T-W-E-N-T-Y

Twenty. 20. T-W-E-N-T-Y Grand Slams.

Twenty feels really big. Somehow much bigger than simply 19 + 1. Twenty feels gigantic. It sounds unbelievable, impossible and frankly speaking, ridiculous. We were in the teens for so long that I didn’t think there was anything after it. We hit thirteen back in 2008! For a decade we have been talking about the Slam count in the teens. And then once we got to seventeen we were stuck there for 4.5 years! I am used to teens. Twenty feels like we unlocked a secret door to a whole new level on a video game. We didn’t use any cheat codes either; we sort of stumbled into it. And I am not sure if we still quite believe that we’re here. The air feels crisper, the sky appears clearer, and the world looks shinier than it did before January 28^th, 2018. “Before January 28^th, 2018” feels like a different life.

When the 2018 Australian Open started, Roger Federer said he wasn’t the favorite of the tournament because a 36 year old shouldn’t be the favorite of a tournament and I agreed with him. Winning a Slam is tough. To maintain the intensity, rhythm, focus and the emotions for two weeks across 7 matches without suffering any injury, physical or mental, is difficult to say the least. And besides, I was still stuck in 2017 nostalgia. 2017 Australian Open was so magical that with each passing day I grew a bit sadder, knowing the fairy-tale is about to come to an end.  I told myself to enjoy it till the inevitable. Plus there are so many players out there, Novak and Stan were back too. Any of them could win. It’s not that I didn’t believe in Roger, but I just thought, TWENTY is insane! Right? I mean, we waited so long for eighteen and then we got a bonus with nineteen only months later! Surely asking for twenty is too greedy right? Right.

I know now, that what I was doing was putting blinders on myself out of fear of wanting it too much. Let’s not look right or left; let’s focus only on Roger till however deep he goes into the tournament. Which is why it took a while for me to realize that the seeds and stars across the draw were dropping out like flies. On the other hand, Roger had sailed through the first, second, third and even fourth match without dropping sets. But so what? That has never been a guarantee for success. Besides, let’s not forget, Rafa was still in the tournament. So there’s that. Meanwhile, Berdych has been playing very well this tournament and he is our QF opponent. Things will get dicey.

Except that it didn’t, not really. Boom we were in the SF – in straight sets – again. While on the other side of the draw, Rafa retired in the 5^th set. Wait, huh? What now? And then before we could settle in for a drawn out battle in the SF, our opponent Chung, retired without finishing the 2^nd set. How the? What the? So we are in the final? THE FINAL – without dropping any sets and as the defending champion?!

“DEFENDING Champion” – That felt heavy. Suddenly it became hard to breathe. There was a huge weight on my chest; like a 100 ton lead box, filled with expectations. Defending a title is a whole other beast. Roger hadn’t defended a Slam since the 2008 US Open when he won his 13^th Slam. He didn’t defend his 14^th, 15^th, 16^th or 17^th Slams. Now, a decade later we are expecting him to defend his 18^th?

Defending a Slam requires a whole other level of steely nerves and determination that very few players have. In fact, only 3 active players including Roger have ever done it but Roger has gone the longest of the 3 without defending one. Did he still remember how? Defending a Slam means you have two opponents, your actual opponent and YOU. You have to play your opponent while maintaining your high level and simultaneously preventing yourself from getting caught up inside your own head. A twentieth Slam seemed so far away at the start of the tournament and now suddenly it was here like a freight train and I didn’t know if I had prepared myself enough for the possibilities of winning one… or losing one for that matter.

When the day of the final dawned, I was still partly in denial. I was trying to block the thought of twenty out of my head which of course made me think about it even more, and I got stuck in that loop. Then I went off to work and thankfully work kept me busy so I couldn’t focus too much on it till about an hour left to go before the start of the final. I don’t remember much of what I did for that hour except to keep glancing at the clock every few minutes and wondering why the time was passing so slowly and also alternatively, why the time was going by so fast. Needless to say, the clock did nothing right that hour.

Then the match started and the first set is over like lightening. Marin was nervous, Roger was flying and poof, it was done. But I didn’t feel relief at all. I knew a storm was brewing and it hit us in set 2. Back and forth both players went, Marin created some winners and Roger committed some errors and both were far more evenly matched. We headed to a tiebreak and then, as Roger would confirm later on, he froze. Roger dropped his first set of the tournament and it was one set all.

Never mind, this is a marathon, not a race and we’ve been here before. Roger got a break in the 3^rd and held on to his service games enough to take the third set 6-3. Then came set 4 and he got a break again. Hmm, is this actually going to happen? Look, we are so close to even getting a double break! OMG is the twentieth really happening? These thoughts went through all our minds and they must have gone through Roger’s as well because Roger, like the rest of us, jumped ahead and lost focus. The next thing you know, he gets broken back and then broken again and his first serves are nowhere to be seen. Where did this collapse come from? Inexplicably, from being a break up in a possible deciding set, a nightmare of 15 minutes saw Roger lose set 4 and all the momentum he had. Onto a decider we went.

Roger went off-court during the changeover and I remember tweeting ‘Roger, splash some water on your face, shake this off and focus!’ and it seems he did just that. But renewing focus and holding onto one’s serve doesn’t always go hand in hand. Roger had to save two breakpoints in the first game of the set before he shakily held his serve. Looking back though, that wobbly service hold turned the match around for our champ. Long live wobbly service holds! They may be wobbly, but a hold is a hold!

In the next game, he pushed Marin with everything he had and Marin showed his first signs of cracking since the middle of set 4. Finally Roger got a breakpoint opportunity and for once, he didn’t waste it. Suddenly, we were up 2*-0. But a break isn’t a break till you consolidate and thankfully another tough hold pushed Roger up to 3-0*. Even though Marin held the next game, by then Roger was on a roll. Finally his first serves showed up and a love hold took him to 4-1*. Then in Marin’s next service game, he finally snatched the match away by getting the double break. All that was left was for him to serve it out and I am sure, the double break allowed him to play without fear. At Championship Point, he served to Marin’s backhand and Marin netted the return which meant…  but wait! Marin challenged his serve! Two years in a row, his Championship Point winners were challenged but just like the year before, this too, was INNNNNN! We have always had a tenuous relationship with Hawkeye, but thank goodness these past two years the challenges went our way when we needed them the most! Game, set, match Federer!

I squealed with delight and danced around my office like a maniac, jumping up and down. But I think the significance of the moment hit me during the ceremony when they announced Roger as the winner of Twenty Grand Slams. I felt the tears prickling my eyes yet I still didn’t shed them. But when I heard Roger’s voice shake in his speech, well that was it for me. I started to cry and then he started to cry, his friends and family started to cry and then I am sure, the whole world watching cried as well.

How could you not? There was the pressure of being expected to win. His H2H with Marin was lopsided enough to make him the favorite by a margin. Then there were the expectations of defending his title from 2017. Adding to that, all the blood, sweat, tears and fears that helped him get to this point, all the sacrifices he and his family had to make the past 20 years, and the weight of the roles and responsibilities of being “Roger Federer” throughout his career, the culmination of all that is enough for the toughest dams to break.

The realization that now, we are in rarefied air with the stratospheric heights we have climbed with Roger, truly humbles me. We are privileged and honored to witness this moment in tennis history. I am spellbound by his sense of belief, determination and the tremendous hard work he had to do the past 10 years to not only keep up with younger rivals at their peak, but in this case, outlast them. I don’t know if I have a passion that I love as much as Roger loves tennis and that love he has for the sport hits me anew each time and leaves me awestruck. I feel so lucky and blessed to be his fan and to have traversed the world with him and his legions of fans over the years. Not only have I through the ups and downs of his career but he has been there for me too, throughout the roller-coaster of my life.

Roger has been playing for so long, he is actually a life-constant. He’s my very happy and positive life-constant, even though he has no idea of my existence. I have written before, that even though Roger had reached dizzying levels of greatness in his career a decade ago, the Roger of NOW is my favorite Roger. He is human, he stumbles, he gets angry and he misses. It’s what makes his rise from the ashes so much more heroic yet somehow relatable at the same time. When I need positivity, I look to him. When I want a giggle and a laugh, I look up his many dad jokes in pressers and interviews. When I am in the depths of despair, I scramble for a youtube clip of his majestic tennis to lift me up. I depend on him for comfort, for motivation and for inspiration. Roger Federer is unique on-court but he’s even more amazing off-court, and no one deserves TWENTY Grand Slams more than him.

Thank you Roger for taking us along on this epic journey. Whether you win another one of these or not, you will always have me waking up at ungodly hours to watch every match or livescoring your matches during work meetings. As long as you keep going, I will be right there with you. It is the least I can do in return for the immense joy you bring to my life.

Congratulations on winning your TWENTIETH Grand Slam Roger!

TWENTY Slams won for twenty years on tour.

TWENTY Slams won in a span of fifteen years.

TWENTY Slams won out of thirty Slam finals reached.

TWENTY Slams won out of 200 total Open Era Slams i.e. 10% of all Open Era Slams.

TWENTY Slams won at the age of 36.

TWENTY Slams won as a father of 4.

TWENTY Slams won despite knee surgery.

TWENTY Slams won out of 72 Slams played.

TWENTY Slams won despite a gap of 4.5 years in the middle.

TWENTY Slams won, with the love of his life by his side for each one.

***Photos are either from the Australian Open Tennis Australia photos, Reuters or they are Getty Images from Zimbio.com***

 

He wasn’t supposed to win… but somehow he didn’t get the memo

Today started like any other day, and come match time, I got my usual pre-match nerves but not as much as the past two days because I was already content with Roger Federer’s Dubai journey thus far. He had reached the SFs and has looked to be in good form, which bode well for the next tournaments coming up on the schedule. I hoped he would give Novak one hell of a fight and at least take a set. However, as the match started to unfold I realized, Roger and I, were not on the same page.

But I didn’t pick up on this right away; because just like the past two matches, he got broken in his first service game today too. After that blip though, Roger dialed it up several notches and started playing beautiful tennis. However, Novak is no ordinary opponent and he had started the match playing well right from the beginning and continued to maintain the lead. Despite some scintillating shots from the Swiss like this shot of the day, Novak took the first set 6-3. I wasn’t too discouraged however because I could see Roger was really pushing him and had high hopes of Roger playing a better second set.

Lo and behold, the second set started with a love hold for our champ. Novak responded with a good hold himself and so it continued till 2 all. In Roger’s third service game he got into a bit of trouble and Novak had a break point. A fantastic forehand winner saved it and Roger ultimately held to go up 3-2*. In Novak’s next service game, two quick errors from the Serb gave Roger a 0-30 score. Just then, would you believe it, there was the most random of all rain delays. The first time Roger has even a peek at the Novak serve and this happens. You don’t want to know what colourful language I was using just then, staring angrily at my laptop screen. I was worried that Roger would come back and lose that momentum or Novak would regroup.

First point after the rain delay went to Roger however and he had 3 break points. Novak saved 2 of them with fantastic serves but ultimately Roger converted the third and he had the lead, 4*-2. Serving to consolidate Roger was pushed to 30 all before saving the game with two great serves of his own. At 2*-5 down, Novak held to love to force Roger to serve it out. However, this was not the Roger from yesterday or the day before. He was in an aggressive and confident mood and he took the set with ease. One set a piece and the match headed into the deciding set.

The momentum was clearly on Roger’s side but of course the most dangerous thing to do is count Novak out. We have learned this the hard way from past matches so I fully expected him to come back with a vengeance. Instead what happened next took me completely by surprise. 3 errors from Novak in a row in the first game of the set gave Roger 3 break points. Novak saved one with a great serve but another error and boom! He was broken. But a break isn’t really a break until it’s consolidated and Novak flipped the tables to get two break points on Roger’s next service game. Roger then took his game up to an even more ridiculous level and took the next four points to get the crucial hold. Novak got in trouble in his next game too getting pushed to deuce but he still held to get on the board and the score was 2*-1 with Roger to serve.

Novak pushed Roger to 30 all but couldn’t halt the FedExpress and Roger was up 4-1*. By then Roger was in untouchable form and Novak’s next service game turned out to be the longest of the match. Roger pushed the Serb to 4 deuces, missed one break point and finally took the second to get the double-break! To add salt to the wound, Roger then held to 15 to take the score to 5-1* and Novak had to serve to stay in the match. The Serb responded well by holding to love and forcing the Maestro to serve it out. The nerves we’ve seen lately from Federer while trying to close out matches reappeared again as Novak had 2 break points.  But then, Roger refocused and hit two unbelievable clutch serves to get to deuce. A backhand winner down the line followed by a service winner sealed the deal. Game, set, match Federer!

This was a fantastic match and those of you who didn’t watch it, you really should. The level of tennis was ridiculously good; it was on a whole other level that happens only when the Big 4 play each other, and even then it’s not always guaranteed. It was one of those matches where not only the winner won, but tennis won too. The match was high adrenaline from the start and kept getting better and better. The hot shot from the match was honestly just one of at least 8 other similarly jaw-dropping shots.

Despite Novak’s great start, when he got broken in the second set, he looked thrown off. As the match went on he looked more lost at the intense attack that was coming from the other side of the net. This was a match where Federer’s tactics were spot-on. But it wasn’t just the plan that was perfect; it was the execution as well. He was very aggressive, serving and volleying, chipping and charging and his serves were clutch when he needed them to be. He also returned much better than I had seen him do recently. He played an all-court game, kept the points short and took time away from Novak. While Novak displayed his great returning abilities, the Maestro put on a master class of how to play offense.

But perhaps what was most impressive was Roger’s mentality. He was clearly the underdog going into this match. And yet, you wouldn’t have known that if you saw the audacity of his tennis today. Maybe someone forgot to remind him that he lost his previous three matches to Novak, or that the last time he had a win over Novak was Cincinnati 2012. He seemed to have forgotten that Novak was the defending champion. He must not have heard the commentators talk about how old he is and how his opponent was in his prime. He played like he didn’t realize he was ranked world #8 with the world #2 on the other side of the net. Roger didn’t pay heed to the stats, the experts or the recent history. He knew what we all should have remembered but didn’t: that in sports, like in life, there is no script, and anything can happen.

I know this was just a SF. I know he still hasn’t won the title and he very well might not. Maybe he has used up the entire magic quota for Dubai in this one match. If we see his Berdych, his opponent in the final, hold that trophy up, we will feel gutted for sure. But today taught me a few lessons:

• Federer is still the most amazing shot-maker ever.
• He’s already gone farther in Dubai than anyone expected.
• This win will give him a huge confidence boost for the rest of the year regardless of what happens tomorrow.
• He has the mind of a champion who never gives up.
• In sports, like in life, there is no script, and anything can happen.

Forever your fan Maestro, Forever and Always.

***Photos from: http://www.leprogres.fr/sports/; http://www.altaspulsaciones.com/; http://www.theguardian.com/sport/; http://www.sportlifeworld.com/***

Roger records his 40th Dubai win!

Roger Federer won his 40^th Dubai match as he defeated Lukas Rosol in just 58 minutes to reach the SFs 😀 After the gripping (read nausea-inducing) match against Stepanek the day before I was prepared for anything. Rosol was not a threat on paper but we all know what he can do if his stars align so I braced myself.

And sure enough, just like the day before, Roger got broken in his first service game. But, as he would later say in his post-match interview, get broken all those times the day before helped him to not panic. 0-2* down, he took control of the proceedings. He broke back to love immediately and got on the board. After that he won the next 5 games in a row, securing a double-break on his way to a 6-2 set win in just 28 minutes. The Swiss was in supreme form after the first two games while the Czech just looked flat and uninspired. A look at the stats tells you the picture. Federer’s winners to unforced errors ratio in this set was a crazy 10:2.Set 2 and strangely again Roger had a blip in focus at the beginning. He double-faulted to give Rosol his only break point opportunity in that set. But unlike the previous match, and similar to the first set of this match, he regrouped quickly and held to level the score at 1 all. After that it was FedExpress all over again. He broke Rosol twice and held his own serve to go up 5-1*. Rosol finally held a game to force the Maestro to serve it out. The Czech pushed it to 30 all but a great body serve and a cross-court forehand winner sealed the match. Here are the match stats.The Swiss was clinical in the match except for his first service games in each set. He had a great winners to unforced errors ratio of 21:9 and a healthy first serve percentage and a second set percentage that improved as the match went on. He seemed more confident on court from the beginning, even when he was down a break. Of course such a performance would include a shot of the day, so check it out. I expected a tweener so I loved it even more when it wasn’t. The number of tricks this man has up his sleeve is truly endless 😀

Rosol was an unknown opponent Roger had never faced before. We go from that to a Serbian guy known as Novak Djokovic, someone Roger has faced a staggering 31 times so far. This SF will be their 32^nd match and everything points to Novak running away with a win to even up their H2H. Currently it stands at 16:15 in favor of the Swiss. Here’s a clip of the post match interview and a link to his comments from the presser where Roger talks about Novak.

However, despite the grim outlook I am not worried today for two reasons. First, my personal hope was that Roger reaches the SFs, especially after I saw the draw. And now that he has reached the SFs, I am proud of him. A final, and 2 SFs in the first 3 tournaments of the year; not bad for someone who was losing at earlier rounds a few months back. Second, Novak has much more to lose in this match than Roger, so who knows what magic Roger might produce as the underdog! I am hoping that Roger takes it to Novak and makes it a tough match. Their matches always tend to be exciting and tense anyway and they both know it too. Less than 5 hours left so I’ll sign off now – Wishing you all the best Maestro, give him one hell of a fight!

 

***Photo from: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/***

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*

Closing the chapter on Brisbane

Roger Federer lost the Brisbane final yesterday. I purposely waited for a while before thinking about what to write for this post. I wanted to clear my head before sitting at my laptop again. So after the match, I spoke with my mother, played with my cat and went for a walk.

As I chatted with my mother about something completely unrelated to tennis, my initial high-strung emotions slowly dissipated.  As I played with my cat I felt lighter and could even smile; I can usually rely on Simba to make me smile. By the time I went for a walk I was able to think about it clearly and when I was done, I knew what I was going to write.

I realized for me what helped was to look at not just the match but rather the match as part of the tournament and more importantly, the tournament as part of a longer journey. I think this journey started last year in Basel which is symbolic in its own way. Basel was where it all began for the Maestro and it makes sense that after the tough year he had, his climb back started from there as well. 2013 started going downhill from as far back as Rotterdam and it wasn’t until Basel that the rot was stopped. Since then on, it seemed the worst was behind us and I find myself still firmly believing that. Basel was a very good tourney and he carried that form into Bercy and then London. Was it vintage Federer? Not nearly, though I still believe he gave us the shot of last year in London vs. Delpo. But it was a welcome improvement. His performance, grit and intensity increased over those 3 tourneys and he went into the off-season feeling much better about himself than a few months prior.

After an off-season that was packed with training he came to Brisbane ready to test himself. Not only was he testing his own body, he was also testing a new racquet. The Brisbane draw was a good mix of players at different levels of their tennis. First up he faced the perennial top 40r Nieminen who can cause problems on any given day. Then came the Aussie Matosevic, a player he had never faced and one who could’ve made him work for it but he underperformed, in part due to Federer’s brilliance. Next came Chardy, another unknown player but with a great serve and big forehand. Roger had to fight through this one but ultimately came through and went into the final without being broken.

The final vs. Hewitt started off with the worst possible way as he was broken right away. Hewitt has always been very strong mentally; add in the fact that he was playing on home soil and how hungry he was for his first title since 2010, nothing was higher than his motivation that day. He said later, in that first set, he saw the ball as big as a football. Meanwhile, Roger looked distracted in that set. His movement was sluggish, his body language negative and he hit shanks so far wide the balls could’ve landed in Melbourne to be used at the Australian Open. He confirmed that there was no back issue which leads me to think it was a combination of some physical and mostly mental fatigue, annoyance and general discomfort at being challenged as fiercely as Lleyton was fighting him.

We know how the match went. He somehow found his rhythm in the 2^nd set, fired 5 consecutive aces in a row and took the set. Then came the beginning of the 3^rd set where the momentum was with him. Sure enough he got multiple breakpoint opportunities, 7 in fact. He squandered them all while Lleyton converted the one he got and the writing was on the wall. I was sad to see the breakpoint issue rear its ugly head because in the 3 tourneys at the end of last year he looked to have more control over that problem. Regardless, after that first set which was bizarre, I thought he did a good job of hanging on and maybe another way to look at the breakpoints opportunities was that he kept putting Hewitt under pressure.

But enough about the match. It left some fans sad while others were angry and some downright mean which is something I will never understand. How can you be mean, rude and hateful towards someone and claim to be their fan? 😦 Anyway….. setting these haters aside, I understand the sadness felt by many because I felt it too. But then I took a break, thought rationally and came to my understanding about the journey he was on. I then realized if Basel was the start of the new race, Brisbane was the pit-stop. To pause and check progress, and address any hiccups faced. As such, here are my take-aways from Brisbane:

• The new racquet still feels a bit alien to him at times though it seems to be a much better fit than the post-Wimbledon one.
• His returning still needs some work. This court was super fast however, so to be fair, it was difficult for other players too. Nonetheless, this is something he could focus on.
• When all else was failing, his serve stood strong for the majority of it. Throughout the tourney he consistently served well and hit over 40 aces. The last time I remember such a good serving tourney was probably Australian Open 2013. If nothing else, the new racquet seems to have made a positive impact here.
• Barring that first set in the final which I still don’t quite understand, his body held up well. More importantly, his back seems fine, thank goodness.
• It seemed he was able to handle players up to a certain caliber but was perhaps not quite there yet in terms of facing a performance like the kind Lleyton produced. I don’t care what the rankings say, Hewitt did not play like a player ranked 60 in the world. He played like a former #1 and a Grand Slam Champion. He was by far the best player Roger faced this week and I think Roger is leaving Brisbane with an idea of what gear he needs to take it up to going forward. He will be more aware of exactly what and how much he needs to improve. Coming in, he didn’t have a barometer to gauge his progress. Now he does and I for one don’t think the prognosis is bad at all especially considering the new racquet situation.  
• The obvious area of work needed is his confidence. He said so himself, he needs a bit more confidence to win tournaments. The way to get confidence is to win more matches. I firmly believe he will get there as the year goes on. We’re only on January 6^th remember?
• Coming into the new year after a 6 week off-season with a new racquet, a final is not too shabby don’t you think? May I remind you that world # 3, 4, 7 and 9 also played an ATP 250 in Doha and all lost before the QFs. Plus none of them had gone into the off-season with as much to work on as Roger. None of them were being pushed into retirement even though they ended the year ranked in the top 10. None of them were speculated about as much as Roger. Considering all that baggage, I’ll take the final in Brisbane, thank you very much.

Well there you have it, my concluding thoughts on Brisbane. Going into the Australian Open he has areas to think about and discuss with Luthi and also Edberg. But I don’t think that one final undid all the good that came out of that tourney. I also think he is in a much better place going into Melbourne than he was after the US Open last year. It hasn’t been an easy ride back up, but since Basel, it’s been two steps forward and one step back.

Progress has been made, is being made and will continue to be made. In the meantime, it might not be pretty so if you’re not cut out for the bumpy ride, I would suggest you get off the train. As for me, I have no choice but to stay on. I bought a lifetime supply of tickets when I got on the FedExpress, I don’t even know where the emergency exit door is.

Saved by the Serve – Federer reaches the final in Brisbane

Roger Federer is through to his first final of the year! But boy was it tough! What started out as a routine match quickly changed into a fight till the very last minute. In the end, 3 factors helped our champ: 1. His experience 2. His serve 3. A bit of luck.

The first set gave no indications of the fight that was going to unfurl on the Pat Rafter Arena. Chardy looked nervous and rattled, Roger looked smooth and composed. He got the early break and quickly consolidated. Though Chardy started to settle in towards the end, Roger wrapped it up in 27 minutes, 6-3. He had problems with his first serves but won points when they went in. Roger offered no break points. He also returned relatively well compared to Chardy who barely returned anything. Here are the stats for set 1.Onto set 2. Chardy began to overcome his initial awe of the match while Roger’s level started to dip. Chardy’s groundstrokes started to fire, he found his rhythm and his forehand started to click. Meanwhile, Roger’s movement began to look sluggish, his returns became more error prone and he started to get irritable which led to him losing focus. Chardy kept pushing and almost every service game of Roger’s went to 0-30, 15-30 or 30 all. What kept getting the Maestro out of trouble was his fantastic serve. It wasn’t the speech so much as pinpoint accuracy. The Swiss hit 9 aces in this set alone which prevented him from ever facing a break point despite how close he looked in most service games. Chardy held his serve much more easily and in the end neither man got any break point opportunities which led to the inevitable tie-break. Chardy played a wonderful tie-break while Roger’s struggles continued. The Frenchman took the tie-break 7-3 and the set.

Here are the stats which tell the story pretty clearly. Chardy outperformed Roger in most departments but though Chardy served well, Roger served even better and it was a key factor in him not getting broken. He produced the best serves at crucial points in the set to keep him safe.Off we went into set 3 and the momentum was very much with the Frenchman. Roger served first and was immediately in trouble and offered a break point to Chardy at 30-40. It was actually going to be the only break point opportunity Roger provided to Chardy in the entire match. Again his serve came to the rescue to get him out of the hole and hold. Chardy had a nice service game to get the score to 1 all. In Roger’s next service game, he lost the first point to a backhand error. After a service winner to get to 15 all, he served a double fault to push the score to 15-30. And then, once more his serves saved him; he hit three aces in a row to take the game and hold 2-1*.

Chardy held comfortably again moving Roger from side to side to get the score line to 2 all. Roger looked annoyed at himself and was pushed to deuce in his next service match before firing two more consecutive aces to hold to 3-2*. After another easy hold from Chardy to level the scores at 3 all, Roger finally had an easy hold as well, after a long time; the score was 4-3*. And then something inexplicable happened. Chardy either lost focus or got overwhelmed with the prospect of defeating Roger. Whatever the cause, after getting in a winner to go up 15-0, he served a double fault and committed 2 forehand errors to give the Swiss 2 break point opportunities at 15-40. Roger needed only one because Chardy double-faulted again on break point. All of a sudden, the score was 5*-3 with Roger to serve for the match. Cool and calm, Roger hit a service winner, followed by a forehand winner and then ace # 19 followed by ace # 20 to hold to love and win the game, set, match 6-3, 6-7(3-7), 6-3 in 1 hour and 56 minutes.

Roger didn’t return that well but what saved him were his 8 aces in the set. Meanwhile, Chardy’s first serves really let him down with only 36% going in; and the 2 double faults in the penultimate game certainly did not help. Here are the set 3 stats.Roger had to fight hard both at a physical and a mental level. It was apparently the hottest day in Brisbane in 70 years and when Roger’s shirts are soaked through you know it must be a hot and humid day. The sun was also moving across the court creating awkward shadows. All this is not to be used as an excuse for they applied to both players. It just seemed to affect Roger more. Or perhaps he was irritated by his own performance level and then these factors just exacerbated his annoyance. I think the fact that he had never played Chardy before presented problems for him. Once Chardy settled into his groove Roger had to keep trying to figure out ways to put him under the pressure while committing errors himself. He might have also had to deal with demons of 2013 coming back to haunt him mentally.

All this led to a fight to the finish and I for one was expecting it to go to another tie-break in the end. But at the very last minute, Chardy blinked; at the very last minute Roger pounced. And that’s what separates the champions from the rest. Hopefully he can summon up this extra gear once more for tomorrow. His opponent is his long time rival, Aussie player Lleyton Hewitt. They are both 32 years old, both Grand Slam Champions and former world #1s. They have met 26 times with the H2H of 18-8 in favor of the Swiss. But they have never met in a final in Australia. The chance to win a title on home soil defeating a fierce rival, that too, possibly the best player in history – Hewitt will certainly not be short on motivation.

Roger will need to bring intensity, grit, aggression and be prepared to play for hours because Lleyton will fight till the sun goes down. I can’t call this one at all. It depends on how well Roger has recovered physically and mentally from this match and also from his doubles match. It also depends on day form and who wants it more. All I can say is, just to be safe Roger, pack in a few extra aces, they might come in handy just when you need them most. Tune in at 3:30pm local time for what is sure to be a tense battle.

I will sign off on a more positive note. Roger reaching the final, while using the new racquet, has already exceeded my modest expectations. I am thrilled that he has reached his 114^th career final and won his 926^th match out of the 1,141 career matches he has played. If he gets his 78^th title tomorrow that will be amazing. But if not, I am still mighty pleased and proud of our champ for a great beginning to the year. There is more to come, I can feel it! Allez!

Federer reaches his first SF of 2014

Roger Federer is through to the SFs in Brisbane! He defeated Australian player Marinko Matosevic, 6-1, 6-1 in 57 minutes. Roger was absolutely clinical on court and Matosevic was anything but. It took a little time for Roger to figure out Matosevic as he’d never played him before but he sized him up quickly enough. Meanwhile, Matosevic not only remained clueless on how to fix this Federer problem, he seemed exhausted, negative and didn’t look like he wanted to be there despite the screaming Aussies in the crowd.

With only 57 minutes of play there isn’t really much to report. Roger started off the match serving first and immediately faced 3 break points but saved them all and held. From then on it was a one-way train. In Matosevic’s first service game he too faced break points but unlike Federer he couldn’t save the third one and was down 0-2*. Roger’s next service game included one service winner and 2 aces to help the Swiss go up 3-0* in the blink of an eye. Matosevic’s next game was replete with errors peppered with a few beautiful shots from Roger resulting in a double break for the Swiss. Roger served the next game to 15 taking it with his 5^th ace to go up 5-0*. Matosevic finally had a good service game and got on the board with his only ace of the set. Federer then served it out with 2 aces to take the set in 27 minutes. Here are the stats for set 1.Roger served very well with 7 aces and 68% of first serves in. He returned very well too, particularly off Matosevic’s second serve points and he committed only 4 unforced errors.

Onto the 2^nd set and Matosevic held his first service game. I had thought he would give Roger a tougher fight in the second set so I expected as much. What I hadn’t expected was Roger winning the next 6 games in a row.  Serving to go up to 1 all, Federer produced one of his magical fake dropshots-turned-forehand-winner to take the score to 40-15 and leave Matosevic scratching his head. In Matosevic’s next service game Federer had a break point which he missed. Roger kept pushing however and after 2 more deuces he got his second break point opportunity. Matosevic gave him the break with a backhand error and the Maestro was up 2*-1.

Roger was tested in his next service game but held without facing a break point. In the Aussie’s next service game he got the first point but then a combination of his own errors and Roger’s forehand gave the Swiss a double break. Federer then held to love with 2 forehand winners and an ace and Matosevic was left to serve to stay in the match at 1*-5 down. He only managed one more point before Roger broke him to win the set in 30 minutes. Here are the stats for set 2.Roger’s level actually fell a bit in the second set, especially his first serves but in comparison to Matosevic’s desperate game one could hardly notice that dip. Roger was barely tested which bodes well for his energy level for tomorrow. He will face Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in the SFs, yet another player he has never faced before. Chardy plays well in Australia, like at the Australian Open last year when he reached the QFs. He has a pretty big serve and likes the fast courts so he will be a tough opponent. Roger will also play the doubles SF tomorrow after his singles match. The singles SF will be at 3pm local time and the doubles will follow after that. Here are the highlights of today’s QF match. The Federer twins and Mirka were there court-side today, I wonder if they will be there tomorrow as well 🙂

I am very happy he has reached the SFs of the first tourney of the year. It’s always tough to come out strong after the off-season and he had to get used to his new racquet as well. So overall I am very pleased with the progress thus far.

Meanwhile, I’ll leave you with 3 video clips from the fantastic Brisbane International youtube account. You should see these because they are amazing: 1. The freak Federer smash that should get at least a million views 😀 2. The full Federer-Mahut vs. Chardy-Dimitrov doubles match that was pure entertainment. 3. The great clip of “Roger Federer and Rod Laver on how to play one another” – such a fantastic conversation between the two greats of tennis! Also make sure to follow @BrisbaneTennis on twitter, one of the best tournament twitter accounts around that’s for sure!

That’s it from me. Wishing the Maestro all the best for tomorrow!

Federer rings in the New Year with a win in Brisbane

My first post of the year and we open 2014 with a win! Roger Federer defeated Jarkko Nieminen, 6-4, 6-2 and moved on to the QFs at Brisbane. The match was exactly what the Maestro needed. A tough opponent who gave him a fight, at least in the first set, and made him shake off the rust from the off-season. This was also the debut of Roger’s new racquet. We still don’t know the specifications of it but we do know it’s not the same one he tried out in Gstaad and Hamburg last year. He practiced with this new one in the off-season and today for the most part it looked like it was up for the job 🙂

The first set started with several quick holds of serve from both players. I should mention here that the Brisbane courts this year are apparently very fast. Thus much to the joy of many tennis enthusiasts including me, we are getting to see a much more attacking style of tennis than we are used to on the slower courts on tour for the rest of the year. On Tuesday, Roger played and won his first doubles match with Mahut and the points were lightening quick, with creative angles and intricate point constructions. This match was similar as well.

After 2 all in the first set, it got interesting. Neiminen was up 40-0 on his own serve when a spectacular, unreal lob from Roger brought the score to 40-15. A beautiful backhand volley winner took the score to 40-30. Jarkko started panicking, errors flowed and soon the Swiss has a break point. Jarkko finally sprayed a forehand long to give Roger the only break of the set. Roger had a tough service game right after, trying to consolidate. He had to save a break point before finally holding to go up 4-2*. After that, though both players were tested in their service games, they held on and soon it was time for the Maestro to serve it out. Nieminen took him to deuce twice before Roger sealed it with a service winner. Here are the stats from set 1.Nieminen pushed him from beginning to end and the only time Jarkko flinched was when he was broken. Roger had a few errors and possibly a bit of nerves while serving for the set but overall he found the lines and corners accurately and often, more so as the set went on and he found his groove. Some cross-court backhand returns took my breath away and his forehands in particular were scary good.

Onto set 2 and fresh from losing the first set, Jarkko seemed to be redlining it and going for too much only to commit errors. In the blink of an eye Roger had 2 break points and another error from Jarkko gave him an immediate break. Roger then quickly held and by the time Jarkko started his second service game, the Maestro was in the zone. Roger’s ability to take the ball super early, combined with his speed and precision was further enhanced by the quick court and together these factors made him deadly. Jarkko tried desperately to hang on and saved one break point but couldn’t save the second as the Swiss got the double break.

The next service match for Roger was the last time Jarkko was able to put him under pressure. Roger provided Nieminen 2 break points but then saved both quickly with wonderful serves. He had to save another break point before ultimately holding to go up 4-0*. Jarkko somehow held his next game and avoided a bagel and got to 1-4*. Roger quickly served to love to go up 5-1*. After that, even though Nieminen held his next service game, the writing was already on the wall. Serving for the match at 5*-2, Roger wasted no time and displayed no nerves as he calmly served out a love game and took the set, 6-2. Here are the set 2 stats.Roger served well, especially in the second set and hit 9 aces throughout the match. He was sharp off both wings and the new racquet looked fully integrated into his game. He seemed to have a good feel with it, especially as the match went on. I thought the new racquet added more power in his shots and he was able to blast away Jarkko off the court. You could see his confidence grow the deeper the match went. Here is the link for the full match vs. Nieminen and here is the link to his presser afterwards.

Roger faces an Aussie player next, Marinko Matosevic, who is having a great tourney of his own; he defeated Tursunov and Querrey along the way. Interestingly Roger and Marinko have never played each other before so I’m not sure what to expect. I won’t make any predictions but I suspect Roger is feeling better about his game especially after this R2 match.

But that QF match is on Friday, i.e. tomorrow. Meanwhile as I am posting this he just finished playing the QF in doubles with Mahut. He thoroughly enjoyed himself just like he did in the first doubles match. They played against Dimitrov/Chardy which resulted in a highly entertaining match with some fantastic shot-making from all four players. Both sets went to tie-breaks with Federer-Mahut winning the first one 7-3 and Dimitrov-Chardy winning the second 7-5. Federer-Mahut then finally won a thoroughly fun super tie-break at 11-9 to win the match and reach the SFs! Roger always looks happy when playing doubles, smiling away, so I’m really glad he playing them; good positive vibes. In fact provided he is fit, fresh and healthy, I would love to see him play more doubles here and there as the year goes on.

Well, that’s it from my end. My mantra post 2013 is to be cautiously optimistic and those are the feelings I am carrying into that QF match tomorrow. Fingers crossed the Maestro comes through!