Both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will be in second-round action at their respective tournaments on Thursday. Djokovic is facing Ivo Karlovic in Doha and Federer his kicking off his 2015 campaign in Brisbane against John Millman.
Qatar ExxonMobil Open: (1) Novak Djokovic vs. (7) Ivo Karlovic
Djokovic and Karlovic will be going head-to-head for just the third time in their careers and for the first time since 2008 when they collide in the Doha quarterfinals on Thursday. They split a pair of encounters that came seven years ago, with Djokovic prevailing 7-6(3), 6-3 on the clay courts of Hamburg before Karlovic scored revenge a few months later via a 7-6(4), 7-6(5) decision on the indoor hard courts of Madrid.
Both men are off to strong starts this week. Djokovic destroyed both Dusan Lajovic and Sergiy Stakhovsky by 6-2, 6-1 scorelines to book his spot in the last eight. Karlovic has taken out Lukas Rosol (7-6(4), 6-3) and Nikoloz Basilashvili (7-6(3), 6-3). In two matches, the 6’11” Croat has combined for 46 aces without a single double-fault. More of the same should help him be competitive, but Djokovic has won 14 matches in a row–all on hard courts–dating back to last October.
Pick: Djokovic in 2 with 1 tiebreaker
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Brisbane International: (1) Roger Federer vs. (WC) John Millman
Djokovic has already played four matches this week (two singles and two doubles in Doha), while Rafael Nadal has already contested three (one singles and two doubles, also in Doha). Federer, thanks in part to a first-round Brisbane bye, has not yet begun. But the second-ranked Swiss will get down to business on Thursday for his first tournament appearance since withdrawing from the World Tour Finals championship match. An in-form Federer captured titles in Shanghai and Basel, went undefeated in London prior to the injury, then helped Switzerland to its first-ever Davis cup triumph.
Next up for the No. 1 seed is Millman, who has been positively on fire. The 25-year-old Australian has won 22 consecutive sets dating back to last fall, a stretch that includes two Challenger titles and a 6-3, 6-1 rout of Rhyne Williams on Monday. Of course, this will be a massive step up in competition for a player that registers 153rd in the rankings and has played only 10 career ATP-level matches (3-7 record).
Pick: Federer in 2 losing 5-7 games
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who ya got?
first-set tiebreaker
set Karlovic
Will we see a headline: Djokovic stunned by Karlovic?
Snap @nadline!
This upset is more of a shocker than Rafa’s for me because Novak is in the groove (right??). However, I expect the excuse will be he is still carrying a fever.
no
No to what Ricky? No, he is not in the groove or no the fever excuse does not work?
no to I’m not blogging about Novak’s loss like I did after Rafa’s.
not necessary because his fans aren’t freaking out.
Ricky Dimon
January 8, 2015 at 4:46 pm,
So, you purposely irritate Rafans!
did you not read that article?
“not necessary because his fans aren’t freaking out.”
Nice try, Rickster. Firstly, not surprised you did not see any Novak fans freaking out………there aren’t any on Tenngrand! Secondly, I didn’t see any freaking out by Rafans on Rafa’s loss this time around, thought everyone was quite sanguine………
Twitter, other websites, etc.
TennGrand isn’t everything–unfortunately for me!
the apocalypse was definitely in full force on Twitter
perhaps it was more of his haters’ tales of his demise, which was to be expected. but there was definitely some Rafan doom and gloom.
Exactly! It was Fedfan pundits and haters who saw a silver lining in Rafa’s loss who set the web ablaze……………..
So Ricky, you give Novak a free pass. 🙂
nope
I hope to see headlines: World No.1 stunned by to 35-year-old (almost 36) journeyman.
Correction:…World No.1 stunned by the 35-year-old (almost 36) journeyman.
Novak doesn’t need an excuse. That was a world class serving performance from the best in the business. Still, to say I’m surprised would be an understatement! But I’m not sure anyone could have beaten him today.
that was a world-class tennis performance
anyone who calls Karlovic a serve-bot is laughable
Rafa on one leg can beat Dr. Ivo……….
he wouldn’t beat Ivo on 3 legs right now
What? A world class performance? Please tell my you are joking!
No excuses!
Novak lost to a journeyman player. ‘Nuff said!
I’m sure you’re right Ricky, I didn’t actually see the majority of it, just the middle of the first set and the odd game or two later on. But yes, Ivo is much more than a serve. I saw him play Dimitrov in Paris last year and he put in a sensational all round performance…and that was on clay!!!
2015: the year of the doctor
I hope I don’t feel under the weather any time soon. He doesn’t have the softest hands!
^^Well played, @createdsick……
Rafa delivered Djoko a breadstick. In doubles.
Nadal beat Djokovic 76 61 in doubles.
OK Ricky, How about ‘Nadal stuns Djokovic in straight sets, 76 61?
Nadal/Monaco were favored
MoNadal feeds Team Novak a breadstick in the dubs!
Vamos Rafa!
Rafa’s partner in his previous doubles match against Djoko was Francisco Roig – Rafa’s coach, who is currently with Rafa in Doha:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B62P_R1IEAESypC.png
augusta08, you are priceless. 🙂 Does that mean Nadal leads Nole 2:0 in doubles?
I found this in the Twitter World:
https://twitter.com/Dimonator/status/553255616269914113
there it is
yes, with partners of a combined age of 72
^^O.M.G., Ricky, this is brutal………..you are now persona non grata in Serbia, lol.
C’mon @hawkeye63, this tweet deserves posting on tennis-x blog
Sorry RITB, I have to choose my battles there carefully. They are reserved for fed fanatics.
Ricky, I haven’t laughed so much in years.
to that tweet?
Increasingly, I am finding it difficult to tell Novak fans and Fedfans apart. Both seem united in dissing Rafa these days, I wonder why????
#Rhetorical
The Fedole Fan Venn Diagram is pretty much just two overlapping circles other than a barely perceptible sliver of unique Nole fans otherwise known as Serbians.
Rafa’s in a final! *chortles*
Congratulations to Rafa and Monaco for their doubles victory!
Thank goodness Rafa has a chance to keep playing!
Yes indeed!
Agreed!
!!!!!
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Tenngrand has arrived, it now has its own resident troll! You just knew it had to come with Novak losing to a one dimensional serve-bot with the BH of a club player, and Rafa getting into a final……………….
#Isuspectheorsheisatennis-xrefugee