It was never going to be the case as Murray would be distinctly under-prepared to take on the eight best players in the World and there is far less pressure playing an exhibition match to get rid of any match rustiness than there is in front of a paying public expecting to see the home hope reaching the latter stages of a tournament.
Andy Murray's decision not only makes perfect sense to me, but it was one that I had foreseen for some time and I do wonder if the organisers of the World Tour Finals asked him to keep quiet for a month or so in case it hindered ticket sales? Of course there is no proof of that and the tournament does stand up on its own merits, but I have been surprised by how many people didn't expect this news to materialise.
Talking about the World Tour Finals, I am guessing it hasn't provided the motivation expected for some players as Richard Gasquet went out yesterday and was swiftly followed by John Isner on Wednesday. In all honesty, there are probably only two places to play for, although that could swiftly become one place if Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka can get through to the Quarter Finals.
That place will likely be decided between Richard Gasquet, Milos Raonic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, although things can change quickly in the space of three weeks that we have between now and London.
I am looking at a line up that has Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, David Ferrer, Juan Martin Del Potro, Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer, Stanislas Wawrinka and one of the three players I mentioned and that should produce a strong week of tennis at the O2 Arena.
Tommy Haas v Juan Martin Del Potro: Everyone would have seen the head to head and the way that Juan Martin Del Potro has taken apart the Tommy Haas game in previous matches, but I think there are a couple of little factors that could see the edge fall in the favour of the veteran in this one.
For starters, it was only a late choke in the first set that prevented Tommy Haas taking his first set against Del Potro when they met in Washington during the summer and that match was far closer than the 76, 63 in favour of the Argentine suggests.
The second factor in this match is that Del Potro has been suffering with a flu or a cold and has admitted that he hasn't been sleeping much and not feeling at his best. Del Potro doubts he will have recovered in time for this match with around 24 hours between this match and him beating Philipp Kohlschreiber. He is also facing a player that has had an extra day of rest.
The third issue for Del Potro is he is coming off a week of winning a tournament in Tokyo, flying over to Shanghai and now not feeling at his best. He has also failed to produce consistently at the Masters level despite being a former Grand Slam Champion and all of this points to Haas having a much stronger chance than the layers may think.
Haas will have to serve well, but if he can find the form that helped him push Del Potro all the way in Washington, the German may just have enough in the tank to get the job done in this Third Round encounter.
Kei Nishikori win 2-1 v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: Kei Nishikori has won all three matches against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and I think he will be able to make it four in a row in this one, although he will likely need three sets to get the job done.
The Japanese star also beat Tsonga here two years ago, coming back from a set down to get the job done.
Both players are very inconsistent, even within matches, and that is my sole reason for believing that this could see the first two sets split between them. Both are capable of putting together enough good tennis to string together games, but I have a sneaky feeling that Nishikori can make enough balls back in play to frustrate Tsonga and eventually prove a little too good.
Tsonga has come back in good fashion from a long lay off, but he has lost to players like Gilles Simon, and I consider Nishikori to be a slightly more effective player than him. The value looks to be on Nishikori to come through in three sets and I will have a small interest on that outcome.
Roger Federer - 3.5 games v Gael Monfils: After what has been a confidence sapping kind of year and not playing for a few weeks since the US Open and another surprise defeat, it was no real surprise that Roger Federer played with a few nerves in his win over Andreas Seppi in the Second Round.
I have watched Federer many times this season and my main reason for his faltering form is a slight loss in his movement and some inaccuracies on his groundstrokes, particularly the once devastating forehand. At 32, there are going to be some physical decline for a player that has been on the Tour and winning as many matches as Federer has, but I have not ready to suggest he is no longer capable of mixing it with the best, although I doubt he can sustain the form required to win a Grand Slam these days.
Will being just another contender be enough for Federer? Having won 17 Grand Slam titles, I doubt that, and he will also have the motivation of trying to prevent someone like Rafael Nadal surpassing his own achievements by doing all he can to add to that number next season.
Federer played better as the match with Seppi wore on and that should put in a good place ahead of this Third Round match against Gael Monfils- the Frenchman has also had a turbulent 2013 season as injuries have taken their toll although it is good to see the always entertaining Monfils back on the court.
Being entertaining won't be enough to beat Federer and it is the former World Number 1 who I expect will come through this one. I believe Federer is more likely to get the best out of his serve compared with Monfils who can be erratic with his own. Of the two players, I would expect Federer to have the more opportunities to break serve and I think he backs up the performance against Seppi by setting up a potential Quarter Final with Novak Djokovic courtesy of a 64, 63 win.
David Ferrer - 4.5 games v Florian Mayer: David Ferrer hasn't been in great form since reaching the Final of the French Open in early June and there are possibly some signs that the Spaniard could be beginning to come back down the hill in his career.
He has been a great advertisement for hard work in tennis and deservedly reached the World Number 3 Ranking earlier this year, but Ferrer has lost some of the consistency that made him such a tough opponent to play.
Even with that in mind, I would think Ferrer is still going to be too good for Florian Mayer who doesn't have enough big shots in his locker to keep Ferrer on his toes. The German has a serve that won't generate a lot of free points and that means he has to grind out the points in long rallies which should suit David Ferrer.
I am not surprised that Ferrer has won the 4 matches between the pair as comfortably as he has and I would imagine another 63, 64 win could be on the cards for the Number 3 seed here.
Nicolas Almagro + 3.5 games v Tomas Berdych: It is almost two years since Nicolas Almagro and Tomas Berdych had their disagreement at the Australian Open and it is a surprise that this is the first time they will play one another in 2013 after 6 matches last season.
It was Tomas Berdych who came through with 5 victories and he is favoured to do so again in this Third Round match, but I am expecting a close match between the players. It has been a down year for Nicolas Almagro and he had been on a long losing run before picking up some form over the last couple of weeks.
The courts are pretty quick here which will aid Almagro's big game and it could lead to a tight match between these players. However, it will be a big ask of Almagro to knock off Berdych if the latter is playing as well as he was on Wednesday when he beat Feliciano Lopez fairly comfortably.
I do think Almagro is a little more rounded off both wings than Lopez and he displayed a top performance when pushing Juan Martin Del Potro in Tokyo last week. He also does match up, for the most part, against Berdych and I wouldn't be surprised if we see tie-breaks and possibly a third set in this one.
MY PICKS: Tommy Haas @ 3.00 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Kei Nishikori win 2-1 @ 5.50 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Roger Federer - 3.5 Games @ 2.10 Bet Fred (2 Units)
David Ferrer - 4.5 Games @ 2.25 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Nicolas Almagro + 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Shanghai Masters Update: 7-3, + 9.44 Units (19 Units Staked, + 49.68% Yield)
For starters, it was only a late choke in the first set that prevented Tommy Haas taking his first set against Del Potro when they met in Washington during the summer and that match was far closer than the 76, 63 in favour of the Argentine suggests.
The second factor in this match is that Del Potro has been suffering with a flu or a cold and has admitted that he hasn't been sleeping much and not feeling at his best. Del Potro doubts he will have recovered in time for this match with around 24 hours between this match and him beating Philipp Kohlschreiber. He is also facing a player that has had an extra day of rest.
The third issue for Del Potro is he is coming off a week of winning a tournament in Tokyo, flying over to Shanghai and now not feeling at his best. He has also failed to produce consistently at the Masters level despite being a former Grand Slam Champion and all of this points to Haas having a much stronger chance than the layers may think.
Haas will have to serve well, but if he can find the form that helped him push Del Potro all the way in Washington, the German may just have enough in the tank to get the job done in this Third Round encounter.
Kei Nishikori win 2-1 v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: Kei Nishikori has won all three matches against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and I think he will be able to make it four in a row in this one, although he will likely need three sets to get the job done.
The Japanese star also beat Tsonga here two years ago, coming back from a set down to get the job done.
Both players are very inconsistent, even within matches, and that is my sole reason for believing that this could see the first two sets split between them. Both are capable of putting together enough good tennis to string together games, but I have a sneaky feeling that Nishikori can make enough balls back in play to frustrate Tsonga and eventually prove a little too good.
Tsonga has come back in good fashion from a long lay off, but he has lost to players like Gilles Simon, and I consider Nishikori to be a slightly more effective player than him. The value looks to be on Nishikori to come through in three sets and I will have a small interest on that outcome.
Roger Federer - 3.5 games v Gael Monfils: After what has been a confidence sapping kind of year and not playing for a few weeks since the US Open and another surprise defeat, it was no real surprise that Roger Federer played with a few nerves in his win over Andreas Seppi in the Second Round.
I have watched Federer many times this season and my main reason for his faltering form is a slight loss in his movement and some inaccuracies on his groundstrokes, particularly the once devastating forehand. At 32, there are going to be some physical decline for a player that has been on the Tour and winning as many matches as Federer has, but I have not ready to suggest he is no longer capable of mixing it with the best, although I doubt he can sustain the form required to win a Grand Slam these days.
Will being just another contender be enough for Federer? Having won 17 Grand Slam titles, I doubt that, and he will also have the motivation of trying to prevent someone like Rafael Nadal surpassing his own achievements by doing all he can to add to that number next season.
Federer played better as the match with Seppi wore on and that should put in a good place ahead of this Third Round match against Gael Monfils- the Frenchman has also had a turbulent 2013 season as injuries have taken their toll although it is good to see the always entertaining Monfils back on the court.
Being entertaining won't be enough to beat Federer and it is the former World Number 1 who I expect will come through this one. I believe Federer is more likely to get the best out of his serve compared with Monfils who can be erratic with his own. Of the two players, I would expect Federer to have the more opportunities to break serve and I think he backs up the performance against Seppi by setting up a potential Quarter Final with Novak Djokovic courtesy of a 64, 63 win.
David Ferrer - 4.5 games v Florian Mayer: David Ferrer hasn't been in great form since reaching the Final of the French Open in early June and there are possibly some signs that the Spaniard could be beginning to come back down the hill in his career.
He has been a great advertisement for hard work in tennis and deservedly reached the World Number 3 Ranking earlier this year, but Ferrer has lost some of the consistency that made him such a tough opponent to play.
Even with that in mind, I would think Ferrer is still going to be too good for Florian Mayer who doesn't have enough big shots in his locker to keep Ferrer on his toes. The German has a serve that won't generate a lot of free points and that means he has to grind out the points in long rallies which should suit David Ferrer.
I am not surprised that Ferrer has won the 4 matches between the pair as comfortably as he has and I would imagine another 63, 64 win could be on the cards for the Number 3 seed here.
Nicolas Almagro + 3.5 games v Tomas Berdych: It is almost two years since Nicolas Almagro and Tomas Berdych had their disagreement at the Australian Open and it is a surprise that this is the first time they will play one another in 2013 after 6 matches last season.
It was Tomas Berdych who came through with 5 victories and he is favoured to do so again in this Third Round match, but I am expecting a close match between the players. It has been a down year for Nicolas Almagro and he had been on a long losing run before picking up some form over the last couple of weeks.
The courts are pretty quick here which will aid Almagro's big game and it could lead to a tight match between these players. However, it will be a big ask of Almagro to knock off Berdych if the latter is playing as well as he was on Wednesday when he beat Feliciano Lopez fairly comfortably.
I do think Almagro is a little more rounded off both wings than Lopez and he displayed a top performance when pushing Juan Martin Del Potro in Tokyo last week. He also does match up, for the most part, against Berdych and I wouldn't be surprised if we see tie-breaks and possibly a third set in this one.
MY PICKS: Tommy Haas @ 3.00 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Kei Nishikori win 2-1 @ 5.50 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Roger Federer - 3.5 Games @ 2.10 Bet Fred (2 Units)
David Ferrer - 4.5 Games @ 2.25 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Nicolas Almagro + 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Shanghai Masters Update: 7-3, + 9.44 Units (19 Units Staked, + 49.68% Yield)
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