(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Records a plenty
On the cusp of tennis' immortal throne, Roger Federer poured in another vintage Center Court performance today.
After a relatively tight first set, one in which Federer's opponent Tommy Haas was playing out of his mind for the most part, the shot-making of the Swiss was elevated to lead one set to love.
That is when, whether Haas liked it or not, the match was all but over.
You see, Federer prides himself on the many accolades and records which he holds. To be honest, he would be more than happy to share most of them with you, if asked. Perhaps one stat, however, which does not warrant Roger to remember, a stat which is not engraved on the "pat on the back" chalkboard in his mind— the insurmountable advantage he gains when winning set one in a major.
136-0 to be exact.
With the first set tucked away in orderly fashion, in his "man purse" no less, Federer began to open up his variety of shots, and made his German opponent feel his environment even more.
Haas did compete well today, there is no question. But when you take into account the level of tennis which he was called upon to produce on a consistent basis, the yells to his supporters' box were to no avail.
At times, Tommy appeared to resemble a seal in dire need of finding some H20. Although his net-attacking tactics where necessary, one could sense that the desperate and wishful nature with which he came in was premature on many occasions.
But what is a guy to do, right?
With that being said, Haas was at no fault for being dismissed 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 6-3. Federer is great under normal circumstances, but when he is floating in the angelic form which he displayed today, it is simply scary.
For the match, and there is no typo here, Federer won 89 percent for his first serve points. He also struck 11 aces and won 81 percent of his second serve points.
Added to his flawless serving prowess today, Roger broke the Haas serve on two occasions, once in the second set, and once in the third set—never allowing a single break opportunity on his own delivery.
Another interesting Federer stat which surfaced throughout today's contest, had the Swiss only losing serve twice in seven Wimbledon semifinal affairs. Hopefully Haas didn't see that stat before taking the court today. Would it have really mattered?
For lack of any better or over-used superlatives, Federer was simply awesome today.
With the win, the five-time Wimbledon champ heads towards the gates of standing atop the totem pole of tennis greatness. A win on Sunday would distances himself from Pete Sampras' record of 14 majors.
Fed already has one record sealed over the great Sampras, making seven straight finals in London. Will Sampras attend the final match on Sunday? There have been a few rumors going back and forth. Will Federer pick up the tab on the flight? You would like to think so.
Hopefully, Pete will not be chilling back in Cali, watching the match in HD. Shame on you, Pete.
Hass, who will improve his ranking into the lower teens after his fantastic fortnight, had this to say after going down to perhaps the GOAT:
"I'm overall pretty happy with the way I played overall. I served extremely well. So did my opponent today. I only got broken there at 5-6 in the second set for the first time after having a long, long game back and forth. I think maybe I was trying to go for a little bit too much then and not following up, being aggressive, coming into the net. "
Don't worry Tommy you're not the only one.
"He took the first chance. The same thing happened in the third when he broke me at 3-4, a long game with chances and game points for me."
Wel,l my friend, the greats can capitalize on their chances.
"Overall I'm pretty happy with the way I played. Just sometimes on these little tiny points that could have made a little difference just came up short, making too easy unforced error for my liking. But overall pretty happy."
Those "tiny chances" are what makes Federer Federer, and not winning those "tiny chances" are what makes Haas Haas.
When Tommy was asked if there are any potential weaknesses in the Federer game, he came up with his quaint formulation.
"There aren't really any weaknesses," Haas said. "I think he moves in such smooth ways and has such good defensive play. The slice bites a lot. When you think sometimes you might get a relatively easy volley, he kind of either dinks it in front of you, or he made two spectacular slice lobs over my head at important points."
Those two spectacular slice will undoubtedly haunt Haas for sometime to come.
The turnaround of sorts which Federer has endured in the past month or so, capturing the Madrid title, then the French, and now the finals of Wimbledon, will have the Swiss in confident mode. Appearing unbreakable, the title on Sunday is well within reach.
"Look, I'm very proud of all the records I've achieved, because I never thought I would be that successful as a kid," Federer said modestly. "I would have been happy winning a couple tournaments and maybe collecting Wimbledon, sort of achieving the dream scenario, you know?
"But it's quite staggering now, having reached again I think it's my sixth straight Grand Slam final I've achieved, as well. Having so many things going for me now again. The opportunity again on Sunday, it's fantastic.
"Quite amazing to be back in the Wimbledon final already because it seems like now all of a sudden everything happened very quickly."
One quick correction Roger (not that you need many), you have made seven straight finals in London.
After putting the finishing touches on the Haas encounter, Federer was left with only one minor point of concern heading into Sunday's final.
Would his finals opponent be the Queen, and Andy Murray (all of England involved no doubt)? Or Andy Roddick and Larry Stefanki, attempting once again to solve the Swiss riddle?
Well, if there was ever a reason to question, Federer has acheived a return to prominence after a relatively dismal 2008, good karma, and now a good draw will await the 14-time grand slam champ in Sunday's final.
No Queen for Murray
Coming into the 2009 season, American Andy Roddick had one simple, sole objective: to win one more grand slam title.
To do so, things would have to change. The current crop of tennis stars were faster, better and younger—Roddick had fallen off a touch.
But with a commitment to improvement, perhaps like no other, Roddick was willing to do whatever was required to grab some "major" hardware.
First on the list would be to find a coach who cares, and more importantly one who knows how to improve and elevate the level of a players game—check mark to Larry Stefanki.
Second, a proposition would have to be made to combat the viral liabilities in his game.: the backhand, movement, volley and return. Check mark to those improvements.
The final and last quirk, which would be the most difficult to implement would be the actual execution. Yes, Andy would actually have to employ what he learned and make a move.
Well folks, after countless years of searching for the answers to his adversities, Roddick finally has what he has yearned for since 2006, a grand slam final.
With his actions coming at the despair of all of Britain, Andy Roddick poured in his best performance, maybe ever, to defeat third seed Andy Murray today, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5).
The result was quite shocking to be honest, considering the fact that Murray owned a convincing 6-2 head-to-head lead going in. Murray had also won the pairs' lone grass-court match during Wimbledon 2006—a much more confident Murray stood before us.
With all the stats, and previous losses in the forefront of Roddick's vision, he began his semifinal with Murray the way every tennis match should be played—different day, anything can happen.
Roddick conducted himself with conviction this afternoon: belief, belief and more belief. His serve was blasting up the unmarked backstop relentlessly on each side of the court. His return game had more clarity; not too much, and not too little. And, finally, his net game, which has on occasion has been suspect, was employed the way it should be, as a finishing shot.
Murray by contrast was equally as competent throughout. His serve provided more aces than Roddick (25-21), and his first serve percentages out weighed Roddick's (83-77). Finally, Murray's second serve—"your only as good as your second serve"—won a higher percentage (53-51).
So what went wrong for Murray today? Was it a question of Roddick playing with more rigor? Or was it Murray just not winning the big points?
The latter seems to be fitting.
There were ample opportunities for the Scot to prosper in this contest. His five squandered break point chances spearheaded his set point in the second-set breaker. Simply put, Roddick would not allow Murray to squeeze through the window.
Murray's sand-in-hand chances were diminishing rapidly. A lame audible obscenity was driven his way, and the crowd for one reason or another never got their rally caps cued.
Oh wait, aren't the Brits too proper for rally caps?
Nevertheless, a few shoestring volleys and an utterly composed American became too much for the Brit's home-country hopeful. 1936 and counting will resonate.
The serve of Roddick simply made the difference in the end.
Murray had this to say after another year of not having the Queen attend on the final Sunday:
"I thought I played well. I mean, if you look at the stats, I hit more winners, less unforced errors, more aces. I'm sure the points that we won were very, very similar. It just came down to a few points here or there on his serve.
"And he served really, really well, very close to the lines. Hitting at that pace, at such a high percentage, I think he was high 70s for a lot of the match. You know, sometimes there's not a whole lot you can do with that. But I definitely didn't play a bad match."
Murray will once again head home to Miami, believe it or not, to rest, prepare, and hope for a better results during the U.S. Open Series.
Roddick, on the winning hand, will head towards his third Wimbledon final, a match in which he will be the significant underdog.
For now, however, Roddick can rejoice and ponder the passing of a successful fortnight, one in which he will feverishly share with his 30 thousand plus Twitter faithful.
Roddick had this to say after advancing to his first major final in three seasons:
"You don't go back to a Wimbledon final by accident. It certainly is a process. And it's probably been a longer process than I would have liked.
"But I've enjoyed everything that has kind of gone into it."
Hard work and dedication have certainly been the cornerstones of Roddick's successful, decade-long career.
We must however look ahead. In tennis there is always the "next" match—a prediction and analysis to follow. Its what tennis writers live to write.
At any rate, your 2009 Wimbledon men's final will include Roger Federer and Andy Roddick. No need to keep an eye out for Mirka, Larry, Brooklyn, or Doug—TV time will be allotted.
The primary concern for Roddick will be to defy the odds and not remember his 2-18 head-to-head against Federer.
Federer, on the other hand, will be checking out a print-out for the pairs' head-to-heads, up until they show him heading onto Center Court.
Even with the odds of a positive outcome being slim-to-none for Roddick, the match must be played, and the American must be given a shot. Federer would not approach it any other way.
With the Queen absent for yet another hallow year, a potential historic Sunday may still be on deck for the Brit's to embrace. Although the attendees of Sunday's final would never admit that they are disappointed about the contest at hand. English etiquette will be upheld.
One lucious green virtue is for certain: the two best men are standing at the end of the fortnight (regardless of what people tell you, that is the way it goes). The grace of the Swiss and the dedication of the American will provide an abundance of aces and angles to the viewing pleasure of the cathedral of tennis.
Two married dudes and a Wimbledon final await.
4 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete