Rome Masters 2016

by **laverfan** Sat 07 May 2016, 3:12 pm

First topic message reminder :

What a draw!

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

by banbrotam Thu 12 May 2016, 5:20 pm

bogbrush wrote:
barrystar wrote:Given Federer's current difficulties it maybe that Dr. Sincere is somewhere winding himself up for another climax - although after the nasty mess at the 2007 US Open Final no doubt he'll try to pace himself better.
Ah, that classic!! One of the great moments of the old 606.

For those who weren't there, let me explain.

The scene is the US Open final of 2007. Novak Djokovic is playing Roger Federer. The young man had recently scored an important win in Canada over Federer and sat in his supporting corner was Andy Murray, resplendent in his Djokovic supporting tee-shirt (I know! Incredible from a fellow professional).

Dr_Sincere, and his allies & aliases Wise_Analyst etc were aching for their hated Federer to lose. As the 1st set came to it's climax Djokovic secured a vital break of serve, and came out to serve at 6-5. He swiftly ran to 40-0 behind some outstanding serving....... whereupon Dr_Sincere declared (and remember, you could not edit your posts subsequently on 606..) that "Djokovic has just won the 1st set".

History tells how Federer somehow fought back to deuce, recovered another set point, and broke serve, going on to take the tie break and win the match in three keenly contested tight sets. The good Dr was distraught, and he & Wise_Analyst turned on the unfortunate Serb, christening him "Chokovic" for dashing their dreams.

I (and others) made an enormous issue of Dr_Sincere's "premature speculation" for months afterward, and whenever he unwisely lifted his head would ask whether he had received appropriate treatment, followed by all sorts of further tormenting in a similar vein.

At this point I must point out that members of the 606v2 forum who weren't on 606 really have no idea whatsoever of the sheer brutality of that place; how the most vicious wind-ups and taunts were absolutely normal, how it was the Wild West of tennis forums. I have never seen v2 even in it's worst days come close to the battleground that was 606 - it made men of all of us, including the women, and what was said to Dr_Sincere was completely inside the bounds of acceptable 606 conduct. He probably just switched to one of his many other ids; could have been Impartial_Lion, mediter, other mediters, etc.

It was all good clean fun. Unless Federer was at the centre of the he mirth Wink

by temporary21 Thu 12 May 2016, 5:47 pm

Just as well that place is dead and buried. Rather too much spunk hanging around that place,

Nadal beats Kyrgios to make the quarters, and likely a great chance to assess his form against mr Novak

by Haddie-nuff Thu 12 May 2016, 5:53 pm

HM Murdock wrote:
bogbrush wrote:At this point I must point out that members of the 606v2 forum who weren't on 606 really have no idea whatsoever of the sheer brutality of that place; how the most vicious wind-ups and taunts were absolutely normal, how it was the Wild West of tennis forums.
You must have felt like a fish out water in such a hostile environment...

I remember it well Shocked

by It Must Be Love Thu 12 May 2016, 5:55 pm

What a great win, vamosss !!

by Born Slippy Thu 12 May 2016, 6:43 pm

I love commentators "Rafa's never lost to an Australian and he kept that record intact" Doh

Solid win for Andy. Probably Berdych next which could be tough on these courts. Pouille with a great chance of a SF. Promising signs for the youngsters.

by Mad for Chelsea Thu 12 May 2016, 6:46 pm

Murray was terrific in the first, got a bit frustrated in the second after failing to convert chances on the Chardy early on, lost his serve at 3-3, and promtly re-focused to take the next three games for a comfortable win.

Hopefully he'll get a game on the main court for Berdych*, the secondary courts here are pretty poor quality.

Today also confirms Murray will be second seed at the French BTW.

Edit: *or Goffin, who's 3-0 up with a double break in the first right now

by Born Slippy Thu 12 May 2016, 6:53 pm

Now 5-0. Goffin handing out a lesson at the moment.

by Born Slippy Thu 12 May 2016, 6:55 pm

Berdych has won 5 points in 5 games. If Goffin serves out to love I wonder if that will be a record low for a top 10 player?

by Guest Thu 12 May 2016, 6:57 pm

Djokovic a double break down.

Strange goings on.

by Born Slippy Thu 12 May 2016, 6:58 pm

6 points in that set for Berdych. 6-0 Goffin.

by Guest Thu 12 May 2016, 6:59 pm

Bellucci 4-0 up!!

by Born Slippy Thu 12 May 2016, 7:04 pm

Bellucci hitting his forehand like Verdasco at the moment without missing! Can't last surely?

by CaledonianCraig Thu 12 May 2016, 7:05 pm

Born Slippy wrote:Berdych has won 5 points in 5 games. If Goffin serves out to love I wonder if that will be a record low for a top 10 player?

I must be missing something as I keep hearing what a mistake Andy made letting Danny Vallverde go and how Berdych would benefit. Where is that benefit please?

by Guest Thu 12 May 2016, 7:05 pm

Another break of the Djokovic serve!!

Unbelievable Jeff!

by Born Slippy Thu 12 May 2016, 7:06 pm

Triple break - 5-0. Evens for Novak to take this set?

by Guest Thu 12 May 2016, 7:07 pm

There's a silent expectation like Djokovic will wake up and click into gear.

by CaledonianCraig Thu 12 May 2016, 7:09 pm

Well on clay court form this season the main contenders for RG (on clay form) will be Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Thereafter there is a fair gap to the rest considering Stan's form has stunk the place out this season so far.

by Guest Thu 12 May 2016, 7:09 pm

Bagels on the menu tonight.

by Born Slippy Thu 12 May 2016, 7:11 pm

Berdych about to go 9-0 down.

by lydian Thu 12 May 2016, 7:14 pm

What's going on Shocked

Belluci 6-0
Goffin 6-0 3-0

Murray got a bagel too. Weird!

by Guest Thu 12 May 2016, 7:14 pm

9 points in 9 for Berdych. Davy and Bernie would be proud!

by temporary21 Thu 12 May 2016, 7:22 pm

Ok I was playing Uncharted 4. What the hecks going on !

by CaledonianCraig Thu 12 May 2016, 7:25 pm

I get the feeling the tide is turning in the Djoko/Bellucci match.

by CaledonianCraig Thu 12 May 2016, 7:27 pm

Double bagel - Goffin beats Berdych 6-0 6-0. Yes people are correct Vallverde is a loss to Andy and gain for Berdych. Rolling Eyes

by lydian Thu 12 May 2016, 7:28 pm

Cant believe that score! Shocked

Berdych is #8 in the world for goodness sakes..!
That's going to do some serious mental damage there...
Goffin served it out brilliantly too, as imagine its not easy to follow through on that...well I always said he was talented when down at #120 ranking but never thought he'd do that!

by Born Slippy Thu 12 May 2016, 7:30 pm

21 winners 5 unforced from Goffin.

by Born Slippy Thu 12 May 2016, 7:32 pm

Novak has a better than 50% win rate in matches where he has dropped a set 6-0, which is fairly ridiculous in itself.

by Mad for Chelsea Thu 12 May 2016, 7:34 pm

Berdych isn't having a great year TBH, isn't he only about 14 in the race. Goffin is aboout 10, so perhaps the result not altogether surprising, but that scoreline Shocked

On a day of strange happenings Nadal must be delighted he got through a tricky match against Kyrgios, and Murray pleased that he got through with minimal fuss Very Happy

by lydian Thu 12 May 2016, 7:36 pm

If Goffin can just continue to settle his nerves against the top 4 he's capable of winning a slam in my opinion, there's not many more talented than him but he lacks confidence at crucial moments against the very best...like when he was 3-0 up against Djokovic in final set at Cincy last year.

Yes I still imagine Djokovic to win this now, he's settled down. Belluci has done nothing all year, at some point he's going to blink and Djokovic can only get better (although to be fair it hasn't been a bad match from Novak, Belluci has been that good).

by lydian Thu 12 May 2016, 7:37 pm

And there we go...the break.
Its all over now for Belluci...

by CaledonianCraig Thu 12 May 2016, 7:38 pm

Mad for Chelsea wrote:Berdych isn't having a great year TBH, isn't he only about 14 in the race. Goffin is aboout 10, so perhaps the result not altogether surprising, but that scoreline

On a day of strange happenings Nadal must be delighted he got through a tricky match against Kyrgios, and Murray pleased that he got through with minimal fuss

Berdych is 12th one place ahead of Federer. Interestingly, at the moment three of the top eight are players from the younger generation in Raonic (5th), Dominic Thiem (6th) and David Goffin (8th).

by CaledonianCraig Thu 12 May 2016, 7:39 pm

lydian wrote:And there we go...the break.
Its all over now for Belluci...

Characteristically, it was always going to happen. Bellucci could only play lights out tennis for so long before the inevitable dip and Novak had to wake up at some time.

by temporary21 Thu 12 May 2016, 7:41 pm

What Belluci has bought himself though is some time to light the fire again

by Haddie-nuff Thu 12 May 2016, 7:42 pm

That may be he case but who was the last player to give Novak a bagel.
Light at the end of the tunnel yet !!!

by temporary21 Thu 12 May 2016, 7:44 pm

Hold here, and get to serve first in the third

Thats his only chance

by Haddie-nuff Thu 12 May 2016, 7:46 pm

Have to say Novak is looking a little frayed around the edges

by lydian Thu 12 May 2016, 7:48 pm

Yes he does look tired. If Belluci can keep going you never know but it would be some win from here...cant see it mind.
Still reeling from the Goffin score...the win moves him to 8th in the race!

by Jahu Thu 12 May 2016, 8:16 pm

Djoko will take this, no need to panic, but good to see him scared.

by erictheblueuk Thu 12 May 2016, 11:27 pm

I just heard about Berdych scoreline so I tried to google some match reports to see if he was injured or something but his Wiki page was the first thing I found, talk about disrespect:-

"Tomáš Berdych (Czech pronunciation: [ˈtomaːʃ ˈbɛrdɪx]; born September 17, 1985) is a Czech professional tennis player. His most notable achievements are being double bageled by David Goffin while still inside the ATP top 10, and reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships":-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom%C3%A1%C5%A1_Berdych

by slashermcguirk Thu 12 May 2016, 11:47 pm

Didn't see it, what the hell was berdych playing at today? He has been on the slide this year but he must have been sick or injured. He had only played goffin twice before and beat him both times. Goffin is a solid player but has no big weapon per se.

Doesn't strike me as the type of player that would blow a top player off the court. Did anybody see the match, was berdych injured?

by lydian Fri 13 May 2016, 12:27 am

I saw it, Berdy wasn't injured...he was trying to hit through Goffin but nothing was coming off plus Goffin was playing really well and would have troubled most of the top guys today. He seems to be coming on leaps and bounds.

Murray leads their H2H 3-0 but this is a different Goffin from the one last played in DC. It's also the first time they'll have met on outdoor clay. Should be an interesting match, 2 players capable of great variety...I would who will be the main aggressor?

by Henman Bill Fri 13 May 2016, 12:49 am

Interesting set of results today, especially Goffin. He isn't big on power though is he, very solid and lovely technical player, but no killer shot.

by Henman Bill Fri 13 May 2016, 12:56 am

I think the thing with the original 606 was that there were more WUMs. During a grand slam it was pretty easy for someone who was bored while reading the BBC sports pages to drift over to the forum and start writing some article about Murray was never going to win a slam or whatever.

Whereas on here, we are mostly real tennis fans or those that are messing about tend to be in the grey areas of teasing rather than flat out trolling. So yeah, it's a bit calmer.

by **laverfan** Fri 13 May 2016, 2:15 am

I did not get to see any matches today. Very surprised at the recipients of today's bagels.

by Guest Fri 13 May 2016, 2:51 am

erictheblueuk wrote:I just heard about Berdych scoreline so I tried to google some match reports to see if he was injured or something but his Wiki page was the first thing I found, talk about disrespect:-

"Tomáš Berdych (Czech pronunciation: [ˈtomaːʃ ˈbɛrdɪx]; born September 17, 1985) is a Czech professional tennis player. His most notable achievements are being double bageled by David Goffin while still inside the ATP top 10, and reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships":-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom%C3%A1%C5%A1_Berdych

That's funny. It won't remain there for long. Some rogue Wikipedia contributor - I assume it is not you (?)

by socal1976 Fri 13 May 2016, 6:29 am

Novak was awful in the first set he couldn't hit two or three groundstrokes in a row without an error. Bellucci was playing well but really it wouldn't matter how he played because it was a bizarre first set where Novak just wasn't moving properly and getting in proper position he was always late or lunging. I think he was already thinking about blunting Nadal's momentum and striking a blow in the psychological warfare for RG.

Huge day of upsets; Fed out, Berdy out, Ferrer out to Pouille?, Wawrinka out and Nadal and Djokovic dropping first sets. Thiem has the best kick serve of anyone not named Isner and Fed was helpless to do anything against him one he kicked it to Fed's backhand the point was basically over after that more than not. Fed of course was off his best by some bit. But that Thiem kick serve is the real deal it even bothers Novak's backhand on this surface and you have to really get that ball torqueing to trouble that particular two handed return.

Berdych? Didn't see the match but I think he just isn't a player who added enough of variety to his shots and to develop. He just hits every single ball the same way and if he doesn't beat you with flat pace he is done. Still this result makes no sense.

Thiem is going to be a future RG champ if he doesn't get hurt. He has so much weight on every shot and that kick serve blows up off the court, I hope he doesn't hurt his back with that thing because it corkscrews into the court and then just blows up. Best kick serve of anyone not named Isner or who isn't a pituitary freak.

by socal1976 Fri 13 May 2016, 6:32 am

For the big matchup tomorrow, Nadal is playing really well and should pose a much more difficult challenge than the last 10 or so matches which Novak has dominated. I do think though Novak is going to do just what he did at the AO after playing a sticky match against Simon he just turned it on against Fed and Murray. Once he sees that big matchup against a rival he fears he won't be so bizarrely lethargic as he was in the first set. Just was missing so many routine balls from the center of the court and couldn't buy a first serve. I look for Novak to come out with a different focus against Nadal and really be dialed in. Novak in two sets.

by Belovedluckyboy Fri 13 May 2016, 6:49 am

Rafa to win. Djoko seems to be bothered by the wind. This is not AO but on clay so I give Rafa a good chance after beating a tough opponent in Kygrios.

by erictheblueuk Fri 13 May 2016, 6:49 am

Nore Staat wrote:
erictheblueuk wrote:I just heard about Berdych scoreline so I tried to google some match reports to see if he was injured or something but his Wiki page was the first thing I found, talk about disrespect:-

"Tomáš Berdych (Czech pronunciation: [ˈtomaːʃ ˈbɛrdɪx]; born September 17, 1985) is a Czech professional tennis player. His most notable achievements are being double bageled by David Goffin while still inside the ATP top 10, and reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships":-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom%C3%A1%C5%A1_Berdych
That's funny. It won't remain there for long. Some rogue Wikipedia contributor - I assume it is not you (?)

I'm not that smart, I just googled Berdych and there it was.

by Guest Fri 13 May 2016, 7:18 am

socal1976 wrote: ... Thiem is going to be a future RG champ if he doesn't get hurt. He has so much weight on every shot and that kick serve blows up off the court, I hope he doesn't hurt his back with that thing because it corkscrews into the court and then just blows up. Best kick serve of anyone not named Isner or who isn't a pituitary freak.

Is Dominic Thiem (22 years & 8 months) modelling his game after Nadal - does he have high top spin ground stroke like a Nadal. I assume the kick serve requires a lot of top spin - but the method of getting top spin on the serve would be different from getting top spin on the forehand.

It is my belief the first thing to go with Djokovic will be his sliding ability on all surfaces. I have always marvelled how long he has been able to maintain it. He seems to spend a lot of his time on the edges of his trainers.

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