Hey guys! I was delighted to hear yesterday that Roger decided to play Rome, as I thought he would. We have waited a long time to see Roger back in action after Miami, and it would have been a bit sad if he withdrew from Rome. It’s also good to know he is fit, and the two days rest would have done him good. Apparently it did because he put in another efficient performance today, winning in 69 minutes. Roger is a master at saving his energy for later rounds, not only in slams but also in the smaller events. Playing two events in two weeks is tough because even though it’s best of three sets, you play almost every day. It becomes even more important now that Roger did not play Monte Carlo because he is well rested.
As far as scheduling goes Roger is also the GOAT. He gets it right invariably. His draw looks good here and he can easily win the rest of his matches in straight sets, which would save him energy for a semi with Djokovic. His next match is against Ferrero and then he plays the winner of Wawrinka and Seppi, who beat Isner 7-5 in the third today. I thought Isner might be a tough opponent if he got to the quarters, but it should be obvious by now that he is overrated on clay. To get back to today’s match, I was not able to watch it due to a dentist appointment. I did catch some highlights on TV and Youtube though. We are back on the red clay and I can’t say that I’ve missed it. It’s slow and the ball is harder to see on it. Also I don’t like the camera angle that they broadcast Rome from.
The camera is too low which doesn’t give you the same view as Madrid does for instance. Rome is the same as Cincinnati in that regard. Monte Carlo and Rome is probably my two least favorite events. And maybe Roger’s too because he has won neither of them. Berlocq is no push over on clay. He is ranked 38 and is pretty much a clay court specialist. It looks like Roger started out strongly and finished strongly. He broke Berlocq at 1-0 and held onto serve from there on to win the first set, but not before saving two breaks points on serve at 4-2. He served out the set to love in very blustery conditions. In the second set Roger broke at 2-2 but got broken right back for 3-3. Then in the last three games he raised his game again to get the break at 4-4 and proceeded to serve out the match.
The most noticeable thing about the match stats is the net approaches and his success rate in that department. It’s nice to see that he is being attacking on the slow red stuff. He needs that against Djokovic and Nadal. Speaking of Djokovic and Nadal, how do we want this tournament to play out? Do we want Roger to beat Djokovic and play Nadal in the final with the possibility of losing his #2 ranking, or do we want Djokovic to make the final and take out Nadal like last year? I know we have been here before and some of you always want Roger to win no matter what. But I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing if Djokovic makes the final. If he beats Nadal and ends up on Nadal’s side of the draw in Roland Garros, then he can beat him again and then we can have our Djokerer final with Djokovic being tired.
It’s all hypothetical though. If Roger can beat both Djokovic and Nadal in Rome then that is of course the best case scenario. There is still a lot of tennis left to be played anyway. We will see how it goes. Roger now plays Ferrero who he holds a 9-3 head-to-head record over. Ferrero is well past his prime and I don’t see how he can give Roger many problems. Stranger things have happened though. Good luck GOAT!
COME ONNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!! And the dream continues. Since the US Open last year Roger has now won 7/10 titles and has been the best player in the world. With this title he also becomes the first player in history to win at least ten titles on clay, hard, and grass court. The records keep tumbling. He has also won Madrid the most times now with three titles and and he did so on three different surfaces namely blue clay, red clay and indoor hard. Truly the all surface king. This is now his 20th Masters Series title and he is tied with Nadal again. But the title wasn’t easily won in the final at all. Berdych started off in the zone and broke Roger in his first service game. After that it was impossible to break back. Berdych was basically hitting winners at will.
When Berdych is in the zone like that there isn’t much you can do. You basically just gotta hang in there and hope for the best. But we have also seen how clutch Roger is these days. He just finds ways to win. It’s called the winning habit, and it comes with winning loads of matches. The first game of the second set was important because Roger was struggling to hold and could not afford to lose serve there. Then there was an incident where Berdych ran forward for a ball and the ball bounced twice, but the highly overrated Mohammad Layhani(or however the hell you spell his name) did not pick it up. I mean this guy makes mistakes ALL the time. I have no idea why they let him umpire in a final. Anyway Roger broke at 2-1 and then went ahead 4-1 after struggling to consolidate.
He was back in the match. But just as you thought Berdych was slowing down, he broke back at 5-3 to get back on serve. Very frustrating. I was hung over yesterday and I certainly didn’t need the extra stress. But at least Roger played a good game at 6-5 to break and take the second set, but bot before Berdych double faulted on set point. I was saved from a tie break. Hopefully the third set would be a little less close. It didn’t look so by the start if things. Roger finally got the break at 4-3 on another Berdych double fault. He would serve for the match, but this time he could not consolidate. Berdych broke back again which was highly frustrating. At 5-5 Roger held serve confidently to 15 with a sweet cross court forehand winner.
Then at 6-5 Roger went up 40-0 for three match points but for a second time in the set Berdych save all three break points. I certainly did NOT want to see a tie break in my condition. Thankfully Roger created another match point and this time took advantage. I was saved from another tie break in my fragile condition. This win felt great as a fan because it was once again kind of unexpected, like Indian Wells. I mean you knew he had a chance but having Nadal and Djokovic in the draw never makes the title a certainty. Luckily Roger had to play neither, but he may have beaten both the way him and them were playing. It just feels great that Roger won yet another Masters Series event, and especially that it is on clay.
I don’t know about you but I loved the clue clay. The surface itself was not in good condition but it was something fresh and Roger adapted well. Both Nadal and Djokovic complained, but it just means they could not adapt. There was no problem with the tennis on TV anyway. Madrid is my favorite clay event outside of Roland Garros because of the faster conditions and now the blue clay. Monte Carlo on the other hand is by far the worst of the clay Masters Series. As far as the ranking situation goes Roger is now #2, but if Nadal wins Rome he gets the number the #2 rank back. If Nadal makes the final then Roger has to make at least semis to remain #2. If Nadal makes anything less than the final then Roger remains #2.
The question is now whether Roger will play Rome. He struggled a bit with an injury during the final. Not sure what it is but he said he still needs to decide whether he will play Rome. Apparently he will decide on Wednesday. We all know Roger is the best in the business with these decisions so I have no doubt he will make the right decision. If he does play it means Nadal will probably have to go through him and Djokovic to win the event. That does make it harder for Nadal to win it. So given his draw I would obviously prefer that he plays, but he will know what is the best for his body. He will not take any big risks before the French and the grass court season. It will be nice if he can play because a semi would be almost a guarantee which would force Nadal to win the event.
But even if he does remain #2 it doesn’t mean Nadal would be in Djokovic’s half in Roland Garros. The #2 ranking is not that important. If Roger loses it he will get it back probably during the grass court season anyway. I obviously just want to see Roger play on my TV, and I would love to see what he can do against Djokovic and Nadal on clay in his current form. Those two looked very vulnerable in Madrid. If Roger can win Rome he may go into the French as the favorite. We’ll see. I didn’t mention that Will Smith was watching the final in Madrid and that the Federer twins were there too. Will Smith presented Roger with a Men In Back suit after the match and the twins were there to congratulate their daddy too. It was all quite special.
Lastly let me just say something about Roger’s transformation since the US Open last year. I know I keep harping on it but it has really been incredible. I mean here we have Roger 3.0 at age 30 playing like he is back in his prime. Fedfans truly are the most privileged sports fans of them all. It’s like Roger found a second wind and the chances are looking better and better that he will win a slam this year. It is just that mental adjustment that he made that is making all the difference in the world. Like I said he finds ways to win. The start of the final was not very encouraging at all when Berdych was hitting those big ground strokes but he grinded out the win. This is the sign of a true champion and the reason why I think more slam glory can’t be far away…
How nice of the GOAT to be handing out so many free tennis lessons on tour these days. I hope his opponents at least gives him a thank you after the match. This was another serving clinic by Roger and got him into his 104th career final. That is a hell of a lot of finals. Roger’s first serve percentage was pretty mind-blowing again at 71%. I think he only lost two points on serve in the first set which was two consecutive double faults at 3-1 . (I just realized the finals starts in and hour so I’m gonna make this short). Roger was down 0-30 on serve but took the next four points and that was pretty much the end of it. After this Roger was unstoppable. He got a second break when Tipsarevic was serving at 2-5 to take the opening set.
In the second set at 2-1 he broke Tipsarevic again with a God-like forehand cross court return. Then it was just a question of keeping up his impressive serving display to pass Nadal again in Masters Series finals made. If he wins today he will have won the most matches in Madrid and also equal Nadal on 20 Masters Series titles again. But maybe most importantly he will pass Nadal in the rankings if he wins. Personally I would get a lot of satisfaction from that. He has been number three for a while now and passing Nadal would be especially sweet. And lets face it he totally deserves it. If he wins Madrid he will have won 7 of the last 10 events he played. He has been incredibly consistent and the best player in the world since the US Open last year.
Since then he has only lost to Nadal, Isner, and Roddick. I just want to congratulate Tipsarevic on a great week too. He has impressed me of late. The fact that he lost so badly to Roger means little. Roger would have destroyed anyone in that mode. In fact I’m mad that Djokovic didn’t make the semis because Roger would probably have man handled him too. In the final Roger will play against Berdych who beat Del Potro 7-6(5), 7-6(6). I didn’t watch but it must have been a good performance from Berdych to beat one of the in form players of the tour. Berdych is not to be underestimated on clay, especially on the faster conditions in Madrid. Roger leads the head-to-head with Berdych 10-4 now after he got revenge in Paris last year with a masterful performance.
Another performance like that and Berdych has zero chance. Roger has obviously been in God mode in Madrid and I expect another clean, efficient performance from him today. The best thing about watching Roger since the US Open last year for me is his business-like attitude on court. He just seems very focused and he has that determination back which he lost for some time. I expect him to be all business again today and to do what must be done. There is a lot at stake here. Winning today would make him a strong contender for the French Open, and if the draw Gods puts Djokovic and Nadal in the same half there, all the better. Roger’s serve has been just awesome this week and it will be the key again today. Make us proud Maestro!
Ps. The Rome draw is out and Roger’s draw looks much friendlier there. If he can win today he will go to Rome and have a great chance of going deep and holding on to the number two spot before Roland Garros. Also Nadal drew Raonic in the second round. Could get interesting.
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And the dream continues. Since the US Open last year Roger has now won 7/10 titles and has been the best player in the world. With this title he also becomes the first player in history to win at least ten titles on clay, hard, and grass court. The records keep tumbling. He has also won Madrid the most times now with three titles and and he did so on three different surfaces namely blue clay, red clay and indoor hard. Truly the all surface king. This is now his 20th Masters Series title and he is tied with Nadal again. But the title wasn’t easily won in the final at all. Berdych started off in the zone and broke Roger in his first service game. After that it was impossible to break back. Berdych was basically hitting winners at will.
