Blake and Hewitt out.

Blake lost his opening round match, against Florent Serra of France 6-7(8), 6-2, 3-6. Blake had 36 unforced errors, to show for it. And this is Blake’s favorite surface!!!

Blake’s game is based on precision, taking the ball early, perfect timing and consequently flatening the ball with very little clearance at the net. This game, is bound to create a bunch of unforced errors. Its risky play, and most of his winners, are not high percentage shots.

It is much easier to pull off, when you are young and are able to quickly get in position, perfectly time the shot and hit a winner. He is 27 years of age. You are a senior citizen in the tennis world of today.

Blake does’nt seem to have a plan B, when his high-risk game is not working. He stubbornly continues to pound away. He has now lost six of his last nine matches!!! He has got to be smart tennis to halt the skid, otherwise the slippery slope is not far away.

As predicted earlier,  on this site, Blake is surely getting out of the top 10 for good, and if he doesn’t adjust his game, he may start his registration at Harvard already (Blake wants to continue his studies after tennis).

Leyton Hewitt was forced to withdraw due to sore lower back before his opening match on Friday. He hurt his back last week at Indian Wells.

“Not a whole lot I do about it at the moment”, Hewitt said. “I don’t want to go out there and play in pain, and obviously not been able to compete 100% like I’d like to every time I go on the court”. 

Various theories on why Federer lost.

The loses, Federer has had so far- there is an excuse for them, a clear explanation. For instance, the loss to Andy Murray at Cincinnati, last year. He got no break after winning the Masters Series in Canada. The finals were Aug 14 and Cincinnati tournament started Aug 14. He was just too tired. Loses to Nadal – well, his heavy top spin and retrieving ability troubled him.

But to lose to Guillermo Canas, a lucky loser and 60th ranked player in the world, in straight sets- in the opening round? And two days later, go and lose the doubles match too, to some unknowns again? Federer has ‘a lot of explaining to do’.

Here are some theories that might attempt to answer the eternal question, of what actually happened during the week at Indian Wells.

1) Overconfidence: Having won both the tournaments he had entered this year, including a major, Federer thought, he could take it easy, specially against a guy who was still trying to find his rhythm on the tour, after serving a 15-month doping suspension.

2) Pressure: The physical and mental pressure of maintaining his No. 1 spot is starting to show signs of wear and tear. Mind you, he has been operating in his own stratosphere, for most of the past three years. In each of those three years, he has lost just 5 matches a piece. That’s a frantic pace by any imagination. Look at the number of tournaments he has played for the past few years:
-2006-18
-2005-16
-2004-19
-2003-26
-2002-27
-2001-23

 Maybe these are early signs of getting burnt out. Borg certainly has set a precedent in that respect – having retired at age 26.

3) Age: May be, it is just physical. He will be 26 years of age this August. Possibly, this is the time for him to slow it down, and pace himself, if he plans to keep playing into his early thirties, as he has expressed his wish to be. No one in the history of the game, has had such hectic activity, and amazing results, in such a short span of time. He has compressed a lot of top quality play in very limited time. Others on the tour, may be playing the same number of tournaments in a given year, but Federer wins practically, all he enters. So he is playing lot more matches, and with lot more stress and pressure.

We all know, he has been streaking at break-neck speed, and it cannot go on for long. Something has to give. It has to slow down and eventually end. Maybe the slow-down process has already begun, and the era of absolute and total domination and destruction of opponents, is tapering off.

By the end of this year, most definitely, we will get a much clearer picture. So enjoy this unique run, for as long as it lasts.

Federer to face dangerous Sam Querrey of USA.

 

19 year-old, dangerous wild card, 6’6″ Sam Querrey of USA, booked himself a berth in the second round against the World’s No. 1 player, Roger Federer in the Sony Ericsson Open tournament in Miami, Florida. He defeated Igor Andreev of Russia, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.

On January 1, last year Querrey was ranked 616th. January this year – 130th. As of now, he is 69th in the world. He almost beat World No. 4, Davydenko at Indian Wells last week.

Considering Federer’s vulnerability, this might not be the perfect opening round match for Federer. Federer lost in the opening round against a lucky loser and 60th ranked player in the world, Guillermo Canas at Indian Wells last week. Canas was 29 years of age.

Federer has to take it seriously, and open an early lead to dash any hope, Querrey might have of repeating what happened in Indian Wells.