Shanghai Rolex Masters 2012...Shanghai, China

[don_budge]

Clear on the other side of the world the professional tennis tour rocks on. Kei Nishikori put a bit of a butt kick to Milos Raonic in Japan...7-6, 3-6, 6-0. Party down in Tokyo...My Woman From Tokyo style. Nishikori appears to have defeated Berdych in the quarters although the score was not posted as of Sunday on the ATP World Tour website. If that is the case he owns Berdych 3-1 lifetime which is a bit surprising. The two players are slated to meet in the round of 16 in Shanghai.

Novak Djokovic defeats Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6, 6-2 in Beijing. It must feel sort of strange being so far east for most of the boys.

Roger Federer returns to action in Shanghai and it should be interesting to see how the rest has affected his game. A great field for this event but does anyone care in the west? We will see.

[klacr]

Deep Purple

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJRsPLVNO68

Woman from Tokyo. That Deep Puple song is a classic don_budge!

Nishikori played great this week. Thinking Berdych may get his sweet revenge in the round of 16 in Shanghai this week. Stumps me as to that 3-1 H2H that Nishikori has on him.

Will be good to see Roger back in action. He mentioned he really wants to end the year at #1. He has some points to defend from last year, but knowing how great of an indoor player Roger is, something tells me he'll hold on to the top ranking.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Good news...bad news

The good news is for Stotty and other Andy Murray fans. He has won this tournament the last two years and is vying for a three-peat...(a term coined by Magic Johnson and the L. A. Lakers back in the day...the Detroit Pistons Bad Boys thwarted that little effort fortunately).

The bad news is for klacr aka Kyle of Boca Raton....an avowed Tomas Berdych fan. Kyle, as you know, Berdych is owned by Kei Nishikori 3-1 lifetime head to head and he is slated to meet the Japanese samurai in the round of sixteen. Guess what? Berdych has lost the the last three years in the round of sixteen at the Shanghai Masters. Nishikori lost in the semis last year in a rather impressive showing before losing to Murray, I believe.

[klacr]

don_budge,

No need to remind me of the 3-1 H2H Nishikori edge over Tberd. I'm well aware. But guess what, things can change! Nishikori perhaps a bit fatigued from his big week in Tokyo may not be semifinal material this week. Berdych had a few extra days rest and will peak for the indoor season where his clean ball striking can be on display. Wishful thinking perhaps, but crazier things have happened. Maybe Murray can three-peat but he has to kick it into high gear knowing he's got a target on his back as a grand slam champion.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[GeoffWilliams]

Nishikori has the fastest unit turns, and uncoils, of anyone out there right now. So fast it's martial arts/eye can't follow it fast. If your eyes can't follow the turn, neither can your body.

[tennis_chiro]

Tough order to hold on to number one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJRsPLVNO68

Woman from Tokyo. That Deep Puple song is a classic don_budge!

Nishikori played great this week. Thinking Berdych may get his sweet revenge in the round of 16 in Shanghai this week. Stumps me as to that 3-1 H2H that Nishikori has on him.

Will be good to see Roger back in action. He mentioned he really wants to end the year at #1. He has some points to defend from last year, but knowing how great of an indoor player Roger is, something tells me he'll hold on to the top ranking.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Roger is guaranteed the number one ranking again this week, his 299th. If he wins at least one match against his wildcard opponent in Shanghai, Roger will hold on to the top spot at least through Basel. In the critical Race to London standings, Djokovic will go to 10,410 in a couple of hours. In 12 month ranking points, he will close the gap to Roger by 410 points to get to 10,970. (only 410 points because Roger's zero for pulling out of Beijing late last year will be replaced by a 90 from Doha). Roger will be at 11, 895, just 925 points ahead of Djokovic in the 52-week standings with 1000 possible in Shanghai. Win that one match in Shanghai and he gets at least 90 points which puts him out of reach for Djokovic until after Basel. Both men had zeros for Shanghai last year. But after that (Basel, Paris and London), Roger ran the table and has 3000 points to defend. But Djokovic, only 560.

Put it another way, even if Roger duplicates his performance in the indoor season and picks up 3000 points in Basel, Paris and London (unlikely), Djokovic still goes into this stretch with a 900 point lead in the race. If Roger wins all those, but Novak wins Shanghai and loses to Roger in each of those other finals, that's +400 for Novak in Shanghai (goes to 1300), +180 for Roger in Basel, +400 for Roger in Paris, and +500 for Roger in London. That's net +680 for Roger and he needs +900. Murray is even worse off; Andy is a full 3500 points behind Novak when October 8th's standings in the year-to-date race come out in a few hours.

Roger is looking very good for getting to 301 weeks at number one, but then Djokovic will have a good shot at overtaking him, even if he were to lose to Roger in 3 of 4 finals through the rest of the year. And the way he is playing, he doesn't look vulnerable to anyone but Murray or Federer in later rounds of these events. Last year, he fell apart after the US Open, but, to me, he looks a little thicker and hardier than last year (I'd love to know if his weight has changed. He still looks chiseled.)

So, Kyle, revel in Roger's milestone 300th week at number one. He needs just that one match this week to guarantee 301. Believe me, I'm pulling for Roger to get the year-end crown, but it looks like it might be too much to ask, even from him. If Roger wins this week, it gets a lot more interesting.

don

[klacr]

Don,

That is some great number crunching!. Yes, you are right the Basel, Paris, London stretch was impressive, but it may be his undoing.

I expect for Djokoic to play better at the end of this year than he did last year. Last season at this time Djokovic was exhausted from his epic season. This year he has not played nearly as much because although his results are good, they are not out of this world like in 2011.

I guarantee Roger and Novak will make it interesting.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Hmmm

Roger is looking very good for getting to 301 weeks at number one, but then Djokovic will have a good shot at overtaking him, even if he were to lose to Roger in 3 of 4 finals through the rest of the year. And the way he is playing, he doesn't look vulnerable to anyone but Murray or Federer in later rounds of these events. Last year, he fell apart after the US Open, but, to me, he looks a little thicker and hardier than last year (I'd love to know if his weight has changed. He still looks chiseled.)
don

Djokovic still isn't the player of 2011. Well he is but not when it counts. But I still cannot understand why...why...why he isn't back to where he was? He isn't as stupendously fit as he has in 2011/early 2012. The back-to-back matches he had with Murray then Nadal at the Aussie Open were almost not human from a fitness viewpoint. And, yes, his physique is a little thicker. Djokovic is the one player I thought may be on PEDs back in 2011. Those two matches in the Aussie Open seemed impossible...in the heat...so little chance to recover between the two monument matches? I know a fair bit about fitness and I'm not sure what he pulled off there was purely natural.

Djokovic is a more cautious player in key matches at key times than he was in 2011. That's going to be costly against Murray...and was.

But he isn't the physical specimen he was...why is that?

[GeoffWilliams]

His doctor Igor Cetkovic left when he won Wimbledon. When he began that run, in June the year before, is when the doc joined up. Doc was injecting Joker with scio machine frequencies, and accupuncture daily, and came up with the gluten allergy diagnosis. Soon as he left, joker fell off with his energy in combat.

[tennis_chiro]

Number crunching!?!

Don,

That is some great number crunching!. Yes, you are right the Basel, Paris, London stretch was impressive, but it may be his undoing.

I expect for Djokoic to play better at the end of this year than he did last year. Last season at this time Djokovic was exhausted from his epic season. This year he has not played nearly as much because although his results are good, they are not out of this world like in 2011.

I guarantee Roger and Novak will make it interesting.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

I don't know why (sent a note to the ATP staff), but the ATP is keeping the 2011 Tokyo result (late withdrawal) on Federer's record and not crediting him with the 90 points for Doha yet. It makes a difference because he is almost sure to beat the qualifier Lu or the Chinese wildcard Zhang in his first Shanghai match, but then he has real competition in Istomin/Berlocq/Ramos/Wawrinka in the round of 16. According to what they are showing today, Fed has to win that roundn of 16 match to secure that 300th and 301st week at number one. Seems to me 300 weeks would be a pretty significant milestone that should stand up for quite a while.

As for Fed and Nole making it interesting, don't leave Stotty's Murray out of the mix. Andy may be virtually mathematically locked out of number one for this year, but he will have a say and an influence on how the final standings actually play out. Certainly hope Nadal can return next year. It could be the best year yet with all of the top four having matured and feeling like they don't take a back seat to anyone.

don

[stotty]

His doctor Igor Cetkovic left when he won Wimbledon. When he began that run, in June the year before, is when the doc joined up. Doc was injecting Joker with scio machine frequencies, and accupuncture daily, and came up with the gluten allergy diagnosis. Soon as he left, joker fell off with his energy in combat.

Interesting stuff...

[tennis_chiro]

Fed has to reach quarters to hold on to #1

I don't know why (sent a note to the ATP staff), but the ATP is keeping the 2011 Tokyo result (late withdrawal) on Federer's record and not crediting him with the 90 points for Doha yet. It makes a difference because he is almost sure to beat the qualifier Lu or the Chinese wildcard Zhang in his first Shanghai match, but then he has real competition in Istomin/Berlocq/Ramos/Wawrinka in the round of 16. According to what they are showing today, Fed has to win that roundn of 16 match to secure that 300th and 301st week at number one. Seems to me 300 weeks would be a pretty significant milestone that should stand up for quite a while.

As for Fed and Nole making it interesting, don't leave Stotty's Murray out of the mix. Andy may be virtually mathematically locked out of number one for this year, but he will have a say and an influence on how the final standings actually play out. Certainly hope Nadal can return next year. It could be the best year yet with all of the top four having matured and feeling like they don't take a back seat to anyone.

don

Got a response from the ATP. Fed has to play 4 500's in 2012 or suffer the penalty of having a 0-pointer added to his total. They had the date for that 0-pointer expiring today as of this morning after they updated the rankings. They have since updated it to expire in 2013. I assumed they would count the Olympics as another ATP500 for the purposes of that requirement. My mistake. Seems like a glitch in the ranking rules. If he had played and won Atlanta instead of the Olympics, he would have had 50 more points for Atlanta, plus the 90 points for Doha added to his total. Probably easier to win Atlanta this year than to get to the finals of the Olympics. Obviously, not a choice Roger or anyone else would have made. But it doesn't seem to me there should be a ranking penalty for supporting the Olympics.

So he has to make it to the quarters to secure 2 more weeks at number one! If I was the TD in Shanghai and Roger was going out to play that quarterfinal match, I would have a cake with 300 candles on it ready to bring out to celebrate that accomplishment immediately (and for the associated free PR) if he did win that match. I wonder if they'll do that. (I sent that message to the ATP too.)

don

[don_budge]

"Quirky" anyone? The Quirk aka Florian Mayer, Marion Bartolli and the French

I remember sometime in the beginning...in the beginning when I started to post on TennisPlayer.net that is. I made some critical comments about Marion Bartolli's serve, which at the time, in my estimation was one convoluted mess and very unorthodox. As a consequence, our highly esteemed bottle reared up on his literary stallion legs and sort of stated in a somewhat less than subtle way that he resented my description and that he preferred the word "quirky". Well...I thought to myself...I'm ok with that. As a consequence I have come to view the Bartolli take on tennis as a somewhat lovely work of art in process...except for that stupid tennis racquet. The elongated snowshoe. But at least the serve has morphed somewhat...into more convolutions and "quirks".

Being new to the site and having learned to respect my elders and the more experienced, I accepted his less critical word of "quirky" rather than unorthodox or convoluted mess, even though I felt that I was only being critical in the sense of using a form and expression of my sophisticated judgement of something artistic. I think in a way he is right...particularly when the French historically seem to have some kind of artistic avante garde perspective on things that seems to have seeped over into their interpretation of tennis technique.

The French are such lovely creatures aren't they? Drinking wine, smoking cigarettes and carrying on with extramarital affairs besides hitting the tennis ball any way they damn well please. They regard the hours between five and seven in the afternoon as reserved to carry on with their lovers. At least the aristocracy do...they can afford to. Mon amour...je dois travailler tard ce soir. That may oversimplify things a bit although the French seem to take it all in stride...but somebody please bring back dear old Ferdinand Celine, my favorite author of all time. He was a bit quirky come to think of it. His take on the human experience of existence was less than orthodox or conventional at the time...I suppose. He was Jim Morrison's favorite too and Henry Miller only tried to walk in his footsteps.

But anyways...there is one player on the tour that I really love to watch play and that player is another self taught artist whose name is Florian Mayer. This guy is just a joy to watch when he is at his best...because by the nature of his game he can bring out the worst in the best. His game is designed in many ways to upset the rhythm of his opponent and his strokes are less than orthodox...so I call him "The Quirk". Without being judgmental I might add. I saw him dismantle Robin Söderling and reduce him to tears at the Stockholm Open. Robin was crying because he had been embarrassed by the quirky nature of Mayer and ended up a train wreck in front of his adoring Swede fans.

Florian Mayer defeated Bernard Tomic, who's forehand by coincidence is still the subject of a Sticky thread here on the forum, yesterday 6-4, 6-0 to set up a second round match with Andy Murray. Florian's forehand and his serve will probably never grace this forum in any way, shape or form as by their nature...they are quirky. In their only other meeting to date Murray won 1-6, 6-1 and 6-1. That was in Rome at another Masters 1000 tourney in 2011. I believe that Mayer beat Nadal at the Shanghai Masters last year. Is there another lightning strike in the offing? It's unlikely...but one never knows, do they? Due to the sometimes quirky nature of tennis, art and life.

[don_budge]

TBird update...Isner vs. Anderson

Finally the results are posted for the Tokyo tournament last week. Nishikori thumped TBird 7-5, 6-4 in the round of 16. TBird is playing the doubles at Shanghai which is a great idea from my point of view. A chance to get some good competitive practice and bone up on his transition game and volleying. It can't hurt the service and return game either.

John Isner over Kevin Anderson 7-6, 6-7, 7-6. Not a single break of serve. I wonder how this might of ended up without the tie-breaker.

[stotty]

I remember sometime in the beginning...in the beginning when I started to post on TennisPlayer.net that is. I made some critical comments about Marion Bartolli's serve, which at the time, in my estimation was one convoluted mess and very unorthodox. As a consequence, our highly esteemed bottle reared up on his literary stallion legs and sort of stated in a somewhat less than subtle way that he resented my description and that he preferred the word "quirky". Well...I thought to myself...I'm ok with that. As a consequence I have come to view the Bartolli take on tennis as a somewhat lovely work of art in process...except for that stupid tennis racquet. The elongated snowshoe. But at least the serve has morphed somewhat...into more convolutions and "quirks".

Being new to the site and having learned to respect my elders and the more experienced, I accepted his less critical word of "quirky" rather than unorthodox or convoluted mess even though I felt that I was only being critical in the sense of a form and expression of my sophisticated judgement of something artistic. I think in a way he is right...particularly when the French historically seem to have some kind of artistic avante garde perspective on things that seems to have seeped over into their interpretation of tennis technique.

The French are such lovely creatures aren't they? Drinking wine, smoking cigarettes and carrying on with extramarital affairs besides hitting the tennis ball any way they damn well please. They regard the hours between five and seven in the afternoon as reserved to carry on with their lovers. At least the aristocracy do...they can afford to. Mon amour...je dois travailler tard ce soir. That may oversimplify things a bit although the French seem to take it all in stride...but somebody please bring back dear old Ferdinand Celine, my favorite author of all time. He was a bit quirky come to think of it. His take on the human experience of existence was less than orthodox or conventional at the time...I suppose. He was Jim Morrison's favorite too and Henry Miller only tried to walk in his footsteps.

Absolutely superb post...and spot on...brilliant. The last paragraph sums up the French to a T.