Tennis: US Open Final: Federer Vs Murray

Federer bt Murray

6-2, 7-5, 6-2

Andy Murray felt the full wrath of Federer yesterday as the world number 2 showed no mercy in his victory at the US Open, it was one of the most sensational one-sided finals I have ever seen, no discredit to Murray who just never had a chance to get into the match, Federer was simply awesome
 

First Set 

This set started off with Federer pushing from the off-set, making his intentions clear that he is going for the line every shot. He knew this was Murray’s biggest match-up ever so he took advantage of the fact that he may be nervous. Murray was on edge and Federer won two clean serves without dropping a point.

We got to 2-1 Federer and some good serves from Murray were not good enough for Federer’s returns, as he approached the net the whole game and broke Murray early on, 3-1. Federer went on to take the next and Murray held, 4-2, Federer held again and broke Murray in another David vs Goliath game where Murray’s shot looked extremely feeble and Federer just looked so overpowering with his forehand smashes!

This match really depended on how Murray played his first set, and you really can’t say he played bad, Federer just had too much momentum.

Second Set

Federer managed to carry his momentum into the second set to break in the very first game, Murray went down 0-40 and really now way back with the mood Federer was in. However, we all know Murray isn’t the type to just sit there and get rolled over, he went straight on the offensive, and broke back! Well done to Murray and at this point it was looking good. 

Federer never lifted his foot off the pedal, no matter how much Murray pushed he just kept going, and we got to 6-5 Federer in the second, and the game got to 40-40, one amazing rally and an unforced error by Murray led to a set point to Federer, another amazing rally, Murray came into the net and laid off a drop shot, Federer ran in and hit a forehand down the line and took down the second set.

Third Set 

At this point it looked like an ominous victory for Federer, and he was looking to pick up his 13^th title, and that’s exactly what happened, Federer won the first, broke the second, and carried on the same pattern until he got to 5-0, this really looked bad for Murray, who pushed back to win 2 games to save some pride, and Federer broke finally to win and for us to see his trademark celebration.

Overview 

Unfortunately, there really wasn’t much analysing to do in the game, the reason Murray beat Nadal is that he is the best at returning serve, and Nadal’s serve is no way good enough for Murray, and at times you saw Federer was troubled in his serves against Murray because he stands so far back but comes in really quickly. But that’s about it, a few back hand winners for Murray but Federer was simply awesome, he didn’t give Murray a chance to get into any kind of rhythm.

Tennis: US Open Semi Final Review

Murray bt Nadal

6-2, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-4

Andy Murray took down the world number 1 Rafa Nadal in an amazing performance, there was no weird explanation to how this happened but that Murray bullied Nadal’s serve throughout the whole game, rally wise both players were impressive, Murray really showed huger for it.

After Nadal took the 3^rd set to make it 2-1 to Murray, the final set kicked off with Murray taking the first game and Nadal levelling, the Spaniard kicked into gear and broke Murray. Murray though broke back brilliantly to make it 3-3, won his serve comfortably and forced a break point in Nadal’s serve but no cigar, Murray went up to 5-4 and we got to Nadal’s serve, we hit deuce and Murray played an excellent rally to get Nadal to force an error…

…match point Murray, another attack on Nadal’s serve but it sat up for Nadal who hit a powerful forehand down the line, Murray gave a weak return and Nadal returned it with a slice approach shot to the net, but made it too easy for Murray to get, which he did and hit is straight past Nadal to celebrate his first final.

Congratulations to the first Brit to get to an open final in the new millennium! The way Murray is play it will be a great game against Federer, please comment your predictions for the game and I will respond a post.

Tennis: US Open Quarter Final Update

Federer bt Muller

7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (5)

and…

Djokovic bt Roddick 

6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5)

The unusually emotional Roger Federer beat Giles Muller in a straight sets victory in US Open yesterday, he looked very fluid but very forceful at the same time, playing shots that weren’t there.

Muller tried his best with his big serves and powerful ground strokes, definitely a wild card and the underdog in this game, but he played well and gave a good performance, by far it wasn’t a straight forward victory as he held is serve in the first two sets forcing Federer to play a tie break.

Federer now will go onto face Novak Djokovic in the semi finals, this will be fierce contest as both players have history, Federer beat him in the final of last years US Open final, Djokovic beat him in this years Aussie Open final, and Federer, during this years Roland Garros, politely told Djokovic’s parents to “be quiet” which didn’t go so well with Djokovic. So it will be a great match up.

Djokovic was quite convincing in his victory against 8 seed Roddick, he beat him in 4 sets and managed to break the fastest server in the world twice. Djokovic is looking in fine form so it will be a very good game.

Murray vs Nadal – preview

In the other semi-final – Murray will face the world number 1 Rafael Nadal, both players look in fine form so it will be an interesting match up, but Nadal did recently thrash Murray at Wimbledon, so Murray will be fired up, but does he have the strength to overcome Nadal?

Nadal’s road to the final has not been so convincing, but this is the furthest he has been on a hard court major so it will be interesting to see if he can go the distance. This is the ideal final four, and the best 4 in the world, Murray isn’t ranked there yet but arguably should be.

Tennis: US Open Round 4 Match Review

Andreev feels the pressure

Federer bt Andreev

6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3

We all knew this would be Federer’s toughest test and that it would be a great game to watch, but the match that lasted just over three and a half hours (I know because I sat through the whole thing without blinking) it was an absolute thriller!

Credit is due to Igor Andreev who gave a great performance, it was a really slow start for Federer, as Andreev started of the faster and stronger of the two, he looked sharp on his powerful forehands and his serving was amazing, Federer served and lost the first game and Andreev managed to hold served until it was 5-4 to him and he was serving for the set. Federer somehow scraped through a break there and it got to 5-5, both players held and we got to a tie breaker which led to some amazing rally’s and a first set for Andreev.

Great start for the Russian and the first player of the tournament to take a set from Federer. The second set started of with the Swiss going in attack mode, and a little disappointing to see Andreev putting his foot on the breaks a little bit, Federer couldn’t manage a break and the game went into another tie break, and with Federer’s record in tie-breaks which is nearly on the ratio of 8:1 in wins (I’m just guessing but it really is something along those lines), he wasn’t going to lose two in a row – he took the second tie brake and we got to a third.

Federer really started to wake up in the third, he started to play some of his best tennis using the net as often as possible to soften Andreev’s powerful stroke play, he got the early break in the first game and took the set comfortably.

Now in the fourth, the commentator came out and said “I think Federer is glad he got through this game and now he can focus his sights on the quarter final” and then later said “I’m sorry for assuming Federer has already won I was just thinking out loud, but Federer hardly messes up from here”. Not very respectful for Andreev and he battled really hard with Federer in the fourth, but he did get the luckiest break ever! First point Federer served and some guy took flash photograph which put him off making a double fault, 0-15, exactly the same thing happened again., 0-30, then Federer won a point back with an impressive forehand, 15-30, another exchange of Rally’s and Federer lost balance! 15-40, final point and Federer hit an awesome forehand to which Andreev gave a weak return which clipped the net and trickled over – no chance for Federer to get, Andreev apologised and took the game and the set. I have to point out here, this was Andreev’s third break of the match, he had 15 break point opportunities up to this point! 

The final set, Federer’s whole season was hanging in the balance, this was the last slam of the series and if he didn’t win here it would be huge low in his career, and so…. we got the angry Federer, the very emotional Federer, he was very angry with himself more than anything, and you could see the pressure on him for the first time ever, but the strange thing was he played no different, he played an amazing set, breaking Andreev in the first game again, no way back for Andreev now who looked exhausted, he still decided to give it everything he had and hats off to him he pushed Federer in his serves, but Federer was in the flow, and got through that set but it never looked easy one bit.

Andreev was a very respectable player who didn’t overuse the challenge system and all his challenges were spot on, but the crowd were hard on him in the final set, fair do’s he’s Russian, but cheered every missed shot in the final set, which he acted out slightly, but the pressure he was under it was very understandable.

Federer celebrated the victory a relieved man, it would be a classic in his archive along with his Agassi bout and Nadal finals!

Now to the quarter finals for him to meet Muller, don’t know too much about him but he has beaten some heavyweights on his way so should be another good game.

Tennis: US Open Round 4

Murray bt Warwinka

6-1, 6-3, 6-3

Andy Murray has made a huge statement on this US Open beating the highly rated Stanislas Warwinka. Murray has been considered by many as the ‘outsider’ to win this tournament, and with a performance like that he definitely has his chance to win a slam. 

The big test for Andy Murray will be against del Porto, who is only 19 years old but has had a very long winning streak, and considered to be a future number 1. The furthest Murray has gotten to in a Grand Slam is the quarter final at Wimbledon this year where he got crushed by Nadal, so he will be extra determined to win here, and I think he just has enough experience to beat the giant del Porto. I can see it being a classic, going all the way to 5 sets.

Nadal bt Querrey

6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 

An unexpected struggle for Nadal in the 4^th round match up against the American Querrey, credit to the American to pushing all the way, but I just don’t think Nadal likes hard court as much as he likes clay and grass, though in the last year he has made the effort to adapt his game to all conditions – he still has some work to do on hard if he wants to dominate on Hard.

Dropping a set isn’t so bad, right now if I was to say my top 3 contenders I would say Federer, Murray, and Nadal, in no particular order. Nadal has a habit of losing concentration against the not so rated players, and it can occasionally affect his confidence. But, when he plays against the big players he has a habit of not letting them breath! He’s is still the only player ever to make Federer look like he has no control over a match, on many occasions.

Tennis: US Open Round 2 Update

Coin bt Ivanovic

6-3, 4-6, 6-3

A shock round 2 defeat for the women’s number 1 Ana Ivanovic, she looked very nervous in her opening match which she scraped though in 3 sets, managing to keep her cool at the death. This game though her nerves got the better of her and she gifted games away, she did show flashes of excellence however being labelled top seed you are expected to keep your cool under pressure.

Nothing taken away from Julie Coin who has never been in such a pressured situation, she really played with no fear, the first set she dominated Ivanovic and hit some powerful winners to take it 6-3, Ivanovic battled back second set getting the early break and using her experience to get the upper hand.

The final set ended up an emotional battle and one of the best sets I have seen so far this tournament, both women gave it their all and both making big unforced errors, but it was Ivanovic who really gifted the game at the end, and Coin took full advantage.

Ivanovic’s general game is brilliant, I consider her one of the best in her ability, its her mental strength that needs work on, she will most likely lose her number 1 spot at the end of the season. As for Coin, she now has nothing to lose as she has gone past expectations, we’ll see how she copes if she meets one of the Williams sisters.

 

Andy Murry bt Llodra

6-4, 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (9-7)

A decent performance by Murray was just good enough to get past the Frenchman Michael Llodra in four sets. Murry would be the first to admit he didn’t play his best, and if he is to compete at a higher level he really needs to try and mop these type of games up easily. However, after the first set, which went quite smoothly, Llodra began outsmarting Murray as he exposed Murray’s weak and deep shots he likes to play and most of all exposed his second serve.

The second set ended in Murray being broken twice for Llodra to take the second set 6-1. Thankfully, Murray woke up from this in the third and fourth and though Llodra posed a threat, Murray held his nerve and took down both sets to move into the next round.

It was quite a fun game to watch with a baseline player vs a net player, there aren’t many net players around these days and Murray adapted well, each game he looks to be maturing and as I keep saying, just needs to sort his attitude a tiny bit more to really compete against the top 3.  

Murray’s best showdown at a Grand Slam has been a quarter final at Wimbledon against Nadal, so the 21 year old will really look to better that this year and feel like he has a good chance to win.

Tennis: US Open Round 1 – Day 3 Update

Djokovic bt Clement

6-3, 6-3, 6-4

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic started in slightly rusty form to beat Arnaud Clement to win his opening match in straight sets. His first set was off with a few too many unforced errors, but this has become quite normal for Djokovic, never do we see a smooth win for him against an unseeded, as he always finds a way to make the game look difficult. However the rest of the game he just started playing strokes for fun and not leaving any chance for Clement.

Djokovic, who has been seeded 3 for a while now, will feel he can do it this year, he lost last year’s final to Federer but he managed to beat him in the Aussie Open so there will be a lot of passion burning inside of him to take this down. He could be set for a semi-final against Federer and then potentially a final against Nadal, which will be amazing to watch! I have no guess on how that would turn out.

Roddick Bt Santoro

6-2, 6-2, 6-2,

Big server Andy Roddick looked in fine form against Santoro, starting very strong each set breaking on the first game, after each break there was no chance for Santoro who looked a light weight compared to Roddick’s powerful serves and strokes.

8 seed Roddick, is probably getting fed up being left behind the likes of Djokovic and Murray, probably feeling he can compete and get his place back near the top, remember he pushed Federer not so many years ago and he already is a slam winner here at Flushing Meadows. Even though he is one of the most determined player out there, I just don’t think his game can match up to the best anymore, I predict a quarter final finish for him at best, but hope he proves me wrong.  

Those are the games I watched in day 3, look out for more detailed reviews as we get deeper into the tournament.

Tennis: US Open Round 1 Update

Federer bt Gonzalez

6-3, 6-0, 6-3

A predictable victory for Federer, his first tournament as number 2 (excluding the Olympics) and we saw the determined Federer that we have missed all season, smashing winners all over the court and hitting 15 aces.

Maximo Gonzalez wasn’t expected to put up a fight anyway but he looked helpless with the way Federer was playing, to the next round now for him to meet Thiago Alves, most likely another walkover.

 

Haas bt Gasguet

6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2

A brilliant game between a veteran tennis player Tommy Hass and the world number 12 Richard Gasquet, this was the most talked about opening game out there and it didn’t fail to deliver, a 5 set thriller ending in a victory for Haas.

This was Haas’s comeback match after his third shoulder operation, but the 31 year old looked in the best form of his life, he is know for his speed around the court and being able to return any shot (quite similar to Nadal), and with Gasquet firing some amazingly powerful forehands and back hands, the game looked to be his. However, Haas used all his experience and energy to really frustrate Gasquet who made many uncharacteristic unforced errors as a result. Haas broke twice in the 5^th set and took home an amazing victory.

Tommy Haas is now potentially looking in line to a quarter final meeting with Roger Federer. Which should be another great game.

That’s it for me, my apologies I was not able to watch either games fully at the times they were on, but will try to watch as many games as possible for the rest of the tournament.

Please feel free to leave your thoughts on the game.

Tennis: Murray wins his first Master’s Title

Andy Murray lit up the tournament with his brilliant performance in the most humid conditions of the tour this year. Not dropping a set on his road to the final, the 21 year old has really shown maturity since his Wimbledon exit to Nadal. I feel if the final was against Nadal we would have seen the same result.

Murray has been under quite heavy criticism for both his on and off courts antics. He does like a moan on court which for a player of his ability, needs to be somewhat cut down to the minimum. His off court issues rose when he said he wanted any team but England to win the World Cup in 2006 and classes himself as “Scottish not British”. He later retracted these statements saying it was quite immature of him. The point is he is only 21 so you can understand a little arrogance from his point, and the fact that he is genuinely making an effort on his attitude is a positive sign for good things to come from him in the future.

The final was very classy. Djokovic for me is the best hard court player in the world. He has beaten Nadal and Federer on numerous occasion on the hard courts. That shows how good Murray’s victory was. The first set was brilliant, both players nearly identical to each other had some breathtaking rallies to watch. Murray had the edge on his serve as he dropped less points throughout the set. Djokovic’s motivation fluctuated quite a lot throughout a match which costed him dearly on some occasions. Also, he can leave himself a lot of work to do on his serves, he mentioned himself this is a large area for improvement. On came the tie-break and with Murray taking the first 4 points with some great shots down the line and a Djokovic double fault led Murray to take the set and the momentum.

He started well in the second set as did Djokovic. Murray managed a break at 4-3 to get to 5-3. The game was very well played out by both players but Murray was devastating in the rallies. The next game and Murray was serving for the championship. He managed to go down 30-40 but took the next two points to get his first ever Championship point. Great bravery from Djokovic with a drop shot as he managed to save the point to go back to Deuce. After three more championship points for Murray and there was no cigar, Djokovic broke back brilliantly defending his position and holding serve. The game after to make it 5-5, another exciting finish.

Both players held again to make it 6-6 and we got to a tie break, both started of slow but Djokovic looked more like he was throwing in the towel than Murray, but he hit a superb winner on Murray’s serve to get to 5-5, Murray quite emphatically took two points with one massive winner on Djokovic’s serve and a backhand winner down the line to take a well deserved victory.

Overall both players played excellent throughout the week, The Cincinnati Masters is truly a great tournament and the fans are very delightful, with very neutral cheering. The only factor is the temperature is ridiculously high but an overall well held tournament. To the Olympics now for Murray and then bring his form into the US Open. For a British tennis player to win a Grand Slam would be a huge stepping stone in British tennis, lets hope he can fix his attitude a bit more to become a real role model.

Tennis: The End of Federer’s Reign?

Roger Federer was in a shock defeat against an unseeded Gilses Simon at the Toronto Masters. The great man is no longer looking immortal, hard court and grass has always been his forte, he has suffered more defeats on and had less winning streaks because they do vary in pace and bounce depending on climate. But, this leaves no excuse for him, to lose to an unseeded is shocking.

Watching Federer was like watching an average player, flashes of brilliance here and there but it just seemed lazy! I don’t want to give him such a hard time but when I watched him over the last 5 years he seemed to effortlessly decided how he would win the game, it always seemed to me that he just purely dictated the game no matter what postion his opponent was in he would hit the perfect winner. A friend once told me that he genuinely believes Federer pick and chooses which points he wins or loses just for sheer entertainment, and the way he way playing it was certainly looking like that. The Tiger Woods of Tennis.

The question that worries me is that is this just a glitch in the system and all will be restored by the Aussie Open or have we seen the best of Federer come and gone? Maybe now is the time Federer needs to be knocked off the top spot by Nadal in order to come back bigger and stronger. He still has age on his side with at least 3-4 years until he reached the “Andrei Agassi” stage where he is playing for the sheer desperation for one last Grand Slam. Fortunately, Federer is more of a Sampras than an Agassi, he’ll know when to quit.

Is Federer just going through a rough patch as all greats have done once in their career, or is Nadal simply just better – and now is it playing on Federer’s mind? One thing is for sure the rivalry will continue.