Longest ever short match?

How on Earth does it take 2 hours 27 minutes to win 6-1, 6-1, 6-2? That's a 1 hour 20 minute match at most.

Were there millions of deuces or was it just painfully slow?

Drinks bottles placement took up even more time than usual .....??

It was a 'clay' match, not an HC, despite the fact that it was Monaco.

Point construction takes 20-30+ shot rallies. Each point would take about a minute. Total of 141 points, Nadal 89, Monaco 52, so roughly 141 minutes. The match took 147 minutes, so 6 minutes for extra-curricular activities like bottle placement, etc.

Does the math make sense now?

You should not compare it to this 1 hour 22 minute affair - http://www.usopen.org/en_US/scores/stats/day14/1403ms.html

Yeah, that's why the 5 set epic with a tb set and some massive games between Ferrer and Del Potro isn't even taking twice the time so far.

Does that math make sense to you now?

Let me do it again. DelPo 149, Ferrer 149 points each.

298 points and 298 minutes is 4 hours (240) + 58 minutes.

Actual match time is 4 hours and 46 minutes. So the bottle Feng Shui consumes about -12 minutes for Ferrer/Del Potro.

Does that math make sense to you now?

there were quite a lot of deuces, Monaco won 52 points despite only winning four games (minimum of 16 points) suggesting he was competitive in a few games, while Nadal winning 89 points also shows this (18 games - minimum of 72 points). Also suggests Nadal won nearly all the tight games.

Nadal and Monaco would engage in longer rallies than Karlovic-Isner on clay, so that makes the points longer. And neither play particularly quickly.

laverfan wrote:It was a 'clay' match, not an HC, despite the fact that it was Monaco.

Point construction takes 20-30+ shot rallies. Each point would take about a minute. Total of 141 points, Nadal 89, Monaco 52, so roughly 141 minutes. The match took 147 minutes, so 6 minutes for extra-curricular activities like bottle placement, etc.

Does the math make sense now?

You should not compare it to this 1 hour 22 minute affair - http://www.usopen.org/en_US/scores/stats/day14/1403ms.html

OMG 141 points for a score line of 6-1 6-1 6-2, so if the match would have gone tight like 7-6, 7-6,6-7,6-7, and like 20-18 what would be the time consumption? approx 630 mts , i.e that would be 10 hours 30 mts.

With reference to LF's observation above, I hope Monaco writes his biography comparing his own experiences against Roger and Rafa about these two matches, albeit in slightly different conditions. He could settle the GOAT matter perhaps.

laverfan - you're right to say that Monaco's USO 2011 encounter with Federer should not be compared. There were, after all, exceptional circumstances.

The vagaries of the scheduling meant it was close to midnight before the match finally got onto court.

It's a well-documented fact that it was Roger's turn to read the girls their bedtime story that night. He knew they just wouldn't sleep without it. Time was of the essence.......

lags72 wrote:It's a well-documented fact that it was Roger's turn to read the girls their bedtime story that night. He knew they just wouldn't sleep without it. Time was of the essence.......

What about the little Cinderella slippers that he needed to put on their feet before midnight?

Federer plays very fast. The first set against Monaco was over in 18 minutes when a slight drizzle was also on.

Yep, speed has indeed been an integral part of Federer's game over the years. not just in terms of the 'practicalities' (ie minimum delay between points when on serve, quick out of the chair after changeovers etc ...) but also the actual pace of play (taking the ball early...)

It's easy to forget just how much effort and preparatory research all the tour guys (in tandem with their respective camps) will put into how best to counter the playing style / tactics of a specific opponent ; the theory being that - whatever else may happen in the match itself - at least you shouldn't be hit with any surprises

And yet I've lost count of the number of players who have commented in the wake of a quick-fire loss to Federer .........
I did my best but he just gives you so little time on the ball .....

For opponents, the Federer-like speed of play is surely the one thing that must be near-impossible to incorporate into a practice routine