Ah! Who would have seen this coming! A 4 hour and 26 minutes tennis match, ah truly who would have seen this coming! And once again the eventual winner was Roger Federer who in my opinion is the greatest tennis player of all time. Now lets break down the three sets that was played out and after that my thoughts on certain aspects of the match.
First Set
First set was a sleeper, and I personally did not watch the first set entirely. But what the score suggest is plain for everyone to know and that was Federer came out of the blocks slow and Del Potro just took advantage of it. Federer looked tired and I guess the primary reason for it was because the Olympics men's tennis singles came so soon after Wimbledon (Federer won). Del Potro got out in the fourth round of Wimbledon but Federer went all the way to the finals and completed it. That itself would be a prime candidate explain the sluggishness in his play and of course father time is another reason for the apparent sluggishness in his play in back to back competitions.
Second Set
This set was really like a tug of war whereby both players did not look like giving up their service game, going pound for pound at each other. Del Potro seems to show some cracks in the set towards the end and his frustrations were pretty apparent. Went into a tie-breaker and again the cracks became obvious, and seizing the chance, Federer won the tie-breaker. Frankly speaking if the cracks did not come, Del Potro would have wrapped up the men's semi finals and moved onto the finals.
Third Set
The early stages third set looked pretty similar to the second set, both players going pound for pound. Several times in this set Del Porto looked like the one who would break first but once again Federer who brought his serving game to the match manage to hold out. But what can be certain is, Del Portro looks like the one on the back pedal as the set progress. Causes of his frustrations were because first of all his failure to seize chances in this set to break Federer, many errors (first serve drop in percentage, unforce etc) in this set by Del Portro and lastly to put in accurate terms Federer kicked up a notch in his play
Extended Third Set
I find this ruling in Olympic tennis very intriguing. I can't figure out the reason for this special ruling other than because they choose to make the man's singles a 3 set game. So to drag on a little more this extended third set rule came along.
Federer in all honesty controlled this extended third set and it was only towards the end probably like the 18th game of the extended set did he finally show visible signs of tiredness and fatigue. His service game was right up there and probably only drop in percentage came in the 17~18 or so game in the extended set. Federer would have won this game in the third hour if not for some sloppy finishing. He managed to break Del Portro (I can't remember which game it was in the extended set probably the 12th game) but he failed quite dramatically in his service game to close out the game. And as the set dragged on, it seems like this could go on forever. Federer did had control in the extended set, with Del Potro seemingly most of the time on the verge of defeat but as the game ensued it was Federer who finally showed visible signs of tiredness and fatigue. And it was Del Potro who came back and looked likely to be the winner of the game. But then the second break came and this time, Federer did close out his service game though not clinically but quite sloppily to be honest.
Thoughts on the game
1) Federer never hit top gear
Quite frankly the Federer that played yesterday was pale in comparison to the Federer we saw in the Wimbledon finals. He looked slow and sluggish at the start of the game and even towards the end Federer didn't look like hitting top gear. His forehand was surprisingly sloppy and lacked punch, his volley execution was also surprisingly sloppy and badly executed at times as well given how Federer himself had given Andy Murray a volleying clinic in the Wimbledon finals. So in short Roger Federer did not bring his best to the game
2) Del Potro's effort
Del Potro played wonderful tennis. And given he is only 23 years old and look to have put his injuries behind him, I would say Del Potro would win at least one more Major in his career. Del Potro needed to play near perfect tennis first of all to win the game and secondly to stay in the game and he almost did just that. In the extended set Del Potro showed to the world besides him having talent, he also has grit, determination and nerves of steel. The diving net shot in one of the game in the extended set is just one example of the grit and determination this young man has. Del Potro also displayed nerves of steel as well, there were a couple of times he fell 0-40 behind in the extended set but manage still manage to hold his service.
3) Del Potro's defensive game
Del Potro played some stellar defense yesterday to keep Federer out. Many a times where it seems like Del Potro's back was against the wall, he defended brilliantly. One has to watch this game to see how brilliantly Del Potro defended and it would be a pity not to see it. Not only did his defense kept Federer out but at times it turned into an offense and threatened Federer.
4) Roof
Ah... Federer's detractors has always found ways to criticize his game unfairly and lately it was the Wimbledon's court roof. What Federer shown in this game was he is equally capable of playing great tennis without the roof even when he did not have his best stuff with him. These detractors also conveniently forget most of Federer's majors that he won was without the "roof". The only time which I can remember where he won a major with a roof on was the very recent edition of Wimbledon.
The wind at Wimbledon yesterday was pretty strong and rough but Federer dealt with it quite admirably and well, so too with Del Potro. And certainly there were many times in yesterday's game that the wind was the culprit for some lost points for both players.
5) Great strategy by Federer
This year especially Federer has shown to plan and strategize his game quite deeply. I guess as father time catches up with an athlete of that stature, strategies are probably one of the things that can help Federer keep up with times. Federer shown in the Wimbledon finals against Andy Murray that his strategy was to tire Murray down to a point of frustration with a wide display of shots and placement of shots. This time against Del Potro, Federer's strategy was to keep his service game short and to execute it in clinical fashion. One cannot help but notice how efficient and clinical Federer's service games was yesterday. It was fast, efficient and assassin like. Logically speaking it's quite easy to see why Federer had this strategy, he knows that if he drags his service game he is more likely to lose. With Del Potro powerful forehand and backhand it is more likely Federer would be broken in his service games if he were to drag it out.
6) Federer's serve
Federer's serve in yesterday's game was one of the better ones which I have not seen in a long time from the man himself. And his serve was probably the only reason why it kept him in the game long enough for cracks to appear in Del Potro's game.
7) Federer edge in extended set
Federer seem to have the advantage in extended set and this advantage look more and more certain in Federer's favor. This is so because Federer himself been through something similar in the past. And that is the 2008 Wimbledon finals against Rafael Nadal. It is probably the greatest match in Wimbledon's history, lasting 4 hours and 48 minutes. But unfortunately in that game Federer lost. And 4 years on, this time was the Olympic semis finals in the same venue, Federer himself would have the mental edge in facing this type of matches and it clearly showed in the extended set. Though Del Potro lost, I believe he has gain something few tennis player had in their arsenal and its something Federer had gained 4 years ago in the match which he lost.
Conclusion
Federer has once against defied father time and showed he could still beat younger and more powerful opponents and its no wonder he is currently the world No. 1 tennis player. Del Potro played really well in this game and now it has put me into thinking how he would perform in the upcoming U.S Open.
Oh well, that's all from me once again! Signing off!
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