A change from the normal weather for Ohio, it was cool and comforting when Federer met Djokovic in the final of the Cincinnati Masters last Sunday. And as unbeatable as he looked when beating the defending champion Murray the day before, he was playing with the form of his life. Yes of course he has been in top form for 4 years before, but this is something different. Look at 2008 and even the Australian Open. Being transformed into a God again after sobbing through last year, he looks invincible.
Sunday dawned with cloudiness, as we head up to the tennis courts in Mason, Ohio. My first chance to see Federer on court for real. We were hoping for a Federer v Nadal classic, but that wasn’t to be as it seems Nadal has to recover from his injury. Djokovic made meat of him, a rare case, and beat him in straight sets. After that match, I knew who I was supporting on Sunday. A little traffic jam and a long walk to the courts later I was just in time to see the players walk onto the court. The announcers started off with Djokovic’s stats to some roars and cheers, but when he mentioned Federer’s staggering achievements, his voice was drowned in the cheers. Finally the match was underway with Federer winning the first game comfortably on his serve. The next game must have lasted for 20 minutes as both players were battling with advantages and deuces. Finally when Federer broke serve, it was just a hint of thing to come. Leading 5-0, Djokovic was struggling to hold on to the set. But somehow he managed to win it and put his arms out upwards as if to embrace the Gods. But that wasn’t enough to stop Federer from winning the set 6-1. I was predicting a 6-0 6-0 washout, but to the satisfaction of my friends, and the few Djokovic supporters, that wasn’t to be.
The second set started with Djokovic changing shirts, a superstitious move perhaps. But it seemed to work, as he played a lot better and even gave Federer a run for his money on his serves. At 5-5, it looked to be heading to a tie breaker, and most of the crowd praying for a third set as the second set seemed to be bringing out the best in both players. But at 5-6 and trying to stay in the game, Djokovic made critical errors. You see, he has a short temper, even for himself, as I have seen on quite a few Serbian players. And in the cursing and shouting when he made mistakes, he lost his game. A simple break and Federer was holding the trophy over his head.
During the presentation ceremony, he mentioned that his wife and twin daughters were there and it was “good timing” of them to be born when they were born, as he was able to play the series and they were able to join him. Well of course, as he owns his own jet. Anyhow, it doesn’t seem like a coincidence that the same man who was shedding tears during the Australian Open ceremony now had a big smile on his face yet again. This year has been good to him, apart from the Australian Open of course, but it was still a final appearance. First Nadal lost his supremacy on clay court when he was beaten by none other than Federer himself. Then he won the French Open, winning all Grand Slams, even Sampras hadn’t managed that. Then he goes to Wimbledon and plays and epic match yet again and wins his 15th title. Agreed he did not play the best of games then, but that’s what I am talking about, he has had a great year. And with Nadal still coping with his injuries, the US Open looks wide open to Federer and ending yet another year as number one. Invincible, he is, isn’t he?
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