Federer Flops in Rome
Federer Flops in Rome
Over the past few months, when asked whether he felt the end of his career was looming, world No. 3 Roger Federer remained self-assured, restating a desire to regain the title of world No. 1. But on Thursday, Federer encountered yet another obstacle in his journey back to the No. 1 position as the Swiss suffered a 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4) loss to world No. 16 Richard Gasquet in the third round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
“I should never have lost this match,” Federer told reporters in Rome after the match. “He knows how close he came to losing. I had multiple chances, but I couldn’t make the difference.”
Federer had a solid start, winning 10 straight points to open the match, but as the day wore on, his game started to unravel. After claiming the first set, Federer was awash in frustration as he witnessed a 4-2 lead in the second set quickly evaporate at the hands of Gasquet, who evened the score at one set apiece. Additionally, Federer failed to convert two break points that would have allowed him a chance to serve out the match.
Neither player faced a break point in the final set, and despite Federer winning 95 percent of first-serve points in the set to Gasquet’s 71 percent, he was conquered by the Frenchman in the final tiebreaker. As a whole, Federer was surprisingly sloppy with his technique throughout the match, committing 30 unforced errors to Gasquet’s 19 unforced errors.
“I thought I was playing well, but he served better toward the end and hung in there,” Federer added afterwards. “I didn’t feel like I could break, and it’s no fun to play like that.”
Federer was 8-1 in the players’ head-to-head series going into the match, having won his last eight matches against the Frenchman. Gasquet’s only previous win was in Monte Carlo in 2005.
Gasquet has defeated Russian qualifier Igor Andreev and Spaniard Albert Montanes thus far in Rome, and it is possible that the mental boost he gains from defeating Federer may carry him far. Gasquet’s next opponent is world No. 7 Tomas Berdych, and if he wins, he has a chance of meeting world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals.
Gasquet and Berdych are 2-2 in their career match-ups, with Berdych having won their only encounter on clay. Most recently, Berdych defeated Gasquet in the third round of this year’s Australian Open, 6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-2.
Federer has remained secure in his abilities up to this point, but it is questionable whether he will feel confident heading into the French Open. It was discouraging to see the Swiss star falter in Thursday’s match as Gasquet controlled the court, but Federer says that he will work hard to prepare for the tough field at Roland Garros.
“I’m looking forward to a few days to stay mentally and physically fresh and practice very hard,” he said.
What do you think … is Federer sharp enough to be a top contender in Paris?
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