The Monte Carlo Thread

by HM Murdock Tue Apr 15, 2014 7:05 pm

First topic message reminder :

Round 2 and no thread yet?

Djokovic has just mauled Montanes 6-1 6-0. Tsonga also through.

by Jahu Fri Apr 18, 2014 4:52 pm

Ferrer takes it 7:6 6:4. Quite a fight from him.

by Jahu Fri Apr 18, 2014 4:54 pm

Djoko is going to win again, oh NO!!!!

by Jahu Fri Apr 18, 2014 4:55 pm

Anyone for Stan-Djoko final?

Even better Stan-Fed!!!

by lags72 Fri Apr 18, 2014 4:56 pm

Daveed survives a late scare and gets a very big win ! clap

And does so in Rafa's own back garden (if you like your garden to be full of red clay ..... Cool

by sirfredperry Fri Apr 18, 2014 5:10 pm

Gosh, Daveed beating Rafa in straight sets, and at MC, too. Just wot happened ? Was Rafa injured/ill? Presumably, Ferrer played extremely well.

by Born Slippy Fri Apr 18, 2014 5:36 pm

Great win for Ferrer. Seems a big harsh that all it gets him is a SF spot! Could it be Fed's first Monte Carlo title?

by invisiblecoolers Fri Apr 18, 2014 5:44 pm

sirfredperry wrote:Gosh, Daveed beating Rafa in straight sets, and at MC, too. Just wot happened ? Was Rafa injured/ill? Presumably, Ferrer played extremely well.

Me and HMM have been advocating about it for quite a while that this year won't be Rafa's picture perfect year, in my view he is mentally worn down and Nole played a huge part in it. thumbsup

by Jahu Fri Apr 18, 2014 5:47 pm

Fed getting slammed by Tsonga.

Wake up man!!!

by Jahu Fri Apr 18, 2014 5:49 pm

Tsonga takes first one 6:2 .

Disaster looming…

by lags72 Fri Apr 18, 2014 5:53 pm

Federer winning only around 50% of points on 1st serve

A very quick exit for him to follow with that sort of performance ....

by Jahu Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:06 pm

Fed totally wasting chances.

Tsonga moving at his best, a joy to watch his old style.

by kemet Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:08 pm

Roger's return game has really fallen to abysmal levels.

This is simply not good enough from him.

by Henman Bill Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:13 pm

well done Ferrer and some inteersting semifinals to come probably. hope i will be able to catch a match this week, have been too busy so far

by kemet Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:20 pm

Federer 0-10 on BP and Tsonga has been 2/3 on BP.

This is a very telling statistic

by Jahu Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:21 pm

Fed should of wrapped this match by now, so many break points.

Of course, next best thing, he can go shopping in MC and spend the Rolex appearance money he got, but I know better places to do that!!!

by lags72 Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:24 pm

I was in Melbourne for the AO where JWT had few answers to Federer's game ; but what a difference just a few short months can make .........

by kemet Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:26 pm

Jahu wrote:Fed should of wrapped this match by now, so many break points.

Of course, next best thing, he can go shopping in MC and spend the Rolex appearance money he got, but I know better places to do that!!!

Roger HAS TO work on his return game; it is quite mediocre

by Jahu Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:28 pm

BP conversion for Fed 0/10

by lags72 Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:34 pm

Even though the H2h will remain heavily in Fed's favour after this (almost certain) defeat, the recent wins by JWT have come on big stages, and very convincingly : Wimbledon, RG, and now at a Masters where Federer looked well on course to progress based on early round performances .....

by kemet Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:41 pm

What's disappointing is he is not converting the BPs on Tsonga's 2nd serve

by lags72 Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:45 pm

Wondering whether he has ever had worse stats than 0/11 for BP's over just two sets ..... Erm

by Jahu Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:47 pm

Come on, give us the third set, you swiss chard.

by kemet Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:53 pm

What is it, 0/13 on BPS, although this time Tsonga made an excellent volley at net.

Players like Nadal and Djokovic would have put Tsonga away in 2 sets by now...

by lags72 Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:55 pm

This is about to become one of Federer's most frustrating-ever losses surely. Will be interested to hear his own assessment in the post-match presser ......

by lags72 Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:57 pm

kemet wrote: ..................................

Players like Nadal and Djokovic would have put Tsonga away in 2 sets by now...

Except when "players like Nadal" get put away in two sets by players like Ferrer .........

by Jahu Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:58 pm

TB comeeeeeee onnnnn

by Jahu Fri Apr 18, 2014 7:00 pm

lags72 wrote:
kemet wrote: ..................................

Players like Nadal and Djokovic would have put Tsonga away in 2 sets by now...

Except when "players like Nadal" get put away in two sets by players like Ferrer .........

Hahahaha, statement of the year!!!

by Jahu Fri Apr 18, 2014 7:06 pm

From BP to Set Points, missing galore

by kemet Fri Apr 18, 2014 7:06 pm

lags72 wrote:
kemet wrote: ..................................

Players like Nadal and Djokovic would have put Tsonga away in 2 sets by now...

Except when "players like Nadal" get put away in two sets by players like Ferrer .........

Nadal has won eight Monte Carlo Titles

Surely, today was a statistical anomaly

by Jahu Fri Apr 18, 2014 7:07 pm

Yessssssss

by lags72 Fri Apr 18, 2014 7:18 pm

kemet - I agree Rafa is King of MC, no doubt about that. And yes, his 'early' loss today was unprecedented.

But your implication that Tsonga is somehow incapable of causing problems for Nadal (or indeed Djokovic) is I feel erroneous. I'm not sure that Rafa has quite forgotten the mauling he suffered at the hands of Jo at the AO, albeit a few years back.

by kemet Fri Apr 18, 2014 7:20 pm

Fed finally gets a BP.

by kemet Fri Apr 18, 2014 7:25 pm

lags72 wrote:kemet - I agree Rafa is King of MC, no doubt about that. And yes, his 'early' loss today was unprecedented.

But your implication that Tsonga is somehow incapable of causing problems for Nadal (or indeed Djokovic) is I feel erroneous. I'm not sure that Rafa has quite forgotten the mauling he suffered at the hands of Jo at the AO, albeit a few years back.

Tsonga can indeed cause Nadal problems....

But on clay, where Rafa wins more often than not, I am not so sure....

You think if Rafa were to have 13 BP opportunities, he would not convert at least half of them?

I wager that he would

by bogbrush Fri Apr 18, 2014 7:29 pm

Fed looks very powerful. Easy power.

Boy, I wish he'd used this racquet for the last few years......

by Jahu Fri Apr 18, 2014 7:30 pm

I've said it this year a few times, Fed needs to be loosing to win this year, especially first set down.

by lags72 Fri Apr 18, 2014 7:40 pm

Well if he was 19 years old, I think we could call that a character-building victory. But he's nearing 33 Shocked

Life in the old dog yet .......

by kemet Fri Apr 18, 2014 7:44 pm

Well Roger came through, but if he is to prevail against Djoko (if the Serb makes it) in the semi, he cannot afford to squander his first 15 BPs.

If he does, he will lose in two sets, most likely 1-6, 2-6.

by **laverfan** Fri Apr 18, 2014 7:45 pm

Glad to see Federer come through. Tsonga missed the boat in the second set TB.

by lags72 Fri Apr 18, 2014 8:12 pm

kemet wrote:Well Roger came through, but if he is to prevail against Djoko (if the Serb makes it) in the semi, he cannot afford to squander his first 15 BPs.

If he does, he will lose in two sets, most likely 1-6, 2-6.

You're absolutely right kemet, Federer was horrendously wasteful wrt all those BP opportunities (perhaps his worst-ever conversion rate ....?) ; and I will be amazed if he does not readily acknowledge this in his presser.

But not all wins can be pretty, and you have to give credit both to JWT for pushing him (in the first 2 sets at least) and to Federer for hanging in there when it seemed that all the odds were against him.

As for your wager that Nadal would definitely have converted at least half of those BP's : I would wager the very same. But let's keep things in perspective .....you're talking about a Nadal who is still (just about) in his prime, and on his best surface. I'm sure Federer would never have been so wasteful on grass when in HIS prime. But time moves on, and it's an inescapable fact that your game deteriorates with age. The deterioration can manifest itself in many different ways, but one thing's for sure - it eventually happens to everyone ...... If Rafa is still playing at 32/33 with around 1200 matches under his belt, who can say where his game & BP conversion rate might be ....??

And yes, you're right that Djokovic has the armoury to despatch Federer very swiftly, especially if Fed were to waste another series of BP's. But every match is different, and it's only a few weeks since Federer had enough in him to come back from a set down and beat Djokovic in Dubai.

All that said, I think a SF here is about what Federer himself would have targetted, and he is unlikely to go further.

by lags72 Fri Apr 18, 2014 8:54 pm

Hmm.... the momentum from Garcia-Lopez's comeback victory over Berdych continues, and he takes the opening set against Djokovic.

But I still wouldn't be tempted to put more than a dollar on him winning the match.

by The Special Juan Fri Apr 18, 2014 9:46 pm

It's amazing what a bit of confidence and momentum can do. Did GGL not win a tournament last week beating Granollers?

by lags72 Fri Apr 18, 2014 9:54 pm

Well he certainly had the confidence & momentum to take the first set here.

But looks like he has now realised this is N.Djokovic on t'other side of the net ; as opposed to Granollers .....

by **laverfan** Fri Apr 18, 2014 10:19 pm

Third set breadstick in both JwT v Federer and GGL v Djokovic. Strange coincidence. Run

by Henman Bill Sat Apr 19, 2014 2:57 am

Has as if Federer will get 15 BPs against Djokovic. I would only give him 20-25% chance to beat Djoko.

by HM Murdock Sat Apr 19, 2014 3:49 am

invisiblecoolers wrote:
sirfredperry wrote:Gosh, Daveed beating Rafa in straight sets, and at MC, too. Just wot happened ? Was Rafa injured/ill? Presumably, Ferrer played extremely well.

Me and HMM have been advocating about it for quite a while that this year won't be Rafa's picture perfect year, in my view he is mentally worn down and Nole played a huge part in it.

This is true. 2013 saw me warm to and appreciate Rafa's ability more than any other year. And yet I entered 2014 feeling that he may have some struggles.

There's no shame in a defeat to Ferrer on clay. But Rafa suffering that defeat in Monte Carlo so soon after getting thumped by Novak in Miami... well, it's unusual to say the least.

by bogbrush Sat Apr 19, 2014 10:14 am

Maybe a comeback after a long break isn't quite the challenge it's thought to be? Maybe it's easier to take a break and come back fully charged to clean up on guys worn down by endless tennis.

by HM Murdock Sat Apr 19, 2014 11:35 am

It's of note that Federer committed to a proper training block in the close-season and has begun the year looking fit and sharp.

Rafa and Novak did that tour of South America. Novak took a couple of months to get up to speed, Rafa is still not quite at the races.

That tour was lucrative financially but it still comes at a cost.

by Born Slippy Sat Apr 19, 2014 11:45 am

What is the most Masters events won in a row? Novak is currently closing in on 5. I can't imagine there are many (if any) streaks longer than that?

by HM Murdock Sat Apr 19, 2014 12:02 pm

5 consecutive titles would be a new record.

Novak won 5 in a row that he entered in 2011 but he skipped Monte Carlo that year.

by The Special Juan Sat Apr 19, 2014 1:11 pm

bogbrush wrote:Maybe a comeback after a long break isn't quite the challenge it's thought to be? Maybe it's easier to take a break and come back fully charged to clean up on guys worn down by endless tennis.

Tell that to Andy!! I think it could only work for some players and not for others, but which ones they are I have no idea.

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