Monthly Archives: April 2010

Federer Loses Doubles, Spotted Shopping in Rome Again

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First of all it’s nice to see some of my long time followers commenting again. Been missing you guys in the quiet times. And yes I always read your comments even if I don’t reply. Unfortunately our man lost 6-4, 6-4 against Isner and Querry today with his partner Allegro, but it was good he got some more court time. Every little helps. The genius of Federer goes beyond what he does on the court, and as always genius can be missed if one doesn’t pay attention. What I am referring to is his scheduling and his ability to peak at exactly the right moments, which are the slams. I can almost guarantee you that by the time the second major of the year kicks off in the French capitol, that Roger will be ready to defend his title. Don’t be deceived by the fact that he has had three early round exists in three Masters Series events.

The loss in Rome meant nothing, because his schedule is worked out in a way which peRFectly builds up to the French Open. First he begins with taking some time off just to do some normal training to get used to the clay. Then the next step is the doubles in Rome, which is just a subtle step up from normal training. Next he heads over to Estoril which is a smallish tournament where he will for sure get a few easy matches in the first couple of rounds. Of course no match is really easy at that level, but it should be enough to get him some wins under his belt which is what it is all about. He just needs to get that winning feeling back. In 2008 he was struggling as well but still won Estoril, and it would be great for the confidence if he could do so again. Then he heads over to Madrid which will be his main warm up event for Roland Garros.

Roger was out shopping with the family again today. Nice shades Rog ;-)

So you can see he actually goes through four levels of preparation before he even gets to Paris. He is now at the half way mark and it is time to get some single wins. Even though Estoril is a small event, I’m actually really looking forward to watch how he eases into things and get some confidence going. I mention these things so that you can appreciate some things about Roger which you may taken for granted before. He really is the full package, and people who get all emotional about losses outside of the majors really misses what he is all about. Someone even left me a comment mentioning that Roger lost on purpose in Rome not to face Nadal. I don’t know if he goes that far, but he is so smart that I guess anything is possible. Federer is an enigma, as most geniuses are. No one knows how he keeps peaking at the slams. He just does it time after time.

Someone who has not had any confidence problems of late is Fernando Verdasco. Winning is a habit, and no habit is more important in tennis. Verdasco is now on an eight match winning streak after beating Djokovic for the second time in two weeks today, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4. It was a much tougher affair than the 6-2, 6-2 win in Monte Carlo, but a win is a win, especially over the world number two. I’m really liking what I am seeing from Verdasco of late. I have always liked his talent and he is a nice guy. He is having the kind of clay court season which I expected from him last year, but it took him a year to mature enough to be the force on clay I knew he could be. There is now a good possibility of a repeat of the Monte Carlo final with Nadal and Verdasco. Verdasco is playing Ferrer in the semi-final who beat Tsonga 6-4, 6-1, while Nadal beat Wawrinka by the same score.


Nadal will face Gulbis in the other semi, who beat Lopez 7-6(6), 6-1. It’s nice to see Gulbis maturing as well, but can’t see how he can possibly upset Nadal. As far as Ferrer/Verdasco goes, that should be more competitive. But again I would have to go with Ferrer. If Verdasco and Nadal should meet in the final again, I hope Verdasco can forget what happened in Monte Carlo and give Nadal the tough match that he is capable of giving him. Today in the first set Wawrinka was playing some fantastic tennis and gave him the closest set of the clay court season so far. If Nadal keeps playing like this he will be tough to beat. Especially with Del Potro still out of action, who I hear is doubtful even for the French Open. So we can count him out as a factor this clay court season. We are only about half way through the clay court season though. Lets see what happens…

For more shopping pictures click here.

Was Federer’s Loss to Gulbis a Good Thing?

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You must be thinking I’m crazy. How can I say such a thing? But hear me out. Consider the fact that Nadal was in Federer’s half of the draw. Had Roger beaten Gulbis, there is a good probability that he would have made the semi-finals. Given the way Rafa has been playing of late, I think Roger would have really struggled to beat Rafa. Not only would that have made the already bad head-to-head record with Nadal even worse, but it would give Nadal another confidence boost going into the French Open, knowing that he got revenge for the loss in Madrid last year against Federer. There is also a good possibility that Federer would have been obliterated by Nadal had they met in the Rome semi-finals, and that would have been even worse for Federer. At least now he hasn’t given Nadal the chance to do that, and he has some more time to gain confidence.

Coming off two early round losses in North America certainly does not put him at the confidence level to face Nadal on clay either, and neither would the conditions in Rome help him against Nadal. Consider what happened last year. Roger lost his second match against Wawrinka in Monte Carlo and a lot was being made of it. Everyone thought he was down in the dumps, which he was. Yet he came back to make the semi-finals of Rome and then won Madrid, as well as the French Open. So clearly it is too early to make any conclusions from his loss to Gulbis, and as I said, it could well be a blessing in disguise. Nadal is now scheduled to play in Madrid, which means if Roger gets his act together, that he could have a rematch with Rafa in Madrid. If they happen to meet there, it will give Federer a much better chance to repeat what he did to Nadal last year.

He will have some more matches below his belt by then and Madrid is at altitude, giving him a better chance to win than he would have had in Rome. Rafa is scheduling wiser this year, and there is no doubt that he will be very difficult to beat this year on clay. But Roger has to give himself the best chance of beating Nadal. If he beats him again in Madrid, that will give him a mental boost going into the French Open. With Nadal in the form that he is in, Federer almost has to beat him in Madrid to get a mental edge before the French Open. If someone does not beat Nadal he will win each of the Masters Series events and go into the French Open with maximum confidence, and the clear favorite to win it once again. Federer can’t depend on someone else to do it for him either. He needs to bring his best game to Madrid and try to repeat what he did there last year at altitude.

At least that will put a certain amount of doubt in Nadal’s mind going into the French Open. If not, then Nadal is going to be extremely hard to beat there. Roger is now still in the doubles in Rome which he will be playing tomorrow against big serving Americans Querry and Isner. It would be interesting to see what happens there, but either way this is good match practice for Roger. Even though it’s doubles, it is still better than being on the practice court, and it will help Roger work on his attacking game on clay. After the doubles in Rome he heads over to Estoril, which is exactly the kind of tournament he needs now just to get some wins under the belt in singles and gain some confidence. That should get him ready for Madrid where he can make a serious run at the title like he did last year. The altitude suits him better there which should help as well.


So in the end I guess what I’m trying to say is that the loss against Gulbis is far from the end of the world, and it might even turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Last year everyone was worried about Federer’s form in the clay court season, yet he peaked exactly at the right time while Nadal and Djokovic burned themselves out. This time Nadal has taken measures to avoid the same thing happening, which will make it tough for Roger to defend his title. All he can do is give himself the best shot by peaking at the right time. He can only control what is under his control. Isn’t it amazing how you just can’t keep Roger off a tennis court of he wants to be there? I wouldn’t even be surprised if he wins the doubles with Allegro. The only way in which the loss against Gulbis will be a bad thing is if it means Roger won’t break Sampras’ record amount of weeks at number one.

In all other instances I see this loss as a good thing.

Rome Rd 2: Gulbis def Federer 2-6, 6-1, 7-5, Federer Wins Doubles

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Gulbis was always going to be a tough first round match, but as has been the case of late, I felt like this match was on Roger’s racquet. What happened after the first set? Just losing the second set 6-1 did not make any sense. The turning point came in the first game of the second set when Federer was in control of the point. He missed and easy forehand approach at 30-15 on Gulbis’ serve, which would have given him two break points. He did however get two break points of the Gulbis serve in that game, but could not convert. This is the Federer we have come to know of late. Playing well for stretches, but lacking confidence when it’s time to put away his opponents. Well at least in the three set format. The last three matches he has lost all of them either 7-5 or 7-6 in the third set, which points to the fact that he can’t win close matches.

As far as three set matches goes I think he has a confidence crises. He just makes mistakes which really doesn’t make any sense. Of course it doesn’t help when you keep losing close matches. To get confidence back he will need to win a couple of these. After this latest loss I’m not so sure all the time he has spent outside the game has been a good thing. He couldn’t help the fact that he got lung infection before Indian Wells, but he did choose not to play Monte Carlo. After losing early on at both Indian Wells and Miami, he surely needed match practice. If he lost early on at Monte Carlo, at least he would have had more time to play matches and get his confidence back. Now he only has two events left before his title defense at the French Open. It could still be enough, but it doesn’t help his quest for staying ranked number one for the most weeks either.

You can’t see the shoes here, but I liked the new attire.

Having said all that, we know Roger is always ready when the slams come around. Before the Oz Open this year I felt he played terribly, and we all know what happened afterwards. It’s just not much fun for us fans when he keeps losing in these smaller events, because we rarely get to see him play. I was a bit surprised with his attitude in the presser after the match.

“It’s probably good for me – it’s a wake-up call.”

“You have to have losses like that, they wake you up.”

“I have to do the hard yards now, win ugly, starting with Estoril (next week). I’m still in the doubles and that helps. Every match helps, it’s only training that’s tough but now I’m going to work like mad, I’ll be out on the clay every day. Roland Garros may be soon to you but for me it’s a long way away.”

http://www.internazionalibnlditalia.it/1/News.asp?LNG=EN

I was under the impression that Indian Wells and Miami was a wake-up call, and that Federer was out on the clay every day since losing in Miami. He said the same thing in his presser after Miami. Maybe he did work hard but still lost due to lack of match practice. Sometimes training itself is not enough, and the only way to get your confidence back is by winning a few close ones. I think that is the situation Roger his finding himself in now. We have seen it before. He just needs to win one or two close ones to get his confidence back. He is still in the doubles, after winning his second match with his partner Allegro 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 today. They now play against the winners of the 4th seeds Buphati/Mirnyi and the American team of Querry/Isner in the quarter finals. This is a good thing because even though it is just doubles it will help his confidence.

Federer and Nadal cuts ribbon to mark the opening of the new center court.

After Rome Federer will be heading to Estoril, which is a smaller event and will give him a good chance to get some much needed singles wins under the belt. This is the thing about Federer though. You can never count him out because he schedules so well and is always ready for the slams. Having thought about it, this loss in Rome does not mean all that much. He can now steadily build up his confidence, starting with the doubles in Rome, then the singles in Estoril and then the singles in Madrid. This steady build up should be enough preparation for his titles defense in Paris. When Roger loses it’s always such a big deal because it’s not something that used to happen often. But it hardly ever matter in the bigger picture. So far this year he has been useless in the smaller events, yet he still won the first major of the year.

These losses do get very annoying, but one should not lose sight of the bigger picture. Federer has won 16 major titles, 2 more than the previous most already, and the career slam. That is why it surprises me that he appears so nervous still in the smaller events. I mean he is at a stage in his career now where he has achieved just about everything and should be able to really just have fun out there. Maybe that shows that he really still cares about these smaller events. Hopefully he can at least win one of them before the start of the French Open.

Full Presser: http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Media/Videos/2010/04-Rome/Rome-2010-Tuesday-Interview-Federer.aspx