The Dynasty Open (Let's PLAAY Tennis)

[SirFozzie]

So, as a thing to keep my interest in the next few weeks, when I will be limited to what I can do (have no transporation), I picked up Plaay.com's "Let's PLAAY" Tennis, which comes with a set of 108 stars of the 2000's, as well as an additional 2022 stars set:

To try it out I will be using the 108 card stars of the 2000s set: I will be playing through a tournamentusing the cards.. now, that's a lot of matches, so what will be doing is using the tournament quickplay mode to get us down to the round of 16, use the "For the Set" method to determine the Round of 16 and round of 8 players, and then probably point by point for the semis and the finals.

First thing we have to do is to determine the top 4 seeds:

They are:

Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic
Rodger Federer
Andre Agassi

The top three were all listed as 1-A, while Agassi and a couple others were listed as 2-A's (Andy Murray amongst them) I randomly decided to make Agassi the last top seed, because, well, Image is everything ( I may have missed the last 1-A in the stack, if so, there will be a surprise!)

The other 104 cards get divided randomly into four stacks, in which the top four seeds are distributed and shuffled: Each stack is then divided into 2 substacks (so you'll have 8 sub stacks, 4 of them will have a top seed in there.)

We then roll dice to see who advances through the early rounds (top seeds generally auto advance, but it's not unusual for them to go through)

Players are rated on abilities (Forehand/backhand, volley, serve, etcetera) as well as their preferred surface (top players are good on all three, others may be clay, grass, hard court specialists, or two of three. We're playing on a hard court here.

[SirFozzie]

For each substack, we roll 2d6, and read them with the lower number first, so roll of 2+4 is read as 24, not 6. From that, we look at the Tournament table. Depending on the roll, we will advance 4 cards to the round of 32, in three steps.

First 0-4 random cards, then 0-4 cards based off surface mastery, and finally 0-4 cards based off their tournament ratings (the lower the letter-number combo, the better, 1-A being best):

For example. that roll of 24 would see no random players go through, two players with surface mastery go through (random draw amongst surface mastery if there are more than that, and random draw from the whole substack if there's less than that) and then the top two players based on tournament rating would go through.


Substack 1-A: Roll of 55:

Well, that's going to be interesting: It's 0 random, 0 from Top players, and all Four based off court mastery.

So, we go through Substack 1-A for all players who have HARD court mastery.

Going through, we find only one card that has HARD court mastery: Lleyton Hewitt, so he's through to the round of 32.

I'm using Google's Pick a number to generate the other 3:

pick a number - Google Search

There are 13 remaining cards, so three rolls, and we have our Round of 32 qualifiers from this substack:

Substack 1-A

Lleyton Hewitt (2-C rated, Qualification: HARD court)
Guillermo Coria (4-A rated, Qualification: Random (Card 9)
Max Mirnyi (6-B rated, Qualification: Random (Card 3)
Amdreas Seppi (6-C rated, Qualification: Random (Card 5)


Noteable Eliminations (Note: This is more like: People I've actually heard of, being a casual tennis fan):

Richard Gasquet (4-A)
Marcos Baghdatis (4-C
Stan Wawrinka (3-C)
John Isner (3-C) (awww: there will be no mega long tournament matches.. good!)
Dominic Thiem (3-B) (the best rated tournament player amongst the eliminations!, if even one pick come out of the top rated players, he would have advanced, but nope!

Fozzie Note: Well, that's going to be a pretty easy draw for Hewitt, he's the best player amongst the four from Substack 1-A remaining

[SirFozzie]

Substack 1-B: Roll of 26 (Draw 1 of Surface, Pick 3 Top Players)

Step 1: Random (0) Skipped

Step 2: HARD Court mastery (1)

There are three players with Hard Court specialty in group 1-B

Rafael Nadal, Milos Raonic and Yevgeny Kafelnikov: one of these three will advance to the round of 32 at this step, the other two will go back into the pile for the three top players: I randomly select: Rafael Nadal!

Step 3: Players by Top Tournament Ranking (3)

Raonic is the only player in this substack with a 2-C rating (Nadal's of course is 1-A), so he's the second qualifier to the round of 32. We have three players with a Tournament rating of 3-B, so we have to randomly choose one player to miss out on the round of 32, and the other two will advance.

The Qualifiers from substack 1-B

Rafael Nadal (1-A, qualification: HARD Court)
Milor Raonic (2-C, Qualification: TOP)
Wayne Ferreira (3-B, Qualification: TOP)
Yervgeny Kafelnikov (3-B, Qualification: TOP)

Notable Eliminations:
Felix Auger-Aliassime (3-B, the unlucky loser out of the three way draw for 2 spots)
Marin Cilic (3-C, missed out on the random draw at HARD)
Mardy Fish (4-B, noted celebrity golf champion)
Juan Carlos Ferrero (4-A)

Fozzie Note: Interesting, Nadal still should advance, but it's not a given, that's a tough pod in the round of 32)

[SirFozzie]

Substack 2-A: Roll 23: 1 Random, Pick 3 Top Players)

Grigor Dimitrov (4-A) gets the lucky draw for Random
David Ferrer (3-A, Qualification: TOP)
Jo Wilfried Tsonga (3-A, Qualification: TOP)
Robin Soderling (3-B, Qualification: TOP)

Notable Eliminations:

David Nalbandian (3-B) Lost Coinflip for last spot in TOP)


Fozzie Note: Very Tight draw. Not a ton of star power, but a lot of good solid players, one could generally see any of the players go through

[SirFozzie]

Substack 2-B (Roll: 16, two Random, 2 Surface)

Fozzie Pre-note: Oooh, no top players (although generally they may still qualify in the surface). There's been some chaos in this substack potentially)

Checking the stack, there are only two players with HARD Court Mastery, so they're very glad they don't have to go to a roll off to advance

Pablo Careeno Busta (4-B) (Qualification: RANDOM)
Andrei Pavel (7-A) (Qualification: RANDOM)
Novak Djokovic (1-A) (Qualification: SURFACE)
Tim Henman (3-C) (Qualification: SURFACE)

Noteable Eliminations:
Gustavo Kuerten (3-B)
Younes EL Aynaoui (4-B)

Fozzie Note: Wow, Djokovic must have had some scares in the early rounds, if there had been any other Hard Court Masters, he'd have to go to a roll off to get to the round of 32. But he's the clear favorite to advance and Andrei Pavel is probably getting a nosebleed because he's never been this deep in a high ranking tournament ever.

[SirFozzie]

Substack 3-A (Roll: 14, 0 Random, 3 Surface, 1 Top Player)

There are exactly 3 HARD Court Specialists, including overall #1 seed Roger Federer, so they'll advance, and the last spot, goes to a 4-A player (If this had been 2-A, there would have been five or six players ahead of them in the tournament ranking, so, pretty lucky!)

Rodger Federer (1-A) (Qualification: SURFACE)
Tommy Haas (4-A), Qualification: SURFACE
Nick Kyrgios (4-A), Qualification: SURFACE)
Marat Safin (4-A) (Qualification: TOP)

Notable Eliminations:
James Blake (4-B)
Thomas Enqvist (5-B)

Fozzie Note: Federer has to have the advantage, but at least two of the other three in this pod have to have at least a puncher's chance on a hard surface)

[SirFozzie]

Substack 3-B (Roll: 36, Random 3, Surface: 0, Top: 1)


Ooh, looks like some chaos here, with three random and the best player remaining advancing.

Thomas Johansson (5-B) RANDOM
Cameron Norrie (4-A) RANDOM
Greg Rusedski (5-A) RANDOM
Tomas Brdych (2-C), TOP

Notable Eliminations
Casper Rudd (2-C, Lost Coinflip for TOP)
Kei Nishikori (3-A), Gael Monfils (3-B) Both who HARD Court specialty but got screwed by the roll meaning no surface advances.

All Europe players advancing in this pop, 2 from Great Britain, one from Sweden, and the final from Czechia. Some top players missed out of this pod.

[SirFozzie]

Substack 4-A: Roll 45 (Random 1, Surface 2, Top: 1)

Viktor Troicki (5-C) RANDOM
Andy Murray (2-A) SURFACE
Danill Medvedev (2-B) SURFACE
Andre Aggassi (2-A) TOP

Notable Elimination:
Juan Martin Del Potro (2-B)
Sebastian Grosjean (4-B)
Denis Shapovalov (4-B)
Carlos Moya (3-C)

Fozzie Note: THE POD OF DEATH., at least to start. As I sad, there was one spot from Random, which was fine: When I went through the stack, my eyes widened at who was in this pod.

Agassi (2-A), Murray (2-A), Medvedev (2-B), Del Potro (2-B) all Had hard court mastery. Two of them would advance on Surface on a random draw, the other two would compare tournament ratings and if they are tied, random draw. So, it was quite conceivable that Agassi or Murray could be upset before the round of 32! Murray and Medvedev got the two spots from Hard Court, which left Agassi and Del Potro for the final spot, with Agassi just a little bit better.

Del Potro has to be the biggest name to miss out on the round of 32 so far.

[SirFozzie]

Substack 4-B: Roll 36: (Random 3, Surface 0, Top 1)

Hooboy, here we go again. what's with this quarter of the draw being, you know, insane?

Alexander Zverev (2-B, RANDOM)
Ivo Karlovic (5-A, RANDOM)
Janko Tipsarevic (5-B, RANDOM)
Andy Roddick (2-A, TOP)

Notable Eliminations:
Stefanos Tsitsipas (2-B)
Matteo Berrettini (3-C)
Jiri Novak (4-C)

Yeah, add Tsitsipas to the list of surprising eliminations. That whole quarter was so lopsided that when the draw was made, the reaction must have been some kind of "You wot, mate?"

[SirFozzie]

Round of 32: We will be pairing off players randomly from their respective substack. We're playing in "For the Set-No-Rally" mode, which will simulate a whole set in a few dice rolls, but takes player abilities into consideration

First, I roll 2d6 (lowest read first) to determine the qualities that are being tested this set, and compare the players. depending on their abilities, I roll on a table depending on the qualities difference (normal abilities count 1, underlined abilities count 2 (I'll post underlined abilities in CAPS, and roll on a different table depending on the difference in qualities, that will take us to someone is playing for the set (IE, has won five games in the set). From there, we roll to see how the set turned out:

Substack 1-A Round of 32 match 1:

Lleyton Hewitt (2-C, Forehand, BACKHAND, volley, ENDURANCE, hard court)
Max Miryni (6-B, forehand, backhand, volley, footwork)

Note Hewitt has footwork, but only on grass courts, while Mirnyi's footwork only is hardcourt, and he also has savvy, but for grass courts only)

Set 1: 2d6, read lower/higher Qualities tested (44): Footwork, Surface): Advantage: Even (Hewitt: Hard, Miryni: Footwork (Hard))

For the Set: 2d6, read total (11) Higher Seed (Hewitt) Leads 5-1 (Hewitt)
No-Rally: 2d6, read total:5 (Hewitt wins 6-4)

Set 2: (12) Forehand/Backhand: Advantage: Hewitt (Small) (Hewitt: forehand, BACKHAND, Mirnyi forehand, backhand, 3-2)
For the Set: (7), Advantage (Hewitt) leads 5-4
No-Rally: 9 Hewitt Wins 6-4

Set 3: (34) Volley/Footwork: AdvantageL Miryni (small) (Hewitt: volley, Miryni volley, footwork (hard), 1-2)
For The Set: 6 (Advantage Miryni leads 5-4)
No-Rally: 5 *Unpredictable RESULT*

Note: For Unpredictable Result, we check a new set of abilities and another table. Generally, this is the way an underdog can win a set trailing coming into this roll)

Unpredictable Abilities: (35, Volley, Endurance) Moderate Advantage: Hewitt (Volley, ENDURANCE) 3-1 Mirnyi (volley)
Result (2d6): 11 (Hewitt wins 7-5)

Final Result: Lleyton Hewitt defeats Max Mirnyi, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5

[SirFozzie]

Subsstack 1-A Round of 32 match 2:

Guillermo Coria (4-A, FOOTWORK, ENDURANCE) vs Andreas Seppi (FOOTWORK, endurance)

Note: Coria is missing forehand, SAVVY, and CLAY, because he is a clay court specialist), Seppi has no missing abilities due to court. So this looks to be a long drawn out game with lots of long rallys)

Set 1: (23-Backhand-Volley) (Advantage: EVEN) For the Set 8 ) Coria (higher seed) leads 5-4, result: 8 (Coria wins Set 7-5)

Set 2: (14-forehand-Footwork (Advantage: EVEN), For the Set (3): Seppi (Lower Seed) leads 5-1), Result: 6 (Seppi Wins Set 6-4)

Set 3: (23-Backhand-Footwork) (Advantage: EVEN, For the Set (10): Coria (Higher Seed) leads 5-2, Result:11 (Coria Wins Set 6-2)

Set 4: (45-Footwork, Endurance) (Advantage: Coria: Small (4-3) For the Set: (9) Coria (Advantage) leads 5-2, Result: Coria wins Set 6-2

Final: Guillermo Coria beats Andreas Seppi 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2

[SirFozzie]

Substack 1-B
To cut down on the number of extraneous numbers, I'm just going to list everything out without putting the dice rolls in (still rolling, just not going to put everything in

Match #1:
Wayne Ferreira (3-B, forehand, VOLLEY. savvy, -footwork (Grass)
vs
Milos Raonic, FOREHAND, volley, FOOTWORK, savvy, hard court, -grass court)


Set 1: Endurance-Savvy (equal), Raonic (higher seed) led 5-1, final: Raonic 7-5

Set 2: Volley-Savvy (Advantage: Ferreira (Small)) Ferriera led 5-4, final: Ferreira 6-4

Set 3 Volley-Endurance: (Advantage: Ferreira (Small), Ferreira led 5-4, final: Ferreira 7-5

Set 4: Savvy-Surface (Hard) (Advantage: Raonic (Small), Raonic led 5-2, final: Raonic 7-5)

set 5:Backhand-Surface (Hard) Advantage:Raonic (Small), Raonic led 5-3, final: Raonic 6-3)

Final: Milos Raonic defeats Wayne Ferreira (7-5, 4-6, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3)

Note: I really didn't eppect this to be close. Raonic does what Ferreira does better, but the volley skill kept being key (the one skill in which Ferreira is better than Raonic). However, in the final two sets, Raonic's hard-court mastery was the difference)


Match #2:
Rafael Nadal (1-A) (BACKHAND, footwork, ENDURANCE, SAVVY, HARD COURT, -FOREHAND (Clay), -CLAY COURT, -GRASS COURT)

vs

Yevgeny Kafelnikov (3-B, forehand, BACKHAND (HARD), ENDURANCE, -VOLLEY (GRASS), -savvy (Grass), -grass court

Set 1: (Endurance, Hard Court: Advantage: Nadal (Small): Nadal Led set 5-4, Result:UNUSUAL, (Unusual Abilities: Endurance, Savvy) (Advantage: Nadal (Moderate), Final Result: Nadal wins in tiebreak

Set 2: (Backhand, Footwork) Advantage: Nadal (Small), Nadal Led set 5-3, Result: Nadal Wins Set 6-3

Set 3Forehand, Volley) Advantage: Kafelnikov (Small), Kafenikov TRAILS 5-3, Nadal Wins Set 6-3

RESULT: Rafael Nadal beats Yevgeny Kafelnikov 7-6, 6-3, 6-3

Notes: Not shocked that Nadal won (he's one of the best players ever), but surprised he won in straight sets, especially in the third and final set where he had disadvantages. It doesn't get much easier with Raonic, but Nadal has to be a favorite.

[SirFozzie]

Substack 2-A

Robin Soderling (3-B, FOREHAND, backhand, footwork (hard court, endurance, savvy, Hard Court) vs Jo Wilfried Tsonga (3-A, FOREHAND, volley, footwork, endurance, savvy, hard court)

Prediction: Very even. This one could go either way, and it will be determined on the margins as they both have very similar abilities

set 1: (Volley-endurance) (Advantage: Tsonga (small), Tsonga led 5-3, Result: Tsonga won 7-5

Set 2: (Forehand-Volley) (Advantage: Tsonga (small), Tsonga led 5-4, Result:Tsonga 7-5

Set 3: (Forehand-Endurance) (EVEN) Tsonga (higher seed) leads 5-3, Result: Tsonga 7-5

RESULT: Jo Wilifried Tsonga defeats Robin Soderling 7-5, 7-5, 7-5

Comment: Tsonga's volley game was key to him winning the first two sets (it gave him the advantage on the For the Set rolls). Kinda interesting that he had a chance to close out all three sets, but needed that 7th game win in all three (twice where Tsonga had to have his serve broken while serving for the set!)

Match 2:

David Ferrer (3-A, forehand, FOOTWORK, ENDURANCE, -BACKHAND (CLAY), clay court vs Grigor Dimitriov (4-A, forehand, VOLLEY, footwork, savvy)

Prediction: Ferrer is a small favorite (he would be much more favored if this took place on Clay), but Dimitriov's volley game will be key, if he gets a bunch of volley chances, he could steal this one.

Set 1: (Endurance-Savvy) (Advantage: Ferrer (Small), ferrer led set 5-4, result: Ferrer 7-5

Set 2: (footwork-Endurance): Advantage: Ferrer (LARGE), Ferrer led 5-3, result: Ferrer 6-4

Set 3: (backhand-Endurance), Advantage: Ferrer-Moderate, Ferrer led 5-3, result: Ferrer 7-5

RESULT: David Ferrer defeated Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 6-4, 7-5

Note: This match probably took about 3-4 hours despite being a straight set win, as endurance (meaning long rallies) was a key in all three sets. Ferrer has the double ability, while Dimitrov doesn't have it. So, in this case, Ferrer made Dimitrov chase his shots all over the course, and Dimitrov made enough errors to lose him the match.

[SirFozzie]

Substack 2-B

Tim Henman (3-C, VOLLEY, footwork, SAVVY, hard court, -forehand (Grass Court) vs Andrei Pavel, (7-A, backhand, footwork, endurance, -forehand (Clay)

Note: While there's no Henman Hill in the Dynasty Open, if he can set the tempo, he's the clear favorite to win, as he has VOLLEY and SAVVY, while Pavel's game is to work on his backhand and try to make the serve and volley specialist work hard for his points.

Set one: Footwork-Hard Court (Advantage: Henman (Small)), Henman led 5-0, Result: Henman 6-2

Set 2:Forehand-backhand (Advantage: Pavel (Small), Pavel led 5-3, Result: Pavel 6-4

Set 3: Footwork-Endurance (Advantage: Pavel (Small), Pavel led 5-4, result: Pavel 7-5

Set 4: Footwork-Savvy (Advantage: Henman (moderate), Henman led 5-4, result: UNUSUAL (Attributes: Backhand, Volley (Advantage: Henman (Small), Final Result: Henman wins tie-break)

Set 5: Forehand-Savvy ((Advantage: Henman (Moderate), Henman led 5-3, result: Henman (6-3)



RESULT: Tim Henman defeated Andrei Pavel 6-2, 4-6, 5-7, 7-6, 6-3

Note: Henman came so close to handing Pavel a bagel in the first set, but Pavel took Henman to the brink with his superior backhand and endurance, but the savvy veteran Henman managed to hold off Pavel and advance to the Round of 16. Feels like one of those matches that went 4-5 hours before Henman managed to seize control of the match against an opponent he likely took lightly, based off the differences in rankings and early results.

Match #2

Novak Djokovic (1-A, forehand, BACKHAND, volley, FOOTWORK, ENDURANCE, HARD COURT) vs Pablo Carreno Busta (4-B (Footwork, ENDURANCE, SAVVY (Hard Court), -BACKHAND (Clay Court)

Note: I'll be surprised if Careno-Busta takes a set here, but he really needs to hope that his savvy can put Djokovic in situations that he'll have trouble with.

Set 1: Backhand-Volley (Advantage: Djokovic (LARGE), Djokovic leads set 5-3, RESULT: Djokovic 6-3

Set 2:Forehand-volley (Advantage: Djokovice (Moderate), Djokovic leads set 5-1, Result: Djokovic 6-1

Set 3:Footwork-Endurance (Advantage: Djokovic (Moderate), Djokovic leads 5-1, Result: Djokovic 6-1

RESULT: Novak Djokovic defeats Pablo Carreno-Busta 6-3, 6-1, 6-1

Note: Yeah, as expected. Careeno-Busta was at a huge disadvantage the entire time, his only stroke skill, BACKHAND was negated because it wasn't on Clay, so where Djokovic had forehand, BACKHAND and volley it was going to be a long day for Carreno-Busta, and a short one for Djokovic.

So, half the Round of 16 is set

Guillermo Coria-Leyton Hewitt
Rafael Nadal-Milos Raonic

David Ferrer-Jo Wilifried Tsonga
Tim Henman-Novak Djokovic

Here's tomorrows schedule:

Round of 32 (Men's)

Stack 3-A
Tommy Haas-Roger Federer
Marat Safin-Nick Kyrgios

Stack 3-B
Thomas Berdych-Cameron Norrie
Thomas Johansson-Greg Rusedski


Stack 4-A
Danil Medvedev-Andre Agassi
Viktor Troicki-Andy Murray

Stack 4-B
Janko Tipsarevic vs Ivo Karlovic
Alexander Zeverev-Andy Roddick

Notes: Definite Center Court matches in Medvedev-Agassi and Zeverev-Andy Roddick.

[SirFozzie]

Substack 3-A: Round of 32

Roger Federer (1-A, FOREHAND, VOLLEY, footwork, endurance, SAVVY, HARD -CIay, -Grass) vs Tommy Haas (4-A, forehand, VOLLEY, FOOTWORK (Hard Court), SAVVY, hard)

Set 1: (Footwork-Savvy) Advantage: Haas (Small), Haas led 5-4, Result: Haas 6-4
Set 2: (Forehand-Savvy) Advantage: Federer (Small), Federer led 5-3, Result:Federer 6-3
Set 3: (Forehand-Savvy) Advantage: Federer (Small) Federer led 5-3, Result: Federer 6-3
Set 4: (Footwork-Endurance) Advantage: EVEN, Haas (lower seed) led 5-4, Result:Haas 7-5
Set 5: (Footwork-Hard) Advantage: EVEN, Federer (Higher Seed), led 5-4, Result: Unpredictable! (Attributes:Forehand-Savvy (advantage: Federer (Small)), Final Result: Federer wins tie break

FINAL: Roger Federer defeats Tommy Haas 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6

Note: Instant Classic, apparently. Haas with the one thing he did better than Federer (Hard Court-footwoork) came up THREE times in the match, and when it went to the Unpredictable Chart (in the fifth set) it was a bit exciting to see where the dice took us, and apparently, Federer's forehand was just enough to win him the match. No shame in this loss for Tommy Haas, however.Was shocked to see him win the fourth set.

Marat Safin (4-A, FOREHAND, backhand, footwork, endurance, savvy (Hard Court), vs Nick Kyrigos (4-A, forehand, VOLLEY, endurance, SAVVY, hard court

Set 1: (Volley-Footwork) Advantage: Kyrgios (Small), Kyrigos led 5-4, Result:Kyrigos 6-4
Set 2: (Endurance-Savvy) Advantage: Kyrigos (Small), Kyrigos led 5-4, result: Kyrigos 6-4
Set 3: (Forehand-Backhand) Advantage: Safin (Moderate), Safin led 5-3, Result:Safin 6-3
Set 4: (Backhand-Volley) Advantage: Kyrigos (Small), Kyrigos led 5-2, Result: Kyrigos 6-3

FINAL: Nick Kyrigos defeats Marat Safin 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

Note: Kyrigos managed to get to the net time and time again, and it was the difference in the match. I'm pretty sure that his run ends next round against Federer, which seems like normal for his history.



Substack 3-B: Round of 32

Thomas Berdych (2-C, FOREHAND, FOOTWORK, endurance, savvy, hard) vs Cameron Norrie (4-A, FOREHAND, Footwork, endurance)

Set 1Footwork-savvy) advantage: Berdych (Small), Berdych TRAILS 5-4, Result: Unpredictable! (Attributes: Footwork-Endurance (EVEN) Final Result:Berdych wins 7-5.
Set 2: (endurance-Savvy) (Advantage: Berdych (Small), Berdych Leads 5-0, Result: Berdych wins 6-0
Set 3: (footwork-Endurance), Advantage: EVEN, Norrie (Lower Seed) leads 5-4, result:Unpredictable! (Attributes: Endurance-Savvy, (Berdych: SMALL), Final Result: Berdych Wins: 7-5

Final: Thomas Berdych defeats Cameron Norrie 7-5 6-0 7-5

Note: Berdych gets the first bagel of the Round of 32. Rough result for Norrie as they were one game from winning the set twice (in the first and third set), both times losing three straight games to drop the set.


Thomas Johansson (5-B, BACKHAND, volley, footwork, -savvy (grass)) vs Greg Rusedski (5-A, forehand, volley, endurance, savvy, -footwork (grass), -grass court)

Set 1: (volley-savvy) (advantage: Rusedski (small): Rusedski leads 5-0, Result: Rusdedski 6-0
Set 2backhand-endurance) (Advantage: Johansson (Small)):Johansson leads 5-2, Result:Johansson 6-4
Set 3: (forehand-footwork) Advantage: EVEN, Johansson (Lower Seed) leads 5-3, Result: Johansson 6-4
Set 4: (endurance-Savvy), (Advantage: Rusedski (Moderate), Rusedski leads 5-2, Result: Rusedski 6-3
Set 5: (Footwork-savvy), (Advantage: EVEN), Johansson (Lower seed) leads 5-1, Result: Johansson 6-3

FINAL: Thomas Johansson defeats Greg Rusedski: 0-6, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

Note: This match would drive TV execs crazy. A good match, but with no real end of set-drama, and no star power to keep people watching! "There's other matches to be played, you know!!!", but props to Johansson, as twice as the side with a small disadvantage (Lower seed in an even matchup is a slight underdog) to hammer home the win. Really good mental fightback from being bageled in the first set in Johansson's win. Definitely a big underdog against Berdych however.




Substack 4-A: Andre Agassi (2-A, FOREHAND, BACKHAND, FOOTWORK, Endurance (Hard Court), savvy, HARD COURT, -clay court, -grass court) vs Danil Medvedev (2-B, FOREHAND, backhand, FOOTWORK, endurance, savvy (hard court, HARD COURT)

Set 1: Footwork-savvy (Advantage: EVEN), Agassi (Higher seed) led 5-3, Result: Agassi 6-3
Set 2: Forehand-Savvy (Advantage: EVEN), Agassi (Higher Seed)- UNUSUAL! Unusual Roll: At 5-5 "(Favorite) good fortune, opponent frustrated, (Favorite) wins set 7-5
Set 3: Backhand-Endurance (Advantage: Agassi (Small), Agassi led 5-3, result: Agassi 6-3

FINAL: Andre Agassi defeats Danil Medvedev 6-3, 7-5, 6-3.

Note: Well, that was simultaneously interesting and disappointing. It was our first UNUSUAL result, and from the description, Agassi had a massive bit of good luck where a shot hit the net cord, and just softly landed on the other side with Medvedev having no chance at it, and riding that bit of luck to finish off the second set. The disappointing bit is thinking as a TV exec. "Our last match, with no star power went five long sets, and we don't even get a fourth set between two of the best players in the tournament????"


Andy Murray (2-A, backhand, VOLLEY, ENDURANCE, SAVVY, HARD COURT, -footwork (grass), -clay court, -GRASS COURT vs Viktor Troicki (5-C) forehand, backhand, ENDURANCE)

Set 1: Forehand-Volley (advantage: Murray (Small))), Murray led 5-3, Result: Murray 6-3
Set 2: Volley-Savvy (Advantage: Murray (LARGE)), Murray led 5-0, Result: Murray 6-1
Set 3: Forehand-Backhand (Advantage: Troicki (Small), Troicki led 5-4, Result: Troicki 7-5
Set 4: Backhand-endurance (Advantage: EVEN), Troicki (lower seed) leads 5-2, Result: Troicki 7-5
Set 5: Volely-endurance (advantage: Murray (Moderate)), Murray led 5-1, Result: Murray 6-3

FINAL: Andy Murray defeats Viktor Troicki, 6-3, 6-1, 5-7, 5-7, 6-3

Note: Yeah, this was an Andy Murray match alright. Run out to a two set lead, take a mental break and throw it away, and then come back to win. He DEFINITELY won't be able to do that against Andre Agassi in the round of 16, however.


Substack 4-B:

Ivo Karlovic (5-A, forehand, VOLLEY, -footwork (Grass Court), -Savvy (Grass Court) vs Janko Tipsarevic (5-B, forehand, volley, endurance, savvy)

Set 1: Forehand-Savvy (Advantage: Tipsarevic (Small)), Tipsarevic leads 5-3, Result: Tipsarevic 7-5
Set 2: Volley-Savvy (Advantage: EVEN), Tipsarevic (Lower seed) leads 5-4, Result: Tipsarevic 7-5
Set 3: backhand-volley (Advantage:Karlovic (Small), Karlovic TRAILS 5-3, result:UNPREDICTABLE (Forehand-Backhand EVEN), Final Result: Tipsarevic wins tie break

FINAL: Janko Tipsarevic defeates Ivo Karlovic 7-5, 7-5, 7-6.

Note: Very close match. Karlovic will rue losing this match, there was three spots in the match where he was rolling with the advantage (1 in the 2nd, and then twice more in the 3rd set.


Andy Roddick (2-A, FOREHAND, volley, FOOTWORK, endurance, savvy, HARD COURT) vs Alexander Zverev (forehand, BACKHAND, FOOTWORK, endurance, Savvy, hard court)

Set 1: Forehand-Endurance (Advantage: Roddick (Small), Roddick TRAILS 5-3, Result: Zverev 6-3
Set 2: Forehand-Hard Court (Advantage: Roddick (Moderate), Roddick leads 5-4, Result: Roddick 6-4
Set 3: Footwork-Endurance Advantage: EVEN, Zverev (Lower seed) leads 5-3, Result: UNPREDICTABLE (Backhand-Savvy (Zverev (Moderate), Final Result: Zverev 7-5
Set 4: Backhand-Volley (Advantage: Zverev (Small), Zverev Leads 5-1, Zverev 6-1

FINAL: Alexander Zverev defeats Andy Roddick 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1

Note: Roddick did well to extend the third set, but seemingly crumbled in the fourth. Disappointing for the American.

[SirFozzie]

Round of 32 Results:

Hewitt def Mirinyi (6-4, 6-4, 7-5)
Coria def Seppi (7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2)
Raonic def Ferreira (7-5, 4-6, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3)
Nadal beats Kafelnikov (7-6, 6-3, 6-3)
Tsonga defeats Soderling (7-5, 7-5, 7-5)
Ferrer defeats Dimitrov (7-5, 6-4, 7-5)
Henman defeats Pavel (6-2, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3, 6-3)
Djokovic defeats Carenno-Busta (6-3, 6-1, 6-1)
Federer defeats Haas (4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6)
Kyrigos defeats Safin (6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3)
Berdych defeats Norrie (7-5, 6-0, 7-5)
Johansson defeats Rudeski (0-6, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3)
Agassi defeats Medvedev (6-3, 7-5, 5-3)
Murray defeats Troicki (6-3, 6-1, 5-7, 5-7, 6-3)
Tipsarevic defeats Karlovic (7-5, 7-5, 7-6)
Zverev defeats Roddick (6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1)




Round of 16 Schedule

Guillermo Coria-Leyton Hewitt
Rafael Nadal-Milos Raonic

David Ferrer-Jo Wilifried Tsonga
Tim Henman-Novak Djokovic

Rodger Federer-Nick Kyrigos
Thomas Berdych-Thomas Johansson

Andre Agassi-Andy Murray
Janko Tipsarevic-Alexander Zverev



Notes on the game so far: Now that I've gotten familiar with the system used in the "For the Set" and "No-Rally tables, I can generate a match in about 5 minutes. Was very interesting to see the back and forth. 8 of the 16 round of 32 matches were straight set wins, while 3 went four sets, and five matches went the distance.

So, we're in the round of 16, and one change that I'm going to make is that for this round, I will continue to use the For the Set-No-Rally method for generating the first four sets, any deciding set will use the "Fast-Forward" method (where a roll on a table for qualities and advantage takes us to game point, and then we play shot by shot mode, which we then repeat for each game. I'll cover that style of play when we get there. (there's a whole side to the cards which I've yet to use!)

[SirFozzie]

Round of 16: Quadrant 1, Match 1

Lleyton Hewitt (2-C, forehand, BACKHAND, volley, ENDURANCE, -footwork (Grass), -GRASS COURT) vs Guillermo Coria (4-A, FOOTWORK. -savvy (Clay), -CLAY COURT, -forehand (Clay)

Set 1: Savvy-Hard Court (+1 to Hewitt), Hewitt led 5-3, Result: Hewitt 6-4
Set 2: Volley-Endurance (+1 to Hewitt), Hewitt TRAILS 5-3, Result: Coria 6-3
Set 3: Forehand-Endurance (+1 to Hewitt), Hewitt led 5-3, Result: Hewitt 6-4
Set 4: Backhand-Endurance (+2 to Hewitt), Hewitt led 5-4, Result: Hewitt 6-4

Result: Lleyton Hewitt defeated Guillermo Voria 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4

Note: Hewitt is the first quarter finalist. Coria just didn't have the ability to keep up with him on a hard court.


Match 2:

Rafael Nadal (1-A, BACKHAND, footwork, ENDURANCE, SAVVY, HARD COURT (-FOREHAND (Clay), -CLAY COURT, -GRASS COURT) vs Milos Raonic (2-C, FOREHAND, volley, FOOTWORK, savvy, hard court (-GRASS COURT)

Set 1: Endurance + Hard Court (+3 to Nadal) UNUSUAL RESULT! Nadal slips and turns an ankle while up 5-4. It's not enough to cause him to retire, but will affect him the longer the match goes). Result: Nadal 7-5
Set 2: Backhand +Endurance (+4 to Nadal), Nadal led 5-3, Result: Nadal 6-4
Set 3: Forehand + Volley) (+3 to Raonic), Raonic leads 5-3, Result: Raonic 6-3
Set 4: Backhand-Volley (+1 to Nadal), Nadal leads 5-0, Result: Nadal 6-2

Result: Rafael Nadal defeated Milos Raonic 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2

Note: Nadal's injury would have reduced his shot-by-shot ratings in the final set had we got there, but luckily for Nadal, he managed to gut through the pain and beat Raonic before too much harm was done. With some tape and rest, he should be fine when the quarters roll around:

[SirFozzie]

Round of 16: Quadrant 2

Match 1: Jo Wilfried Tsonga (3-A, FOREHAND, volley, footwork, endurance, savvy, hard court) vs David Ferrer (3-A, forehand, FOOTWORK, ENDURANCE, -BACKHAND (Clay), -clay court)

Note: The game doesn't note how to break Seeding rules if they're the same , so I'm arbitrarily going to make Tsonga the higher seed because he has a hard court specialty and Ferrer does not.

Set 1: Volley-Endurance (EVEN), Tsonga (Higher seed) leads 5-4, Result: Tsonga Wins Set 7-5.
Set 2:forehand-Footowrk (EVEN), , Tsonga leads 5-4, Result: Tsonga Wins Set 7-5
Set 3: Backhand-Hard Court (Tsonga +1), UNUSUAL! Ferrer has a confidence boost, goes on a tear, leads 5-2, UNPREDICTABLE OUTCOME! (footwork-Endurance, Ferrer +2) Final Result: Ferrer 7-5.
Set 4: Endurance-Hard Court (EVEN), Tsonga leads 5-4, Result: Tsonga 6-4

FINAL: Jo Wilfried Tsonga defeats David Ferrer 7-5, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4

Note: That was a lot of rolling for the third set, but really shows the ebb and flow of a match, Ferrer jumped out to a 5-2 lead due to the unusual result, then things went awry, and he gave the lead right back, only for the unpredictable outcome to pop up, giving him the advantage, and taking the set. But this was a match where Tsonga just played better at key moments.

Match 2: Novak Djokovic (1-A, forehand, BACKHAND, volley, FOOTWORK, ENDURANCE, HARD COURT (-CLAY COURT, -GRASS COURT) vs Tim Henmam (3-A, VOLLEY, footwoork, SAVVY, hard court, (-forehand (Grass Court), -Grass Court

Set 1: Volley-Endurance (Djokovic +1), Djokovic TRAILS 5-4, Result: UNPREDICTABLE! (forehand, footwork- Djokovic +2), Final Result: Djokovic wins 7-6
Set 2: forehand-Endurance (Djokovic +3), Djokovic Trails 5-4, Result: UNPREDICTABLE! (backhand-Hard Court- Djokovic +3), Final Result: Djokovic 7-5
Set 3: Volley-Endurance (Djokovic +1), Djokovic Trails 5-4, Result: UNPREDICTABLE! (volley-Hard Court (EVEN)), Final Result: Henman Wins 7-6
Set 4: Forehand-Volley (EVEN), Djokovic leads 5-1, Result: Djokovic Wins 6-2

FINAL: Novak Djokovic defeats Tim Henman 7-6, 7-5, 6-7, 6-2

Note: Sheesh, Novak. Apparently he refused to take Henman seriously, because in each of the first three sets he had the advantage, based off skills, but ended up having to come back from Henman playing for the set. The first two times, he managed to come back and win the set by changing things around, but in the third set, Henman managed to win the tiebreak. That apparently woke up Djokovoic, because he then ran over Henman in the final set.

[SirFozzie]

Round of 16: Quadrant 3:

Match 1: Roger Federer (1-A, FOREHAND, VOLLEY, footwork, endurance, SAVVY, HARD COURT, (-CLAY COURT, -GRASS COURT) vs Nick Kyrgios (4-A, forehand, VOLLEY, endurance, SAVVY, hard court)

Set 1: Backhand-Footwork (Federer +1), Federer led 5-4, Result: Federer 7-5
Set 2:Footwork-Savvy (Federer+1) Federer Led 5-4, Result: Federer 6-4
Set 3: Forehand-Endurance) (Federer +1), Federer Led 5-4, Result: UNPREDICTABLE (Backhand-Hard Court Federer +1) Federer wins tie break

Result: Roger Federer defeats Nick Kyrigos 7-5, 6-4, 7-6

Match 2: Tomas Berdych (2-C, FOREHAND, FOOTWORK, endurance, savvy, hard court (-Grass Court)) vs Thomas Johansson (5-B. BACKHAND, volley, footbwork (-savvy (Grass Court)

Set 1: Footwoork-Savvy (Berdych+2), Berdych led 5-4, Result: Berdych 7-5
Set 2: Forehand-Hard Court (Berdych +3), Berdych led 5-1, Result: Berdych 6-1
Set 3: Endurance-Savvy (Berdych +2), Berdych led 5-1, Result: UNPREDICTABLE! (volley-endurance (EVEN), Johansson wins tiebreak 7-6
Set 4: Footwork-Endurance (Berdych +2), Berdych leads 5-4, Result: Berdych 7-5

Result:Tomas Berdych defeats Thomas Johansson 7-5. 6-1, 6-7. 7-5

[SirFozzie]

Round of 16: Quadrant 4

Andre Agassi (2-A, FOREHAND, BACKHAND, FOOTWORK, endurance (hard), savvy, HARD COURT (-clay court, -grass court) vs Andy Murray (2-A, backhand, VOLLEY, ENDURANCE, SAVVY, -footwork (Grass), -clay court, -grass court)

set one: endurance-Savvy (Murray +2), Murray leads 5-4, Result: Murray wins 7-5
set two: forehand-backhand (Agassi +3), Agassi leads 5-1, Result: Agassi wins 6-1
set three:volley-footwork (even, Agassi given higher seed on random roll), Unusual Result:Murray loses control of his serve, Double Faults several times throughout the set, Result: Agassi 6-2
Set Four: forehand-Savvy (Agassi +1), Agassi leads 5-3, Result: Agassi wins 6-4:

RESULT: Andre Agassi defeats Andy Murray 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4

Note: Murray's serve deserted him in the third set, and along with Agassi cruising through the second set, put him in a gap he couldn't get out of.

Alexander Zverev (2-B, forehand, BACKHAND, FOOTWORK, endurance, savvy, hard court (-savvy (clay), -Clay Court) vs Janko Tipsarevic (5-B, forehand, volley, endurance, savvy)

Set 1: forehand-endurance (Zverev +2), Zverev leads 5-4, Result: Zverev 6-4
Set 2: Backhand-Volley (Zverev +1), Zverev leads 5-4, Result: Zverev 7-5
Set 3: footwork-savvy (Zverev+1), Zeverev led 5-0, Result: Zverev 6-1

RESULT: Alexander Zverev defeats Janko Tipsarevic 6-4, 7-5, 6-1

Note: No surprise here, Tipsarevic kept it close for a bit, but Zverev just had too much. Tipsrevic will be satisfied in making it this far, however.

[SirFozzie]

Quarterfinals are set:

Lleyton Hewitt vs Rafael Nadal
Jo Wilifred Tsonga vs Novak Djokovic
Roger Federer vs Tomas Berdych
Andre Agassi vs Alexander Zverev

Notes: It I had to guess, I think we're going for a "Chalk" semi final of Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Agassi. If I had to pick an upset, it's Zverev over Agassi, he matches up almost the same as Agassi , so it wouldn't take much for him to steal a couple sets, and after that, it's all in how the ball bounces.

[SirFozzie]

Rafael Nadal (1-A), BACKHAND, footwork, ENDURANCE, SAVVY, HARD COURT, (-forehand (Clay), -CLAY COURT, -GRASS COURT) vs Lleyton Hewitt (2-C, forehand, BACKHAND, volely, ENDURANCE, hard court (-footwork (Grass Court)-GRASS COURT)

Note: This is actuially a tough matchup for Nadal, as Hewitt has a couple abilities that Nadal doesn't. Be interesting to see how the match progresses.

Set 1:volley-savvy (Nadal+1), Nadal Leads 5-4, Result: Nadal wins 7-6
Set 2:backhand-savvy (Nadal +2), Nadal Trails 5-4, Result: Hewitt wins 6-4
Set 3: Forehand-Hard Court (EVEN): Nadal leads 5-2, Result: Nadal 6-4
Set 4: Volley-footwork (Even): Hewitt (lower Seed) leads 5-2: UNPREDICTRABLE RESULT! (volley-savvy, Nadal+1), Final Result: Hewitt 7-6 (7-3 tiebreak)

We're going to a fifth set!

So, for the first time, we're going to shot by shot to determine results:

How this mode works:

First, we roll to determine which qualities are being tested in this game, if it's even, the game "starts" at deuce, while small, moderate, and large advantages "start" at 40-30, 40-15 and 40-Love.


The serve:

Roll 2d6:
On a 12, look at the Unusual/Rare Serves chart
On a 7: if the player has the court quality (in this case, hard court), they earn 1 peformance chip (if they have the powered up underline/ALL CAPS version), they earn two performance chips). This indicates a good serve.
Check the roll against the server's ACE range. If it falls on that number or (nubers), it's a an ACE and auto-point win for the server. However, it the number falls in the Double Fault range, the player double faults and loses the point.
And finally, if a roll is doubles, This is a well-executed serve. THe opponent's chance to return it is reduced by one.


Then we move on to the return and game play)

Again, Rolling 2d6, we check against the Return number. If the previous shot/serve was well executed (doubles), their range gets lowered one #
On a 12, look at the Return/winner Unusual Result chart
On a 7: Roll a d6, see what quality is being tested. if the player has that ability, they gain one or two performance chips. If not, the opponent immediately attempts a unreturnable WINNER shot to win or lose the point.
On doubles (in range): it's a well executed shot, opponent's next return is at -1
If it doesn't match the return range, they've made an unforced error and lose the point

Winners are straight win/lose point: If the person rolls their range, they make the shot, and win the point. If they fail, the shot is out and they lose point.

A player may use a performance chip to either extend their return/winner range, or to turn a return into a WINNER shot. They can only have up to 4 performance chips in storage at any time

So, we use a new set of stats for shot by shot play.

Hewitt: Ace 10, Double Fault 3, Return 2, 4-8
Nadal: Ace 11, Double Fault 2, Return 3-8, Winner 3-8


Here we go:

Game 1: (Volley-Savvy), Nadal (serving) leads 40-30.

40-30: Nadal Double Faults (DEUCE)
Deuce #1: Well executed serve, Hewitt Returns, Nadal returns (well executed-Endurance, 2 CHIPS), Hewitt puts it back over, Nadal spends chip to attempt winner, OUT!

(1 Nadal Chip):

Advantage: Hewitt (1st) Nadal gains 2 Performance chips from serve, Returned well by Hewitt, Nadal keeps the point going, back and forth, Nadal spends a chip and goes for a winner.. GETS IT!

(2 Nadal Chips)

Deuce (#2): Brief rally, Nadal spends a performance chip to extend his return range to avoid a shot out, and Hewitt puts one long.

(1 Nadal Chip)

Advantage: Nadal (1st): during the rally, Nadal has to spend his last current performance chip to stay in the point, Hewitt gains two chips during the rally), finally on the 8th shot, Nadal puts one into the net

(Chips: Hewitt 2, Nadal 0)

Deuce (#3): Nadal puts one just wide during the rally

Advantage: Hewitt (#2): Five shot rally, sensing a chance to break, Hewitt spends a chip... and MAKES THE WINNER!

Hewitt leads 1-0, and is on serve

[SirFozzie]

Game 2: Hewitt to serve

(hewitt 1 chip, Nadal 0)

Qualities: Volley-footwork) EVEN Game starts at Deuce

Deuce #1: Hewitt gains chip on serve, then immediately has to spend it to convert an out shot into a successful return, Nadal gets two chips from a savvy shot, Hewitt spends the chip he had left for a winner.. GETS IT.

Chips: (Hewitt 0, Nadal 2)

Advantage: Hewitt (#1): ACE!

Hewitt holds serve, and now is officially up a break in the final set, 2-0.


Game 3: Nadal to serve

(Chips: Hewitt 0, Nadal 2)

Qualities: Backhand-Footwork (Nadal+1), starts at 40-30 Nadal

40-30: Weak return of serve by Hewitt sets up a possible winner by Nadal... HITS THE NET CORD and drops safely on the other side (Nadal's winner range is 3-8, I rolled snake eyes, but Nadal used a performance chip to make the 2 ok)

Nadal manages to hold serve, and stop the bleeding, 2-1 Hewitt.


Game 4: Hewitt to serve:

(Chips: Hewitt 0, Nadal 1)

Qualities: forehand-savvy (Nadal +1), starts at 30-40, Nadal with break point:

30-40: Hewitt gets a chip on serve, Nadal returns, Hewitt spends the chip he just earned to try for the WINNER again.. LONG!

Nadal breaks back, and we're at 2-2 in the final set.


Game 5: Nadal to serve:

(Chips: Hewitt 0, Nadal 1)

Qualities: Endurance-Hard Court) Nadal +1, 40-30 Nadal

40-30: Long rally, Hewitt earns chip (rorehand), Nadal earns 2 (Savvy). and Hewitt again earns a chip on the forehand, Nadal wants to end this point now (he has three chips, so it's worth it to spend one to try to win the game..) YES SIR, GOT IT RIGHT ON THE LINE!

Nadal now has won 3 games in a row, and leads 3-2, with Hewitt to serve to stay even)


Game 6: Hewitt to Serve

(Chips: Hewitt 2, Nadal 2)

Qualities: forehand, endurance, Hewitt +1, Hewitt 40-30

40-30: Brief-rally, Nadal's forehand.. into the net!

3-3, officially back on serve, and the fans are on the edge of their seats, as this match is going deep into the night

[SirFozzie]

Game 7: Nadal to serve

Chips: 2 each

Qualities: (volley-endurance, Hewitt +1), Break point for Hewitt at 30-40..

30-40: Nadal reaches back and gets AN ACE with a perfectly placed serve

Deuce (#1) Nadal gets two chips (he's now at the max of 4) on the serve, Hewitt gets one on the forehand return, and Nadal just wants to end this point now, since he has the max # of chips.. spends a chip and goes for the winner.. YES!

(Chips: Nadal 3, Hewitt 3)

Advantage: Nadal (#1): Nadal is pumped up, and smashes ANOTHER Ace to win the game! He's fired up at the change over, as he now leads 4-3, and Hewitt looks like he's starting to feel the exhaustion of a long match..


Game 8: Hewitt to serve

(Chips: 3 each)

Qualities Backhand-Endurance (EVEN), DEUCE

Deuce #1: Strong serve by Hewitt gives him his fourth chip, and Nadal's forehand lets him down, and gives Hewitt a chance at a winner... and BARELY makes it (He rolled a 10, but used two of his four chips to extend his winner range JUST enough to give him the point). (Flavor: Call was originally OUT, Hewitt challenged it, and hawkeye determine it just got a tiny little piece of the line)

(Chips: 2 Hewitt-3 Nadal)

Advantage: Hewitt: Nadal gets the serve back, but reinvigorated Hewitt spends a chip to attempt an immediate winner.. GETS IT!

4-4! We are tied again, Nadal has two more chips than Hewitt, but if someone gets broken on this next set of serves, this match is OVER. Squeaky Bum time!


Game 9: Nadal to serve

(Chips: Hewitt 1, Nadal 3)

Qualities: Volley-Savvy, Nadal +1, starts at Nadal 40-30)

40-30: Brief rally, Nadal spends one of his chips to go for a winner, did he get it? YES (he had to spend another chip to get the range right, but considering the circumstances, it was an easy decision for him to spend the chip to win the game, to bring him 1 game from winning the match)

5-4 Nadal. Hewitt to serve to stay in the match..


Game 10: Hewitt to Serve

(Chips: 1 each)

Qualities: backhand, volley (hewitt +1, starts at 40-30 Hewitt)

40-30: hewitt gets another chip on the serve, and then two more in a lengthy rally thanks to a thumping backhand, Nadal thinks about spending his one chip to go for a winner, but decides not to (He only has 1 chip, while Hewitt has the maximum 4, if Nadal missed this, he will be on serve but knowing Hewitt can go for the advantage with winners due to the performance chip advantage), Hewitt finally goes for the winner.. AND YES SIR! It's tied again!


Game 11: Nadal to serve

(Chips: 1 for Nadal, 3 for Hewitt)

Qualities: Backhand-endurance (Even, Deuce)

Deuce #1: Fairly lengthy rally (about 8 shots), before Hewitt gets impatient, and goes for the winner.. PERFECTLY PLACED. He has a break point!

(1 Nadal, 2 Hewitt)

Advantage: Hewitt (#1): Hewitt has to spend his two chips to avoid going back to deuce on a missed shot, and Nadal comes charging in and spends his chip for a winner atempt... GOT IT!

(Chips: 0 each)

Deuce #2: Nadal starts refilling his chips with a good serve (2 performance chips), Hewitt gets one back with a volley, but Nadal immediately goes for the winner (spent chip), and.. did he get it? Hawkeye says yes, he did! (he had to spend that other performance chip to make a 9 successful)

(Chips: Nadal 0, Hewitt 1)


Advantage: Nadal (#1): Hewitt gets two chips during the rally with a backhand, Nadal tries to chip him, and Hewitt is ready, going for a winner, and slams it past Nadal's dive.

(Chips: Nadal 0, Hewitt 2)

Deuce #3: Nadal gets two chips on the serve, and he used both right away after Hewitt's return, first to attempt a winner, and then to make it successful (again, his winner range normally tops out at 8, so when a 9 was rolled, he needed that other chip to make it a winner)

(Chips: Nadal 0, Hewitt 2)

Advantage: Nadal (#2): Nadal's serve has put Hewitt on the back foot this entire set, and he gets ANOTHER two on the serve, and to make things worse, Hewitt's return is more of a popup, giving Nadal time to settle under it, attempt a (free) winner to slam it home, and.. GETS IT!

We go to 6-5, and Lleyton Hewitt will be serving to stay in the match

[SirFozzie]

Game 12: Hewitt to serve to stay in the match

(Volley-endurance) Hewitt +1, 40-30 Hewitt

Chips: 2 each

40-30: Hewitt gets a good serve in, Nadal will try to return.. OUT!

6-6. Thankfully, we are not under the old Wimbledon system, as I have rolled too many dice as is, but we are at a tiebreak.

Chips 2 each

Point 1: Nadal serves, Hewitt can't keep it on the court. 1-0 Nadal

Point 2: Hewitt serves, brief rally, Hewitt puts one into the net from deep behind the baseline. 2-0 Nadal

Point 3: Hewitt Serves, Nadal gets a chip (footwork), so Hewitt decides to spend the chip to go for a winner, rather than let Nadal (who now has 3) go for the winner himself.. gets it! 2-1 Nadal, so Nadal is still up a mini-break, but it's not over yet..

(Chips: Hewitt 1, Nadal 3)

Point 4: Nadal Serves:, long Rally, Nadal would normally get 2 chips for his savvy, but that would put him above four chips, so the second chip is wasted, but that's ok, as that just means he can spend one on the next return to convert it into a winner! 3-1 Nadal (and still the same chip stats)

Point 5: Deja vu all over again, but this time, Hewitt doesn't even wait for Nadal to spend one of the four he has on hand, spending his one chip to try to stay in this tiebreak.. gets it! It still looks bleak for Hewitt, but at least they're back on serve in this tiebreak (3-2 on the tiebreak)

(Chips: Hewitt 0, Nadal 4)

Point 6: Hewitt to serve, brief rally, Hewitt pressured puts one wide (rolled a 9, had no chips to extend the point). 4-2 Nadal, as Rafael Nadal has the mini break again.

(The players change ends at this point)

Point 7: Well executed serve by Hewitt, Nadal.. puts it wide! (4-3. Nadal could have spent two chips to extend the point, but since he'll have the first opportunity to go for winners on his serve, I decided not to spend any of them)

Point 8: Nadal serves, and immediately pressures Hewitt by coming in as if going for a volley, Hewitt tries a lob, and Nadal sets up for a winner and SMASHES it past Hewitt. 5-3 Nadal, and just two points away from finally putting away a game Hewitt

(Chips: Hewitt 0, Nadal 3)

Point 9: Hewitt's not out of this one, getting two chips during the rally due to his endurance, but Nadal's immediately going to try to put away this point (spending a chip to go for a winner).. and.. puts one in the corner. Great confidence to go for that shot under these circumstances! 6-3, and we are at TRIPLE MATCH POINT.

(Chips: Hewitt 2, Nadal 2)

Point 10: Hewitt raises his racket to serve.. first serve.. clips the net and bounces long. The match comes down to one tennis ball, the one in his hand. He bounces it once.. twice.. tosses it up, and slams it.. RIGHT INTO THE NET!

GAME, SET, AND MATCH RAFAEL NADAL!

RESULT: Rafael Nadal beats Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3)


Safe to call this an instant classic: 59 games, three sets going to a tiebreaker. Lleyton Hewitt's shattered after this one, so close to pulliong off the upset, but truly, there's no shame in this defeat. a weary, battle worn Rafael Nadal advances to the semifinals!

[SirFozzie]

Thoughts on the shot by shot system:

It is a TON of dice rolling (I joked that I gave myself tennis elbow just rolling the dice for the endings of 12 games, plus a full 10 point tiebreaker, but hey, I wanted to see at least one epic match under this method, and dang it, I got just that.

Performance Chips played a huge part, in both extending points (both players had them available to convert missed returns into successful points), and ending them (Turning a garden variety return into a shot that auto-wins you the point 2/3ds of the time on Nadal's 3-8, slightly less than that on Hewitt's 2, 4-8,, so having the abilities is still utlra important even in shot by shot mode.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to put some ice on my dice-rolling elbow.. *laughs*

[SirFozzie]

Novak Djokovic (1-A, forehand, BACKHAND, volely, FOOTWORK, ENDURANCE, HARD COURT (-CLAY COURT, -GRASS COURT)

vs

Jo Wilfred Tsonga (3-A, FOREHAND, volley, footwork, endurance, savvy, hard court)

Note: I'd be ok if this one didn't go five sets after the dice rolling a thon that was the first quarter final!

Set 1: (Forehand-Backhand, Djokovic +1), Djokovic TRAILS 5-3, Result: Tsonga 6-3
Set 2: (Backhand-Endurance, Djokovic +3), Djokovic Leads 5-4, result: Djokovic 7-5
Set 3: (Footwork-Savvy, EVEN), Djokovic (Higher Seed) TRAILS 5-2, Result: Tsonga 6-4
Set 4: (forehand-Endurance, EVEN) Djopkovic TRAILS 5-1, Result: Tsonga 6-1

RESULT: Jo Wilifred Tsonga Defeas Novak Djokovic: 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1

Note: Um.. What the HELL just happened. Djokovic had advantage in all four sets (He was the higher tournament rated, so he got the higher seed bonus in even matchups, but apparently, he was way, way, WAY off his mental game. (For the Set rolls of: 5, 4, 4, 5) Just dug himself a hole that even Novak couldn't get himself out of, and this has to be considered the biggest upset in the tournament so far!

When Tsonga won the third set to take a 2-1 set lead, I was mentally preparing myself for another dice-roll-a-thon five set match, but nope. The Djoker had checked out at that point.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga advances to the semifinals to face Rafael Nadal. Just.. stunning upset.

[SirFozzie]

Quarterfinal #3:

Roger Federer (1-A, FOREHAND, VOLLEY, footwork, endurance, SAVVY, HARD COURT, (-CLAY COURT, -GRASS COURT)

vs

Tomas Berdych (2-C, FOREHAND, FOOTWORK, endurance, savvy, hard court)

Set 1: Footwork-Savvy (Even, Federer Higher seed), Federer TRAILS 5-2, Berdych wins 7-5
Set 2: Backhand-Savvy (Federer+1), Federer leads 5-3, Federer wins 6-4
Set 3:Backhand-Endurance (even), Federer: Leads 5-4, Federer wins 7-5
Set 4: Backhand-Hard Court (Federer+1), Federer Leads 5-3, Federer wins 6-3

FINAL: Roger Federer defeats Tomas Berdych (5-7, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3)

[SirFozzie]

Quarterfinal #4

Andre Agassi (2-A, FOREHAND, BACKHAND, FOOTWORK, endurance (hard court), savvy, HARD COURT, (-clay court, -grass court)

vs

Alexander Zverev (2-B, forehand, BACKHAND, FOOTWORK, endurance, hard court) (-savvy (clay court). - CLAY COURT)

Set 1: forehand-Endurance (Agassi +1) Agassi leads 5-4, UNPREDICTABLE RESULT, backhand-footwork (EVEN) Agassi wins 7-6 (7-5 on tiebreak)
Set 2: backhand-Endurance (Even), Zverev leads 5-3, Zverev wins 6-3
Set 3: volley-footwork (Even), Agassi leads 5-3, Agassi wins 6-3
Set 4:volley-savvy (Agassi +1), UNUSUAL RESULT, Agassi gets flustered, Zverev leads 5-3, UNPREDICTABLE Result) Footwork-HARD COURT (Agassi+1), Agassi wins 7-6 (8-6 on tiebreaker)

Result: Andre Agassi defeats Alexander Zverev 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6)

[Young Drachma]

I'd never heard of this but I'm now very curious!