Mr Intensity Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 It's finally here!!! I was going to advocate a bet on Croatia to win at 1.53 last week but decided to wait and that price is long gone:sad . Anyway, onto the singles: HRBATY v Ancic @ 1.66 WillHill 4.55pts You can wait for a better price, but I don't think i'll be online again until tomorrow afternoon so need to post this up today. First up is Beck v Ljubicic, we have to expect Ljubicic to win that and put Croatia 1-0. This is the one the Slovaks need if they are to have any chance in this final. A lot has been made of the surface in Bratislava. It is, in my opinion, the main reason the Slovaks beat the Spainish and the Argies. It was mega fast and low bouncing, the main thing being the low bouncing part which really suited Hrbaty. It was getting pretty old, so they relayed it before the recent challenger event there. Guess who won?:D Bratislava, Slovak Republic CH, 7-Nov-05, I, Hard , Draw: 32 R32 Lacko, Lukas (SVK ) 0 6-3 6-2 R16 Vacek, Jan (CZE ) 215 6-3 6-3 Q Wessels, Peter (NED ) 104 4-6 6-2 6-4 S Sabau, Razvan (ROM ) 119 6-0 6-3 W Bracciali, Daniele (ITA ) 108 7-5 6-1 This Event Points: 0, New Indesit ATP Race Position: 20, Prize Money: US $ 14400 Yeah baby! Only slight bit of trouble to had was in the first set against Wessels, which I can understand as Wessels beings a huge serve and can take a set off anybody (Karlovic-esque). They are saying that the surface gets faster the older it is - so when it is layed it is on the slow side of medium pace. One weeks play isn't going to effect it that much (hardly any really) so it should still be medium paced and low bouncing which is perfect for Hrbatys game. In singles rubbers (he doesn't do the doubles) Hrbaty has been playing pretty good stuff, all of the matches at home: R2 - WFernando VERDASCO 6-3 6-4 6-7(7) 6-3R1 - WRaemon SLUITER 6-1 5-7 6-4 6-3R4 - WPeter WESSELS 6-3 6-1 3-0 RETR2 - LDavid NALBANDIAN 6-3 5-7 5-7 3-6R4 - WGuillermo CORIA 7-6(2) 6-2 6-3Only the loss to Nalbandian bliting his record, however, we have all seen what Nalbandian is capable of;) . Ancic has been very average of late, since he reached the final in Toyko: Stockholm, Sweden International Series, 10-Oct-05, I, Hard , Draw: 32 R32 Beck, Karol (SVK ) 57 7-6(2) 6-4 R16 Bjorkman, Jonas (SWE ) 54 5-7 6-7(7) This Event Points: 4, New Indesit ATP Race Position: 13, Prize Money: US $ 13500 ATP Masters Series Madrid, Spain Tennis Masters Series, 17-Oct-05, I, Hard , Draw: 48 R64 Bye, () N/A R32 Rochus, Olivier (BEL ) 27 6-1 4-6 6-7(5) This Event Points: 1, New Indesit ATP Race Position: 16, Prize Money: US $ 15000 Lyon, France International Series, 24-Oct-05, I, Carpet , Draw: 32 R32 Blake, James (USA ) 23 6-2 7-6(5) R16 Enqvist, Thomas (SWE ) 116 6-7(4) 7-6(5) 6-4 Q Roddick, Andy (USA ) 3 4-6 4-6 This Event Points: 11, New Indesit ATP Race Position: 20, Prize Money: US $ 23000 ATP Masters Series Paris, France Tennis Masters Series, 31-Oct-05, I, Carpet , Draw: 48 R64 Bye, () 0 R32 Tursunov, Dmitry (RUS ) 73 7-5 4-6 6-7(3) This Event Points: 1, New Indesit ATP Race Position: 21, Prize Money: US $ 15000 Not a lot of positives in that lot, except perhaps the win against Blake which I watched and to be fair he was pretty good in. Apart from that match, everytime I have seen him he has been very dodgy. His serves isn't having the same dominating effect it was last year, and he doesn't look good at the net at all (a lot like Mirnyi of late this year). Ancic also hasn't played that well in the Davis Cup this year. He has won the 3 doubles matches he has played with Ljubicic, but Ljubicic has been the dominating force. Check out the live singles he has played: R2 - LAndy RODDICK 6-4 2-6 1-6 4-6R1 - LAndrei PAVEL 6-1 4-6 6-4 3-6 4-6R1 - L Nikolay DAVYDENKO 5-7 4-6 7-5 4-6 Two of those at home, and he just hasn't been bringing enough. We can excuse the loss to Roddick in the USA, but losing to Pavel on a fast court in Croatia? WTF:eek . Also losing to Davydenko in Croatia - a player who will bring a similar game to Hrbaty. The scoreline flatters him a bit too, if I remember right Davydenko served for the match in the third set befores having a temporary breakdown. The H2H isn't that great: 2005 Marseille, Hard, R32 France Hard R32 Ancic 3 6 5 7 2004 Wimbledon, Grass, R32 England Grass R32 Ancic 5 7 3 6 5 7 2004 Barcelona, Clay, R64 Spain Clay R64 Ancic 7 6 6 7 5 7 2002 Bratislava, CH, Carpet, R16 Slovak Republic Carpet R16 Hrbaty 6 4 7 6 2002 US Open, Hard, R128 NY, U.S.A. Hard R128 Hrbaty 4 6 6 3 7 6 5 7 3 2 As you can see quite a mixed bag, with Ancic having won the last three. However, Hrbaty has beaten him in straight sets on this court three years ago. Ancic was always going to win the game on grass, and they are both pretty poor on clay. I'm willing to overlook this. The fans are planning some surprises in terms of how they express there support during this final. I have no idea what this will, be there will surely be a great atmosphere, especially for this match as everyone knows how important this match is to Slovakia. I'd fancy Ancic to crack under the pressure before Hrbaty does, and I don't think he should be priced any more than 1.50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Intensity Posted December 1, 2005 Author Share Posted December 1, 2005 Re: Slovakia v Croatia - Davis Cup Final - December 2nd-4th Sorry the formatting has going a bit crap but I think it's still readable:ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmphill Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Re: Slovakia v Croatia - Davis Cup Final - December 2nd-4th For me it has to Croatia all the way ever since they won in the US and won my lay bet of the states! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edtkh Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Re: Slovakia v Croatia - Davis Cup Final - December 2nd-4th I'm a little undecided about Hrbaty-Ancic, really. Ljubicic is a foregone conclusion(then again, maybe not given how unpredictable this tosser can be - and no, I don't buy the hype he's fatigued - and Beck's game being suited for the faster surface), but nothing - and I mean absolutely nothing - bodes well to suggest Hrbaty should have that big an edge at all. It may be on home soil, but the fact they're playing on a fast surface will only favour Ancic IMO - and Ancic has beaten Hrbaty in their last 3 meetings on grass, clay and hard surfaces. Of course, Ancic has had a torrid year by his standards, but it takes nothing away from the fact the Davis Cup has often been a platform to launch many a young career down the years(last year when a certain little-known Nadal came along and beat Roddick on clay at a whopping 2.75) - will probably wait for in-running before I get my hands on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Intensity Posted December 2, 2005 Author Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: Slovakia v Croatia - Davis Cup Final - December 2nd-4th It may be on home soil, but the fact they're playing on a fast surface will only favour Ancic IMO It's not fast ed, it's medium paced and low bouncing;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edtkh Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: Slovakia v Croatia - Davis Cup Final - December 2nd-4th It's not fast ed' date=' it's medium paced and low bouncing;)[/quote'] Isn't it indoor hard? :tongue2 Basically carpet as what you'd seen in Madrid and Paris Masters... Nevermind that, Beck has withdrawn and Kucera is now poised to take his place in the first rubber against Ljubicic. Thinking of backing the Croat for the 3-1 set betting - anyone with better luck on backing the Croat over the last few months would care to advise what this corrupt, balding fart is up to tonight? :lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edtkh Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: Slovakia v Croatia - Davis Cup Final - December 2nd-4th http://www.daviscup.com/ties/tie.asp?tie=100006611 --> Anyway, the surface is described as "Hard(Premier) - Indoors". Don't think people should make much more of the surface than it really matters... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesk Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 Re: Slovakia v Croatia - Davis Cup Final - December 2nd-4th Edthk, on what grounds do you have for calling Ljubicic corrupt? He's had a fantastic end of season winning at least 3 or 4 times. Dont let paranoia act as an excuse for a losing bet or you'll end up a bitter man! :lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edtkh Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 Re: Slovakia v Croatia - Davis Cup Final - December 2nd-4th Edthk' date=' on what grounds do you have for calling Ljubicic corrupt? He's had a fantastic end of season winning at least 3 or 4 times. Dont let paranoia act as an excuse for a losing bet or you'll end up a bitter man! :lol[/quote'] What did he win(LOL! I don't consider winning some unfancied ATP tournies with hardly any of the top 8 in contention an achievement)? How's bottling 2 Masters finals for an achievement? :rollin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edtkh Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Re: Slovakia v Croatia - Davis Cup Final - December 2nd-4th How many times have we seen Ljubicic bottle a 5-setter? :tongue2 Up 2 sets against Nadal, fought back from 2 sets down against Berdych and now losing a see-saw battle to Hrbaty who'd never previously beaten him in 5 meetings - same old ending. Throw in his horrendous Grand Slam record to boot and it pretty much tells a story on its own. About time people realised this chap will never achieve anything great(well, besides upsetting the world no.2 on the odd occasion and win the odd Best of 3 ATP event without Federer in the field)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesk Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Re: Slovakia v Croatia - Davis Cup Final - December 2nd-4th 'About time people realised this chap will never achieve anything great(well, besides upsetting the world no.2 on the odd occasion and win the odd Best of 3 ATP event without Federer in the field)...' Who cares what he achieves as long as he keeps winning when you back him? I cant understand your beef with Ljubicic, he was great for punters at the end of last season and to call him corrupt is nonsense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmphill Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Re: Slovakia v Croatia - Davis Cup Final - December 2nd-4th Congratulations to the nation of Croatia and a well won victory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edtkh Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Re: Slovakia v Croatia - Davis Cup Final - December 2nd-4th Who cares what he achieves as long as he keeps winning when you back him? I cant understand your beef with Ljubicic, he was great for punters at the end of last season and to call him corrupt is nonsense.Great? What planet were you on when he was 1.28 against Berdych, 1.22 against Spadea and 1.36 against Hrbaty today and bottled them all(and yes, these matches were all played during that 'impressive run' of his)? He was great for miserable punters who know nuts about tennis and try to cash in on someone in a purported rich vein of form maybe. Try telling me you'd have made a profit if you'd been backing him at those miserly odds in every single match during his 'run'. Compare that to backing Federer at an averaged 1.05 for every single match this year and I know who I'd rather put my money on for value... :nana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edtkh Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Re: Slovakia v Croatia - Davis Cup Final - December 2nd-4th Forget all the hype about the balding, corrupt and inconsistent cnut - I'd defy anyone in his right mind to tell me Hrbaty wasn't the best player in the final. And Hrbaty was absolutely spot on when, prior to Friday, he dismissed as rubbish the overwhelming impression Croatia should go into the tie as such overwhelming favourites on the back of Ljubicic's form. Only pity Slovakia hardly had a semi-decent player in Beck's absence to shoulder the challenge of the other 2 singles rubbers(let's face it, Ivanisevic or Karlovic would have done nicely against both Kucera or Mertinak). That's not taking anything away from the great year Croatia have had in the Davis Cup though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesk Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Re: Slovakia v Croatia - Davis Cup Final - December 2nd-4th Backing him against Spadea was never an option for anyone who had done the slightest bit of research. I remember because I actually backed Spadea purely because Ljubicic was coming off 2 wins in a row and was obviously tired and needed a break. Backing him at those odds against Berdych was another no no as Berdych is a real talent whilst losing in 5 sets to Hrbaty in Slovakia is no disgrace in a must win game for the Slovaks. You're comparing him to Federer which is wholly unfair and irrelevant in terms of the question I posed in the first place. How is he corrupt? Simple as, you dont need to go comparing him to Federer and delivering a character assassination to answer that one !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edtkh Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Re: Slovakia v Croatia - Davis Cup Final - December 2nd-4th Backing him against Spadea was never an option for anyone who had done the slightest bit of research. I remember because I actually backed Spadea purely because Ljubicic was coming off 2 wins in a row and was obviously tired and needed a break. Backing him at those odds against Berdych was another no no as Berdych is a real talent whilst losing in 5 sets to Hrbaty in Slovakia is no disgrace in a must win game for the Slovaks. You're comparing him to Federer which is wholly unfair and irrelevant in terms of the question I posed in the first place. How is he corrupt? Simple as' date=' you dont need to go comparing him to Federer and delivering a character assassination to answer that one !![/quote']Did you point that out you thought he was fatigued at the time of the Spadea match - are you for a moment trying to tell me you'd seen it in your crystal ball all year you expected Federer to lose the 4 matches at the time he did too? More pertinent point, what fairness are you talking about? He quite simply was - and still is - the better player and should have had too much class for Spadea. Mind, Spadea has lost more matches than he has won all year and personally, I think it's bollocks to use fatigue as an excuse. Case in point : we can all accept he 'regained' his form Metz onwards(won Metz, won Vienna, lost in first round of Lyon, finalist in Madrid Masters, finalist in Paris Masters, RR in Shanghai Masters Cup), but he hardly beat any worthy top 8 player during that run ro begin with(for me, beating Davydenko - another suspect Russian - and an out-of-sorts Roddick whose injury had obviously got the better of him in Paris were just about the only credible results you would, under most circumstances, be surprised with). Is that what you call a 'great run' and if fatigue to you was an acceptable 'reason', maybe you could try explaining how he never found it a problem in the subsequent Paris Masters, Shanghai Masters Cup and eventually, the Davis Cup final? Talking about Hrbaty, it doesn't alter the fact he'd held a 5-0 lead in the past 5 H2H, so how's that an excuse for losing "to Hrbaty in Slovakia is no disgrace in a must win game for the Slovaks"? Surely, he didn't win the 5 previous matches(despite the fact he did not win 4 of those 5 in straight sets) by luck, did he? I don't see how results like that mask the makeup of the man and his bottle. Quite simply, while we could go on giving credit for his 'great run', it doesn't take away the fact Nadal and Berdych were both there for the taking at some point in both matches which he duly couldn't. I certainly don't view it as a coincidence that he happened to bottle it in these Best-of-5 affairs given his record in Grand Slam down the years and the eventual results of those finals as he very often did so in the best of times(when he was in form) and also the worst of times(when he's struggling for form). Right, unless you tell me you'd read into the word 'corrupt' quite literally, it's just how I'd sum up Ljubicic the player with regards to his form and attitude, really. In essence, a woefully inconsistent player and someone who just doesn't have the bottle to stomach a fight more often than not. And I don't see there being too much to look up to in the integrity of a player who has the audacity to throw in the towel at any point of a match where he knows he's losing(I did not appreciate Gaudio's attitude in Paris and I certainly did not appreciate Ljubicic's against Bandy in Shanghai). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Intensity Posted December 5, 2005 Author Share Posted December 5, 2005 Re: Slovakia v Croatia - Davis Cup Final - December 2nd-4th Calm down guys, let's just remember - Mr I picked Hrbaty against Ancic:lol :nana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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