Tennis Forever

[raagadevan]

Roger Federer beats Novak Djokovic 6-3, 7-5 to win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship!

[omega]

Great win for Federer. It has been long since he beat Novak in a final (probably after 2012 Cincinci)
He was extremely clutch today saving 7/7 break points & converting 2/2. We have never seen this in a long while.
Normally it would be the other way round. Winning Dubai always augurs well for Roger's season. Lets hope he can win one slam this year.
Looking at his schedule (which seems loaded till Wimbledon) it may be too much to ask. I would have thought he would have a lighter clay season to keep himself in best physical condition for Wimbledon. Playing all 3 masters + French may not be a good idea at this stage of his career. Anyway it is still just on paper. Hope he picks his tournaments wisely.

[ajithfederer]

FEDERER SURPASSES 9,000 ACES MARK, RE-LIVE MATCHES WITH MOST ACES
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
by Elena Scuro | 28.02.2015

© Getty Images

Roger Federer surpasses the 9,000 aces milestone in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final.

Roger Federer served his way to yet another milestone on Saturday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships: The 33-year-old Swiss served 12 aces in his 6-3, 7-5 win over Novak Djokovic to surpass the 9,000 aces threshold.

Federer became the fourth player to achieve the feat since 1991 when records began, joining a group that includes Ivo Karlovic, former World No. 1 Andy Roddick, and Goran Ivanisevic, who is firmly planted in the number one spot with 10,183 aces.

"I think I remember which one it was even because I was even counting a little bit!" said Federer. "I think it was one of the swinger wides maybe. I'm not sure. But I think it happened in the second set at some point. But clearly it is nice to get past that so now I don't have to think about it ever again for the next 9,000 or so!"

How did Federer reach the 9,000 aces club? Here’s a look at the top five three-set matches and top five five-set matches in which he served the most aces:

Most Aces In Three-Set Matches

20: Federer needed two hours and 26 minutes to defeat Andre Agassi 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-6(7) in the round robin stage of the Tennis Masters Cup in Houston on 10 November 2003. The win marked the Swiss' first of eight consecutive wins over the American. Federer also went on to win the season finale, defeating Agassi again in the final for the prestigious title.

*Tied for fifth: Federer also served 20 aces in his 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-3 win over Jeremy Chardy in the semi-finals of the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp on 30 December 2013.

“It’s very hard to return it; technically is the best I’ve seen," David Ferrer has said about Federer's serve. "Mainly because he always tosses the ball the same way and hides very well which side he is going to serve to. Aside from this he also manages all the effects very well.”

21 – Tie: Federer needed two hours and 13 minutes to defeat Robby Ginepri 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-0 in the second round of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati on 28 July 2008. Federer won 70 percent of his total service points to advance to the Round of 16, where he lost to another ace aficionado, Ivo Karlovic.

21 – Tie: Federer defeated Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-4 on 5 January 2015, adding the Brisbane crown to his resume and notching the 1,000th match win of his career. The Canadian served 14 aces in the two-hour, 13-minute match.

23: Federer defeated Juan Martin del Potro 3-6, 7-6(5), 19-17 in an epic semi-final match at the London Olympics on 30 July 2012. At four hours and 26 minutes, their battle clocked in as the longest three-set men’s match of the Open Era. Federer went on to loes to Andy Murray in the gold medal match.

25: Federer defeated Feliciano Lopez 7-6(13), 6-7(1), 7-6(7) in the second round at the Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid on 2 May 2011. The Swiss won 80 percent of points off his first serve, aided by his large number of aces, in the 2 hour, 46-minute match. The Spaniard, who recently surpassed the 7,000 aces mark, served 23 aces in the match.

All-Time Ace Leaders
Player Aces
Goran Ivanisevic 10183
Ivo Karlovic 9375
Andy Roddick 9074
Roger Federer 9007
Pete Sampras 8858
Ivan Ljubicic 8318
Richard Krajicek 7694
Greg Rusedski 7605
Feliciano Lopez 7038
Mark Philippoussis 6709
*Does not include aces in Davis Cup matches

Most Aces In Grand Slam Matches

25: Federer came back from two sets down but still went on to lose to Rafael Nadal in the 2008 Wimbledon final 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7. The Swiss served 19 more aces than his opponent in the epic four hour, 48-minute match.
*Tied for fifth: There were three other Grand Slam matches in which Federer served 25 aces. Most notably was his 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5 win over Pete Sampras in the fourth round at Wimbledon on 25 June 2001.

“Roger has one of the most natural and fluid serves in history,” Santiago Giraldo has said about the Swiss. “He has such an ease, for not being excessively tall, he generates a lot of acceleration, a lot of accuracy, security, in both his first and second serve. I think he knows his serve is one of his best weapons…. It’s a serve to admire; a great technique for a coach to learn and teach their players.”

28: Federer defeated Robin Soderling 6-0, 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(6) in the quarter-finals of the US Open on 31 August 2009. The Swede served just 11 aces while the Swiss saved all five break points faced in the two hour, 33-minute win.

How Federer Compares To Big Servers
Player
Aces Per Match
Ivo Karlovic 19.3
John Isner 16.6
Milos Raonic 15.9
Andy Roddick 11.9
Goran Ivanisevic 11.5
Feliciano Lopez 10.3
Pete Sampras 9.3
Roger Federer 7.7
*Excludes aces served in matches with retirements or walkovers

29: Despite the numerous free points on his serve, 16 more aces than his opponent, Federer lost to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4 in just shy of four hours on 23 June 2014.

39: Federer needed four hours and 25 minutes to fend off Janko Tipsarevic 6-7(5), 7-6(1), 5-7, 6-1, 10-8 in the third round of the Australian Open on 14 January 2008. The Swiss won 88 per cent of his first serve points, with the help of his numerous aces.

50: In the most dramatic of their 24 meetings, Federer recorded his most aces in his 5-7, 7-6(6), 7-6(5), 3-6, 16-14 win over Andy Roddick in an epic Wimbledon final on 22 June 2009. The American, ranked third in the all-time ace leaders, served 27 aces during the match. The win, which clocked in at four hours and 16 minutes, secured the record for being the longest Wimbledon final in terms of games played. It also gave Federer his 15th Grand Slam crown, breaking Sampras' record for most Grand Slams won.

Federer Match Record Based On Aces Served
Aces Served W/L Win Percentage
Less Than 10 701/172 80.30%

Between 10-19 263/52 83.49%

More Than 20 22/4 84.62%

*Excludes aces served in matches with retirements or walkovers

Statistical assistance from Graham Edgar

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Ten...Milestone.aspx

[ajithfederer]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n...7eef9be7875acf

[raagadevan]

New APT Rankings (with points) - March 1, 2015:

1 Novak Djokovic (13165)
2 Roger Federer (9205)
3 Rafael Nadal (5675)
4 Kei Nishikori (5415)
5 Andy Murray (5370)
6 Milos Raonic (4980)
7 Stan Wawrinka (4595)
8 David Ferrer (4535)
9 Tomas Berdych (4340)
10 Marin Cilic (3450)

[raagadevan]

Fish caught in net!

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Ten...-Hot-Shot.aspx

[raagadevan]

Milos Raonic serves 19 aces, and beats Rafa Nadal at the Indian Wells (BNP Paribas) Quartetfinals!

Tomorrow's semifinal lineup:

Novak Djokovic –vs- Andy Murray
Roger Federer –vs- Milos Raonic

[JamesDap]

Raonic's groundies have improved quite dramatically this season though he's still not above dubious shot selection at times. Also, ever since Wawrinka beat Nadal at AO, players are not afraid to use serve and volley against Nadal. Raonic was using it today and he's not even a particularly good volleyer. Nadal's movement is not what it used to be in his peak and his returns are getting weaker too, so this tactic has started to work.

[Arvind Srinivasan]

A repeat of last year's final. Djokovic to take on Federer tomorrow. Gonna be good.

[raagadevan]

I hope it is gonna be good! This will be the 38th time these two are playing each other in major tournaments. Where are all the "new generation" guys!?