Will Stanimal dominate the clay season?

[Meles]

I really think Stan is trying to be motivated for bigger things over the last year. The hubris to think he can win Wimbledon, snagged a US Open, and generally a lot more deeper runs at events then just a few years ago. If he beats Fed in the IW final he's suddenly the player too beat.

Stan won Monte Carlo in 2014. French Open in 2015. Madrid Final in 2013. 6-5 in clay finals overall.

 

[90's Clay]

Fed will dominate the Clay Season. Or at least the French (which is the clay season)

 

[WisconsinPlayer]

I dont think anyone will

 

[Meles]

Fed will dominate the Clay Season. Or at least the French (which is the clay season)

So does your opinion change if Fed loses tomorrow?

 

[NatF]

Stan is still too streaky.

I'll wait before jumping on this latest bandwagon.

 

[SinjinCooper]

I don't think Stan's all that interested in being consistent enough to bother "dominating" a season. He never has been; don't see why he'd start now. Certainly looks like he'll continue to be a factor at the biggest events, though.

 

[WisconsinPlayer]

I don't think Stan's all that interested in being consistent enough to bother "dominating" a season. He never has been; don't see why he'd start now. Certainly looks like he'll continue to be a factor at the biggest events, though.

To me it seems like Stan only really wants to win majors. He plays at other events but doesn't ever seem to give his all

 

[2nd Serve Ace]

Fed will dominate the Clay Season. Or at least the French (which is the clay season)

Doubting he will play the French [emoji17]

 

[SinjinCooper]

To me it seems like Stan only really wants to win majors. He plays at other events but doesn't ever seem to give his all

Although he seems to be invested here. Maybe because the fans have been so glowingly supportive. Didn't expect such a rabid pro-Wawrinka contingent at IW. Kinda cool.

 

[Meles]

To me it seems like Stan only really wants to win majors. He plays at other events but doesn't ever seem to give his all

A good theory for Stan goes with his Fed nickname "Diesel". He's a slow starter in events. At slams the first rounds tend to be safer and more lopsided and Diesel can get his engine running. This explains some of his early exits in smaller events.

Diesel had a bit of momentum after US Open at St. Petersburg, but got picked off by Zverev in the final and then he kind of sputtered out for the season. Almost went out first round to Klizan in 5 sets at Auz this year where he powered through to a nice SF with Fed (started slow in that one.)

Diesel's got some momentum to put up a nice run coming into RG.

 

[tennis_pro]

I think he could win 1 big title but other than that no, way too inconsitent.

 

[-NN-]

I hope so. A YE#1 battle between Federer and Wawrinka sounds delightful.

Can't really see Stan being consistent enough to get that done, however.

 

[vladisimo]

Although he seems to be invested here. Maybe because the fans have been so glowingly supportive. Didn't expect such a rabid pro-Wawrinka contingent at IW. Kinda cool.

were fans that suportive of him?(doesn t surprise me he s an awesome player ),but I did watch all his matches and it didn t seem to me like they were that loud for him..maybe I just had bad sound on the stream.

 

[mike danny]

Stan and "dominate" don't actually match.

 

[Gazelle]

Stan and "dominate" don't actually match.

Except when Djokovic is the object of the sentence.

 

[Djokovic2011]

Except when Djokovic is the object of the sentence.

And even then he doesn't.

 

[2nd Serve Ace]

And even then he doesn't.

Novak is still the guy with the best chances. He just ran up against an opponent hitting 126 mph T- splitting 2nd serves consistently, for which there's no answer!

I'm looking for a Nole rebound in the spring.
Nadal, on the other hand, is just physically spent.

 

[Meles]

Novak is still the guy with the best chances. He just ran up against an opponent hitting 126 mph T- splitting 2nd serves consistently, for which there's no answer!

I'm looking for a Nole rebound in the spring.
Nadal, on the other hand, is just physically spent.

What planet have you been on? Nadal is a bit of a question mark in my mind with his last two IW matches, but otherwise is in quite strong form.

 

[2nd Serve Ace]

What planet have you been on? Nadal is a bit of a question mark in my mind with his last two IW matches, but otherwise is in quite strong form.

Rafa's forehand is a pale shadow of what it once was! Don't even get me started on his serve.

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

I really think Stan is trying to be motivated for bigger things over the last year. The hubris to think he can win Wimbledon, snagged a US Open, and generally a lot more deeper runs at events then just a few years ago. If he beats Fed in the IW final he's suddenly the player too beat.

Stan won Monte Carlo in 2014. French Open in 2015. Madrid Final in 2013. 6-5 in clay finals overall.

ummm it can't be possible...
CTRL+F...
t... h... i... e... m...... nothing ?!

 

[Deleted member 512391]

Rafa's forehand is a pale shadow of what it once was! Don't even get me started on his serve.

Soundwave, send Rumble and Frenzy to shake their ground.

 

[Deleted member 512391]

Wawrinka hasn't been dominant in any period (which includes a several consecutive tournaments at least) of a season in his entire career (not including single tournaments), he isn't that type of a player.

 

[-NN-]

Wawrinka hasn't been dominant in any period of a season in his entire career (not including single tournaments), he isn't that type of a player.

Galvatron sucks compared to Megatron. He was great in the movie and then turned to poop. I'm gonna join in on the Transformers avatar fun.

 

[Meles]

ummm it can't be possible...
CTRL+F...
t... h... i... e... m...... nothing ?!

No. I'm just realizing that Thiem is about to suck up so many points on clay that the TTW trolls will go bananas. My clay rankings from last year:
1. Djokovic - more trouble with the elbow
2. Nadal - seemingly tough, but a shakey IW
3. Murray - more tennis elbow
4. Wawrinka - looking good, but he's just one player
5. Nishikori - failed to vulture on South American clay court swing
6. Thiem - straight setted Rio and looked very credible at IW after fulling recovering from Rio. (A bit tired at Acapulco.)

Very interested to see Miami. If Wawrinka is Thiem's main obstacle on clay he may even win an event given they were close enough at IW.

 

[amorys90]

Thiem will probably "dominate", although I don't think any one player will sweep the table, Thiem will win a Masters, a couple of 250s, and maybe the French.

 

[Deleted member 512391]

Galvatron sucks compared to Megatron. He was great in the movie and then turned to poop. I'm gonna join in on the Transformers avatar fun.

He is a complete psychopath and totally irrational (something that Megatron has never been) in the season 3. There is an episode when Cyclonus traps and transports him to another planet inhabited with some creatures who tried to cure his insanity, but they eventually failed.

Btw, nice avatar! I've noticed we all prefer decepticons, but who could blame us. They are more cool anyway.

 

[Luckydog]

TBH,Stan has nothing to do with "dominate" if from the view of tournaments.The biggest hole in his game is consistency, without which he is just a big contender.Yes,he "can" win big titles in surprising way, or call it "unpredictable". But it's not appropriate to connect such a player with "dominate". I like him if he's in the zone,but I never know whether and when beforehand.I have to say let's go and see what will happen in clay season.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Thiem will probably "dominate", although I don't think any one player will sweep the table, Thiem will win a Masters, a couple of 250s, and maybe the French.

If you really believe this, put bets on him. The odds of Thiem winning a Masters on clay and especially RG are remote as Siberia.

 

[Meles]

If you really believe this, put bets on him. The odds of Thiem winning a Masters on clay and especially RG are remote as Siberia.

With Djokovic and Murray experiencing some elbow downtime, who do you think is stopping Thiem? He's gaining points on hard courts where his game is frankly shakey. I'd love to see this Federer run into Thiem on clay, but Fed doesn't sound serious about clay for the rest of his career as its just too physical on him. I'm not so sure about Nadal tearing it up on clay given his last two matches at IW; somethings smells much like with Djokovic and now we know his arm is not 100%. Right now the clay field is falling apart and Thiem is rounding back into strong form.

 

[Meles]

Thiem will probably "dominate", although I don't think any one player will sweep the table, Thiem will win a Masters, a couple of 250s, and maybe the French.

Thiem will be dead if he does all that. I hope he makes the final of Monte Carlo and goes deep at Barcelona which is a 500 then pulls the ripcord on Munich. That would be a great start and the sudden weakening at the top will give him a great chance. He really should not play Munich with Madrid and Rome back to back after that, but he'll end up playing I'm sure. If he does well at Madrid and Rome he definitely should cut Nice loose (two titles is enough already.)

All I know is that if Thiem plays his cards right he should strengthen his ranking position greatly and hopefully cement himself for WTF. He was very bad at the end of 2016, so doubt he can drop much once grass season is over. If Djokovic is as bad as he seems, a healthy Thiem could easily vulture his way into the top 4. I'm going to have to update the Thiem taking it to the Top thread. Thiem's outlook is excellent and if he plays his cards right he could take down a host of big name players on clay.

 

[2nd Serve Ace]

I've been watching alot of Thiem this year b/c I like his backhand. He was down right bad in Australia due to poor footwork and lousy shot selection. But the last month had shown big improvements n his game.

There is a nice mix in his serve spins and location plus a good Feel for topspin and slice backhand. He really played better than Wawrinka in the IW match! There were a number of times he had Stan on the defensive but just didn't move forward to close out the point at the net. That is such a crucial skill on ANY SURFACE and really the next step in Thiem's game.

If he can do a bit better in pressing his advantage, he can make some noise in the clay court season this year.

Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk

 

[6-3 6-0]

I don't think anyone would "dominate" this clay season to be honest. Nadal is the most likely to win the big events (3 masters + RG) followed by Djokovic, depending on extent of his injury. Wawrinka can't sustain his level for more than 2 weeks so I have doubt he'll dominate almost 2 months of the season.

 

[Feather]

I don't think anyone would "dominate" this clay season to be honest. Nadal is the most likely to win the big events (3 masters + RG) followed by Djokovic, depending on extent of his injury. Wawrinka can't sustain his level for more than 2 weeks so I have doubt he'll dominate almost 2 months of the season.

I doubt Rafa will dominate on clay. I don't think he can grind seven matches on RG and win it.

 

[6-3 6-0]

I doubt Rafa will dominate on clay. I don't think he can grind seven matches on RG and win it.

I didn't say he'll dominate but you can never write the 9 times RG chamion out. He doesn't need to grind 7 matches, maybe 3 matches at best - QF, SF and F especially if one of them is Djokovic. He can surely save his best for the last rounds at his favourite slam. He just needs to not get injured like last year and time his schedule accordingly.

 

[-NN-]

He is a complete psychopath and totally irrational (something that Megatron has never been) in the season 3. There is an episode when Cyclonus traps and transports him to another planet inhabited with some creatures who tried to cure his insanity, but they eventually failed.

Btw, nice avatar! I've noticed we all prefer decepticons, but who could blame us. They are more cool anyway.

That's a tough one for me. Do I prefer the Decepticons? In terms of the transformers who combine, yes. I love Devastator and Bruticus and Abominus, for example. Megatron is also my favourite leader over Optimus and Rodimus. I LOVE the Headmasters, though. Overall, yeah I'd say I prefer the Decepticons.. slightly. Trypticon and Scorponok are also immense but I do like the more boring and classic look of many Autobots in the same sense that I prefer Terran over Zerg and Protoss in Starcraft.

Oh and I forgot to add... Decepticons can transform into guns, which is too awesome. Shockwave and Megatron are awesome for that reason.

PPS,

This should have NEVER been omitted from the movie.

PPPS, Did you know that Ultra Magnus' original death in the film involved him being quartered? Some who saw the original theatrical release in the opening days even claim to have seen a DIFFERENT animation - the realisation of the following storyboard...

 

[Poisoned Slice]

No.

 

[cc0509]

With Djokovic and Murray experiencing some elbow downtime, who do you think is stopping Thiem?

Thanks for the laugh.

The elbows of Djokovic and Murray are fine, don't worry.

 

[Meles]

Thanks for the laugh.

The elbows of Djokovic and Murray are fine, don't worry.

Oh. I'm not worried. Ripe for the picking.

You think your precious Stan is beating Thiem on clay after barely beating him on hard courts?

 

[H_Richardson]

Oh. I'm not worried. Ripe for the picking.

You think your precious Stan is beating Thiem on clay after barely beating him on hard courts?

To be fair Stan is better on clay than he is on hard

 

[cc0509]

Oh. I'm not worried. Ripe for the picking.

You think your precious Stan is beating Thiem on clay after barely beating him on hard courts?

I honestly don't care which player wins between Wawrinka and Thiem but seriously, Murray and Djokovic will probably regain some decent form by clay season.

 

[Meles]

To be fair Stan is better on clay than he is on hard

He's got his one Masters1000 so far on clay, but two slams on hard courts. I agree though that Stan is excellent on clay.

Thiem is decidely better on clay than hard courts, so it would be a great rematch.

 

[Meles]

I honestly don't care which player wins between Wawrinka and Thiem but seriously, Murray and Djokovic will probably regain some decent form by clay season.

And that's going to happen at Monte Carlo? Possibly after both taking a month off for elbow issues? I'm sure you were saying this before IW too.

 

[6-3 6-0]

Oh. I'm not worried. Ripe for the picking.

You think your precious Stan is beating Thiem on clay after barely beating him on hard courts?

Wawrinka is a RG champion for christ sake. Thiem hasn't even won a masters

 

[cc0509]

And that's going to happen at Monte Carlo? Possibly after both taking a month off for elbow issues? I'm sure you were saying this before IW too.

I don't believe Murray or Djokovic are seriously injured. They are 29 and have won everything in the past couple of years. They need a bit of a rest before they concentrate on clay season especially Djokovic as he seems to be in a funk. Miami means f*ck all to them at this point. They should both focus on the FO.

As for what's going to happen during clay season and who will win the clay tune-ups and then the FO. I have no idea at the moment and no I don't think Federer will win the FO! His priority should be two things: Wimbledon and the USO.

 

[tennisaddict]

@Meles dont get your hopes up . Thiem is Ferrer /Berdych level player.

Unless the big 5 and Delpo get struck by a lightning he is not winning any big title this year.

 

[Felix le chat]

You should ask Donna V.

"Only women know" ( Prince )

 

[Meles]

@Meles dont get your hopes up . Thiem is Ferrer /Berdych level player.

Unless the big 5 and Delpo get struck by a lightning he is not winning any big title this year.

Wawrinka is a RG champion for christ sake. Thiem hasn't even won a masters

Thiem has two ATP 500s, so just one behind there and one behind on M1000 atm. Thiem did this to Wawrinka after his Masters 1000 win:
18/2014 R32 Madrid Masters Clay Dominic Thiem Stan Wawrinka 1-6 6-2 6-4

Stan winning IW may turn out to be a curse of sorts.

 

[6-3 6-0]

Thiem has two ATP 500s, so just one behind there and one behind on M1000 atm. Thiem did this to Wawrinka after his Masters 1000 win:
18/2014 R32 Madrid Masters Clay Dominic Thiem Stan Wawrinka 1-6 6-2 6-4

Stan winning IW may turn out to be a curse of sorts.

Ok it was just one match and it pales in comparison to Wawrinka's 2015 RG run. You can think whatever but if they happen to meet this year on clay especially at RG, I'd definitely have Wawa as the favourite.

 

[Meles]

Ok it was just one match and it pales in comparison to Wawrinka's 2015 RG run. You can think whatever but if they happen to meet this year on clay especially at RG, I'd definitely have Wawa as the favourite.

I agree on RG with the clay season yet to unfold. Thiem is far from proven in five set format despite the RG semi last year.

I'm frankly looking forward to both of them playing Nadal on clay. At Monte Carlo, I'd like to see QFs with Stan playing Rafa and Thiem versus Djoko. Thiem is due for a collision with Nadal. Missed each other at Acapulco. Rafa dropped Rotterdam. Both play Barcelona.

 

[I Am Finnish]

No Wawrinka will dominate the grass season