Rome Masters 2016

First topic message reminder :

What a draw!

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/current/rome/416/draws

Djokovic just entered the 2016 Dumbest shot on Match Point award. Pretty sure 95% of club level players would have put that away. Anyway well done to Murray. The King In the South?

Born Slippy wrote:

bogbrush wrote:

Haddie-nuff wrote:

Jermaine2015 wrote:Murray lacks any sort of skill. Playing in the rain making Murray's mediocre game look half decent.

Temp can we stop the wumming please

That's an opinion. I don't agree with it but that's all it is.

There's an issue if people's opinions count as wumming..

You do realise that pretty much all wumming is disguised as opinion? It's the repetitive nature of the comments which make clear the guy is a wum.

Its not an opinion of a regular poster only someone who is trying to WUM.. above all you should know the difference BB

Just so everyone is aware, I've permanently banned Jahu.
Firstly if you get a day or two ban then take that ban on the chin, don't spam accounts to get back on the site.
Secondly don't then start name calling the mods.

The mods on this site do it for nothing, it's not a power trip or anything such as that but just people that want the site to run smoothly. Respect them and their decisions.

Anyone wish to take umbrage with this decision then please feel free to pm me.

It ends a losing run against Djokovic and is his 12th Masters title which takes him above Pete Sampras in the list of most Masters titles won. Something troubling Novak but frankly who cares as how many times has he benefited when his opponent has not been at the races.

Is the work toilet comfy?

Murray makes a return from the stand to clean it up. Good efficient win ahead of RG. He won't win there but the target is the Wimbledon and US Open double.

12th Masters title, at 6 different events. Done without dropping a set or even facing a tiebreak.

CaledonianCraig wrote:It ends a losing run against Djokovic and is his 12th Masters title which takes him above Pete Sampras in the list of most Masters titles won. Something troubling Novak but frankly who cares as how many times has he benefited when his opponent has not been at the races.

Congtatulations CC

LuvSports! wrote:Is the work toilet comfy?

It whiles away the hours thanks!

A bit of analysis.
This is very similar to the lead up to the US open 2015. There Fed had a brilliant win over Novak in one of the masters, but wasnt really a fair reflection of how the match up would be at the US, as Novak had hit a bit of a wall

Same here a fantastic win for Muzz, but lets bi in no doubt whos would be the heavy favourite come RG

Clay title for Murray.

Haddie-nuff wrote:

Born Slippy wrote:

bogbrush wrote:

Haddie-nuff wrote:

Jermaine2015 wrote:Murray lacks any sort of skill. Playing in the rain making Murray's mediocre game look half decent.

Temp can we stop the wumming please

That's an opinion. I don't agree with it but that's all it is.

There's an issue if people's opinions count as wumming..

You do realise that pretty much all wumming is disguised as opinion? It's the repetitive nature of the comments which make clear the guy is a wum.

Its not an opinion of a regular poster only someone who is trying to WUM.. above all you should know the difference BB

The problem is who decides?

I remember when this place would keep libel and abuse out and be a forum for opinion and lively debate.

It's becoming tedious and sanitised, and what makes it worse is when some of the judgement in exerted by a person who likes to indulge in provocative posts themselves when it suits.

I didn't agree with that poster, but since Murray just won can you imagine how easy it is to either ignore or move them?

First title for Murray on clay?
First win for Murray against Djokovic on clay.
The manner of Murray's win must be a tremendous confidence booster coming towards Roland Garros and Wimbledon and the Olympics.  
And it is Murray's birthday to boot - 29 years young today.

So in his last seven sets Djokovic has been eight times. Hes also been bagelled this week. Still the favourite for sure, but chinks appearing?

This just underlines how important the draw will be for RG. With Nadal down in 5 and guys like Thiem hanging around further down it really will be important to get a smooth run.

Nore Staat wrote:First title for Murray on clay?
First win for Murray against Djokovic on clay.
The manner of Murray's win must be a tremendous confidence booster coming towards Roland Garros and Wimbledon and the Olympics.  
And it is Murray's birthday to boot - 29 years young today.

Murray won Madrid and Munich last year - third clay title.

Novak can’t happy about that match point.

It's not the opinion, it's the method of expression. Not thinking murrays strong mentally is fair game. However we wouldn't accept that sort of talk from any regular either. Otherwise we get what 606 was like, if you miss that. Then I apologise but that's not what the mods here want to deal with daily

Murray only recently mastered audible English, so Italian would have been a stretch.

Still, Claudio Ranieri has been working here for ages and still sounds like a comedy Roman.

That cake looks a bit naff!

Come RG well forget he ever played Rome I suspect

Perfect setup though for his big opponents bar Roger. I can only hope he has rafa in the semi and muuzz in the final. What a set of matches those could be...

Born Slippy wrote:

Nore Staat wrote:First title for Murray on clay?
First win for Murray against Djokovic on clay.
The manner of Murray's win must be a tremendous confidence booster coming towards Roland Garros and Wimbledon and the Olympics.  
And it is Murray's birthday to boot - 29 years young today.

Murray won Madrid and Munich last year - third clay title.

Thanks. Some say that Murray needs to believe in himself more on the clay. Should Murray visualise himself as a potential French Open champion?

Andy has arguably had the best clay court season of them all - better than Rafa or Novak.

I still have those two ahead of him as favorites for RG but it is not inconceivable he could win. If, say, Novak and Rafa play SF and Andy is in the other half, who is to say he could not win?

Djokovic definitely looking less dominant than he has been in a while. He is the favorite for sure, but I would give him less than 50% chance against the field. There are now a handful of players I can see him possibly losing to - that was not the case a couple of months ago.

temporary21 wrote:It's not the opinion, it's the method of expression. Not thinking murrays strong mentally is fair game. However we wouldn't accept that sort of talk from any regular either. Otherwise we get what 606 was like, if you miss that. Then I apologise but that's not what the mods here want to deal with daily

You mean using no swear words in articulate sentences? The guy write a straightforward if robust statement. It wasn't libellous or abusive, just very dismissive of Murray and gave credit for his win to the conditions. Not exactly controversial, as Djokovic was continually telling the Umpure he couldn't play.

I don't even agree with him but this is getting ridiculous. You use mod in the plural but I don't ever remember the others flying off like you do. I know I can't explain this to you, it's a matter of attitude.

Not least yours

summerblues wrote:Andy has arguably had the best clay court season of them all - better than Rafa or Novak.

I still have those two ahead of him as favorites for RG but it is not inconceivable he could win.  If, say, Novak and Rafa play SF and Andy is in the other half, who is to say he could not win?

Djokovic definitely looking less dominant than he has been in a while.  He is the favorite for sure, but I would give him less than 50% chance against the field.  There are now a handful of players I can see him possibly losing to - that was not the case a couple of months ago.

I would agree with that.

Novak may be fatigueD - yes of course he might. However, he lost against Vesely at Monte Carlo early doors when fatigue could not be blamed, he has laboured to wins against players like Robert and Bellucci (where he was bagelled) and now lost against Murray ending a long winning streak against him. Certainly must put doubts in his mind and heighten other players hopes.

CaledonianCraig wrote:

summerblues wrote:Andy has arguably had the best clay court season of them all - better than Rafa or Novak.

I still have those two ahead of him as favorites for RG but it is not inconceivable he could win.  If, say, Novak and Rafa play SF and Andy is in the other half, who is to say he could not win?

Djokovic definitely looking less dominant than he has been in a while.  He is the favorite for sure, but I would give him less than 50% chance against the field.  There are now a handful of players I can see him possibly losing to - that was not the case a couple of months ago.

I would agree with that.

Novak may be fatigues - yes of course he might. However, he lost against Vesely at Monte Carlo early doors when fatigue could not be blamed, he has laboured to wins against players like Robert and Bellucci (where he was bagelled) and now lost against Murray ending a long winning streak against him. Certainly must put doubts in his mind and heighten other players hopes.

Yes totally agree

bogbrush wrote:

temporary21 wrote:It's not the opinion, it's the method of expression. Not thinking murrays strong mentally is fair game. However we wouldn't accept that sort of talk from any regular either. Otherwise we get what 606 was like, if you miss that. Then I apologise but that's not what the mods here want to deal with daily

You mean using no swear words in articulate sentences? The guy write a straightforward if robust statement. It wasn't libellous or abusive, just very dismissive of Murray and gave credit for his win to the conditions. Not exactly controversial, as Djokovic was continually telling the Umpure he couldn't play.

I don't even agree with him but this is getting ridiculous. You use mod in the plural but I don't ever remember the others flying off like you do. I know I can't explain this to you, it's a matter of attitude.

Mods/Admins from other sections occasionally liaise with each other (hard to believe, but it's true!). So if someone has a bad rep in one section, then it doesn't take much on another section for a tipping point to be reached.

Great stuff from Andy. He played really well and really aggressive on the big points, which he has rarely done in the big matches over the last couple of years. He needs to replicate that in slam matches against the big boys. He's certainly serving great right now. Great step forward.

For Novak, he looked physically ok but was so tense and stressed. Combination of a few difficult matches in a row and nervousness about the French open maybe?

He had won 17 matches in a row v top ten before today, so he's hardly falling apart. He should probably just chill to be honest before the open. Get Boris to give him a back massage maybe.

Don't somehow think his ego will let him do that... but we will see

You're outnumbered 2-1 in other posters on this. They clearly felt the way I do, ergo, it was my job to first warn him, and then put on a single day ban.

He wants to express an opinion, fine, but it's clear as day what he was trying to do

I don't see how Novak could be nervous about the French at this stage - that's not how the minds of these guys work on the court - it's all about the moment.
Murray played well, Novak not quite so much, but is probably a bit knackered after his 2 previous matches.
Great tournament win for Andy though!

I recognise Moderation is a thankless task, so cut moderators some slack.  On the whole I think the tennis moderators are doing a good job.  I  think it runs better and is fairer than in a few other sections on v2 I could mention. And tennis does seem to engender some strong emotion.

Marcus putting his BA in psychology to use here

JuliusHMarx wrote:I don't see how Novak could be nervous about the French at this stage - that's not how the minds of these guys work on the court - it's all about the moment.
Murray played well, Novak not quite so much, but is probably a bit knackered after his 2 previous matches.
Great tournament win for Andy though!

He's been out of sorts all week though - not just today. He's been flying off the handle a lot. Surely if he doesn't feel his game is there a week before the French that's going to cause nerves/stress?

kingraf wrote:Marcus putting his BA in psychology to use here

If it's a BA it's not a real psychology degree - psychology is a science!

Born Slippy wrote:

JuliusHMarx wrote:I don't see how Novak could be nervous about the French at this stage - that's not how the minds of these guys work on the court - it's all about the moment.
Murray played well, Novak not quite so much, but is probably a bit knackered after his 2 previous matches.
Great tournament win for Andy though!

He's been out of sorts all week though - not just today. He's been flying off the handle a lot. Surely if he doesn't feel his game is there a week before the French that's going to cause nerves/stress?

If he doesn't feel his game isn't there, then he's stressed about his game, rather than about the FO per se. But having won a Masters, and reached a final, there can't be too much wrong with his game - he's hardly in crisis.

I feel like this is how people announce that they want to become a mod
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9x92nwGf_M

Psychology is where they attach electrodes to parts of your anatomy and turn the voltage up.

It's also where they ring bells and see how dogs respond.

Jermaine2015 wrote:Weak era on clay when a mug like Murray wins the historic title in Rome.

Iis been a weak era for the last 11 years

No he isn't in crisis, he's won virtually everything this year and just lost his first match in 18 against top ten opponents... And yet he's been on the edge mentally all week. Not far off being defaulted in both the semi and the final. Very unlike him in recent times.

He could of course have some pressures outside of tennis that we don't know about. It could also, in my opinion, be that the one major he hasn't won is just around the corner and he is huge favourite.

Danny_1982 wrote:No he isn't in crisis, he's won virtually everything this year and just lost his first match in 18 against top ten opponents... And yet he's been on the edge mentally all week. Not far off being defaulted in both the semi and the final. Very unlike him in recent times.

He could of course have some pressures outside of tennis that we don't know about. It could also, in my opinion, be that the one major he hasn't won is just around the corner and he is huge favourite.  

Or an accumulation things including those you say and a slight dip in his level of play that is agitating him.

banbrotam wrote:

Jermaine2015 wrote:Weak era on clay when a mug like Murray wins the historic title in Rome.

Iis been a weak era for the last 11 years

bb don't feed the trolls

Born Slippy wrote:

JuliusHMarx wrote:I don't see how Novak could be nervous about the French at this stage - that's not how the minds of these guys work on the court - it's all about the moment.
Murray played well, Novak not quite so much, but is probably a bit knackered after his 2 previous matches.
Great tournament win for Andy though!

He's been out of sorts all week though - not just today. He's been flying off the handle a lot. Surely if he doesn't feel his game is there a week before the French that's going to cause nerves/stress?

Agreed. Let's be honest here, RB could define Novak's legacy. If that doesn't make him a bit stressful, then I don't know what would

He has had a dip in form.. was it not expected he would.???
Does it not happen to all players so why is he any different .??. I'm just grateful of the respite
Soak it up Andy enjoy

Haddie-nuff wrote:He has had a dip in form.. was it not expected he would.???
Does it not happen to all players so why is he any different .??. I'm just grateful of the respite
Soak it up Andy  enjoy

Spot on.

How many times has Novak won titles when his opponent has dipped in form? Plenty. The name of the game is bringing your best when it matters and today that man was Andy.

The win probably means a lot more to Andy, given how fab he played today and that he just departed from his coach, than to novak losing, who already has plenty ebough big wins in the bag

As much as novak was clearly not all there, Andy was brilliant. Novak still the favourite but it could be a real cracker at RG now

What Andy did was what I knew could beat Novak.
Andy took his game to Novak and dominated.
The already knackered Novak was forced to play every point
At no time was Andy out of control.
Even given, if you insist, that Novak was not all there.. Andy was dominant and kept his head
a recipe for success I applaud him

Someone said they thought Djokovic's ankles were looking sore. For me Djokovic's reign will end when his ankles end. His whole movement is based on sliding on the edges of his trainers / feet - that has been the key to his dominance. It's a new type of movement that seems to be unique to Djokovic..

I sometimes feel the position of mod seems most similar to that of Speaker of the House of Commons. There's even a mock scene where the Speaker is dragged 'unwillingly' to the chair, reflecting the unrewarding aspect of modding.

For those from overseas, or who don't take much notice of politics, there have been great Speakers. Recently, a slightly older lady (Betty Boothroyd) held the Chair to universal appreciation But always the best have been known for their non-partisan nature, light touch and natural authority supported by the affection of the House.

Sadly, the current Speaker is a jumped up midget with delusions of grandeur, but that's just a footnote.