Miami Masters 27 March 2014
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summerblues
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Miami Masters 27 March 2014
First topic message reminder :
Dolgo up and down with Berdy, breaks him, then loses his serve.
Come on Dolgo, spit him like a cheap czech lager
Dolgo up and down with Berdy, breaks him, then loses his serve.
Come on Dolgo, spit him like a cheap czech lager
Jahu- Posts : 6747
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
So, who will win today ? It's a tough one to call. One of the few times when you can genuinely make a good case out for either player triumphing.
May be Djoko's last chance to beat Rafa for a while. Every year when we get to the European clay court season I expect Rafa to have trouble defending his points from the previous year and every year he seems to have no trouble at all.
Also, the chasing pack (actually it's just Djoko) cannot rely on Rafa going out in the first round at Wimbledon again.
May be Djoko's last chance to beat Rafa for a while. Every year when we get to the European clay court season I expect Rafa to have trouble defending his points from the previous year and every year he seems to have no trouble at all.
Also, the chasing pack (actually it's just Djoko) cannot rely on Rafa going out in the first round at Wimbledon again.
sirfredperry- Posts : 7076
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
I'd probably have Rafa as marginal favourite today. Not much in it, a Novak win wouldn't be a shock at all, but I think Rafa showed a bit more bite in his early rounds.
The big factor is how each serves. Both have been crushing any 2nd serves they've faced this week.
The big factor is how each serves. Both have been crushing any 2nd serves they've faced this week.
HM Murdock- Posts : 4749
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
It's a pick'em for me. Court marginally favours Novak, tournament form goes slightly in Rafa's direction. Could go either way! Here's hoping for another good match between them.
(Happy Mothers Day to any Mums out there, too)
(Happy Mothers Day to any Mums out there, too)
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
I'll say Djokovic in straight sets. He's better than Nadal on a hard court and is carrying momentum from that IW triumph. The walkovers will be a help rather than a hindrance because it's not as if he's short of match practice.
The Special Juan- Posts : 20900
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
I hope Nadal wins, (thought he's the main culprit for ruining tennis and turning it into a 5 meters from baseline sport, Djoko is his best student)
Jahu- Posts : 6747
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
I think it will come down to who plays the big points best. It could go either way really but I have a sneaky feeling Djokovic will prevail.
CaledonianCraig- Posts : 20601
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
socal1976 wrote:laverfan wrote:Equating slam finals to MS 1000s is not very prudent. As someone has stated already, slams are a different "animal". I think Djokovic can win Miami and join Federer in the double-peat IW/Miami ranks, if he can stop himself from second-guessing while serving for it.
I disagree, look at the list of the slam winners the last few years and the list of masters winners and you will find a lot of the sames names. There is only one player who has won more than one slam and not also won masters events. And there are very few players who regularly win masters and don't win slams. There is a very direct correlation between being good enough to win a masters and good enough to win a slam. If anything you don't get as easy early round matches in a slam as you do in a Masters event where from the get go you are playing the top levels of the tour. If you can beat a player over 3 you can beat him over 5 unless you have a fitness problem that you either can't or won't address.
The way the current Top 4 have dominated last few years, this is very true. I would consider this selective data picking.
Rios and Davydenko are exceptions, as is Nalbandian.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_Masters_Series_records_and_statistics#Records_and_trivia
laverfan- Moderator
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
I didn't realise Sampras only won 11 Masters titles. That's pretty "meh" for a man of his standing in the game.
The Special Juan- Posts : 20900
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
laverfan wrote:socal1976 wrote:laverfan wrote:Equating slam finals to MS 1000s is not very prudent. As someone has stated already, slams are a different "animal". I think Djokovic can win Miami and join Federer in the double-peat IW/Miami ranks, if he can stop himself from second-guessing while serving for it.
I disagree, look at the list of the slam winners the last few years and the list of masters winners and you will find a lot of the sames names. There is only one player who has won more than one slam and not also won masters events. And there are very few players who regularly win masters and don't win slams. There is a very direct correlation between being good enough to win a masters and good enough to win a slam. If anything you don't get as easy early round matches in a slam as you do in a Masters event where from the get go you are playing the top levels of the tour. If you can beat a player over 3 you can beat him over 5 unless you have a fitness problem that you either can't or won't address.
The way the current Top 4 have dominated last few years, this is very true. I would consider this selective data picking.
Rios and Davydenko are exceptions, as is Nalbandian.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_Masters_Series_records_and_statistics#Records_and_trivia
Every rule has its exceptions. As I said there is a strong correlation. If you look at players who have won a few masters most of them are slam winners as well. As I said if you can beat a player in 3 you can beat him in 5 sets as long as you don't have a fitness problem. Nalbandian clearly fits into this category after 3 sets he would invariably start thinking about which all you can eat buffet he would be visiting and his knees would start to quiver. This trend existed long before the big 4 dominance.
socal1976- Posts : 14212
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
I think it really is as close to 50/50 as we can get in this match. It really depends on how well Novak starts and maintains his focus. He simply can't afford to go off the reservation mentally in a match against Nadal because he will deliver the knockout punch. If Novak starts well and focuses throughout the match then I think he should win as he is better on this surface. That being said Nadal will have some added motivation as he has been close but never won this tournament.
socal1976- Posts : 14212
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
By the end of today, Nadal and Djokovic would have completed the duopoly... owning all nine Masters and the WTF. Boom.
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
The Special Juan wrote:I didn't realise Sampras only won 11 Masters titles. That's pretty "meh" for a man of his standing in the game.
He didn't really care about the Masters the way he did about slams - to him they were just warm up events, to tune up for the real deal.
JuliusHMarx- julius
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
Yeah i read that stat yesterday and it is pretty amazing when you think about it. A big gap exists between the top two and everyone else. This is why I think this match is significant. More so for psychology going into the clay court season. I think Rafa will be pumped and will try to blunt Djokovic's momentum going into the clay court swing. He would much rather have a less confident Novak in the clay court swing. If Novak wins the confidence will be flowing for him and we know how dangerous he can be then.
socal1976- Posts : 14212
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
I've never known whether to be amazed, or bemused at Sampras' contempt at anything not a Slam.
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
kingraf wrote:I've never known whether to be amazed, or bemused at Sampras' contempt at anything not a Slam.
The game has changed kr - once one or two top players start concentrating on the Masters (either through wanting the ranking points, the increased marketing/pressure from sponsors, increased visibility on TV, or just sheer competitiveness) the other top players follow suit. It's all part of the increased professionalism and commercialisation of the sport. Sampras concentrated on what mattered back then - slams, and little else, defined a great player.
JuliusHMarx- julius
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
I get that, but Emerson didn't even know he held the Slam record, while Borg simply took off two slams shy of it (or tied with Laver, if we assume he also didn't know Emerson had the record). Then there is the dearth of players who played in the Australian Open... Just seems that while slams were obviously the holy grail (uh...), they weren't quite the numerical obsession painted out. Think Connors snubbing Garros, because they snubbed him. Hardly the actions of a generation focused on one thing and one thing only.
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
If it's as tight as the IW Final, tonight should be a cracker (exact same number of games won by Novak & Fed, points total of 197 split 99 to 98 and Novak taking it on the TB)
Re the Sampras Slam v Masters topic ..... I think the very fact that we can all reel off the total Slam titles won not just by Sampras but by Borg, Mac, Lendl, Connors, Agassi etc etc (but NOT their respective Masters tally) says a lot about how Slam performance will - ultimately - always be the most significant retrospective defining factor of a career.
Re the Sampras Slam v Masters topic ..... I think the very fact that we can all reel off the total Slam titles won not just by Sampras but by Borg, Mac, Lendl, Connors, Agassi etc etc (but NOT their respective Masters tally) says a lot about how Slam performance will - ultimately - always be the most significant retrospective defining factor of a career.
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
Rafa missing out on a an early break
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
kingraf wrote:I get that, but Emerson didn't even know he held the Slam record, while Borg simply took off two slams shy of it (or tied with Laver, if we assume he also didn't know Emerson had the record). Then there is the dearth of players who played in the Australian Open... Just seems that while slams were obviously the holy grail (uh...), they weren't quite the numerical obsession painted out. Think Connors snubbing Garros, because they snubbed him. Hardly the actions of a generation focused on one thing and one thing only.
It wasn't a numerical obsession. or an obsession with records, it was about winning the biggest tournaments - the ones that really mattered. I don't think Borg and Connors were concerned with numbers. The AO was simply too far away and not considered very important back then - something that the organisers and the tour spent a lot of time, money and effort addressing later on.
And you can't equate he Connors/Borg generation with the Sampras one - too much had changed in the meantime. The same way you can't equate the Sampras generation with the current one - it's a totally different game these days, at the pro level.
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
Rafa holds to love. ND 1*-1 RN
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
RN 1*-2 ND comfy hold
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
JuliusHMarx wrote:The Special Juan wrote:I didn't realise Sampras only won 11 Masters titles. That's pretty "meh" for a man of his standing in the game.
He didn't really care about the Masters the way he did about slams - to him they were just warm up events, to tune up for the real deal.
I didn't know that but it's a poor attitude to have. You'd never see that nowadays (at least not from Djokovic and Nadal). It's amazing to see how much tennis has changed over the years with regards to players' attitudes towards tournaments.
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
Is this the only thing missing from Nadal's trophy cabinet?
The Special Juan- Posts : 20900
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
Nadals forehand is loaded today.
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
The Special Juan wrote:JuliusHMarx wrote:The Special Juan wrote:I didn't realise Sampras only won 11 Masters titles. That's pretty "meh" for a man of his standing in the game.
He didn't really care about the Masters the way he did about slams - to him they were just warm up events, to tune up for the real deal.
I didn't know that but it's a poor attitude to have. You'd never see that nowadays (at least not from Djokovic and Nadal). It's amazing to see how much tennis has changed over the years with regards to players' attitudes towards tournaments.
It wasn't considered a poor attitude at the time - it was quite admired. He peaked for the big events and everyone marvelled at it. Too much money involved and global coverage to get away with it nowadays.
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
Djokovic breaks... Gawddammit!
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
JuliusHMarx wrote:The Special Juan wrote:JuliusHMarx wrote:The Special Juan wrote:I didn't realise Sampras only won 11 Masters titles. That's pretty "meh" for a man of his standing in the game.
He didn't really care about the Masters the way he did about slams - to him they were just warm up events, to tune up for the real deal.
I didn't know that but it's a poor attitude to have. You'd never see that nowadays (at least not from Djokovic and Nadal). It's amazing to see how much tennis has changed over the years with regards to players' attitudes towards tournaments.
It wasn't considered a poor attitude at the time - it was quite admired. He peaked for the big events and everyone marvelled at it. Too much money involved and global coverage to get away with it nowadays.
Peaking at the right time is something few ever get right consistently - great if you can get it right like Sampras but you look foolish otherwise. To add to your last sentence, the sponsors wouldn't have it nowadays either. As I said, attitudes have changed so much.
The Special Juan- Posts : 20900
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
Why?The Special Juan wrote:I didn't know that but it's a poor attitude to have.
summerblues- Posts : 4551
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
summerblues wrote:Why?The Special Juan wrote:I didn't know that but it's a poor attitude to have.
I appreciate things were different back then to now so looking at it from nowadays perspective only, I feel that professional athletes should give 100% in everything they enter, otherwise what's the point of entering in the first place? Then again, I am old fashioned!!
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
Nice hold, good set from Nole, let's have one more like it.
summerblues- Posts : 4551
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
Following Djokovic's pretty routine first set win, I just put £40 on Rafa at 11/2... Let's go!
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
I hope that's your money down the drain.kingraf wrote:Following Djokovic's pretty routine first set win, I just put £40 on Rafa at 11/2... Let's go!
summerblues- Posts : 4551
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
Agassi didnt even play the Australian until he was 25. Times change which makes it very difficult to compare the records of older players to those of today. Its only really since the late 90s that tennis has stayed fairly static.
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
Even then, quite a lot of things changed - certainly playing conditions if nothing else. Much easier to do RG/Wimb double for example.Born Slippy wrote:Agassi didnt even play the Australian until he was 25. Times change which makes it very difficult to compare the records of older players to those of today. Its only really since the late 90s that tennis has stayed fairly static.
summerblues- Posts : 4551
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
Come on Nadal wake the h3ll up!!!!
Jahu- Posts : 6747
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
Djoko starting to melt, come on Nadal deck himmmm
Jahu- Posts : 6747
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
Oh carp... Off to bed then... Congratulations to Nole fans. and I suppose being the only Rafa fan left, I'll send commiserations to myself.
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
summerblues wrote:Even then, quite a lot of things changed - certainly playing conditions if nothing else. Much easier to do RG/Wimb double for example.Born Slippy wrote:Agassi didnt even play the Australian until he was 25. Times change which makes it very difficult to compare the records of older players to those of today. Its only really since the late 90s that tennis has stayed fairly static.
I was more referring to attitudes and status of events. I guess the only real change has been the massively enhanced status of the Olympics and probably a renewed commitment to the WTF.
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
kingraf wrote:Following Djokovic's pretty routine first set win, I just put £40 on Rafa at 11/2... Let's go!
Brave, considering Rafa hasn't beaten Djoko after losing the first set since 2009.
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
Especially in UK I imagineBorn Slippy wrote:massively enhanced status of the Olympics
WTF has always been fairly high on the list - I would perhaps even say that more so in the Lendl/Becker/McEnroe days than now. But I do not think it ever really faded. Again, perhaps from the UK perspective - with WTF in London - it may look like the interest has been renewed, but I do not think it is a global feel.Born Slippy wrote:and probably a renewed commitment to the WTF.
summerblues- Posts : 4551
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
Been incredibly hot at the bookie recently, Julius - thought twas worth a go. Still though - nothing tops the £100 I've most likely thrown away on Arsenal winning the EPL at 8/1... smh
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
This is supreme tennis from Djokovic. Every part of his game looks to be at at least 90% today and he's making Nadal look ordinary. Credit to Rafa though, he's done very well to hang with Djokovic for a lot of this match.
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
summerblues wrote:Especially in UK I imagineBorn Slippy wrote:massively enhanced status of the Olympics
I think a lot of it is to do with obtaining the 'golden slam'. Once more players got the career slam they kind of upped the ante and wanted a more unique claim. I think that is behind Federers desire to win it, he doesn't want anyone else holding a tennis record that he doesn't.
Don't think it will help Murray though, I can see him bagging an Aussie open but RG ...........yeah.
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
Not watching the match. Pundits speculating that Nadal has a back problem?? How does it look?
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
carrieg4 wrote:Not watching the match. Pundits speculating that Nadal has a back problem?? How does it look?
He's looked a bit flat but I've not seen any sign of any injury problem at all.
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
He's been a bit flat, but it's been more the big points, rather than anything else
0/1 break points first set, missed an opportunity to break back immediately at 0-30 in the second. Nole has shown no such reservations
0/1 break points first set, missed an opportunity to break back immediately at 0-30 in the second. Nole has shown no such reservations
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
What a superb display by Djokovic to win 6-3 6-3. He never gave Nadal a look in once he got ahead. I wonder if HM Murdoch feels a bit more positive about the future now?
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Re: Miami Masters 27 March 2014
Yes!
Pretty good considering the man is a long shot to ever win another slam.
Let's have more of this during the clay court season.
Pretty good considering the man is a long shot to ever win another slam.
Let's have more of this during the clay court season.
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