Federer loses match, rankings lead while Nadal rolls
My eyes were glued to the Tennis Channel last night for three and a half hours watching two unbelievable matches. The first pitted NBTA’s own Jesse Levine taking on the mighty giant Rafael Nadal, and the second was between world #1 Roger Federer and the tricky Frenchman Gilles Simon.
Levine got off to a great start against Nadal, taking a 4-1 lead in the opening set. He was taking the ball early, attacking the second serve, and playing offensively controlling the court. All things our staff talked to him about before the match. Despite the whole Nadal was in, there was never any doubt in his body language about the match. Levine had break points at 4-1 and again at 4-3 in the first set, but couldn’t capitalize on either of them. Nadal went on to win the match 6-4, 6-2 and moved on to the third round.
“Once he got that break back I think that he really got settled into the match,” Levine said. “I came out kind of flying, and that’s what I wanted to do, but I didn’t want to let him back in like I did, obviously.”
Levine said he was rolling until he stopped to think about whom he was playing, and where.
“I think I was in that zone, not sure really where I was, and then I kind of came to my senses and realized that I’m playing Nadal on center court,” he said. “Obviously, nerves got a little bit of me there.”
In the second match, Federer came out looking like vintage Federer. His forehand was rolling, his serve was on, and he was moving extremely well. The second and third sets were much different. Simon, who is coming off a title last week at Indy, went up 4-2 in the second, but Federer broke back to even it at 4-4. Then, Simon broke him again at 6-5 to win the second set. In the third set, Federer looked beaten. He was questioning line calls, slumping with his head down, and spraying forehands all over the place. Things we never see from the king. Simon won the third 6-4, and in doing so he made Federer the first top-seeded player since Lleyton Hewitt in 2002 to lose his first match at the Rogers Cup.
“For sure, this is my best victory,” said Simon, ranked 22nd in the world. “I don’t think that you win so many times against the No. 1 in the world. It happens maybe in the career of a player maybe two, three times if you are lucky.” Having watched Simon the last couple of weeks, he is not going to be a “flash in the pan” type player. He is legit, and with that backhand he can give anyone in the world trouble. I see only good things in his future.
“As the match went on I struggled a little bit to put the forehands away,” Federer said. “He’s a good baseliner. We saw that today. He moves well. He’s deceiving because he’s kind of thin and tall but moves really well for his height, you know. He flicks a lot of balls with his backhand as well, so when you come in you can’t see where he plays.”
With the loss, Federer will also see his grip on the #1 ranking loosen. If Nadal goes on to win the tournament, there is a slight chance he could dethrone Federer next week at Cincinnati. That is a bit unlikely though, because of the point differential and the schedule change to accommodate the Olympics. No change is likely before August 18 because (according to ATP’s website) “Last year, ATP Masters Series events in Canada and Cincinnati were played two weeks later in the season than they are being played this year. Because points earned by players count towards their rankings for 52 weeks, the 850 points Federer earned last year by reaching the Canada final and winning the Cincinnati title will continue to count towards his ranking during the same Masters Series tournaments this year. Come August 18, those 850 points will no longer count towards Federer’s ranking. In contrast, Nadal will drop 230 points (225 points for reaching the Rogers Cup semifinals in 2007 and five points for losing his first match in Cincinnati in 2007.)”
Compelling stuff to say the least.
Great Blog Mr.B
If it’s alright, i wanted to know if you’ve seen or spoken with Academy Alum Jamea Jackson. I just saw that she had one her 1st round of qualifying in Montreal so it’s great to see her back. People forget that in 2006, she was ranked in the top 60.
Thanks! Jamea qualified for Montreal and is playing Azarenka in the first round. She is healthy and good to go and I look forward to watching her more this summer!