Miami Masters - 26 March 2014

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Apologies LK, on using a different convention for the thread title.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

STADIUM Start 10:50 am

Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP)
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)
v
[WC] Martina Hingis (SUI)
Sabine Lisicki (GER)

Hingis's second(?) comeback (without Kournikova). Looking forward to this one.

Not Before 1:00 pm

[10] Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)
v
[3] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)

If Cibulkova keeps her focus, she is a tough one, but Radwanska in three.

Not Before 3:00 pm

[6] Andy Murray (GBR)
v
[2] Novak Djokovic (SRB)

Intensely watched rivalry, can Murray cause an upset?

Not Before 7:00 pm

[11] Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
v
[2] Na Li (CHN)

Na should win this in two.

Not Before 9:00 pm

[5] Roger Federer (SUI)
v
[20] Kei Nishikori (JPN)

Was the Ferrer upset a one-off, or can Kei cause an even bigger upset?

GRANDSTAND Start 1:00 pm

Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL)
Robert Farah (COL)
v
[2] Alexander Peya (AUT)
Bruno Soares (BRA)

[4] Kveta Peschke (CZE)
Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)
v
[5] Cara Black (ZIM)
Sania Mirza (IND)

Can Peschke/Srebotnik continue their IW QF success and get further?

Not Before 4:30 pm

[6] Daniel Nestor (CAN)
Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)
v
[WC] Ryan Harrison (USA)
Jack Sock (USA)

The veteran pair to beat the wild cards?

Well deserved break. Andy is pulverising Novak's 2nd serves! He looks about 5 feet inside the court as he hits them.

The Special Juan wrote:Where was Novak's famed sportsmanship there?    (No idea what happened as I'm not watching it)

Novak was at the net when it happened, so he probably didn't have the faintest idea what was happening!

Andy is such a natural at the net.

Oh I'm going to bed.

Oh dear Andy.   That is not good enough. A habit Andy has got. Works hard for a break and gets it then hands it back with a weak service game.

Wake up boy

Andy 5 points from going home

Fear not, Andy fans, Novak serving a match out is not a certainty these days!

Djoko breaks and that is that I'd say. Murray has played much better here in Miami but mentally he is still not back up there as yet. Rectify that and he should be back in business. Novak has been very good himself today.

All done. Well a screwed up match.

Well played Novak. He wins 7-5 6-3. Murray getting back to form but mentally needs fine tuning.

Weird end to the match. Andy played a great game to break and go 3-2 up... and then he loses 4 games in a row?! Odd.

Really good match though. Both players played well. Andy will dominate the highlights reel but Novak had the greater consistency.

Oh Andy... Utterly superb one minute, then poor the next. At times tonight it was as good as he's been since Wimbledon. I actually thought he was the better player before the bit where Novak jumped over the net, mooned at Murray, put away a volley and then jumped back.

But he can't maintain it. Well done Novak. Played pretty well. Served well.

Well it was a step in the right direction for Andy. Consistency is still lacking at key times and he needs to work on that.

laverfan wrote:

Silver wrote:Can't watch the matches tonight as I'm at my sister's wedding rehearsal, but hopefully they'll be competitive and entertaining

Congratulations! Perhaps Federer can win Miami and give you a gift.

If you keep a mobile handy, you may get some commentary on the Federer-Nishikori, but it is a late night match for the British fans.

Thanks LF :)a slight break in proceedings at the moment but I suspect the pub visit afterwards could last a while! I'll try to catch some commentary a little later on if I can. Cheers also Jahu, I assume you meant me and not LF

Novak wins it, eh? Sounds like a good match though, I'm glad that Mr. Murray is edging his way back towards some semblance of good form. Always a test against Novak. Congrats HM, socal, slasher; commiserations to Danny, Craig and banbro.

Novak was superb in those last four games, encouraging signs

Danny_1982 wrote: Novak jumped over the net, mooned at Murray, put away a volley and then jumped back.

Now you're just being silly. As if Novak could pull a manoeuvre like that without falling into the net!

Not far off with my prediction. First genuinely encouraging tournament for Andy since the Australian. Hopefully he can have a good training block around the DC and get through the clay season without significant back issues.

I am glad Novak didn't go all nice guy and give Andy the point. That is part of his problem mentally in these matches. He wants the opponents to love him, the fans to love him, Serbia to love him etc. and he needs to realize that his job is to win matches. It was nice what he did in the Robredo match but still if the umpire gives you a call you don't deserve don't volunteer your opponent a point. I haven't seen many of the top pros besides Djokovic do it. If others aren't going to reciprocate you shouldn't either. Interestingly, Novak claimed he misunderstood the rule and made a mistake in the post match interview. He said he believed the rule was that he could go over the net as long as he didn't touch the net, and according to Andy he even told the umpire he went over the net but the umpire didn't overturn the call. So Novak claimed ignorance of the rule, which as crazy as it sounds I kind of believe him because it was a hospital ball that he could of handled easily had he waited a second more a simple drop volley would have sufficed.

That being said the point happened at 0-0 in that game and Murray was obviously put off by it and let it effect him. If he wins the next point I don't think that point becomes a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Novak served wonderfully being broken just once on a slow court, a windy day against a great returner like Andy. It was a high quality match till Andy had a bit of let down in the second getting broken at love again when he was up a break. I think both players can take positives from this match. Both have suffered from patchy form and both played pretty good tennis against tough opposition. Murray is starting to round into shape. And for Novak's part if he beats Roger in the next round and beats Rafa in the final he all of sudden is going to be the in form horse on the tour and have boatloads of confidence going into the clay court season.

Good luck Roger

Roger looking very good so far.  He is looking as good this year as he has ever looked since his 2011-12 run.  In some sense, I feel his baseline game is sturdier now than then.  He might have a very decent year if he keeps it up.

uh oh, I jinxed the old man...

Love watching Kei play. Such a talented guy. That said, Roger looks to be struggling tonight. First serve % very low for him.

Born Slippy wrote:Love watching Kei play. Such a talented guy. That said, Roger looks to be struggling tonight. First serve % very low for him.

His forehand especially is a thing of beauty. I almost find it as aesthetically pleasing as Gasquet's backhand. This has been an impressive performance so far considering Roger's form and the tiredness following the epic in the previous round

Massive hold for Fed. Big game now I feel.

Absolutely fantastic win for Kei. Well deserved, that man plays some great fluid tennis - fun to watch.

Impressive from Kei.  Fed appeared to be cruising at 6:3 4:3 with a break, seemingly breaking Kei at will, and then it all went pear-shaped.

Oh Fed   

Kei   

The Djokovic point was mildly amusing - a day after mumbling on about fair play, and it coming natural to him. Guess it's easier to play nice a set up against the world #17.

Impressive win for Kei. A player I really enjoy watching he came back from a hopeless position to win. Roger will be disappointed in the short-term but excited by the general direction his form has headed this year.

Great result for Kei.

Novak needs to get a rule book. He didn't know the rule about the about the ball bouncing twice when he touched the net at RG and he didn't know about hitting on the other side if the net yesterday.

In their conversation at the net after that point, Novak told Andy he did hit the ball on the other side but didn't know what that means.

It seems extraordinary but then for much of his career he hasn't had to know rules that might affect a player at the net!

Such a shame that became a talking point because the match was so much more than that point. It became important because Andy reacted badly to it but it was at 0-0 on a shot that wouldn't have even gone over the net if it had been left alone.

What is the big deal with the Novak incident?? He stated clearly what happened at the net and the umpire didn't rule on it, umpires problem! Also it was 0-0 in that service game, not set point!! Murray had ample time to let it go and win the game.

I bet if that was somebody like nadal, he would have just got on with it and won the next point. Tough on Murray but you have to get on with it, bad calls happen in all sports. Djokovic was honest about what happened so the umpire should have ruled on it. The fact it made it 0-15 meant there was plenty of time to work his way out of it.

I thought both players performed well, Murray is picking his game up nicely and Novak seems to be getting the confidence back. Glad to see both of them getting back to form.

Well played nishikori too, he could prove a tricky customer. Very talented player

HM Murdoch wrote:Great result for Kei.

Novak needs to get a rule book. He didn't know the rule about the about the ball bouncing twice when he touched the net at RG and he didn't know about hitting on the other side if the net yesterday.

In their conversation at the net after that point, Novak told Andy he did hit the ball on the other side but didn't know what that means.

It seems extraordinary but then for much of his career he hasn't had to know rules that might affect a player at the net!

Such a shame that became a talking point because the match was so much more than that point. It became important because Andy reacted badly to it but it was at 0-0 on a shot that wouldn't have even gone over the net if it had been left alone.

I can see why Murray was a bit upset. Seems fairly ridiculous that Novak said he was over the net but the umpire didnt give the point to Murray. However, I agree that Murray should have reacted better.

Nishikori looked very good last night. Reminded me a lot of Novak but with rather better volleying skills. Still think his serve is a little weak which might prevent him getting to the very top.

Andy again showing signs of those mental frailties that seem to have dogged his career. Just not being able to shake bad calls or shots that go against him. I am however encouraged by the tennis Andy has played this week. The match in clumps was unattractive to watch. It seems Andy and Novak bring out the gritty annoying tennis with some sublime play thrown in. It is a big result for Novak in terms of shaking off the defeat of Wimbledon with a solid display.

Very surprised with the Nishikori and Federer result. To me it seems Federer physically has his good days and bad days. It seems those bad days effect the outcome of his matches. I just hope Federer can stay healthy this year and challenge for an 8th Wimbledon crown! Kudos to Nishikori. I bet his body is feeling it though.

Nishikori played a wonderful match and kept Federer on his back foot with some excellent shot-making.

Too many UEs from the new stick for Federer. Edberg needs to work on the BH with Federer, or should it be the other way around?

With such impressive performances against Ferrer and now Federer, nobody can say Nishikori has not worked hard for his thoroughly-deserved SF spot.

On his day he is a match for anyone. He really pushed Rafa in the AO back in January, and by common consent was desperately unlucky not to take it into at least a fourth set.

I suspect Djokovic will prove too strong ; but Nishi has beaten him before, so who knows ........

Great win for Kei, well played   

Good to him garnering a bit more praise these days. Always liked him, great attitude and some excellent shots in his locker.

I don't think Fed was struggling physically at all he served really poorly and missed a great amount of first serves I don't even think he was in the 50s, if he was over 50 percent it wasn't by much. Nish is a great returner and if you give him a lot of second serve looks he will be able to break you. In fact, I thought Roger moved and athletically performed really well getting to shots that you wouldn't expect him t get to. He just turned in a bad serving performance against a very good returner on a court that favors the returner to begin with.

Just watched an edit of Federer's post-match presser, in which he does indeed highlight his below-par serving performance as the key contributor to the loss. So .....Fed in full agreement with socal there .....   - which could well be a first.

Interesting also to see just how much more pragmatic and relaxed is Federer in this twilight period of his career. He seems much more comfortable in accepting defeats (which, understandably, is not the best attitude when you're right at the top of the tree and being constantly hunted down) and in rationalising as to the likely causes.  I do think that, whilst still hungry for success, he feels happy to have started the year by consistently making the business end of tourneys once again after an eminently forgettable 2013.

When all said & done, anything else from hereon in is a bonus, icing on the cake .....whatever.

No surprise really that far younger guys with talents such as Nishi should be able to take out an ageing Fed.

The Old Master predicts that Nishi will be top ten in a short while. Hope he's right ; we sure need fresh faces in the upper echelons of the game.

lags72 wrote:No surprise really that far younger guys with talents such as Nishi should be able to take out an ageing Fed.

The Old Master predicts that Nishi will be top ten in a short while. Hope he's right ; we sure need fresh faces in the upper echelons of the game.

I beg to differ (respectfully, of course ). Nishi played three grueling matches (Dimitrov, Ferrer and Federer) and had to withdraw due to Groin injury.

The Old Guard is fitter than the current crop of youngsters. Recall Raonic post-W 201x.

To be consistently at the Top requires Federer's genes, or Djokovic's fitness (egg-chamber?), or Nadal's warrior mentality (every point as a match point) or Ferrer's terrier mentality.