Topic: NOLE, NOLE, NOLE....

[RFK]

Roddick could though

All Roddick could do is start worshipping Federer even between the beatdowns and his crying.

You have to be a man like Nole or Rafa to stand up to the Fed.

[Farenhajt]

In the big picture, there are also plenty of spots for Nole to earn quite a lot of points, if he improves his game and manages his fitness, especially at the very end of the season. Three masters and the Masters Cup, plus possible Wimbledon finals, Olympic medal and USO title.

[RFK]

In the big picture, there are also plenty of spots for Nole to earn quite a lot of points, if he improves his game and manages his fitness, especially at the very end of the season. Three masters and the Masters Cup, plus possible Wimbledon finals, Olympic medal and USO title.

If Nole can make a few finals/semis on clay he should gain some points.  Fed wont be able to make all finals again.

[Clay Death]

In the big picture, there are also plenty of spots for Nole to earn quite a lot of points, if he improves his game and manages his fitness, especially at the very end of the season. Three masters and the Masters Cup, plus possible Wimbledon finals, Olympic medal and USO title.

If Nole can make a few finals/semis on clay he should gain some points.  Fed wont be able to make all finals again.

they way i am seeing things guys, the opportunities are nearly endless for Nole to rack up points.  first, he only has about 1300 points or so in the next 2 months to worry about and i am just using a rough approximation:

1. i hope he does go to Estotril now and go ahead and defend that title. there is no need to let those 200 points go. it will also be chance to send Fed an early message that he too can play on clay.

2. there is nothing wrong with making the semis of both French Open and Wimby as it allows him to be consistent and not lose any points. if the Clay Monster cant take the Wimby title, why not the Nole. Fed has had 5 in a row already so why not somebody new. Roddick too may his chances there.

3. i believe Nole will do most of his damage after Wimbledon. i think he will take Toronto, and the U.S. Open. depending on how he feels, there will plenty of points to pick up in Cincy since he lost in the 2nd round there last year.

4. he is much more likely to be a factor at the last 3 big events this year as he will learn to pace himself a little:

1. Madrid
2. Paris
3. Masters Cup

fundamentally, its up to him. if he wants it bad enough, he needs to take it. both Fed and Nadal will mount their challenge in all this as well so it is really going to be an awesome year.

[Clay Death]

who is keeping up with Nole`s schedule? anybody knows about his next tournament?

Monte Carlo starts on April 21st. he lost yesterday which was 28th. so with a 1st round bye in Monte Carlo, he has nearly a month off. surely he is not going to sit still.

[Alex]

Estoril is not on his list as far as I know. I'd love to see him playing against Fed on clay in the final. Somehow I don't think he'll play there. We'll see.

[Farenhajt]

"No Estoril" still stands. He mentions having 3 weeks off, for rest, practice and vacation before the claycourt season - and 3 weeks from now is Monte Carlo.

[dmastous]

"No Estoril" still stands. He mentions having 3 weeks off, for rest, practice and vacation before the claycourt season - and 3 weeks from now is Monte Carlo.

It also means giving up a lot of points because he won Estoril last year.
That is unless it's being play in a different week than it was last year.

[Farenhajt]

His initial plan for the season was to win a slam and to qualify for the Masters Cup - he's done both already - and regarding the schedule, he said he wants to focus on the bigger, more important tournaments.

I'm almost certain he counts on a medal in Olympics, and given that the medalists earn 400, 280 and 205 points respectively, I think he doesn't want to spend himself too much during the gruelling claycourt season, so that he could stay fresh enough for the Beijing battle and taking Estoril points back. (There are four Estorils to each Olympic games, so there will be plenty of time to regain that title next year if necessary.)

[swish]

I think he learned from last year on pushing himself too much and not having much left at times and at the end of last year. He has good support and attitude about where he's at, he knows in time with his dedication and work things will only get better. I'm hoping he doesn't get too starstruck about the rankings and enter too many tournaments. Just do what his body allows and let the rankings take care of themselves.

[Alex]

I think he learned from last year on pushing himself too much and not having much left at times and at the end of last year. He has good support and attitude about where he's at, he knows in time with his dedication and work things will only get better. I'm hoping he doesn't get too starstruck about the rankings and enter too many tournaments. Just do what his body allows and let the rankings take care of themselves.

well said Swish.

[Dallas]

The only thing I see about Djokovic and how you guys say he can rack up the clay points is... OK...he won in Indian Wells and then he comes to Miami with 3 days off saying he's tired.  The clay season drains you out so I don't see him doing what Nadal or what Federer did last year in making just about all the clay court finals.  He seem to run out of gas more than Nadal and Roger....but we will see.

[Alex]

The only thing I see about Djokovic and how you guys say he can rack up the clay points is... OK...he won in Indian Wells and then he comes to Miami with 3 days off saying he's tired.  The clay season drains you out so I don't see him doing what Nadal or what Federer did last year in making just about all the clay court finals.  He seem to run out of gas more than Nadal and Roger....but we will see.

Dallas, Novak wasn't out of gas in Miami. He was a retard to lose that first round match. That's all. Remind you last year, he was a finalist in IW and he won in Miami.

[Dallas]

The only thing I see about Djokovic and how you guys say he can rack up the clay points is... OK...he won in Indian Wells and then he comes to Miami with 3 days off saying he's tired.  The clay season drains you out so I don't see him doing what Nadal or what Federer did last year in making just about all the clay court finals.  He seem to run out of gas more than Nadal and Roger....but we will see.

Dallas, Novak wasn't out of gas in Miami. He was a retard to lose that first round match. That's all. Remind you last year, he was a finalist in IW and he won in Miami.

If you say so.  I was just going by what he said:

 Q. What physical condition did you come into this tournament having had such a long tournament in Indian Wells?
            NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I tried to recover, but obviously I was a little bit tired from the start. But it was okay, you know. I could play, but the thing is that I didn't know the way he's playing. It was our first meeting, and I never saw him playing before. He surprised me with the way he was serving.

But I like your answer better...

[Alex]

The only thing I see about Djokovic and how you guys say he can rack up the clay points is... OK...he won in Indian Wells and then he comes to Miami with 3 days off saying he's tired.  The clay season drains you out so I don't see him doing what Nadal or what Federer did last year in making just about all the clay court finals.  He seem to run out of gas more than Nadal and Roger....but we will see.

Dallas, Novak wasn't out of gas in Miami. He was a retard to lose that first round match. That's all. Remind you last year, he was a finalist in IW and he won in Miami.

If you say so.  I was just going by what he said:

 Q. What physical condition did you come into this tournament having had such a long tournament in Indian Wells?
            NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I tried to recover, but obviously I was a little bit tired from the start. But it was okay, you know. I could play, but the thing is that I didn't know the way he's playing. It was our first meeting, and I never saw him playing before. He surprised me with the way he was serving.

But I like your answer better...

You are funny Dallas  . Anyway, he underestimated Anderson, that's all, he was a break up in the third set, then he got the time violation, then he was yelling at the umpire, the crowd was booing him, finally he completely lost it.  He kinda defeated himself.

[Farenhajt]

^ Yup - and no way he's gonna say "you know, I completely lost my head" since he's trying to back up that "mentally toughest on the tour" image 

Though a good excuse for such moments in the future (hopefully not often!) could be: "You know, during those 3 games I was possessed by the astral projection of my buddy Andy Murray"

[Clay Death]

The only thing I see about Djokovic and how you guys say he can rack up the clay points is... OK...he won in Indian Wells and then he comes to Miami with 3 days off saying he's tired.  The clay season drains you out so I don't see him doing what Nadal or what Federer did last year in making just about all the clay court finals.  He seem to run out of gas more than Nadal and Roger....but we will see.

Dallas, Novak wasn't out of gas in Miami. He was a retard to lose that first round match. That's all. Remind you last year, he was a finalist in IW and he won in Miami.

If you say so.  I was just going by what he said:

 Q. What physical condition did you come into this tournament having had such a long tournament in Indian Wells?
            NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I tried to recover, but obviously I was a little bit tired from the start. But it was okay, you know. I could play, but the thing is that I didn't know the way he's playing. It was our first meeting, and I never saw him playing before. He surprised me with the way he was serving.

But I like your answer better...

You are funny Dallas  . Anyway, he underestimated Anderson, that's all, he was a break up in the third set, then he got the time violation, then he was yelling at the umpire, the crowd was booing him, finally he completely lost it.  He kinda defeated himself.

weather ranged from cool to chilly in Indian Wells with very little humidity. Additionally, Djokovic pretty much steamrolled everybody there. one exception being the final where he had to seal the deal in 3. also winning energizes you.

translation: he was not really tired.

[Alex]

I just wanted to share this great pic of Guga and Novak.

[Clay Death]

I just wanted to share this great pic of Guga and Novak.

excellent. 2 of the top personalities in tennis. tennis would never have been the same without them.

[Alex]

Djokovic is in the latest Men's Vogue. Here is an article.
http://www.mensvogue.com/health/feature/articles/2008/04/djokovic