The Clearing

This is great news! I missed most of the match but saw the last two games, and even with Andy Murray serving for the match at 40-0, I was not convinced about his chances of winning it, so larger-than-life is Federer's aura, not to mention his now 62-5 record this year. Andy seemed very calm, contrary to what we have come to expect from him--his tendency to tighten up when closing out matches--and even though Federer was able to save two match points, Andy was able to seal the deal, incredibly, in straight sets, with a sweet backhand passing shot. Federer was not playing his typical flawless game but that is usually irrelevant when this man plays.

Andy is the first person not named Nadal to have defeated Federer this year. Gasquet came pretty close last Sunday in the finals of the Toronto masters, but seemed to have got a bit overwhelmed by the occasion in the third set (funnily enough, the tournament is officially known as Rogers Masters--I guess they forgot the apostrophe!). This is a great build-up for my first trip to the US Open--inexplicable, I know, since I have been in this country for more than 6 years now, and fairly close to Flushing Meadows throughout--Federer is looking mortal for once and I'm beginning to entertain serious fantasies of a final that does not feature Lord Federer.

Labels: Sports