Just a quick recap from me about what went down yesterday in the quarterfinals at Montreal. There were some tremendous entertainment and drama.
Chardy Saves Seven Match Points to Defeat Isner
The weather has not exactly been playing along in Montreal and there were at least two rain break again yesterday which means the quarterfinals lasted late into the morning hours. Isner and Chardy were up first and it turned out to be a tremendous battle with Chardy saving seven match points and winning 6-7(9), 7-6(13), 7-6(4). I enjoyed this result because Chardy has an enjoyable all be it high-risk game while Isner is a boring serve bot.
Chardy showed great clutch play especially in the second set which involved an epic tie-break.
- Djokovic Tries to Lose Against Gulbis but Finds It Impossible
In another dramatic match, the Djoker saved two match points to escape a Gulbis that was so deep in the zone he wouldn’t come out if you smashed him over the head with a baseball bat. And yet Djokovic came back from 4-6 in the second set tie-break to win 5-7, 7-6(7), 6-1. Djokovic was a break up at 4-2 in the first set but failed to consolidate and paid the price by dropping the first set. Contrary to the absolute masterclass to beat Sock 6-2, 6-1, he was clearly not at his best.
But like all great players he found a way. In the second set, things went from bad to worse for Djokovic as he dropped serve with a double fault to go down 2-3. But then came the first of two strategic shirt changes which seemed to mark a new beginning for Djokovic. He broke right back and forced a tie-break in the second set. At 4-6 I thought Djokovic was just begging to lose the match with poor play but incredibly he found a way yet again to force a decider.
Gulbis was deep in the zone like I said and came up with some ridiculous tennis. Even his usual liability of a forehand was on fire. He had already won five matches this week including qualifying which is probably more than he’s won all year. The guy is too talented to have lost so many matches this year and I thought it was his time to make a really big statement by defeating the player who has been near unbeatable all year.
‘Dayum this guy is playing well!’
But Djokovic showed the value of being in the winning habit because he snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat with yet another great escape. I thought the mental strength and skill to escape a ridiculous onslaught from a very talented player showed once again how good Djokovic is. It was extremely humid out there and Djokovic looked uncomfortable right until the end of the second set. Then he made another shirt change and breadsticked Gulbis.
I don’t know how he does these things, but it’s damn entertaining to watch if you are a fan. You figure he will probably go on and win the title now, but neither Chardy nor the winner of Nishikori vs Murray can be underestimated. This match just goes to show again how easily a guy can be in the zone on any given day and cause and upset. But more than that it shows how good Djokovic is and Federer was to dominate the way they do/did.
It in incredibly difficult to do.
- Nishikori Routines Nadal
Well after having seen the way Nadal abused Youzhny in the previous round I thought he had a very good shot at defeating Nishikori, but it couldn’t be forgotten that Nishikori had just won Washington and made the US Open final last year. He can play a bit. And he was on fire last night when he defeated Nadal 6-2, 6-4. I couldn’t sleep so I watched and Nishikori was pretty much in the zone himself. Even his usual relatively weak serve was on fire.
For the first time ever I saw him serve three consecutive aces. Are you kidding me?! Granted the fourth point was a double fault but still. That is highly unusual for Nishikori and a sign that he was deep in the zone himself. He was actually 4-1 up in the second with two breaks but failed to consolidate the second time. He was just smashing ground stroke winner after winner and effectively shut Nadal out of the match. Nadal has no say.
That is just the drawback of being a moonball pusher because as we have seen time and time again when a big hitter is on their game they simply dominate him. So much for Nadal’s run in Hamburg then. Sorry Nadull but this is not clay where you can retrieve and moonball endlessly and expect to win matches. Better wait for the next clay tournament!
- Murray Eases Past Defending Champ Tsonga
I didn’t watch the final match of the day which must have started around midnight, but Murray won 6-4, 6-4 and looks to mean business himself after losing his first match in Washington. He only needs to win one more match to surge ahead of Federer in the rankings. And then in Cincinnati he only has a quarterfinal to defend while Federer is the defending champion. So it looks like he will steal the number two seed in New York at this point.
Whether he can defeat Nishikori is another question. It will certainly be a very interesting contest.
- Cincinnati Draw
The Cincinnati draw is out and as you can see Fedal are in the same quarter which is great to see. They just keep avoiding each other and they will probably do so again but one can hope. Of course, the last time they played in Cincy Nadal won but he seems to be a shadow of that player these days. However, he does seem to be finding some kind of form lately and a match against Federer may just be what he needs to find even more form.
Federer, on the other hand, must make sure that does not happen. Federer’s draw is easy until the quarterfinals, but Nadal has Chardy and Raonic, so if anyone is going to lose before they meet it is probably him. But he will also desperately want to keep improving so I won’t bet on that if I was a Fedfan. Federer may well have to face his nemesis again at long last and I for one would be delighted if it does happen.
ATP scapegoat
Then you have the Djoker and Stan in the same quarter and I wouldn’t mind them facing off either. That is if Stan has recovered from Kyrgios’ sledge yet. Most of you probably know about that whole controversy by now and I don’t have much time to talk about it. But I will say too big a deal is being made about it. They are talking of banning Kyrgios for something that has always been present in sport, and yet no one is asking why 30-year old Stan is banging 19-year old girls.
The ATP would be better advised to get their sport clean which is rife with doping in the top 20 rather than trying to break the young talent which the sport desperately needs. The hypocrisy and double standards are quite sickening. It seems the ATP is making a big deal of it because the microphone picked up what Kyrgios said and is trying to protect their name. If they really cared about protecting their name they would go after the things that are not so openly going on.
Hypocrisy at its best.
- Highlights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hu-AymGNeA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J23fNMiSvrM
- The Djoker
Gulbis couldn’t miss, but Djokovic kept smiling 
The is in your court.
Gulbis Always had a big game. So many years ago I predicted him as the next BIG thing. But strangely, he got worse instead and played so erratic. Nonetheless, he is an obviously gifted player. Pity all the talent never realised.
Gd overall summary. And yes, #nadull-zero-zero streak is still on que. Haha! Nishi simply outplayed rafa. No fight.
Nole gonna extend his crazy 1000 streak. When he is down but still manages to smile through… And interact with audience… That is true confidence. He knew he was gonna come out on top by end of the match. I likey.
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Ru-an Reply:
August 15th, 2015 at 3:11 pm
Well, I wasn’t as sure as you that he would come out on top. Upsets happen all the time and he really didn’t deserve to win until 4-6 in the 2nd set TB. Crazy that Nadal still hasn’t won any big title this year. What a beautiful sight.
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Just want to correct something about the rankings situation. If you look at http://live-tennis.eu/ Murray only needs to win his semi to overtake Federer next week. However, Federer’s Cincy points have already dropped on live-tennis.eu, as have Murray’s (I think), so Federer could reach a maximum of 9065 points if he wins Cincy, while if Murray wins Montreal he will be on 8660, 8260 if he loses in the final and 7850 if he loses to Nishikori. So if Murray wins Montreal he needs to win Cincy or reach the final to get the no.2 spot, while if he only reaches the final or semis in Montreal he has to win Cincy. However now the Cincy draw is out there is a strong possibility Federer may not defend his title, which would make it much easier for Murray to overtake. A possible Murray-Federer semi in Cincy would be interesting as the winner would have a strong chance of getting the no.2 seed. So overall Murray and Federer are in a fairly equal position and hthe no.2 seed rides on Cincy.
P.S. if I have misunderstood the rankings system somehow I apologise but this is what it looks like from what I can see.
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Ru-an Reply:
August 15th, 2015 at 4:27 pm
When do they take the points off for the coming week? I would have thought at the end of the week, but I guess I was wrong then.
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Ajay Reply:
August 16th, 2015 at 1:29 am
Charlie is right. If Federer wins Cincy he is number 2 no matter what happens. If Murray loses in the final tomorrow then all Federer needs to do is go one round more than him in Cincy. If he wins tomorrow and makes the quarters in Cincy Federer will need to win the tournament next week. So advantage Murray right now but not a huge advantage.
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Charlie Reply:
August 16th, 2015 at 1:35 am
‘The Emirates ATP Rankings period is the immediate past 52 weeks’, which is really helpful from the ATP as this brings up exactly that sort of ambiguity: are the points simply dropped and then replaced at the end of the week, or dropped and then re-added? If anyone here is a real rankings expert I would love to see a link to an article which explains this, it just seems open to interpretation, unless there is a clause in the ATP rules I am misunderstanding.
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Charlie Reply:
August 16th, 2015 at 1:37 am
Nevermind, just saw Ajay’s post, thanks Ajay!
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Ru-an Reply:
August 16th, 2015 at 11:04 am
It still doesn’t tell us anything about when the points come off, though. He just repeated what you said.
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Charlie Reply:
August 16th, 2015 at 3:59 pm
Yeah that bit I still don’t really understand, so if anyone can elaborate on this I would be happy to hear what they have to say.
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Ajay Reply:
August 17th, 2015 at 10:34 am
The ATP points come off the same week next year. This time last year Cincy was over so the Cincy points have already come off. Right now Federer is at 8065 points and Murray is at 8480 points. Now if Federer were to win the tournament, the best Murray could do would be to reach the semis. In which case the points would look like 9065 and 8840. If Federer were to reach the finals and Murray were to lose in the 3rd round it would look like 8665 and 8570. So in either case Federer will be number 2. If Federer doesn’t reach the finals he can’t be number 2 at all and he has to win if Murray makes the quarters or semis. So it is still in Federer’s hand but I would be put the percentage of him being number 2 at around 40%.
About when the points come off. ATP website removes it only at the time when the same tournament last year ended. For example Cincy ended on 16th last year. So the points from Cincy come off today (17th). But http://live-tennis.eu/ this website removes the points in the beginning of the week itself in its live atp ranking section. I think that should answer all your questions.
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Gulbis pissed away 2 MPs and paid the price. You knew he’d choke, and then of course Djokovic would run away with it. Never a doubt in my mind. Djokovic’s game is just too consistent–he moves and retrieves too well, and his opponent is forced to come up with some spectacular shots to penetrate his defense, and as a result they always make errors at crucial times. After making that great escape and handily steamrollering a tired Chardy, Djokovic is probably going to have his easiest match of the tournament in the final.
Nishikori finally booked his first win over Nadal–it’s long overdue, I’d say, given his two wins over Federer and his spectacular victory over Djokovic in New York last year. Unlike 2012, Nadal can’t afford to take months off the tour to refuel physically because he needs the rankings points. Otherwise he’d be drawing Federer, Djokovic, and Murray in the second or third rounds when he came back, and that would tarnish his precious H2H. But now that he’s playing more, he’ll be losing more, often to those very same top players. It’s a catch-22 for him.
Federer’s got a tough draw in Cincy–Nadal in the QFs, and Murray in the semis. As we know, Nadal always manages to duck Federer when he’s playing poorly and Federer’s playing well, so it’s unlikely they’ll meet, but you can’t rule it out.
Regarding Kyrgios: there’s things you say in the heat of the moment (which are forgivable), and there’s sheer malice. Kyrgios’s comment falls squarely into the latter category. He deliberately sought to hurt Wawrinka in the nastiest way possible. What was really unforgivable was that he humiliated Kokkinakis (whom he calls his friend) and Vekic in front of the entire world by dragging their names into the media spotlight. Just imagine what the two of them must have felt when they heard what Kyrgios said, especially Vekic.
If Kyrgios is really too green to know that he should mind what he says on-court because there are cameras and mikes everywhere, then this will teach him a valuable lesson. This is a media-drenched era, where the Internet instantly transmits images and video of an event to the entire world. No professional athlete can afford to forget that fact.
And I’m sorry, but I must disagree with your comment “no one is asking about why 30-year old Stan is banging 19-year old girls.” What two consenting adults do in private is no one’s business but theirs. Why should anyone have the right to ask about it? Even to use the word “banging” is to reduce Vekic to a mere sexual conquest, with no will of her own–which is precisely what made Kyrgios’s comment so objectionable.
Who knows, perhaps she’s with Wawrinka (assuming they’re indeed in a relationship) because she likes him and chose to be with him of her own free will. We have no idea, so we should give them the benefit of the doubt.
Of course, the tour should crack down on doping but we’ve discussed extensively why this doesn’t happen. That doping is a serious problem is certainly no excuse for them not to enforce other rules regarding sportsmanship. Whether they’re enforcing the rules just for the sake of PR or for some other reason, I’m glad they’re doing it. Kyrgios’s punishment has so far been proportional to the offense. He’s not being banned for life or anything. A fine and maybe a few suspensions, hardly the end of the world.
I’m not worried about Kyrgios’s future; if he’s really got the stuff to be a top player, a few fines and a couple missed tournaments won’t stop him. This talk of “breaking” him seems overblown to me. He’ll be back in action in no time.
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Ru-an Reply:
August 16th, 2015 at 11:31 am
You seem mad about the fact that Djokovic won
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steve Reply:
August 16th, 2015 at 11:57 am
Why do you think so, Ru-an? And if I were, what of it?
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Ru-an Reply:
August 16th, 2015 at 12:19 pm
Oh, just a hunch
It’s great entertainment.
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Charlie Reply:
August 16th, 2015 at 4:05 pm
My stance on the Kyrgios-Wawrinka-Vekic controversy is somewhere between what you two said about it. I think he deserves a fine and should treat this as a lesson in what can happen to you if you say stuff like that when you are an athlete and you are in the spotlight, but he should be given some leeway. I think the $10,000 maximum fine (which he has already received) along with revoking his prize money for that week would be reasonable. But anything more than that is over the top unless they are going to start suspending other players for things such as time-wasting and dubious MTOs. Basically they should punish him enough that he isn’t inclined to say something like that again, but this crazy witch hunt against him like he is Gunter Parche or something is ridiculous.
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Ru-an Reply:
August 16th, 2015 at 6:04 pm
Exactly what you said. I’ve always been disgusted with the Aussie sportsmanship in cricket and I have encountered them in tennis too. For them on a sports field anything goes, which I think is wrong. But then the question also arises where do you draw the line? There has always been gamesmanship and psyching in tennis. To say otherwise would show great ignorance. Just look at Nadal for instance. So the argument that you either allow it completely or don’t allow it at all is just as valid. It’s hypocritical to allow some of it and not other. Who decides then where the line is drawn?
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Charlie Reply:
August 16th, 2015 at 7:47 pm
Yeah then you get into claims of racism and stuff and no one wants to be dealing with that, so if the ATP are too harsh on him and don’t punish other players you will hear that argument, so I agree with you.
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Josafina Reply:
August 19th, 2015 at 4:18 am
Great comment Steve. You’re totally spot on.
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Well, so much for Nadal’s comeback. We’ll see how he fares in Cincy, but it doesn’t look like he will be a contender at all for the US Open. If he meets Federer in Cincinatti, then it’s a great opportunity for Roger to get some revenge. Although, beating an impotent version of Nadal isn’t going to matter much in the goat debate, it will at least improve the h2h stats a bit.
I noticed Djokovic had some problems with his elbow in one of the matches. Is this going to be a factor at the US Open, or is it just a minor thing? If it was a real concern he would probably skip Cincinatti though. I guess we’ll see in the final against Murray in Montreal. Could easily become a tough physical match.
If Murray manages to overtake Federer in the rankings I’ll be happy for him. He has worked very hard to get himself into that position, and if he manages to do it he deserves it.
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Ben Chia Reply:
August 16th, 2015 at 4:10 pm
Hi Bjorn,
yeah… Nadull’s recent overdued “clay” victory was documented by Ru-an. But amazingly, he continues to falter at the bigger tournaments. No 1000 tourneys yet… Vamos!
Novak’s just so good he is making us take it for granted that he will win. Is his ATP 1000, 30 game win streak among the best so far? Tennis gods, pls share…
Murray surprisingly has crept up all the way to potentially #2. Probably overtake fed soon. Honestly, how many of us saw this coming? I didn’t… but happy for the Scot if he does it. Work hard and results follow. I like.
So, its in fed’s racket to defend his spot, but there are many more tournaments before calendar year is done. I think fed’s still has a decent shot at cincy and USO. Will be interesting.
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Ru-an Reply:
August 16th, 2015 at 6:07 pm
Murray already passed Federer BC. He is now #2 in the rankings. We will see if he can hold on until the USO. The chances seem good. Federer now needs to make a statement by winning Cincy or at least make the finals. Otherwise, it seems he will keep slipping in the rankings.
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Bjorn Eirik Reply:
August 16th, 2015 at 6:55 pm
Yeah, the Djoker is having an amazing run. Will be interesting to see how long he can keep it up. The final between Djokovic and Murray in Montreal will be interesting and give us an idea of both players level ahead of the US Open. Maybe the time has come for Murray to reassert himself as a top contender. When Montreal and Cincy are over we’ll probably have a clearer idea who the real contenders are for US Open. I wonder though, do Federer and Murray care much who holds the nr. 2 position? Probably not.
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Ru-an Reply:
August 16th, 2015 at 6:12 pm
Yes, beating Nadal won’t matter much for the h2h BE but Federer needs to make sure he makes the final at least because Murray will most likely make semis. If Federer plays Nadal he has to beat him at least. A loss to Nadal would give Nadal confidence and it certainly won’t help Federer’s chances to be 2nd seed for the USO.
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Charlie Reply:
August 16th, 2015 at 7:49 pm
He will have his chance as the most likely SF is Murray-Federer, so assuming they both make it both players will have a chance to secure the no.2 spot for themselves.
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Charlie Reply:
August 16th, 2015 at 7:53 pm
And to be honest I am not remotely concerned about Rafa, I know this is probably tempting fate but I think right now Rafa would be trashed by Fed, Muzz or Djok without any problems: straight sets, none of the sets that close really. Cincy is fast hardcourt and Rafa only just won in one of his best seasons against Federer’s worst and now Roger is having a decent season and Rafa is doing terribly, so I see no reason to believe Rafa has a chance. The mental advantage requires Rafa to be able to play at least somewhat well, the few times Rafa has had a bad day against Roger (not an average day, a bad day of the sort he is having at the moment) he has lost fairly comprehensively e.g. most of their WTF meetings apart from 2013 and 2010, and Cincy is at least as fast as the WTF.
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Ru-an Reply:
August 16th, 2015 at 10:54 pm
Well, Murray just won Montreal so the picture looks a bit different. Federer now up against it to get 2nd seed for USO, with a Cincy draw of Nadal/Murray/Djokovic.
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http://www.foxsports.com.au/tennis/thanasi-kokkinakis-criticised-by-american-ryan-harrison-after-heated-on-court-exchange/story-e6frf4mu-1227485927582
He claimed right there that because Kokkinakis was a friend of Kyrgios, he thought that Kokkinakis must have the same aggressive attitude, and that’s when he “had a problem with it.”
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Ru-an Reply:
August 16th, 2015 at 11:49 pm
See? Not that difficult. Anyway, it’s not Kyrgios’ fault that Harrison is a moron. If we want to suspend Kyrgios then we should suspend Harrison too. This is where it gets blurry and where you either allow any mental warfare or none at all.
Or better yet we suspend the ATP for not doing anything about the piss poor doping regulations.
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Charlie Reply:
August 17th, 2015 at 8:04 pm
Yeah the players should decide these things, there should be a jury of players which examines the evidence in these situations, just as there is a jury of other citizens if you are convicted of a serious criminal offence. The problem would be finding someone who is neutral on the issue, so the choice of players would be controversial. It is called the Association of Tennis Professionals for a reason, run by the players for the players, not run by the establishment to maximise profits at the expense of the players.
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Ru-an Reply:
August 17th, 2015 at 9:24 pm
Spot on again Charlie. Tennis is corrupt just like anything in this world run by an elite few. The ones that should be fined and judged are the ones doing the fining and judging. Everything in this world is upside down.
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