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3/23/08 4:59 AM | Ricky Dimon
In a shocking display of power tennis, Mardy Fish pulls off another upset at the Pacific Life Open, this time in straight sets over Roger Federer. He advances to the final of the year’s first Masters Series event, where he will meet Novak Djokovic.
As Roger Federer’s season-opening slump continues, Mardy Fish’s surge through the Indian Wells draw keeps going. Fish put on arguably the greatest performance of his career to dismantle the No. 1 player in the world 6-3, 6-2 in just one hour and three minutes. The semifinal shocker propels Fish into the championship match against third-seeded Novak Djokovic, a straight-set winner over Rafael Nadal.
The outcome of this match borders on defying belief for several reasons, not including the fact that Fish—like most players—is a heavy underdog whenever and wherever he plays Federer. What made it even more surprising is that Federer had been dominant up to this point at the Pacific Life Open, needing just three hours and fifteen minutes to win his three matches (the fourth round was a walkover against Tommy Haas). Fish, meanwhile, required third-set tiebreakers in his previous two matches to dispatch Lleyton Hewitt and David Nalbandian.
In terms of the stat sheet, the mind-boggling fact that jumps off the page is that Fish crushed Federer despite serving at a dismal 34 percent rate. As crippling as such a percentage might seem, the American managed to overcome it by dominating the points in which his first ball actually went in, keeping Federer off balance with well-placed second serves, and dominating play from the back of the court.
Fish simply teed off on almost everything Federer sent his way. He took Federer’s serves early and aggressively and he dictated rallies with surprisingly effective forehands that set up devastating backhands. Federer, on the other hand, was not on his game at all, although Fish probably had a lot do with that. The Swiss put in just 53 percent of his first serves, he looked helpless returning serve, he did not move particularly well, and his body language seemed to suggest it was a hopeless cause against an on-fire opponent.
Fish and Djokovic have squared off once before in their careers. The meeting came two years ago in a second-round U.S. Open clash, which Djokovic took 7-6(5), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3). The Serb is clearly the favorite in this final showdown, but Fish does have a number of things going for him. He has already upset Nikolay Davydenko, Lleyton Hewitt, and Federer this week, so adding a scalp of Djokovic should not come as huge shock. Plus with all the surprise the ATP Tour has given us so far in 2008, it would almost be natural to expect a Fish title.
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What happened? sky, do you think Federer just has a slight setback or has the other player lost some of their respect for him?
Tennisman , 3/23/08 12:07 PM
Did you know that... Andy Roddick holds the record for fastest serve, 154.7 mph.
ravikiran, Oct 7, 2008 10:08 AM
gordana, Oct 7, 2008 8:54 AM
EinarBerg, Oct 6, 2008 4:55 PM
janhavi, Oct 6, 2008 10:22 AM
bridgie, Oct 6, 2008 8:52 AM
RickyDimon, Oct 7, 2008 5:15 AM
tinica2007, Oct 4, 2008 11:35 PM
trixxyfest, Oct 4, 2008 6:29 PM
Roger Federer
Mardy Fish
Pacific Life Open
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To begin, I will say as a Federer fan this is shocking. Having said that, I am very impressed with Fish's performance, and happy for him. I believe Fish will beat Djokovic! Go Fish! Go!
sky , 3/23/08 11:20 AM