The 2015 In Between Grand Slam Thread

Floppybits · 11-05-2015 01:26PM

walshb wrote: »

I would say that Federer has lost it. He will not be a threat in RG. He hasn't been a major threat for a while now. I can't see Roger getting to the QFs or semis this year unless he has an "easy" draw.

With Nole back in Rome we can assess Murray further should he progress and meet Nole. I would love to see a Nole-Murray final, but I believe they meet in the semis and Nadal and Federer meet in the semis if that is the way it progresses.

I agree with you that Federer is no longer a threat especially in 5 set matches. He just doesn't have the stamina for slams anymore. He would need a few shocks to happen in the early rounds if he was to make it further than the quarters.

the_monkey · 11-05-2015 03:42PM

Nadal has lost 3 times in Clay this season - is this the most he has ever lost on clay in one season - specifically before the FO ?

walshb · 11-05-2015 04:04PM

the_monkey wrote: »

Nadal has lost 3 times in Clay this season - is this the most he has ever lost on clay in one season - specifically before the FO ?

I think he lost twice, and possibly a couple of times recently to Nole/others and ended up winning the FO.

the_monkey · 11-05-2015 04:21PM

walshb wrote: »

I think he lost twice, and possibly a couple of times recently to Nole/others and ended up winning the FO.

Yeah, but only twice ...

last season and 2011 he lost twice on clay before FO ...

But I think this is the 1st time its 3 ..

walshb · 11-05-2015 04:24PM

More importantly is the manner of his losses. He hasn't looked quite the clay force from years gone by. He seems slower and staler. It can't be easy. His style is very challenging and grueling.

Rjd2 · 13-05-2015 08:19PM

Do people still think Murray has no sense of humor?:P

RosyLily · 13-05-2015 11:50PM

He's just saying what we're all thinking. BBC jumping the gun just a smidge!:pac:

yerwanthere123 · 14-05-2015 02:51AM

I feel we've all ignored today's most surprising development - Bouchard actually won a match! :eek:

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 14-05-2015 01:28PM

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

I feel we've all ignored today's most surprising development - Bouchard actually won a match! :eek:

Normal service resumed this morning. At least she put up a fight today though.

I'm fairly sure she did the same thing last year. Decent results at 3/4 of the slams, terrible results in between.

Floppybits · 14-05-2015 02:10PM

Murray has pulled out of the rome masters because of fatigue.

RosyLily · 14-05-2015 02:32PM

Bouchard's got a lot of points to defend from now til Wimbledon. She could find herself sliding out of the top 10 if she doesn't improve asap.

Floppybits wrote: »

Murray has pulled out of the rome masters because of fatigue.

Not surprised. TBH, I thought he'd skip Rome and head for Paris early. With Murray's good form on clay, Djokovic's dominance and question marks over Nadal, I'm looking forward to RG more than most years.

RosyLily · 14-05-2015 04:24PM

Serena has withdrawn from Rome due to right elbow injury.

Sharapova currently laughing manically, twirling her moustache.

Pighead · 15-05-2015 02:48PM

Fed sweeps into the Semi's beating Berdych in straight sets. Poor old Tomas had a bit of a marathon against Fognini yesterday evening which must have took a fair bit out of him. Fed in with a shout of winning this now especially if Nishikori can take out Djokovic which I think is a real possibility. That games on in half an hour. Should be a cracker.

Turn your volume down later on for the last match of the evening between Azarenka and Sharapova. The shriekometer levels will be off the scale for that one.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 15-05-2015 02:56PM

Pighead wrote: »

Turn your volume down later on for the last match of the evening between Azarenka and Sharapova. The shriekometer levels will be off the scale for that one.

:rolleyes:

Pighead · 15-05-2015 03:28PM

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

:rolleyes:

Agree. Will be a good match. Azarenka to edge Maria in three sets.

RosyLily · 17-05-2015 03:46PM

Sharapova wins 3rd Rome title, beating Suarez Navarro 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. Slow start from Masha and Carla played great! Just couldn't keep it up for the full match.

Now, 39th meeting between Djokovic & Federer. If this isn't a good match, I will be disappointed!

Quick question - what's the most times two players have met over their careers? 39 seems mad to me and Fed-Djok could hit 50 before they retire imo.

WaterLily. · 17-05-2015 05:25PM

Nadal and Djokovic have met 43 times! I'd say one or both of those rivalries will hit 50. It's crazy!

Anyone else getting slightly bored of the Djokovic domination?

I'd like him to win the French and then for things to start getting more competitive. I know you can never predict what will happen in sport but I wouldn't be surprised in the least to see him sweeping up every slam this year. Murray is the only one I can see challenging him over 5 sets at the moment, even then Djokovic comes out on top more often than not.

RosyLily · 17-05-2015 05:30PM

Wow, 43!! Either one should reach 50, bar any injuries or retirements.

Yes, I'm getting a bit tired of Djokovic winning everything. I don't think he'll sweep up all GSs this year though. Something is bound to crack. He couldn't do it in 2011 and I don't think he'll do it now.

I can see Murray winning Wimbledon or US Open. Maybe a final Wimbledon hurrah for Federer. IDK!

WaterLily. · 17-05-2015 05:44PM

I can see Murray winning either of them that is true, unfortunately for Federer I think that ship sailed a long time ago. I can't believe the last slam he won was 3 years ago, I'd love for him to prove me wrong though.

More than anything though I want to see a new slam winner and not some fluke like Cilic, I know he played some inspired tennis in New York but I knew it wouldn't last, I know he's been injured but I can't help but wish that Nishikori won instead of him! I feel like he would have made more of it.

RosyLily · 17-05-2015 05:48PM

I'll still hold out hope for a Federer win. Crazier things have happened in tennis.

This time next week will be French Open time! Time flies.

Johnmb · 17-05-2015 05:48PM

WaterLily. wrote: »

I can see Murray winning either of them that is true, unfortunately for Federer I think that ship sailed a long time ago. I can't believe the last slam he won was 3 years ago, I'd love for him to prove me wrong though.

He has a better chance on paper than Sampras had in his last US Open, so it's definitely possibly. I think he needs a bit of luck now to do it though, it won't be down to his form any more, he'll need others to be upset, or to have a gruelling match against each other in the previous round.

walshb · 17-05-2015 05:50PM

Fed was very flat today. Far too easy for Nole. Still, kudos for Fed getting to yet another 1000 final. And a huge achievement for Nole to go past Federer on finals 1000 wins with 24. I think he will catch and pass Nadal's 27.

RosyLily · 17-05-2015 06:05PM

So flat from Fed!! A bit surprised considering how well he played in earlier rounds. I agree, Djokovic has a great chance of surpassing Nadal's 27 Masters titles. There's 4 1000 tournaments left in the season, all on hard courts. Could very well pass him out this year.

the_monkey · 18-05-2015 10:04AM

It's an interesting run up to the french open for sure ... I'm not so certain of Nadal now, has to be his worst ever clay court season so far (think he's lost 4 times).

I'd drop it to 80% sure he'll win it ... :cool:

walshb · 18-05-2015 11:56AM

the_monkey wrote: »

It's an interesting run up to the french open for sure ... I'm not so certain of Nadal now, has to be his worst ever clay court season so far (think he's lost 4 times).

I'd drop it to 80% sure he'll win it ... :cool:

It's definitely his weakest display pre FO. Add this to the number of threats to him, not just Nole.

the_monkey · 18-05-2015 12:43PM

Good read ..

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/may/16/rafael-nadal-crisis-clay-stan-wawrinka-defeat-italy

walshb · 18-05-2015 12:46PM

Maybe I am crazy but there's a small part of me that wants Rafa to win now because he is being doubted so much. It would be really epic if he did win at RG. Nice aesthetic and even number as well. 10!

the_monkey · 18-05-2015 12:59PM

walshb wrote: »

Maybe I am crazy but there's a small part of me that wants Raf to win now because he is being doubted so much. It would be really epic if he did win at RG. Nice aesthetic and even number as well. 10!

If he does pull it off he might just retire ... it would be a nice way for him to go ..

yerwanthere123 · 18-05-2015 05:07PM

Can't believe RG is next week, haven't even had time to think about it. What are our predictions? I'm not seeing it for Serena on the women's side, she hasn't played enough on clay and didn't even win a title on the surface this year. It's hard to imagine who she might lose to, but I think she'll slip up. Then again, if she does win she'll be three-quarters of the way towards another Serena Slam, so she should be motivated. All in all though, I think we're headed towards another Sharapova victory. She hasn't had a very good clay season thus far by her high standards, but she righted the ship in Rome, albeit with a very easy draw. I think she'll will her way to another victory and clinch grand slam #6, provided of course she avoids Serena. Halep can win if she avoids both Serena and Sharapova, but that's a tall order. Carla Suarez-Navarro is in terrific form right now so she's a dark horse. Muguruza was my wildcard pick to win it at the beginning of the year, although she's had a pretty measly clay season thus far, so it's hard to see here doing too much. Hope I'm wrong though.

On the men's side, I'm going for a Nadal victory. Yes I know he's not in form, but he'll be playing at the tournament where he's only ever lost one match and the conditions suit his game best. He'll probably have a scrappy first week, maybe dropping a couple of sets, but I can easily see him playing himself back into form. Will be extremely difficult, perhaps more so mentally, for anyone to beat him over a best of 5 sets format. If/when he gets to the second week, I think he'll be back in business. So yeah, I think he'll win #10. At the very least I think he'll get to the final. I'd love to see Murray do something incredible on the clay, but obviously difficult to see him winning. Would love to see him reach the final though.

mrkiscool2 · 18-05-2015 05:34PM

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Can't believe RG is next week, haven't even had time to think about it. What are our predictions? I'm not seeing it for Serena on the women's side, she hasn't played enough on clay and didn't even win a title on the surface this year. It's hard to imagine who she might lose to, but I think she'll slip up. Then again, if she does win she'll be three-quarters of the way towards another Serena Slam, so she should be motivated. All in all though, I think we're headed towards another Sharapova victory. She hasn't had a very good clay season thus far by her high standards, but she righted the ship in Rome, albeit with a very easy draw. I think she'll will her way to another victory and clinch grand slam #6, provided of course she avoids Serena. Halep can win if she avoids both Serena and Sharapova, but that's a tall order. Carla Suarez-Navarro is in terrific form right now so she's a dark horse. Muguruza was my wildcard pick to win it at the beginning of the year, although she's had a pretty measly clay season thus far, so it's hard to see here doing too much. Hope I'm wrong though.

On the men's side, I'm going for a Nadal victory. Yes I know he's not in form, but he'll be playing at the tournament where he's only ever lost one match and the conditions suit his game best. He'll probably have a scrappy first week, maybe dropping a couple of sets, but I can easily see him playing himself back into form. Will be extremely difficult, perhaps more so mentally, for anyone to beat him over a best of 5 sets format. If/when he gets to the second week, I think he'll be back in business. So yeah, I think he'll win #10. At the very least I think he'll get to the final. I'd love to see Murray do something incredible on the clay, but obviously difficult to see him winning. Would love to see him reach the final though.

While I agree he will play himself into form over the first week but he will have to face at least Djocko, Murray/Federer and one of Ferrer/Nishikori/Wawrinka from the quarters onwards. I just don't think he can put them away easily and he will be beaten I think. I find it interesting that both Murray and Djockovic are unbeaten on clay this season. Murray will make the semis and I would love to see him win it but I still think Wimbledon is his greatest chance of a Slam this year.

The 2015 In Between Grand Slam Thread

Comments