Rome 2014

ATP Draw: http://www.atpworldtour.com/Share/Event-Draws.aspx?EventId=416&Year=2014

WTA Draw: http://www.wtatennis.com/singles-draws/tournamentId/643/round/7/rangeStart/1/rangeEnd/16

OoP:

Sunday, May 18, 2014

CENTRALE Start 1:30 pm
[1] Serena Williams (USA)
v
[10] Sara Errani (ITA)

Not Before 4:00 pm

[1] Rafael Nadal (ESP)
v
[2] Novak Djokovic (SRB)

PIETRANGELI Start 2:30 pm

[6] Daniel Nestor (CAN)
Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)
v
Robin Haase (NED)
Feliciano Lopez (ESP)

[4] Kveta Peschke (CZE)
Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)
v
[2] Sara Errani (ITA)
Roberta Vinci (ITA)

(Apologies for missing last two days. Been a bit under the weather).

Djokovic has not shown any signs of his MC injury v Stepanek and seems to be playing all right, leads 5-2 now.

Djokovic is having trouble closing the match. . Gets broken while serving for the match.

PS: Vajda and Becker both very unsure what to do.

he'll close the show soon enough

... and he does.

Glad to see Novak looking injury free. Good performance, just went a bit passive in the 2nd half of the 2nd set.

Still - straight sets against a tricky opponent in windy conditions. Can't complain.

I always enjoy watching Stepanek too.

Tursunov beats Bautista-Agut 6-0, 7-6(4). Strange match.

Not a good day for the Colombians as both of them have retired in their matches.

What chance for Murray today? Granollers has a good chance there I think unless Murray can attack. I don't see him grinding or rope-a-doping him into defeat.

I think Granollers has a good chance today. That said, Murray retired against him in his last clay match last year and had still managed to just win the second set. Have a feeling Murray might edge it in 3.

In Murray's current form and mindset a Granollers win would be no surprise to me and neither would a straight sets win for Murray. Either way his next match will be a let down as that is how things are at the moment - far too inconsistent.

Djoko broken serving the match ...again. Seem to think this has happened quite a lot over the last few months. OK, he normally goes on to win but against Rafa and co such a lapse could prove costly.
Agree that almost anything could happen in the Murray match. At least we won't have to wait long, as he's first on, followed by Big Daddy.

sirfredperry wrote: followed by Big Daddy.

I never knew Shirley Crabtree played tennis.   

CC - Almost as good as the recent headline on Father Federer that spoke of "Two sets to Love"

sirfredperry wrote:CC - Almost as good as the recent headline on Father Federer that spoke of "Two sets to Love"

Is he looking for an acting career later in life?

Murray surprisingly playing pretty well, especially given the tough windy conditions. Slowed down his first serve to get more in, dominating the rallies, and not afraid to come in to the net. Granollers just hasn't been able to impose himself enough, think he needs to come forward more, as he's having little joy in the baseline ding-dongs. 6-2 to Murray first set.

sirfredperry wrote:Djoko broken serving the match ...again. Seem to think this has happened quite a lot over the last few months. OK, he normally goes on to win but against Rafa and co such a lapse could prove costly.

It's been a common feature for a while now. I think he tries to play a safe game to see the match out but it always ends up being horribly passive.

He frequently breaks back immediately but, you're right, he won't get away with it against the top guys.

Thats a good win for Murray I must say, better signs. Attention now focuses on whether he can keep that form up for more than one match, a certain Cilic whos likely to be his next mucca to face will be a harsh test of that.

Fed being spanked by Chardy.

6:1, 4:6, and barely held his serve on first game of the third set.

Anyone know the last time Federer was dumped out in (his) first round of a Masters - or indeed ANY tourney ....??

It's going to happen here in Rome in just a couple of minutes.

problem for Fed may be that Chardy played so badly in that first set he must have been thinking he would cruise through. Chardy has since dramatically tightened his game, and Fed hasn't been able to respond.

Chardy has been playing as well as I've ever seen him play in the second & third, whilst Federer has made a ridiculous number of U/E's

Feds should have plenty of gears left too squeak through though

Tiebreaker, Ok Chardy hows your nerve

WOW, what a pass!

and Chardy DOES go through, after the double at 5-5 it looked over but a huge pass get it done!

Fed goes home, loses in TB third set.

Not his mind on the court for sure, thought Chardy had some great points.

Fed shouldn't have even played in Rome, he was complete off match fitness both physically and mentally, and a rest from Tour would have given him more peace of mind than a defeat in the 2nd round.

Neverthless he can use his rest time for practice and get back in shape for French Open.

That Fed result looks a shock in isolation but it's no great surprise. It's probably been a fortnight of broken sleep with all the 'normal' patterns of life disrupted.

The big surprise to me was that he entered in the first place.

Nadal seemingly incapable of closing the show at the moment. The yips have got him good.

Simon complained about Nadal's methodical service games... Expect Nadal to break him here 7-6 6-5*

Had match points, but Simon resists, tie break time

Not good to see this such a struggle for Nadal v SIMON!!!

RF's had one mp already.....

GS takes his game pt - uugh! Come on Rafa.....

GS 5-2 TB!!! BIGGG pt here.....

GS 5-4, on his racquet....

OK, 3rd set, here we go!

Rafa????? Que pasa???

What a TB from Simon in second set. Superb

Rafa was totally over 30 seconds serving.

Good test for Murray today. Hope he can get through as a match against Rafa (even if he gets hammered) can only be good ahead of the latter part of the year.

Stan the Man has been taken to a final set by Tommy Haas (age uncertain !). Only following the stats which do not like good for Stan on serving....

....Tommy now serving for the match 5-3 up in final set...

And another Swiss leaves to spend more time with his family. Bit of a turn-up there, as Tommy wins.

Stan's result shows how difficult it is to do what Federer, Djokovic and, to a lesser extent, Nadal have done over the years.

It's one thing to be able to raise your game to the level where you can win the biggest prizes. It's another thing to win consistently, to reliably see off an opponent playing well when you are not quite at your best.

HM Murdoch. Wise words. I was just thinking mself about Stan's form this year. Very good at times and then a surprise result that those at the very top usually manage to avoid. Another thing is that he is now a scalp everyone wants.

Murray V Melzer has been of good quality. Melzer playing great stuff but Murray hung tough to win the first set on a tie-break 7-6 (7-1).

thought it was an excellent set all round, Murray just stepped it up a couple of notches in the TB while Melzer wilted a bit.

Melzer's race looks run now though, Murray breaks to love early on in the second with a cracking FH down the line.

These two matches probably the best Murray's played this year so far?

You always felt Murray's bad spell was all in the mind. He relies so much on confidence and inner belief and that has largely been missing this year. That coupled with gross inconsistency has blighted his game but here is hoping Andy is on the road to recovery of a semblance of form.

Swiss dreams are shattered in Rome 2014, better luck on FO.

Stans a danger for every big prize in the game right now, but I think its the consistency that he lacks relative to Rafa and Djoko that means skys prediction of number 1 may not happen. Then again if hes won a slam and maybe wins another couple big tournies, who cares?

Andy Murray beats Jurgen Melzer 7-6 6-4 to progress through to the quarters where he is likely to face Rafa Nadal for the first time for two and a half years!! A much better and more balanced performance from Andy and it means he at last has put some ranking points back in the bank as he exited at the Second Round here last year. Hopefully, he can build on this and make life tough for Rafa.

Can Youzhny achieve what Nishikori could not? Beat Nadal on Clay, he is up a set and a break.

What is it with Rafa just now? He is dropping sets to players who used to chew up and spit out on clay? Very odd. I still think he will win through here though.

laverfan wrote:Can Youzhny achieve what Nishikori could not? Beat Nadal on Clay, he is up a set and a break.

I see Rafa up a break in 2nd, so how come "set and a break" did Youz lose 2 service in a row to go down from 2-0 up to 2-4?

I hope Dimi beat Berdych, a strong statement in the 2nd.

DirectView wrote:

laverfan wrote:Can Youzhny achieve what Nishikori could not? Beat Nadal on Clay, he is up a set and a break.

I see Rafa up a break in 2nd, so how come "set and a break" did Youz lose 2 service in a row to go down from 2-0 up to 2-4?

Yes Youznhy led 2-1 then Rafa won three games on the bounce to lead 4-2 and another hold as I type and Rafa leads 5-2 now after having trailed 2-1.

Nole 4-0 down in 12 minutes. No odds on a bagel, but I imagine it would be worth a cheeky bet

Just as well, Nole holds. 1-4*, Kohli serving