Quality Tennis Discussion / Miami

**Posted by Forehand_lob** 4/01/2013 5:14 am

I don't think the victors in those finals were surprises, but that Sharapova and Ferrer managed to get a set is. Though, Djokovic's poor play at both Indian Wells and Miami is surprising. We'll see if he manages to pick up on clay.

**Posted by funches** 4/07/2013 6:57 pm

Wasn't surprised by Ferrer getting a set. When Murray isn't 100 percent motivated, he and Ferrer are equivalent players. When Murray is motivated, he has the huge edge.

Serena losing a set to Sharapova was a surprise, but Serena played the exact same match against Jankovic in Charleston today.

**Posted by funches** 4/07/2013 6:59 pm

Djokovic will pick it up again on clay, assuming his injury today was not too serious.

He has too much game and too much confidence to have a real slump. HIs whole focus is on winning Roland Garros. Not sure if he's up to it, but we'll get a good read on it in the next months when he faces Rafa on clay.

**Posted by Forehand_lob** 4/11/2013 6:24 pm

We'll see what happens. I kind of hope that Djokovic and Nadal end up clashing in a QF sometime this clay season.

**Posted by funches** 4/20/2013 1:32 pm

Yes, that would be funny.

I think the winner of tomorrow's final between Djokovic and Nadal in Monte Carlo will also be the winner of Roland Garros. I know Djokovic has the bum ankle, but as one of the commentators said when he struggled in the early rounds, the ankle probably was not as much of an issue as getting used to the clay. Most players struggle in their first tournament on clay, but since he survived thanks to incredibly good fortune with the draw (Gulbis lost to Monaco, del Potro lost to Nieminen, Gasquet lost to Fognini), he's played his way into good form.

**Posted by funches** 4/20/2013 1:37 pm

This from the AP story off the Monte Carlo semifinals:

Nadal has not lost in Monte Carlo "since 2003 to former Roland Garros champion Guillermo Coria."

That should be welcome news to Coria, who might still be playing if he had not choked like a dog against Gaudio in the lone French Open final he made. He never recovered mentally from that loss, which is a shame because he was awfully fun to watch when he was in form. He had a run of three consecutive clay court tournament wins after Wimbledon one year that had to set the all-time record for fewest games lost in back-to-back-to-back events.

**Posted by Forehand_lob** 4/22/2013 5:38 am

Well, Djokovic beat Nadal in Monte Carlo, so you've got him pegged to win Roland Garros.

I'm shocked that he won. It's not because he doesn't have the game for it (those clay finals in 2011 proved he does), but I honestly thought Nadal would be able to take it to another level (forgive the cliche) on clay. I guess he can't, and that they're not that far apart.

**Posted by funches** 4/24/2013 11:14 pm

I absolutely have him pegged to win Roland Garros. Doesn't mean he'll do it, but if he plays to his potential, Rafa cannot beat him on clay. We saw that two years ago when Rafa was closer to him on hard courts and grass in his seven losses than on clay. To me, Federer's win in the semis over the Djoker in 2011 was a stunning upset, a combination of Federer serving out of his mind and Djokovic throwing away the second set after getting angry at the crowd for pulling against him. That was a strange match, with Djokovic slipping constantly.

So maybe that's where I have it wrong. If there's something about Roland Garros that makes his footing worse than at other clay court events, he would struggle against Nadal. What I've always heard, though, is the Roland Garros clay is very similar to Monte Carlo. We saw what happpened Sunday.

Last edited by funches (4/24/2013 11:15 pm)

**Posted by Forehand_lob** 4/25/2013 3:00 pm

I am half wondering whether the larger size of the court in Roland Garros helps Nadal get to some balls that he wouldn't be able to on any other court. But Djokovic's loss against Federer also had to do with the pressure he was under, I believe (undefeated at that point).

Last year, the courts at Monte Carlo were supposed to be terrible with a number of players getting injured on them. I guess they improved them for this year?

**Posted by funches** 4/28/2013 1:35 pm

I never heard the announcers questioning the courts this year, and I watched more of Monte Carlo than I have of any non-slam tournament since my (then) baby boy was born in 2010, a combination of being under-employed and having him in daycare.

Of course, the comment about Monte Carlo and Roland Garros having similar courts dates back to my tennis-watching heyday of the 1990s and early 2000s on ESPN before ESPN dropped all European non-slam events. I'm sure a lot has changed since then, when I watched essentially every match that aired on TV.