2021 Roland Garros - Men's Singles - General Discussion

Winner?

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Novak fighting for his life in the deciding set, one break down!

(I think it's a rule that we make one of these posts whenever Dennis plays)
 
flyingboris said:
Also of mild interest: one of Los Dos Cerundolos playing qualies right now. Juan Manuel, winner of the Cordoba open. Facing Andrea Collarini.
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Snap quiz for the class not watching the match: is that the lefty or the righty bro? Is he the older bro or the younger bro? Where did his bro reach a final after qualifying less than a month later?

What a story for the ages from the pair!
 
stringertom said:
Snap quiz for the class not watching the match: is that the lefty or the righty bro? Is he the older bro or the younger bro? Where did his bro reach a final after qualifying less than a month later?

What a story for the ages from the pair!
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JuanMa is the lefty with the trophy to show for it. The awkward one with the Under-14 serve and the real promise. Both, however, are into round 2 - not without some difficulty.
 
Baseline_Bungle said:
JuanMa is the lefty with the trophy to show for it. The awkward one with the Under-14 serve and the real promise. Both, however, are into round 2 - not without some difficulty.
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Francisco kept it “in country” at BA by winning one more match (had to qualify while Juan got a WC at Cordoba) than Little Bro but lost the final to “damaged goods” Schweddy Diego (LOL at Karatsev troll that claims Diego is scarred by AO loss to Lion).
 
stringertom said:
Francisco kept it “in country” at BA by winning one more match (had to qualify while Juan got a WC at Cordoba) than Little Bro but lost the final to “damaged goods” Schweddy Diego (LOL at Karatsev troll that claims Diego is scarred by AO loss to Lion).
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Diego is just levelling out. He is an incredible player, who through hard work, constant progress and incredible will power was able to ascend to truly elite levels. And I'm sure he'll show flashes of that level again. But he just doesn't have the engine (or the kilos, or the centimeters) to stay at the very top for very long.
 
Baseline_Bungle said:
Diego is just levelling out. He is an incredible player, who through hard work, constant progress and incredible will power was able to ascend to truly elite levels. And I'm sure he'll show flashes of that level again. But he just doesn't have the engine (or the kilos, or the centimeters) to stay at the very top for very long.
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Yes, any minor nick takes away the slim edges he may naturally enjoy vs the majority of the tour and really puts him in a vulnerable position for later rounds vs top guys, especially power style big guys.

I’m suspecting the current slump he’s going through may have its roots in long matches in Acapulco (Musetti), Miami (Korda), Barca (PCB) and Madrid (Karatsev) more than the much older mental wounds from AO vs the new Flavor of the Month. I give his whitewash of four opponents in BA as first proof he healed mentally after Melbourne. I then back that up with the fact he looked better in Madrid vs the same “psycho killer” before fading (opening 6-2 set).

Power will always be what can be the “scissors” to Diego’s “paper” in the RPS analogy.

If he isn’t niggled at present he’s easily capable of 4R or better at RG. With a decent draw, “better” is my prediction.
 
Can somebody refer me to a link where I can understand how seeding works in qualifying rounds. Eg Mc Donald No 9 is clearly not No 9 ranked or anywhere near.
Edit: from my tourıst grade Turkish; Çilekbilek = steel wrist. Pretty handy for a tennis player I'd say.
 
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longmacchiato said:
Can somebody refer me to a link where I can understand how seeding works in qualifying rounds. Eg Mc Donald No 9 is clearly not No 9 ranked or anywhere near.
Edit: from my tourıst grade Turkish; Çilekbilek = steel wrist. Pretty handy for a tennis player I'd say.
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Slam qualifying is divided into 16 pods of 8 players. Pod #1 will have the highest ranked player not to gain direct entry into main draw, based on world rankings six weeks prior to the tournament start date. The second pod will have the second highest ranked player and so on.

With a 128-draw, 16 qualifiers and 8 WCs leave 104 slots to be filled so that top player is usually ranked somewhere very close to world #100, dependent on how many high ranked players sit out due to injury AND how many other players utilize any protected rankings available to them due to injury rehab that has taken them away from the tour for six or more months.

The other seven players in each pod will include another seed from the 17th highest to the 32nd highest. That second seed in the pod is placed in the bottom rung of the pod so that the seeds can only meet in the third and final round of qualifying.

This RG qualies #1 seed was Ilya Ivashka (lost 1R). His current rank is #89 but some of his points were earned after the cutoff date in early April (post Miami). He moved up in that time span with 3 R16 or better (1 SF, 1 QF) at ATP250 and 1 R32 at Barca ATP500. Bad draw for him as he was taken out by veteran Andrey Kuznetsov, who is playing on a PR waiver.
 
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Time for @Checkmate to follow M-Square German Southpaw but not Mats Moraing. It’s Maximilian Marterer, who just crushed Nikola Milojevic (SRB) with a double order of baguettes. The guy made 4R in 2018.
 
stringertom said:
Slam qualifying is divided into 16 pods of 8 players. Pod #1 will have the highest ranked player not to gain direct entry into main draw, based on world rankings six weeks prior to the tournament start date. The second pod will have the second highest ranked player and so on.

With a 128-draw, 16 qualifiers and 8 WCs leave 104 slots to be filled so that top player is usually ranked somewhere very close to world #100, dependent on how many high ranked players sit out due to injury AND how many other players utilize any protected rankings available to them due to injury rehab that has taken them away from the tour for six or more months.

The other seven players in each pod will include another seed from the 17th highest to the 32nd highest. That second seed in the pod is placed in the bottom rung of the pod so that the seeds can only meet in the third and final round of qualifying.

This RG qualies #1 seed was Ilya Ivashka (lost 1R). His current rank is #89 but some of his points were earned after the cutoff date in early April (post Miami). He moved up in that time span with 3 R16 or better (1 SF, 1 QF) at ATP250 and 1 R32 at Barca ATP500. Bad draw for him as he was taken out by veteran Andrey Kuznetov, who is playing on a PR waiver.
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Many thanks. I'm going to have to go over it again with pencil and paper and probably more than once. I had a hunch it wasn't straight forward.
 
Baseline_Bungle said:
He has absolutely VANISHED. Was a top 50 player looking to climb higher, then something happened - but I don't know what. Equally if not more disappointing is the similarly named Molleker, who some thought would be the next big thing.
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Knee problems in 2019 kept Marterer from defending all those 2018 points. He played just one match after RG that year. Of course, everybody had to disappear last year. Molleker may have vanished betterer than anyone, going 0-7 with one match before the pause and then losing each match on every surface but grass.
 
stringertom said:
Knee problems in 2019 kept Marterer from defending all those 2018 points. He played just one match after RG that year. Of course, everybody had to disappear last year. Molleker may have vanished betterer than anyone, going 0-7 with one match before the pause and then losing each match on every surface but grass.
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OK but whatever problems he had seem to not have been resolved. He's been playing regularly in recent months, but collecting nothing but losses - including to the likes of Etcheverry, Clarke, Bergs, Petrovic, Zuk, Machac, Horansky and even.... Andy Murray!
 
Baseline_Bungle said:
OK but whatever problems he had seem to not have been resolved. He's been playing regularly in recent months, but collecting nothing but losses - including to the likes of Etcheverry, Clarke, Bergs, Petrovic, Zuk, Machac, Horansky and even.... Andy Murray!
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12-11 this year; lots of win one, lose one trends but he finished 2020 well with a Challenger title on indoor HC. He also made ATP250 Kitzbuhel QFs.

The reason he was brought up in conversation with Checkmate was the doppelgänger-ish tall, lefty, German and Double M names after Checkmate gushed about Moraing testing Joe Kovic. Then Max did the double baguette baking session against Milojevic. I doubt he’s ready to repeat 2018 things yet but all these players are handling resumption in play in different rhythms. Marterer had a day like that in Biella three weeks ago vs Soeda (2&1) and then crapped out vs Clarke the next day. Who knows what he does vs the next guy (Meligeni Alves)?
 
stringertom said:
Who knows what he does vs the next guy (Meligeni Alves)?
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He really should win that one. Marterer looked like a serious ATP player. Moraing on the other hand has never shown the level to play on the top tour.

It seems like some people don't realize that all these guys can REALLY play, and that you have to be REALLY REALLY good to be n. 5/6/700 in the world. In fact, there are literally hundreds of players capable of smashing a few winners against Djokovic and dragging him to a tiebreaker on a given day. Many of them without a single ATP point. But actually winning matches, and doing it consistently enough to stay in the top tier - that's a whole different story.
 
Baseline_Bungle said:
He really should win that one. Marterer looked like a serious ATP player. Moraing on the other hand has never shown the level to play on the top tour.

It seems like some people don't realize that all these guys can REALLY play, and that you have to be REALLY REALLY good to be n. 5/6/700 in the world. In fact, there are literally hundreds of players capable of smashing a few winners against Djokovic and dragging him to a tiebreaker on a given day. Many of them without a single ATP point. But actually winning matches, and doing it consistently enough to stay in the top tier - that's a whole different story.
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Yep, I was just mentioning a guy I did some stringing for 5 years ago when he was outside top 300. He’s top 50 now but described as “falling off a cliff.” A back strain here, a tight shoulder/neck there and they can slide into the “sub-.500 amateur” level. Get mauled by a new Flavor of the Month and you’ll be crushed for months!
 
stringertom said:
Yep, I was just mentioning a guy I did some stringing for 5 years ago when he was outside top 300. He’s top 50 now but described as “falling off a cliff.” A back strain here, a tight shoulder/neck there and they can slide into the “sub-.500 amateur” level. Get mauled by a new Flavor of the Month and you’ll be crushed for months!
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It's a rough sport. If you're the 500th best soccer player in the world, you're a star playing in a top league and making millions. If you're the 500th best tennis player in the world, you're stealing snacks from the cafeteria at some itf in Uzbekistan. Wondering how you'll get to the next tournament.
 
stringertom said:
Yep, I was just mentioning a guy I did some stringing for 5 years ago when he was outside top 300. He’s top 50 now but described as “falling off a cliff.” A back strain here, a tight shoulder/neck there and they can slide into the “sub-.500 amateur” level. Get mauled by a new Flavor of the Month and you’ll be crushed for months!
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Hey, it me!

I will say my commentary wasn't to denigrate either player, more a feeling of disappointment that both players aren't on a rocketship to the top 20, or perhaps top 10, where they both seem destined. Tennis is often two steps forward, one step back, but we always hope players we like will take a more direct path to the top.
 
James P said:
Hey, it me!

I will say my commentary wasn't to denigrate either player, more a feeling of disappointment that both players aren't on a rocketship to the top 20, or perhaps top 10, where they both seem destined. Tennis is often two steps forward, one step back, but we always hope players we like will take a more direct path to the top.
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OK... who are we talking about?
 
stringertom said:
Slam qualifying is divided into 16 pods of 8 players. Pod #1 will have the highest ranked player not to gain direct entry into main draw, based on world rankings six weeks prior to the tournament start date.
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[edit: leaving this up for warranted public shaming]

Qualy noob alert.. Is there a place online to see all the pods and a 'mini draw' for each pod? Is each pod pretty much like a tiny three-match tournament where the winner of spot 1 vs. spot 2 plays the winner of spot 3 vs. spot 4 etc? Clearly I never paid much attention to the qualifying rounds!

Edit: found it. Seems like yes, yes, yes. Draws - Roland-Garros - The 2021 Roland-Garros Tournament official site (rolandgarros.com)
 
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flyingboris said:
Qualy noob alert.. Is there a place online to see all the pods and a 'mini draw' for each pod? Is each pod pretty much like a tiny three-match tournament where the winner of spot 1 vs. spot 2 plays the winner of spot 3 vs. spot 4 etc? Clearly I never paid much attention to the qualifying rounds!

Edit: found it. Seems like yes, yes, yes. Draws - Roland-Garros - The 2021 Roland-Garros Tournament official site (rolandgarros.com)
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GO to the French open website, and surely your curiosity shall be quenched.
 
Baseline_Bungle said:
GO to the French open website, and surely your curiosity shall be quenched.
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I'm quenching it right now. Somehow I overlooked it when I went looking for it earlier. Found it through a direct link in an article from May 2014, only to find that it's right there in the drop down menu for the draws.. :X3:
 
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