Federer out of Rogers Cup

Roger Federer had said his previous two losses against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga were “not normal” - both matches in which he let sizeable leads slip away.

On Thursday night, the pair met again at the Rogers Cup in Montreal two years after that first uncharacteristic loss, and this time Federer found himself playing catch-up before falling to the Frenchman 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-1.

Federer was unable to convert his three break points in the opening set, including one set point, allowing Tsonga to seize the lead in the tie-break after 57 minutes of play.

He quickly countered to go up a break, 2-1, in the second set and saved three break points in the eighth game. He could not hold Tsonga down for long, however, as the Frenchman decisively took control in the third set, rolling out to a 5-0 lead before serving out the victory.

“He’s confident right now and he played an excellent third set,” said Federer, a two time champion at this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament. “The first two sets were tighter. I should maybe have won the first one. I had some opportunities. In the second I was able to hold my serve. I might have won, but he was able to finish off the match very well.”

Date: 12.08.2011, Source: ATP

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Federer defeats Canadian, faces Tsonga next

World No. 3 Roger Federer began his summer hard-court campaign with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Canadian wild card Vasek Pospisil on Wednesday afternoon at the Rogers Cup in Montreal.

Pospisil had notched his first tour-level victory Tuesday against Juan Ignacio Chela to set up a second-round meeting with his idol, and managed to hold his own against the two-time Rogers Cup champion through the first 11 games of the match.

But Federer capitalised on his first break point to secure the opening set, and then broke open a 3-0 lead to start the second, proving enough for the victory. The Swiss won 85 per cent of his service points.

"For me it was important to have role models to look up to, such as (Pete) Sampras and (Stefan) Edberg and so forth," Federer said after beating Pospisil.

"Then to be able to also play Pete at Wimbledon was very big in my career, it gave me a huge lift to be able to play in a big stadium against a big player — and I hope it does the same for him."
Federer said he was impressed with Pospisil's performance.

"He had good variation on his serve," he said. "It was somewhat tricky getting to know his patterns a bit more."

Federer, who celebrated his 30th birthday Monday, is playing his first tournament since a five-set loss in the Wimbledon quarter-finals (l. to Tsonga) and improves to a 40-8 season mark.

He will have a chance to avenge that Wimbledon defeat in the next round, when he encounters Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the seventh time. The No. 13 seed fired 15 aces to defeat Australian wild card Bernard Tomic 6-3, 7-6(1).

Tsonga trails Federer 2-4 in the head-to-head series, but his other victory over the Swiss came two years ago at this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.

Date: 10.08.2011, Source: ATP & Canadian Press

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Montreal 2011: The draw

The world's best players will meet again this week: the Rogers Cup in Montreal is up after the summer break.

Roger is in the same half of the draw as the world No. 1, Novak Djokovic. Rafael Nadal and Britain's Andy Murray, the defending champion, fill the top spots in the other half of the draw.

After a bye in the first round, our champ will meet the winner of the match between Juan Ignacio Chela (ATP 23) and Vasek Pospisil.

In the third round, Roger could have the chance of a revenge against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (ATP 16), who defeated Roger in Wimbledon this year.

In addition, Nicolas Almagro (ATP 10), Richard Gasquet (ATP 13) and Bernard Tomic (ATP 71) can be found in Roger's half of the draw.

Date: 08.08.2011, Source: RF Official

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Federer trusts himself to thrive past age 30

Roger Federer will turn 30 next week, but the Swiss winner of a record 16 grand slam singles titles said on Wednesday he will not pause for reflection since he is too busy plotting for more tennis success.

Federer will spend his birthday on Monday in Montreal at the Rogers Cup tournament, where adoring fans have serenaded him in the past to mark the occasion.

“I’m looking forward to turning 30, excited to see how the Canadians are going to celebrate my birthday this time around, because sometimes they start singing ‘Happy Birthday’ during my match,” Federer told reporters during a conference call.

Federer said the milestone birthday would not move him to take stock of his career and his future.

“My plans are always probably a bit over a year ahead of the time. I’m already way past this point,” he said. “I’m already thinking beyond the Olympics next year.

“Birthdays, they happen. They are a part of life. I’m happy I’m getting older,” added Federer, who is married and the father of twin girls. “I’d rather be 30 than 20 to be quite honest. This is, to me, a nice time.”

Federer said he still loves the game, the lifestyle and the challenge as he ramps up his preparation for this month’s U.S. Open, which he won five times in a row from 2004.

What has changed, is his frequency of winning.

Federer, who once reigned a record 237 successive weeks as world number one and enjoyed the top perch for a total of more than five years overall, has slipped to number three behind Australian Open and Wimbledon winner Novak Djokovic and number two Rafa Nadal, the French Open champion.

Federer is 1-3 this year against Djokovic and 0-3 versus Nadal, and his last grand slam triumph came at the 2010 Australian Open.

The Swiss maestro, who is comfortable trading groundstrokes or attacking the net and who has won majors on grass, hardcourt and clay, said he was feeling fine physically heading into the year’s last grand slam.

“In the preparation, nothing changes,” said Federer.

“Do you listen to your body more? Yes, you do. Are you more wise? Yes, you are. Are you more experienced? Yes. Do you have a thousand matches in your body? Yes, you do. You just go with what you have.

Federer is happiest, of course, when he is winning.

“I’ve won so much that you feel like if you put yourself in the right position and you do all the right things you’ll definitely get a shot of winning big tournaments,” he said.

Federer said he draws inspiration from tennis greats who enjoyed longevity.

“Like (Andre) Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Ken Rosewall, Rod Laver, it’s very inspiring to see what they were able to do for a very long period of time.

“My planning has always been long term. I’m looking forward to how much more I can achieve from this point on.”

Date: 04.08.2011, Source: Reuters

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