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MADRID 2013 Mission: Snatch That #500!!!

67K views 1K replies 79 participants last post by  heelsrule1988 
#1 · (Edited)
I see nobody has bothered to open a thread for this yet... :spit:

Title suggestions more than welcome...if you care for this tournament.


Good Luck Masha. :cheer:
 
#158 ·
I can't see Azarenka beating Serena especially now that she hasn't played a competitive match for months. And you're hoping Petra loses before the QF :spit: You think Maria can't beat this Petra on clay :help:
What? Did I say that? :lol:

I'm just saying Petra is unpredictable, though useless vs top players most of the time. I'm not scared of her, but I'd prefer if Maria played someone else in the QF, like Stosur for example.
 
#157 ·
Looks more and more like Maria will place herself in firm position to continue her clay streak and claim the #1 ranking. The rest will be up to how Serena performs on the other half of the draw, I suppose. A Maria/Serena or Maria/Vika final would be stellar :drool:
 
#166 ·
You're right that Rome is more special to me and probably to her, but a first time win at Madrid, a PM, would be really special as well and would prolong her win streak heading into Rome. If Maria wins Madrid by beating Serena or Vika, success at Rome won't seem as important to me. Win both please! :lol:
 
#172 ·
The mens tournament is an enigma for me. I have no idea who to pick as a winner for the draw challenge. I picked Djokovic for all 3 ATP 1000 so far (obvious fail in IW and Miami :tape:), but I was kind of biased since he is my favorite ATP player :lol:

I can't see Rafa winning here for some reason. He hasn't been this vulnerable on clay since 2005 probably. He lost to Zeballos in a clay final :help: and lost sets to various mugs :lol: Obviously, it would be foolish to count him out as he is, in my opinion at least, the greatest player on clay ever.

I hope Novak can win, but flopping after a good result has been his thing lately :lol: He doesn't need to play his best to beat anyone on clay, he is definitely a favorite, so hopefully no brainfarts like in IW and Miami. He's already won in 2011, so hopefully he can bring it this year.

As for the WTA event, it will be interesting to see if Serena can win a red clay tournament. She hasn't won one since 2002, but she has been able to play great on clay and win big titles such as Charleston in 2008, 2012 and this year and Madrid last year. Since red clay is the slower than other types of clay, her weapons aren't as big, mainly her serve. She is a favorite at any event she enters, but I somehow can't see her winning here. I could be wrong, obviously.

I can see Vika doing well here, like I said. I think she's very underrated on clay. Last year she was exhausted when the clay court season came, yet she managed to reach 2 big finals in Stuttgart and Madrid. Surface does make a difference, but it doesn't make all the difference in the world. She is still a fighter and the mentally toughest player on tour in the last 2 years. If the cards align for her this year, I don't see a reason why she couldn't win Madrid.

Maria is also a favorite, this goes without saying. She can beat anyone (apart from Serena) on clay.

Somehow, I don't see NaNa or Petra winning (mental headcases), but I could see either of them in the final. It would be funny to see who would win this match, though I think it would be Petra, NaNa is just hopeless in finals :lol:

Also, I hope the Empress doesn't flop to Ivanovic for the 50th time.
 
#171 ·
The GM thread is a mess as always :lol:

Everyone crying over Maria's draw yet again. No draw ever is good enough for the haters :lol:

Somehow they would want Vika, Serena, Petra and NaNa all in Maria's half which is obviously impossible :lol:

But even if you have a brutal draw, it doesn't mean much.For example, at the 2012 FO, Maria had Serena, Li and Petra and they all lost so it ended up being an easy draw.

It's often the case with WTA that if a draw is packed, it usually turns out to be awful :shrug:

I think the Madrid draw is well balanced :shrug:
 
#173 ·
After the ruggedness of Stuttgart, I certainly don't mind an easier draw for Maria. Though, by no means do I think this is a cakewalk. Hopefully, she gets a few quick, straight set wins under her belt.

Overall, I have no expectations for this tournament. If she makes a deep run and has a chance to win, that's great. If she loses early, that's fine too. As I've said before, I'm just waiting for Rome/RG because that's where I believe Maria needs to be her most focused and at her best. Madrid is just a little warm-up to me.

And I hope Maria doesn't get the number one ranking before the French. She doesn't need that extra attention and pressure. I like it when she's the hunter. Let Serena continue to get all the fawning and slobbering by the media as the unbeatable number one. Besides, if Serena dropped to number two, it would just give her an excuse to use her "I've got nothing to lose." garbage yet again if she met Maria.....
 
#177 ·
And I hope Maria doesn't get the number one ranking before the French. She doesn't need that extra attention and pressure. I like it when she's the hunter. Let Serena continue to get all the fawning and slobbering by the media as the unbeatable number one. Besides, if Serena dropped to number two, it would just give her an excuse to use her "I've got nothing to lose." garbage yet again if she met Maria.....
Even if she got the number 1 ranking won't she lose it during Rome/before the French? (Serena has almost no points to defend).

Serena is still using that even now as the number 1 :spit:
 
#175 ·
Well for the men I just don't see anyone other than the two I mentioned previously winning it. Roger hasn't played since IW :help: and clay isn't his best surface anyways, while I saw Murray play in Monte Carlo and he wasn't very convincing. Novak definitely is a favorite because Nadal doesn't seem to do really well in Madrid and he might use the confidence from the Monte Carlo final to win this title (but I think it'll be a Rafa-Novak final).

When it comes to the women I'm more unsure. Theoretically it should be a Serena-Maria final but Serena hasn't made a clay final since 2002 so obviously it's not that simple. However I think that if Serena doesn't make it to the final then it'll be Li instead. I can't see Vika in the final (I think she'll make it to the SF) clay isn't her best surface and she hasn't played in a while so she probably will be rusty. But if Serena doesn't make the final I'll be disappointed if Maria doesn't win this.
 
#178 ·
I can't see Li beating Azarenka. Everyone hypes this match up so much, but in reality 2 of Li's 4 wins came in 2008/2009 when Vika was a mental headcase. The other 2 were in the first half of 2011 when Li was in her peak and Vika was slowly improving. Everything after that was all Vika which is far more relevant. Li is by no means an easy match up for Azarenka, but mentally, she has no chance vs her unless Vika is in tank mode.
 
#179 ·
In any case, the No.1 spot is irrelevant. Should Maria take it in Madrid, she would again lose it very fast like she has already done many times. There is no doubt about Serena being No.1 after the French Open considering she can't lose any points and Maria can't win any, so it's best to leave things where they are at.

What's more important is winning a title, whether it is Madrid, Rome or RG :cheer:
 
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