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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!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Federer Wins 5th Cincinnati Title

Roger Federer defeated Novak Djokovic 6-0, 7-6(7) in an hour and twenty minutes to claim his 5th title in Cincinnati, a record.  It was his 21st Masters trophy, and 76th title overall.  The match between Federer and Djokovic marked the first time in tournament history that the #1 and #2 players in the world played in the final.

The first set was as one-sided as a set between these two can be.  Federer broke in the very first game and didn't look back from there.  It was the first bagel set in the history between Roger and Novak, and this was their 28th meeting, remember.

Federer wasn't really doing anything truly extraordinary, but he was just very solid.  Djokovic was off his game, and double faulted quite a lot.  Roger really had no trouble on serve, and he was dominating the baseline rallies.  Djokovic's return was certainly not as sharp as it usually is, but to be fair, Roger's serve was hitting the lines nearly every time.

The second set was more like the match we expect to see between the #1 and #2 players in the world.  Novak started playing much better, and he started firing on his groundstrokes.  He started the set on serve, so Roger had to be very sharp as to not let the set get away, and he was.  A few times the Serb was in Roger's service games but Fed never gave him a chance to break (he didn't face a break point the entire match).

In the tiebreak, Roger took a 3-0 lead before Novak stormed back.  The Serb got the mini-break at 4-3 but handed it right back.  Roger had a match point at 6-5 but Nole fended it off well, and Roger returned the favour by saving set point at 7-6.  On his second match point at 8-7, Fed got a short forehand to hit and put it away to claim his 6th title of the season.

It was a vintage Federer performance from beginning to end.  Here are some of the numbers:  28 winners, 18 unforced errors, 8 aces, 11/14 at net, 82% first serves won and 69% of 2nd serves won.  He only served at 59% for the match, but when he did get the first serve in, it was nearly impossible for Djokovic to return successfully.  That is saying something, since Novak is the best returner in the game.  Even the 2nd serves were immaculate from Roger, putting them deep in the box or in the corners.

So, what do we know about this week in Cincinnati?  Well, Roger confirmed his place as #1 in the world.  He didn't drop a set all week, and didn't even drop serve.  In fact, he became the first player to win a Masters tournament without being broken!

In ATP Tour events (excluding Olympics), Roger is on a 12-match winning streak and has won 13 straight sets, dating back to the first set he lost to Murray in the Wimbledon final.

Since Fed's loss to Djokovic at the US Open last year, he is 73-7 with 9 titles, 4 of those being Masters 1000s and one being a Slam.  This past year has been incredible for Roger, and I, along with all of the millions of Fedfans in the world, could not be happier.  At 31, the great man continues to put his name into the record books, and as of right now, it certainly doesn't look as if he will stop any time soon.

The US Open is up next, and Fed certainly has to be the co-favourite if not the favourite.  I can't see anyone stopping him if he looks anywhere near as good as he did this week in Cincinnati.  He looks absolutely amazing, and dare I say, he might be playing as well right now as he was in his prime (2005 and 2006).  That is a serious statement, as the tennis he has played this year has been just, well, no adjective can really describe it.  Considering he's 31 and has been at the top of the game now for close to a decade, this stuff just isn't supposed to happen!

Thanks Fed.

PS:  This tweet has been retweeted over 50 times, which is way more than any tweet of mine has ever been RT'd.  So for me personally, I am quite happy.


 Rejoice Fed fans!

1 comment:

  1. It is a pleasure to watch Roger play, and I agree with You Kyle, I could not be more happier!

    ReplyDelete