Federer was down a set and a break in the second before he decided to switch on and what followed was a complete annihilation of Davydenko. Federer won a whopping 13 games in a row before Davydenko could hold again.
The start was quite unexpected as Davydenko broke Federer twice to take the first set 6-2. Federer was looking out of sorts as he was soon broken in the second and he looked set to lose it again down a break point. The serve was looking fragile and ground strokes were sailing long and wide as Davydenko was completely running Federer ragged till that moment in the second set when Federer decided to make amends. Amends he made, in-fact he completely ran over his opponent in the next 13 games to take the second and the third set- third at 6-0.
Fourth set was a classic and the quality of tennis produced by both men was scintillating. It was as good if not better than the first set from yesterday's Nadal-Murray quarter final clash. The set started like the third and Federer was soon a break up and Davy was staring down the barrel. The Russian however was not going to go down without a fight and he broke back after facing a match point at 4-5 with some spectacular ground strokes – 3 winners in a row - on Federer first serve. Soon it was deuce at 5-5 with Davydenko serving when the two men produced an epic of a game that finally sealed the match for the champion. He broke and then served 3 aces in the last game to win the set 7-5 and the match 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, 7-5.
Federer turned it around from 2-6, 1-3 and a break point down with some epic tennis. While Davydenko was untouchable - for nearly one and a half sets- the champion showed his class in the end. It was an awesome display of tennis by both men with Federer displaying why he is the greatest man to have ever played this game.
For the record, Federer has now made 23 slam semis in a row and it could be the least decorated of his records at this time but history would make it one of his biggest and possibly the toughest to overcome in the years to come… what a player, what a champion, what a man …
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
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what a master , what a magician , take a bow...King Federer!!
ReplyDeleteand I thought you were in Nadal camp till some time back .. is it the loss of for or fragile legs thats making Nadal faithfuls move to our side ...
ReplyDeletenope mate, it's always & will be Roger. I must admit that i have immense respect for Nadal but speechless when one even refers to the King!!
ReplyDeleteFed has been the greatest of all those I have seen since late 80's. Can't comment much about Laver, Bjorg, McEnroe etc. they were legends of their time and I have only seen glimpses of their tennis and the game has changed so much since. The greatness of the man lies in the fact that he is still dominating the much younger and more powerful players of today.
ReplyDeleteGuys, how many years do think Fed has left in him? How many more slams would he pick?
ReplyDeletethat's a difficult question to answer. I guess he'd play as long as he enjoys himself. As a fan & given the kinda form he's been in, i'd say he has at least a good couple of years in him. That also means atleast 4-5 more , major slams!!
ReplyDeleteConsider he plays another 2 years, my assumption would be another 3 slams for him. I guess it will be tight this time around at the Australian with Murray playing as well as he is. French is out in my opinion since he has won it last time. He would surely like to win on grass again and he would in my opinion. US would be as tight as Australian. So it could be 2 this year itself or maybe 1 or even 3 ... Let's keep one for the next year mostly on grass again. So he would possibly win another 3-4 slams for sure. Depends alot on Nadal injury too I guess..
ReplyDeleteEven if he fails to win another slam he would still remain the greatest player ever. That said, I think he has a few more years left in him and don't be surprised if he does something special again this year.
ReplyDeleteI am sure he would like to set his record against Nadal straight provided Nadal can keep his knees in place. Only concern is the desire and how much of it is left in him. If he can keep himself motivated he can get to 20 or even more.