Cincinnati R2 Wawrinka def. Ferrer 6/4 6/1 : what happened?

[Sophitia36]

Anyone has seen this match?

Wawrinka played well, great serving, etc, but from what I saw, it was David who was really, really not playing at his usual level.
Terrible stats for his serve: 55% only of 1st serve, and 4 double faults. Very unusual for him, he does not have a big serve but normally has a very solid percentage...
Even more surprising, his return stats are bad, too: only 19% of return points won. That's usually his big strength.

The problem with his serve was already there during the Olympics. Even before the Nishikori match, I had noticed he didn't have great stats. Then during the Nishikori match, it became obvious, and he was really not his usual self. I thought it was just a bad day.
Then, in the doubles, he did not seem to be in great shape, either. He played with all his heart against Tsonga/Llodra and occasionally scored some great points, but generally, he seemed to lack accuracy and stamina...

After the Olympics, I thought, well, one bad day against Nishikori, and then, what is after all a surprisingly good performance in doubles in spite of a morally crushing defeat against Tsonga/Llodra... He should be able to move on quickly.

But yesterday, this match against Wawrinka seemed to be exactly in the same vein, except it was even worse. Even the great returns seemed to have vanished, and he seemed to lack his usual energy and willpower.

He was having such a wonderful season, what is happening to him suddenly? Could it be just that he's been playing too much lately?

 

[Carsomyr]

Could just be a bad stretch at the office. He's had the best year of his career without a doubt, but he is 30. Trying to play the schedule of a 25 year old is going to lead to problems.

 

[ivan_the_terrible]

Spanish flu

 

[jaggy]

My friend Stan stepped it up in a major

 

[Sophitia36]

Did you see the match?

I don't want to be disagreeable to Wawrinka fans who feel he has done something extraordinary, I don't wish him any ill, but really... It was Ferrer who lost the match, more than Wawrinka who won it.

I don't know what will happen later but, apart from a possible confidence boost, I don't think it indicates anything about Wawrinka's level. If anything, it indicates that Ferru really needs some rest.

 

[TheF1Bob]

Tendinitis.

 

[Dedans Penthouse]

6/4 6/1

^^^^
Respectfully Sophitia, but this might read more clearly:

6-4; 6-1

 

[dudeski]

All Spanish players lose any motivation to play well if Nadal is not in the draw. After all their only goal is to clear the draw from any dangerous big hitters so that Nadal can win the title. No point playing well now.

 

[Devilito]

All Spanish players lose any motivation to play well if Nadal is not in the draw. After all their only goal is to clear the draw from any dangerous big hitters so that Nadal can win the title. No point playing well now.

best analysis yet!

 

[Sentinel]

the real sl....

My friend Stan stepped it up in a major

Cinci, a maj ... oh, of course, forgot :shock:

 

[ductrung3993]

He must have been affected by Nadal's exit.

 

[EmEmEm]

All Spanish players lose any motivation to play well if Nadal is not in the draw. After all their only goal is to clear the draw from any dangerous big hitters so that Nadal can win the title. No point playing well now.

So what you're saying is like cycling team style playing Which, coincidentally, the Spanish are also big on.

 

[papertank]

Consider Ferrer didn't even play Toronto, whatever was affecting him there could have still been affecting him here.

 

[30fifteen]

Nadal's silent ban hurt Ferrer. He'll need some time to get over it.

 

[Sophitia36]

Consider Ferrer didn't even play Toronto, whatever was affecting him there could have still been affecting him here.

Yeah, well, I think his decision not to play Toronto was due to the fact that he'd been playing a lot just before that... He played both singles and doubles in the Olympics, and even though he was out quite early in singles, and said doubles were not as exhausting, he had some very long matches (the one against Tsonga/Llodra especially) and played the doubles until the end.
They were also emotionally very tough, given that they came so close to win the semis and then did not even get the bronze.

I was wondering if maybe he had some slight injury because his serve was already weird in the Olympics, and got far worse in Cincinnati...
But he hasn't mentioned anything so I guess he either feels it's not worth mentioning, or he was simply too tired to play even Cincinnati properly.

Now I guess we'll just wait and see. Hope he can be back in shape for the US Open.

 

[SStrikerR]

Nadal was injured