Finally A Battle
Only yesterday, I and Hemant were discussing about the possibilities of defeating Federer.
Andy Roddic had been steam rolled by him on many occasions. Leyton Hewitt, it is normally believed, can easily knock out the players ranked below him, and at the same time finds extremely difficult to prevail upon those who are ranked above him. Certainly against Federer, he stands no chance. Neither on form, nor on class.
Marat Safin turned out to be the only guy who on his day can match, if not outclass him. The fact he has lost seven matches against Federer not withstanding. He is erratic, and can lose miserably if his wits manage to get on him, which is pretty often the case. That's the reason why he hasn't won another grandslam since US Open two years before.
But what a semi-final at Melbourne Park. An edge-of-the-seat thriller till the very end. Final set mostly dominated by Safin, with Federer trying to save his skin. But still, saving six match points talks tall about his resolve. He looked rattled, but never gave up.
This epic game reminded me of the treat of a match, which was even more hard fought, between Croatian pair and Lee-Hesh with Olympic bronze medal at stake.
I sincerely pray such matches become norm, rather than exception and golden era of eighties returns in Men's tennis again. Who can forget the mercurial troika of Connors-Borg-Mckenroe and the classy trio of Lendl-Edberg-Becker !
For this Safin has to be consistent, and Roddic has to raise his bar. Of course, Federer has to do nothing. A shade more and a trifle less would spoil his magic.
Post Script: Those cricket junkies who miss Lara of the yore had an opportunity knocking at their doors this morning. The world series match between WI & Pak from 45th over in WI innings turned in to a Lara mayhem. In a partnership of 84 in 37 balls, Wavell Hinds hardly scored 10. I loved it, and you missed it. Some benefits of getting up early.
My Previous Post On Roger Federe - Artist On The Court
Andy Roddic had been steam rolled by him on many occasions. Leyton Hewitt, it is normally believed, can easily knock out the players ranked below him, and at the same time finds extremely difficult to prevail upon those who are ranked above him. Certainly against Federer, he stands no chance. Neither on form, nor on class.
Marat Safin turned out to be the only guy who on his day can match, if not outclass him. The fact he has lost seven matches against Federer not withstanding. He is erratic, and can lose miserably if his wits manage to get on him, which is pretty often the case. That's the reason why he hasn't won another grandslam since US Open two years before.
But what a semi-final at Melbourne Park. An edge-of-the-seat thriller till the very end. Final set mostly dominated by Safin, with Federer trying to save his skin. But still, saving six match points talks tall about his resolve. He looked rattled, but never gave up.
This epic game reminded me of the treat of a match, which was even more hard fought, between Croatian pair and Lee-Hesh with Olympic bronze medal at stake.
I sincerely pray such matches become norm, rather than exception and golden era of eighties returns in Men's tennis again. Who can forget the mercurial troika of Connors-Borg-Mckenroe and the classy trio of Lendl-Edberg-Becker !
For this Safin has to be consistent, and Roddic has to raise his bar. Of course, Federer has to do nothing. A shade more and a trifle less would spoil his magic.
Post Script: Those cricket junkies who miss Lara of the yore had an opportunity knocking at their doors this morning. The world series match between WI & Pak from 45th over in WI innings turned in to a Lara mayhem. In a partnership of 84 in 37 balls, Wavell Hinds hardly scored 10. I loved it, and you missed it. Some benefits of getting up early.
My Previous Post On Roger Federe - Artist On The Court
posted by Unknown at 9:38 AM
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