World Tour Finals Thread - Match & Prediction Thread

[Guest]

First topic message reminder :

So the ATPs premier showpiece event hits the O2 on Sunday. The sixth showing at the O2 and yielded only 3 different winners. Very interesting this year. 3 virgin qualifiers in Cillic, Raonic and Nishikori. Can we see a new winner? Can Nishikori and Raonic win the biggest title of their careers to date? Federer will have an eye on the DC like his compatriot Wawrinka, though he is woefully out of form of late. Has Murray much left in the tank to win his first title here at the O2? Can Berdych do a Davydenko and strike out of nowhere? Will it be a routine Djokovic victory?

For me the 2 that qualify from each group will be:

Group A

1) Djokovic
2) Raonic

Group B

1) Murray
2) Federer

Djokovic/Murray final

Winner: Djokovic

[Jahu]

Oh man, from those BPs to getting bageled now.

What a meltdown.

[summerblues]

Oh man, from those BPs to getting bageled now.

Yeah, he looked very nervous on those BPs, and it all went downhill from there.  He did better than expected by winning a set but he should have put up more of a fight here in the third.

[summerblues]

Commentators just said that a match played under closed roof in an outdoor tournament does not count as an indoor match.

[It Must Be Love]

Commentators just said that a match played under closed roof in an outdoor tournament does not count as an indoor match.

Let's bloody hope these commentators don't go on to become architects.

[summerblues]

Without that second set blip, we would have had a 6:1, 6:0 match.

[temporary21]

Novak upped his game big time, good credit to him. Hes made good on making the final, now Roger, your turn. Hopefully the crowd will be more respectful to the players from here on.

[It Must Be Love]

Super autograph from Djokovic, really got a great essence of his name there.

[summerblues]

Novak upped his game big time, good credit to him.

But Nishi also went downhill from 15-40 in the first game.

[HM Murdock]

A strange and interesting match. I have no idea how the last set was a bagel. Nishi didn't play it that badly but just seemed to lose all the key points.

I like Kei's game a lot. In the 2nd set he did what he did to Novak at USO - upped the aggression, forced Novak back, forced him to be more cautious in the rallies and punished him.

I thought Kei was red-lining in that set though and it was a question of whether he could put Novak away before the level started to drop. He just couldn't make it. Had he taken one of those BPs in the first game of the 3rd, I think Novak might have struggled to come back.

I thought Novak played well against by far the best opponent he has faced so far this tournament. He deserved the win overall but there's no doubt he dodged a bullet today.

[Silver]

Good effort by Kei, but he looked a bit spent at the end. Novak played well when he needed to, for sure.

Federer (if he makes it) will put up an almighty fight, that's guaranteed, but it won't be enough.

[summerblues]

In the 2nd set he did what he did to Novak at USO - upped the aggression, forced Novak back, forced him to be more cautious in the rallies and punished him.

I thought Kei was red-lining in that set though and it was a question of whether he could put Novak away before the level started to drop.

That is exactly how I saw it - in the second set Nishi was playing as aggressive as he could and the big question was if he could sustain it. He was playing above the level that was comfortable for him and I suspect that may have made him nervous on those BPs in the first game.

[HM Murdock]

Federer (if he makes it) will put up an almighty fight, that's guaranteed, but it won't be enough.

I think it's pretty even.

Novak is obviously in good form but it has been magnified by some pretty poor performances from his opponents. Look how rattled he was when Kei was ripping it in the 2nd. He's not invulnerable

Same is true of Federer, come to think of it. Good form made to look great by some inept performances from opponents.

Based purely on what I've seen, I'd give the slight edge to Novak. But Federer can get under his skin and worry him on a tennis court like nobody else.  Too close to call (if Federer even gets there! Stan might surprise us).

[HM Murdock]

In the 2nd set he did what he did to Novak at USO - upped the aggression, forced Novak back, forced him to be more cautious in the rallies and punished him.

I thought Kei was red-lining in that set though and it was a question of whether he could put Novak away before the level started to drop.

That is exactly how I saw it - in the second set Nishi was playing as aggressive as he could and the big question was if he could sustain it.  He was playing above the level that was comfortable for him and I suspect that may have made him nervous on those BPs in the first game.

Yep. I was nervous though because he maintained that level for a couple of sets at USO.

It didn't last as long today but I think Novak was better today too, which played a part.

[greengoblin]

Djokovic's backhand must be one of the most overrated shots in tennis. Its jerky, he often mistimes it, and he can't hit down the line with it. It was great in 2011 and I think that is clouding people's judgement on it now.

With regards to the match. kei showed he has the game to beat djokovic, if he can substantially improve his serve over the break then we should be seeming him regularly in GS semis and finals

[Jahu]

Stan is not good, though he gets fired up against Djoko nicely.

Me thinks Stan will do his duty for the Swiss and let the Master tomorrow show Djoko his place

HMM congrats for Djokos YE #1

[Jahu]

Kei needs some Net play training too, serve was dead today.

[HM Murdock]

HMM congrats for Djokos YE #1

I was pleased to see him get those points on the board! Three YE#1s is a decent achievement on the tennis CV.

I must confess that part of me would like to see the Old Man win this week though. He's had such a good year and if he can't have a slam, it would be nice to have the next best thing.

[Jahu]

Yeah, would be a nice cream on top, but he's won enough.

If Nadal makes it to next WTF, we should support him

[HM Murdock]

If Nadal makes it to next WTF, we should support him

Nadal would have to be playing the re-animated corpse of Jack The Ripper for me to want him to win.

And even then I'd probably choose to be neutral.

[Silver]

Probably agree with your earlier post too, HM. Let's hope for a cracker!

[biugo]

If ...sorry, when... Djoko goes on to win another WTF title here, it will surely end up as the most dominant performance in the event's history.

Not anymore then since he lost a set to Nishi - despite bringing the opponents to the ground with a minimum number of games lost, it's still been a while since we had a player winning the WTF without losing a set (Lendl) which is a toughy to achieve: 5 straight sets wins against top 10 players... And this year, only Fed could still do it.
(Three years in a row is also unseen since Lendl (who got to the final 8 years in a row )

[Jahu]

If Nadal makes it to next WTF, we should support him

Nadal would have to be playing the re-animated corpse of Jack The Ripper for me to want him to win.

And even then I'd probably choose to be neutral.

Classic Djoko fan, no emotions

[Jahu]

Who will Severin support?

And does he have a family, wife etc? He travels so much.

[summerblues]

Good luck, Roger

[Guest]

Maybe just maybe we have a match on our hands here

[Jahu]

Stan need a haircut, no aerodynamics there at all.

[Guest]

Bish bash bosh!

[Jahu]

Stan would be a good pal for a beer and a Disco night.

[Guest]

It's a Swiss and Swede fest!

[Jahu]

So Abba with a Rolex?

[Guest]

Or Volvo with Lindt

[Jahu]

Fed needs 2 quick sets, if he is to be fresh tomorrow.

[Guest]

Wawrinka giving the FH a whack! Go on!

[Jahu]

Or Volvo with Lindt

Volvo is chinese now

Stan hitting the ball like its Djoko on the other end.

And breaks Fed.

[It Must Be Love]

I want Federer to win in straights here so he can be fresh for the final tomorrow.

[Guest]

Shows how out of touch I am with world.

[Jahu]

Just dont buy a Peugeot

[Guest]

Both players carbon copy on the 2nd serve. The BH slice.

[summerblues]

Good start from Stan.

[Jahu]

Stan is hammering it.

Has he saved his best for tonight?

[summerblues]

I do not mind if he wins tonight as long as he can keep up the form for tomorrow - but what are the odds of that?

[It Must Be Love]

Come on Roger, break back quickly.

[Guest]

That's some fine serving from Stan.

[Jahu]

Same, as far as he can crush Djoko tomorrow, dont mind it at all.

[It Must Be Love]

I do not mind if he wins tonight as long as he can keep up the form for tomorrow - but what are the odds of that?

Djokovic will easily beat Wawrinka again

[Jahu]

Not in this form, or is it Fed playing crap.

[It Must Be Love]

Second serve ace from Roger...

[Guest]

It's like Stan wants to kick Roger in!

[Jahu]

Stan should be the tired one, Fed looks knackered.

[Jahu]

Holy swiss chocolate, Stan breaks again, he is slapping Fed right and left.

[Sponsored content]