May 13 - May 19

[homunculus]

Re: May 13 - May 19 Wawa withdrew - I am sorry for you Czech - I always hate when the players withdraw when they feel they would lose (this often does Serena, now I inlude Wawrinka)

[CzechPunter]

Re: May 13 - May 19 I understand nothing.

[KMD21]

Re: May 13 - May 19

That doesn't make much sense, does it? First of all, Rome is not a "small" event by any means, as there is 1000 ranking points on offer for the winner (and plenty of cash). Just look back at the recent years - did "all the top players leave early"? I don't think so. 2012 had Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, and Ferrer in the semis. 2011 had Djokovic, Nadal, Murray, and Gasquet in the semis. What you say might apply to events like Nice, which is next week, but to say that someone loses on purpose in Masters is just ridiculous. You have mentioned Haas. Well, he is not that great on clay and he has never done well in Rome (0-5 in his last five Rome appearances I believe).

I'm not an avid tennis watcher, but that's the tendency which I have noticed. Murray has just retired, and he wouldn't have had it been RG. Tsonga, lost today, but I know about his inconsistency anyway. I won't be surprised if Nadal and Ferrer give up today or the next round.

[homunculus]

Re: May 13 - May 19

I'm not an avid tennis watcher' date=' but that's the tendency which I have noticed. Murray has just retired, and he wouldn't have had it been RG. Tsonga, lost today, but I know about his inconsistency anyway. I won't be surprised if Nadal and Ferrer give up today or the next round.[/quote'] There are players that do that and there are players that would never ever do that. Both Rafa and Ferrer belong to the second category :-)

[homunculus]

Re: May 13 - May 19

Kohlschreiber -2 games > Ramos @2.03 Pinnacle (2/10) :ok Simon to bt Youzhny @2.11 Pinnacle (3/10) :ok

Not bad considering it's wednesday. +5.4 u today which brings me to +16.8 u this week

[paul21144]

Re: May 13 - May 19 What are peoples thoughts on Gulbis vs Rafa tomorrow, any chance ? Just saw Gulbis absolutely thump overated Triocki. Tempted to do a small ££££ wager on Gulbis. Obviously, if he's not on tomorrow, he will get thumped.... Simon @ 4-1 has the ability on clay to beat Federer too IF he can hook it up, looks a potentially tasty price.

[WinningTipster]

Re: May 13 - May 19 1 PICK FOR WTA ROME: ERRANI TO DEFEAT KIRILENKO @ 1.57 on pinnaclesports/willhill/bet365/stanjames I think Kirilenko will struggle to get past the Errani great defensive skills. Too many winners for her to make to win the match.

[CzechPunter]

Re: May 13 - May 19 Back Richard Gasquet to win ATP Rome for a 1/10 stake at 61.00 with Pinnacle A massive price and a long shot, but I am willing to invest one unit into the Frenchman. Richard Gasquet is in the easier half of the draw and his most likely run to the finals looks like Janowicz - Federer - Del Potro. He should be able to beat Janowicz, he should have a chance against Federer (he actually managed to beat him in Rome a few years ago), and he might be able to challenge the Argentinian as well. With trading opportunities in the view as well, I am more than happy to chance one unit on the world's number nine. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/atp-rome-betting-richard-gasquet-might-be-the-value-pick-in-italy-this-week-20130516

[Torque]

Re: May 13 - May 19

Back Richard Gasquet to win ATP Rome for a 1/10 stake at 61.00 with Pinnacle A massive price and a long shot, but I am willing to invest one unit into the Frenchman. Richard Gasquet is in the easier half of the draw and his most likely run to the finals looks like Janowicz - Federer - Del Potro. He should be able to beat Janowicz, he should have a chance against Federer (he actually managed to beat him in Rome a few years ago), and he might be able to challenge the Argentinian as well. With trading opportunities in the view as well, I am more than happy to chance one unit on the world's number nine. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/atp-rome-betting-richard-gasquet-might-be-the-value-pick-in-italy-this-week-20130516

That looks a decent shout. Good luck with it.

[Abd El Kader french]

Re: May 13 - May 19 I think Gasquet gone do the job today against Jano

[homunculus]

Re: May 13 - May 19 Kohlschreiber to bt Ferrer @4.64 Pinnacle (2/10) Kohlschreiber + 1.5 sets > Ferrer @2.28 Pinnacle (5/10) Ferrer apparently not in his optimal form last couple of weeks. Yesterday he managed to grind out the victory against Verdasco after having lost the first set 5-7. This match was tigh, but Verdasco, whose fitness is not particularly great, eventually collapsed and Ferrer has won 5-7 7-5 6-3. Kohli is in great form by now, and I'd rate his chances much higher than the odds suggest. Cibulkova - S.Williams O 18.5 @2.17 Pinnacle (2/10) No doubt Cibulkova is big hitter. When she feels she has nothing to lose, she can deliver fantastic tennis. She managed to take a set off Serena this year in Miami. Of course, no way Cibulkova is going to win this match - if by some miracle Cibulkova managed to lead 6-0 5-0 40:0 and serving against Serena, she would undoubtely find the way to lose the match. But because Serena invariably delivers weaker performance against huge underdogs, and Dominika is the right person to take couple of extra games from that fact, I think Dominika is going to win at least 7 games. Halep to bt Vinci @2.23 Pinnacle (4/10) H2H 2-1 for Vinci, but their only meeting on clay (last year in Barcelona) has been won by Halep. Vinci suffered shoulder injury about two weeks ago, and her game went down since then. She was beaten by Lepchenko in Madrid, and she was lucky to get past Vesnina in round 1 here in Rome. Vinci has no points to defend in Rome (last year she was sent packing by Karin Knapp in round 1). I'd have Halep slight favourite here.

[Guardiola]

Re: May 13 - May 19 Back Inglot/Marray to beat Bhupathi/Bopanna. 2,46 @ marathonbet (7/10) Back Inglot/Marray to beat Bhupathi/Bopanna in straight sets. 4,20 @ marathonbet (3/10) I´ll make it short, as the game starts in half an hour. Bhupati/Bopanna is for sure a top double, but in my opinion often outplayed when it comes to "longer" rallies, which means, outplayed when their really big serve doesn´t give them a fast point. So clay is by far their wirst surface (winrate only 42%), and that has a reason. In last time, they lost to Chardy/Kubot and Melzer/Paes in straight sets on a clay court. I rate Inglot/Marray almost as high as these two double. Both are British and good double players. Although they didn´t play often together, they should know each other well. And they beat Isner/Querrey, who are in a quite good shape (even on clay court they beat Monaco winners Benneteau/Zimonjic). This is at least even.

[CzechPunter]

Re: May 13 - May 19 Back Benoit Paire (+1.5 sets) to beat Juan Martin del Potro for a 2/10 stake at 2.50 with Bet-at-home Well, the bookies apparently think that Juan Martin del Potro is fully back just because he has managed to beat Kuznetsov. Well, he might, but a win against Kuznetsov is not a proof for me - and Paire will be a much tougher opponent to deal with than the Russian. A win might not be on the cards, but a set should be within Paire's range today. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/paire-vs-del-potro-betting-the-frenchman-s-playing-style-can-work-well-against-the-argentinian-20130516 Back Gilles Simon (+1.5 sets) to beat Roger Federer for a 2/10 stake at 2.50 with Bet-at-home I am just not convinced about Roger Federer for some reason - and Simon has never been his favourite match-up. Neither of the two is in a particularly good form, but, given what we have seen from Federer in recent days, I think that Simon might be able to steal a set from the Swiss number one, who seems to be fully capable of producing a few poor games at some point of the match right now. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/simon-vs-federer-betting-gilles-simon-should-not-be-underestimated-in-the-final-match-of-the-day-20130516

[Guardiola]

Re: May 13 - May 19 Back Simona Halep to beat Roberta Vinci. 2,12 @ pinnacle (9/10). I indeed fancy Halep here to reach the quarters. She had some fantastic performances this week, totally crushing Kuznetsova and beating A. Radwanska in a three setter after losing the first set in a ti-break. Halep has some big hits, and when she is in a shape like now, she can reduce her unforced errors to quite an acceptable level. Roberta Vinci on the other hand will have the support of the home crowd, but I think this will be enough. I saw her play against Vesnina, and she could have easily lost that game. She had big problem with her backhand slice, producing to many simple errors and lacking pace and depth in her slices. That will give Halep plenty of chances here. My odds in this match-up would be the other way round. Back Philipp Kohlschreiber (+1,5 sets) to beat David Ferrer. 2,29 @ pinnacle (6/10) Kohli is in quite a good shape, and Ferrer isn´t. Of course, in normal conditions this is a win for Ferrer, and I really believe Ferrer is able to grind that game out. But Kohli´s chances to get a set here should be rated higher than the bookies suggest. Back Carla Suarez Navarro (-4,5 games) to beat Lourdes Dominguez Lino. 1,99 @ marathonbet (6/10) Too much difference in terms of the total class between these two players. Suarez Navarro won´t let the chance to reach the quarters slip here. I really don´t see any weapons of Dominguez Lino that could cause big trouble to Suarez Navarro and because of this I imagina a clear win for the younger of the two Spaniards here. Back Benoit Paire (+1,5 sets) to beat Juan Manuel Del Potro. 2,50 @ bet-at-home (6/10) Agree with CzechPunter here. Paire has some really nice big hits and a quite convincing overall-play. In my opinion his style of play is pretty much similar to Del Potro ones, but Paire managed to get comfortable with the clay courts in the last time. A win over Monaco here is something you have to consider. As well as CzechPunter a win against Kuznetsov cannot convince me that del Potro is back on track. I saw his game against Nieminen at Monte Carlo, and that was really poor (when you consider what Del Potro could play) with a lot of unforced errors. And Del Potro doesn´t have points to defend here, last year he lost in round 3, too.

[homunculus]

Re: May 13 - May 19

Back Benoit Paire (+1.5 sets) to beat Juan Martin del Potro for a 2/10 stake at 2.50 with Bet-at-home [...snip...] Back Gilles Simon (+1.5 sets) to beat Roger Federer for a 2/10 stake at 2.50 with Bet-at-home [...snip...]

Great call aout Paire, Czech. I was considering that one, too, and your writeup convinced me to actually place the wager. Luckily enough, I managed to do so before the FUKKING PINNACLE went down (they are unable to accept wagers for several hours by now, though they are still offering LIVE betting on Rome tournament, although you get error every time you choose the bet, unbelievable). edit: I disagree with the Simon bet. I made small bet Roger -4.5, but the strength was not that big to offer it here. I think that actually Simon got through Youzhny solely because Youzhny is know gallactic-super-extra-choker. IMO Simon with his non-offensive approach can't stand Roger today.

[homunculus]

Re: May 13 - May 19

Kohlschreiber to bt Ferrer @4.64 Pinnacle (2/10) VOID Kohlschreiber + 1.5 sets > Ferrer @2.28 Pinnacle (5/10) VOID Cibulkova - S.Williams O 18.5 @2.17 Pinnacle (2/10) LOSS Halep to bt Vinci @2.23 Pinnacle (4/10) WIN

Crazy thursday. Never ever heard of someone suffering vertigo, which is the official reason Kohli withdrew. Go figure. +2.9u today

[Guardiola]

Re: May 13 - May 19

Back Inglot/Marray to beat Bhupathi/Bopanna. 2,46 @ marathonbet (7/10) Back Inglot/Marray to beat Bhupathi/Bopanna in straight sets. 4,20 @ marathonbet (3/10) I´ll make it short, as the game starts in half an hour. Bhupati/Bopanna is for sure a top double, but in my opinion often outplayed when it comes to "longer" rallies, which means, outplayed when their really big serve doesn´t give them a fast point. So clay is by far their wirst surface (winrate only 42%), and that has a reason. In last time, they lost to Chardy/Kubot and Melzer/Paes in straight sets on a clay court. I rate Inglot/Marray almost as high as these two double. Both are British and good double players. Although they didn´t play often together, they should know each other well. And they beat Isner/Querrey, who are in a quite good shape (even on clay court they beat Monaco winners Benneteau/Zimonjic). This is at least even. Back Simona Halep to beat Roberta Vinci. 2,12 @ Pinnacle (9/10). I indeed fancy Halep here to reach the quarters. She had some fantastic performances this week, totally crushing Kuznetsova and beating A. Radwanska in a three setter after losing the first set in a ti-break. Halep has some big hits, and when she is in a shape like now, she can reduce her unforced errors to quite an acceptable level. Roberta Vinci on the other hand will have the support of the home crowd, but I think this will be enough. I saw her play against Vesnina, and she could have easily lost that game. She had big problem with her backhand slice, producing to many simple errors and lacking pace and depth in her slices. That will give Halep plenty of chances here. My odds in this match-up would be the other way round. Back Philipp Kohlschreiber (+1,5 sets) to beat David Ferrer. 2,29 @ Pinnacle (6/10) Kohli is in quite a good shape, and Ferrer isn´t. Of course, in normal conditions this is a win for Ferrer, and I really believe Ferrer is able to grind that game out. But Kohli´s chances to get a set here should be rated higher than the bookies suggest. Back Carla Suarez Navarro (-4,5 games) to beat Lourdes Dominguez Lino. 1,99 @ marathonbet (6/10) Too much difference in terms of the total class between these two players. Suarez Navarro won´t let the chance to reach the quarters slip here. I really don´t see any weapons of Dominguez Lino that could cause big trouble to Suarez Navarro and because of this I imagina a clear win for the younger of the two Spaniards here. Back Benoit Paire (+1,5 sets) to beat Juan Manuel Del Potro. 2,50 @ bet-at-home (6/10) Agree with CzechPunter here. Paire has some really nice big hits and a quite convincing overall-play. In my opinion his style of play is pretty much similar to Del Potro ones, but Paire managed to get comfortable with the clay courts in the last time. A win over Monaco here is something you have to consider. As well as CzechPunter a win against Kuznetsov cannot convince me that del Potro is back on track. I saw his game against Nieminen at Monte Carlo, and that was really poor (when you consider what Del Potro could play) with a lot of unforced errors. And Del Potro doesn´t have points to defend here, last year he lost in round 3, too.

Bhupathi/Bopanna d. Inglot/Marray 6-2 6-3 :unsure Halep d. Vinci 6-4 6-2 :cigar Kohlschreiber w.o. Paire d. Del Potro 6:4 7:6:cigar Suarez Navarro d. Dominguez Lino 6-3 6-2 :cigar Nice day. +15 units.

[Guardiola]

Re: May 13 - May 19 Back Benoit Paire to beat Marcel Granollers. 1,73 @ marathonbet (7/10) Back Benoit Paire to beat Marcel Granollers in straight sets. 2,66 @ marathonbet (3/10) Totally convincing performance of Paire against Del Potro today. Clear service games, powerful anf aggressive play, some big shots and very concentrated in important situations. He should be clear favorite here. Granollers is no push-over, but he will definetely not get through, when Paire is playing nearly the stuff that we could see today. Back Simona Halep to beat Jelena Jankovic. 2,26 @ marathonbet (9/10). Crazy odds in my eyes. Another thrilling performance of Simona Halep today. She has now outplayed Vinci, Agnieska Radwanska and Kuznetsova here. Jankovic has beaten Na Li, okay, but I saw that game. You should definitely not overrate this win as the game of both players was very poor. Nothing special and a lot of unforced errors and slipping chances on both sides. I fancy Halep here to get to the semis.

[Banner]

Re: May 13 - May 19 Anybody have any idea how Stosur has played so far this tournament? And today?

[Torque]

Re: May 13 - May 19 Back Jelena Jankovic to win WTA Internazionali BNL dItalia @ 48.00 >Betfair This price seems a little high to me, as Jankovic has had a good season and has played well in this tournament so far. Pironkova and Jovanovski were both beaten with minimum fuss, and although the match against Li Na was much closer, I thought Jankovic fought well for the win. Her next match is against Halep, who has had a good week so far, making the last eight as a qualifier. Jankovic has played Halep on clay once before, in Brussels last year, losing in three sets. However, I think Jankovic is playing better now than she was then, and I also wonder if Halep might run out of steam as this will be her sixth match of the tournament. If Jankovic makes the semi-final, she would probably play Serena Williams, who she last met in the Charleston final several weeks ago. Jankovic made a good start to that match, winning the first set before falling away and losing in three. If she could start well against Williams again, and then find a way to maintain it, she might be able to win. In the final, Jankovic might face Sharapova, and if it is windy and if Sharapova has a bad day on serve, I think Jankovic would have a chance. There's no doubt this is speculative, but I think it's worth taking on.

[Banner]

Re: May 13 - May 19

That was pretty distressing and disturbing. (The Nadal-Gulbis match.) I had a lot of money riding on that and it nearly went rather horribly wrong. If you didn't know which one was 'The Greatest Clay-Courter Of All Time' and which was the number 36 in the world rankings' date=' I don't think you'd have guessed correctly. Nadal allowed himself to be absolutely dominated, he allowed Gulbis so many easy points and service games. Why was he stood so far behind the baseline? Why did he allow Gulbis to repeatedly drop-shot him without even chasing them down? Very poor and I'm very lucky to win that bet.[/quote'] I think your really underestimating Gulbis mate, he has been in fine form in recent weeks and his world ranking means nothing, he should certainly be a top 20 player but he is just finding form and his serve is pretty amazing making it hard to be broken if he finds his first serves alot!

[Regnavetto]

Re: May 13 - May 19 Marcel Granollers to beat Benoit Paire. 2.71 @ Pinnacle (7/10) Over 22.5 games. 1.90 @ Pinnacle (5/10) There is a lot of value in the first match-up at Rome. Claycourter Marcel Granollers faces the flamboyant Benoit Paire. I’ve enjoyed watching the odds drift on Granollers and I feel now is the time to pounce on the price offered. 2.71 is just funny and those odds are not justified whatsoever. Granted, Paire has had a decent so far. But he has trouble beating Benneteau and then beats Del Potro quite comfortably and everyone loses their mind. Delpo’s movement was even feebler than my Ford Fiesta in quick sand. DP wasn’t at full strength and also had some back issues that interfered with his serving. On the other hand I find Granollers accomplishments more impressive to be honest. He put up a great fight yesterday against Chardy. In that match he showed solidness, great movement, good mental capabilities and timely aggression when choosing to approach the net, accompanied by good hands at the net. Also let’s not forget his great win against Murray. Although Andy was also victim of an injury, I find he showed a lot more of himself than DP did in his Paire encounter. Furthermore, I’m curios to the concentration of the Frenchman. Obviously he’ll be motivated to move on to his first ever Masters half-final. But Granollers is certainly not a big of a scalp in comparison to Del Potro. Paire manages to keep his head straight when things are going his way against bigger players, but he definitely tends to slip up against ‘smaller’ opponents. This is one of the characteristics that could prove to play in to the advantage of Granollers. Don’t forget that clay is his favourite surface and with his solidness he’ll be feeding off Paire’s mistakes and added to that also has the advantage that unlike your average claycourter he has the ability to pounce on short balls and following them up at the net. Also with the weather forecast expecting rain, conditions will be slower and again favour Granollers. At these odds, Granollers is definitely the valuebet of the day. However because Paire does have some great tennis in his body, I think he could also clinch a set today, making me add the over to back my Granollers pick up. GL.

[amity]

Re: May 13 - May 19 @Guardiola great calls yesterday! shame i wasn't on the ball and didn't see your post til this morning

[CzechPunter]

Re: May 13 - May 19 Back David Ferrer (+1.5 sets) to beat Rafael Nadal for a 2/10 stake at 2.70 with Paddy Power Ferrer had a day off yesterday, while Nadal had to spend quite some time struggling against Gulbis, which might have an effect on this match. I am not quite sure about Ferrer's overall chances, but he has nearly always been able to put a good fight against Nadal and I am sure that he will try his hardest once again. One set is within his range, that is quite certain. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/ferrer-vs-nadal-betting-david-ferrer-looks-set-to-have-a-chance-against-the-legendary-spaniard-20130517 Back Tomas Berdych (+1.5 sets) to beat Novak Djokovic for a 2/10 stake at 2.65 with Pinnacle The H2H record looks ominous for the Czech, but the truth is that he rarely loses easily against the Serb and I can definitely see him taking a set off the world's number one in his current form. Strangely enough, he seems to be playing even better than he was in Madrid - and he has a lot to play for today. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/berdych-vs-djokovic-betting-the-in-form-czech-might-be-able-to-trouble-the-world-s-number-one-20130517

[Regnavetto]

Re: May 13 - May 19 Nadal (-5.5g) to beat Ferrer. 2.40 @ Pinnacle (6/10) The best two ranked Spanish players meet again. After their battle in Madrid, Rafael Nadal faces David Ferrer. A quick recap of Madrid reminds us of how close Ferrer was to clinching a win on clay after eleven straight losses. Today however, I expect Ferrer to have no chance in making life difficult for Rafa. Ferrer had a good but shaky win over Verdasco and I think the withdrawal of Kohlschreiber is more of a curse than a blessing. Ferrer is still lacking rhythm and he really needs to make more minutes on court if he wants to face Rafa 100%. Sure he’s fresh now and has had time to hit the training courts, but despite that, I think he needed that Kohlschreiber match in his legs to catch some rhythm. On the other hand it’s Rafa who is looking to gain some confidence en route to his half-final with Djokovic. Nadal really looked on the brink of being knocked out yesterday and aside from his poor performance in especially the first set, I really have to praise Gulbis. Ernests is finally showing more and more of the tennis that I’ve been yearning to for years. A lot of winners from both wings, good court coverage and finally some more mental resilience. And as we know, Rafa stays Rafa and if you want to finish him, you better do it fast. There will always be a turning point in the match and for me that was half way the second set. Rafa caught some rhythm and with that caught more and more momentum. He took his shots a few feet closer to the baseline and had his strokes fall deeper in the Gulbis backcourt. I wave aside arguments of other people that insist that Rafa is tired because of this long match. I am even pleading that this long match is even better for Nadal. Confidence will be higher because he managed to bounce back from playing bad tennis and with this match he has had the chance to catch a lot more rhythm than before. This match-up against Ferrer is just perfect in my eyes in preparation for the Djokovic encounter. It hurts myself to say, but I really think this an ideal ‘training’ match under match conditions for Nadal to build his confidence and momentum. Ferrer just misses enough rhythm, depth and ‘oomph’ in his shots to win a grinding battle against Rafa today. With no weapons to hurt his rival I think -5.5 at 2.4 is a gift and I would have even taken it at 2.25 if it was offered. GL.

[Emiliano]

Re: May 13 - May 19 my few cents here, i dont trust halep,- have to mention that vinci was very very poor- and of course i dont trust paire, i rate him as similar story to gulbis,he doesnt know what consistensy means, and you never know when he is going to collapse totally, granollers plays his best tennis, although murray asked medical time out, the briton was competitive some how to win the second set, but even weakened murray is 10 times stronger than paire, ciao

[homunculus]

Re: May 13 - May 19 Jankovic to bt Halep @1.80 Pinnacle (6/10) Fantastic price on JJ, IMO. Halep played quite fine, but what were her opponents: Injured Kuznetsova, tired Radwanska and injured Vinci. Do not misunderstand me - I rate Simona quite high, but she had luck with the opponents so far. As to JJ, I would consider backing her total nonsense last two seasons, but this season it seems that she is back again. She defeated defending finalist Li Na yesterday, and that counts. Imo the deciding factor here will be the fact that Simona is technical type of player, while JJ has got poverful shots and that, as we see in women's tennis, always outplays technical tennis. Halep has won their encounter on clay in Bruxelles last year in tight three sets, but that was in the period when JJ was real shame'n lame (she lost 5 succesive clay tournaments in round 1 last year). This year we've got much better JJ.

[Regnavetto]

Re: May 13 - May 19

I didn't see the match - well' date=' I tuned in expecting to see some of it and it was over. 6-1 6-0. What's happened there?[/quote'] Paire played extremely well throughout the match on a constant level. Granollers playing like one of those dirt rats that never saw an ATP match in their lives from the Future Tour slumps.

[Regnavetto]

Re: May 13 - May 19 Federer (-5.5g) to beat Janowicz. 2.73 @ Pinnacle (4/10) In tonight’s match we’ll get to see Federer continue his redeeming mission against in-form youngster Janociwz. Going to be interesting to see how Janowicz keeps his stuff together mentally. In my eyes Jano will have no chance whatsoever and will fall into making unforced errors quickly in contrast to all the winners in other matches this week. Janowicz shouldn’t have won against Gasquet and actually was very lucky that the Frenchman didn’t receive the break, in the second that was rightfully his after the umpire failed to do his job and agree with Janowicz on the wrong mark in the clay. This was a real turning point in the match and Gasquet’s passiveness got the better of him and he effectively handed the win on a silver platter. Federer on the other hand has been showing great stuff and has had the opportunity to convert his extra hours on court into match rhythm against Starace and Simon. Their ‘solid’ and passive playing styles, with no real weapons, were ideal for Fed to prepare for the more difficult match ups. One of those match-ups will be fought out tonight. Don’t get me wrong, Janowicz has been showing great stuff with good serving, big groundstrokes and soft hands with his dropshots. But despite him beating two top-10 players he hasn’t really been put to the test by someone that makes them cover the entire court. He has in fact been the dominating player in both matches and completely in his comfort zone at all times. Not something I’m saying an awful lot of times. But the clay will favour Federer in this one. He’ll have more time to react to the sheer raw power and has more tennis intelligence to set up points and frustrate Janowicz every single time, forcing him to make shots, time after time. Where Gasquet failed to expose Janowicz’ weaknesses by being passive, Federer will make the Pole feel constantly pressured. I believe Janowicz’ is not up to the task mentally. As you could see in the previous two matches, this guy is a real nut case (definitely enjoyable to see). He really wears his heart on his sleeve. But this could prove to be his downfall despite that it has powered him past two top-10 players, I feel this time, his emotions will get the better of him and he could implode. Ultimately we’ll see a Janowicz going out with all guns blazin’ and Federer looking to crack the youngster. The young-gun can keep it close for a while, but when cracked it should be all Federer after that.

[homunculus]

Re: May 13 - May 19 Crazy turnaround in Berdy-Djoker! Looks like Djoker is not fully fit yet. Leading 6-2 5-3 and serving, losing 4 games straight from that point, being broken early in the decider, and never coming back - lost it 4-6. I wonder what's behind. Good call Berdy +1.5 sets, Czech.