ATP Barcelona

Sally · Grand Slam Champion

RE: ATP Barcelona

Sally · Grand Slam Champion

To answer my question, this is the doubles draw:

http://www.atptennis.com/posting/2006/425/MDD.pdf

R1:

Murray/Gimelstob v Monfils/Mathieu

mkkreuk · Admin:Moderator + ATP qualifying

Murray/Gimlestob? That is an interesting partnership....

Sally · Grand Slam Champion

I thought that too. Is Gimelstob good on clay? I was under the impression it wasn`t his best surface, and therefore probably not the best doubles partner on clay

We`ll see though.

mkkreuk · Admin:Moderator + ATP qualifying

Same here - i was under the impression that gimlestob game is much more power orientated and suited to the faster surfaces and their first round opponents will be tough. PHM is v good on clay and i think monfils isnt either.

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

Very strange decision. And he refused to play doubles with Auckland down under - there isn't a history between them, is there?

Probably just that Gimelstob is ranked 46 in doubles whereas James is something like 119.

kundalini · Specialist Reporter + Intermediate Club Player

Re: doubles with James Auckland. A pairing with James, or indeed Tim Henman, was not an option because they would have missed the cut. The cut-off point was a combined score of mid 90s and since Andy's ranking is 45 approx he needed a highly ranked partner to make it into the doubles draw. Unfortunately for James Auckland his doubles ranking of 110 approx is not high enough for many of these tournaments when you consider that two singles players who team up for fun can have a combined score less than 100. The rules for entry into doubles tournaments count the higher ranking of singles or doubles so Andy scores mid 40s rather than his official doubles ranking of 400+.

Re: singles.

The San Jose week rather came out of nowhere and I suspect Andy will produce something along those lines at some point on the clay. He is capable of playing intelligent clay court tennis and certainly possesses the heavy groundstrokes to worry opponents. Ferrer could be a tough opponent but an inspired Andy would have a decent chance. It perhaps depends if friends from Sanchez-Casal turn up to watch.

On clay Andy appears more willing to make things happen. He's prepared to be aggressive on the return of second serve, he'll try some drop shots, up the pace in the middle of a rally. Sure he can find himself being bullied, stuck yards behind the baseline chasing lost causes, but it didn't happen as much as might have been feared.

Drew · Apr 22, 2006

Andys Quarter

(5)FERRER, David vs BYE
(WC)GRANOLLERS-PUJOL, Marcel vs MURRAY, Andy
WAWRINKA, Stanislas vs LAPENTTI, Nicolas
(11)ANDREEV, Igor vs GABASHVILI, Teimuraz

Should win 1st rnd...tough 2nd rnd....possilbe re-match via Wawrinka....

Really hope he can get through a few rounds to help his ranking at this time of year !

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

Kundalini, do you think Andy will cope OK working without a coach at the moment? It seems a bit daunting for an 18yr-old lad facing his first clay season, without support.

Mind you I am not sure Petchey would have been much help on clay.

kundalini · Specialist Reporter + Intermediate Club Player

Madeline wrote:

Kundalini, do you think Andy will cope OK working without a coach at the moment? It seems a bit daunting for an 18yr-old lad facing his first clay season, without support. Mind you I am not sure Petchey would have been much help on clay.

My best guess is that he'll do fine. He's had a break, he's been able to spend time with Kim, he won't have to deal with the unpleasant atmosphere that had been dominating the coaching relationship for a while. I think you could make a pretty strong case that Petchey has hindered Andy since the turn of the year rather than helped him.

Andy's a smart player. He changes tactics in the middle of matches without assistance from his coach. He usually has a fair understanding of what he needs to do in order to win. On a slower surface he has more time to display his skills, to construct the points, than on a fast court where he looks vulnerable against anyone who takes a big swing at the ball early in the point. And as you say, Mark's knowledge of clay court tennis is unlikely to be missed.

Clearly Mark made a big difference last summer as Andy had made no impact on the Challenger circuit that spring, nevermind the Atp tour. But the current position is very different and I would be quite happy for Andy to go it alone till after Wimbledon. His recent comments suggest that he'll make a decision on a new coach fairly soon: either before Rome or before Roland Garros. (please choose someone who understands about serving)

I imagine Andy will enjoy the responsibility. He managed ok in San Jose though Mark was at the end of the telephone to discuss tactics. In a sense Andy has simply outgrown Mark's approach to coaching and I suspect that was the real problem.

Where Mark might have been of benefit was around Wimbledon time when the demand for interviews and the general media coverage is likely to be exhausting. Mark is media friendly and could have taken some of the weight. I suppose Judy will be a constant presence on our TVs during Wimbledon.

So far we've had just the one match on clay this year but I thought he did ok. Of course everyone expected him to win, and indeed he should have, but his opponent happened to play quite well and Andy's execution was slightly off. Interestingly, Lisnard lost 4-6 1-6 to Nadal next round while serving at 40%. He had managed 50% against Andy. Had Andy played Nadal I wasn't expecting him to win more than 5 or 6 games.

I think Andy will have some good tournaments on the clay even without a coach. After San Jose we know he's capable of raising his level. But we also know that he gets mentally exhausted and feels the pressure of the spotlight, so he is unlikely to be a consistent performer for some time.

Drew · Apr 23, 2006

Kundalini making sense of the current situation re Andy, no coach and his prospects on clay.

If Andy gets into his stride and plays a dominant game in the first round then playing Ferrer in rnd two even though very tough is winnable. Andy is more than capable of beating the rest in his quarter incl Wawrinka and facing Davydenko on clay with Andy in the mood is also winnable.

The tests will come against seasoned clay courters like Ferrer (148-81 Clay record last 3 years) and Moya (138-44 Clay record last 3 years ).

He may get whipped 6-4 6-3 by Ferrer in rnd 2 but wounld not be surprised if he got to the quarters

mkkreuk · Admin:Moderator + ATP qualifying

After last week....i'm gonna take it one step at a time....lets see if he gets through the first round....

Drew · Apr 23, 2006

mkkreuk wrote:

After last week....i'm gonna take it one step at a time....lets see if he gets through the first round....

My post started....

If Andy gets into his stride and plays a dominant game in the first round.....

The key word being IF.....

Andy should be winning these first round matches against lowly ranked WC's....

RJA · Hall of fame

I remain fairly confident about Andy's prospects for the clay court season. There were a number of mitigating factors to his poor result in Monte Carlo. As he said himeself he was rusty after playing very little in the last month and he hadn't played on clay for months.