Enough blue, time for Red Rome! Rome Preview

Can you hear that?  The collective sigh of relief of the ATP tour as the men are back on RED clay!  I think it was a great experiment in Madrid, but significant changes must be made to maintain the clay blue as it was slippery and the ball bounce was low.  Now back to the "real clay" as the Djoker said after his loss last week.  Let's take a look at the top four seeds and their possible path towards the semis and then the finals.

#1 Novak Djokovic

To the Smurf Village! Madrid Preview

Enough about the blue clay, let's get to the actual play!  Let's preview the top 4 players and their road to hosting up the trophy in Madrid.


#1 Novak Djokovic





Djokovic's year started with a huge high in winning The Australian Open, but has cooled off a bit.  A loss at Indian wells to John Isner and a loss in Rome to Rafael Nadal (tough circumstances w/ his grandfather passing away) have dinged the armor of the unbeatable #1.  He can get some of that aura back by going through atough draw.  Here are some possible match-ups for the Serb.

Why is everyone so Blue?!

Tennis might be the most traditional sport on Earth.  Any modification to the game brings people in the tennis world to an uproar whether it is the best thing since slice bread or not.  For example, the introduction of Hawk Eye, now Shot Spot, brought heavy criticism from many people, one of them being Roger Federer.  Even though this great player might still be a little cold to the idea of Shot Spot, most of those early critics have become fans of the technology.  Now, the red dirt in Madrid has become smurf blue and the players are not very happy, but Papa Smurf,  Ion Ţiriac (tournament owner), is determined to make it work.  Let's take a look at both players (plaintiffs) and owner (defendant) and decide who has the best point.
Court is now in session...

The Plaintiffs (Players)

Let's get Dirty! Masters Preview, Monte Carlo

The first Masters tournament of the year has more twists and turns than space mountain. Monte Carlo is an absolutely beautiful venue that players love to play in. For this Masters 1000, I will take the top two players and evaluate their chances of hoisting up the cup at the end of the day. Let's take a look at our line up.

 World #1: Novak Djokovic 

Sony Ericsson Men's Preview

#1 Novak Djokovic

Talk about a tough draw.  Novak Djokovic is looking at serious players EVERY ROUND.  Even though he has an outstanding record against these players it will be a tough stretch.  Let's take the hit-men that will be gunning for him.  Marcos Baghdatis should be waiting for him in the 2nd round.  Bags is a solid player and has to be looking forward at the challenge as he is 0-6 vs Djoko.  That cannot be sitting well with him.  The 3rd round, his countryman Troicki should be waiting for him.  Djoko has a 10-1 head-to-head against Triocki.  He should get out of here fine but he cannot overlook the top 30 player.  In the round of 16, Djoko faces "The Backhand", Richard Gasquet.  Djoko has a head-to-head of 5-1 and should get through here as it's a good match-up backhand to backhand.  Joker's forehand should dictate in this match.  After seeing this murderer's row, Del Potro potentially will face Nole in the quarters.  I cannot see Djokovic beating Del Potro here.  Juan Martin is looking like a top 5 player who just beat Djoker in Davis Cup last year and Nole will be worn down from his previous meetings.  If he somehow is able to beat Del Potro here, he will most likely face Federer in the semi and Nadal in the final.  Tough task, darn nearly impossible!

Cough Cough! Hurt hurt! What is going on?

This year's PNB Paribas Open at Indian Wells has produced some major upsets.  We have had world's #4 ranked player in the world, Andy Murray, fall to Spaniard Garcia-Lopez in his 1st match.  Last night we saw world #3 Petra Kvitova fall to American Christina McHale.  This excitement has been welcomed but one thing that hasn't is this virus floating around along with a couple of injuries.

Last night watching Roger Federer you could tell he wasn't himself.  Even though he had a comfortable win he looked drained, tired and a bit out of sorts.  The championship form he had brought in from Rotterdam and Dubai was hardly there.  But at least he played.  Check the list of players that have had to pull out:

Men
Gael Monfils
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Andreas Seppi
Michael Llodra

Women
Timea Bacsinszky
Vania King
Johanna Larsson
Jelena Dokic
Magdalena Rybarikova
Bethanie Mattek-Sands



The list just seems to keep growing.  I'm not even counting Petra Kvitova who after her loss stated she is not 100% from the virus she has suffered from for the past 2 weeks.  I did mention Roger Federer early who is still playing but obviously under the weather.  Robin Soderling is not in the draw because of his illness still (who knows when we will see him back, if ever).  The draw just seems to be thinning down not because of upsets or good matches but because of illness and injuries.


"There is currently a Coachella Valley-wide virus which is resulting in symptoms of nausea and vomiting, fever, and subsequent diarrhea," the statement from Palm Spring health officials said. "It is self-limited and lasts between 24 and 48 hours. It is transmitted by air and direct contact and not passed via food.  It continues, "Emergency Departments across the valley have seen an increase in patients with these symptoms. At Eisenhower Medical Center, which provides medical support for the BNP Paribas Open, we have seen increases in overall visits to the emergency department by about 15 percent over the past week. We have seen fans and players at the tournament experience these symptoms as well."


Hopefully this is an isolated case this year and we don't see it again.

Indian Wells 2012 men preview!

The 2012 ATP season has started off with fireworks.  Djoko begun the year by recapturing the AO title over Rafa in an epic final.  Roger, even though he lost in the semis of the same tournament has captured the last two tournaments he has played (Rotterdam & Dubai) which will give him great confidence entering Indian Wells.  Andy Murray secured some confidence having Djoko on the ropes at the AO and then beating him last week in Dubai.  The top four seem to be playing fantastic tennis with all of them capable of beating up on one another.  The "second tier" group looks dangerous as well.  Ferrer is coming of a title in Acapulco, Tsonga is playing great tennis, and Del Potro is looking as he can start challenging for a top 4 spot soon.  Great start so far!

Tennis is back in The States at Indian Wells and it will provide a fantastic opportunity to watch the best men in the world compete for a "fifth slam".  After all, Indian Wells and Miami are two tournaments with a lot of points at stake and are loved by both the men and women that participate in it.  Last year's champion, Djokovic is coming off a defeat to Murray at Dubai but played pretty well.  He will have a potential 3rd round match versus Del Rey Beach champ Kevin Anderson.  The South African can potentially give him some trouble.  If he is able to get through that round Richard Gasquet's backhand will be something to contend with as the Frenchman will look to make an early splash in the 2012 season.  Djoko's quaterfinal could possibly be Roddick or Berdych (Almagro is a possibility but he's not on clay).  These two players can possibly serve by him but with the best return in the game, Djoko might be looking at the possibility of playing Murray in the Semis.

Andy Murray's section doesn't seem as dangerous but there are a couple of guys out here that could give him some issues.  Triocki, Wawrinka, Simon are capable players who can play at Andy's speed and mix it up with him.  These points might not be the explosive points we like but they will definitely match the wits and brains of these savvy veterans.  Look out for Big John Isner in this side of the draw.  The American is looking better and better every week even though he had a loss against eventual Del Rey Beach champ Kevin Anderson.  He is definitely a player that might be able to give Murray some fits.  Andy might be glad to see the Americans Isner, Fish, and Harrison on his side of the draw and not the one that took him out last year, Donald Young.  D. Young will be on the bottom side and thankfully for Murray.  Of course he is not where he was last year coming off the loss at the AO to Djoko and was in this hungover state.  It would have been tough no matter how well Andy is playing to exercise that demon at the place where it occurred.  I don't foresee both D. Young and Murray to the final and playing each other so Andy can escape him this year.

Rafa has probably been the quietest player so far on tour (out of the big 4).  He lost in an epic final at the AO to Nole and now is looking to get some points going forward for any chance to finish the year at #1.  His draw can be tricky with a mix bag of players.  Crafty players that can dim the pace include Stepanek, Tipsarevic, and Dolgopolov.  Then there are some bangers like Lopez, Cilic, and maybe the most dangerous Tsonga.  Besides those big names there are those that can sneak in there and give The King of Clay some trouble, Nalbandian, Llodra, Gulbis, Tomic, Baghdatis to name a few.  This is definitely the most loaded side of the draw with names but not necessarily with talent.  I can see Rafa having an easier time then the other 3 in getting to the semis.

The King is back, somewhat.  Fed has won the last two tournaments and is looking better and better every match.  He handled Murray reasonably easy last week at Dubai and I'm sure is looking forward to playing the other two big dogs at Indian Wells.  His draw is loaded and can be extremely dangerous.  David Ferrer is a possible quarterfinal match-up and has been an easier match for Fed but don't mention that to Djokovic, the best player in the world, who lost to him at the Barclays on an indoor hard court.  Before Fed can even get to the Quarters, he will have his hands full potentially in the third round with the big serving Canadian, Raonic.  The young gun has started the season on a tear and can cause some chaos for the world's hottest player.  Monfils and Del Potro are also lurking on this side of the draw and will be a matchup nighmare for Fed.  Del Potro has faced Federer quite a bit this year with every score line becoming closer and closer this might be the tournament the Argentine might get his over Fed.


It'll be tough to see the big 4 all in the semis here but it's a big possibility.  I think we will have an early upset but I wouldn't bet my house on it.  Look out for a great tournament and updates throughout the next 10 days on Twitter, Facebook and Blogger.  Great time to be a tennis fan!