The first seven days have come and gone at the 2013 French Open and it was a very entertaining week of tennis. The usual suspects are through to the round of 16 with a few exceptions and the second week looks to be very entertaining with many great matches.
Since I am a Federer fan I will start with him. He had a simple draw to the 4th round facing a qualifier, young prospect Pablo Carreno-Busta in round one (62 62 63), then another qualifier in Somdev Devvarman in the second round (62 62 61). He won both those matches comfortably playing his unique brand on all-court attacking tennis, serving well and hitting many winners. Then in the 3rd round he faced a man that can be tricky for him, Julien Benneteau, but the Frenchman was coming off a long 5-setter and had a leg injury. He came through that one rather easily 63 64 75. He has been on court a very short time through his first three matches and that should only bode well for the next week when the matches get tougher.
Even though Roger did not have a difficult path to the 4th round, it is undeniable that he is playing very good tennis this week. He is confident, playing aggressive, hitting over the backhand return of serve, and coming to the net plentifully. Overall in the 3 matches, he has hit 125 winners to 73 unforced errors, a differential of +52. That right there shows you how aggressive he has been, hitting an average of 41.6 winners per match and 13.8 per set. You might say it was easier to hit winners given his three opponents, but you could probably estimate that Djokovic and Nadal would not have hit that many winners in each match.
Speaking of Nadal and Djokovic, it has been a different story for both of them. The World #1 had a tricky opening match against David Goffin (who made the 4th round last year and took a set off Federer) which he won in three tight sets. He then had a much easier contest against Guido Pella before an anticipated 3rd round match against Grigor Dimitrov, who upset him a few weeks ago in Madrid. The young talented Bulgarian made no dents in the Djokovic armor this time and only won 7 games in a lopsided defeat.
Rafael Nadal has struggled a fair bit so far in this tournament and he is far from the player we saw last year when he was rolling through easily. He had a tough 1st rounder against German Daniel Brands, a big guy, the kind that can give Rafa trouble. He took the first set and went up 3-0 in the 2nd set tiebreak before Nadal came roaring back to win the tiebreak and the next two sets. Then in the 2nd round the King of Clay faced Martin Klizan, who also took the opening set before falling in 4 to the Mallorcan native. And in what looked to be an easier 3rd round encounter against the Italian superstar Fabio Fognini, Rafa struggled once again going down a break twice in the opening set (once at 6-5) before he eventually worked his way to a straight sets win.
Federer has cruised, Djokovic has looked solid, and Nadal has looked shaky and lacking confidence, which sounds absurd to say because he has been so great on the dirt this season. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who is slated to meet Federer in the quarterfinals, has not dropped a set and looks as dangerous as he did last year when he fell to Djokovic after having multiple match points. And the scrappy Spaniard David Ferrer, seeded #4 this event, has quietly gone about his business and marched through all his matches under the radar.
Other main highlights from the week that was:
The 1st round match between 5th seed Tomas Berdych and wildcard Gael Monfils felt like an anticipated quarterfinal match-up instead of a 1st round. The beyond-athletic Frenchman won in 5 sets after winning the first two; it was a highly entertaining match but the end result saw one of the big guns knocked outin the very first round. Monfils next took on an in-form Ernests Gulbis and he won that match in 4 sets (more on Gulbis later).
Unfortunately for the French crowd, Monfils' luck ran out in the 3rd round when he lost to veteran Spaniard Tommy Robredo in 5 sets after having 4 match points in the 4th set. The win for Robredo sent him into tears and he will have a shot at making the quarterfinals once again at the French Open (he did in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009 as well).
Tommy Haas continues to amaze at 35 years of age, and he moved to the round of 16 after outlasting big John Isner in a 5-set match in which he won 10-8 in the final set. Isner played the day before against Ryan Harrison, where he won 8-6 in the 5th set after coming back from two sets down. Isner, who should be known now as the Marathon Man, saved 12 (yes 12) match points in the 4th set and then was up a break in the 5th set before the wily German broke back and served it out in the 18th game of the set.
By the 5th Isner was visibly injured and was giving up on drop shots Haas threw his way. Still, it's astounding to see a man of Isner's size fight through his fatigue and physical problems to keep hanging in there, large part thanks to his massive serve. It was a match that will be remembered as an epic, especially when you consider one of the participants was 35 years old.
Another interesting story was 18 year-old Nick Kyrgios who won the Junior Australian Open in January, played his first pro Grand Slam ever and took out Radek Stepanek in three tiebreaks. He lost to Marin Cilic in round two but it was a success story for the kid in his first Slam. I hope we see more of him in the next decade.
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There are a few off-court issues I want to put in this article.
The first, as I noted earlier, had to do with Ernests Gulbis, the brash talented Latvian who is very outspoken. He has a very rich family and he has a history of partying and general off-court behaviour problems. He has gotten his game together this year and has pushed Rafael Nadal to the limit twice, once in Indian Wells and the other in Madrid. After his match it was brought to the media's attention of some words he said a few months back (and maybe he repeated them after his post-match presser after losing to Monfils). To paraphrase it, he basically said that the big 4 (Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, and Murray) are boring with their press conferences, saying the same things and not being interesting enough for his liking. Very honest and always the attention seeker, Gulbis spoke his mind and that's fine. He is entitled to his opinions.
The one problem I have with it is that he does not understand the heavy toll these press conferences take on these 4 men, especially Federer, who is the most sought after by the media of all the tennis players. They have the most press conferences (because they win the most, while Gulbis has very few in comparison) and they are forced to sit there and answer the same questions over and over again, and in the case of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic, in different languages.
I'll use this example: after his 3rd round win against Benneteau, Federer was asked about the new Asian league that will take place in the coming off-season which features the other three members of the big 4. Federer replied "I've already answered it, look at my last two transcripts." That was more or less what he said. Basically, another repeated question. That sort of thing happens all the time in press conferences for these 4 guys and you know it must get very tiring after a while, especially Federer, who has basically been answering the same questions for the last 5-plus years since his decline from the stratosphere after the end of 2007.
Gulbis pretty much wants their pressers to be like those you see in boxing, with trash talking, controversy, and the like. Sorry Ernests, that is just not the way it works. All these 4 amazing athletes respect each other a lot and are humble and courteous to one another. Their pressers may sound boring to you (Gulbis, not you the readers), but maybe you would understand if you had them after each match for an entire season (75-95 matches) where you get poked and prodded over and over all the while being annoyed more and more.
Sorry, that just really grinds my grill.
The other thing: On Thursday, Rafael Nadal's 2nd round match against Klizan was postponed due to rain until Friday where they went on first on Court Suzanne Lenglen. After his win, he complained about not being put on earlier (before the women, because they play best of 3) and the fact that his next opponent, Fognini, was able to complete his match against Lukas Rosol and have a full day off.
His remarks were direct and honest and a bit harsh. I stand on the fence. I understand his frustration that he wasn't given priority over the women (a match that featured Victoria Azarenka). I also don't understand why he was unhappy that Fognini finished his match. Were the organizers supposed to not let them complete the match (which was on another court) just because Rafa wasn't going to get on?
The bottom line is that weather at the French Open and US Open can screw up a schedule badly. Every player has gone through what Rafa went through, and while he has a point that men should be given priority over the women (because of the longer length), in the end he may not have finished on Thursday if he was put in the scheduled spot that Azarenka had - and then he would have had to play three straight days, which I know he would have hated.
Besides, there would be no problem whatsoever if the tournament put in lights and a roof on Chatrier and Lenglen so players could play beyond 9:30. It is 2013 after all, not 1813.
Okay, enough with the Kyle rant session.
Predictions for the Round of 16:
Sunday features the bottom half foursome pairs of Federer/Simon, Tsonga/Troicki, Ferrer/Anderson, and Almagro/Robredo.
Federer has had tough matches against Simon in the past but he beat him easily in Rome two weeks ago and expect more of the same here. Simon is coming off two five-setters in three matches and should be tired. Kevin Anderson beat David Ferrer in Indian Wells earlier this year, but expect the Spaniard to advance in 3 or 4. Troicki, the 3rd-ranked Serbian, has played well so far but he is going up against a hot Tsonga so Jo should win in 4 at the maximum. Almagro vs Robredo could be interesting but Tommy could have his gas tank empty after the tough match vs Monfils.
The top half features Djokovic/Kohlschreiber, Haas/Youzhny, Nadal/Nishikori, and Wawrinka/Gasquet.
Kohlschreiber beat Djokovic in straight sets here in 2009 but Djokovic as we all know is a whole different animal now in Slams than he was then. Expect Djokovic in 4 at worst. Haas vs Youzhny should be a good match and the German has a real chance if he recovers well after the match vs Isner. Nadal, though he has struggled thus far, should take care of Nishikori. The only way the Japanese talent has a chance is if his backhand (his best shot) is firing. Wawrinka vs Gasquet is the battle of the beautidul one-handers and it could very well go 5 sets in a toss up. Both are in good form and Gasquet will have the French crowd behind. Take your pick; I say Gasquet in 5.
Very much looking forward to seeing who these matches unfold. Now, I leave you with stats.
Winners/Unforced Errors through the first 3 matches for all R16 players:
Djokovic: 68/79 (-9) - 9 sets
Federer: 125/73 (+52) - 9 sets
Nadal: 91/95 (-4) - 11 sets
Ferrer: 86/73 (+13) - 9 sets
Tsonga: 88/93 (-5) - 9 sets
Gasquet: 92/46 (+46) - 9 sets
Wwarinka: 153/112 (+49) - 11 sets
Almagro: 124/102 (+22) - 10 sets
Haas: 146/114 (+32) - 11 sets
Nishikori: 96/115 (-19) - 11 sets
Simon: 131/119 (+12) - 14 sets
Kohlschreiber: 90/64 (+26) - 6 sets (one walkover)
Anderson: 127/85 (+42) - 10 sets)
Youzhny: 157/126 (+31) - 12 sets
Robredo: 134/88 (+46) - 11 sets
Troicki: 122/104 (+18) - 11 sets
Total stats:
1830 winners, 1488 errors, +342 difference, 163 sets.
PS: This round of 16 has 8 players with a one-handed backhand: Federer, Gasquet, Wawrinka, Almagro, Haas, Kohlschreiber, Youzhny, Robredo. Quite cool!
Kyle.
Sunday, June 02, 2013
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Nadal beats Federer in Rome Final
Roger Federer fell one win short of winning in Rome for the third time on Sunday, as he was beaten and outclassed by Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-3. As a Federer fan it wasn't pretty to watch but Nadal was on his game and Roger wasn't, and when that happens, the match will be lopsided on clay.
The first two games were fine from Federer, but after that everything fell apart. Nadal started to utilize his tried-and-true patterns of play and Roger saw error after error fly off his racket as he tried to go for too much. To be fair to Fed, Nadal did play very well especially off the return and he did what he had to do to win - namely keep peppering the Federer backhand, forcing him onto the back foot and not letting him attack as he would so love to do. Nadal, a generally defensive baseliner, is able to be more aggressive than he is against, say, Djokovic, because he is getting short balls from one wing much of the time.
At the end of the day, it's a bad loss but the loss itself wasn't unexpected at all given their history on clay. Nadal on that surface is just the worst possible opponent for Federer and the challenges posed to the Swiss from Rafa are grander than the challenges he faces from any other opponent.
From my point of view, I don't know why Roger wasn't coming to net behind the first serve every point. Nadal was standing 10 feet behind the baseline to return and he just looped the ball back into play, usually deep, and from there he had the advantage. Fed needed to be like Stefan Edberg during the match. Edberg would come into net behind every serve. And I mean every serve. It didn't matter whether he got passed 10 straight times, he would always come in. This is what Roger needed to do to at least try and neutralize the edge Nadal has in the baseline rallies (especially today, when he was missing everything). Make him hit passing shots over and over and over and over.
It did seem to me that the conditions were very slow as it was dry and the match was played during the day. Nadal's shots kicked even higher off the court and that meant Roger could not attack whatsoever off the backhand side.
Everything Federer's game is designed to do he cannot, or at least with the same proficiency, against Rafa. Roger loves to hug the baseline and take the ball early, Nadal's heavy spin pushes him back. Federer likes to set up points with his backhand, Nadal doesn't allow him to as the majority of backhands are hit at shoulder height and off balance. Federer wants to win free points off his serve, Nadal gets many returns back and neutralizes the server's advantage immediately. Nadal's style is literally Federer's kryptonite with the exception of indoor hardcourt, which rules out the elements.
I have never seen a match-up like Federer/Nadal where one player is pushed so far out of his comfort zone and one player is able to play so easily right in it. Federer wants to play aggressive, and when he can't because of Rafa's forehand, he rushes and misses. While it is true that winning the points in 5 shots or less is a good play against Rafa, it's easier said than done with the way the Spaniard defends. Nadal also rarely gives him the opportunity to attack right away as the first ball he hits is aimed at Federer's backhand, pushing him back where he doesn't want to be.
Overall, it was still a great week in my view. Federer made his first final of the year, he served well all week, nearing 70% throughout the 5 matches played. He got the match practice needed for Roland Garros, and I expect he will do well there, at least making the quarterfinals. Much will depend on the draw.
I'm honestly not upset at all by the loss. Nadal fans will gloat as Rafa has a 20-10 head-to-head now. The media will write many articles about Federer's decline and they will speak of retirement. As always whenever Federer loses, things get blown far out of proportion.
Today wasn't his day. He ran into a great Rafa and he cannot do much against the King of Clay when he is firing on all cylinders. It's doubtful the French Open will bring him success but I believe the only person he can't beat in that tournament is Nadal. Not saying he can't lose to Berdych or Tsonga or Djokovic, but he can beat them. He can't beat Rafa. Certainly not in best of 5. He couldn't when he was 25-28, and he is definitely not.
Looking forward to Roland Garros, don't feel too bad Fed fans.
Kyle.
The first two games were fine from Federer, but after that everything fell apart. Nadal started to utilize his tried-and-true patterns of play and Roger saw error after error fly off his racket as he tried to go for too much. To be fair to Fed, Nadal did play very well especially off the return and he did what he had to do to win - namely keep peppering the Federer backhand, forcing him onto the back foot and not letting him attack as he would so love to do. Nadal, a generally defensive baseliner, is able to be more aggressive than he is against, say, Djokovic, because he is getting short balls from one wing much of the time.
At the end of the day, it's a bad loss but the loss itself wasn't unexpected at all given their history on clay. Nadal on that surface is just the worst possible opponent for Federer and the challenges posed to the Swiss from Rafa are grander than the challenges he faces from any other opponent.
From my point of view, I don't know why Roger wasn't coming to net behind the first serve every point. Nadal was standing 10 feet behind the baseline to return and he just looped the ball back into play, usually deep, and from there he had the advantage. Fed needed to be like Stefan Edberg during the match. Edberg would come into net behind every serve. And I mean every serve. It didn't matter whether he got passed 10 straight times, he would always come in. This is what Roger needed to do to at least try and neutralize the edge Nadal has in the baseline rallies (especially today, when he was missing everything). Make him hit passing shots over and over and over and over.
It did seem to me that the conditions were very slow as it was dry and the match was played during the day. Nadal's shots kicked even higher off the court and that meant Roger could not attack whatsoever off the backhand side.
Everything Federer's game is designed to do he cannot, or at least with the same proficiency, against Rafa. Roger loves to hug the baseline and take the ball early, Nadal's heavy spin pushes him back. Federer likes to set up points with his backhand, Nadal doesn't allow him to as the majority of backhands are hit at shoulder height and off balance. Federer wants to win free points off his serve, Nadal gets many returns back and neutralizes the server's advantage immediately. Nadal's style is literally Federer's kryptonite with the exception of indoor hardcourt, which rules out the elements.
I have never seen a match-up like Federer/Nadal where one player is pushed so far out of his comfort zone and one player is able to play so easily right in it. Federer wants to play aggressive, and when he can't because of Rafa's forehand, he rushes and misses. While it is true that winning the points in 5 shots or less is a good play against Rafa, it's easier said than done with the way the Spaniard defends. Nadal also rarely gives him the opportunity to attack right away as the first ball he hits is aimed at Federer's backhand, pushing him back where he doesn't want to be.
Overall, it was still a great week in my view. Federer made his first final of the year, he served well all week, nearing 70% throughout the 5 matches played. He got the match practice needed for Roland Garros, and I expect he will do well there, at least making the quarterfinals. Much will depend on the draw.
I'm honestly not upset at all by the loss. Nadal fans will gloat as Rafa has a 20-10 head-to-head now. The media will write many articles about Federer's decline and they will speak of retirement. As always whenever Federer loses, things get blown far out of proportion.
Today wasn't his day. He ran into a great Rafa and he cannot do much against the King of Clay when he is firing on all cylinders. It's doubtful the French Open will bring him success but I believe the only person he can't beat in that tournament is Nadal. Not saying he can't lose to Berdych or Tsonga or Djokovic, but he can beat them. He can't beat Rafa. Certainly not in best of 5. He couldn't when he was 25-28, and he is definitely not.
Looking forward to Roland Garros, don't feel too bad Fed fans.
Kyle.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Federer beats Janowicz in Rome
Roger Federer faced a stern test from 22 year-old Pole Jerzy Janowicz on Friday night in Rome but prevailed 6-4, 7-6(2) in just under an hour and a half at the Foro Italico.
Janowicz, like Raonic, Tomic, and Dimitrov, is a young rising star on Tour and was riding a wave of momentum after beating back to back top 10 players in Tsonga and Gasquet. Although he is emotional (ripping his shirt off after beating Tsonga) and a bit erratic, he is a great talent and has been on everyone's radar since he made the Paris Indoors final.
Federer started off smooth as silk with his serve and held comfortably. He saved two break points in his next service game but was unable to get a break point chance on Janowicz's own serve until the 10th game, where he broke to win the set.
The very next game, the first one of the second set, Janowicz caught fire and lasered a few returns which Federer wasn't able to handle, and he broke. He consolidated and then both men held serve until the 10th game of the set where, again, Federer managed to break back. After squandering two match points at 5-6 he played a great tiebreak and finished that off seven points to two.
It was Federer's 895th match win and his 17th this year.
Immediately when you saw the draw you knew there was not going to be a simple victory like his matches against Starace and Simon, and with big servers there rarely is a simple win. It took some time for Roger to get used to the massive Janowicz serve, but he returned very well overall and did what he does best against the big servers - block the return back, neutralize the point, and then use his better baseline game to his advantage.
Janowicz played pretty well overall but he did struggle in some areas. For most players, the drop shot is a surprise tactic but with Jerzy it's almost as if the shot is a go-to play and sometimes he does hit it at inappropriate times. A perfect example was when he had set point in the second and tried a drop shot from ankle height that didn't even get halfway up the net. He also used the dropper on set point in the first and Fed dispatched it.
The other part of his game that he and his coaches may want to work on is his forehand. It is certainly a huge weapon but it can be very inconsistent and at times today he went for the wrong shot at the wrong time (for instance, going for the forehand over the higher part of the net instead of taking the higher percentage play cross court). It's also a pretty flat shot even compared to some of the flattest hitters today and the little margin for error can be problematic.
As for Roger, he plays Benoit Paire in the semifinals which is all but a guaranteed victory if you ask me. Paire has had a great week but he has nothing to hurt Roger with when the Swiss is in this kind of form. Roger has hit his serve at over 70% in every match and has 92 winners to 39 unforced errors!
Nadal beat Ferrer 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to win yet again against his countryman on clay. Ferrer was up 4-0 in the second but Rafa got back in the set only to have Ferrer win it on an incredible set point. David had a chance to break in the second game but failed to do so and almost predictably, he got broken the next game. Nadal broke again and won comfortably even though Ferrer showed much better fight than he did in Madrid when he lost the final set 6-0.
The King of Clay will play Tomas Berdych in the semis instead of Novak Djokovic as many anticipated. The Czech came back from a 6-2, 5-2 deficit to win 10 of the next 14 games to advance to his first Rome final four.
The head-to-head between Berdych and Nadal is 13-3 Rafa, and he hasn't lost to Tomas since 2006, a 12-match winning streak. At the end of that last Berdych win in Madrid, he made a motion to shush the crowd and Rafa disapproved. Since then, it's almost like Rafa refuses to lose against the big man. Nadal has won 28 sets to Berdych's 2 in those last 12 matches. The closest Berdych came to winning was at last year's Australian Open where he was a point away from a two-set lead.
Nadal has had two tough long matches in a row vs Gulbis and Ferrer and Berdych should take a lot of confidence after only getting his second win against Djokovic. Nadal is the favourite of course but the Berdman could pose a big threat if Rafa feels some fatigue.
I know many Fed fans hate Federer/Nadal matchups but if it does happen I would feel a little better about the match after seeing how well Fed has played and served in this tournament, and also the fact that Rafa may be a little tired, plus seeing how he hasn't played his best tennis this week.
I'm 99.9% sure Fed makes his first final of 2013 and it would be so sweet if he could lift the trophy on Sunday for the first time. I can feel good things coming, can you?
Kyle.
Janowicz, like Raonic, Tomic, and Dimitrov, is a young rising star on Tour and was riding a wave of momentum after beating back to back top 10 players in Tsonga and Gasquet. Although he is emotional (ripping his shirt off after beating Tsonga) and a bit erratic, he is a great talent and has been on everyone's radar since he made the Paris Indoors final.
Federer started off smooth as silk with his serve and held comfortably. He saved two break points in his next service game but was unable to get a break point chance on Janowicz's own serve until the 10th game, where he broke to win the set.
The very next game, the first one of the second set, Janowicz caught fire and lasered a few returns which Federer wasn't able to handle, and he broke. He consolidated and then both men held serve until the 10th game of the set where, again, Federer managed to break back. After squandering two match points at 5-6 he played a great tiebreak and finished that off seven points to two.
It was Federer's 895th match win and his 17th this year.
Immediately when you saw the draw you knew there was not going to be a simple victory like his matches against Starace and Simon, and with big servers there rarely is a simple win. It took some time for Roger to get used to the massive Janowicz serve, but he returned very well overall and did what he does best against the big servers - block the return back, neutralize the point, and then use his better baseline game to his advantage.
Janowicz played pretty well overall but he did struggle in some areas. For most players, the drop shot is a surprise tactic but with Jerzy it's almost as if the shot is a go-to play and sometimes he does hit it at inappropriate times. A perfect example was when he had set point in the second and tried a drop shot from ankle height that didn't even get halfway up the net. He also used the dropper on set point in the first and Fed dispatched it.
The other part of his game that he and his coaches may want to work on is his forehand. It is certainly a huge weapon but it can be very inconsistent and at times today he went for the wrong shot at the wrong time (for instance, going for the forehand over the higher part of the net instead of taking the higher percentage play cross court). It's also a pretty flat shot even compared to some of the flattest hitters today and the little margin for error can be problematic.
As for Roger, he plays Benoit Paire in the semifinals which is all but a guaranteed victory if you ask me. Paire has had a great week but he has nothing to hurt Roger with when the Swiss is in this kind of form. Roger has hit his serve at over 70% in every match and has 92 winners to 39 unforced errors!
Nadal beat Ferrer 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to win yet again against his countryman on clay. Ferrer was up 4-0 in the second but Rafa got back in the set only to have Ferrer win it on an incredible set point. David had a chance to break in the second game but failed to do so and almost predictably, he got broken the next game. Nadal broke again and won comfortably even though Ferrer showed much better fight than he did in Madrid when he lost the final set 6-0.
The King of Clay will play Tomas Berdych in the semis instead of Novak Djokovic as many anticipated. The Czech came back from a 6-2, 5-2 deficit to win 10 of the next 14 games to advance to his first Rome final four.
The head-to-head between Berdych and Nadal is 13-3 Rafa, and he hasn't lost to Tomas since 2006, a 12-match winning streak. At the end of that last Berdych win in Madrid, he made a motion to shush the crowd and Rafa disapproved. Since then, it's almost like Rafa refuses to lose against the big man. Nadal has won 28 sets to Berdych's 2 in those last 12 matches. The closest Berdych came to winning was at last year's Australian Open where he was a point away from a two-set lead.
Nadal has had two tough long matches in a row vs Gulbis and Ferrer and Berdych should take a lot of confidence after only getting his second win against Djokovic. Nadal is the favourite of course but the Berdman could pose a big threat if Rafa feels some fatigue.
I know many Fed fans hate Federer/Nadal matchups but if it does happen I would feel a little better about the match after seeing how well Fed has played and served in this tournament, and also the fact that Rafa may be a little tired, plus seeing how he hasn't played his best tennis this week.
I'm 99.9% sure Fed makes his first final of 2013 and it would be so sweet if he could lift the trophy on Sunday for the first time. I can feel good things coming, can you?
Kyle.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Federer Rolls into Rome Quarters
After a disappointing week in Madrid, Roger Federer looks sharp after his first two matches in Rome, the final event before the French Open. After dismantling Potito Starace 6-1, 6-2, he did the same to Frenchman Gilles Simon on Thursday 6-1, 6-2 also to advance into the quarterfinals.
Quite simply, Federer has been sublime in his first two matches and this is the best he has looked since the Australian Open in January. He is serving well, using all the variety that he has at his disposal, and perhaps most importantly, he is keeping his intensity high point after point, game after game.
Usually in early rounds, Roger coasts after getting the one break he needs to win each set. So far this week in Rome, he has looked to keep his foot on the throttle even when he is comfortably in front, and that way of playing will serve him well when going up against the top guys. Case in point against Simon at 4-2 in the 2nd set. Simon had a few chances to hold serve and Fed had five break point chances, of which he converted on the 5th. Three of the five break point chances Simon earned the point. When he had game point chances to keep it close however, Fed didn't relent and didn't let the game slip away. The intensity in his game never dropped and he knew that losing that game would keep Simon within distance to strike back.
Playing Starace in the second round was pretty easy and the level that he played at was certainly not required for him to win comfortably, though it was wonderful to see. Simon, however, has given the Maestro trouble with his consistent play. They first played in Toronto 2008 when Fed was in a terrible slump and at the Masters Cup a few months later he had a back injury that severely hampered his movement. At the Australian Open two years ago, Fed got off to a blazing start but the Frenchman hung around and forced Roger to play his best to get the win.
Tactically, Federer played a near flawless match against the pesky Simon. Gilles loves to counter-punch and feed off pace, so what did Roger do? He sliced nearly half the time from the baseline and used many drop shots to get Simon off the baseline, and to a place where he is very uncomfortable, the net.
For the match, Roger hit 21 winners to 18 errors, though those numbers really don't mean much as whenever you play Simon you will have your fair share of errors because you are playing so many 8+ shot rallies. He served at 73% and won 83% of his 2nd serve points. Pretty solid numbers. Simon hit 26 unforced errors but many of those errors I saw as him going for more than he was comfortable with, which is what Roger forces you to do when he's in the zone.
In the quarterfinals Fed will play Jerzy Janowicz who has beaten Tsonga and Gasquet back-to-back. He is a confident fellow and Roger will need to be as sharp as he was in his first two matches as he has a big game and plenty of weapons. But Fed loves playing the young guns and you know he'll be fired up to play Janowicz for the first time.
If he gets by that match he will play the winner of the Granollers vs Paire match, and then a final against likely one of Nadal or Djokovic. He may have more of a chance that he might usually have against those two on clay because of the draw. Rafa will have to go through Ferrer which is going to be a physical match and Djokovic has to get by Berdych, who, in spite of never beating the Serb is no slouch. If both Rafa and Novak advance then they will beat each other up and will have a short time to regroup against a (likely) fresh Federer.
Let's hope Roger can keep up this masterful play!
Kyle.
PS - as crazy as it sounds, I think the short hair that Roger has displayed this week has done him a world of good. In his book "Winning Ugly" Brad Gilbert noted that when things weren't going his way during a match, a shirt change would give him a recharge of sorts, and something tells me the haircut may be a kind of mental rejuvenation after a tough few months to start the season.
But maybe I have it all wrong and he just cut it because it's hot in Rome this week.
Quite simply, Federer has been sublime in his first two matches and this is the best he has looked since the Australian Open in January. He is serving well, using all the variety that he has at his disposal, and perhaps most importantly, he is keeping his intensity high point after point, game after game.
Usually in early rounds, Roger coasts after getting the one break he needs to win each set. So far this week in Rome, he has looked to keep his foot on the throttle even when he is comfortably in front, and that way of playing will serve him well when going up against the top guys. Case in point against Simon at 4-2 in the 2nd set. Simon had a few chances to hold serve and Fed had five break point chances, of which he converted on the 5th. Three of the five break point chances Simon earned the point. When he had game point chances to keep it close however, Fed didn't relent and didn't let the game slip away. The intensity in his game never dropped and he knew that losing that game would keep Simon within distance to strike back.
Playing Starace in the second round was pretty easy and the level that he played at was certainly not required for him to win comfortably, though it was wonderful to see. Simon, however, has given the Maestro trouble with his consistent play. They first played in Toronto 2008 when Fed was in a terrible slump and at the Masters Cup a few months later he had a back injury that severely hampered his movement. At the Australian Open two years ago, Fed got off to a blazing start but the Frenchman hung around and forced Roger to play his best to get the win.
Tactically, Federer played a near flawless match against the pesky Simon. Gilles loves to counter-punch and feed off pace, so what did Roger do? He sliced nearly half the time from the baseline and used many drop shots to get Simon off the baseline, and to a place where he is very uncomfortable, the net.
For the match, Roger hit 21 winners to 18 errors, though those numbers really don't mean much as whenever you play Simon you will have your fair share of errors because you are playing so many 8+ shot rallies. He served at 73% and won 83% of his 2nd serve points. Pretty solid numbers. Simon hit 26 unforced errors but many of those errors I saw as him going for more than he was comfortable with, which is what Roger forces you to do when he's in the zone.
In the quarterfinals Fed will play Jerzy Janowicz who has beaten Tsonga and Gasquet back-to-back. He is a confident fellow and Roger will need to be as sharp as he was in his first two matches as he has a big game and plenty of weapons. But Fed loves playing the young guns and you know he'll be fired up to play Janowicz for the first time.
If he gets by that match he will play the winner of the Granollers vs Paire match, and then a final against likely one of Nadal or Djokovic. He may have more of a chance that he might usually have against those two on clay because of the draw. Rafa will have to go through Ferrer which is going to be a physical match and Djokovic has to get by Berdych, who, in spite of never beating the Serb is no slouch. If both Rafa and Novak advance then they will beat each other up and will have a short time to regroup against a (likely) fresh Federer.
Let's hope Roger can keep up this masterful play!
Kyle.
PS - as crazy as it sounds, I think the short hair that Roger has displayed this week has done him a world of good. In his book "Winning Ugly" Brad Gilbert noted that when things weren't going his way during a match, a shirt change would give him a recharge of sorts, and something tells me the haircut may be a kind of mental rejuvenation after a tough few months to start the season.
But maybe I have it all wrong and he just cut it because it's hot in Rome this week.
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