Watching this match, I felt that Fed somehow had the confidence that he would pull it through. He never showed frustration on missing forehands/backhands esp in the 5th set. One can see that he had already scripted a plan-to hold his own serve easily as much as possible-and executed it perfectly,39(!!)aces are testament to this. Having taken care of his own service game, it was a matter of pouncing upon the right opportunities although Tipsarevic didnt really open the door until 8-8, 40-0 on his serve! What a time to go for a break. That's confidence for you. He must have also remembered the 5th set at Wimbledon last year, where he launched his assault on Nadal at 3-2, broke him and held his own to 5-2. So my feeling is that while he was stretched, it was not so much on his own game, but on his opponents game. And thats why he insisted afterwards that it was a good thing "once-in-a-while" to have a long five-setter.
Having come off a long break, and not having been fully fit before the tournament, Federer needed a tough match to get his bearings right. He got one tonight. Hopefully, this will help him shift the gear, and win again.
The way Tipsarevic played,any player would have lost except Red Hot Federer. So the appropriate Hedalines should have been "Federer Scripts Great Victory" instead of saying Royal Escape. G.Raghavan
RE:Federer Scripts Great Victory
by mohinder gupta on Jan 19, 2008 05:47 PM
headline is just perfect. It was actually an escape for Fed as he humbly accepted too after the match. "What a great battle. Fair play, he's a nice guy -- pity somebody has to win, wish we could have draws sometimes too," Federer said in a courtside interview.
