Monte Carlo

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Murray came thru an exhibition match with Fed on Monday but was still unsure if he would compete at Monte Carlo. He said afterwards that if he was not ready next week he would aim to play the week after that.
I'm tipping Rafa to have a good clay-court season and, of course, his big chance to gain points will come at RG. Twould be foolish to write off Djoko's chances. It would be nice to see del Po getting some more-favourable draws and getting his ranking up. Wonder if Fed will decide, after all, to fit at least one tournament in before RG. Can anyone see a player outside the big 4/5 making a move?

Interesting comments from Dan Evans. Said losing to Edmund saved himself the embarrassment of losing to Rafa on clay. Also said he views clay as a "training exercise....a pointless one at that"

Murray was a break and set point down in the first set. Didn't see it, but looks like he made harder work than would be expected of Gilles Muller.

Interesting comments from Dan Evans. Said losing to Edmund saved himself the embarrassment of losing to Rafa on clay. Also said he views clay as a "training exercise....a pointless one at that"

Same way as I view climbing Mount Everest  or do I really mean its because I could never do it ..dear o dear

Congratulations to Kyle Edmunds  eat your heart out Dan Evans.. the great Bulldog Spirit had Rafa on the rails. (albeit I do have to say Rafa was sub par but that is beside the point) Had Kyle  not paid Rafa so much respect in the first set the match would have been his imo
Rafa played way too defensive.. in fact so far out of court he was in the dressing room Not a good match for Rafa

Don't think rafa will be winning much on clay this year. He's lost his bottle. Zverev gonna beat him I reckon

After winning the first set to love then losing the second set to Edmund it says that Nadal is struggling for consistency in form and he must sort that out.

I will take that straight sets win for Andy given that this was his first match in over a month. Rust is always going to be there as is timing and match fitness so to get it done in straights unlike Djokovic, Wawrinka and Nadal is not to be scoffed at.

It was not so much inconsistency as it was that Rafa allowed Edmund to play his way into the match .. brilliantly at that. Whilst it has become an established fact that Rafa is a slow starter in most tournaments.. this even by his standards was a poor start. Taking nothing away from Kyle (because he could well have won that match) Rafa was on the defence the whole match coming to the net only on one or two occasions and remaining too far behind the baseline.. it was a poor match by Rafa given that play I cant see him beating Zverev.

Andy did well to pull that first set back .. he looked like a fish out of water for the first half but the rust began to fall away as the match went on.. hopefully he will be better next round.

Belovedluckyboy wrote:Exactly Haddie. Henman Bill failed to pick up what SB had written, about wanting to see Rafa losing all the time!

No, I saw it, and I know he wants Rafa to lose most or all of the time, so I know he has a preference, but the question is whether his bias has affected his analysis about probabilities of victory which is a separate question.

Henman Bill wrote:

Belovedluckyboy wrote:Exactly Haddie. Henman Bill failed to pick up what SB had written, about wanting to see Rafa losing all the time!

No, I saw it, and I know he wants Rafa to lose most or all of the time, so I know he has a preference, but the question is whether his bias has affected his analysis about probabilities of victory which is a separate question.

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. . SB clearly states his preference, though. Nadal will get past Zverev, but it will be close, IMO.

It was good experience for Edmund against Nadal. They have never played a competitive match against each other, so it was a learning experience for both of them. I assume that Edmund played below par in the first set because the occasion got to him. I assume in the second set he played well and Nadal, not having played him before, took time to adjust to his opponents style of play. Not sure how relevant this match as an indicator of what will happen in the next round against Zverev. Nadal has won this tournament nine times.

Well we know Rafa has won this tournament nine times as he has the FO that is not in doubt what is is his ability to win it again.
Rafa has always been the master of adaptation I have seen him make the necessary adjustments to his game half way through a match because his plan is not working.. I did not see that yesterday he kept ploughing the same furrow... true Kyle was overcome by the sense of occasion in the first set therefore Rafa never really saw his game develop until the second.. but I really think by the that time he would have gone on the offensive..instead he took up his normal defensive position exchanging rallies from the back of the court. and the inevitable scurrying around.. not the type of game he can afford to play against someone like Zverev imo... I think the jury is out for me until I see him play again today.

Amid all the talk of the big boys, it should be noted that Dimi lost AGAIN. He's having a really poor run after such a promising start to the year.

Murray underway in the Third Round against Ramos-Vinolas.

I wouldn't be too worried about the first matches. Lots of times players start slowly, or have a near loss and then play at their best the next day.

Murray and Djokovic are unknown at the moment. I wonder if Rafa will actually have better results on hard courts for the rest of his career. He's clearly lost a yard of pace and plays a much more offensive game on hard courts. Think he will beat Zverev today, but not without issues.

Thiem one to watch for me.

By the time Murray gets back to peak form he'll be the world No. 101 at this rate 

Ah well. At least it's always entertaining

Ramos-Vinolas wins in three sets after trailing 4-0 in the final set. Great quality match but bad defeat for Muzza.

Did not watch Murray's match, but the scores suggest that it was one of those frustrating defeats he falls to from time to time.  After taking the 1st set 6-2 loads of breaks of serve and ultimately being overhauled having been ahead in the third.

He's not having the greatest time at #1 - not really doing himself or his ranking justice, which is a shame given how well he did to get there.

Like Rafa, he needs an age to get back on par after an injury

I see him having a good American hardcourt season

I think the BBC are exaggerating to call this a "shock" result. Clay players are probably well up for Monte Carlo (in fact Ramos Viñolas played in Morocco last week), whereas someone like Murray is probably using it as match practice for the rest of the clay season. Viñolas is ranked in the 20s, not a no-hoper, and Murray has historically been patchy on clay, and not in his best form. Viñolas also showed good form earlier in the tournament.

Murray does need to step up his game pretty soon though.

Back to Rafa, I'd say he's the favourite for Monte Carlo, the French Open and possibly other clay events, but more of a favourite in the sense of being slightly ahead of the pack, rather than a red hot favourite. I think as a Rafa fan you might prefer to see Djokovic lose before the final, if it comes to that. Zverev last two results look very solid so this could be interesting.

Henman Bill wrote:Back to Rafa, I'd say he's the favourite for Monte Carlo, the French Open and possibly other clay events, but more of a favourite in the sense of being slightly ahead of the pack, rather than a red hot favourite. I think as a Rafa fan you might prefer to see Djokovic lose before the final, if it comes to that. Zverev last two results look very solid so this could be interesting.

Rafa drawn to play Djokovic in semi-finals, so I guess they would like to see him lose before the final! Unless you are talking about RG of course.

Very surprised at Murray losing. Especially from the winning position.

He's always been a very patchy player though, winning and losing four or five games in a row quite often throughout his career.

Still, very surprising.

Only saw the last few games of the Murray match but looks like the serve is still his major problem getting broken 7 times. Don't think he actually expected too much of himself this week. Read an article today saying that if his elbow held up this week he is going to play Budapest next week as the strength of the field is not as strong as Barcelona and there is a better chance of getting more matches in there. Obviously not brimming with confidence then.

So Stan the Man has gone.. I hope the losing bug is not catching.. So Rafa what is it going to be today ??

5-1 so far.

Thiem loses four straight games from 3-2 (with a break) up in final set against Goffin.

Rafa handing Zverev his backside.

Rafa destroying zverev. This looks like the old Rafa finally. Hope he can keep it up.

Murray was never a real number one and we know he's rubish on clay

In the words of the song "What a Difference a Day Makes" Welcome back Rafa

This Lady is for Turning (like Theresa May !!!)..

Keep it up Rafa

Nadalnation wrote:Rafa destroying zverev. This looks like the old Rafa finally. Hope he can keep it up.

Murray was never a real number one and we know he's rubish on clay

Welcome back hawkeye.

That's Hawkeye??

LuvSports! wrote:That's Hawkeye??

Very similar rhetoric and Nadal fan. As Lloyd Grossman once said: 'The clues are there.'

Seriously ????

Did he,s old account get permanently banned then?

Djoko with another lucky escape again despite not playing well! I think Goffin will be another victim in three sets again.

Guest,

Thiem lost and Rafa finished off Zverev 1 and 1, no issue! Rafa certainly didn't lose any pace in this match!

Rafa said that the conditions in set 2 and 3 were heavier when the sun went down, in his match vs Edmund, and that didn't help with his topspin, and so
Edmund was crushing his FH and not missing, something like Sod vs Fed at FO in 2010 when the conditions turned heavy due to bad weather and that favored Sod's hard hitting and the ball stayed within the lines.

Guest82 wrote:

Henman Bill wrote:Back to Rafa, I'd say he's the favourite for Monte Carlo, the French Open and possibly other clay events, but more of a favourite in the sense of being slightly ahead of the pack, rather than a red hot favourite. I think as a Rafa fan you might prefer to see Djokovic lose before the final, if it comes to that. Zverev last two results look very solid so this could be interesting.

Rafa drawn to play Djokovic in semi-finals, so I guess they would like to see him lose before the final!  Unless you are talking about RG of course.  

I thought I saw Rafa and Novak in opposite halves at MC - obviously a mistake there.

I see after all that discussion Rafa cruised past Zrevev 6-1 6-1. I was hoping to watch that but too much work today.

You never know, but at this point you'd fancy Novak and Rafa to play each other and the winner to take the title. The other 6 players don't include any of the other really top players so one of them would need to do something very impresive to win the title, especially if doing it in the Novak-Rafa half.

Mhmmm, I was rather off in my expectation that Zverev would pose a stiff test

Was Rafa that good, or Zverev that poor, or a combination of the two?

CaledonianCraig wrote:

LuvSports! wrote:That's Hawkeye??

Very similar rhetoric and Nadal fan. As Lloyd Grossman once said: 'The clues are there.'

Does not sound anything like HE to me.

temporary21 wrote:Did he,s old account get permanently banned then?

Was HE banned?  Why? I hope not, would make no sense.

Belovedluckyboy wrote:Guest,

Thiem lost and Rafa finished off Zverev 1 and 1, no issue!  Rafa certainly didn't lose any pace in this match!  

Rafa said that the conditions in set 2 and 3 were heavier when the sun went down, in his match vs Edmund, and that didn't help with his topspin, and so
Edmund was crushing his FH and not missing, something like Sod vs Fed at FO in 2010 when the conditions turned heavy due to bad weather and that favored Sod's hard hitting and the ball stayed within the lines.

That is really interesting - the bit about the change in conditions from set 1 to sets 2 and 3. There are so many things I miss or just don't know about.

SB, Rafa played very well but Zverev played poorly. Rafa didn't allow Zverev to play his game; Zverev was off and his shots kept missing the lines, going over them most of the times.

Rafa stepped inside the court often, was 8/8 when at the net, i.e. not missing any shot when at the net. Rafa's FH was great too, with more depth and pace compared to his previous match. I think the conditions in this match favored him, more so than his previous.

Zverev was misfiring or over hitting his shots, unlike Kyle who hit hard with precision, which was why I felt before this Zverev match that Rafa would have an easier match vs Zverev, as I didn't expect Zverev to hit with precision like Kyle.

temporary21 wrote:Did he,s old account get permanently banned then?

No. Why would it?

Thought you'd had enough of he years ago. You gave her a few major bans

temporary21 wrote:Thought you'd had enough of he years ago. You gave her a few major bans

This is the kind of comment that made me give up posting on here regularly years ago.  Hawkeye was never rude to any other poster and so I see no reason to ban her.  I disagreed with nearly everything she wrote, but I still enjoyed reading her opinion.

Why adults can't just choose to ignore posts that irritate them rather than crying for someone's head, I will never understand.   And I speak as someone who has risen to the bait many times - but I hope I never implied I thought the person I vehemently disagreed with should go. How on earth does that kind of attitude work in the real world - during Wimbledon we'd all have to go to the pub with noise cancelling headphones to make sure we don't hear anything that could offend us.

I think there were two or three short bans for wumming. It was a long time ago, so can't remember the detail, and the account isn't currently banned.

If the majority of anyone's post are just wumming or repeating the same thing over and over, they tend to get a warning then a short ban.

It seems sad that other posters have to be made aware of/appeased by someone's temporary bans - shouldn't this just be a private moderation decision that shouldn't need explaining?

It feeds a kind of incipient bullying otherwise imho - which has been quite tediously repetitive to some of us

It's not usually mentioned unless someone asks a specific question, and even then not always. If it's something going back two or three years, then there's no harm in talking about it in general terms, although I doubt after all this time that anyone is really interested.

mmmm, I fail to see how it is anyone but the mods and forum founders business - regardless of whether anyone is 'interested' or not.

Anyone can find out if a person is banned by trying to log in with their username and any password. The site will inform whoever is trying to log in whether there is a ban in place, or whether the user/password is incorrect.

Which begs the question - what can possibly be hoped to be achieved by asking the question in the public forum?

One of Ramos-Vinols, Pouille or Cuevas will be in a masters final! I am hoping for Pouille as I enjoy his game and think he can give any of the top players (bar Murray, who owns him) trouble.

I was very surprised by the score of Rafa v Zverev. I am still not that convinced about Rafa's level over all though, perhaps he doesn't need to be that good to win at the moment though.

Djokovic is playing a lot like Rafa of last year. Getting dragged into battles with lesser players...he's winning them at the moment, but has lost a few too.