Elixir Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 That's a bit of a doing for the pair of them. Probably a good thing for Murray not to have any Davis Cup ties distracting him later on in the year though, tbh. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 Murray lost 6-3 7-6 to Roger Federer in their Match for Africa event tonight. I never saw all of it but Murray is still struggling on serve with his elbow, and will more than likely skip Monte Carlo. However if anyone got tickets for the return exhibition in September you will be entertained. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elixir Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 The draw has been made so surely he must be fully fit for it now otherwise he'd have pulled out by this stage? Hopefully so as it's been kind to him as far as avoiding Djokovic, Nadal, Thiem, Dimitrov, and Zverev goes. Likely to play Robredo in the second round which is a tricky start, though. Edmund and Evans drawn together as well with the winner going through to play Rafa. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 I used to really hate clay court tennis, but now I love this period of the year of the clay court and grass court seasons. The matches are far more interesting, and become more of a tactical battle. With Federer skipping all the clay Masters, it gives an opportunity for Murray to catch up in the Race to London. He is currently 3000 points behind after his mixed results and injury this season. In terms of the current number one ranking Murray has 360 points to defend here, 600 in Madrid, 1000 in Rome and 1200 in Paris. But should be guaranteed another six weeks at number one taking him to 28 weeks. He is more than likely be number one until the Grass season is completed. Also watch out for the youngster Casper Ruud who received a wild card into the main draw, he plays the German Struff in the first round with a potential match with Dimitrov if he was to make it that far. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elixir Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 (edited) Yeah, I agree. Murray improved dramatically on the dirt in 2015 and then again last season. Really hope he can get back up to speed as quickly as possible and have a similarly good year on the clay and grass. If he reaches the final here I believe that'll complete the set of slams and masters 1000 events, plus the WTF and Olympics? It'll be interesting to see if Rafa can convert his final appearances into wins over the coming tournaments, or whether there are still some things missing from his game. Edited April 17, 2017 by Elixir 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Murray's 2014 clay court season was also very productive making his only slam semi final of the year and chucking away a 4-2 lead against Nadal in Rome in the semi finals. Although he was soundly beaten by Nadal in the French Open semi finals it was his best clay court season since 2011 and the certainly laid the foundations of his clay court success in the last two years. Although everyone cites his first clay court title in Munich as the inspiration, it was certainly the corrective back surgery that has enabled him to win on clay. 63% win percentage on clay pre surgery and 90% post surgery. Edmund beat Evans soundly in straight sets today and will face Nadal on Wednesday. His serve and forehand will be subdued on the clay court, so you would have to hope that bad Nadal turns up to get a shock victory. Gilles Mueller and Tommy Robredo will face off tomorrow to face Andy Murray. Gilles Mueller was previously coached by Jamie Delgado and Robredo infamously gave Murray the double bird after throwing away five match points. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoBNob Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 . Never seen that before [emoji38]Fair play to the guy. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 It was the title match in Valencia. Robredo had thrown away five match points in their previous encounter for the Shenzen title. Robredo then again lost the title match in three sets after missing five match points. And as they went to embrace at the end he did that. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peasy23 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 It was the title match in Valencia. Robredo had thrown away five match points in their previous encounter for the Shenzen title. Robredo then again lost the title match in three sets after missing five match points. And as they went to embrace at the end he did that. Glad you posted the video as I saw it live and it was obviously done in good spirits, and taken that way by Murray. The still pic makes it look worse. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elixir Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 Muller gave Robredo a bit of a doing it seems! Surprised by that as I thought Robredo was a relatively strong clay court player, and that Mullers big hitting would be lessened on it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elixir Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 Simon chucked it against Novak there. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-coo-shed Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 Yeah Simon should have won. Would have been fully deserved as well. If Djoko had lost that it would been very interesting for his season. I imagine he needed that sort of result to get himself going again. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-coo-shed Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Scruffy from Murray today. Loads of double faults but everything else looks back to normal. Some outrageous lobs from him in the match as well. Edmund playing really well after an awful 1st set. Just broke Nadal back in the 3rd set. Currently 3-3. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lichtie23 Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 I see Serena is up the duff 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Supposedly Gilles Simon was raging at breakfast today as French journalists kept coming up and congratulating him. He told Jamie Murray they congratulate me as they expect me to lose 6-2 6-2. It's incredible that people who are paid to write and follow tennis don't expect Simon to give any player a tough match. Even the journalists covering today's match between Rafa and Edmund were incredulous that Edmund won a set He's top 50 in the world. In five years time when the big four are retired and the consistency that these four have shown over ten years goes, they will really fucking struggle trying to write about tennis. I never saw any of today's match apart from the five best shots from the match. How did Murray serve? I saw he had eight doubles and got broken twice. Although his match against Paire last year was decidedly worse (a set and a double break down at one point). Serena Williams is pregnant and won the Australian Open whilst pregnant and never dropped a set. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-coo-shed Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 His serve got a lot better as the match went on. He had served about three double faults in the first game. Muller semi bottled it in the first having served for the set and ended up smashing his racquet. The problem with Murray is that his serve is really key to winning easy games. If it's on form, he wins most matches. The next match should be interesting to see if he can keep his serve speed up.I've always liked Simon. He's technically a great player and was brilliant yesterday. It's just his serve is really susceptible. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elixir Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Yeah, I read about that regarding Simon on Twitter earlier too. I didn't see all of the Murray match either, but from the highlights it seems as though he played some ridiculous lobs and drop shots as mentioned. His drop shots on clay are absolutely lethal. His very first service game of the match was a horror show, though! Hopefully just a case of nerves after the attention that's been given to his elbow and serve over the last wee while and he's slowly but surely working his way back into the swing of things. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elixir Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Seems as if he had another shocker today with his serve, but to lose after winning the first set 6-2 and then being 4-0 in the decider makes it even worse. Maybe a case of 'too soon'? Three weeks for him to rest up some more and prepare for Madrid at least. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmca Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 1 hour ago, Elixir said: Seems as if he had another shocker today with his serve, but to lose after winning the first set 6-2 and then being 4-0 in the decider makes it even worse. Maybe a case of 'too soon'? Three weeks for him to rest up some more and prepare for Madrid at least. Serve was pretty ineffective again, but thought he played better than yesterday. Was one of those matches where both players were almost completely dominant in phases. Think he needs matches as you would expect, and could have done with getting a bit further to be a bit more match tight. Encouraging and worrying signs in equal measure. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elixir Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 That's now Zverev, Pospisil and Ramos-Vinolas he has lost to so far this year - and he also needed to save umpteen match points against Kohlschreiber in Dubai. He's had his health issues this year obviously, but that isn't like him. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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