Roddick solves Federer and Nalbandian shaves Schuettler on semifinal Saturday
Tennis Masters Canada, Montreal (August 9, 2003)
by Ed Toombs


Comfortably warm temperatures and clear skies graced the Jarry Tennis Centre today for semifinal Saturday. We had one excellent and one very good match, each going three sets, setting up an intriguing Andy Roddick - David Nalbandian duel for the title tomorrow. The doubles final should provide further intrigue, since it will be replay of the Wimbledon final.

(6)Andy Roddick def. (3)Roger Federer, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3)
Semifinal
Previous head-to-head: Federer leads 4-0

Andy Roddick finally solved the Roger Federer puzzle this afternoon, denying Federer the number one ranking he would have assured had he reached the final. Roddick stormed back from 2-4 down in the final set to defeat the Wimbledon champion for the first time in five meetings. To give an idea of Federer?s domination in past encounters, the only set Roddick had ever taken from Federer had been the first set they ever played, in Federer?s hometown of Basel in 2001.

Federer, wearing a powder blue shirt and white headband, came out for the rematch of the Wimbledon semifinal serving poorly, and not showing the crispness he had displayed in yesterday?s win over Max Mirnyi. Roddick was clad in a rather unique outfit, a white shirt with a black right side and black trim, and shorts that were white, except for the insides and backs of the legs, which were black. The American was determined and came out firing -- ?a little jacked up?, in his words. Roddick drew fi rst blood, breaking Federer at 2-1, then holding on the strength of three aces to lead 3-1. Federer was feeding too many short balls to Roddick, who was able to step in and control points with his potent forehand. Roddick kept the advantage and cashed in his first set point thanks to a service winner.

Despite serving at just 46% in the first set, but with 13 winners to just 7 unforced errors, Roddick was outgunning Federer, who seemed without clear ideas on the court. Roddick certainly had clear ideas, and his strategy of pounding Federer?s backhand with his inside-out forehand was working like a charm.

Roddick?s serves were continually baffling Federer. Roger?s returns were off, and it was rare that he got a clean swing at even a second serve. Andy did not have to face a break point until 2-3 of the second frame. Here he double faulted at deuce. At advantage Federer, Roddick tries a serve-volley point. Roddick came to net 33 times today, but his volley is still not a strength of his game. ?A-Rod? pushed his forehand volley long, and bounced his racquet in frustration at conceding the break. Federer had no trouble holding the rest of the way, levelling the match. He seemed to have found his rhythm in this set, and it was now Roddick that was being bullied during many of the rallies.

Roddick?s substandard volleying immediately let him down again, and he was broken again in the opening game of the final set. At 30-30 his forehand volley clipped the tape -- Federer ran it down and found the open court. At 30-40, Roddick left a backhand volley in mid-court, allowing the Swiss a fairly easy forehand pass that he converted.

Roddick had not said his last word. He kept pounding away at Federer?s backhand and at 2-1, earned three break points that Federer saved magnificently (ace, ace, and forehand winner). We were being treated to some exciting, top-drawer tennis, and the fans roared their appreciation. At 1-3 down, Roddick made the most spectacular play of the match, a between the legs reflex volley followed by a stretch forehand volley winner. The crowd roared, and Roddick went on to hold at love. Roddick?s comment on his circus volley: ?It was either that or get hit in the nuts.? At 4-2 it was Federer?s turn to dazzle the crowd, sprinting to retrieve a ball far to his right before dashing back to the other side and feathering a backhand pass down the line.

After worrying Federer?s serve continually, Roddick finally got his break at 4-3. At 30-30 Roddick managed a lucky stabbing return that snuck onto the sideline. ?It kind of floated, I had no idea where it was going and it landed in,? admitted Roddick. He then hit another key return that landed just inside the baseline, forcing an error from the handcuffed Federer. The final set was now back level, 4-4.

The two warriors stayed on serve until the tie-break. As you can see, Federer dug himself an early hole from which he was never able to emerge.

  • AR serving: Service winner to Federer?s backhand. 1-0 Roddick
  • RF: Federer?s second serve is just wide, his 10th double fault. 2-0 Roddick
  • RF: Roddick gets a first serve back in play, and Federer just misses a routine forehand. 3-0 Roddick
  • AR: A potent Roddick forehand draws a slice backhand error from Federer. 4-0 Roddick
  • AR: Federer passes Roddick with a backhand to finally win a point. 4-1 Roddick
  • RF: Federer?s drop volley is run down by Roddick, who pushes a forehand winner up the line and excitedly pumps his fist. 5-1 Roddick
  • RF: Federer follows up a good wide serve with a swinging volley winner. 5-2 Roddick
  • AR: Federer misses with a backhand. 6-2 Roddick, match point
  • AR: Federer strikes a solid first serve return and puts away the short reply. 6-2 Roddick, match point #2
  • RF: Federer runs around a backhand but pushes his inside out forehand wide. Game, set and match, Roddick, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3)

Roddick?s comment on the tie-break: ?He was maybe a combined six inches on all the shots he missed. It really is a game of inches sometimes.?

There had been good support for both players from the Montreal crowd. But Federer has become a particular favourite here. He was given a massive ovation as he walked off, and acknowledged the fans with a wave. In his on-court interview, Roddick made a point to acknowledge a special day for his coach, Brad Gilbert. ?Happy Birthday, BG! He just turned 67 today,? joked the winner. A slight exaggeration -- Gilbert is actually just 42. Later, Roddick said that Gilbert has been a relaxing influence on him. ?It?s not too intense, which is a change of pace and it seems to be working so far.? It certainly does! Roddick?s match record under Gilbert?s tutelage is 23-2.

Federer was left to rue his near misses and his 10 double faults. ?I wanted to take some risks and take control of the play,? explained Roger, who was not satisfied with his performance. ?[In the past] I thought I was really reading his serve well, and today was maybe just not the case.? He had known that #1 was on the line in today?s match, but denied he felt any pressure. ?The match is important enough that you can almost forget about that.? The Swiss star tried to look at the bright side. ?I?ve never been #2 either and I am now. Let?s take the positive side of the story.?

Roddick was clearly delighted to get a win on the board against his former nemesis. ?No-one beats me five times in a row,? he joked, echoing Vitas Gerulaitis?s famous comment after finally breaking a 16-match losing streak against Jimmy Connors in 1980 (?Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row!"). By reaching his second straight Canadian final, Roddick assures that his entry ranking, win or lose tomorrow, will have risen two spots to #4.

David Nalbandian def. (8)Rainer Schuettler, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
Semifinal
Previous head-to-head: Tied 3-3

This was the lower-profile of the two semifinals, but promised to be a close encounter between two recent surprise Grand Slam finalists -- Nalbandian at Wimbledon last year, and Schuettler in Australia this season. Nalbandian was one of Schuettler?s victims during his Australian run, but the Argentine has since defeated the German twice, both on clay. Both were looking for a chance to win their first title of 2003.

The first set was of uneven quality, which came as a bit of a letdown after the Roddick-Federer dramatics. Nalbandian had shown excellent consistency in previous rounds, but in the first set tonight he was too erratic with his returns and groundstrokes (16 unforced errors). Since both men possess ordinary serves and excellent returns, one might have expected that breaks of serve would not be uncommon. Wrong! Nalbandian was unable to convert three break points at 2-2, making unforced errors on two of them. Later, serving at 3-4, 30-40, the Argentine made a costly forehand error to give Schuettler the only break he needed and a 5-3 lead. Schuettler closed out the first set at love.

The quality of play picked up in the second set, with both men stepping into their shots and using their speed to create some crowd-pleasing points. Nalbandian cut his errors down to just 6 in the set, improving his return and controlling play with some slashing backhands. ?I tried to do more rallies,? commented the Argentine, ?and I started to believe I could beat him.? Nalbandian broke Schuettler at 3-2 and 5-2, and we had another third set on our hands.

The third set turned on a sloppy game by Schuettler on his 2-3 service game. Nalbandian started the game strongly with an angled backhand approach completed with a punching volley. Schuettler then committed two unforced errors, and flipped his racquet in frustration at being down 0-40. On the first break point, Schuettler controlled the point, forced a short defensive lob by Nalbandian that he let bounce, and? rammed his smash into the net!

From there the dispirited Schuettler sagged badly. Nalbandian broke the German again for the match, setting up match point with a crisp forehand winner. Nalbandian dumped a backhand into the net on his first match point, but back-to-back Schuettler errors ended it.

The satisfied Nalbandian took a long curtain call, waving, bowing, and soaking up the applause. Schuettler, despite his keen disappointment with the turn of the match, thoughtfully waved and applauded the fans as he left under a warm ovation.

Nalbandian?s first serve percentage was an excellent 69% tonight, and Schuettler saw this as a key to his success. ?He put a lot of first serves in,? said Rainer, ?and I didn?t return that well. And he didn?t miss in the second and third set.?

Nalbandian also credited the turnaround to his improved serving, as well as to a change in tactics. ?I tried to play a little higher on his backhand. I think that was the most important thing I do in the second set. And I think I tried to serve better and better in every game.?



Final preview

Last year Andy Roddick lost the Tennis Masters Canada final to an unseeded Argentine, Guillermo Cañas. Again this year, Roddick will battle an unseeded Argentine for the title.

Also in Toronto last year, David Nalbandian met Roddick in the quarterfinal of this tournament and lost decisively, 6-3, 6-2. It was their only career meeting.

Roddick?s views on Nalbandian: ?He?s a sneaky player. He has a very well-rounded game. He plays well from the baseline. He moves deceivingly well. He?s a good volleyer. He has a good feel for the game and he competes very well.?

Nalbandian?s views on Roddick: ?He?s a great player and has a very big serve, so I have to be focused on my return. And then I think I have to take more chances than I [usually] do.?

No doubt, the rampant Roddick will be a heavy favourite. Can David slay the American Goliath? For a well-informed prediction, we turn to our guest prognosticator Rainer Schuettler: ?It obviously depends a lot on Andy?s serve. But David is standing far behind the baseline, so he will have a lot of time. And David likes to return.? The verdict? ?Andy played pretty well, he beat Roger today. So I think he?s going to make it.?



Doubles! Doubles!

Tomorrow, the doubles title will be disputed between the fourth seeds, Jonas Bjorkman / Todd Woodbridge, and top seeds Mahesh Bhupathi / Max Mirnyi. This is a rematch of the Wimbledon final, which was won by Bjorkman/Woodbridge in four sets. Both teams will be seeking their third title of the season.

The few fans who stayed for the doubles match after the exciting Roddick-Federer duel got their money?s worth, as the singles thriller was followed by a 2 hour, 40 minute doubles duel between Bjorkman/Woodbridge and the second-seeded Bryan twins, Bob and Mike. Lefty Bob Bryan looked to be the shakiest player on court -- surprisingly, since he is often the better Bryan. The key break came with Mike Bryan serving at 5-6. Bob misplayed two volleys to put the twins in a 15-40 pickle, and Mike made a volley error of his own to concede the break. Bjorkman, who was incisive and energetic throughout and was our Man of the Match, served it out authoritatively to seal the 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (4-7), 7-5 win.

Sadly the second doubles semi was a no-contest, as Martin Damm / Cyril Suk withdrew because of an injury to Damm. New Quebec hero Simon Larose stepped into the breach along with Davis Cup team-mate Frédéric Niemeyer, and closed the evening session with an exhibition match.



Montreal morsels

An auction of items autographed by the players was held, with proceeds going to Canada?s junior tennis development programme. The biggest money -- $1600 -- was fetched by a racquet autographed by Andre Agassi. On the other side of the spectrum, a bandana worn by Arnaud Clément attracted a bid of merely $35. We hope that the little Frenchman does not take this as an affront!



Quotable quotes

Roger Federer insisted that his performance today was not affected by any excessive birthday celebrations. ?It was a good night, relaxing dinner. And obviously stay professional. I didn?t lose my mind, you know.?

Players are getting more vocal about what many feel is poor scheduling on the ATP Tour. Gustavo Kuerten said earlier this week that having back-to-back Masters Series, as is the case with Rome-Hamburg in the clay court season and Canada-Cincinnati this month, made ?no sense?. Federer agrees: ?Because if you want to win both weeks, you?ve got to play 12 out of 14 days, or 12 out of 13 if you start like me on the Tuesday, which I think is insane, you know? I think it?s too much. You see too many gu ys pulling out.? For Andy Roddick, this scheduling quirk is no big deal. ?I just play my matches, dude? It?s not my job to make the schedule.?

David Nalbandian will almost surely be part of the Argentine squad that will be travelling to Spain next month for the Davis Cup semifinal. In recent ties Nalbandian has served as a doubles specialist, and David professes that he?s not especially coveting a singles role. ?I hope to win the series. That?s more important than to play singles or doubles.? The number one Argentine at the moment, Guillermo Coria, is reportedly at odds with the Argentine federation and has yet to play a Davis Cup tie for his country. Judging from Nalbandian?s response when asked about Coria?s status, his participation is far from certain. ?You?d have to ask him.?