2019 Barcelona General discussion – ATP 500
- Thread starter Meles
- Start date
Im(moral) Winner
G.O.A.T.
Russia beats Japan once again
D
Deleted member 765152
Guest
Very good, high quality match.
Winners or Errors
Legend
Good for Medvedev. That's two weeks in a row he has played well. Maybe a win in this event. There are no players left in the draw who will slice the tall Russian to death and draw errors like Lajovic did last week.
DRII
G.O.A.T.
not the end result!
his BH is an amazing shot.
his stroke production is unorthodox, but i"ve always been one to notice the shot (trajectory, pace, path of the ball after impact) more than the stroke...
I Am Finnish
Bionic Poster
Nishikori should not be disappointed
He played a good tournament overall
He played a good tournament overall
flyingboris
Legend
I missed the first set, but I thoroughly enjoyed the final two. These guys must be completely exhausted, what an effort.
D
Deleted member 765152
Guest
Med may become the modern Robin Soderling on clay.
He is already working on a new string, DM Barcelona.
He is already working on a new string, DM Barcelona.
stringertom
Bionic Poster
Thiemerer knows slice, no? Nadal knows slice, too. Both know to use it when it works.
I Am Finnish
Bionic Poster
Beating 3 top 10 players in 2 weeks
Not bad for a clay mug
Not bad for a clay mug
I Am Finnish
Bionic Poster
Madrid will suit him even more
Otacon
Hall of Fame
I hope fatigue won't be a factor tomorrow.
Mainad
Bionic Poster
Ouch that's got to hurt for Nishi. 3-1 up in the deciding set and can't close it out. I felt that it had become a test of stamina between him and Medvedev because there was so little to choose between them level wise and Medvedev has the advantage of being younger. Besides, we all know what long matches do to Nishi's fitness levels so I had my doubts he would have had enough left in the tank for tomorrow's final anyway. In that sense, maybe the fitter guy won.
mike danny
Bionic Poster
Just like it should be. Enough with these old geezers grinding down the young ones.
mike danny
Bionic Poster
If Medvedev brings this level to the slams on a regular basis, he'll be a consistent top 10 player if he avoids injuries.
He may not win a major, but I wouldn't put a Berdych-like career past him.
He may not win a major, but I wouldn't put a Berdych-like career past him.
He probably will win a major if he keeps playing like that. Last year 7 different players made a slam final, and today Medvedev beat the world number 7 who was playing well. If he takes that form to slams over the next decade, he'll make several slam finals and probably win one...or more.
Im(moral) Winner
G.O.A.T.
What all players dream about. Having a Berdych-like career.
Enceladus
Legend
Medvedev reached his 7th ATP tournament final. Victory over Nishikori is 25th match victory in this season.
mike danny
Bionic Poster
We'll see.
He needs to shorten points more in the slams. His grinding style won't do him any favors in BO5.
mike danny
Bionic Poster
Berdych is love, Berdych is life.
Meles
Bionic Poster
Meddy's not even serving all that well in 2019. Put that with the ground game and slams assured.
Meles
Bionic Poster
The serve will get biggerer with age for Meddy and may well be a brutal combination of grinding on return, but serve slam efficiency.
Winners or Errors
Legend
Hmmm... I can't recall a match in which Nadal or Thiem had the patience to work over an opponent with slices. That may be because I don't watch enough tennis, but to my memory they both like to bludgeon their opponents. Can you name a match in which one of them switched to low slices when "plan A" wasn't working. I'm struggling to do so.
gerko
New User
Djokovic us open 2013 slice down the line forehand down the line
Winners or Errors
Legend
Used by Nadal?
gerko
New User
Nadal against djokovic yes
stringertom
Bionic Poster
I didn’t imply either will have to go to “plan B” and wholeheartedly rely on slice but here’s a perfect example of what Thiem can do vs a taller, power oriented opponent not usually known for steady clay rallying:
Thiem’s touch and even the amount of sidespin imparted on his ohbh drives that often induce errors or weaker responses is quite overlooked when people stereotype him as a monotonous ball basher.
Nadal doesn’t have the advantage of disguising his dropper from the backhand but he also gets winners or set-up putaways from changing pace and spins.
Yoeri Tennis II
Rookie
Highlights of Rafa vs Thiem >>>
Mainad
Bionic Poster
And yet another young one (well, comparatively so) has ground down yet another of these old geezers. Do we sense a turning of the tide at long last?
mike danny
Bionic Poster
If it starts happening at the slams, then yes.
Until then, the young guys still suck in my eyes.
I Am Finnish
Bionic Poster
How come he is peaking at his worst surfaceMeddy's not even serving all that well in 2019. Put that with the ground game and slams assured.
van_Loederen
Professional
defeating 2019 Nishikori makes one a candidate for winning Slams?
peaking?How come he is peaking at his worst surface
it's often hard to tell the level of play if the match is close.
van_Loederen
Professional
Medvdv is the prototype of 'the next gen' player. physically he's even more economic than Zverev.
that's why he might have less issues with the best-of-5 format, but still a lot.
that's why he might have less issues with the best-of-5 format, but still a lot.
I Am Finnish
Bionic Poster
hehe i was not seriousdefeating 2019 Nishikori makes one a candidate for winning Slams?
peaking?
it's often hard to tell the level of play if the match is close.
defeating 2019 Nishikori makes one a candidate for winning Slams?
defeating 2019 Nishikori makes one a candidate for winning Slams?
peaking?
it's often hard to tell the level of play if the match is close.
Was it hard to tell the level of play in that match? Both players are top 10 in the race, with winning ratios around 70% and it was good to watch. There's no reason to believe either were playing to a level below Nishikori's ranking of 7. That's a good level to be playing too with the top 6 looking as fragile as it is.
Meles
Bionic Poster
Meles
Bionic Poster
Something gave today and looks like Meddy's bleeding style pulled him through in the last games.
stringertom
Bionic Poster
FTFY...since AO, Kei is an abysmal 1-5 in deciding sets after the mdvdv loss. Only Mannarino lost and that was a TB. Two to Hurkacz and one each to Stan, Lajovic and now mdvdv.
Meles
Bionic Poster
I thought it possible his vanishly low UE counts of the last six months might translate to clay. I suspect Thiem will expose the Medvedev game rather badly on clay as both he and Nadal pretty much devour slices and Meddy's flat balls work best when they stay low.How come he is peaking at his worst surface