2015 ATP Season starts off with Roger Federer winning his 1000 career match ..
- Thread starter raptorizedguy
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67% overall which is actually quite good. Djokovich about the same.
Big difference in the numbers of unforced errors: Federer 35 and Djokovich 16.
I am surprised it is that high, but clearly it was not there when he needed it. And the unforced errors often on his bread and butter shots. I would have liked to see him deliver his best, that would have made it a classic. Very nervey match for Fed. Just did not have that confidence on big points that he had in earlier games. I suppose he realizes it is likely his last Wimbledon final.
I don't know how Roger did it but he regained number 2 .... He was defending his Cincy title and so how he passed Murray is confusing ..
It might be that the finals were held a week later this year (not sure on that didn't check the dates) . If that's the case then the points wouldn't be defended because they fall outside of the 52-week window, and it opened up the chance for roger to take back the 2 ranking.
Just checked, and this year the Cincinnati tournament ended later so that why the defended points don't matter. It will be the case for the US Open as well so if Federer does well, he will gain a lot of points relative to other players since he didn't do that well at the open last year.
I think the only one in Federer's mirror right now is Murray. Murray also hasn't a lot of points to defend. Motivation for both of them is to get/hold onto the second position to avoid Djokovich in the semis.
Looks like they will both avoid Novak at the US Open and potentially face each other. Hopefully Roger can pull a repeat performance of Cinici!
Federer got a bit lucky in Cincinati as both Murray and Djokovich were clearly affected by playing the previous week. Won't be so easy in the US Open.
Assuming everything goes to plan, Murray has to beat Wawrinka in the QF before facing Federer. That could prove difficult if Wawrinka is a his best.
What do you think of Fed's new tactic he employed on the 2nd serve returns in Cincy? Just based on the eye-ball test it seemed as if he was using the strategy more on the deuce-court than the ad. That is NOT to say that he was using it on every 2nd serve return on the deuce court - only that he was using the strategy more on the deuce than the ad. Almost looked like a crazy strategy at times with him rushing forward and half volleying 2nd serve returns but apparently he started experimenting a little in practice and found it was working so he figured why not try it in the matches.
I will caution you about one thing though - keep in mind that while Cincy is part of the USO series the hardcourts in Cincinnati play differently than the hardcourts in Queens at the US Open. I am not sure that Fed will be able to play as many short quick points in New York as he was in Cincy. And I'd be willing to wager a lot that if Fed were to play either Murray or Novak at the Open the AVERAGE rally length in the match would be greater than the average rally length of his matches in Cincy with those players. Will Fed be able to play that same style of tennis in New York as effectively? Not sure. And remember the one thing that gets harder as you get older is recovery between best of 5 set matches. So sustaining a high level in the 2nd week of a major can be tricky for a 34 year old. Still, Fed is in with a shot for sure. All I am saying is keep in mind the surface in New York is different from the surface in Cincinatti. Yes, Fed has won the USO 5 times but I think even he would acknowledge that he prefers the Cincy courts better - especially at this stage of his career where he wants to play as much offensive tennis as possible.
Andy Murray was upset by 15-seed Kevin Anderson in four sets, and Roger Federer beat John Isner in straight sets to advance to the quarters Monday
I think his introduction of new tactics every now and again is important especially against the likes of Novak and Murray. I remember hearing some analysis of the half volleying and it was going really well in practice but he was hesitant to bring it out live. Ultimately he was encouraged by his coaching staff to use it and it's worked well for him. As long as he chooses his spots with it, it has the double effect of changing the pace for the opponent and also shortening points.
Some great analysis of the tactic and it's origins here: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/09/07/sports/tennis/federer-attack.html?_r=0
A key point is that the tactic doesn't work against players with a big second serve i.e. Isner
Fed has made quick work of opponents so far at the US Open so hopefully he'll be able to conserve energy in the next few matches as well. Point well taken about the courts. It'll be interesting to see how/if he uses it in the next few rounds. I think there's strong potential to use it vs Gasquet but maybe not against a more powerful player like Stan.
So it's Roger vs his country man in one semi .. Roger hasn't dropped a set yet ... and the other has Novak vs last year's U.S Open Finalist ..
Yeah Novak commented in the post match on-court interview with BG after his match with Lopez the other night that he thinks the courts (at least on Ashe) are playing a tad faster this year. If that is the case that should (in theory) help Fed. I do think that the roof structure (albeit incomplete) is helping Fed's service rhythm. Yes, Stanimal did beat Fed @ RG but keep in mind those were very windy conditions and wind can be a bit of an equalizer. Also, Stan is built like an ox and was able to hit through those windy conditions better than Fed. This roof structure though is helping because it is keeping Ashe wind-free for the most part which has been helping Fed's service rhythm and as we know the rest of his game just flows when he is serving well. Another point to remember is Stan's big weakness is the 1st serve return. His % of 1st serve returns in play is not as as high relative to the other top players. Against DY even the other day there were multiple games where he failed to put multiple 1st serve returns in play against a guy that does NOT have an overpowering serve. And sometimes Stan drops some of those 1st serve returns short as well which means he is immediately on defense on the next ball. I think his weakness on the 1st serve return is a function of the extreme grip change. I expect Fed to beat Stan. And I think Novak beats Marin on the other side of the draw. Not exactly going out on a limb with those picks but have to go with what I think will happen.
Good call. I would have been more impressed if you predicted the ladies results though 
. I think your analysis is spot on. The conditions on Ashe have really benefitted the more skilled players (vs power) and it shows with the results today. Itll be interesting to see what happens on Sunday. I happen to believe that Roger wins given he's looked so solid throughout and has faced better competition thus far. That might be more heart than head though...No matter who wins, I think it'll only go 3 or 4 sets. Should be a fun one either way.
. I think your analysis is spot on. The conditions on Ashe have really benefitted the more skilled players (vs power) and it shows with the results today. Itll be interesting to see what happens on Sunday. I happen to believe that Roger wins given he's looked so solid throughout and has faced better competition thus far. That might be more heart than head though...No matter who wins, I think it'll only go 3 or 4 sets. Should be a fun one either way.No way I could have predicted the women's results in the semis. I'm not smart enough to have predicted that LOL.Good call. I would have been more impressed if you predicted the ladies results though
Fed did beat Novak in Dubai but I put an asterisk on that because it was a LIGHTNING QUICK court - almost wonder if tournament organizers just made that court specifically for Fed LOL. And Cincinnati is also a quick hard-court (granted not as quick as Dubai) but I'm not sure we can use Dubai and Cincinnati to project New York. However, what works in Fed's favor is the roof-structure on Ashe really benefits his service rhythm and we all know when Fed is serving well the rest of his game just flows from that. Something to keep an eye on is avg rally length in the final. Dubai and Cincinnati when Fed beat Novak he was able to play attacking tennis and keep the rallies short and not get drawn into too many protracted baseline exchanges. Fed wants to play bang-bang tennis these days. Another X-factor is the SABR - the tactic he has been using since CIN. I suspect Fed uses it early in the match in the final. I agree with Brad Gilbert that using the tactic on a couple points has a greater effect than on just those points. IT plants a seed in the opponent's mind and causes some chaos in the opponent's mind because the opponent then may think a little more on his 2nd serves because he deosn't know whether Fed will start to rush the net on the ball-toss. Loving the aggressive brand of tennis Fed is playing these days though - more aggressive on 2nd serve returns (not just with the SABR but hitting over the BH more, chip & charge as well), more aggressive on the BH, and coming into net a LOT. Wonder what would have happened if Fed had hired Edberg earlier.
