Can the new boys on the block cause an upset? (Page 1 of 2)

My picks are for Raonic to advance and Dolgopolov to lose. Raonic's upset of Youzhny impressed me more than Dolgopolov's of Tsonga, and I've always thought Ferrer is a relatively week top 8 seed. As for Soderling, I feel he has a really good chance of winning the whole tournament, so I think he'll deal with Dolgopolov in straights.

I think Raonic has a decent chance of winning.......but it's probably gonna be Ferrer. As for Dolgopolov, I'm SO mad at him for being a surprise upsetter THIS tourney! He was my unseeded pick at the US Open after I saw his pretty impressive match against Tsonga at Wimbledon, which was a five setter. But he had to lose in the 1st round! If only I'd picked him again
But when it comes to the match itself, I think he's gonna get creamed.

That match was SO shocking...it propelled Dolgopolov to new heights. I look forward to seeing how he performs in the future.

How then do you explain the sets Soderling won? 6-1 is hardly a score one would win by if they were battling gusts of wind...

Soderling played progressively worse throughout the match as the wind took apart his game.

No, they're not mean feats.  Any time an unseeded player makes a run to the quarters of a Slam, they're doing something right.  When you beat two top players back to back to get there, it's even better.  Clearly Alex is a player on the rise. 

But I'll wager Robin Soderling is dying to get another shot at him -- and when he does, we'll see what happens, but I'm going to like Soderling in straight sets in that one, myself.

I'm not at all sure that any of those three will replace anyone at the top anytime soon.  If one of them does, I like Raonic over Dolgopolov -- and most certainly not Tomic over anybody.

My guess is we don't know the names yet of those who will displace Wawrinka and Monfils.  At least I don't.  Maybe you do. 

So step up and tell us the next generation, folks, if your crystal ball doesn't have fuzz in it!

Given the fact that Monfils is #12 already, it seems pretty bizarre to me to say he won't make the top 10.  I'm fairly sure he'll do it this year.

Nice call on Dimitrov.  He is impressive.

As for Monfils, consider the fact that he's French.  Name one French male player that has lived up to his potential other than Grosjean and Clement.  They're in love with God shots.  They refuse to play the odds.  They don't like training all that much.  They hate grinding matches out.  They're the anti-Spanish.  No wonder they win some big matches, but not many tournaments.

Monfils is for me the essence of that quintessential French unpredictability, even more than Gasquet -- God, did you see that! amazing! what's next? -- and it could be great or terrible, right?  Just wait, it will be both!  So it would take lightning striking at least thrice for him to actually win a major.  Highly unlikely.  But on his day he'll beat everybody.

Obviously, if Monfils wins a slam it will be less surprising than Noah's wonderful RG victory. 

It made Yannick such a legend in France that he became a big time rock star there and he still is.  Nice gig, that.  In some ways he reminds me of Rafter.  What a great guy!  His kid isn't half bad at basketball, either. 

Gael Monfils -- even with THE most classically wonderful French name ever -- will have to go a long way to catch up with Yannick Noah.

They share an uncommon athleticism.  And, of course, they do seem more like each other than either one does like anyone else, ever, for lots of reasons.  So there's also that....

Last edited by DonDenman (Feb. 9, 2011 7:06pm)

Monfils is #12 right now.  He doesn't have far to go to crack the top 10 again (he reached #9 in '09).  He only has to pass Youzhny and Melzer.  I certainly don't see how that's going to take a lucky draw at a major.     

Almost all players choke at one time or another, but I saw the Fognini match you referenced and Monfils definitely did not choke that match away.  Fognini played bravely and extremely well, and simply won it.  It was a tough loss for Monfils, to be sure, but in no way was it an embarassment.     

The truth is Monfils is already a better player than Noah ever was.  Of course, the game is a great deal more competitive now, and the field is FAR deeper than in Yannick's day.  That, together with the Rafa and Roger stranglehold on the Slams, is why it's really quite unlikely Le Monf will win a Slam. 

But if he did manage to pull it off, he might well become the same sort of cultural icon in France that Noah has been these many years.  If so, I hope Le Monf wears it as well as Yannick, but that would not be easy to do.

honestly, I feel like DelPo's career is over...he still hasn't bounced back after his injury, and really cannot play 100%.
and I stand by what I said on Dolgopolov; the guy recently made his first ATP final, which makes it clear to me that his quarterfinal run at the Aussie Open gave him a HUGE boost of confidence.
oh, and Raonic is on fire!!!