2014 Monte Carlo Masters Semifinal: Djokovic v. Federer

[Murat B.]

Too bad...the first set was awesome. Nole has to take care of this arm issue, he cannot have it linger...

 

[bobvance]

Novak is looking pretty terrible at the moment. I'd be happy to see Roger win but it's shame that Novak is hurt. I'm hoping he can recover in time for the French since he's the only real challenge to Rafa over there.

 

[Riotbeard]

Novak looks like he is just going through the motions. Pain has definitely escalated.

 

[DarthFed]

Yea at this point if he is having that much trouble he should just try to get off court. Nole has much bigger goals than repeating at Monte Carlo

 

[TsarMatt]

Been a long time since we saw Stan and Roger. Should be interesting.

If Fed wins, he goes back to being the Swiss #1. A lot to play for -- Stan for his first Masters 1000, Fed for his first Monte Carlo title. Should be a great match.

Anyway, 12:45am here - gotta get some sleep. Cool night of tennis overall!

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

Been a long time since we saw Stan and Roger. Should be interesting.

yes lol..stan n woger in the monte carlo final. who'd av thunk it maaaaaan. :idea:

 

[brokenshoelace]

We need to start putting less stock in top players destroying overmatched competition. I remember Nadal in Miami breezed through his first few matches with ridiculous scorelines, and Novak doing the same at the AO and then here. It really doesn't indicate much as to how well players are going to do when facing fellow elites, especially when reports of injury circulate.

 

[Front242]

Been a long time since we saw Stan and Roger. Should be interesting.

If Fed wins, he goes back to being the Swiss #1. A lot to play for -- Stan for his first Masters 1000, Fed for his first Monte Carlo title. Should be a great match.

Anyway, 12:45am here - gotta get some sleep. Cool night of tennis overall!

Yeah, should be a good one. Cheers till the final.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

oop.. always room for a Federer shank.

 

[Kieran]

Crikey - Nadal may actually gain some ranking points on Nole here! :clap

 

[brokenshoelace]

Was that a first serve from Djokovic? If so, a very slow one. Federer breaks and will serve for the first set.

I wonder how bad that wrist is?

Doesn't look affected even 1% to me.

God knows I'm the last person who's going to make excuses for Djokovic of all people, but I often read this line of thinking where people seem to think that for an injury to be affecting a player, said player needs to look half dead on the court. That's just not the case. Novak is not going to dump every shot at the net, even with a wrist injury. I really don't see how it's possible to measure just how much the injury was affecting him sitting at home. Had it been something movement related, then maybe we'd have a clearer idea.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Two most underrated shots in tennis (and I mean really underrated, not "Nadal volleys are underrated" underrated):

-- Djokovic second serve (best second serve among all non big servers).
-- Federer's defensive lob.

I would add to that Roger's short chip return on heavy first serves. Many will look at that as a weak shot but he has won a gazillion points by bringing people in that don't want to come in and pass them with ease.

I wouldn't call them underrated as most acknowledge how effective they are, especially back in his prime when he used to eat big servers for breakfast with that very tactic.

 

[Front242]

No brain farts from Roger. Good job. Hopefully a good final.

 

[Riotbeard]

Lame... Let's hope it's not too serious and a few weeks rest will be a good enough remedy.

 

[Riotbeard]

Congrats to Rog and the all swiss final we all expected!

Bright side I did pick stan to make the final.

 

[Murat B.]

Wow...talk about asking for the right Wild Card at the right time! He might end up winning a tournament he has never won and get a clean 1000 points in the process. Of course, Stan will have a say in the matter too ...He has beaten Roger here before.

 

[Front242]

Crikey - Nadal may actually gain some ranking points on Nole here! :clap

So true lol. How unlikely did that look yesterday?!

 

[Moxie]

Well, that was a shame. Such a high-quality first set.

 

[brokenshoelace]

And to think that Darth and I were wondering why Roger bothered to enter this tournament!

On that note, I genuinely wonder why Novak entered this given his wrist injury. Not a good idea.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Crikey - Nadal may actually gain some ranking points on Nole here! :clap

So true lol. How unlikely did that look yesterday?!

It's all part of the plan