I quote from my preceding article predicting Federer’s victory: “Melzer has to wait. Right now, it’s Federer all the way.” Today’s match proved just that. Federer won 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3. Out of my own fears, I had thought it better not to mention the number of sets which would be necessitated for Federer’s victory. Once again, Federer has, through the straight set-win, chided me for my lack of faith.
The second set took twice the time the first had taken. It went into a tie-break and caused some anxiety whether Federer might lose that set. When the tie-break score was at 4-4, Federer’s return of serve dropped after just crossing the net; Melzer was too far away and abandoned the chase midway, letting Federer surge to 5-4. Federer rose further to 6-4 when Melzer hit another ball long. Federer clinched the set through a beautiful placing shot.
Two sets down, Melzer must have been seen the writing on the wall, and did not put up any serious fight in the third set, although he managed to break Federer’s serve in its very first game. Federer was erratic in that game: a wide, a miss and again a wide. Melzer, ranked 15th and seeded 13th, is too talented to be played with and justified his fairly high ranking by breaking Federer’s serve.
Federer returned the compliment by breaking Melzer’s serve in the very next game. The game saw three good placing shots by Federer; the last of them was a classic which left Melzer gasping. Next came the first and only double fault by Federer. It must have rekindled hope in Melzer, but that was all: Melzer hit the next two balls long and sealed his own fate.
Still, credit must be given to Melzer for putting up a somewhat stiff resistance in the four games which preceded the last; all of them went into deuce and the advantage alternated several times between the two players. The 6th game, with Melzer on serve, saw some great play by Federer. The first, when Melzer was on 30-0, was a beautiful drop shot. Another ball later came a blistering down-the-line which Melzer couldn’t even touch. In its aftermath, Melzer netted the next ball. A classic ne- play by Federer followed it. On his next serve, Melzer hit a volley into the net and gave Federer a two game-lead.
The 7th game, with Federer on serve, saw some see-saw swings as both the players were erratic. Federer hit three shots into the net, one went long and another wide. ‘Not to be left behind’, Melzer hit two longs, one wide while three shots didn’t cross the net. In those crucial moments Federer tilted the balance with two big serves. Melzer opened the next game serving the last of his two aces. Soon people applauded a powerful backhand and an overhead smash, both by Federer. It is breathtaking when Federer is in full flow.
Strangely, four errors, all by Federer, followed his magnificent display: long, long, long and then wide. The game went to Melzer, the server. The next game was the last and Federer was on serve. It saw Federer’s ace number 10. He kept the pressure on and wrapped up the game with the least number of serves possible in any game: four. The match was over in 2 hours and 3 minutes.
Now comes the crucial question: did Federer play well ? His victory came in straight sets, the score being 6-3, 7-6 & 6-3. Though there were some anxious moments in the second set, Federer was in good control most of the time. Remember, Melzer is no mean player and had defeated Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros. He is of a serve-and-volley type, a slightly lesser version of Rafael Nadal.
I quote from my preceding article: “I had always felt that for defeating Federer, a player should invariably have an abundant stock of three things in his armoury: a formidable serve, a fiery forehand and an unshakeable determination.” Melzer served only two aces in the whole match. Not even in dreams, can one hope to defeat Federer with just two aces. Federer’s own number – 10 – was quite humble today, but coming up with a big serve to wriggle out of a difficult situation has always been a remarkable feature of Federer. Melzer lacked this quality.
A punishing forehand is the next essential requisite for anyone hoping to send Federer off. Melzer’s forehand was good but not menacing enough. Federer got sufficient time to tackle it most of the time. I shudder to think of the blistering forehands of Juan Martin del Potro when he defeated Federer in the final of US Open 2009, and Robin Soderling (in the quarter final of Roland Garros 2010). Both had booming serves too. Both the last mentioned two matches had seen breathtaking pace from del Potro and Soderling. I did not see any such display by Melzer today. Melzer needs more self-confidence and, more important, the ‘killer’ instinct.
Coming back to the question whether Federer played well today, my answer is a reluctant yes. Federer was not at his best today. I would have had a better opinion, had the second set tie-break been avoided. However I’m happy that there were flashes of his genius though rare. Today too, Federer served an ace on a second serve – a repeat of his feat in the last match. His own serve, forehand and backhand – the main weapons of any good tennis player – are in tact. And, more important, his willingness to chase balls was very much evident. There was no hesitation on his part to attack the ball at the net. Above all, it was clear that he continued to enjoy playing. At the end of the day, that is what counts.
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