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2007-10-28 12:05:27
This week, I’m in Basel where I have the opportunity to watch the Federer Show take place in the city where he grew up. It is easy to tell how emotional Federer is coming home, and it feels like he is unusually tense as he walks out onto the court and greets his fans. I don’t know if I have ever felt a more nervous atmosphere among the crowd than during Federer’s first round match. Everyone expected a walk in the park against 56-ranked Michael Berrer, and the Swiss star delivered, winning the first set 6-1. However, something very extraordinary happened during the following half an hour. Federer lost his focus completely and started to make a lot of rare unforced errors. The German brought his A-game and seized the opportunity to level the match at one set all. This is when it happened. While the players were sitting down to get ready for a deciding set, I was amazed by the tense atmosphere, with everyone from the kids to the business men not even finding words to say to the person next to them. It looked as if everyone, except Berrer’s small entourage and a few others, had just received shocking news and couldn't think about anything else. Just as I was starting to worry what would happen if Federer would lose, the World No. 1 put on the accelerator and raced away with the win.
Since then, everyone, including Federer, have looked a lot more relaxed. The tournament organizers in Basel certainly never have to worry about not selling a full house when their star is still in the draw.
Last night, Federer was up against Juan Martin Del Potro. As usual, a lot of people came just to watch this match. Halfway into the first set, Del Potro started to complain about pain in his wrist, and my first thought was that he was going to retire yet another time. The Argentinean is only 19 year old but has already retired six times this year and is quickly getting a reputation as a quitter. Moreover, all of these retirements have come after the first set has been completed, which is a requirement by some of the major bookmakers to consider the match to be completed. I really hope that these two things aren’t connected in any way, as it would be terrifying if one of the newcomers on the tour already has connections with people betting on his matches. Fortunately, Del Potro never retired last night, and the crowd got to see two full sets of their hero in action. Maybe, the tall Argentinean had his opponents' words on mind: "You should never play a match if you are not ready to compete until the end." With that being said, Federer has never retired a match during his professional career.
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