Has Roger Federer meet his match?

[dantruon]

I just saw one of the best tennis display from a man not the name of Roger Federer but a Chilean name of Fernando Gonzalez who ripped apart the 12th seed Tommy Haas in 3 set during a 91 minutes flawless tennis from Fernando in the semi final of the Australia Open.

Chilean Fernando Gonzalez booked a showdown with world No.1 Roger Federer in the Australian Open final after tearing apart German Tommy Haas in straight sets in their semi-final tonight.

Gonzalez, the 10th seed, played near-flawless tennis for the fourth successive match at Melbourne Park to destroy Haas 6-1 6-3 6-1 in one hour and 31 minutes and make his first Grand Slam final.

The Chilean made just three unforced errors in the whole match, breaking Haas in the opening game of the first set to establish his dominance early.

Then as he did in eliminating Lleyton Hewitt, James Blake and second seed Rafael Nadal on his way to the semi, Gonzalez launched forehand winner after forehand winner to shatter Haas and leave the 12th seed an Australian Open semi-final loser for the third time.

While Gonzalez took eight minutes longer than Federer's semi-final demolition the previous night, he conceded one less game to his opponent and was no less impressive than the world No.1.

The Chilean, who at 26 is playing the best tennis of his life, served brilliantly.

He landed 87 per cent of his first serves in and didn't offer a break point to his rival at any stage.

He hit 42 winners, including 18 on his unstoppable forehand which has served him well in Melbourne.

Playing in his first Grand Slam semi-final, Gonzalez also showed no signs of nerves.

"Tonight, I'm very calm at the important moments,'' Gonzalez said.

"It was a really good day for me.''

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/news/tennis/onfire-gonzalez-burns-haas/2007/01/26/1169788694490.html

This beg the question whether Fernando has what it takes to trouble the current world no.1 and possibly the greatest all round tennis player of all times.

 

[London Geezer]

One thing is for sure, if Federer is in the same form as when he was when he destroyed Roddick, and Gonzales is also in the same form as when he beat the last 4 guys, then the final will be one hell of a clash...
I'm a bit worried about Federer, he was unreal with Roddick, but he was not in his best form in all the matches before it.

 

[Fred]

Umm no offense to Gonzales, hes a hell of a player, but he isn't even in the same ballpark as Federer, and I predict a quick route.

Mens tennis has been embarrasing to watch for about two years now, as aside from Nadal on clay, Federer has beaten every opponent 100% of the time when he could. His only losses (Murray and Nalbandian I believe in that stretch) was when he was so worn out he could hardly move his legs, and you could just tell he wanted out of the tournament.

That sort of efficiency and utter domination has never been seen before and most likely never will be seen again. The fact that he just doesn't lose, is utterly crazy. He hasn't even dropped a set in this years Aussie, and that against a gruesome draw.

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Mens tennis has been embarrasing to watch for about two years now, as aside from Nadal on clay, Federer has beaten every opponent 100% of the time when he could. His only losses (Murray and Nalbandian I believe in that stretch) was when he was so worn out he could hardly move his legs, and you could just tell he wanted out of the tournament.

That sort of efficiency and utter domination has never been seen before and most likely never will be seen again. The fact that he just doesn't lose, is utterly crazy. He hasn't even dropped a set in this years Aussie, and that against a gruesome draw.

Was it more embarrassing than when the likes of Sampras was winning everything with big smashes and aces from the back of the court? This is the problem with the men's game. When Sampras and others came in, everyone moved toward the same power driven game.

Now that Federer has brought back a Borg/McEnroe all round style that relies on skill as well as power, he's dominating. Those big guys relying on a power game just can't match his precision and control.

We should be asking not so much what Federer is doing right (he's just playing the best game he can), but what is wrong with the other players that they can't compete with him.

 

[Mintmaster]

That's the best thing about Federer. Just when it looked like tennis was going to become a power game dominated by serving prowess, Federer comes along to set everyone straight and show them the value of an all round game.

I don't think men's tennis is embarrassing. You just drop your jaw in awe at how close he is to the perfect tennis player. It's not like the matches are boring to watch like they were in the power serve era.

I'm definately looking forward to the finals.

 

[DemoCoder]

The problem with men's tennis is not with Federer's game, but that his matches are boring to watch and predictable. Probably the most exciting match I've seen was Agassi-Federer in the US Open final 2 years ago, and that was only exciting because it was a beloved old man playing his heart out with a bad back against a young whipper snapper. (yes, I know, Agassi is technically middled aged, but in Tennis he's old)

Tennis won't be exciting again until Federer finds a Borg/McEnroe to challenge him and be his nemesis. Plus, Roger is just BORING and uncharismatic in person. He's like a well oiled android, who nonchalantly just waltzes through matches dispatching opponents, and his oncamera interview persona just doesn't provide drama. Not that Sampras had any charm either.

I think Roddick is the perfect example of the fallacy of the power game. When people first started encountering 140-150mph serves and forehands, they had trouble figuring out how to counter them, and Roddick still goes far by serving out sets. But the good all round players have effectively figured out how to neutralize his serve and power forehand, and now Andy has nothing.

In the last US Open, Connors tried to get him to play like, well, Connors, constantly going to the net trying to intimidate Federer. But Roger's shot placement is so precise, going to the net is a losing proposition for most people, since they have to get Federer out of position for it to succeed. Andy's strategy was like "ok, 150mph serve, hopefully Roger will have to lunge or be barely able to return it, and then I'll be at the net to get the sloppy return"

yet amazingly, Federer can practically be falling to the ground, arms outstretched, and not even LOOKING at the court, and still place the ball where he wants.

 

[ninelven]

But the good all round players have effectively figured out how to neutralize his serve and power forehand, and now Andy has nothing.

Right... that is why Andy keeps losing to all those other players not named Roger... oh wait.

Roger Federer's match is age...

 

[ShootMyMonkey]

But the good all round players have effectively figured out how to neutralize his serve and power forehand, and now Andy has nothing.

I don't know about that... it's more like power hitters became a dime a dozen because people like Krajicek and Ivanisevic and Rusedski and Philippousis were all at the tops of their games at around the same time. A 140 mph serve is still not exactly easy to return, but a 140 mph serve that's well-placed and unpredictable is pretty much a guaranteed ace.

Part of the reason the people considered the "best" servers in the game aren't necessarily the fastest hitters are because they can do anything with their serve, their tosses are difficult to read, AND they can hit fast ones and make some aces on top of it all. This is why people like Ivanisevic (who has a very low toss) and Becker (who used shifts in his weight to control the ball) make that list. But Sampras especially had a dangerous serve because his toss was so unreadable, he could hit it anywhere he liked, and there was hardly any difference between his first and second serve.

 

[Fred]

Federers serve is considered arguably the best in the game at them moment. So while he is still considered a power server (130 mph or so) that can't rival say Roddicks. Otoh he places it where he wants, has the same style of serve as Sampras (unreadable) and varies the spin and pace. He's like a major league pitcher in that regard.

I love watching him play.. But the problem is, other than Blake/Gonzalez/Nadal and sometimes Murray, thats about it. The rest of the mens draw is hopelessly uni dimensional

 

[dantruon]

If Sampras were at his best and Federer is also at his best and say they play against each other, who do you guys think is gonna win? I say Federer since he has an all round tennis game, by this i mean he can serve well, rally well and a very good volleyer too.

 

[Pete]

Well, it wasn't quite a clash of titans, nor was it a clinic, but it was a decent match. The pressure seemed to have got to Gonzalez a bit, and he lost some of the impeccable accuracy he had against Haas, Blake, etc. He also, and this continues to amaze me, was visibly winded while Federer didn't seem close to being out of gas. Considering how Gonzalez dismissed his last few opponents, and even considering how Federer manhandled all of his, it's still incredible how inevitable Federer's victories seem. He did seem (slightly) concerned about giving Gonzalez an inch, though, swinging hard out of the gates rather than easing into the match.

And he did this while hitting only 50% of his first serves in the first set (while still winning close to 80% of the points on both first and second serves!). I'm guessing his percentage went up in the last two sets, given he won something like 29 of 31 points on his serve at one point.

 

[dantruon]

it would be a different story IF Gonzales serve the first set out while having two set points. It would be a great match if it goes for 5 set though.

 

[JacksBleedingEyes]

obvously not.

 

[Reverend]

In my opinion, I think there are a few tennis players that are as good as Federer, if not slightly better. The problem is that these players (Nadal, Roddick and especially Safin) have had injuries that probably stopped them from getting better. Don't get me wrong, I still find it amazing that Federer has won (deservedly) the 10 slams he's won in a little over 3 years but it's probably more amazing to me that he knows how to not get injured. He gets better and better because of this while the others have had their progress curtailed.

I love watching Federer play but I would love it even more if he'd won all those Slams with half of them being 5-setters.

At least I can enjoy watching Tiger Woods, as dominant as he is now, charging from behind to win tournaments. I can't recall Federer ever really coming from bad situations to win tournaments. And that's boring tennis. It is as bad as women's tennis where this aspect is concerned.

 

[dantruon]

In my opinion, I think there are a few tennis players that are as good as Federer, if not slightly better. The problem is that these players (Nadal, Roddick and especially Safin) have had injuries that probably stopped them from getting better. Don't get me wrong, I still find it amazing that Federer has won (deservedly) the 10 slams he's won in a little over 3 years but it's probably more amazing to me that he knows how to not get injured. He gets better and better because of this while the others have had their progress curtailed.

I love watching Federer play but I would love it even more if he'd won all those Slams with half of them being 5-setters.

At least I can enjoy watching Tiger Woods, as dominant as he is now, charging from behind to win tournaments. I can't recall Federer ever really coming from bad situations to win tournaments. And that's boring tennis. It is as bad as women's tennis where this aspect is concerned.

spot on ! right now i think there are only two players that could challenge Federer in the near future, one is Nadal who held a 7-3 win against Federer and Safin who style of play can make Federer struggle, he did that in 2005 when he beat Federer in the 2005 Aus semi final.

 

[Phil]

One thing that amazes me about Federer is just how well his return his - probably one of the best, if not the best, on the field. Gonzalez and Roddick both have an excellent serve, yet against Federer, the number of Aces crumble. Federer's return and anticipation of what his oponent does is what makes him a really tough player to beat. In addition to that, there's no shot he can't master and he just moves so well on the court.

I'll be very interested to see if he can get Roland Garros. He came amazingly close last year only to lose to Nadal (in 5 sets I think) - so it'll be interesting at the very least!

 

[dantruon]

One thing that amazes me about Federer is just how well his return his - probably one of the best, if not the best, on the field. Gonzalez and Roddick both have an excellent serve, yet against Federer, the number of Aces crumble. Federer's return and anticipation of what his oponent does is what makes him a really tough player to beat. In addition to that, there's no shot he can't master and he just moves so well on the court.

I'll be very interested to see if he can get Roland Garros. He came amazingly close last year only to lose to Nadal (in 5 sets I think) - so it'll be interesting at the very least!

it was 4 sets, apart from that i agree with everything you mentioned.