French Open 2011: Roger Federer Abruptly Ends Novak Djokovic's Winning Streak

“It’s the best player of today against the best player in history,” said Rafael Nadal following his French Open 2011 semifinal win over Andy Murray in a postmatch interview.

That quote sums up everything.

This match between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic had to rank among the best matches of this year’s French Open. Here you have Federer, who had not dropped a set during the tournament. On the other hand, you had Djokovic, who had not dropped a match this year. 

Everyone knew that this would be a nail-biter.

In the opening set, Federer quickly showed that he was not playing around—he had come to win the match. Though he had some problems with his backhand early on in this tournament, it was clear that he had been working on it and was using it to his advantage.

Now, not to knock Djokovic—he was not playing as if he was a pushover. Combine the play action of these two and you get a set that had to be determined by a tiebreaker. Federer went on to win the tiebreaker and thus the set, 7-6.

Roger took that momentum and confidence booster (I really don’t think he needed it, but it never hurts to have a little in reserve) into the second round. Roger was able to pull out a 6-4 win. At this point, it appeared that Federer was going to continue his streak of straight sets.  

But, Djokovic showed why he had been on such a winning streak. He came alive in the third set, getting ahead early on with a 3-0 lead. Djokovic held on to pull out a 6-3 win. So, for the first time, Federer was broken. But broken definitely did not mean out of the match. Djokovic may have won the battle, but Federer was still vying to win the war.

And the fourth round began...

This was such a critical round. Federer needed it to end this match and head to the finals. Djokovic needed it to stay alive, earn him a continued winning streak and more importantly, the title of World No. 1. 

Oh, what a battle it was from start to finish. Both men gave it their all. It was depicted by the score, as you saw one take the lead and then the other would tie things back up. This went on and on, until once again, a tiebreaker was needed to determine the winner.  

Federer was up triple match point and ready to take the match. However, Djokovic was determined that he was not going to let this opportunity pass him. He quickly erased two match points.

Federer was up to serve with a match point at stake.  In an ending that was so fitting for him, Federer sealed the win with an ace. The phenomenal winning streak was over for Djokovic; Federer was set to play in his fifth French Open final against Rafa Nadal.

Statistical/Play Analysis and Wrap-Up  

In looking at this match, there were several key points that stood out (in no particular order): 

Clay Court

The courts played a key role against Djokovic. It was clear on several occasions that he was having difficulty gaining traction, which either caused him to completely miss taking a shot or impaired him on the follow-through of a shot. Federer was better at maneuvering. 

Winning Percentage on First Serve

Roger had the advantage over Djokovic here, 77 percent to 60 percent. 

Aces

Clearly provided Roger with an advantage here. Though he was not able to make a huge impact with the many missed break-point opportunities he had against Djokovic, his aces (18) filled in the gap quite nicely. 

Net Approaches

Once again, this was a place that Federer had the advantage over Djokovic (79 percent to 50 percent). He made great use of coming to the net to make some good shots. 

Drop Shots

This was an indirect advantage area for Djokovic. I say indirect because these were handouts from Federer. Several times, Federer had great opportunities for easy drop-shots, but they fizzled out, hitting the net instead.

And so, the match is set: No. 1 Rafael Nadal will face No. 3 Roger Federer. Oh, what a matchup of skill this will be. Can’t wait to watch.