Juan Martin Del Potro and Roger Federer will contest a virtual quarterfinal match on Saturday in London. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic and Richard Gasquet are facing each other despite having their fates already determined.
(4) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. (6) Roger Federer
Del Potro and Federer will be squaring off for the 20th time in their careers and for the the third time in three weeks when they collide during round-robin action at the World Tour Finals on Saturday. Federer leads the head-to-head series 14-5, including 9-5 on hard courts. Del Potro won a three-setter in the Basel title match last month before Federer returned the favor with a three-set victory in last week’s Paris quarterfinals.
This is effectively a quarterfinal match, because the winner will advance out of the group stage while the loser will be sent packing. Del Potro is 1-1 following a three-set win over Richard Gasquet and a three-set loss to Novak Djokovic. Federer fell to Djokovic in three sets before eliminating Gasquet 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday. Del Potro has been the second best player this fall behind Djokovic and the Argentine’s form has also been superior to that of Federer so far in London. The Swiss will want to keep points short, but that is a tough task on a court playing slower than usual.
Pick: Del Potro in 3
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(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (8) Richard Gasquet
Djokovic and Gasquet will be going head-to-head for the 11th time in their careers at the ATP level on Saturday. The second-ranked Serb has won nine of their 10 previous encounters, including seven of eight on hard courts. They have faced each other twice this season, with Djokovic prevailing 6-1, 6-2 in the Montreal quarterfinals and 6-4, 6-2 in the Shanghai semis last month.
This will be an interesting match because Djokovic is already through to the semifinals while Gasquet has already been mathematically eliminated. The underdog Frenchman played well in his opener against Del Potro but he was dreadful in his loss to Federer. Djokovic has not suffered a single loss since the U.S. Open, so he will be motivated to keep that unblemished fall streak going and carry momentum into the semis.
Pick: Djokovic in 2 losing 8 games or fewer
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Gasquet has the game he just needs to bring it with him.
Allez Gasquet!
Allez Rishaard!!!!
wats wrong with tennis website no one mentions the time of match
just ask. All of us will know.
I give Gasquet almost no chance of making this match competitive. If Fed can win so easily against him, I don’t even want to think about the thrashing he could get from Djoker. Maybe now that nothing is on the line, Gasquet will play more freely, but I think this is not going to be very competitive. Djoker will want to keep the winning streak going.
Reeshie will fold without so much as a wimper. He seems terrified of Djokovic, retreats into a shell………….
Watching Federer play like this is really painful 🙁
You think this is painful? Just pray he does not make the mistake of winning this………..
#BullWaiting
It doesn’t really matter who the opponent is. It’s Fed playing absolute crap that hurts more than anything, even his loss.
Fed breaks right on cue
still way better than this summer!
I had to look for this thread Ricky, I mean, search for it……it’s supposed to pop up on command…….
My pred is on course so far…………
it’s only the main story on the main page!!!!!
Oh c’mon Roger, what do you want, pity?
…………no wonder the Federazzi are all colicky…………this is terrible.
This is not just a confidence issue…………….way deeper than that.
Yes. His game nowadays is too much about being good and bad in phases; just not able to sustain the level of play for even 1 set.
Federer is playing ok. Del Potro is simply better.
Reusable
You’re joking right, @tj600? This level of play is not going to keep Djoko, Rafa, Muzza even Delpo awake, make no mistake……………unless Fed has resigned himself to being an also-ran…………….
Federer is nervous.
The Tennis Channel commies are making me crazy. Once again, Annacone is a guest analyst and they’ve spent 90 percent of the time talking about Roger, almost as if JMDP is a backboard and not worthy of mention.
well Annacone is obviously gonna talk about Fed, not Delps.
I expect is from Annacone, but Haber and Arias are just as bad and doing nothing to counterbalance it.
ooops…typo…I expect “it” from Annacone…
That was a decent first set. Roger nearly got it back to 5 all. Some great points in the last few games
Either of them will be tough for Rafa indoor..wonder whom Rafa prefers?
I hope its a 3 setter so that they are a bit gassed by tomm..lol
RITB..Fed played poor first few games but last 5-6 games he has picked up big time
Well to be fair, apart from the opening game of the set, Fed’s game was good.
Quite clear with his game plan and has been implementing it with good effect too.
Delpo played a great 5th game to snatch a break which proved vital.
@nadline you were right………….Cedric Mourier is allowing Fed soooooo much time to challenge. Don’t think he would do that to any other player, Rafa excepted………
Don’t know which match you’re watching guys………….what I am watching is truly pathetic from Fed……..pathetic.
…….forget the flashes of brilliance, he is getting slaughtered by a guy with…….zero M1000s to his name. I mean, has he even put Delpo under pressure? NON.
Isnt this the same player, who recently beat Rafa at a Masters. Moreover, isnt this the same guy who won his 1st GS by beating Fed back in the days when he was still playing some good tennis.
Winning a GS is arguably more difficult than winning a Masters. Just ask Murray.
Agree, there’s no shame in losing to The Ent 🙂
If he’s going to lose… This ain’t over, yet…
How many times has Delpo beaten Rafa, @abhirf? Even the last time he beat Rafa, Rafa wasn’t struggling, I would say he decided defeat was the better part of valour at that point………..
Fed’s game is just too loose at the moment. He cannot challenge for the top with these kind of errors.
Delpo’s doing nothing blilliant, it’s Fed disintegrating all by himself. This is what he means by the match is on his racquet…………..
I do get what you are trying to say.
But right now we are judging Fed’s game based on his current season, not yesteryears.
Also I would like to point out that Delpo does not really appeal to be doing great stuff in his matches, but he plays really well from the baseline, even without great variety of shots.
Now, that’s better, Fed……pressurise that second serve.
RITB he is def not playing bad..I would def not be surprised if he wins the match..Delpo has lost control of the 2nd..He was 3 1 up and now 3 4 down
@Sanju, that is exactly my point: Delpo is not playing great, problem is Fed is making him appear good with his loose play. My sense is Delpo is tired, he has played a lot. Fed should be taking advantage of that and disposing of Delpo quickly, save energy for the semis……………….
Cmon RITB..caution..Rafa has never ever beaten Fed indoors..If they meet tomm..I for one do not expect anything easy..If Rafa has to win..he will have to fight it out and earn it just like Cincy
Agree with you @Sanju, I don’t expect Rafa to walk over Delpo or Fed in the semis easily simply because it’s indoor HC. But mark my word, Rafa will fight for every point, he will adjust on court, he will tighten up his game………he will do EVERYTHING to win, and I expect him to.
Whom do u prefer Rafa to play tomm RITB?Looks like you want Fed..I want Delpo
I want Rafa to play Fed for a whole host of reasons……………..I juts feel Fed is an easier match-up for Rafa than Delpo…..
Rafa obviously wants to play Fed
Ricky Rafa has never beaten Fed indoors
well he just got slaughtered by Del Potro OUTDOORS
Rafa wants to play Gasquet in the semis 🙂
And yes I agree Delpo is not playing good..He has made so many uncharacteristic errors
Fed’s played an excellent TB, really cut out the errors…….
C I told you..it will go 3..I think Fed is the fav now? Delpo has simply played more and his legs will give up
Good that it went 3..could be of little help to Rafa if these guys play more 🙂
Feds movement on court is so lousy..How does this guy even win matches against Top 3..He is so lethargic
Sorry I meant DElpo in post above not Fed
This stat says it all:
RT @TennisTV: “Number of times Federer broken in first 3 games of deciding set: 2008=61%, 2009=66%, 2010=68%, 2011=75%, 2012=80%, 2013=100%”
#ProgressiveDecline
#NoQuestion
I wonder, If Delpo is going to fold again, as he often does on the bigger stages. He’s forever almost making it, if you take out his only slam.
^^I am on my knees now, praying to my Gods for Delpo to fold…..
And it happened….
Delpo will lose this..no way he should have surrendered the break..costly
It’s incerdible… The guy can win 500 tourneys against the best, but majors and masters? Not to save his life…
This has been a great match.
amazing chokes by Delpo in this match
Poor Mirka’s aged 100 years in this match alone………….
Okay, even if he losess, Fed’s redeemed himself in the 3rd set………..fighting.
Does Delpo even know the dimensions of tennis court? He is wildly hitting balls out.So many UE
Squeeky bum time………….
Now H.O.L.D for Fedal, Fed………
So we get a Fedal again..
huge for Rafa. Can add to his record vs Federer on his “worst” surface.
I just cant understand how you guys so confident of Rafa tomm..Rafa has never beaten Fed indoors..Fed really gutted out this win..The fact that he came from breaks down in both 2nd and 3rd will add a lot to his confidence
Sanju, agree with you. Of course Rafa can win this, but it’s not a sure thing by any means. And IMO Rafa has more to lose than Fed. Fed did better than anyone expected from him here, and even if Delpo choked this away big time, you have to give it to Fed: He fought hard for another Fedal.
Frankly, I wonder, if this version of Delpo wouldn’t have been better for Rafa…
I agree littlefoot..Delpo would have been way better for Rafa..he was gassed…Fed surely did not look tired end of match
FEDAL…….
Well done Fed. You fought like a lion, well done.
Nadal will probably beat Federer easily. Nevertheless, this has been a decent tournament for Federer;
It wasn’t a bad showing for Fed, and I really don’t think Rafa will beat him easily. So far, he hasn’t played lights out.
What O2 nonsense is this? Surely Fedal is the primetime match?
RT @NeilHarmanTimes: “Actually the matches are the other way around with Rog v Raf at 2pm. Djoko v Stan in the evening. Splendid”
RITB why are you complaining? If Rafa beats Fed you want him to play with less recovery time vs Djoko?
the schedule was out before the start of Fed-Delpo match. Probably they want to give the 2 players from Grp.B equal rest time.
Ricky, what did I tell you… 🙂
Bravo Maestro…great effort from Fed…I really admire this guy…
natashao..preds for tomm both matches?
it’s not going to be easy for Rafa as he has lapses on his own and is not playing his best atm while Fed feels at home on this surface…but I see Rafa winning in three…For Nole vs Wawa…I believe Nole will get it done in straights…
Vamos Rafa!
Hope so Rafa wins natashao..dont care 2 or 3..though better for nerves if 2
I think it’s because Djokovics match today is at night, so it is fair for him to have a bit more recovery time.
Well, well, well – another Fedal match. Can’t wait.
It could be Fedal at 2 pm and Gasquet/Wawa at 8 pm.
Roger will be really motivated tomm..I am already scared as motivated Roger on his fav surface will be very dangerous
Agree…
no way Fed is beating Rafa tmrw…it may become competitive at times as Rafa has these strange losses of concentration hitting errors all over the place but he usually comes back just in time to win the match…Roger’s motivation will not be sufficient to beat Rafa…
best possible result 😀
Federer: “I don’t get a day off, I’ve got to back it up and be ready to go again tomorrow. I’ll try to make #Nadal’s life a bit difficult.”
the usual show man 😀
rafaelo..how come so many smileys and not nervous for a change?
I never was and won’t be nervous in fedal matches 😀 I don’t know why! but I have good feeling of those matches, even if rafa loses! I know there will be a good quality match and for me roger is not a better player than rafa especially now a days! so rafa doesn’t have to prove anything by beating this guy for 22nd(?) time 😀
Yawn, has already put the excuses in early…………..
Hope Rafa has practiced well in anticipation of being sliced to death by Fed…………that’s the shot that did Delpo in today.
Beyond The Baseline @SI_BTBaseline 4m Federer says needs to see himself as underdog tomorrow because of his year compared to Rafa’s year. Wants to swing freely.
I can not watch the match tomorrow! 🙁 it’s one of my friends birthday! so I am not home!
Sanju@November 9, 2013 at 5:54 pm
—Delpo would have been way better for Rafa—
I doubt. All the players are playing lights out against Rafa – because defeating Rafa makes them famous and heroes All the (pro-Fed) writers, commentators and Fedfans keep talking & writing about the players who have defeated Rafa. TV-commentators make quizzes during Rafa’s matches, asking who, when, where.. (and so on) have defeated him. They don’t let forget these guys. 🙂
In fact just taking a set off Rafa is an achievement. Even when Rafa is not on court they have to mention that on of the players beat Rafa 8 years ago or took a set off him once. Beating Federer doesn’t seem to be such a big deal or even beating Nole.
Ok, rafafans, I hope, your optimism and trust in Rafa is justified. I for one don’t like this turn of events. I like Delpo, and it’s not fun to watch, how he time and again chokes away winnable matches on the bigger stages. Also, as Sanju said, he was gassed. I think Rafa might have beaten this London version of Delpo. He might well beat Fed for the first time indoors tomorrow. But prestige wise, Rafa is in a no win situation against Fed: Since the head to head is so lopsided, and since he’s younger, he’s expected to win most of the time anyway. It doesn’t get him brownie points anymore. That time is over. Most pundits think anyway, it’s only a matter of time until Rafa beats the old lion in his den… I mean, indoors. On the other hand, if Roger beats Rafa tomorrow, it will be a huge win over a younger rival and the reigning No 1., while Rafa wasn’t able even in one of his best seasons, to get the better of an aging player. So prestige wise, Rafa hasn’t much to gain. Point wise, of course, it’s a little different. Let’s hope, he pulls it off tomorrow. But for me, that’s far from certain.
littlefoot@November 9, 2013 at 7:45 pm
— while Rafa wasn’t able even in one of his best seasons, to get the better of an aging player.—
So what! This ‘an aging player’ has never been able to beat Rafa at Roland Garros, during all his good&better&best seasons at any age! They have met their 5 times in y.2005 – 2011. During most of this time, Fed was world No.1. And Fedfans hope Fed to win Grand Slam tournaments in the future! How can they hope, if he is a miserable aging player?!
Well, Fed won’t win any more slams,unless he’s presented with a Bartoli situation, which is highly unlikely in today’s men’s tennis.
Well, I’m actually watching the Novak/Richard match and so far this isn’t the massacre that I thought it was going to be. The first set has gone to Novak in a tiebreak (tb score 7/5).
I am not going to take Fed for granted. I tried to watch my recording, but it cut off after the second set. So I had to go online to find out who won. The tennis channel will replay it in a little over an hour, so I will get to see the third set.
I think Delpo is gassed at this point. But players seem to bring their best against Rafa. Fed is going to come out guns blazing to get the win. Rafa will have to avoid having any walkabouts the way he did in the second set with Berdy.
Rafa has his own motivation, so I am not worried about him being ready. It would be sweet to see Rafa beat Fed on indoor hard court.
I think Djoker is doing just enough to get the win against Gasquet. He doesn’t want to lose, but also doesn’t want to kill himself before the semis tomorrow.
I know, you wouldn’t take Fed for granted, NNY. And he will be super motivated. IMO, he has nothing to lose. HHe acquitted himself better than most expected. But Rafa most certainly won’t take him for granted, either. I don’t think, he will suffer lapses like in his Berdych match. He has to get over the hump of never having beaten Fed indoors.
littlefoot,
As I said, Rafa will be very motivated here. He is playing much better on this indoor hard court than he has in the past. He wants to win this tournament. So he will come out and give it his best.
I would expect that he won’t have the kind of mental lapses that he had in the second set with Berdy.
I personally would love to see him get over that hump and get this first win over Fed indoors. I am just cautious by nature when it comes to these kinds of matches. I do think that Rafa will get it done.
Gasquet takes the second set. Mentally, Novak is somewhere else.
Remember that when Rafa lost to Roger indoors he was each time tired from the long season. Usually more so than some other players. Relatively speaking he is more fresh this year and has so far unbelievably had a stronger early and late hardcourts set of seasons / year. He has again gone to a more aggressive game, and a different one than the one that got him his first US Open 3 years ago. Perhaps a challenging semi is just what he’ll need for the final unless for some strange reason it would be against Wawa. Actually I expect Roger to play with nerves and to have plenty of bad played games. Even though theoretically he can swing freely.
Hope, you are right 🙂
Chloro,
You make some great points. I agree with you that Rafa is much more fresh this year than in previous ones. He is also playing more aggressive tennis and seems much more comfortable on these indoor hard courts.
Rafa loves a challenge. It brings out the best in him. I expect him to bring it in this match.
I meant: his _strongest_ early …
This is the third time rafa-roger are going to contest a semi at WTF but its the first time when Rafa has topped his group and federer has finished second in his!
I was confident Rafa would stay unbeaten at WTF even right after his loss to ferrer in Paris.
Federer actually had an underdog-like tone in the post match interiew when he talked about his match like rafa…’ I will try to make his life difficult ‘ ..hmmm….
Rafa’s backhand has been really up and down so he is gona have to keep a check on his backhand… Plus, in their last indoor meeting, fed killed rafa with his outwide serve to rafa’s backhand in the duece court. I hope rafa can get good rhythm on the return games unliek Cincy where he started reading federer’s serve after one set and a half.
My pick : rafa in 3. BREAK THE INDOOR SHACKLES, Rafa.
whooz everyone picking?
vamosrafa,
I do agree with you that Rafa’s backhand has been up and down. I think the cc backhand has been really good at times. At least the dtl forehand has been on fire.
I think this is Rafa’s best chance to beat Fed. He has the confidence of winning so much this year. He wants to win this tournament. He is fresh and healthy.
I am picking Rafa in 3 sets.
yes NNY, rafa is fresh and he wants this one badly. I hope he can score this win. Good to see federer playing well though
I meant that this is the first time in the build up to their semi final at WTF that rafa has topped his group and fed has finished second (unlike 2006,2007)
I just hope rafa comes out playing aggressive tennis….fed is playing well enough to punish a passive rafa and extend his indoors mastery of rafa to 5-0
who thinks Fed will be a little jaded? he does not have an off day and he played an emotionally draining match today..
argh , in my first post, I wanted to say : I was confident Rafa would stay unbeaten in RR stage at WTF
If someone were to write a script about Rafa’s comeback year, a fictional final act could not have been better than the real final act. Here it is, Rafa in the year end championship tournament, playing his long-time rival, Roger, and should he beat him, he’ll likely play his current and probable rest of his career rival, Novak. Rafa has a good chance to beat Roger for the first time on an indoor hardcourt, and then probably Novak, who will be the favorite, just as Roger has historically been on this surface. Should Rafa manage this double victory feat, I think we will see Rafa overcome with emotion as we’ve never seen him.
I also think that Rafa will be super motivated tomorrow. He certainly is expecting a tough match – Roger might not deliver but probably will, unless the match gets away from him early, but Rafa has got to know that if he is not tentative and fights as if it is a slam final the match will be his, no matter what Roger throws at him. Rafa has got to know he has a pretty good chance of winning the semi and final no matter how well Novak (assuming) will be playing. Worth playing his heart out for two matches. Rafa in three both times.