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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While I was gone...

I haven't posted in nearly two months, having been out of the country for a month's vacation. Before that, I was busy wrapping up things at work so that I could pass them on to whoever would be taking up my duties while I was gone.

Now that I'm back, quite a lot has happened since that last post about both Federer and Nadal getting into the finals at Monte Carlo:

• Nothing new at that finals as Nadal won his third straight title at Monte Carlo 4-6 4-6.
  
• Yet another honor was bestowed on Federer: he was named by TIME magazine as one of 100 most influential people in the world today. According to the magazine, these are the men and women "whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world". The write-up about Federer who was classified under "Heroes and Pioneers" was penned by no less than tennis legend Rod Laver.
• Then the Rome AMS was not kind at all to Federer when he lost in the third round to Filippo Volandri in straight sets 2-6 4-6. Oh well.
• Federer unexpectedly split with Tony Roche, his part-time coach for two-and-a-half years, blaming a "lack of communication"--and not his recent slump--for the decision. Federer has stated that he intends to go it alone until at least Wimbledon this year.
• Finally Federer made a very crucial breakthrough at the Hamburg AMS where he defeated Nadal at the finals to win a fourth title there. More importantly, he halted the clay court specialist's winning streak on clay at 81 matches! Way to go, Roger! Federer had a very poor start at the match, dropping the first set 1-6 before he came back in the second winning it 6-2. Better still, he won the deciding third set 6-0, another bagel from the prolific Federer's Bakery--and on Nadal's beloved clay no less! Loved the exciting rally with Nadal serving during the third set at 0-3, 15-0. One could see how much the win meant to him when he let out an almighty roar to celebrate match point. I also loved the scene where Mirka came down to courtside to congratulate her man. So sweet!