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Sep/12

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Sunday Match of the Day, Dolgopolov vs. Stan


Sunday’s Match of the Day is a tip to Scoop and his fondness for Dolgopolov. Mr. Alexandr plays the suddenly-hot Stanislav Wawrinka in a third round match. Remember what is at stake. If you choose the correct winner of each Match of the Day–and you skip one, so for those out you who want to enter with the Dolgo-Wawa match, just post your pick–you win “Break Point” and “Marcelo Rios–The Man We Barely Knew.” Come on, really, that’s like Paul Ryan receiving “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead” for you tennis-lovers.

Ok, a little background on Dolgo and Wawa–they’re separated in the rankings by 4 spots (Dolgo at No. 15 and Wawa at No. 19) and they’ve played each other exactly once, last year on clay and Dolgo won 4 and 6. Dolgo has one of the most electric forehands in the game and Wawa has one of the top-5 one-handed backhands. The best slam showing for both guys was one quarterfinals appearance, both at the Australian Open (which I don’t want to rile the Aussies reading this blog and say is the most inconsequential slam, but there you have it). Finally, they both have bad cases of acne.

So there you have it, everything you need to know to make an educated pick on Dolgo and Wawa. Who’s it going to be?

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12 comments

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 2, 2012 at 2:11 pm

    I like Dolgopolov by a nose in this one, he seems to be really ready for this tournament, looking sharp so far. Stan will make it a battle but I see the Ukrainian getting by in four or five tough sets, and then the stage will be set for the big rematch with Djokovic who looked extremely frustrated and bothered by Dolgo’s game last year in their famous Armstrong encounter with the longest tiebreak in US Open history (which was eclipsed just days later by Stosur-Kirilenko on grandstand). Stunned to see Sam go down to Berd, last time they played at the Open, Sam crushed Berd 62 62 62 on grandstand.

  • Mitch · September 2, 2012 at 3:14 pm

    Dolgopolov in 4. The Berdych win isn’t a surprise; he crushed Querrey last week in North Carolina.

  • Dan Markowitz · September 2, 2012 at 10:41 pm

    Ladies and Gents, no one knows more about tennis than Andrew Miller so far in our Match of the Day Contest. Andrew is the only one who picked Wawrinka over the Dog and Stan “the man” came through today in straight sets. The moral of this story, Scoop and Mitch, who chose the Dog, is never bet on the dog in any match of major consequence. He’s a showman, an occasional great player, but not a consistent slam winner.

    Andrew also got the Raonic over Blake pick so he’s 2 for 2. Can he keep it up and win the big prize in the Tennis-Prose.com Match of the Day Contest. Stay tuned…

  • Michael · September 2, 2012 at 10:57 pm

    Look like a Tank in the 3rd.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 3, 2012 at 12:18 am

    Well done Andrew, you are reading matches like a guru. Maybe tuning into Tennis-prose regularly has paid dividends to your tennis acumen. Dolgo is a hard guy to predict, he can almost lose to Cippola or make Djokovic looks disoriented and awkward a few days later. Wawrinka could be trouble for Djokovic, he has given him some tough matches. You know Fed will be helping Stan, just like he did at the OLY.

  • Andrew Miller · September 3, 2012 at 12:58 am

    Dan and Scoop: I can’t believe it. I will hope to keep the momentum for the next pick. I called against Dolgo because of the streakiness – he will either shock a player with shots they didn’t know exist or shock a linesperson or ballkid with how close his wayward shot came to smacking them. Stan is a pretty steady player who has a nifty magic trick of turning into a doormat when he plays his compadre Federer.

    My match luck thus far is completely attributed to Tennis-Prose. My next one I will dedicate to Roddick in honor of being the atlas of U.S. ATP tennis for 10 years strong.

  • Michael · September 3, 2012 at 2:37 am

    It was a snoozefest at the USO today.

    I went back and forth between Armstrong and GS and never made it to Ashe at all. The only interesting match that I saw all day was Bartoli-Kivitova.

    The bathroom behind the North side of the baseline is so unpleasantly humid it feels like a sauna.

    The concession between Armstrong and GS was once again taken by surprise that a tennis tournament would be occurring onsite today because they ran out of Gatorade, chicken fingers and other assorted crap that they pass off as food.

    I’m once again amazed not one of those idiots hanging their iPhones over the Armstrong overhang with one hand has dropped it and seriously injured someone. It’s coming. You heard it from me last year and nothing has changed.

    OK, a positive at this year’s open. No question whatsoever the word went down to the yellow shirts to CHILL. They seem much less apt to hassle people this year. People should be allowed to ring Armstrong. Especially on the baselines where they can’t block the middle-aged women from Roslyn that came out to see “Kim” and doesn’t want you blocking one inch of her sight line.

    Dolgo. What a disappointment. Can we start writing off players. Who cares how flashy they are (Dolgo) or how good they look at some 500 event. Dolgo/Tomic/Dimitrov. If Murray doesn’t win I might be done with him too. I’m tired of making excuses for him. Nadal is absent. Fed is 31. Joker hasn’t been playing at his 2011 level. If not now for Murray when ? After Fed and Nadal retire ?

    Now after I wrote that Milos will upset Murray. Milos appears to be the real deal.

  • Andrew Miller · September 3, 2012 at 3:53 am

    Milos is definitely hungry. Beating Murray of last year may have been in the cards – this year’s Murray does not lose early. It’s semifinals or better at slams unless it’s on red stuff.

  • Michael · September 3, 2012 at 4:49 am

    I see no reason Murray can’t win The French as well as the others. He moves well and has a complete game.

  • Dan Markowitz · September 3, 2012 at 9:05 am

    Murray’s not a great clay court player. He’s never been a major threat at the French. I still think Murray’s task is very stiff. In order to win here, he’s got to go through Fed and Joker. Not an easy draw. That being said, he hasn’t played real well since the Olympics. I think it will take a herculean effort to win this event by Murray. Djoko and Fed have looked much cleaner so far.

  • Michael · September 5, 2012 at 4:50 am

    “Murray’s not a great clay court player.”

    Yes, he is is great clay court player. And so is Fed. Nadal is the best ever. Djoker is pretty darn good on the stuff as well.

    Murray has a complete game. He can win on all surfaces.

  • Michael · September 5, 2012 at 5:00 am

    It’s hard to evaluate Fed at the USO. Unlike Murray (Milos) he’s not had to play a quality opponent yet. Unlike Scoop, I think not playing Fish was not in Fed’s favor; I’m of the it’s better to play then not to play school.

    I saw a grand total of 10 minutes of Joker at this years USO (today v. Stan) but he sure looked sharp. The great ones peak at the right times so I expect Joker to only improve and roll through to the finals. Murray does have the tougher trip but I think he will make it too. Will he have enough in the tank to prevail over Novak is the question.

    Last year I was hot on Fed to win W or USO. This year he wins W and I’m thinking can a guy 31 win W and USO ? Don’t think so.

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