Federer reaches his 11th consecutive Australian Open QF!

Roger Federer is through to his 11^th consecutive Australian Open QF! Going against most pundit predictions of the day, the Swiss overcame an in-form Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets in only 1 hour and 52 minutes.

Roger was extremely aggressive right from the start and except for a few minutes in the third set he never let up. After a confident hold to start the first set he got a break point on Jo’s first service game and wonder of all wonders, he took it right away as a short rally ended with Jo finding the net. While serving to consolidate, even though he was pushed to deuce he never looked uncomfortable and held the game with two successive beautiful drop-shots. He was 3*-0 up and it was already clear what his game plan would be: be aggressive, come to the net often, volley from all angles and throw in a few drop-shots when Jo is hovering beyond the baseline.

Jo held his next service game to get on the board but for the rest of the set, though there were no more breaks of serve, Jo had to fight much more to keep holding on. The pace of the match was entirely dictated by the Fed. He hit winners all over the place and continued to extract errors from the Frenchman. Meanwhile Roger had 2 successive love holds (without any aces too!) and held to 15 while serving for the set. 6-3 in 29 minutes with 11 winners and only 7 unforced errors.

Set 2 was probably the best tennis both the players produced in the match. Jo definitely raised his level but as his luck would have it, so did Roger. The one area where Roger hadn’t done spectacularly in Set 1 was his first serve % which was a mere 50%. He picked that up to 70% in Set 2 and won a staggering 95% of those points. He also won a crazy 75% of second serve points and 13 out of 14 net points. Compared to his 7 unforced errors from the first set, he committed only 5 and as for winners, in this set alone he hit 21 of them. Altogether this meant that even though they were on serve till the very end of the set, Jo was pushed to 30 in 4 games in a row before he could hold each time. In comparison, Roger had 3 games where he held to 15 and 3 where he had love holds. In Jo’s 6^th service game he finally offered Roger a break point but then saved it with an ace. Another error and another break point and this time Jo netted the shot. Having to serve for the set, Roger produced one of his 3 love holds and the Swiss was up 2 sets to love, 6-3, 7-5.

In the beginning of Set 3, Jo was still positive and had a quick hold to start as did Roger. And then, out of nowhere, a winner from Roger and two errors from Jo brought up three break points in his next service game. Roger kept the pressure on and Jo netted the final shot giving the Swiss the early break in the set to go up 2*-1. Both players held serve for the next three games. Then as Jo served at 2*-4, two Federer winners and an error from Jo himself gave the Maestro 3 break point opportunities again. Nonetheless, some stunning winners and great serves helped Jo to keep holding and keep the difference to just 1 break at 3-4*.

Roger looked a bit thrown off and not quite focused and that showed immediately in his own service game to go up 5-3* when he offered Jo the only break point the Frenchman got in the match. Thankfully for Roger, Jo’s return landed wide. With some difficulty, Roger finally held with the help of an ace. Jo was still fired up and held to love to go up 4-5* to show his conviction but it was too little too late. Serving for the match, Roger soon had 3 match points. But then, perhaps the possibility of reaching a Grand Slam QF once again might have made him a bit nervous because Roger double-faulted for the first and only time that night. That was the solitary blip though. Considering how much he had come to the net this match, it was only fitting he ended the match with a forehand volley. Game, set, match Federer, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. Here are the match stats.Here are some fun links for you too: Roger’s presser transcript and video, Jo’s presser transcript (so you know what he said about Roger taking away his time), Roger’s on-court interview with Jim and the spectacular ballboy catch (yes it’s a new one!).

To be honest I am finding it really hard to find any fault with Roger’s game at all in this match. I would say perhaps it would be nicer if he got more first serves in but he did win 88% of the ones that went in and his second serve held up nicely. He did lose focus in the third set but only for a few minutes and I think what’s important is how quickly he righted that ship which goes to show that his confidence has grown much more since last year. Basically he played as close to perfect as possible. Everything worked, and his backhands and volleys in particular were divine. On top of that, he was super efficient. Both Roger and Jo play quickly anyway but Roger totally controlled the speed of the match. The result was not only Jo not having any time to think, but also that he is fresher for his next round meeting with Andy than he was after last year’s 5-setter with Jo.

That brings me to tomorrow’s match. Same pairing as last year’s SF except a round earlier. I had decided in the beginning of the year to not make any predictions but honestly, I couldn’t make one for this match even if I tried. Obviously it is not realistic to expect this vintage Federer for every match from now on, especially since Andy is a very different opponent from Jo and has great defensive skills. Plus, Roger is still on his way back into form post last year. As he said so himself, he probably won’t be fully match ready before March or April. On the other hand I’m not entirely sure of Andy’s form either. He has sailed through his first 3 rounds but his kind draw ensured that his opponents were not strong enough to really test him. It could really go either way.

So instead I’ll end with this: I was and still am very proud of how the Maestro won his R4 match. It was the best he’s played in almost a year I think. And even if his form fails him in the QF, we know he still has it, and he’s moving along in the right direction. Oh and remember how he keeps setting records with each match? Well, by reaching the QFs he has now tied with Jimmy Connors for most Grand Slams QFs reached. They have each reached 41 QFs! That’s more than 10 years worth of Slams! Legendary indeed! 😀 Good luck Roger! We’ll all be cheering for you!

*Photos from the ausopen site*

Federer reaches the Round of 16 at the Australian Open

As you all must know by now since it’s been over 24 hours, Roger Federer is through to the Round of 16 at the Australian Open. He defeated Teymuraz Gabashvili in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 in 1 hour and 41 minutes.

The match started somewhat ominously for Roger as he immediately provided 2 break points. He saved them and held and then for the most part, there were no significant problems. Gabashvili started well too, at one point early on, he was hitting more winners than Roger. Roger meanwhile began to look comfortable and held his second game to 15 and third game to love with three beautiful forehand winners and kept building pressure on the Russian. Sure enough, when serving at 2*-3, three unforced errors gave the Maestro three break point opportunities. Gabashvili saved one but then double-faulted on the 2nd to give Roger the break. Serving to consolidate at 4*-2, Roger got into a bit of trouble with a few errors and some winners from Teymuraz. He gave the Russian a third break point opportunity of the set. However, his serve came to the rescue just in time and he held to go up 5-2*. Gabashvili was 40-15 up in his service game when 3 errors gave the Maestro his first set point. The Russian saved that one but Roger got the opportunity back with a gorgeous forehand winner. Gabashvili netted the next point giving the set to Federer, 6-2 in 33 minutes.

Set two and while Gabashvili pushed him, he held on and the score was 1-0*. Gabashvili then had a very difficult service game as Roger got two break point opportunities, one via a double fault. Nonetheless, after being pushed to deuce 4 times, the Russian held and it was 1 all. After a quick hold to go up 2-1* the same story repeated again. Roger got two more break point opportunities but couldn’t convert. After 3 deuces Teymuraz held to 2 all. Yet another quick hold for the Swiss and looking back at the stats of each set, Roger clearly served the best in this second set with 76% of his first serves going in. In the very next game, though Gabashvili was up 40-30 he soon found himself staring at a break point. A failed volley gave the Swiss the break and Roger was up 4*-2. In the blink of an eye Roger got the score line to 5-2* and Teymuraz had to serve to stay in the set. Maybe the Russian’s spirit was already broken by then; he barely offered resistance and gave Roger two set points. A short rally followed by an error from Teymuraz gave the Swiss the second set 6-2 in 39 minutes.

Set three and yet again, there was a blip in Roger’s concentration as he was quickly down 2 break points at 15-40. Two errors from Gabashvili and two strong serves got Roger out of the hole and he held 1-0*. Gabashvili showed renewed energy perhaps because it was now or never; he held to love to level the score at 1 all. Roger held more comfortably in the next game and pounced in the Russian’s next service game extracting errors to have 3 break points. Gabashvili saved two but Roger grabbed the third and the score was 3*-1. Then, to add insult to injury, Roger consolidated the break with a love hold of his own. Teymuraz held on for his next games despite being constantly pushed by the Maestro and even saving a break point in the process to keep the difference to just one break in this set. At 5*-3 Roger served for the match and he showed no nerves as he served it out to love.  Here are the match stats.Roger’s serve held up quite well for the most part. Though a few more first serves in would have been nice (he had 62%), he served with more consistency than in his Round 1 match. His serves weren’t as sublime as the previous match but that makes sense because that was in indoor conditions where no elements can disturb his line. It was actually quite windy at the Rod Laver Arena during this third round match. He also returned well too and kept his winners to unforced errors ratio nicely positive. His backhand down the line was on song throughout the match which was just gorgeous to see. The only significant dip in his stats was his net points. He missed a few volleys which was strange considering how well he had been placing them in the first few matches.

Nonetheless, given that he found this match tricky, I think it was a solid effort. He didn’t expend too much energy out there either. He has now spent a total of 5 hours and 14 minutes on court and hasn’t dropped a set. Here is the presser and here is the presser clip. Here is the on-court interview with Jim Courier who I was especially pleased to see! I love their interviews! A bonus clip here of Roger’s post-match ESPN interview too 🙂

All this bodes well for his next match which is bound to test him to the limit and then some. He faces Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the next round. There are no secrets here. They have played each other 13 times with the H2H of 9-4 in Roger’s favour. I would say based on the form Jo has shown so far in this Australian Open, after Andy, Rafa and Novak, he is the strongest player left in the draw with Tomas close behind him. He isn’t in awe of Roger and has defeated him at multiple Slams including their last meeting at the French Open in 2013.

Of all the 8 Round of 16 matches on the schedule, this is by far the toughest. Jo is serving very well at the moment and similar to Roger he too likes to play aggressively. Roger will need unbelievable defense and grab break points when he gets them for Jo won’t offer that many to spare. I really don’t know what will happen but I do know I will probably forget to breathe a few times. Here’s hoping the Maestro can rise to the occasion.

Before I conclude, I wanted to highlight some amazing records the Maestro has set so far just with these three wins.
•    With his first round match, he set the record for participating in the highest number of consecutive Grand Slams. This is his 57th Grand Slam in a row.
•    With his second round match win, he set the record for the only player (male or female) to ever win 70 matches at the Australian Open.
•    With his third round match, he went past Agassi and is into 4th place on most number of career matches played with 1,145 matches.
•    With his third round win, he is now tied at 3rd place with Vilas for most number of career matches won with 929 wins.

His humble, friendly attitude, youthful exuberance and general dorkiness can make you forget how legendary this man is. Every time he steps foot on the tennis court, he creates history. Consider yourselves lucky you are here to witness it. I sure as hell do, every single day. C’mon Roger!

*Photos from Zimbio.com*

Roger Federer won his 70th match at the Australian Open!

Roger Federer won his 70th Australian Open match which is a record, although he held the honour of having the highest number of wins at this Slam for a while now. The 70 is just a nice number to celebrate 🙂 Serena Williams is next closest with 61 wins so far. This was also his first match on Hisense Arena (and not on Rod Laver Arena) in 10 years. Last time he played there was in 2004. This is a result of his seeding, plus his non-Aussie opponent, plus the fact that the draw on his half is much heavier than the other. Regardless, we all know what happened in 2004 at the Australian Open so maybe this is a good omen 😉

With this win he also reached Round 3 for the 15th straight year. To reach this milestone he defeated Blaz Kavcic, 6-2, 6-1, 7-6(7-4) in 1 hour and 47 minutes. But actually, that match time doesn’t describe the story accurately. Roger took a total of 54 minutes for the first 2 sets and then 53 for the third. I think that breakdown tells you a bit more of how the match went. Meaning he was vintage Roger in the first two sets, and not-so vintage in the third. 

Roger won the toss, elected to receive and broke Kavcic right away. From the first game on he was very aggressive, approaching the net often. He consolidated just as quickly with great serving and volleys everywhere. Blaz finally got on board the next game to keep the break to just one. Blaz got one point in Roger’s next game through a double fault. Other than that, an ace, a service winner and two more volleys took the score to 3-1*. In Blaz’s net game he offered the Swiss 2 break point opportunities. He saved the first but failed to save the second and was down a double break 1-4*. Another hold by Roger and Blaz was left to serve to stay in the set. Blaz saved a break point and got pushed to deuce twice but held. Roger served it out with two aces to take the set 6-2.

Onto set 2, and despite fighting hard, ultimately Blaz got broken in the opening game. Federer consolidated quickly dropping just one point. In Blaz’s next service game he seemed to be a prop while Roger put on an exhibition. He could only look in awe as he got broken yet again to go down 0-3*. Then a strange blip of concentration happened and a few errors gave Kavcic 3 break points. Roger saved 2, the second with this crazy point which left Blaz laughing. But he couldn’t save the third and out of nowhere Blaz had broken Federer. Perhaps he was still trying to process what he just accomplished because while he was in a daze the Swiss had three break point opportunities on his own serve. But Roger needed only 1 and the double break was back. Spurred on, Roger held to love in under a minute with 2 aces and 2 service winners and left Blaz to serve to stay in the set, down 1*-5. Roger kept pushing him, got him to deuce and then had a set point on Blaz’s serve. A forehand volley winner gave Roger the second set 6-1, in 28 minutes. 

The third set started well for Roger. Despite being pushed in his opening game, Roger hit three aces to hold, 1-0*. But it was clear that Blaz was determined to give it one last go, he had nothing to lose and as a result he started to get settled in and began to serve and return better. He held quite comfortably to get to 1 all and the same continued at 2 all. In Blaz’s third service game, Roger pushed him but then also committed some unforced errors and allowed the Slovenian to hold 3 all. The errors from the Swiss continued as Roger was then pushed to deuce in his next service game; two big serves allowed him to hold. By then Blaz had begun to get into the match and held comfortably to get up to 4 all. Serving at 4*-5 Blaz was pushed again by Roger and yet again, 3 unforced errors from the Swiss allowed Blaz to go up 5 all. Another love hold by Roger and a Blaz hold with a few Federer errors and we were at 6 all and headed to a tie-break.

Blaz got the mini break right away and was up 0-3. Roger held on and got the mini break back to be at 3 all when they changed ends. The Swiss got a mini break of his own as he went up 4*-3. He held to go up 5*-3 but then gave the mini break back to Blaz at 5-4*. Blaz found the net at the end of the rally of his serve and was down a mini break again, 4*-6 and Roger had match point on Kavcic’s serve. Blaz served, an intense rally followed with some pretty points till finally Roger hit a winning volley and game, set, match Federer. Here are the match stats.Roger was aggressive all throughout. He found precision and power in the first two sets and with Blaz looking like a stunned deer at times, the Maestro began to experiment. In the third set Blaz shook himself out of it and reminded us he could really play. Meanwhile, Roger lost a bit of concentration and looked frustrated in that set. He was at times overly aggressive and looked to be rushing things. But I am hoping he did this consciously, that he knew he was 2 sets up and was confident enough he would win and kept up his aggressive approach knowing it might generate errors. I think it was a combination of both Blaz picking it up and Roger being a bit off that led to the close finish. 

Here’s the transcript of the presser and here is the video clip where he speaks about his aggressive play. I’ll also include three more clips: Here is a very tiny highlights clip, here is another post match interview and here is a nice video clip on ‘Expectations’.

Overall I think this was a very good match from Roger. The roof was closed and Roger made optimal use of the indoor conditions. He served much better this match than in Round 1 with no double faults, 76% of first serves in and winning 78% of them. Roger also volleyed brilliantly and no, Edberg didn’t suddenly teach him all that in 3 days you media ‘pundits’. The Maestro has known how to volley since forever. I think Edberg probably helped him to narrow down a general plan of attack and aggression. Plus it also matters who the opponent is and what plan works against him on match day.

I am happy with Roger’s game so far and looking forward to his Round 3 clash with Gabashvili. Gabashvili is ranked 79 and defeated Verdasco in 5 sets to get the chance to play in Round 3. Federer has a 1-0 H2H with him. But that was a long time ago, back in 2007 in Wimbledon, so it doesn’t provide much information. Roger is back at the Rod Laver Arena for his next match and they will meet in the second match of the Day session tomorrow, i.e. Saturday at around 12:30pm local time. The temperature will drastically drop tomorrow so the conditions will be much more different than the previous two matches. No speculations on my part. I just hope he goes out there and does his best. Good luck champ! Allez!

*Photos from the Australian Open site and Zimbio.com*

57 Consecutive Grand Slams played!

By playing his Round 1 match today Roger Federer has now set the new record for most consecutive Grand Slam appearances! This is his 57th Slam in a row meaning he has participated in every single Grand Slam for the past 14 years since the Australian Open in 2000, no injuries, no withdrawals, no retirements. Think back to the past 14 years of your life – he was in EVERY Grand Slam for EVERY single one of those years. Yes, let that sink in. This is also his 59^th Grand Slam in total; he’s tied at 3^rd place with Hewitt and they are behind Agassi and Santoro. This match was his 302^nd Slam match and (since he won) his 261st Slam match win which is a record he quite safely holds. Out of those 261 wins, 69 of them have come at the Australian Open. Roger also played his 1,143^rd career total match out of which he has now won 927 matches.

Now that all those amazing stats are out of the way, let’s get down to business. Roger Federer is through to Round 2 of the Australian Open! He won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the maestro. James Duckworth pushed Roger and himself as much as possible. Roger started off a bit stiff and wasted 3 break point opportunities right away. In the next service game Roger didn’t capitalize on yet another break point opportunity as Duckworth held to go up 2-1*. After a quick hold from Roger to go up 2 all, Duckworth went down from 40-15 to facing a break point which Roger finally converted. Buoyed by that break, the Maestro quickly held to love to go up 4-2 and pressured the Aussie in his next service game for 3 more break point opportunities at 0-40. Duckworth fought hard and saved them all to keep the scoreline to just 1 break. Both players served well in their next games and finally Roger had to serve it out. 1 Duckworth error, 1 service winner and 2 consecutive aces at the end allowed the Fed to take the game to love and close out the set 6-4 in 39 minutes.

Onto set 2 and both players held serve quite easily till 3 all. Duckworth provided Roger two break point opportunities but saved them both before giving him another one which the Swiss finally took to go up 4*-3. However, in Roger’s next service game when he was about to consolidate the break, he provided James with the only break point opportunity in the match. 2 big serves saved him and he held to go up 5-3*. Even though Duckworth held to love next game, so did Roger as he served out the set 6-4 in 36 minutes.

Set 3 and by then 2 things had happened. 1. Roger was well and truly in the groove and 2. he wanted to wrap it up as soon as possible, or it certainly seemed as such since he put the pressure on Duckworth right away. He got two break point opportunities but needed only one as he combined a wonderful lob and a smash to go up 1*-0. After he held the pressure was back on the Aussie as Roger had 3 more break point opportunities at 0-40. Duckworth saved them all plus an additional one before holding and keeping the break to just one game. Roger held comfortably yet again to go up 3-1* and then had 2 more break point opportunities again on Duckworth’s serve. This time, he took the first right away and got the double break, 4*-1. After a less-than-a-minute service hold to go up 5-1*, Duckworth finally has a good service game of his own with two aces and held, 2-5*. Roger dropped one point before serving out the set comfortably in 31 minutes, 6-2.

Roger’s first serves were confusing, either they didn’t go in, or when they did, they were highly successful. He had 5 double faults which are a bit much in my opinion, but then, he also had 11 aces and won 89% of his first serve points. Another positive aspect of the match was his relatively low unforced errors even though he played quite aggressively. He had almost double the number of winners too. Now this is also a fact: he converted only 4 out of 17 break point opportunities. That stat is what it is. But remember, in tennis, not all points are created equal. Meaning, Roger was able to convert when he needed to which is what counts. Plus it also means he kept pushing Duckworth constantly to create these opportunities in the first place. This was a good match for Roger. It gave him a workout but he was never threatened enough to go in panic mode. Also, he got better as the match went along which was great to see. Here is a highlights video clip and here are the match stats.Roger’s next opponent will be Blaz Kavcic, yet another player he has never faced before. No doubt the team of Severin and Stefan will gather intel and give suggestions. And that brings me to a particularly gleeful bit of news. Stefan Edberg, 6 time Grand Slam Champion and Roger’s new part-time consultant was there in the Federer player box! Here is the funny on-court interview clip where he talks about his mentor. He was asked about Edberg again in the presser where he said the following. (Here is the shortened video clip of the presser though it doesn’t include the quotes below).

“I realize after a set I didn’t look up once yet.  I better check if he’s actually sitting there.  I did see them.  He was wearing sunglasses.  Okay, he is there. […] Clearly, you know, when I did look up, I, you know, it’s nice seeing him sitting there.  Even if he wouldn’t be my coach it would be nice.  Plus he’s in my corner, it’s great. […] We will probably go to dinner tonight and just see who else joins in, and then we will just watch some matches, you know.”

That’s it for the match report. Roger will play his Round 2 match on Thursday, not sure when yet or what court. Till then, hope the Maestro has fun practicing in Melbourne heat wave during the day, while enjoying dinners with his idol at night 😀 And lastly, before I end the post…

CONGRATULATIONS MAESTRO ON PLAYING YOUR 57TH CONSECUTIVE GRAND SLAM! ALLEZ!

Roger Federer pushes to 5-sets before ending his run at the Australian Open

I don’t know what to write for this final Australian Open post. Roger Federer lost a 5-setter in the SFs to Andy Murray 4-6, 7-6(7-5), 3-6, 7-6(7-2), 2-6. Do I end right there? I am feeling down but not for the loss in particular, because Roger fought valiantly till the end. In fact, this was the first time in his illustrious career that he ever had to play 2 back to back 5-setters and I think that was tougher than any of us including Federer might have imagined. But unlike last year when he lost to Andy in straight sets the two times he played him (i.e. The Olympics and Shanghai), yesterday the Swiss was determined not to roll over, when perhaps, he had a better justification for it than last year due to the long QF he played two nights prior. 

He was down right from the start and was forever chasing Murray who was fresh and in peak form with excellent serves. Roger’s serve meanwhile totally failed him and his bad service games continued from the QF. Except for the 2nd set when the first serve % was 75%, for sets 1, 3, 4 and 5 they were 58%, 54%, 58% and 54%. Even more shocking, his second serve, usually one of the most reliable on tour, failed him even more. For the overall match his second serve points won was a measly 42% but in sets 3 and 5 it fell to 18% and 25% respectively. Furthermore, it took him till the 4^th set to finally break Andy and then he got broken back twice and let Andy serve for the match at 6-5. But miracles do happen when Federer is on court and he broke back, took the set to a tie-break and won that too. I had thought that would fuel his drive to take the 5^th but in the end his energy level dipped and Andy honed in and took the set and the match. Here are the stats.I am still unsure why after serving so beautifully in the first 4 matches, his serves dropped so sharply. Was it a matter of fatigue? An injury? Sudden weather changes? We know it was getting much colder at night on the courts as the tournament got deeper. While Murray’s camp created a hullabaloo about their charge not getting any night matches, I think (despite us fans loving the pink outfit) Roger would have preferred day matches. The schedule is healthier than going to bed at 4 am and he can handle the heat. Regardless, something happened to the gorgeous serves he used to kill off Paire, Davydenko and especially Tomic and Raonic; in that Round 4 match, Federer was godlike. I hope it’s not any injury and I’m sure this is something his team will work on before the next tournament in Rotterdam.

Other than his serves, one more aspect stood out for me and it is tied with why I’m feeling down. It was his energy, and I don’t mean stamina, I mean his energy as in, his vibe. Somehow in this match, he didn’t seem positive going in and there were flashes of anger, frustration and negativity all throughout the match. Yes he was playing catch up but I’ve seen him do that before without being so annoyed. It reminded me of the 2011 US Open SF and how upset he was after it. I think he was very right to take time off then and skip the Asian swing because when he came back, he seemed fresh and rested and then promptly won 3 titles in a row. I hope his energy dip was just for this SF match and he will rebound soon and come back rearing to go in 16 days in the Netherlands. That tournament is indoors on hard courts which is his preferred surface. It’s best of 3 and also much closer to home so hopefully that will spur him on and he’ll use these 2 weeks to relax and recover.

I’m probably feeling down because I got the impression that Roger is feeling down, more than normal. Given his form in the first 4 matches perhaps he was as surprised as we were about the dip in the next 2. But upon some inspection I think there are some good take-aways from this tournament for Roger. First I believe he played a better Australian Open this year than 2011 and 2012. Second, his draw was ridiculously tough this year. With a slightly easier draw the results would’ve been different. I cannot help but picture what might have been had he played Ferrer in the SF instead of Murray; I’m absolutely certain we would have seen Roger in the finals tomorrow.

Third, at the end of 2012, my three areas to work on for Roger were his serve, his break-point conversion rate and winning tie-breaks. I’ve discussed my confusion with his serves above. As for converting tie-breaks, we Federer fans have been living with this one for quite a while so looks like that’s here to stay. As for tie-breaks, by his usual standards he didn’t do that well last year; he played 35 tie-breaks and won 20. So far at the Australian Open, he played 6 tie-breaks and won every one of them which I am very thrilled about. And lastly, at least in the first 4, no make that 5 matches, his stamina and movement held up. Still not entirely sure it was a good idea to skip any warm up tournaments though he did reach the SFs this year just like he did last year, so perhaps it didn’t harm him. He definitely seemed to have enjoyed his time-off so I will just accept that Maestro knows best. I think he might even repeat this schedule next year, we’ll see.

And so with a heavy heart the 2013 Australian Open has drawn to a close for me. I think the championship is Novak’s to lose and if he wins, he will be the first to win an Australian Open three times in a row and will tie Agassi and Federer with 4 total wins in Melbourne. But as with almost every time Roger plays these days, he set several records of his own this tournament so I’ll leave you with these:

• This was Roger’s 53rd consecutive appearance at a Grand Slam, placing him 3^rd on the all time list.
• It was his 55^th appearance at a Grand Slam in total, placing him tied at 8^th on the all time list.
• He is yet to be defeated by a player born in the 1990s.
• He won his 250^th Grand Slam match with his Round 3 win and ultimately ended up with 252 wins to 38 losses in his career so far. This is a new record breaking his previous one.
• FedEx reached his 35th consecutive Grand Slam QFs. This is an ongoing record held by the Swiss.
• Roger has now reached a total of 39 Grand Slam QFs. He is 2^nd on the list, 2 QFs behind Jimmy Connors.
• Last night Roger played in his 10^th consecutive Australian Open SF, another record set by him.
• This SF was the Maestro’s 33^rd Grand Slam SFs in total which is yet another record by Federer breaking his previous one.
• He has now won a record 68 matches at the Australian Open, again breaking his own record from last year.

Looking at those records I can’t help but feel proud of our champ. We are blessed to live in the Roger Federer era, and I was most proud of him when he took last night’s match to 5 sets from the brink of defeat in the 4^th. The loss hurt him, you could tell, as much as it hurt us. I thought even Jim Courier didn’t seem jovial in his interview with Murray, the man missed the classic interviews that Roger provides and every interview with Roger at this Australian Open has just been brilliant! If you haven’t watched them, do so now. Roger seemed calm and cool in his presser and gave full credit to Murray. When asked where this leaves him now, he said,

So I go from here with a good feeling for the year.  I didn’t play a tournament leading in, so now obviously I know where my level is at.  Also knowing I have even more time to work on my game, work on my fitness this year.  It’s something I’m excited about.

We’re excited too Maestro, onwards and upwards, the season has just begun, I’m sure we’ll see much more amazing tennis from the king in the days to come. See you in Rotterdam!

Federer fights his way into the final 4 – for the 10th time in a row

After winning his Round 4 match, Roger Federer said it would be an interesting challenge playing 7 5-setters in 2 weeks. Well the tennis gods heard him because they granted his wish last night. Given Roger’s form coming into the match I had predicted the Swiss would win it in 3 maybe 4 tight sets. I was wrong because he won it in 5. And there were two simple reasons why that happened.  First, Roger’s form of the past 4 matches didn’t hold and second, Tsonga clearly had done his homework, came up with a different strategy and brought his A-game.

Now obviously Roger’s form faltering was partly due to Jo-Willie himself. Till last night the Maestro had faced off against players ranked in 46, 40, 43 and 15. While they were significantly more formidable than the opponents his fellow top 3 faced, they were not the top 10 men in tennis. Federer’s preparation going into the Australian Open was to practice and not play any warm up tournaments. Meaning he hadn’t played in Doha, Abu Dhabi, the Hopman Cup, Chennai, Sydney or Kooyong  to get some experience against his fellow superstars of the ATP. He had played Tsonga and Delpo in the South American exhibition last year but even that was over a month ago.

In the meantime, it was clear that with a new coach, Tsonga had made tweaks to his game and tactics. To start with Jo served well as he usually does. He approached the net often which he is also comfortable with. What he has improved are his speed and court coverage (perhaps a direct result of shedding some weight in the off-season?) and his returns. As Federer himself said in the post-match interview, he hit some great serves in the range of 205-210 km and Jo kept putting them all back in play. He played aggressively; testing Roger’s defensive skills and making FedEx create extra shots with acute angles.

For Roger, his first serve in particular let him down, especially in the first set; he only got 55% of them in. He double faulted in each of the first 3 sets and hit only 6 aces compared to Tsonga’s 20. For the first time this tournament Roger’s serve was broken and he also conceded two sets (he hadn’t dropped a set till this match). His break point conversion was back to a miserable 22%. Not all of it was bad though. He won more points at the net which is not a surprise. What is interesting is, despite having serving issues he led Tsonga on points won off both first and second serves. And while Tsonga had more winners, he had more errors too, tipping the final count in Federer’s favour; Federer won a total of 169 points to Tsonga’s 164. It was also crucial that Federer won both tie-breaks. Somehow when it was clutch time, the Swiss found his inner champion and pounced to take those sets. Here are the stats.
The match was topsy turvy from the start. Given the dip in Roger’s performance and Tsonga in scintillating form, the two were very evenly matched. For a change, Roger faced a player who is as quick between points as he is. I personally am a fan of less time in between points, not just from a fan’s point of view but the players as well; I think it’s easier to maintain concentration and rhythm, but that’s just my personal opinion. Regardless, the fact that neither player took much time showed in the stats. Despite being a 5-setter with 2 sets ending in tie-break, the total match time was 3 hours and 34 minutes.  The roller-coaster ride they took us in was evident from the scores with Roger taking sets 1, 3, and 5 and Tsonga taking 2 and 4. Federer won, 7-6(7-4), 4-6, 7-6(7-4), 3-6, 6-3.

In Paul Annacone’s interview he mentioned that Roger can play a lot of different styles of tennis at a very high level. As the sport has become more homogenized, his diversity and ability to adapt and adjust allows him to bring additional skills to the court that many others don’t have and have trouble playing against. Against Tsonga, a man who has played him 11 times already, he had to bring out the entire armory of shots at his disposal, especially since his first serve was failing him. But I believe it wasn’t just his tennis skills that saved the night. In the end he dug deep into the reserves of his extensive experience, grit, determination and self-belief. He got broken much more than he broke back but he stayed calm, focused, cool and collected from beginning to end.

I did have a sneaky feeling though, that when they headed into the 5^th, Federer would pull this one out of the fire. This is what separates the top 4 men from the rest of the top 10, 50, 100. 5-setters need that additional something to get over the finish line, that extra bit of concentration and a 6^th gear to take it up a notch. So when he broke Jo to go up 3-1 I had an inkling that the match might turn for the Swiss. Despite Tsonga’s attention waning, and Roger getting into the zone, the Frenchman fought valiantly against both Federer and himself to get the score to 5-3 saving 4 match points. But finally, the Maestro had the 5^th match point on his own racket and he finished it off at the net with a smash. Game, set, match, Federer.

The two shared a warm embrace at the net and looking at the pictures one wouldn’t know who won. I think especially after the South America Exhibitions, they’ve gotten closer and the net hug was with genuine affection. Showing true class Federer style, he waited for Tsonga to pack his bags before walking out together, chatting and smiling. He gave yet another glorious interview to Jim Courier before signing the camera and waving goodbye, leaving his fans exhausted but happy.

“Fedonga” bromance continues across oceans from South America to Australia

Next up is Andy Murray, who is yet to be tested. His draw turned out to be a bit of a joke in the end. Whether this means he is fresh and ready to slice and dice Roger in straight sets remains to be seen. It also depends on Roger’s recovery and if he can find his first serves again. He’ll need them against Murray, one of the few active players with a positive H2H against him. For now though he can relax, and enjoy the fact that he just reached his 10^th consecutive Australian Open SF and his 33^rd Grand Slam SF – both obviously new records, breaking the ones he set himself.

When I saw his draw 13 days ago I said “Reaching the SFs will be a bonus and reaching the final will be icing on the cake. If he actually wins it will be the stuff tennis lore is made of.” I still stand by my statement. I am already very happy with Roger’s progress so far, but I obviously want him to do well and go deep in the tournament. We’ll just have to wait and see and hopefully get to see some great tennis from the Maestro while we’re at it. Allez Federer!

Roger keeps his Grand Slam quarterfinal record intact

Where to begin? If Roger Federer’s Round 3 match of the Australian Open was a Masterclass, then the Round 4 match was a near religious experience. Federer was in god mode. His forehands were majestic off both wings and his backhands continued to find the sweet spot. The Swiss’s serves zoomed in on target and he was a ninja at the net, silent, fast and deadly. And those were just his tennis shots. Shots alone don’t make a tennis god. For that you need to be a master tactician, reading your opponents play before they know it themselves; you need to have bursts of tremendous speed, cat-like reflexes, the stamina of a horse and a ballerina’s balance. When all stars align, these ingredients come together to make one perfect tennis player. And tonight 22 year old Milos Raonic from Canada, seeded 13 in Melbourne, had the misfortune to face off against a peRFect Roger Federer.

As expected, the entire match was a serve-dominated one. There were short, quick points, usually with a one-two punch. To be fair, big serving Raonic held his own. In the first 5 games of the first set, both men held their serve will equal ease. In the 6^th game, serving to go up to 3 all, Raonic suddenly faced 2 break points at 15-40. An ace and a service winner took it to deuce before Federer had another break point. 2 excellent serves and a brief rally later Raonic held. The set continued in the same vein till the 10^th game. With Raonic serving to make it 5 all, he double-faulted for the first time, giving the Swiss a break point at 30-40. This time Roger didn’t hesitate and caused Raonic to attempt a forehand volley which found the net. The Canadian was broken and in minutes Roger took the first set 6-4.

In the second set, both players showed some high quality tennis. 4 of Roger’s 6 games were love holds, with the 4^th one taking only 59 seconds. Neither of them provided any break point opportunities for the other and it was inevitable that the set would have to be resolved through a tie-break. Again everything went according to serve the first 6 points at 3 all. After changing ends Federer was able to get a good read on the Raonic serve and lured him into a brief rally. It culminated with Roger taking the point with a backhand down the line. FedEx then held his own serve to go up 6-3. Raonic saved a set point with a service winner but couldn’t save the next one as Federer took the set with a forehand winner down the line followed by a roar from the Maestro.

Before the start of the 3^rd set, Roger put on an undershirt just like he did in the match against Tomic. This shirt change drew whistles from the crowd as an amused Mirka looked around the stadium. But for Raonic, that shirt change might have been what extinguished any hope of resurgence. The Canadian was snuffed out by the Swiss as he broke his young opponent immediately in the first game of the set and then held serve to go up 2-0. Being two sets down and a break down in the third set seemed to weigh on Raonic as he lost focus. He started committing errors and was broken again for Federer to go up 3-0. While Federer was serving to go up 4-0, Raonic was finally able to get him to deuce for only the first time in the match. But any sniff of a potential break-point was immediately eradicated by a 207 km ace from Roger, his fastest of the night. By then Roger’s confidence was sky-high and he continued with creative shot making while Raonic committed more and more errors. Credit should be given to Milos that he did try to surmount a fight back and ultimately won 2 games in the set. But by then the writing was on the wall. Federer served it out to win the set at 6-2. He won the match in 113 minutes, 6-4, 7-6(7-4), 6-2.

The stats for this match were insane for Roger. He lost only 12 points on serve (5 on his first serve and 7 on his second). His first serve points won were a staggering 90% while he won 93% of his net points. He hit 14 aces (to Raonic’s 19), committed only 1 double fault and offered no break points the entire match. He even converted 3/7 break points which is very good for Roger as we all know.Let’s also not forget that some records were set with this match as well. With this win, Roger’s streak of reaching consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals stretches to 35 now. He’s reached 39 Grand Slam quarterfinals in total. This also keeps his record of never losing to players born in the 1990s intact. He is, as of now, the only man left at this year’s Australian Open who is yet to be broken. That is how good his serves are at this point. His matches with Paire, Davydenko, Tomic and Raonic took 83, 119, 118 and 113 minutes respectively – meaning he still hasn’t spent over 2 hours in a single match so far. The word ‘clinical’ doesn’t do this performance justice but I am running out of adjectives so it will have to do.

At this late stage of the tournament, the seedings of players almost don’t matter because they’re all so close to one another, unless there have been major upsets in the early rounds to allow unseeded players to sneak through.  Federer was given the toughest draw of the top men and, as luck would have it, all the seeds have held in his quarter, no upsets took place. Meaning that up next for the Swiss is 7^th seed Tsonga who has been quietly cutting through his draw like a hot knife through butter. He’s dropped only one set so far and has maintained consistent form throughout his first 4 matches.

Pink Power!

This quarterfinal is bound to be the toughest test yet for Roger. A lot depends on day form for both men, particularly for Tsonga. If Tsonga brings his A-game aka Wimbledon 2011, Roger will have a fight on his hands. On the other hand, if the Maestro’s sublime form continues I can imagine this being over in 3 tight sets, maybe 4, in the Swiss’ favor. It’s bound to be exciting and will cause us fans to hyperventilate as usual. But it’s another night match so perhaps Pink Power will propel Roger to the semifinals at the Australian Open. This brings me to my last point as I leave you to ponder these ridiculous stats. If the Meastro reaches the semifinals on Wednesday it will be Roger’s 33^rd Grand Slam semifinal and his 10^th consecutive Australian Open semifinal. Enough said.

Professor Federer teaches a Masterclass

I took the title “Professor Federer” from the Australian Open website; it just seemed so fitting that I had to smile when I saw it. This match was hyped from the day the draw came out – Bernard Tomic vs. Roger Federer, the local David vs. the Goliath of tennis. Both had to overcome 2 rounds before meeting each other but that didn’t stop the press from building it up as an eventuality. They had met a year ago, in Round 4 but in 2013, the Aussie-Swiss clash arrived a Round early, and for eager audiences, that was already a long enough wait.

Tomic was riding on a winning streak of 10 matches and feeling that the time to beat Federer had come. From all the sound bites he fed the hungry media, it seemed he was ready to spar with the legend – he would face him as an equal and not in awe. Federer the consummate professional lived up to his diplomatic Swiss background and continued to ooze class despite the constant barrage of “Well Tomic said…” questions. What he knew is what perhaps young Tomic and the media had forgotten – the stats.

Tomic was on a winning streak of 10 matches (including the Hopman Cup). He had won his 1^st ATP title and had played 106 matches since being on tour, winning 54 of them. Federer also had a winning streak of 10 once upon a time, 10 consecutive Grand Slam Finals, that is. He has won 76 titles, played 1,078 matches and won 880 of them. If he were to win this much-talked about match, it would be his 250^th win in Grand Slams. Yes that’s just Grand Slams, not a career total – that’s 880 remember? It would take multiple pages to record the Maestro’s accomplishments but suffice it to say, Federer has a ton of experience not just playing tennis, but playing tennis and winning. He’s been in countless of these situations before and had a quiet confidence in his demeanor leading up to this clash, in comparison to the bravado of his much younger opponent.

Fast forward to 7:00pm local time today and the atmosphere inside the Rod Laver Arena was electric. One could be forgiven for thinking this was the Open’s Final. Australia’s last player standing came out to a thunderous applause. And what shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, Federer’s entrance drew equal amounts of cheering as well. He was, after all, Australia’s most popular athlete.

Tomic won the toss and chose to serve, hoping to get ahead by using his much improved serve. Before he could blink, he gotten broken, Roger held his own game and all of a sudden, it was 2-0 Federer. Roger had 4 break-point opportunities in the first set but that first one was the only one he could convert, the young Aussie soon found his game and never let Roger in. Nonetheless, the Swiss held his own serves and dictated play, rushing Tomic at his own pace. In 34 minutes, Federer had taken the first set 6-4.

The second set was much more competitive. Yet again Federer’s break-point conversion rate or lack thereof, reared its ugly head. He had 6 break-point chances and failed to convert a single one. The set was deadlocked at 6-all and we headed to a tie-break. It looked signed and sealed for the Aussie as he was up 4-1. Federer took the next 2 points on his own serve to take it 4-3 and one could be forgiven for thinking that Tomic still had a chance. But in the way great champions can, After Tomic went up 5-3, Roger stepped it up a gear and took the next 4 points and the set; 7-6(7-5), 2 sets to love, Federer.

To lose the tie-break after being that close was bound to be difficult to handle and Tomic lost focus for a bit in the first service game of the third set. Lo and behold, he gifted Federer with 3 more break-points. And in true Federer style, he failed to convert them. But then, the 14^th opportunity came along and, in what I think was the best rally of the match, a miracle occurred and Roger broke Tomic. After that, for the most part it was cruise control for Federer. Tomic won his next service game but by then the score was already 3-1. Whatever hopes there might have been, disappeared when at 4-1, Roger broke him again to go up 5-1 and serve for the set. The last game only took minutes and a clearly dejected Tomic could only half-heartedly stab at Roger’s shots as the Maestro wrapped up the set and the match in 118 minutes. 6-4, 7-6, 6-1 Federer. The overall stats are given below.

To be fair, Federer was a tad erratic at times. After serving so beautifully in his first 2 matches, he had 4 double faults in this match. His second serve was letting him down a bit in the first set but that gradually picked up. Yet again, the one concern I continue to have is his miserable break-point conversion rate which was in epic display today at only 19%. Other than that however, this truly was a masterclass. Roger displayed his arsenal of shots and the backhand in particular was firing beautifully. It’s my personal favourite shot of Federer’s and I was very pleased that he was able to show what angles this (increasingly rare) shot can create. Federer was aggressive as he always is and came to the net 30 times winning 26 of those points. Credit must be given to Tomic as well here, for he played aggressively too, which made for some high-quality tennis from both players especially in the second set.

In addition to offense Roger also displayed great defensive play guarding the baseline from corner to corner. And here I do want to draw attention to another point; not once was Federer’s fitness or stamina questioned, by commentators and viewers alike. I think it’s quite outstanding that for a 31 year-old with over 1000 matches in his body, for someone who is always talked about as playing past his expiry date, this never came up. And that’s because looking at Federer play today, I thought his movement was on par with his heyday AND with those other members of the top 4. Maybe it was the adrenaline of this match in particular, but the way Federer broke into a run or slid across to hit a cross-court forehand on the run, he did not look like a player past his prime. He looked comparatively stronger than 20 year old Tomic and showed how supreme an athlete he truly is.

I think when faced with young cocky upstarts whose claim to fame is not yet earned, the top players enjoy putting them in their place oh so comprehensively. Once upon a time in 2007, a mouthy teenager named Djokovic was given this very lesson Federer at the same venue after making such statements. That same Djokovic, now more mature, experienced and world number 1, showed 20 year old Ryan Harrison just 3 days ago how far he still has to go. And today the lessons continued. Federer taught Tomic not only how much more he still has to learn about tennis but also how to handle pressure, how to apply pressure and how to destroy him, the local hero, in front of a partisan crowd and still be loved by them. This is Roger Federer ladies and gentlemen, the man who just won his 250^th Grand Slam match; and he’s nowhere near done. Strap on your seat belts, the Maestro is just getting warmed up.

*All photos have been taken from the Australian Open website.

Pretty in Pink – Roger Federer marches on to reach Round 3

In the sweltering heat of the hottest day at the Australian Open so far, Roger Federer faced off against an old nemesis who has been experiencing a bit of a mini-resurgence. Former world number 3, Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko reached the finals in Doha just weeks ago and has looked to be in ominous form. These two 31 year-olds have a long history having already played each other 19 times, though the H2H is heavily skewed in the Swiss’ favour at 17-2. Nonetheless, the Russian came into the match rearing to go, hoping to get his win column against Federer up to 3.

So the stage was set. Davydenko entered the Rod Laver Arena first and then came out the Maestro looking positively divine in his grey shirt with pink detail and black and pink shoes (which I think are to die for!). The match started with both players holding serve although as the set progressed it started to get harder to do so with both returning really well. Finally in the 6^th match after saving 2 break points, Davydenko failed to save the 3^rd as his cross-court backhand sailed wide. In Davydenko’s next game Federer had 3 break points but failed to convert any and thus had to serve for the set, which he did to love; first set Federer, 6-3. He had 7 break points and only converted 1, but that was enough.

The second set was much more competitive. Though Federer broke Davydenko early in the 3^rd game of the set, the Russian never relented and kept coming back to try and break the Maestro. But time and time again, Federer’s stunning serves, both first and second, bailed him out of trouble. Roger ultimately served it out to take the set 6-4. In the 3^rd set, Nikolay lost focus for a few minutes and before he realized it, FedEx broke him at love. Though Davydenko wasn’t broken again he could not break Roger back. Roger won the set with an ace at 6-3 and thus the match, in 119 minutes.

The match had some great attacking tennis where Federer in particular created unbelievable angles with shots that kissed the lines and dotted the corners. The backhand down the line in the 5^th game of the 1^st set was ridiculous as was the backhand in the 2^nd game of the 3^rd set at 30-all or the beautiful volley in the 6^th game of the 3^rd set at 40-0. And those are just 3 of the 35 winners the Maestro hit compared to Davydenko’s 17. You can take a look at the match stats below.I had predicted Roger would win the match in 3 tight sets or at worst he would drop a set. But though he had a few more errors than I’d like, he played brilliantly when needed; and with his attacking style of tennis, those errors tend to pile up a lot anyway. Actually I would say the only element of his game that concerns me is his break point conversion rate. He converted only 3 of 13 break points. Obviously only 3 were needed but as he goes deeper in the draw, he might not get 13 break points to choose from. Interestingly, he offered no break points to Davydenko at all. He saved all possibilities of any break points with his serves which brings me to what I am actually very pleased about in his game; his serve seems to be clicking so far. Roger was having trouble with especially his first serves towards the end of last year, so today’s clean serving was great to see. His net play was also effective; he won 14 out of 19 points.

As we know this is one tough draw for Federer and he will next play local hero Bernard Tomic who is in fine form, yet to be beaten this year. However, I am beginning to feel perversely good about this difficult draw. I think it’s giving him the match experience his fellow top 10 already had coming into the Open. Perhaps tough wins in straight sets are exactly what he needs, great match-buildups without ruining confidence or wasting too much energy. We’ll see how it all pans out on Saturday in what is sure to be another night match at the Rod Laver Arena given his opponent. And that means we’ll see Federer in pink again. Judging by what we saw today I’m ready to back pink power all the way!

*All photos have been taken from the Australian Open website and facebook page.

Roger Federer’s first match of 2013 – Round 1 of the Australian Open

From the Australian Open website gallery

I was ridiculously nervous before Roger Federer’s first match, almost unreasonably so. I think the fact that he hadn’t played in a while just kept nagging me. Although I did keep telling myself that it’s almost guaranteed Paire will just suddenly lose focus and start flailing on and off throughout, which should, hopefully, allow Federer to put a death-vice on the match. But I knew that in order for me to truly calm down, I would have to watch him play. And within the first game, when he broke Benoit, my heart rate came back down to normal levels of adrenaline.

It is probably too early to say that his decision to come into the Australian Open cold was a wise decision; the next few matches (hopefully the next 6!) will tell us that. But for today, Roger looked sharp, his backhand, that single-handed winged beauty of a shot, looked glorious. His forehands were lethal and accurate and first serve percentage for the match was 64% with 3 aces and he won 84% of his first serve points. The Maestro had 25 winners to 18 unforced errors, won 25 of 31 i.e. 81% of his net points and a total of 95 points.

Overall, at least for the first 2 sets, Benoit decided to try and play, and make a match of it. This resulted in quite a bit of pretty tennis for the fans to enjoy; lots of shots from both players that made one go ‘oooh!’. In the third set, Paire quickly unraveled mentally and then his game followed suit. Federer won 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 in 1 hour 23 minutes and hardly broke a sweat. The match stats are given below.

One feels for Benoit but only just; he could’ve showed more fight in the 3rd set to a full Rod Laver Arena crowd who had paid good money to watch two players give their all. Paire certainly has some focus issues and unless he can get a handle on them, my personal feeling is he could switch to becoming a doubles player. He just won the Chennai Open in doubles with Stan Wawrinka and when he loses focus, as he did in the Chennai SFs, Stan picked up the slack and helped him refocus. They certainly seemed to enjoy playing with each other so I think both should give some thought to making this a more regular occurrence.

From the Australian Open website gallery

Next up for Federer will be the winner of the Davydenko-Sela match and I know most Federer fans will be rooting for Dudi to come through since Davydenko is never an easy customer. He was the runner-up in Doha; although he did have injury/strain issues towards the end of that match and Gasquet ultimately triumphed over him to lift the trophy. However Federer’s H2H with Davydenko is 17-2 so based on that alone, this shouldn’t be impossible for Roger. Federer’s Round 2 match will be on Thursday, January 17th. Till then, I hope the Swiss gets to relax a bit, enjoy his first win and then get ready to hit the courts again for practice because the journey’s just begun.