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Madrid: ATP Masters/WTA premier

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JackNah_8 said:
Australian media is still reluctant to acknowledge Nick's tennis abilities, this morning i was listening to the radio and they mentioned Dasha lost but nothing was said about Nick's win. If Nick had some outburst it would be headline news.
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It's this exact media attitude that is an embarrassment more than Nick and Bernie together at their worst. When he won at Marseille, the fanfare here was tepid and lukewarm even if it was only a 250 event. Fact: it was his 1st title, he beat some quality players along the way and he didn't just beat them he manhandled them. ALL POSITIVES!
 
Dannnnnnnnnn said:
Going to say something outrageous here: Nick can win a grand slam this year. He could even win the French.
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I don't think he can win a Grand Slam in 2016 but he should be within the 8-12 range by season's end if he can maintain the form he's shown for most of this year and could potentially be in the top 5 if he can have a deep Grand Slam run.

Also, what he has shown in 2016 with his results are that these are now the new norms for him and we should be expecting him to now be consistently delivering on these results. His return of serve and backhand have improved dramatically in the last 9-10 months and in terms of his physique, he's right there with the top guys.

He's currently sitting at 13 in the singles race (points accumulated in the current calendar year only) and Madrid is only his seventh tournament of the year. The same goes for Djokovic and Monfils. In comparison, Murray is playing his sixth, as is Raonic.

One of the most unsung points of his year has been his scheduling. He got panned for saying that the top guys don't play every tournament when in actuality he was bang on the money. Although I would have liked to have seen him play in Monte Carlo, he spent those 2-3 weeks post Miami training and preparing for the clay-court season. Not enough credit is going to him and his team for looking at the bigger picture and being primed for the biggest events where the most points are at stake.

Look at Dom Thiem, he's 7th in the singles race yet has already played in 11 tournaments this year including Madrid. I think he might suffer from burnout later in the year if he's not careful.

Allan Shorty said:
Almost bet on csn.
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Haha lucky you didn't!

I got on Stosur in-play in the first set and then rode her again at $5 after she lost the first set. That was a super win from her, especially after also falling down a break in the second and third sets. She could have easily folded in either set yet persisted in her game and got the deserved W.
 

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Four really decent quarter finals all on tonight/early morning

Predictions:
Berdych in 3 over Murray
Kyrgios in 3 over Nishikori
Nadal in 2 over Sousa
Djokovic in 3 over Raonic

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
 
The media and public will jump on board when nick starts winning big tournaments like this one or goes deep in slams. Then they will all rave about how he's changed. It's clear to all of us following the tour this year that nick has really worked hard in the off season to improve his game, movement and fitness. There will be surprise if he makes the 1/4 finals of the French, but we won't be surprised in here.
 
pepsi said:
The media and public will jump on board when nick starts winning big tournaments like this one or goes deep in slams. Then they will all rave about how he's changed. It's clear to all of us following the tour this year that nick has really worked hard in the off season to improve his game, movement and fitness. There will be surprise if he makes the 1/4 finals of the French, but we won't be surprised in here.
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The people who are critical of Nick usually only watch the Australian Open and read any negative reports but are clueless about his performance throughout the tennis season. Whereas, we are following his progress and acknowledge his tennis ability to beat top players.

Looking forward to the Kyrgios v Kei match tonight.
Though there's a few other good matches as well.
 
pepsi said:
The media and public will jump on board when nick starts winning big tournaments like this one or goes deep in slams. Then they will all rave about how he's changed. It's clear to all of us following the tour this year that nick has really worked hard in the off season to improve his game, movement and fitness. There will be surprise if he makes the 1/4 finals of the French, but we won't be surprised in here.
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I remember for me it was his post-US Open performances where I could see some of the developments coming through.

He had a dominating performance over Bautista-Agut at the 500 event in Japan and was a set up on Paire before going down in 3. I remember being really disappointed he lost as Paire ended up in the final losing to Wawrinka so there was potential for a collision course with Stan so soon after Montreal. He was also a set up on Nishikori a couple of weeks later in Shanghai and lost that but I could see that the improvements were coming.
 
For me, apart from Kyrgios vs. Nishikori where it could go either way, the other three should be routine wins.

Even though Raonic has been on song in Madrid, as we saw in that final vs. Novak at Indian Wells, there's nothing he can actually do to trouble him in any way and his serve will be neutralised enough on the clay.

I was really disappointed with Jack Sock this morning in his loss to Sousa. He had five break points in the opening game and failed to convert any then followed it up by getting broken himself. He was never the same after that even though he did fight back from a break down in the second to win it in a tie-break but he was never willing to engage in combat with Sousa. He remains a flawed player. That backhand is a flat out mess. I was hoping he'd win as that would've set up a clash with Nadal whom he took to four sets at the French Open last year. At least that would've been somewhat interesting.

Tsonga also laid an egg vs. Raonic in their match too.
 
JackNah_8 said:
This is ridiculous, just now ch9 reported "Nick throws another tantrum in Madrid" Why not open the story with Nick won..ugh
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I actually don't think it's ridiculous. Most players don't throw tantrums and he has form in this area.

I think the outrage over the media coverage of Nick and Bernie is a bit overdone* I didn't even know he threw a tantrum as I didn't see the match and haven't heard it mentioned at all in the media today.

*Not directed specifically at you JackNah_8
 

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Bumpswithagrin said:
I actually don't think it's ridiculous. Most players don't throw tantrums and he has form in this area.

I think the outrage over the media coverage of Nick and Bernie is a bit overdone* I didn't even know he threw a tantrum as I didn't see the match and haven't heard it mentioned at all in the media today.

*Not directed specifically at you JackNah_8
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It wasnt a major tantrum but it's just that media have now stuck with the same narrative "Nick is throwing a tantrum" even if he is questioning a line call.

I also didnt know he threw a tantrum today until ch 9 mentioned it lol
 
Bumpswithagrin said:
I thought the same thing, was scratching my head, must have been the next match against Cuevas I suppose???
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Yes, ch 9 were talking about the match today but from what I saw Nick was asking the umpire a question.
 
Stosur in the semis, she did well but she has to be thankful for her draw (the CSN win impressed me). Halep in the semis should be interesting, hopefully she goes out with a mindset that she has nothing to lose.

Great win again from Nick, it was a struggle, Cuevas on clay gives you nothing but the key here was Nick staying in the points instead of trying to finish too early, as mentioned above, he's worked hard at his fitness and movement. Nishikori is a bigger beast and I struggle to see him winning but hopefully he gives it a good shot.
 
I watched the Stan match as well and Nick was well behaved. Nick has just hit a winner between his legs. I wish I could like Kyrgios but I don't and I watch a lot of tennis. Maybe in another 12 months when he has stopped all his outbursts and is winning a few important tournaments.
 

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That tweener lob in the first set was insane.

Nick is playing some patient tennis at the momemt and it seems to be frustrating Nishikori
 

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Madrid: ATP Masters/WTA premier

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