Federer Overcomes Back and Malisse

After a near defeat to Julien Benneteau on Friday, and the weekend off, Roger Federer thought he would have an easier match in his 4th round.  He did not, as a back injury gave him (and his fans) a huge scare, but in the end, he won in 4 sets and fought through the pain like a champion.

Federer and Malisse were first up on Centre Court and it was a cloudy, rainy, and cold day.  The match started evenly, with both men holding serve up to 5-5.  However, about 5 games in, Roger was clearly not moving as well as he usually does; he was serving more upright with less knee bend (closer to how he would have served in 1998), and on return he was barely bending over at the hip, as is his trademark.  He was also moving gingerly between points - something was definitely wrong.  ESPN's Darren Cahill pointed it out and it was a great catch.  Roger left the court at 4-3 to get some treatment, but he was not moving any better.

Malisse broke at 5-5 when Roger dumped a tame pushy-forehand into the net.  He sauntered off to his chair, obviously trying to figure out what to do next.  He came back after the changeover with a new strategy - hit the ball softer and let Malisse miss.  It worked.  The Swiss broke back with a superb stretch volley, which was remarkable to do for someone with a bad back.  In the tiebreak, Malisse seemed to unwind and Fed stayed the course, and he took the tiebreak seven points to one.

After the set, the players were ushered off the court, perhaps a blessing for Fed.  In that time, he got more treatment and took some painkillers.  But there was still a question to be asked; would the back be better?

The second set was a lot easier.  He won it 6-1 in a cool 24 minutes (pun intended; it was very cool out - only 15 degrees Celsius).  Roger came out wearing an undershirt, which likely helped his back fend off the cold.  He was not moving that much better though, but he still played good enough to take the set easily.

Right off the bat in the third set, Malisse broke, and held another five successive times to take the set 6-4.  This was not a matter of Roger dropping his level as much as it was Malisse raising his, closer to the way he played in the opening set.  I say this because Roger was in many of Xavier's service games, but could not find a way to manufacture the break point chance that he needed.  Anyway, the veteran Belgian pushed the match to 4 sets.  Remember, he was only one hold away from having a two sets to one lead at this time, so in hindsight, Fed taking the first set was very crucial.

In the 4th, Malisse's momentum carried over from the third set and got the early break again, just as he did in the previous one.  This time however, Fed would not let the set get away from him.  He broke right back to get to 2-2, and then broke to finally get ahead.  (He was looking much more like the Roger of Health.)  That was all he would need, and he took the set 6-3.  A very tough and excruciating Federer win, 7-6(1), 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in two hours and eleven minutes.

He apologized to Malisse after the match, showing what a true class act he is.  Roger knows as well as anyone that playing an injured opponent can be an awkward experience and it can make a guy uncomfortable, as seemed to be the case with Malisse.

My Thoughts

As if it wasn't already obvious after the Benneteau match, Roger's fighting ability is extremely underrated.  To encounter a back injury midway through the first set and know that you'll have to win the match with great physical difficulty, that takes some serious strength.  In the end, he found a way to win without being at his very best.  He found a way to outmaneuver his opponent with variety, guile, and touch.  His backhand slice and drop shot were paramount in his ability to get through the match.

There was no doubt that the cold conditions did not help matters when it came to his back.  The undershirt that he wore for the final three sets probably helped a great deal, as well as the half hour break after the first set that allowed Roger to get treatment and maybe more importantly, get warm.  Without that rain delay, he may not have had the same success in the second set.  Perhaps the Tennis Gods were on Federer's side for once as a token of gratitude for his success at the All-England Club this past decade.

Statistically, Roger played well, to my great surprise.  The numbers:

9 aces, 1 double fault
45 winners, 18 unforced errors
34 of 39 at the net
6 out of 7 break points won
70% first serve percentage and 73% first serve points won

Overall, those are pretty decent numbers for a guy struggling with a back injury.  The first serve numbers jump out at me - granted, he was averaging 110 on it, with the fastest serve being 122 mph (in the 1st set before the injury), but from experience, Roger does not serve well when he is unhealthy.  He has served worse when he has been healthy, so being as good as he was on serve was almost icing on the cake.  Federer's serve has always been about accuracy more than pace, but surely the 10-15 mph drop in speed would cost him?  I guess not.  If anything, I believe that Fed put more emphasis on accuracy knowing that he could not slam aces like he usually can.

The other thing that got me was the net statistics.  34 of 39 at the net?  He was coming off a bad volleying day against Benneteau, but that was to do with improper anticipation than anything else, I believe.  In this match, he was dealing with a bad back, which is not ideal for hitting good volleys.  However, the numbers tell us a lot.  First of all, Fed was making an effort to get to net quicker, by either using a low slice approach shot or hitting a drop shot and following it in.  Whatever was the case, it paid off.  He also hit a few genial stretch volleys, which, I'm sorry, is something you do not do when you have a bad back (you are breaking the rules Roger!)

Next up:  Dr. Mikhail Youzhny

The veteran Russian will be Roger's quarterfinal opponent.  He and Roger have met quite a few times on grass, including in Halle a few weeks ago and Wimbledon last year, so they know each other very well.  Youzhny is a very good player and this will be his first quarterfinal after half a dozen Wimbledon 4th round exits.

Roger is 13-0 against the doctor.  However, he knows the danger of his play, and with this back problem adding to the equation, we may see a closer match than expected.  Youzhny will be coming off a very long four hour long match against Denis Istomin.  Whether or not any fatigue will come into play will be interesting to see.  He has had two four setters and now a grueling 5-setter.

Roger stated at his press conference that he is largely unconcerned about his back.  He indicated it was feeling better as the match wore on, and that this back problem has been on and off for years (in other words, 2008, when he had mono).  Two nights of sleep should help him recover, as well as the treatments, pain killers, and so on.  If he feels healthy, he should be able to come through against the Russian in straight sets.  If he isn't, well, then we shall go from there.

 In a slightly unrelated topic, Roger winning a comeback match and then fighting through this injury will give him some incredible confidence should he be healthy come the quarters and semis (against Djokovic, very likely).  This tournament has been unlike Roland Garros, where Fed could never find his rhythm at the right times.  Here, he has had two masterclasses, and two survival matches.  Should he feel healthy and ready to roar in the quarters, I can only imagine the relief that he'll feel, which can turn into confidence.  Just a thought.

So proud of Roger for fighting like a champion!

PS:  Rain halted play on the outer courts around the time Fed finished up, so they could only complete two more matches on Centre Court, one of which was Djokovic's dismantling of countryman Viktor Troicki.  The officials decided that play would end after that, with three men's matches (Tsonga/Fish, Gasquet/Mayer, and Murray/Cilic) all left to be unfinished.

This is a mistake in my opinion.  They could have finished the Gasquet/Mayer match to give one of those guys a day break to be on even terms with Novak.  Now, the #1 has an unfair advantage, which is something he surely doesn't need to beat one of them.  It is not an issue with the other matches since all of them will have the same disadvantage of having no days off (playing Tuesday and then Wednesday).  But for Gasquet or Mayer, they will be facing a fresh Djokovic while they will be winded, and that is not fair.