Vienna, Stockholm, Basel, Valencia, Moscow (and other 'low-level' events)

Vienna - Ferrer v Johnson - Johnson playing pretty well and can win this one.
Stockholm - Berdych v Sock - just started.
Basel - Qualifying rounds in progress.
Valencia - Qualifying rounds in progress.
Moscow - Cilic v Bautista-Agut - BA can take a set off Cilic.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/current/

Ferrer up a break on Johnson - second set.

Ferrer wins in 3. Good effort by Johnson but 500 points for Daveed. Must be more or less certain to qualify for WTF.

Sock served for the 1st against Berdy but lost it in a tiebreak. Now a break down in the 2nd.

Sock beaten comfortably by Berdy 6/2 in the 2nd. Ferrer and Berdych still cleaning up when the big 4 aren't around.

Two more titles for the 30-somethings. Could be close to an annual record.

Born Slippy wrote:Ferrer wins in 3. Good effort by Johnson but 500 points for Daveed. Must be more or less certain to qualify for WTF.

Ferrer was down a break, leveled and then got broken at 4-5, but broke again to lead. Johnson played the first two sets well. He was also close in the third set. Glad to see Ferrer win, but felt bad for Johnson having to lose it after he was hammering Ferrer with quick serving and nice FH winners.

Rafa double faults on bp to go 1-5 down against Rosol.

Rosol in good form that set. Lost one point on serve - a double fault.

Rosol, serving for the match lost his serve, and lost the match in a third-set TB at 7-6(4).

Odd match - Rosol won 8 of the first 9 games. He then got to *5-4 30-0 and choked slightly. Rafa reeled off 7 games in a row before being pegged back in the 3rd. In the end, a good win for Rafa coming back from 2-4 down in the tiebreak.

Thought it was a poor performance by Rafa. Rosol basically choked the match away.

Should have been a routine win at 6-1, 5-4 30-0. Rosol had a few chances for the double break and hadn't conceded a break point in the whole match. He obviously felt the pressure and choked that set away. Hadn't really calmed down when Rafa broke at the start of the final set. Rosol composed himself and broke back, also had chances in at least one other service game. Then was ahead 4-2 in the tiebreak - Rafa mishit a return and Rosol choked it away from there.

Fair play to Rafa for hanging in there, but in reality he was outplayed.

Yes he was for most of the match but not in the last set.
It says more for the fact that Rafa was able to pick himself up and come back to play an aggressive third set. Not vintage Rafa but seeing that two months ago the world and his wife would have beaten him into a pulp I take comfort in the fact that albeit slowly Rafa is improving mentally. Something Rosol had not prepared himself for.. as much as he choked he got a little too confident.

I think he's improved, but is still too patchy. Rosol really should have won yesterday and it's pleasing for Rafa fans that he got the win, I think a lot of that was to do with Rosol. Rafa improved in the third set, but not greatly.

I don't think he will ever lose the fighting instinct as it is not in his nature, but his level was alarmingly low yesterday. That said, he looked better the previous two weeks.

Yes of course he is still patchy, no one expected him to be anything else given the season he has had.. but it has to be remembered that Rafa's problems have been mental not physical.. therefore to fight back from what seemed to be a hopeless situation is an improvement.. again Rosol may have won had he allowed for what Rafa can do when fighting with his back to the wall... choked no..too cocky yes.

He was netting routine forehands...the sort he had also been blazing all around the court for winners.

It was a choke.

That's the beauty of this forum.. we don't have to agree.. and I dont

Haddie - Rosol was supremely confident (bordering on cocky) until he got to 5-4. In that mode, he was dismantling a mis-firing Nadal.

At 5-4, Rosol lost the ability to hit a first serve; missed a volley by the width of the court and was nowhere near as aggressive on his groundstrokes. It was a choke.

That said, Rafa did also raise his game and played some good stuff at the end of the second set and start of the third. He did well to get the win. I can't see him going too far in this event though.

Good to see Federer get past the first round (for him...)

Born Slippy wrote:Haddie - Rosol was supremely confident (bordering on cocky) until he got to 5-4. In that mode, he was dismantling a mis-firing Nadal.

At 5-4, Rosol lost the ability to hit a first serve; missed a volley by the width of the court and was nowhere near as aggressive on his groundstrokes. It was a choke.

That said, Rafa did also raise his game and played some good stuff at the end of the second set and start of the third. He did well to get the win. I can't see him going too far in this event though.

If it had been the third set and not the second I could understand your argument
How the hell did he choke when he broke Rafa again in the third.???
Sorry I still  do not agree... he, as well as me, did not expect Rafa to come back at him. I wont be convinced otherwise.
I too do not expect Rafa to progress much further, but his display of mental strength yesterday, shows that hopefully he has come to lay the ghost that has plagued him this season.

I expect Rafa to get on playing well from now on. Rosol hitting and serving with so much power is always a tough first round opponent for Rafa, as Rafa always starts slow in non clay tournaments.

Rafa should be playing better in his next match. Rafa did play better after winning the second set, when Rosol threw him a lifeline. Also, that point in the TB he won with his slicing and coming forward after pushing Rosol all over the court, that was Rafa at his thinking best; from then its all Rafa.

He played poorly in the first two sets as hes busy adjusting to the court conditions plus Rosol's heavy bombings. Once he found his range he was much better in the third set though Rosol's level did drop a bit but rose to force a TB. Overall a good test for Rafa and should awaken his warrior fighting mood.

Haddie-nuff wrote:

Born Slippy wrote:Haddie - Rosol was supremely confident (bordering on cocky) until he got to 5-4. In that mode, he was dismantling a mis-firing Nadal.

At 5-4, Rosol lost the ability to hit a first serve; missed a volley by the width of the court and was nowhere near as aggressive on his groundstrokes. It was a choke.

That said, Rafa did also raise his game and played some good stuff at the end of the second set and start of the third. He did well to get the win. I can't see him going too far in this event though.

If it had been the third set and not the second I could understand your argument
How the hell did he choke when he broke Rafa again in the third.???
Sorry I still  do not agree... he, as well as me, did not expect Rafa to come back at him. I wont be convinced otherwise.
I too do not expect Rafa to progress much further, but his display of mental strength yesterday, shows that hopefully he has come to lay the ghost that has plagued him this season.

Rafa broke in Rosols first service game of the third set. Rosol had lost his head due to choking at 5-4. He regained composure midway through the third set and broke back and had more chances to break again.

He was 4-2 up at the change of ends in the tiebreak. Rafa got a bit lucky with a return and Rosol folded.

That's not lucky as Rafa was hitting like four slices without missing and forcing Rosol to move all over the court from left to right. Rafa used his tactics to win the TB and the match. Hard hitters always look to be in control and many times the matches look like are in their hands until their opponent(s) come(s) up with something special to outwit them.

He mishit a return which turned into a drop shot...that was lucky!

Lucky? So the other three shots didn't count?

No he played a good point, but the initial return, which set up the rest of the point, was lucky.

That's the thing, he played a good point! If not the initial 'luck' wont matter.

As I said, against hard hitting players, you need to do something special to beat them. It's not unlike Novak vs Delpo at Shanghai 2013 final. Novak outsmart Delpo on that day to barely beat a Delpo hitting and serving so well. Novak was not doing anything special however in the FO final vs a hard hitting and never missing Stan and so he lost.

Nadal in a right battle. Even if Nadal isn't firing on all cylinders or low in confidence he can take comfort in knowing Dimitrov is prone to gifting matches

He choked

Has to be said that was a dreadful match. Two players desperately short of confidence. Still, good for Rafa to pick up another win.

Agreed.. it was  awful. He won ugly, but he won.

Haddie-nuff wrote:He choked

Dimitrov was up a break in the third-set. Calling him Baby-Federer is tantamount to heresy, IMVHO.

laverfan wrote:

Haddie-nuff wrote:He choked

Dimitrov was up a break in the third-set. Calling him Baby-Federer is tantamount to heresy, IMVHO.

I must have missed the mark

There's something about Dimi that always caused Rafa problems, ever since their first encounter at Rotterdam in 2009. Rafa always need to go the distance to beat Dimi regardless of how well or how poorly each of them plays; the only exception was Rome last year when Rafa beat Dimi in straight sets. Rafa was only playing OK back then but Dimi was poor.

The only thing I am finding encouraging about Rafa's last few performances is his willingness to come forward from 10ft behind the baseline and his ability once more to dig himself out of a hole.
This it has to be said is an improvement for this season. But he has still a lot of work to do.
What is disappointing for tennis as a whole is that even at his worst he is
better than some of those coming up behind him.
The big four have much to answer for !!!

I know the main focal point is Federer and Nadal, but crikey doesn't Dimitrov deserve a mention. Not known any player to have been in match winning positions against Murray and Nadal in a season and still lose those matches. The story of his 2015. Just mind boggling.

Yep, even Ferrer at 33 who has skipped tournaments because of injuries could still end up as no.8! Its not only the big four but the top eight! Ferrer at no.8 is still about 1000 points ahead of the no.9 player so we can see how poor the rest of the tour are.

I guess for Rafa, its his court position behind the baseline that encourages his opponents to go on the offensive and Rafa would then have a hard time defending. Though hes trying to move forward but hes not going to be as offensive as his earlier days when he was just an upstart. No big serve and no great court position and so Rafa will always have problems on the fast HCs and on grass. Its hard to reverse the trend when hes spending most of his career playing from well behind the baseline.

I agree for the most part but I do also believe he is making strides to come closer and indeed inside the baseline. I feel he is aware that he has to make some  adjustment to his game and not to get caught up in the interminable slugfests of the past. His body is no longer able to pay that price. I would like to see him mix it up a bit more.. a tactic which I think needs to be employed against Djoko; if he regains fully  the confidence he once had I think he may well tweak his game

legendkillarV2 wrote:I know the main focal point is Federer and Nadal, but crikey doesn't Dimitrov deserve a mention. Not known any player to have been in match winning positions against Murray and Nadal in a season and still lose those matches. The story of his 2015. Just mind boggling.

Dimi blaming the season on personal issues, lack of practice, and problems with his team makeup........

'I had ups and downs, it was a tough season. I never played a good tennis through an entire tournament. Results show the way I practiced. I spent so much time to have a team again. I want to create something stable, that can allow me to begin something. I've to be patient and to prepare well for the next year' said Dimitrov to SRF.

'My family and friends stayed in touch with me. Other people took away when the things didn't go well, both for tennis both in the life. I don't read often what people write about me. Lately I was criticized bitterly. Had these people been in my position, I would have liked to see how they would have felt. It's very easy to comment when you don't know what's happening to that person. It's not easy'.

His separation from the girlfriend Maria Sharapova in July wasn't good for Grigor. 'Clearly private life influences you a little bit. Obviously tennis is my priority. I wanted to play at my best, but at the end I didn't succeed to know what was happening to me, on and off court. I missed so many practice session, I didn't feel so fit compared to 2014. I didn't take care of many things'.

'Djokovic and Federer are impressive, their consistency shows why they are there. But at the moment comparing them with us has no sense. Certainly it's something that flatters, often they compared me to Roger, but I won 4 titles, the other won 100 titles and 17 Grand Slams. I know I can beat them in a very good day for me. But they have more experience and they have learnt many things before I did'.

Can Dimitrov win a Grand Slam? 'I went very close to do it, but the road is still long. It's the wrong moment to think about this. I'm confident to win it, but people spoke about this too much. In 2014 everything went well, but it's easy to play when everything goes the right way'.

He may well have personal issues but I daresay 99% of the tour do likewise.
However I too would question his fitness. He seemed very out of breath during some of those rallies with Rafa yesterday. Personal issues should not be allowed to affect your physical fitness. Not if you choose tennis as a profession.

laverfan wrote:

Haddie-nuff wrote:He choked

Dimitrov was up a break in the third-set. Calling him Baby-Federer is tantamount to heresy, IMVHO.

Surely going a break up in a set to Rafa and then losing the match is a Federer speciality.

Not wildly impressed by his comments. Sounds like excuses being made. Some people can develop a winning mentality more easily with more adversity.

I see Fed has scraped home in the third against Cabbagewriter. For no real reason, I somehow thought this could be a tough match. But now Fed should at least make the final, with the big seeds in his section already out.

Federer managed to make a hash of the second set. If Kohli (and I always thought it was the kohl of mascara kind) had kept his brains about, he could have pushed it to at least a TB.

Henman Bill wrote:

laverfan wrote:

Haddie-nuff wrote:He choked

Dimitrov was up a break in the third-set. Calling him Baby-Federer is tantamount to heresy, IMVHO.

Surely going a break up in a set to Rafa and then losing the match is a Federer speciality.

Not wildly impressed by his comments. Sounds like excuses being made. Some people can develop a winning mentality more easily with more adversity.

Losing a match from being 5-1 up is also a Federer speciality or losing a set from 5-2 with a SP to 7-5 is yet another one or losing a match having had 5 MPs.

Feels to me like Basel is heading for a Federer v Cilic final. I can't see Rafa beating an on-form Cilic and I think Cilic will have enough to dispose of Dr Ivo in the SF. Fed shouldn't have any difficulty with the remainder of his half.

Valencia is obviously wide open with the highest seed left being GGL (at 6th). I am going to predict a Brands v Johnson final.

I can't really call the Rafa v Cilic match. Rafa is slight favourite with the bookies.

Jack Sock is looking impressive at the moment, he might give Fed a game.

I think Bautista Agut will win Valencia. Beating Pospisil in the final.

Guest82 wrote:I can't really call the Rafa v Cilic match.  Rafa is slight favourite with the bookies.

Jack Sock is looking impressive at the moment, he might give Fed a game.

I think Bautista Agut will win Valencia.  Beating Pospisil in the final.  

I'd give Cilic the slight edge myself. Don't think Rafa needs to play ALL that well to beat Cilic, to be honest, but he does need to be mentally switched on, or Cilic could punish him. Betting on Rafa being mentally switched on seems to be like giving money away

Rafa is mentally switched on all week. Were you around to watch his earlier matches this week? If he's not mentally switched on, he would've already lost his first match (vs Rosol) here. I say Rafa beating Cilic in two or three sets. Cilic is error prone and his FH is his weakness.

Providing Rafa shows up for the first set I can see him doing it.. needs to get into the starting blocks early though

Goffin impressed a couple months ago nearly beating Novak. Roger has the hardest qf possible even Rafa would be easier for him in these conditions.