Federer does it …  again…

On Monday, 2/19, Roger Federer will ascend to the world number 1 ranking.   After squeezing past Philip Kohlschreiber, who played inspired tennis, in the round of 16, Roger Faced Robin Haase of the Netherlands in the quarters.  In the first set Federer served poorly, making only about 40% of his first serves and winning only 64% of the first serves that went in.  Federer was broken late in the set and lost it 6-4.  After that Federer served better, drove the ball harder, and took over court position much more aggressively.  The result was what you would expect – he dominated to win with multiple breaks in sets 2 and 3, and without facing a break point in either set.

The third set of this match was a brief and necessarily incomplete summary of how this man has redefined the term “greatness” in the tennis lexicon.  With Haase serving at 15-40 in the first game of the third set, Roger broke him with a mind boggling backhand passing shot.  Federer is the only man I have ever seen who could make that shot, which was executed with Roger’s back to the net.  When serving at 1-0, 40-15 in the same set, Federer hit a wide serve that was called an ace.  But Roger did not move from his spot, and when Haase asked what was going on, Federer announced that his serve was a fault.  The umpire shrugged and logged the serve in as a fault.  Federer thus appeared to overrule a line call that had gone in his favor and that was not disputed by anyone.  To do a thing like that in a match for the number one ranking is also something that no other player would ever do, and is one of the reasons he has won so many sportsmanship awards and “most favorite to watch” awards. 

Two other notable shots in this match:

First game of the match, Federer serving at 15-0.  An incredible backhand.

Third set, Federer leading 2-0, with the ad and Haase serving.  An amazing defensive point by Roger that led to a jaw dropping forehand winner.  If you want to see what commentators mean when they say “defense to offense”, watch that point. 

It has already been an amazing year for Federer, who won his 6^th Australian Open and moved to the world #1 ranking.  What’s next for him?  Your guess is as good as mine.