ATP Masters Series in Miami Thread

[FLiam]

On Monday is the Miami masters, I thought I would start a thread. Last years tournament was great and hopefully this one can be just as good. Some news already is that Hewitt is out of the tournament because of a toe injury. He is having surgery and could miss 6 weeks which means he will struggle to be fit for Roland Garros.

Anyway, here are the top seeds:

1. Roger Federer

2. Andy Roddick

3. Marat Safin

4. Guillermo Coria

5. Carlos Moya

6. Tim Henman

7. Gaston Gaudio

8. David Nalbandian

The possible quarter finals look interesting too:

Federer v Henman

Coria v Gaudio

Nalbandian v Safin

Moya v Roddick

So that means Henman will definatley not win, he wasn't going to anyway, but never mind.

Someone on BBC Sport site said that Federer's dominiance is getting boring, does anyone else agree?

I don't really because even though he is that good, it is great when sometimes he is taken to the limit, like Safin did and Ljubicic have done. Plus when he plays it is just amazing watching him play because some of the shots he makes are just amazing and the matches he is involved in are usually very entertaining, take the Indian Wells final for instance and that point in the second set, that was out of this world.

On the women's side of things, Elena Baltacha didn't qualify which is kind of disapointing, once again though, she would never have stood a chance in getitng anywhere realistically. Also, Justine Henin-Hardenne is going to play her first competitive game since Septemberish time.

I think Federer will win the men's and on the women's side I think Serena Williams might just win it for the fourth straight time is it?

Edited March 23, 2005 by Gooner4Life

[IAceI]

I love EWB's enthusiasm for tennis, it's so exhilerating.

It's not like Federer just annihilates people and that's it, he shows class, footwork, skill, perfection. You can't blame him for being brilliant and there are those who can play well against him, even Henman can stretch Federer.

If Ljubicic is in the draw then we can expect more for him. So yeh. Coria won't do much, he hasn't since his injury - just wait for clay, he'll beat Federer.

Anywho, speaking of tennis, I have to go play now. So yeah, sorry this couldn't be more helpful. Not that anyone will read it.

[IAceI]

Well, if anyone cares - which - obviously no one does, and it's obviously not a good time to write this because everyone is glued the television watching Heskey fall over or something, anwyays, i think Henman will beat Minar and Chela but lose to Joachim Johansson. Joachim can definately overpower Henman with his serve and that'll probably be what gives him the win.

Although we shouldn't under estimate because it's typical of Brits to hate him because, he's British. Pathetic, really, I dislike him because he's cocky and arrogant off court, either way he does have the ability to beat Johansson, he was one of, what, seven players to beat Federer last year and still gets absolutely no recognition.

I think Coria can make it as far as Kiefer but lose their. Now that Roddick is out to Verdasco it looks open for Ljubicic to sneak in so we can expect another Federer vs. Ljubicic final in my opinion, unless perhaps Safin can cause an upset to Federer. I see Fererro nothing but an afterthought now.

That's just what I think anyways, and I'm pretty much always wrong.

[naiwf]

I just wanted to chime in and say that I was happy to see Roddick lose his first match at this tourney, injury or not. I can't stand the way the American media has tried to make him out to be one of Federer's "rivals" when Andy has done nothing more than be one of Roger's whipping boys. I would have gone with Federer & Sharapova when the tournament started, but that seems to be my usual fall back answer so I'll go with Roger & *ugh* Serena to take the titles this week.

I'm not bored with Federer's dominance since he is the easiest player to root for in the top 20 not named Agassi. Frankly, I wanted him to win the Aussie to see if he could make it 6 Slams in 2 years, but I still think he's got a chance to get 5. Unlike the old days of guaranteed to be boring finals between Williams/Williams in Women's tennis any match Federer plays is either competitive or breathtaking to watch as he dismantles his opponents piece by piece.

[IAceI]

naiwf knows nothing.

Coria will sooo take Federer apart on clay

[naiwf]

naiwf knows nothing.

Coria will sooo take Federer apart on clay

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[Malenko]

Boring? Why? It's not his problem that he's good. It's not like he's unbeatable anyway.

I find him exciting to watch. Actually he was envolved in the last play that got me clapping while watching it at home (yes... i'm that lame).

I think he'll win it..

oh.. and safin is out.

[IAceI]

naiwf knows nothing.

Coria will sooo take Federer apart on clay

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Not if Coria loses before he gets to Federer, or CHOKES like he did in last year's Final

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[Malenko]

Coria is out.. courtesy of Dent.

[IAceI]

Coria is out.. courtesy of Dent.

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[Malenko]

Coria is out.. courtesy of Dent.

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Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.

Dent was awesome though, until now I didn't know he could run, I thought he just served and waddled up the net.

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[FLiam]

Coria played quite bad today, but to be fair to Dent, he was awesome, some of the shots he played were so good that even Coria couldn't get to them.

Congrats to Dent really.

[FLiam]

So it is Henman/Federer tomorrow in the quarter final.

I really hope Tim can win, it would be brilliant if he was able to, he is up 6-3 I think in meetings in the past. Although msot of those came from when Federer wasn't number 1.

If Henman wins, I think it actually get more than 4 lines in the papers too. It might even get 8.

Edited March 30, 2005 by Gooner4Life

[TMM]

Hmmm, Henman/Federer. I'm gonna be watching this one. Can't be arsed with anything else tennis related, but I wanna watch this match either to see Federer annahilate Henman or to see Henman SHOCKINGLY...lose by one match.

What time is this match suppose to be shown on Sky Sports peeps?

[Malenko]

So it is Henman/Federer tomorrow in the quarter final.

I really hope Tim can win, it would be brilliant if he was able to, he is up 6-3 I think in meetings in the past. Although msot of those came from when Federer wasn't number 1.

If Henman wins, I think it actually get more than 4 lines in the papers too. It might even get 8. 

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[FLiam]

Not sure.

Should be around 7pm I think, I don't think they will be on first. Wait until tomorrow to see the order of play.

[IAceI]

Bwahahahaha, Stepanek getting injured was brilliant in slow motion.

A ) He ran the wrong way.

B ) Hopped along the baseline.

C ) Rolled over.

Much like a Cristiano Ronaldo dive, only Stepanek actually hurt himself.

I expected Henman to win, but since I use Volkl rackets myself I sort of like Stepanek (and Novak)..ugh..where was I? Oh yes, Henman can give Federer a run for his money but I doubt he'll push him to three sets - despite Federer's form in the last two matches, although Henman sort of has a chance to pounce I'll say Federer 7-5, 6-4 Henman...ish.

But I can't usually predict to save my life since tennis is quite unpredictable. Even though at Wimbledon on the bus there (when we were going to see the first day) I said Federer and Sharapova would win it. I was sort of on a roll then, now it's just..meh.

Edited March 30, 2005 by IAceI

[FLiam]

Well I don't see Henman winning to be honest. It will probably be 6-3 6-2 to Federer, just wait.

[Malenko]

If we're predicting i say 7-5 6-2

The second will be worse cause he'll lose faith after losing the first.

[IAceI]

If we're predicting i say 7-5 6-2

The second will be worse cause he'll lose faith after losing the first.

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Edited March 30, 2005 by IAceI