MikeLigalig.com

Flawless Federer Storms To Historic First French Crown

Sunday, June 7, 2009
By David Tutton

The tennis gods brewed up a storm around Roland Garros on Sunday afternoon as they prepared to welcome a new member into their midst. Roger Federer repelled the rain, thunder, and a certain Robin Soderling to take his rightful place among the immortals of the game.

The Swiss produced a near-flawless display, delighting his fans with the full range of shots that have made him arguably the greatest player of his era, to sweep aside Robin Soderling 6-1 7-6 6-4 and seal his first-ever French Open title. The triumph enabled Federer to become only the sixth man in history to win all four Grand Slam tournaments, and also saw him equal Pete Sampras’ record of 14 majors.

The enormity of his achievement was evident on match point when Federer fell to the red earth of Roland Garros weeping tears of joy. Minutes later, Andre Agassi was on hand to present the Coupe des Mousquetaires and share in the Swiss legend’s delight as he held the trophy to the air, 10 years after the American had sealed his own career Slam with a far more hard-fought win here over Andrei Medvedev.

Early stranglehold

Federer owed his victory to a brilliant performance, by far his best of the tournament, in which he took a stranglehold on the match from the outset and clinically dissected his opponent’s game.

Seemingly overwhelmed by the event, Soderling was unrecognizable in the first set from the man who had swept all before him – including four-time champion Rafael Nadal – in his run to the final. A double fault that handed Federer the first of three breaks could have been an ominous precursor of what was to come. The giant Swede was simply unable to find any rhythm or indeed any semblance of the form he had shown throughout the tournament, not that Federer gave him the slightest chance to settle.

The Swiss is a past master at winning Grand Slam finals and experience was made to tell as he immediately got into his groove. His first serve was strong (firing down 16 aces throughout the match), his shot selection astute and return of serve simply breathtaking. The Swede’s wayward hitting was making it easy for him, but he needed no second invitation to rank up the games and move rapidly clear.

Federer mixed up his shots brilliantly, slicing on the backhand side before accelerating his forehand follow-up to knock his opponent off guard. While Soderling’s earlier adversaries, including Nadal, had to a certain extent played into his hands by trying to outhit the Swede in hard-hitting baseline exchanges. Roger was not about to fall into the same trap. Making full use of his superb drop shot, tricky slice and mid-court angles, he moved the Swede forward and back almost at will.

Stormy weather

The first set was over in the blink of an eye, 6-1, wrapped up in just 23 minutes. The only thing that could knock the world No2 off his stride was the on-court intruder who briefly unsettled his concentration at 2-1 in the second set. He lost that game, and with storm clouds beginning to hover over Philippe Chatrier court, the momentum gradually began to shift. Little by little, Soderling righted his ship, steadying his serve and finally hitting the booming forehands that had proved so devastating earlier over the previous fortnight.

The rain gained in intensity through the middle games of the second set, and with a delay looking more of a possibility, both players looked for the break that would give them a huge psychological advantage to take into the locker room. The drizzle eased off however, and Federer’s serve kept him out of trouble heading into the match-shaping tie-break.

Brilliant tie-break

The No2 seed then seized the moment to demonstrate why he is, for so many, the greatest player of all time. He banged down four aces no less, a forehand winner and a magnificent drop shot en route to a 7-1 success that earned him a two-set lead and definitively turned the match in his favour.

In a hangover from the tie-break, Soderling immediately dropped his serve in the next game – a crucial moment as the No23 seed actually looked the more dangerous player as the third set wore on. On the few occasions that he drew Federer into a long rally, Soderling would invariably pull out a winner, but the Swiss refused to be distracted from his game plan, throwing Soderling off his rhythm with kicking second serves when his first service began to falter and sending passing shots down the line whenever the Swede came to the net.

The Swede earned his first break point of the match at 1-3 and then again had a chance to break back at 4-5, 30-40 when Federer was serving for the match. Had he taken either of those two points, the outcome of the match may have been very different.

Fitting denouement

As it was, the end was what most neutrals had been hoping for, and suitably moving. Soderling mishit on break point to take us to deuce, Federer then coolly dispatched a volley to take himself to championship point, and a big serve was enough, as Soderling netted. Federer fell to his knees, the crowd rose to their feet and the thunder rumbled overhead…

 





Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=20467.0

Singles championships

    * 1) Federer has won 14 Grand Slam titles, which is the all-time record for a male player (tied with Pete Sampras).[1]

    * 2) Federer won five consecutive men's titles at Wimbledon from 2003-07, matching a feat achieved only by Bjorn Borg in the open era.[2]

    * 3) Federer holds the open era record for most consecutive US Open titles at five (2004-08).[3] The previous open era record for a male player was three consecutive US Open titles by both Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe.[4] Federer, Sampras, and Jimmy Connors have won a male open era record five US Open titles.

    * 4) Federer is the only player in tennis history to win at least five consecutive titles at two different Grand Slam tournaments (2003-07 Wimbledon, 2004-08 US Open).[5] He is also the only player in tennis history to win the same two Grand Slam tournaments back to back for four consecutive years (2004-07).[2]

    * 5) Federer's victory at the 2004 US Open marked the first time in the open era that anyone had won his first four Grand Slam finals.[6] He eventually won his first seven Grand Slam finals before losing to Rafael Nadal in the 2006 French Open final.[7] Federer, Richard Sears, and William Renshaw are the only male players in tennis history to win their first seven Grand Slam singles finals.[6]

    * 6) At the 2007 Australian Open, Federer became the fourth man in the open era to win a Grand Slam title without dropping a set. The last man to do this before Federer was Borg at the 1980 French Open.[2] Since then only Rafael Nadal accomplished this feat at the 2008 French Open. The only other man to win the Australian Open during the open era without dropping a set was Ken Rosewall in 1971.[8]

    * 7) At the 2006 Australian Open, Federer became the first man to win three consecutive Grand Slam titles since Sampras in 1993-94.[2] Federer repeated this feat at the 2007 Australian Open, making him the only man to do this twice in the open era.[9]

    * By winning the 2007 Australian Open, Federer became the only male tennis player to win three different Grand Slam tournaments at least three times each (3 Australian Opens, 5 Wimbledons, and 5 US Opens).[10]

    * 9) Federer is the only male player in tennis history to win at least two Grand Slam titles for four consecutive years.[2] Sampras is the only other man to win two Grand Slams in a calendar year four different times (1993-95, 1997), but unlike Federer not in consecutive years.

    * 10) Federer is the only male player in tennis history to win three Grand Slam tournaments in a calendar year three different times in his career (2004, 2006, 2007).[2]

    * 11) Federer won his first 12 Grand Slam finals outside of the French Open, an all-time record. This streak included three titles at the Australian Open, five at Wimbledon, and four at the US Open.[11] His only five losses in Grand Slam singles finals are 3 at the French Open, 1 at Wimbledon and 1 at the Australian Open - all to Nadal. Federer also won his first eight hard court Grand Slam singles finals, an all-time record.

    * 12) Only Federer (5 Wimbledons and 5 US Opens), Sampras (7 Wimbledons and 5 US Opens) and Borg (6 French Opens and 5 Wimbledons) have won two different Grand Slam tournaments at least five times. However, only Federer managed to win 5 consecutive grand slam tournaments of two separate events.

    * 13) By winning the 2007 Australian Open, Federer won his 6th Grand Slam title in his last 7 attempts, an open era male record. Federer's 7 Grand Slam titles in 9 attempts, 8 in 10 attempts, 9 in 13 attempts, 10 in 14 attempts, 11 in 16 attempts, 12 in 18 attempts, and 13 in 21 attempts are all-time male records.

    * 14) Federer is the only male player in tennis history to win 6 Grand Slam titles in two years (2006-07), 8 in three years (2004-06, 2005-07), 11 in four years (2004-07), 12 in five years (2003-07, 2004-08), 13 in six years (2003-08) and 14 in seven years(2003-09). 11 Grand Slam titles in four years is an all-time record, male or female.

    * 15) Federer has won at least one Grand Slam title for seven consecutive years (2003-09) trailing only Borg (1974-81) and Sampras (1993-2000) who hold the open era male record of eight consecutive years.

    * 16) Federer has defeated eleven different opponents in Grand Slam finals, an all-time male record.

    * 17) Federer is the sixth man to win all four Grand Slams after Fred Perry, Don Budge (1938), Rod Laver (1962 & 1969), Roy Emerson and Andre Agassi. Federer is the third man to win all four in open era after Laver and Agassi, and second man to win all four on three different surfaces (Hard, Clay and Grass) after Agassi.


Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=20467.0

tabla na jud sila ni Pete Sampras sa Grandslam record nga 14 wins (single)

I was hoping nga si Nadal ang iyang opponent sa final pero sauns natagak man ug sayu, gi-sabunan ni Soderling



Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=20467.0