Showing posts with label Federer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Federer. Show all posts

No-Federer-grand slam-semis after 6 years! :(((

Posted by Anantha | Posted in , | Posted on Wednesday, June 02, 2010

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As the battle was heating up with the 16 pre-quartet finalists in Roland Garros for this year's French Open title, I had changed my wallpaper of my comp to the below one.



Federer was cruising through until the quarter finals which ended just few minutes before. Soderling avenged for the loss in last year's French Open finals by defeating Federer in a four setter match. I was left shattered to see Federer losing it so easily to the big serving Swedish giant. This is going to be the 1st grand slam in past 6 years where Federer will not be playing in the Semis! He had appeared in 23 consecutive Semis after 2004 Wimbledon championships. That indeed is sad news for Federer fans.

Being a die-hard Federer fan, I am not looking for excuses for his loss. But this rain hit match was interrupted many times and it is easy for the players to lose concentration and to lose the momentum. Moreover when the match resumes in such conditions, it becomes easy for the big serving guys like Soderling where the ball becomes heavy. It was evident from the serve speed of Soderling which even reached upto 240kmph in last few games. Whatever are those reasons, we have to admit that Soderling adapted well to the conditions and gave no chance for the Master to come back into the match.

With Murray being ousted by lesser known Berdich, Nadal seem to kiss French Open trophy yet again this year. Let's see if Djokovic or Soderling has any plans of devouring the run of 'The Bullfighter'.

16th kiss!

Posted by Anantha | Posted in , , | Posted on Tuesday, February 02, 2010

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To know who kissed whom or what, and why am I counting them, read this.

The spotlight was on Andy Murray, the runner up of Aus Open 2010. Whole of Rod Laver Arena was silent to hear him speak.. And he broke down uttering "I am sure I can cry like Federer, but I am sorry I can't play like him!” Yes, this time too the runner up of Aus Open was in tears like Federer did it after losing to Nadal in the great 5 setter finals of Aus Open 2009.




I could see only the third and the final set of the finals, thanks to KPTCL there was a power cut in my locality. I kept messaging my colleague who is also a Tennis maniac for the updates till the power came back. When the power came back, the third set was going on. Murray was fighting hard to stay in the match, taking the set to a tiebreaker. For the first time in my life I wanted Federer to lose that set! Only to satiate my thirst of seeing him play another set. But Federer not only denied me the pleasure of watching him play, but more importantly crushed the dream of Andy Murray to become the first British to win a Grand Slam. British press always has projected Murray as the next-big-thing on tennis court, the tennis experts say he has got the near perfect techniques to match Federer on any surface, he might be a capable guy but personally I do not enjoy his game!! There could be lot of factors why Murray lost so easily to Federer in that match, the fatigue would have taken a toll on the young chap, there could also be a great amount of pressure on him as he is yet to win a Grand Slam. Though I am happy as a fan of Federer, but as a fan of tennis, the match did not excite me much. It seriously looked one-sided with Federer winning the first two sets so easily. I think Murray fought hard only in the final tiebreaker. Only the third set had some awe moments.

Looking at Federer's journey to final, he never played 5 sets in the whole of the tournament!! He got to play with very few big names in his draw; Lleyton Hewitt(22) - who is not as menacing as he was 2-3 yrs back, Nikolay Davydenko(6) - not a serious threat to Federer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga(10) - who is playing the best tennis of his career. Where as the other draw had many big fighters; Andy Roddick(7), Juan Martin Del Potro(4), Andy Murray(5), Rafael Nadal(2), Marin Cilic(14), Gael Monfils(12). So comparing them, I feel Federer had relatively an easier draw this time.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for the French Open, expecting the battle for title to be fiercer and more aggressive with hopefully Nadal back to his usual fitness and many other hungry contenders.. Lets hope for a great tennis season ahead.

Lastly I want to quote an excerpt from ‘The master and the apprentice’ - "If Federer plays as he did in the semi-final against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the Frenchman believes that no one can stop the Fed. And if Murray plays like he did in the quarter-finals against Nadal, Nadal does not think anyone can stop him either.
The only certainty is that if both men play to the peak of the abilities, we are in for a belting final". I totally agree with that.

Pic courtesy: Australian Open

15 kisses that changed the history of world Tennis

Posted by Anantha | Posted in , , | Posted on Friday, July 10, 2009

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Pic courtesy: Go Roger!
Check here for Federer career statistics

To Federer, with love

Posted by Anantha | Posted in , , | Posted on Monday, June 08, 2009

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Dear Roger,
First of all congratulations on achieving the feat of winning 14 grand slams and sharing the page of History books with Sampras for the moment. Most of all, congrats again for breaking the jinx of Roland Garros.
I have been following your game since the day you lifted your first grand slam. Since then I have been loving your game, not because you kept lifting grand slams one after the other, not because the tennis experts speculated that you would be the greatest  ever tennis player one day, but just for making the game look so beautiful and stylish! 
I still remember when Leyton Hewitt [I think] said, "It is unfortunate that we are playing in Federer's era". I enjoyed the way you dominated in all the tournaments, no matter who the opponent is. That is when the grey-heads of Tennis stirred up a debate, whether you could be called the greatest ever Tennis player, they compared you with Rod Lever to McEnroe to Bjorn Borg. I never bother about these kinda arguments, because firstly I feel it is unfair to compare two players of two different eras, secondly I have not seen them playing! No matter what people opine, for me you are the God of tennis. In future when a new champion emerges (who would certainly have to bear the comparisons with you) and my kids watch him play, I would love to tell them how better were you!

Then Rafa emerged as the 'next big thing' of Tennis court and started showing the world that you are not unbeatable, that even you have a vulnerable side. With an amazing combination of controlled aggression and precision, Rafa surely is a toughest contender for you. Every time you played against Rafa in a big match, whether on clay or grass, I have prayed to God as if I was waiting for the results of my final exams. When Rafa firmly denied you a French open in all the 3 finals from 2006-2008, I had feared that you might also end up like Sampras, without a French open. Every time you lost to Nadal, a very basic question that does not only pertain to Tennis but life as well used to rise in my mind - In the war between aggression and grace, why does aggression turn out to be victorious most of the times? 
I was less disappointed when you lost to Rafa in straight sets (1-6, 3-6, 0-6) in French Open 2008 finals than when you broke into tears after losing to him in this year's Australian Open. I could not believe it. I mean I did not like it! What was that indicating, a man who hardly used to show his emotion on field once, has given up? Did you accept Nadal as your jinx not only on clay but also on other surfaces? I am sorry to say, I had not expected that from you.
Though this victory in French Open would add to the tally of career grand slams, I would say, you won it easily this time. Your nemesis was defeated by Soderling quite early in the tournament. The other threats, Djokovic and Murray also not making it to the final 4. Though Tommy Haas and Del Potro made you sweat, I think this was relatively  an easy grand slam for you! Hope it gives you the confidence of clearing the mental block of Roland Garros and a sigh of relief. 
Agree you have won it, but I want you to EARN it beating Rafa in French Open finals some day.... I know that victory would be more satisfying for you than the current one. 
Your greatest fan... 

Bullfighter beats craftsman again :(

Posted by Anantha | Posted in , | Posted on Monday, June 09, 2008

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The final score, 6-1 6-3 6-0

The final match lasted for one hour and 48 minutes, which is the shortest final in terms of time on court since 1980.

Federer committed 35 unforced errors in the match


Now any Federer fan will be more than disappointed by the above lines and Im not an exception. I watched Fedex beat Monfils in Semis, was shocked by the number of unforced errors he committed there also. If Monfils was more precise with his inherent raw power, he would have made Fedex bite the dust no doubt. With his current form [with virus affecting his health] I was skeptical about Fedex winning his first ever French Open. But I never thought he would surrender so easily to the bullfighter Spaniard.


Being an ardent fan of Federer, can you believe I switched off the TV set after seeing the way he lost his second set 6-3. Federer was committing myriad of unforced errors, dint deliver a single ace in his serves, was missing out heavily on placing his favorite slice shots.. and in answer Nadal was running with his lightning fast legs to every nook and corner of the court to send back the ball with twice the speed that it reached his bat.


I wanna write nothing more on it.. Im heartbroken…


I want Fedex to win French open at any cost next year.. I want him to come up with all the right answers for the puzzles Nadal has been posing to him on clay court from past 3 years..

Watte SAT!!

Posted by Anantha | Posted in , , | Posted on Sunday, January 20, 2008

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I rarely experience such an inspiring day on a weekend. Sat started as lazy as any other day on weekends. Was tracking the score on and off between my unavoidable weekend wrk in and out of the home. India had heaped a target of 413 for Aussies to chase in the 3rd test of the four match series. Though I was not very confident of our victory in this test, but had great hopes over the result of the test match.


Had to go out when Aussies had lost 7 wickets. Then came back to home to see they had lost another wicket in the form of Michael Clarke. Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clarke were at the crease. I felt the victory is just few steps away.


Again I had to go out to get some things home. It took a bit longer than I expected to return home. Was surprised to see Johnson and Clarke still batting at the crease playing gritty shots. Aussies needed only 80+ runs to win. Though it was not easy for them to achieve this with tail enders, but was surely enough for Indians to press the panic button. Then I sat glued to the seat till RP Singh bowled out Shaun Tait and India snapped the 16 match winning spree of Aussies. The test win was of course special after the turmoil of Sydney test.


I felt good.. I felt elated…


After finishing the lunch, was surfing the tv channels. There was this 3rd round match happening between Federer and Janko Tipsarevic [49th seed it seems, I had not seen this guy playing]. Though im an ardent fan of Federer and an avid follower of glandslams, I never manage to remember any program schedule on TV. I was shocked to see the set tally. By then both the players had won 2 sets each and were fighting for the final set. The moment I saw this Tipsarevic guy playing, I could make out why the match was pushed to the 5th set. He was playing extremely well.


Neither of dem broke the opponent’s serve until the game tally was 8-8 in the tie-breaker. Till den Federer was finishing the game with impeccable aces, and Tipsarevic winning games of his serve with precise mix of baseline and drop shots. I fell flat for most of his well placed drop shots.


A thought crossed my mind that Federer might lose; I could be watching a historic match. Ohh no. I dint want Federer to lose. As always Federer was keeping calm, only once punching his fist in air and showing his temper on face. I don know how some geniuses like him keep cool even at the crunch time. May be that’s wat holds them apart.


At last the Swiss craftsman broke Tipsarevic’s serve in a valiant manner. Fedex was lagging with 0 and 40 in that game. But he fought back with that ‘extra thing’ in him which sets him apart from other champions. Its in these crunch situations, Federer makes tennis lovers feel why is he so great? The game tally now was 9-8, Federer holding the serve. Now the tension in the sir was cleared, every fan of Federer now knew that he has won it. The craftsman finished the match and entered 4th round of Aus open 08. I also wanna appreciate Tipsarevic for his amazing play that tested the nerve of Swiss genius.


So thus was SAT for me. Watched two great sports events live.


I felt good.. I felt elated…I got inspired…

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