Talk About Tennis 2.0

If Djokovic wins MC, he would have won every Master's title at least 3 times...mind-boggling ! There are very good players who have yet to win a Master's and even better players who have never won Any title 3 times.
Of course, highly unlikely that Djoko will win this one, but still....

Suliso wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2024 5:25 am Can he still? You might be thinking of Wawrinka 5 years ago.

Ha! You were right...Wawrinka has lost a lot of his skills by now

Re Djokovic et al .as they get older, what do they lose first? Having observed McEnroe carefully as he aged, I would say it is ability to return and defend ..Mac could still serve great but he couldn't put any pressure on his opponent's serve..watching to see how Djokovic plays now

One issue with the footwork on clay is that you have to slide into the ball, but the end of you slide must coincide with the point of contact. That way, you stop there and you can recover.
Hard court speedsters like Deminaur slide into the ball but don't time it perfectly; they slide and the actual end of their stroke is a little bit later. That means they need extra time to recover, and end up doing so with their OUTSIDE leg, not the inside one.
Then, they dart back in the opposite direction and are easily wrongfooted.

On the other hand, Sharapova said she didn't even try to slide, just picked up her feet and ran...she did ok, two French Open titles...so perhaps sliding is not a must, though it is probably the best way (I don't slide at all, myself but I don't really play on true clay, neither am I a champion!)

Lorenzo Sonego is the LL and will face FAA.

Wed, 10 April, 2024 (Day 5)

Court Rainier III
Starts at 11:00 am

A. Popyrin Vs (6) A. Rublev
Followed By
S. Korda Vs (2) J. Sinner
Not Before 2:00 pm
G. Monfils (WC) Vs (4) D. Medvedev
Followed By
H. Rune (7) Vs (Q) S. Nagal

Court des Princes
Starts at 11:00 am

A. de Minaur (11) Vs T. Griekspoor
Followed By
T. Etcheverry Vs (12) S. Tsitsipas
Followed By
A. Tabilo Vs (8) C. Ruud
Followed By
M. Kecmanovic Vs (9) G. Dimitrov

Court 2
Starts at 11:00 am

K. Khachanov (15) Vs F. Cerundolo
Followed By
H. Hurkacz (10) Vs (Q) R. Bautista Agut
Followed By / After suitable rest
K. Krawietz/T. Puetz (6) Vs K. Khachanov/A. Rublev

Court 9
Starts at 11:00 am

L. Sonego (LL) Vs F. Auger-Aliassime
Followed By
Z. Zhang Vs (14) U. Humbert
Followed By
R. Bopanna/M. Ebden (1) Vs M. Arevalo/M. Pavic

Court 11
Starts at 11:00 am

N. Lammons/J. Withrow Vs (3) M. Granollers/H. Zeballos
Followed By
S. Gille/J. Vliegen Vs (2) I. Dodig/A. Krajicek
Followed By / After suitable rest
F. Cerundolo/T. Etcheverry Vs T. Griekspoor/H. Hurkacz

Korda beating D Fokina so easily was quite stunning..didn't think Korda was that good,on clay. Sinner next...

what accounts for Djokovic's poor performance at MC? (he has won it 'only' twice! - everything else at least three time)..
could it be that he is a champion on all surfaces so always took hard courts seriously too - and had just completed a hard couts swing, usually, before coming to MC - maybe a bit tired, maybe a bit unused to clay? Monte Carlo was always the first clay court event.. this year has been a different path for him, maybe it will make him more successful here! Threepeat?!

ashkor87 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 10, 2024 7:55 am what accounts for Djokovic's poor performance at MC? (he has won it 'only' twice! - everything else at least three time)..
could it be that he is a champion on all surfaces so always took hard courts seriously too - and had just completed a hard couts swing, usually, before coming to MC - maybe a bit tired, maybe a bit unused to clay? Monte Carlo was always the first clay court event.. this year has been a different path for him, maybe it will make him more successful here! Threepeat?!

Could be partially that. Could be that MC is the slowest of all clay masters.

Sinner's first match (6-1, 6-2) doesn't indicate that he's far more vulnerable on clay. Of course stronger opponents will come and then we'll see for sure.

ashkor87 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 10, 2024 7:55 am what accounts for Djokovic's poor performance at MC? (he has won it 'only' twice! - everything else at least three time)..
could it be that he is a champion on all surfaces so always took hard courts seriously too - and had just completed a hard couts swing, usually, before coming to MC - maybe a bit tired, maybe a bit unused to clay? Monte Carlo was always the first clay court event.. this year has been a different path for him, maybe it will make him more successful here! Threepeat?!

Rafael Nadal

atlpam wrote: ↑Wed Apr 10, 2024 1:27 pm

ashkor87 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 10, 2024 7:55 am what accounts for Djokovic's poor performance at MC? (he has won it 'only' twice! - everything else at least three time)..
could it be that he is a champion on all surfaces so always took hard courts seriously too - and had just completed a hard couts swing, usually, before coming to MC - maybe a bit tired, maybe a bit unused to clay? Monte Carlo was always the first clay court event.. this year has been a different path for him, maybe it will make him more successful here! Threepeat?!

Rafael Nadal

You'd think, right? But Djokovic is 2-2 vs Rafa at MC. He has lost early to other players the last seven times he has played, after winning twice and finaling twice before 2016. Here's who he has lost to at MC in his career, in descending chronological order:
*=semi or final; others are earlier rounds

Musetti
Davidovich Fokina
Evans
Medvedev
Thiem
Goffin
Vesely
Federer* x3
Nadal* x2
Verdasco*
Ferrer