Title: Chennai
Dark_Necrofear™ - December 31, 2007 06:10 AM (GMT)
NADAL, BAGHDATIS HEADLINE CHENNAI FIELD Spaniard Rafael Nadal returns to the Chennai Open for the third time, hoping to better his 2007 semifinal exit to eventual champion Xavier Malisse. The World No. 2, who won six titles including Roland Garros and three ATP Masters Series events in 2007, starts the new season against Mathieu Montcourt of France in the first round, with the prospect of facing No. 7 seed Werner Eschauer in the last eight.
Malisse begins his defense against Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. The 27-year-old Belgian has dropped to No. 112 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings due to a wrist injury sustained in February. In 2007 he won the singles and doubles crowns.
Second-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis will meet Robin Haase of the Netherlands in the first round, with No. 4 seed Mikhail Youzhny of Russia a potential semifinal threat. Baghdatis, who was present as the draw ceremony, told reports that he was looking forward to the new season. "This is the first tournament for the new year so it will be tough until I find my rhythm, but I'm ready. This year I want to get into the top 10 and stay there."
The 31-year-old Carlos Moya, who beat Paradorn Srichaphan for the 2004 and 2005 Chennai titles, has drawn Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili.
http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/2008news/week1_preview.asp vivahate - January 1, 2008 03:35 PM (GMT)
Federer-Williams - January 1, 2008 04:14 PM (GMT)
dl04 - January 1, 2008 08:55 PM (GMT)
Nadal records his first win of 2008 :D
I really hope that this tourny gives him some momentum going into sydney and the Aussie Open. It's something that didnt really happen last year, so i hope he's in top form come the Aussie. Then he would be a hot contender to take the title.
Dinky Jo - January 2, 2008 08:43 AM (GMT)
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Singles - First Round
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d M Montcourt (FRA) 62 64
R Haase (NED) d [2] M Baghdatis (CYP) 63 64
[3] C Moya (ESP) d T Gabashvili (RUS) 64 61
[5] N Mahut (FRA) d D Gremelmayr (GER) 63 63
[7] W Eschauer (AUT) d [WC] B Salva-Vidal (ESP) 76(3) 57 64
K Vliegen (BEL) d [8] M Gicquel (FRA) 76(5) 64
G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) d [Q] A Peya (AUT) 64 64
[Q] R Ram (USA) d Y Schukin (RUS) 76(6) 76(2)
[Q] L Zovko (CRO) d T Ascione (FRA) 64 60
[Q] A Kudryavtsev (RUS) d [WC] P Amritraj (IND) 63 46 76(8) - Saved 3 M.P.
M Cilic (CRO) d V Troicki (SRB) 36 76(6) 61
Doubles - First Round
I Kunitsyn (RUS) / J Thomas (USA) d X Malisse (BEL) / G Muller (LUX) 75 57 14-12 (Match TB) - Saved 4 M.P.
Pebs - January 2, 2008 10:50 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (vivahate @ Jan 1 2008, 03:35 PM) |
| Baggy out :unsure: |
:blink:
Duchess - January 2, 2008 07:26 PM (GMT)
Poor Marcos :( Hope he can recover for the Aussie open.
Dinky Jo - January 3, 2008 08:18 AM (GMT)
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Singles - Second Round
[4] M Youzhny (RUS) d E Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 75 16 62
X Malisse (BEL) d [6] J Melzer (AUT) 76(3) 62
F Serra (FRA) d K Vliegen (BEL) 75 46 76(3)
[3] C Moya (ESP) d [Q] A Kudryavtsev (RUS) 63 67(4) 62
Dinky Jo - January 4, 2008 08:11 AM (GMT)
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Singles - Second Round
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d [Q] R Ram (USA) 62 61
M Cilic (CRO) d [5] N Mahut (FRA) 62 64
G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) d [7] W Eschauer (AUT) 46 75 76(3)
R Haase (NED) d [Q] L Zovko (CRO) 61 75
liam_valid - January 4, 2008 04:22 PM (GMT)
Harry Potter - January 4, 2008 07:39 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (liam_valid @ Jan 4 2008, 05:22 PM) |
| Go Rafa :wub: |
Go Xavier ;)
Dinky Jo - January 5, 2008 09:52 AM (GMT)
Friday, January 4, 2008
Singles - Quarterfinals
[3] C Moya (ESP) d F Serra (FRA) 63 64
[1] R Nadal (ESP) vs G Garcia-Lopez (ESP)
[4] M Youzhny (RUS) d X Malisse (BEL) 64 64
M Cilic (CRO) d R Haase (NED) 46 62 63
Semis today of Moya vs. Nadal (always an interesting match-up) and Youhzny vs. Cilic.
Dinky Jo - January 6, 2008 03:06 PM (GMT)
this is the BBC report about the final:
| QUOTE |
Nadal thrashed in Chennai final
Top seed Rafael Nadal and world number two suffered a 6-0 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Russia's Mikhail Youzhny in the final of the Chennai Open.
The Spaniard was clearly affected by his four-hour semi-final against compatriot Carlos Moya.
He lost all three service games in the opening set and called for medical attention at 4-1 down in the second.
World number 19 Youzhny closed out the match after just 58 minutes on court for the fourth title of his career.
Nadal quickly dismissed fears his comprehensive defeat was because of an injury sustained in his marathon match against Moya on Saturday, the longest three-set match on the ATP Tour in 15 years.
"There is nothing wrong with me - I called the trainer because I was feeling tired," said the 21-year-old.
"Mikhail played unbelievable tennis and deserved to win.
"I will now go to Melbourne and practise for a week and hopefully I will be at my best at the [Australian] Open.
"The good thing is I leave this tournament without any injury. It has been a good start to the year for me. I have had good practice."
Youzhny admitted his win owed much to coming up against an off-key Nadal.
"This victory is a present from Rafael," said Youzhny, who has beaten Nadal in four of their seven encounters on hard courts.
"I did not think it would be so easy. I thought he would come back strongly in the second set but once I broke him in the fourth game, I knew I only had to ensure I did not make mistakes.
"I improved with every match in this tournament and I hope I continue the same way at the Australian Open." |
a couple of things stood out for me there: firstly, Nadal called the trainer because he was tired???? That may be Nadal's English failing him somewhat there, but that sounds a bit strange :unsure:
and secondly, I wish Youzhny had given himself a bit more credit :shrug: even beating an off-key Nadal is not easy and I hope he has a bit more confidence in his own abilities than to say it was a "gift" from rafa :blink:
Russiafan - January 6, 2008 05:31 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Dinky Jo @ Jan 6 2008, 04:06 PM) |
this is the BBC report about the final:
| QUOTE | Nadal thrashed in Chennai final
Top seed Rafael Nadal and world number two suffered a 6-0 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Russia's Mikhail Youzhny in the final of the Chennai Open.
The Spaniard was clearly affected by his four-hour semi-final against compatriot Carlos Moya.
He lost all three service games in the opening set and called for medical attention at 4-1 down in the second.
World number 19 Youzhny closed out the match after just 58 minutes on court for the fourth title of his career.
Nadal quickly dismissed fears his comprehensive defeat was because of an injury sustained in his marathon match against Moya on Saturday, the longest three-set match on the ATP Tour in 15 years.
"There is nothing wrong with me - I called the trainer because I was feeling tired," said the 21-year-old.
"Mikhail played unbelievable tennis and deserved to win.
"I will now go to Melbourne and practise for a week and hopefully I will be at my best at the [Australian] Open.
"The good thing is I leave this tournament without any injury. It has been a good start to the year for me. I have had good practice."
Youzhny admitted his win owed much to coming up against an off-key Nadal.
"This victory is a present from Rafael," said Youzhny, who has beaten Nadal in four of their seven encounters on hard courts.
"I did not think it would be so easy. I thought he would come back strongly in the second set but once I broke him in the fourth game, I knew I only had to ensure I did not make mistakes.
"I improved with every match in this tournament and I hope I continue the same way at the Australian Open." |
a couple of things stood out for me there: firstly, Nadal called the trainer because he was tired???? That may be Nadal's English failing him somewhat there, but that sounds a bit strange :unsure:
and secondly, I wish Youzhny had given himself a bit more credit :shrug: even beating an off-key Nadal is not easy and I hope he has a bit more confidence in his own abilities than to say it was a "gift" from rafa :blink:
|
Hmmm... Mikhail IS a talented player and has beaten an 'in-form' Rafa at the US Open in 2006 so his win shouldn't be viewed as a total shock...but the scoreline??? Exhaustian after the Moya match must be a key factor in the trouncing, but I agree the win is not unprecedented (especially on a hard court).
DAVAI MIKHAIL! :D
Tenez - January 6, 2008 06:55 PM (GMT)
I was a bit puzzled when I read yesterday's Nadal interview saying how great Moya was and how he could beat almost anyone on the day. I agree Moya is a great player but getting close to Nadal nowadays does not mean you can beat anyone out there. Nadal's form since last Wimbledon is still pretty dubious and I am not sure he has recovered fully. If anything it shows Nadal carries his 2007 health problems to this new year. If I were him, I would have rested until the AO like other serious players have. I really don't understand his training plan. He could have played the Exhibition like Fed, Roddick and Nalby as a warm up...I feel his chances of winning the AO are pretty remote now.
Big Al - January 6, 2008 09:06 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Tenez @ Jan 6 2008, 06:55 PM) |
| I was a bit puzzled when I read yesterday's Nadal interview saying how great Moya was and how he could beat almost anyone on the day. I agree Moya is a great player but getting close to Nadal nowadays does not mean you can beat anyone out there. Nadal's form since last Wimbledon is still pretty dubious and I am not sure he has recovered fully. If anything it shows Nadal carries his 2007 health problems to this new year. If I were him, I would have rested until the AO like other serious players have. I really don't understand his training plan. He could have played the Exhibition like Fed, Roddick and Nalby as a warm up...I feel his chances of winning the AO are pretty remote now. |
It reminds me of the time Federer beat him in the German final and the reason given was that he was tired after playing every week on clay. He does rely heavily on speed and power and can be beaten by quite a few players if not at his physical best. It only takes one long gruelling match to make him lose in the next round.
Sad to say this, but will he have a long successsful career ? Probably totally burnt out at 25 . :shrug:
Tenez - January 6, 2008 10:07 PM (GMT)
Yes but even 25 is 4 1/2 years away from now for Nadal. A long time for somene who relies a lot on mobility.
Big Al - January 6, 2008 10:12 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Tenez @ Jan 6 2008, 10:07 PM) |
| Yes but even 25 is 4 1/2 years away from now for Nadal. A long time for somene who relies a lot on mobility. |
Indeed . I have a suspicion this year might be the start of his decline ..
I dont want to tempt fate by predicting it ... I do want Roger to win the French though :whistle:
SuperBRAT - January 6, 2008 10:26 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Big Al @ Jan 6 2008, 09:06 PM) |
| QUOTE (Tenez @ Jan 6 2008, 06:55 PM) | | I was a bit puzzled when I read yesterday's Nadal interview saying how great Moya was and how he could beat almost anyone on the day. I agree Moya is a great player but getting close to Nadal nowadays does not mean you can beat anyone out there. Nadal's form since last Wimbledon is still pretty dubious and I am not sure he has recovered fully. If anything it shows Nadal carries his 2007 health problems to this new year. If I were him, I would have rested until the AO like other serious players have. I really don't understand his training plan. He could have played the Exhibition like Fed, Roddick and Nalby as a warm up...I feel his chances of winning the AO are pretty remote now. |
It reminds me of the time Federer beat him in the German final and the reason given was that he was tired after playing every week on clay. He does rely heavily on speed and power and can be beaten by quite a few players if not at his physical best. It only takes one long gruelling match to make him lose in the next round.
Sad to say this, but will he have a long successsful career ? Probably totally burnt out at 25 . :shrug:
|
I agree and have been saying that from day 1, as I think you and others have. Nadal peaked very early and young and will retire very early and relatively young. What else can he expect when his game relies so heavily on fitness and speed rather than skill and canniness?
Tenez - January 6, 2008 10:57 PM (GMT)
I would have liked to see Nadal stay fit though but as you say Biggy Roger winning the French is my biggest tennis wish this year.
Big Al - January 6, 2008 11:15 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Tenez @ Jan 6 2008, 10:57 PM) |
| I would have liked to see Nadal stay fit though but as you say Biggy Roger winning the French is my biggest tennis wish this year. |
Yeah even if Roger wins against an injured Nadal wont take away from the achievement .
SuperBRAT - January 6, 2008 11:30 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Big Al @ Jan 6 2008, 11:15 PM) |
| QUOTE (Tenez @ Jan 6 2008, 10:57 PM) | | I would have liked to see Nadal stay fit though but as you say Biggy Roger winning the French is my biggest tennis wish this year. |
Yeah even if Roger wins against an injured Nadal wont take away from the achievement .
|
I agree. It will onyl show that Roger is the more complete player.