This started yesterday. First big tournament since US Open, featuring all the top names. Be interesting to see the renewal of the Federer/Nadal rivalry. Outstanding 2nd round matchups include: Nadal v Ernest Gulbis (Latvian whizz kid touted by many to be a future No.1), Fed v Stepanek. American interest will centre on Blake v Gilles Simon, Fish v Gasquet and a possible Roddick v Robredo (Tommy was winning his first round match 5-2 in the 3rd set when I had to leave it).
Here's the link to the official website. Should be the link to the English language version. If not, there's an icon to see it in English.
http://www.mutuamad-mastersmadrid.com//eng/results.htm
Cheers
Tennis - Madrid Masters Series
Moderators: Bill_Abner, ScoopBrady
Due to popular demand and highly encouraged by the overwhelming response to this thread thus far...I'm back. 
Gulbis tried to blow Nadal off the court and looked as if he might do it, when he won the 2nd and had a break point early in the third. Nadal, on the back foot for much of the match toughed it out as only he can. Great match tho' and Gulbis definitely looks like one to watch out for in the future!
Mardy Fish let Gasquet off the hook (sorry...I wouldn't do it if I thought anyone was actually gonna read this). Pity Spanish TV left this at 1-1 in the third to interview some celebrities prior to the Nadal match. Unforgiveable!
Blake made a few mistakes too many against another French player, Gilles Simon and lost in three. Simon and Gasquet are like chalk and cheese...Simon is a model of consistency, with a very cool head in tight situations (came from 5-3 down in the final set breaker to take out Andreev yesterday and beat Federer in the first round of Toronto) and Gasquet is brilliantly talented but inconsistent. If you could mix the best of both, France would surely have a Grand Slam winner. Gasquet plays Nadal next. Could be a cracker.
Federer, Nalbandian (against Berdych), Del Potro and Roddick should all debut tomorrow.
It's getting interesting...for me at least (hope this post gets rid of that embarrassing zero for replies).
Take care
Gulbis tried to blow Nadal off the court and looked as if he might do it, when he won the 2nd and had a break point early in the third. Nadal, on the back foot for much of the match toughed it out as only he can. Great match tho' and Gulbis definitely looks like one to watch out for in the future!
Mardy Fish let Gasquet off the hook (sorry...I wouldn't do it if I thought anyone was actually gonna read this). Pity Spanish TV left this at 1-1 in the third to interview some celebrities prior to the Nadal match. Unforgiveable!
Blake made a few mistakes too many against another French player, Gilles Simon and lost in three. Simon and Gasquet are like chalk and cheese...Simon is a model of consistency, with a very cool head in tight situations (came from 5-3 down in the final set breaker to take out Andreev yesterday and beat Federer in the first round of Toronto) and Gasquet is brilliantly talented but inconsistent. If you could mix the best of both, France would surely have a Grand Slam winner. Gasquet plays Nadal next. Could be a cracker.
Federer, Nalbandian (against Berdych), Del Potro and Roddick should all debut tomorrow.
It's getting interesting...for me at least (hope this post gets rid of that embarrassing zero for replies).
Take care
Nah, I've been just waiting for the coming rounds when the matches will pick up more steam. Del Potro has been hot since July and along Gulbis are the young players to watch. Nalbandian just won last weekend and he's giving Federer a share of trouble in the past should they meet in the later rounds. But when all the field is cleared, the match everyone wants to see is Nadal vs Federer.
Cheers 10spro. Thanks for breaking the monologue. Del Potro is the rookie of the year for me and I'm torn between wanting new faces to come thro' and being robbed of the Rafa/Fed showdown (hottest ticket in sport right now?)
Djoko and Tsonga played with fire and almost paid the price. Nalbandian took out the unpopular Berdych (the Madrid crowd still haven''t forgotten the ssshhh gesture after his 2006 victory over Nadal). Fed was class against Stepanek (despite the fact that Nadal is a national hero, the Madrid crowd love Fed - impossible not to if you like tennis) and Roddick looked very focused in blowing Robredo off the court. Roddick has to beat Monfils to set up a possible QF meeting with Murray. Ginepri was the surprise packet, eliminating Davydenko. His match against Gilles Simon will be tough tomorrow.
Thursday now, so things are hotting up. IMO, the big clashes tomorrow are Fed/Tsonga, Rafa/Gasquet and Nalbandian/del Potro.
Take care
Djoko and Tsonga played with fire and almost paid the price. Nalbandian took out the unpopular Berdych (the Madrid crowd still haven''t forgotten the ssshhh gesture after his 2006 victory over Nadal). Fed was class against Stepanek (despite the fact that Nadal is a national hero, the Madrid crowd love Fed - impossible not to if you like tennis) and Roddick looked very focused in blowing Robredo off the court. Roddick has to beat Monfils to set up a possible QF meeting with Murray. Ginepri was the surprise packet, eliminating Davydenko. His match against Gilles Simon will be tough tomorrow.
Thursday now, so things are hotting up. IMO, the big clashes tomorrow are Fed/Tsonga, Rafa/Gasquet and Nalbandian/del Potro.
Take care
I'd go along with your predictions 10spro, tho' I think Fed and Nadal could have it tough. Tsonga got out of jail yesterday and recently won a tournament (can't remember which one) beating Djoko in the final. He's been injured a practically all year, so he hasn't had much of a chance to capitalise on his Aussie Open performance. Nadal picked up an injury against Gulbis and pulled out of the doubles, so hopefully he'll be fit.
Del Potro's had a long season and Nalbandian seems to be coming into form, so it's tough to predict as you say. Talking about Del Potro's movement, I've heard it said that while he's very quick laterally, he struggles more moving forward and backwards. This point was made after Murray seemed to hurt him quite a bit with drop shots and lobs in Flushing Meadows. In any case, he looks like a great prospect. The winner faces Fed or Tsonga so it's a tough part of the draw.
Take Care
Del Potro's had a long season and Nalbandian seems to be coming into form, so it's tough to predict as you say. Talking about Del Potro's movement, I've heard it said that while he's very quick laterally, he struggles more moving forward and backwards. This point was made after Murray seemed to hurt him quite a bit with drop shots and lobs in Flushing Meadows. In any case, he looks like a great prospect. The winner faces Fed or Tsonga so it's a tough part of the draw.
Take Care
Nadal, Federer and Del Potro all won authoritatively. Big surprise was Djoko losing to Karlovic 7-6, 7-6. Karlovic's last 3 meetings with the big 3 have produced the following results:
V Nadal (Queens Club) - lost 6-7 7-6 7-6
v Federer (Cincinnati) - won 7-6 7-6
vDjokovic (Madrid) - won 7-6 7-6
See the pattern?
To the best of my knowledge, he didn't lose his serve his serve in ANY of those matches (not 100% sure about the Fed match). Seven sets against the 3 best players on the planet and none of them could break his serve! No prizes for guessing the result of his previous match in Madrid against Soderling. Good luck to Gilles Simon today. Believers in destiny looking for an outside bet might be interested to know that Simon has saved match points against both Andreev and Ginepri, in getting this far.
QF day today. Most interesting match IMO is Federer against Del Potro. I've got tickets for this, so hope it lives up to expectations. Still on course for the big Rafa/Fed showdown.
Take care
Very interesting matchup between Fed and the
V Nadal (Queens Club) - lost 6-7 7-6 7-6
v Federer (Cincinnati) - won 7-6 7-6
vDjokovic (Madrid) - won 7-6 7-6
See the pattern?
To the best of my knowledge, he didn't lose his serve his serve in ANY of those matches (not 100% sure about the Fed match). Seven sets against the 3 best players on the planet and none of them could break his serve! No prizes for guessing the result of his previous match in Madrid against Soderling. Good luck to Gilles Simon today. Believers in destiny looking for an outside bet might be interested to know that Simon has saved match points against both Andreev and Ginepri, in getting this far.
QF day today. Most interesting match IMO is Federer against Del Potro. I've got tickets for this, so hope it lives up to expectations. Still on course for the big Rafa/Fed showdown.
Take care
Very interesting matchup between Fed and the
Rhymes, enjoy the games man. One thing is to watch the matches on TV but nothing matches the atmosphere and pounding of the ball when you watch it Live. I watched Simon when I was in Toronto this summer and he surprised a few. Federer, should advance although he'll have to sweat a bit more to pass by the Argentinian.
Thanks 10spro. I was like a kid in a candy shop. I hadn't seen top class pro tennis for about 5 or 6 years. You're dead right. Nothing beats seeing these guys live. Watching the raquet head acceleration when Fed connects with a forehand isn't the same on the box. I saw the Murray and Fed matches and they won well. They have an amazing repertoire and constantly mixed things up and never allowed their opponents to get into a groove. Brilliant! Del Potro learnt that he still has to improve to reach that level.
Having said that, the most exciting match of the day for me, I saw on TV. Gilles Simon really caught my attention in Toronto, when he kept a cool head to take out Fed in three. He's not the world's most brilliant player but he's an amazing match player. He won the first set despite being a break down twice against Karlovic (you can't be a break down TWICE against karlovic and still win a set, can you? Try telling Simon that). He was 3-0 down in the third, broke back and won in the breaker. He'll probably never win a slam, Nadal will probably kick his butt tomorrow, but this guy continues to strike blows for the journeyman pro and I admire him for that.
News before the Nadal match was that he had a pretty serious shoulder problem and his coach (Uncle Toni) actually said that he didn't expect him to finish the match. Nadal proved him wrong.
Federer looks very serene and focused and I think that he'll take out Murray.
Still on for the big showdown on Sunday.
Take Care
Having said that, the most exciting match of the day for me, I saw on TV. Gilles Simon really caught my attention in Toronto, when he kept a cool head to take out Fed in three. He's not the world's most brilliant player but he's an amazing match player. He won the first set despite being a break down twice against Karlovic (you can't be a break down TWICE against karlovic and still win a set, can you? Try telling Simon that). He was 3-0 down in the third, broke back and won in the breaker. He'll probably never win a slam, Nadal will probably kick his butt tomorrow, but this guy continues to strike blows for the journeyman pro and I admire him for that.
News before the Nadal match was that he had a pretty serious shoulder problem and his coach (Uncle Toni) actually said that he didn't expect him to finish the match. Nadal proved him wrong.
Federer looks very serene and focused and I think that he'll take out Murray.
Still on for the big showdown on Sunday.
Take Care
I'm a big tennis fan, so I figured I would jump in.
I can't see any circumstance where Nadal doesn't finish a match. The guy is tough as nails. I was surprised by the Fed-Del Potro score as Del-Potro has been on fire. Perhaps Fed is really back? Too soon to tell.
Hope we get Fed-Nadal final. That is always must see tv. For my money, that is now the best rivalry in sports. YMMV.
Joe
I can't see any circumstance where Nadal doesn't finish a match. The guy is tough as nails. I was surprised by the Fed-Del Potro score as Del-Potro has been on fire. Perhaps Fed is really back? Too soon to tell.
Hope we get Fed-Nadal final. That is always must see tv. For my money, that is now the best rivalry in sports. YMMV.
Joe
Well, the Madrid fans will leave disappointted as they won't see their beloved Nadal in the finals and nor will they see Federer either as the Scot played very well in beating Roger in the thrid set. He served well, stood well behind the baseline to receive Federer's serve and in the end was more consistent. A. Murray had squandered way too many break points against Federer in the thirsd set and I was wondering if he could pull it off.
To play consistently high quality Tennis at this time of the year is difficult, most guys are beat by now, it's a long season for most of them and some just prefer to nurse their injuries or start getting ready for next year.
Tennis fans will still have the opportunity to watch the top two hot shots at the Masters in Shanghai though.
Simon is a bright star up and coming and proving that his great summer is not a fluke. This is the best that I have seen A. Murray play.
To play consistently high quality Tennis at this time of the year is difficult, most guys are beat by now, it's a long season for most of them and some just prefer to nurse their injuries or start getting ready for next year.
Tennis fans will still have the opportunity to watch the top two hot shots at the Masters in Shanghai though.
Simon is a bright star up and coming and proving that his great summer is not a fluke. This is the best that I have seen A. Murray play.
Anyone who decided to have a flutter based on this and now feels morally obliged to make a contribution to my ailing economy, should Simon win tomorrow, can pm me for my bank account number. Didn't see the match but, despite my admiration for Simon, I didn't quite expect this. I can't say much more about the guy than I've already said in previous posts.Believers in destiny looking for an outside bet might be interested to know that Simon has saved match points against both Andreev and Ginepri, in getting this far.
Like 10spro, I felt that Murray might live to regret the break opportunities he missed early on in the final set. Murray, on the other hand seemed to take the attitude that it was just a matter of time and that if he kept knocking on the door, it would eventually open. He deserved his win IMO. Semis in Toronto, champion in Cincinnati, finalist in Flushing Meadows and now finalist and favourite to win in Madrid. He's proven he can compete with the very top players on his own terms and is now a member of the big 4. Can he beat Gilles Simon tho'?. I'm not sticking my neck out anymore. I try not to be superstitious but Simon has won 4 of his 5 maches here in the final set tie-break. That's enough to convince a coward like me not to bet against him.
Thanks for the link grtwhtsk (good match reports). Joe, I was also surprised by the ease of Fed's win over Del Potro. I think Juan Martin will go on to be a big star, tho' I also think that Fed will be a force for some time to come.
Also agree with 10spro that the players are pretty tired at this time of the year and that surprise results are more likely.
Take Care
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Logical prediction 10spro. IMO Murray's got everything that Simon's got and a fair bit more besides. The other question is how much Gilles will have left in the tank after his marathon matches this week (3.5 hours yesterday alone). Looking forward to watching the match tho'. Simon will see this as a big opportunity and he's a guy with the "eye of the tiger".
Murray has definitely played much better than Djoko recently and beat him in straight sets both in Toronto and Cincinnati. Djoko seems to have stagnated a bit. On the other hand, Andy still has to prove himself on clay, but his current hardcourt form is superior. Before Toronto, few would have predicted this situation.
Take Care
Murray has definitely played much better than Djoko recently and beat him in straight sets both in Toronto and Cincinnati. Djoko seems to have stagnated a bit. On the other hand, Andy still has to prove himself on clay, but his current hardcourt form is superior. Before Toronto, few would have predicted this situation.
Take Care
This has just ended so the thread comes to a natural conclusion. I'm new around here so I didn't notice that there already was an excellent and enduring tennis thread on the DSP site. I'll copy this post onto that and for future tourneys post there. Be great to keep that thread going for many more years. It could become a nice history of tennis.
Great win for Murray. Excellent player, great repertoire of strokes and very good tactician. He served brilliantly today and said himself that he felt that it was the key to his victory. Great tournament for Gilles Simon. If Harry Houdini was watching from above, Simon's exploits this week would have brought a smile to his face. As Graham Parker said (hope the quote is accurate), "you gotta keep a clear head" and Simon definitely does that.
I've really enjoyed this tournament and have to particularly thank 10spro (very good tipster for those of you looking for an investment opportunity) for his company along the way.
Next up Paris - last boat to Shanghai. Could be interesting!
Take Care
Great win for Murray. Excellent player, great repertoire of strokes and very good tactician. He served brilliantly today and said himself that he felt that it was the key to his victory. Great tournament for Gilles Simon. If Harry Houdini was watching from above, Simon's exploits this week would have brought a smile to his face. As Graham Parker said (hope the quote is accurate), "you gotta keep a clear head" and Simon definitely does that.
I've really enjoyed this tournament and have to particularly thank 10spro (very good tipster for those of you looking for an investment opportunity) for his company along the way.
Next up Paris - last boat to Shanghai. Could be interesting!
Take Care