I rarely want to write about the same player two times in a row, but I have just watched the conclusion of the first set of Almagro vs Nadal in ATP Barcelona. It was such a typical “Nadal set of tennis”. Let me tell you why. Nadal rarely comes out of the starting blocks strongly against good players. He’s probably nervous. And in Barcelona Almagro came out firing all cylinders (like usual) and got to 3-0 with some powerful shots before Nadal’s engine started humming. Nadal then won four straight games and you’d thought Almagro would be deflated. But the …
Almagro
A lot of people are retiring during matches at the moment and it seems like we’re in some kind of injury period on the ATP Tour. Although clay can be more body-friendly to move on, the long rallies and matches (less reliance on the serve for example) really takes a toll for a lot of the players. But let’s not dwell on injuries and instead look at what happened in Rome yesterday. Little Italian man Fabio Fognini tired pretty much EVERYTHING to beat Wavrinka, but it didn’t work out for him. At least he got a set. Italian players seems …
ATP Masters in Madrid is under way and we have already seen Roddick and Fish crash out of the tournament. Roddick looked completely lost on the red stuff against Italian qualifier Cipolla and although he showed some fighting spirit he lost in three sets and it seems like he just cannot wait to get this part of the season over with. Fish lost to Big John Isner in a three-set serve-fest. Isner won two tie-breaks and could hopefully turn the tide with a good showing in Madrid. Sam Querrey is having a completely miserable season and crashed out to Michael …
Bring on the clay! Spring is in the air when you can hear feet sliding on red dirt. I am really looking forward to this year’s season which has a lot of interesting questions to answer. Will Nadal be as unbeatable as always? How will Djokovic perform after a spellbinding start to the season? Can Federer be able to convince the fans that he’s still a force or will the rivalry between Djokovic and Nadal tighten? Is it time for clay court demon Nicholas Almagro to step up and win a Masters title? Americans have suffered lately on the dirt, …
Well, it was the final we all wanted in the end, the first “Fedal” in one year. It was a good match, tight, not one of the best for sure, but entertaining. Federer looks like he has stepped up his game a level or even two since the horrible performances in Rome and Estoril. He can very well be a finalist at Roland Garros that starts on Sunday. But can be he beat Rafa? In my opinion, no. Rafa didn’t play his absolute best yesterday (neither did Roger) but he still manage to get the W by 6-4 7-6. He …
I am happy to announce that I was right in all my quarter-final bets/semi-final picks for the Madrid Masters. Federer managed to fight back after being a set behind against Gulbis. He looks more mentally ready now and seems to have that button he can switch on and off when a slam is drawing near. He is also lucky to play Ferrer in the semi. Ferrer is of course dangerous, he beat Murray, but he has 0-9 in head to head against the Fed express and you don’t see him change that stat in this match. Ferrer just doesn’t have …