30 Days of Tennis Challenge – Day 18: Favorite men’s outfit

Three words, one for each stripe: Three Stri Pes. (Ehhhh, poetic license?)

I’m an Adidas fanboy. There’s no reason to deny it. Since 2007, I only wear Adidas shoes. My favorite football teams – Palmeiras, Bayern München, Liverpool and Ajax – all are sponsored by Adidas, which me gusta. I have this admiration for the German company. And it’s not because of this personal preference I like their tennis apparel. Nope. It’s the other way around, in fact.

 

This one.

Jurgen Melzer’s 2009 Indian Wells outfit. Was the first tennis outfit I glanced at and said: ‘WANT!’. Even today, I’m still looking forward to acquire the green Barricade – though I’m reluctant in paying 400 bucks on a pair of shoes.

 

Special mentions:

Andy Murray, Australian Open 2011 

Rafael Nadal, Roland Garros 2010

Richard Gasquet, Lacoste 2011 

Florian Mayer/Gilles Simon, Hamburg 2011 

Roger Federer, US Open 2009 

 

Useful:

Prologue and explanation

Day 1 – Favorite men’s player

Day 2 – Favorite women’s player

Day 3 – Favorite doubles team

Day 4 – Least favorite men’s player

Day 5 – Least favorite women’s player

Day 6 – Most memorable match

Day 7 – First player you became a fan of

Day 8 – Earliest tennis memory

Day 9 – Favorite retired men’s player

Day 10 – Favorite retired women’s player

Day 11 – A player nobody would expect you to love

Day 12 – A player that you aren’t a fan of but you respect

Day 13 – Favorite Grand Slam tournament

Day 14 – Favorite non-Slam tournament

Day 15 – Most attractive women’s player

Day 16 – Most attractive men’s player

Day 17 – Favorite women’s outfit

 

TGFTU

For a better comprehension of this post, a quick reminder of the five Masters events held so far and its semifinals follow:

Indian Wells: Nadal def. Del Potro, Djokovic def. Federer; Miami: Nadal def. Federer, Djokovic def. Fish; Monte Carlo: Nadal def. Murray, Ferrer def. Melzer; Madrid: Nadal def. Federer, Djokovic def. Bellucci; Rome: Nadal def. Gasquet, Djokovic def. Murray.

Feel the drama. Five tournaments mean twenty available semifinal spots. These twenty spots were filled by only ten players. Or, as I like to put, four plus six.

I could just go all the way and explain the reasons for this domination and why it sucks, for both the sport and (most? Some?) the fans, but I won’t. Instead, I will dedicate this article to the brave men who inflicted the most surprising results of the year. We could just call it TGFTU. Thank God For The Upsets.

The randomness of the draw’s lottery set another Nadal-Murray meeting for the semifinals. Oh. And many many of us – me included – thought we were faded to endure another Big-4 semifinal. But tennis is a lovely box filled with surprises, isn’t it? With a beautiful, plastic, ballerina dancing endless circles inside.

Exactly.

And the ballerina first spun to Murray. The world number four who, believe it or not, had his most impressive results in 2011 up to date on clay rather than on hard courts, went down to Kevin Anderson with a surprising-but-not-so-much 6/3, 6/1 loss. The ‘not-so-much’ part stand for his losses to Donald Young and Alex Bogomolov at the first American Masters of the year.

Draw open, then. Open to Nadal, right? His foot is not okay, but he is Nadal and OH WAIT.

When was the last time you guys had seen Rafa facepalming?

The plastic ballerina deployed to handle him was more like a macabre voodoo doll made of rags found only in the darkest holes of this planet. And they took the form of a 26-year old Croat to achieve its final goals. The story of the match is, alone, crazy enough, highlighted by Rafa’s squandering of breaks in the final set en route to a tie-break loss and his first opener loss since ’08 Rome. 1/6, 7/6, 7/6 scoreline and biggest win of Ivan Dodig’s career.

We now have left in the bottom half of the French franchise of the Rogers Cup only three seeded players, #6 Fish, #7 Berdych and #14 Wawrinka, plus Gulbis, Kevin Anderson, Tipsarevic and Dodig. Only the first three have already a Masters final in their record, but only Berdych has a title. The other four? Well, they combine for four career titles and are seeking their Cinderella run.

Ivan Dodig kills the giant. It's not like he's the next #1 or something. And that's the best part of it

Ain’t it amazing? Of course, people who are fan of Nadal, or Murray, or both, don’t think so. But for tennis and guys like me, who are completely against the Big-4, this is like heaven. The surprise factor, so present in guys like Hicham Arazi or Albert Portas in the past, but so gone nowadays, returning, adds a tad of an extra excitement to the game. Tennis need it. You can’t just blame someone – or someones – for being too good. Hell, no, this is an individual sport, where in the end it’s all about you, your racquet, your opponent, his racquet. Better player wins.

But to avoid the common sense sometimes, to see some different faces, faces you wouldn’t expect, faces you might don’t even know precisely to whom they belong, well, that’s something to prevent the sport from falling into total and complete boredom – a scenario you could miss all the action throughout the week, tune in on Friday and still have that feeling you missed nothing.

With all of my faves out of the party, only thing still left for me is rooting against Djokovic and Federer. Of course. Djokovic’s ridiculous YTD record went from admirable to ridiculous. And Federer, well, he’s just turned 30. Every title now will be a “statement against the big media that says he’s done”. We don’t need that. And we also don’t need a lackluster final between one of them and an underdog.

But you know what we could use? An underdog – the kind of winner that makes a lucky better rich.

How it’s done + Quick considerations

“EASY STEPS TO MAKE ME LOSE ALL THE INTEREST IN A TENNIS TOURMANENT – A QUICK GUIDE”

Written by Pete S. Liguori

1. Andy Roddick.

2. Robin Soderling

3. Remove items 1 and 2 off the draw.

4. Kim Clijsters

5. Yanina Wickmayer

6. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

7. Set the following match-ups: 4 vs. Serena Williams (3^rd Round), 5 vs. Caroline Wozniacki (2^nd Round), 6 vs. Hantuchova/Dulko, Azarenka (2^nd/3^rd round).

 

So far, the Rogers Cup fits perfectly.

The following links will redirect you to the catastrophic Toronto/Montreal draws. Quick considerations to follow.

 

Montreal Masters 1000

Toronto Premier 5

 

- Djokovic vs. Federer again in the same half of the draw. I wonder of the tennis world will collapse in case this match-up starst being only eligible in finals.

- Montreal had so many withdrawals it now looks like the Bercy Masters. Or maybe not – since the tops usually also don’t take part in the last Masters of the season.

- Djokovic is likely to play Davydenko in the second round. Del Potro, who made his only Masters final up to date at the Rogers Cup, might play the world #1 in the third round. Gael Monfils is the seed placed in Nole’s quarter, but he could have John Isner before the quarterfinals. Tough draw.

- In the lower quarter of the upper half, Gasquet and Florian will meet in the first round. Bellucci MUST beat Golubev (who the hell loses to him these days anyway?); Federer and Almagro are the highest seeds in this section. I doubt Almagro will reach the QFs. As for Federer, he has Tsonga – who beat him in Montreal/09 and Wimbledon this year – on his way. Third round.

- Lower quarter, bottom half. Nadal is placed there, just like Berdych. Haas vs. Tipsarevic – luck keeps failing Tommy; Fernando Verdasco could be Rafa’s fourth round opponent, and I’m already laughing – you should too; Gilles Simon – who put a run in Hamburg – is Berdych’s biggest challenge before the quarterfinals. Or maybe not – he will play Dolgopolov or Chovka in the second round. The way things are going, I can see Berdych losing to Dolgo, yes, rather easily, even.

- The remaining quarter – or the tasty first-rounders quarter. (8) Fish vs. Lopez/Stepanek, Gulbis/Ferrero vs. Youzhny/Llodra, Wawa/Nalbandian, winner taking on Murray in the third round. Even with Fish owning Murray recently (their H2H favors Mardy, no?), and Ernie, David, playing the wildcard, darkhorse, mad dog role, I’m still skeptical about a surprise here.

Should I take a round up with the girls? No. Definitely not. At least not now, not on this post. Will be back later. But don’t expect to see me here again today.

The light in the end of the buzz-kill

I had it all planed. Really did. I was ready to write a post – this would be the one – talking about how really amazing grass is. The background, of course, would be Roddick and Ana reaching finals this week, despite having fairly disappointing seasons (Ana more than Andy?).

But, well, sigh. I’m like, an ultra-jinxing machine – everything I say, sports related, happens. But backwards. That’s why I don’t bet.

Yes, we are keeping an eye on you, Andrew

They both had tough matchups ahead. Roddick played Andy Murray in London, but oh well, this is Queen’s. And Roddick. They are naturally attracted. Or at least used to be. But what happened today was a beatdown. 6/3, 6/1 for the Scot, who dropped only nine serving points the entire match, not facing a single break point and converting 2-of-6. While Roddick served at 83%. Didn’t see what happened, and looking at these stats, I’m completely ok with that, even glad I didn’t. Murray now goes on to play Tsonga in the final. If he wins, will become the first British player to win multiple Queen’s titles in 80 or 90 years. Not exaggerating.

As for Ivanovic, well. Fact #1, she had strong showings throughout the week: bloodshed against Tatishvilli, straight sets win against a tricky Rebecca Marino and got through also in two against Mirjana Lucic. Fact #2, and we gotta accept that, she didn’t face any “big” opponent – and even though this is WTA and Ana has had some trouble against player she should have easily beaten, the wins she had in Birmingham are the “expected” ones. Quite not enough to say she’s back. (the same way we still could not say that, even if she had won the title)

 

You can kill my buzz whenever you want, Dani. And call me too. Whenever you want. But wait, that's not an engagement ring, is it?

And Hantuchova proved that. Dani recovered from a one set down, while holding Ivanovic to a ridiculous, Roddick, Federer-like rate of BP success. The third set finished with a 6/2 triumph for the Slovak, who goes on to play her first grass final.

So, well, my beloved grass screwed my first idea of post. It did not bring a new life for Rodderino or Ivanovic – not really – although them both had a great week. That’s how life works. Being a bitch, I mean.

However, silver linings: right after Hantuchova killed the last hope I had to go on with my primary idea, Birmingham gave me a new subject to write about:

 

Yes, she's lovely. Yes, her smile is adorable. But hold on with all these "ZOMG, SHE SMILES, LET'S CREAT A CHURCH FOR HER" thing.

Sabine Lisicki. The X-Peria hot shot, who blossomed during the 2009 grass season, but suffered with an injury-plagued 2010, eventually falling outside the top-200, and returned this year as a fan favorite, beat Peng Shuai today, in two easy sets, to reach her 4^th career final – the first on grass.

And then, her DelPo-comeback continues – from #216 in March to the top-80, maybe even better. And Wimbledon is just around the corner… the same grass that introduced her to the world a couple years ago.

So, yeah, thanks to Sabine I can say what I wanted to from the very first moment I thought about writing this post: The grass. It is magic

 

PS: Albeit Dani and Murray killed my buzz, I’m far from hating them.

Yo, look who’s back!

I shall start this one quoting the poet: “The more things change, the more things stay the same”. I  will also write a more detailed (and apocalyptical) piece about it, but not now, not today. This post will only praise the ones who deserve all the kudos.

Roland Garros. Paris, France, June, the third, 2011. For the first time in five years the top-4 seeds reach the semifinals of a Major (since RG/2006). Scheduled to be contested today, in the 12^th day of the event, the first match to take place involved Rafael Nadal – who does not need to be introduced ET ALL – and Andy Murray – a debutant where his counterpart is already a veteran, the late stages of Roland Garros.

Nadal doing what he does best

The history of the game? Well. The important points. That’s all about it – and Nadal masters this art of being a stone cold killa, a loud but über-effective assassin. He made Andy Moo impersonate the number 150 or so, by his effectiveness in fending off break points and his capability of inflicting – and converting – them. Result? Straight sets win and a congratulations to the birthday boy – who now joins Bjorn Borg as the holder of the record of most French Open finals reached, with an astonishing number of 6 – just think Rafa and Borg combine for three losses and 11 titles at the second Grand Slam of the season (back then was the first of the year, but whatever).

But the main act… was the match that started right after. Djokovic vs. Federer. “Present” vs. “Past”. “Streak” vs. “Drought”. 43-in-a-row vs. the-last-one-to-beat-him. And boy, oh boy, the game lived up the hype. I recommend you to find a way to watch it in his entirety, if you missed it somehow, or re-watch, in case you eye-witnessed it live.

THAT "you can't beat me four-in-a-row" look. AND that "Imma gonna end ya streak" smile

My words are not enough to describe this match in all its greatness. So I’ll try to be quick, simple and objective: for me it is clear Federer’s favorite pastimes are Grand Slams. And shutting the critics’ big mouth. With style. Vintage style. Classy and perfect. Hats off to Roger. As for Djokovic, we can roam through our thoughts, wondering what if he played the quarterfinal against Fognini, or what if he held for the fourth set, forcing a fifth – that would be surely postponed until tomorrow. Of course we can, there are no fees for it. But won’t change a thing.

Won’t change the fact Nadal and Federer will battle for the French Open – just like in the ‘sainted days of yore’ (not that sainted, not that ‘of yore’ either). As for Nole, he does better finding a Swiss flag and getting himself a seat in Fed’s box – if Roger wins, he will take over the world #1 on Monday.

Also doesn’t change the fact the only thing left for Federer to accomplish in his career is a win over Nadal on the holy French clay. One of his best – I bet my ass off he’s feeling as pumped as ever – and maybe last – since he’s aging, let’s face it – chances to do so.

And albeit a Fedal wasn’t my dream final, I surrender. Fuck it. Just give me popcorn and some epicness.

Same movie, all over again

OH that déjà-vu scene that repeats over and over in an eternal loop.

What Murray did today – his heroics of pulling a win after being two sets and a break in the fifth down is not something unheard of, though he deserves a standing ovation for doing so even with a bad ankle acquired in his win over Berrer.

But oh, if we only look back exactly one year… we would stumble in the last time Murray mounted a comeback from two sets down. And it was… exactly in Roland Garros.

First round. Murray, who hadn’t had a very remarkable clay season back then, had drawn Richard Gasquet in the first round. In case you don’t remember, Gasquet’s rankings were still suffering the aftershocks of his doping-caused suspension, later reversed, but he was straight out of two titles – at a Challenger (Bordeaux, if I’m not wrong) and in Nice. Gaskay quickly put himself two sets up, spreading fake hopes all around the world, that we could be witnessing one of the biggest upsets of that Roland Garros. But then again, Richie’s conditioning fell apart and Murray finished the comeback, winning the next sets 6/4, 6/2 and 6/1. Andy lived on to fight another day and Gasquet’s capabilities of hanging on there on a five-setter were widely contested – and still are, btw.

Flash forward it some months. Remember when Djokovic used to suffer under extreme heat and even lose some matches? Remember when he drew Viktor Troicki in the first round of the US Open? Remember how Nole seemed totally worn out, almost gone, ready to faint, and how Viktor was balling? You also remember how it ended, I assume. Troicki just couldn’t keep it up, despite having a break in the fourth and fifth sets. That comeback win sealed the start of the chain of events that helped Djokovic become what he is today.

Gestern, Montag, May 31^st, 2011. Paris, France. After injuring his ankle in his 3^rd round match against Michael Berrer and undergoing exams, Murray gets onto court to square-off with Viktor Troicki for a quarterfinal spot. The odds of reaching a first Slam quarterfinal for the Serbian #2 were relatively fair – since no-one knew how Murray would play. And, after the first games – all won by Troicki – the odds had increased a bit.

But very well, he is still Viktor Troicki. He gave back two of the breaks, but managed to take the first set anyway, 6/4 – score repeated in the second. Two sets up, facing an injured opponent who had already started talking to himself, to his racquet, and put his racquet in a convo with his heel. What could possible go wrong?, we probably wondered. There goes little Vik to a career-defining run.

Everything. Everything went off the tracks. A fucking disaster, a Troicki fan will say. An Epic comeback, a Murray fan shall tell you. Murray won the next two sets, 6/3, 6/2, leaving the conclusion for the next day, as the night began to fall over Paris. Maybe this break will help Troicki, killing Murray’s momentum and cooling down his injured ankle. And we were right!

In fact, we were right until Troicki had 5/2, 30-0, two points away from the biggest win of his career. Then… well, then… he lost five consecutive games and, consequently, the match. Final score: [4] Murray def. [15] Troicki, 4/6, 4/6, 6/3, 6/2, 7/5.

While Murray goes on to take world no.34 Juan Ignacio Chela (will be the first RG SF for any), Troicki will hop in a plane back to Belgrade. Once again after letting slip a clear chance for the greatest win of his life. Sad, indeed. Even more when you think chances like these doesn’t lap-dance around you all the time.

Video-reminder:

 

Murray vs. Gasquet – Roland Garros 2010 (Part 1/3 – the other two are related, if you click)

Troicki vs. Djokovic – US Open 2010 (Part 1/2 – same as above)

Murray vs. Troicki – Roland Garros 2011

Enjoy

Quick take on RG draw

Yahoo! Sports

The wait is over. By now, we have already made plans, traced paths for our faves and wondered the outcome of both earlier and further rounds. Because that’s what we do, as tennis fans.

We also blog about it. A lot. So, there is a draw analysis galore out there – good analysis and stuff. But I just could not let go the opportunity to add my two cents. There we go

Rafa’s draw is easy (until the QFs, I hope) – I haven’t seen a consensus about it, but really, I don’t see how John Isner (barely wins matches these days) could be a tricky opener for Nadal. After Nadal gets past him, a virtual walkover vs. either Giraldo or Andujar, then Cuevas or Davydenko.

Davydenko even leads the H2H against him – one of the few players to do so – but after winning his 21^st career title, in Munich, Koyla hasn’t won a single match. The five-time champ would just steamroll over him. I even dare to think Cuevas could be a better match-up (for tennis).

In the fourth round, PHILIPP KOHLSCHREIBER, SAM QUERREY, IVAN LJUBICIC, SOMDEV DEVVARMAN, TURSUNOV, MALISSE, MONACO OR VERDASCO will challenge Rafael Nadal.

He must lead them by a combined 82-2. Or something like. But another Nadal-Soderling clash in Roland Garros (for the third straight year) is tasty, though.

Really? – The top-3 Americans in the French Open were drawn in Nadal’s quarter. Beside John Isner, who opens (and probably also closes) his participation against him, Querrey gets Kohls in the first round. IF he survives, plays the winner of Ljubicic or Devvarman. In a possible third round, Sam would play probably the clay rats Verdasco or Monaco. Enough?

Fish, the 10^th seed, opens against Ricardo Mello (Mello must have already played around 6 Americans this year). Doable. Then Gimeno-Traver or Haase. Not easy, but yeah, he could survive. But a possible third round meeting with Chardy, Dimitrov or Simon?

Verdasco vs. Monaco might be a good match-up for girls to watch – But I’m not expecting a good match nor looking forward to watch it.

It doesn’t get much better – For Andy Murray. Drawn in the middle of three qualifier, Andy Moo opens against local Eric Prodon (and Murray is having some record against random local qualifiers, I must remind you). Don’t think he will go down. Bolelli or Dancevic are next for him. I’m think here 6-0 in sets arriving in the third round. Milos Raonic might be a problem.

Might. Then I just want Dolgopolov to have enough good days to book an Aussie Open QF rematch with Murray in the 4^th round. Because it would be just awesome, mainly on clay.

I don’t care what you’re gonna say, I really believe it – Florian Mayer in the semifinals of a Grand Slam? Only Kunitsyn, Falla/Potito standing between him and the third round. Almagro could be his toughest foe. If he manages to defeat him, Melzer or Chela would be a big deal, but perfectly beatable. In a possible quarterfinal meeting with Murray (or someone else)…well. No-one would bet a single penny on Jurgen last year, right?

I’m sorry, Melzer, but I believe – Your days as a top-10 are about to end. Beck, Roger-Vasselin or Rosol, o.k. But unless he brings some momentum to Roland Garros (after some sad losses in the last two Masters prior to it), Juan Ignacio Chela could pull an upset.

Golden chance – For Ferrer to match, maybe even set a new, best at the French Open. Nieminen first, Jules (ranks second amongst my picks to win the tournament, after FloMo) second, no problems against Nishi or Stakh in the third, God knows if Monfils will survive until the fourth round.

Let’s a picture quarterfinal meeting between Federer and Ferrer. Fed, as usual, leads the H2H by an abnormal advantage, and will always be the favorite in a five-setter. But seriously, I would not be surprised in case the Spaniard finally fulfills the expectations and reaches the final four for the first time.

Would you?

In the paper… – Roger Federer’s path is hard. Only in the paper. I don’t think Feliciano can keep up with him, unless Roger is in a bad Federer day. Let’s not even waste space with the second round. Janko Tipsarevic is the seed drawn to play him in the third round. In the fourth?

Tsonga – schooled back in Rome – and Wawrinka – walkover. No scares, and Rodgie can already count with the total defense of his 180 points.

HE IS BACK – News of the year: Tommy Haas hasn’t officially retired yet. Back to the pro-tour, as a German again, he plays Marsel Ilhan in the first round. It will be his first match since Delray Beach, last year. Last time he played on clay, Roland Garros/09. I don’t care, just give him a show court already!

Oh yeah, and he is back too – Lleyton Hewitt, sidelined from the circuit since having a foot surgery, back in Indian Wells, opens against Albert Montañes. Not the best first rounder for the former no.1, but oh well.

Good news, bad news – For Gaskay. Good: He has nothing to defend (remember that uber chokage vs. Murray last year?) and making his way through the R16 is not an absurd. Bad: He is likely to play the winner of DelPo and Nole. Certainly gets on his way for further dreams.

So unfair – I really want Nole to take over the #1 in Roland Garros. I also really want Del Potro to have a deep run. Unfortunately for me, they’re set to play each other in the third round. Unfortunately (again), in my opinion, JMDP’s lack of rhythm will spoil all the fun, though.

LONG – this post is

FUN – I want you to have

ALL – Is this for now.

No Superstitions

Friday. Last day of the week, the start of the weekend, night lights, party, FUN FUN FUN. Oh, but the calendar is telling me today is the 13^th day of the month. So what? I don’t think any of you believe Friday the 13^th is a bad omen or something. But if somehow you do, Rome quarterfinals have three strong reasons to convince you to stop believing that breaking a mirror will give you seven years of bad luck.

First – Rafael Nadal defeats Marin Cilic, 6/1, 6/3

 

"I'm still the number one haaaaaaaaa" / Pic: Yahoo! Images

There are no black cats enough in the world to jinx Rafa. And I’m pretty serious. Rafa, who was allegedly feverish and kind of ill the whole week, took care of Marin in 1h25. He didn’t face a single break point the entire match, and now Cilic can’t be cocky about being one of the few players to have a non-negative record against Nadal – Rafa now leads 2-1. In the semifinals, the five-time champion plays Richard Gasquet, whom he leads 8-0. Gasquet has captured some momentum in Italy, but is it enough to beat Rafa?

Rhetorical question.

Second – Andy Murray breadstick(ed), breadstick(s) and breadstick(s) Florian Mayer, 1/6, 6/1, 6/1

 

"Not that it's a superstition or something like, but I am definitely NOT GOING to cut my hair now I'm winning" // Pic: Yahoo!

Say what you will. “Murray plays like crap on clay”; “Florian Mayer is now top-20 material (!)”; “Andy is still slumping”. But it doesn’t change a thing. Even though Florian is having the best year of his career (Surprisingly, he’s already a 27-yo veteran), Murray was the favorite, simply because he is Andy Murray.

The first set may have felt like walking under a ladder. But, as you know, Murray has the luck of Scottish, so fool superstitions can’t touch him. Nor could Florian – Murray faced only two BPs in the next two sets, returned the first’s scoreline in double and sealed his way to the semifinals – he is the first Briton to reach the final four in Rome. 2011 is also his first season ever with multiple clay semifinals, though he still needs to reach his first final.

Last and least – Novak Djokovic (Mars) def. Robin Soderling (SWE) – six-three, six-nothing

 

I know what you're thinking. Yes, they DO have weaknesses. Try water next time. // Pic: Yahoo! Images

It’s done. Nole spilt salt on R-Sod’s wounds. Earth’s last hope even had a positive start, breaking his opponent in the opening game from love. But he couldn’t keep the advantage, and when Novak got back on serve, we knew the biggest chance to kill that monster had been lost. Robin even kept toe-to-toe with him, but after six games he desperately hail-maried (Did I successfully translate Hail-Mary into a verb?) and gambled his last stamina to try a break, but meh, he failed.

Djokovic then used his inhuman, never-ending resources. He then left the court and went for a walk. In a park. Soderling tried to cool things down, went to the locker room, maybe even had an illegal coaching session with someone. But it didn’t even tickle The Alien On The Other Side Of The Net (TAOTOSOTN). Djokovic finally dished his second bagel of Rome, and repeated his opener’s scoreline, in the quarterfinals, against a top-5.

Unreal.

Oh yeah, that was also the ultimate proof of alien supremacy. There is nothing we can do now. Expect them to be marching over in our main cities some time real soon.

DA STATS

 

Nadal plays Gasquet, 2^nd on Centrale tomorrow, not before 2 p.m., seeking his 5^th Masters final of the year. He leads the H2H, 8-0.

Murray will try to be the first man to beat Djokovic since November, not before 8 p.m., also on Centrale. Djokovic leads the H2H, 5-3, and in case you have already forgotten, they played this year in the Australian Open final. Was a monster performance by Nole, who wasn’t threatened the whole match.

 

Boa Garoto!

You did it, kiddo!!! // Pic: Yahoo! Images

Whoa. I’m still shocked and can’t think in a proper way to start this one.

So, Bellucci, who had only an average record and cumulated sub-par exhibitions before Madrid recorded his second ever top-10 win – the first top-5 win for Brazil since Guga beat Federer in Roland Garros – against a Murray whose hair is drawing more attention than his game?

Wow.

To lose against players he should beat, it’s not something uncommon when we’re talking about Murray. But goddamit, none of them are from Brazil – until today. Therefore, I had no clear reasons to talk about it.

Just to situate you, Brazil is a small (tenistically speaking) country. We had Guga and pretty much only him. We’re not the biggest lovers of the noblest sport ever, true that, but the Braziliards who are, are die hard fans.

That being said, I shall continue.

Very well. I must admit Bellucci exceeded my expectations. Given his last matches – a.k.a. being easily beaten by Cuevas, after a three hour nail-biter against Edouard Roger-Vasselin – I didn’t even think he could get past Andujar – who’s having a great clay-swing for his standards. But he did.

I then thought Munich finalist would kill him in the second round. He didn’t. Ok, he retired, but since he walked onto the court, it counts as a win for Thomaz and a loss for him. Whatever. Murray next.

No clay genius, I thought. But he is still Murray. And Thomaz is known for having some meltdowns. During his matches, he shuts down the mental switch and goes for a walkabout. The match? Forget about it.

So, naturally, my only thought was: “If he holds on mentally, he can put up a fight today”.

And, well, he did. Even though I was paying more attention to Soderling-Tsonga clash (I’m glad you pulled it, Robin), I heard the millions of comments popping on my timeline. Bellucci served very well today – almost nullifying Murray’s returns – and also his returns were just as good. Best of it all, as I have probably already said, he kept mentally strong.

When had to save BPs. When Murray served at 4/5 in the first set. When he broke in the second. When he broke for it again in the second. To crown his best win EVER, I ought to say this was his better match EVER.

Result? 6/4, 6/2, and there is not a single person I know that is not surprised with this result. He will play Berdych next – they’ve already met this year, in Indian Wells, and after four or five tight games, Bellucci lost it mentally. Was a cakewalk after that.

We, tennisfans, know that some wins and some losses are career defining. That a single match, a single UFE can change a career, the professional life of one. For Murray, this loss won’t change much. But I hope the win will do it for Bellucci, transform him into a “serious”, more focused player, mentally stronger. That his coach, Larri Passos, will use this match to show him the talent is there, he just needs to learn how to use it properly and more often. I really wish we are going to see a new, better, Thomaz Bellucci after this Madrid QF run – his best result ever at a Masters.

Let’s not fool ourselves, though. The learning starts NOW. It’s not like “Oh, I beat Murray, I’m fine”. NOW is the time to work harder – so this win won’t be considered a casualty, a distant, nearly forgotten memory.

In Perspective…

Andy Murray’s first five tournaments of 2010

Australian Open – Final (1,200 points)

Dubai – 2nd Round (45 points)

Indian Wells – Quarterfinals (180 points)

Miami – 2nd Round (10 points)

Monte Carlo – 2nd Round (0)

TOTAL: 1,435

Second semifinal of the year: Wimbledon (10th event)

Andy Murray’s first five tournaments of 2011

Australian Open – Final (1,200 pts)

Rotterdam – 1st Round (0 pt)

Indian Wells – 2nd Round (10 pts)

Miami – 2nd Round (10 pts)

Monte Carlo – Semifinals (360 pts)

TOTAL: 1,580

Uglier? Yes

Less effective? Not at all.