Draw's out - so far looks a lot more promising than last year's, but there may well be withdrawals over the weekend:

[1] Federer vs BYE
Verdasco vs Karlovic
Almagro vs Nalbandian
BYE vs [14] Moya

[12] Berdych vs BYE
Mathieu vs Ancic
Tursunov vs Fish
BYE vs [5] Ferrer

[3] Djokovic vs BYE
Santoro vs Montanes
Nieminen vs Monaco
BYE vs [15] Murray

[10] Gasquet vs BYE
Tsonga vs Grosjean
Q vs Mahut
BYE vs [6] Blake

[7] Gonzalez vs BYE
Starace vs Simon
Q vs Q
BYE vs [11] Canas

[13] Ljubicic vs BYE
Ferrero vs Baghdatis
Q vs Lopez
BYE vs [4] Davydenko

[8] Robredo vs BYE
Clement vs Youzhny
Q vs Q
BYE vs [9] Haas

[16] Chela vs BYE
Wawrinka vs Kiefer
Melzer vs Volandri
BYE vs [2] Nadal

Gasquet has to beat Blake...

Djokovic and Murray will be a good one, too.

Gasquet vs Blake in a match that could potentially decide who goes to Shanghai? :yikes: That sounds like the tennis equivalent of an episode of London's Burning.

Murray looks set to play Djokovic in the third round, which should put to bed this silly media talk of him still making it to Shanghai.

And if Nadal was ever going to reach the final of a tournament on fast carpet, this is his chance.

I sincerely hope so - depressingly the Beeb tennis pages are still rammed full of hope for the "valiant and brave" Andy. I wouldn't be surprised to see Andy Murray in Shanghai next year, but certainly not now.

Should be Gasquet, worryingly could be Blake. Maybe more of the tennis equivalent of Casualty?! ;) If Gasquet can't beat Blake, I am going to send a letter to Sarkozy asking him to withdraw any funding to Richard effective immediate.

I'd certainly expect both players to be rushed to Casualty after that battle of the titans. There'd be more choking in that match than in a Tequila downing competition.

Interestingly, Blake, despite having occupied a place in the top 8 for a reasonable amount of the year, and being just 2 points behind Haas, the current 8th ranked player, has said that Shanghai wasn't an aim for him this year:

"I don't have it as a goal to make Shanghai but if I play well in Paris I still have a chance", he claimed.

Really, James? You qualified for Shanghai last year and yet it wasn't your aim to do so again this year? In fact, since his ranking was top 8 at the end of last year, does that mean his aim for this year was to drop down the rankings?! This guy is a joke - the sooner he does just that, the better. :doh:

I saw that, too. Why on earth would he say something like that? :doh:

Seriously, the only praise I've seen Blake receive of late is for being "a nice guy" - not interested, James. Nice guys don't win - that's the bottom line.

Blake is Federers dream ticket - like Roddick he's only got way to play, he can't change his game...it's meat and drink. Add to that Blake eulogises Federer like a hero - he practically hands the match over before a point is even won. :rolleyes:

I can see the top 20 beckoning Blake - his time has got to be up in the upper echelons of the rankings. And please, PLEASE take Robredo with you, James. :pray:

Yeah, well, I bet Fed and Rafa wouldn't have said that their air was to make it to Shanghai, either. These guys are out to win tournaments. You're just quibbling over semantics, because you like to run down certain players. I don't think Blake meant that his goal this year was to fail to qualify for the Masters Cup. :rolleyes:

I still like Blake, and he's a class player, too, just too darn inconsistent.

Fair point, Nick. However, I think Blake has got to tighten up on the fighting spirit - I don't think Fed would ever say it wasn't goal to win RG or to break 14 slams? :shrug:

Maybe I am being harsh because I don't like Blake...but I do wonder at his "winners mindset" :)

Of course he didn't want to fail to reach Shanghai, but the fact that he doesn't mind if he doesn't speaks volumes about his incredible lack of ambition. His fans can cling on to the stuff about him being a great guy and a class player when his Plan-A-and-nothing-else game is working, but that's about it.

I hope the final Shanghai spot goes to someone who really wants to be there and win it.

Right, because those are goals of Fed. I would suspect that what Blake really wants is to win a major tournament, like a Masters series or Slam. (Admittedly, he's not done a those tourneys this year, apart from his one final appearance in Cincy.)

If you asked Fed about ending the year No. 1, he might say that was not really his goal. Doesn't mean he wants to lose the No. 1 spot. If he makes his goal of winning slams, those things take care of themselves.

Despite the media circus that follows Murray wherever he goes...I'd actually like to see him get a place in Shanghai. I doubt he will - as I said above - and the furore around him actually makes me rage at the prospect....however, he can actually do something against the top players.

I don't like him, but at least he's a threat. Players like Robredo and Ferrer may be consistent, but they don't pose the same threat by a long stretch.

So, he said he didn't mind if he fails to reach Shanghai, did he?

I thought the comment was that reaching Shanghai was not one of his aims. I think to the intelligent listener, that means that his aim right now is to win the Paris Masters. If he were to accomplish that aim, Shanghai would be taken care of.

I think we're arguing semantics here!

That said, having seen the draw, I'd be very surprised if we see James Blake in Shanghai... ;)

:lol:

So why didn't he say "I don't have it as a goal to make Shanghai but I obviously aim to win Paris which would see me qualify anyway", or something aong those lines? That way, even the less intelligent listeners could understand that he had more ambition than an average street sweeper.

I look forward to him losing early in Paris and being all smiles and totally unfazed by missing out on Shanghai. At least you'll still have your snide comments. :hug:

Who do you think will get that last place? I've made my case for Murray (never thought I'd say those words :rolleyes: ) but doubt he'll make it...

I get the impression it's going to be someone limping over the line rather than a strong showing at Paris sealing it for someone. I think Haas will sneak it, but I'd obviously prefer Gasquet or Murray. It certainly adds a very interesting element to Paris, and I don't think the draw has given anyone any obvious favours.

Haas is another player who crumbles too easily , in my humble opinion. I'd rather see Murray than Gasquet or Haas. However, don't think it's likely.

If Gasquet could only just get some consistency....I always want to see him play, enjoy the first few games and then the red mist descends....

I think Blake said that because he might simply not eb so keen to travel to Shanghai. Let's remember that 2 years ago, all top seeds defaulted and made the Masters look like a joke. I think some might be forced to go but it doesn't mean they want. Roddick already came up with his knee or ankle injury and I woudl not be surprised if he pulls this card. If we look at the recent results, I find it amazing that all those who had a good chance to qualify (that is the top 15 players), all failed to pass the second round except Gonzo that just lost in the 1/4. Those guys one paper should be in the Finals part of those tournaments.

In that respect, I woudl not be surprised if Gasquet, Berdych and why not Murray were to qualify if the better seeds simply find god excuses to pull out. One thing however is that Blake has many points to defend and for him, it should not really be an option.

Too fragile unfortunately. He missed Cincy with a hand blister, was sick at the USO, had (and may still have tennis elbow) and now has a knee injury.

And he stands too far back the baseline!!!!

Having said that I am sure that if he plays in Shanghai, he will have 0 pressure and coudl do some damage.....if he is healthy that is.

Unfortunately, you're probably right that that's all I'll have. :(

I'm surprised that noone has mentioned Fed's in a pretty tough part of the draw. The bottom seems much, much easier.

Very true. Though Wise pointed that it was Nadal's best chance to reach a HC indoor final.

I don't understand how draws can be so unbalanced. Here it's like having the final in the 2nd round, quarter in the semi in the semi in the quarter in the semi with in the final a second round match....or something like that.

According to Gasquet's web site, he is nt sure of participating in Paris due to physical injuries. He'll make up his mind on Sunday.

Yep, Fed's early draw at least is pretty interesting: Karlovic first, and then possibly a rematch with the fearsome Nalbandersnatch.

Berdych might be a dangerous opponent in the quarters. The second quarter of the draw looks impressive, so whoever comes from that into the semis will also be playing well.

Should Roger be looking for a "Cincy 2006" moment after two long weeks of tennis, his first-round match against Karlovic could provide just that ...

Although I think it's more likely that he will want to win this one here, as long as it doesn't impact on his health. He has never won Paris, so it's a title he could add to his collection. Having a bye in the first round should help him recover after Basel (which is not such a long way from Paris either, btw).

Nadal's draw is looking pretty straightforward, but that's nothing compared to the present that Robredo seems to have been given --- this might well be the factor that clinches Shanghai for him.

Tournament website

Men's Singles Draw

Live Scores

Fed confirmed in an article that he is playing definitely I saw on MTF.

Advantages:
-He's never won this tournament and it would mean he's won 7/9 of the Masters to match Agassi.
-He stop's Nadal/Djoko from closing the rankings down a little and maybe lengthen his lead (although this doesn't matter cause he's really comfortable as it is).

Disadvantages:
-He may be tired and injuries become easier to get. Still I don't think this will be as much of a problem as some people think.
-His draw is tough. Since when has that stopped Federer. Meh?

So I'm a little worried for Fed but overall glad he decided to play here. He can whup Nalbandian here and I want Rafa to get to the final for a HC spanking although Rafa hasn't got to a final since Wimbers so there isn't a high chance of that.

Yip.. a tough draw for the Fedster.. :unsure:

I think that he actually might relish this one, and produce some of his best tennis. Well, here's hoping, at least!

A tourney which he wins for the first time. Those don't come up too often!! :lol: Would be very satisfying if he were to do this whilst beating Nalby, Nole, Rafa in doing so.

Out of interest, Nadal is playing doubles as well - with Lopez. Out of the other Shanghai contenders only Andy Murray, Gonzo and Canas (i think the latter two are still in contention :shrug: ) are also playing doubles.....

i don't think those player's doubles activity will hamper their singles play.

Verdasco/Karlovic aren't playing till tommorow so Federer isn't on until Wednesday which gives him a break but 5 days in a row of play.

even if Fed fails to deliver in Paris, he'll be more than ready to take it all in Shanghai.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Singles - First Round
M Fish (USA) d D Tursunov (RUS) 76(7) 64
S Wawrinka (SUI) d N Kiefer (GER) 75 63
[Q] J Del Potro (ARG) d F Lopez (ESP) 64 63
[Q] A Seppi (ITA) d [Q] S Querrey (USA) 57 61 63
[Q] J Tipsarevic (SRB) d [Q] V Spadea (USA) 76(9) 76(2)
M Youzhny (RUS) d A Clement (FRA)64 63
M Ancic (CRO) d P-H Mathieu (FRA) 46 62 63
M Baghdatis (CYP) D J Ferrero (ESP) 64 62

Doubles - First Round
E Butorac (USA) / F Cermak (CZE) d J Erlich (ISR) / A Ram (ISR) 76(1) 26 11-9 (Match TB) - Saved 1 M.P.
J Coetzee (RSA) / R Wassen (NED) d M Damm (CZE) / L Paes (IND) 36 76(5) 11-9 (Match TB)
G Canas (ARG) / F Gonzalez (CHI) d J Benneteau (FRA) / N Mahut (FRA) 64 62
M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) d J Haehnel (FRA) / E Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 64 75

Tursunov :cry:

Kiefer :(2

PHM :cry:

Results - Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Singles - Second Round

[5] D Ferrer (ESP) d M Fish (USA) 61 76(4)
M Youzhny (RUS) d [7] F Gonzalez (CHI) 36 63 63
[8] T Robredo (ESP) d G Simon (FRA) 64 26 64
[9] T Haas (GER) d [Q] J Tipsarevic (SRB) 63 67(5) 63
[11] G Canas (ARG) d [Q] A Seppi (ITA) 63 76(5)
[12] T Berdych (CZE) d M Ancic (CRO) 63 63

Singles - First Round

F Santoro (FRA) d A Montanes (ESP) 76(4) 62
J Nieminen (FIN) d J Monaco (ARG) 64 64
F Volandri (ITA) d J Melzer (AUT) 60 63
[WC] N Mahut (FRA) d [Q] T Gabashvili (RUS) 64 76(4)
[WC] J Tsonga (FRA) d [WC] S Grosjean (FRA) 63 36 63
I Karlovic (CRO) d F Verdasco (ESP) 46 63 64

Gonzo :o

But he has pretty much qualified anyway, so he might as well get some rest before Shanghai ...

Ancic :(2

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Singles - Second Round
[1] R Federer (SUI) d I Karlovic (CRO) 63 46 63
[2] R Nadal (ESP) d F Volandri (ITA) 63 61
F Santoro (FRA) d [3] N Djokovic (SRB) 63 62
[4] N Davydenko (RUS) d [Q] J del Potro (ARG) 76(3) 61
[6] J Blake (USA) d [WC] N Mahut (FRA) 67(3) 76(4) 61
[10] R Gasquet (FRA) d [WC] J Tsonga (FRA) 75 76(3)
M Baghdatis (CYP) d [13] I Ljubicic (CRO) 64 76(4)
D Nalbandian (ARG) d [14] C Moya (ESP) 64 64
[15] A Murray (GBR) d J Nieminen (FIN) 76(5) 63
S Wawrinka (SUI) d [16] J Chela (ARG) 63 61

As I have missed most of the matches at the time they were played, a little bit of :angry: and :clap: for todays matches...

Blake, Blake, Blake :nope: :angry:


Murray :clap:


Baggy :clap: ... but I assume that Davy will be told off once more for poor performance? :shrug: