2009 is being a solid year...

[aldeayeah]

...for the current high ranked players.

Lemme explain:

Australian Open QF: Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Del Potro, Roddick, Verdasco, Simon, Tsonga
Indian Wells QF: Nadal, Federer, Murray, Djokovic, Del Potro, Roddick, Verdasco, Ljubicic
Miami QF: Nadal, Federer, Murray, Djokovic, Del Potro, Roddick, Verdasco, Tsonga
Rome QF: Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Del Potro, Verdasco, Gonzalez, Monaco, Zverev
Madrid QF: Nadal, Federer, Murray, Djokovic, Del Potro, Roddick, Verdasco, Ljubicic

Isn't it outrageous? Five players (Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Del Potro, Verdasco) have made it to the QFs of every mandatory event; a sixth one (Roddick) has been in all but one (in which he was absent), and a seventh one (Murray) has been in all but two.

I can't remember anything like this in recent history. There are a lot of possible conclusions, but I leave that for you.

 

[raccoon1414]

yes you are right, the mens field has definitely produced some good match-ups so far this year.

the australian open was exceptional, with 7 of the top 8 seeds in the QFs, except for murray, but verdasco was just on fire.

but one thing i have noticed is regarding verdasco. in the four masters series already played, he has always lost to each of the top 4 guys: indian wells to federer, miami to murray, rome to djokovic and madrid to nadal, well at least he has had his fair share of matches with the top 4 guys LOL.

that proves that verdasco is worthy of being ranked between 5 and 8, if he keeps this up for the rest of the year, i think he will be able to make his World Tour Finals appearance, i would like to see him there, i enjoy watching him.

i also hope that we will be seeing more of tsonga as well, i also enjoy watching him.

and the top 4 guys have been very consistent, but nadal is undoubtedly no.1.

i think it will be an interesting 3-man race between federer, djokovic and murray for the no.2, no.3 and no.4 ranking over the next three or four months until the US Open.

we have been treated to some great tennis, lets just hope that this pattern keeps up.

 

[cknobman]

2009 has been very solid indeed.

So far this year (in my opinion) im ranking the top 4 like this:

1. Nadal by a mile
2. Djoker by just a smidgen
3. Murray
4. Fed - sad to see him here but he has some kind of mental problem this year and I cant keep any faith in him after the 1st set and a half.

After #4 there is a huge gap and I dont see anyone challenging the top anytime this year.

 

[jrachiever]

2009 has been very solid indeed.

So far this year (in my opinion) im ranking the top 4 like this:

1. Nadal by a mile
2. Djoker by just a smidgen
3. Murray
4. Fed - sad to see him here but he has some kind of mental problem this year and I cant keep any faith in him after the 1st set and a half.

After #4 there is a huge gap and I dont see anyone challenging the top anytime this year.

Murray's results have been significantly superior to Djokovic's this year, curious as to reasons behind your opinion.

 

[seffina]

Murray's results have been significantly superior to Djokovic's this year, curious as to reasons behind your opinion.

How? Djokovic has been a finalist at the last three Masters events. He made it further in AO. He has won a 500 event and a 250 event just like Murray. He leads Murray in points in 2009 and is only second to Nadal. I wouldn't call that significantly superior at all.

 

[gj011]

Murray's results have been significantly superior to Djokovic's this year, curious as to reasons behind your opinion.

No they were not. Murray's results were better in last half of 2008 but not in 2009 so far. In 2009 they are actually quite close.

 

[icedevil0289]

No they were not. Murray's results were better in last half of 2008 but not in 2009 so far. In 2009 they are actually quite close.

lmao at your sig. *sigh*

 

[seffina]

It's hilarious! I love the sig.

 

[P_Agony]

Other than Nadal dominating I haven't really seen anyone win an important title this year (maybe Murray winning Miami, but that's about it). The year started well with Murray and Nadal being top contenders on HCs and Djokovic also improved as the year progressed winning Dubai, but the clay season was all Nadal. He won MC, he won Barcelona, he won Rome, he will win Madrid, and the FO. Add to that Queens and Wimbeldon as almost a lock for Nadal, and you've got a very one sided season.

 

[slicekick95]

Other than Nadal dominating I haven't really seen anyone win an important title this year (maybe Murray winning Miami, but that's about it). The year started well with Murray and Nadal being top contenders on HCs and Djokovic also improved as the year progressed winning Dubai, but the clay season was all Nadal. He won MC, he won Barcelona, he won Rome, he will win Madrid, and the FO. Add to that Queens and Wimbeldon as almost a lock for Nadal, and you've got a very one sided season.

The bolded part is a force. Queens, Nadal will probably win but I wouldnt call it "almost a lock" since Djokovic and Murray are playing. Wimbledon is a huuge force. You are definitely underestimating Federer's play at the slams.

 

[seffina]

The bolded part is a force. Queens, Nadal will probably win but I wouldnt call it "almost a lock" since Djokovic and Murray are playing. Wimbledon is a huuge force. You are definitely underestimating Federer's play at the slams.

Actually Djokovic is playing Halle. But Roddick and Murray are...

I agree with you that neither are anything at all but given and I'm pretty sure P_Agony doesn't think so... he's just suffering from the arrogance flu at the moment.

 

[Dutch-Guy]

The bolded part is a force. Queens, Nadal will probably win but I wouldnt call it "almost a lock" since Djokovic and Murray are playing.

Only Murray will play in Queens.Djokovic will challenge Fed in Halle.

Wimbledon is a huuge force. You are definitely underestimating Federer's play at the slams.

Yeah Fed is another animal when it comes to slams.Those that are dismissing him should ask Murray

 

[All-rounder]

Only Murray will play in Queens.Djokovic will challenge Fed in Halle.

Yeah Fed is another animal when it comes to slams.Those that are dismissing him should ask Murray

The guy that has beaten him the last 4 times in a row but yeah Federer is different on grass

 

[jrachiever]

How? Djokovic has been a finalist at the last three Masters events. He made it further in AO. He has won a 500 event and a 250 event just like Murray. He leads Murray in points in 2009 and is only second to Nadal. I wouldn't call that significantly superior at all.

He's played two more tournaments than Murray in 2009, which explains the points. You can't honestly tell me that you were more impressed with Djokovic's Australian Open than Murray's. Murray has a signficantly better overall record and more quality wins. He is 4-2 against the top 4 as compared to Djokovic's 1-4 record. I just run through both of their match records for the year and couldn't imagine objectively giving the nod to Djokovic. The only thing Djokovic has really done better is consistently get better draws.

If Murray loses to JMDP today and Djokovic wins or gets to the final Madrid, I might see it differently, but going into this week, no way.

 

[Dutch-Guy]

The guy that has beaten him the last 4 times in a row but yeah Federer is different on grass

Well Fed has won 5 wimby whereas Murray has won 0.So Fed has the edge on grass.

 

[P_Agony]

Actually Djokovic is playing Halle. But Roddick and Murray are...

I agree with you that neither are anything at all but given and I'm pretty sure P_Agony doesn't think so... he's just suffering from the arrogance flu at the moment.

Haha. Actually I was being honest in that post. Who can trouble Nadal at Wimbly? Murray got crushed against him last year, Djokovic got crushed too, only by Safin, and Federer mentally isn't there anymore (he can reach the final but do you really believe in his chances against Rafa?). Maybe Roddick if he plays well and serves well.

 

[slicekick95]

He's played two more tournaments than Murray in 2009, which explains the points. You can't honestly tell me that you were more impressed with Djokovic's Australian Open than Murray's. Murray has a signficantly better overall record and more quality wins. He is 4-2 against the top 4 as compared to Djokovic's 1-4 record. I just run through both of their match records for the year and couldn't imagine objectively giving the nod to Djokovic. The only thing Djokovic has really done better is consistently get better draws.

If Murray loses to JMDP today and Djokovic wins or gets to the final Madrid, I might see it differently, but going into this week, no way.

Djokovic has beaten Federer twice, so he cant be 1-4 against the top 4. Also, three of those losses were to Nadal on clay, so his top four matches were definetely tougher than Murray's. Although I do agree that Murray has had a better year, I just dont agree that their records against the top 4 can be taken into consideration.

 

[deltox]

Haha. Actually I was being honest in that post. Who can trouble Nadal at Wimbly? Murray got crushed against him last year, Djokovic got crushed too, only by Safin, and Federer mentally isn't there anymore (he can reach the final but do you really believe in his chances against Rafa?). Maybe Roddick if he plays well and serves well.

at wimbledon. the sleeper in the draw is Tsonga

im a roddick fan but i dont think he can outlast rafa even on grass, only on HCs

 

[bolo]

...for the current high ranked players.

Lemme explain:

Australian Open QF: Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Del Potro, Roddick, Verdasco, Simon, Tsonga
Indian Wells QF: Nadal, Federer, Murray, Djokovic, Del Potro, Roddick, Verdasco, Ljubicic
Miami QF: Nadal, Federer, Murray, Djokovic, Del Potro, Roddick, Verdasco, Tsonga
Rome QF: Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Del Potro, Verdasco, Gonzalez, Monaco, Zverev
Madrid QF: Nadal, Federer, Murray, Djokovic, Del Potro, Roddick, Verdasco, Ljubicic

Isn't it outrageous? Five players (Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Del Potro, Verdasco) have made it to the QFs of every mandatory event; a sixth one (Roddick) has been in all but one (in which he was absent), and a seventh one (Murray) has been in all but two.

I can't remember anything like this in recent history. There are a lot of possible conclusions, but I leave that for you.

amazing consistency by the top 4 already for a year or 2; now delpotro and verdasco and suprisingly roddick are putting in some strong showings as well.
Very impressive and even more striking when it's laid out like this.

 

[gj011]

He's played two more tournaments than Murray in 2009, which explains the points. You can't honestly tell me that you were more impressed with Djokovic's Australian Open than Murray's. Murray has a signficantly better overall record and more quality wins. He is 4-2 against the top 4 as compared to Djokovic's 1-4 record. I just run through both of their match records for the year and couldn't imagine objectively giving the nod to Djokovic. The only thing Djokovic has really done better is consistently get better draws.

If Murray loses to JMDP today and Djokovic wins or gets to the final Madrid, I might see it differently, but going into this week, no way.

You ran too quickly since Djokovic beat Federer twice this year, so your 1-4 score is false. Also three of Djokovic's 4 loses were against Nadal on clay. Hardly something to draw conclusions from when comparing him to Murray.

Rest of your arguments are even less valid.

 

[LanceStern]

yes you are right, the mens field has definitely produced some good match-ups so far this year.

but one thing i have noticed is regarding verdasco. in the four masters series already played, he has always lost to each of the top 4 guys: indian wells to federer, miami to murray, rome to djokovic and madrid to nadal, well at least he has had his fair share of matches with the top 4 guys LOL.

that proves that verdasco is worthy of being ranked between 5 and 8, if he keeps this up for the rest of the year, i think he will be able to make his World Tour Finals appearance, i would like to see him there, i enjoy watching him.

we have been treated to some great tennis, lets just hope that this pattern keeps up.

Roddick is also worth mentioning. Besides his (FINALS) loss to Stephanek, he's had an awesome year.

he's been curbstomping Djokovic (in hard-fought matches though) but has lost to Federer 3 times already this year! And lost to Murray and Nadal as well, they are the ones stopping him from greatness.

It's amazing how well the top of the top are doing this year.

 

[aldeayeah]

I like this situation. The big guns (#1-#4) can't falter, or the second tier players (#5-#10) will chew on their feet. See Murray vs Delpo yesterday.

With the added attractive that almost all top players can play on every surface. I just noticed the Madrid QF had the same exact players as the Indian Wells QF.

Let's see if they can keep it up in the incoming slams...

 

[clayman2000]

Only Murray will play in Queens.Djokovic will challenge Fed in Halle.

Yeah Fed is another animal when it comes to slams.Those that are dismissing him should ask Murray

So i guess we now know that Djokovic thinks Nadal is more of a threat on grass then Federer