Murray exit catches Del Potro off guard

Juan Martin del Potro spoke of his surprise that he would be facing Marin Cilic in the US Open quarter-finals and not world number two Andy Murray.

[jeanwsmith54]

Maybe fans should question his(Andy's) committment just as he did Venus and Serena's. Maybe his focus was somewhere else on the day of the game? Maybe he just didn't train hard enough. Who knows?

[Paul]

'Maybe fans should question his(Andy's) committment just as he did Venus and Serena's. Maybe his focus was somewhere else on the day of the game? Maybe he just didn't train hard enough. Who knows?'

It's funny: Johnny Mac made the valid point that perhaps Murray overtrained and therefore was low on energy. I think there may be some truth in this. He needs to learn how to peak at the right time for the majors. Cilic was great, but Murray really was poor.

[Isobel1407]

It's a real shame that Murray went out to Cilic, but the best man on the day definitely won it. I agree with Paul that he probably didn't peak at the right time this time, but i've still got hopes for him in the future. It's only a matter of time before he peaks at the right time and wins a slam.
It's also nice to have a genuine hope for British tennis!

Isobel
ACE Tennis Magazine
http://www.facebook.com/pages/ACE-Tennis-Maga...

[TMD]

Paul wrote:

It's funny: Johnny Mac made the valid point that perhaps Murray overtrained and therefore was low on energy. I think there may be some truth in this. He needs to learn how to peak at the right time for the majors. Cilic was great, but Murray really was poor.

I think Serena and Venus Williams, and to a lesser extent, Justine Henin had the right idea. Train less, train better. All of these players, along with some of the men on tour, have been complaining about their respective governing bodies requiring them to play in too many tournaments.

If you look at what happened in the US Open this year it is fairly obvious the women are just worn down and worn out. Even the men are starting to look really ragged. The tour's season is too long, and the players are required to play in too many tournaments.

If this continues there is going to be a mutiny by the players (most likely in the form of a strike) to get this changed. In the meantime, you will start seeing more and more upsets as the top RANKED players over-extend their bodies to maintain their rankings.

[Paul]

'If this continues there is going to be a mutiny by the players (most likely in the form of a strike) to get this changed. In the meantime, you will start seeing more and more upsets as the top RANKED players over-extend their bodies to maintain their rankings.'

I agree. But as usual: money talks. Tournaments generate revenue and the sponsors/TV stations want the players to be exposed as much as possible. One solution would be to reduce the number of hard court tournaments, since they cause the most injuries, but since quite a few of those are in the US where the money is, it's going to be difficult.

[TMD]

Paul wrote:

I agree. But as usual: money talks. Tournaments generate revenue and the sponsors/TV stations want the players to be exposed as much as possible. One solution would be to reduce the number of hard court tournaments, since they cause the most injuries, but since quite a few of those are in the US where the money is, it's going to be difficult.

I, and many of the tour players agree with your solution. However, I think the point system needs to be revised along with these tournaments. Many tour players have sponsorships and endorsement deals tied to their rankings.

I believe the points need to be more skewed to the larger tournaments and Slams, making it possible for a player to skip some of the smaller tournaments without losing their ranking. The benefits would be a "truer" ranking system with more rested players, and higher quality tennis, as the tour neared the end of the season.