What the…..?

Is Federer to Murray what Roddick is to Federer?

I mean, Murray appears to raise his game couple of notches everytime he faces Federer, just like Federer does against Roddick.

While the reasons may be altogether different, the court production appears to be identical. Murray even forfeited his shot at TMC title last year by going all out to beat Federer in a match he didn’t have to win to advance.

With Federer’s slump and the H2H only cementing that force, it will be fascinating to see how Federer responds to it, now that he has won the FO / reached No. 14.

Or will that only elevate Federer’s status in Murray eyes to make the kill even more prestigious?

You think Federer knows the Roddick parallel by now against Murray? You bet!!!! Worst part is that he knows how it feels to be a Federer against Roddick.

You freaks are not as crazy as I thought.

You have been handling this comment moderation carrot really well – so far. The comments are within all reasonable guidelines with some good perspective. Are you all on some collective medication or off it?

Or is it that I have not been my lunatic self lately to push your buttons to bring out the real you?

Additionally, I think you all may have graduated from being toddlers since I don’t have to spoon feed every little detail lately to make my point anymore. You seemed to have the background information to digest the post.

Either that or you are running around for the info after reading it.

Keep taking whatever you are on now. Or keep off whatever you are avoiding. I think it’s the first one.

Excellent Good job!!!!

Roddick drooling with intermittent bouts of reality?

With Nadal’s sudden withdrawl from his side of the draw to now this gruelling win over Hewitt can all go to naught if Roddick does not win just two more matches. That’s the motivating part.

The de-motivating one(s)? Murray and Federer – back to freaking back.

But maybe Haas can do half his work if somehow Roddick can pull of a miracle against Murray. After all there have been numerous instances of a wild guy winning not just here but at many Slams.

With the vulnerability Wawrinka exposed in that five setter against Murray, Roddick may for once not be screaming ‘why me’ if the chips fall just where he wants them this time.

That would mean an American winning all Wimbledon titles this year, isn’t it? From women’s to men’s to doubles to mixed?

Then there’s that possibility of Mirka delivering right when Roddick wants. Besides the pattern developing with the two Slams this year supports the idea of Roddick clinching the title here, don’t you think?

All three would have their monkeys off.

That’s about the time reality hits Roddick. Can he hit back this time and get a break – like Nadal and Federer did this year?

Federer vs Haas: Worse case scenario.

Haas HAS to win the first two sets like Roland Garros to have any shot considering his age and consequent fuel package.

To go down a set right away and then to come back against Federer after battling youngsters throughout the tournament with following stats is rather difficult if not impossible.

Unless the inconsistency bug from Federer surfaces again, Haas will have to play the match of his life to get by. Unlike previous years, Federer is not taking anyone for granted and is not playing down to the competition thereby keeping the door slam shut.

Haas’s goal has to be to get Federer in a dog fight and create chaos and disorder to leverage and impose his brand of tennis that has taken him so far.

All Federer has to do is just win the first set to drain Haas of all belief and conviction.

Additionally, this is that classic trap game for Federer since Djokovic was supposed to show up right about now. Prematurely moving on to the final against Murray could be another area Haas has to be banking on big time.

There’s no question Federer is already thinking about that Murray final replacing the Haas thoughts that should rightfully gain precedence. Mentally Djokovic would have been the perfect set up for facing Murray on Sunday, irrespective of how bad he plays.

So even though Haas is clearly playing at a higher plane than Djokovic, mere age and rank impedes Federer from devoting the kind of attention a Wimbledon semifinal deserves.

Quite similar to what went through Roddick’s head against Hewitt today.

What else will be working for Haas? If Murray plays first and wins, Federer will feel that ‘Nadal’ burn from the certainty of facing his tormentor again at Wimbledon which didn’t go too well just a year ago – against another of the same kind.

Will all that be enough for Haas to win that first set to keep the match interesting? Answer coming up on Friday or is it Saturday?

 

Player	Aces	Ist serve pct.	Sets lost/ Bagels dished	Unforced. Errors – Total/ Winners	Bk pt conv %	Time on court.	Matches played
Federer	66	66	1 / 0	56 / 190	54	9:27	5
Haas	49	69	4 / 0	122 / 196	35	12:48	5

Djokovic’s loss to Haas inexcusable.

To lose to Safin last year at Wimbledon and now to Haas? Laver’s next?

This loss should effectively remove Djokovic from the No. 4 spot pending anyone who steps up.

It appears Djokovic has adopted the ‘safe’ strategy at the expense of being aggressive to further his cause on the tour. Sure it has won him some matches against tomato cans, but to expect that to get you somewhere against veterans is foolish.

Djokovic flirted with being aggressive and lost to some really lowly guns like that Anderson dude at Cincy or Toronto. He does not have enough weapons to allow that passiveness to carry him all the way to the top.

The racket change and the new physio are all right moves only if you stick to what works for you within the tools you have in the shed.

With Murray gaining strength and Federer finding his groove, Djokovic may find himself being pushed from behind instead of the one pushing up. He is fortunate that no one has really stepped up so far to allow him to hang around in the top five.

New coach is the last major change that needs to happen since he appears to have exhausted all avenues from within.

All that when he had the easiest of draws at Wimbledon, of all the freaking Slams?

Americans not doing too bad @ Wimby.

Two women in the semis with one sure to win that title now.

Didn’t the Bryan sisters already win the title or is it still to come?

And Roddick in the semis. All he has to do now is just beat Murray and Federer back to back. EZ PEEZ.

And is there someone at the mixed BS too?

Photos.

Photos.

The quarterfinal day @ Wimby: Review.

If I stick to my BS from yesterday about time on court (TOC) stat as being the determining factor in the next four matches, it’s clear that a Federer-Murray encounter that appeared staggered after that Wawrinka five setter may have solidified once and for all.

Not only did Roddick have a near four hour stay on court against Hewitt, Murray cruised through against Ferrero in 1:41 minutes to temper the wear and tear that five setter against Wawrinka inflicted on him.

Even though that showing from Murray still holds him almost two hours away from Federer, it still keeps hope of a competitive final alive. Haas, with his history of close matches against Federer, five setter at Roland Garros the most recent one, and the recent rampage he has been on, can further narrow that gap to make it a 50/50 final.

But the way Federer’s been handling all kinds of varied BS thrown at him – from Kohl to Karlovic to Soderling – Haas may be looking at the end of his run right here.

Then there’s that number from Federer that’s only getting bigger and more intimidating with every match: His unforced errors. He has just 56 after five matches compared to 113 from Murray and 88 from Roddick.

Granted Federer has played far fewer sets but that may be the reason for it, since his competition hasn’t been clearly tougher than what Murray and Roddick has faced.

But Federer may now be running into a Tsonga of ’08 AO. At 31, Haas is playing some of his best tennis dispatching clowns his grandson’s age with ease. Here he has already taken out Cilic and now Djokovic among others.

Against Federer however he has lost the last ten straight matches with H2H at 9-2 for Federer. But out of those ten, two were walk overs so it’s eight. Nevertheless, Haas in his struggles against Federer lately, has either lost in straight sets or has extended him to five sets.

He has played three five setters in nine actual matches winning one of those five setters at the AO in ’02. With that pattern coupled with the recent run, Haas could be the one who could topple Federer’s bid for the sixth title here by either:

-Extending him to five sets / keeping him on court past curfew OR,

-Actually eliminating him altogether.

With Murray likely to have a field day against an exhausted Roddick, Federer will feel the fire in the finals with the first option against Haas. Second option may not result in the title either.

Roddick may have just played his last match here. Why? Not just because of the TOC of 12:38, the highest among contenders but also because his most potent weapon, the ace, will not work against the retriever like Murray as effectively as it has in the past here to get him the free points he will need to maximise his current fuel tank.

With the run Roddick was on, specially his UE number, he should have taken care of business against Hewitt. Granted Hewitt was on a mini run of his own here, it was still something Roddick should have taken more seriously than he apparently did.

Roddick dropped his guard taken in by the Hewitt’s underdog status thereby in the very least eliminating the hope of a closer semi against Murray. The win option was taken out the moment Ferrero allowed Murray to walk off the court in an hour and 41 minutes.

So as things stand today, the final appears to be heading towards an epic battle with the two big dogs still loaded with enough fuel to go all out with endurance issues not hounding either one of them.

Federer, despite what comes out of his mouth, has got to be feeling the ‘test’ fever as he gets closer to facing Murray again – a feeling quite similar to what comes up when he squares off against Nadal.

Murray has defeated Federer six straight times. Even though the H2H is 6-2, with last four officially won by Murray, other events like Abu Dhabi and one more are not included to point to six straight wins.

That’s a dominating record considering it’s all on hard courts. That surface may not be Federer’s top choice but home court advantage and rabid fans here might narrow that grass edge.

Can this final match last year’s great match or is this going to be another lopsided final? Or are we getting ahead of ourselves with both Haas and Roddick still not done with their spiel?