I quote from my preceding article:
“Federer, the King of Tennis, was at his majestic best in the Australian Open…..It shows that his senses now are as sharp as they were in Australian Open…...I do not think Soderling is ready for a repeat of his French Open feat tomorrow. Though I am not fully satisfied with Federer’s performance in the preceding rounds, I still believe that Federer is playing better than Soderling; at least for now. So, this is my prediction: Federer will win tomorrow.”
True to my prediction, Federer won the match in straight sets. The scores: 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. The following is a report on the match. The match-statistics are given in the table below:
Robin Soderling Roger Federer
Ranking 5 2
Aces 2 18
1st Serve % 56 62
Double Faults 4 2
Win % on 1st Serve 67 86
Win % on 2nd Serve 47 43
Winners including service 16 36
Unforced errors 32 33
Receiving Points Won 30% 42%
Break PL Conversion 33% 83%
Total Points won 82 102
As I had mentioned in my preceding articles, anyone aspiring to overwhelm Federer has to have an abundant stock of three things: (1) A booming serve, (2) A blistering forehand and (3) A strong will to fight till the very end. I quote from my preceding article:
“Till the last week, Soderling has served a mammoth 498 aces while Federer has served 104 less. Soderling is ranked 5th in a list of 100, while Federer is ranked 11th.”
Despite his higher ranking on this vital front, Soderling could do precious little in today’s match. A mere two aces emanated from his racquet while Federer, sent down 18. He won the last two points with consecutive aces. Federer had a greater % of 1st serve. Not only that, his winning % on 1st serve was far above Soderling’s.
Soderling’s fiery forehand was one of the key factors which had helped him upset Federer in the French Open. It had troubled Federer greatly then. The same forehand betrayed Soderling today. The sting which it used to possess was totally missing. I do not remember any occasion of Federer’s having been left gasping by Soderling’s forehand today. On the contrary, Federer frequently demonstrated how to execute classic forehand shots which many a time caught Soderling on the wrong foot.
The third requisite – grit – was also in much short supply today for Soderling. He had got two golden opportunities to break Federer’s serve even as early as in the second game of the very first set. He had finally managed to break Federer’s serve in the 4th game of the second set, and again in the 8th game of the third set. At one stage Soderling was leading in the third set with the score at 5-3. Despite all this, he failed to cash in on these opportunities. Such opportunities are very, very rare in a match against Federer, and when they present themselves, they need to be pounced upon. Soderling failed to do so, most of the time. One reason was the lack of extra power in his shots while the other was the lack of determination to fight and succeed.
The last four games of the last set strengthened the feeling that Soderling had already resigned himself to his fate, even well before the match was over; all of them went into Federer’s kitty without much of a resistance from Soderling. The last four games needed only six serves each, to be over, the lone difference being that the last game was determined with the least possible number of serves: four. In those last four games, instead of fighting for his life by hanging in there, Soderling chose to almost meekly surrender, without even a semblance of fight. Soderling needs a large dose of grit and determination for going places.
Coming to how well Federer played today, I will rank his today’s performance as his best after the Australian Open. The display took me back to the Australian Open where he literally toyed with the likes of Andy Murray, Tsonga, etc. Like he did then, Federer was in full control today. It was not a clash of the titans, it was the clash between the titan and Soderling. There was only one titan today, Federer. He had the bridle firmly in his hand and directed the play at will.
The happiest part was the 18 aces he served. I remember more of his aces than his misses today. In almost every game, he served two aces. Some of them must have exceeded 200 kmph. The two aces with which he clinched the match should have made Djokovic sit up and take note, as he will have to face them himself when he, Djokovic, meets Federer in the Semi Final. Andy Roddick serves (or he used to serve, at least) much faster than Federer. Still, Roddick cannot have returned as many of Federer’s serves as Federer has returned Roddick’s. The reason is simple: Federer’s serves are more lethal as they combine both speed and direction, as was proved for the umpteenth time today.
Federer’s forehand and backhand too worked well today. He drove a large number of balls to different corners so that Soderling had to scramble to get to them. Federer served to one corner pulling Soderling away, and, then, drove the weak return, to the other. There were times Soderling was made to run from corner to corner. It is some time since Federer has been seen doing it so well; not after the Australian Open, for sure. He was good at the net too. While he scored many winners through attacking play at the net, he himself managed to keep volleys beyond a diving Soderling’s reach when he, Soderling, was at the net. The match also saw a few well-calculated drops and down-the-lines which either beat or troubled Soderling.
This is not to say that Federer did not have misses; he did have them, a lot of them actually. Balls sailed skyward when the frame hooked the balls. But his misses were well compensated with his hits. More importantly, he found enough time to anticipate Soderling’s next move and get into the right position well in time. The sting in his shots proved this anticipation. The match also saw some great retrievals by Federer. The one he did in the first game of the third set, when Soderling was at 40-15, was unbelievable. I noticed him repeating it successfully. Forehand placing shots and backhand placing shots, both, were plenty today.
It gives me great satisfaction to see a free-hitting Federer. Perhaps what distinguishes Federer from the rest is his fearlessness about the likely outcome of the match. Whether he is winning or losing, you will find him hitting shots with the same aggression. He never seeks or switches to safe play, no matter what. True, when the power is too much, balls tend to sail out and away, and he loses. The bull in him is always on the loose. Reining in the aggression is unfamiliar to him. Which is why, there is no better sight in tennis than a Federer in full flow. Reminds me of the majestic lion.
No comments:
Post a Comment