Mission still unaccomplished

Roger Federer here looks utterly dejected after seeing his quest for a first title at Roland Garros effectively crushed this year by Rafael Nadal in straight sets 6-1 6-3 6-0.

The world number one's error strewn game simply could not hold up under the relentless shotmaking of the Spaniard who with this latest victory has matched Bjorn Borg's record of four straight French Open titles.

Federer who has twelve grand slam titles to his already illustrious name will just have to put this dismal loss behind him and consider that the great run he had to the finals--for the third year in a row no less--was no mean feat. Then there is of course the coming grass court season to look forward to and where he can continue working towards a thirteenth grand slam title and a record breaking sixth straight crown at the prestigious All England Club in Wimbledon.

It is there after all where the grass is much greener for him, literally and figuratively, than it has ever been in Paris.
Photo credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images

Roger's road to the finals

World number one Roger Federer has made it to the finals at Roland Garros for the third straight year. Likewise, he will be battling his nemesis Rafael Nadal for the only grand slam title missing on his trophy case.

• Federer played a masterclass of a tennis match in his third round match against Mario Ancic. The Swiss was apparently in superb form as he dismissed the Croatian, 6-4 6-4 6-2.
• In the next round, Federer met a tougher challenger in France's Julien Benneteau who managed to put some pressure on the Swiss in the last two sets of their three-set battle 6-4 7-5 7-5.
• His next opponent was Fernando Gonzalez who previously defeated him on an indoor carpet court during last year's Masters Cup in Shanghai. Federer had a shaky start as Gonzalez clinched the first set on a double break. But Federer bravely fought back to repeatedly frustrate and eventually wear down the Gonzalez, physically and mentally, to take the match in four sets, 2-6 6-2 6-3 6-4.
• In the semifinals, Federer brought to a halt the amazing run of another Frenchman, Gael Monfils, who put up a brave fight for a place in the finals. But the tennis great from Switzerland was simply too good, especially at the crucial points of the match, and set up a showdown with Nadal via a four-set victory, 6-2 5-7 6-3 7-5.

Roger's road to the finals indeed has been relatively rocky compared to that of Nadal who has shown his utter dominance on the red stuff by winning all his matches this year at the French Open in straight sets. Yes, Federer has had some periods of brilliance but in my opinion--I'm sorry to say--will not have enough consistency to stop the three-time Roland Garros champion from winning a fourth straight title.

Of course, I hope Federer will prove me completely wrong.
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Still en route at Roland Garros

After two rounds, twelve-time grand slam champion Roger Federer remains en route to a thirteenth grand slam title and first at Roland Garros.

There was talk that Federer would have his hands full in the first round since he was drawn there against big-serving Sam Querrey. Happily for Federer fans, the Swiss was virtually untroubled as he dispatched the 6ft 6in American in straight sets, 6-4 6-4 6-3.

In the next round, Federer went up against Albert Montañes of Spain. That matched was interrupted by rain which made Federer struggle with his rhythm and lose the opening set in a tie-break 5-7. But that first-set loss apparently only served to spur on the Swiss to step up his game. He bounced back spectacularly, surrendering only a single game in the next two sets (6-1 6-0), and wrapped up the victory with a 6-4 score in the fourth set.

Next up for the world number one is Mario Ancic who himself is playing some of his best tennis this clay court season. The Croat, who also came down with mononucleosis last year, is known to be the last person to have defeated Federer at Wimbledon.

Note:
I'm afraid my posts about Federer's matches at the French Open will be relatively short since the sports cable channel which is available in our part of the country and carried live coverage of Roland Garros in the past years has opted not to buy the rights this season. I can only watch the live scores available online (oh, bummer!) as well as listen to Radio Roland Garros which isn't much help, by the way, as the people there rarely comment on the ongoing match. Talk about live "coverage"!
Photo credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Stopped by Nadal in Hamburg

Reigning Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal outlasted 12-time grand slam champion Roger Federer 7-5 6(3)-7 3-6 in the finals of the ATP Masters Series in Hamburg, Germany to take the only clay-court Masters Series shield missing from his trophy case.

Reminiscent of the finals in Monte Carlo, this match was a see-saw battle between the two tennis greats.

Federer gained the upperhand early with some superb shot-making to race ahead 3-0 before the Spaniard could get himself on the scoreboard. This seemed to be a routine set win when he earned set-point when way ahead 5-2 with Nadal serving to stay in the set. But after Nadal took an injury time-out for what appeared to be a pulled hamstring, Federer lost his concentration--and six games in a row to eventually concede the set to a strangely subdued Nadal (i.e. no fist pumps, etc.).

The number two-ranked Spaniard then looked to finish off Federer in straight sets by breaking the Swiss' serve right off in the second set. The four-time Hamburg title holder however refused to give up and broke back immediately. With momentum on his side, Federer then played aggressively to break Nadal's serve one more time and set up a 5-2 lead. But ever-fickle Lady Luck decided to change sides once more letting Nadal break back to stop Federer from running away with the set and even the score at 5-all. Nadal then threatened with three break points in the next game but Federer eked out an amazing turnaround by winning five successive points to hold serve for a 6-5 lead. A relatively comfortable serve by Nadal sent the second set to a tie-break where a rallying Federer came back from a mini-break down to force a deciding set.

Both players began the third set with holds of serve with Federer struggling a bit more in his service game. Things began to look bleak for the Swiss when Nadal displayed his authority on the red dirt in the fourth game with a break of serve. The 21-year old then managed to hold off a clearly frustrated and error-prone Federer in subsequent games, and sealed victory with a love service game to avenge the defeat--the first in 81 matches on clay--that Federer dealt him in last year's finals.

(From the way things looked during the awarding ceremony however, Nadal mysteriously didn't appear to relish this victory in particular and looked as glum--or perhaps even glummer--than Federer as they posed with their trophies for the press.)
This was obviously a tough match for Federer who had little opportunity to hone his game with straightforward wins against unseeded player en route to the finals. He did have patches of brilliance during the match but was just not able to maintain a high level of play long enough to outwit and outlast the Spaniard this time around.

But with the French Open to look forward to, Federer should once again take the positives from this latest defeat and, with part-time coach Jose Higueras in his corner, hope to capture the grand slam title that has long eluded him. This at least should be the motivation that would keep him from retiring prematurely just as WTA number one Justine Henin did recently!
Photo credit:AP Photo/Joerg Sarbach

Going for fifth title at Hamburg

Four-time title holder Roger Federer is going for a fifth title at the ATP Master Series in Hamburg after holding off unseeded player Andreas Seppi 6-3 6-1 in the semifinals earlier today.

The world number one's opponent in the finals will be whoever will emerge as world number two as a result of the battle between current world number two Rafael Nadal and current world number three Novak Djokovic.
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Still no title in Rome

Roger Federer has just lost an extremely close match to Radek Stepanek, 7-6(4) 7-6(7), in the quarterfinals of the ATP Master Series in Rome, Italy.
Both players never faced a break point as each comfortably held serve in the opening set. While Federer served very well--he won all points when his first serve went in--Stepanek matched him in that area and was increasingly becoming more effective in preventing the top seed from getting any rhythm. This much was clear in the tiebreak where Federer struggled to make any headway into the Czech's serve.

Things became especially bleak for the Swiss in the second set when Stepanek broke early on to race to a 3-0 lead. But the champion's heart in Federer enabled him to claw back to 3-4--much to the delight of the highly partisan crowd--and force another tiebreak. There, Federer won a long and terrific rally to go up 4-1. But when Federer was on the verge of forcing a deciding set at 6-5 his game fell apart once again to allow the 27th ranked Stepanek to eventually triumph over the world number one for only the second time.

Thus ended Federer's quest for a title at Rome this year. Just when he had a golden opportunity to bag the crown for the first time given three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal's exit in the second round!

But as in the case of the Spaniard, Federer will at least have more time to rest and prepare for the next ATP Masters Series which is in Hamburg and commences this coming Sunday. Federer is defending champion in that tournament and has won the title there four times.
Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Federer topples Karlovic

Top ranked Roger Federer continued his relentless march toward a first title at the ATP Masters Series in Rome after overcoming the tour's tallest player, Ivo Karlovic, in straight sets 7-6(4) 6-3.

The Swiss at first struggled with Karlovic's big serve and failed to convert a few break points in the first set before prevailing in the tiebreak. Afterwards Federer appeared to pick up on his opponent's serve and began to relax, breaking the Croat's serve in the fifth game of the second set. He fittingly clinched victory on another break of serve.

Overall, Federer played an excellent match hitting 27 winners to just nine unforced errors. He also lost only a total of ten points on serve throughout the match. As expected Karlovic who towers over everyone else in the tour at 6'10" managed to fire twelve aces past the Federer but that ultimately wasn't of any help as he failed to get past the top seed.

Federer will next face Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic who earlier fought back to defeat qualifier Luis Horna 6-4 1-6 6-3.
Photo credit: Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images

Federer Express dispatches Cañas

World number one Roger Federer subdued nemesis Guillermo Cañas in straight sets 6-3 6-3 to earn a spot in the third round of the ATP Masters Series in Rome.

Facing the 30th ranked Cañas for the first time on clay, Federer was clearly the better-adjusted of the two after breaking the Argentine's serve in the sixth game of the opening set. He repeated the feat in the seventh game of the second set but only after fending off a break point on his previous service game. He then went on to seal a convincing victory on his second match point after quickly going up 0-40 as Cañas served to stay in the match.

Federer put in one of his better performances on clay during the one-hour and 24-minute match. The two-time finalist at Rome fired 34 winners past the struggling Cañas, who had only ten winners, and, despite putting in just 54% of his first serves, surrendered a total of twelve points on serve.

Previously, Cañas was one of the few players on the tour with a winning record against the Swiss. With this latest victory by Federer, the two are now tied with three wins each.

Runner-up again at Monte Carlo

World number one Roger Federer has finished runner-up to Rafael Nadal at the ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo for the third straight year after losing in two tight sets 7-5 7-5.

The first set saw both players exchanging breaks with Nadal eventually prevailing in the 12th game when he converted the first of two break points as Federer served to stay in the set. Indeed the Swiss had a promising start with an early break for a 1-0 lead but failed to hold serve on his first service game. When he got another opportunity to pull away at 4-3 after another break of serve, that too was all for naught when Nadal broke back immediately.

The second set was essentially deja vu but to a more extreme degree. Federer had an even more incredible start as he played some stunning clay court tennis--including breaking his opponent's serve to love--to race to a 4-0 lead. In a bizarre reversal of fortune, his terrific form deserts him to allow the heavily favoured Spanish champion to level the set at 4-4. Federer then managed to move within a point of bringing the set into a tie break only to have Nadal force a couple of errors off his racquet to earn match point. His hopes of preventing Nadal from claiming a fourth straight title here tellingly ended with a backhand error.

Although it was a disappointing loss, Federer showed that he was capable of breaking Nadal's serve. He kept the pressure on Nadal more successfully than Nadal's previous opponents in the tournament. It was just unfortunate that he was unable to keep his unforced error count down and maintain a more consistent level of play.

While this latest defeat sets back Federer to a 1-7 record in his clay court head-to-head against the three-time Roland Garros champion, his finals appearance together with his title at Estoril last week can at least be taken as positive signs that the tennis superstar is finally on his way back from illness and a poor start to this season.
Photo credit: AP Photo/Claude Paris

Another gift of a finals spot

It seems that Roger Federer's general likeability--or perhaps it's the aura of invincibility that he exudes--has gone to such an extent that players are now handing him over victories this year. Talk about conquering your opponents with both your tennis game and kindness!

First there was Tommy Haas who gave the world number one a free ticket to the semifinals at Indian Wells. Then there was Davydenko who made the even more generous gesture of handing Federer the title at Estoril last week, Federer's first title this season.

And now there's Novak Djokovic.

The Serb has just retired from his semifinals match against the Swiss at the ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo after trailing 6-3 3-2 to set up a dream final between the top two players in the tour. No surprise there as Djokovic has made it a habit of pulling out from a match when he's feels he's not up to finishing the match and is at the losing end.
Djokovic appeared to have the upperhand early in the match as he threatened Federer at his service game by going up 15-40 when the score was at two games all. But Djokovic was unable to convert both breakpoints and a third later in the set. Federer on the other hand was much more successful as he pounced for the kill at his very first opportunity to break Djokovic's serve and earn a chance to serve for the set at 5-3.

In the second set, Federer produced an early break of serve to go up 2-1 but failed to consolidate it as Djokovic immediately broke back to love to level the set. The two-time Monte Carlo runner-up proceeded to break Djokovic's serve for a second time for a 3-2 lead. By that time however Djokovic evidently thought that he had had enough and indicated that he couldn't continue playing because he was feeling weak and dizzy.

Federer now progresses to the finals for the third straight year where he hopes to prevent Rafael Nadal from making history by collecting a fourth successive title at Monte Carlo. The world number two had earlier eased past fourth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko 6-3 6-2 and holds a 6-1 head-to-head record against Federer on clay.
Photo credit: Michael Steele/Getty Images

Tennis Goliath brings down David

Twelve-time grand slam champion Roger Federer received a major boost of confidence when he barged back from a set down to triumph over David Nalbandian 5-7 6-2 6-2 and secure a spot in the semifinals of the ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo.

The opening set was a display of superb shotmaking as neither player faced a breakpoint up until the 11th game as Federer served to stay in the set. The top seed then produced a number of errors to let the Argentine gain the upperhand with a one-set-to-none lead.

But the loss of that opening set apparently spurred on the world number one when he immediately broke Nalbandian's serve in the second set. Nalbandian however responded by breaking back in the next game but unfortunately struggled to maintain his level of play. He thereafter surrendered his next two service games to allow Federer to clinch the set at 6-2.

The deciding set was no different from the previous one as Nalbandian failed to recover and continued to fade miserably as the Swiss showed his class to produce sublime winners off his racquet. Federer then fittingly closed out the match by breaking Nalbandian's serve for a fifth time, roaring with delight after firing a running forehand past the hapless Nalbandian.
The resurgent Swiss now joins the other top three players of the ATP tour in the semis where he will face world number three Novak Djokovic of Serbia. World number two Rafael Nadal of Spain and world number four Nikolay Davydenko of Russia face off in the other semifinals match.
Photo credits: AP Photo/Claude Paris (top right) and Stephane Danna/AFP/Getty Images (bottom)

Federer Express chugs on into Monte Carlo quarters

Roger Federer's path toward a title at the ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo was much smoother in the third round as he defeated Gael Monfils of France in straight sets 6-3 6-4.

The top seed previously had to fight back from 1-5 down in the third set of his second round match against the 137th ranked Spaniard Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo.

This time around Federer kept his unforced error count down--he produced an appalling 55 unforced errors in the second round--and sealed the 71-minute victory with an exquisite drop shot.

He now faces long-time nemesis David Nalbandian of Argentina who routed Tommy Robredo of Spain 6-0 6-1 and holds an 8-8 head-to-head record with world number one.

Federer wins a thriller!

Tennis superstar Roger Federer practically came back from the brink of defeat to win a thriller of a match against Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo and move on to the third round at the Monte Carlo Masters Series.
The Swiss appeared to be cruising to a routine win when he emphatically won the first set 6-1.

But the Federer Express was derailed as he was broken right off at the start of the second set and struggled with numerous errors. Ramirez Hidalgo took advantage of this major lapse in the top seed's game and forced a deciding set with a 6-3 score in the second.

All seemed lost for Federer when he fell behind 0-4 in the third set. But the pressure evidently began to tell on his inexperienced Spanish opponent who failed to served out the match, not once, but twice! First at 5-2 then at 5-4.

With a true champion's heart and mental toughness, Federer in the meantime held his next two service games to level at 5-all. Both players then each held serve one more time to force a tie break where the 2006 and 2007 finalist raced to a 4-1 lead and never looked back.

The poor Ramirez Hidalgo must be heartbroken after having so many opportunities to pull off what could have been the tournament's biggest upset. Certainly he contributed to a match that must have given everyone there in the stands--including myself here watching the online live scoreboard--a dozen heart attacks.

We Federer fans must thank him for playing well and consequently forcing the world number one to step up and reveal the great tennis player that he really is.

Long live King Roger the Great!
Photo credit: AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau

Going for a first title at Monte Carlo

World number one Roger Federer today begins his quest to win a Masters Series shield at Monte Carlo for the first time. After receiving a bye in the first round, Federer faces Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo, a qualifier to the event, from Spain in an noontime match.

Federer went all the way to the finals in the previous two years but lost each time to Rafael Nadal, the world number two from Spain who is chasing a historic fourth consecutive title here.

As a side note, Federer was taken on a helicopter ride over the city yesterday. And although he said that enjoyed the ride he also "hoped he didn't disturb the [tennis] players."

Well, let's hope that he'll continue to fly high in the tournament and strike fear among the other players with his awesome game once again.
Photo credit: Michael Steele/Getty Images

Federer's first title for 2008

Roger Federer was literally handed his first title of the year when Nikolay Davydenko retired due to an injury to his left leg during the second set of their match in the finals of the Estoril Open.

The Swiss had several chances to break the fourth-ranked Russian's serve in the first set but failed to convert any. He even fought to save a set point as he serving to stay in the set at 5-6. Fortunately, the top seed eventually prevailed via a tiebreak which he initially led at 5-0 but managed to win at 7-5.

In the second set, Davydenko broke Federer's serve right off and was leading 2-1 when he decided that it was not wise to continue with his injury--especially considering that the first Masters Series on clay in Monte Carlo was scheduled to commence the very next day.

While this was an unusual way to win a title for Federer, he expressed satisfaction with his overall performance in the tournament and felt he was ready going into the Monte Carlo Masters Series.
Photo credit: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty Images

Federer finally in a final!

For the first time this year, Roger Federer has made the finals of a tournament. And on clay no less! To get there however the tennis world's superstar had to dig deep to come from a set behind in his semifinals match at the Estoril Open in Portugal.

The windy conditions played havoc on Federer's shots allowing his opponent, the 104th-ranked German Denis Gremelmayr to break the Swiss' serve twice in the opening set to easily clinch it at 6-2.

But to the relief of many in the crowd--and surely the tournament organizers--the top seed found his form in the second set and immediately broke Gemelmayr's serve in the second game. Federer appeared to be cruising toward leveling the match at one set all when a brief lapse in concentration gave Gremelmayr another a chance to break back and equalize at 5-5. After salvaging his next service game, Federer piled the pressure on Gremelmayr who was serving to go into a tiebreak. Luckily for Federer, Gremelmayr crumbled to surrender the second set to love.

Thereafter, Federer was troubled no more as he raced to a 5-0 lead in the deciding set. Gremelmayr just managed to hold serve once to force Federer to serve for the match which he did so with an emphatic 6-1 score.

Playing in Estoril for the first time in many years, Federer also came back from a set behind in his first round match against Olivier Rochus 4-6 6-3 6-2. His next two matches came more easily as he defeated both Victor Hanescu of Romania and local tennis star Frederico Gil in straight sets. This despite having to play through stubborn rain showers in the second round and enduring rain interruptions in the third round.

Federer now faces world number four Nikolay Davydenko of Russia who defeated Fernando Serra in the other semifinals match in straight sets and is currently on a winning streak after winning his second Masters Series shield in Miami.

A victory in the finals here would give Federer his very first title in 2008. Go Roger!
Photo credit: Francisco Leong/AFP/etty Images

Federer hires Higueras

World number one Roger Federer was seen practicing with Jose Higueras looking on before announcing during his pre-tournament press conference at Estoril, Portugal that he would be working with former ATP pro from Spain for at least the start of the clay season.

Higueras is well known for coaching Michael Chang and Jim Courier toward titles at Roland Garrosa and was hired at one time by 14-time grand slam champion Pete Sampras, among many others.

Given Higueras' impressive coaching resume, it looks like that the King of Tennis is serious about wrestling the Roland Garros crown and title of King of Clay this year from closest rival Rafael Nadal by hiring the well-respected clay-court specialist. Obviously, doing so would allow the Swiss to complete a career grand slam, something which Sampras failed to do.
Photo credit: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty Images

It's 2-15 for Roddick

Two-time Wimbledon runner-up and 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick finally finally finally finally finally stemmed a frustrating tide of 11 straight losses to improve his record against world number one Roger Federer to--drumroll please--2-15 with a hard fought three-set victory (7-6 3-6 6-3) at the ATP Masters Series tournament at Key Biscayne, Florida.

Most likely riding on the euphoria of his recent engagement to a swimsuit model from New York and spurred on by good friend Mardy Fish's recent upset of Federer in Indian Wells, the 6th ranked American managed to hold off the Swiss who came back after losing the first set in a tiebreak (4-7) to level at one set all with a break of serve in the ninth game of the second set.

There was no doubt however that Federer played much better in this match than in his mysterious loss to Fish. He hit 47 winners, including 8 aces, to Roddick's 36, half of which were actually aces. In other words, Federer played well while Roddick served well. After all, the American relies primarily on his serve to win matches.

This long awaited victory by Roddick puts him in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open against Russian Nikolay Davydenko and a possible confrontation with world number two Rafael Nadal in the finals.

Sadly, it also leaves Federer still without a title this year.
Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Nadal pays it forward

It's always a pleasure to read about Roger Federer, this year's recipient of the ATP Stephan Edberg Sportsmanship Award, doing some good deed now and then. It was therefore no surprise that an act of kindness by Federer has inspired another to repeat the gesture to another fellow tennis player.

Preparing to leave Indian Wells for Miami for a pre-tournament photo-shoot, world tennis number two Rafael Nadal offered Ana Ivanovic, his female counterpart on the WTA rankings, and her entourage a ride on the private jet which organizers chartered for him. He had learned that Ivanovic had difficulty getting a plane ticket to Miami and had been relegated to the waiting list of a commercial flight. There were apparently still some spare seats on the chartered private jet so after making sure it was alright with the organizers the Spaniard invited Ivanovic. Recounting the story in his blog, Nadal wrote, "I remember Roger gave me a ride from Montreal to Cincy last summer and I know how it feels to be stuck in a place when you want/have to leave to play the next tournament."

This indeed nicely echoes what Federer did for Nadal late last year when the latter was in a similar situation: After competing at the ATP Masters Series Tournament in Montreal, the latter couldn't get a plane to arrive in time to prepare for the next ATP Masters Series tournament in Cincinnati. Federer then heard about Nadal's predicament and let Nadal hitch a ride on the private jet chartered for him.

One good turn really does deserve another although in this case the favor wasn't returned directly. But certainly Federer (as well as his fans) would recognize the compliment implied by Nadal's generosity toward Ivanovic.

Fish feat forms Federer-less final

Contrary to expectations that he will finally end his title drought of 2008 appropriately in an oasis in the desert, Roger Federer was defeated 6-3 6-2 in the semi-finals by Mardy Fish of the United States at the Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells, California.

Fish is the first American that Federer has lost to since late in 2003. (Andy Roddick, who is 1-15 in his head-to-head with the Swiss, must be green with envy!)

The year's first Masters Series tournament started promisingly for the three-time champion with a straight-set victory in the second round over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, followed by an amazing 6-1 6-1 53-minute rout of Nicholas Mahut in the third round. By the time he mastered Ivan Ljubicic 6-3 6-4 in the fourth round, his winners punctuated with fist pumps and cries of "Com'n!", there was no doubt that the world number one was back to his best form. It was then that a clearly fired-up Federer got a surprise free ticket into the semifinals when Tommy Haas withdrew from their quarterfinal match due to a sinus infection. On hindsight, this might have cost Federer some much needed match practice.

After seeing the champion conjure magical shots in those previous matches, there was therefore something decidedly fishy about an out-of-sorts Federer in his third loss of the season. He was not as quick as usual and his game lacked its customary magic.

Could this be a sign that he is actually not yet fully recovered from mononucleosis? The disease is after all known to recur from time to time.

The unseeded Fish on the other hand displayed the kind of tennis that belied his number 89 ranking and, egged on by an eager home crowd, saw him previously swim past two-time champion Lleyton Hewitt and upset world numbers four and seven, Nicolay Davydenko and David Nalbancian, respectively.

Fish's opponent in the finals on Sunday is Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic who had upset world number two Rafael Nadal in the other semifinals. (Had Fish entered the tournament on a wildcard, that finals would have been an interesting wildcard vs. Djoker match-up. Haha.)

As for Federer, it remains to be seen if he will recover from this string of losses and finally triumph to raise a trophy this year.

In the meantime, we Federer fans will continue to thirst for such an event and have no choice but to wait patiently while our champion regroups for the rest of the season starting with upcoming Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida.
Photo credit: Harry How/Getty Images

Going for a fourth title at Indian Wells

Today Roger Federer begins another campaign for his first trophy of the year at the season's very first ATP Masters Series tournament at Indian Wells, California.

After battling mononucleosis and consequently failing to defend his titles at the Australian Open and the Dubai Tennis Championships, the current world number one hopes to extend his lead over world number two, Rafael Nadal, who is the defending champion at the Pacific Life Open.

The Spaniard is currently just 350 points behind the Swiss in the ATP rankings, thanks to making the finals at Chennai and a semifinal appearance in Melbourne. He also reached the quarterfinals in Dubai where Federer was upset in the first round by Andy Murray.

Last year at Indian Wells, Federer lost in the second round to a resurgent Guillermo Canas who had then just returned to the tour after serving a ban for testing positive for drugs.

With a bit of match practice under his belt (i.e., the recent exhibition match with Pete Sampras), Federer will certainly look forward to regain the title which previously he won for three straight years, from 2004 to 2006.

As a seeded player in the tournament, Federer has been given a bye in the first round and will play his first match in the second round against another Guillermo, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

Although Garcia-Lopez is ranked 61 places below Federer, the windy conditions which posed a problem at Indian Wells yesterday may be more of a concern for Federer. Let's hope he'll be able to fight off both and go on to regain the title.
Photo credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Slowed down by mononucleosis!

When Roger Federer said he came down with a stomach flu before the AAMI Classic at Kooyong early in January it turns out that that was just part of a bigger picture.

A number of articles have begun popping-up all over the world-wide-web to report that the world number one had been ill with mononucleosis--and for at least six weeks according to doctors.

The New York Times described the disease as follows:

Mononucleosis is an infection caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. It can produce flu-like symptoms and extreme, lingering fatigue. Physicians often discourage those with mononucleosis from taking part in intense physical activity because of the risk of rupturing the spleen, which can become enlarged because of the infection.

That sounds rather scary, doesn't it? Especially when one knows that Mario Ancic had to miss six months last year when he came down with the disease.

And to think Federer even played at the Australian Open up until the semi-finals, including that four-hour match against Janko Tipsarevic.

No wonder he looked sluggish and his shots were missing their usual fire and finesse!

But at least we finally have an explanation for his poor form on court though the Swiss graciously refuses to use this as an excuse for his recent string of losses.

For now Federer believes that he's over the disease because his body has begun creating antibodies against it. He seems relieved that he can prepare for the highly-anticipated exhibition match against Pete Sampras at the Madison Square Garden this coming Monday, 10 March.

Federer fans will certainly pray that he will get sufficient rest to avoid falling ill again. We can't afford to have him risk his health just for the sake of saving his number one ranking. We desire nothing less than for him to fully recover, if not in time for the upcoming ATP Masters Series tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami, at least for him to feel comfortable enough to give 100 percent when he next gets back on the tour.

So once again, we wish Roger to get well soon!

UPDATE: Federer talks about his illness in a message recently posted on his website.

Photo credit: Hassan Ammar/AFP/Getty Images

Federer Express derailed again

Oh dear. Our tennis hero has just once again been derailed in his quest to defend another title.

The world tennis number one was upset in the first round at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships by Andy Murray 7-6(6) 3-6 4-6.
Roger Federer scrambled to take the opening set by coming from behind 2-5 in the thrilling tiebreak to win at 8-6. But he let momentum sway over to young Scot's side, virtually surrendering the second set when he lost serve in the sixth game. That scenario repeated itself in the deciding set as Murray took the lead at 4-2 and never looked back from there.

This is probably the first time Federer has lost in the first round of a tournament for a fair number of years now. Likewise he has never gone through the early weeks of the tennis season without winning a tournament since 2003.

On the other hand, Murray, who did not face a break point during this latest triumph, has so far pocketed two titles this year.

The Swiss now holds a 1-2 head-to-head record against Murray, having lost to Murray in their previous meeting which was in the second round of the AMS Cincinnati back in 2006.

The defending champion had been struggling with his game ever since being hit by a stomach flu prior to the AAMI Kooyong Classic which he was eventually forced to miss. While this meant that the Swiss would lack match practice going into the Australian Open, his superb tennis appeared undiminished with straight-set wins in the early rounds at that grand slam tournament in Melbourne. After being nearly tipped over by Janko "Tipsy" Tipsarevic of Serbia in an exciting marathon third round match Federer breezed through the next two rounds against Tomas Berdych and James Blake only to be finally eliminated in the semifinals by another Serb, this year's eventual Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic.

With the first two Masters Series tournament of the year looming in the coming weeks, Federer will definitely need to regroup and prepare to face much tougher competition who are in all likelihood eager to usurp his lofty throne.

Spanish world number two Rafael Nadal and Djokovic will certainly want to capitalize on this setback to grab for themselves another of Federer's titles. Such was the case in the Australian Open where Djokovic was ultimately successful. Nadal himself was a shoo-in for a slot in the Australian Open finals but blew his chances in a shock upset to unseeded Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in the semifinals.

In the meantime, we faithful Federer fans will just continue to stand by our man and wish him the best for the rest of the season.
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Laureus World Sportsman of the Year #4

World tennis number one Roger Federer dominated sports headlines worldwide yet again by being crowned the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award for the fourth year running!

Federer had already made history last year when he scooped up a third straight Laureus award. By collecting another award this year, the Swiss has become first man to win the award four times--in straight years no less!---since the awards, considered the Oscars of the sports world, were established in 1999. Only one other athlete had been named Sportsman of the Year in consective years (2000 and 2001): Federer's good friend Tiger Woods who is another giant in the world of sports and a nominee himself this year.

It was in fact a big night for tennis as other Laureus winners this year included Federer's fellow world tennis number one Justine Henin who was named World Sportswoman of the Year and wheelchair tennis legend Esther Vergeer who won the Laureus Disability Award for the second time.

The Swiss star who was on hand to receive the award during the star-studded ceremonies held in St. Petersburg, Russia yesterday thanked "all voters who didn't think three would be enough."

Indeed, given another amazing tennis season last year which saw him add another three grand slam titles--including a record-tying fifth straight Wimbledon title and a fourth straight US Open title--to his ever-growing haul of trophies and hold on to the year-end number one ranking for a fourth straight year, who could refuse the deserving tennis great one more accolade in recognition of such achievements?

Apparently four Laureus awards would not satisfy Federer himself as he told reporters afterwards, "I would like to win it again next year to have five in a row. I have five (successive) Wimbledon titles so it would be great to have five Laureus."

Long live King Roger the great!
Photo credit: Getty Images

Roger withdraws from Kooyong

After beginning the year by being recognized as a champion of champions by two voting bodies, Federer's preparations for the brand new tennis season has been temporarily derailed. Our dear Swiss tennis superstar has apparently fallen victim to a "terrible stomach virus" and has been advised by doctors to rest for a couple of days. As a result, Federer had no choice but to withdraw from the AAMI Classic Kooyong, in which he participates as warm-up to the Australian Open, in order to recuperate and regain his strength in time for the season's very first Grand Slam tournament. Naturally all of us fans are praying for his quick recovery and hoping that he'll be back 100% to defend his title.

Get well soon, Roger!

New year, more awards

Clocks have barely chimed in the new year yet with true Swiss precision Federer has already even won more recognition for his achievements without missing a beat!

First, the French newspaper L'Equipe overwhelmingly named him 'Champion of Champions' and then the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) voted him the world’s 'Top Sporting Champion of the Year'. This is the third year in a row that the world number one has won both awards. He's truly a great champion.

Congratulations once again to the King of Tennis! What a great way to start a new year.