FEDERER RAFA FINAL !!! lol...seems to be a dream so i wud say hardly possible :P.......murray handles roger well in best of 3 matches, cilic ,nt sure how is he gona fare in the coming weeks. querry topping novak is surely possible. but a rafa-roger final certainly is possible ! even in abu dhabi ,albeit an exho is was praying for a rafa-roger final but agai soderling beat federer !

@vamosrafa
i disagree with the "murray handles roger well..." statement. If you had said this a year ago, i would agree. but roger has won their past 2 best of 3 matches, and murray hasnt recovered mentally from his OZ open thrashing. In my mind, unless cilic or soderling in feds half, and isner or tsonga in nadals half get real hot, i cant see anything other than a fed vs nadal final.

PS: forget about nalbandian challenging nadal. he isnt in good shape atm-which is the worst possible way to play nadal.

Ricky,
If you're right I'll have to drive that 90 miles down there and buy a ticket from a scalper because all the good seats are already sold out for the final.
Just curious, is there not going to be a "Hit for Chile"? Hadn't heard anything.

tj600...good pot. actually after posting it i also realized the same thing myself too. but remember Us open 08 thrashing, less than a month later muzza beat federer in madrid and then in shanghai ! federer now surely knows better how to handle muzza in best of 3 better but i do think muzza will approach the match in a better manner. he shud have been more aggressive in that Oz final from the very first game, he shud have played like set no.3 . nt sure why muzza is not aggressive against roggie and others, rafa is an exception(perhaps muzza knows the only way to bwat rafa is aggression) but aggression of high order is required to topple roger too.

And I agree with your last sentence too !
chr18..i am alsi curious abt the same thing ! ricky any comments??

while i picked a Fed-Nadal final, i have to disagree with tj600 about not being able to see anything other than Fed-Nadal.

I mean IVAN FREAKING LJUBICIC just won Indian Wells. So its pretty obvious that tennis right now is WIDE OPEN. I can see about 45 different possible scenarious for the Miami final.

And I have no idea about a Hit for Chile. Don't think anything is happening.

I bet Gonzo will be ticked off. It's a shame if it won't happen.

Both Fed and Nadal will make it to the SF and then one of them will lose. So no Fed-Nadal final yet. Its just jinxed this year. Wait for the French Open or WImbledon to watch them play together.

@vamosrafa

get what you are saying, but fedis playing better tennis now rather than in 2008 for a variety of reasons. he will be better prepared for miami-where the surface suits him better than iw. but i doubt murray will even make it to the semis. right now, i actually think that roger would prefer to play murray instead of soderling.

with the agressive against federer thingy, only big hitters like del potro or soderling can constantly attack federer-the exception is nadal. who can break down feds backhand with his loopy forehands. murray does neither of these things. he can still beat fed if hes having a bad day from the baseline and is making a lot of UE, but if feds at his best,and murray plays like he does right now, it doesnt matter what murray brings to the table.

PS: defensive counterpunchers(Nadal isnt one!!) NEVER beat fed at a slam.

Well, I'm hoping Murray will "bounce" back at Miami, but the way he is at the mo. am not holding my breath. Rafa looking good at IW till final and "easy" draw could well see him in the final, though courts are faster so it's not a given. Fed should "coast" to the semis shouldn't he? Yeah, could well be Rafa-Rig final...But how nice if Lubi could make it a double.....

Don't forget Rafa had been to two finals at Miami, in 2005 (lost a 5 set final to Fed, even though he was two sets up) and in 2008 (lost to Davydenko), so when Rafa is playing well, he can get to the final. The court surface is not a problem for him. I think he had learned his lesson in IW, so he should be playing more aggressively this time and take his chances. I doubt any one in his quarter could give him problem if he is playing well, as he had beaten all of them in the past.

Nole's quarter is the most interesting and Roddick, Ljubicic and Nole all have chances to reach the semi. If Nole is playing well, then a Nole/Rafa semifinal will be very interesting.

I'm looking forward to a Fed/Cilic QF, so I hope Cilic can get past Baghdatis and Verdasco (even though I like Verdasco but I see that he is having some back problem), it will be good for Cilic if he can get a win over Fed. I want to see how much Cilic has improved and playing against Fed is a good gauge.

I really don't know which Murray will turn up, hopefully he is fired up this time as he has a title to defend. A Murray/Soderling QF again will be nice and I hope Murray can win this time. To be honest, I hope to see a Cilic/Murray semi and hope for a Cilic win (sorry to Murray fans, I just like Cilic more).

Finally, I wish for a Cilic/Rafa final and whoever wins I'll be happy! Go Cilic, Go Rafa!

This article proves some of my points.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/365899-andy-murray-needs-to-be- out-of-his-normal-game-vs-federer

Ricky,
I like your analysis very much.
Hope you are 100% right this time (fingers crossed)
However, I would be equally happy if Nadal wins over Federer. I think Federer accumulated too many points already. So I will be happy if he slows down a little bit. I don't want him to be 15000 or something like at the end of the year. Then, he would be under too much pressure next year!!

tj600, i have come across this writing beforehand too. Yes it proves some of your points but it also backs up my points pretty well ! muzza needs to amplify his aggression. Luk at set no.1 and 2 , muzza was hardly hitting hard forehands and flatenning out bakhands less frequently. Set no.3 , muzza was clearly morpe aggressive but it was too litle too late.nonetheless the aggression earned him 5 set pnts ! unlucky he was not to convert but it was obv an aggressive style was keeping matters so close.

yes vamosrafa, but my point is-he just cant hit big forehands or backhands on a consistent basis like del potro or soderling can.

the fact is, it is much easier to be agressive against nadal on a faster surface than it is to federer.(Not that the player would win, but they could still be agressive) The reason is, fed hits it a lot flatter than nadal, so murray would have less time to set up his groundstrokes. feds game DID drop off a bit in the 3rd set, and muzz should have taken his opportunity then.

back to the big hitter thing-with the exception of nadal who uses loopy forehands like I said above, the majority of the players who beat him in majors are agressive(are usually big hitters), and have one devastating wing and another solid one. eg,safin-backhand, djokovic-backhand, del potro-forehand, nalbandian-backhand
If murray wants to beat fed in a final of a grand slam, he needs to develop his already world class backhand into a devastating one , and his forehand HAS to improve. Because right now,he just cant outhit fed from the baseline on a consistent basis. (LIke i said above, counterpunchers DONT beat fed in a slam right now, even at rolland garros.)

vamosrafa,tj600: as a Murray maniac I completely agree with your analysis. I know alex and I feel he needs a new coach just to give his game that xtra bit of oomph.
luckystar: don't apologise, everyone has their preferred favourites, it's allowed! As a matter of fact Cilic is in my top 5 too!

Deuce, you know I like Murray but Rafa is my fave--lol. Haven't been able to follow tennis closely the last 6 months so I'm not sure what Andy has been up to. I also like Nole and I do hope he can find his game soon. From what I've been reading to try to catch up on, there are SOOOOOO many players out there with injuries, small and large. Tennis is not for the faint-hearted--lol. I've got some new recipes to try out for when the couches come out!!

tj..yes it is tougher to be agressive againt roger BUT if you notice all those hitters you mentioned (including rafa) , what they do is they attack roger's backhand and force him to hit a sliced bakhand (often defensive in nature) ,and when they are able to draw this reply they just setup their MIGHTY forehands and unleash them ,often catching federer off-guard. muzza tries to neturalize roggie's slice with his own rather than gaining ascendency ( i agree its tough to even attack roggie's slice) but u have to take those chances. Besides, i wud like to elaborate a bit on ur 'improvement of forehand' thing.Especially quick surfaces (in particular grass) if you analyse , the players who have had success on grass : roger (KILLER FOREHAND) ,sampras ( DEVASTAING FOREHAND), NADAL ( BRUTAL FOREHAND), BORG( DEADLY forehand) ,,not necessary but a lot of times these champs have great forehands .THe amount of destruction caused by a forehand can never be compromised by using the bakhand destructively.SO if muzza is to conquer wimby he needs to add venom to his forehand.

I love your prediction Ricky... every time that you had high expectation for Nole... he didn't made far in to tournament.
My thoughts are Nole over Rafa in SF... obviously Nole in finale against ...hmmm... I still think it will be Fed.
Rafa is back... but this fast court will be better for Novak. Nole's game is in crisis, but I think he had showed some great will, anger for victory and his confidence is high up... because he was winning even with bad play... OK we shall see...
Muzza... after match with Sod... no expectation from him at all... QF is most what he can achive...and pressure from media is heavier and heavier on his shoulders. Best for him would be little less press on him. Why don't they let him in peace month or two.
Bagy...two times in row over Fed... no way...
Cilic... I don't think he is calm in his head after IW...
Ljuba...my God ...everything is possible now... I would like to see him continuing game like in IW...

A Rafa-Roger final would be great but I have a feeling it won't happen. I think one or both of them will be knocked out before the final.

Indeed, Raf'n'Rog is so Not Happening this past thirteen months and more, cable. One solitary meeting since AO 2009, a straight-sets affair in favour of Roger in Madrid more than ten months back. I am somewhat surprised at the extent to which the boards have been clogged with mutual antipathy. But then I pull back and remember that it's not about the players and their (stalled) rivalry, it's about the posters and their personal issues. [Control issues, mostly.] What fun to see it all played out here in this quiet little cyber-backwater, huh?

Agree with all of you who say that Roger/Rafa final will not happen. do the betting guys have some odds on this. I am willing to out anything on a Roger/Rafa final not happening in Miami..lol

I think Fed does not like having Berdych in his draw... if Fed has not yet reached his usual form, there might be a possible upset...I always think of AO 2009 when Fed was forced to a five setter with Berdych! And we all know how good Fed is at GSs...... Bagdy will be a piece of cake for Cilic and so will either Nando or Melzer...while Sod may be tested by Gonzo, I still see him reaching quarters... but then (unless Muzza surprises us with another stupid reason to lose a match to someone like Youzhny) the match Sod vs. Muzza should be very interesting because Muzza will most likely wipe the floor off with Sod...I am more than sure Muzza will not let Sod play with him again...he knows better than that...

Tsonga may have a hard time with Kohl, but he will pull the win...however, I give more chances to Isner for a win than to Tsonga when they meet...Rafa will be cautious meeting Nalby and that is mainly why he will play better than ever and will not let himself lose concentration for a second...he will make a convincing win there which will mentally help him to advance easily to semis... Karlovic will have tough time with Ferrer but he is most likely to win on this faster surface...

I am not sure about Nole...he has had enough time to rest now and he may be back to his form at least when his fitness and energy level are concerned...I don't see any danger for him in Querrey (who may not even pass Almagro!) but I see Novak being challenged by A-Rod...I expect early exit for Ljuby... it's emotional enough wining IW title and i think he won?t be able to focus on Miami...A-Rod will do just about anything to do well in Miami due to the fact that clay season is coming and he does not fancy that surface at all...

My semifinal predictions: Murray over Cilic; Rafa over A-Rod...

Final: Rafa over Murray :))

Just realized Fed is at 275 weeks at no.1. Still 12 weeks to go = 3 months to better Sampras record. It's gonna be hard.. -.-'

I dont think Fed'll win Miami.. Too many players capable of being on a hot streak and also I dont think Rafa will win.

i think it'll be a top 10 player. maybe Djoker, Muzza etc.

Federer-Nadal Needs Synthetic Set-Up

3/24/2010 10:45 AM ET By Greg Couch

This can't be all we're going to get. The Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal rivalry isn't going down as one of tennis' all-time great rivalries, but instead as its greatest untapped resource.

What kind of rivalry is it when the people involved never play each other?

Guess how many times Federer and Nadal have played each other since their classic Wimbledon final in July 2008, when Nadal won and tennis was a mainstream sport for an afternoon, and maybe for another day of office discussion. Twice. In nearly 21 months.

The sport has benefited some. Federer was elevated into the mainstream and is no longer written about as the greatest athlete no one ever talks about. Attendance, equipment sales and player participation are up. But it could have been so much more. Some people are thinking -- and writing ­ -- that the whole thing is dead and over now.

I don't think so. For now, the rivalry just needs a defibrillator, those paddles that shock the heart back into rhythm. These guys need to get on the court together.

How about an exhibition between them, or maybe three exhibitions with the winner getting a huge pot?

I know it would mess up the schedule. It's not ideal. It won't produce the blood and guts, won't duplicate the Wimbledon final. But it's the match the mainstream sports fan is interested in. And even if it looks forced and isn't the natural flow of a rivalry, it at least gets them on the court together.


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If that idea sounds desperate, well, OK, call it that. Sometimes, desperation is the most sensible path.

I took the idea to Marc Ganis, president of SportsCorp, a Chicago-based sports marketing firm. And you know what he thought of my idea? Hated it.

"It would be perceived as an exhibition rather than a meaningful competition," he said. "It's a dramatic difference in the way it's perceived. But it's not a crazy idea.

"If you expand it out a little and make it a group of four or six or eight of the best-known players, then that would work, and you would wind up getting many Nadal-Federer matches. Golf does that with the Skins games."

Ganis thinks an expanded exhibition like that would have people thinking that Nadal and Federer earned their way to their match.

To me, contrived is better than nothing.

If that idea sounds desperate, well, OK, call it that. Sometimes, desperation is the most sensible path.
Has tennis gotten the most bang for the buck with this rivalry?

"No," Ganis said. "But there's a way to capitalize on a great rivalry."

Golf also tried to match up Tiger Woods with other stars and legends in such events as Battle at Bighorn, Battle of the Bridges, Showdown at Sherwood. They had moments. But Sir Alex Ferguson, legendary leader of Manchester United, once told me that American adults never fall for soccer because they don't see the game at its highest level.

Man U. was planning an exhibition in Chicago. It was the day I planned to fall in love with soccer. But by the end, everyone was booing. The players weren't trying. That's the risk with forcing Federer and Nadal together.

The scary thing for tennis is that recent tennis rivalries haven't lasted much longer than Federer-Nadal has. In fact, these guys have already played more finals against each other in majors (seven), than John McEnroe-Bjorn Borg (four), McEnroe-Jimmy Connors (two) and Pete Sampras-Andre Agassi (five).

In all, Federer and Nadal have played 20 times, with Nadal winning 13. McEnroe-Borg played just 14 times; McEnroe-Connors, 34; and Sampras-Agassi, also 34.

But the Nadal-Federer rivalry never seemed like a rivalry until that 2008 Wimbledon. Before that, Nadal owned his turf -- clay -- and Federer owned grass and hard courts. It wasn't until Nadal beat Federer on grass that this thing really started. And other than another great final Nadal won at the 2009 Australian Open, a match that tennis fans loved and the mainstream missed, the rivalry has gone nowhere.

Tick, tock: Federer is 28 and Nadal, at 23, already has bad knees. His injuries took him off tour for a while last year, and brought him back as much less a player. But Nadal looked almost like the old Nadal at Indian Wells last week before losing his nerve in a third-set tiebreaker in the semis to Ivan Ljubicic. Federer lost early but was just coming back from a short break.

Looking at the draw for the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami starting this week, I would predict a Nadal-Federer final. That would be a much better way than an exhibition, of course, to start up the rivalry again. But I thought they would reach the final at Indian Wells, too. Maybe, the Australian Open, too.

It just keeps not happening.

Still, the clay season is coming and, if Nadal's knees hold up, that could be the time it starts again. For now, Federer waits for Nadal to get it back, and the game promotes all the others moving up. Parity is a nice word, but no one really wants to see it.

"You want dominant forces," Ganis said. "That is far better for interest. Parity is viewed as mediocrity."

Well, the others making up that perceived parity are faltering anyway. No. 2 Novak Djokovic never solidified his one major victory. No. 3 Andy Murray folded against Federer in the Aussie Open final and hasn't been the same since. U.S. Open champ Juan Martin del Potro is hurt. Andy Roddick isn¹t going to reach the top two again.

This rivalry is right there, still able to happen again. But if doesn't happen naturally, there's nothing wrong with a little desperation.

I see a surprise winner for miami ,just liek IW. I like rafa's form , he is the most in-form player of the top 4 right now (based on IW) and roger, if he catches his A game then he could well be lifting the trophy. Djoker looked listless in IW, not sure how he will turn up for this one, querry is gona be a hugr test on this court and then A.Rod might prove to be a test too tough . Murray , his main obstacle is again likely to be soderling so we will see how he handles him.

How about a hot Luby on a fast hard court? Or is he going to be gassed from last week? Ok, I'm kidding.

I think SamQ is going to lose to Jeremy Chardy.

can krajinovic pull out a surprise?

ah phrasal verbs, pull off.

'fraid not, rfzr: here's one teenager who didn't create a sensation by going down to James Blake.

But li'l Ficja is definitely one to watch out for.

Miami ATP Masters 1000 2010 preview
24.03.2010

This years Miami Masters 1000 event offers a very interesting draw with some exciting potential match-ups throughout the whole tournament.
First of all there is Roger Federer, who might run into Berdych first and then into rising star Marin Cilic. Cilic, coached by former Becker coach Bob Brett, showed his potential at the Australian Open already and might by inspired by fellow countryman, Ivan Ljubicic, who won last weeks event in Indian Wells. This is for or sure an interesting match-up and a real test for Cilic to check out his future potential. If he can beat Roger here, he will certainly do the next step in his career.
In the semi-final, Roger could face (if he beats Cilic?) either Murray or Soderling, which will be either this years Australian Open final rematch or last years French Open final rematch. Soderling also collected his first win against Federer in their last match, even though it was just during a show tournament prior to the Australian Open. But Soderling stepped up his game since last years ATP-Finals in London. These would be for sure two great semi-final match-ups. And the quarterfinal between Soderling and Murray will also be very interesting since it is a rematch of last weeks Indian Wells Quarterfinal, which Murray lost in straight sets, 1:6, 6:7. The last time Murray has beaten Soderling was in 2006 and if Murray wants to come closer to Rogers No. one spot, he needs to show up in the masters 1000 events.
Even though Roger I think that Roger does not care much about any other event besides the Grand Slams, I believe that his talent and potential is so big, that he will even win these matches in second gear and will reach the final, where he will probably meet Novak Djokovic. The Djoker is his biggest rival for the No. 1 spot, and he will see his opportunities this year, to make his dream reality. So this final will be an indication if he can contest the top ranking spot this year. By reaching the final Roger might be satisfied already though, so, I see it an open match. But with his talent, Roger will always be a good pick, of course.

In the bottom half are also some very interesting match-ups. With the return of David Nalbandian from his hip injury, there is a dangerous unseeded floater in the draw. And he will run into Rafael Nadal in the 3rd round, a player Nalbandian has not only beaten, but crushed, a few times already. Nalbandian, who I see as the second most talented player on the ATP-Tour, behind Roger, is able to take Nadals high top-spin shot on the rise without any problems. And this takes all the danger away from Nadals game, which is anyways not nearly as good as last year. So, I see a win for Nalbandian, who should come back to his old form in this tournament, and who will be motivated to get back into the top 10. If he really beats Nadal, he will have enough confidence and will also beat potential opponents, Karlovic and Isner. Djokovic might be to tough for him in the semi-finals but, you never know with David.
But there are two more very exciting match-ups in the bottom half of the draw. In the round of 16 we might see a rematch of the Indian Wells final, between Roddick and Ljubicic. Roddick will be eager to make up for his lost final, but I think Ljubicic will pull it off again, which might be the start for Roddicks departure from the top 10?
Against Djokovic I see his energy fading and his great run in the last two weeks come to an end. Even though he has beaten the Djoker last week, I think that Novak will be too competitive to let this happen again.

If I am right, we won?t see many changes in the top-10 rankings after this event, since Murray beat Djokovic in the finals last year and Nadal lost in the quarters. But if the draw developes like I predicted, this might be a hint of what is to come in this years season. So far the only change would be Nadal regaining the No. 3 spot from Murray again, even if he loses in the 3rd round to Nalbandian. With Davydenko and Del Potro out due to injuries and a fortunate draw in Indian Wells, Nadal will be able to stay in the top 4 going into the clay court season. Before the start of this year, I was not sure at all, if he will be still ahead of Davydenko and Del Potro at the start of the French Open. Since both players had not nearly as many points to defend, as Nadal. But now Rafa can be a bit more relaxed and look forward to stand on his favorite surface again, soon. But stiil I see problems for Nadal this year and Del Potro, Davydenko, Cilic, Soderling and hopefully Nalbandian on the rise. Tough oponents to fight off for Nadal.

Let? see if I am right?

Hartmut Hesse
Professional Tennis Training and Coaching
http://hartmut-hesse-tennis.blogspot.com

hah! i had faith in ya Jeremy Chardy!

torres, many predictions wrong so far. still cannot believe novak has gone. very shocked there and luby out too - what is going on?!!!

Fed plays this afternoon and will be cheering him on, as always! c'moon federer! I think federer is very pumped and very ready. go read his latest interview on TX.

cheering for rafa big time but this time also cheering for the roger-rafa duo to PLEAASSEEE reach the final !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i agree federer will be very tough to fend off this week.

HartmutHesse , 3/27/10 12:13 AM

HaHaHaHaaaaaaaaaaaa, Hartmut, don't give up the day job!


Vamos Rafa!

CIlic looks very stong, good performance today 6-3 6-1. roger has a huge potential impedence waiting for him

vamos, i think they've only played once? a couple of years ago if I remember? I am sure that roger will do his homework on cilic, but looking forward to a great match. next round needs to be dealt with first though!

C'moon roger!

yep right, we shud stick to the rafa-approach , taking it round by round. plus, cilic needs to overcome nando in rnd 4

"yep right, we shud stick to the rafa-approach , taking it round by round"

I always do that (learned it from Rafa--lol) and I think it is the best way seeing as in Miami, all sorts of upsets are happening.

As every tournament comes close to its final I hear Cheryl's words again, that the era of fairly frequent Federer - Nadal matches has come to an end, alas. It's the case again this week in Miami. If I'm not mistaken, the last time they've played each other at an official event was on the pseudo-claycourt in Madrid almost a year ago.

At least the clay and grass seasons are more likely to bring us some rogdal finals.

We musn't forget that the Fedal duo has been on hold since this time last year due to Rafa's injuries and recovery; we should be patient, we can't expect things to just carry on year after year when we are dealing with human beings not machines, which can be repaired with new spare parts as and when required.

FIST PUMPS! VAMOS RAFA!