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September 7, 2007
The Praise for Federer Is Lobbed Right Back
By Lynn Zinser, New York Times
When Roger Federer
had finished dissecting the game of another player who had spent the
last several years trying not to get dissected every time they met,
Federer shrugged off his mastery with as deft a touch as he puts on any
of his shots.
Yes, he had beaten Andy Roddick
on Wednesday night at the United States Open for the 14th time in 15
meetings. And yes, he had left Roddick with no clue how to turn that
tide. But Federer steadfastly refused to claim any dominance. In
Federer’s view, he was a few tie-breaker points from losing the match.
“There was nothing I could do on his serve for two and a half sets,”
Federer said. “I didn’t see a break point. That shows you obviously how
good a returner he is.”
Federer then promptly swept away the idea that Nikolay Davydenko of
Russia, his semifinal opponent tomorrow, would have as futile a quest
as Roddick. Federer is 9-0 against Davydenko.
“I think he’s a fantastic player,” Federer said. “He is totally
underrated still sometimes from the media. Even though I have a great
record against him, I’m aware of his ability.”
This is perhaps the part of Federer that frustrates his opponents
most. He takes none of his success for granted. He saw Roddick not as
someone who has driven himself to near distraction in Federer’s
considerable shadow, but as a dangerous player with a huge serve and a
home crowd on his side.
Some might sit around and bask in a 50-6 match record this year, or
188 consecutive weeks at No. 1, or any of the other signs that Federer
belongs with the greatest players in tennis history.
Andre Agassi,
a guest analyst for USA Network on Wednesday night, piled praise on
Federer. When told on court after the match that Agassi was impressed
with his game, Federer’s first response was to say how nice it had been
to see Agassi in the locker room before the match.
One of Agassi’s more forceful points about Federer is that Federer
is the best in the world at probably five aspects of the game, and that
it takes being the best at two aspects to create a dominant player.
“Well, I feel I can, yes, count on many things in my game to work,”
Federer said. “If my serve doesn’t work, I know my baseline game helps
me out. So if one thing breaks down I’m still O.K.
“Mentally I’m always aware of my opponent. I never underestimate. I
think that’s one very important aspect. And usually I can play the
moment very well, you know. So I think that’s also one very important
part of my game, is to understand the moment.”
In Federer’s five matches here, three have featured moments that
Federer understood and used to his advantage. Against Roddick, Federer
knew that he had to shake off Roddick’s dominant service games, which
came and went with almost no break chances. He patiently played into
the tie breakers, and grabbed his opportunities there.
“I’m happy the way I’m maintaining this great ability of coming up
with the important wins when I have to,” Federer said. “I’m at my best
always at the Slams.”
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