ATP Masters Series 1000: Monte-Carlo

[matt_897]

The clay court season is in full swing now, with the first of the clay MS 1000 events underway tonight, draw from other thread:

(1) DJOKOVIC, Novak (SRB) vs. BYE
SERRA, Florent (FRA) vs. ROBERT, Stephane (FRA)
GULBIS, Ernests (LAT) vs. CHIUDINELLI, Marco (SUI)
HANESCU, Victor (ROM) vs. (13) WAWRINKA, Stanislas (SUI)

(12) ROBREDO, Tommy (ESP) vs. ZEBALLOS, Horacio (ARG)
TROICKI, Viktor (SRB) vs. KUBOT, Lukasz (POL)
NALBANDIAN, David (ARG) vs. BECK, Andreas (GER)
BYE vs. (7) YOUZHNY, Mikhail (RUS)

(4) CILIC, Marin (CRO) vs. BYE
ANDREEV, Igor (RUS) vs. (WC) BOLELLI, Simone (ITA)
ROCHUS, Olivier (BEL) vs. SEPPI, Andreas (ITA)
MONTANES, Albert (ESP) vs. BAGHDATIS, Marcos (CYP)

(10) BERDYCH, Tomas (CZE) vs. LOPEZ, Feliciano (ESP)
QUALIFIER vs. (WC) GASQUET, Richard (FRA)
BENNETEAU, Julien (FRA) vs. (Q) QUALIFIER ()
BYE vs. (6) VERDASCO, Fernando (ESP)

(8) LJUBICIC, Ivan (CRO) vs. BYE
FOGNINI, Fabio (ITA) vs. LLODRA, Michael (FRA)
CHARDY, Jeremy (FRA) vs. QUALIFIER
QUALIFIER vs. (11) FERRER, David (ESP)

(14) MELZER, Jurgen (AUT) vs. MATHIEU, Paul-Henri (FRA)
GARCIA-LOPEZ, Guillermo (ESP) vs. PETZSCHNER, Philipp (GER)
BELLUCCI, Thomaz (BRA) vs. KOHLSCHREIBER, Philipp (GER)
BYE vs. (3) MURRAY, Andy (GBR)

(5) TSONGA, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) vs. BYE
ALMAGRO, Nicolas (ESP) vs. GREUL, Simon (GER)
(WC) TOMIC, Bernard (AUS) vs. BECKER, Benjamin (GER)
QUALIFIER vs. (9) FERRERO, Juan Carlos (ESP)

(14) MONACO, Juan (ARG) vs. QUALIFIER
BERRER, Michael (GER) vs. KOROLEV, Evgeny (KAZ)
QUALIFIER vs. SCHWANK, Eduardo (ARG)
BYE vs. (2) NADAL, Rafael (ESP)

I'll update the qualifiers tomorrow, one of those will be Luczakafter winning 6-1, 6-2 over Kunitsyn in the final qualifying match.

Really this is Nadal's to win and I can't see anything else happening, the weak field kills it a bit. Murray will most likely lose early, same with Djokovic unless he picks his game up somehow. Pains me to say this but someone like Robredo could get out of the top half. We'll see.

 

[97-98]

Yep, wouldn't be surprised to see Murray lose to Bellucci or Kohli in the 2nd round.

Tomic on centre court tomorrow. Will be first opportunity for me to see him on clay. Fox sports carrying the torney from 1st round unlike Miami.

 

[Drummond]

The world’s top players hit Monte Carlo as the spectacular location plays host to the first European clay court Masters Series event of the year. Disappointingly, the field is extremely weak with Roger Federer the most notable absentee (not that I'm complaining!) along with Del Potro, Roddick, Davydenko and Soderling, the worlds 5-8 ranked players. Therefore as has been the case all season, there is a huge opportunity for someone to put their hand up and gain some valuable ranking points.

Rafael Nadal is seemingly unstoppable at Monte Carlo with a 29-1 W/L record and he’s claimed this title for 5 consecutive years. Last year he won in an extremely high quality final against Djokovic that lasted almost 3 hours. This will be a very revealing couple of weeks for Nadal as he looks to reattain the winning aura that has been lost over the past 10 months. His last title was the MS event in Rome; the title drought is longer than at any stage of his career. His draw here is pretty good and he should breeze through to the Quarters where JCF will be his likely opponent, a potentially very interesting match. Ferrero managed to beat Nadal at Rome a few years back, but that was Nadal playing with very severe blisters. It’s almost impossible to see Nadal not winning the title, he came close in both Indian Wells and Miami so his form is reasonable and back on his beloved clay, his confidence will be high and he’ll claim his 6th straight title.

Novak Djokovic returns to the scene that saw him regain his winning feeling last year but this year it’s more than confidence that’s an issue. His serve is a nightmare, the backswing is abbreviated, whether by design or not that remains to be seen, and he’s serving a ton of double faults each game. The clay can be Djokovic’s best friend; he can play strong defence which in turn gives him confidence to produce offensively. As he covers the court so well, slides naturally and has a very effective drop shot (as long as he’s not overusing it), clay can become a great ally. Just how much confidence he’s lost is going to be the biggest question that needs answering. He’s probably got Serra first up, possibly followed by Wawrinka, and then perhaps Nalbandian in the QF. He’s probably the hardest guy to predict right now, the form just isn’t there but it was a similar story heading into MC last year and he turned it on. Call me crazy, or having a ridiculous amount of faith, but right now the clay is exactly what he needs and I'm inexplicably tipping him to once again reach the final.

Andy Murray’s in the same boat to Djokovic, he’s playing downright terrible tennis and he’s void of any confidence. However unlike Djokovic, the clay doesn’t suit his game, he doesn’t move well on this surface and I see him losing first up. He’s fortunate to receive a bye first up but he’ll then face either Bellucci or Kohlschrieber, both know their way around clay, especially Bellucci who I expect to advance from this bracket. Murray to get done first up is what I’m seeing.

What other real contenders are here now that so many of the quality clay courters are absent? Cilic certainly isn’t, Tsonga’s average at the best of times and seeing him on the clay is quite a comical experience and one that I recommend. He might lose to Almagro, if the Spaniard turns up which he often doesn’t. At best Tsonga reaches the 3rd round where he’ll be dispatched by JCF. It’s a shame Ferrero had to be drawn in Nadal’s half as he could’ve done some real damage here.

Maybe David Ferrer could have a successful week? He’s got the talent and the ability on the clay to certainly do deep here, he’ll face either a qualifier or Chardy first, shouldn’t have any issues there, and then Ljubicic who’s fitness must be in question. If Ferrer is playing well and to his ability, he’ll face off against Nadal in the SF.

Tomas Berdych isn’t a contender here, and when Marcos Baghdatis is seeded for a MS clay court event you know there’s a weak field. Surprises might come from Robredo, Belluci and perhaps even Verdasco. Fernando suffered four straight first round defeats here before reaching the Quarters in 2009 so he’s a hard one to call. He’s been very solid at the FO for the past few years so he’s got some potential to be a force here. Some quality or interesting first round matches include: Gasquet/Benneteau, Berdych/Lopez, Montannes/Baghdatis and Tomic/Becker. Coverage begins tomorrow and weak field or not, I'm pumped for the clay, the early hard court season was a huge disappointment.

Prediction: Nadal def. Djokovic

Despite the fact he’s not playing his best and he can’t seem to beat any of the top players, Nadal’s a shoe in for the title. He’s just too dominant on the clay and with Federer absent and Djokovic well below his best, there are not a lot of challengers out there. The other finalist should be Djokovic and if that does happen it obviously means he’s regained the form to possibly threaten Nadal but all signs point to a 6th Monte Carlo crown for Rafa and finally another title. I hate making predictions, so watch Andreas Seppi battle it out with Simon Greul in the final!

 

[Chris_2593]

Yep, wouldn't be surprised to see Murray lose to Bellucci or Kohli in the 2nd round.

Tomic on centre court tomorrow. Will be first opportunity for me to see him on clay. Fox sports carrying the torney from 1st round unlike Miami.

Tomic is actually on court 9. Good to see Luczak qualified got a tough first round match against David Ferrer.

 

[matt_897]

Pete will be on third on court 1 against Ferrer tonight, tough match but good luck to him anyway.

Can't see Tomic on the OOP for tomorrow, is he actually on court 9 or not?

 

[Chris_2593]

Pete will be on third on court 1 against Ferrer tonight, tough match but good luck to him anyway.

Can't see Tomic on the OOP for tomorrow, is he actually on court 9 or not?

Yeah he is on third or fourth i think.

 

[Chris_2593]

Only just found out play has started with some early results Nalbandian beat Beck 6-3 6-1. Gulbis won 6-3 6-2 . Berdych beat Lopez 6-3 6-1 . Goulubev beat Chardy 6-2 7-6. Almagro takes out Gruel in 3 sets. Sucks Fox Sports dont start showing till 11:00 tonight.

 

[NERDY]

I saw my man Andreev beat Bolelli yesterday. Has Marin Cilic in the 2nd Round.

Good to see Luczak qualified and Tomic getting a wild card.

 

[Chris_2593]

Tomic just started hold is serve.

 

[Chris_2593]

Becker takes out first set 6-4. Tomic should have won it up 4-2 and serving.

 

[Chris_2593]

Tomic lost 6-4 6-2. Would have given him a real shot at winning in the first set when he was up 4-2 and serving. Pete lost the first set 2-6 and is up 2-1 now. Hopefully he can get close this set or even better win it.

 

[matt_897]

No surprise about Tomic, i honestly think i'll ignore his results till he leaves the clay.

 

[Drummond]

Great to be back on the clay and what a location to kick it off. Before I talk about Monte-Carlo, I watched the Querrey/Chela Houston final, it was a real tough match with Chela eventually beating the fatigued Querrey in 3 sets. The commentator got to talking about MC and he said that Nadal had a much tougher draw than Djokovic, the reason being because he had Murray and Tsonga in his half. Honestly, that’s the reason for his tough draw?? He does realise this is a clay event doesn’t he? Anyway...

Only caught the last set and a bit of Gasquet’s game but it was a nice match to watch with so many quality rallies and as usual on the clay, so much variety and every inch of the court was being covered as usual. We know how much Gasquet’s been hyped up since his arrival but I’m wondering whether his talent was overrated. You’d think it would have been when you look at the results over the years but when you watch him and see the amazing and effortless shots he can regularly pull off, perhaps not. I think he’s just mentally one of the weakest on tour and if he had mental strength along with that natural talent, he’d be right up there. He’s got arguably the best backhand on tour, an underrated serve, great hands and feel, the ability to S&V, there’s not much he doesn’t have. Watching him basically throw away the second set last night and you know exactly why the results haven’t come, he’s seemingly prepared to throw sets and matches away and he lets his mind wander. He often plays rushed; he doesn’t stop to compose himself, he lets matches slip away due to poor concentration. The difference between his best and worst is the largest of anyone on tour. He did manage to play a brilliant third set though to set up a fascinating encounter with Berdych.

Juan Carlos Ferrero was amazing against fellow Spaniard Granollers, completely blowing him off the court 6-0, 6-3 in just over an hour. Was pretty flawless tennis throughout except for a brief lapse of concentration early in the second set when he got down a break but one that he got back in no time. It was the ideal example of how to play on clay; he took the ball early, had Granollers 10 feet behind the baseline scampering for balls and barely missed a backhand all day. Ferrero will now face Becker, a really easy assignment and expect an even easier scoreline.

The final televised match was Neiminen vs Monaco which despite overall being a rather sloppy match with 80 unforced errors, was actually quite enjoyable. Monaco was a little bit more consistent but Jarkko really made Monaco fight for it. Monaco was up a set and 4-1 but he had to fight it out for a 7-5, 7-5 win.

Looking forward to today’s action which starts in about 10 minutes.

Cilic vs Andreev, Benneteau vs Verdasco, Tsonga vs Almagro and the pick of the bunch, Berdych vs Gasquet. Winners in bold.

 

[matt_897]

Luzcak lost 6-2, 6-4. To be honest Pete would of been with a shot if he cut down the unforced errors, that forehand seems to be an absolute shank machine at times.

Saw Gasquet just give that 2nd set away, looking forward to his match with Berdych but his mentality is so poor.

 

[Chris_2593]

Cilic ended up winning in 3 sets 6-7 6-1 6-4. Lucky for me i picked him in draw challenge. Looking foward to the Berdych vs Gasquet match. I have picked Berdych i think it may have been the wrong move.

 

[NERDY]

Cilic won the match 6-7 6-1 6-4. That 2nd set might look lopsided, but it was anything but. The match went for pretty much spot on three hours, and once again it was all about Igor and his missed chances. 3/16 break points, he had numerous 0-40 games and was spraying easy forehands.

Another interesting fact, whenever Igor broke, he was broken right back, the main one being when he broke for a 4-3 lead in the 3rd set. Such a frustrating player, and I've said it time and time again, it's the reason he's 40 in the world and not top 20. It's all mental with the guy, and it's seriously frustrating. Credit to Marin, he did play quite well, but a mentally stronger play would have won that 3rd set today.

Hopefully Igor can perform better in Rome.

 

[Drummond]

You're a clown of the highest order Andreev. How do you lose when you're up a break twice in the third set, someone explain that to me?

 

[NERDY]

You're a clown of the highest order Andreev. How do you lose when you're up a break twice in the third set, someone explain that to me?

As I said in my original post, and I think I know him as good as anyone, he's a mentally fragile player. 3/16 break points, always talking to himself, I was waiting for a time in the match when he would just let out all the frustrations. Or how about when the central linesmen called a let and Cilic won the point, and Andreev reluctantly told the chair umpire that the linesmen had called let. He's too nice a guy haha, he needs to show more of a mean spirit.

 

[Chris_2593]

Anyone else watching the Verdasco match. His ball stiking is amazing. Even when the clay court season is so early. Hope he continues his form all through the clay court season.

 

[Chris_2593]

Berdych beat Gasquet 6-2 6-0. I didnt see any of the match but Berdych must be in great form or did Gaquet play awful.

 

[Drummond]

I didn't see it either because my stupid Foxtel IQ 'failed' to record.

I hear it was a case of Berdych playing well and Gasquet playing awful. Gasquet, retirement in your plans? If not then I think you should start considering it as what's the point in playing if you're miserable?

 

[NERDY]

Singles - Second Round
[4] M Cilic (CRO) d I Andreev (RUS) 67(4) 61 64
[5] J Tsonga (FRA) d N Almagro (ESP) 76(5) 75
[6] F Verdasco (ESP) d J Benneteau (FRA) 62 61
[10] T Berdych (CZE) d [WC] R Gasquet (FRA) 62 60

Singles - First Round
[12] T Robredo (ESP) d H Zeballos (ARG) 63 63
[13] S Wawrinka (SUI) d V Hanescu (ROM) 62 64
[15] J Melzer (AUT) d P Mathieu (FRA) 63 62
A Montanes (ESP) d [16] M Baghdatis (CYP) 64 62
M Llodra (FRA) d F Fognini (ITA) 63 63
V Troicki (SRB) d L Kubot (POL) 46 62 62
F Serra (FRA) d S Robert (FRA) 76(6) 36 64
[Q] T de Bakker (NED) d E Schwank (ARG) 63 75

Only a couple of surprises to me overnight. One was the ease at which Tomas Berdych beat Richard Gasquet. 6-2 6-0 against a quality clay court player is a very good result for Tomas, he's obviously in a purple patch after the good form in Miami. Also, and I mainly said it all last night but Andreev really should have beaten Cilic overnight, he had him ripe for the taking at 4-3 and a break up in the 3rd Set. Also, Baghdatis gone 6-4 6-2 to Montanes, but it's not that surprising as Albert is a quality clay court player.

 

[119Points]

I didn't see it either because my stupid Foxtel IQ 'failed' to record.

I hear it was a case of Berdych playing well and Gasquet playing awful. Gasquet, retirement in your plans? If not then I think you should start considering it as what's the point in playing if you're miserable?

Gasquet was absolutely WOEFUL. He started out getting broken and as the first set went on actually played some nice shots and just missed some close shots. So I assumed he'd just pick himself up and the second would be a lot closer because he wasn't actually playing too bad. Boy was I wrong. He came out and didn't even care. He was like a robot. Wouldn't even chase after balls that were more that a few metres away from him and he would just put it back straight into the centre of the court whenever he did get it back, allowing Berdych to just smash away winners. He just wanted it to be over...

Its sad because he had so much potential. He always looks sad out on court and he just doesn't have any fight in him or mental toughness - I don't know if he even wants to be a player and its maybe his parents that want him to be a tennis player. He was on the front of a magazine when he was like 8, 9 with the headline 'france's next big hope' or something like that. Pretty hard for a 9 year old to turn around and say he doesn't want to turn pro when he's already being touted as the next big thing.

Hopefully he regains some form someday cos he can play GREAT TENNIS!!

 

[matt_897]

I went to bed after Tsonga match thinking Gasquet would play badly and looked like I made the right call. Watching him play last night, jsut dosesn't seem to know what he is doing out there. Hopeless.

Tsonga/Almagro match was a fun one, these two bring out some good rallies and nice shot making between the two, as usual Almagro fragil mentality got in the way at cricual times, even when he broke Tsonga at 5-3 down in the 2nd he just gave it straight back, typical.

The big guys are in action tonight.

 

[matt_897]

Does Andy Murray care?