Roger Federer booked a spot in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Masters with a smooth 6-3, 6-4 win over Philipp Kohlschreiber. In a seemingly rare occurrence this season, the Swiss wasn't broken and served a high first serve percentage of 75% en route to breaking once in each set to get the job done in just over an hour.
Federer plays Juan Martin del Potro in the quarterfinals, and this will be their second meeting in 6 days, as the Argentine edged Federer in the Basel final last week. The big man came back from a set down to defeat Grigor Dimitrov.
Elsewhere, Stan Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet clinched their spots in the World Tour Finals when Milos Raonic lost to Tomas Berdych 7-6(13), 6-4. The Swiss #2 advanced with a win over Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-2 and Richard Gasquet clinically beat Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-2 also and set a new high for wins in a season with 50. Nice season Richard!
Novak Djokovic lost the opening set against John Isner in a tiebreak but played an extraordinary two sets to win 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-2 and David Ferrer bounced Gilles Simon 6-2, 6-3.
As for Federer, he looks like he's gaining confidence with each match and from what he has said, he is completely healthy. From what you can see with your own eye, he looks very good physically - moving quicker than earlier in the year and serving better, which indicates that his back is giving him no problems.
The match against Del Potro should be interesting. Roger will certainly be up to play as he was in Basel and if he can play as well as he did in that match he will have every opportunity to win the match, providing that he stays sharp and doesn't give away a service game or two like he did last week. Having only one win over a top 10 player all year, it would be nice to see him win and it would be a great boost before London.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Federer Qualifies for London
Roger Federer secured his 12th consecutive appearance at the year-ending World Tour Finals, formerly Masters Cup, with a 6-4, 6-4 win over South African Kevin Anderson of the 2nd round of the BNP Paribas Masters.
Federer got a good start, breaking in the first game of the match, and then held serve the rest of the way to grab the first set. He started smoothly again in the second set, getting a double break and going up 5-1 before he ran into a little scare. Serving for the match at 5-2, he was broken by the big man on his 4th break point faced. On his second time serving out the match, he went down 15-40 but used his serve to bail him out of trouble and a few points later he won the match.
Overall, he was pretty solid except for the blip at the end of the match. Though to be fair to him, something clicked in Anderson's head after he went down 5-1 and he started playing much better. After playing poorly for much of the match, suddenly he was not missing and finding the range on his groundstrokes, and it looked like it took Fed by surprise.
Nevertheless, the South African could have been very dangerous and he showed at the end what kind of threat he could have posed had he been more solid throughout the whole match. Next up is Philipp Kolschreiber, who defeated Tommy Haas easily. Roger should win the match in straights but Kohli is a good player and can't be taken lightly.
And now, Roger has a spot in the World Tour Finals where he has 6 wins and two other finals in the last 10 years. Even though he only has one win over a top 10 player all season, coming in January, he has always played some of his best tennis at the event, especially in London, and he will surely be looking to finish the year on a strong note.
Onwards and upwards,
Kyle.
Federer got a good start, breaking in the first game of the match, and then held serve the rest of the way to grab the first set. He started smoothly again in the second set, getting a double break and going up 5-1 before he ran into a little scare. Serving for the match at 5-2, he was broken by the big man on his 4th break point faced. On his second time serving out the match, he went down 15-40 but used his serve to bail him out of trouble and a few points later he won the match.
Overall, he was pretty solid except for the blip at the end of the match. Though to be fair to him, something clicked in Anderson's head after he went down 5-1 and he started playing much better. After playing poorly for much of the match, suddenly he was not missing and finding the range on his groundstrokes, and it looked like it took Fed by surprise.
Nevertheless, the South African could have been very dangerous and he showed at the end what kind of threat he could have posed had he been more solid throughout the whole match. Next up is Philipp Kolschreiber, who defeated Tommy Haas easily. Roger should win the match in straights but Kohli is a good player and can't be taken lightly.
And now, Roger has a spot in the World Tour Finals where he has 6 wins and two other finals in the last 10 years. Even though he only has one win over a top 10 player all season, coming in January, he has always played some of his best tennis at the event, especially in London, and he will surely be looking to finish the year on a strong note.
Onwards and upwards,
Kyle.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Finally, a good week for Federer
Maybe coming home was just what Roger Federer needed to try and find some good form.
Though the Swiss legend lost in the finals of the Swiss Indoors to Juan Martin del Potro in a tight, high quality 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-4 loss, it was his best tournament in months and he displayed some wonderful tennis as well as a gritty determination that has been lacking this year.
Before the tournament began, Federer had only been in 5 semifinals this season (Australian Open, Dubai, Rome, Halle, and Hamburg), and only 2 finals (Rome and Halle). He had lost many matches against players he was favoured to beat, and any time he got a little momentum, it slipped away with a bad loss, usually in an early round. But not this week, not in Basel.
The week started with a fairly routine win over Adrian Mannarino. Then he found himself in some trouble against the dangerous Denis Istomin, down a set. This time, the great champion didn't let another winnable match fall through his fingers, and he played a solid two sets to win the match.
The danger was far from over though, as his quarterfinal opponent was Grigor Dimitrov, who was on a roll and had just won his first career title in Stockholm, against a top 5 player in David Ferrer. In a highly anticipated match between the old and the new, the old guy came out on top, using his experience and court craft to upend the youngster.
The semifinal wasn't any easier; in fact, it proved to be much tougher, against a rising star in Vasek Pospisil, an explosive fresh face who broke through in the summer. The match started out great for the Swiss, but he lost concentration at the worst time, serving for the match, and he lost the second set. In the third, he threw away a service game but fought right back, and fought hard the rest of the way until he eventually won the match. It was the kind of contest he had been losing all year - and it followed many of the same patterns: play great in patches and then out of nowhere, the wheels fall off leaving his fans, and surely even himself, confused and disappointed. But he won this match and gave himself the chance to win his home tournament once more.
As aforementioned, he went up against Del Potro, who has been very in-form recently and could be seen as the 2nd best player on tour since the US Open. Given that the Argentine was in form and Federer had been struggling all year, most expected that the big man would win comfortably.
Del Potro won the match, but it sure was anything but comfortable. He took the first set in a tiebreak after a pair of lucky bounces - one when his shot hit the net and bounced over and the other one a few points later when Federer's shot hit the net and didn't. Roger didn't let losing the first set deter him, however, and he played one of his best sets of tennis all year, taking it 6-2. In the first game of the set he lost serve in a game he practically have away with a few double faults, and though Federer had a couple of break chances the next game, he was denied and Delpo played a great set the rest of the way to grab the title.
When all is said and done, it was a great week for Roger and he can take plenty of positives from it. He won two 3-set matches and he looked like the real Roger Federer against a top player in the prime of his career, and someone who has given him plenty of trouble the last few years. In the match, Fed was hitting cleaner and with more confidence - there were far fewer shanks and mishits than usual this season - and he was serving much better, especially from the deuce side where he had his serve up the T dialed in, and hit many aces with it. He kept up with Del Potro's big and consistent hitting, and he even defended quite well, showing that he was healthy. He also looked very energized and focused, which proves that he really wanted to win the title. Of course he didn't, but there really is nothing to feel bad about when looking back at this past week.
Up next is Paris where Fed needs one win to qualify for the World Tour Finals, and that win will need to come against Kevin Anderson or Mikhail Youzhny, the latter of whom took out David Ferrer in the Valencia final on Sunday. If Roger carries over the same form he showed in the final against Delpo, he should beat either of them, but of course nothing is a given. Even though it looks like Roger might be getting some of his form and confidence back, he has to be focused on keeping it.
If nothing else, doing well in Paris and the World Tour Finals will act as positive reinforcement heading into the offseason where he will be doing everything he can to prepare for what hopes to be a much better 2014 season.
Though the Swiss legend lost in the finals of the Swiss Indoors to Juan Martin del Potro in a tight, high quality 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-4 loss, it was his best tournament in months and he displayed some wonderful tennis as well as a gritty determination that has been lacking this year.
Before the tournament began, Federer had only been in 5 semifinals this season (Australian Open, Dubai, Rome, Halle, and Hamburg), and only 2 finals (Rome and Halle). He had lost many matches against players he was favoured to beat, and any time he got a little momentum, it slipped away with a bad loss, usually in an early round. But not this week, not in Basel.
The week started with a fairly routine win over Adrian Mannarino. Then he found himself in some trouble against the dangerous Denis Istomin, down a set. This time, the great champion didn't let another winnable match fall through his fingers, and he played a solid two sets to win the match.
The danger was far from over though, as his quarterfinal opponent was Grigor Dimitrov, who was on a roll and had just won his first career title in Stockholm, against a top 5 player in David Ferrer. In a highly anticipated match between the old and the new, the old guy came out on top, using his experience and court craft to upend the youngster.
The semifinal wasn't any easier; in fact, it proved to be much tougher, against a rising star in Vasek Pospisil, an explosive fresh face who broke through in the summer. The match started out great for the Swiss, but he lost concentration at the worst time, serving for the match, and he lost the second set. In the third, he threw away a service game but fought right back, and fought hard the rest of the way until he eventually won the match. It was the kind of contest he had been losing all year - and it followed many of the same patterns: play great in patches and then out of nowhere, the wheels fall off leaving his fans, and surely even himself, confused and disappointed. But he won this match and gave himself the chance to win his home tournament once more.
As aforementioned, he went up against Del Potro, who has been very in-form recently and could be seen as the 2nd best player on tour since the US Open. Given that the Argentine was in form and Federer had been struggling all year, most expected that the big man would win comfortably.
Del Potro won the match, but it sure was anything but comfortable. He took the first set in a tiebreak after a pair of lucky bounces - one when his shot hit the net and bounced over and the other one a few points later when Federer's shot hit the net and didn't. Roger didn't let losing the first set deter him, however, and he played one of his best sets of tennis all year, taking it 6-2. In the first game of the set he lost serve in a game he practically have away with a few double faults, and though Federer had a couple of break chances the next game, he was denied and Delpo played a great set the rest of the way to grab the title.
When all is said and done, it was a great week for Roger and he can take plenty of positives from it. He won two 3-set matches and he looked like the real Roger Federer against a top player in the prime of his career, and someone who has given him plenty of trouble the last few years. In the match, Fed was hitting cleaner and with more confidence - there were far fewer shanks and mishits than usual this season - and he was serving much better, especially from the deuce side where he had his serve up the T dialed in, and hit many aces with it. He kept up with Del Potro's big and consistent hitting, and he even defended quite well, showing that he was healthy. He also looked very energized and focused, which proves that he really wanted to win the title. Of course he didn't, but there really is nothing to feel bad about when looking back at this past week.
Up next is Paris where Fed needs one win to qualify for the World Tour Finals, and that win will need to come against Kevin Anderson or Mikhail Youzhny, the latter of whom took out David Ferrer in the Valencia final on Sunday. If Roger carries over the same form he showed in the final against Delpo, he should beat either of them, but of course nothing is a given. Even though it looks like Roger might be getting some of his form and confidence back, he has to be focused on keeping it.
If nothing else, doing well in Paris and the World Tour Finals will act as positive reinforcement heading into the offseason where he will be doing everything he can to prepare for what hopes to be a much better 2014 season.
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Federer fights into Basel final
Roger Federer made things more difficult for himself than they had to be, but in the end he prevailed 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-5 against Canadian Vasek Pospisil in the semifinals of his home tournament in Basel. He will be chasing his 6th title at the event when he goes up against Juan Martin del Potro.
As was a trademark of Federer's in his glory days, the Swiss started fast and got an early break, which then led to a 5-3 lead when he got another one to close out the set. So far, so good. He carried that momentum into the second set and he broke in the 8th game to serve for the match, but that's when the wheels started to fall off. He was broken and basically let the Canadian right back in the match. The set went to a tiebreak and Pospisil played a solid one while Roger did not. One set apiece when Fed and the whole Swiss crowd must have felt the match should have been over.
In the fourth game of the deciding set, things were going smoothly for Roger, taking a 40-0 lead on his serve. And then he played a catastrophic 5 points to lose serve, and you began to feel that maybe it just wasn't his day.
But then he broke back to love.
A few games later, at 3-4, Roger needed to save a break point and did so, and then he turned up the pressure at 5-5 on the Canadian's serve and he eventually managed to break after a long game. He served out the match in tense fashion, but his final serve wasn't returned, and he won the match to get himself into only his 3rd final of this almost-complete season.
It was one of those great "ugly" wins that Roger has had over the years, and watching it live was very tense to watch as a fan. The first half of the match was pretty smooth and Fed was playing good tennis, and then he really had to fight in the 3rd set to pull through. It seemed like he wasn't just battling Pospisil out there on court, but his own mind as well. He looked unsure of what shot to hit on many occasions and time after time he hit 2nd serve returns right in the centre of the court for Pospisil to hit into a corner. No doubt he's still low on confidence and trying to get himself on the right track, and this week is a big step in the right direction with a few hard-fought victories that he won without playing his best.
So the final is a rematch of last year's, Federer vs del Potro. Every time these two have met Roger has been the favourite but not this time - the Argentine has been on quite a roll since losing early at the US Open, winning the title in Tokyo and making the final of the Shanghai Masters, beating Nadal in the semis and losing in three to Djokovic.
If I was a betting man, my money would go on the big guy, but I know enough that you can never count Roger out. It's a different match and a different day, and he could come out flying and confident, or he could come out flat and tired. Whatever happens, I consider this to be a very successful week for Fed, and there is no shame in losing to Delpo who is basically in the prime of his career.
Hopefully it will be a good match,
Kyle.
As was a trademark of Federer's in his glory days, the Swiss started fast and got an early break, which then led to a 5-3 lead when he got another one to close out the set. So far, so good. He carried that momentum into the second set and he broke in the 8th game to serve for the match, but that's when the wheels started to fall off. He was broken and basically let the Canadian right back in the match. The set went to a tiebreak and Pospisil played a solid one while Roger did not. One set apiece when Fed and the whole Swiss crowd must have felt the match should have been over.
In the fourth game of the deciding set, things were going smoothly for Roger, taking a 40-0 lead on his serve. And then he played a catastrophic 5 points to lose serve, and you began to feel that maybe it just wasn't his day.
But then he broke back to love.
A few games later, at 3-4, Roger needed to save a break point and did so, and then he turned up the pressure at 5-5 on the Canadian's serve and he eventually managed to break after a long game. He served out the match in tense fashion, but his final serve wasn't returned, and he won the match to get himself into only his 3rd final of this almost-complete season.
It was one of those great "ugly" wins that Roger has had over the years, and watching it live was very tense to watch as a fan. The first half of the match was pretty smooth and Fed was playing good tennis, and then he really had to fight in the 3rd set to pull through. It seemed like he wasn't just battling Pospisil out there on court, but his own mind as well. He looked unsure of what shot to hit on many occasions and time after time he hit 2nd serve returns right in the centre of the court for Pospisil to hit into a corner. No doubt he's still low on confidence and trying to get himself on the right track, and this week is a big step in the right direction with a few hard-fought victories that he won without playing his best.
So the final is a rematch of last year's, Federer vs del Potro. Every time these two have met Roger has been the favourite but not this time - the Argentine has been on quite a roll since losing early at the US Open, winning the title in Tokyo and making the final of the Shanghai Masters, beating Nadal in the semis and losing in three to Djokovic.
If I was a betting man, my money would go on the big guy, but I know enough that you can never count Roger out. It's a different match and a different day, and he could come out flying and confident, or he could come out flat and tired. Whatever happens, I consider this to be a very successful week for Fed, and there is no shame in losing to Delpo who is basically in the prime of his career.
Hopefully it will be a good match,
Kyle.
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