Thursday Order of Play

WTA: Kuala Lumpur at 11 PM(Wednesday) - Radwanska vs Amanmuradova, Gajdosova vs Daniilidou, Rogowska vs Dokic, Kr. Pliskova vs Peng, Radwanska or Amanmuradova vs Ka. Pliskova and Morita vs Doi scheduled
ATP: Dubai at 5 AM - Murray vs Berdych
WTA: Kuala Lumpur at 5 AM - Craybas vs Jankovic
ATP: Dubai at 8 AM - Youzhny vs Federer
ATP: Dubai at 10 AM - Djokovic vs Tipsarevic followed by Del Potro vs Tsonga
ATP: Delray Beach at 11 AM - Sela vs Nieminen
ATP: Delray Beach at 12:30 PM - Kohlschreiber vs Dodig
ATP: Delray Beach at 2:30 PM - Malisse vs Anderson
WTA: Acapulco at 4 PM - To Be Announced
ATP: Acapulco at 4 PM - To Be Announced
ATP: Delray Beach at 7:15 PM - Roddick vs Istomin
ATP: Acapulco at 10 PM - To Be Announced

This article was not necessary.

yes, it was

Well Pete, here actually is the full quote

"They're trying more. I played quallies and futures and was coming back from the injury, and was so tough. It was really tough. I had to fight for every point.
So this is big difference when they play against me and then when I see them playing against somebody else."

So clearly from that last line, he doesn't agree it's the dogged way of life on the future tour. Whether true or not, you can make up your own mind, but he obviously watches these guys play against other players and notices a significant drop in level.

Can't stand Djokovic's parents. They actually wore t-shirts with Djokovic's face on it. LOL!

i hope marko reads this article!!!
who was that american player a vouple years ago that said he wanted to earn his way through quallifying...and he did just that...he said wc were not that good for him

Gliciouss,
Think that USA player was Harrison

Ixvnyc,
Unfortunately, everything N Djokovic is news so it will be discussed like it is for Federer, Nadal and to the point, Murray

Seriously, do we have nothing better to talk about than what Novak's parents wore two years ago? Pete, I blame you for this nonsense.

I don't like it that Novak's family is back around the courts, and I blame Dubai for conceding to Novak's dad.

Novak has done much better since he surrounded himself with experts, rather than family (and he chose a girlfriend for himself quite expertly too, I must admit).

Mater Ace,

I guess you are right.

he's wearing the same clothes as nole

thanks MA
yeah it was harrison...and it looks like it worked out for him
if i had the opportunity to pick and meet and talk to one set of atp parents...it would not be the djokovics...by a long shot

i agree that djoko has gotten "better" in the last couple of years

I am pretty sure that Novak parents are in Dubai to support the kid rather than the older brother. I can't recall seeing his parents in attendance for quite a while.

"Cain" is markedly more Able

I already disliked Novak's obnoxious parents (and I think they are the main reason some people have a problem with Novak) but I disliked them more after hearing the story about how they didn't want his girlfriend at his matches before and lately we've seen the girlfriend and not the parents. Granted I don't know definitively if the story is true or not but if they really forced that situation then they are more pathetic than I originally thought.

oh dear its a huge mistake for these poor guys to try play tennis, i fear for their mental health going forward, how can they possibly have an identity of their own?

The friends -- a married couple -- who introduced me to tennis used to make fun of Novak's dad wearing the t-shirt with Novak's face on it.

I laughed along with them, but stopped -- not just because Nole was winning so often at the time, but because I honestly don't see anything really hilarious about it. It's just two parents being supporting their son and being very proud of him.

Anyone in the world can say, "If I were one of the Djoker's parents, I would do this or that to support him." But the fact is, there are only two people in the world who are his parents and they do things their way. We're all free to judge others, of course -- but I see no reason to judge them for wearing the shirt. At least it isn't rude toward anyone, it doesn't hurt anyone, and some people do get a "LOL" out of it. So how bad can it be?

Ben, if you really believe that Novak's brother Marko can "notice" a drop in the level of his opponents against other players, then I want what you're drinking. Of course it always feels tougher when you're on the court. Ever notice how when you watch pro tennis on the tube you can see things that seem lamebrained, or you notice a weakness that the players apparently are not picking up on? It's called perspective. And no one has it when they're in the throes of battle.

Marko needs to get over himself and his "family name" shtick, zip his lips, and just go out and earn his ATP points the only way that matters in the long run -- the hard way.

*But the sudden inclusion of his brothers, Marko and Djordje, in Project Djokovic raises some red flags*

hein? sudden inclusion?
not like marko and djole hatched out of an egg last week and the parents thought "let them play tennis too!"

marko was always talked about as the not-über-talented one of the three so i'm more interested to see what young djole can do. he's turning 17 over the summer so slowly getting into the age where one can tell whether we all have to bury our big dream of a 'nole vs djole' USO 2016 final.

As a matter principle, I have always found the wild card business to be a moral hazard. In practice, it has always been a part and parcel of tennis and it is not likely to change anytime soon. It seems laughable that Bodo feels morally obligated to address Novak's kid brother getting a wild card, but does not seem to be too perturbed about wholesale issuing of wild cards to local/national players at Grand Slams. I can understand that a backwater 250 event wants to support the local talent, but GS? I do not even want to get into the whole comfortable FO-USO wild card reciprocity agreement.

To me, Bodo's pointing out a single wild card issuance without tackling the wider issue points to some fundamental lack of knowledge of (the business of) tennis.

Slice-n-Dice. Your post was probably the best. I've watched tennis with people before and they've sometimes said stuff like "what a dumb shot, how could he do that". Easy for us to say while sitting at home watching...not so easy to assess while on the court trying to make the decisions in millisecond intervals.

The tennis tournaments are about entertainment, too.

Is it more interesting to see #1's brother, or a random #157 or #353 from the tour, or a random #489 that just happens to be the homeboy?

Frankly, I would rather see Fed's brother (if he had one) or Rafa's brother, or Djoko's brother, or Jamie Murray, just for the fun of it.

A few explanations concerning Nole's parents since there is so much misinformation:

1. Nole's dad was on medical treatment because of heart problems and he was advised not to even watch Nole's matches. For instance, he did not watch the AO final - he gave interview about all this.

2. There is no clash over Nole's girlfriend. They've been together for years and she is often with the entire family. I think this entire thing started with Brad Gilbert's presumption that Nole decided to have his girlfriend rather than his parents at the AO (not knowing about medical problems Nole's dad had).

3. Why is it wearing a T-shirt with your kid's face on it a bad thing? The parents love their son(s) and they show it. Serbs are typically quite emotional and they are not ashamed of showing their emotions. This also explains Nole's grimasses, gesticulations, reactions and celebrations on the court. Just to give you an example, one of my (American) students said that I remind her so much of Nole when I play basketball or football because my reactions are almost identical. And, I behaved that way ever since I know of myself. And, a lot of my Serbian friends behave the same way. It has nothing to do with the opponent or whatever. It is mostly a reaction to your own game. In the end, we hug our opponents and congratulate on good game. Yes, there are exceptions...

4. Finally, you have no idea what his parents went through to support Novak in his early career. Most of us live in orderly societies or systems where support for tennis talents is developed. His parents had to borrow money from loan sharks so that Nole would enter Futures or Challengers. His coach Jelena Gencic was talking about how his parents would bite their nails if Novak would make in at least the semis in a tournament so that they could pay back the loan. Novak did not know about this - obviously, the parents were protective and wanted him to focus on tennis. Now, someone may ask why did they borrow the money? 1. They did not have resources and 2. The Serbian tennis organization was in disarray. In fact, all Serbian players followed a similar path. But, there is a hope that the Tennis organization is being reformed as we speak. By the way, Nole began his professional career over a year late because of lack of money - his family just did not have enough juice to cover as many tournaments as they wished. Even finding a coach was a great problem.

I hope this clarifies a few things and that this will help calm the waters around Nole's family. Simply, there is no big reason for anyone to hate them or Nole. Nole is in particular a very nice guy, down-to-earth, enjoys life, like people and likes to have fun. Just look at him how patiently signs all the T-shirts, tennis balls, whatever and check how other starts sign here and there and walk away.

Stari, thanks for sharing your perspective. ;-))

master ace is right ...

however ,if i may add...

Sergei Bubka is the greatest pole vaulter ever!!!He is pole vaulting itself,someone might say....
but he is actually Olympic underachiever,with these things considered,as stated above...only once gold,and nothing else...

I didn't have a problem with WC for bro. It was part of the negotiation of the appearance fee but it was unfortunate that the took it away from the top ranked player in the Middle East to give to Djorkovic's brother. That's not the family's fault but it just muddied the waters a bit more.

@stari znalac

you truly are stari znalac,eh? ;-))

Stari,

Thank you for your excellent post on Nole ... I've never been able to understand all the unreasonable hatred directed towards him. He is a wonderful player and a credit to his country.

@moriarte

You made me laugh. I have a decade or two more than I wish, but that is life. I just think that all this discussion about the Djokovic's is totally misplaced. In fact, a discussion about anyone's family is just the worst and lowest kind of gossip possible. In all my honesty, Nole's parents are no different than, say, Rafa's or Roger's or anyone else's. Just the parents who love their kid(s) and they are being supportive. Most fans base their sympathy or antipathy on gossip and two-second facial zoom-ins during the great and tense matches, which is hilarious to me. For instance, I cannot dislike uncle Tony or Rafa's dad for being overly emotional. C'mon, we get emotional over these guys, imagine their immediate family members.

Lynne I adhere to your point,I don't understand why greatness,excellence or awesomeness will triger hatred,it's like beauty or elegance, when you shine on that department too a lot of people get jealous and hate you,I thought we all wanted to go to paradise for all the creaminess we heard about it,why not start admiring here on earth what's palpable and gives joy!

Excellent performance or such only translates joy to me,no matter how hard it is even if it's against our loved and cherish ones!

Markko getting a wild card smacks of favoratism and corruption to me. Considering Markko's very low ranking, I am sure there were lot of other players who were more deserving of this consideration.

@Lynne (Rafalite)

Yeah, hatred directed to the great ambassadors of tennis like Rafa, Roger and Nole is really hard to comprehend. You touched an interesting point though - "credit to his country". A lot of Serbs, including myself, are pleasantly surprised how Nole stresses where he is from and who he is. Without any restraints. You know, when I moved to the US in the mid-90s every other conversation had to begin with me explaining that I am not a genocidal monster and that I do not hate anyone. Just the negative portrayal of the Serbs was (and still is) quite strong. So, that someone so young and talented comes out of our tiny genetic pool (~ 10 million Serbs populate the planet) and then decides to proudly wave the flag and to represent his country in a positive way was a complete shocker to me. To me personally, and I believe I speak for many fellow Serbs, Nole is more than a great tennis player. Even if he decides to stop playing tomorrow night (which I hope he does not do), he would be at the pedestal as the best Serbian athlete ever. In the end, I understand that this concept is hard to grasp if you are, say, from the US, UK, France, Spain... Simply, a large and developed country will (sooner or later) spit out even a bigger talent than what had been seen before. In contrast, Nole is more like a (Serbian) Halley's comet - he appeared now and he will hardly be repeated ever. That is why I enjoy his appearances even more.

His brother sounded like a whiny spoiled brat.

Hi, Aube,

You've hit the nail on the head. It's simply spiteful jealousy - an unfortunate human trait in some.

@ Dule

Or we could say: "Dzaba gluvom šaptati i ćoravom mahati" ;-)

stari,
when it comes to Djokovic family,and in this case,Marko,they should all know,as well as you do, that this does come with territory....
have no doubts,it would be same ,if it was Rafa's bro' or any other..
On totally unrelated subject,i haven't heard a word of Jamie since he doubled J.J ?Is he injured or something???

That's what I thought Lynne,how are you dear,I've been busy these 2 days but hopefully I could be here some tomorrow,I miss you!

@moriarte
Yeah, you are right about the "Marko hype". I was more writing in response to the family bashing. As for Jamie, I have no idea. I was wondering the same.

@Dule

:DDD. Takodje, prijatelju.

"...One guy who was once in a very similar situation is John McEnroe's youngest brother, Patrick. You know, the former U.S. Davis Cup captain and current head of USTA player development. In the book we wrote together, Hardcourt Confidential, McEnroe talked about how he lost in seven straight tournaments in which he was entered as a wild card simply because he was the brother of John. In fact, Pat is pretty sure he holds the record for most wild cards accepted in one year..."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for this,Pete. I didn't know. I bet there was no outcry then. :)

And I'll take my leave before reading any comments. See you all tomorrow...In another thread...

People you might want to read the site rules about talking in another language.

Aube,

I think my post went out into space ... I'm fine and pretty busy myself at the moment. Any ideas why AM hasn't been around lately ? Sorry if this turns out to be a double post.

Djoko's parents are nice people.We(the public) from another country see them as bad,ill bred people,crass,nasty,pushy etc.Try to understand the culture and custims of a country.
Japanese are not humble and submissive,the French are not crass,the British cultured.The Brits are actually sexually repressed.
Same reason Americans think everyone from the Middle east who is not Israeli is bad and evil.Oh,and Muslims and Mormons are bad,but Christians and Jews are good.Rastamen are not drug addicts-they are religious..and pious
People think the Williams's parents are jerks;Richard is a decent,actually noble man.
Ignorance is dangerous.

People you might want to read the site rules about talking in another language.
Posted by Angel of the Surf (At the day job as MA would say)
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English language constitutional amendment? I am sure Santorum would support it.

Peter Bodo not long ago called Djokovich a "chia pet". If I were Novak, I would take that into court. That is an insult. Calling people names is bullying. Shame on this web site and a writer who calls himself a journalist.

@wh...all respect to You....

@Racquet Abuse, yeah, the shirt thing is all fine and dandy, but that doesn't excuse everything else. You know, the times that they have been rude towards others and, frankly, out of line. Such was the case when papa Djoker attacked an RTS journalist because he disliked the way the commentator broadcasted the Nole-Nadal Madrid match. Or how about mama Djoker and her "king is dead" statement when Nole took out Roger at the AO (it took him 3 more years to win his next major). Yes, it's nice to use the parent card to reconcile their actions, but frankly, they have showed classlessness along the way that can't be overlooked.

@Ben, gullible much? You know, I have a friend who swears he has a bad day of tennis every time he loses a match. He's a good player, but he's lost quite a few matches. Do you think he can have so many bad days of tennis? Marko is just talking. Sure, he might want to believe the "xyz" players are stepping up their game to beat him, but the more likely scenario is that he just isn't *that good*.

Every now and then, someone mentions "the king is dead" comment that Novak's mum supposedly made. I tried to find a video / transcript of that interview, but couldn't. Can anyone point me to it, or is it yet another urban myth about Novak, Rafa or Roger?

any got kuala lumpur links???
how come i have not found decent working links for months???

Great article. No matter what it does not look right and it will not do the younger brother any good continuing this way. I am sure he has talent. It is much better in the long run for him to work his own way up. He will feel better in the long run.

For me all that matters is DJoker winning either this year's calendar slam or a golden slam. For sure Marko is in a tough spot. I would want to fill Nole's shoe.

Stari- Thanks for your 9:32 post, some previously unknown info. And welcome?..I think it's the first time I've seen you around.

Such a horrible family, being proud of their son and showing it their way! They wore t-shirts!!! Amazingly, some have never been the same. It's not even about the tennis anymore.*stumped*

Marco will learn, heck it took PMac 7 straight WCs to get it.

Bodo should go into some other line of work between slams. This is a piss-poor post.

In general it is dubious that world No. 1 middle brother got wild card. There are serious players that had to go through qualification, and some regional players should normally be preferred to receive it. Right. Similar but gentler thing applies to Sergei, son of Sergei (hilarious) and father Sergei is no doubt one of greatest athletes in history of sport. Son lost in third set tie-breaker 16:14!
Still it is not so simple. For instance, strictly money speaking, with all the unnatural aspects of that, inclusion of No.1 brother may be a commercially preferable over some other wild carding. So it would be within the borders, or at the borders of acceptable tournament reasoning. Also, when one see qualification list it is clear that Dubai is still more of invitation-and-appearance-fee show than rooted regular tennis event. So if there is any place where it can pass there it is. Still, moving in to top100 will be very difficult for him.
What is key thing for me is something of great, great irritation. Let’s hear these brave, noble words again:
“Therefore, let the blood speak. And it speaks most eloquently where it flows most freely from the brow, down in the minor leagues of the game.”
Recently there was agreement made about exchange of wild cards between AO and USO. That will go in same manner as with other similar Slam agreements. How un-tennis, how miserable. What is worse is that no one banned that, no one even protested?! This is obviously so wrong. If in tennis sport Slams are main thing, established by tradition, anchored in tradition and tradition keeping as additional value – so be it. But it cannot be both ways. We can have either GreatSpringClayClash that rotates from country to country or we can have only Roland Garros. If it is as it is now there must not be nationally exchanged wild cards for Slams. But this is exactly how it is right now. Neocolonial mentality and practice. This is exactly criminal wild carding, exactly related to money and points (that are again related to money), not to speak about tennis quality and fairness behaving. So many things in tennis are actually projection and pumping of influence, topped by over-pumping of Fedal era. This obvious influences are not mentioned, never-ever.
So here we are. Not a word about that but a lot of words about – dubious, no doubt – 1 wild card for 1 player 1 time. I can only suggest that one Peter Bodo has outgrown miserable tennis landscape and that he gets involved in some more serious G8 “journalism”, US diplomacy or something like that.
Regarding never-ending trashing of Novak parents: it is so boring, really. Wearing a shirt with son wearing a shirt of falcon is ridiculous and disproportionate – so what? Who cares? And maybe, just maybe, one need to be of that kind (whatever that kind is) to push his son trough unfair obstacles? About facts: negative presentation of them comes from times when demigod Federer was not questioned, Roger was demigod both as player and as person. In last, say, 3 years, what bad thing exactly anyone can remember about them? Word of wisdom: there is no real danger from middle brother, but there is some danger that youngest brother repeat some of Novak stuff.

So a player ranked 893 loses to a top 100 player and thinks the top 100 player is "trying hard" against him? Instead of feeling lucky he is shooting barbs at his fellow players. Yes, some traits obviously run in the family!

I know little about Novak's early career, but it seems unlikely that he got many wild cards. Players from countries that host Grand Slam tournaments are more fortunate. That being the case, Andy Murray may well have gotten more "help" of that kind during the early stages of his climb to the top. I don't even know who Novak's contemporaries among American players would be, but it's a cinch that they got more wild cards. Novak was talented enough that he ultimately succeeded without extra help. But maybe he sees nothing wrong with his brother getting a privilege that most likely was denied him. I have read that Novak lacked the money to participate in major junior tournaments. Andy Murray (Novak's age mate) was U.S. Open Junior Champion. Is Novak's name missing from the ranks of Major Junior Champions because he wasn't talented enough? Or because he didn't have family money or the backing of his impoverished national tennis federation. Perhaps, Mr. Bodo's journalistic impartiality would be a bit more convincing if the Tennis.com archives included an essay decrying the wild cards given to, say, Melanie Oudin (and I'm sure Samantha Elin would agree with me there).

Dokic is a fight in the third set of her match in KL. It seems very strange to still be sb for Acapulco and also KL. Time zones are a bit strange like that.

stari nzalac and Dule,

Please keep to English in comments - this is an English language site. Thanks.

Ok, all of you "Joan Rivers" who are looking in a stands to do fashion police. Just to make sure i'm clear i don't like Nole's dad, but reasons have to do with his filling of entitlement in Serbia, and not with anything else he is doing. With Nole's Mom i don't have any problem. She loves and supports her sons.
Just to remind you all that other players had a issue with a perents ones kids hit it big:
1. Tax and divorce - Steffi Graf
2. Divorce - Pederer
3. Divorce - Nadal
4. Dokic - Jail
5. Bankrupt - Sanchez
etc.
So Nole, ignore Peter Rivers and other idiots and have who ever u want in your box and all of them can line up and hate.

Peter Bodo, you really hate Novak for making a lameduck out of your Federer. Why make an issue out of a non-issue. Who's fault is it that Marko was granted a wild card entry? It is the organizer's prerogative to give wild cards to whom they like. Next time you might be faulting Ms. Streep for winning too many Oscar.

Serbs, please relax with the nationalistic take on all things Nole.

**marko cant believe his bad luck, if only there wernt 868 tennis players better than him he would be world no1..its all an evil plot against him.

The Djokers love the limelight so no one can complain when they get it. So if Roger or Rafa had a younger brother ranked in the 850s, it would have been OK to reserve 2 WCs for them whenever they wanted. How soon would it be before the Djokers comandeer 2 WCs for the 2 brothers?

I can just hear Djorde pleading 'you got Marko a WC.......it's not fair.....'

How soon will it be before we see the Djokers wearing 't' shirts emblazoned with Marko's picture at a Futures event because he took 5 games off the world #143?

Don't see Bodo blaming USTA for handing out wild cards to Americans. That's what wild cards are for for crying out loud, giving those with low ranking a chance, and since there's shortage on Middle-Eastern talent in Dubai, Marko getting a WC is as good as Sloane Stephens getting one at the USO.

Now what I've been hearing, dunno if read here or elsewhere, that it's Djordje who's the real talent of the younger brothers, but he had a feud with his daddy and stopped playing. Is he back hitting the ball?

"Every now and then, someone mentions "the king is dead" comment that Novak's mum supposedly made. I tried to find a video / transcript of that interview, but couldn't. Can anyone point me to it, or is it yet another urban myth about Novak, Rafa or Roger?"

No urban myth, because Novak himself acknowledged she did make the comment when they reminded him of that in an interview a year later with FOXSports, the same outlet that spoke with Dijana Djokovic just after her son won the AO 2008 and then they published her infamous comment:
http://msn.foxsports.com/tennis/story/Polarizing-Djokovic-searching-for-winning-formula?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=199

The relevant bit:

There was the conclusion of Djokovic's extraordinary Australian Open title run, which included a remarkable upset of Federer in the semifinals and beatdown of big Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final. A couple of hours after that match, Dijana was approached by FOXSports.com and, full of celebratory fervor, issued a line in reference to Federer that still haunts her son to this day: "The king is dead. Long live the new king." When reminded of the comment, Novak spoke of his mom's honesty and openness. "I think you can see that in me as well. You can see the connection."

Bone - your argument about american WCs might have legs but "and since there's shortage on Middle-Eastern talent in Dubai" is laughable - did you not hear who *didn't* get a WC because of Marko...?! Ah, I'm sure someone will be along to correct you shortly ;-)

Yay. Eleni Daniilídou beat Jarmela. Poor Eleni has had so many injuries, and every time she starts clawing her way up the rankings, something happens. I really wish her all the best.

Today's Caro from sporten.dk: http://bit.ly/ywahZ6

Matt Cronin, who apparently has been reading my stuff here. Keep it up, Matt, you may learn something.

"You can sometimes see that she's working hard to improve, hitting the ball harder on her forehand and moving up on the court. Other times she seems hesitant, and quickly reverts to her old style, playing a steady game and hoping her opponent makes more errors than she does. She seems locked in a transition.

The weird thing for me is, that even when she lost the semi-final to Li Na at the Australian Open last year, she still went on court against players just under the top level with an attitude where you could see that she was sure she could win the deciding points. What I saw in the match against Görges was that she looked scared and confused. She's not so self-assured anymore, and that's why she's playing the deciding points badly."

Michael Tauson:

"I don't think you can call it a transition period. Caroline has had wonderful results the last 2 years, so something like this was bound to happen. But there's no reason to panic. (Who said there was?: Manix) She's trying to improve all the time, and she's likely the world's best counter-puncher. She just needs a touch more to her game, and she'll be the best in the world and win a slam." That's quite the turn around for someone who said 4 years ago she didn't have the game to make it. Then he got hired by TV2Sport Denmark. Now he's a true believer. Go away Tauson.

Kombo Chapfika: where do you get that ppl. who dare to argue are Serbians? :)

I love this, for years we've been hearing how "crowd cheers for Federer" etc, but then "Serbs are supporting their man", somehow the world is still hard to forgive Djokovic for coming from a demonized country, and think anyone rooting for him must be one, because who'd root for him? ?:D Don't hear passionate Rafa supporters with a Latino name being called nationalistic Spaniardw which would be equally idiotic.

How can this article suggest that Djoke Jr's wild card wasn't "that far out of place"? It was a complete joke and disrespect. Dubai has the right to give a wild card to a local player, that's normal course. But they were clearly pressured by Novak to do this for his little brother. Who wants to watch a 900th ranked player who was never even good? Nole and Rafa complain about the long tennis year and want to shorten it...they will still make millions but the lower ranked players will be even more squeezed. And now, on top of that, Novak takes away wild cards for his little brother. Sorry Nole, you just lost my respect....

slow start from berd. muzz up 3-0.

I didn't really like Djoko's brothers comments because they sounded too much like complaining when he should just be grateful he is in the tournament.

To be honest I don't like this whole idea of wild cards for reasons such as this. I'm Djoko's brother isn't the only one to benefit from this, but short of including some local talent, or nationlity, wild cards should be given out for much better reasons.

Also I'd hate to think that they become bargaining chips, like Djoko saying; let my brother play in this tournament or I'll play somewhere else. Or the organisers tempting Djoko to a tournament with the reward of giving a wild card to one of his brothers.

It like all this business with appearance fees. Its ok up to a point before it starts becoming bribes more than anything else.

Cotton Jack: The WHOLE IDEA of WC is giving "the undeserving" a chance, because after all, they are "stealing" main draw places from those with proper rankings. So yes, WC is politics interference with sport, and the Dubai Federation did think Djokovic brought enough limelight to their tournament over the years to honor the family with one. It's their tournament, it's their decision, deal with it.

At the end of the day low-ranked WCs almost always crash out early, you guys just don't point out the obvious out when a Swedish tournament gives a WC to no387 or an American far off qualifying gets a chance; double standards are a nice defense mechanism for the biased.

As far as I go, a Serbian in Dubai, an American back home, and penguin in a seagulls tournament, wild cards are political, always been and always will be, I'm not fond of the whole thing, but I can live with it either way. The question is... WHY CAN'T YOU?

tennis.com more than parents.com

So who said an Arab lost a WC because of Marko Djokovic? If Marko was not given the WC, is it gonna be a given that the top Arab player will get the WC? How illogical can that logic be? You dislikes the Djokovics for getting the WC and you are all silent with WCs in the Grand Slams? Oops, double standard working double time?

I would have understand all the hooplas about Marko but then again seeing that it was Bodo, Novak might as well win all the titles he wants and still Bodo will look the other way.

berd misses I/O FH on BP and muzz eventually serves the set out, 6-3.

'twas an even set once berd was over his sleepy start so not all lost for berd just yet.

*so not all lost for berd just yet.*

irregard.
berd fumbles away his game points and then has to watch a FH cc (natch) pass from muzz on BP to start this second set similarly ungood as the first one.

3-6 0-2

Bone - shouting in capitals has just ended this conversation. I note that I merely corrected your factual error.

Bismarck did Murray do something to his leg. I thought I saw him clutch it.

yeah, he clutched it a couple of times i think when getting wrong-footed on the FH side. doesn't he have a knee-condition patella defect thingy?

don't think he did anything in particular to it during this match.
hmm. looks a bit awkward now re his right knee/leg.

quality of the match as fallen off a cliff the last few minutes. the two now trading breaks on the back of tame errors.
3-6 3-3

Maybe he can't play tennis as well but he's definitely better looking!!!

3-6 4-3. "tomas! tomas!" chants in the crowd. odd.

good hold from muzz. 3-6 4-4

Cotton: you stop because of capital letters, and you talk about "laughable" argument? :)

It is what it is, wcs are wcs (look! small letters!), they always shut out a few who would've made the main draw otherwise, but it's nothing new. At the end of the day, does it really matter if a national player of atrocious ranking or a family member gets it? In your world of double standards seemingly, because I don't see you fuming how Cesar Ramirez outside of the top500 got someone else's place in Acapulco :D so yeah... maybe you just ran out of argument and blame your silence on capital letters...

a berd sequence of FH I/O error, FH I/I error and footfault-to-doublefault offers muzz a BP, but big serves save the game for the big czech eventually.

3-6 5-4

Trying to watch Berdych - Murray.

Berdych is wearing: white hat, red shirt, dark shorts, red shoes.
Murray is wearing: white hat, red shirt, not-so-dark shorts, slightly-less-red shoes.

Vamos, Tomas. How good is Tomas' tie-break record, Bismarck?

muzz wobbles a bit, has to concede deuce, but holds. 3-6 5-5

if this goes into a TB i'll tell you, zenggi. ;)

Ouch, Tomas!

nice defense from muzz to get the break. 3-6 5-6

Just but my tickets to Copenhagen. Yay.

I bought them too.

Muzz pulls through. Yay.

ah ha ha ha to that final game.

muzz races to 40-0, three match points. berd bashes back to deuce. leaden slice error berd for MP #4, erased by more big hitting from berd. who then connects on a FH I/O winner for a change to get to BP.
service winner muzz gets called out, he challenges and molay awards the point to muzz (correctly i'd say) as the call didn't seem to interfere terribly with berd's return. cue whiney discussion from berd with molay. surprisingly that doesn't change anything and play goes on.
wildest BH miss berd (baseball, per chance?) to MP #5, berd destroys it with a FH I/I return winner, muzz serve + FH one-two for 6th MP.

then, almost mercifully, BH miss berd to end it all. 3-6 5-7

sad to say, not a good match, from neither one. or maybe i just asked for too much...

pliskova lost too - which one? - both. :|

[zenggi: 7-1 year-to-date, 16-7 in 2011. so, bloody good in recent times. less spectacular 57% for career-to-date.]

Thursday Order of Play

ATP: Dubai at 8 AM - Youzhny vs Federer
ATP: Dubai at 10 AM - Djokovic vs Tipsarevic followed by Del Potro vs Tsonga
ATP: Delray Beach at 11 AM - Sela vs Nieminen
ATP: Delray Beach at 12:30 PM - Kohlschreiber vs Dodig
ATP: Delray Beach at 2:30 PM - Malisse vs Anderson
WTA: Acapulco at 4 PM - Errani vs Cabeza Candela
ATP: Acapulco at 4 PM - Verdasco vs Almagro
WTA: Acapulco at 5 PM - Vinci vs Krajicek followed by Duque-Marino ending with Rybarikova vs Begu
ATP: Acapulco at 6 PM - Wawrinka vs Chardy
ATP: Delray Beach at 7:15 PM - Roddick vs Istomin
ATP: Acapulco at 8 PM - Ferrer vs Andujar
ATP: Acapulco at 10 PM - Berlocq vs Giraldo

Sorry I left you alone, Bismarck. Commisserations. Also to Tomas. I thought he would get to the tie-break and a third set. :(
There will be many more tie-breaks in the future. Thanks for the stats.

Manix,
Good for you. How many days are you going to the tournament?

And congratulations to Murray and fans. I guess his next opponent will be Djokovic and that means that we are on topic again.

Bismarck,
Karolina lost to Agnieszka while Kristyna lost to Shuai at KL.