The legend of Roger Federer continues to grow. He made his 35th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal with an emphatic 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-2 win over Canadian Milos Raonic in the round of 16.
The Swiss master and the Canadian met 3 times in 2012, with Federer winning all 3 times, all in 3 sets. All 3 times Raonic won the first set, but not tonight. Raonic saved a few break points early, and the set rolled on until 5-4 when Roger, opportunistic as ever, earned a break point chance and converted as the tall, lanky Canadian sent a volley flying into the net.
The second set was dominated by the server, and Roger was on his serving game. He only lost 2 points on serve the entire set (Raonic only lost 9) and almost predictably, we were headed to a tiebreak - the 5th in their head-to-head. Both men held their serve until 3-3 when the Maestro hit an exquisite trademark backhand pass to take full command. He didn't look back from there, as he won the next two points on his serve and two points after that, he won the set.
In the third, Roger remained as efficient as ever and broke a struggling Raonic in the opening game, all but extinguishing any hope the young rising star had. He broke again and then cruised to victory from there. Another efficient straight-setter around the 2-hour mark, and the 17-time Slam champ heads into the quarterfinal with loads of confidence and, oh yeah, knowing that he hasn't dropped serve in 12 sets of tennis.
Roger did not face a break point against Milos the entire match, and was only taken to deuce once. A lot of that had to do with the weak return game of the big Canadian, but Fed was serving and playing spectacularly well to hold serve regardless. Many players, perhaps even Djokovic and Murray, would have had some difficulty trying to break serve. For the match, Roger hit 24 winners to 12 unforced errors, hit 14 aces, served at 64%, won 90% of his first serve points, 75% of his second serve points, was 14/15 at net, and won 36% of return points - impressive against a guy with such an amazing serve like Raonic.
Looking ahead to the quarters, Fed faces Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who has quietly come through the draw in good form. He shall be a tough test but with the way Roger has been playing through the first four rounds, I think it will take a very special effort by Tsonga to have a chance at winning.
Also, how great has Roger's movement looked so far? He is defending off his forehand better than I've seen in a long time, and if he wants to beat Murray and Djokovic, the movement to that side will be key because both can rip the ball down the line with their two-handers.
Quick Thoughts on Djokovic/Wawrinka
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last 48 hours, you're certainly aware of the 5-hour classic that took place between Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka - a match that went 12-10 in the 5th set. I just want to give some brief thoughts about it.
First of all, it was the best match Stan ever played, bar none. He was aggressive, determined, and he believed in himself - something other top 20 players could use more of when they run into the top guns. Stan is one of the only guys that can hang with Djokovic from the baseline shot for shot, and he certainly proved it, hitting spectacular winners off both forehand and backhand and not backing down.
Mentally, Stan was superb. Yes, he lost a 5-3 30-0 lead in the second set that would have given him a two-set lead. But knowing Djokovic, that may not have been good enough anyway and it's useless to play the "what if" game. The bottom line is that Stan could have folded after losing the second set, but he didn't. A previous version of him might have. If he shows that belief and mental tenacity throughout the rest of this year, chances are his ranking and results will see a decent improvement. He has top 10 quality talent, but the mind has always let him down. Maybe this inspired perfomance will create a change for him. I certainly hope so because he is very fun to watch when everything is clicking.
As for Djokovic, he has 48 hours to prepare for Tomas Berdych, who has quietly (like Tsonga) come through the draw with ease. We all know Novak's history with long matches - just last year he went nearly 5 hours with Murray and then nearly 6 with Nadal back-to-back. However, the #1 must still be wary of the danger that Tomas may cause if he gets going early. Surely the legs will be feeling it if he can't find a rhythm quickly.
If Nole doesn't feel any effect from the Wawrinka match, he wins, but I do expect a close match. Berdych has been thriving off the quicker courts this year and is confident after helping his country win the Davis Cup last December. And he will have a point to prove after last year giving Nadal a tough match but falling short.
So the quarterfinals are set, and it's Djokovic/Berdych, Ferrer/Almagro, Murray/Chardy, and Federer/Tsonga. Two of those matches should be close, the others might not be. Though Almagro has been playing well this tournament after surviving a first-round 5-set scare, Ferrer is too solid and too consistent. And even though Chardy took out Murray in Cincinnati last year before the Scot won his maiden Slam, he has practically zero chance barring a miracle.
And how devastating has Serena Williams looked? That woman is scary.
Until next time,
Kyle
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