ATP/WTA Indian Wells and Miami

SunGirl89

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3-5 in the 2nd and breaks to love, Barty wins 7-6 (1) 6-3. A dominant victory.

If you ignore the 1-3 start, the rest of the match was 6-3 6-3.
 
So awesome for Ash. Will make an effort to watch the final over the next few days.

Should really solidify her spot in the top 10 and can now just go for broke during the clay season since its her weakest part.
 

pepsi

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can now just go for broke during the clay season since its her weakest part.
Agreed, however I feel she can get some decent results on clay. Looking at her losses on clay last year they came at the expense of wozniacki, Pavlyuchenkova, sharapova and serena. If she can get a decent draw in a clay tournament to build her confidence on the surface, think she can pick up some points leading into wimbledon.
 

SunGirl89

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Ash Barty's results in 2018 after Miami:
- R16 Charleston (Premier)
- R32 Madrid (PremierMandatory)
- R64 Rome (Premier 5)
- SF Strasbourg (International)
- R64 French Open
 

gaelictiogar

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Federer is still amazingly consistent for someone that's turning 38 years of age in August.

Remarkable really.

Frankly I do not believe he has another slam in him but then I didn't believe he had another masters title either.

He will ignore the clay and give Wimbledon a crack. If he can get to the second week without too much lactic acid in the legs who knows but from now everything is a bonus. I am convinced that when he came back from injury he had the numbers 20 and 100 in mind. 20 slams and 100 titles. he has them. Everything, including this Miami title is just jam.
 

danstar

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what a stunning weekend for aussie tennis, so good to actually follow someone who is a champion top 10 player rather than a total utter flog for a change, its being a long long time in tennis since we have had this opportunity as fans
 

gaelictiogar

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I think best of 3 suits Roger a lot more than best of 5 at his age.

I agree.

Look the fact is he shouldn't be winning these tournaments now and he will be days away from 38 by the time Wimbledon comes round. Surely he cannot win there!!!!!!

I love Federer - along with Messi my favourite non Richmond footy team sports star - but it is a sad reflection on tennis that man now well into his late thirties can still pick up the coveted prizes.
 

SunGirl89

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He will ignore the clay and give Wimbledon a crack.
Federer confirmed a while ago he is playing the French Open this year. No doubt the last time he will play at Roland Garros.

And as I said over the weekend in this thread, my understanding is that he will will skip Monte Carlo and Italy (missed last 2 of both) but then play at Madrid and the French (missed last 3 of both).
 
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Looking back, Federer's March was excellent. Started the month by winning the Dubai 500, then nearly pulled off the IW/Miami double. Those 3 runs alone should keep him hanging around the top ten for another year, not far off from Tokyo.

I believe Rafter was the last male player to retire whilst in the top 10 (not officially, took his 2002 injury time and ranking points to fully consider it, but we all knew 2001 was intended as his final season).

Other comparable examples are Soderling playing what became his final match (winning Bastad) whilst in the top 5, and Sampras playing what became his final match (winning the USO) whilst #14 (steadily decided thereafter that the hunger had gone, retirement was right).
 
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SunGirl89

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Has Federer ever mentioned his retirement plans? Would he retire end of next year?

Maybe he could play the Australian Open in 2021, or finish up after the IW/Miami in 2021.

I should look up what time of year the Swiss events are on.
 
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I'd assume that Basel or the YEC in 2020 would be ideal. Hard to say when a player's ability to win titles is still evergreen, but he is now at the point where a long injury lay-off would probably finish him off, or a slam win could kill off his hunger. 2 of his 4 children also hit double digits next week.

He has made the Basel final for 12 of the last 13 years, and given it would tick off a goodbye to Swiss fans, a tournament with personal history, a late calendar date, and a winnable final tournament, it is as good a place as any.
 
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I agree.

Look the fact is he shouldn't be winning these tournaments now and he will be days away from 38 by the time Wimbledon comes round. Surely he cannot win there!!!!!!

I love Federer - along with Messi my favourite non Richmond footy team sports star - but it is a sad reflection on tennis that man now well into his late thirties can still pick up the coveted prizes.
I don't see why he cannot. Last year unfortunately he choked, but I have no doubt had he gone through he would've beaten Isner and possibly a tired Djokovic. He's playing better than he did last year. Probably not going to take the French Open as seriously, any win there will be a bonus anyway.

People were saying he had no Masters titles left in him, but what do ya know, he just won one and should've won IW. What will stop Federer are these mental lapses - gotta convert those break points. His ground/return game have been really, really good the past couple of weeks which should hold him in good stead over the clay season. I think he's got one or two GS titles left in him.
 
Has Federer ever mentioned his retirement plans? Would he retire end of next year?

Maybe he could play the Australian Open in 2021, or finish up after the IW/Miami in 2021.

I should look up what time of year the Swiss events are on.
Federer himself said he's not going to retire until he can't compete at the top any more. He is regularly making deep runs into tournaments... he could probably play until he is 40. He still has the best reflexes out of anyone on the tour... though one injury might bring it all down.
 

AlwaysHawks15

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Federer is still amazingly consistent for someone that's turning 38 years of age in August.
Thats because the depth of talent in the men's game is poor, you won't find many sports where 1 of the best players in the world is nearing 39 except Tom Brady. Federer isn't even close to peak Federer yet is still capable of playing at a level that not many others can match bar some players in the top 10. Has been fortunate to avoid Djokovic the past year and a bit as well. If you look past the Roger Federer aura on Tennis you will realise the game is crap, everyone plays the same and there are barely any personalities.
 
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