The only question heading into Sunday's final between Jo-Wilfied Tsonga and Roger Federer was, "could Tsonga defeat the great Federer?" The answer to that question came in the form of a 63 67(6) 63 win by Roger Federer, giving him his 6th Masters Cup title in 10 years of Masters Cup play, and his 5th title won while going undefeated. I don't know about the rest of you, but that is quite an achievement! Roger won in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2010, and 2011 whilst not losing a match, and only losing one match to Fernando Gonzalez in his 2007 campaign. I could not be more happy about Roger winning the title this week, and I know that it means the world to him to lift the trophy once more. The Masters Cup is the unofficial 5th Slam and it really is the hardest tournament all year to win, so for Fed to have won it 6 times, and 5 of those he went undefeated, is absolutely outstanding no matter how you look at it. Roger also ends the year on a 17-match winning streak, which is remarkable after the devastating US Open defeat. It just shows the heart and passion that he has for the game and the mindset to keep moving forward.
The match started out at a frivolous pace, with both men holding the first few games. Fed showed great patience throughout the first 8 games because Tsonga was plastering the fuzz off the ball on both his serve and his groundstrokes. Roger weathered the Tstorm as Matt Zemek (@mzemek on Twitter) would say. This was very crucial, as he turned up the fire at 4-3 and broke at love, and then held a tough game to close out the set. In the second set, Roger had a chance to break at 1-1 but Tsonga held tough, but Roger broke at 3-2 and looked like he was on his way to winning. But at 5-4, Tsonga played a sizzling game and broke back to even the set. It went to a tiebreak, where Federer held a 5-2 lead at one time, but Tsonga scraped back and saved a championship point at 6-5. He took the final three points to send the final to three. In the third, it was very even, much like the first set, but Roger was playing much better and the fire was back in his eyes. At 4-3, Roger broke after a few chances and all but sealed his win. He held to love at 5-3 and clinched his wonderful 6th Masters Cup title. The elation on Roger's face was heart-warming, and he was so thrilled to have come through in such a big moment.
I did notice that there was a difference between Federer serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set and at 5-3 in the third. In the second set, there was a changeover before Roger served, and that 90-second delay did its job in letting Fed to overthink the game ahead. In the third set, there was no changeover and Roger was able to hold without thinking. I believe he plays his best when he is not overthinking things and just flowing. That is not to say that he does not think when he is at his best, but more that his game really takes over when he goes off his instincts. Another strategy that Roger nailed to peRFection in this match was making it hard for Tsonga to volley by putting the ball at his feet and forcing him to hit up. This was especially important in the games where he broke Jo, and he did not allow the Frenchman to get any rhythm on the serve and volley. Speaking of Jo, my hat goes off to him; he played a great tournament and pushed Roger to the limit in the final, and showed tremendous heart and spirit. I hope he has a great 2012 season.
Now, I want to talk about the amazing career of Roger Federer and how consistent he really has been over the past ten years. To constantly be at your best at the end of the year is amazing, especially when he constantly plays over 75 matches in a season. When others have slowed down towards the end of the year (ahem Djokovic, Nadal, Murray), Federer keeps going strong, and that is why he has six of these prestigious Masters Cup titles. The sheer consistency this man has displayed, from 9 straight years in the top 3 to 10 straight Masters Cups to appearing in 30 straight Grand Slam quarterfinals, it is all out of this world. Stats don't lie, and even though Mr Federer himself does not follow the numbers he puts up, people like me do, and we all can't believe it. As far as I am concerned, Roger Federer is not only the greatest tennis player and ambassador to the game, but he is also the greatest athlete ever, and probably the most humble. For all the amount of success he has had, he still doesn't believe that he is better than Sampras and Lendl and other greats of the past. That is just old-fashioned humility, and that's Roger Federer in a nutshell. He works harder than anyone else on and off the court, and for all he has done over the years, he is always looking for more. I think that is the sign of a true champion, that great is never good enough. Roger Federer certainly has that motto down to the letter.
Roger, you are such a great man and I am so proud to call you my hero. Through the good times and the bad times, I will be there to the very end supporting you, and I hope you have a wonderful 2012 season. You were on the cusp of winning a Slam in 2011 and if you can ride the momentum from the end of this year to the start of next year, you will be unstoppable. Keep kicking ass Roger, and go get 'em in 2012.
Kyle
Sunday, November 27, 2011
WTF Semifinal Saturday - Federer and Tsonga win
On Semifinal Saturday, the ATP World Tour Finals final was set, and it will feature two men who will have played on three consecutive Sundays come final day. Those two men are of course Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Federer came through against David Ferrer 75 63 and Tsonga defeated Tomas Berdych 63 75 (huh, opposite scorelines).
In the first match of the day, Federer played Ferrer, with whom he had a perfect 11-0 record against. The match started out very evenly, and both men held serve until 4-4. The tennis being played was not very pretty, especially from Federer's end, as he was littering the court with unforced errors. However, Ferrer could never capitalize and both men kept holding serve. At 5-5, Roger had about 6 or 7 game points and after each one I thought it was more and more likely that Ferrer would break. However, Fed kept getting let off the hook by the #2 ranked Spaniard, and he eventually held. That ended up being very crucial, because Ferrer got broken in the next game to lose the tight first set 7 games to 5. It was hardly pretty, but Fed got the job done in the end and that's what matters. In the second set, Roger played much better tennis and broke in the first game to take an early stranglehold. It was plainly evident that he was hitting the ball much crisper, and the unforced errors disappeared whilst a swift, attacking game of tennis reared it's beautiful head and he won the second set comfortably 6-3 after breaking in the final game at 5-3. Overall, it was a very solid win for Roger. He praised Ferrer after the match for his grit and spirit and he knows that things could have easily been different had it not been for a few shots here and there.
After the match on Twitter, there were many complaints that Roger played a poor match, but I don't believe that to be the case. In the match itself, he was 15 of 17 at the net, and never faced a break point, which is remarkable against David Ferrer, one of the best returners in the game. More so than that though, I think it took a while to find his rhythm and timing on Ferrer's groundstrokes, which were unlike any of his previous opponents. Think about it: Tsonga hits it hard and flat, Nadal hits in heavy with lots of topspin, and Fish hits it flat with not a lot of pace. Ferrer hits the ball with lots of spin like a Nadal, but without the same kind of pace generated. I believe it took Roger a while to get comfortable off the ground in taking Ferrer's strokes on, but once he found the range in the final game of the first set, he was playing very comfortably and cruised to victory. This is just my own personal take on it of course, but I like to think that I know Roger's game inside and out, and having played tennis myself for a decade now, I can understand how difficult it can be to adjust to an opponent's playing style.
The biggest news of the win was that Roger regained his #3 ranking from Murray and made his 100th ATP Tour final, which is something amazing in of itself. To address the first point, better luck next time Murray. That is what you get when you talk trash before the tournament when you know you are not anywhere close to 100 percent ready. "I'm going to let my tennis do the talking," yeah right Andy. To address the second point, CONGRATULATIONS ROGER! I know he does not track every record and achievement he gets, but many of us do and to reach 100 finals is absolutely stunning, and with a win in the final here, he would have a 70-30 record, also quite stunning.
Looking ahead to the final, I believe if Roger plays his very best, which is quite likely, he will win in straight sets. Tsonga is looking very confident right now and will surely be very motivated to win to avenge the last three losses to Roger, but I cannot see him winning if Roger is anywhere near his peak. Speaking of motivation, with a win, Roger will win $1,630,000 in prize money for going undefeated, as opposed to the $770,000 he would otherwise receive without an imperfect record. Surely, to have two straight undefeated World Tour Finals tournaments would underline his dominance indoors. I doubt Roger needs any motivation from money however. I can only imagine how much money he has in his bank account, what with the tennis earnings and the sponsorships with Nike, Mercedes, Wilson, Jura, Credit Suisse, Rolex, NetJets, Lindt, and Gillette. It would still be a nice perk though.
I'm looking forward to a great final and I hope to see Roger lifting his 6th Masters Cup trophy high in the air come tomorrow. GO ROGER!
Kyle
In the first match of the day, Federer played Ferrer, with whom he had a perfect 11-0 record against. The match started out very evenly, and both men held serve until 4-4. The tennis being played was not very pretty, especially from Federer's end, as he was littering the court with unforced errors. However, Ferrer could never capitalize and both men kept holding serve. At 5-5, Roger had about 6 or 7 game points and after each one I thought it was more and more likely that Ferrer would break. However, Fed kept getting let off the hook by the #2 ranked Spaniard, and he eventually held. That ended up being very crucial, because Ferrer got broken in the next game to lose the tight first set 7 games to 5. It was hardly pretty, but Fed got the job done in the end and that's what matters. In the second set, Roger played much better tennis and broke in the first game to take an early stranglehold. It was plainly evident that he was hitting the ball much crisper, and the unforced errors disappeared whilst a swift, attacking game of tennis reared it's beautiful head and he won the second set comfortably 6-3 after breaking in the final game at 5-3. Overall, it was a very solid win for Roger. He praised Ferrer after the match for his grit and spirit and he knows that things could have easily been different had it not been for a few shots here and there.
After the match on Twitter, there were many complaints that Roger played a poor match, but I don't believe that to be the case. In the match itself, he was 15 of 17 at the net, and never faced a break point, which is remarkable against David Ferrer, one of the best returners in the game. More so than that though, I think it took a while to find his rhythm and timing on Ferrer's groundstrokes, which were unlike any of his previous opponents. Think about it: Tsonga hits it hard and flat, Nadal hits in heavy with lots of topspin, and Fish hits it flat with not a lot of pace. Ferrer hits the ball with lots of spin like a Nadal, but without the same kind of pace generated. I believe it took Roger a while to get comfortable off the ground in taking Ferrer's strokes on, but once he found the range in the final game of the first set, he was playing very comfortably and cruised to victory. This is just my own personal take on it of course, but I like to think that I know Roger's game inside and out, and having played tennis myself for a decade now, I can understand how difficult it can be to adjust to an opponent's playing style.
The biggest news of the win was that Roger regained his #3 ranking from Murray and made his 100th ATP Tour final, which is something amazing in of itself. To address the first point, better luck next time Murray. That is what you get when you talk trash before the tournament when you know you are not anywhere close to 100 percent ready. "I'm going to let my tennis do the talking," yeah right Andy. To address the second point, CONGRATULATIONS ROGER! I know he does not track every record and achievement he gets, but many of us do and to reach 100 finals is absolutely stunning, and with a win in the final here, he would have a 70-30 record, also quite stunning.
Looking ahead to the final, I believe if Roger plays his very best, which is quite likely, he will win in straight sets. Tsonga is looking very confident right now and will surely be very motivated to win to avenge the last three losses to Roger, but I cannot see him winning if Roger is anywhere near his peak. Speaking of motivation, with a win, Roger will win $1,630,000 in prize money for going undefeated, as opposed to the $770,000 he would otherwise receive without an imperfect record. Surely, to have two straight undefeated World Tour Finals tournaments would underline his dominance indoors. I doubt Roger needs any motivation from money however. I can only imagine how much money he has in his bank account, what with the tennis earnings and the sponsorships with Nike, Mercedes, Wilson, Jura, Credit Suisse, Rolex, NetJets, Lindt, and Gillette. It would still be a nice perk though.
I'm looking forward to a great final and I hope to see Roger lifting his 6th Masters Cup trophy high in the air come tomorrow. GO ROGER!
Kyle
Saturday, November 26, 2011
WTF Day 6 - Berdych eliminates Djokovic
On the final day of round robin play, Novak Djokovic needed a bit of luck to make the semifinals, and he didn't get it. After losing to fellow Serb Janko Tipsarevic 36 63 63, he needed David Ferrer to beat Tomas Berdych or else he was out. Berdych defeated Ferrer 36 75 61, thus eliminating Djokovic from contention. It was a very good performance from Berdych because he was down a break twice in the second set and did not give up. That is the kind of mental fortitude that we all have been waiting to see from the Czech for quite some time, and it was nice to see him come through on a big stage.
The semifinals are now set, and the two matches are Federer vs Ferrer and Berdych vs Tsonga. In the first match, Federer should come through against Ferrer, even if the latter has been playing some sizzling tennis in this tournament. However, with Roger's all-round attacking game, there aren't many ways Ferrer can hurt the Swiss Maestro. In the second semifinal, take your pick. Both Tsonga and Berdych have confidence and the match could really go any way. Chances are it will be a three set affair, and whoever makes the final will probably be gassed, and a hungry Roger Federer will be awaiting them on the other side of the net.
Now, onto Novak Djokovic and his struggles late in the season. It's not really surprising, giving his physical playing style. Novak finishes the year 70-7 with 10 titles, which is a far cry from Roger's 92-5 record with 12 titles in 2006, 81-4 in 2005 with 11 titles, and even 74-6 with 11 titles in 2004. Novak has no doubt had an incredible year but the pace he was on after Wimbledon trailed off considerably. At one time this year, Novak was 64-2. Now he finishes the year 70-6, meaning his final stretch was 6-4. That is quite a bad finish to a season for any player, let alone the #1 player in the world. Again, offense, consistency and longevity proves to be more valuable than defense, streakiness, and retirements/withdrawals. It surely cannot be said now that Djokovic's 2011 season has been better than Federer's 2006, or maybe even Federer's 2004 season. The end of the year has really hurt Djokovic and his inability to win the Masters Cup will ruin what was a fantastic year for some.
Anyways, enjoy Semifinal Saturday, and go Roger!
Kyle
The semifinals are now set, and the two matches are Federer vs Ferrer and Berdych vs Tsonga. In the first match, Federer should come through against Ferrer, even if the latter has been playing some sizzling tennis in this tournament. However, with Roger's all-round attacking game, there aren't many ways Ferrer can hurt the Swiss Maestro. In the second semifinal, take your pick. Both Tsonga and Berdych have confidence and the match could really go any way. Chances are it will be a three set affair, and whoever makes the final will probably be gassed, and a hungry Roger Federer will be awaiting them on the other side of the net.
Now, onto Novak Djokovic and his struggles late in the season. It's not really surprising, giving his physical playing style. Novak finishes the year 70-7 with 10 titles, which is a far cry from Roger's 92-5 record with 12 titles in 2006, 81-4 in 2005 with 11 titles, and even 74-6 with 11 titles in 2004. Novak has no doubt had an incredible year but the pace he was on after Wimbledon trailed off considerably. At one time this year, Novak was 64-2. Now he finishes the year 70-6, meaning his final stretch was 6-4. That is quite a bad finish to a season for any player, let alone the #1 player in the world. Again, offense, consistency and longevity proves to be more valuable than defense, streakiness, and retirements/withdrawals. It surely cannot be said now that Djokovic's 2011 season has been better than Federer's 2006, or maybe even Federer's 2004 season. The end of the year has really hurt Djokovic and his inability to win the Masters Cup will ruin what was a fantastic year for some.
Anyways, enjoy Semifinal Saturday, and go Roger!
Kyle
Thursday, November 24, 2011
WTF Day 5 - Tsonga eliminates Nadal
In the final matches of Group B in the 2011 World Tour Finals, there was only one question to be asked: Who would join Roger Federer as the 2nd semifinalist in the group? Tsonga or Nadal? We have the answer, and it is the Frenchman Jo-Willy Tsonga, who defeated Nadal 76(2) 46 63. With the loss, Nadal falls to a 9-10 record at the Masters Cup, which is quite frankly very poor for a player of his standing on the ATP circuit. Compare that with Federer's 37-7, and it looks VERY poor.
The match started out very even with no player being able to break. The first set went to a tiebreak where Tsonga jumped out to a 4-1 lead and never looked back, taking it 7 points to 2. The second set was much the same story until 4-4 when Tsonga had a 15-30 opportunity to get the break. Nadal held, and then Tsonga played a very bad service game and practically handed Nadal the set. He went for broke far too early in the rallies and double faulted THREE times in one game to seal the deal on that set. In the third, Nadal was broken twice and went down 5-2. Tsonga played a loose service game and gave one of the breaks back, but it needn't have mattered because Nadal gave the break right back at love, and thus the match. So there you have it; Rafael Nadal has yet another poor showing at the Year-End Championships, and continues to show everybody that he is not that good of an indoor player.
Tsonga won the match by playing very much the same way that Roger played two days earlier. He served well, attacked Nadal off both wings and attacked Rafa's forehand with great consistency. Tsonga will always be a player that will give Nadal a hard time on a fast court with his aggressive style of play, and it showed in this match. Nadal hit 14 winners in over two and a half hours of play, a stat that is quite mind-numbing for a match of that length. It just goes to show that Nadal does not attack very much and tries to win matches using a clay-court style even when it will never work. People have said in the past that Federer can get stubborn at times, but what about Nadal? He tried playing his usual style against Federer and failed. He tried to use that same style against Tsonga, who had the same gameplan as Roger did, and failed. What about Nadal being such an adaptable player to any situation? Maybe, just maybe, we can just accept that Nadal is a one-dimensional player and stop overrating his abilities.
In the earlier match of the day, which had very little riding on it, Roger Federer defeated Mardy Fish 61 36 63. It was a relatively comfortable win at the end, and it was a good match for Roger to play before his semifinal match on Saturday. Fish pushed him, and to his credit, played lights-out tennis in the second set, when he zoned in on every shot and read Federer's serves to perfection. Because of that, he was able to win many cheap points by hitting his returns hard and deep and keeping Roger off balance. He also served very well, and by this point we should all know that serving well is a key for EVERY player to have success.
For Roger, the match was a stark contrast to the Nadal match. Fish attacked the net consistently and went for his shots, whereas Rafa just put the ball back into play and Roger was able to dictate play. I think it was good that Roger was tested right after his stunning match against Nadal, just to keep him in reality and on his toes. I know he's too much of a professional to do it anyways, but he doesn't want to get relaxed and lose focus. In the second set, however, that is definitely not what happened - he was just outplayed by Mardy and even pulling for Roger throughout the match, I could not help but be amazed at some of the shots Fish was hitting. Fish went 0-3 in his first Masters Cup, but he could have easily gone 1-2 had things gone a little differently in his match with Nadal. Overall, he should be proud of his performance while not being 100% healthy, and as he said in his presser after the match, he might never be back in the tournament again, so best to savor the moments while they last. I really like Fish, and I hope he has a fantastic 2012. If he can stay in the top 15 he will be doing very well.
On the final Round Robin Group Friday, the final semifinal spot will be decided. I explained in my last post what the scenarios were so I won't go over them again, but I will say that I hope Berdych gets through. That may not happen however. Tipsarevic just might let Novak win in straights, which would mean that Berdych would have to win in straights. On the other hand though, if I was Ferrer, I would want Berdych in the semifinals over Djokovic, even if he wouldn't be meeting either of them anyways until the final. However, should Ferrer get to his second Masters Cup final, he just might want Berdych there (on the off chance that he makes it past Federer or Tsonga IF he makes the semifinals) facing him instead of Djokovic. Yes, Ferrer has a lopsided win over Novak already but should Nole make the final, he would certainly give a much better effort. Anyways, I'm sure I'm just trying to stir the pot a little, and I know that both Tipsarevic and Ferrer will give their very best efforts to play, no matter what consequences their results might have on the semifinals.
For all you Fedfans, enjoy Nadal's loss, and to everybody, enjoy what should be a fantastic day of tennis on Friday. Here's hoping to two spectacular matches that bring both intensity and drama!
Cheers,
Kyle
The match started out very even with no player being able to break. The first set went to a tiebreak where Tsonga jumped out to a 4-1 lead and never looked back, taking it 7 points to 2. The second set was much the same story until 4-4 when Tsonga had a 15-30 opportunity to get the break. Nadal held, and then Tsonga played a very bad service game and practically handed Nadal the set. He went for broke far too early in the rallies and double faulted THREE times in one game to seal the deal on that set. In the third, Nadal was broken twice and went down 5-2. Tsonga played a loose service game and gave one of the breaks back, but it needn't have mattered because Nadal gave the break right back at love, and thus the match. So there you have it; Rafael Nadal has yet another poor showing at the Year-End Championships, and continues to show everybody that he is not that good of an indoor player.
Tsonga won the match by playing very much the same way that Roger played two days earlier. He served well, attacked Nadal off both wings and attacked Rafa's forehand with great consistency. Tsonga will always be a player that will give Nadal a hard time on a fast court with his aggressive style of play, and it showed in this match. Nadal hit 14 winners in over two and a half hours of play, a stat that is quite mind-numbing for a match of that length. It just goes to show that Nadal does not attack very much and tries to win matches using a clay-court style even when it will never work. People have said in the past that Federer can get stubborn at times, but what about Nadal? He tried playing his usual style against Federer and failed. He tried to use that same style against Tsonga, who had the same gameplan as Roger did, and failed. What about Nadal being such an adaptable player to any situation? Maybe, just maybe, we can just accept that Nadal is a one-dimensional player and stop overrating his abilities.
In the earlier match of the day, which had very little riding on it, Roger Federer defeated Mardy Fish 61 36 63. It was a relatively comfortable win at the end, and it was a good match for Roger to play before his semifinal match on Saturday. Fish pushed him, and to his credit, played lights-out tennis in the second set, when he zoned in on every shot and read Federer's serves to perfection. Because of that, he was able to win many cheap points by hitting his returns hard and deep and keeping Roger off balance. He also served very well, and by this point we should all know that serving well is a key for EVERY player to have success.
For Roger, the match was a stark contrast to the Nadal match. Fish attacked the net consistently and went for his shots, whereas Rafa just put the ball back into play and Roger was able to dictate play. I think it was good that Roger was tested right after his stunning match against Nadal, just to keep him in reality and on his toes. I know he's too much of a professional to do it anyways, but he doesn't want to get relaxed and lose focus. In the second set, however, that is definitely not what happened - he was just outplayed by Mardy and even pulling for Roger throughout the match, I could not help but be amazed at some of the shots Fish was hitting. Fish went 0-3 in his first Masters Cup, but he could have easily gone 1-2 had things gone a little differently in his match with Nadal. Overall, he should be proud of his performance while not being 100% healthy, and as he said in his presser after the match, he might never be back in the tournament again, so best to savor the moments while they last. I really like Fish, and I hope he has a fantastic 2012. If he can stay in the top 15 he will be doing very well.
On the final Round Robin Group Friday, the final semifinal spot will be decided. I explained in my last post what the scenarios were so I won't go over them again, but I will say that I hope Berdych gets through. That may not happen however. Tipsarevic just might let Novak win in straights, which would mean that Berdych would have to win in straights. On the other hand though, if I was Ferrer, I would want Berdych in the semifinals over Djokovic, even if he wouldn't be meeting either of them anyways until the final. However, should Ferrer get to his second Masters Cup final, he just might want Berdych there (on the off chance that he makes it past Federer or Tsonga IF he makes the semifinals) facing him instead of Djokovic. Yes, Ferrer has a lopsided win over Novak already but should Nole make the final, he would certainly give a much better effort. Anyways, I'm sure I'm just trying to stir the pot a little, and I know that both Tipsarevic and Ferrer will give their very best efforts to play, no matter what consequences their results might have on the semifinals.
For all you Fedfans, enjoy Nadal's loss, and to everybody, enjoy what should be a fantastic day of tennis on Friday. Here's hoping to two spectacular matches that bring both intensity and drama!
Cheers,
Kyle
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