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4/24/08 10:27 AM | David Cox
Maybe Roger Federer has decided he wants a little more day to day excitement in his tennis life?
Not content with just easing through the rounds before the business end of tournaments, the world no 1 seems to have taken to living life close to the edge, almost sleepwalking his way out of the Monte Carlo country club before finding his game in the nick of time to haul back a 1-5 final set deficit to Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo yesterday.
Whatever it is, even on clay Federer has not looked this vulnerable to the lesser lights of the tour like Hidalgo for at least 5 years. It would have been the first time he lost in the second round of Monte Carlo since 2002 when Mariano Zabaleta hanbded him a clay court masterclass. Although he took the title in Estoril last week, Federer looked distinctly vulnerable, coming close to the wire against Rochus and even Denis Gremelmayr. They would never admit it publically, but the big names like Djokovic, Nalbandian and of course Nadal must be waiting with anticipation for when Federer comes up against an opponent with some stature on the dirt. Can he still raise his game on clay to match them, like before ?
It all looked too easy for Federer during the first set and the Swiss definitely seemed to relax after that, letting his intensity drop and Ramirez Hidalgo took full advantage. Federer was particularly blunt post-match and admitted that he’d been lulled into a false sense of security “I felt a little bit slow out there today. My opponent played so badly in the first set that he sort of faked me out. He couldn't serve, he was making many mistakes from the baseline. All of a sudden, after the first game in the second he didn't miss any more. Started to serve better. And then after that I really struggled.”
At 1-5 in the third, the press were already writing their headlines for what would have been the biggest upset loss Federer’s had for some time. But having got to that stage, the magnitude of winning another 4 points clearly hit the Spaniard and Federer was able to reel off 5 more games before taking the tiebreak.
“It's always hard, serving it out” Federer said. “But I was just hoping, for a better spell where I wasn't making so many mistakes, finding my attacking game was working a little bit better.”
The unfolding drama caused quite a stir in the player’s lounge as Thursday’s opponent Gael Monfils said, “I thought Ramirez would become tense, and Roger is known to really put on the pressure at the end of the match and make fewer mistakes.
He really played some very good forehands.”
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