Cameron Anthony Park

Did anyone else watch the Federer - Andreev on the USA Network? Did anyone else notice these two little shit kids who were seated next to some mics? They couldn’t stop screaming for Igor Andreev. “GO ANDREEV! COME ON, ANDREEV!”. I wanted to wring these two little runts by the neck. It didn’t matter that they were cheering for Igor, the point is that they were so close to one of the USA courtside mics that their every breath was amplified, like nails on a chalkboard.

If ever there was a case for the return of good old fashioned American corporal punishment for little shits, this had to be it. =)

Children of the night, SHUT UP!!

Okay, had to get that off my chest first.

So there’s good, bad and etc. to take in from this fourth round win for Roger Federer against Igor Andreev 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

The Good:

- He struggled but ultimately Federer still triumphed in the end. The ability and knowledge of knowing that you can play well below your best standard of tennis and still come out on top in the end is invaluable not only to advance in the tournament but more importantly for your own confidence and pure mental toughness.

- Federer won nearly 70% of his net points. He’s obviously comfortable at the net, he’s obviously successful there, he should come in more often, even if it’s just to switch things up and keep his opponents off guard and shorten their reaction times.

The Bad:

- Unforced errors. At 60 errors for this one match (against his 66 winners) Federer needs to cut down on these unforced errors. He might be able to squeak past an Igor Andreev but this is the kind of sloppy tennis that will hand him his ass against a Nadal, Djokovic or even a well playing Roddick.

The Etc.

- Federer’s quarterfinal will be against this year’s US Open cinderella story that is Gilles Muller who continued his unlikely run against the solid Russian and fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko. And you can best be sure that that proverbial clock will damn sure hit midnight come this Thursday.

Federer couldn’t ask for a better follow-up to this last tough match. Muller is a qualifier who made it all the way to the quarters and also played a very tough four setter against Davydenko. If Federer can beat this Luxembourg qualifier in straights on Thursday, no doubt this will help him tremendously for Super Saturday.

Though Federer should not and does not have the luxury of looking past his next opponent, we do. Most likely Federer will face Novak Djokovic in the semis and that will truly be the great challenge Federer must overcome to keep this conversation about the “greatest tennis player” to be an exclusive one between himself and Nadal. All the earlier losses to Roddick, Fish, Blake, etc. were in smaller tournaments compared to the US Open.

This is a grand slam. This is a tournament in which he has won the last four championships. Even if he gets to the finals and loses to Nadal (if Nadal even gets there), it’s still a two horse race. If Federer loses before the finals, then suddenly all the critics’ horseshit talk about the end of an era, etc. gains more momentum which will ultimately hurt Federer’s legend even more.

As Dick Enberg has spent a lifetime coining: “Oh my.”

to be continued…

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I'm Coming Back, Bitches!

Looking every bit the player that has earned him 12 grand slam titles world number two Roger Federer quickly dismissed the Czech Republic’s Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 in the third round of the 2008 US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York.

Interesting Points:

- Federer looked the most relaxed and confident he’s looked in quite some time. Not only was he going for his “Federer-like” shots, he was making them and kept his level of play up.

- Solid movement. The last few big losses Federer has endured this season many believe that he lost a step in his movements which resulted in several upsets. Today he finally looked to be back in top mobile shape as he really did a great job tracking down balls while taking taime away from Stepanek.

- Though broken once, Federer’s serve was definitely on and had little troubles holding placing even more pressure on Stepanek’s own service games.

Is he at a level where he can take out Nadal? Not quite yet. For Federer to beat Nadal (if they meet) it’s going to be less about his physical abilities and much more about his mental recoveries. There’s no doubt that Federer’s confidence is the single greatest factor that needs to be improved to get back to the top of the tennis food chain.

On the other hand, it’s Nadal’s confidence that is at an all time high and is looking more and more like his dream season will continue past this long Labor Day weekend.

more to come…

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Impressive First Round for Roger Federer

World Number Two Roger Federer needed less than 90 minutes to defeat Argentina’s Maximo Gonzalez 6-3, 6-0, 6-3.

Interesting points to ponder:

- Federer loses serve once.
- Jose Higueras sat in the front row of the player’s box next to Mirka (has their French Open coaching relationship blossomed?).
- What’s with the gloomy new gear? Not exactly flashy or aesthetically pleasing.
- Match Stats

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