So the 23 yr old frenchman comes through in 3 hrs 22 mins against the world number 1 in 3-6 7-5 7-6(6).
Andy must really fancy his chances now for back to back Masters title.
H2H is 1-1. Murray lost their first encounter in 3 sets on clay in 2007 Rome Masters 1st round. Andy got his revenge in this years Hamburg event only dropping 6 games...again on clay.
It is arguable that a fully fit Rafa would have beaten Simon today but you cannot take the result away from Simon.
Andy will be the fresher of the two come 3pm Sunday. His match lasted just under 2 hours and he wasnt exactly dead on his feet afterwards.
Gilles looked shattered at the end....hopefully Murray can play like he did today and be the first person to win Madrid & Cincinatti back to back since 2002.
If Andy wins another ATP title this year he will be the first Brit to do so in the Open era. He would also match JMDP and Rafa who both have won 4 titles this year. Albeit JMDP has won lesser titles than both Rafa and Andy.
Plus, according to the ATP, it was 2007 Rome when Simon won and Hamburg this year when Andy won.
I would have liked it to be Nadal (beating Nadal, Federer and Djokovic twice each this year would have been nice). Still, Simon is obviously playing well and not to be despised. I make it that he will be in the top 10 come Monday. . .
I'll try watching the livestream on the lower quality tomorrow and hope that helps.
Plus, according to the ATP, it was 2007 Rome when Simon won and Hamburg this year when Andy won.
I would have liked it to be Nadal (beating Nadal, Federer and Djokovic twice each this year would have been nice). Still, Simon is obviously playing well and not to be despised. I make it that he will be in the top 10 come Monday. . .
I'll try watching the livestream on the lower quality tomorrow and hope that helps.
You could always try www.justin.tv/eto91 they have been showing Madrid on that channel all week and the stream was okay.
Thanks for the typos. Im sure I read 2006 / 2007 !
I'll reiterate on here the gist of what I said on the SF thread:
"[the Simon win] makes Andy, as the seeded player, the favourite for the title now, I suppose, & I suspect he plays that little bit better when he's the underdog, at least at the moment! Simon's definitely not to be underestimated. I only hope the fact that he had to play for about an hour & 14 minutes longer in his SF means that he's been softened up a bit!
I really do feel that Andy has changed and matured so much in the last 6 months. He should be fresh enough for Sunday and he absolutely loves the big stage. So he wont suffer from Stage fright and has more than enough weapons to beat Gilles.
The only worry is that Simon plays another game-of-his-life and Andy gets rattled by it.
Still I dont see a Murray loss. I dont even think I have to cross my fingers...
Maybe a little presumptious, but by this time tomorrow Andy Murray will be celebrating his 2nd ATP Masters Series title
I simply don't see how Simon can beat Murray, unless Murray gets overconfident or plays a dreadful match - Simon doesn't have the weapons from the baseline to hurt Murray, nor is the serve good enough, and I suspect Murray will spend the match killing his 2nd serve, something that Nadal can't do, and after all the tennis he's played so far this week he must have nothing left in the tank
I'd be surprised with anything other than a straight forward 2-set win for Murray
Nole has lost 150 pts by not defending a SF spot last year. (225 less 75 for R16)
Andy has gained 275 so far (350 less 75) so 275+150= 425 pts.
Nole started the week with 4725 pts. Andy with 2995.
If Andy loses Sunday he will have gained 425 come Mondays rankings.
Nole 4575pts Andy 3270pts
If Andy wins Sunday he will have gained 575 pts come Mondays rankings.
Nole 4575pts Andy 3495 pts
If Andy retains the St Petersburg title he would stay on 3495. Nole does not play next week.
Andy is defending 125 pts from Paris. If he were to win it then that would be +375 taking him to 3870 pts prior to the Masters Cup. Nole defends 5 pts. If he were to lose in R2 (Bye in R1) he would lose 5 pts (I think)
Neither Andy or Nole defend anything at the Masters Cup.
If Andy were to win the Masters Cup then he would gain 650 pts taking him to 4520.
If Nole were to score nothing he would retain 3rd spot for the year with 4570.
The point of looking at this was to see if there was any possibility of Andy being ranked 3 by the end of the year. He cant. He wont win St Petersburg and Paris and Shanghai....maybe do really well in all three with perhaps another title ?
What is for certain is that if Nole has a shocker of an AO and Andy does really well the no 3 spot is up for grabs. (It could be his technically at the start of the AO if you take off the pts from last year)
Maybe a little presumptious, but by this time tomorrow Andy Murray will be celebrating his 2nd ATP Masters Series title
I simply don't see how Simon can beat Murray, unless Murray gets overconfident or plays a dreadful match - Simon doesn't have the weapons from the baseline to hurt Murray, nor is the serve good enough, and I suspect Murray will spend the match killing his 2nd serve, something that Nadal can't do, and after all the tennis he's played so far this week he must have nothing left in the tank
I'd be surprised with anything other than a straight forward 2-set win for Murray
Oh, oh, now I'm wooried. The oracle has spoken
Naa, I still think Murray to win in straight sets.
Plus, according to the ATP, it was 2007 Rome when Simon won and Hamburg this year when Andy won.
I would have liked it to be Nadal (beating Nadal, Federer and Djokovic twice each this year would have been nice). Still, Simon is obviously playing well and not to be despised. I make it that he will be in the top 10 come Monday. . .
I'll try watching the livestream on the lower quality tomorrow and hope that helps.
Plus, according to the ATP, it was 2007 Rome when Simon won and Hamburg this year when Andy won.
I would have liked it to be Nadal (beating Nadal, Federer and Djokovic twice each this year would have been nice). Still, Simon is obviously playing well and not to be despised. I make it that he will be in the top 10 come Monday. . .
I'll try watching the livestream on the lower quality tomorrow and hope that helps.
Which live stram do you use ? Tim
-- Edited by timmoore46 at 11:07, 2008-10-19
.Betfair has a pretty good live stream, all you need to do is register