ATP 1000: Monte Carlo (Daily Order Of Play)!

First topic message reminder :

Monte Carlo.... tennis is finally coming home!

After weeks of sleepless nights caused by travelless jetlag, tennis caravan is back to where it belongs and looks best: Europe!

Ahead are a few potentially historically huge months:

Novak Djokovic could be the first man after Rod Laver to hold all 4 slam titles.

He could also be the first man to achieve the Golden slam, if he wins the gold at the Olympics.

All grand dreams, very difficult to achieve, yet, for this grand dreamer, nothing is impossible

Back to Monte Carlo, and the first 1000 Masters even on clay:

Bar Federer's last minute wild-card change of mind, all the best players are in town:

*Legendary Rafael Nadal with his mind-boggling 7 straight tournament wins.
*Novak Djokovic with his mind-boggling 7 straight finals wins over Nadal
*Andy Murray , pressure free and hungry. Could surprise many.
*David Ferrer, the eternal bridesmaid...will give someone a great workout in the semi-final!
*Delpo? No Federer in the draw, may release the "old" smooth powerhouse.

and.....

everybody else except the Biggest clay question mark called Isner, who withdrew from the tournament needing rest and preparation for the remainder of the season.

Official website:

http://www.monte-carlorolexmasters.com/


The Draw:

http://www.monte-carlorolexmasters.com/Share/Event-Draws.aspx?Year=2012&Draw=ms

Easier to follow, PDF version of the draw:

http://www.atpworldtour.com/posting/2012/410/mds.pdf

Order of play for Wednesday, 17th of April (no PDF version yet):

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Scores/schedule.aspx?EventId=410&Year=2012&Seq=5

Set in the glorious scenery of glittering, breath-taking sparkling Medditeranean vista, I will be there daily in spirit sighing and dreaming....

For Monte Carlo with its vintage charm, class and timeless air of dolce vita is my favourite tournament (let's leave that heart-breaker called Wimbledon out of this conversation just this once!)

I have bought a large vintage poster of Monte Carlo recently, and it hangs framed behind my desk reminding me of those days when the world took its time....and nobody moaned that much ....and ladies wore dresses when they played....and looked and behaved like ladies ....

http://img2.photographersdirect.com/img/16398/wm/pd1802170.jpg

Now, let's get into the mood, shall we?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFabjc6mFk4


AND, last but not the least...

GO NOLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!1

Bravo Simon - there is only one outcome I can see, but a valiant fight from the Frenchman

Djakal final it is. Seven finals so far. Will the tide change tomorrow?

Lets hope it does. Djoko needs a beating tomorrow.

Nah I'm rooting for the Djoker!

Its hard to see beyond Djok winning...you feel its on his racquet to lose, Nadal didnt look imperious today.

I reckon Rafael Nadal will edge it tomorrow. He has looked strong throughout the week whilst Novak has looked less impressive though he does have things on his mind. Nadal to win in three sets for me.

Rafa has undoubtedly looked good, although must be said he hasn't exactly had the toughest of opposition to face in his path to the Final. It's been a very, very good draw. Plus, he must surely feel about as comfortable at MC as when he is back home in Majorca

Djoker has by comparison struggled at times, but the fact that he has at least been tested could well have put him into battle-hardened mode ahead of tomorrow.

Anyway I am definitely going with Rafa for this one. I would put my money on him, but at only 4/6 there's not a lot to be had in return (Novak is at 11/10)

I'm certain the tide will turn here at MC after the 0-7 sequence. And if not ...... Rafa's head will be messed up even more than it was in 2011

You feel this week may be his best chance for sure CC...especially as Madrid and Rome will play quicker and Nole will be more focused. The wind tomorrow may be a factor again too...

Good point re: mentality lags, you feel Nadal needs this win or else be in the doldrums all season. As they say and to invert a common phrase I'm hoping for the best but expecting the worst!

That's right lags42. It is more crucial for Rafa that he wins rather than for Novak. A win for Nadal and he will get a big boost for their future encounters but a defeat in his favourite surface and it will be a massive blow and will build up those doubts in his head even more against Djokovic.

I wonder how he#ll fare in Barcelona next week too if he loses...although doesnt look too bad a draw there either.

Djokovic in 2.

You sense Nadal is to Djokovic what Roddick is to Federer, a whipping boy.

All four players you mention have spent time as World No. 1, and I personally don't like to see the term 'whipping boy' applied to anyone at such a stratospheric level of the sport.

But whilst a 21-3 Fed/Roddick h2h is undoubtedly a huge gulf in class, I can't agree that 16-14 is anywhere near the same league, notwithstanding these past 12 months.

I'll certainly change my views IF 2012 and 2013 reproduce the same pattern as 2011 - which I just don't believe will happen .......

Well it was a terrible semi for Novak in terms of his game and the conditions but he managed to defeat a talented opponent who seemed to be even more bothered by the wind. I think all factors point to Novak losing to Nadal. Novak has taken a big hit personally with the loss of his grandfather and since the news has come out he has not played well in a single match in monte carlo. But yet he is still in the final which shows how talented and above the rest of the guys he really is. Novak had the tougher opponent and the tougher semi. And this is a tournament Nadal has won 7 times on the trot. Still you really can't count Novak out, however based on current form I would say this is Nadal's best chance to break the streak.

Socal

Having watched both matches both players were not really playing their best, for differing reasons, but nevertheless they achieved the all important win.

As for tomorrow I am sure it will be a slugfest and hopefully entertaining, but whoever wins it will be on merit and may the best man win.

Don't get me wrong sportslover. A win is a win. And you are right anyone who wins it will deserve it. But I think right now Novak must be regretting even going to Monte Carlo. He didn't go last year, and I agreed with that decision. Now to have to fight and struggle in every match off form, and then leaving serbia with what ended up happening has obviously been the thing that has played on his mind. Nadal has a golden opportunity he shouldn't squander it.

Either way a 1000 points is up for grabs and if Novak wins it widens the margin again over Rafa not to say what damage it would have over him mentally.

Saying that he has a substantial amount of points to defend between now and the summer. It will be a two horse race in my opinion for that number one spot come the year end as I cannot see Federer getting past his current position with the possibility of him dropping further down the table.

Well the theory is by many that Fed has the most points since the US open, however in the current 2012 points race for year end #1 Fed is ahead of Nadal as second in the points race. However, I agree with you sportslover I just don't see FEd getting the number 1 back as well as he has played. Barring injuries of one or the other of the top 2 or both.

I certainly agree that if Nadal loses it will be one of the most devasting of his losses to Novak. To lose here psychologically having won it 7 times is a big deal. Novak is taking a very risky play coming in and laying it on the line against Nadal in MC when this is going to be an even busier spring and summer than last year with the olympics. This was an ambitious entry at MC this year for Novak, and I think everyone in both camps understands that for Nadal to have a realistic chance of capturing the #1 he needs to be much better on clay in terms of results than he was last year. And losing his most dominant tournament to Djokovic at the slowest clay court that the two will play on is going to be devasting to recover from. It will be a damaging blow at the most important stretch of the season for Nadal if Novak wins tomorrow.

lydian - perhaps as a seasoned Nadal watcher, you can answer this for me? Nadal looks as if he is carrying a lot of muscle up top and his legs look very big too, like a sprinter rather than a marathon runner. I know that Agassi's trainer said that tennis players should train to run several sprints rather than a marathon and Nadal's conditioning seems to be with this in mind. However, given the way tennis matches are played between Djokovic and Nadal, do you think he is hawking around an awful lot of heavy muscle, and is it likely to be counterproductive in the long term over this year? Not least because if the knees really are a concern, they seem to be doing everything counter to received wisdom.

He looked very sweaty with the effort after long rallies with Simon yesterday.

You know TP I don't believe he is bigger up top than before, where is the proof of this? If anything I think he's the same or slightly smaller...if you look at pictures of him in 2010 he was the same as now. If you see him without a shirt, like change of ends at MC, he doesn't look particularly bigger...IMO. That said he is bigger than many other players for sure and the weight will always put strain on his knee joints. There is no way Nadal is ever going to have Djoko's frame, he's just not built that way and I think to a degree he's just a "big lad". But his weight will always compromise his endurance against very lean players if they can live with him in ralleys (a big IF!) and this is a reason I think Nole can last so well against him as he's carrying less weight and doesn't run as far. Re: Simon match, when you think of it he can't have had much time to run around during the knee injury to maintain peak fitness and I think he rusty in this area...since that 6 week layoff he hasn't played a massive amount of tennis and think his match fitness isn't optimised yet. But again, if you look at Simon they call him "marathon man", the guy is probably the leanest on tour and can run all day...some of their ralleys yesterday were over 30 strokes and that's enough to make anyone sweat. So I think it was a combo of Nadal not at 100% yet fitness/match wise and facing a very fit and on form player. If you look at Nadal he used to basically bagel and breadstick his way to the final in previous years at MC but this year it's abit harder for him...either they're all better or he's not at peak....or both. But I don believe he's bigger...his left arm might be but all players arms get bigger over the years as they physically peak towards 30years of age...remember the size of Corretja's forearm in later years...like Popeye!!

time please.

Your not Tenez in disguise are you? Before reading your comment I had just seen this photo of Nadal taken this week with Nastase and Borg. He looks tiny.

http://postimage.org/image/ey6u33tlv/

hawkeye wrote:time please.

Your not Tenez in disguise are you? Before reading your comment I had just seen this photo of Nadal taken this week with Nastase and Borg. He looks tiny.

http://postimage.org/image/ey6u33tlv/

Don't provoke me please HE - I don't do anonymous posting and disguises!

BTW it is you're - you put the apostrophe in where you discard a letter in this case the a, as in you are, not to be confused with your which indicates possession!

Sorry, I did warn you not to provoke me today.

Bjorn still looking very good in that pic.

All hail the Swedish maestro !

nadal breaks

Nadal breaks, 1:2 Go Nadal Go

1st set rafa novak again out of sorts

A Nadal win here would make the rivlary more interesting. 1st set Nadal.

2nd bp nadal and hes got it this could be over now

Djokovic looks exhausted with no positive energy at all.

Nadal doing very well so far.

Bagel approaching, Nadal on nuclear power

5-1

Nadal gets it, superb win, Djoko is history this year

Wish Djokovic had put up a better fight.

Congrats Nadal, on breaking the 'jinx'.

Jahu wrote:Nadal gets it, superb win, Djoko is history this year

haha you're funny

nah, Djoko was the funny guy today.

Here's something that actually is funny: https://www.youtube.com/user/ERB

Djokovic not at 2011 level it seems. This time last year he was undefeated and about to stay that way until Fognini - sorry, Federer - stopped him at the tail end of Roland Garros.

Jahu wrote:nah, Djoko was the funny guy today.

you have an odd sense of humour

That was brutally brilliant from Nadal However, he did lose a little length in the second set and you did feel that if Djokovic had felt sharper today or it had been five sets it could possibly have swung the other way. Too many errors that missed the line that maybe could have been audacious winners with a little more focus.

Certainly adds some interest to the next few encounters.

In the meantime, well done to Nadal - hard to see anyone live with him in the first set.

lydian wrote:You know TP I don't believe he is bigger up top than before, where is the proof of this? If anything I think he's the same or slightly smaller...if you look at pictures of him in 2010 he was the same as now. If you see him without a shirt, like change of ends at MC, he doesn't look particularly bigger...IMO. That said he is bigger than many other players for sure and the weight will always put strain on his knee joints. There is no way Nadal is ever going to have Djoko's frame, he's just not built that way and I think to a degree he's just a "big lad". But his weight will always compromise his endurance against very lean players if they can live with him in ralleys (a big IF!) and this is a reason I think Nole can last so well against him as he's carrying less weight and doesn't run as far. Re: Simon match, when you think of it he can't have had much time to run around during the knee injury to maintain peak fitness and I think he rusty in this area...since that 6 week layoff he hasn't played a massive amount of tennis and think his match fitness isn't optimised yet. But again, if you look at Simon they call him "marathon man", the guy is probably the leanest on tour and can run all day...some of their ralleys yesterday were over 30 strokes and that's enough to make anyone sweat. So I think it was a combo of Nadal not at 100% yet fitness/match wise and facing a very fit and on form player. If you look at Nadal he used to basically bagel and breadstick his way to the final in previous years at MC but this year it's abit harder for him...either they're all better or he's not at peak....or both. But I don believe he's bigger...his left arm might be but all players arms get bigger over the
years as they physically peak towards 30years of age...remember the size of Corretja's forearm in later years...like Popeye!!

Apologies L - didn't see this before. I think he looks bigger than last year, but not as big maybe as in 2008. His power was brutal and awesome today, but I think that when Novak finds the accuracy/heart and pushes for longer rallies then the weight becomes detrimental. It's obviously his game - raw power but I am just surprised that his knees are able to cope with carrying that very powerful upper body with the attritional game of today.

He seems to cope anyway. It was an awesome display.

Nadal showing he is the daddy on clay. A crushing win that will boost his confidence for his next meetings with Novak Djokovic.

Good to see Nadal not achieve Gottfried's notorious record.

MC has always been Nadal's playground and - here at least - he continues to be the playground bully.

It was vital for him to finally regain some overall confidence within the context of his Djoker match-ups (and indeed after two losses out of his last three encounters against pensioner Federer).

So an eighth consecutive MC victory means an eighth consecutive loss against Novak is avoided. The latter would have been a serious blow but it IS clay, and given Rafa's history here, I'm not sure it tells us anything new. He had a pretty easy ride to the Final itself, but he did what was asked of him.

Well done Rafa on a thoroughly convincing victory.

Novak had a bad day but there's no doubt he will be back with a vengeance

bogbrush wrote:Djokovic not at 2011 level it seems. This time last year he was undefeated and about to stay that way until Fognini - sorry, Federer - stopped him at the tail end of Roland Garros.

I think this was a very understandable defeat for Djokovic. Frankly he was ripe for the picking if Berdych could have maintained any sembelance of his focus and determination. I don't know if I take too much out of this loss. Novak reached the finals of ATP masters event clearly nowhere near his best. This yeari in Miami and at the AO his was very good but he hasn't been as good as in 2011. I just feel that this year Novak is more focused on the slams and on finishing the season healthy and doing well in the olympics. He isn't going to kill himself in these run of the mill masters to win if his game and his mind are obviously elsewhere. Where as last year especially early on he was more willing to grind it out till the death when his attack game was not firing.

time please wrote:That was brutally brilliant from Nadal However, he did lose a little length in the second set and you did feel that if Djokovic had felt sharper today or it had been five sets it could possibly have swung the other way. Too many errors that missed the line that maybe could have been audacious winners with a little more focus.

Certainly adds some interest to the next few encounters.

In the meantime, well done to Nadal - hard to see anyone live with him in the first set.

I didn't think Nadal was brilliant. He was at best good, Novak was just way below his usual level. Nadal played a good solid proffessional match and Novak just didn't have it at all.

Jahu, more poor attempts at comedy I see. Novak is finished, what a joke. Yes I am sure he will never recover from the devastating loss of losing monte carlo.

Nadal played well enough, but Novak played poorly. Nadal might still have won if Novak had played better. So it's tough to conclude anything from this match really.

reckoner wrote:

summerblues wrote:...A funny sidenote: Now that Tenez moved someplace else (what else could he do?), Gav is stalking him there. Weird...

seriously? is that true? Tenez didn't say anything to provoke that by any chance?

You almost convinced me here but now I am fairly sure there is more to it. He is indeed visiting this other place with no provocation. So going back to my original: "Weird".

As far as today's tennis goes, I think "weird" fits well too. Nadal did look just fine, but I really came out of it feeling that it was pretty much all just very unusually weak play by Djoko. Who knows, Nadal might have won anyway even if Djoko played well but I do think it is hard to read much into this result, Djoko was so much below par.

summerblues wrote:
You almost convinced me here but now I am fairly sure there is more to it. He is indeed visiting this other place with no provocation. So going back to my original: "Weird".

I am not so sure, SB. You may want to read the vitriol and some of the deleted stuff you can no longer see. . Then you can make your own judgements. I have no desire to quote anything on v2.

Neither do I desire to defend or offend anyone.

laverfan wrote:

summerblues wrote:
You almost convinced me here but now I am fairly sure there is more to it. He is indeed visiting this other place with no provocation. So going back to my original: "Weird".

I am not so sure, SB. You may want to read the vitriol and some of the deleted stuff you can no longer see. . Then you can make your own judgements. I have no desire to quote anything on v2.

Neither do I desire to defend or offend anyone.

Huh? Are you talking about this forum or the other one? I will grant you the first day or so on that other forum you could find some stronger comments. But when Gav visited today it was in the midst of tennis discussions. So I am now confused about what you mean. Anyway, I meant it to be a light-hearted comment, so if this is going to go down the path of some serious discussions on this topic, we might perhaps be better off just giving it a rest.

summerblues wrote:Anyway, I meant it to be a light-hearted comment, so if this is going to go down the path of some serious discussions on this topic, we might perhaps be better off just giving it a rest.

SB, let us leave it alone. No point in dredging dirt.

summerblues wrote:

reckoner wrote:

summerblues wrote:...A funny sidenote: Now that Tenez moved someplace else (what else could he do?), Gav is stalking him there. Weird...

seriously? is that true? Tenez didn't say anything to provoke that by any chance?

You almost convinced me here but now I am fairly sure there is more to it. He is indeed visiting this other place with no provocation. So going back to my original: "Weird".

As far as today's tennis goes, I think "weird" fits well too. Nadal did look just fine, but I really came out of it feeling that it was pretty much all just very unusually weak play by Djoko. Who knows, Nadal might have won anyway even if Djoko played well but I do think it is hard to read much into this result, Djoko was so much below par.

summerblues, I wasn't seeking to convince anyone of anything, merely being a bit skeptical. These guys have clearly fallen out and as laverfan suggests perhaps we should leave it alone rather than inflame the situation further by dragging people's names through the mud.