Roger Federer Website
To Watch Roger Federer Play Tennis is a truly a Joy
Even if you have never seen that Federer forehand or the crafty Federer serve before, you will not soon forget it.
I was watching the Sampras Federer match in the "Net Jets Showdown" on TV, and as a tennis fan I had to wonder how many people watching Roger for the first time were in awe. In a classic match up of the two all time greatest players, Federer won the first set easily, then lost a close second set. He fell behind 2-5 in the third set before rallying with that Roger Federer racquet and winning a thrilling tie-break 7-6 in the third set. It was satisfying entertainment for all of the 19,000 plus fans crammed into Madison Square Garden.
Federer moves with cat-like speed. He never looks nervous, and always plays his best during the biggest moments. I can not forget the many Roger Federer forehands that he has hit for winners from all over the court. Just when you think he is about to lose the point...boom. If it isn't the Federer backhand, it is the Federer forehand. He renders his opponent defenseless. Game, set, match.
Roger's Year In Review as of October 2008
Roger's year started off with the Australian Open semi-final loss to Novak Djokovic, the eventual champion and 3rd ranked player in the world. It was later revealed that Federer had mononucleosis, which may have explained his sluggishness for the first few months of the year.
The clay court season showed some promise as Roger prepared well for the year's second Slam. After breezing to the final match at Roland Garros, Roger once again fell to the nearly unbeatable clay court king, Rafael Nadal. Although this was the third consecutive final loss at the French Open to Nadal, the final score was more lopsided than ever. This prompted many to speculate that Roger was finally losing his grip on the number one ranking that he had held for over four years.
Wimbledon once again saw Roger dominate the first six matches and easily advance to the final. And once again Nadal was waiting for him at the end. It was an epic match that saw Roger lose a heartbreaking five setter that ended in partial darkness. Losing his five year reign as Wimbledon champ, Roger also lost his number one ranking to the same foe, Rafael Nadal.
Although Roger didn't win the Olympic Gold medal in singles (Nadal won that too), he did win in the doubles. The medal ceremony showed Roger's emotional side. It was clear to all that winning the gold for his country, Switzerland, was very special for Federer.
The final grand slam tourney was in New York. The U.S. Open is known for the world's toughest tennis and Roger didn't disappoint. After getting some revenge against Djokovic in a four set semi-final win, Roger beat Andy Murray in the final to capture his 13th major title. Roger saved his best tennis for the final two matches and looked like his old self again. With the 2008 season winding down, I think it's fair to say it was a good year for the Swiss Master. Let's see how it finishes up. I think it is safe to say, Roger is not done yet.
Tennis News
May 14, 2008: Easy Win for Federer To Start Hamburg
Roger Federer's skills were on full display Tuesday, as the star moved on to the round of the last 16 in the Hamburg Masters with an effortless 6-1 6-3 victory over Jarkko Nieminen today. It took Roger only 58 minutes to rack up his ninth straight-sets victory from nine meetings with the Finn. Roger used a full range of shots to dominate the first set, taking a 4-1 lead with a powerful forehand winner past the stranded Nieminen. The level of play dropped a bit in the second set, with four straight breaks of serve at the start. Roger then made the decisive move with another break for a 4-3 lead and wrapped up the match. He had 22 winners, twice as many as Nieminen.
April 20, 2008: Only took 4 1/2 months: Federer wins 1st title of 2008
OEIRAS, Portugal - Roger Federer ended a long drought with his first title of the year, and it took a leg injury to his opponent to ensure victory for the world’s top-ranked player. Federer captured his 54th career title Sunday, winning the Estoril Open when second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko retired with a left leg injury while trailing 7-6 (5), 1-2. “I think it’s the first time in my life I play a final and someone gave up,” Federer said. “I guess if you put yourself in the position so many times it’s going to happen eventually, but you don’t hope for it.”
Federer returned to his winning ways in his fifth tournament of the season. It had been eight years since Federer had needed so many events to reach a final. He won despite windy conditions and the fact that he was playing on his most challenging surface. “It’s great to win a title again, and to straightaway win my first clay-court tournament of the season gives me great confidence going into Monte Carlo,” the 26-year-old Swiss star said. “I guess now, if you get better conditions, (I’ll) play so much better. “Two months ago when I didn’t have enough matches and because of my sickness everything looked a little more up in the air,” said Federer, who has battled mononucleosis.
Davydenko, who is ranked fourth in the world, broke Federer’s serve to start the second set before pulling out of the match. “I was running to the left and I felt some stretched muscles and (it was) painful,” said Davydenko, who had received 3 minutes of medical attention at the close of the first set. “Maybe I can finish match but I don’t want to lose 6-2. I have the Masters tournament coming up, so what can you do? It’s really tough.”
Davydenko, who fell to 0-12 against Federer, said his opponent was as tough as ever. “He had good control, he kept the same (play) as before,” the Russian said. “I don’t see anything different between (the) last matches and now.” Federer added Estoril to his schedule in a bid to boost his chances of winning the French Open. The 12-time Grand Slam winner also recruited clay-court specialist Jose Higueras as coach to help win the only major championship missing from his collection.
Federer leveled his record in clay-court finals at 7-7 on a day on which cold and intermittent rain left both players reacting rather than dictating the play. “Today was just the toughest conditions. You can’t chase the line any more at all, you just try to keep the ball in play,” Federer said. “It’s just not easy to play aggressive tennis, it’s more of a waiting game.”
September 26, 2007: Roger Federer vs. Rafael NadalFor all the accolades and ‘labels’ that Roger has garnered over past few years as the game destination of choice for a welter of fortune and awards from any part of the world, what has gone below radar is the amazing rank figures sustained over the years. Rafael Nadal, the Spanish tennis player was ranked number 2 on the charts in 2007. However, he remained to be the second one after being defeated by Federer in U.S. Open. Tuesday’s sunset got a blooming effect to Federer fame and it was Nadal who has to bear that loss.
In spite of Nadal's absolute control of one Grand Slam event - three straight wins at the French Open - and consecutive runner-up finishes to Federer at Wimbledon, his solid No. 2 world ranking has not been reflected by his Flushing Meadows results. In four previous Opens, the 21-year-old Spaniard had been eliminated twice in the second round, once in the third and, last year, in the quarterfinals.
Nadal's chances of a U.S. Open breakthrough already had been complicated when he developed tendinitis pain in his left knee just days before this year's tournament began. Nadal previously needed rest for similar discomfort in his right knee following Wimbledon. Despite of the discomfort he was going through the challenge was taken very sportingly. After all, it is not easy to defeat the world champion and with a pain in the knee, it is quiet next to impossible.
However, the passage of time and continuous runner-up positions is shooting the distance to the dream to defeat Roger Federer. It seems to be “mission Impossible” for Nadal. After, limping through a first-round win and benefiting from Janko Tipsarevic's own injury - Tipsarevic retired in the third set of their second-round match - Nadal appeared to be moving better last night. But Ferrer matched Nadal's famous persistence as well as his shotmaking. And, by late in the third set, Nadal began to flex the fingers in his left (serving) hand to ward off a cramp.
Well, Nadal is surely disappointed and so his fans with his defeat. But being sportive is unnecessary to say that loosing and winning is a part of the game, the real game is contributing to the fullest.
April 2008: Roger Federer vs. Andy Roddick
The Roddick Federer rivalry has yet to meet up to expectations. Until their recent match in Florida, Andy tennis was not the mantra when it came to playing Roger. Unless we are referring to Andy Murray, who has several wins against the Swiss star. After 11 straight defeats to Federer, Andy Roddick finally broke through for his first victory head to head in over four years. Roger has not made it to a final this year in 2008, and seems to be slowed by a bout of illness from earlier in the season. Therefore Roddick used his big serve to beat Roger in three sets. Still the rivalry is not to be named Tennis Roddick yet, and is very much a mismatch at 15-2 favor Federer. Still Federer Wimbledon is not far off. All it will take is seeing the Federer video highlights of the past five Wimbledons, and the intimidation factor will come again for the many opponents. If Roger is to break Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam championships, then Wimbledon and the US Open are must wins for our star. What better way to find out if Roger is still the man, than to watch him on his most dominant surface, grass. Let the drama begin.
September 2, 2007: Roger Federer vs. John Isner
 Losing a set to win the match may have remained Roger’s technique, but, snatching the game form world’s best took John Isner to a soaring high. It was a moment that Isner would cherish whole his life as for the first time he must have heard audiences roaring for him being Roger at the other end. However, this win remained a moment only when Roger calmly turned the match around and won, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4, 6-2, in the third round.
The three sets, apart from the first one were enough to make Isner realize the power and skills of his competitor standing in front who, king of, ruled the ball’s directions. However, the performance was not so bad. This 22-year lad, snatching one round from the world champion showed a winner facet to the audiences present. He proved his potential of growth and a promise to manufacture a success story in future.
When it was over, Federer smiled more in relief than in triumph and paid Isner perhaps the biggest compliment he could. He brushed away the idea that Isner was a fluke. Federer expressed his views about being a tough game and agreed that it would be tough to defeat Isner in future.
As such, before the match started, people were clear of the performance of Isner. They were sure that Isner is going to loose but winning the first set went out of the way which brought back the excitement to the game.However, it is acceptable that finally the game turned to Federer records, but, Isner achieved his own goal. Only three months ago, Isner was playing out his senior season at the University of Georgia, soaking in the atmosphere of matches before raucous crowds of perhaps 5,000 people.
While Isner was helping the Bulldogs to the N.C.A.A. title, the men’s professional tour seemed so far away. But, destiny is always destined and took this player to be one of the markers to the history. |
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