Federer vs. Del Potro

People take Del Boy for granted, I don't think so this will be any easy for Fed if DP has no injury concern, DP is playing his best, however I am not sure about his heavy strapped Knees. If its anything to go by it could be a classic of 2009 repeat, this time however both men are playing below par, DP just recovered from injury and still suffering a minor wear n tear, on the other hand Fed some how scrapped all wins in this tournament so far.

1]It will be st. sets to Fed if DP's knees dont hold
2]It will be St.set to Fed if Fed plays his absolute best.
3]It will be 5 sets to Fed if both play their absolute best.
4]It will be 5 sets to any if both play their like the way they played the tournament so far.
5]It will be 5 set to DP if Fed doesn't up his game and DP ups his game slightly [which you can expect of him when he plays big boys].
6]It will be st.sets to DP if its overcast condition and DP plays his best to normal Fed of this tournament.

I guess it will be a 4-5 set affair to anybody. I won't be surprise of DP nails this one , he is more than capable if Fed doesn't bring his A-game.

Tsonga vs. Nole - I am going for upset, Tsonga in tough 4 sets.

Invisiblecoolers I admire your courage but Tsonga is not beating Novak. You can take that to the bank. I hope del boy does beat Fed, fed has absolutely brutalized him so far this year knocking him out and beating I think 4 or 5 times already. If Fed plays like he has been and the conditions are slow I think it favors Del boy. A lot of people seem to think that the slow conditions will favor Federer. But I disagree. If it is cold and slow, and if Del potro plays well he can beat the federer of the last couple of matches. Based on form this whole year however and their head to head I don't think that will happen either. I think there can only be one outcome a Federovic semi.

Federer is excellent in slow conditions - look at his record at Hamburg! - but the problem is more his variable form at the moment and he does lose concentration at times over 5 sets. But the colder conditions are also keeping the ball much lower, this suits Federer...and Tsonga too. Nadal has said he prefers it quicker and bouncier today BTW. So I'm going for Fed win...and Novak in 4 or 5 sets - as long as the Novak who played Seppi doesn't turn up.

2012 record
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells: Federer beats Del Potro 6-3, 6-2
Dubai U.A.E. Hard: Federer beats Del Potro 7-6(5), 7-6(6)
Rotterdam Hard: Federer beats Del Potro 6-1, 6-4
Australian Open: Federer beats Del Potro 6-4, 6-3, 6-2
2011 record
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati: Federer beats Del Potro 6-3, 7-5

Just watched Nadal-JM match, i am surprised how well Jm played to lose by this score, in highlights it looked like Nadal just edged him, is Rafa playing scary tennis out rite now?

Fed's record with Delpo speaks for itself for the last two years.

If we go by his record in that time, we can expect a straight sets victory. Fine by me!

Nore Staat wrote:2012 record
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells: Federer beats Del Potro 6-3, 6-2
Dubai U.A.E. Hard: Federer beats Del Potro 7-6(5), 7-6(6)
Rotterdam Hard: Federer beats Del Potro 6-1, 6-4
Australian Open: Federer beats Del Potro 6-4, 6-3, 6-2
2011 record
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati: Federer beats Del Potro 6-3, 7-5

Nice stats NS , yea Fed upped his level of play against JMDP which eventualy shut the door on him, if only DUbai encounter would have gone differently it could have been a different story altogether.

BTW Fed double bagelled DP in AO 2009, but come FO DP almost knocked Fed out and did knock him out in USO and WTF, so it doesnt matter how well the year turned out, it matter what kind of Fed and DP turns for tomorrow's match.

I would like Del Potro to come up against Nadal, Djokovic or Murray. This year he always seems to be drawn against Federer. The old man Federer somehow always seems to pull out the magic against Del Potro. However, one can never underestimate Del Potro.

socal1976 wrote:Invisiblecoolers I admire your courage but Tsonga is not beating Novak. You can take that to the bank. I hope del boy does beat Fed, fed has absolutely brutalized him so far this year knocking him out and beating I think 4 or 5 times already. If Fed plays like he has been and the conditions are slow I think it favors Del boy. A lot of people seem to think that the slow conditions will favor Federer. But I disagree. If it is cold and slow, and if Del potro plays well he can beat the federer of the last couple of matches. Based on form this whole year however and their head to head I don't think that will happen either. I think there can only be one outcome a Federovic semi.

@ Socal , Its gonna be a close affair between Tsonga and Nole tomorrow, certainly Tsonga wont go for sleep like Seppi did in 5th .

Nore Staat wrote:I would like Del Potro to come up against Nadal, Djokovic or Murray. This year he always seems to be drawn against Federer. The old man Federer somehow always seems to pull out the magic against Del Potro. However, one can never underestimate Del Potro.

Same thoughts here NS, I for once expecting DP vs. Rafa QF in FO, that would have been a delight, may be next year.

Shame delpo can't play Nadal....

Roger Federer to win in three or four sets today for me. He has DP's number of late plus Del Potro is carrying a knee injury. I'd be very surprised if the big Argentinian can pull this off.

Del Potro definitely has the potential to take this.

The damp, slow conditions will favour the man who can hit through the court. It's a similar scenario to when Roger lost to Soderling in similar conditions. His shots could not penetrate the court, whilst the flatter more powerful hitter was able to do so.

I disagree with the notion that Roger excels in these conditions. Hamburg was many moons ago when a young Roger could grind and construct points from the baseline as well as anyone. Roger, today, is unable to do that as well as he used to.

I still expect Roger to win, given the history between the two of them, but I wouldn't be surprised if this goes to five.



emancipator

Yes but emancipator Federer won IW this year...and that court is just about as slow as they come. Infact it's the slowest HC on tour and many players say its slower than clay...and on his way to that title he beat Delpo 6-3 6-2. He's a 4 time winner at IW and 3xSF.
What Federer does on slower surfaces is to take the ball even earlier, hit flatter and take time away, this is what he does against Delpo all the time and Delpo doesn't like that one bit as he has big wind ups on his groundies.

Federer in particular likes playing Delpo (and Novak too) as they both give him even and consistent pace to feed off...allowing Federer to take the ball really early and groove his ground strokes. Rafa doesn't do this to Federer, he makes Federer have to think and act differently. The key today for me is Federer's timing...if its on and stays on Delpo is dust...but if it comes and goes then its going to become a slugfest and I'm not sure Roger will last 5 sets. As they say it's on Roger's racquet.

Federer is a great player on all surfaces so it's no surprise that he wins tournaments on slow surfaces too.

However his best performances have traditionally been on the faster courts and one only needs to look at his preferred style of play to see why that is the case. He is a natural aggressor who prefers to play first strike tennis. Of course he can grind and play extended rallies too. But that's more his B and C game, not his A game; he resorts to the former when the latter is not working or when the conditions are not conducive to play his preferred style.

In any case, my point is that Federer is more vulnerable in slower conditions NOW because he doesn't have the same movement, and I also believe, stamina to grind as he had in years gone by.

Slow HC's are a different Kettle of fish to slow clay courts. The bounce is truer and thus Fed's timing is not affected as much. It's incdredibly tough to take the ball early on clay courts.

Like I said I still think Fed will win this match but that doesn't change my opinion that clay, particularly the damp, slow conditions expected today make Roger vulnerable to big hitters who can play through the conditions.



emancipator

Tower of Tandil to take this in 4...

It's the Soderling match; same conditions, same time, same place, same kind of player that's got to be a concern for Federer.

I wonder did he approach that match correctly? I cant recall. Did he try to hit Soderling off or move him around? If he tries to hit through Del Potro, in these conditions, this'll be out of it in no time so I trust he uses lots of short slices, move his opponent around, basically skill him off the court.

I think we're agreed on some things...Fed cant grind ( I find that a very negative term for what is an important skill in any players armoury) but not as long as before. Over Bo3 format he's ok...over Bo5 he's vulnerable...maybe a little due to stamina (but not much in my book, there aren't many fitter than Federer) but also because he gets tight as matches get closer and he can suffer lapses of concentration.

Yes fast court playing style is NOW his A game (and was pre-2004)...that's the style he's chosen to pin his colours to because he knows he's had to to stay at the top...he indicated as much by choosing Annacone as coach as it's what Annacone did with Sampras and Henman - made them play ultra aggressive and use the serve to even greater effect.

But this wasnt always the way with Fed. Between 2004 and 2007/8 you wouldn't see him up at the net that much and he even said himself 'I only chose to volley when I'm panicking' (paraphrasing there)... His game during that period was essentially an attacking baseline game. But it took him a while to move from his pre-2004 Style A (forecourt) to Style B (baseline), and some of it needed him to become physically stronger as well. He knew he had to do this as surfaces were slowing. After 2004 he then started to reap the rewards...winning slow IW 3 times on bounce...started getting to FO finals...won Hamburg 04-07...and we know Sw19 was a lot slower by then as well. He even had his best runs at MC between 06-08...3 finals. This worked for a time but then his game needed to into transition in 2009 after he realised he couldn't compete vs. Nadal at Style B anymore (I think AO09 told him that finally) so needed to revert to and enbrace Style A.

But he can still 'do' Style A vs most guys over short formats - his talent is being adept at fast and slow...and he can change his approach in different circumstances. Yes its harder to hit early on slow but he can do it...just means always hitting the ball on the rise. Big hitters can blow him off court but that's rare as they have to sustain that for hours. Soderling did it vs Nadal and Federer but now he's paid the price for the physicality that required.

I think he'll win in 3 or 4 sets today...3 if he gets a good early lead and Delpo gets his head down as he can do.

Good points Lydian - agree with all the above.

Delpo is not even grimacing with that "swollen knee" I think it is just strapped on as a precaution above all else alot of the drama queens would make you think he can't run on it. Of Delpo's 2 wins over Federer Federer was in control of their USO final and the other 1 was a round robin where he was already through. Delpo's serve will be harder to attack on this surface even though he is much younger than Federer I think he has a better clay brain than him but he lacks the belief when playing Federer just like Federer lacks playing Nadal on clay.

Educated feeling is 4 sets victory for Federer with the first 2 sets being tight and the next 2 Federer showing more variety and Delpo being impatient.

If Fed is serious about making it to the final, he'll go up a gear and take the match in str8 sets, with perhaps one tie breaker. His next match is against the World No.1 no less, he needs to demonstrate he's up to the challenge of making the final. So that's my prediction: I could be completely wrong, but it's the quarter-finals, so I have a bit more faith than I would if it was the semi or the final itself.

As said earlier, DP will run through this if Fed don't raise his level.