Federer's real struggle starts now

Roger Federer, the most anxious player to claim the French Open title before its too late, has three considerable hurdle en route to victory. Although, the World No 1 is looking in good shape, the real tests begin only now when he plays some big names.

• QF against Fernando Gonzalez : not as simple as one may think. The Chilean is capable of pulling surprises and he got the better of the Swiss in their last meeting in 2007 as well.
  
• SF against Ferrer : The Spaniard (another clay court specialist) has had two 5 setters in last 2 rounds but has survived names like Hewitt and Stepanek. He troubled Nadal in Barcelona finals and may prove a hurdle in Federer's track. This is all meaningless if Ferrer loses to the local favorite Monfils, who eliminated Ljubicic earlier, in the QF. It may be a close call given that Spaniard's exhaustion may play a role.

• F against Rafa/Nole : Well, the SF between the No. 2 Spaniard and No. 3 Serb would be as mouth-watering as any Grand Slam final itself. If their match in Hamburg was any indication, this SF will be nothing less than a treat to watch. This should go to 4 sets in worst case and unless Nole has picked up some new tricks, Rafa will prove to be an unsolvable mystery once again. It will be a matter of who can survive and persist longer in the end.
  If Federer makes it till here, which he should, he will have to display an unparallel determination and confidence if he is dreaming of his career grand slam this time. Saddened to say but he doesnt have much time left to prove himself and as seen in Monte Carlo and Hamburg, he needs extra mental toughness and self belief to defeat Rafael Nadal. Probably, it will be better for him to face Novak Djokovic in the finals just to avoid that mental block against Nadal. In any case, his actual fight begins only now. Lets see if third time is lucky for him.

Tennis at its uniquely best - Vamos Rafa!

I did not imagine writing a blog with this title after a match not involving Federer but here it is. Everyone was looking forward to the answer of 'Can Rafa defend his kingdom'. Nadal did answer and what a magnificent reply it was. In a match, that is the best on clay I have EVER seen, one could easily see why the match was so badly awaited. One could see why Djokovic deserves to contend for No. 2 and one could also see why Rafa IS No. 2.

The semi final at Hamburg was a delight to tennis fans, having the strong dose of power play and the right blend of emotions and drama. Some fingers raised, some sulks at error, some smiles at a winner by the opponent, some chest thumping on a motivating shot and some racquet-bashing, the match had it all. For a 3 hour running match, the contenders put in everything they could and in the end, it proved too much for the Serb. But one thing that Novak Djokovic did win, was a reinstated respect as a sincere player and a serious contender for top rankings in the years to come. He had only nerves to lose in this match and he did not lose it exactly. But the way Nadal makes the opponent earn every point, it rattled the momentum for the Serb who just burned out after a few stunning winners from Nadal in the final set. Though Nole made Rafa wait for 6th match point, he could not himself convert 4 break points in the last game. The crowd who gasped, sighed and cheered at the breathtaking winners from both the players had probably not witnessed a more intriguing match.

With 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 victory, Nadal held on to his second ranking and the title of 'King of Clay'. He seemed troubled in the first few games when probably he was still delving upon the possibility of slipping to the third place in ATP charts. But once he regained his composure, he rolled on in the first set wil some amazing rallies and drop shots. Serb struck back impressively in the second set and did what just 2-3 players have done till now, snatch a set from the Spaniard. But final set was a visual fantasy when a sensational passing shot from him broke Djokovic in the very opening game. Novak then tried to come back surviving rallies and carefully selecting the shots but unfortunately broke his racquet string on the break point in second game. After that, he never recovered from the stupendous cross court overhead shot that left him helplessly smiling when Nadal was leading 3-2.

It was very evident how hard Nole tried and one could feel sad by the time he lost it. But I have a feeling that he might figure the inevitable question better than Federer himself - "how to defeat Rafael Nadal on clay!". We will surely see much more of him on clay next year (assuming French Open is too soon to expect a drastic recovery) and may he achieve what no body has. As of now, its once again No 1 Vs No 2 clash at Hamburg Finals tomorrow where Rafa's fatigue from today's marathon may have a role to play.

Be Quiet

"Be quiet" - Federer tells Djokovic's parents in Monte Carlo semis as mentioned in the earlier post.

:)

Federer moves past Novak in Monte Carlo 2008

courtesy: Pete Boro, tennis.com

It took a long time to get the chance to write a success story for Swiss against the Serb this year. And a lot to write, I guess, since the climax did not adhere to the norm.

First, a breeze through the game itself. The match started beautifully with both the players stylishly winning their first service games. None was looking weak or willing to relinquish, just yet. The welcome change was to see Federer not too much conscious of his current form and giving his full into the game. Few stupendous passing shots made his new coach give away a smile of satisfaction over the Swiss's progress. Well poised initially, the Serb got the first break point on Fed's 3rd serve. A bit of luck helped Federer save 3 break points that proved too costly for Novak later on. He was seen getting ruffled a bit easily and the inability to encash the breakpoints reflected in his weaker serves and double faults later on. Federer held on and continued to break the opponent at 4-3 to finally wrap the set at 6-3. While both the players displayed some great baseline action with strong forehands and passes, Federer remained calm and the Serb appeared to give up. When Roger again broke the Serb in his 2nd serve in the second set, the red and white flags could be seen gusting all through the beautiful court at Monte Carlo. But Serb came back right on to break Roger equalling the score. This did not give much of an advantage since too many error cost him another service game and he looked flushed. Then, something happened and he gifted the match to the Swiss. Federer was declared the winner as the Serb left the court in a disappointed (and disappointing?) state.

One need not be a sportsman herself to imagine how much would have this match and the consequent victory meant to Federer, whose career had been in the worst of down slide for him since his loss to this very Serb at the start of this year. And the half hearted smile he gave on being announced as the winner revealed that he had been robbed off his victory. But, leaving that apart, he is through to his 3rd consecutive Monte Carlo finals where Rafa is waiting to thrash him.

The Swiss-Serb rivalry is getting dirty just like the surface. One would be wrong to compare it with that of gentlemen like Pete Sampras and Agassi because the business here is not at all sophisticated or sportsmanly. The debate over why Serb decided to retire in a match which possibly had just few more games shall go on for a while. Apparently he had been not feeling well and dizzy since the start, which was surprisingly not visible to many people until he lost the first set. And another spicy stuff from the match - Federer had to ask the Djoko family to keep it down during the first set. Novak's parents have been in news for sometime now for their weird behavior towards their son's competitors. But again, who can define how far should the players go or how should their parents behave. I hope Novak had good reasons to retire and Roger meant no disrespect. Lets leave this at that. I wish both would be more professional.

And now, about amazing Rafa. I saw few points from his semifinal clash against Davydenko and I can say that Federer will not be the favorite in the final. The Spanish bull just moves brilliantly on clay and he is 'everywhere'. He can run from the baseline to retort to a cunning drop shot and angle it so acutely that the opponent(disarmed coz he is so sure of winning this point) at net can only watch the passing shot hitting the ground just before the sideline. He loves the clay and it seems that clay loves him equally. So here is Rafael, as brilliant as ever on dirt and there is Federer, stronger and more aggressive on clay.

Overall, awesome stuff! The finale should be very strong. Predictions? My loyalty forbids me to state practicality and so, I would go with 3 set win for Roger Federer.