There may have been a stunner on the women’s side on Friday at the U.S. Open, but the men’s semifinals could not have been more straightforward.
And dominance by Roger Federer in the nightcap could not have been less surprising. Federer, who did not drop a set en route to the Cincinnati title last month and is doing the same so far in New York, clobbered fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 to reach his first final at this event since 2009.
The 34-year-old fired 10 aces while double-faulting only twice and he was not broken a single time. He finished with more winners than Wawrinka (29 to 25) despite committing almost half as many unforced errors (17 to 30).
“(I) didn’t play my best game,” Wawrinka lamented. “Didn’t serve well and everything. But basically it’s him; the way he’s playing. [Since] Wimbledon, he is starting already at the different level. He came back (in) Cincinnati at a completely different level. Here also. If [he keeps] this level, he’s going to be tough to beat.”
“I wasn’t quite sure if I was going to play this aggressive against Stan, because when he’s on he presents a very different challenge [from] all the players I have played thus far in this tournament,” Federer explained. “But now that I have been able to do it also against Stan definitely gives me confidence that maybe I can also do it against Novak (Djokovic) this way.”
It will be Federer vs. Djokovic on Sunday because the world No. 1 made extremely quick work of Marin Cilic in the first semifinal. Hobbled by a minor ankle injury, Cilic–the defending champion–bowed out in 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 blowout.
Djokovic faced only one break point and saved it easily early in the second set. The top-seeded Serb committed a mere 13 errors as he booked a spot in his fourth major final of the year (he is 2-1 in title matches, losing only to Wawrinka at the French Open).
“It felt great to be able to perform as well as I did today at this stage of a tournament, knowing that Marin carried that injury for last couple of matches,” Djokovic commented. “I didn’t allow that fact to distract me too much. I just wanted to concentrate on what I needed to do on the court and come out with the right intensity.
“All in all, it was from my side a very solid match and I take that as a confidence booster for the final.”
Get your popcorn ready for that final. No. 1 vs. No. 2–it doesn’t get any better.
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Here is an article (very good one) on Roger. He talks about being adamant and being ready to change and how to strike a balance.
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/this-is-34-roger-federer-will-not-go-away-thankfully/
He had much solid BH 4-5 yrs back. He has added variety to it yes, but hardly makes a push with it these days.
Nole does play an enterprising brand of tennis. Though, only neutral fans can appreciate it.
Just like Roger’s and Rafa’s fans have been lamented as boring by the counter group.
Nole is unlucky enough to go through 2 legends at the same time.
^I meant Roger and Rafa being lamented as boring by the counter fans.
I’m sorry to digress and also for asking but, has anybody commented on Blake’s arrest? I don’t see a thread….. Seriously, how can that happen?
you make great and detailed points about rafa a few posts above, abhirf
if there will be a comeback from rafa it will not be easy for the reasons you mentioned and for getting older
on top of that there is the thing that few on this forum seem willing to see with cold-blooded realism: if rafa had a physical problem such as a mono or an injury that seems easy to look at objectively but rafa has an anxiety condition somewhere on the scale of low to extreme, and it is not near the low side, with some OCD traits among the more readily seen symptoms. there is _NO_ way to explain his behaviour on court so often this year by saying it is no more than lack of confidence, recent successes, match readiness. He has alluded to this in an understated way, and why should he say more? I don’t envy him having to field questions on this from journalists anywhere in the world he plays. He has also said he wasn’t going the professional psychological route, and will keep finding ways to deal with this more or less on his own. His choice. I don’t think it is an effective or wise one and maybe the only one that makes sense to him or that he can see himself live through. Too bad, even though I respect him for making his own decisions and his thought process. Too bad, because if he did get this treated to the point it would have been reduced to a minor very manageable impediment then he would be able to do his very best (as he knows to do) to improve his tennis in any way possible to him his older tennis years. Roger did.
Chloro – Why are you hell bent on diagnosing him with a disorder? I do not think u know him to make any such claims? Sitting from the comfort of your house, u diagnosed Rafa as having a disorder? Time and again u say such things, I think it is not good . I cannot understand why anyone is quick to say anything with authority about a person they have never interacted or don’t know and especially something medical.
You think a top athlete and professional who has a doctor travelling with him all times has no one pointing out to him if he has this issue? And if he is having a disorder he will be playing at a top level for 10 years battling so many odds, injuries, making 3 comebacks from serious situations ? Tennis is an individual sport and it is incredibly tuff at the top, if a guy has battled it for 10 years and performed top notch, let us choose to see what is shown to us rather than make inferences please.
Also it is okay to comment on anyone’s FH, BH, serve, technique as that is the sport and we see it as it is ..it is definitely not cool to make comments on a medical condition or disorder when one is not sure about it and definitely not cool making insinuations about it.
I am speaking up for Rafa, but if such a comment would have been made on Roger or Novak too, I would have defended it. It is just not right .
Every person has anxiety..faces anxiety at different moments in life..every person has ups and downs in life. No one is hitting sixer’s all the time in life. Rafa is going through a bad phase and patch in his career now. One’s trials make you the person you are as they gift you with endurance and this trial of Rafa will give him strength in future .
Rafa shows classic signs of ocd and generalized anxiety disorder when left untreated typically just gets worse. Nobody is diagnosing him here.
The Rafa time violation rule change and subjectively strict reinforcement after Roger complained has been an effective strategy to accelerate and exacerbate his anxiety.
This combined with Federer’s new racquet and renewed unsurpassed level has been quite effective in putting Fed in a position to add to his record slam count and in doing so regaining his GOAT status.
Sanju,
I think you make some excellent points. That’s why I have stopped discussing any possible anxiety disorder. It is not possible to accurately diagnose this condition without interviewing and evaluating the person and doing the requisite tests. Also, Rafa has made it clear that he is not going to use the services of any sports psychologist.
It is true that we all have anxiety issues at points in our lives. It’s part of the human condition. But I think that the best point you made was the fact that Rafa has performed at such a high level for ten years in this sport and accomplished so much. That cannot be ignored. Well said!
abhirf, I agree with some of your points, but Rafa is playing well atm he’s just got to bring back the dogged killer instinct.
To get that killer instinct back he will need more confidence in his own game. For that he will need to trust in his ability and his shots which is exactly what I have been talking about. Maybe he will lose 1 or 2 matches trying something new, but it will eventually pay him in the long run.
He just needs to look at Nole and Fed for the same especially Nole. The guy hardly has any weakness now.
One more thing that he can do is just stop playing for results and start playing for the love of the game and try to enjoy the game on court. The game will reap him the rewards eventually.
Nole can’t do overhead an smash to save his life and he is not that good at the net. Let’s not get too carried away. When Nole and Fed have had to cope with the injuries and time out that Rafa has had to cope with Rafa will start taking lessons from them.
Sure he doesn’t kill them the way Roger does but he is more authorative and confident while going for his volleys and smashes. He doesn’t suck at them the way he used to 2 yrs back.
He may not have converted it into his strength , but they are not his weakness either.
abhirf,
Your first two sentences sum it up quite well. That’s the crux of the issue. Watching Novak play so well against Cilic, showing off all of the aspects of his game, reminded me that he really doesn’t seem to have any weaknesses.
So many times I have watched a Rafa who doesn’t seem to be having fun on the court. He certainly didn’t look happy after that loss to Dustin Brown at Wimbledon, or to Dolgo at Queens, or to Feli at Cincy and to Fog in the USO. Those losses are taking quite a toll.
sanju,
with all due respect, but some thing are plain to see, if you are willing and know even a little about such conditions. no need to be a medical professional. for example: rafa’s on -court rituals esp pre-serving rituals have multiplied over the years, and he has many others. add to this that he has often sweated a lot when there was no physical reason just then to sweat a lot, not a lof of exertion, not hot outside… this is almost certainly from much higher nervousness / anxiety than regular in match nervousness, there were many times when he was nearly frozen mentally and physically in matches against opponents that normally should not trouble him… do you ever see other players in this situation? when the flight-or-fight response in the body gets revved up to too high a level, and if someone has that kind of worsening condition then you can have this type of response to stress…. the brain’s rational thinking, among other things, shuts down… tihs is a survival mechanism: when the organism of a person or animal is in a life-threatening situation the flight or flight response is there to instantly ready the body to do one or the other (or to try to be invisible to a predator and so be still) and to decide among two (three) black-and-white choices… and so it shuts down rational verbal careful thinking or the kind of thinking rafa otherwise does so well during matches adjusting his game to what is necessary. shall I go on?
rafa has always been one of those people who worry about many things 10x more than the average person, we know that. Just read his biography, it’s full of this. Those who over-worry, bless their caring heart, quite often also have anxiety issues and not uncommonly of more severe levels. There is an entire scale to this from mild to extreme.
rafa himself has spoken about anxiety…. in an understated way… but that fits.
I can think of no other player where all these signs are present. Yes, we see them being nervous sometimes, lose confidence, and so on, but nothing like this. Even though they too undergo the intense pressure of the matches so many times a year.
These are things that many people can recognise easily, without being from a medical profession. Besides that I will say again that my wife has a professional background in psychology and comes to the same conclusions.
So had hawekeye’s wife with a similar professional background.
Sanju,
I do not mean any disrespect to rafa, on the contrary. And I equally do not mean any disrespect to you or any other tennis fan.
I repeat: if what troubled rafa was a body-related problem: body illness or injury then there is no denial from anyone once the facts are known.
difficulties with the mind, however, are (still) often viewed differently in our society than difficulties with the body. rationally that makes no sense.
Bravo chloro.
Chloro, make your comments short and succint. Life is too short. I’ll never get the time spent reading your post back. 🙂
nadline,
I do, sometimes, manage to write succinct posts 🙂
I didn’t have time, as they say, to edit that post down.
But if you don’t care for these views about rafa’s anxiety, please, just skip.
Some good points and some truth in these statements but I believe Rafa did improve his serve, net play and aggression in 2013 prior to his multiple problems in 2014 and increased anxiety which led him to regress back behind the baseline.
No this is less about Rafa failing to evolve his game but more to do with what’s going on between his ears. Even Rafa agrees.
Agree.
I also think that Nadal is trying to go through a wall. He needs to change or add something new, as he’s done time and time again in his career. I don’t know why he doesn’t see it that way now.
Pennetta wins!! Actually that was a pretty good final. Lots of good tennis.
Pennetta announced her retirement!
Good decision. I mean she won the biggest title of her life and called it quits.She anyway is engaged to Fabio and wants to marry soon and start her family asap.
That was enjoyable to watch and what a refreshing prize giving. No tedious speeches from the men in suits. No endless litany of thanks trotted out by the two players. Just sheer joy from both girls. For good measure I swear Roberta was as pleased for Flavia as if she’d won herself.
Just see this tweet from Boris 5 minutes back. Can you believe this? Boris is literally playing mind games with Roger on Novaks behalf? I wonder what strategy they have
Boris Becker @TheBorisBecker 2m2 minutes ago
Let’s have some fun with #SABR since it caused a lot of headlines this week….
I think BB should quit it with the mind games. That never works. It’s only going to make Fed even more determined to win tomorrow. He needs to shut up.
This kind of mind games is disgusting, that’s why he’s best suited to the ND camp.
I think BB is saying Nole will sabr him back.
That’s all well and good as far as I am concerned. I just think that BB doesn’t have to advertise it. Let it be a surprise when they are on the court.
That was something else to see Pennetta win and then announce her retirement! What a way to go out! Congratulations!
Popcorn ready….Fed in 4!
It would be imperative for Federer to not get involved in many long baseline rallies with Novak. I feel he will try his ultra aggressive game plan right from the beginning. But if it backfires we might see a similar match like their Wimbledon 2015 final with Novak being the eventual winner in 3 or 4 sets. At his age, Federer’s level can fluctuate drastically between matches and even during a match.
In their last two Wimbledon finals, Fed’s serve was OK, nothing special. But he couldn’t get a read on Novak’s serve all through the match. Novak hits a high percentage of first serves. Besides, Novak usually wins a lot of points on his second serve. So, its not easy to break him on these faster courts. At the same time, Fed also doesn’t get broken often as long as he keeps serving well which he does on most occasions. That leads to one or two tri-breakers or 7-5 kind of score in almost every match these two play these days. A long set or two takes its toll on Fed more and it leads to lapses in concentration in the next one or two sets which he surrenders without much fight. I am expecting a similar story to unfold tomorrow unless Fed manages to win the first two sets. Then also the match may go to five sets, but Fed will still have chances to win. But in all likelihood, its going to be Novak who will be the last man standing.
Novak in 4.
During this tournament, Novak has won 66% of his second serves, where as Federer’s has won 59% on an average. In case of Federer, this stat will be even worse in the final as Novak has such a deadly ROS. To compensate this, Federer needs to have very good serving day (more than 70% of first serve).
He will! Fed is ready!
And BB making “fun” of Fed’s new return tactics only shows that Nole’s camp is afraid. It exposes their own weaknesses…BB better shut up and start biting his nails as that is what he will do during the finals…
BB arrogance and induced ridicule do no good to Novak….
My take on the Novak camp – I’m sure they’re ready for Fed. BB just doing his job of playing mind games to help Novak. I don’t think Novak needs much help though, it’s not like he hasn’t faced the SABR of Fed prior to this. To me Fed revealed his weapon too soon at Cincy, giving Novak’s team time to think of a counter strategy.
I like the Nadal camp better, not revealing anything until the final of FO2014 with Rafa’s one two punch and FH DTL strategy that Novak couldn’t solve (the problem) on the court during the match.
Lucky, I think Fed will use it as an element of surprise and not very frequently. It may or may not win him the point, but it will be in Novak’s mind all the time while serving. Let us see if this tactic has any impact on how Novak delivers his second serve. I wont be surprised if he makes some double faults at crucial junctures of the match like he did in cincy. Neither will I be surprised if Novak finds a way the negate its effect.
The only problem with the SABR is that Novak won’t know when Fed will use it. I don’t see Novak double faulting. He’s been serving extremely well with both his first and second serves. This is not Cincy. This is the USO. This is a best of five match. It may well be true that Fed gave it away too early. But there is also a possibility of Fed putting some new wrinkle in his attack. He won’t want Novak to know what’s coming either. It’s like a chess match.
Even bigger was Nadal camp not revealing his deadly serve of USO2010 before the tourney started
Sorry what was this one two punch and FH DTL strategy? Rafa always tries to go for FH DTL with Novak, it is his money shot against Novak.
I saw him using body serve a lot against Novak in FO 2014 which was a surprise.
Rafa was going FH DTL when Novak was expecting a CCFH and so Novak was camping at his BH corner waiting for the CC shot and so he was late time and again to rush to his FH corner to return Rafa’s DTL shot. The DTL shot wasnt a running FH shot but Rafa was camping at his own FH corner and made Novak guessing which way he was going.
Both men are playing for high stakes. I’m staying with my theory (which has held up time and time again) it will be the one to whom it matters most who will blink first. In this instance I would say Djokovic has the most to lose. For Federer the win would be the icing on the cake.
Federer in 4
Why does Djoko have more to lose ed? He is not the defending champion here? He has already locked the YE No 1. Fed has a lot to lose too as he is trying for No 18 now since past 12 slams.
Sanju. Fed has secured his place in history regardless of the outcome of this match. Djokovic has already suffered a double whammy by failing to RG and complete his career Slam and then missed out on the elusive Golden Masters crown at Cincy. Ergo, he badly wants this win to prepare for another try to own all four Slams simultaneously.
The 4 in a row thing again will get ultra tiring. Already been there and suffered in 2011-2012 a lot..Not again with all those Djoko bots screaming from their roof tops.
Fear so Sanju. He wants that feather in his cap badly because neither Fed no Rafa managed it.
Sanju,
I agree with you. Novak doesn’t have anything to lose. He’s already won two slams and has year end #1 locked up. I see it the way you do. In fact, I think there is a great deal of pressure on Fed to get this. How long has he been trying to win another slam? Rafa is going to come back next year. This is his time.
@ Mark
I am of the same mind provided it doesn’t go to a 5th set If Fed plays with the same carefree freedom (with or without the SABR) I am certain it will force Djokovic into making errors and he will get rattled as he has in most of his matches this fortnight. Woe betide him if he retaliates by gunning for Federer. Stan tried that and look what happened.
Its a slam final so Fed wont be carefree. Who knows how many more slam finals left for him? Of course Fed will be nervous too. He seemed carefree vs Murray at Wimbledon but wasnt the same when in the final.
Ive made the mistake of underestimating Novak so Im not going to do that again. Novak somehow can raise his level when he needs to. I think the only place Novak is/was overcome by nerve and couldnt raise his level is/was at the FO, for obvious reason.
It’s a question of degree. I agree Fed will be less carefree than we’ve seen so far but I am still convinced he will cause Djokovic to be more tense and prone to errors – as long as the match doesn’t go the distance.