This was a key match for Novak Djokovic. With Roger Federer gaining momentum from his stellar 2012 season and Rafael Nadal back to his winning ways on his favorite surface and still holding the King of Clay throne, Djokovic needed to fend off Federer this evening in Rome.
That he did.
It was a very important clash and Djokovic showed his A plus game. Before a packed stadium, Djokovic cruised to a 6-2 first set win. And then broke Federer at 4-3 in the second, expressing a boisterously flamboyant “Come ON!” after doing so. Federer was in danger of losing badly and found himself at match point down at 3-5. But his forehand clipped the line and he eventually broke back, which evoked the Italian audience to erupt in delight.
The battled on to a tiebreak where Djokovic held firm to take a 5-4 lead with a mini-break, and then clinching it on serve with his typically outstanding machine-like efficient baseline play. As Federer’s last shot sailed, Djokovic raised his arms like a boxing champion and contained a matter of fact, expression as he looked to his box, which conveyed a message of, “Yes, I am still the king. This is the result I expected today, exactly.” The two court gladiators walked to the net to shake hands, Federer gave his rival a curt smile and Djokovic retained the stoic look though he did seem eagerly intent to study the emotion in Federer’s glancing eyes.
Then it was time for Djokovic to drop his racquet at his chair and vault himself into the air as he celebrated this momentous triumph with joy and relief and pride.
Djokovic is perfectly primed to defeat Nadal tomorrow in the final…and any man who steps in his path at the next event…Roland Garros.
and got it · Djokovic needed big win today
Dan Markowitz · May 20, 2012 at 12:49 am
I don’t think that Djokovic was “expected” to win this match. It’s amazing how he takes balls that are on top of him with pace and turns them around into penetrating, winning shots. Fed’s movement is also amazing and his forehand is a great fly-swatter of a shot, but he makes more mistakes off his forehand than Djoko. And his backhand is always a sore spot when he plays these fierce relentless hitters: Djoko and Nadal.
And, Fed gets downright James Blake-ian on his backhand return sometimes, just going for way too much.
What is with Fed’s box? They act like they’re sitting through a funeral. I wonder if Fed instructs them not to cheer him on or try to motivate him. Fed very rarely looked comfortable or relaxed during this match, even when he won like 15 out of 20 points late in the second set.
Steve · May 20, 2012 at 1:33 am
Firstly, congrats to Djoker. He played excellently. Federer wasn’t stressed at all. Looked as loose as can be as he doesn’t need this. The announcers also stressed this fact. He didn’t bring is A game which is probably smart for his goals this season. Djoker is the only one of the big three without a clay title this year. Fed should be setup great for the French Open.
Nadal wants this bad too. Should be a fun match tomorrow.
Scoop Malinowski · May 20, 2012 at 11:40 am
Dan I meant I feel Djokovic fully expected to handle Federer yesterday. Like he knows he can and will beat anyone when he really really wants and needs it. It’s grand slam season now, not Doha or Monte Carlo time. Djokovic brings his A plus game out and A plus level intensity and hunger when it’s crunch time. Good point on the funeral mood of Fed’s box. That is a rather strange. The Sampras box was similar to the Fed box, very serious and businesslike. Looks more like a night at the opera than a sporting event.
Steve · May 20, 2012 at 12:16 pm
The Italian crowd roots for Djoker, Scoop but we Federer fans don’t bitch about it. That tie break wasn’t too convincing.
Steve · May 20, 2012 at 12:42 pm
And Scoop you can keep your book. I hadn’t realized it was unauthorized. I don’t read unauthorized biographies and people that profit off the achievements of others are parasitic –kinda like Djokovic fans in the US.
Scoop Malinowski · May 20, 2012 at 2:35 pm
It seemed the Rome crowd was pretty even and they got very excited when Roger broke Djokovic at 3-5 in the second set. Crowd support definitely makes an impact in major events sometimes, consider The Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire, Graf-Hingis at French Open, and the story I’ve told many times about Hrbaty and his Long Island college fans unsettling Kafalnikov at the US Open on granstand. I’m sure there are many more examples. Fed definitely has a chance to exact revenge in Paris but it looks unlikely, even with the overwhelming corwd support he will get there. Djokovic is a machine now and I think he learned from that experience last year.
Scoop Malinowski · May 20, 2012 at 2:38 pm
Good quote Steve! Straight from my book. David Mercer said he felt Rios did not respect the media because he felt reporters are like parasites living off the skills of the players. If that’s true, there are a lot of media people living off the skills of the athletes.
mat4 · May 20, 2012 at 3:42 pm
I have rewatched the match, and the level – serve excepted – was much better than I first thought.
I think that Roger was very motivated to win, it is now a matter of legacy: . But Roger lives and dies with his serve and his return, and his return was awful last night.
Scoop Malinowski · May 20, 2012 at 5:19 pm
Mat4, there has to be a cause of why Federer’s returns were “awful” last night. Perhaps it was the quality of Djokovic’s serve and the quality of his return off the return. He’s not the #1 player in the world by accident. I find when I play superior players, it makes my game fall apart.
mat4 · May 20, 2012 at 8:51 pm
I agree with you, Scoop, especially as a Novak fan.
I also believe that his serve is underrated; it is very deceptive, and his second serve is almost the one he had in 2007 and 2008, when he still played with the Wilson, and then it was one of the best in the world.
I watch Nole’s matches for years now, and they are few players that make their opponents look that bad, especially when they have a visible weakness.
mat4 · May 20, 2012 at 8:53 pm
Wilander in one comment noted that Novak plays a lot of “almost winners”, to maintain a security margin, and he isn’t afraid to play one shot more. That’s one of the reasons his opponents make so many errors.
Scoop Malinowski · May 20, 2012 at 10:57 pm
It’s just his time, he paid his dues and struggled and suffered and it’s great to see him fulfill the potential he showed in 07. No disrespect to Federer, we all love him, anyone who does not love Federer has to be strange, I mean what the man has done and the class he’s done it. But it’s Djokovic’s time now Mat4. He has taken the sport to a higher level. It’s just wondrous the way he plays and the charisma he has. He is just impossible to play, when all cylinders are on, he is the perfect tennis machine. I mean what else can you call a man who was able to figure out and solve how to beat prime Federer and prime Nadal? He is the ultimate perfect tennis machine, efficient, strong, ruthless and driven to win.
mat4 · May 20, 2012 at 11:42 pm
In a way, Djokovic reminds me of Joe Calzague: no big weapons, but a combination of perfect technique and speed. Easy to be underestimated.
I had the occasion to read a lot of posts about Roger “tanking” the match today. I think I watched all their matches: most often then not, Roger had a low % of serve. But more important, almost every time he lost, there were so many excuses: mono, back problems, focus, serve, luck…
Some fans can’t understand that a great Nadal and a great Djokovic are of utmost importance for Fed’s legacy, especially if he manages to win one more slam (and I think that, with the terrible intensity of the Nodal confrontations that shortens their seasons, he probably will).
Steve · May 21, 2012 at 3:50 pm
The stat that you all missed is that Federer’s first serve percentage was 39% in the first set. This was the key. He rarely serves this poorly. It’s almost like he threw the match.
Scoop Malinowski · May 21, 2012 at 5:47 pm
Steve, maybe there was a just cause for him to serve so abnormally subpar. If Rodge was intending on throwing the match I don’t think he would have bothered to save the MP at 26 35.
Steve · May 23, 2012 at 2:25 pm
You mean the crowd? Or the crowd excuse is a no go for Fed? The serve is the one stroke you can control. The the first serve % is the key stat that shows Fed didn’t have a great serving day. At 39% you’re not gonna beat any tops guys too often. He’s a rhythm server and didn’t find his range that day. It happens to everyone. In fact, it happened to Djork for a whole year.
Scoop Malinowski · May 23, 2012 at 2:33 pm
Steve Fed always has the crowd wherever he plays, even Spain they respect him tremendously. Not sure why Fed’s serve went off, only logical conclusion is that the way Djokovic was returning and playing shook him mentally and threw off his serving confidence. Since their Paris battle one year ago, Djokovic has shown he is the slightly better player than Roger and the way he has beaten him has to be troubling Roger. Let’s hope they play in Paris, I have a feeling they will be in the same half.
Steve · May 24, 2012 at 12:32 pm
Wrong. In Rome they root for Djoker much more loudly. Probably because he’s fluent in Italian and loves the country.