Madrid Masters 2017

A couple of matches started Sunday, but most of the action gets underway tomorrow.

Draw: http://www.protennislive.com/posting/2017/1536/mds.pdf

Nadal is favourite once again, although apparently he skipped his pre-tournament press conference today due to an ear infection so it's possible he may withdraw or lose early. If he does, it's wide open with Djokovic & Murray lacking momentum, Wawrinka inconsistent, Nishikori only just arriving on clay. Thiem is coming in with momentum and could be in a good position for his first Masters final or even title. If Nadal is fit to play, he could be leaving Madrid in first place in the race.

There are some interesting R2 matches. Cilic beats Raonic in the final at Istanbul and he didn't lose a set winning the title. Madrid is on quick clay so may be to Cilic's advantage, however he has AlexZverev, the winner at Munich as his potential R2 opponent. They're in Stan's half of the draw, so Stan will have his hands full. Stan didn't do well at TB Ten exho tennis at Madrid, and he said the tennis there was too quick for him (the surface perhaps?). Stan himself will probably play Carreno Busta, winner at Estoril, in R2, he certainly will have a hard time at Madrid.

Raonic, the runner up at Istanbul, will probably play Muller, the runner up at Estoril, in R2. In R3 he may meet Goffin. Poor souls, the winners plus runner ups last week will have a hard time at Madrid this week. Murray may play Pouille in R3, the winner at Budapest.

Thiem may face Dimi in R3 (Dimi won the TB Ten exho at Madrid) so may be an interesting match, thereafter if he wins, will probably meet Murray in the QF, of course Pouille may have something to say about that.

It seems that Djoko has the easiest path to the SF, provided he can beat Simon again should they meet, there's also ARV, the runner up at MC (most likely opppnent in the QF), or Tsonga or Kei (quite unlikely imo for either to reach the QF).

Rafa has Foggy, Kygrios, Raonic/Goffin, Djoko in his path before the final. He has the most difficult path here at Madrid, followed by Stan, imo.

Well apparently he is playing ...


Home  news  Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal postponed his pre-tournament press conference in Madrid on Sunday until Monday at 1:30 PM due to an ear infection that in the last days affected him. His participation in the tournament is not in doubt, officials said, and he will play his first match against the Italian player Fabio Fognini on Tuesday or Wednesday. Nadal, who won Madrid title in 2005, 2010, 2013 and 2014, practiced hard in the last days despite the ear infection, and so his fans should not worry about his condition when it will be time to compete.

For those who have questioned why Rafa plays Barcelona and
Madrid


I'm very well treated all around the world. Of course, I'm not treated anywhere like I am in Spain,” Nadal said on Monday during his pre-tournament press conference. “To play in front of them, for me especially, it gives me a unique feeling... It's difficult to describe how you feel when you play in front of your people, in front of your crowd, and front of people that really have been helping you in the past to win matches.”

Haddie-nuff wrote:For those who have questioned why Rafa plays Barcelona  and
Madrid


I'm very well treated all around the world. Of course, I'm not treated anywhere like I am in Spain,” Nadal said on Monday during his pre-tournament press conference. “To play in front of them, for me especially, it gives me a unique feeling... It's difficult to describe how you feel when you play in front of your people, in front of your crowd, and front of people that really have been helping you in the past to win matches.”

I'm not a fan of his on court - the opposite in fact, but he deserves respect for so often saying, and doing, the right thing off court. I've said it many times before - but I always suggest him as an example to my son of how to win and to lose at sport.

Nice to hear Barry my feelings about Federer not a fan of him.. but his tennis and being a decent human being earns my respect

Andy Murray through to the Third Round of the Madrid Masters after beating Marius Copil 6-4 6-3. Served well from what I could see and maintained a decent level throughout. Will hope to move up through the gears as the tournament goes on.

A straight sets win for Andy M - 4 and 3. Had to wait a long time to get on thanks to Karlovic's three-hour battle (no breaks of serve).

It was a workmanlike performance from the little I saw. Would be good to see Murray regain some form here.

Djokovic gets past Almagro. In fairness to Novak that was a tricky opening match even if Almagro is past his best, always a tricky opponent on clay particularly playing in his home country. That was a potential banana skin particularly given his recent form and getting rid of his coaching staff.

Lucky Novak... Nico played some superb stuff

Nadal has no right to win this, but he does have the will to

That can always be said about his matches against Fogo... but it says more about the Italian than Rafa.. Fognini is his own opponent at the end of the day.. sheer brilliance one moment a total disaster the next .

I think this is the match's pivot point - Nadal breaks


Captain obvious from me, I know

That makes Nadal .. Nadal.. he found a way to win even though he was far from his best
Fognini is the most frustrating player to watch.. he should get better results.. but somehow finds a way to lose.

Tough matches for Djoko and Rafa, but they came through. But Stan the Man beaten, as was Cilic.
Murray takes on Coric today and it would be good to see him getting deep into this tournament.

Just beyond the 7-second mark, put it on the slowest speed option :P
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo9RfzAWdFc

Right in the Mummy Daddy region!

Djokovic is finished. He's way too passive these days, seems to let players back into too many points.

Pretty sure he will lose to the first half-decent opponent he plays here. Would think that'll be Nishikori.

I expect Murray to beat Coric, but Thiem or Dimitrov in the QF will be a test.

Kyrgios v Rafa will also be interesting today.

Djokovic takes a tight first set against Feliciano Lopez and survives an early scare at the start of the second set saving a break point.

Djokovic takes another tight second set to win 6-4 7-5. Lopez just could not take the chances when they presented themselves. A better performance from Novak than yesterday.

Andy Murray warming up and about to start against Coric.

The big boys are struggling at the moment

Haddie-nuff wrote:The big boys are struggling at the moment

Bit of a nightmare show from Andy. Credit to Coric but Andy listless and pretty flat today.

Lets face it none of them are doing particularly well Ill hold my breath when Rafa plays NK later

Coric wins 6-3 6-3. Well played by the youngster. Least said about Murray's performance the better. Not quite sure what to make of it really. Seemed clueless which is unlike him.

Very surprised at Murray.

Funny how Rafa will probably sweep all of the clay tournaments this year, something he's never managed in the past, despite playing not even close to his peak level.

CaledonianCraig wrote:Coric wins 6-3 6-3. Well played by the youngster. Least said about Murray's performance the better. Not quite sure what to make of it really. Seemed clueless which is unlike him.

It's a shame - after such enormous achievements last year he's really not doing himself or the #1 ranking justice. I very much hope that his time at the pinnacle won't be remembered as rather an embarrassing period when he was losing form and points and effectively he and and an out of sorts Djoko were waiting to be knocked off their perches by the next man standing; it is bizarre to think that if his travails and Djoko's loss of form continue, the next #1 could be one or other of Fedal (!). We might have a period rather like 2000 or 2003 for a while, when nobody got themselves clearly ahead and the #1 ranking chops about a bit.

barrystar wrote:

CaledonianCraig wrote:Coric wins 6-3 6-3. Well played by the youngster. Least said about Murray's performance the better. Not quite sure what to make of it really. Seemed clueless which is unlike him.

It's a shame - after such enormous achievements last year he's really not doing himself or the #1 ranking justice.  I very much hope that his time at the pinnacle won't be remembered as rather an embarrassing period when he was losing form and points and effectively he and and an out of sorts Djoko were waiting to be knocked off their perches by the next man standing; it is bizarre to think that if his travails and Djoko's loss of form continue, the next #1 could be one or other of Fedal (!).  We might have a period rather like 2000 or 2003 for a while, when nobody got themselves clearly ahead and the #1 ranking chops about a bit.

It was an alarmingly bad display and his play lacked fight, passion and I didn't like the grinning when things weren't going well. He never formulated a game plan either and failed to take the bull by the horns so to speak.

Andy Murray the definition of pathetic. Fluke world #1

Coric was touted as one of those up and coming youngsters who potentially could be a grand slam winning top five player.  My impression is that he is making steady and good progress and not being rushed.  This is obviously a huge win for him.  

For Murray it asks more question about his current form and his clay form.  Last year he made huge progress on the clay - and that fed into his remarkable success from Queens onward all the way up to the US Open where the bubble seemed to pop - which at the time was put down to general fatigue following an immense and intense run of success.  Later it was recognised he was carrying injuries such as his elbow - which later worsened - feeding into the 2017 season.  The ups and downs of tennis.

Rafa looking better today, Kyrios really struggling mentally (and seemingly physically) by the end

Rafa was a man on a mission today.. Kyrgios had little or no answer .. and as normal had Kyrgios mental  moments and total loss of focus. A good win for Rafa

No name Bertie wrote:Coric was touted as one of those up and coming youngsters who potentially could be a grand slam winning top five player.  My impression is that he is making steady and good progress and not being rushed.  This is obviously a huge win for him.

His progress in the rankings has been slow and in the wrong direction - #59 now, #48 at the end of 2016 and #44 the year before.  He is still young so perhaps he may still become good, but from what I remember he appeared a little too "lightweight" to me when I last saw him.  His shots just did not have enough bite.  He only made the main draw here as the Lucky Loser from the qualies.  That said, I think he just recently won a tournament, so maybe he is finally improving.

Yes, beating Andy is obviously great for him, but he beat Andy two years ago too.  So only time will tell if he builds on this.

Finally we have a few youngsters advancing deeper into the tournament - Coric, Zverev, Thiem, Goffin, even maybe Nishi.

Coric had injuries and was back to the tour not long, hence his ranking suffered. He was on the upward trajectory in his career until he had his injuries. He's good on clay, and played a similar style as Djoko, what he lacks is some varieties in his game. He's quick around the court and counterpunches very well, not easy to put away.

summerblues wrote:Finally we have a few youngsters advancing deeper into the tournament - Coric, Zverev, Thiem, Goffin, even maybe Nishi.

26 and 27 is a youngster?

Ironic, if not amusing, that these "youngsters" have not achieved what either NADAL or BECKER did .. I think we have to wait a bit longer for anyone that good such a shame

Kyrgios was poor yesterday. Will be surprised if he wasn't injured.

Rafa did look very good though.

One of Thiem, Coric, Zverev or Cuevas is making their first masters final. I am hoping for Thiem, but think it will be Zverev.

Think Nishikori will beat Djokovic today too.

Kyrgios was not so poor at the beginning of that match... but Rafa blunted so many of his shots that he succumbed to the pressure.. he is an enormous talent but a mental midget imo

Kygrios is scheduled to play doubles with Sock today in the QF match. I doubt he's that injured that he's playing poorly. He might not have put in his 100% effort, after seeing how Rafa played.

Rafa was also playing this well vs A Zverev at MC, allowing Zverev only 2 games. Rafa knew how dangerous these youngsters are/were so he came out all guns blazing and never allowed them any chances to fight back.

Sometimes good players make other players look poor.

No name Bertie wrote:Sometimes good players make other players look poor.

Isnt that a fact

Funnily enough he appeared to be putting in effort, just not serving properly. I can't believe someone with Kyrgios' serve will only serve 1 ace against Nadal. Goffin will probably serve more today. He kept his head and composure well though I thought.

Nishikori withdrew, so Djokovic through to play Nadal (barring a shock) in the semi-finals. One to look forward to.

The thing to remember though  Rafa is one of the best returners of serve on tour.. so the fact that Kyrigos never served aces may have been down, in part, to how well Rafa returned..it does not take much for NK to go on a mental walkabout so he may not have been up to par in mentally coping with how well Rafa played. NK is a bit of an anomaly in my book .. he can be as bad as he can be brilliant I do believe he has not got the right mind set at the moment for his sake I hope it comes with maturity.

On the Nadalovic match.. now there would be a test to see where they are both at in their current form.. good match whatever me thinks

I think Rafa looked very good and Kyrgios wouldn't have won anyway. But his serve was definitely off imo.

Pretty sure Nadal will routine Djokovic tomorrow. Unless a) Nadal has some mental demons from the past or b) Djokovic finds some of his old form seeing one of his main rivals over the net. It'll be interesting at the very least.

It is quite amazing how this season has panned out so far.  With the drop off of both Djokovic and Murray it has been a great opportunity for the next generation players to step up - instead it is the old (ancient) guard that are seizing the opportunity - Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.  Although Rafael Nadal is relatively young in age the mileage he has been through plus the various significant injuries he has had to come back from puts him firmly in the old guard (IMO).

Looking very likely that Fedal will be YE 1&2. Unbelievable.

Yes the two "old boys" are giving them all a tennis lesson at the moment... what a credit to the sport they both are.. it would be great to see them both at the top once again.. and in their 30's at that . My hat goes off to both of them

with his breakout performance here, Djokovic will enter the top 20 in this year's Race to Londres... Crazy

Great game for Nadal- Goffin - Rafa breaks but Goffin looks like the real deal on Clay