Surprise win keeps Dutch in hunt

Jean Julien Rojer and Robin Haase recorded a memorable 6-4, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 win for the Netherlands against Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka to keep the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas tie against Switzerland alive.

Haase now faces the challenge of a live fourth rubber against Federer on Sunday. Making a bid for the understatement of the weekend, Dutch captain Jan Siemerink said that “lots of questions will be asked of Robin tomorrow. But first, we want to be happy with this win.” Haase added: “And for a good reason. It’s not as if these guys can’t play doubles. They are the Olympics doubles champions of Beijing.”

For doubles specialist Rojer, it was one the biggest wins of his career. “Possibly – yes, because you face a couple of big names, one of them the No. 1 in the world. But it was also a good win because it was important to win to make Sunday relevant.”

Federer gave the Dutch pair credit for playing “a clean doubles”. As for himself, Federer thought that his returns were below par in sets one and two in particular. “And that translates into mistakes at the net as well,” he admitted.

The first set saw the Swiss seeking out Rojer as their prime target, but the doubles specialist proved that he is just that - a specialist – with some nifty volleying, taking advantage of every high Swiss return of serve. The Dutch finished off a break of Wawrinka’s serve at 4 all to take the first set 6-4.

With the crowd now firmly behind them, Rojer and Haase raced to a 4-0 lead in the second set with some impressive returns of serve. In their own service games they didn’t give the Swiss a look in. Wawrinka hit out at the net with his racket in frustration, as he and Federer conceded the second set 6-2. People in the crowd were starting to exchange baffled looks: what was happening here? It all seemed a bit too easy.

Wawrinka and Federer switched sides for the third set, with Federer now returning from the ad court. For this reason or another, the Swiss got more and better returns of serve into play and made the Dutch work harder. At 6-5 Federer and Wawrinka got their first set point, and they took it when Rojer played an angled drop volley, Federer not only did well to get to it, he also pushed his crosscourt backhand dig deep into Rojer’s court, forcing the error: 7-5.

It might have served as a classic example of a turning point in the match, but it wasn’t, as the Dutch maintained their intensity. “I was very happy with the mental side of it,” Rojer said. “We talked about going for our shots when we had the chance before the match. We wanted to play very aggressively.” And so they did, breaking the Federer serve at 3 all in the fourth and adding a second break at 5-3 to win set and match after Federer missed a makeable forehand volley.

To Federer, the doubles loss made Wawrinka’s win against Haase on Friday even more important in retrospect. “Credit to Stan for that difficult win. It means we are still up, 2-1, and we’re full of confidence for tomorrow.”

Date: 15th September 2012, Source: Davis Cup

Read More

Switzerland in control in Amsterdam

Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka have given Switzerland the perfect start in their bid to maintain their place in the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group.

Federer defeated Thiemo de Bakker 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and Wawrinka battled past Robin Haase 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) to put the visitors in control at the end of day one.

In the opening rubber the run of play was quickly established, with Federer holding serve easily and putting de Bakker under pressure even after the Dutchman landed his heavy first serves. At 11am, play was interrupted due to rain, but when play was resumed Federer seamlessly picked up where he left off. Federer broke de Bakker’s serve twice and only lost his once, after a careless game, which meant he had secured the first set 6-4 after 39 minutes.

The Swiss No. 1 then rushed to a two-break 3-0 lead and things started to look dark for the home player. The crowd wasn’t about to let anyone spoil their party however, let alone Federer, and started a Mexican wave.

Federer didn’t disappoint his many fans in red (Swiss) and orange (Dutch). The match yielded more than a few examples of Federer’s brilliance - some slice backhands in particular drew oohs and aahs. And besides being pretty shots, they also forced the tall de Bakker to stoop down with Federer pouncing on the high balls that followed. De Bakker managed to pull one break back, but never threatened to do more, conceding the second set 3-6.

For the third set, de Bakker had seemingly decided to go for broke and went up for the first time in the match at 1-0 and again at 2-1. Then Federer decided to up a gear, breaking the Bakker in the fifth game, never to look back. Just before the rain started pouring down again, he converted his first match point.

In the second rubber again it was close and again the winner came from Switzerland. In their sixth career clash, Wawrinka beat Haase for the sixth time to put Switzerland 2-0 up.

This was a classic hard-fought Davis Cup encounter, but it might have ended rather sooner. Things looked bleak for Haase with a set and a break down at 0-2, but he somehow turned the set around to take a 4-3 lead. After a long game, with break points down, he held serve and then broke Wawrinka after a glorious rally to take the set 6-3.

“He let me back into the match”, Haase said. ”It was more a matter of him playing poorly, than me upping my game. But at the end of the second set, I actually started hitting the ball well.”

But not anymore, as fists were pumped on court and off court. Grown-up men screamed Haase’s name and small boys looked up in shock, which turned into amazement, which turned into courage, which made them scream “Ro-bin Ro-bin!” for themselves.

Science has proved that momentum in sports doesn’t exist, but Haase seemed to have it nonetheless, and the prospect of at least one live singles rubber on Sunday – which was the most the Dutch hoped for privately – became real. At the other end of the court, Wawrinka started throwing his racket, which usually only makes bad things worse. But this might oddly have been the turning point: the Swiss took four of the next five games: 6-3 and a two set to one lead.

The fourth set saw both players reaching their highest level of the match, at least until five games all, when all of a sudden nervous error followed nervous error. At 5-6 down, Haase saved a match point on his serve to set up a tiebreak. But under consistent pressure from Wawrinka he ended up making one of those too many, netting a makeable forehand for the minibreak that Wawrinka happily made use of. He converted his third match point to take his team 2-0 up.

Reflecting on the opening rubber Federer said: “It’s nice to be admired for a nice looking game, one that looks effortless. But I put so much work into making it work. I try to get to balls and get them back. And for some reason it looks OK. And people like that.”

But to Federer, style is secondary. “I try to play fair and tough, the way I’m supposed to do it.” And this he did. “Thiemo didn’t play bad, I played pretty good. He got chances in second and beginning of the third, but in the end I had a little to much margin over him.”

De Bakker could only agree. At the press conference, he couldn’t help looking satisfied with his game, but he said that every time he played an average ball, “Federer hit a great one back at me”.

Said de Bakker: “There’s hardly any margin for error with him. He’s just so solid, he pushes you away so far, he moves unbelievably well. He makes you feel so uncomfortable.”

Tomorrow Robin Haase and doubles specialist Jean-Julien Rojer face the daunting task of beating Federer and Wawrinka to keep the tie alive for the Dutch. Swiss captain Severin Luthi tried his best not to seem sure of victory in the tie. “There’s no guarantees, even with Roger and Stan teaming up”, he said. “But we gave ourselves a good chance of being 3-0 up tomorrow, and I’m happy with that.”

Date: 14th September 2012, Source: Davis Cup

Read More

Perfect start for Switzerland in Davis Cup

Roger won his first match in the Davis Cup rubber against Thiemo de Bakker (ATP 159) 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 today. This gives Switzerland a 1-0 lead over the Netherlands in the Davis Cup playoffs.

Under wet and windy conditions, the match was interrupted at 1-1 for about an hour. After that, both players earned a break but Roger was able to win the deciding one to win the first set 6-4. Our champ started into the second set with a double break and held to win the second set, too. Roger did not waste any chances in the third to win the match after 102 minutes of play.

Roger will play tomorrow's doubles match aside Stanislas Wawrinka against Robin Haase (ATP 50) and Jean-Julien Rojer (ATP 17 in doubles).

Date: 14th September 2012, Source: RF Official

Read More

Federer starts Swiss survival bid in Davis Cup

Swiss No. 1 Roger Federer will take on Dutch No. 2 Thiemo de Bakker in the first rubber of a tie that will determine which of the two countries competes in the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group next year.

The second rubber on Friday will see Dutch No. 1 Robin Haase pitted against Stanislas Wawrinka. On Saturday, Wawrinka and Federer team up against Haase and Dutch doubles specialist Jean-Julien Rojer.

Federer acknowledged that he is the overwhelming favourite in all of this weekend’s ties, but he said he didn’t underestimate anyone, certainly not on the outside clay court the Dutch opted for with Federer in mind.

"Obviously we’ve been on faster courts for sometime now," the world No. 1 said. "Now we’re looking at a very slow clay court, outdoors, potentially in cold conditions. It’s a matter of getting through and not losing, me being the overwhelming favourite in most of the matches."

His opponent on Friday, Thiemo de Bakker, said he was excited to be playing Federer for the first time: "He’s obviously one of the best players in history, maybe the best, but I’m looking forward to it."

Will he be adapting his game in order to give himself a fighting chance? "For sure I have to take some risks," said de Bakker. "Because what else can you do? At least I’ll try to make him work as hard as possible for it." Last week, de Bakker won a Challenger tournament on clay in the Netherlands. "I’m hitting the ball OK," he added. "So I have some confidence."

In Friday’s second rubber, Haase will play Wawrinka, against whom he has a 0-5 losing record. However, Haase stressed that four of those matches had been extremely close. "In our last match [in the Rome-1000 tournament this spring], I was within two points of the win. So I think it will be a good match. And here, playing in a full stadium, it’ll be interesting."

If he played his own game well enough, "I can beat almost everybody", Haase said. So what will he have to come up with against Federer, on Sunday? The very best version of his own game, he said.

"I think that everyone always plays their own game, unless someone else is so good that you have to defend. But say you’re a serve and volley player and you play Roger, you won’t be playing from the baseline. You’ll have to try and beat him with your game. If I change my game, I won’t be used to it, so I will make more mistakes."

Earlier this week, when the news came out that Federer would play the tie, Haase put the Dutch chances of winning the tie at 10 percent. Dutch captain Jan Siemerink said he didn’t agree with Haase. "There is always a chance of beating the Swiss with Federer. Maybe with the crowd behind us, they can push our guys to the limit and chances might even up a little," the captain said.

Swiss captain Severin Luthi said that he was relieved that his No. 1 decided to come and play in Amsterdam. "We only have two players in the top hundred, so I was happy he could come."

Obviously his team were now the favourites to win the tie. But the Swiss captain said he was expecting a tough and long weekend on an outdoors clay court - possibly made even longer, considering the weather forecast: a 75 percent chance of rain on Friday.

The full draw is listed below:

Friday
R1: Thiemo de Bakker (NED) v Roger Federer (SUI)
R2: Robin Haase (NED) v Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)

Saturday
R3: Robin Haase / Jean-Julien Rojer (NED) v Roger Federer / Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)

Sunday
R4: Robin Haase (NED) v Roger Federer (SUI)
R5: Thiemo de Bakker (NED) v Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)

Date: 13th September 2012, Source: Davis Cup

Read More

Federer to play in Davis Cup tie against Netherlands

Roger Federer has confirmed that he will play in Switzerland's Davis Cup playoff tie away to Netherlands at the weekend, the Swiss Tennis Federation said on Tuesday.

"Dear Fans, It is my pleasure to inform you that I will be taking part in the Davis Cup playoffs against the Netherlands. I am looking forward to a great weekend in Amsterdam. See you soon,

Roger." said Federer on his official website.

Captain Severin Luthi just confirmed: "Roger will be arriving in Amsterdam tomorrow."

Swiss Tennis spokeswoman Sandra Perez says Federer "is ready for everything that is needed."

Federer will join Stanislas Wawrinka, Marco Chiudinelli and debutant Henri Laaksonen as the Swiss try to keep their place in the world group.

The world group relegation playoff is being played on outdoor clay courts. Federer has spent the past three months playing tournaments on grass and hard courts. The winner this weekend stays in the top-tier, 16-nation world group.

The Dutch host Switzerland in Amsterdam from Friday.

Date: 11th September 2012, Source: RF Official and AP

Read More

Roger Federer confirmed for Shanghai Rolex Masters 2012

Roger Federer has confirmed his participation for the Shanghai Rolex Masters in October, but injured Rafael Nadal, who also missed the US Open, is unlikely to make it this time.

World No. 1 Roger Federer, who was stunned by the World No. 7 Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic in the 2012 US Open quarter finals in four sets with a 7-6(1), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 score line. Swiss star said he had not played his best tennis in the US Open quarters.

Federer will spend some time along with his family after his long summer trip over the ATP World Tour and going to back to training session soon as possible. Swiss Tennis star will play next tournament at the 2012 Shanghia Masters, schedule to begin from the 7th October at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai, China.

Federer said he will work hard to back to top form, before heading into the Shanghai Masters in China and going to give tough competition to best players on the tour.

Federer retook the world No. 1 spot after winning the Wimbledon this year. After winning the Cincinnati Masters earlier this month, Federer has accumulated a total of 21 Masters titles, equaling that of Nadal's. But the Spaniard's absence from Shanghai should give the Swiss an edge and set a new record. Besides Federer, the world's top 44 male tennis players including the No. 2 Novak Djokovic and the No. 4 Andy Murray are also expected to show up for the October 7 - 14 tournament. Organizers also claimed that ticket sales went up by 30 percent since last year with most of the tickets for the final and semifinals already sold out in a month.

Date: 8th September 2012, Source: Shanghai Rolex Masters

Read More

Federer hoping to finish the season strong

Despite obvious disappointment, World No. 1 Roger Federer insisted he had no regrets following his quarter-final defeat to Tomas Berdych on Wednesday at the US Open. The five-time former champion fought hard to extend the match to four sets against the Czech, but ultimately bowed out 7-6(1), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"I mean, in terms of that I tried, I don't have any regrets there," said Federer afterwards. "Obviously, I rarely go through matches where I have no chances. So obviously I missed some tonight again, but that's normal. When you end up losing at the end, you always hope that you made every chance you had. It's just not possible. He probably created more than I did, and that's why he ended up winning tonight."

"Regrets were early in my days," said the 17-time Grand Slam champion. "I was trying to come through and I couldn't figure out how to always be in great shape, always be in a good mood to play, always ready to practise, all that stuff."

"Today I always know I'm going to put in the best fight. I did that tonight again with what I had. Obviously I wish I could have played better. So many moments I thought, 'Man, it's just not happening for me.' It was just a very disappointing match for me."

The 31-year-old Federer came into New York in scintillating form. He returned to World No. 1 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings following his triumph at Wimbledon (l. to Murray), before capturing a silver medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games and lifting his 21st ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati (d. Djokovic). He had not dropped a set on his run through to the quarter-finals, but was granted a walkover through the fourth round against Mardy Fish.

"I really expected myself to play better tonight," admitted Federer, who reigned at Flushing Meadows from 2004-2008. "Especially at night I have had such a great record. I felt good. Such an amazing summer I had. I really thought I was going to come out and play a solid match. I didn't do that tonight. Obviously there is a bit of a letdown now."

Looking ahead to the remainder of the season, Federer expressed his desire to finish year-end No. 1 for the sixth time. He has already secured his place at the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, where he will join Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.

"No. 1 has another a role to play, but this obviously is a setback," said Federer. "But again, the season is not over. I hope to finish strong at the end, and particularly in the indoor season."

Date: 6th September 2012, Source: ATP

Read More

Federer lost in quarterfinals of US Open

Tomas Berdych played spoiler in Roger Federer’s bid for a sixth US Open title, upsetting the top-seeded Swiss 7-6(1), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the quarter-finals Wednesday night on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

It marks the first time in eight years that Federer has failed to reach the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows.

"I'm disappointed. I really expect myself to play better tonight, especially at night I have had such a great record," said Federer. "I felt good. Such an amazing summer I had. I really thought I was going to come out and play a solid match. I didn't do that tonight. Obviously there is a bit of a letdown now."

Federer had entered the match on a nine-match winning streak, following his title win in Cincinnati on the eve of the US Open, and with a perfect record in night session matches on Arthur Ashe Stadium. He secured the first break of serve, but his lead proved short-lived as Berdych broke back and took the first set in the tie-break.

The Czech, who defeated Federer in their last Grand Slam meeting two years ago in the Wimbledon quarter-finals, secured the second set with two breaks and opened the third with another break of serve. But two untimely double-faults by the Czech - on break point opportunities for Federer - turned the momentum briefly in the five-time champion’s favour.

Though Federer pulled within a set, he was unable to overcome Berdych. The Czech put a forehand winner past Federer on break point opportunity go up 5-3 and served out the match at love.

"I cannot count on beating Roger in straight sets and not getting in any trouble," said Berdych. "I was always careful that anything could happen. Actually, it happened in the third set that he came strongly back. But for that, I'm even more happy with the way that I was able to hold his pressure and then add something extra for the fourth set."

Federer had earned a walkover into the quarter-finals, following Mardy Fish's withdrawal due to health issues, and was playing his first match since Saturday.

"I should come in here with tons of energy and ready to go," he said. "Who knows, if you get that day, that match in with Fish, come through with more confidence, maybe the first three matches didn't quite give me that. Who knows? I don't put that down as a negative, really. I just didn't come up with the goods tonight. It was unfortunate."

Date: 6th September 2012, Source: ATP

Read More

Roger Federer: 'I hope Rafael Nadal plays again this year'

Roger Federer said he is not surprised by recent reports that Rafael Nadal may be out for the rest of the season with knee problems, but is not ruling out a return by the Spaniard this year.

"It's obviously not great news but one that was a possibility," said world number one Federer when told that Nadal could be forced to delay his return to the tour until 2013.

He was forced to sit out the Olympics to recover from more problems with his knees, a requirement which also forced him to miss the ongoing US Open where he was champion in 2010 and runner-up last year.

That would also rule him out of the Davis Cup semifinal against the United States in Gijon from September 14-16 as well as a potential final date in November.

Nadal's name is already absent from the team list published on the official Davis Cup website for the semifinal.

"I'm not shocked about the news. I'm still hopeful that he'll be okay for the rest of the year," added the world number one.

Federer and Nadal have developed a close bond despite their eight-year rivalry which has seen them battle for the world number one ranking as well as Grand Slam titles.

Between them they have won 24 of the last 30 majors.

Federer said that he and Nadal had never discussed injury problems and that even if they did, their conversations would remain strictly confidential.

"I think it's quite personal except if one guy goes up to the other. But we're both very open and honest. When I ask him how he's feeling, he's not feeling well, he'll tell me, I'm tired, a little injured," said Federer.

"There's no real secrets out there because he knows and I know when we tell each other that stuff it doesn't leave the room."

"That's a nice relationship I have with Rafa. It's based on a lot of trust."

Date: 2nd September 2012, Source: AFP

Read More

Federer into 4th round of US Open

Roger Federer is getting to the net, closing out points more quickly of late. Of course, when the going gets tough - which it rarely has so far at the U.S. Open - he's sticking to what he does best.

Top-seeded Federer faced only a single break point in his 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 25 Fernando Verdasco on Saturday and won it with the longest point of the match - a 20-stroke rally he captured by moving Verdasco back and forth on the baseline until the Spaniard finally sprayed a forehand wide.

The rest of the time, Verdasco found Federer doing an unusual amount of damage at the net, closing out 26 of 27 points from the front court. Federer added that effort to the 32 points he won in 47 trips to the net two nights earlier in a second-round win over Bjorn Phau.

''I really tried to play offensive against ... Phau in my second match,'' Federer said. ''I did lose more points than I was hoping to. But I think that gave me the confidence to move forward today. And conditions helped that because it was quicker during the day.''

Indeed, the wind and the quicker surface put more pressure on Verdasco, a baseliner who had trouble getting the ball past Federer. It was hard for him to get comfortable against the 17-time Grand Slam champion, who got 67 percent of his first serves in, many at tough angles that drove Verdasco off the side of the court.

''He served well the whole match,'' Verdasco said. ''He always has great control close to the lines with his serve.''

Federer, who hasn't lost a set through three matches over the first week at the U.S. Open, stayed on course for a semifinal meeting against No. 3 Andy Murray.

Federer will play the winner of a late match between Gilles Simon and Mardy Fish.

Date: 2nd September 2012, Source: AP

Read More