Category Archives: ATP Tour
Sodden Balls, A Tin Sky
Monte Carlo Masters, Third Round Haase d. Bellucci, 6/2 6/3 Last week in Casablanca, Robin Haase, not the latest great hope of Dutch tennis but still arguably the best, lost to Lamine Ouahab, ranked No.752. It was another low point … Continue reading
Streaks and Bagels
Monte Carlo Masters, First and Second Rounds (4) Tsonga d. Kohlschreiber, 6/2 6/4 (3) Murray d. Troicki, 6/0 6/3 There is a persistent belief, and one that I share in spite of my better judgement, that Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is a … Continue reading
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Used Dishwater
Houston, Final (4) Monaco d. (2) Isner, 6/2 3/6 6/3 Juan Monaco today earned himself a career-high ranking of No.14, the right to call himself the US Men’s Clay Court Champion (ladies), and a potentially decisive bone-weariness as he decamps … Continue reading
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Luck of the Draw: Monte Carlo 2012
Depending on who you talk to, the outcome of the Monte Carlo Masters will have ramifications for the rest of the clay court season extending all the way from the profound up to the negligible. If Nadal wins, he’ll win … Continue reading
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The High Point of the Season
The Monte Carlo draw isn’t out until tomorrow, but, alone among tournaments, this offers no reason not to analyse it. The two salient features are already known: Rafael Nadal will play, and so will Novak Djokovic. Just this once, we … Continue reading
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Hardcourt Retrospective 2012 (Part Two)
This is Part Two of my look back at some of the players for whom the hardcourt season proved definitive, for better or for worse. The selection of players discussed might seem odd, although this is hopefully only because it … Continue reading
Filed under ATP Tour, By the Numbers
Hardcourt Retrospective 2012 (Part One)
The ATP calendar has never made a great deal of sense, which is no great issue, since nowhere is it written that sporting schedules need to be sensible. In the case of tennis, a global concern with a vast delta … Continue reading
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Too Much Luck
Miami Masters, Final (1) Djokovic d. (4) Murray, 6/1 7/6 Andy Murray reached the Miami Masters final with only three wins, usefully augmented by a pair of walkovers and a bye. To that diverse collection of results Novak Djokovic has … Continue reading
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Drama or Quality
Miami Masters, Quarterfinals (2) Nadal d. (6) Tsonga, 6/2 5/7 6/4 My stated intention to write about last night’s Miami quarterfinal between Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Rafael Nadal was, as the second set wore tediously down, coming up hard against my … Continue reading
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The Tipsarevic
Miami Masters, Quarterfinals (4) Murray d. (9) Tipsarevic, 4/6 6/3 6/4 ‘Murray has now won eleven of twelve points on the The Tipsarevic’s second serve,’ declared Barry Cowan in the Sky Sports commentary. I’m not sure precisely when ‘Tipsarevic’ became … Continue reading
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