http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLgvhXHM8K0
Shots are amazing to watch in HD
:clap:
Printable View
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLgvhXHM8K0
Shots are amazing to watch in HD
:clap:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPKLe_PiGsc
RF interview with Tennis Channel
Federer keen to avoid burden of expectation
By Dave James 12 hours ago
PARIS (AFP) Roger Federer is just three wins away from both a career Grand Slam and joining Pete Sampras as a 14-time major winner, but he's desperate to avoid sinking beneath a tidal wave of expectations.
With four-time champion Rafael Nadal, who defeated the great Swiss star in the last three finals here, beaten for the first time at Roland Garros, Federer has been widely-tipped to cruise to a first French Open title.
That would make him only the sixth man in history to have won all four Grand Slam titles.
But the 27-year-old insists that Rafa or no Rafa, there is still work to be done on the claycourts which have, year in, year out, resembled more of a scrapyard for him than a playground.
"I'm used to any kind of a situation, so (Nadal's defeat) doesn't affect me in a big way," said Federer who battled back 6-7 (4/7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 to beat German veteran Tommy Haas in the fourth round on Monday.
"You are aware of it. You try and stay in the draw, but at the end of the day you're focusing on your shots and your match and on how you play and the game plan against that player."
If Federer can get past French 11th seed Gael Monfils on Wednesday and then either Juan Martin Del Potro or Tommy Robredo in the semi-finals, he may start thinking that finally the tennis gods, at least those in this south-west corner of Paris, are on his side.
"I think if you make it to the final then it's a different scenario because whoever I play then I probably have a decent record against which wouldn't be the case with Rafa, knowing that he has all the experience and the confidence of winning here," said Federer.
"Definitely it changes it up if I were to make the final. But we're not there yet."
Federer, with five Wimbledon, five US Open and three Australian Open victories, has known nothing but heartache in Paris.
Nadal has swept past him in the last three finals while in 2004, the year before the Spaniard began his remarkable domination, Federer lost in the third round to an inspired former champion Gustavo Kuerten.
That defeat was the last time he failed to get at least to a semi-final at a Grand Slam.
Federer also insists that Nadal will be back and warns players like Robin Soderling, whose defeat of the champion sent shockwaves through tennis, they need to keep proving they can compete.
"It's not an easy task, because how often does it happen in your life?," said the world number two.
"It happens just a few times, and it's hard to back them up. I went through it when I beat Sampras at Wimbledon and then lost to Tim (Henman). I didn't play that bad against Tim, but you just realize that not only Sampras can play tennis, but Henman can and there are so many other players that play so well.
"Just because you beat this one particular player, it doesn't mean you're going to now beat everybody easily. You have to keep on playing dream tennis, and that's a hard thing to do sometimes."
Wednesday's second quarter-final sees fifth-seeded Argentine Del Potro facing Spanish 16th seed Robredo who is playing in his fourth last eight clash here.
This is Del Potro's first Roland Garros quarter-final and follows similar runs at the US Open and Australian Opens.
Del Potro, just 20 and the youngest man left in the men's tournament, takes a 1-0 career lead over the 27-year-old Robredo into his tie.
"He is specialized on clay, and so far his season has been excellent," said Del Potro.
Robredo reached the last eight here in 2003, 2005 and 2007 and the has the most claycourt wins this season with a 25-6 record.
"On Sunday, Rafa and Fernando (Verdasco) didn't have their best day and they lost. These things happen. But I'm not putting all 40 million Spaniards behind me, thinking that if I lose they are going to lose," said Robredo.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...ntynykzsnwgGIw
http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/pl...w/atpf324.html
20th consecutive Semi Final appearance (From 2004 Wimbledon till present)
:clap: :clap: :clap:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...8SAnQD98JB0IG0
Federer into 20th consecutive Grand Slam semifinal
By HOWARD FENDRICH 4 hours ago
PARIS (AP) Getting into a groove at the French Open, Roger Federer is two victories from completing a career Grand Slam and tying Pete Sampras' record for major titles.
After three consecutive so-so performances, Federer was challenged only fleetingly in the quarterfinals Wednesday at Roland Garros before beating 11th-seeded Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-2, 6-4.
Federer reached the semifinals for the 20th consecutive Grand Slam tournament, extending his own record.
"I felt some pressure before this match," Federer said. "I was very nervous, because I thought it would be very difficult."
He did face two break points in the opening game of the match, and another at 5-5 in the first set but saved each of them.
Then, in the tiebreaker, Monfils held a set point at 6-5, but again Federer held steady, and the Frenchman sent a backhand wide to make it 6-all. Two points later a service winner and a volley winner by Federer the set was over, and so, essentially, was the match.
"Maybe I took too many risks at the beginning," the second-seeded Federer said, "but I was worried about his forehand."
Federer owns 13 Grand Slam singles titles, and the French Open is the only major championship he hasn't won. He lost to Rafael Nadal in each of the past three finals at Roland Garros, as well as in the 2005 semifinals.
But Nadal is no longer around this year after being upset in the fourth round by Robin Soderling.
Since the start of the 2005 French Open, Federer is 0-4 against Nadal in Paris, 28-0 against everyone else.
Still, Federer was extended to four sets in both the second and third rounds, then needed to overcome a two-set deficit before getting past Tommy Haas in five sets in the fourth round.
"I had problems at the beginning of each match in this tournament, because it often was 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, so I wasn't playing freely," Federer said. "Today is the first match the score wasn't close."
He won 18 of the last 19 points on his serve.
"Today," Monfils said, "he didn't miss a lot."
Federer will play No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro or No. 16 Tommy Robredo for a berth in the final. Soderling faces No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez in the other men's semifinal Friday.
Is Federer the favorite?
"He still has two tough matches if he wants to win, but I think he can do it," said Monfils, who lost to Federer in last year's semifinals in Paris. "He should be very motivated to win, so, yeah, why not?"
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jomrNLMd6gA
The return of serve(backhand dropshot??) against Tommy haas in 2:15 is pure genius.
Roger Federer has equalled Ivan Lendl's record of 19 grandslam Finals.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/feedarticle/8544452
Federer deserves to be called the greatest, says Agassi
Reuters, Saturday June 6 2009
By Pritha Sarkar
PARIS, June 6 (Reuters) - Roger Federer will undoubtedly become the greatest tennis player to have graced the sport if he wins the French Open, Andre Agassi said on Saturday.
Agassi, one of only five men to have achieved the career grand slam, said he expected Federer to join the select club by beating Sweden's Robin Soderling in the Roland Garros final on Sunday.
"It ends the discussion of where he fits in the history of the game," the American said during a visit to Roland Garros with his wife Steffi Graf.
"If it wasn't for (four-times champion Rafael) Nadal, he probably would have won a handful of these things. So nobody would underestimate where he deserves to fit in this game.
"This is going to mean so much to him, to have that hole filled. It's something he's going to earn tomorrow and I think it will change his life."
If Federer completes the feat, he will join Don Budge, Fred Perry, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver and Agassi as the men who have won all four majors. It will also give Federer a record-equalling 14th grand slam crown, putting him level with Pete Sampras.
Agassi said winning the Musketeers' Cup in 1999 defined his life, even though he won seven other major trophies during his career.
"It changed my career and as result my life," he said. "It's probably the most profound moment in my career, getting over obstacles and doubts I had coming to win here," said Agassi, who was beaten in two finals before he completed his collection.
"Tomorrow there's a chance to see history and I think Roger being the second best clay courter over the last five years, earning a spot in the final four different times, deserves this more than I did.
"It would be privilege for the game to see history being made and in some ways it feels like destiny for him and it's going to be pretty exciting.
"He's extraordinarily talented and talk about grace on court, watching him play is something special to see and if he does it tomorrow, he'll know what an accomplishment it was."
(Editing by Clare Fallon; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
Federer advice helped Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova says a chance meeting with Roger Federer helped turn her career around and ultimately led to Saturday's French Open victory.
The Russian beat compatriot Dinara Safina 6-4 6-2 to win at Roland Garros.
And Kuznetsova, who moved to Spain as a 13-year-old, said that Federer had helped by backing her return to Russia.
Kuznetsova revealed: "He said - 'Look you can only depend on yourself. You can control it. If you can concentrate and live in Moscow, do this.'"
The pair met at the Olympic Games in Beijing last year, where Kuznetsova had lost in the first round and was struggling for motivation.
"I say, I don't want to train, I don't want to think about it," said the 23-year-old, who was still at the academy in Barcelona she had joined nine years earlier.
I put pressure on myself because I really wanted to win. I just didn't handle it
Dinara Safina
"I don't want to go back to Spain. I said a few times I want to quit playing tennis. I said it, I never felt it."
A 10-minute conversation with Federer in Beijing clarified matters for the Russian.
"He was listening and I said I want to move from Spain. I want to go to Russia. I don't know what to do.
"He said - 'Look you can only depend on yourself. You can control it. If you can concentrate and live in Moscow, do this.'
"I came back to Moscow and I worked hard. I had my passion, I have my friends, I am in my home country. I'm very patriotic. I love being there. This was a big turning point."
And after seeing off Safina in just 74 minutes on Saturday, Kuznetsova was struggling to come to terms with her victory.
606: DEBATE
Kuznetsova certainly deserved to win the match today and is indeed a class player, but Safina deserved to win the title
la-rafanatica
"This is big," she said. "It didn't happen just by luck. To have two Grand Slam trophies - big, you know. I just cannot express my feelings. I just have feeling inside and need to share it with my close people."
Safina admitted that she had failed to cope with the pressure as she tried to win a first Grand Slam title.
"I put pressure on myself because I really wanted to win," she said. "I just didn't handle it.
"I was a little bit desperate on the court and didn't do the things that I had to do. Didn't stay tough mentally.
"She gave me chances and I had chances. She was not so aggressive as she usually is. I just didn't do anything."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/8087350.stm
Roland Garros
Paris, FranceJune 5, 2009
Federer Rallies Again To Move One Match Away From Rewriting History Books
© Getty Images
Roger Federer finds himself one match away from securing a place in tennis' history books and perhaps being considered the greatest player all-time. The 27-year-old Swiss superstar advanced to his fourth consecutive Roland Garros championship after rallying to defeat World No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro 3-6, 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, on Friday.
Federer, who has come up short in the past three Roland Garros finals against arguably the greatest clay-courter of all-time, Rafael Nadal, will take on the Spaniard's conqueror, No. 23-seeded Robin Soderling, who will appear Sunday in his first tour-level clay court final. Federer is 9-0 lifetime against the Swede (19-1 in sets), including 2-0 on clay.
Despite his dominance of Soderling and unrivaled experience in Grand Slam finals, Federer rejected suggestions that he is a lock to win the final. "Look, there's no easy Grand Slam finals, he said. It's very simple, because the one who is on the other side of the net has also won six matches and is definitely in the shape of his life.
"I cannot obviously underestimate Robin, even though I've beaten him I think in the [nine] matches we've played against each other. But obviously it's nice to see someone else for a change in the French Open finals. I've been there before. I don't know if it's an advantage or not, because I've never been able to win. I'm sure the pressure is big for both players, not only for me, but also for him. It's his first big step in a Grand Slam. I'm sure we're going to play some good tennis, because I thought he played we will really well today against Gonzalez."
Federer is one match away from becoming the sixth man to win all four Grand Slam championships in his career and from tying Pete Sampras' mark of 14 Grand Slam titles. Andre Agassi was the last man to complete a career Grand Slam 10 years ago at Roland Garros. Other players who have accomplished the feat are: Fred Perry in 1935, Don Budge in 1938, Rod Laver (1962 and '69) and Roy Emerson (1964).
Federer is making his 19th trip to a Grand Slam singles final (13-5), including 15 of the past 16 title matches. His 19 finals equal Ivan Lendl's mark (8-11).
This has been Federer's toughest road to a Grand Slam final, losing six sets along the way, including a five-setter against Tommy Haas (from two sets down) in the fourth round and four-set battles in the second and third rounds.
"It feels great coming through tough matches like this," said Federer. "It's more emotional. It's more satisfaction, even though I love matches when I can really dominate an opponent. But this is also a great feeling of coming through this way, not the easy way, showing different qualities. It's not always something I've actually had a chance to show, because matches were over too quickly sometimes. It's good for me, so my career hopefully is going to be longer because of those matches, in the long run."
In the opening set, del Potro broke in the fifth and ninth games to secure his first set won (of 13) in their six meetings. Both players held throughout the second set before Federer took control of the tie-break. He led 5-1 before closing it out 7-2. In the third set, the Argentine broke in the opening game and again in the seventh game to take a 2-1 sets lead.
Federer failed to break del Potro in the first three sets before finally converting in the fourth game. The 20-year-old Argentine double-faulted to lose serve in the sixth game and Federer closed out the set with his fifth ace to even the match.
In the opening game of the fifth set, Federer broke when del Potro hit a forehand long. Federer was broken in the sixth game but broke back in the next game as del Potro double-faulted. Federer failed to convert on his first match point on del Potro's serve in the ninth game but sealed the three hour and 28-minute victory with a forehand winner on match point.
Although del Potro converted five of 13 break points to Federer's four of 12 and led in aces (16 to 5) and winners (55 to 50), the Tandil native struggled on second serve. Federer won 52 per cent of second serve points to del Potro's 43 percent.
Del Potro, who was appearing in his first Grand Slam semi-final, was the first Argentine since David Nalbandian in 2006 to reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros.
"Well, now I feel so sad. It was a long match, very close," said del Potro. "It was my first semi-final and I had the chance. I think I'm playing better than Australia where we played on another surface. I served very good every moment in the match and that was the reason it went to five sets."
http://www.atpworldtour.com/TENNIS/1...TICLE_3879.ASP