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#Post#: 15766--------------------------------------------------
Re: Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Germany: 6/9/14 (Main Draw in Post#
1)
By: masterclass Date: June 12, 2014, 1:08 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Well, today was a day of a couple of big upsets, but maybe not
surprising under the circumstances.
#1 seed Rafael Nadal lost quickly in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1, to
a very aggressive Dustin Brown playing in his home tournament.
Nadal looked tired from his Roland Garros efforts and simply
didn't look like he was adjusting to the grass at all, and Brown
was not letting him get any rhythm and was playing quite well,
mixing up some big shots with some nice touch shots.
The combination of these things made for a short match, and Rafa
was sent back to Mallorca in under an hour. I guess he should
rest a few days and head off to Wimbledon and practice,
practice, practice.
Bjorn Borg rarely played a grass tourney before Wimbledon after
Roland Garros. Was it because he was so good on grass that he
didn't need one?
No. He needed a lot of work to transition. But instead of
playing a tournament so soon after Roland Garros wins, he almost
always went to a small club in Cumberland, England and practiced
about 4-5 hours/day with top grass court players until he felt
comfortable on grass.
The first few days were always very rough. His practice
partners said if they didn't know it was Borg on the other side,
he could have been a club player, he was so bad at first. But
by the end of his practice sessions, he was ready to take on the
fast grass of Wimbledon. And did he ever. No one has surpassed
his 5 straight Wimbledon wins. No one yet has equaled his
record of 3 channel slams, even now that the grass at Wimbledon
bounces higher than it used to. It is still a difficult
transition. In addition to the great Borg, only 3 other great
players in the Open Era have managed it, in their younger years.
Nadal is one (twice), Federer another. Laver, of course, last
did it when he was 30.
Why doesn't Rafa follow in Borg's footsteps? Well, these days
the tournament directors like Weber in Halle pay big money to
players like Nadal to come play. I think Nadal got around 1/2
to 3/4 of a million to play in Halle. And he doesn't get taxed
as much in Germany as he would in England. Don't know if he sold
enough tickets or not to make it a good value for the
tournament, but what can you do?
Speaking of Roger Federer, the #2 seed had a bit of a scare in
Halle, but managed to come through against Sousa . He lost a
tight opening set, no breaks, in the tiebreaker. He was serving
very well, but was not returning well at all, and Sousa was
playing lights out tennis, red-lining his game, hitting very
hard and not missing much. In the second set, the tide turned
as it often does, as Federer upped his level a bit, started
returning much better, and Sousa's level finally dropped. After
Sousa was broken and Federer took the second set, Sousa could
not find that high level again, and Federer got better and took
the third easily.
Dr. Ivo Karlovic lost to Lu in two tiebreakers. It just didn't
go his way, and he couldn't do much against the quick Lu, who is
decent on grass.
Respectfully,
masterclass
#Post#: 15768--------------------------------------------------
Re: Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Germany: 6/9/14 (Main Draw in Post#
1)
By: Clay Death Date: June 12, 2014, 3:15 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
That is 100 percent spot on general.
Rafa, just like Borg, would get far more out of long practice
sessions on grass
The money being offered to him is around north of $1.75 mill.
He just can't say no.
He is also worn out mentally and physically.
this is risking an injury if you ask me.
Glad it's over. Now he can go home and recover a little bit.
roger is going to take this title.
Can you ask somebody to fire up my roger thread at MTF.
Thanks.
#Post#: 15772--------------------------------------------------
Re: Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Germany: 6/9/14 (Main Draw in Post#
1)
By: thetruth Date: June 12, 2014, 6:36 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=masterclass link=topic=775.msg15766#msg15766
date=1402596532]
Well, today was a day of a couple of big upsets, but maybe not
surprising under the circumstances.
#1 seed Rafael Nadal lost quickly in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1, to
a very aggressive Dustin Brown playing in his home tournament.
Nadal looked tired from his Roland Garros efforts and simply
didn't look like he was adjusting to the grass at all, and Brown
was not letting him get any rhythm and was playing quite well,
mixing up some big shots with some nice touch shots.
The combination of these things made for a short match, and Rafa
was sent back to Mallorca in under an hour. I guess he should
rest a few days and head off to Wimbledon and practice,
practice, practice.
Bjorn Borg rarely played a grass tourney before Wimbledon after
Roland Garros. Was it because he was so good on grass that he
didn't need one?
No. He needed a lot of work to transition. But instead of
playing a tournament so soon after Roland Garros wins, he almost
always went to a small club in Cumberland, England and practiced
about 4-5 hours/day with top grass court players until he felt
comfortable on grass.
The first few days were always very rough. His practice
partners said if they didn't know it was Borg on the other side,
he could have been a club player, he was so bad at first. But
by the end of his practice sessions, he was ready to take on the
fast grass of Wimbledon. And did he ever. No one has surpassed
his 5 straight Wimbledon wins. No one yet has equaled his
record of 3 channel slams, even now that the grass at Wimbledon
bounces higher than it used to. It is still a difficult
transition. In addition to the great Borg, only 3 other great
players in the Open Era have managed it, in their younger years.
Nadal is one (twice), Federer another. Laver, of course, last
did it when he was 30.
Why doesn't Rafa follow in Borg's footsteps? Well, these days
the tournament directors like Weber in Halle pay big money to
players like Nadal to come play. I think Nadal got around 1/2
to 3/4 of a million to play in Halle. And he doesn't get taxed
as much in Germany as he would in England. Don't know if he sold
enough tickets or not to make it a good value for the
tournament, but what can you do?
Speaking of Roger Federer, the #2 seed had a bit of a scare in
Halle, but managed to come through against Sousa . He lost a
tight opening set, no breaks, in the tiebreaker. He was serving
very well, but was not returning well at all, and Sousa was
playing lights out tennis, red-lining his game, hitting very
hard and not missing much. In the second set, the tide turned
as it often does, as Federer upped his level a bit, started
returning much better, and Sousa's level finally dropped. After
Sousa was broken and Federer took the second set, Sousa could
not find that high level again, and Federer got better and took
the third easily.
Dr. Ivo Karlovic lost to Lu in two tiebreakers. It just didn't
go his way, and he couldn't do much against the quick Lu, who is
decent on grass.
Respectfully,
masterclass
[/quote]
Interesting information on Borg. Why won't Rafa listen? Well,
because he's a stubborn bull. I think he's a Taurus and they
really are bull-headed. He was dead on his feet winning the
French. But, I guess he felt obligated since he entered Halle
last year and had to pull out.
He probably did have to show up this year. But, all will be
better next year when the players get a break after RG.
At least now he can get some rest.
#Post#: 15774--------------------------------------------------
Re: Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Germany: 6/9/14 (Main Draw in Post#
1)
By: thetruth Date: June 12, 2014, 8:23 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Hm. interesting. I was looking at Dustin Brown's bio on the ATP
Tour website. I like his game. Guess what his favorite surface
is?
Grass.
#Post#: 15777--------------------------------------------------
Re: Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Germany: 6/9/14 (Main Draw in Post#
1)
By: Clay Death Date: June 12, 2014, 10:16 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Dustin has a huge serve lady TT.
he can be pretty tough at times.
#Post#: 15778--------------------------------------------------
Re: Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Germany: 6/9/14 (Main Draw in Post#
1)
By: Clay Death Date: June 12, 2014, 10:16 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
here is the order of play for tomorrow:
HTML http://www.atpworldtour.com/Scores/schedule.aspx?EventId=500&Year=2014
#Post#: 15782--------------------------------------------------
Re: Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Germany: 6/9/14 (Main Draw in Post#
1)
By: thetruth Date: June 13, 2014, 12:13 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=Clay Death link=topic=775.msg15777#msg15777
date=1402629367]
Dustin has a huge serve lady TT.
he can be pretty tough at times.
[/quote]
I enjoy Dustin's game. He's an exciting player.
#Post#: 15789--------------------------------------------------
Re: Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Germany: 6/9/14 (Main Draw in Post#
1)
By: masterclass Date: June 13, 2014, 2:36 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=masterclass link=topic=775.msg15766#msg15766
date=1402596532]
...Rafa was sent back to Majorca in under an hour. I guess he
should rest a few days and head off to Wimbledon and practice,
practice, practice...
Respectfully,
masterclass
[/quote]
Hmm, looks like I was just about right... ;)
Look what Rafa said yesterday:
“Now, I’ll leave to Majorca but not sure I will play because I
need to rest and then want to fly to Wimbledon Wednesday early
morning,” he continued.
Hopefully when he arrives at Wimbledon, he'll be practicing as
much as possible. The British media, fans, and Wimbledon
activities can take a lot of time away from the top players,
interviews, press conferences, and social gatherings.
That's another reason that Borg went to Cumberland. Only a few
people knew about it, and he was left to himself a lot more than
he would have if he had gone to London early. They would have
hounded him and not have let him alone. He was like a rock star.
He always had to leave from back exits to avoid being mobbed.
Respectfully,
masterclass
#Post#: 15790--------------------------------------------------
Re: Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Germany: 6/9/14 (Main Draw in Post#
1)
By: thetruth Date: June 13, 2014, 9:23 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=masterclass link=topic=775.msg15789#msg15789
date=1402644997]
[quote author=masterclass link=topic=775.msg15766#msg15766
date=1402596532]
...Rafa was sent back to Majorca in under an hour. I guess he
should rest a few days and head off to Wimbledon and practice,
practice, practice...
Respectfully,
masterclass
[/quote]
For sure. The media commitments alone are enough reason to take
off immediately following the French. Hopefully, he'll rest and
practice at Wimbledon like he's planned.
Hmm, looks like I was just about right... ;)
Look what Rafa said yesterday:
“Now, I’ll leave to Majorca but not sure I will play because I
need to rest and then want to fly to Wimbledon Wednesday early
morning,” he continued.
Hopefully when he arrives at Wimbledon, he'll be practicing as
much as possible. The British media, fans, and Wimbledon
activities can take a lot of time away from the top players,
interviews, press conferences, and social gatherings.
That's another reason that Borg went to Cumberland. Only a few
people knew about it, and he was left to himself a lot more than
he would have if he had gone to London early. They would have
hounded him and not have let him alone. He was like a rock star.
He always had to leave from back exits to avoid being mobbed.
Respectfully,
masterclass
[/quote]
#Post#: 15800--------------------------------------------------
Re: Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Germany: 6/9/14 (Main Draw in Post#
1)
By: Clay Death Date: June 13, 2014, 11:17 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
order of play:
HTML http://www.atpworldtour.com/Scores/schedule.aspx?EventId=500&Year=2014
*****************************************************
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