Picking the Barclay Winners: Part 3
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Only a turkey would pick against Nadal three straight times!
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So the lesson learned after four days of the ATP Finals for me is: Stop picking against Rafael Nadal.
He's too good and he's too focused, and he's 2-0, meaning that I'm only 8-2 in my picks through the first two round of round-robin play.
Today's choices are mighty interesting, the final fate of Group B on the line.
Thursday, Nov. 25
Roger Federer (2-0) vs. Robin Soderling (1-1): Soderling hasn't done much for me since winning at Paris, and I fully expect Federer to take him down today. On the other hand, it's do-or-die time for Soderling, who would fall to 1-2 here and be out of the competition unless Ferrer can upset Murray. Even though he's famous for his French Open quarterfinal takedown of King Fed, I think Soderling just doesn't have the muscle to overtake the GOAT with so much on the line. Federer knows that if he wins this, it puts him squarely back in the limelight heading into next season. Winner: FEDERER
Andy Murray (1-1) vs. David Ferrer (0-2). Well, I hate to say I told you so, but Ferrer looks like the proverbial deer in he headlights. He hasn't won a set yet, and has lost 26 of 41 games. Not a great way to end the season. If he doesn't pull this one out, he goes home with zero points gained and zero dollars in his pocket. If he does win, and Federer destroys Soderling, things would get interesting with a three-way tie-breaker needed to determine the second seed from Group B. Murray wins and he's in, having beaten Soderling head-to-head to take the tie-breaker should the Swede beat the Swiss. Winner: MURRAY
Friday, Nov. 26
Rafael Nadal (2-0) vs. Tomas Berdych (1-1): Kudos to Berdych for coming back from a miserable first match to defeat Andy Roddick on Tuesday. It keeps him firmly in the hunt to reach the semifinals. But Nadal has proven he's a very different animal, going 2-0 despite not playing in a while, and racking up 29 games won, the most of any competitor in the field. He's hit 71 wins for the year now, and seems to be absolutely unstoppable. I'm finally on the bandwagon. Winner: NADAL
Novak Djokovic (1-1) vs. Andy Roddick (0-2): The Djoker fought Nadal hard, but it was the same story as the US Open final. Too much, too good. That's OK though, because Djokovic won the match he had to against Berdych, and now has Roddick, 0-2 and across the pond during one of the biggest American holiday weekends of the year, probably wishing he had finished ninth and could enjoy time off with his family. This should be a cakewalk. Winner: DJOKOVIC
What's on your mind? Post a comment below.
Posted by Nick on 11/25/2010 8:36:35 AM
Filed under: a-rod, atp, barclays, berdych, championship, djokovic, federer, ferrer, murray, nadal, novak, rafa, rafael, robin, roddick, roger, soderling, tomas
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