Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain, 2024 - Masters 1000

MargaretMcAleer

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"I put my emotions in the right directions" says Andrey Rublev, who has gone from slumping to sizzling over 2 weeks in Madrid.
On his run to the final, and the post-default self-control that has helped get him there.
 

MargaretMcAleer

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How many times did @Moxie , @tented a player play Madrid and afterwards have their clay season compromised due to some type of new injury sustained playing on that fake clay surface.
AP regardless of the Fake clay court and high altitude conditons'
The court surface on the main court in the Magic Box is sub par
High bounces not due to high altitude have gone against players
They need to rake and water the courts before and after matches, this has been the case for years at the Magic Box
I am looking at you Feli?
 
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Moxie

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How many times did @Moxie , @tented a player play Madrid and afterwards have their clay season compromised due to some type of new injury sustained playing on that fake clay surface.
I don't remember anything like this. I'm no fan of this tournament, but this has been weird. Some on the internet have talked about the new longer format...but I don't see how a rest day can contribute to injuries?
 

the AntiPusher

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I don't remember anything like this. I'm no fan of this tournament, but this has been weird. Some on the internet have talked about the new longer format...but I don't see how a rest day can contribute to injuries?
Maybe I am not correct. It could have been someone else in regards to players getting injured at that tournament

 
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mrzz

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I don't remember anything like this. I'm no fan of this tournament, but this has been weird. Some on the internet have talked about the new longer format...but I don't see how a rest day can contribute to injuries?
Coincidences and stupid people is a terrible combination.
 
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MargaretMcAleer

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Maybe I am not correct. It could have been someone else in regards to players getting injured at that tournament

To be fair AP
Sinner got his hip injury at the gym before Madrid started, yes it got worse, he did have to withdraw and sad to say he has to withdrew from his home tournament at Roma
Alcaraz should not have played Madrid, he should have rested his forearm, being the defending champion, he decided to play, in hindsight he should not have played now has an edema in his forearm and has to withdraw from Rome
 

Moxie

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To be fair AP
Sinner got his hip injury at the gym before Madrid started, yes it got worse, he did have to withdraw and sad to say he has to withdrew from his home tournament at Roma
Alcaraz should not have played Madrid, he should have rested his forearm, being the defending champion, he decided to play, in hindsight he should not have played now has an edema in his forearm and has to withdraw from Rome
Fair point...some of these injuries were picked up prior, or pre-existing. Also, if it were the surface, wouldn't the women have suffered the same? There were five women who withdrew prior to the tournament, but did any retire or withdraw with injury during it? If it's only the men, it's not the surface, IMO. It's just bad luck.
 
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MargaretMcAleer

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Fair point...some of these injuries were picked up prior, or pre-existing. Also, if it were the surface, wouldn't the women have suffered the same? There were five women who withdrew prior to the tournament, but did any retire or withdraw with injury during it? If it's only the men, it's not the surface, IMO. It's just bad luck.
Well we can look at why Meddy had to retire with a leg injury, it is hard to play clay tennis on a HC clay court, especially when you have to slide laterally, he was hopping on one leg? and had the trainer out twice before he had to retire in his match.
Some of the injuries can be bad luck, others also adjust better coming from the HC season to clay, especially on a HC clay and high altitude ..... Madrid, which does usually favor big servers and flat hitters
 

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Fair point...some of these injuries were picked up prior, or pre-existing. Also, if it were the surface, wouldn't the women have suffered the same? There were five women who withdrew prior to the tournament, but did any retire or withdraw with injury during it? If it's only the men, it's not the surface, IMO. It's just bad luck.

People are still mentally harking back to 2012 & the "blue" Har-Tru Tiriac laid dwn that year! It was a lot more slippery which allowed Federer to win handily b/c clay court specialists were sliding all over the place; almost pulling muscles! Nadal was knocked out early & Djokovic only needed to go one extra round to recover the #1 ranking so he hardly tried in his next match wanting OFF ASAP! This clay is not only red here in Madrid, it doesn't appear as gritty and slippery as that blue stuff of 2012! People are imaging things maybe! Injuries are exacerbated by the way they play, not the court IMO! :face-with-head-bandage: :face-with-hand-over-mouth: :astonished-face: :fearful-face: :yawningface:
 
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I want to say something about Alcaraz and his decision to play Madrid. Yes, looking at it now, it might have been a wise decision to skip Madrid, but you got to remember, he already withdrawn from Monte Carlo AND Barcelona prior to Madrid. If he would have skip MC, Barcelona AND Madrid, then that means that his forearm injury is very serious. By him playing Madrid, I think he was able to gauge on how his forearm feel. Because for an athlete, practice is way different than playing an official match. At some point, Alcaraz needed some official matches in order to test out his injury. And why not do it on the tournament he really likes AND close to home.

As for Sinner, it is surprising that he will skip Rome due to his hip injury. However, I still do think he is being very cautious because RG, Halle, Wimbledon, Olympics, Canada, Cincy and US Open are a LOT of tournaments in a short period of time. And since becoming a fan of his in 2022, he has ALWAYS prioritize his health and Slams over anything. This is no exception.

But just like Alcaraz, Sinner played Madrid so he can test on how injured his hip. And at the end of the day, sports athletes have to make those decisions.
 
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MargaretMcAleer

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I want to say something about Alcaraz and his decision to play Madrid. Yes, looking at it now, it might have been a wise decision to skip Madrid, but you got to remember, he already withdrawn from Monte Carlo AND Barcelona prior to Madrid. If he would have skip MC, Barcelona AND Madrid, then that means that his forearm injury is very serious. By him playing Madrid, I think he was able to gauge on how his forearm feel. Because for an athlete, practice is way different than playing an official match. At some point, Alcaraz needed some official matches in order to test out his injury. And why not do it on the tournament he really likes AND close to home.

As for Sinner, it is surprising that he will skip Rome due to his hip injury. However, I still do think he is being very cautious because RG, Halle, Wimbledon, Olympics, Canada, Cincy and US Open are a LOT of tournaments in a short period of time. And since becoming a fan of his in 2022, he has ALWAYS prioritize his health and Slams over anything. This is no exception.

But just like Alcaraz, Sinner played Madrid so he can test on how injured his hip. And at the end of the day, sports athletes have to make those decisions.
Honestly it is not surprising Sinner has skipped Rome at all, the pain has got worse and his doctors and specialists advised him not to play go to the ATP news I translated in English what Sinner posted on Twitter
Why in the world when you have a hip injury with the pain getting worse would you try to play in a clay tournament,?
Sinner's goal was to arrive healthy for RG btw
 
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rafanoy1992

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Honestly it is not surprising Sinner has skipped Rome at all, the pain has got worse and his doctors and specialists advised him not to play go to the ATP news I translated in English what Sinner posted on Twitter
Why in the world when you have a hip injury with the pain getting worse would you try to play in a clay tournament,?
Sinner's goal was to arrive healthy for RG btw
Because pain is relative especially for top athletes.

Also, I am looking this at half glass full, Sinner came back and win against Khachanov after losing a close 1st set. That too me looked like while he was hurt/injured, it wasn’t serious enough to fully hampered his chances at RG.

And to be fair also, even if he skipped Madrid and played Rome, he would probably have the same hip injury and withdraw from Rome after a couple of matches.

All in all, I trust Sinner and his team that they are making the right decision for the long term. It’s ironic that most of us wanted Nadal to have smart scheduling when he was younger. Now that Alcaraz and Sinner are having smart scheduling (relatively of course), some fans are baffled that they are skipping m1000 tournaments!
 

MargaretMcAleer

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Because pain is relative especially for top athletes.

Also, I am looking this at half glass full, Sinner came back and win against Khachanov after losing a close 1st set. That too me looked like while he was hurt/injured, it wasn’t serious enough to fully hampered his chances at RG.

And to be fair also, even if he skipped Madrid and played Rome, he would probably have the same hip injury and withdraw from Rome after a couple of matches.

All in all, I trust Sinner and his team that they are making the right decision for the long term. It’s ironic that most of us wanted Nadal to have smart scheduling when he was younger. Now that Alcaraz and Sinner are having smart scheduling (relatively of course), some fans are baffled that they are skipping m1000 tournaments!
Well I think by now Sinner knows his body better than you and me?
It is sad he has to miss his home tournament but I think his team and his doctors have given the right advice
To me Sinner is still a 'progress on clay"
Hopefully he will be right to play at RG
 

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Order of Play for Sunday, May 5, 2024

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MargaretMcAleer

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Felix is the first ATP player to get 3 WOs and retirements in a Masters tournament.Will his luck continue?
 
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MargaretMcAleer

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The roof is closed and that lovable Irishman Fergus Murphy is the umpire