Isn't Murray on the same side?!

i thought that murray was in the same half as nadal, but opposite quarters. they could potentially face each other in the semifinal. i'll check the draw again!

I can't imagine Safin or Monfils (both of whom I like very much) standing any chance against this new Andy Roddick. I think Roddick is a dangerous opponent for ANYONE in the ATP right now, save for Federer or Nadal... and perhaps even dangerous for them, to some degree.

-Arvis

I'm liking ARod's chances against anyone, although I'll always pull for Fed first.
Andy's playing vg tennis right now, mentally and physically.

To me, Tsonga has the best draw thru to the qtrs.

Considering Federer easy half, I'm pretty sure the final will be Nadal Federer again... with the spaniard prevailing once again, obviously.

I'd say it's time for Federer to kick ass and beat Nadal this time, if it comes to that in the final! LOL Cheers

With that draw... if he's got the same old fed in him, he should win this tournament. The advantage is in his side.........IF>>>

Always love a fedal final.

Murray has got the hardest draw, it will be interesting to see if he has gained his full strength back. I hope so, I also hope the weather doesnt play stupid, it ruined the last game. If Murray can get through this draw then I see his potential as the next number 1. Roll on the tennis.

Murray is in the same half as Federer...the draw on the ATP site shows that.

Nadal has a possible semifinal with Djokovic. Fed is going to lose again to Murray in the semis.

Does anyone know if it's a fast or slow hardcourt? If fast, it will certainly gain Federer.. hopefully..

fast - faster than IW anyway

Ricky's gonna update us on how fast :)

Casper, correct me if i misintrepret your comments, but are you saying that andy is only good on hardcourts when the weather suits him. i thought being able to perform in less than perfect circumstances is one of the things that separates "the best from the rest." personally, i enjoy seeing how any player handles the unexpected. it tells me a lot about the player and his game!

Some nice piece of news for Fed fans after past few days of gloom.
From the ATP site
FEDERER RECEIVES DOUBLE HONOUR
Roger Federer continues to shine as the fairest and most popular player on the ATP World Tour after the 2008 ATP World Tour Awards were announced in Miami today. Fellow players voted Federer the winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for a record fifth consecutive year. Only Edberg himself won the award five times (over eight years). And in a poll of fans, Federer for the sixth consecutive year was voted ATPWorldTour.com Fans? Favourite.

Of his dual honours, Federer said:"It is great to receive two more awards. It is always important for me to be a good sportsman on the court and give the right example for others to follow and hopefully inspire the next generation. It also means the world to me to be the fans? favourite player for the sixth year in a row. The support I receive from the fans around the world is so motivating and it is humbling to receive this award once again."

Waiting for agf now to make a crybaby joke for fed.

One of things that I admire about Rafa is that he doesn't underestimate ANY opponent, regardless of what their ranking is. He knows ANYTHING can happen on a given day on that tennis court. A top player has on off day and poof, he is gone and shocks everyone else. So when people start saying one player has an easy draw and another doesn't, I feel it doesn't matter. So I never like to predict outcomes of a tournament. I prefer to do it like Rafa does. Concentrate and think about one match at a time.

Thanks for the post, janhavi. Tres cool - that's Roger.

orion-LOOOL
Rafterfan-yep très cool,très awesome..Cant wait to see his royal gorgeousness back in action again.Hopefully, you know, he'll get find some 'riddum' , you know..lool

Federer will reach the final of miami for sure .....if it is nadal i am not sure who will win, but for murray i think he will bring him down in straight sets this time , fed is always a big force in a final.....

janhavi, it's a consolation prize.

Interesting that the majority of fans AND fellow ATP players all say Federer is a consummate sportsman when the anti-Fed trolls here would have us believe he is the most arrogant, bad-tempered man who ever lived.

-Arvis

livingdoll, yes, thank you for the 'duuuh' post of the day. :)I was going through a few posts looking for it and fianlly found yours to be the most worthy of them all.
Its been a prize for six years now,consolation,or not. :)

My pleasure.

I'm glad it is :)
Arvis-Dont worry dear..its called daily dose of BSing ;) Hilarious when you get used to it.:D

Janhavi,

Oh, I'm USED to it, certainly, but that doesn't stop me from being snarky about it. *grins*

-Arvis

^I guess we all need something to rant about.. :)

Avis, you seemed surprised that federer won, "fan favorite award." no surprise to me nor has it ever been! it was probably only surprising to people who don't know that it set up where fans have the opportunity to vote more than once or maybe as many times as they like. secondly, there is a majority of people including: the media, commentators, sportwriters, fans, etc who clearly favor federer over nadal in any category. it's not something that is new,;it has become clear over the past four years that this is actually the way many people think! think about it! if the public could vote on who would be #1 today, federer would win by an unprecedented margin of votes, but that's not the case! the only way rafa won the ATP Player of the Year is that it was based on his performance, which could not be denied. in any case, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that overall a lot of people would like for federer to remain on top, whether he earns or not! this has been/is the mindset of many and quite frankly, i don't see it changing anytime soon! anyway, congratulations to all atp winners!

All these people who belong to the Federer Admiration Society are camp followers. They latched on to him because they like to be associated with what they thought was the ultimate in tennis, now they are stuck in that groove even though it is clear now that he is not the ultimate.

Borg used to enjoy the same thing over McEnroe, they'll come to their sences sooner or later. How can they vote someone who regularly slag off people who beat him and steals the show from the AO champion by crying at the award ceremony a gentleman? He condemns Hawk Eye when it's against him, but uses it at every opportunity.

Those of us who support other players know that they are not so vain as to want to be crowned 'the fairest and most popular player' so we don't waste time casting multiple votes. Why is he the fairest? Could anyone list any manifestations of Federer's fairness that could not be applied to 90% of the other players? Sorry, apart from the fact that his style of play doesn't spark my plugs, I hate all this canonisation of him. Last year when the press weren't licking his boots so much, he really started to show his true colours. Of course it is easy to be a gentleman when you are winning, and you can spend hours with the press preening your feathers and waxing lyrically about your greatness, but when you have to justify losing, it is not so easy.

"Camp-Followers" LOL!! Livingdoll, you pay me a compliment! I get called lots worse!

I forgive him for being a lousy Hawk-Eye challenger. Imperfections make our heros even dearer, no? We all know Rafa has a couple er, habits. but how could I possibly jeer about it? If I make a comments on Rafa it is not because I do not admire him or his game, it's simply stating the obvious like a bad hawk-eye challenge, biffing backhand passing shots into net, losing focus in a 3rd set..

Why would you waste time writing so much hate on RF? He is not even Rafa's bigest threat. Everyone seems to know Muzz is the real #2. And Nole is due to come out swinging. Is it just hate left over from past Nadal losses? I think that tennis audiences everywhere pretty much get that Rafa, like it or not and I like it, is the best tennis player. Perhaps best player of our time.

sour grapes...typical..hardly seen Nadal fans who can be happy for Fed. :)

No zoey, not past Nadal losses, he is leading 13-6 after all!

Hey, zoey! You've got class, just like our Fed. Rise above it....some find it hard to believe Fedex fans' love and loyalty. Hey, my all-time fave, Patrick Rafter, is long gone, but do I love him less? No! True, he was never at the "top of the game" for the longest continuous time in the open era like RF. This is not the reason we love him! Haters just don't get it. We are not fair weather fans. We just love his game no matter what...#1, #2, #200. It matters not to me :).

You misunderstood me. When I say past losses I was thinking of the losses Rafa had to Roger some years ago, namely Wimbledon. I was not talking about the present h2h or this year.

The question I am asking is why all the hate for Roger when your hero and mine too, by the way Rafa is leading? I was maybe giving the fed haters here an excuse by citing Rafa's losses to Roger at Wimby early in Rafa's career! Geez, why such a touchy sensitive issue? "sour grapes" or a grudge for past percieved injustices would imply a there is some meaning at least for the hate. I guess the hate here is relatively mindless.

Dear livingdoll,
Sportsmanship award is voted by fellow players, so all the things you wrote about how his followers desperately want to see him as the fairest is BS :D Youre funny :D

janhavi, i can only speak for me, but i can assure you that my comments are never based on whether or not i like federer or any player in particular. they are based on conclusions drawn from my observations or my perception of commentators, media, writiers, different players and their games, etc. i don't expend energy on silly stuff like " i don't like this player because he beat my favorite player." that's senseless! more often than not, what i say doesn't go over well with the majority, but i've never been into pleasing others for the sake of being accepted. i speak what i believe to be true, not what others want me to believe! i'm glad that federer's or nadal's future doesn't depend on what we actually think and write!

Hear, Hear memi!

Ok Fed is the best thing since sliced bread. He is the greatest sportsman ever, and the most talented to ever pick up a tennis racket, should he ever run for any politcal office I would be first in the queue to cast my vote for him. Everybody loves him, and it is such a shame that the results of tennis matches are not decided by internet polls, which is such a great injustice to the great Fed. The rules should be changed!!!!!!!!

^you used my favourite line to begin your post * flashes an angry look*
For the rest of your post-Yes!!! Federer for President!!!!! He's already the President of the players council :)

Actually, I'd rather be Player of The Year.

What utter BS memi, livingdoll, remi, et al!

You Fed haters are all right and perfectly rational.

Is this an Official Rafa Nadal website and comments posted must be in praise of him only? Can't I write a simple post without a gang of however may you are getting all pushed out of shape? I am going not here to denigrate Rafa. But I can't help noticing all the absurd seneless, mindless hate! Utter nonsense. Well to me. I do not get it at all. As I said if this were a Rafa Fan site, I would not bother to write, not because I don't like Rafa, his brilliant game, his charm, his adorable imperfections and hail him for improving his game but because people here calling themselves his fans behave like juveniles! Now go get Afg25afg to come insult me. That's the bad boy/girl, alter ego, evil twin in the mix of you and I am laughing. These posts do not translate well. If you were face to face with me I think you could see how I sincerely admire Rafa Nadal when I commend him. But please can't we get off of this? This is tennistalk, I thought isn't there others in the game? I intended to get more info on other players and had no idea I was entering the yeah, Rafa gang and hate Roger only or prepare to be bullied. Change this forum to Rafa Nadal Fan club so tennis fans like me don't get slammed. BTW, if Roger Federer fans were beating up on me for admiring Rafa, I would tell them where to stick it!

zoey--- I'm NOT going to slash you with some sharp words, I can feel you have had your fair share of that.
If you think you're being beaten so hard by the "rafa gang", as you labeled us, get off this forum for a while, compose yourself, get enough info (stats according to torres) so you'll have some "amos" in your arsenal to cover yourself with. It's just too bad even your "own" gang wants to have a piece of you for admiring Rafa.
Well, if you can't beat them JOIN them. You 're not going to be safe IN THE MIDDLE!

zoey234, you make it seem as though someone is hindering you from voicing your opinions. if so, i haven't detected it yet! i think you might want to revisit my posts. you may be pleasantly surprised that not everybody is injecting hate into discussions. they are merely defending their position. it's understandable! in all due respect, it appears that the only thing some of you understand is hate vs. non-hate. why is hate the reason every time someone doesn't support your point of view, especially about federer? it makes no sense! there are others reasons why people write what they write. where is the harm in that? maybe, it's just a sign of immaturity and naivete on your part. i really don't know and quite honestly, i shouldn't even be responding because it's trivial!

This is tennis we are talking here or a Rafa Roger grudge match? You said it yourself agf25agf. not bothering to search your exact word choice but something to the effect that you are addicted to slamming Roger Federer and frankly, you make no sense whatsoever. Who is arguing that your man is not best. You just ganged up on Topdog on not being enough of a fanatic. I waited and waded through Memi. Remi, livingdoll, who else, I dunno, enough to deduce that there is a Rafa fan club here on the warpath. Makes no matter to me but if this is one you are correct and I am logged onto here in error. However there are maybe a couple others who want to preserve their right to personal opinion and not jump on your bandwagon. I not saying you should change a thing about yourself afg25afg25 , glad to read you back here!! I get a kick out of you, indeed!

zoey- I see your tone changed comparing when you first joined here and not in a good way lol. Its true some people here act like they are in a warpath for a guy who isnt in war in the first place and is quite a nice person himself. But not all rafa fans are dumb, most of them are quite sensible and fun to talk to. Just avoid the dumb ones as its more healthy :D

Thanks for the sane advice Orion. Going to dinner anyway and as I mentioned somewhere else in a thread, I have been on vacation so I won't get to indulge myself in tennis after the weekend. A week on this site though has opened a new world to me . I love playing and following tennis. It's exciting times right now. Believe it or not I consider myself a fan of Rafa's tennis, enjoy watching Rafa. Overall that's the irony here. I admire both, who can't? Here I am explaining myself like Topdog had to after he first posted. I defend my right to be a moderate voice here as I am in life and not be coerced into a fanatic.

memi--- you couldn't have said it better. INDEED, its TRIVIAL!

orion , you sure make me laugh... ;D...