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~Clay Season 2012 []~

26K views 519 replies 48 participants last post by  Filo V. 
#1 · (Edited)
A preview of Jarkko's clay court season

As we all know, by this time of the year the European clay court season is just around the corner. After playing in the Davis Cup for Finland next weekend, Jarkko begins his preparations for the physically and mentally very demanding part of his yearly schedule, playing on the red clay. I have always considered this part of the tennis season as the most exciting one, clay court tennis is my favourite kind of tennis. Great tournaments such as Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome and Hamburg lead up to the big one, French Open, which I consider as the most difficult and most demanding Slam to win for any player.

Jarkko heads for the clay season after the best start of the year in his career. He won his first ATP title in Auckland and had the best result of his life in Masters Series tournaments in Indian Wells where he reached the quarterfinals. Jarkko is in career high ranking position of 22 (next week) and even the Top 10 isn't very far away. All in all, we can say that Jarkko is in the form of his life and he's in very good shape for the next challenges that await him.

Jarkko has always enjoyed good success playing on clay and the statistics prove it. Jarkko has a win/loss record of 106-43 on clay (including challengers) and he has reached 3 ATP finals on clay (Estoril, Mallorca, Munich) and won 4 challenger tournaments on the 'dirt'. His best showing so far in the French Open is from year 2003, when he lost in the 4th round to Fernando Gonzalez. Based on these facts it's safe to assume that Jarkko can have great success in the upcoming clay court season, if and when he stays healthy.

Next I will go through Jarkko's playing schedule tournament by tournament giving my own opinions on how Jarkko will do in each of these tournaments. Eventhough I'm a big fan of Jarkko, I try to be as realistic as I can in my predictions. It's a bit difficult to predict the results for a single tournament without knowing what kind draws Jarkko will get, but I will give it a go anyway.

Masters Series Monte Carlo, April 17-23
2005: did not play (0 points to defend)
Best result: 3rd round (2003)

The first clay court tournament of the year for Jarkko is immediately one of the most important ones. It's always tough to make the transition from hard to clay, but with the right kind of preparation I'm sure Jarkko won't have many problems in doing so. Jarkko has played this tournament three times before and never lost in the first round. There's a small chance that Jarkko could be seeded here, if many of the top ranked Americans don't show up like in the past years, which would improve Jarkko's chances considerably.

Prediction: a solid start to the clay season with a 3rd round defeat to one of the top seeds of this tournament (75 ranking points)

~1st round loss (5 points)

Barcelona, April 24-30
2005: 2nd round (15 points to defend)
Best result: 3rd round (2003)

After MC Jarkko heads to Barcelona for another fairly big tournament which has many tough players on it's entry list. Jarkko is very likely to be seeded here. After getting some much needed match practise on clay in the previous week, I expect Jarkko to do well in this tournament as long as he can avoid the likes of Nadal and Gaudio in the early rounds.

Prediction: a good run to the quarter finals where Nadal is still too strong for Jarkko (75 points)

~QF loss to Nadal (75 points)(look above :angel: )

Munich, May 1-7
2005: SF (75+? points to defend)
Best result: Runner-up (2003)

Jarkko has many times played some of his best tennis in Germany and Munich is a place where Jarkko has many good memories. Losing the 2003 Final to Federer and last year reaching the semifinals after coming through the quallies winning six matches in a row, are proof that this is one of Jarkko's favourite tournaments. Looking at the current entry list, it looks like Jarkko could very well be the second seed here with Coria as the top seed. I see no reason why Jarkko wouldn't do well in Munich.

Prediction: a second career title is a realistic possibility for Jarkko if everything goes to plan. semifinals at worst, but I have a feeling that Jarkko will come out on top here (175 points)

~SF loss to Vliegen (75 points)(damn that flu :fiery: )

Masters Series Rome, May 8-14
2005: did not play (0 points to defend)
Best result: 3rd round (2003)

If Jarkko has done well in the previous weeks in Munchen and Barcelona, he might arrive to the 'Eternal City' mentally and physically tired. Jarkko has only played once here reaching the 3rd round in 2003. The Masters Series draws are ruthless and there are no easy matches even in the first rounds, so this might be one of those rare bad tournaments for Jarkko.

Prediction: tired Jarkko will lose in the first round to some dangerous floater (5 points). if he's not that tired, a third round appearance is on the cards

~2nd round loss to Stepanek (35 points)(Jarkko still tired after the flu :( )

Masters Series Hamburg, May 15-20
2005: did not play (0 points to defend)
Best result: 2nd round (2003)

Back in Germany, this time for a Masters tournament and the last one before the French Open. After an early defeat in Rome, Jarkko will be again full of energy and fight for this one. A lot depends on the draws again, but this could be an ideal place to make inroads to the latter stages of a big tournament.

Prediction: 4th round or a quarter final for Jarkko in Hamburg (75-125 points). Federer will take Jarkko out this time, but not without a great fight

~3rd round loss to Davydenko (75 points)(Jarkko had a great chance here :sad: )

Roland Garros (The French Open), May 28-June 11
2005: 2nd round (35 points to defend)
Best result: 4th round (2003)

This is the climax of the clay court season. Here's where Jarkko wants to succeed the most and I'm sure he will be very well prepared for this 'adventure'. After a hopefully very good clay court season behind him Jarkko will be full of confidence in his ability to go far here. And I will be there to support him with many other 'vocal' Finns. :D

Prediction: If Jarkko can make it to QFs of the US Open, why not here? A heartbreaking 5-set loss to another surpriser Acasuso in the quarter finals after a great run of hard fought victories (250 points). Though he has to avoid Federer and Nadal for this to be possible

These are my predictions, I would now like to hear yours. Also any comments or corrections conserning the text are welcome. I hope the text isn't too long and some of you might even enjoy reading it. I look forward to many discussion in this thread about Jarkko's progress on clay.

Ville :wavey:
 
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#184 ·
Re: ~~Jarkko taking Munich by storm~The clay season in full swing now~~

Ok, I'm late... but Happy Birthday to you Ville! I hope Jarkko can keep on going this week and give you a title for a present :yeah:

:yippee: Jarkko... wish it could have been a bit more decisive, but a win is a win and I'm happy enough :)
 
#200 ·
Re: ~~Jarkko taking Munich by storm~The clay season in full swing now~~

Not a bad match by Nieminen, just one of those auto-pilot efforts on which he was able to dominate a 500-ranked irish team but against a confident and surprisingly multi-dimensional Vliegen there was no chance really. Games were close and Jarkko was able to make some excellent shots but his error count was also a bit higher than usual.

Vliegen continued his good form. He served well, was solid enough in his groundstrokes and sharp at the net. Even showed a couple of surprising passing winners and the occasional dropshot.

Enjoyable match, bad result.
 
#201 ·
Re: ~~Jarkko taking Munich by storm~The clay season in full swing now~~

I think Jarkko did have some problems with breathing. I remember some year in spring he have had same kind of problems. I don't think Jarkko is physically tired. And it would be stupid to miss Rome Masters because that is one of the most important tournaments of the year if Jarkko wants to top10. I'm sure he will play there.
 
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