehand up the line! Loved the forehand he played on Nole's return of serve- right behind him! It was a beaut!:p

I think the invincibility veneer of Djokovic is cracking. If he wants to retain his No.1 status, he'll have to up his game and keep his head in the game. I'd say a lot of players and coaches were gathered around the tv for the match and taking notes on how Isner defeated him.

It will be interesting to see where Djokovic goes from here and how he'll play at Miami and into the clay season.

Huge congrats to Isner as well for breaking into the top 10 for the first time. Not just a pretty serve!:)

Scanlas The 2nd

Fantastic performance by Federer last night to beat Nadal in straight sets, he seemed to cope better with the windy conditions, he was hitting the ball like he did against djokovic last year at French open semi final, very impressive.

RosyLily

Totally agree Scanlas. Federer coped best with the conditions. The spitting drizzle wouldn't have helped Nadal generate top-spin at all. Shame Fed can't play like that every time they play.

If Federer keeps up this form for the season, it'll be very exciting!

Azarenka-Sharapova final is just on Eurosport atm. Maria had her serve broken in the first game. Noticed that Victoria screeches as she brings her arm back to hit....something has to be done about it! Isner-Federer final is @ 8pm tonight on SS2.

_Bella_

Really good wins for Azarenka and Federer this week. Azarenka has firmly cemented her place at the top of womens tennis this year, hard to believe after last years circus of winners that this year there is a female player who hasn't lost.

Federer backed up his victory against Nadal with a commanding performance against Isner, especially in the second set. I came across this which is very interesting :

After winning six titles in the last six months, Roger Federer is now within 825 points of Rafael Nadal for the No. 2 ranking. Nadal has 600 final-round points to defend at this week’s tournament in Miami, while Federer only 360 to defend

jupiterjack

good to see roger win again, now on to miami..

walshb

I assume the Sony Ericsson Open is best of three sets again. It's hard courts, I think Federer should be favourite.

Edit: Paddy Power have Novak as favourite. Roger is 2nd favourite.

jupiterjack

novak and roger due to meet in semis in miami if all goes to plan...

jupiterjack

baghtadis could be handful for novak in his first match..

RosyLily

I like Baghdatis; hope he's 100% for Nole match. Baggy is a handful for anyone!

Sad to see Fernando Gonzalez retire earlier this week. Loved watching him play; excellent forehand!! ATP put together a nice tribute video for him...

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Media/Videos/2012/03/Miami/Miami-2012-Wednesday-Gonzalez-Tribute.aspx

_Bella_

I'm really surprised that Venus beat Kvitova! I didn't get to see the match so I don't know if Kvitova played badly, or if Venus played an excellent match.

walshb

Roddick causes the upset and dumps Federer in three sets.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/17519859

jupiterjack

Second seed Rafael Nadal, who is attempting to capture his 20th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy, defeated No. 16 seed Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday at the Sony Ericsson Open.

jupiterjack

Top 10
1 Novak Djokovic 12,670
2 Rafael Nadal 10,175
3 Roger Federer 9,350
4 Andy Murray 7,450
5 David Ferrer 4,700
6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4,535
7 Tomas Berdych 3,860
8 Mardy Fish 2,910
9 Janko Tipsarevic 2,730
10 John Isner 2,675
will rafa close the gap soon..

jupiterjack

World No. 2 Rafael Nadal set up a semi-final showdown with fourth-ranked Andy Murray at the Sony Ericsson Open Wednesday evening, topping sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in two hours and 50 minutes

Rjd2

Pleased for Aggie, one of the most likable ladies on tour and bating the one dimensional roaring yoke that is Maria in a final was lovely. Aggie probably the 2nd best player this year on the ladies tour this year.

jupiterjack

looking forward to the clay court season.

_Bella_

So who are everyone's tips for Monte Carlo?

I'm have no idea who's going to win, but whoever it is wlll have a huge psychological advantage for the rest of the clay swing. It is hard to tell without seeing him play if Nadal has got over his injury. However there is huge pressure on Novak to win.

Francie Barrett

I had the princely sum of €1 on Dolgopolov to win. I really think the clay courts are his ideal surface and that he will have a breakthrough event at some point.

jupiterjack

easy win for Nadal tonight 6/1 6/1

walshb

Novak beats Berdyc to advance to his second Monte Carlo final. Hope Nadal wins now to set up a dream final. Can Nadal break Novak's winning streak over him?

jcf

hopefully not as he's a cheat and a disgrace to the game

walshb

jcf wrote: »

hopefully not as he's a cheat and a disgrace to the game

Too late. Match underway!

Mo14

Nice to see Rafa win today, although Novak obviously wasn't at his best. Looking forward to the rest of the clay court season now.

Rob2D

jcf wrote: »

hopefully not as he's a cheat and a disgrace to the game

Dude, you are like a broken record.

I mean, I wouldn't really be a fan of his either but credit where credit is due and all that.

walshb

Rafa's serve, and Novak being a wee bit flat made for the win today. Rafa's percentage on the first serves was approx 80 percent.

Rjd2

Good win for Nadal who to be fair had a much easier week than Novak coming into this final.

Looking at the field for Barcelona next week he should cruise that as well.

jupiterjack

good to see rafa win today, this should set him up for rest of clay court season.

walshb

I will still back Novak to win the French should he and Rafa both make the final.

jcf

Well since Madrid beat Barça on saturday, we'll give Rafa this one ...


:P

TennisElite

Can Murray give Nadal a game in Barcelona? He has it in him?

Mo14

Has anyone been watching Eurosport's coverage of Stuttgart the past few days? The camera angles are infuriating sometimes, important points and we can't see what happens because the camera's still on the players back from between points. (I assume most of you are off watching Barcelona with your fancy Sky Sports )

Rjd2

Stuttgart has had some cracking games, Barthel was superb against Aazrenka but couldn't get the job done.

Semi finals tomorrow, Aggy v Azarenka and Sharapova v Kvitova should be good.

And the camera angles are awful, person doing them probably he thinks he is Malick. :rolleyes:


Barcelona has been dull enough, I can't get excited by it as its so obvious that Rafa will win it. Rafa games are dull on clay as the difference in class is huge unless its a really good player playing him.

jupiterjack

is rafa goin to win all clay court titles this year..

Rjd2

jupiterjack wrote: »

is rafa goin to win all clay court titles this year..

Don't think it will be a total clean sweep, I expect Novak or Roger to win one but regarding the French? Rafa will win that.

jcf

jupiterjack wrote: »

is rafa goin to win all clay court titles this year..

if he continues his disgusting play acting and scumbag intimidation tactics then yes probably.


what a scumbag.

Johnmb

jcf wrote: »

if he continues his disgusting play acting and scumbag intimidation tactics then yes probably.

If that was all he had going for him, the other players would have countered it by now. His game just suits clay, especially with his current opponents. Djokovic has a good chance though, as he proved last year, but I think Nadal's confidence will be well up compared to then after their last meeting.

Rob2D

Go on the Haas!

Great to see Tommy back in great form again, he was always one of my favourites.

jupiterjack

jcf wrote: »

if he continues his disgusting play acting and scumbag intimidation tactics then yes probably.


what a scumbag.

didnt notice any of those tactics myself while watching.

RosyLily

The draw for the Mutua Madrid Open has been made. Some interesting possible matches there. Earlier today, Andy Murray announced that he would not be taking part in the tournament due to a persistent back injury.

First round match between Milos Raonic and David Nalbandian could be great! Both got great serves and powerful ground strokes. In a way, I think Raonic is a bit like Nalbandian. And, the winner will play Roger Federer in the 2nd round.

Speaking of the Swiss, he hasn't got the easiest of times in Madrid. He's in Djokovic's half of the draw and is accompanied by the likes of Ferrer, Lopez and Almagro.

Djokovic is defending here. He'll be looking to improve on Monte Carlo and get himself psyched up for RG.

Nadal is in the bottom half of the draw...along with Isner, Tsonga, Verdasco, Berdych and del Potro. Rafa could meet del Potro in the QF, provided they get through the earlier rounds...that's one match I'd love to see!:)

Quite a strong field there! It'll be interesting to see who shines and who shíts over the course of the tournament.

RosyLily

Madrid Open kicked off today. Some surprises in the women's side of things. American qualifier Varvara Lepchenko dumped out 11th seed Francesca Schiavone in three sets 6-4, 6-7, 6-3. 14th seed Dominika Cibulkova was beaten by Italy's Roberta Vinci in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. No.1 Victoria Azarenka had a tougher time defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova. Although the score line suggests otherwise, Sveta made it tough for Vika in the first but fell away a bit in the second. Maria Sharapova had an easier route into the second round, defeating Irina-Camelia Begu in straights (6-0, 6-3).
Also through to the second round are Agnieszka Radwanska, Ana Ivanovic, Angelique Kerber, Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Kirilenko.

Not much happening on the men's side of the draw. That won't be kicking off properly until tomorrow. However, Nikolay DAvydenko did beat Ivo Karlovic 7-6, 6-3 to set up a second round date with Rafael Nadal. South African Kevin Anderson also had a relatively easy day at the office, beating Alex Bogomolov Jnr. 6-3, 6-2.

Playing tomorrow are: Serena, Kvitova, Jankovic, Errani, Kanepi, Ferrero, Stosur, Venus and Li.