[rege]

Good news: Robby made it through Madrid qualies! Bad news: Robby is on track to meet Federer in the second round. I'm hoping Rog' will be a little rusty.

Also, I was on vacation this past week so... happy belated birthday, Robby!

A belated Happy Birthday to Robby here also But there is no way Federer is going to be that rusty At least Robby did win his first round Match

[idolwatcher1]

Hey rege and Mae! Like you both, I wish Robby a happy belated birthday!

Poor Robby!! I think this is the first time this year that he has won 3 matches in a row, and who does he meet for his fourth match? Well, anyways... hopefully Robby can look at the positive in all of this... whatever that may be.

I think this was the first tournament Robby has attempted to qualify for since 2003...and he breezed right through! I'm not sure he would have gotten past Melzer had he not just played two matches during the previous days. I've always felt he needed to work his way into a tournament to start getting into a more consistent rythym. He's just had way too much trouble doing that this year.

Robby has faced the top seed in Madrid the past two years, and he does it yet again this year! Shame he won't get a stab at someone other than the top seed, since this is just the 2nd round, and he will lose points with a loss...

Just one other thing... The match Robby played against Djokovic last week had to be one of the strangest matches I've viewed from a scoreboard! Robby broke Novak in the first game of the match, and I thought to myself, ok Robby, just hold serve! Robby was actually able to break Novak three times in the first set...The problem? He was serving at 41% and couldn't hold serve to save his life! That is, until after he went down a set and a break... in other words, once the match fell firmly into the hands of Djokovic, Robby actually started serving way better!... He served his first 5 aces in the 2nd set and suddenly served at 81% (WOW a 40% difference!)... But there's a catch! Now Robby had the opposite problem!... he couldn't reach a break point to save his life! even though he never lost a service game the rest of the match... I wanted to nickname him Robby "Bi-Polar" Ginepri

I just want Robby to play his best tomorrow (as I always do), because I just don't want Roger to roll over him, even though I fully expect Roger to win. At least Robby made it as far as he could!

[rege]

I'm a little worried about how the match against Federer is going to play out... read a news blurb that noted Robby had more unforced errors and fewer winners than his first round opponent. He can't be that sloppy (or even the teensiest bit sloppy, for that matter) against Roger.

Happily, I now have access to a TV at work that receives the Tennis Channel. Guess where I'll be spending my lunch hour

[idolwatcher1]

Originally Posted by rege

I'm a little worried about how the match against Federer is going to play out... read a news blurb that noted Robby had more unforced errors and fewer winners than his first round opponent. He can't be that sloppy (or even the teensiest bit sloppy, for that matter) against Roger.

Happily, I now have access to a TV at work that receives the Tennis Channel. Guess where I'll be spending my lunch hour

rege, tell me how it went! Were you able to see the match at work or not? I have not seen the match... but I know he did not play his absolute best. He was serving average in the first set and well below average in the 2nd set (44%)... he served only one ace while many of Roger's winners were service winners (including 11 aces, many of which came on crucial points). He had a lot of unforced errors in this match as well, but so did Roger.

Well at least the 1st Set was close score wise I didn't see the Match I already knew who was going to win To try to look on the bright side at least Robby finally got in a good run of Match play. That may do him some good in his next Tournament, if only he could get a decent draw

[rege]

Unless your name is Rafael Nadal and you're playing on clay, you're going to be the underdog against Federer... I was just hoping that Robby would play well and keep it close.

I wasn't able to watch the entire match from start to finish, but I saw most of it live (caught the parts I missed during the repeat after I got home) and thought Robby actually played pretty well . Yeah, his winners-to-errors ratio wasn't the greatest but his unforced errors weren't bad ones... it's not like he was overhitting or missing easy shots (I'm happy to report that not once did I find myself thinking " jeez, even I wouldn't have blown that one!").

Robby mixed up his serve pretty well and the announcers were constantly praising this tactic. I think his serve percentage was a little lower because he wasn't playing it safe... Federer had a fair amount errors when returning Robby's serve.

Also, it seemed like the crowd was behind Robby... but I couldn't tell if it was because they wanted him to win or for Roger to lose . Regardless, it was very sweet and seemed genuine.

Overall, Robby should be pleased with his performance today (he didn't look depressed when he was walking off the court!). He played the dominant #1 player and kept it competitive. He was serving pretty well and didn't make stupid mistakes. OK, Robby failed to convert on his break chances (including a double break in the 1st set!) but that's more Federer's doing than anything else... he has that annoying habit of playing even better when it's close.

Robby is in Basel. Can he defeat Jarkko?

[rege]

Originally Posted by Mae

Robby is in Basel. Can he defeat Jarkko?

I hope so!

Robby's playing an exhibition doubles match with James Blake on Monday, so I'm guessing his first round match will take place on Tuesday.

[Deboogle!.]

For some reason the main singles tourney in Basel never starts until Tuesday. Not sure why! Good luck Robby

[idolwatcher1]

Originally Posted by rege

Unless your name is Rafael Nadal and you're playing on clay, you're going to be the underdog against Federer... I was just hoping that Robby would play well and keep it close.

I wasn't able to watch the entire match from start to finish, but I saw most of it live (caught the parts I missed during the repeat after I got home) and thought Robby actually played pretty well . Yeah, his winners-to-errors ratio wasn't the greatest but his unforced errors weren't bad ones... it's not like he was overhitting or missing easy shots (I'm happy to report that not once did I find myself thinking " jeez, even I wouldn't have blown that one!").

Robby mixed up his serve pretty well and the announcers were constantly praising this tactic. I think his serve percentage was a little lower because he wasn't playing it safe... Federer had a fair amount errors when returning Robby's serve.

Also, it seemed like the crowd was behind Robby... but I couldn't tell if it was because they wanted him to win or for Roger to lose . Regardless, it was very sweet and seemed genuine.

Overall, Robby should be pleased with his performance today (he didn't look depressed when he was walking off the court!). He played the dominant #1 player and kept it competitive. He was serving pretty well and didn't make stupid mistakes. OK, Robby failed to convert on his break chances (including a double break in the 1st set!) but that's more Federer's doing than anything else... he has that annoying habit of playing even better when it's close.

Thanks rege! It's good to hear that he was playing well. I saw the highlights clip that was posted on YT. I noticed Robby definitely had the "fight" in him... He gave it the effort I was hoping he would!

If I was to get picky though, I think he could work on his footwork a bit more because there were times where he needed to be up on his feet ready to anticipate moving in any direction the ball could go, and his feet simply weren't ready to do that, which allowed Federer to take advantage. Also, he didn't put enough on some of his volleys... some of them floated over the net, and allowed Federer more than enough time to get to the ball and hit a winner of his own.

And of course, my pet peeve is Robby's 1st serve percentage... and I say this because Robby's success typically correlates with his first serve percentage. I think his confidence rides higher when he's able to hit a strong first serve in as opposed to having to rely constantly on getting a weaker second serve in, which can be more easily attacked. I am glad to know that he mixed up his serves well. Perhaps he was just trying to put too much on his first serve in attempt to get some free (or easy) points and it just didn't work out for him, I dunno... Some analysts suggest taking a little off the first serve in attempt to at least get them in the first time with still more pace than a second serve would usually go in. Overall, I'm glad he finally played 4 matches in a row though, good job, Robby!!

[idolwatcher1]

Robby will play the first match on center court! Good luck to him!!

Originally Posted by idolwatcher1

Robby will play the first match on center court! Good luck to him!!

I guess he needed more than luck Robby

[Deboogle!.]

Robby had a 2 break lead in the third set and served for the match twice

[rege]