Bercy Day 5 / Djokovic Beats Federer By Richard Evans

Written by: Staff on 2nd November 2013

BNP Paribas 2013 Masters Tennis Tournament

Bercy Day 5 / Djokovic Beats Federer By Richard Evans

epa03933566 Roger Federer of Switzerland reacts during his semi final match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the BNP Paribas 2013 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 02 November 2013. EPA/YOAN VALAT |

Roger Federer played brilliantly for a while and lost; Rafael Nadal played poorly all match and he lost, too, leaving Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer to battle it out here in Paris on Sunday when the other six, amongst the world’s top players, are preparing for the ATP World finals across the Channel.

It has turned into a frantic and congested end to the season and someone will suffer from having played too much right on the cusp of the round robin play in London which requires everyone to play at least three matches.

But Ferrer is not worried about that right now. His motto should be ‘If you don’t succeed, try, try again’ and that’s what he has been doing throughout his career when it comes to trying to beat Nadal.

The pair went into today’s match with Nadal leading 20-4 but, in truth the world No 1 never looked like improving on that record of domination against a worthy opponent and lost 6-3, 7-5.

Ferrer attacked his backhand and, for once, Nadal had no answer. “I need to play more aggressive in London,” he said after congratulating Ferrer. “I need to move quicker. If I move myself quicker I am going to have the chance to hit the ball quicker and have the chance to play with less mistakes.”

Making a mistake is something akin to a criminal act in Nadal’s mind and he will certainly want to cut down on the errors which gave Ferrer his openings.

“I think this week I was playing very good,” said Ferrer who won his first ATP Masters 1000 title here twelve months ago. “Paris is special for me, no? I did my first Grand Slam final in Roland Garros; I won my first Masters 1000; now I am in final again. I like the city a lot.”

And so he should.

Federer’s 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 loss to Djokovic came as less of a shock but that didn’t make it any less disappointing for Roger because he had produced some of his best tennis of the year in a beautifully played first set.

It hinged on Federer being able to utilize the speed of the balls and the relative speed of the court to remind everyone just what a fantastic volleyer he was in the early part of his career. There were plenty of scintillating rallies as well but it was Federer’s ability to get in behind his serve that dictated much of the play.

Djokovic found himself searching for timing and frequently sent returns into the net as he looked up and saw the Swiss challenging him to make the pass.

It was imperative for Federer that he ram home his first set advantage at the start of the second but his first error on the volley was a sign of things to come and then he compounded it with a bad decision.

“The second set is a bit of a blur right now – did I miss a volley there?” Federer asked. “But Novak was playing good tennis. Disappointed right now but overall it was a good week for me.”

Federer, who was in the final in Basel when Djokovic took a week off, said it was important for him to rest well and get plenty of sleep in the next 48 hours because on Tuesday in the ATP World Finals at the 02 he will play none other than Djokovic!

“It’s unusual to go back-to-back matches against Novak,” Federer said. “I think I also got del Potro in that group who I just played as well. I’m always excited about those challenges.”

The crowd were pretty excited about seeing him play – as they always are in France. It was a bias that Djokovic shrugged off. “Look I am not upset with the crowd,” he said. “There is no reason for that. Everybody has the freedom to choose who they will support and Roger deserves a lot of respect for what he has achieved in his career.”

Djokovic turned a few of them around at the end of the match by doing his on court interview in French and then calling Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Swedish soccer star who plays for Paris St Germain, onto court to hit some balls. Ibhrahimovic, who never plays down his prowess as a goal-scoring striker, looked very reluctant to put himself through that ordeal but sportingly agreed.

After a couple of hits, it was obvious tennis was not his game and Novak did not torment him for long. But as a public relations exercise, it worked. Djokovic certainly knows how to silence his critics.