Roger Federer Wins Clay-Season Initiation Against Ferrer; World No. 2 Next

In a week that has seen the disturbing and unexpected bowings-out of top seeds Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, the former having lost yesterday and the latter the day before, Roger Federer stands as a constant reminder to tennis consistency.

As it happens, being five years older than the other two probably endows him with greater tolerance and acceptance capabilities, and so far at Madrid, Federer has tolerated and accepted the controversial blue clay well.

Of course, it helps mightily that it somewhat plays well for him.

The extra payout he gains from his stinging serve and aggressive mindset was fully in evidence in his quarterfinal victory over David Ferrer.

Ferrer, the only Spaniard left in this biggest of Spanish tennis tournaments, was no pushover. He had made the final at Barcelona, pushing Nadal to two tight sets, and his unmistakably excellent record on clay made him a threat.

In fact, for Federer, who played only his third match of the official clay season against Ferrer, it was something of an initiation into the season. While it certainly was helpful to have that 12-0 head to head record against him, winning here for a place in the semifinals would loudly exclaim his standing in the clay-court hierarchy.

Ferrer tried everything, and new tactics, opening the court by attacking Federer's forehand. All, unfortunately, were to no avail, because the Swiss maestro simply had too many weapons to be outwitted by his opponent, one so wise in the ways of clay-court tennis.

There were tight moments, for sure, and it wasn't as if Ferrer was steam-rolled. Yet in the tenser occasions he netted that forehand, or sailed long the backhand.

In the end, it was too easy for Federer, who faced no break points, and was utterly dominant (as overused as that phrase has become, it is eminently precise) on serve.

He next faces Serbian Janko Tipsarevic, who likewise poses a commanding clay-court game, and then potentially a matchup against Juan Martin Del Potro or Tomas Berdych in the final, should he make it there.

The court, particularly, favours the latter two, who possess gigantic serves and like-sized groundstrokes.

Even with Nadal and Djokovic out, then Federer couldn't be said to be the outright favourite, although he would seem like the most immediate one, for the title in Madrid.

A win here would reflect the recent dominance Federer has managed to exert over the tour, despite a six-week layoff. He has lost only two matches in tournament play, with just another against Isner at Davis Cup, in 2012.

Winning Madrid would also come with an unexpected surprise: reclaiming the No. 2 ranking, which he last held last year at Indian Wells. One only dreams what a shakeup for Djokovic and Nadal that might be.