Article

  • Wimbledon Quarterfinal: Roger Federer vs. Mario Ancic

    7/1/08 2:36 PM | Ricky Dimon
    - Six years after his last loss at Wimbledon, Roger Federer meets Mario Ancic, the player who beat him. Instead of a first-round affair, however, this time a semifinal berth is at stake.

    Roger Federer's quarterfinal opponent is the last man to have defeated him at Wimbledon. Mario Ancic stunned Federer in their first-ever meeting back in a 2002 opening-round clash, and the world No. 1 has since won five straight titles at the All-England Club. Federer has also gotten revenge on Ancic during that span; once at Wimbledon in 2006 to go along with four other victories. So overall Federer is 5-1 against Ancic and 1-1 on grass.

    Ancic will have to make a shockingly swift recovery from his fourth-round epic against Fernando Verdasco if he is to give Federer any semblance of trouble. The 6'5'' Croat survived Verdasco 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 13-11 in three hours and 49 minutes on Monday. Tired or not, Ancic should be no pushover for Federer. In five trips to the All-England club he has lost in the first round just once (to Rafael Nadal in 2003) and he is a former quarterfinalist (2006) and semifinalist (2004). This year the oft-injured Ancic is healthier than ever and it is paying off in a major way. Since returning more than a month into the season, Ancic has enjoyed solid results. He finished runner-up in Marseille, reached the semifinals in Zagreb, enjoyed strong showings in both Indian Wells and Miami, and had a winning record during the clay-court swing. In week one at Wimbledon, Ancic took out Michael Llodra in straight sets, outlasted Philipp Petzschner in five, and then survived a four-set thriller with David Ferrer.

    Federer, of course, is a whole different beast. Although the five-time defending champion has struggled in 2008, he seems to be heating up at just the right time. The Swiss has dismantled all four of his opponents so far in straight sets (Dominik Hrbaty, Robin Söderling, Marc Gicquel, and Lleyton Hewitt) and only two sets out of twelve have been extended to a tiebreaker. Nevertheless, there is hope for Ancic yet. This season Federer has lost to Andy Murray, Mardy Fish, Andy Roddick, and Radek Stepanek in addition to Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal (three times). Federer has also won just two titles in 2008, although one of those came on the grass courts of Halle just prior to Wimbledon.

    Ancic normally would have a legitimate shot in this one, but Federer has spent little time on court and it is near impossible for Ancic to completely recover from the instant classic with Verdasco. If Ancic serves huge and with a high percentage, he can keep things relatively close, but even getting one set off Federer would come as a surprise.

Tell a friend »

Comments


Write comment

You have to be logged in to comment. If you do not have an account, click here to register. It only takes a minute and you'll be redirected back to this page.
Username:

Password:





Click Here