ATP World Tour Finals – Roger Federer defeats Rafael Nadal in Championship Game

by Stephen Lars on Nov.30, 2010, under Sports News, Tennis

Roger Federer has been working his way around this very complicated season. So perhaps this end of season win in the O2 Arena comes certainly as a big relief for the talented athlete. The season has been filled with ups and downs for the Swiss Maestro. He was brilliant at the Australian Open but things got very complicated in the other three Grand Slams. Federer was sent off before the French Open semifinals. Federer has always struggled in the clay courts of Roland Garros. What the fast paced courts of the Meadowlands in New York in the US Open is to Rafael Nadal, the clay courts in Paris where to Federer.

Federer then fell very early, in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. He had been the most prolific and succesful player in the grass courts of Wimbledon during the last decade. And yet this year he had failed to make it into the quarterfinals.

In the US Open, Federer played one of the most intense games ever against Novak Djokovik in the semifinals. He really couldn’t overcome the pressure, and saw how his early exit in the US Open gave Rafa Nadal his Career Grand Slam and assured the Spaniard his position atop the ATP professional rankings.

Federer was not capable of making it back to his best shape. He went on to hire a new coach and for a moment gave signs of a very significant improvement. But still it was not enough for the King of the Slams to get as competitive as the biggest tournaments required him to.

But on this game, it all went for Federer. Rafa was really not able to play a very strong match. Sure, he managed to push the game into a 3 set game, but as the game kept evolving, little by little, it seemed as if Rafa was growing tired by the minute. This was the 22nd match between the two players. Still, Federer proved that he was the strongest player in London. With a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, Federer won his 5th World Tour Finals on Sunday and kept on his dominance on this Round Robin, top 8 ranked player in the world, season finale championship. So, yes, not a bad ending for Federer.

Nadal had never made it into the finals of this tournament. But he had to pay his duties to get here. Nadal spent over three-hours to bring down Andy Murray and that was a bit too much to deal with, 24 hours before playing no other the Federer on the final. We have to be since with you guys here. It really seemed that at the end, Nadal just gave up a little. He knew that no matter whether he lost or win this game, he was going to walk his way into the next season sitting atop of the ATP rankings.

Nadal also knew that he had had one of the most extraordinary years any professional tennis player has ever had or even dreamed to have. Sure, Roger’s win would cut down Nadal and Federer’s personal record down to 14-8 for Nadal. But it didn’t matter much. Federer was just outstanding. He was almost flawless, he hit 92 percent of his first served plays and lost only 13 points on serve in the entire match.

That’s it for the season. It has been a great year in the ATP circuit. There has been room for some exciting upsets and many record breaking moments. But that’s it. We might have a new king. Its now a matter of time to see if Federer is going to make a comeback and reclaim what is his.

ATP Tennis -Andy Murray defeats Roger Federer in Shanghai Masters

by Stephen Lars on Oct.18, 2010, under Sports News, Tennis

Things are not looking too well for the great Roger Federer. And his recent debacle at the Shanghai seems to be the latest prove. Andy Murray went on to defeat the Federer Express in straight sets this Sunday. Murray who has been quite effective against a player that gives such a hassle to most every other player in the professional circuit, managed to defeat Federer by 6-3, 6-2.

Andy Murray not only won the tournament without dropping a set, but he also broke Federer’s serve four times and managed to fight back six break points while outperforming Federer from the serve, with six aces against Federer’s three. In their personal record, Murray has now won 8 of their 13 meetings, making him quite efficient against the player who for so many weeks dominated the ATP rankings.

And truth be said, it is quite uncertain what happened with Federer during the final match. Don’t get us wrong here, Murray played an amazing match and he deserved to win the tournament. But it is hard to understand how his performance dropped the way it did because, let’s face it, the Federer that played and defeated Robin Soderling in the quarterfinals and Novak Djokovic in the semifinals was not the same Federer who went to on to play the final match.

Murray has had somewhat of an irregular season filled with ups and downs. First, he defeated Federer in August, where he won his first tournament of the year. But then he failed to make it pass the third round of the following four tournaments, including his early exit in the third round of the US Open at Flushing Meadows. It has been a long season in the ATP tennis. We’ll keep you updated at it comes to and exciting end in the following month.

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US Open: Federer has an easy entrance into the third round

by Stephen Lars on Sep.04, 2010, under Sports News, Tennis

The Federer Express is back. At least he seems to be really back in his best physical shape. When one follows a complete game by Roger, especially when he plays lower seeded players in the first rounds of the tournaments, one can’t help but to wonder if he ever gets bored. There is something about how he plays, about the way he puts out his offensive arsenal, that one can’t help but to feel some sort of a mix emotion. For one-side, you are just amazed at the talent and how blatantly superior he is in the court. On the other hand (and this might, and probably is just me) I can’t really help but expect the underdog to somehow just come out and defeat him.

I don’t know if I am alone here. I do have a bit of a thing for Cinderella stories. Particularly because given the odds, sometimes I do like to take my extra risks and howler and even put down my bucks for the underdog. Most of the times I lose my bet, but still, at least with Roger Federer on the early rounds, it makes his games far more interesting when I cheer for the guy who is on the other side of the court, struggling to complete the returns, and deal with the physiological and mental dimension of a player who can pull stunts like he did on the first round game of this year’s US Open.

Just throw out a search for Roger Federer’s tweener against Dabul in the first round over at Youtube. Oh men that was beautiful. You have to see the face on Argentinean Brian Dabul. Ok, under any other circumstances and perhaps except for one other player in the professional circuit, Dabul’s long volley would have been a winner. But Federer was able to run back, not only pull-off such a difficult stun as a tweener, but yet, turn it into a winning point. There was a face of hopelessness and perhaps awe in Dabul’s face when the camera makes its close-up. One can’t help but to feel sympathetic for the guy.

On his second round match, Federer Breezed by Andreas Beck with a 6-3,6-4,6-3. He was playing in the Arthur Ashe Stadium at the very warm and somewhat humid day. Sure, he has struggled since the Australian Open. Sure, there have been to early 4th round losses in both Wimbledon and Roland Garros. And yeah, we know what it meant for him to loose at England.

Sure, at Roland Garros he had to play in clay (which is by no means his forte) but also three of his four games were played under the rain. But then came a couple of injuries, and quite frankly a lot of inconsistency. He has had some success after his experience with new personal coach Paul Annacone. Yes, 16 came easy. He played some of his bets tennis over at Australia to win his 16th Grand Slam title. He has the focus and the motivation, and we know, he sure is got the talent to win this tournament. 17 is a lucky number. Nadal is out there too. But let’s face it, at Flushing Meadows Nadal has not been a solid contender.

One last detail before we go. The Argentinean who defeated him last year in the final is not. The road is not wide open for Federer. But he sure knows were it leads to, and how to get there. He’s been at that final 6 years in a row.

ATP – Andy Murray defeats Roger Federer in Rogers Cup final

by Stephen Lars on Aug.19, 2010, under Sports News, Tennis

Andy Murray had a great weekend. Not only did he defeat Roger Federer in the final of the Rogers Cup at Toronto, but he defeated both Federer and Rafa Nadal while defending the tournament he won last year.

Murray has had two previous chances at a Grand Slam final: the US Open in 2008, and the Australian Open earlier this season. On both ocassions, he fell slightly short to Roger Federer. So this one feels quite good for the Scottish player. Andy Murray was able to put down Roger Federer in two straight sets, 7-5, 7-5.

It seemed as if Roger Federer was just unable to pick up the pace and somehow find his rhythm. This was the Federer Express’ first tournament since was eliminated on the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Just for the record, he had been the most dominant player in the recent years to play in the All English Club. But truth be said, there had been somewhat of a drop in his performance ever since he won the Australian Open, his 16th grand slam, early in the season. This was also Federer’s first game since joining his new coach, Paul Annacone.

Anyhow, it was not a bad result at all for Federer, who still did not manage to win, but certainly showed an improvement over the previous months. Andy Murray, on the other hand, had one heck of a tournament. He has always excelled in the hard courts, as his game is most efficient on fast courts. Murray kept playing from the base with his usual, reserved and cautious game. He is not a risk taker. Lets be frank, Murray is quite a defensive player. He relies mostly on his good counter punch, ad his very solid groundstroke.

Despite Federer’s efforts to brake, Murray was simply too quick, to good at anticipating his opponents shots that it was clear that he would not allow Federer to close in on the 1 point gap he held out even when the Swiss was pushing him the hardest. Then there was also a whole new deal with the weather.

The game was constantly suspended for rain delays. As a matter of fact, from the beginning to the end, the game was stopped by the officials at least three different times. Roger Federer has said that Murray deserved to win the Rogers Cup. He commented on the very little chances that Murray gave him throughout the day. Still he also made a remark concerning the rain and the weather.

In the press conference Federer said: “The rain delays completely kind of shut it down for me to get any kind of rhythm.” Later about the continuity of the match he said the following: