Madrid Masters 2017

First topic message reminder :

A couple of matches started Sunday, but most of the action gets underway tomorrow.

Draw: http://www.protennislive.com/posting/2017/1536/mds.pdf

Nadal is favourite once again, although apparently he skipped his pre-tournament press conference today due to an ear infection so it's possible he may withdraw or lose early. If he does, it's wide open with Djokovic & Murray lacking momentum, Wawrinka inconsistent, Nishikori only just arriving on clay. Thiem is coming in with momentum and could be in a good position for his first Masters final or even title. If Nadal is fit to play, he could be leaving Madrid in first place in the race.

What an incredible match.. some superb tennis played by both ...well worthy of the final.
But I agree Goffin is looking good on the red stuff

At last, after what seems ages, we are going to get a match between one of the two guys tearing up trees this year - Rog and Rafa - and one of the guys in the top two - Andy and Djoko.
It promises to tell us just where Djoko is at.

How is Goffin's performance worthy of a finalist?

Beats guys who are back from injuries or well off form, he is no good. If Djokovic of 12 months ago appears it's ciao for the boring but effective one.

If Djokovic of 12 months ago appears  ...............no chance

Better to be boring but effective than both boring and uneffective

He is smart. Never goes for winners unless it's 99.9% certain. Boring, but effective in this era.

LuvSports! wrote:

summerblues wrote:Finally we have a few youngsters advancing deeper into the tournament - Coric, Zverev, Thiem, Goffin, even maybe Nishi.

26 and 27 is a youngster?

Scraping the barrel, I know.  Most past greats would have won most of their big wins by then.  Borg, Wilander and Edberg were all done winning slams by 27.

And to make things worse, every one of today's QF matches was decided in favor of the older player.  I imagine we will have Nadal vs Cuevas in the final.

Guest82 wrote:Looking very likely that Fedal will be YE 1&2.  Unbelievable.

Yes, but it is still early going and they would have to continue playing well the rest of the season, which, given with their ages, may still prove tricky.  Djokovic and Murray are really just one standout tournament away from being back in it.

kingraf wrote:with his breakout performance here, Djokovic will enter the top 20 in this year's Race to Londres... Crazy

Yeah, his first Masters SF of the year, finally.  That said, if he were to somehow win the title here, he would jump all the way to #4 in the race, and all of a sudden he would look like a contender for YE #1 again.

Rafa is once again cutting through a clay court season with ease.  Who can stop him at RG?

He already played - and easily beat - most of the second tier guys this season (I mean guys like Thiem, Goffin, Zverev, perhaps Kyrgios).

And the "first tier" guys all seem to have question marks about them.  Nole, Andy (as well as Stan) not performing well at all for whatever reasons, and Nishikori seems to be struggling with injuries yet again.

It almost looks like Fed is the biggest potential threat, and we know that if that is the case, Rafa looks in good shape.

Still, we finally do get to see Nole vs Rafa tomorrow, which is Rafa's first match against someone (however poorly playing) from the first tier.  One would think that on the current form Rafa should win quite easily, but if Nole somehow rediscovers his form, the match could well be interesting.

O it will be interesting come what may.. however you could try your prayer mat yet again Novak needs the help :

Think Rafa will win comfortably today. Maybe a tight first set whilst he puts the mental demons to rest, then a very comfortable second set - 7-5, 6-1 is my prediction.

I think it's a big match for Rafa though, given his form and the recent h2h etc. If he wins then it's to be expected, if Djokovic wins then he's 'back' and if Rafa can't beat this Djokovic then I don't like his chances at RG.

I think the pressure will be on Novak tbh I think he has to prove to himself, above anything else, that he can get back to form.. a win over Rafa will do much to restore his confidence; on the other hand Rafa too has much to prove . Who will get rid of the early demons first ?

Huge pressure on Rafa in this one. Has been destroyed by Novak time and time again over the last couple of years but finds himself favourite for this match. I doubt any player has ever gone into a match as favourite against someone to whom they've lost 15 sets in a row before! 

If he loses, it puts his current run into sharp focus - especially as he's been dismissed by Federer each time they've played this year as well. However, if he wins, he is clear favourite for the French.

In contrast, there is very little pressure on Novak. He's just changed up his coaching situation and no one is expecting much from him here. If he can someone find 80% of his true level then he should win the match. 

Should be very interesting.

Born Slippy wrote:Huge pressure on Rafa in this one. Has been destroyed by Novak time and time again over the last couple of years but finds himself favourite for this match. I doubt any player has ever gone into a match as favourite against someone to whom they've lost 15 sets in a row before! 

If he loses, it puts his current run into sharp focus - especially as he's been dismissed by Federer each time they've played this year as well. However, if he wins, he is clear favourite for the French.

In contrast, there is very little pressure on Novak. He's just changed up his coaching situation and no one is expecting much from him here. If he can someone find 80% of his true level then he should win the match. 

Should be very interesting.

I don't agree that there is no pressure on Novak.. quite the reverse imo.. having "dismissed" his entire coaching team at the time when his form is so bad needs justification, to himself, if to nobody else.. and his fans are asking whether he can bring himself back from the abyss.. there is pressure on both but will agree with your last comment.... it will be interesting

Good luck Nole, let's do it!

Mhmmm....

Djokovic is laughably appalling. Not sure he'll even win a game.

Mhmmmmmmmm........

Djokovic needs to get a new coaching team asap. One of the all time greats playing this way is pretty sad

Oh well. If Nole continues like this, then we are seeing another guy who will not be beating Rafa at RG

Oh dear.

Nadal wins the first set 6-2 and has broken Djokovic in the first game of the second set. Could be all over very quickly if Djokovic doesn't find his mojo.

Worrying that the only person with any chance of stopping Nadal at RG is a 36 year old Federer.

That mojo has been gone for almost a year now, can he find it within the next few minutes?

Rafa not tested, but looking mostly good I would say.

Guest82 wrote:Worrying that the only person with any chance of stopping Nadal at RG is a 36 year old Federer.

Crazy but I am almost agreeing Fed will be the second favorite at RG.  Still, I would think Rafa would beat him there relatively easily.  Rafa is playing better now than he was playing at IW and Miami, and surface will make it harder for Fed to get the full benefit of his improved BH.

King Roger has only ever beaten Nadal twice on clay? An undercooked 36 year old isn't beating the Spaniard in Paris.

Not yet lads

Hang on! Novak still has the guru!!!

For f&&@@ sake that's the one person he should have fired

temporary21 wrote:For f&&@@ sake that's the one person he should have fired

Crazy, isn't it?

Nadal to serve for the match 6-2 5-4 up.

Nadal wins 6-2 6-4, through to another clay court final - after a well contested final game.

Congrats Rafa, well played.

Haddie-nuff wrote:O it will be interesting come what may.. however you could try your prayer mat yet again Novak needs the help :

I am taking my prayer mat back for a refund tomorrow, and getting a new one for Rome and RG.

No1 in the race now.

But what happened to Djokovic?  Less than twelve months ago he was winning everything, and now he needs walkovers to reach SFs.

I have not seen him much lately, so today's match was an eye opener.  I knew his results were poor, but it was still hard to imagine him play as poorly as he did.  His metronomic consistency is totally gone.

summerblues wrote:

Haddie-nuff wrote:O it will be interesting come what may.. however you could try your prayer mat yet again Novak needs the help :

I am taking my prayer mat back for a refund tomorrow, and getting a new one for Rome and RG.

Yes I would if I were you ... did you have it pointing in the right direction...


Rafa is on fire .. sorry but you will have to get a bigger one for RG

Other than his history, it is hard to see what challenge Djokovic poses for Nadal on clay after today. Goffin and Thiem have given him better matches.

I think it is time to stick a large bet on Rafa for RG. Federer at 36 isn't likely to beat him on clay, but he's probably the best placed to challenge. Absolutely crazy that is.

I hope Thiem can step it up, but he's so weak mentally that he has no chance.

How about the crazy semi final scheduling at Madrid ? They put the second men's semi on AFTER the women's final which went on for 2hrs 44 mins. Presumably it must be TV dictating the timings. Complete madness.

As if Rafa needed any further advantages!

Really enjoyable match between Thiem and Cuevas. I really like both their games.

This is what I get as top 12 point getters in the Euro-clay swing so far (Marrakech through today):

1.  Nadal - 2100 points
2. Thiem - 990
3. Ramos Vinolas - 745
4. Pouille - 620
5. Goffin - 585
6. Zverev - 565
7. Cuevas - 540
7. Djokovic - 540
9. Cilic - 440
10. Coric - 430
11. Carreno Busta - 395
12. Murray - 360

With the exception of Rafa who dominates with ease, the field for the RG feels quite open.  We often talk about seedings and how important it may be to get top 2 (or top 4, or top 8) seeding in order to avoid the high seeds, but I am not sure it will be all that important this year, as it is not at all clear that the top seeds are the most dangerous players.  Luck of the draw - rather than the seeding itself - may be more important than usual.

I think Rafa is a clear favourite. Fed clear second.

Thiem perhaps 3rd.

Unless Djokovic or Murray find some form or Stan shows up, I don't think anyone is stopping Nadal.

Expected win for Rafa, their matches tended to go with the form. Still, it is a slightly different matter to being expected to get the win to actually doing it. Rafa strenghtening his FO favourite position. Hope he doesn't burn out or get injured though.

Guest82 wrote:Unless Djokovic or Murray find some form or Stan shows up, I don't think anyone is stopping Nadal.

I am kind of seeing it the same though I am not sure if Stan - even if he showed up - would be up to the task.  I think he would ultimately find those high balls to his BH too much regardless.

Still, I will be hoping that someone - anyone - takes out Rafa.  There are seven matches to play before he lifts the trophy, and one never knows, crazy things do happen occasionally.

Only injury or someone playing a once in a lifetime match can stop him then!!!

Still, I will be hoping that someone - anyone - takes out Rafa.

Really? Seriously ... NO!!!! Cant believe that

Good luck Dominic!

Haddie-nuff wrote:Still, I will be hoping that someone - anyone - takes out Rafa.

Really?  Seriously ... NO!!!! Cant believe that

But things are going downhill.  A couple of weeks ago I was still "hopeful".  Now I am just "hoping".

Well you know what they say everything comes to those who wait.. how long that is .. ?? how long is a piece of string.???
But it happened for me with Djokovic so hang in there

Shame Thiem is such a bottler. Playing really well, until it matters.

But face it Rafa is doing what he does best... he's grinding..Thiem is getting somewhat frustrated I think