FEDERER STAYS ON THE FAST TRACK TO CINCINNATI TITLE MATCH

Written by: on 22nd August 2015
Western and Southern Open tennis
FEDERER STAYS ON THE FAST TRACK TO CINCINNATI TITLE MATCH

epa04893617 Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates his win over Andy Murray of Great Britain in their semifinal round match in the Western & Southern Open at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, near Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 22 August 2015. EPA/TANNEN MAURY  |
Photo by EPA

 

Federer stays on the fast track to Cincinnati title match

 

By Ricky Dimon

 

Whereas other top player stumbled and bumbled their way through the Western & Southern Open draw, Roger Federer simply has not been messing around this week.

 

The 34-year-old sent a message right away in Cincinnati that he would be a man on a mission to capture his seventh title at this event. In his opening match on Tuesday, Federer consistently returned Roberto Bautista Agut’s second serves from many feet inside the baseline. On a few occasions he even hit half-volleys from right behind the service line for his returns.

 

More of the same continued against Kevin Anderson in the third round and Feliciano Lopez in the quarters. The defending champion did not employ the tactic quite as much against Andy Murray during semifinal action on Saturday, but the result was the same: another straight-set victory for Federer.

 

After blowing out Anderson 6-1, 6-1 and cruising past Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-4, the No. 2 seed defeated Murray 6-4, 7-6(6). Not surprisingly, a key factor was second-serve points won. Federer took care of 79 percent of his second-serve points whereas Murray won a mere 55 percent of the points when missed his first delivery.

 

“I’ve done it against basically everybody,” the 14-time Grand Slam champion said of his aggressive tactics in the return game. “I did it in practice more as a joke, and I tried it again and again and again, and it just seems like it’s not that hard for me to do. It makes you play very committed. Up there, (there) is no room for not being committed–otherwise you’ll lose the point every single time. It’s very much all about timing and reaction.

 

“I’ve still got to understand when I can do it when I should and shouldn’t do it. It can break somebody’s rhythm. Maybe can play with the mind a little bit. Plus, if the success rate all of a sudden is [above] 50 percent, why not use that quite often as well?

 

“I’m happy that when I’m doing it I’m not looking ridiculous up there. It’s fun for me to do. We’ll see how much, if at all, I will use it tomorrow.”

 

Tomorrow–Sunday–is when Federer will face Novak Djokovic in the championship.

Photo by EPA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not unlike Murray (who needed three sets to get past Grigor Dimitrov and Richard Gasquet in addition to a tough two-setter against Mardy Fish), Djokovic has struggled this week. The top-ranked Serb trailed David Goffin by two breaks in his second match and on Saturday qualifier Alexandr Dolgopolov came within two points of an upset before going down 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2.

 

Djokovic is looking for his first title in Cincinnati. This is the only Masters 1000 tournament that he has never won.

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

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