ATP 500 Basel 2011

First topic message reminder :

After a long pre off-season season, a week of delicious tennis is upon us.

The field is studded with top hard-courters lead by The Best, the In-Hot-Form and the Goat, formerly known as the local ball-boy.

Also in Basel we have: Berdych, Wawrinka, Fish, Tispsarevic, Roddick, Ljubicic.

The tournament sounds great on paper, and it's a shame we are missing French players Tsonga and Monfils.

The big question has been answered: Federer falls in Murray's half (cooo, I must say that sounds weird...)

The draw:

http://www.atpworldtour.com/posting/2011/328/mds.pdf


Matches start tomorrow, with the "big" names probably starting on Tuesday, Nole's first match against Malisse starts at 17.30.

Order of play (the final) for Sunday, 6th of November

http://www.atpworldtour.com/posting/2011/328/op.pdf


Provided he continues where he stopped in September form-wise, Nole should get through his half safely. The juicy question is: who will be on the other side of the net this time next week?

laverfan wrote:

invisiblecoolers wrote:If Murray enters as wildcard how come he be ranked no.2 seed? do wildcards be ranked in a tournament? or its just a special case here?

Good to 'see' you here again, iC.

Hey LF, great to see some good posters like u still continuing here, I was busy with my college and stuffs, finally found some time and decided to be back with my online tennis pals.

Marcus wrote:Can't see any upsets happening today. May as well tune in tomorrow, and enjoy the Djoko Vs Wawrinka final.

Djokovic is winning Basel, so I am skipping the final as well.

laverfan wrote:

Marcus wrote:Can't see any upsets happening today. May as well tune in tomorrow, and enjoy the Djoko Vs Wawrinka final.

Djokovic is winning Basel, so I am skipping the final as well.

At least we'll be able to watch proper tennis from Valencia.

:VAMOS POTRO:

Just tuned in,and what do I see: struggles with the shoulder
Expect the things to lighten up now that I'm watching

invisiblecoolers wrote:

laverfan wrote:

invisiblecoolers wrote:If Murray enters as wildcard how come he be ranked no.2 seed? do wildcards be ranked in a tournament? or its just a special case here?

Good to 'see' you here again, iC.

Hey LF, great to see some good posters like u still continuing here, I was busy with my college and stuffs, finally found some time and decided to be back with my online tennis pals.

Hope you are doing well.

It is not a special case here.

To answer your question, the seeding is derived from ATP rankings, since Murray is ranked higher then Federer, he got the higher tournament seeding. The WC process does not impact your rank and hence the seeding.

Marcus wrote:
:VAMOS POTRO:

Ferrer-Potro is the likely final. If Potro wins, he will be in good standing for WTF.

So good to watch Nole after that long break....

noleisthebest wrote:Just tuned in,and what do I see: struggles with the shoulder
Expect the things to lighten up now that I'm watching

Nishikori throws the break-back away. . First set Djokovic.

laverfan wrote:

Marcus wrote:
:VAMOS POTRO:

Ferrer-Potro is the likely final. If Potro wins, he will be in good standing for WTF.

Yes, but unfortunately if he does manage to sneak in to the WTF, it will be very unlikely that he'll be able to stand up!!

Looks like he's playing his plan B (like against Nadal in the 4th set in USO final) slower serve, shortening points.

Sweetest and most elegant backhand down the line EVER

It seems like Djoko couldn't care less about the result. If Nishi wins the second, we could see another retirement from Djoko..Either today in the third or in tomorrows final.

Is anybody watching the match - Nishi has good range on his forehand... Is it going to be Nole's 4th loss of the year!

cheers LF for the confirmation.

What a match from Kei, Nole was annihilated in the final set.

Fedex_the_best wrote:Is anybody watching the match - Nishi has good range on his forehand... Is it going to be Nole's 4th loss of the year!

I tuned back in only to find 5:0 and Nole serving ... ah , well....at least the Jappy is happy (and the crowd in Basel) !

Hope NOle's arm is OK but have a sneaky feeling he may pull out of Paris. We'll soon find out.

Wow Nishikori - 6-0!! Only the second loss for Nole when the match has actually finished in 2011.

Novak of 2011 can lose 6-0, I didnt think that will happen, fitness issues or not. How fantastic then the record of Fed is to have only one 6-0 score against him in the last 11 years then!!!

Finished with a 6:0. Superb from play from Kei.

Nitb, sorry for your guy - he had some fitness issues but believe me when I say that Nishikori was majestic from his forehand. Unbelievable hitting - painting lines at will in that third set

gallery play wrote:It seems like Djoko couldn't care less about the result. If Nishi wins the second, we could see another retirement from Djoko..Either today in the third or in tomorrows final.

Well well, i wasn't far off. This loss was planned, it was written all over this match.

Fedex_the_best wrote:Nitb, sorry for your guy - he had some fitness issues but believe me when I say that Nishikori was majestic from his forehand. Unbelievable hitting - painting lines at will in that third set

I saw the second set. Taking nothing away from Kei, but Nole allowed him to play. Probably decided to finish the match rather than retire again as the pain probably was not that acute.

gallery play wrote:

gallery play wrote:It seems like Djoko couldn't care less about the result. If Nishi wins the second, we could see another retirement from Djoko..Either today in the third or in tomorrows final.

Well well, i wasn't far off. This loss was planned, it was written all over this match.

Well well conspiracy theories never die among tennis fans, if the loss was planned, Nole would have lost something like 6-3 in the 3rd set rather than a humiliating 6-0, no ways its a conspiracy, Kei was playing good and Nole was struggling in the 3rd and thats it.

invisiblecoolers wrote:

gallery play wrote:

gallery play wrote:It seems like Djoko couldn't care less about the result. If Nishi wins the second, we could see another retirement from Djoko..Either today in the third or in tomorrows final.

Well well, i wasn't far off. This loss was planned, it was written all over this match.

Well well conspiracy theories never die among tennis fans, if the loss was planned, Nole would have lost something like 6-3 in the 3rd set rather than a humiliating 6-0, no ways its a conspiracy, Kei was playing good and Nole was struggling in the 3rd and thats it.

If that makes you happy...

@NITB, Kei playing good [or for tat sake an underdog playing good is a welcome sign in any form of sport] is good for tennis.

I am sorry for your man, but this kinda wins for kei would just make him a better player with more confidence.

Nole was struggling with fitness issues, but it takes nothing away from kei's win, Kei simply deserved it.

Nole's loss didnt make me happy, kei's superb play did make me feel good, take a positive look always.

invisiblecoolers wrote:

gallery play wrote:

gallery play wrote:It seems like Djoko couldn't care less about the result. If Nishi wins the second, we could see another retirement from Djoko..Either today in the third or in tomorrows final.

Well well, i wasn't far off. This loss was planned, it was written all over this match.

Well well conspiracy theories never die among tennis fans, if the loss was planned, Nole would have lost something like 6-3 in the 3rd set rather than a humiliating 6-0, no ways its a conspiracy, Kei was playing good and Nole was struggling in the 3rd and thats it.

What you see is what you get eh?

...unless you're not seeing it right

"Nole's loss didnt make me happy, kei's superb play did make me feel good, take a positive look always."


There's nothing wrong in being miserable a bit now and then, as far as I'm concerned the only positive bit from toady is that Nole didn't lose to Federer. See? I don't stick my head in the sand

Djokovics loss makes me sad I won't get to see him play Federer...

hawkeye wrote:Djokovics loss makes me sad I won't get to see him play Federer...

Hawkeye, are you the same poster as Jahu?

No I am just me

Odd scoreline, wouldnt be surprised if Kei's management offered Novak an incentive for a 0-6 set.

Either way Kei has always been (so far) an underachieving talent. His burst onto the scene at 18yo at Wimb showed his promised but he's been dogged by injuries the past couple of years - could to see him starting to realise some of that talent.

Blimey.

noleisthesecondbest

5 years ago with the rise of Nadal I anticipated how tennis would be in a the coming years. Shorter season, with players giving it all in that short period while also having shorter careers to to the physically demanding tennis. Player woudl do anything for the grand tournaments and shorter fame at the very top, pushed out by the next fitter player in town.

Looks like we are seeing that right now.

noleisthebest wrote:"Nole's loss didnt make me happy, kei's superb play did make me feel good, take a positive look always."


There's nothing wrong in being miserable a bit now and then, as far as I'm concerned the only positive bit from toady is that Nole didn't lose to Federer. See? I don't stick my head in the sand

Yea nothing wrong at all, after all he had a stunning season this year, he can afford to have a lapse, this is no GS anyways.

Reaching the third set of the semi-final of a highly competitive 500 tournament should be considered an excellent achievement for Djokovic given that this was his first tournament back from what appeared to be a serious injury - an injury that resulted in him forfeiting a match to Del Potro and his nations grip on the Davies Cup.

Congratulations also to Nishokori for reaching the final.

And the player with the best tie break record in the history of the game...wins the first set ..tie break!

Great game between those 2. Very close.

Good match so far.

Fed looked good but must say Stan has a great offensive backhand, speed on which is difficult to manage for even the best of the DHBHers.
Looking forward to Fed-Kei final. Should be a good one, right?

Yo, if Kei can sustain the form he showed in semi's it could be a very good match.

I thought Fed looked very much in 2nd gear.

Tenez wrote:5 years ago with the rise of Nadal I anticipated how tennis would be in a the coming years. Shorter season, with players giving it all in that short period while also having shorter careers to to the physically demanding tennis. Player woudl do anything for the grand tournaments and shorter fame at the very top, pushed out by the next fitter player in town.

Looks like we are seeing that right now.

Nishikori is the next fittest player in town?

Hmmm well I din't see that one coming

if Nole is still struggling with the shoulder, he should pull out of Paris and possibly London as well IMO. Didn't see the game, and maybe Nole just had an off-day, but there's no way he should be losing to Nishikori. Seems like Kei really got stuck into Nole's second serve looking at stats.

noleisthebest wrote:

hawkeye wrote:Djokovics loss makes me sad I won't get to see him play Federer...

Hawkeye, are you the same poster as Jahu?

No, he's not me as I'm much better looking

So Kei wasn't just good tonight, he produced some superb points and great point construction.

As hawkeye said, I do miss Djoko going to final as I wanted him to be there and take a serious humiliation from Fed, but Kei did it even better with a doughnut.

Now this being Basel, with Kei showing such a performance tonight and the crowd totally with him, I wouldn't mind Kei winning tomorrow against Fed, tough but would be so much for Kei.

Jahu wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:

hawkeye wrote:Djokovics loss makes me sad I won't get to see him play Federer...

Hawkeye, are you the same poster as Jahu?

No, he's not me as I'm much better looking

So Kei wasn't just good tonight, he produced some superb points and great point construction.

As hawkeye said, I do miss Djoko going to final as I wanted him to be there and take a serious humiliation from Fed, but Kei did it even better with a doughnut.

Now this being Basel, with Kei showing such a performance tonight and the crowd totally with him, I wouldn't mind Kei winning tomorrow against Fed, tough but would be so much for Kei.

Full of goodness and charitable comments, as always...

Order of play for the final:

http://www.atpworldtour.com/posting/2011/328/op.pdf

Not the line-up most expected, Fed in two easy sets for the title.

gallery play wrote:

gallery play wrote:It seems like Djoko couldn't care less about the result. If Nishi wins the second, we could see another retirement from Djoko..Either today in the third or in tomorrows final.

Well well,i wasn't far off. This loss was planned, it was written all over this match.

Depends on what you consider far off.

Djokovic has played at Basel for three years winning it in 2009. Pretty sure the TD was happy having Djokovic for the last three years.

Kei should be given credit for playing well and winning. Djokovic could have retired earlier in the match, but he did not. As Safin would say, he played like a 'man' and has taken the defeat in his stride.

"The second set, he was playing great and was fighting... I have to give credit to my opponent, he was better," said Djokovic. "I didn't make the most of my opportunities."

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2011/11/44/Basel-Saturday-Nishikori-Stuns-Djokovic-To-Reach-Final.aspx

Managed to slip away - NITB, re your comment earlier on - you must know my mother-in-law!

Actually managed to watch the Fedwrinka match as well as last set (!) of Novak vs Nishikori - to accompanying sniffs of disapproval and requests for tea!

What happened to Novak? Nishikori did so well to take his chances and very happy for him that he has made the final - it may well be a good one because he is obviously very keen to play Fed. Very worried to hear Nole's shoulder is obviously still giving him grief - hope he does skip Paris and rest up.

It was a mixed match the Stan and Fed one, wasn't it? Some lovely play, some not so much. I know Stan is not the natural mover that Fed is, but I do think losing a stone might take Stan a few ranking places higher - perhaps the partnership with Lundgren didn't help in this regard - both look as if they have too much fondness for apple strudel!

time please wrote:Managed to slip away - NITB, re your comment earlier on - you must know my mother-in-law!

Actually managed to watch the Fedwrinka match as well as last set (!) of Novak vs Nishikori - to accompanying sniffs of disapproval and requests for tea!

What happened to Novak? Nishikori did so well to take his chances and very happy for him that he has made the final - it may well be a good one because he is obviously very keen to play Fed. Very worried to hear Nole's shoulder is obviously still giving him grief - hope he does skip Paris and rest up.

It was a mixed match the Stan and Fed one, wasn't it? Some lovely play, some not so much. I know Stan is not the natural mover that Fed is, but I do think losing a stone might take Stan a few ranking places higher - perhaps the partnership with Lundgren didn't help in this regard - both look as if they have too much fondness for apple strudel!

Reading your comment, I had so many things to say, but after seeing the word STRUDEL, I just can't stop thinking of the best under the sun apple strudel I had in Munich, hotel the Plazl. I don't know what possessed me (I think I've got the talent for enjoying myself ) , but I ordered the room service, a glass of bubbly and the strudel, and it came with a lump of vanilla ice-cream on one side and some hot vanilla sauce (read custard) on the other . TP, if you haven't done it already, you MUST go there and do it.....you simply must!!!!

I'm starting to wonder how much this stellar year for Nole has taken out of his body...this is the same shoulder injury that made him retire against Andy at Cincy. This could become a chronic problem if he's not careful as the shoulder is a notoriously tough area to treat as is such a complex joint.

Looking forward to seeing Kei-Fed match tomorrow, great to see him starting to realise his obvious potential. We have been wondering which of the youngsters was going to break through, maybe this guy that was always under our noses somehow missed our radar...

lydian wrote:I'm starting to wonder how much this stellar year for Nole has taken out of his body...this is the same shoulder injury that made him retire against Andy at Cincy. This could become a chronic problem if he's not careful as the shoulder is a notoriously tough area to treat as is such a complex joint.

Looking forward to seeing Kei-Fed match tomorrow, great to see him starting to realise his obvious potential. We have been wondering which of the youngsters was going to break through, maybe this guy that was always under our noses somehow missed our radar...

Fed is going to obliterate Kei tomorrow.
As for Nole, you are right about the year taking its toll, Nole's had problem with that shoulder or years, probably chronic tendonitis.

500 pointer has attracted more comments than a slam.