Djokovic Advances Into The Roman Final After Living Dangerously

Defending champion, Novak Djokovic faced off against Roger Federer in a rematch of the Miami semifinal. Both players came out playing solidly. The Serb tested Federer’s groundstrokes early in the match, but the Swiss held up. In game nine, Djokovic tried to come into the net on a couple of occasions, but Federer made him pay each time. The Swiss was rewarded with four break chances and took advantage on the fourth. Federer then cruised to win the set 6-4.

In the second set, Federer struck first with a break in the opening service game, and it looked like the Swiss would exact revenge on Djokovic this time. Luckily for the Serb, Mother Nature intervened with a rain delay at 2-1.

After the delay, Federer held easily again for 3-1. Djokovic was able to hold after giving Federer another break opportunity for 3-2. For some reason, Federer became tentative, and the unforced errors began to creep into his game. His serve also broke down. With these developments, it allowed the 21-year-old to get back into the match as his level of play increased. Djokovic then won four consecutive games to snatch the set from Federer and even the match at one set apiece.

With the match even, the players stayed on serve in the final set. Federer broke first in game four to go up 3-1. Djokovic broke back in the next game. The Swiss became tentative again and started missing his forehand and backhand shots. Djokovic took advantage of the errors and won the next five games to take the set and match 4-6 6-3 6-3 after 130 minutes of play.

This is Federer’s third final-set meltdown this year. It occurred at the Australian Open against Nadal and then in Miami against Djokovic. Federer does need a coach to help him come up with some solutions for the other three (Nadal, Djokovic and Murray), but his main problem is mental. His game depends on the opponent breaking down at the end of the match if it is tight. If it fails to happen, he falls apart and starts making a lot of unforced errors.

To Djokovic’s credit, his form is back, and he is finally addressing his fitness issues. The race for number two is not a three-way race. It is a two-person race between Djokovic and Murray if they both stay healthy. Federer’s number two ranking is based on him making it to the final with Nadal. He is going to have to get passed Murray or Djokovic in every semifinal, and they have his number this year. Now that Murray has improved and Djokovic has gotten his act back together, Federer will most likely not get passed them.

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