Federer and Nadal Forfeit: Paris Fizzles

Disappointment abounds.  Fans denied again—the ultimate face-off in tennis of mega star Roger Federer vs. world number one Raphael Nadal is postponed until Shanghai.  Stay tuned.

Predictably, both progressed into the quarter-finals of the Paribas Master’s Tournament in Paris.  Federer pounded Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-4 in straight sets on Thursday while Nadal sauntered past Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-2.  Their third round opponents presented token resistance.

Roger was to meet James Blake in the quarters while Rafa took on a recharged Davydenko—both matches scheduled for Friday.  Seeds #1 and #2 were expected to win these individual contests with dispatch.

All Paris officials and tennis pundits beseeched the tennis gods to allow a long overdue Federer-Nadal re-match as the culminating event of this tournament.

Then the unthinkable—Federer withdrew with a bad back and Rafa gave up after one set losing 1-6.  His knees finally gave out.  James Blake got a walk-over and Nikolay Davydenko a retirement.

Tennis is still being played and important and significant matches contested fiercely but it’s like you are watching Bob Denver do dinner theater while Brad Pitt is starring next door.

It has been an event of dying swans…starting with the early dismissal of # 3 seed Novak Djokovic in the 3^rdround by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.  Then newly anointed super star Juan Martin Del Potro was dispatched by wily veteran David Nalbandian…the same Nalbandian that dismissed him a week earlier in Basel. 

New heart-throb Frenchman Gilles Simon was also ousted by another veteran, Andy Roddick—he of the good old USA.  The old guys were re-establishing the proper pecking order in Paris. 

The withdrawal of Federer and the retirement of Nadal bolstered the chances of James Blake and Nikolay Davydenko respectively.  They are in the semi-finals.   

The remaining semi-final spots would be determined after the completion of 2 more matches—Nalbandian vs. Murray and Roddick vs. Tsonga.    

In a major surprise, the so-called hottest player on tour, Andy Murray went down to defending champion, David Nalbandian.  Murray’s first serve departed to Neverland—and Nalbandian played with polish and determination. 

He won 7-6, 6-3, throwing a little ice water on Murray’s recent tear.

But the match of the day had to be the tightly contested one between American Andy Roddick and Mohammed Ali look-alike, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.  Both struggled mightily.

The French crowd was definitely behind Tsonga but that did not hinder Roddick from playing his game well.  Andy displayed exemplary sportsmanship and did not let the crowd bias affect his game plan. 

After two and a half hours, Tsonga prevailed 5-7, 6-4, 7-6, to the roar of the crowd and a standing ovation. 

In tomorrow’s semis Tsonga takes on James Blake and David Nalbandian faces Nikolay Davydenko.  At stake are still a couple of places in the top eight with an opportunity to qualify for the season-ending Master’s Cup Tournament. 

Of these four remaining players only Davydenko has already secured his place in Shanghai.  Gilles Simon has already been eliminated because he cannot retain his number eight ranking in the race.

Blake will qualify for Shanghai if he reaches the final—in other words, he needs to win tomorrow or his season is over.  Tsonga on the other hand needs to win tomorrow and he qualifies for Shanghai, but only if Nalbandian loses.

Currently in 7^thplace, Del Potro will qualify unless Nalbandian defeats Blake in the final.  Nalbandian needs to win the tournament in order to book a flight to Shanghai.

Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Murray, Davydenko and Roddick have all qualified.

This is all clear now, right?  Tune in tomorrow for another installment of one more day to live…the race promises to go down to the wire.

Reluctantly Federer gave up his pursuit of a Master’s shield for 2008 today.  He missed a great opportunity because the field opened up and his path was less difficult than he had seen in previous Master’s tournaments this year.  He will be sorely disappointed.  The tennis gods were unkind, again. 

Nadal has been warning that his level of fatigue and his body were not allowing him to play competently.  Securing the number one ranking has cost him.  He has played a lot of physically jarring tennis since Wimbledon.

Tennis’ last gasp comes November 9-16 when tennis' top eight play a round robin format  to determine the season’s number one champion…Roger Federer has won four of the last five Master’s Tournaments.  It will be fascinating to see who walks away with it in 2008.