ATP M1000 Monte Carlo 4/9 - 4/16 2023

[ponchi101]

Yes, he can. They have a good record against each other.
On clay, I would not put any money on him, but Zverev has also yet to come back to his former level. That was a brutal injury.
I say. Zverev 60%.

[ti-amie]

Friday, April 14, 2023 Day 7

Court Rainier III Starts At 11:00 Am

QF
(5) Andrey Rublev VS (Q) Jan-Lennard Struff
Followed By
QF
(8) Taylor Fritz VS (2) Stefanos Tsitsipas
Followed By
QF
(3) Daniil Medvedev Or (13) Alexander Zverev VS (6) Holger Rune
Followed By
QF
(16) Lorenzo Musetti VS (7) Jannik Sinner

Court Des Princes Starts At 11:00 Am

QF
Kevin Krawietz/Tim Puetz VS (3) Marcelo Arevalo/Jean-Julien Rojer
Followed By
QF
(6) Lloyd Glasspool/Harri Heliovaara VS (WC) Romain Arneodo/Sam Weissborn
Followed By
QF
(1) Wesley Koolhof/Neal Skupski VS Fabrice Martin/Andreas Mies
Followed By / After Suitable Rest
QF
Taylor Fritz/Holger Rune VS (5) Ivan Dodig/Austin Krajicek

[ponchi101]

Zverev did everything possible to lose that match. Served for it twice, had MP in the TB.
On the other hand. Medvedev's movement on clay has improved a lot. He is sliding well, and his very-back return position makes no difference. A second cow on ice that will master the surface?

[ashkor87]

certainly expect Djokovic to win, he is officially a resident and he is fresh and hungry, I expect

Novak hasn't made it past the quarters at Monte Carlo since 2015. I think the courts play too slow for him.

you were right.. Djokovic seems to need more match practice.. he hasnt played in over a month, and generally Monte Carlo is the first clay court event after a long hard court tout that Djokovic does well at, usually... either way seems to be bad for him!

[ashkor87]

Zverev did everything possible to lose that match. Served for it twice, had MP in the TB.
On the other hand. Medvedev's movement on clay has improved a lot. He is sliding well, and his very-back return position makes no difference. A second cow on ice that will master the surface?

could be!
but Zverev is known to get passive at the wrong time, a bit like Sloane... relies too much on his defence!

[ashkor87]

Fritz is likely to do well on clay...he has the power..a bit slow on his feet but that doesn't matter on clay. Like a male Sabalenka!

[ponchi101]

Good call on Fritz doing well on clay. Beating Stefanos qualifies for that.
I wonder why you say that being slow on clay does not matter. I think the opposite. One of my strengths of clay was that I was fast enough to get to drop shots, and I had proper recovery after sliding. It is a different recovery, because players can't slide on hards as they can slide on clay, but the footwork is crucial.
And Fritz is light on his feet, which helps a lot. As a matter of fact, he is light all over, which may do him well for longevity.

[ponchi101]

Rune is not running around Medvedev, but he seems very comfortable on court right now. Throwing some very timely serve and volleys to keep Daniil off.

[ashkor87]

Good call on Fritz doing well on clay. Beating Stefanos qualifies for that.
I wonder why you say that being slow on clay does not matter. I think the opposite. One of my strengths of clay was that I was fast enough to get to drop shots, and I had proper recovery after sliding. It is a different recovery, because players can't slide on hards as they can slide on clay, but the footwork is crucial.
And Fritz is light on his feet, which helps a lot. As a matter of fact, he is light all over, which may do him well for longevity.

I just think everybody at the pro level is fast enough to get to anything on clay...so it isn't a differentiator at that level...on faster courts, you have less time, so foot speed helps .

[Owendonovan]

Good call on Fritz doing well on clay. Beating Stefanos qualifies for that.
I wonder why you say that being slow on clay does not matter. I think the opposite. One of my strengths of clay was that I was fast enough to get to drop shots, and I had proper recovery after sliding. It is a different recovery, because players can't slide on hards as they can slide on clay, but the footwork is crucial.
And Fritz is light on his feet, which helps a lot. As a matter of fact, he is light all over, which may do him well for longevity.

I was impressed with how well he slides on the clay, kinda atypical for American men.

[ponchi101]

Rune in two routine sets, a well played match.
First clay court masters. Not one single top four player in the semis.
(I know, Carlitos did not come, but still a bit... unexpected?)

[Suliso]

Sinner vs Rune might be interesting

[ponchi101]

Agree. Remember Rune recently said he would like to be a part of a new "big three", and he mentioned Carlitos and Sinner as the other two there. So, could be a good start to a good rivaly.

[JazzNU]

Zverev did everything possible to lose that match. Served for it twice, had MP in the TB.
On the other hand. Medvedev's movement on clay has improved a lot. He is sliding well, and his very-back return position makes no difference. A second cow on ice that will master the surface?

No, that was an grossly overused phrased where Maria was concerned as she never sucked on clay the way it was played up to be. To a lesser extent but still worth noting, Daniil has been to the SF here and to the Barcelona Finals in previous years, which is easily one of the most stacked 500 level events on tour. I can't remember who he beat on his SF run in Monte Carlo, but as is typical with the event, they were noteworthy wins over guys who can play on the surface. The guy who has lived in France since he was a teenager is not nearly as bad on clay as he and others try to pretend he is, it's that he's not as good as he is on hard courts and grumpy Daniil makes regular appearances because of it. It's definitely in his head to a certain extent. When this "terrible on clay" persona of his wasn't a thing a few years ago, he was actually winning on clay.

[JazzNU]

Tsitsipas wrote this on the camera screen after his win over Jarry yesterday. Including the top reply as I wholeheartedly agree.