Roger Federer: Fighting To The Finish...

As the momentous match approaches on Friday, it is important to note the French effect upon the outcome for Roger Federer...again.

As an aside, I have to tell you that one of my good friends is in rehab—tried to speak French before he was ready. Those guttural trills are murder. 

Myself, I prefer Swiss—in accent and in action. But the Swiss maestro is in deep distress at the Master’s Cup Championship in Shanghai. He must win tomorrow against Andy Murray – the stone-faced Scott—or Roger is done, finished, kaput. 

He started out the week with a bad back hampering his preparation in this round robin tournament. Rusty and unsure, he lost his opening round match to Gilles Simon, one of those daring Frenchmen with an accent to die for. 

Meanwhile Andy Murray overcame Andy Roddick in three sets. 

By the time Roger returned to his hotel Monday night after his match, he was suffering from stomach discomfort. On Tuesday, he could not get up. He was sick and tired—spent the day trying to recoup. 

Luckily, he did not have to play on Tuesday. He watched Novak Djokovic take down Nikolay Davydenko in three sets while Juan Del Potro upended Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6, 7-6 in two exciting tie-breaks.

Ambulatory and existing on fumes, Federer appeared Wednesday ready to play his match with Roddick, only to find that Andy had withdrawn with an ankle sprain. His opponent was that bon-vivant Radek Stepanek, every player’s favorite adversary…

Luckily for Roger, Stepanek was without rackets, socks and contacts. Thrown in at the last moment as the alternate, Stepanek was ill-equipped to do much damage. 

He was just what the doctor ordered as Federer’s opponent on Wednesday. Roger won in straight sets but he looked mighty rough at times.

A win is a win—right? He lives to play another day. 

Prior to Roger taking the court, Andy Murray took care of our French darling, Gilles Simon in straight sets. Murray is hot, burning up the synthetic turf.

Today—another Frenchman heard from. Tsonga whopped Djokovic. It was the Frenchman’s first win in the tournament. About time. Tsonga has lost some very close matches. 

Then, Davydenko blitzed Del Potro and sent him back to Argentina to get ready for the Davis Cup final with a Nadal-less Spain.

That brings us to Friday—when Federer must defeat Murray to make it into the semis and it would be best if Stepanek with contacts, rackets and his very own socks could send our French accented Mr. Simon home. 

Au revoir, s’il vous plait!

As usual, the ATP has constructed such a difficult maze of points, summaries and potential pitfalls that no normal person can figure it out. 

Red Group: Murray is safe. He is into the semis regardless. If he wins he is the number one seed; if he loses to Federer, he is the number two seed. 

Roger determines his own fate. If he wins, he is in the semis as the number one seed. If he loses, he goes home and Simon becomes the number two seed.

Gold Group: Djokovic is the number one seed and Davydenko is the number two seed. 

That is basically the simplest way to the end. The number one seed from the Red Group meets the number two seed from the Gold Group—conversely the number one seed from the Gold Group meets the number two seed from the Red Group.

If Roger wins, he will meet Davydenko and Murray would meet Djokovic. If Roger loses Murray will meet Davydenko and Simon will meet Djokovic. The two winners will then play for the championship on Sunday. 

It’s like following cheese through a maze…if Roger wins by defeating Murray tomorrow, he could face him again in the final! 

Ah, does life get any easier for the champion? One hopes for a successful conclusion to this year end championship. Roger is hanging on by a thread, hoping to pull himself together long enough to construct one fantastic match against Murray.

It will be a difficult task, to say the least. But as long as he has a chance, he believes he can win and that matters. With Sunday's concluding ceremonies, Roger and the ATP will say sayonara to Shanghai for the last time. 

Next year this tournament moves to London…home of Big Ben, Stratford-on-Avon and Wimbledon—where a French accent hardly ever rises above a whisper…

(photo by Quentin Shih)