ATP 250 Open 13 Marseille, Buenos Aires, Memphis......

First topic message reminder :

Fantastic match between Delpo and Davydenko.

Davydenko saves 2 set points and serving for a tie-break.

Davy showing excellent form after a long time and is a joy to watch. Delpo firing on all cylinders.

On a side note...I was travelling back from France last week, listening to the radio and the Marseille Tournament Director, forgot the name but a former player, was invited to talk on the news and said that to get Federer to play it would have cost (an extra) 25% of his total budget. That is the "invitational" fee Federer wants to participate in such events. It sounds arrogant but the Director seemed to understand the dynamics and held no grudge and said he needed a bigger stadium (more seats), more promotion, more TV rights to achieve such sums.

At teh end he was very happy to have Delpo, Tsonga, Davydenko and Gasquet. He was hoping for a Delpo v A French player final.

Tsonga has yet to break DelPo. The big man is playing well and good serving.

Just tuning in now..Had a madly hectic day I can finally relax now, with me cup of coffee and a bit of tennis , bliss, aaaah.....
Who won, Delpo or Tsonga, last time I checked in a shop Tsonga was serving for the 2nd set in the tie-breaker.

Llondra really likes fast indoor

And he takes the first set away, converting the third consecutive set point by a silly UE from Tipsarevic

Tenez wrote:On a side note...I was travelling back from France last week, listening to the radio and the Marseille Tournament Director, forgot the name but a former player, was invited to talk on the news and said that to get Federer to play it would have cost (an extra) 25% of his total budget. That is the "invitational" fee Federer wants to participate in such events. It sounds arrogant but the Director seemed to understand the dynamics and held no grudge and said he needed a bigger stadium (more seats), more promotion, more TV rights to achieve such sums.

At teh end he was very happy to have Delpo, Tsonga, Davydenko and Gasquet. He was hoping for a Delpo v A French player final.

Yes, they've got a great field for an ATP 250, Fed would be a bit too much...I suppose it helps when you have so many good home players.

Del Potro Tsonga was another hot encounter, Del Boy gets another big scalp, finally he is showing back some of his skills and power of 2009

Good for him. Was it in two or three sets?

It was in three sets...

Tsonga played some inspired tennis in 2nd set.. Some excellent netplay (not "Boring" S&V )...

Delpo won more on will than anything else... Tsonga didn't provided him with too many slow balls to aim and hit...

Good game...

Llondra is so versatile at the net. And elegant.

spuranik wrote:It was in three sets...

Tsonga played some inspired tennis in 2nd set.. Some excellent netplay (not "Boring" S&V )...

Delpo won more on will than anything else... Tsonga didn't provided him with too many slow balls to aim and hit...

Good game...

shame I didn't see it, I really wanted to... 3 sets! must've been great! Tsonga, just like Federer is always good to watch.

Tie break.

Brilliant tie-breaker, Janko blows 4 set pints so far....will he pull it off? Third set would be great!

Alas no, Llodra closes it. DelPo-Llodra.

OH, no...that was a horrid,horrid loss for Tips, blew FIVE set points....three on his serve...

laverfan wrote:Alas no, Llodra closes it. DelPo-Llodra.

that will be an interesting one....

C'mom LLodra!

Tenez wrote:C'mom LLodra!

Did you see the match?
Llodra looked so comfy on that court, very,very interesting to watch.Good that there are still some courts where he can play his game...and win

laverfan wrote:Alas no, Llodra closes it. DelPo-Llodra.

Shall I dare try and see what's going on in Memphis....I've still got nightmares from that last night's weirdario...

noleisthebest wrote:

Tenez wrote:C'mom LLodra!

Did you see the match?
Llodra looked so comfy on that court, very,very interesting to watch.Good that there are still some courts where he can play his game...and win

No I did not butI am not surprised. Can he hold his nerves and handle Delpo's pace tomorrow? I doubt but shoudl be an interesting match.

Tenez wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:

Tenez wrote:C'mom LLodra!

Did you see the match?
Llodra looked so comfy on that court, very,very interesting to watch.Good that there are still some courts where he can play his game...and win

No I did not butI am not surprised. Can he hold his nerves and handle Delpo's pace tomorrow? I doubt but shoudl be an interesting match.

I'm more worried about the power than the pace...

Indeed..I woudl not mind a Delpo win either. The sooner he gets back to number 5 or 4 the better.....or maybe higher.

He shoudl not play too much though. Looks like he will be too tired for Dubai.

Tenez wrote:Indeed..I woudl not mind a Delpo win either. The sooner he gets back to number 5 or 4 the better.....or maybe higher.

He shoudl not play too much though. Looks like he will be too tired for Dubai.

Tired from what...he needs to get match fit if he wants to win a slam again..

- You are now used to outstanding physical performance and expecsts only that.

Playing 3 weeks in a row with minimum of 3 consecutive matches from 1/4 to Final is taxing! I think he is going to lose early in Dubai...if he goes at all.

Tenez wrote: - You are now used to outstanding physical performance and expecsts only that.

Playing 3 weeks in a row with minimum of 3 consecutive matches from 1/4 to Final is taxing! I think he is going to lose early in Dubai...if he goes at all.

If he wants titles, he needs to get fitter, courts are only going to get slower from Monday untils Wimbers....I think Dubai won't harm him in the least, his body is fresh, I don't think he sufferedn much wear and exept for his wrist demolition.
He really wacks that ball....or maybe it's just that sound he makes, or both...I much prefer Birdy's easy power.

You are right. He really whacks it. He doesn;t use the wrist actually. What I mean is that he hardly uses the rotation of the wrist to give it even more pace like Fed and Nadal would do. He blocks it and I think that why he hurt it.

Again...I think.

He must be doing something wrong....what amazes me is how Federer managed to go injury free with HIS wrist, as if it's made form steel...

Tennis must be one of the few sports that really utilses all major jints: shoulder, wrist, elbow, knees, ankles, you get one done, and you're stuffed... unless...

Which one shall I watch Almagro Stan or Raonic Becker....

I'll go for Raonic Becker...

Just my luck, no stream the message says the match will start shortly...ah, well, it's the curse of Memphis

Almagro Stan it is , then....

I've only now realised it's clay....from Marseille to Argentina, crazy!
Even us fans need to adjust to different surfaces

Stan's backhand is made for clay!

noleisthebest wrote:He must be doing something wrong....what amazes me is how Federer managed to go injury free with HIS wrist, as if it's made form steel...

Actually it doesn't surprise me at all. Federer "throws" the racquet to the ball so the racquet is taking all the hit. Our coach in our club is tiny and looks very frail but his timing is amazing and likewise when his arm/wrist take up speed, he generates amazing power without feeling the hit.


When I play well, the 14th of July...leap years only of course, I can see my shots fly effortlessly too. But that requires pretty good timing.

noleisthebest wrote:Stan's backhand is made for clay!

Did not do him much good against Fish in Fribourg.

Tenez wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:He must be doing something wrong....what amazes me is how Federer managed to go injury free with HIS wrist, as if it's made form steel...

Actually it doesn't surprise me at all. Federer "throws" the racquet to the ball so the racquet is taking all the hit. Our coach in our club is tiny and looks very frail but his timing is amazing and likewise when his arm/wrist take up speed, he generates amazing power without feeling hit.


When I play well, the 14th of July...leap years only of course, I can see my shots fly effortlessly too. But that requires pretty good timing.

I love those days, when you can't go wrong...everything goes in, even the stupid shots...you feel invincible. It happened to me only once though


As for Fed's wrist, I thought with the single backhand it surely took more wear, but with him it's that crazy hand to eye coordination...that's what I think makes him stand out and look so good.

laverfan wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:Stan's backhand is made for clay!

Did not do him much good against Fish in Fribourg.

He was much better than Federer against Isner, it was a close one, Stan seems to like 5 setters...

Stan just lost the first set to Almagro.

noleisthebest wrote:As for Fed's wrist, I thought with the single backhand it surely took more wear, but with him it's that crazy hand to eye coordination...that's what I think makes him stand out and look so good.

He does create some amazing angles with the SHBH though.

laverfan wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:As for Fed's wrist, I thought with the single backhand it surely took more wear, but with him it's that crazy hand to eye coordination...that's what I think makes him stand out and look so good.

He does create some amazing angles with the SHBH though.

He is quite something...

laverfan wrote:Stan just lost the first set to Almagro.

I stopped watching when he got broken (after he had advantage on his serve!!!) it was so boring, not a single drop-shot!

Maybe not the thread to talk about Fed but what is really amazing is the mind. Having such a great game is amazing but it's a very fragile game in a way causemore than anyone he relies on perfect timing. But to be able to pull it under the heaviest pressure just shows how strong the mind is, contrary to some rumours. That something I re-discovered more recently. We see him nervous versus Nole and Nadal but it's not quite as it seems.

Look at Davydenko for instance who also relies on perfect timing.....He is much more inconsistent and often under pressure he tends to crack. Not Federer. It's easy(ier) to have a strong mind when shots have big margins but when 80% you receive are on teh BH and you need to time the ball perfectly to create enough pace, it;s tough. Really tough...more so under pressure.

Tenez wrote:Maybe not the thread to talk about Fed but what is really amazing is the mind. Having such a great game is amazing but it's a very fragile game in a way causemore than anyone he relies on perfect timing. But to be able to pull it under the heaviest pressure just shows how strong the mind is, contrary to some rumours. That something I re-discovered more recently. We see him nervous versus Nole and Nadal but it's not quite as it seems.

Look at Davydenko for instance who also relies on perfect timing.....He is much more inconsistent and often under pressure he tends to crack. Not Federer. It's easy(ier) to have a strong mind when shots have big margins but when 80% you receive are on teh BH and you need to time the ball perfectly to create enough pace, it;s tough. Really tough...more so under pressure.

Davy has the timing but not the variety, and as a result, no plan B. Davy plays his game with white gloves on, you can't imagine him getting dirty, can you?
Still, absolutely brilliant at times.

Nole can do a Davy plus a lot more. He hasn't even needed to use it all yet. Wait and see

Wawrinka's taken the second set and is now serving to stay in the third....
Watching Raonic routinely win a set and a break up against Becker.

Raonic match ulta monotonous. Switching back to Stan Mugro...tough fight and high drama 5 all 40 all in the third...

Can Stan stay in the match and not choke as usual....

Argentinian crowd lovin' Stan's backhand down the line ....

Stan misses his next BDL and it's the first match point for Almugro...

Almugro does a Nole heart/chest beat AND a Delpo cross/kiss to Heavens and walks to the net to shake hands with the gutted Stan...deja vu....

Ferrer Nalby next. Home crowd for Nalby. Mmmmm....Ferrer in straights. First set tight.