Roger Federer will renew his epic rivalry with Rafael Nadal in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final.
Federer trails 10-19 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series and will attempt to beat the Spaniard on clay for just the third time in 15 attempts.
It will be their second contest of the season, with Nadal having won in straight sets when they met in the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells in March.
Seven years ago, they played out one of the greatest clay-court finals in Rome, with Nadal prevailing in a fifth set tie-break after five hours and five minutes.
The 31-year-old Federer defeated Benoit Paire 7-6(5), 6-4 to reach his first ATP World Tour final of the season. The Swiss is bidding to win the title at the Foro Italico for the first time, having finished runner-up in 2003 (l. to Mantilla) and 2006.
Federer has won 21 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles, two less than Nadal, who won his 23rd of the prestigious trophies last week at the Mutua Madrid Open.
In some of the best form of his career, World No. 36 Paire had recorded his first Top 10 win with victory over No. 7-ranked Juan Martin del Potro in the third round. The Frenchman did not make life easy for Federer in their third meeting.
He squandered a break advantage at 4-3 in the first set and held a mini-break lead three times in the ensuing tie-break before Federer won the final three points to claim the hard-fought set in 52 minutes.
Federer made early inroads on Paire’s serve in the second set, breaking for a 2-1 lead. The Swiss rescued a 15/40 deficit in the sixth game and went on to secure victory in 88 minutes. Federer is yet to drop a set in four matches this week.
Federer improved to a 3-0 lead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Paire, having also beaten the 24 year old in the 2012 Basel quarter-finals and in the first round of this year’s Australian Open.
Paire, who reached his second ATP World Tour final in February at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier (l. to Gasquet), was looking to become the first unseeded finalist in Rome since Stanislas Wawrinka in 2008.
atpworldtour.com
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Roger Federer toughes it out moves into semis in Rome
Roger Federer overcame a tough challenge from Jerzy Janowicz to book his place in the semi-final of the Rome Masters, defeating the Pole 6-4 7-6(2) in less than an hour and a half on the Centrale court.
There was little to separate the pair in the opening set as each gave their opponent little to capitalise on in the early exchanges.
Both continued to hold their serve solidly before Federer, who fired in seven aces in the first, found that all important break late on to edge into the lead.
However world No. 24 Janowicz found an immediate response in the first game of the second, as Federer showed a lapse in concentration and allowed the Pole to smash a forehand down the line for the early break.
The pair traded service games as Janowicz continued to impress with a variety of disguised drop shots, but Federer began to find rhythm of his own with a hold to love.
Janowicz continued to utilise his huge frame through a string of powerful serves, but world No. 3 Federer held firm to keep in touch before clinching another late break to even the scores at five games apiece.
Federer held to edge closer to victory and had Janowicz on the ropes when earning two match points; once again, the Pole successfully defended with his dominant serve before forcing Federer into an error to take the second to a tie break.
Federer noticeably stepped up a gear as he took an early three-shot lead, but Janowicz showed class when finishing another thrilling rally with a trademark drop shot.
A fast Federer forehand proved too much, before Janowicz powered a forehand of his own into the net to allow his opponent five match points.
Another net error from the Pole gave a straight sets victory for Federer, who now faces Benoit Paire in the semi-final after the Frenchman defeated Marcel Granollers 6-1 6-0 in less than an hour on court.
Read more at http://www.espn.co.uk/tennis/sport/story/207790.html#wbFq8Yjv7BuJdYbu.99
Ok, I must admit now I'm starting to be impressed with Fed's form looks like he found his groove just in time.
Could be a very interesting French Open. Let's see what happens in the next few days.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Simon no match for Roger Federer who reaches quarter finals in Rome
Roger Federer's pursuit of a maiden final in 2013 will continue after he saw off the challenge of Gilles Simon to reach the Internazionali BNL d'Italia quarter-finals on Thursday.
Federer's career has shown signs of decline this season, with the Swiss failing to reach the semi-finals in three of five tournaments entered so far.
His most recent outing in Madrid finished in a shock round-of-16 defeat to Kei Nishikori, but there was no repeat in Rome.
Simon, the world No. 17, barely threatened as Federer eased into the last-eight, winning 6-1 6-2. He will now play Jerzy Janowicz, who beat Richard Gasquet 3-6 7-6(2) 6-4.
It took Federer until the fourth game to make his opening impact on Court Centrale, accepting his first break point to push ahead. A simple service hold followed, cemented by a delightful drop shot, as the former world No. 1 opened a 4-1 lead.
Federer's touch was as exquisite as ever, drawing Simon to the net again before firing a backhand winner past him to bring up another break point.
A further topspin backhand proved too much to handle for Simon as the Swiss chalked up back-to-back breaks - allowing him to serve out the set in 23 minutes.
The first-set statistics told the story. Simon won only ten points, with Federer almost flawless behind his own serve. It was one-way traffic, and the pattern continued into the second.
There was a simple rhythm to Federer's work: smash Simon back behind the baseline and then disguise drop shots to force him to scramble. That exact tactic sealed another break in the opening game of the second set, setting up a stroll towards victory.
To Simon's credit he defended four more break points at 2-4, but eventually ceded the fifth to allow Federer to serve for the match, which he promptly did to love.
Read more at http://www.espn.co.uk/tennis/sport/story/207611.html#DVbPJ5y6DpVGFdcE.99
Pregnant Kim Clijsters hits court at Italian Open
Tennis - Former world no. 1 Kim Clijsters has been spotted on the grounds of the Italian Open in Rome this week.
Clijsters, pregnant with her second child, was seen sporting a noticeable baby bump and she took to the practice courts to hit with fellow Belgian and good friend Kirsten Flipkens.
Flipkens is currently ranked in the top 30 in the world and Clijsters has been working with her unofficially as an adviser. Flipkens has had a remarkable 12 months in the game where she came out of nowehere to crack the top 30.
Clisjters retired at the end of the US Open last September to have another baby and a few weeks ago announced she was expecting her second child.
Clijsters has ruled out another comeback to the game.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Roger Federer wins Rome opener confidently
Practice makes perfect. That’s what Roger Federer said after his third-round defeat to Kei Nishikori at last week’s Mutua Madrid Open.
The Swiss’ words rang true on Tuesday evening at the Internazionali BNL d’Italiaas he blasted aside Italian wild card Potito Starace 6-1, 6-2 in just 51 minutes.
"It was a great first round, particularly against a local hero here," said Federer. "I came out and was able to play my game and dictate at almost every point. That was a nice feeling to have. It was a very clean match, it was good from start to finish. I felt good, I moved well. Overall a great performance. I hope I can keep it up."
The 31-year-old Federer is attempting to win the elusive Rome title for the first time in 13 visits.
Should he do so, he will be just three wins away from recording his 900th career victory, something only three other players have achieved: Jimmy Connors (1243), Ivan Lendl (1071) andGuillermo Vilas (924).
In beating the No. 293-ranked Starace for the seventh time in seven meetings, Federer lost only seven points on serve and broke the Italian four times. He goes on to face Gilles Simon or Mikhail Youzhny.
In beating the No. 293-ranked Starace for the seventh time in seven meetings, Federer lost only seven points on serve and broke the Italian four times. He goes on to face Gilles Simon or Mikhail Youzhny.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Roger Federer ready for Rome
ROME - It's time for Roger Federer to step up his game if he wants his recent seven-week break from the tennis circuit to start paying off.
The 17-time Grand Slam winner returned to action last week at the Madrid Open and got his clay-court season off to a difficult start with a third-round loss to Kei Nishikori of Japan.
"I hope it's going to have some effect eventually," Federer said Sunday at the Italian Open, having just completed a three-hour training session for the second consecutive day. "Clearly for that I need to start playing well now and put myself deep into a tournament."
If he does manage to put together a few wins, Federer believes he'll be fresher mentally than his opponents.
"Most of them have played two or three tournaments on clay and I'm still looking to get into it, but that can be a big advantage down the stretch," the second-ranked player said. "But for that I need to start winning matches, and I hope I can start here."
Federer has never won the Italian Open, with his best results two runner-up finishes. He lost the 2003 final to Felix Mantila and in 2006 dropped a fifth-set tiebreaker to Rafael Nadal.
This tournament is a key warm-up for the French Open, the year's second Grand Slam, which starts in two weeks.
At 31, Federer has narrowed his focus to the Grand Slams and spending more time with his wife and twin daughters.
Federer advised against reading too much into the Nishikori loss, although wasn't aware of anyone writing him off already.
"Has it started again? I didn't read anything," Federer said when asked how many times he had been written off after a loss like the one in Madrid. "I'm happy that the last year or so I didn't have to answer many questions. Clearly, when you play well and you win many tournaments then nobody really dares to attack you."
In the five tournaments he has played this year, Federer has failed to reach a final. After losing to Nadal in the Indian Wells quarterfinals in March, he began his scheduled break.
"I could have played six weeks in a row. I chose to take seven weeks off," Federer said. "There's no glory in that. People don't respect it enough until I'm going to win a big tournament again, then they'll say how smart I was. That's why you just take it as it comes."
The Nishikori loss came after Federer opened in Madrid with a win over Radek Stepanek.
After a first-round bye at the Foro Italico, Federer will open against either Stepanek again or Italian wild card Potito Starace.
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