Roger Federer took the easy way. Stan Wawrinka chose the scenic route.
Whatever the case, the two Swiss veterans will be facing each other for the 26th time in their careers when they renew their friendly–and lopsided–rivalry in the French Open quarterfinals on Tuesday. Federer is completely dominating the head-to-head series 22-3, a record that includes a current six-match winning streak and a 20-2 mark in their last 22. Perhaps the only good news for Wawrinka is that one of his victories has come at Roland Garros, where he prevailed 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(4) in the quarterfinals on his way to the title. All three of them have come on clay.
Of course, Federer can also harp on his two French Open defeats of his countryman, both in straight sets (in 2009 and 2011). They most recently collided earlier this season in Indian Wells, where the 37-year-old cruised 6-3, 6-4.
Federer is a considerable favorite once again, and not just because he registers 25 spots ahead of Wawrinka at No. 3 in the rankings. Moreover, the underdog is coming off a five-hour and eight-minute battle with Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday afternoon, taking it 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 8-6.
“To play Roger in [the quarterfinals], it’s something amazing for me,” Wawrinka assured. “I’m really happy…. He’s still playing so well. He’s the best player to ever play this sport. So it’s going to be a big challenge. I [haven’t beaten] him many times in all my career, but I did once here so I still do remember that time and was a special day for me.
“It’s gonna be a big challenge; will need to recover from today’s match. It was still a long match. I’m getting old, and older and older, so it is not going to be help to be ready for Tuesday. But again, I love that kind of challenge and I’m going to try to do my best to play my best tennis.”
When it was pointed out to him that Federer is even older, Wawrinka quipped, “But he’s quite better than me, also.”
Federer has certainly been more efficient this fortnight. While Wawrinka has spent 12 hours and 27 minutes on court (also a four-setter with Jozef Kovalik and three consecutive tiebreakers against Grigor Dimitrov), the 20-time major champion required only seven hours and 10 minutes through four rounds. He did so by erasing Lorenzo Sonego, Oscar Otte, Casper Ruud, and Leonardo Mayer.
That does not mean Federer will be taking anything for granted in this one.
“On clay, this is when it’s been most tough for me against him,” the third seed said of Wawrinka. “If I think back at [the 2014 Monte-Carlo final], French Open here in ’15, and then also he beat me in [Monte-Carlo in 2009]. So on clay it’s been definitely more dangerous than on any other surface for me against him.
“Look, it always starts by saying I’m just happy for the guy that he’s back after his knee problems. They were severe, and that’s why I think he’s really happy he got sort of a second life on tour, because I think for a while there he wasn’t sure if he was ever going to come back again. It’s nice to see him pain-free and playing well. I hope he’s not at the level of ’15…. Because then he was crushing the ball. It was unbelievable.”
Wawrinka, of course, is not all the way back to his level that carried him to three Grand Slam triumphs. And even if he was, Federer’s current form combined with the five-set marathon against Tsitsipas would make this a brutally tough task.
Pick: Federer in 4
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I wonder if Fed is going to be Wawrinka’s best mate for the next set or 2. Lol
Dont you hate it when players come out and play different and make other people’s predictions/analysis look correct? I hate that.
Stan seemed to be the better player in the third set. As against Tsitsi he is a mixture of fantastic shots and sloppy ones.
Will someone give Stan a good push with a cattle prod to make him move forward on return?!
I’m feeling some Fed-Roland Garros deja vu… The story of this match could end up being Fed failing to convert like a thousand break points.
Fed is 1 from 16 break points. That’s insane.
Play suspended! That will let Stan have a snooze!
Stan in 5
Bookies think hes a strong chance. Theyre not allowing a cash out option which usually means they think you will lose your bet.
If the fourth set goes to a TB, then Fed will win the match in four sets. If Stan breaks serve and wins the fourth, the fifth set is very much a toss up.
Stan has himself to blame, for losing the third set when he’s a break up, played a sloppy service game to lose serve and then when the set went to a TB, I knew it would be Fed who ended up winning the set. Fed rarely let up in a TB, not even against his great rivals Rafa and Djoko.
Stan has to play very well to break serve and win the fourth set, so that he will avoid playing a TB; there’s no TB in the fifth set.
I’m at the match and it is some great shotmaking!!
Yeah but u can well imagine how tired Stan is!
I mean Roger just keep his cool and paced himself
His match with Rafa will be a barn burner!!!
Since when Rogers gets nervous serving for a match?
Finally, Wawrinka just wouldnt go away
Fedal it is! Sanju will be consumed with worry for the next few days!☺
Totally Amy…I think I will be OK tomm but Thursday onwards it will be bad…
Fed is rushing to net at every oppty n drop shoting a lot..hope rafa has taken note n will be prepared
It is much more dangerous to keep coming to net and dropshotting against rafa sanju! Rafa will keep passing him! I am feeling nervous because of the weather forecasts..I have read 5 and they all have rain!😢😢
Going to buy some worry beads!☺
Yes the rain is another worry..start stop..no momentum…no sunshine…
Amy..important is weather 2 to 530 pm…what is it..im sure rafa fed will be first
It’s rain but that could change. We need to look tomorrow!
Why worry so much about Fed? If a not so fresh but still playing well Stan could give Fed so much troubles, with the possibility of pushing it to five sets had Stan held his lead in the third set, why would Rafa be any worse off than Stan when he’s fresh and playing well too? Furthermore, Rafa is a better returner of serves than Stan and he’s a lefty, so his serve could be tricky for Fed too.
The weather forecasts for tomorrow are all terrible! Maybe they will have to play on the other qfs on Thursday? It’s possible.
Yes tomm is all very bad..max rain..Thursday is good sun
Well done to the peeps who made the correct prediction! I knew Fed could win, but I just thought Stan had the edge. I’d like to be strictly objective for a moment and just point out that Fed has really surprised me on clay this year. I really didn’t think that his late-career, ultra-aggressive game would translate to clay as well as it has. I just felt like his natural slight decrease of power from the back of the court due to age would just hurt him too much on this surface. Even if he loses in quick straight sets to Rafa, I am still impressed at how he’s able to still consistently go deep in the majority of tournaments he enters. It’s just crazy to think that come Wimbledon, Fed will be on the verge of turning 38 years old, and he will undoubtedly be considered a co-favorite for that title. That’s just crazy.
You would think that I would have learned my lesson to doubt the Big 3 when it comes to anything, any age. These guys just keep proving their perseverance, longevity, and overall greatness. Novak and Rafa are still at the top of the mountain, at 32 and 33, respectively. Fed is almost 38 and is still top-3. These guys are just amazing. There’s really nothing more to say! 🤷♂️
I also want to give Stan props. He’s old like those other guys, and he also had to return from a serious injury/slump. As a guy who wasn’t even at the top of the game until he hit his 30’s, I’m really impressed at his comeback, too. I know that a lot of people on here don’t like him, but when it comes to tennis there’s no doubt that the guy deserves much props.
I respect Stan and what he could do on the tennis court. I feel without the Tsitsipas match, Stan would probably have won this QF match against Fed.
His serve is clutch, his ground strokes solid, and he’s playing shorter point tennis. The fact that he could stay with Fed for four full sets, 3+ hours, playing short point tennis, going toe to toe with Fed, showed that Stan was really very good! He’s not grinding it out with Fed, something he could do better than Fed, but rather played the way Fed played, ie aggressive short point tennis (except that he’s not net rushing, unlike Fed, but was playing aggressive baseline tennis).
Apparently Fed said one of his main reasons for playing RG was to face Rafa!!
He must really really want to beat him here! Sorry sanju I know that isn’t going to cheer you up!
Did he say that…god (:-
Amy/ lucky ..when a tournament starts ..some tourneys..I just get a fearful feeling about a match…I had it in ao 17 n wimby 18 vs fed n Novak for rafa.
.I have a sinking feeling about roger winning on Friday…I hope it’s just my fears or desire to not see rafa getting beaten on Friday that’s overplaying on my mind..n now feds so called statement that he planned rg just to see if he can beat rafa is ominous..
But sometimes you have been wrong sanju! I can remember several times when you thought rafa wasn’t going to win and he did!
I vaguely remember during last year’s RG that you feared Nole would win! So try and remember the times you were wrong! ☺☺
Also sanju the bad weather forecasts for Friday are making you worry. But they may change in the next couple of days!
Yes I was wrong too..last rg I feared if Novak will make a comeback at rg..I rem creating a mess here n then got called out too after Novak lost :-)…i also thought rafa will win this ao n get double career slam ..that too came wrong..I just hope rafa wins on Friday n his eventual clay court prowess prevails..
You are always fearful, maybe you’re born a pessimist, and sometimes logic and reasoning couldn’t get to you.
If Fed is playing really so well, he would’ve finished off Stan in straight sets! Fed was making many errors during the match, it’s not like he’s playing a perfect match.
Fed won’t have the luxury of facing a not so fresh opponent in the SF; I’m sure Rafa will have full concentration during the match and will up his intensity as it’s nearing the business end.
I even think that Stan would be a tougher opponent in the SF than Fed. He would’ve two days rest and I think that should be enough for him (Stan) to recover to a reasonable level for the SF. Stan’s groundstrokes are hard to counter or defend against if it’s at its best; Stan also serves very well (and very clutch too). It’s hard to overpower Stan, so you’ve to beat him by either taking away his time, or by being very aggressive from the get go and never allow him to play his power game (like at FO2017 final).
Pessimist regards to rafa..yes…but in my own life not at all as I control it there..I can’t control what rafa does..hope what you n fedexal says comes true 🙂
If anyone thinks Fed can beat Rafa here he does not understand clay court tennis. Expect Rafa’s grant to be higher and so his focus ! Rafa will be waiting for this clash and its his moment to show everyone as to why he owns PC court.
Having said that, hats off to Fed to reach RG semis at the age of 37 . You can’t control your opponents. His draw turned out to be easy but that’s not his fault. His potential QF with Tsi never materialized.
Well, luckily for you Fedexal, the only people who will be “predicting” Fed to beat Rafa at RG are just ultra-biased Fed fans who are confusing a prediction with a desire. It is a fact that Rafa is favored to win this match. Of course Fed has a chance to win, but I would put those chances at about 10% at best…
I think I understand clay court tennis just fine. I can understand thinking that Nadal is favored, but heavily favored is ridiculous given their recent history and Fed’s current form. It will be close. Nadal is not the same player that he was two years ago, and Fed is playing about as well on clay as I’ve seen him play.
I would agree Fed is playing fairly well on clay at the moment, amazing for his age of course.
But he has definitely played better, have a look at that Semi with Novak in 2011. Novak was on a ridiculous win streak of like 40 matches at that point and playing very well, and Fed just came out crushing winners from the back of the court to beat him in 4. Still couldn’t do enough in the final versus Rafa, although he did better than usual, and created quite a few chances.
In my opinion Rafa was at his worst in FO 2011 of all the RG titles that he has won. His BH was just not great and was often way too short. Came with lot of self doubts after losses against Nole, played a five setter against Isner, was down set points in 2nd round against a noname guy,might have lost to Djoker if had played in the final. But Fed still could not beat him despite having a set point in first set.
I agree, I think there is a reasonable chance Djoker could’ve beaten him in that final, although I would by no means have counted out Rafa.
Fed really had his chances in 2011, but imo the previous beatings had made it very difficult for him mentally. I think mentally there’s not so much of an issue anymore after 2017, but Rafa will still just be too good on clay this time.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens, but I don’t personally have any expectations for Fed, I think he’ll be doing well to get a set. I’m not a gambler myself, but anyone who thinks he is even close to a 50/50 chance should probably put a bet on him, as it’s a two horse race and his odds are like $6!
Some of us already put a (small) bet on him when he was 28-1!
One of the many reasons I expect the same old-same old Fedal RG result is that Fed has not faced a lefty yet this tournament. He also hasn’t faced THAT forehand coming to his backhand on clay in many years. I can see a scenario where early in the first set there are a few points where Rafa just pounds away at Fed’s backhand like the old days, and it just sends reminders of doubt to Fed’s head. I really don’t want to be disrespectful to Fed here- he certainly does have a chance. I just really believe that it’s a very small chance. I would be more shocked than I’ve ever been if Fed somehow managed to beat Rafa at RG after all these years. I honestly can’t even fathom it! I suppose that Fed knowing just as well as us that the cards are heavily stacked against him, it could help him to go for broke like he truly has nothing to lose? But my thing is that I don’t see Fed successfully going for broke for 3 sets against Rafa at RG. This is another one of those “I’ll believe it when I see it”-type scenarios.
Side note- How cool would it be if 2019 was a total throwback, and we get Fedal matchups at RG AND Wimbledon?! And then on top of that, if we finally got a Maiden US Open matchup! That would be amazing…
Djoko will have something to say about that!
I’ve doubts that Rafa could reach the SF at Wimbledon this year, even though secretly I hope and wish he could. He’s not playing better on clay this year than last year; last year he carried that confidence (of winning so much on clay) right into the grass season. He’s also physically fresh last year not playing at IW/Miami.
To go far on grass, Rafa really needs a great serve; if he could play like at the AO, ie serve plus FH short point attacking tennis, then perhaps he may go far on grass.
Kevin, you’re totally forgetting the effect of the new racquet and it’s impact on Fed’s BH. He’s already shown that you can take the BH on the short hop and he’s had a lot of success in directing it DTL. My prediction is that he won’t let Rafa play in his preferred position hugging the lines-persons. He will hit sharply angled shots and drop shots, bringing Rafa forward and possibly tilting the advantage in his favor in the rallies.
Rafa LOVES coming forward for the past three years.
I disagree; sometimes he does, but he often reverts to his old style, particularly when he is playing an aggressive player who is hitting his shots.
Yeah, we’ve often heard that as a reason why he lost. I can see him doing that against Fed if it gets close.
Not out of the question for Fed to beat Rafa playing an attacking game, just like Konta.
I actually think this is a pretty good chance to beat Rafa on clay…pressures off.
That pressure’s off thing cannot be underestimated. To be honest, I’m not sure I would believe Fed if he said that he’s going into this SF with no pressure. I think he wants to beat Nadal at RG very, very badly. The key will be to play as if he believes that, but not actually having it in his head. Kind of a Zen thing.
The mental side of tennis is huge.