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Post by SAFINNO1 on Aug 13, 2005 16:24:11 GMT 3
Hmmm Interesting draw, 2nd round looks juicy against Dent or Murray.
But the draw is similar to last week there are many top quality games and just so happy normal business has resumed
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Post by Teresa on Aug 13, 2005 18:08:29 GMT 3
I think Dent must have the edge over Murray, this afterall is Dent's best surface. Marat vs Dent not so good for Marat.
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Post by sabz on Aug 13, 2005 18:37:06 GMT 3
I think Dent must have the edge over Murray, this afterall is Dent's best surface. Marat vs Dent not so good for Marat. About Murray v Dent, Murray can cause the upset  . He has already beaten Dent at Queens in London in straight sets. Murray has beaten players like Stephanek and pushed a great grass court player like Nalbandian, to 5 sets in the 3rd round of Wimby. As a Brit I really hope he does well, we've lost hope in Henman  (playin Massu 1st rnd) but Rusedski is also lookin on fine form. Hope he beats Hrbaty at Montreal!  Lookin at the draw, there are some nice 1st round matches, the headline one is easily Moya v Agassi, definately gonna b a gd 1. Other nice match ups are Coria v Srichaphan, Robredo and Gaudio square off again after their match in Montreal and Gasquet v Feliciano Lopez..although based on Lopez's defeat to Younes, maybe Gasquet won't have too much trouble. Should be a good tournament with all the big guns back in, Federer, will be curious to see how Safin looks after his surgery (and so do we  ), as they could meet in the semis! Finally a tournament which is worth watching!!! |
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Post by alsl on Aug 13, 2005 19:18:18 GMT 3
Dent doesnt seem to be on form though,or maybe it was just the heat stroke but maybe the conditions will change....andy is the obvious underdog but we'll see...
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Cassie
Junior Member
Posts: 158
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Post by Cassie on Aug 14, 2005 18:49:50 GMT 3
Bob Larson's tennis preview:
Who needs Slams when you have Cincinnati?
After four straight under-strength Masters, Cincinnati finally meets the definition of a required event: Everyone is in the field. Oh, we wouldn't bet much on Andre Agassi playing, especially after the rain delay at the Canadian Open. But he's listed in the field. Along with almost everyone else. Including Roger Federer.
Federer hasn't played since Wimbledon, wanting to rest his banged-up feet. But he's here as the #1 seed. Rafael Nadal, who continues to play as if he wants to ruin his feet, gets the #2 seed. Lleyton Hewitt, who this week is defending the Washington title, is #3. Marat Safin returns from his knee injury as the #4. Andy Roddick is #5. Nikolay Davydenko takes the #6 seed. Agassi is listed as the #7 seed. The guy whom he was playing in the Canadian Open quarterfinal, Gaston Gaudio, is #8. Guillermo Coria is #9. Mariano Puerta is #10, though he had a surprisingly good Canadian Open and is ranked higher than that now. David Nalbandian is #11 though he lost much too soon in Montreal. Tim Henman is a mess, but he still earns the #12 seed. Other than the suspended Guillermo Canas, the highest-ranked player to be missing is Joachim Johansson. That lets Thomas Johansson have the #13 seed. Ivan Ljubicic is #14, Radek Stepanek #15, and Richard Gasquet #16, meaning that two of last week's Top 20 -- Fernando Gonzalez and David Ferrer -- go unseeded.
As do a lot of other big names: Nicolas Kiefer, who based on last year's form should certainly be seeded on hardcourts; Filippo Volandri, though he isn't likely to do much damage away from clay; Olivier Rochus; Fabrice Santoro; Paradorn Srichaphan, who finally seems to be coming back to life; Tommy Robredo; Taylor Dent; Max Mirnyi; Robin Soderling; Domink Hrbaty; Carlos Moya; Sebastien Grosjean; red-hot Paul-Henri Mathieu; Tommy Haas, though he missed the Canadian Open; Andrei Pavel; Feliciano Lopez; Mario Ancic; Greg Rusedski; Jurgen Melzer; Juan Carlos Ferrero; Olympic champion Nicolas Massu; Jiri Novak; Mikhail Youzhny -- we could go on.
It's a pretty distinguished set of wildcards, too; none of this business of scraping Americans off the streets and alleys and watching them get slaughtered. Some are Americans, to be sure: James Blake and Robby Ginepri, both of whom have been re-establishing themselves this summer. The other wildcards go to those two most talked-about of prospects, Gael Monfils and Andy Murray.
Noteworthy First Round Matches
No byes. No sacrificial wildcards. Only 16 seeds. And everybody who is healthy in the field. This will be the best set of first round matches this year. Bar none. Let's just march down the draw.
(1) Federer vs. Blake. Obviously Federer is the very best. But Blake is playing well again, and he has played. Federer has had nothing but practice since Wimbledon.
Volandri vs. O. Rochus. A real change of pace. And an interesting place for them to meet, since Volandri likes clay and Rochus likes fast surfaces.
Santoro vs. (14) Ljubicic. Complete contrast in styles, of course, and Ljubicic has been struggling after starting the year very well.
(9) Coria vs. Srichaphan. Coria looked just plain bad at Montreal, though of course he's had more time to adapt to hardcourts now. But Srichaphan has finally started playing decently again; he might be a threat.
El Aynaoui vs. Acasuso. Both like clay, but El Aynaoui has had decent hardcourt results, and he at last looked like a real live player at Montreal.
Robredo vs. (8) Gaudio. A rematch from the Canadian Open.
(4) Safin vs. Qualifier. In ordinary circumstances, this would be expected to be a blowout. But Safin has been hurt, he hasn't been playing, it's summer when he often wilts anyway, and besides, we're talking about Safin.
Murray (WC) vs. Dent. Given how short points are on Dent's serve, Murray's fitness problems likely won't be an issue.
Mirnyi vs. Soderling. This is another match that will feature a lot of short points. The contrast is interesting, though: Mirnyi comes in, Soderling doesn't.
Hrbaty vs. (13) T. Johansson. This will be a good test of how quick the court is. Speed helps the Swede; Hrbaty likes things slower.
(10) Puerta vs. Ginepri (WC). Can Puerta possibly have another good hardcourt result in him?
Moya vs. (7) Agassi. For the second straight week, Moya gets a terrible draw. Or will it be a good draw, given how tired Agassi will be?
(6) Davydenko vs. Grosjean. Given how fast these two are, the individual points of this match may take nearly as long as some of the games in Murray vs. Dent or Mirnyi vs. Soderling. Grosjean showed some real determination at Montreal. Can he do it again?
Mathieu vs. Haas. Mathieu is tired but triumphant. Haas hasn't been playing. Who is in better shape?
Pavel vs. (11) Nalbandian. Based on overall form this year, Nalbandian should win this -- but he underperformed badly in Canada.
Gasquet (16) vs. Lopez. Lopez didn't look good in Montreal, but he certainly hits hard enough!
(5) Roddick vs. Melzer. Roddick needs to play better than he did last week, or the tricky Melzer could bother him a lot.
Massu vs. (12) Henman. Neither is playing well at all. Massu has more on the line from the Olympics.
Stepanek (14) vs. Monfils. Stepanek started the year in great form but has faded. On the other hand, he has the big edge in experience.
Novak vs. Beck. Can Beck do as much damage as he did in Canada?
Berdych vs. (2) Nadal. Young talent versus young even-more-talent.
The Rankings
This is the last of them. Four straight weeks of rankings goofiness end this week: After two straight weeks of Masters come off without adding a Masters back on, and one previous seek of adding without subtracting, we now get one more week where we add a Masters.
But this one is a lot more complicated than last. Last week, only one event (Sopot) came off. In practical terms, the rankings last week were calculated by subtracting a player's seventh best result and adding his Montreal points -- and few players had many seventh event points. This week, though, it's the sixth optional event coming off, which is bigger, plus there were two significant optional events played at this time last year: The Olympics and Washington. Washington was only a mid-level event, but the Olympics were an 80 Race point event -- nearly as big as a Masters, except that they weren't required.
So, this time, a lot of players will be taking real hits. Nicolas Massu was last year's Olympic winner, and he's already out of the Top 30; he could end up below #50. Mardy Fish, the Olympic finalist, isn't even playing at Cincinnati; the injuries he's been suffering for the last year will really bite him this week. Bronze medalist Fernando Gonzalez and non-bronze semifinalist Taylor Dent also stand to be hit hard; at least they're playing.
Washington was won by Lleyton Hewitt, who beat Gilles Muller in the final; Muller didn't make the cut for Cincinnati, and is in the qualifying; failure to win a few rounds here will cost him.
What that all adds up to is, this week will decide the U. S. Open seedings, and except for the top couple of spots, everything is in play. Roger Federer will be #1 when this is over, and Rafael Nadal #2. The competition starts at #3. Hewitt has it now, but he's only 300 points ahead of Safin, and 330 ahead of Roddick, and Washington was worth 200 points to him. Roddick lost in the Olympic third round, Safin in the second. Given that Hewitt has been sick, his performance seems far from guaranteed, and if he loses early, Safin could pass him with a quarterfinal. Roddick in all likelihood would need a semifinal.
Nikolay Davydenko and Andre Agassi appear sure to get two of the remaining Top Eight seeds. That leaves one. Right now, Gaston Gaudio has it, but he also has unusually large points in his sixth optional. So someone -- Puerta, Coria, or Nalbandian being the most reasonable candidates -- could still overtake him. Odds are that three of those four will occupy the last three spots in the Top Ten, though someone could still get in the way, Thomas Johansson being the best bet.
The competition for the #16, #24, and #32 spots is wide open; we'll have to update that for you as the week goes along.
Key Matches
Being Top Ten sounds nice, and #1 pays off in commercial endorsements -- but in practice, the single most important ranking is #4. There isn't much practical difference between being seeded #2 or #3; you're seeded for the semifinals and bound to face a very tough semifinal opponent either way. But the difference between #4 and #5 is quite big. And, this week, we have three players -- Hewitt, Safin, Roddick -- playing to avoid #5. The three are close enough together that, if one of them wins Cincinnati, he's assured the #3 spot. And if one loses early, especially if it's Safin or Roddick, he gets stuck at #5.
Roddick, as the guy seeded #5 at Cincinnati, has the worst draw. He opens against Melzer, then probably Juan Carlos Ferrero. Then, based on current form, he gets a big of a break: Henman or Massu or Martin or Chela. But then he has to face Nadal.
Hewitt's draw, overall, isn't too bad: Igor Andreev, who has yet to establish himself on hardcourt, then probably a tired Greg Rusedski, then Gasquet or Lopez or Ancic, then Nalbandian or Davydenko (talk about a hard-scrambling quarterfinal).
Hewitt and Roddick could potentially meet in the semifinal, with the winner in pretty good shape to earn the #4 seed (or better).
Safin is fortunate in that he gets to come back against a qualifier, then Murray or Dent (that Murray/Dent match of course being very big for Dent because of the Olympics -- even a semifinal there is equivalent to a small optional title). But he has to face Johansson in the third round, then potentially Agassi.
It's interesting to note that all four guys competing for the #8 spot (Gaudio, Puerta, Coria, and Nalbandian) are Argentines, and all but Nalbandian are clay specialists. It's a lot of pressure for all four. Nalbandian faces Pavel, then Gonzalez (who ends up in the #25 range if he loses, so that's big for him), then Davydenko, and he almost certainly has to win that to hit the Top Ten. His only hope for a Top Eight spot is to beat Hewitt in the quarterfinal.
Guadio and Coria are drawn to meet in the Round of Sixteen; the winner does not clinch a Top Eight spot, but the loser is just about certain not to get one.
Puerta has the worst draw of all: Ginepri, then Ferrer, then Agassi if he plays, then Safin. On this surface, he isn't much of a favorite in any of those matches.
Finally, we should keep in mind the Henman/Massu match. Henman doesn't have any Olympic points (he lost first round), but his only hope for a Top 12 U. S. Open seed is to win -- and Massu, of course, has his Olympic points coming off.
A fuller version of this story is found in Pro Tour News, one of the sections of Bob Larson’s Daily Tennis. Details on how to subscribe are found elsewhere on this web site.
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Post by SAFINNO1 on Aug 14, 2005 23:23:03 GMT 3
Monday's OOP is out and Unfortanately no Marat today. Incidently he will face Jan Hernych on tuesday and has a 1-0 lead against him, winning at IW 6-4 7-6 last year. So could be a nice warm up
Center Court
Matches Start At: 11:00 AM
Nicolas MASSU (CHI) vs Tim HENMAN (GBR)
NOT BEFORE 1:00 PM
Andy RODDICK (USA) vs Jurgen MELZER (AUT)
followed by
Guillermo CORIA (ARG) vs Paradorn SRICHAPHAN (THA)
NOT BEFORE 7:30 PM
Roger FEDERER (SUI) vs James BLAKE (USA)
followed by
Richard GASQUET (FRA) vs Feliciano LOPEZ (ESP)
Grandstand
Matches Start At: 11:00 AM
Filippo VOLANDRI (ITA) vs Olivier ROCHUS (BEL)
followed by
Radek STEPANEK (CZE) vs Gael MONFILS (FRA)
followed by
Stefan KOUBEK (AUT) vs Juan Carlos FERRERO (ESP)
followed by
Fernando GONZALEZ (CHI) vs Novak DJOKOVIC (SCG)
followed by
Andrei PAVEL (ROM) vs David NALBANDIAN (ARG)
followed by
Nicolas KIEFER (GER) vsNicolas LAPENTTI (ECU)
Court 3
Matches Start At: 11:00 AM
Fabrice SANTORO (FRA) vs Ivan LJUBICIC (CRO)
followed by
Mikhail YOUZHNY (RUS) vs Cyril SAULNIER (FRA)
followed by
Jiri NOVAK (CZE) vs Karol BECK (SVK)
followed by
Mario ANCIC (CRO) vs Ricardo MELLO (BRA)
Court 4
Matches Start At: 11:00 AM
Alberto MARTIN (ESP) vs Juan Ignacio CHELA (ARG)
followed by
Luis HORNA (PER) vs Christophe ROCHUS (BEL)
followed by
David FERRER (ESP)/Tommy ROBREDO (ESP) vs Gaston ETLIS (ARG)/Martin RODRIGUEZ (ARG)
followed by
Justin GIMELSTOB (USA)/Rick LEACH (USA) vs Dominik HRBATY (SVK)/Graydon OLIVER (USA)
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Post by Teresa on Aug 15, 2005 3:42:41 GMT 3
Marat's first opponent is Q Hernych
They have only met once and that was last year
in IW
2004 Indian Wells AMS, Hard, R64 California, USA
Hard R64 Safin 6 4 7 6
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Post by CaliforniaSuds on Aug 15, 2005 5:50:01 GMT 3
It's gonna get too hot watching him. My slogan for this coming week: Curls fly, balls die. I'm not worried about Dent cuz he got fat fat fat. Too much breaded Calamari down in Newport Beach (10 miles from me). I don't expect Marat to win, but will root for him all the way. Get to work Marat. Beach and Butt time is over
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Post by Elisabeth on Aug 15, 2005 10:51:53 GMT 3
A pic of Marat's training  |
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Post by Teresa on Aug 15, 2005 14:20:33 GMT 3
Monday, August 15, 2005
By Dustin Dow
Enquirer staff writer
The Enquirer/Steven M. Herppich
SAFIN IN GOOD SHAPE: World No. 4 player Marat Safin will play his first match since Wimbledon Tuesday against qualifier Jan Hernych in the first round.
Safin has been rehabbing an injured knee that he said did not require surgery, just rest.
"I've been struggling for five months since March," said Safin who won the Australian Open in February. "I'd been taking pain killers and injections in my knee. I just decided to stop straight up after Wimbledon to take care of the knee. Otherwise my knee would have been destroyed and it would have cost me six months to one year."
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Post by Teresa on Aug 15, 2005 14:22:33 GMT 3
It's gonna get too hot watching him. My slogan for this coming week: Curls fly, balls die. I'm not worried about Dent cuz he got fat fat fat. Too much breaded Calamari down in Newport Beach (10 miles from me). I don't expect Marat to win, but will root for him all the way. Get to work Marat. Beach and Butt time is over Suds *ROTFL* ;D ("Beach and Butt time over" ;D) |
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Post by Teresa on Aug 15, 2005 14:23:20 GMT 3
Great pic Elisabeth THANK YOU
The curls are still there ;D
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Post by lau on Aug 15, 2005 18:16:27 GMT 3
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Post by alsl on Aug 15, 2005 20:03:37 GMT 3
does anyone know what time marat is playing on tuesday GMT?
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Post by SAFINNO1 on Aug 16, 2005 1:07:09 GMT 3
Weve been waiting for this Tuesday OOP
Center Court
Matches Start At: 11:00 AM
Mariano PUERTA (ARG) vs Robby GINEPRI (USA)
NOT BEFORE 1:00 PM
Igor ANDREEV (RUS) vs Lleyton HEWITT (AUS)
followed by
[glow=red,2,300]Marat SAFIN (RUS) vs Jan HERNYCH (CZE)[/glow]
NOT BEFORE 7:30 PM
Tomas BERDYCH (CZE) vs Rafael NADAL (ESP)
followed by
Jonathan ERLICH (ISR)/Andy RAM (ISR) vs Jeff MORRISON (USA)/Jim THOMAS (USA)
Grandstand
Matches Start At: 11:00 AM
Paul-Henri MATHIEU (FRA) vs Tommy HAAS (GER)
followed by
Dmitry TURSUNOV (RUS) vs Greg RUSEDSKI (GBR)
followed by
Andy MURRAY (GBR) vs Taylor DENT (USA)
followed by
Carlos MOYA (ESP) vs Xavier MALISSE (BEL)
NOT BEFORE 7:30 PM
Tommy ROBREDO (ESP) vs Gaston GAUDIO (ARG)
Court 3
Matches Start At: 11:00 AM
Dominik HRBATY (SVK) vs Thomas JOHANSSON (SWE)
followed by
Nikolay DAVYDENKO (RUS) vs Sebastien GROSJEAN (FRA)
followed by
Gilles SIMON (FRA) vs Vincent SPADEA (USA)
followed by
Leos FRIEDL (CZE)/Andrei PAVEL (ROM) vs Yves ALLEGRO (SUI)/Roger FEDERER (SUI)
Court 4
Matches Start At: 11:00 AM
Wesley MOODIE (RSA) vs David FERRER (ESP)
followed by
Max MIRNYI (BLR) vs Robin SODERLING (SWE)
followed by
Younes EL AYNAOUI (MAR) vs Jose ACASUSO (ARG)
followed by
Nicolas MASSU (CHI)/Travis PARROTT (USA) vs Feliciano LOPEZ (ESP)/Mikhail YOUZHNY (RUS)
Court 5
Matches Start At: 1:00 PM
Cyril SUK (CZE)/Pavel VIZNER (CZE) vs Mario ANCIC (CRO)/Ivan LJUBICIC (CRO)
followed by
Simon ASPELIN (SWE)/Todd PERRY (AUS) vs Thomas JOHANSSON (SWE)/Radek STEPANEK (CZE)
followed by
Stephen HUSS (AUS)/Wesley MOODIE (RSA) vs Nikolay DAVYDENKO (RUS)/Jiri NOVAK (CZE)
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. He has already beaten Dent at Queens in London in straight sets. Murray has beaten players like Stephanek and pushed a great grass court player like Nalbandian, to 5 sets in the 3rd round of Wimby. As a Brit I really hope he does well, we've lost hope in Henman 
(playin Massu 1st rnd) but Rusedski is also lookin on fine form. Hope he beats Hrbaty at Montreal! 
), as they could meet in the semis!
) of Marat training done by Christine of "Safinator" site 