ATP 1000: Monte Carlo (Daily Order Of Play)!

First topic message reminder :

Monte Carlo.... tennis is finally coming home!

After weeks of sleepless nights caused by travelless jetlag, tennis caravan is back to where it belongs and looks best: Europe!

Ahead are a few potentially historically huge months:

Novak Djokovic could be the first man after Rod Laver to hold all 4 slam titles.

He could also be the first man to achieve the Golden slam, if he wins the gold at the Olympics.

All grand dreams, very difficult to achieve, yet, for this grand dreamer, nothing is impossible

Back to Monte Carlo, and the first 1000 Masters even on clay:

Bar Federer's last minute wild-card change of mind, all the best players are in town:

*Legendary Rafael Nadal with his mind-boggling 7 straight tournament wins.
*Novak Djokovic with his mind-boggling 7 straight finals wins over Nadal
*Andy Murray , pressure free and hungry. Could surprise many.
*David Ferrer, the eternal bridesmaid...will give someone a great workout in the semi-final!
*Delpo? No Federer in the draw, may release the "old" smooth powerhouse.

and.....

everybody else except the Biggest clay question mark called Isner, who withdrew from the tournament needing rest and preparation for the remainder of the season.

Official website:

http://www.monte-carlorolexmasters.com/


The Draw:

http://www.monte-carlorolexmasters.com/Share/Event-Draws.aspx?Year=2012&Draw=ms

Easier to follow, PDF version of the draw:

http://www.atpworldtour.com/posting/2012/410/mds.pdf

Order of play for Wednesday, 17th of April (no PDF version yet):

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Scores/schedule.aspx?EventId=410&Year=2012&Seq=5

Set in the glorious scenery of glittering, breath-taking sparkling Medditeranean vista, I will be there daily in spirit sighing and dreaming....

For Monte Carlo with its vintage charm, class and timeless air of dolce vita is my favourite tournament (let's leave that heart-breaker called Wimbledon out of this conversation just this once!)

I have bought a large vintage poster of Monte Carlo recently, and it hangs framed behind my desk reminding me of those days when the world took its time....and nobody moaned that much ....and ladies wore dresses when they played....and looked and behaved like ladies ....

http://img2.photographersdirect.com/img/16398/wm/pd1802170.jpg

Now, let's get into the mood, shall we?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFabjc6mFk4


AND, last but not the least...

GO NOLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!1

Simon has given Rafa hard matches in past....but mainly on hard court/indoor where his early ball can cause a problem. But not on clay, especially this clay. Rafa looked rusty today at times...he seems to vary a lot between matches at present but looking like another Nadal/Djokovic final - Berdy not mentally strong enough to beat Nole you feel when those crunch moments come.

Yes, the final already has Djoker/Nadal written all over it. I guess it did even before a ball was struck

We really could do with some new talent breaking through, otherwise we'll be having to survive on a constant diet of these two for the next couple of years ......

In any sport, you can have too much of a good thing.....

(cue nitb to tell us that you can never have too much of Nole ....!! )

lags72 wrote:(cue nitb to tell us that you can never have too much of Nole ....!! )

Did not nitb leave this forum?

summerblues wrote:

lags72 wrote:(cue nitb to tell us that you can never have too much of Nole ....!! )

Did not nitb leave this forum?

I don't think NITB will come back because she has been banned as well

I missed the action of the last couple of days. Seems everyone is leaving this forum. . . I still don't understand what Tenez was banned for.

Hello



Oh mininons, the shadow beings in the furthest reaches of the milky bar galaxy have been whispering about great events and turmoil on a distant planet. My heart told me it was planet earth and hence I have hastened back.

It appears that events have unfolded at a great pace and child Tenez and childess NITB have both been exiled for all eternity.

It is a sad and tumultous time.

With great regret I too must announce my retirement from the council of 606 elders. My journey for salvation will now take me to new lands.

I bid thee all farewell.

May the serve be with you.



emancipator

Why was NITB banned?

I think they have been bandana'ed.

but what did NITB actually do to get a lifetime ban from the board?

Strangely flat match between Berd-brain and the Djoker...

reckoner wrote:but what did NITB actually do to get a lifetime ban from the board?

Overuse of the phrase "titanium balls of steel".

Djoko broken, come on Berdyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Nole isn't a happy bunny today is he...

6:4 Berdy, go go gooo

Nore Staat wrote:

reckoner wrote:but what did NITB actually do to get a lifetime ban from the board?

Overuse of the phrase "titanium balls of steel".

Well done Berdy - can he keep it together to challenge for the second / remaining sets.

Nole digging in here....

reckoner wrote:Why was NITB banned?

People seem to forget that this is a private forum, its not part of a corporation like the original 606. This site is run by a few lads and a girl who make decisions on how its run. Now, some agree with our actions, and of course some dont. But we seriously have got better things to do than have an open inquest each and every time someone is banned.

You guys have got a free forum that costs you nothing to contribute on, yet we give up all our free time to run it, have put in money out of our own pocket when it was set up and Im now sick to death of all the rubbish that comes with this job, people whinging, people moaning, people questioning everything we do. So the site can do one. Im offskies.

Djoko squealing like a kitten with every ball hit.

Gav wrote:

reckoner wrote:Why was NITB banned?

People seem to forget that this is a private forum, its not part of a corporation like the original 606. This site is run by a few lads and a girl who make decisions on how its run. Now, some agree with our actions, and of course some dont. But we seriously have got better things to do than have an open inquest each and every time someone is banned.

You guys have got a free forum that costs you nothing to contribute on, yet we give up all our free time to run it, have put in money out of our own pocket when it was set up and Im now sick to death of all the rubbish that comes with this job, people whinging, people moaning, people questioning everything we do. So the site can do one. Im offskies.

Gav, it was a simple question that does not deserve such a tirade in response. Obviously if you start banning people for no apparent reason - or don't make the reasons clear people will question it - it comes with the territory.

Also, if this is your idea of good manners you can "do one" yourself. There really is no need to be so rude to me in response to a SIMPLE QUESTION.

Tenez was banned because it simply the case that his inclusion was at the detriment to a large number of people leaving the site or refusing to take part.
His single minded narrow views had simply just worn down so many people and we fed up to our back teeth of it.
In regards to NITB, she was PMing people to join Tenez on another site as far as I am aware.

reckoner wrote:Why was NITB banned?

You may want to peruse some stuff that has been written on other sites, regarding this and the vitriol that is flowing. It is to see fans of a common sport being so adversarial towards each other. The forums are large enough and can accommodate diverse views, without name calling and bickering.

Any poster leaving a forum, voluntarily or otherwise, is a reflection on lack of civilised debate, which normally should be the order of the day.

Hero wrote:Tenez was banned because it simply the case that his inclusion was at the detriment to a large number of people leaving the site or refusing to take part.
His single minded narrow views had simply just worn down so many people and we fed up to our back teeth of it.
In regards to NITB, she was PMing people to join Tenez on another site as far as I am aware.

I was just wondering why NITB got banned because it wasn't clear what had actually happened, so thanks for clearing that up. I think it helps to have a little transparency otherwise it can seem as if people are being kicked off arbitrarily.

Hero wrote:Tenez was banned because it simply the case that his inclusion was at the detriment to a large number of people leaving the site or refusing to take part.
His single minded narrow views had simply just worn down so many people and we fed up to our back teeth of it.
In regards to NITB, she was PMing people to join Tenez on another site as far as I am aware.

Fair enough. The people who run this site have made those decisions and have explained why. Can't ask for any more than that.

Yep, no more banning questions on Live Tennis thread!!! Now let's all get behind Berdy to knock Djoko out

Djoker about to break!

I don't feel it's my place to comment on the individual reasons - known or otherwise - for any particular member being banned. But I do believe that it is entirely within the rights of the site owners and administrators to run the show entirely as they wish (albeit hopefully within reason) ; and that we in turn, when making the conscious choice to sign up as members, have an obligation not only to respect those rights but to accept any decisions made as a result of rules being broken. To my way of thinking that can include not just specific written rules, but also issues that may cut across the spirit & overall ethos of the forum.

Sorry, I have one last thing to ask. Before anyone gets wound up - I'm not trying to irritate anyone - am just trying to get a perspective on recent events on this board.

Is it against the site rules to PM people about posting on another site? If I PMd someone saying come and post in this discussion on the TennisX blog for example, would I get banned?

Unless you are sending abusive messages I don't see why you'd get banned because you want to tell people you intend to post elsewhere?

Also Jahu, you may notice that the person who started this live match thread has been banned so hopefully I'm not entirely off-topic here, lol.

Before I joined here I read at other places that this forum had a tendency to throw people out with little reason. Having discussed Tenez's dismissal with Gav, I now feel that they were sort of right.

On one hand, I can see that Gav may feel that by removing posters that are "extreme" he will be able to increase the "mainstream" appeal and grow the forum.

On the other hand, I find it odd that the posters get thrown out without breaking any rules just because some other posters do not like them.

On balance, I feel that this approach will create a forum that will be too bland for my taste. So, while I am not planning to kiss this place good-bye explicitly, I suspect I may just end up moving some place else anyway. I will miss at least some ( ) of you. Cheers.

A funny sidenote: Now that Tenez moved someplace else (what else could he do?), Gav is stalking him there. Weird...

reckoner wrote:Sorry, I have one last thing to ask. Before anyone gets wound up - I'm not trying to irritate anyone - am just trying to get a perspective on recent events on this board.

Is it against the site rules to PM people about posting on another site? If I PMd someone saying come and post in this discussion on the TennisX blog for example, would I get banned?

Unless you are sending abusive messages I don't see why you'd get banned because you want to tell people you intend to post elsewhere?

Also Jahu, you may notice that the person who started this live match thread has been banned so hopefully I'm not entirely off-topic here, lol.

Reckoner please let it go. Like already pointed out, it is a forum for tennis enthusiasts created by the OWNERS of this site. They have house rules and you have to play by their rules if you want to participate. Like someone pointed out before, this is not a democracy..it is an autocracy..albeit pretty inclusive and vibrant imo.

But I guess you already knew that didnt you? So please chill out and enjoy the match.

summerblues wrote:Before I joined here I read at other places that this forum had a tendency to throw people out with little reason. Having discussed Tenez's dismissal with Gav, I now feel that they were sort of right.

On one hand, I can see that Gav may feel that by removing posters that are "extreme" he will be able to increase the "mainstream" appeal and grow the forum.

On the other hand, I find it odd that the posters get thrown out without breaking any rules just because some other posters do not like them.

On balance, I feel that this approach will create a forum that will be too bland for my taste. So, while I am not planning to kiss this place good-bye explicitly, I suspect I may just end up moving some place else anyway. I will miss at least some ( ) of you. Cheers.

A funny sidenote: Now that Tenez moved someplace else (what else could he do?), Gav is stalking him there. Weird...

seriously? is that true? Tenez didn't say anything to provoke that by any chance?

reckoner wrote:seriously? is that true? Tenez didn't say anything to provoke that by any chance?

Oh well, he may have said something that would provoke that. But he would have said it on a different site, so what is it to Gav? Anyway, I just thought it was funny. In the end, Gav can go other places and argue with Tenez there if that is what he wants to do.

10IS wrote:

reckoner wrote:Sorry, I have one last thing to ask. Before anyone gets wound up - I'm not trying to irritate anyone - am just trying to get a perspective on recent events on this board.

Is it against the site rules to PM people about posting on another site? If I PMd someone saying come and post in this discussion on the TennisX blog for example, would I get banned?

Unless you are sending abusive messages I don't see why you'd get banned because you want to tell people you intend to post elsewhere?

Also Jahu, you may notice that the person who started this live match thread has been banned so hopefully I'm not entirely off-topic here, lol.

Reckoner please let it go. Like already pointed out, it is a forum for tennis enthusiasts created by the OWNERS of this site. They have house rules and you have to play by their rules if you want to participate. Like someone pointed out before, this is not a democracy..it is an autocracy..albeit pretty inclusive and vibrant imo.

But I guess you already knew that didnt you? So please chill out and enjoy the match.

Hey I am chilled!! And I am enjoying the match!! There is a question of rule-breaking here though. Those two posters were getting pretty annoying and if that's the reason for a ban fair enough. However if they broke a rule (PMing people?) I want to know because I could easily fall foul of the same rule myself without even realising it!

Hello



After careful consideration I have decided to retire from retirement.

So I am back.

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaalleluuuuuuuuuujah haaaaaaaaaaaaalleeeeeelujaaaah

my work here is not finished.

The evil entity BOO has taken on a new form.. I must continue to pursue it.

Oh minions ye may rejoice at my return.



rotapicname

summerblues wrote:

reckoner wrote:seriously? is that true? Tenez didn't say anything to provoke that by any chance?

Oh well, he may have said something that would provoke that. But he would have said it on a different site, so what is it to Gav? Anyway, I just thought it was funny. In the end, Gav can go other places and argue with Tenez there if that is what he wants to do.

So Gav's not really stalking him then, just defending himself from slander?

Tenez was insulting me so I defended myself. Hardly stalking.
And to answer your question Reckoner:

6) No advertising of other sites that include forums – failure to comply may result in temporary or permanent ban from this site. It is our decision on if we believe the mention of another site is deemed to be advertising.

https://www.606v2.com/t1019-site-rules

Hello....

Good to see you here emancipator !

I like your posts

Gav wrote:Tenez was insulting me so I defended myself. Hardly stalking.
And to answer your question Reckoner:

6) No advertising of other sites that include forums – failure to comply may result in temporary or permanent ban from this site. It is our decision on if we believe the mention of another site is deemed to be advertising.

https://www.606v2.com/t1019-site-rules

... even in a PM? I wasn't aware of that - I guess PMs aren't as private as I'd imagined.

reckoner wrote:

10IS wrote:

reckoner wrote:Sorry, I have one last thing to ask. Before anyone gets wound up - I'm not trying to irritate anyone - am just trying to get a perspective on recent events on this board.

Is it against the site rules to PM people about posting on another site? If I PMd someone saying come and post in this discussion on the TennisX blog for example, would I get banned?

Unless you are sending abusive messages I don't see why you'd get banned because you want to tell people you intend to post elsewhere?

Also Jahu, you may notice that the person who started this live match thread has been banned so hopefully I'm not entirely off-topic here, lol.

Reckoner please let it go. Like already pointed out, it is a forum for tennis enthusiasts created by the OWNERS of this site. They have house rules and you have to play by their rules if you want to participate. Like someone pointed out before, this is not a democracy..it is an autocracy..albeit pretty inclusive and vibrant imo.

But I guess you already knew that didnt you? So please chill out and enjoy the match.

Hey I am chilled!! And I am enjoying the match!! There is a question of rule-breaking here though. Those two posters were getting pretty annoying and if that's the reason for a ban fair enough. However if they broke a rule (PMing people?) I want to know because I could easily fall foul of the same rule myself without even realising it!

Fair enough Reckoner. From my experience please avoid the following 2 things if you dont want to gt banned:

1) Turn into a broken record and say the same thing again and again ........and again......and again.......so annoying that even calmest ppl like dalai lama would flip the finger at you.

2) Go around PMing people and inviting them to leave this site for another site.

Easy peasy....

Emancipator is back to emancipate us on how to behave!!! Go boy go

Welcome back emancipator

Gav, I hope you stick around...I can highly appreciate the last few days may have been stressful and put strain on you personally. I'm sure many recognise that. We all need to appreciate its not easy running a forum and the good work and investment of others gives a place to share our views on the sport we love.

Let's not forget what binds us here...TENNIS! Speaking of which Nole has done very well to turn this match around but I do wonder about the mental strength he has in these crunch matches.

reckoner wrote:Sorry, I have one last thing to ask. Before anyone gets wound up - I'm not trying to irritate anyone - am just trying to get a perspective on recent events on this board.

Is it against the site rules to PM people about posting on another site? If I PMd someone saying come and post in this discussion on the TennisX blog for example, would I get banned?

Unless you are sending abusive messages I don't see why you'd get banned because you want to tell people you intend to post elsewhere?

Also Jahu, you may notice that the person who started this live match thread has been banned so hopefully I'm not entirely off-topic here, lol.

reckoner, I'm in total agreement with you.What's the pm facility for if you can't contact other members and discuss things in private? I'd have thought people she contacted would have preferred not to been treated like 3-year-olds by Admin. Aren't they grown-ups capable of making up their own minds whether or not they want to follow nitb? I think Admin is perhaps doing the thinking for 606v2 members unnecessarily.

Just to clear up a matter in regards to PMing.

These are as they state, a private message, even I as the site creator do not have access to anyone else's PMs.
In the case of NITBs PMing we were made aware of it when others informed us of it.


There's a difference between a message of this is an interesting article come have a look, and hey guys let's enmasse leave here and go to this site, we as the mods etc then obviously have to make a call on which is touting and which is obviously just showing a decent article.

In regards to Tenez, I'd spoken to him before over his conduct but it had really got to the point of was one persons such tunnel vision really worth keeping when it was forcing out so many, I don't want to see anyone banned from the site but I have to see the bigger picture of what encourages conversation and what turns it constantly into Nadal bashing.

10IS wrote:

Fair enough Reckoner. From my experience please avoid the following 2 things if you dont want to gt banned:

1) Turn into a broken record and say the same thing again and again ........and again......and again.......so annoying that even calmest ppl like dalai lama would flip the finger at you.

2) Go around PMing people and inviting them to leave this site for another site.

Easy peasy....

Equally, if the owners of this site want avoid people leaving en masse they should be more upfront about their reasons for banning people. Transparency would avoid quite a lot of bad blood and stop the rumour mill going into overdrive.

As for repeating the same topics I suggested many times there be a sticky with chestnut topics where people with an axe to grind can do so and the rest of us can leave them to it. That way everyone gets to participate and no one feels censored.

Well played Djokovic. Tough match and adverse conditions. Berdych just could not master the conditions.

laverfan wrote:Well played Djokovic. Tough match and adverse conditions. Berdych just could not master the conditions.

I don't think Djoker's such a lock for Monte Carlo any more after that abysmal first set though!

Berdy only 46% first serve He should of got this match with his serve.

Agree LF, well done Nole, gutsy play in gusty conditions. Looks like that BIG final is likely on!

Yep reckoner, he's defo 'wobbly' at the moment