World Tour Finals

First topic message reminder :

Is this going to be the worst quality one of all time?

No one is going to be in form, bar Murray, who is starting to look tired.

Djokovic - hasn't played well since RG
Murray - trying to be YE no1 must be tiring him out. To win Vienna and Paris will be his last four tournaments won I think.
Stan - is he ever in form, except for at the business end of the odd slam he wins. Nearly lost to The Donald yesterday.
Raonic - lost to Berankis (who lost to Marcus Willis at Wimbledon) this week.
Nishikori - probably in the next best form after Murray.
Monfils - Injured. Last seen losing to Gastao Elias.
Thiem - hasn't played well since before Wimbledon. Burn out/injury. Lost to Troicki in his home tournament.
Berdych - lost to Basilashvili this week.

Goffin - lost early, although to Delpo, this week.
Cilic - probably a bit far back.

I've got tickets too!

Born Slippy wrote:I think it's more than just motivation with Novak. He's clearly had some physical issues and also the strong suggestion of some form of personal issue with his marriage. I suspect it's a combination of factors leading to his poor form.

That said, I said on Lydian's thread back in April (about Murray's failings against the top guys) that I felt he was closing the gap to Novak and that the improvements (particularly in his serve this year) gave him a real shot. Faster courts particularly give him a great shot against Novak.

2017 promises much all-round. There's a lot to look forward to when Australia comes around.

I did hear a rumour that Djokovic was having an affair with an actress, which his wife found out about during Wimbledon. His tennis is just so poor compared to the start of the season that it is hard to see him getting it back. At least with Murray he was coming back from surgery which everyone knew may take time.

He also looked very slender (more so that usual) during the WTF.

Djokovic also praised Kim:

And Djokovic paid tribute to Murray's wife Kim, who gave birth to their daughter Sophia in February.

"We should all let Andy enjoy this a little bit," he said.

"Don't ask him questions about next season. He deserves to be in the moment and to really take everything in that he achieved.

"His team as well, and his wife. She has to get some credit, guys. She gave birth this year. He has travelled all over the place.

"I know how it is with my wife Jelena, what she had to go through as a mother back home with a little baby.

"So, Kim, well done. She's maybe made even a bigger effort than Andy."

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/video/epic-becker-v-lendl-1988-masters-final

5 minute highlights of famous and epic win

Henman Bill wrote:http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/video/epic-becker-v-lendl-1988-masters-final

5 minute highlights of famous and epic win

Had a look at it yesterday on the ATP web site and was surprised how good it still looks compared to today's tennis. Usually matches from 3 decades ago look a lot slower than how we remember them!
Also had a look at the 2005 WTF, just to see how much the game has moved on in the last decade or so:

 Masters Cup Final 2005

Would Murray have an easy win against 2005 'Fat Dave'?

No. If you look at Sampras at Wimbledon 99 would Murray beat him - unlikely. The game doesn't always move forwards in terms of skill, athleticism maybe because the focus there has changed but skill is skill and many matches of yesteryear showcase that brilliantly. To be honest the final on Sunday was rather dull and yet we hear Petchy come out with all kind of superlatives...I'm not so easily convinced. I do miss real skill on tour for the respective surfaces and wish the ATP would speed up hard and grass and slow down clay. Won't happen though so we continue to get athlete-based tennis all year round.

I'm not sure anyone in history could have beaten Sampras on that particular day in 1999. Not on that particular court with the rackets of the day anyway.

However things do improve over time and I think if Murray travelled back in time to play Pete Sampras, you would back Murray, at least on a slower court.

I agree with you on speeds and so do many of us but we've been through this before. Not much desire to change.

prostaff85 wrote:

Henman Bill wrote:http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/video/epic-becker-v-lendl-1988-masters-final

5 minute highlights of famous and epic win

Had a look at it yesterday on the ATP web site and was surprised how good it still looks compared to today's tennis. Usually matches from 3 decades ago look a lot slower than how we remember them!
Also had a look at the 2005 WTF, just to see how much the game has moved on in the last decade or so:

 Masters Cup Final 2005

Would Murray have an easy win against 2005 'Fat Dave'?

I suspect Murray would beat him fairly easily. Let's not forget that an 18 year old Murray took Nalby apart for 2 sets at Wimbledon a few months before that performance and would have beaten him comfortably had his body held up.

The 2006 TMC SF between Fed and Nadal was also a very good one, better than the final that year imo.

Belovedluckyboy wrote:The 2006 TMC SF between Fed and Nadal was also a very good one, better than the final that year imo.

Just had a quick look at highlights of that one.

What an amazing winning point

Exactly! Fed was at his best and Nadal was so young and quick. If you've watched the whole match, you will marvel at how quick and how good both were. Nadal was still lacking in his HC game but compensated for that with his speed and power. The court at Shanghai was a quick one too back then; its one of the best BO3 sets match they played on the HCs, another was that Dubai 2006 final, that match Nadal won in three sets.