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[BigNose]

Totally agree, although he would probably prefer to play someone other than Murray, he cannot risk a calculated tank because it could end up backfiring.  Just have to cross everything and pray that Andy whips Tsonga in two quick straight sets, that's all he can do, the rest is out of his hands.  No way Djoko will tank, he is too much a consummate professional plus he wants the ranking points to put distance between him and Fed.

He may not deliberately tank. Just not give a 100% to save himself for the semi-finals. And that could be enough for him to lose in 2 sets. Can Joker still fail to qualify?

[TheMadHatter]

He may not deliberately tank. Just not give a 100% to save himself for the semi-finals. And that could be enough for him to lose in 2 sets. Can Joker still fail to qualify?

If he loses in straight sets and Murray wins in straight sets.

I doubt he would risk top spot anyway. With no Nadal, it's quite significant this year.

[Emma Jean]

Prodigy, when will you have this match up? Thanks.

[tamila]

I personally do not think that Nole would tank it but who knows if he already knows the result.  He probably not want to be compared to Fed.  The formula I have been reading did not seem right, because if Andy beats Tsonga and Nole beats Berdych Andy would be through so I cannot see why Berdych winning last night was helpful to Andy.  Maybe I am being stupid.

[The Gnome]

Closing out a match when it's not on your racquet is not easy ya know especially against the world number 1

[Apollo]

 I did not see that last match, but I did watch the live update.  It seems to me that in any match where Andy is trying to consolidate a break that he gives the break back pretty often.  I mean he got back on serve yesterday and then couldn't hold to get the 6.  I guess I would like to see Andy be more consistent....not picking on him, but it would certainly help my nerves.

[Apollo]

I think that problem is the same with all tennis players, this is why it's important to try and stay with max focus for the whole match. We saw Djokovic do the same in the USO final when he worked his butt off to get back to 2 sets all then had nothing left in the tank, Andy did the same in the 3rd set yesterday, he worked hard to get back to 5-5 and then got to 15-30 on Nole's serve but did not manage to break him again, this left Andy i think a bit empty in the tank and he subsequently lost his serve.

I think he is improving a lot and of course the trick is not to get so behind in the final set in the first place, but i see both of them when they play each other requires their full attention as they seem to fluctuate a lot during a match as they both play so similar to each other, any drop of focus and it gets punished.

What i do find surprising is that usually between these 2, the player who wins the first set usually wins the match, the last 2 have been the opposite, Andy starts stonger but then finds it difficult to maintain it over the course of the match, i think Nole has picked up on this and this is why he has had the edge recently.

Thanks for your explanation...makes sense.

[*Sparkle*]

I think that problem is the same with all tennis players, this is why it's important to try and stay with max focus for the whole match.

True.  When you read fan reports and discussions of other matches, the better player is often described as having had a "brain fart" as an explanation of why the supposed lesser player managed to break, or simply that they went off the boil for a bit etc. 

Maintaining full concentration and top level throughout the match is something they all aspire to, but the nature of the sport means that's not always possible, especially when you are under pressure from another top player.  It's frustrating if it results in a loss, and moreso if it's against a lower ranked player.  Andy needs to work hard to make it happen as little as possible, but there's no point in the rest of us getting over-anxious, and particularly pointless using examples from when he was ill to predict a trend.