To me, this is a very up and down match with Federer’s FS% as the crucial indicator. Really not sure what made his level dipped in 2nd & 4th sets, could it have been nerves? Without these dips, it could have been finished in 3. In the 2nd he wasted a boatload of BPs, in the 4th even worse…throwing away 1 break advantage, losing 4 straight games.
I guess the struggle involved made the victory sweeter for the maestro by adding elements of humanity.
Technically, it seems that current Federer’s weakness is his somewhat higher reliance to serves than his younger self. Obviously, he’s covering this weakness by improving his serve. This Federer is more prone to “bad day at the office” syndrome than his younger self, i.e. when his serve rhythm is off. He’s especially vulnerable to power hitters at his off days. But this weakness is something that is to be expected and normal, due to his older age. His gifts allowed him to only bear this weakness at this advanced age, which is truly remarkable.
Agree. Early in the third, when Cilic looked confident coming out of the TB, things looked bad for Roger. Then his serve % gets world class, then the 4th. . .etc.
Looked for a bit, body language and all that Cilic could take advantage of some Federer nerves and find the win.
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Out of topic trivia: is Federer the oldest man to ever defend a GS title?
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I’ll say yes. Ha ha.
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Haha! Love this post, short and to the point.
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Unlike the final.
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To me, this is a very up and down match with Federer’s FS% as the crucial indicator. Really not sure what made his level dipped in 2nd & 4th sets, could it have been nerves? Without these dips, it could have been finished in 3. In the 2nd he wasted a boatload of BPs, in the 4th even worse…throwing away 1 break advantage, losing 4 straight games.
I guess the struggle involved made the victory sweeter for the maestro by adding elements of humanity.
Technically, it seems that current Federer’s weakness is his somewhat higher reliance to serves than his younger self. Obviously, he’s covering this weakness by improving his serve. This Federer is more prone to “bad day at the office” syndrome than his younger self, i.e. when his serve rhythm is off. He’s especially vulnerable to power hitters at his off days. But this weakness is something that is to be expected and normal, due to his older age. His gifts allowed him to only bear this weakness at this advanced age, which is truly remarkable.
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Agree. Early in the third, when Cilic looked confident coming out of the TB, things looked bad for Roger. Then his serve % gets world class, then the 4th. . .etc.
Looked for a bit, body language and all that Cilic could take advantage of some Federer nerves and find the win.
Writing my quick reaction now.
Good stuff, JB.
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