Who will win Madrid 2012?

[Achilles82]

Here are adventeges and disadvanteges.


Nadal

Advantages:

• King of clay, plays amazing right now, has won 2 tournaments in a row on clay.
• Finally won against Novak in MC, which gave him injection of confidence that he needed, especially against Novak.
• Nadal is playing in his home tournament, and will have far more support then Novak.

Disadvantages:

• Played 2 weeks in a row, 10 matches in 2 weeks. Will have only 1 week of rest.
• Madrid is playing on a little bit higher altitude, so ball travels faster, which is more suitable to Novak's game.
  

Novak

Advantages:

• Before Monte Carlo, won 7 times in a row against Nadal, including 2 times on clay. Some could argue that he only lost MC final because his grandfather died, and couldn't be 100%
• Is current No1, and still in a great form.
• Since he decided to skip Serbia Open, he will have 2 weeks off before Madrid, which is plenty of time to rest.
• Madrid is playing on a little bit higher altitude, so ball travels faster, which is more suitable to Novak's game.

Disadvantages:

• Nadal finally broke the barrier against Novak in MC, and that might shake him a little bit. This means he maybe lost a little bit of his mojo against Nadal, especially since tournament is playing on clay.
• Novak's grandfather died, and he was very close to him. So probably he won't be 100% focused on upcoming tournaments.

Federer
Advantages:

• Is a solid clay court player, and has already won this tournament.
• Had 1 month of rest, and probably out of big three is the most prepared.
• Madrid is the fastest clay court tournament, which will give him little bit advantage.

Disadvantages:

• Clay is his worst surface. Still plays great, but not nearly as good as on HC.
• Horrible record against Nadal, especially on clay.
• Is almost 31. He is not as good as he was 3 or 4 years ago.

[tennis_pro]

Nadal, disadvantage: Nadal is playing in his home tournament, and will have far more support then Novak.

Makes sense to me.

[Achilles82]

Originally Posted by tennis_pro

Nadal, disadvantage: Nadal is playing in his home tournament, and will have far more support then Novak.

Makes sense to me.

Thanks, I mixed that up. Fixed it.

[monfed]

I think Federer will win Madrid.

[Hitman]

Yep - Shows the incredible depth in tennis today.

Lets just fast forward to the final.

[Achilles82]

I added Federer. I must admit I completely forgot about him lol .. I remembered at the end when I was adding pool options, and was like "wait a minute, what about Federer?" lol

[tennis_pro]

Originally Posted by Achilles82

Thanks, I mixed that up. Fixed it.

Also, I think Federer if not rusty has a good shot at the title, the 3rd clay MS is probably his best MS of all 9.

[Achilles82]

Originally Posted by tennis_pro

Also, I think Federer if not rusty has a good shot at the title, the 3rd clay MS is probably his best MS of all 9.

Post before lol

[Homeboy Hotel]

Federer is fresh.

[Carsomyr]

Dunno. It's a tough call. Nadal has to be the favorite, but his legs aren't getting any younger. Playing this much tennis, even on a forgiving surface like clay, has to wear you down at some point. He looked pretty average against Ferrer, who definitely had some chances to take Nadal out. As for Djokovic, who knows where his head and game are. Federer was playing excellent tennis until Miami, when it looked like he just needed some rest after a great 6-7 month run. Who knows if he'll bring it in Madrid? He is 30, after all.

[West Coast Ace]

Djokovic. MC didn't mean much given the passing of his grandfather. He'll be rested (but not too much like Fed, who could get clipped before the SF if he's at all rusty). Final will be a repeat of last yr - Djokovic doing everything just a little better than Nadal.

[Clarky21]

Djesus will.

[Hood_Man]

Nadal in 10.

[Mainad]

Nadal is on a bit of a roll now with his back to back wins in MC and Barcelona, beating Djokovic to boot. I think it's helping him get his old confidence back.
However he is still not playing to his 08-10 standards in my view so, if Djokovic appears in Madrid with all cylinders firing again, it could be a different matter.

Going for a Nadal-Djokovic final again with the edge to Nadal. Not sure what sort of mood Fed will be in though after his long lay-off.

[OverratedIvanovic]

2 possible scenarios acc to me
1. Federer beats Nadal at semis and goes onto win against Djokovic in the finals.
2. Federer beats Djokovic in semis but fails to win against Nadal in finals.

[timnz]

Originally Posted by Achilles82

[*]Is almost 31. He is not as good as he was 3 or 4 years ago.[/list]

are you saying that on the basis of evidence, or are you simply saying that at this age he couldnt possibly be at his best? We saw some of federers best clay court tennis at roland garros last year.

[Numenor]

Rooting for Djoker to win Madrid, Rome, and RG.

[CocaCola]

Only 3 players can win it. Hopefully Djokovic or Federer.

[cc0509]

Originally Posted by CocaCola

Only 3 players can win it. Hopefully Djokovic or Federer.

I agree Nadal, Djokovic or Federer are the only ones who will possibly win Madrid. Duh.
Not sure which one yet.

[veroniquem]

Originally Posted by OverratedIvanovic

2 possible scenarios acc to me
1. Federer beats Nadal at semis and goes onto win against Djokovic in the finals.

This (back to back win vs Nadal/Djoko) would not happen on hard, much less on clay... The only place I could see it happen is indoor (WTF) and even that would not be a given at the age of 31.