[megadeth]

that means roger will really have to play Basel now. i'm sure he would want to win it and not let nadal say "vamos" tere. not in his house for sure!

source: nadal's website

dream finals:

madrid: federer/ nadal
basel: federer/ nadal

if these match ups happen, it would be cool that they can gun at each other alternately in their home countries...

 

[guinevere_79]

This is weird. Nadal has already won five optional events, so winning in Basel would not improve his rankings. Plus, Nadal is also entered in the China event right? Is the Basel tournament worth more points than the other optionals Nadal has won?

Then again, Roger could also have five optional wins by then, if he prevails in Bangkok.

 

[jtipson]

Yes, it could improve his ranking, but not for long (Rafa has six optional slots until Bercy). It's more likely he wants practice indoors, which is his worst surface.

 

[alfonsojose]

Nadal's schedule is :retard: If he keeps playing that much ...

 

[star]

I think he is not scheduling with the idea of winning or getting into the finals each time.

Plus, he wants to make the race for number one closer.

 

[Alvarillo]

but Rafa will try to do the best in Madrid and if he reaches last rounds he'll withdraw from Basel!

 

[star]

I think that's probably true.

And then we can have a thread started here about how Nadal is avoiding Federer, etc. :lol:

 

[PamV]

Maybe he wants more experience on indoor hardcourt which will be the same as surface as TMC.

 

[Action Jackson]

Basel is actually carpet and the TMC will be hardcourt, though the ATP said it will be outdoors, then again it will only take 10 mins to make it indoors.

 

[Nimomunz]

Basel is actually carpet and the TMC will be hardcourt, though the ATP said it will be outdoors, then again it will only take 10 mins to make it indoors.

hows the weather in shanghai at that time of the year? wouldnt it be too cold?!

 

[jtipson]

Here's the information on the TMC surface: http://www.atptennis.com/en/common/...05ITW/ITW13.pdf

Unfortunately the tournament information on the ATP site still says outdoor hardcourt, and that's probably because it hasn't been updated from last year yet.

Someone on another site spoke with Greg Sharko in Cincy last week to confirm whether the roof would be open, and reported that Greg "wasn't 100% sure, but he was fairly sure the roof will remain closed during the whole event. They don't want the elements to impact the artificial carpet too much."

So it looks like it's going to be carpet, indoors.

 

[Skyward]

Plus, he wants to make the race for number one closer.

He's already filled out his 5 optionals.

 

[PamV]

Basel is actually carpet and the TMC will be hardcourt, though the ATP said it will be outdoors, then again it will only take 10 mins to make it indoors.

On Federer's site they listed Basel as indoor hardcourt. That's why I thought it was hardcourt. In any case it all adds up to experience. I wonder if any of this will be on Sports Stars?

 

[Scotso]

He's already filled out his 5 optionals.

Some optionals are worth more than others.

 

[oneandonlyhsn]

Rafa is crazy he is going to burn out

 

[Skyward]

Some optionals are worth more than others.

The best case scenario:

If he wins Basel, it'll give him only 15 points (50-35) in the race. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[jtipson]

The best case scenario:

If he wins Basel, it'll give him only 15 points (50-35). Correct me if I'm wrong.

It would give him 190 entry points though (assuming he doesn't pick up any in optionals before then)

 

[David Kenzie]

Even though he already has 5 optional wins, there is still a reason to play more : if he doesn't defend his optionals from the beginning of the year he'll still won't loose any points. Obviously this won't affect the year-end ranking but could become handy sometime during 2006.

 

[lucashg]

That doesn't sound like a lot of tournaments to "burn out", won't he play the exact same numbers of tournaments Federer will? Beijing, Madrid, Basel, Paris and Shanghai (except Federer will play Bangkok instead of Beijing)? Plus he needs the practice on what seems to be his worst surface (haven't seen him playing on indoors/carpet, but I thought his worse was grass) to do well in those events and constantly challenge for #1.

 

[ExpectedWinner]

That doesn't sound like a lot of tournaments to "burn out", won't he play the exact same numbers of tournaments Federer will? Beijing, Madrid, Basel, Paris and Shanghai (except Federer will play Bangkok instead of Beijing)? .

Federer played 19 tournaments (12 month period). Nadal-25. Someone like Davydenko and Puerta play 30+ tournaments.

http://www.atptennis.com/en/players/entrysystem/