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Saturday, April 21, 2012

Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters 2012: Finals Preview - Djokovic Versus Nadal


Rafael Nadal has created another opportunity to prove himself against Novak Djokovic in the finals on Sunday, the 22nd April. The seven times Monte-Carlo defending champion seeks to reverse the trend of seven consecutive defeats in the finals from Djokovic. He ran close to Djokovic the last time they met in the finals of the Australian Open in January.

Nadal has not dropped a set so far in the competition, but he is not playing any different from his usual game. He plays the opponent into rallies and pulls the trigger at the appropriate time to win the point. In the quarter final, he defeated Stanislas Wawrinka in straight sets. However, there were many loopholes in his play. The count of unforced errors was high by his standards, 17 in 22 games. He hit only 15 winners, falling short of number of unforced errors. He gave many free points to Wawrinka committing errors on return of serve. Many shots were short, falling within the service line. Wawrinka could not take advantage but better players will put such short returns past him. Wawrinka committed 41 unforced errors, but not many in top ten would do that.  

It was similar story against Gilles Simon in the semi-finals. Solid defence left the opponent clueless how to win points. The ball would rise in height when Nadal was out of position giving difficulty to the opponent and time to Nadal to recoup. However, it was not a total domination. Infact, Simon had more break points than Nadal, but failed to convert them.

Djokovic has seen all this on numerous occasions. It has not posed him difficulties so far. He has been scoring over Nadal in long rallies. Extra top spin from Nadal has not posed any problems. Djokovic is better in almost all the departments. His serve is better. He returns deep and fast giving no opportunity to Nadal to put pressure on the third shot of the rally. He is quicker on the court and reaches every ball in time to hit a clean winner. His serve on T from the ad court is bound to create problems to Nadal. He will outshine Nadal in the aces department. His backhand is the best among the current crop of players.

Nadal is playing the same game, standing fifteen feet behind the baseline. How will he escape the angles of Djokovic? He still moves to his right to convert backhand into forehand, leaving wide gaps on his forehand. His backhand is the same defending shot most of the time. There is nothing new from Nadal seen so far in the tournament.

However, there is hope for him. Djokovic is not playing as well as he was doing last year. He has dropped sets to Alexandr Dolgopolov and Tomas Berdych in the previous rounds. It will be a difficult task for Nadal, but he has a fair chance of prevailing this time round.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters 2012: Djokovic Versus Berdych - Preview


Novak Djokovic will meet Tomas Berdych in the first semi-final of Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters today. It is difficult to remember when Berdych defeated Djokovic last. They both play similar game, only Djokovic plays it a bit better. They have never met on clay. Djokovic leads head-to-head encounters 8-1. 

Berdych tends to shrink when he sees Djokovic across the net. His serves desert him. He is able to put only half of his first serves in. He trails Djokovic in the number of aces. On top of that, he commits double faults. However, that is in the past. In the quarterfinals, he has defeated Andy Murray, who was playing under the watchful eyes of Ivan Lendl. It was a convincing win, since not many are able to pierce through the defences of Murray. Djokovic is in good form. The only set he has lost was to Alexandr Dolgopolov. Dolgopolov can be a bad match up for anybody. His unpredictable shots and unorthodox style of play consumes time to become familiar with his game. Berdych is not that difficult a match up for Djokovic. He is not that great a mover and here itself half the advantage is conceded. He has powerful shots, but with the court coverage of Djokovic, he has to go for the lines and that makes him hit beyond many a time. He does not possess as good a defence. Djokovic is equally good in attack and defence. 

It will be interesting to see what strategy Berdych brings to the court today. If that strategy fails, whether he has brought a plan B. Djokovic will play his usual game. He is the overwhelming favourite to reach the finals, unless Berdych plays much above his capability.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters 2012: Tsonga Versus Verdasco - Preview


Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will face a tough opponent in Fernando Verdasco in the third round of Monte-Carlo Rolex Open on Thursday, the 19th April. Both have won once each in the previous two encounters. They will meet for the first time on clay.

Verdasco struggled against Ivan Dodig losing the first set in the second round. In the first round too, he lost the first set to Olivier Rochus. Tsonga had a comfortable victory over tricky Philipp Kohlschreiber. Verdasco is not the player he was two-three years ago, while Tsonga has reached his highest ranking of five this year. However, when the Spanish players see the red dirt, they turn into a different mode. Their motto becomes to retrieve all shots and send one more across. This can frustrate many opponents who think they have hit a winner, but have to hit yet another. Patience is not a hallmark of Tsonga’s game. He likes to hit winners and go on the attack. He would approach the net irrespective of the surface and the opponent. Verdasco has the capability to pass a volleyer. Tsonga is serving well, but his serve advantage from the ad court is likely to be neutralised by a left hander Verdasco.

The overall advantage lies with Tsonga, but Verdasco has the left hand and clay court advantage which can sometimes prove decisive.

Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters 2012: Dolgopolov Versus Tomic - Preview


Bernard Tomic takes on Alexandr Dolgopolov for the second time in 2012 in the second round of Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Wednesday, the 18th April. In their last meeting at the Australian Open, Tomic had prevailed in five sets. Dolgopolov has 3-1 lead in the head-to-head statistics.

Dolgopolov moves very well on court, but is rather unpredictable in shot making. Sometimes, his overzealousness makes him select the wrong shots. He gambles instinctively. His drop shots can cause trouble to a tall guy like Tomic but could also be suicidal sometimes. He is not mindful of the occasion. He might play a risky shot even while facing a break point. Tomic, on the other hand, has a steady game. He served at a healthy 71% in his previous match, which he has to do in this encounter too. He will fall behind in the aces department, but do better on the second serve. He is more of a percentage player, unlike Dolgopolov. Dolgopolov has a tendency to overplay slices, which can cause trouble to a tall opponent if executed well. Tomic generally replies slice with slice only on the backhand. Dolgopolov will dish out variety of spin and depth, but he is prone to errors. Both are playing on neutral land, unlike in the Australian Open. Nerves are unlikely to be a factor.

If both play a carefree game, law of averages might give advantage to Dolgopolov this time. Tomic has the capacity to prove that such law does not operate in short run.