The Federer vs Djokovic Match-Up

Written by: Staff on 5th July 2012

The Federer vs Djokovic Match-Up |

The anticipation has been building and the time is almost here for the major showdown between #1 Novak Djokovic vs #3 Roger Federer. Both players are entering their semifinal encounter with sufficient rest and good form after breezing through their quarterfinal rounds. Djokovic has been winning their recent battles, saving infamous match points (twice) against Rog at the US Open, and most recently handing the Swiss star a straight set loss on the clay of Roland Garros. What can Federer do on grass that can give him the edge and the ability to close out the Djoker?

First of all, he must serve a high percentage of first serves while maintaining a steady balance of mixing it up. Slices, body, flat and combinations of each to every nook and cranny of the service box. Djokovic is known as the best returner in the game right now and if he makes too many balls back, it’s a death sentence for his opponents. Secondly, Federer has to have a quick step to get behind every single one of Djokovic’s shots and take it on the rise. This will help him maintain good positioning by allowing him to move up into the transition areas of the court better while also keeping Djokovic away from the baseline too. Federer is clearly the best player to ever accomplish this but recently, Djokovic’s defense has been more dominant. This is where the grass court plays a factor because Djokovic has never played Federer on grass. The low bounces actually enhance Federer’s ball, especially his slice.

Andy Murray put on quite a display of this against David Ferrer. Had Ferrer not choked the second set tiebreaker, we might be talking about Ferrer vs Tsonga instead of Murray. But credit to Murray for stepping out of his comfort zone to take balls while they rise, push Ferrer around the court until he got a short ball, and really become the aggressor of the match.