Mana Games

[CHAPI]

WIMBLEDON (Grand Slam)
Well, low expectations for this one, after two back-to-back 3R exits at Slam events.
Seeded no. 14
R1: Marterer W 6/3 6/2 6/4
R2: Groth W 6/1 6/2 6/1
R3: Dimitrov (17) W 6/3 6/4 6/4
R4: Nadal (3) W 2/6 6/4 6/4 7/5
QF: Thiem (5) L 6/1 2/6 7/6(4) 6/3
Points won: 360
Rank: 13 (+1)

Recap: A sensational run to the last 8. A tournament of many firsts for me. A first Grand Slam second week of the season, a first win over Rafael Nadal, and a season-high ranking of 13. Couldn'y have wished for a better run at SW19. 3 solid straight-sets wins set up a showdown in the last 16 with the World no. 3. I knew this could happen from the moment I looked at the draw. Played him earlier in Rotterdam, only managed to scrap off 4 games in that one. But this was different, it was Wimbledon, a great opportunity since Nadal doesn't play at his best on the lawns. The opening set clearly prompted me to be more aggressive and to try everything to shorten the rallies as much as possible. Even if that meant making more errors. The consequences were great, got an early break in both the 2nd and 3rd sets and all of a sudden, I was in front 2 sets to 1. I started serving better and better, while Rafa's level took a slight drop toward the end of the fourth. I seized the opporunity to break and serve it out. Utterly sensational feeling.
In the end, Thiem was way too powerful for me in the quarters. He was very aggressive and didn't allow me to play my game, although I managed to steal a set and almost make it through. That 3rd set tiebreak was decisive.
Overall, very happy about the result. A fantastic way to end the grass season. Now, it's American hard courts time! And I decided to take a week off and play at Washington before Montreal.

[Burned]

Haha first time win in carrer over Nadal happens in 2019

Better late than never

Keep it up !

[CHAPI]

Haha first time win in carrer over Nadal happens in 2019

Better late than never

Keep it up !

HAHAHA lol, that's right Burned.
Thanks mate

[CHAPI]

WASHINGTON (500)
Major breakthrough (for the ranking at least).
Seeded no. 3
R1: BYE
R2: Rubin W 6/3 6/2
R3: Kudla W 6/4 6/1
QF: Khachanov (5) W 6/3 6/2
SF: Cilic (2) W 7/6(5) 6/7(9) 6/2
F: Fognini (4) L 6/2 6/3
Points won: 300
Rank: 10 (+3)

Recap: Mixed feelings after a fantastic run in Washington. First, great joy and satisfaction as I have finally broken into the top 10 for the first time this season. Thanks to some solid wins in this tournament. Straight-forward for the first two matches. Then a great win against no. 5-seeded Khachanov. In the last 4, one of my most thrilling victories, with probably the most intense set I have played this season. The 2nd set was decided by a marathon tiebreak that stretched to 11-9. Very tough to lose that set, because I had 4 match points. But very fortunately, I was able to get off to a fresh start in the 3rd set and roll into the final.
Ouch! The dream run ended in a bitter and cruel manner. An abrupt defeat to Fognini, 2nd time I lose against him this year. But this was different, barely was able to make an impact in this match. He destroyed me, as I was really struggling to finish the points against such amazing counter skills across the net.
Overall, a fantastic way to start the North American hard court summer and launch my US Open preparation. Next is Montreal.

[iopzzza]

Go on , i am reading this. Its very interesting. Soon i will make posts , about my simulation

[CHAPI]

Go on , i am reading this. Its very interesting. Soon i will make posts , about my simulation

Haha thanks man! Will be looking forward to your posts.

[CHAPI]

MONTREAL (1000)
First tournament as a top 10 player. Seeded no. 8
R1: BYE
R2: Mmoh W 6/3 6/1
R3: Cilic (10) W 6/2 7/5
QF: Wawrinka W 6/0 4/6 6/3
SF: Federer (2) W 3/6 7/5 6/1
F: Djokovic (1) W 6/1 7/5
Points won: 1000
Rank: 9 (+1)

Recap: SEN-SA-TIO-NAL. What a run! I don't know where to start. A very unexpected turn of events here. I played the tennis of my life against the toughest opponents. From the start, I knew a deep run was possible given the draw but never did I expect what happened. First two rounds were very good, very impressed with my performance against Cilic.
Then the last 8: a very narrow win against Stan in what was a very strange match. He started it very poorly but then all of a sudden came back firing in the second set. It all came down to the big points at the end of the deciding set: I went on a 12-point streak to close out the match and a very valuable victory. In the last 4, another Swiss await.
Roger got me totally in the opening set, very aggressive and efficient at the net. But then the second was very tight, I started to read better his approaches and got a very crucial break at 6-5 to steal the set. From there, he unexpectedly collapsed and leaked many errors. Momentum was on my side and all of a sudden I had a second shot at a Masters 1000 title.
But World no. 1 Djokovic was standing between me and a maiden Masters title. What a strange final it was though. It wasn't the same Djokovic that tore me apart in Madrid earlier, it was a very shallow version of the no. 1. He broke me to start the match but then, I went on to win the next 6 games. CRAZY! The second set was a rollercoaster ride, we broke each other many times until I got the crucial one late in the set. Just like against Federer. I served it out and clinched the title with a forehand volley winner. Unbelievable. Back-to-back wins against Federer and Djokovic, wow! But I have to admit that both were struggling, especially Djokovic whose game became very predictable and leaking errors.
Well, a fantastic week! Bring on Cincinnati

[CHAPI]

Just for the info: after a very unexpected run to the title in Montreal overcoming the top two seeds back-to-back, I have decided to increase the level of difficulty of the AI, by one sublevel (maybe 2, we'll see). It is now: Incredible 4

[yiph2]

wow, i barely won a masters with my own player with good stats at pro10...

[CHAPI]

wow, i barely won a masters with my own player with good stats at pro10...

Haha it's ok. If I may, which Masters tournament did you win?

[yiph2]

toronto

[CHAPI]

toronto

Oh haha, almost the same tournament

[CHAPI]

CINCINNATI (1000)
Seeded no. 7
R1: BYE
R2: Rubin W 6/3 6/3
R3: Alex Zverev (12) W 6/3 7/6(3)
QF: Khachanov L 2/6 6/4 6/3
Points won: 180
Rank: 8 (+1)

Recap: A good tournament. A good win against Zverev, which extends my H2H lead to 3-0 against him. A very tough defeat against Khachanov, he was unseeded and I had beaten him twice this season. So I definitely didn't see this coming. Managed to take the opening set comfortably but he came right back and cruised in the next 2 sets. Hurts to lose that way as I felt like I couldn't do much after the first set. Well, only played three matches here so I will play one more event before the US Open.

[CHAPI]

WINSTON-SALEM (250)
Last preparation for the US Open. Seeded no. 3
R1: BYE
R2: Rublev W 6/2 6/3
R3: Saville (16) W 6/2 6/1
QF: Edmund (8) W 6/3 4/6 6/3
SF: Khachanov (7) L 7/6(5) 6/3
Points won: 90
Rank: 8 (+0)

Recap: A nice run. Good to get some matches before the US Open. Two easy wins where I was able to play some agressive tennis before a tight win over Edmund. He was playing very agressive too so I just tried to settle at the back of the court with some long rallies and shorten the points from time to time with net approaches. It worked well, and I was able to close it out. In the semis, a disappointing straight-sets loss to Khachanov again. For the second time in two consecutive events, he beat me. He was very good, that opening set was so important. I had a 3-0 lead in the tiebreak but he came back and got me. Second set was fast, too much momentum on his side. One of the things I was disappointed about was not to be dangerous enough on the return. Barely had a couple og break points while he gave me a hard time on serve. Well, overall got what I wanted, a good tournament before the big one and a solid preparation for the US Open highlighted by the win in Montreal.
Next: the final Slam event of the year

[CHAPI]

US OPEN (Grand Slam)
Final Slam event of the season. Seeded no. 8

R1: Barrere W 6/3 6/1 6/1
Comfortable start to the tournament. Barrere is a solid player from the baseline but wasn't too difficult to get on top of the rallies as he tends to sit back behind the baseline a lot. Nice win and got some momentum going throughout the match
R2: Verdasco W 7/5 6/2 6/2
Very pleased with the straight-sets result. A very solid win. Verdasco was playing well in that opening set, it was crucial to win it as it made his level considerably drop for the rest of the match. Happy to get the win quickly
R3: Murray W 6/3 6/4 4/6 7/5
Well, I didn't know what to expect from Murray. He was ranked no. 60 but had some pretty decent skill stats. The whole match was close, very satisfying to control the first 2 sets with a break in each. That 3rd set was very frustrating to lose, because his level got much better all of a sudden and I still felt I was able to contain it but no, he broke me at 4-5 to steal the set. The 4th was tense, I stole the win with a late break. Just happy to get through to the second week, even though I didn't play my best tennis
R4: Thiem (9) W 2/6 7/6(3) 6/2 5/7 6/3
Wow. Quite an unbelievable and dramatic encounter. I was afraid he might beat me just like at Wimbledon when he completely dominated the first set. I managed to stay positive and fight in the second. Stole it with a great performance in the tiebreak. Super agressive tennis to win the tiebreaker 7-3 and that carried me into dominating the third set with an early break consolidated with another break later. I was up 2 sets to 1. But Dominic is a fighter on the court and he came back roaring in the fourth. Very tight and I was so disappointed not to get over the finish line. He broke me very late and served it out to take the match into a 5th. Anything could happen from there, but I managed to get into a strong start and seal a very valuable win. Into the last 8!
QF: Medvedev (16) L 7/6(6) 6/3 6/1
Second time I played him this season after losing in 3 sets in Montpellier at the beginning of the year. But this was different. I was confident about this quarterfinal. Looking back at it, I think the score doesn't reflect how tight the match was. The turning point was the first set, I should have won it: had two set points at 5-6 on his serve but couldn't close it out. An incredible tiebreak followed and he was better. Boom, I was down a set already. The second set was similar, it was balanced until at 3-4 I threw in a loose service game and he broke me and served it out. Boom, 2 sets down. I couldn't quite believe it. The 3rd set was expected, he carried plenty of momentum and broke me twice to seal the deal. So frustrated because I had my chances all throughout the match but I messed up every single time in the important moments.
Points won: 360
Rank: 6 (+2)

Recap: Well, a deep run nonetheless, and some good tennis. Overall, a good way to end the US Open series. Even though I still feel like I could have gone one round further if I had done things differently, I am looking forward to the final stretch of the season, which begins in Europe (either St. Petersburg or Metz) and then straight to Asia.