ATP MASTERS: World Tour Finals, London 2014

He,he...I managed to kill the time between the sessions in style!

Had a chat and photos taken with Guga, had my serve speed measured, saw a bit of Fed's practice session...met a young Chilean guy travelling around the world who may join OTF...and now in my lovely seat, this time left of the umpire's chair.

Look forward to seeing the doubles match, hopefully Benne/Vasse will be able to beat the jumping freak show...

And then it's the Swiss dessert...all in all it feels like I've been here an eternity!

Nole-Kei was a funny match, really funny.
I don't know how it came across on TV, but Nole looked a bit strange.

There was a handful of decent points, a couple of brilliant FHs, a very nice passage of play from Nishi on the 2nd and that was it...

There kind was no match.

Allez Les Frenchies!!!!!!

Time for Swiss bliss!

Scary to see Fed play so average. Not a good day in the office.

Federer may be old and declining rapidly, but he has nerves of steel and a champions heart.  That was a brilliant game.  Stan had it in his grasp.

What a match....

One of the best this year.  And it's from 2 single backhand players.  Shot making, net play, serve volley.  THAT is what tennis is about.  Shame the conditions are so slow.

4 Match Points saved... wow!

What a match. fed played terrible, the conditions are ugly but the drama was great. Federer is going to be thrashed tomorrow and he knows it. As Roger said it's all about baseline tennis on those courts.

Djoko is going to be all over the court and be there so early on the ball that he will even be dictating.

Great drama !

The game to get the break back at 4-5 from Federer was by far his most defensive. I don't think he hit any winners with the exception of passing shots (Stan served and volleyed a few times on second serves), and he was keeping the ball in play. Very clever tactics, he knows Stan very well, and he knew if he played high percentages Stan might get nervous.

If Nadal or Djokovic had played that game that Fed played at 4-5, no doubt Tenez would have been seething and calling it very defensive ! But I say it's canny, and Fed picks up the win at the end. Incredibly Stan had double the winners, but it's the set score which counts

Tenez wrote:What a match. fed played terrible, the conditions are ugly but the drama was great. Federer is going to be thrashed tomorrow and he knows it. As Roger said it's all about baseline tennis on those courts.

Djoko is going to be all over the court and be there so early on the ball that he will even be dictating.

Absolutely.

I even don't know it was the smartest thing to do to win today: next week he needs a fully motivated Stan..

Kim Jong-Un wrote:If Nadal or Djokovic had played that game that Fed played at 4-5, no doubt Tenez would have been seething and calling it very defensive ! But I say it's canny, and Fed picks up the win at the end. Incredibly Stan had double the winners, but it's the set score which counts

On those courts there is no point going for broke. But unlike nadal and Djoko Federer is an extremely agressive and creative player.

Not sure what is your point. Fed actually went to the net a lot. Played agressive in that TB too. That break you mention is a bit different as Stan was serving (and he served well all match) so he was on the back foot most of the time.

Tenez wrote:That break you mention is a bit different as Stan was serving (and he served well all match) so he was on the back foot most of the time.

Yes of course he is normally the aggressor, but surely you picked up in that game that in the baseline rallies Federer was playing it very very safe ? Even the commentators picked it up.

gallery play wrote:

Tenez wrote:What a match. fed played terrible, the conditions are ugly but the drama was great. Federer is going to be thrashed tomorrow and he knows it. As Roger said it's all about baseline tennis on those courts.

Djoko is going to be all over the court and be there so early on the ball that he will even be dictating.

Absolutely.

I even don't know it was the smartest thing to do to win today: next week he needs a fully motivated Stan..

Good point. I think winning was important to stay close to Djoko and the number 1 spot. Fed wants it one last time and I think he can do it.

he played quite well this week...bar today!

noleisthebest wrote:met a young Chilean guy travelling around the world who may join OTF

When he joins, will you ask him what his username was on v2?

I feel Stan bottled it today on the match points.

Fed survived, but poor Stan; he looked the better player for most of the match; yet he could not cross the finish line.  Some nerves here and there, a bit of clutch play from Fed, and it was enough to counterbalance Stan's overall better play.

Fed will need to play better than this tomorrow, but will probably be too tired to even play like this.

The only good thing is that against Nole I suspect he will try to be ultra-aggressive, so there may not be too many grueling rallies anyway.  Even so, it will be very very hard tomorrow.

summerblues wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:met a young Chilean guy travelling around the world who may join OTF

When he joins, will you ask him what his username was on v2?

summerblues wrote:Fed survived, but poor Stan; he looked the better player for most of the match; yet he could not cross the finish line.  Some nerves here and there, a bit of clutch play from Fed, and it was enough to counterbalance Stan's overall better play.

Fed will need to play better than this tomorrow, but will probably be too tired to even play like this.

The only good thing is that against Nole I suspect he will try to be ultra-aggressive, so there may not be too many grueling rallies anyway.  Even so, it will be very very hard tomorrow.

Fed was actually robbed in that first game of the 3rd set....so he always played with pressure when in fact he could have relaxed had he not been robbed of that first game (3rd set). What a huge mistake from the referee.

summerblues wrote:The only good thing is that against Nole I suspect he will try to be ultra-aggressive, so there may not be too many grueling rallies anyway.  Even so, it will be very very hard tomorrow.

On this court it can only be gruelling rallies.

Was that overrule in the first game incorrect? Here they did not say either way on TV and I could not tell for sure.

I suspect if Fed wants to get to #1, he may have to win the AO.

summerblues wrote:Was that overrule in the first game incorrect?  Here they did not say either way on TV and I could not tell for sure.

Yes, yes it was.

Fed looked completely exhausted after that match, but I wished for him to go through anyway. I have seen enough of Wawrinka-Djokovic for the week, though I'm afraid Fed-Djoko won't be much more competitive considering the circumstances.

Kim Jong-Un wrote:

summerblues wrote:Was that overrule in the first game incorrect?  Here they did not say either way on TV and I could not tell for sure.

Yes, yes it was.

HE showed the ball was clearly out and Fed did not realise that the referee over-ruled it. So he played without knowing it was 0/15 instead of 15/0 up. So instead of being 15/30 down he was 0/40 when he realised. Many players would have not been able to recover from such a steal. He did very well to refocus.

summerblues wrote:I suspect if Fed wants to get to #1, he may have to win the AO.

He coudl do with a Friday and Saturday rest as they offer there for the first semi-final.

I see about the overrule, yeah that was bad then. They did not show HE here so I did not know it was a bad call.

summerblues wrote:Fed survived, but poor Stan; he looked the better player for most of the match; yet he could not cross the finish line.  Some nerves here and there, a bit of clutch play from Fed, and it was enough to counterbalance Stan's overall better play.

Fed will need to play better than this tomorrow, but will probably be too tired to even play like this.

The only good thing is that against Nole I suspect he will try to be ultra-aggressive, so there may not be too many grueling rallies anyway.  Even so, it will be very very hard tomorrow.

Me being a Stan-fan felt bad for him, but its good to see him play better than what he was in the past  6-7 weeks. I want to see a hard hitting confident Stan in the DC final.

Fed's win was good, but he definitely need to up his game by min 2 levels. Serve absolutely perfect, be sharp on those volleys and and cut down any chance of UEs.

Fed for the win.

I changed my opinion regarding the desirable outcome of the Fed-Wawrinka Match, not that it matters anyway. But now that I have seen rumours (originating from Ljubicic) that Fed might be injured I'd rather have Wawrinka in the final for the sake of competetiveness.

Fed played a terrible match and he looked even worse at its end, I thought from exhaustion, but maybe not. I thought he might collapse when he bent over his bag. No smiles either tonight. Hope it's not true. 

Else the final will be short likely, Djokovic to lose 5 games max. 

summerblues wrote:I suspect if Fed wants to get to #1, he may have to win the AO.

First things first: Davis cup.

Getting back to the top spot would be another fairy tale, let alone winning another slam. But he MUST win the Davis cup next week. A first DC win for Federer at this stage of his career and a first win for Switserland would be epic.

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:

summerblues wrote:Fed survived, but poor Stan; he looked the better player for most of the match; yet he could not cross the finish line.  Some nerves here and there, a bit of clutch play from Fed, and it was enough to counterbalance Stan's overall better play.

Fed will need to play better than this tomorrow, but will probably be too tired to even play like this.

The only good thing is that against Nole I suspect he will try to be ultra-aggressive, so there may not be too many grueling rallies anyway.  Even so, it will be very very hard tomorrow.

Me being a Stan-fan felt bad for him, but its good to see him play better than what he was in the past  6-7 weeks. I want to see a hard hitting confident Stan in the DC final.

Fed's win was good, but he definitely need to up his game by min 2 levels. Serve absolutely perfect, be sharp on those volleys and and cut down any chance of UEs.

Fed for the win.

rotla,

As a Stan-fan you should be really proud!

He played a wonderful match yesterday, attacked all the time, and it's a great shame one player had to lose.
It was the first time I saw him play live, and to my surprise, he looked quite elegant, esp his BH.
Indeed, his game is 99% baseline, but it's a full on attacking one and with a SBH.
His serve was excellent, he went over 130 mph very often, his BH return even when chipped is very aggressive and pacy.
The 4 match points he didn't use, he went for the ball every time and I take my hat off to him.
It was a real pleasure to watch him yesterday.

I sad to a South African woman who sat next to me when Fed served for his first match point: watch him, he'll take it. And he did.
That was the difference between the two.
I can tell you as I was sitting very close (row 4), Fed wanted it more.

Tennis is a very cruel game sometimes, and yesterday was one of those days.

Djoko returns better than Stan, handles the change of pace better and puts more pressure from the baseline. There might have a been a decent change for Federer tonight, but only if Djoko had played the second semi, a tough one that is.

I expect a few exiting games from the start, with Federer going for broke but Djoko's accuracy will easily come out on top.

And what to say of Fed...

My heart isfull, brimming with impressions and emotions.

The match was a true banquet for a tennis fan.

Often, when two SBH-ers play, a bit of symmetry and  aesthetical fullness is lost, but not last night.

Ball-striking was so beautiful...especially compared to the afternoon session (which was also very good but in a  different way).
Net clearance was low, balls often flew an inch over, nobody in the crowd minded long rallies, especially the ones that ended with those wonderful volleys from Fed or breathtakingly bold FHs from Stan.

Fed struggled with Stan's full on attack.

(Yes, the court is mighty slow, the ball sits up on it, again I felt it between the sessions, and it's the same old sand-paper sandy one like 2 years ago.)

I came to feast my eyes on Federer, and that I did to my heart's content and more.

I watched his feet skittle backwards metres behind the baseline to take Stan's pacy shots on his BH, every time serve went to his BH he would do the same.
Then I would close my eyes and just listen to them.

I tell you, I had a lump in my throat almost all match.

It was not the Fed I was hoping to see: the attacking, new frame+Edberg Fed. From memory, there were about a maximum of 5-6 points he played with the gust in his sails.
No, quite contrary.
It was the "old" Fed.
He looked like he played with the smaller frame, and often actually examined it closely, readjusting the strings, visibly upset with its betrayal.

As the match went on, his frustration built to anger.

I stopped looking at his feet, his silky, beautifully placed FHs,  the impossibly elegant , feathery BH slices...I stopped admiring the piece of art which is what his service motion is, yes, the overheads, too (even the missed one!)...instead, I watched his soul:

All the moments his heart stopped and restarted beating. The fierce, unrelenting, insupressable instinct to fight and survive.
As the third set went on, it looked like I was watching a dying man, for that's how the grunts began to sound: first on his second and then slowly even his first serves.
When he struck one BH just about with all he had left, he let out a sound, I find difficult to describe: I imagine someone's last breath might sound like that...

After saving one MP, he went over to wipe his face with the towell  - his arm was shaking.

It was a deep and special moment to witness and share.

An irritating man sitting next to me was losing patience, getting annoyed with Federer, questioning him... I had my head in my hands, wanting to cry.

It was one beautiful and poignant fight, won by a roaring, hurting lion.
Wounded by people's words and lack of faith over the years.
For those hurt a lot more & longer than tired muscles.

It reminded me of Hemingway's The Old Man And The Sea...

gallery play wrote:

Tenez wrote:What a match. fed played terrible, the conditions are ugly but the drama was great. Federer is going to be thrashed tomorrow and he knows it. As Roger said it's all about baseline tennis on those courts.

Djoko is going to be all over the court and be there so early on the ball that he will even be dictating.

Absolutely.

I even don't know it was the smartest thing to do to win today: next week he needs a fully motivated Stan..

I wouldn't be so sure that he's going to get thrashed.  It's a completely different match up and mental thing. And a new day. Don't be surprised if Fed prevails.

noleisthebest wrote:And what to say of Fed...

My heart isfull, brimming with impressions and emotions.

The match was a true banquet for a tennis fan.

Often, when two SBH-ers play, a bit of symmetry and  aesthetical fullness is lost, but not last night.

Ball-striking was so beautiful...especially compared to the afternoon session (which was also very good but in a  different way).
Net clearance was low, balls often flew an inch over, nobody in the crowd minded long rallies, especially the ones that ended with those wonderful volleys from Fed or breathtakingly bold FHs from Stan.

Fed struggled with Stan's full on attack.

(Yes, the court is mighty slow, the ball sits up on it, again I felt it between the sessions, and it's the same old sand-paper sandy one like 2 years ago.)

I came to feast my eyes on Federer, and that I did to my heart's content and more.

I watched his feet skittle backwards metres behind the baseline to take Stan's pacy shots on his BH, every time serve went to his BH he would do the same.
Then I would close my eyes and just listen to them.

I tell you, I had a lump in my throat almost all match.

It was not the Fed I was hoping to see: the attacking, new frame+Edberg Fed. From memory, there were about a maximum of 5-6 points he played with the gust in his sails.
No, quite contrary.
It was the "old" Fed.
He looked like he played with the smaller frame, and often actually examined it closely, readjusting the strings, visibly upset with its betrayal.

As the match went on, his frustration built to anger.

I stopped looking at his feet, his silky, beautifully placed FHs,  the impossibly elegant , feathery BH slices...I stopped admiring the piece of art which is what his service motion is, yes, the overheads, too (even the missed one!)...instead, I watched his soul:

All the moments his heart stopped and restarted beating. The fierce, unrelenting, insupressable instinct to fight and survive.
As the third set went on, it looked like I was watching a dying man, for that's how the grunts began to sound: first on his second and then slowly even his first serves.
When he struck one BH just about with all he had left, he let out a sound, I find difficult to describe: I imagine someone's last breath might sound like that...

After saving one MP, he went over to wipe his face with the towell  - his arm was shaking.

It was a deep and special moment to witness and share.

An irritating man sitting next to me was losing patience, getting annoyed with Federer, questioning him... I had my head in my hands, wanting to cry.

It was one beautiful and poignant fight, won by a roaring, hurting lion.
Wounded by people's words and lack of faith over the years.
For those hurt a lot more & longer than tired muscles.

It reminded me of Hemingway's The Old Man And The Sea...

  well said nitb.

noleisthebest wrote:And what to say of Fed...

My heart isfull, brimming with impressions and emotions.

The match was a true banquet for a tennis fan.

Often, when two SBH-ers play, a bit of symmetry and  aesthetical fullness is lost, but not last night.

Ball-striking was so beautiful...especially compared to the afternoon session (which was also very good but in a  different way).
Net clearance was low, balls often flew an inch over, nobody in the crowd minded long rallies, especially the ones that ended with those wonderful volleys from Fed or breathtakingly bold FHs from Stan.

Fed struggled with Stan's full on attack.

(Yes, the court is mighty slow, the ball sits up on it, again I felt it between the sessions, and it's the same old sand-paper sandy one like 2 years ago.)

I came to feast my eyes on Federer, and that I did to my heart's content and more.

I watched his feet skittle backwards metres behind the baseline to take Stan's pacy shots on his BH, every time serve went to his BH he would do the same.
Then I would close my eyes and just listen to them.

I tell you, I had a lump in my throat almost all match.

It was not the Fed I was hoping to see: the attacking, new frame+Edberg Fed. From memory, there were about a maximum of 5-6 points he played with the gust in his sails.
No, quite contrary.
It was the "old" Fed.
He looked like he played with the smaller frame, and often actually examined it closely, readjusting the strings, visibly upset with its betrayal.

As the match went on, his frustration built to anger.

I stopped looking at his feet, his silky, beautifully placed FHs,  the impossibly elegant , feathery BH slices...I stopped admiring the piece of art which is what his service motion is, yes, the overheads, too (even the missed one!)...instead, I watched his soul:

All the moments his heart stopped and restarted beating. The fierce, unrelenting, insupressable instinct to fight and survive.
As the third set went on, it looked like I was watching a dying man, for that's how the grunts began to sound: first on his second and then slowly even his first serves.
When he struck one BH just about with all he had left, he let out a sound, I find difficult to describe: I imagine someone's last breath might sound like that...

After saving one MP, he went over to wipe his face with the towell  - his arm was shaking.

It was a deep and special moment to witness and share.

An irritating man sitting next to me was losing patience, getting annoyed with Federer, questioning him... I had my head in my hands, wanting to cry.

It was one beautiful and poignant fight, won by a roaring, hurting lion.
Wounded by people's words and lack of faith over the years.
For those hurt a lot more & longer than tired muscles.

It reminded me of Hemingway's The Old Man And The Sea...

Very nice post NITB

Thanks rotla and Kimmy

gallery play wrote:First things first: Davis cup.

Getting back to the top spot would be another fairy tale, let alone winning another slam. But he MUST win the Davis cup next week. A first DC win for Federer at this stage of his career and a first win for Switserland would be epic.

You may be right but I have to admit I just do not care for DC at all. To me it is a total waste of space on the calendar.

Nitb: did you notice any back issues with fed during his practice and/or match? ljubicic said fed was stiff at practice and some fan reports stating similiar suspicions before and after match. Fingers crossed it's nothing but fatigue.

Hi Truffin,

I only arrived at the end of his practice session, he actually practised in the arena itself, not on side practice courts like  Stan and doubles players.
I didn't notice anything very obvious, but he definitely looked fatigued during the match and lacked attacking vigour.
His groundstrokes last night were quite average for his standards.

We'll see how he plays tonight. He may come out relaxed and click into action as he usually tends to do against Nole.

He had a very slow start yesterday.

I'm hearing form various sources that Federer is doubtful to play today, hopefully the rumour is untrue.

I've just read Federer cancelled his practice session because of the length of last night's match.
What an anti-climax....

He's quit, no final

Really disappointing tournament, apart from Fed vs Stan

Just read this on ATP website:

"Federer: I'm not match fit to play tonight. Clearly I wish it wasn't so. I've tried everything. But I just can't compete at this level against Novak. At my age it's too risky. I wanted to come out personally and explain myself. It's been a great week. I played great tennis. Congrats to Novak who played an amazing tournament. I hope we can play more great matches next season."

Terrible.

This whole situation must really annoy Stan too.

And the clarification of the reason for withdrawal:

"I am sorry to announce that I cannot play the finals tonight vs. Novak. I hurt my back late in the match yesterday against Stan . I am very disappointed and I hope to be feeling better soon.
It’s been an extremely difficult decision because I love playing in London and the ATP World Tour Finals have been an absolute highlight of my career. Unfortunately, my back problem does not allow me to play right now. I hope all tennis fans and those involved in the event will understand."

I wonder if it happened when he made that eerie sound after hitting one backhand.

Real shame. I still can't believe it happened.
I know it's only a tennis match, but it really feels like somebody died.

Fed should have tanked the semi, now we have only losers.

What a disappointing end to this WTF.

In three days, Fed went from almost double bageling Andy to barely scraping by Stan to being unable to play at all.

Autumnleaf wrote:I changed my opinion regarding the desirable outcome of the Fed-Wawrinka Match, not that it matters anyway. But now that I have seen rumours (originating from Ljubicic) that Fed might be injured I'd rather have Wawrinka in the final for the sake of competetiveness.

Fed played a terrible match and he looked even worse at its end, I thought from exhaustion, but maybe not. I thought he might collapse when he bent over his bag. No smiles either tonight. Hope it's not true. 

Else the final will be short likely, Djokovic to lose 5 games max. 

Well informed. Ljubo is a friend of Fed so I guess he was well informed.

I thought Fed was very poor yesterday compared to the rest of the week. It's so annoying to see the back problem is still around.

Just came in.. Murray vs Djokovic going on??? is it live? what's happening?