The 2013 In Between Grand Slam Thread

yerwanthere123

She looked like death.

Venus did play well though, and her serve has improved.

StevoTG

I found Vika to be so much more likable without her shrieking. I mean, I do like her in general but it's tough to watch her matches.
She fought really well today considering she was obviously not close to 100%. Still, big win for Venus.

yerwanthere123

Novak and Jelena engaged, apparently.

RosyLily

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Novak and Jelena engaged, apparently.

Confirmed it on his official Facebook page.

_Bella_

I dunno if anybody saw it but Andy Murray was on Mock the Week and it was a brilliant episode, especially the lines Andy Murray wouldn't think section!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUtn-qKnaWQ

RosyLily

David Nalbandian retires.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/oct/01/david-nalbandian-retires-tennis

RosyLily

Delpo took another step towards the Tour Finals by winning in Tokyo. He defeated Milos Raonic in straight sets. Got a great chance to qualify!

Nadal suffered his first defeat on the hardcourts this year at the hands of Djokovic. He lost 6-3, 6-4. Great win for Nole. I think he needed this victory more than Nadal.

Serena just beat Jankovic in the China Open final, 6-2, 6-2.

Gerry91

RosyLily wrote: »

Delpo took another step towards the Tour Finals by winning in Tokyo. He defeated Milos Raonic in straight sets. Got a great chance to qualify!

Nadal suffered his first defeat on the hardcourts this year at the hands of Djokovic. He lost 6-3, 6-4. Great win for Nole. I think he needed this victory more than Nadal.

Serena just beat Jankovic in the China Open final, 6-2, 6-2.

Ah Delpo is a cert to qualify anyway surely? He doesn't even need to turn up to another tournament before it I'd say

Nadal got the deserved number 1 anyhow. His motivation was always going to be questionable after that.

If Djok doesn't win the Australian he'll be under serious pressure to win a slam next year IMO

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Will be interesting next year after January when Nadal can't actually gain any points apart from at Wimbledon.

WaterLily.

^ I would think that things won't actually get interesting (rankings-wise) until around the time of the New York or maybe Montreal, because Rafa will be so far ahead of Novak after the Australian Open (unless he goes out in the early rounds) that it would take some Clay season for Djokovic, for him to overtake Nadal. Then Nadal has nothing to lose at Wimbledon and Djokovic is runner up. Then again if Djokovic does overtake Nadal at some point next year all it means is that Nadal wasn't able to keep up his virtually unbeatable form (which was clearly going to happen at some point) and Djokovic won more than he did this year..

V. pleased for Delpo great win I don't know how many times I've said/thought this, but I really hope he keeps improving and challenging the very top players (at the moment it's only really Nadal and Djokovic) because there does seem to be quite a gap between the top 2 or 3 and the rest of the top 10. I also hope he wins a Masters 1000 soon! Just found out the other day that he hasn't ever won one :eek:

And Rafa thoroughly deserves that No1 ranking, this season has been nothing short of phenomenal for him.

I do agree with you RosyLily though, Novak really needed that win today, if only for the confidence boost!

Gerry91

WaterLily. wrote: »

^ I would think that things won't actually get interesting (rankings-wise) until around the time of the New York or maybe Montreal, because Rafa will be so far ahead of Novak after the Australian Open (unless he goes out in the early rounds) that it would take some Clay season for Djokovic, for him to overtake Nadal. Then Nadal has nothing to lose at Wimbledon and Djokovic is runner up. Then again if Djokovic does overtake Nadal at some point next year all it means is that Nadal wasn't able to keep up his virtually unbeatable form (which was clearly going to happen at some point) and Djokovic won more than he did this year..

V. pleased for Delpo great win I don't know how many times I've said/thought this, but I really hope he keeps improving and challenging the very top players (at the moment it's only really Nadal and Djokovic) because there does seem to be quite a gap between the top 2 or 3 and the rest of the top 10. I also hope he wins a Masters 1000 soon! Just found out the other day that he hasn't ever won one :eek:

And Rafa thoroughly deserves that No1 ranking, this season has been nothing short of phenomenal for him.

I do agree with you RosyLily though, Novak really needed that win today, if only for the confidence boost!

Forgetting someone are we??

Delpo is nowhere near consistent enough to be considered alongside these, in 3 slams he played this year he couldn't get past the third round in two of them

yerwanthere123

Crazy how far ahead Serena is in the rankings now.. she's pretty much guaranteed the #1 spot until at least the clay season next year.

Still a couple of YEC places up for grabs, I personally hope Jankovic and Sloane make it and Kerber misses out If Sloane really wanted to she could easily win her first title over the next couple of weeks. Not sure the motivation is there though.

Happy as usual that Delpo won today

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Have you seen what's happened with Linz today? The Wild Card's had been handed out and the draw made and then all of a sudden Kerber is given someone else's WC, that girl is kicked out of the singles draw and Kerber is placed into the already made draw in Ana Ivanovic's place, and she's booted down into the bottom half of the draw. Absolute madness and nobody is happy about it.

yerwanthere123

^ I saw that on Wikipedia alright but I didn't realise there was a hoo-ha about it. Bad form, and the girl that lost her wildcard is Austrian... Kerber will be popular with the crowd this week :o

Johnmb

Gerry91 wrote: »

Forgetting someone are we??

Who? Nobody can currently match Nadal and Djokovic. There's about 4000 points between number 2 and number 3 at the moment. To put that in context, if you had 4000 points, you'd be world number 8 and qualifying for the WTFs! Either Djokovic or Nadal could just give up two Slams championships worth of points and still be in the top 2. Nobody is in their class currently.

Gerry91

Johnmb wrote: »

Who? Nobody can currently match Nadal and Djokovic. There's about 4000 points between number 2 and number 3 at the moment. To put that in context, if you had 4000 points, you'd be world number 8 and qualifying for the WTFs! Either Djokovic or Nadal could just give up two Slams championships worth of points and still be in the top 2. Nobody is in their class currently.

How could you say Murray isn't in Djokovic's class? In their last match he straight setted him

In the last two seasons when you could say Murray has been playing his best tennis they played 3 slam finals Murray won 2 of them.

Obviously throughout their career Djokovic is better but at this moment in time there certainly isn't much separating them. They both have 2 slams out of the last 8

All their games are generally tight affairs

Djokovic isn't half the player he was in 2011, would not surprise me one bit if he went slamless next year

Of course any good anti-Murray agenda will include a nod to the rankings but I wouldn't always consider them the best means of assessing it, I'd have recent head-to-head encounters as a far better measure

yerwanthere123

^ To be fair it's very hard to consider Murray in the mix at the moment. He hasn't played well since Wimbledon and is probably out for the rest of the season. This will probably affect his chances at the AO in January. Right now, the tour is all about Nadal and Djokovic.

Gerry91

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

^ To be fair it's very hard to consider Murray in the mix at the moment. He hasn't played well since Wimbledon and is probably out for the rest of the season. This will probably affect his chances at the AO in January. Right now, the tour is all about Nadal and Djokovic.

Still dunno how you could say Murray isn't in Djokovic's class though? It was worded terribly

I see what you're saying though yes

Johnmb

Gerry91 wrote: »

How could you say Murray isn't in Djokovic's class? In their last match he straight setted him

In the last two seasons when you could say Murray has been playing his best tennis they played 3 slam finals Murray won 2 of them.

Obviously throughout their career Djokovic is better but at this moment in time there certainly isn't much separating them. They both have 2 slams out of the last 8

All their games are generally tight affairs

Djokovic isn't half the player he was in 2011, would not surprise me one bit if he went slamless next year

Of course any good anti-Murray agenda will include a nod to the rankings but I wouldn't always consider them the best means of assessing it, I'd have recent head-to-head encounters as a far better measure

I can say Murray isn't in either Nadal's or Djokovic's class simply because he is 4000 points behind them. 4000. He may be a bogey player to Djokovic, but that's all he is compared to the top two. He is the best of the rest at the moment. Well, actually at the moment he is a non-entity, but over the last 52 weeks he has been the best of the rest. It's not anti-Murray. It's not even pro-Nadal/Djokovic (Federer remains my favourite player), it's just fact at the moment.

Gerry91

Johnmb wrote: »

I can say Murray isn't in either Nadal's or Djokovic's class simply because he is 4000 points behind them. 4000. He may be a bogey player to Djokovic, but that's all he is compared to the top two. He is the best of the rest at the moment. Well, actually at the moment he is a non-entity, but over the last 52 weeks he has been the best of the rest. It's not anti-Murray. It's not even pro-Nadal/Djokovic (Federer remains my favourite player), it's just fact at the moment.

Yes according to rankings Nadal and Djokovic are top 2 that's clear as day

But to say Murray isn't in Djokovic's class is wrong plain and simple, given their match ups are always really close recently.

FWIW- Djok has a huge 12 months ahead of him. A win or two at the end of the year can't mask what has been a very ordinary year by his tremendously high standards

The standard seems to be going backwards. Federer is clearly past it, Del Potro can't find any consistency to save his life, Berdych doesn't seem to have any belief, Tsonga is an enigma, ferrer looks to be on the way down

Who knows how Murray will be physically after this injury and I'd question how he'll be motivation wise too. If Nadal were to get injured again i could see Djok actually winning slams by default almost!

If Nadal is fit all year it's looking ominous for the rest

WaterLily.

Gerry91 wrote: »

Forgetting someone are we??

Delpo is nowhere near consistent enough to be considered alongside these, in 3 slams he played this year he couldn't get past the third round in two of them

No, I'm not forgetting Murray I just think that at this moment the tour is completely about Nadal and Djokovic and nobody else is anywhere near the level they are at. Murray is a brilliant player and his wimbledon win was absolutely fantastic but the rankings points say it all, he is miles behind the top 2.

Also about Delpo, that's why I said that I've been saying it so much, because it's never happened and unfortunately I don't think it will happen but I'll live in hope!!

Gerry91

^^^Does he want it enough?

Generic enough question yes but you see the likes of Murray, Djok and Nadal busting their balls training wise and the sacrifices they make to win slams

I've no idea about Delpo training wise of course but I'd question his mentality in a lot of slams I've seen him in. I'd question are these guys putting in the effort that's required to reach the top

He seems a very easy going character to be fair- too easy going on court maybe?

WaterLily.

That is definitely something I've thought before. Especially when I watched his first round at the us open, he seemed very distracted and played quite half-heartedly at times.

yerwanthere123

No Sharapova in Istanbul We all knew it was coming though. She risks falling out of the top 4 for the Australian Open.

Kvitova, Errani and Jankovic join Serena, Vika, Aga and Li Na as qualifiers. Kerber will most likely get the last place, with Woz and Sloane as alternates.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

The last time Sharapova had an injury at the end of the season she went on to have a pretty decent year after it. Hopefully she can repeat that.

She will drop down a bit probably but she's only played 3 times since the RG final this year so second half of next year should be good for her.

RosyLily

I love that Delpo is so easy-going and mellow; it's a breath of fresh air.:) However, it's likely that he's too relaxed at times.

I may look at his run at the 2009 US Open and see what's the difference between past and present Juan.

Johnmb

Gerry91 wrote: »

Yes according to rankings Nadal and Djokovic are top 2 that's clear as day

The rankings don't lie. Anyone could fluke a tournament, even a Slam, but the rankings require you to do it over 52 weeks, not just an occasional tournament.

But to say Murray isn't in Djokovic's class is wrong plain and simple, given their match ups are always really close recently.

In fairness though, they have only played recently when Murray has hit form and played his best tennis. When Murray just plays his average tennis he generally doesn't get far enough to play Djokovic. So his recent winning head to head is mainly because Djokovic hasn't had a chance to play him when he isn't at his best. Murray at his best can beat average or poor Djokovic, any other combination would be a Djokovic win, but Murray's average hasn't been good enough to get as far as Djokovic in most tournaments.

yerwanthere123

Another tournament, another withdrawal for Lisicki...

Murray officially out of WTF's, which is a shame.

WaterLily.

That's a real pity for Murray but it's better that he makes sure that he is 100% fit for the start of next year than playing before he's completely and utterly ready.

Big upset in shanghai, Monfils beat Federer in 3 tight sets. If it weren't for Murray's withdrawal from London Federer would be under serious pressure to qualify... Even at the moment it's still very tight and unsure.
I have to say though, I love watching Monfils play, he has to be one of the most exciting and unpredictable players on the tour.

Gerry91

WaterLily. wrote: »

That's a real pity for Murray but it's better that he makes sure that he is 100% fit for the start of next year than playing before he's completely and utterly ready.

Big upset in shanghai, Monfils beat Federer in 3 tight sets. If it weren't for Murray's withdrawal from London Federer would be under serious pressure to qualify... Even at the moment it's still very tight and unsure.
I have to say though, I love watching Monfils play, he has to be one of the most exciting and unpredictable players on the tour.

I dunno, Monfils is a top ten player if he wants to be, he has the talent and the game

At his best he can mix it with anyone and it doesn't surprise me at all that he's beaten Fed, the latter has been on the wane big time since the FO really

Hernan Cortez

It's a sad sight seeing the greatest player if all time playing such feeble tennis.

He needs to work on his fitness and hit the gym. He doesn't even look fit.

yerwanthere123

Federer will lose 270 points this week and still has 800 to defend in London. A poor showing there would put him at risk of falling out of the top 8 :eek: Imagine a 4R match in Melbourne.. Nadal Vs Federer

If Federer's decline continues as dramatically as this into next season then 2014 will surely be his last. I know he's mentioned in the past he hopes to play until 2016 but there's no way he'll continue to let himself be embarrassed like this for that long.

yerwanthere123

Also watching Sloane now, it's amazing how passive she is outside of the slams. Doesn't seem to give a sh*t!

yerwanthere123

Del Potro beats Nadal

Genie into her first final. She'll play Stosur, which is a good thing. I'm sure Sam will find a way to lose.

RosyLily

Amazing win for Delpo. He was firing on all cylinders today!! Really hope he can win his first Masters 1000 title tomorrow. It would be a huge boost for him, going into the Tour Finals.

Gerry91

Who's he playing in the final? The higher profile the opponent probably the better for Delpo

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Djokovic is playing Delpo.

WaterLily.

I think Delpo has a real chance tomorrow, he played absolutely phenomenally today, if he plays as well as he did today he can definitely win it
I honestly think that was the best tennis I have Ever seen Del Potro play! Looking at the score you would think Nadal played badly, and although he wasn't at his absolute best he still played pretty well. Delpo was just out of this world amazing. Very happy for him!!

Also as much as I like Nadal I'm glad it's someone different in the final tomorrow, I think I've had enough of Djokovic/Nadal finals for a little while. As exciting as they are, I wish there would be a little more variety!

Timothy545

Roger Federer and Paul Annacone have split. I'd love to hear the final discussions which led to this decision and who effectively made it.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Great 3rd set between Delpo and Djokovic. I think this match up is one of the best on the ATP tour at the moment. It's a proper rivalry and they both play great tennis against each other, unlike the other so called rivalries between the top 4.

EDIT: Awww, Delpo

WaterLily.

Ugh, a bit sickened at that result, poor Delpo

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

The sooner Delpo ousts Ferrer from the Top 4, the better. Ferrer has the Paris Masters title to defend in a few weeks. Can't see it being the random mess it was last year, hopefully Delpo can close the gap on him, maybe even pass him before Australia.

WaterLily.

Definitely can't see Ferrer retaining his title, last year was all over the place. If I'm remembering correctly though it was Janowicz that beat so many top players and basically did all the hard work, then threw it all away in the final! Also Djokovic was knocked out early and Nadal and Federer didn't play!

Also Ferrer isn't playing well at all at the moment, which means it will be even less likely that he defends his title successfully.

Gerry91

Sure Ferrer is third in the rankings right now and Del Potro won Basel last year didnt he, so he can only lose there (although it's only a 250 or 500 event)? He's almost 1300 points off him and he'll have to defend semi points at WTF, Ferrer can only gain.

No chance he'll be top 4 before Australia

Gerry91

^^^ Actually forgot that Murray is out so there's a chance Delpo could sneak in above him, but he won't surpass Ferrer

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Ferrer is 4th in the rankings.

He has 1000 points to defend in Paris, which means even if he was to defend his title he can't gain any points. Then he has 2 wins to defend in the ATP finals, and in the New Year he has Aukland to defend. There aren't really a lot of chances for him to gain any points.

Delpo won Vienna and Basel last year but has already matched those points, and gained some with his win in Japan and his final in Shanghai. If he plays in Basel next week anything he wins there is closing the gap. He lost early in Paris last year so opportunity to gain there as well.

He may not pass Ferrer before Australia but it's not impossible.

Gerry91

http://live-tennis.eu/

Ferrer= third now

Gerry91

He's 4th in the race yeah but that's irrelevant

Third is a great achievement for him at his age, say what you want about him but you have to respect him.

I've no arguments with him being top 4 myself grand he's slipping away now, but he made a slam semi, final and 2 quarters in 2013 great consistency

He's not as talented as Tsonga/Berdych/Delpo but way more consistent which is the important thing

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Fine, as of tomorrow Ferrer is 3rd. But take off the Paris Masters and there's only 400ish points between them.

I don't have anything against Ferrer. I just want Delpo in the top 4.

Gerry91

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Fine, as of tomorrow Ferrer is 3rd. But take off the Paris Masters and there's only 400ish points between them.

I don't have anything against Ferrer. I just want Delpo in the top 4.

It's a general comment, he gets a lot of (harsh) stick, just because his tennis isn't as easy on the eye as others