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Federer ousted by Berdych in quarters - Thoughts on his US Open

Sat, 22 Sep 2012 02:42:31 +0100

Sorry for such a delayed post, just been really busy over the past few weeks. I guess all of us Fedfans have sorrow faces as Roger was beaten by Tomas Berdych in four sets in the quarterfinals of the US Open.

Roger was seeded no.1 at the start of the tournament and was the favourite to win after making everyone look like amateurs at Cincinnati. I guess a quarterfinal lost was not what anyone expected. Roger comfortably cruised past all his opponents in straight sets on the way to the quarterfinals. He was actually due to play home favourite Mardy Fish in the 4th round, but Fish withdrew due to fatigue and health problems so that meant Roger got a 4 day break before his match with Berdych.

Roger broke in the first game of the match, only to be broken back in a poor service game at 3-2. The set went into a tiebreak and Roger screwed up an easy backhand volley on the first point. Not a good way to start a tiebreaker and things went from bad to worse for him as he only managed to win one point in the tiebreaker losing it 7-1.

Berdych was the one who broke straight away in the second set, grabbing a 5-2 lead before Roger broke back and held another service game to make the score 5-4. Berdych was not denied though and he served out the set to love, 6-4.

The last time Berdych took a two sets to love lead against Roger was the Australian Open 4th round in 2009. Back then, Roger was faster and fitter and Berdych was just beginning to start establishing himself as a true top 20 player.

The third did not begin well for Roger as Berdych grabbed another break, before Roger won 4 straight games in spectacular fashion to take the third set 6-3. Roger had gathered a lot of momentum and the crowd was on his side. I thought it would be enough for him to make a winning comeback, but in the fourth set he didn't take his chances and it was all over in 36 minutes.

Even though he lost, there were still some crazy shots including a backhand flick slice passing shot and two full-stretch volleys winners in the 2nd and 4th set.

A lot of people, including me blame Fish's withdrawal as a factor to why Roger lost. Roger hadn't really played any tough opponents en route to the quarters so he didn't know his actual performance against top players and the 4 day break made it even worse.

It was such a shame Roger was out early, he was confident coming up to the tournament, had much better preparation than the previous two years so to crash out in the quarterfinals was highly frustrating and his words in the interview after the match clearly shows that.

So in conclusion I can say it was a disappointing match, Roger wasn't himself and Berdych played pretty well anyway.

I think everyone's expectations are too high for Roger - winning an 18th slam and 6th US Open, beating an improved Andy Murray and a 'looking for revenge' Djokovic, its all too much for him to handle. He's a 31 year old athlete now, daddy to twin girls and has so many younger players out there all wanting to beat him. Its incredible that he is still beating everyone and winning Wimbledon and reclaiming No.1 makes me happy enough. Roger is no longer in his invincible prime form, so we can't expect him to win everything. Funny thing is, Djokovic, Murray and Nadal are roughly 5 years younger than him, they should be playing the best tennis of their lives at this stage of their career and Roger is still beating all of them! Just astonishing.

Well now Roger has many points to defend at his final tournaments of the season, it will be tough to stay No.1 unless he wins all of them and hope Djokovic doesn't win any of them. He's tired and wounded so a holiday will do him well and hopefully he can play well in his next scheduled tournament - Shanghai.

Federer wins 21st Master 1000 title - Review of Cincinnati

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 23:12:42 +0100

Been a while since my last post, but here is the review of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, the last Master 1000 tournament before the US Open.

Before the tournament started, I expected Roger to be fit and fired up for Cincinnati, as he withdrew from Toronto to get an extra week rest. The courts at Cincy are some of the fastest on the tour and we know Roger is probably the best fast hardcourt player of all time so everyone had high expectations for him. Historically he has played very well at Cincy, winning the title previously in 2005, 07, 09 and 10. There was also some pressure from Djokovic as well, who had a chance of snatching back the No.1 ranking. Roger also had to adapt from the grasscourts at Wimbledon to the DecoTurf surface at Cincinnati, whereas Djokovic had already played a full week of matches in Toronto, beating a lackluster Gasquet in the final.

Roger's first opponent was Alex Bogomolov Jr of Russia. It was a total cruise match for Roger, winning 6-3 6-2 in one hour. It was good to see Roger attacking and serving well, only facing one break point which was in the last game of the match.

In the 3rd round, Roger played Bernard Tomic of Australia and crushed him 6-2 6-4 in a dominant performance. I must say, I was disappointed with the lack of fight Tomic gave in the match. Every since their encounter in the Australian Open this year when Roger dispatched Tomic in straight sets in an entertaining match, Tomic has not been displaying enough effort in his matches and the 2nd and 1st Rd losses in Roland Garros and Wimbledon clearly shows his laziness. He was way too far behind the baseline and only managed 12 winners to Roger's 27.

Roger's quarterfinal opponent was American Mardy Fish who actually played Roger in the final of Cincinnati back in 2010 and lost a close match. But Fish was clearly not in the same great form as he was two years ago so I wasn't expecting him to take a set off Roger. Roger started the match in great fashion, breaking Fish immediately with a few sweet shots. Half an hour later, Roger broke Fish again with an awesome backhand return winner to take the first set 6-3. Fish recovered from sluggish start in the second set and was throwing everything he could at Roger's service games, but all to no avail. The set went into a tiebreak and Roger won it easily 7-4, booking a spot in the semis.

Roger faced surprise semifinalist Stanislas Wawrinka who upset big server Milos Raonic in a close three set contest. Wawrinka hasn't really been playing well for a long time, but I predicted that there will be at least a 7-5/6 set and my prediction was true - Roger overcame Wawrinka 7-6(4) 6-3. The first set was very close, both players had their own chances to win the set, however Roger prevailed in the tiebreaker 7 points to 4. Wawrinka was obviously disappointed to lose the first set, it was enough to buckle his confidence in the second set and Roger won it 6-3 to be assured of staying No.1 regardless of the result in his match with Djokovic in the final.

Everyone was highly anticipating the clash between Roger and Djokovic in the final, both players hadn't been broken in any of their matches in the tournament. However Djokovic had a mediocre start and was broken immediately by Roger in the first game of the match. Roger started extremely well, he was controlling the rallies and playing first strike tennis to bagel Djokovic in the first set - we were watching a vintage Federer display. A lot of people think Djokovic gave up during the first set but that wasn't true, Roger just fed him a tasty Swiss bagel.

The Roger's stats for the first are complete domination. 1st serve was very accurate and he didn't even lost a point on his second serve. That's nearly impossible against Djokovic, who is one of the best returners of the tour currently. It was also pleasing to see Roger's attacking net play, along with converting 75% of his break points which is something that he doesn't often do against Djokovic.

Djokovic raised his game in the second set which was no big surprise, he started to return and rally better, it was the notification to Roger that he had something to worry about. Both players managed to hold serve, not facing any break points. In the tiebreaker, Roger raced to a 3-0 lead before Djokovic fought back to lead 4-3. A big serve gave Roger match point at 5-5, but Djokovic saved it with big forehands. It was a flashback to the two US Open semifinals in 2010 and 2011 where Djokovic saved 4 match points in total, three of them saved with crushing forehands. A super long rally at 6-6 led to Roger eventually hitting a backhand long, but he saved the set point with a smash winner. Roger then hit two forehand winners in a row to claim a record 5th Cincinnati title and his 21st Master 1000. Amazing to think also that he never lost serve all week. That's the first time its happened in the Open era. It also increased his lead over Djokovic in the rankings and that he will exit the US Open in No.1 no matter what happens.

All week, Roger was invincible and he is now the favourite for the US Open which starts on Monday. Nadal withdrew because of his knee injury, that's the third time he's withdrawn from a Grand Slam, absolutely disgraceful! Winning Cincinnati was a great boost for Roger, it gives him a bucket load of confidence coming into the US Open. Go for No.18 Roger!

Fatigued Federer falls short of gold in Olympic final

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 08:03:54 +0100

Roger had to settle for silver at the Olympic Games, losing in straight sets against home favourite Andy Murray 6-2 6-1 6-4. Roger was cleary tired after playing a in epic 4.5 semifinal against Del Potro, so that's the reason why he got crushed. I didn't expect him to recover so quickly after the semifinal, he's a 31 year old athlete now! He just didn't have enough gas in the tank for the final. Took me days for the result to sink in and realise it's not such a big deal that Roger lost, one of the reasons why this post took so long to write. He was denied a Career Golden Slam, but nobody really focuses on the Olympic's anyway, Grand Slams are far more important and require more effort to win.

There's little to report about the match, Murray was in excellent form the whole tournament boosted by the strong British crowd support while Roger was obviously fatigued. Roger did have have plently of break points, 2 in the opening game and 6 in the second set but Murray was far too strong and saved them all. The third set was closer, but Murray eventually got the job done. If Roger had come into the final in great form and only played 2 hours in the semifinal and lost to Murray in the same way, I'd be critizing him, but he'd didn't, so I'm not. The final scoreline would of been a lot closer and the match could of gone either player's way in my opinion.

If Roger couldn't win the gold medal, Murray would be the guy who deserved it most after him. I guess I felt sorry for him after he lost to Roger in the Wimbledon final. Roger said Murray's going to win at least one Slam which I think is probably gonna happen now, Murray's finally shown us how good he really is and that he can be a dangerous player in men's tennis. Murray might even overtake Rafa Nadull in the rankings if he can keep the great form up to the US Open.

In the bronze medal playoff, Del Potro upset Djokovic in straight sets 7-5 6-4. I'm very happy for Del Potro as this was the best reward possible after being outlasted by Roger in the epic 4.5 hour semi. Djokovic was making costly errors, which cost him the match against Murray in the other semifinal and now the bronze medal (which he actually already had won in the 2008 Beijing Olympics).

Nadull withdrew from Toronto (now ended) and Cincinnati (starts today) because of a knee injury. Lets hope he won't be in good shape for the US Open. Only positive thing for him that comes out is that he can gain a lot of points next year at the same two Master 1000s. Including Wimbledon where he got whupped in the ass by Rosol in the 2nd Rd, he could gain about 3900 points if he wins all three tournaments, but that's probably not gonna happen. His knees won't last another year. :D

Roger also did not play in Toronto which is the correct decision, he was exhausted after the Olympics and will get a week's rest before Cincy, which is one of his best tournaments in previous years. Murray made the stupid decision of playing in Toronto, won his first match but withdrew because of a knee injury. Why the hell would he play after finishing the London Olympics in a high note? Roger will definitely be the favourite heading into the US Open, the fast hard courts will suit him. Go for No.18, Roger!

Federer overcomes Del Potro in a 4hr marathon match

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 07:28:45 +0100

What an epic match between Roger and Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina! The contest lasted 4hrs and 26 minutes, the longest match in the Open era and Olympic tennis history! It brings me memories of their meeting in the US Open final back in 2009 where Del Potro outlasted Federer in five sets, but this time it was Roger who outlasted Del Potro 19-17 in the decider! I was very happy to be able to watch the match live on my laptop, even if it wasn't in high definition!

Roger had a slow start to the match, held his first few services games with a bit of trouble but was eventually broken by Del Potro to go down 5-3. Del Potro served out the set with ease and Roger knew immediately he'd have to raise his game and plan new tactics if he wanted to get his first Olympic medal. He had nothing to lose. Del Potro had everything to lose.

The second set was obviously tighter, Roger was starting to look more patient in rallies even though his unforced errors increased due to Del Potro's powerful play. Both players had break points but none of them were converted and the set went into a tiebreak.

Roger led 4-1 with a mini-break in the tiebreak before Del Potro leveled the score. Del Potro then gave Roger two set points, saved one of them but Roger fired an ace to claim the set.

The deciding set was so intense at many stages, both players had several break points but failed to convert them until Roger broke at 9-9 to serve for the match. Game over for Del Potro? It wasn't and he broke Roger to love astonishingly.

It was amazing to think how many break points Roger and Del Potro had wasted during the whole deciding set, even more amazing to think that they saved them with extreme pressure. I mean, Roger had to serve several times just to stay in the match and you wonder why didn't Del Potro decide 'its now or never' and put all his best efforts to break Roger in those return games.

Roger then was serving clutch, having not really any big costly slips and it was Del Potro who under pressure and seemingly had less gas in the tank. Roger then had three break points at 14-14 all but Del Potro miraculously won five points in a row to lead once again 15-14.

Roger finally broke at 17-17 thanks to a Del Potro forehand error and for the second time, had the opportunity to serve out the match. On his second match point, he traded backhands with Del Potro until the Argentine hit a backhand that hit the net cord which forced Roger to approach the net with sliced backhand but then Del Potro landed a backhand into the net which gave Roger entry to his first Olympic final and ensured that he would obtain at least a silver medal.

Well, Roger is obviously going to fight for gold and his opponent in the final is Murray who beat Djokovic in the other semifinal. I'm not sure if the final is best out of five sets like it was in Beijing 2008, but I think the match will be very close. It's hard to pick the winner, I'm obviously a Fed fan but Murray would definitely want to get revenge after Roger beat him in four sets at the Wimbledon final a month ago. But it all depends on Roger's physical condition. Playing 4.5 hours is obviously going to leave him fatigued and even a day's rest might not be enough. If he can recover, than I predict him to win 7-6 5-7 7-6 7-5.

The epic match point - check it out. Might be removed by Olympic Committee soon due to copyright.

Federer reaches semifinals at Olympics

Sat, 04 Aug 2012 03:46:58 +0100

FEDERER VS ISTOMIN
Roger faced Denis Istomin in the 3rd Rd, started well with a break to lead 3-0 but got broken back to level the match. At 15-30 5-5, rain was starting to pour down and the match was delayed for half an hour. When play resumed, Roger had to save two break points but quickly found momentum and broke Istomin to take the first set 7-5.

Once again, Roger took a 3-0 lead in the 2nd set but this time Istomin failed to make any impression on his return games and Roger comfortably won the match 7-5 6-3.

Pleasing to see Roger win the match in straight sets after having to save two BPs at 5-5 in the first, obviously this will give him more confidence for the next rounds.

“It was tough,” said Federer. “A very difficult first set. I was happy with the way that I was able to turn it around. Denis, I thought, played a very good first set. I didn’t play poorly to let him back into the match. In the second set, I guess I learned from the first set and was able to bring it home.”

FEDERER VS ISNER
I was looking forward to this match, definitely a good test for Roger to play John Isner. Isner had actually beaten Roger in the Davis Cup singles rubber earlier this year and Roger got revenge in the final of Indian Wells, taking the title 7-6 6-3. I was predicting a similar scoreline for this match because Isner is one of the best servers today and getting a break off him isn't easy. So whoever was to come out of this match on top is going to go into the next round with a lot confidence.

Both players were holding their service games until at 4-4, Roger finally broke on his third break point opportunity. In the next game he faced a break point but saved it en route to taking the first set 6-4.

The break Roger got at 4-4 was really important because because it was the only one he got for the rest of the match. The second went into a tiebreaker and the two traded mini breaks until Roger finally won the match with a lucky shot that hit the net cord.

A really solid match from Roger, he returned pretty well and only faced one break point the whole match. He will face Del Potro next, who has a pretty fast serve as well and hits powerful groundstrokes so Roger will have to raise his game slightly in the semifinals. Del Potro seems to be on good form so far this tournament so I think Roger may drop a set if he backs off the slightest. I think the first set will decide the match winner so I predict Roger to win 7-6 7-6.

“I think I am playing my best,” said Federer. “I don’t know if I can play a whole lot better. Overall, I’m extremely happy. Obviously, being in the medal matches, at least I’ll get two shots. That’s why I looked at this match as a final. You can imagine the relief and happiness I feel right now."

Federer advances to third round at Olympics

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 11:14:05 +0100

For the rest of the Olympics, I'm probably going to have to do 2 match reports together in one post because there isn't much to type since my channel can't access full live coverage of the tennis in London so sadly I missed both of Roger's matches. Pretty amazingly, he was drawn to face two opponents that had almost beaten him in the early of rounds of the past Wimbledons. Well he beat Falla 6-3 5-7 6-3 which for me is not too surprising after Falla took Roger to five sets back in 2010, what a scare that was! But it was good to see Roger breeze past Benneteau in straight sets, 6-2 6-2.

Falla was a good test for Roger in the first round so I was expecting a entertaining match. Roger was brilliant in the first set, backed off slightly in the second which was enough for Falla to save three match points and break Roger twice to force the match into three sets. Well it was good to see Roger refocus to claim the match comfortably since Falla has given him trouble before, a win would give him a lot of confidence.

Five weeks ago when Roger played Benneteau in the third round of Wimbledon, Benneteau was two points from winning the match several times in the fourth set. For a moment there, it looked like Roger would be joining Nadal on the plane home. But he didn't and went on to win the match and his 7th Wimbledon.

I'm sure most people would of expected Benneteau to at least take a set off Roger in this match, but he wasn't even close because Roger was the dominant player today, not even facing a break point the whole match, his serve a major factor to winning a gold medal. It was pleasing to see Roger play a lot better than last time he met Benneteau, he controlled the rallies and Benneteau was unable to make any impression on his service games.

“I was able to put in another solid performance today,” said Federer. “There was a bit of a swirly wind and I think he might have struggled a little bit with his serve in these conditions, whereas indoors it is straightforward and you can get great rhythm.”

Federer wins 7th Wimbledon, 17th Slam and reclaims No.1!

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 05:24:43 +0100

What an emotional day for Roger and fans after he won his 7th Wimbledon now equaling Pete Sampras's record! He also increases his tally of Grand Slams to 17! And is back up to No.1 in the rankings at 30 years of age overtaking Djokovic and Nadal in one tournament! So glad to see that his drought has ended, last triumph was Australian Open 2010 where he also beat Murray. This time, the encounter was definitely closer and the support of British fans was huge, sadly for them Roger ended Murray's dream.

I think Roger was a bit nervous early in the match, he was broken in the first game. It was great start for Murray, the crowd were already out of their seats. In the fourth game, Roger broke back but unforced errors at 4-4 gave Murray the break again for him to serve out the set. Murray did just that after Roger mishit a backhand slice on his return at set point. First time Murray won a set in all of his GS finals after being smoked in straight sets in all of them! I was slightly concerned at this point, for the first time, Roger was hitting a lot of unforced errors - in one set he had hit more than he had in the whole match against Djokovic! I guess Roger was frustrated with Murray's playing style, Murray always waits for his opponents to lose the point, not win it himself, which is why I hate watching his matches - its a stupid game plan and the first set took a mammoth 57 minutes, wasn't even a tiebreaker.

Roger could not afford to lose the second set, he knew he had to raise his game, especially in the return games. He had a slight advantage since he was serving first again so if he broke first, Murray would have to break twice to lead in the set. Frustratingly he was unable to convert the many break point opportunities he had(more unforced errors), but finally at 6-5 he had set point. It was intense point, Roger was patient and when Murray sliced a forehand he hit a beautiful topspin to perfectly construct his next shot, a short drop volley with crazy side spin!

When Roger was leading 1-1 40-0 on his serve, rain began to fall and play was suspended so the roof could cover the court. I wasn't concerned at this point as we all know Roger is the best indoor player ever, when he beat Djokovic in the semis, the roof was also closed.

When play resumed, both players held their service games until at the sixth game Roger broke after a super long deuce which saw Murray slip a few times, he was getting tired and Roger was on the front foot in rallies. Roger then served out the set 6-3. It was important for Roger to win that set, I thought it would be enough to drop Murray's performance and belief he could win, since it was Roger who was the more confident player now, even the crowd was sensing that.

Murray had a single break point in the fourth set but smacked a forehand wide down the line, a loud groan from the stadium. At 2-2 Roger broke with a beautiful cross-court backhand pass, at this point you would think it was all over for Murray!

Roger was leading 5-4, serving for the championship - it was the moment I had waited for a very long time! When Murray landed a forehand just wide, Roger fell on his knees knowing he had finally done it. 7th Wimbledon. 17th Grand Slam. No.1 again to beat Sampras's record. GREATEST OF ALL TIME.

Federer dethrones Djokovic in four sets - Now for Murray

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 05:32:46 +0100

Roger's done it, he's beaten Djokovic in a very convincing victory to reach his 8th Wimbledon final! Always the Greatest Of All Time! Before the match Roger had already thought up of a Djoko-bashing plan, he broke at his first opportunity at 3-2. He closed out the set 6-3 in a quick 24 minutes. Djokovic looked if he'd had a slow start, Roger was the one who was aggressive early and had comfortable service games, never facing a break point.

Djokovic seemed to of finally woken up in the second set, breaking Roger's first service game plagued with errors. Roger's returns were quite poor and failed to make much impression on Djokovic's service games to break back. Basically the set was a repeat of the first, but with swapped results.

The crucial stage of the match, in my opinion it was whoever won this set - they would go on to win the match. This set was full of long baseline rallies, it was Djokovic who was in the front foot in most of them, but it was Roger's brilliant defense on both wings that prevented Djokovic from breaking him on serve. Both players were making costly errors though, Roger had a break point at 3-2 but hit a forehand wide after a intense rallies which saw the crowd on the edge of their seats.

A couple of points later, still on deuce Djokovic and Roger were rallying backhand-to-backhand until Djokovic unleashed a huge inside out forehand which Roger anticipated to hit a down the line backhand which Djokovic failed to return back over the net. Another great point, but Novak still held serve and it wasn't until 4-4 when Roger was facing 2 break points on his own serve for the first time during the set. But Roger 90% of the time serves well under pressure and successfully fired a bullet serve down the T which Djokovic was unable to return back into the court. Roger continued to hold serve and keep his composure.

Djokovic was serving to stay in the set 5-4 and Roger was starting to play some brilliant tennis starting off with a backhand winner. It was excellent timing since if he broke he would serving first for the next set and he kept going to be up 40-30 with a set point also helped by Djokovic's smash error. This time, it was Roger was presented with an chance to hit an overhead and gave Djokovic a short tennis lesson on how to hit a smash properly by thumping it well out of reach from the Serbian.

Suddenly in the fourth set, Djokovic's momentum had dropped, he was making uncharacteristic errors and Roger broke to take a 3-0 lead. PeRFect start! At 4-1 Roger went up 40-0 on Djokovic's serve but as we know Djokovic is a fighter and saved them all to keep himself in the match. But not for long as a few games later Roger served out the match to reach his 8th Wimbledon final! GOAT!

Well now Roger will face Andy Murray in the final, all Roger needs to do is beat him to claim his 17th slam, 7th Wimbledon and back to No.1 in the rankings! I actually predicted Roger to beat Novak 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-4 so it was pretty close :) . Anyway, Murray has come into this final with much better preparation than he did in all his other three GS finals in the past. He has lost in straight sets in all of them thought, but I think it may not be like that tomorrow who knows?. Still I'm always going for Roger so its 6-3 7-6 6-4! Come on Roger!

“I've got a tough task ahead of me,” third seed Federer told BBC Television on Friday. “There's a lot on the line for me, all-time Grand Slam record, World No. 1.”

“Everybody knows what a hero he (Sampras) is to me and how much I admire what he's been able to achieve in tennis,” said Federer in his post-match press conference. “I don't think he ever lost a Grand Slam final here at Wimbledon. He won seven out of seven, which is just incredible, particularly in the times he played against all these big servers. So I'm very proud to have a shot of equalling Pete, but right now the focus is obviously resting and preparing for the next match.”

Federer crushes Youzhny to advance to SFs

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 03:20:15 +0100

Total cruise match for Roger, beating Youzhny 6-1 6-2 6-2. Looks like his back injury isn't such a concern, he was dominant on serve, never broken despite Youzhny's two break point chances in the third set. I think Youzhny is one of those players who will never beat Roger, now the H2H is an embarrassing 14-0, even during the third set, Youzhny called out to Andre Agassi who was in the Royal Box for advice on how to beat Roger!

Well I guess there was nothing really to critize about Roger's performance today, now reaching his 32nd Grand Slam seminfinal, but for most people Djokovic is still the favourite. These two have never had an encounter at Wimbledon, nor on any other grass tournament.The stats of their performance at Wimbledon so far are very close, but the key to winning for Roger is keep his unforced error count low (unlike in RG a month ago), have a high amount of 1st serves (at least over 65%) and stick to an aggressive game plan to knock Djokovic off balance like he did in RG last year. If he believes he can win, he will. Simple as that!

FEDERER SURVIVES BENNETEAU SCARE IN 3RD RD EN ROUTE TO BEATING MALISSE

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 05:08:20 +0100

Apology for the late post, I didn't get to see much from Roger's match against Julien Benneteau and what a thriller it was! Unfortunately I had to see highlights, as channel Seven was broadcasting Hewitt/Guccione's doubles match instead, that's what you get for living in Australia! But I did get to see Roger's encounter with Xavier Malisse from start to finish and both match reports are in this post.

FEDERER VS BENNETEAU
When Nadal got beaten by Rosol a day earlier, not anyone was expecting Federer to almost join him in the airport. But Benneteau was playing some of the best tennis of his life when the match started, benefiting from Roger's unforced errors to snatch the first set 6-4. Roger broke immediately in the second set, but failed to consolidate and Benneteau was back on serve. Amazing he also saved three set points at 5-6 down to force the set into a tiebreaker. Once again, Roger wasn't getting his shots placement right and Benneteau took the tiebreaker 7-3.

On the scoreboard it showed - Julien Benneteau_2, Roger Federer_0. Two sets down. Could Roger fight back like he did against Del Potro a few weeks ago? He was in the same situation in the first round here in 2010 against Falla. He refocused to take the set 6-2 and I thought that would be enough to keep some composure, it was looking fine in the fourth set when he has up 40-0 on Benneteau's serve, but once again he failed to convert the opportunities! Since Benneteau served first in the set, Roger had to serve at 4-5 to stay in the tournament. I almost had a heart attack when he was down 15-30, the next point was so crucial - either 2 match points for Benneteau or 30-30. Thank goodness, Roger kept his composure and forced the set into another tiebreaker. It was so tense, he had a couple of mini-break only for Benneteau to fight back to level the tiebreak. Roger was leading 5-4 when he hit a backhand volley wide after chopping it too much, one of the worst mistakes anyone could make in a tiebreak; remember when Roddick was up 6-2 in the second set tiebreaker against Roger in the final in 2009 and overpowered his volley at his last opportunity? That cost him the match and the 2009 Wimbledon title.

Anyway another big serve by Roger on the T gave him a set point, but a backhand flick error pushed the score back to 6-6. Switch sides. Either match point or set point. Benneteau fired huge serve which Roger had to full stretch to just have his racquet block it back, Benneteau moved him around the court until an overpowered backhand gave Roger his second opportunity to stay in the match. When Benneteau hit a forehand into the net, Roger and the crowd gave an impressive roar.

In the decider, I guess Benneteau had taken his toll and Roger cruised to take the match 4-6 7-6(3) 6-2 7-6(6) 6-1

“It's always one of the best feelings coming back from two sets to love in a Grand Slam, and in particular here at Wimbledon where I have been able to do it before,” said Federer. “So I have been there, but not with the roof closed. That made the atmosphere very special out there.”

FEDERER VS MALISSE
I thought this might a total cruise match for Roger, the H2H record was 9-1 in his favour and Malisse hadn't beaten him since 1999! After a few games, I realised there was something wrong, his serves were marginally weaker than all other matches last week and he was only slightly bending his knees, like Andre Agassi's serve motion. There wasn't any pace on his forehand and he struggled to return balls on the deuce side of the court.

Eventually Roger called for a trainer and it seems he had a lower back injury and he had to go off the court to get treated. At 5-4, he started off with a huge forehand down the line, moved Malisse around the court with crafty backhands to hit a volley winner at 15-15 and I hoped he would be able to take the set. Malisse held serve and broke the next game to serve for the set.

Suddenly Roger came alive and started off chasing down a drop volley by Malisse to hit a crosscourt passing shot winner. He went up 40-0 when he hit a great topspin backhand winner and Malisse didn't even attempt to retrieve. A spectacular stretch backhand volley winner took the set into a tiebreak.

Malisse didn't do anything right in the tiebreak, went for unnecessary big shots and only salvaged one point. First set -> Roger Federer.

There was a rain delay when the first set finished, good news for Roger since he could get more treatment and rest his back. The second set was a breeze for him, breaking Malisse three times to take a two sets to love lead. It was good to see Roger recovering and hit a couple of beautiful backhand passing shots, most notably on set point.

Roger backed off in the third set, errors were starting to appear more frequently and Malisse took the set forcing Roger to keep playing in the cold conditions. Not good for his back.

Malisse broke again at the start of the fourth set taking a 2-0 lead. I was starting to think that the cold was effecting him, but he broke back, dropping only one more game to secure the match. 850th win and advancing to his 33rd consecutive quarter-final! GOAT!

"I was happy they kept it [the roof] open because it is an outdoor tournament at the end of they day," said Federer. "We don't want to play indoors all the time. It's not that big of a deal coming on and off. I know spectators would rather see a match than sitting in the rain. To see the Referee coming out and inspecting the courts, that's the whole drama that belongs to Wimbledon. Eventually, if it's too bad and it's really raining, this is when you shut it. "

"There's just this drizzle the whole time. You figure at any minute we could come off. Sometimes you're stressing out because you want to stretch the lead; sometimes you hope it rains so you can come off. So it also plays some tricks on you mentally."