Tennis - clay court season/Queens/Wimbledon thread.

[Victor McDade]

Thought I'd start a separate, non Murray centric, tennis thread.

Seems like we have a bit of changing of the guard going on at the moment. After Nadal's 18-24 months of relative dominance we now have an inform Djokovic who is smashing everyone off the court.

Have just watched him defeat a fully fit Nadal on clay, albeit a fast clay court, which is a phenomenal performance given Nadal's pedigree on this surface.

Can't believe how well these top players now defend and how hard they strike the ball.

Looking forward to a summer of tennis.

[amare32]

Djokovic is just profiting from a tired Nadal, a declining Federer, an uninterested (and injured) Murray, injured Del Potro, a useless Soderling and Berdych.

Maybe a bit early to be declaring the changing of the guard. Let's reassess after this year's US Open to see who will win the 3 remaining slams...

[chippy17]

Djokovic: agreed I think the current competition is a bit weak but having said that he is clearly the in form and best player in world right now. His game is just very solid all round, nothing spectacular in any area but at the same time has no real weaknesses, and his defence puts even Nadal to shame right now.

I cannot see any up and coming potential greats right now...?

to me DelPo is the only potential great out there and he is coming along nicely

I can see Fed winning 1 or 2 more slams, Wimby or US but not a consistent winner any more, age is cruel!

we will have to see what happens at the French on a slower clay court as Nadal has lost in Madrid before due to speed of the court

Queens: well I'll let you know as I have tickets for the final, woohoo.

[chippy17]

well us tennis fans are few and far between on PH!

update: DelPo has torn his rectum and may not play French Open, big shame and franky that sounds like it would bring tears to your eyes! What has he been up to!!??

[rm89]

Nice to see Richard Gasquet back in a top-level semi final today! Always enjoy watching him play.

On Djokovic/Nadal/changing of the guard etc, there is no doubt IMO that Nadal has not played to the best of his ability consistently so far this season. Not even in tournaments that he has won, e.g. in the final in Monte Carlo he still looked fairly ropy against Ferrer for a majority of the match.

Djokovic is playing brilliant tennis just now for the vast majority of his matches, and more importantly he is finding ways to win even when his level drops (e.g. Madrid semi against Bellucci). Think missing Monte has helped him, gave him time to just relax for a few days and get some rest in prep for the rest of the clay season.

Encouraging to see Murray have a better clay court season this year - things seem to be moving in the right direction for him. Conversely, Federer is not looking great - his comments after losing the final set tie-break to Gasquet said it all, saying that he never believed he was going to win! That cannot be a good sign for Federer and his many fans (I'll admit I'm not one but I do appreciate and admire his style of play when it's all working).

Such a shame that Delpo is injured AGAIN. Hopefully it won't turn out to be too serious as nobody wants to see him have two consecutive seasons ruined by injury!

Thoughts on Roland Garros? Going to be extremely difficult for Soderling to reach the final again you would think, given that he will be in the same section of the draw as Nadal. Djokovic-Nadal final surely?

[Victor McDade]

amare32 said:

Djokovic is just profiting from a tired Nadal, a declining Federer, an uninterested (and injured) Murray, injured Del Potro, a useless Soderling and Berdych.

Maybe a bit early to be declaring the changing of the guard. Let's reassess after this year's US Open to see who will win the 3 remaining slams...

Yes I take your point. Fed and Nadal have not been on the top of their game and the group behind consisting of the likes of Soderling, Murray, Berdych, Tsonga etc are too mentally weak to play consistently for any length of time.

[Victor McDade]

chippy17 said:

Djokovic: agreed I think the current competition is a bit weak but having said that he is clearly the in form and best player in world right now. His game is just very solid all round, nothing spectacular in any area but at the same time has no real weaknesses, and his defence puts even Nadal to shame right now.

I cannot see any up and coming potential greats right now...?

to me DelPo is the only potential great out there and he is coming along nicely

I can see Fed winning 1 or 2 more slams, Wimby or US but not a consistent winner any more, age is cruel!

we will have to see what happens at the French on a slower clay court as Nadal has lost in Madrid before due to speed of the court

Queens: well I'll let you know as I have tickets for the final, woohoo.

Very lucky to be attending Queens - some old school grass court tennis where the courts are actually quick unlike the recent Wimbledon surface which now plays like a slow/medium hard court. Just a shame Fed never plays there - he always plays the grass court tournament in Germany before Wimbledon.

[Victor McDade]

rm89 said:

Nice to see Richard Gasquet back in a top-level semi final today! Always enjoy watching him play.

On Djokovic/Nadal/changing of the guard etc, there is no doubt IMO that Nadal has not played to the best of his ability consistently so far this season. Not even in tournaments that he has won, e.g. in the final in Monte Carlo he still looked fairly ropy against Ferrer for a majority of the match.

Djokovic is playing brilliant tennis just now for the vast majority of his matches, and more importantly he is finding ways to win even when his level drops (e.g. Madrid semi against Bellucci). Think missing Monte has helped him, gave him time to just relax for a few days and get some rest in prep for the rest of the clay season.

Encouraging to see Murray have a better clay court season this year - things seem to be moving in the right direction for him. Conversely, Federer is not looking great - his comments after losing the final set tie-break to Gasquet said it all, saying that he never believed he was going to win! That cannot be a good sign for Federer and his many fans (I'll admit I'm not one but I do appreciate and admire his style of play when it's all working).

Such a shame that Delpo is injured AGAIN. Hopefully it won't turn out to be too serious as nobody wants to see him have two consecutive seasons ruined by injury!

Thoughts on Roland Garros? Going to be extremely difficult for Soderling to reach the final again you would think, given that he will be in the same section of the draw as Nadal. Djokovic-Nadal final surely?

Gasquet is a treat to watch - 'that' single handed backhand is one of the best sights in tennis imo. Just a shame he's so mentally fragile.

[rm89]

Victor McDade said:

Gasquet is a treat to watch[...]Just a shame he's so mentally fragile.

It really is isn't it. Not only that, but he'll have some weeks like this week where he plays like he is capable of, i.e. amazingly. Then other weeks he will do the bare minimum on court, like last week in Madrid and be bundled out 1st round. Immensely frustrating.

What's also immensely frustrating is the Sky box failing to record the Nole-Murray match tonight. Fiddlesticks.

[Victor McDade]

rm89 said:

It really is isn't it. Not only that, but he'll have some weeks like this week where he plays like he is capable of, i.e. amazingly. Then other weeks he will do the bare minimum on court, like last week in Madrid and be bundled out 1st round. Immensely frustrating.

What's also immensely frustrating is the Sky box failing to record the Nole-Murray match tonight. Fiddlesticks.

It was a fantastic match. Murray really should have won. Novak was shattered towards the end, partly due to the amount of tennis he's played recently but also because of Murray's defensive play - the lad got everything back which was thrown at him. Murray was 5-4 and 15-0 up serving for the match when Djokovic got a very lucky net cord go his way. And then when it came to the tie break he lifted his game and comprehensively won it.

The final is in the afternoon tomorrow - my money is on Nadal this time,

[JNW1]

Victor McDade said:

The final is in the afternoon tomorrow - my money is on Nadal this time,

Agreed, I think the semi-final must have taken something out of Djokovic plus I suspect Nadal is still smarting from losing in Madrid and will want to put a marker down before the French Open!

Good to see Murray compete so well with Djokovic yesterday (probably the closest Nole's been to losing this year) so hopefully he (Murray) can carry that form to Paris.

Don't know what to make of Federer though. A poor loss in Monte Carlo and another one in Rome; I know Gasquet played well but the Federer of old would have closed that match out. Didn't think he was especially gracious in defeat either (perhaps not for the first time) but unless he smartens his ideas up defeat is something he's going to have to get used to as I think more and more of the other players now believe they can beat him. I know some think he's still got another grand slam or two in him but I'm not so sure; if the desire's no longer there I'd rather he retire than carry on and lose to players who would never have got near him in his prime.....

[rm89]

Final is subject to rain delays in Rome - the WTA final was due on court at 1pm GMT and they still haven't started play.

Re Federer - I don't think there's any chance of him winning another grand slam title unless he has a major change in attitude. He needs to accept that he is going to have fight hard against opponents other than Nadal & Djokovic in order to have a chance of winning these titles, and right now I don't see that fire within him.

Today's final - Nadal for me. Djokovic was pushed to 3 sets in Madrid's semi-final, but it wasn't nearly as long or as physical a match. He must be absolutely knackered. Having said that, the rain delay may help him in giving him just another wee while of rest. Every little helps and all that!

[Victor McDade]

I want some of what Djokovic has been taking - looked like he was about to collapse with exhaustion 18 hours ago and now he's come out and outplayed Nadal to take the first set.

edit - and beats Rafa in straight sets.

Edited by Victor McDade on Sunday 15th May 20:40

[chippy17]

Victor McDade said:

I want some of what Djokovic has been taking - looked like he was about to collapse with exhaustion 18 hours ago and now he's come out and outplayed Nadal to take the first set.

edit - and beats Rafa in straight sets.

Edited by Victor McDade on Sunday 15th May 20:40

you said it! what has he been taking/doing to go from almost there to no1 in less than six months?!

[chippy17]

Victor McDade said:

Very lucky to be attending Queens - some old school grass court tennis where the courts are actually quick unlike the recent Wimbledon surface which now plays like a slow/medium hard court. Just a shame Fed never plays there - he always plays the grass court tournament in Germany before Wimbledon.

it's not what you know! been many times and it is a great tournament to watch but yes a real shame I will never the Federer there but have seen all the other greats over the years
and yes dare i say it the grass at Queens is the best in the world

[chippy17]

with regards to Federer: I think we will be seeing him not play so many smaller tournaments and concentrate on the slams, bit like Sampras did at the end of his career. I can see Federer winning another 1 or 2 (Wimbledon and US) but he will never get back to no1...due to age his moevement when hitting the ball (ie body rotation) is just that little bit slower etc which in turn takes a bit of edge off what is the greatest forehand ever

[JNW1]

chippy17 said:

with regards to Federer: I think we will be seeing him not play so many smaller tournaments and concentrate on the slams, bit like Sampras did at the end of his career. I can see Federer winning another 1 or 2 (Wimbledon and US) but he will never get back to no1...due to age his moevement when hitting the ball (ie body rotation) is just that little bit slower etc which in turn takes a bit of edge off what is the greatest forehand ever

I don't doubt that age will start to take it's toll but I think Federer's main problem at the moment is mental rather than physical. I think he still moves and hits the ball as well as anyone when he's playing well but he seems to suffer from major lapses in concentration and at times his unforced error count is really quite horrendous for a player of his class. His natural ability was enough to win him matches in the past but, as others have improved and caught up, he now doesn't seem to have the desire to dig in and tough it out to get a result. I've always loved watching him play and I hope your prediction of him winning another slam or two proves correct; don't see it personally but will be happy to be proved wrong!

[Victor McDade]

Any of you Gents follow the woman's game?

It's really disappointing how poor the wta tour is these days. Henin has gone, Kim has one more season left however even that isn't a cert, and the Williams sisters are still long term injury doubts.

All we're left with are players who send moon-balls back and forth waiting for their opponent to make a mistake - it's so negative. Perfect example of this is the current world number one Wozniaki. (sp?).

On a positive note however, it appears Sharapova is on her way back to something like her best. She still has her attacking game with her, just needs to sort out that awful serve.

[rm89]

Avid follower of the WTA here! I do think it is a shame about the women's tour just now, but it is just a transitional phase. One bonus is you simply have NO idea who is going to win a title at the beginning of a tournament just now.

Sharapova is very much back on song. She seems to have finally got her serve sorted out IMO after all the horrible shoulder problems - averaged over 70% 1st serves for the week in Rome - and is really playing like she did when she was no.1. Definite dark horse for RG.

It's a shame Wozniacki is no.1 just now, but it's not really her fault - she plays far more tournaments than the majority of the women on tour, and really does commit herself fully to the tour, hence she's ammassing(sp?) more points than anyone else. I don't think she's good enough to win a grand slam though - great backhand (esp. cross-court) and movement around the court, but very fragile forehand and fairly weak serve.

One to watch out for on the tour just now is Petra Kvitova - just broke into the top 10 last month after winning the Madrid Masters, and is VERY aggressive. Huge groundstrokes and forehand, big 1st and 2nd serves, also a leftie (which is always nice to see), and tends to play with zero margin for error. As an example, she hit 40 winners in that Madrid final in a straight sets win. 40. And she doesn't grunt. Halleljujah!

[chippy17]

JNW1 said:

I don't doubt that age will start to take it's toll but I think Federer's main problem at the moment is mental rather than physical. I think he still moves and hits the ball as well as anyone when he's playing well but he seems to suffer from major lapses in concentration and at times his unforced error count is really quite horrendous for a player of his class. His natural ability was enough to win him matches in the past but, as others have improved and caught up, he now doesn't seem to have the desire to dig in and tough it out to get a result. I've always loved watching him play and I hope your prediction of him winning another slam or two proves correct; don't see it personally but will be happy to be proved wrong!

yes you are right in as much as mental at this level seperates the greats from the goods and Federer is certainly having a mental problem at present, when you play so much for so long and win so much not surprising. If you add age to the equation then you are going to get lapses in performance, I still think he is just that little bit slower in a shot making sense, still every bit as fast round the court
I hope I am right too, would love to see him win just one more!