Welcome



This is my tennis blog, Lefty Advantage. Tennis is my biggest passion in life and I started this site to discuss the great game. I mainly follow the career of Roger Federer, but I truly love watching all tennis, whether it be the final of a Grand Slam
or a junior tournament on the other side of the world.

I have played tennis for 13 years. If you ever met me, I could talk your head off about all things tennis for hours on end if you would let me. Welcome, and enjoy the writing!

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Federer Masterclass in Rome Quarters

Roger Federer needed only 54 minutes to plow through Andreas Seppi in a 61 62 beatdown.  For the second straight night, Federer had a late match, and he was in no mood to stay on court for a long time, so he brought out his best tennis and never gave the Italian home-favourite a chance.

Federer raced to a quick 5-0 lead and wrapped up the set 6-1 in 19 minutes.  It was more of the same in the second set, although he fought off some resistance by Seppi.  However, the result was the same as the Italian never truly had a chance.  After his emotional victory over Wawrinka, where he saved six match points, he had nothing left in the tank, and against Roger, that spells your doom.  Fed played even more aggressive than he did versus Ferrero and just tired Seppi out more and more as the match progressed.



For Seppi, beating Wawrinka took so much out of him.  He was already in deep trouble completely fresh, but after a draining match like the one he came through just takes so much out of you as a player.  The same thing happened to Andy Roddick in Miami; he climbed his Mount Everest in beating Roger and then had nothing left in the tank for his match against Monaco in the next round.  This was much of the same kind of thing with Seppi.

As for Roger, he continues to look stellar.  His aggression seems to know no bounds in this tournament, as he is swiping the fuzz right off the ball time and time again with deadly laser-like forehands and backhands.  Honestly, this may be as well as I've seen Roger play on clay in a very long time - maybe Madrid 2009 was the last time I recall him being this decisive in his shot-making ability.  Whatever happens next in this tournament, it does not matter, because The Fed is looking absolutely lethal going into the French Open.



Federer's backhand in particular is firing on all cylinders.  He is not afraid to take the shot down the line, the lower percentage play, so you know he is really feeling it.  His backhand return has also been superb, as he is not chipping returns back with as much frequency as we are used to; he is driving them cross-court, down the line, or right down the middle, which is many times the best play to catch an opponent off guard.

Overall, Fed is just seeing the ball so well and his play has been simply sensational as a result.  His mind is so fresh right now which allows him to instantaneously pick out the right shot to hit in any given situation.  When Roger gets it going like this, it is simply magnificent to watch.

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In the other quarterfinal matches on the day, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and David Ferrer all advanced to the semis.  Djokovic battled through a tough first set against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to have an easier second, winning 75 61.  Rafa faced a tough test in Tomas Berdych, but impressed in a 64 75 win.  David Ferrer ended Gasquet's good tournament by defeating the Frenchman 76(4) 63.  All three results were expected, so nothing much to talk about.

The semifinal action features Federer vs Djokovic and Ferrer vs Nadal.  It will be the first meeting between Roger and Novak since the US Open last year.  By my account, Roger has everything it takes to defeat the World #1.  He is 3-1 on clay against Djokovic, and besides that, he has been playing phenomenally well, and as good as Djokovic has looked in bouncing back from Madrid, it might just be Roger's time to get some revenge for that loss in the US Open last year.

Whatever happens, we as tennis fans should be in for a great treat on Semifinal Saturday with two compelling matches.  I predict we will see a Federer vs Nadal Rome final, with Roger winning in 3 and Rafa winning in 2 (tight) sets.  If Roger can get by Djokovic, a match with Rafa would be sensational, and I truly think he could defeat him - but I shall wait to see if that possibility needs to be discussed come the end of play in the semis.

Enjoy the tennis,

Kyle.

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