Tourney Topplers: Big Serve Serena and King Roger Felled
Apparently Rafa was only the first in a string of toppled giants. Roger Federer lost a tightly-contested two-set match to Radek Stepanek in the Rome Masters quarterfinals 7-6(4), 7-6(7). I don’t know which type of loss is harder: the one where you get completely blown off the court or the one where you’re so incredibly close but can’t finish off the few vital points that would have swung the match in your favor. Either way a loss is still a loss and an exit from a tournament and that’s what Federer did in Rome.
Who’s going to win Rome now? Hercules was downed in the second round and now the King has bowed out after a tough battle. Andy Roddick is still in the mix and is a set up on Tommy Robredo. Behind Rafa and Roger losing, the fact that Roddick is still hanging around is the biggest surprise of this tourney.
But wait – there’s more! Serena Williams couldn’t hang on to her winning streak and Dinara Safina ousted Big Serve Serena in three sets. Safina dropped the first but dominated the second and managed to close out a tight third set to put her in the German Open semifinals. Safina…Safina…that name sounds pretty familiar. I feel like I just talked about her…oh yeah! She just beat the world No. 1!
Yay for Serena losing, boo for Roger tanking (again).
As the article said – Roger lost again. He’s had six losses this year – that’s still in single digits. I feel kinda bad for the guy – I’d probably stagger and fall under the pressure of all the expectations on him every time he steps on the court.
This might be just me, but I wasn’t too surprised at Roger’s loss this week. Stepanek played a great match IMO, so I’m curious as to why Jodie says he was tanking? A player of Roger’s reputation and ability is unlikely to throw matches away, especially with the likes of Djokovic coming up behind him. I agree with you (Erica) that the pressure might be beginning to take its toll, but I doubt that he’s tanking!
Personally, I was more surprised by a few of his other losses this year, most notably Murray.
Sally – I didn’t get to see Roger’s match with Stepanek, but from the score, it looks like it was a very close match. I think Roger’s struggles this season have been a combination of his illness, the shortening of the gap between his abilities and the others on tour and the belief the other players have that he is now beatable. Thanks for your opinions!