Miami Open, ATP Masters 1000, 2019

[Federberg]

whatever he lost in the last year he seems to be slowly reclaiming it. Not so sure about his serve, but that's the one thing that can come back no problem

 

[lob]

Roger was deadly tonight. Always a good sign when he can play like this on a slow court. Now it's time to finish the job this time on Sunday.

Partly, it was inexperience of Shap who was too nervous in the first set. Also Roger's first serve % has been low around 40%.

I'd be happier with his level if he had withstood Thiem at IW.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I missed the match, but glad that Fed won. From the scoreline, it also looks to be an easy win.

Now, he also gets a day of rest. Hopefully, he will win the final without even getting into TBs.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

I missed the match, but glad that Fed won. From the scoreline, it also looks to be an easy win.

Now, he also gets a day of rest. Hopefully, he will win the final without even getting into TBs.

I don't like him getting a day off when he is this dialed in. Not at this age. I want him to play Isner tonight if possible. No one knows which Roger will show up on Sunday

 

[DarthFed]

whatever he lost in the last year he seems to be slowly reclaiming it. Not so sure about his serve, but that's the one thing that can come back no problem

Agreed, his serve still seems inconsistent and at times flat out weaker than we are used to but it's still better than last Fall. Also encouraging that he can play like this after playing the last two days before this.

 

[mrzz]

I'm not sure there's enough evidence that he won't be able to manage the balance between the two. He seems to be evolving his game on a week to week basis. Let's see how it goes over the next two months

Sure. My point was that it remains to be seen. Surely can't say anything for granted now, but that IMO is the hardest part of the process for him.

Now for the Federer-Shapovalov match.

Wow. And I mean WOW. What the fuck was that? I really thought that Federer would never be able to play that well again. Together with two or three matches from 2017, this was the best I have seen from Federer in about a decade.

I explain. I believe Federer's game is changing in front of our eyes, and I am not sure we are taking full notice of that (at least I haven't seen people pointing it out). He is obviously not able to consistently dictate with his forehand like he used too -- not even like he could in 2017, let's not even mention 2004-2006 stuff. And also the backhand is not as sharp as the neo backhand from 2017 either. But he is way, way more solid than I have ever seen (at least in this decade), and extremely smart tactically wise. He is choosing well the moments when to fire winners from both wings, and in those particular times it seems like it is the good ol' days. But he is keeping the ball in play a lot, altering pace and spin, coming to the net when you don't expect him too, in other words he is giving the other guy a different problem to solve in basically every point.

Even the serve is working in a strange/different way. I have noticed that his first serve percentage has dropped considerably. But on the other hand, his second serve wining percentage is quite decent (always above 60% lately), so it seems that he knows that he can run a lot of risk with the first because he still got the upper hand with the second. The end result is that he is hardly facing break points, and this is Miami (even if those new courts seem faster than the old ones). I am actually looking forward to his clay season.

I think we saw glimpses of this version of Federer in the last two Dubai matches. If (and that is a pretty big if) he is able to play like this with some sort of consistency, he is really right up there to fight for majors and the #1 spot. By the way if he wins on Sunday he will be #1 in the race.

 

[El Dude]

I like your optimism, @mrzz. In my own simplistic way I observed something similar and am heartened to hear it expressed by you. It is almost like he has accepted his age and adapted his game accordingly. He isn’t quite as athletic or overwhelming but he seems more efficient and tactically adept, like a chess master always a step or two ahead of his opponent.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

The end result is that he is hardly facing break points, and this is Miami (even if those new courts seem faster than the old ones).

I believe this is the first time it is being played in Miami as opposed to Keys. Given that this is being played in new facilities, there should be some discussion of the surface speed here. I have not seen any. Considering Fed has gone this far against decent players, perhaps it is playing much faster than Keys.

Of course this "much faster" should be taken in a relative sense. IIRC, Miami was the slowest of all hardcourt tourneys before this year.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

What time is the final? some say at 12.00 and some say at 1.00 EDT. Which is right?

 

[ftan]

What time is the final? some say at 12.00 and some say at 1.00 EDT. Which is right?

It's 11 am PST as far as I know, thats what they flashed on screen today, after the match

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

[GameSetAndMath]

It's 11 am PST as far as I know, thats what they flashed on screen today, after the match

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

11 a.m. pacific translates to 2 edt. So, you are adding one more possibility instead of cutting down the confusion.

 

[ftan]

11 a.m. pacific translates to 2 edt. So, you are adding one more possibility instead of cutting down the confusion.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

[mrzz]

I believe this is the first time it is being played in Miami as opposed to Keys. Given that this is being played in new facilities, there should be some discussion of the surface speed here. I have not seen any. Considering Fed has gone this far against decent players, perhaps it is playing much faster than Keys.

Of course this "much faster" should be taken in a relative sense. IIRC, Miami was the slowest of all hardcourt tourneys before this year.

You can find the cpi here. It is classified as medium. It was 30.4 last year so it is faster, but still medium overall, also bear in mind the humidity, which contributes to make Miami always feel (and actually be) slower.

 

[mrzz]

I like your optimism, @mrzz. In my own simplistic way I observed something similar and am heartened to hear it expressed by you. It is almost like he has accepted his age and adapted his game accordingly. He isn’t quite as athletic or overwhelming but he seems more efficient and tactically adept, like a chess master always a step or two ahead of his opponent.

Well, the optimism may lay in the fact that I actually expect those performances to happen again. I was not the only one impressed by his play, @Murat Baslamisli was as well -- and he is harder to impress than myself actually.

His play is not that highlights producing marvel that it was, probably even his matches from 2014/2015 have more "oooohhhh" moments than yesterday's (even if it had some amazing ones, like two of the last DTL backhands and inside out forehands). But on the other hand I guess that in this whole tournament he made less both unforced and forced errors that he would make in one match back in those days (and I do not mean it figuratively speaking).

I can even see some "evolution" from his 2017 form to this "version". In 2018, even in 2019, we would often see what @DarthFed so aptly coined "vanilla Federer". It could well be (now looking in hindsight) that he was trying to find this balance between aggression and solid play -- at times very far away from succeeding, as we saw. I remember that I already liked what I saw in his two last matches in Dubai.

But let's see. In the end, it is still just a handful of matches. Two bad losses and we are back in square one (or so it will seem). One way or another clay will give a very good idea of where he is. That, level wise, he is better than he was in 2018 (even counting the major win), I have no doubt.

 

[isabelle]

will big John defend his title tomorrow ? hope so but not sure he can

 

[El Dude]

I’m surprised they’ve only played seven times, Roger up 5-2. Isner won their last match in 2015 at the Paris Masters.

 

[Front242]

will big John defend his title tomorrow ? hope so but not sure he can

Gotta love the Fed hate. Bet you're a huge Isner fan alright. Amazing to watch all those 7-6 7-6 delights.

 

[Federberg]

I’m surprised they’ve only played seven times, Roger up 5-2. Isner won their last match in 2015 at the Paris Masters.

his 2 wins have been interesting. Paris Masters... is there a tournament more prone for that type of upset? And I believe the other was Davis Cup on clay wasn't it? Nuff said...

 

[Fiero425]

his 2 wins have been interesting. Paris Masters... is there a tournament more prone for that type of upset? And I believe the other was Davis Cup on clay wasn't it? Nuff said...

IMO Paris has always been susceptible to upsets of their top seeds; if they even venture to play at the end of the season they're so worn out! It's a wonder Nole has that many on his resume; esp. after a grueling 2015 playing 8 of the 9 Masters that season, making all 8 finals, then winning 6! I doubt that'll ever happen again! Just checked and Djokovic owns or shares most records at Paris event! :whistle:

 

[Federberg]

IMO Paris has always been susceptible to upsets of their top seeds; if they even venture to play at the end of the season they're so worn out! It's a wonder Nole has that many on his resume; esp. after a grueling 2015 playing 8 of the 9 Masters that season, making all 8 finals, then winning 6! I doubt that'll ever happen again! Just checked and Djokovic owns or shares most records at Paris event! :whistle:

lol! How that turned into a Novak lovefest I have no idea. But whatever..