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  • Will 9 prove to be unlucky for Federer

    8/14/08 12:01 AM | David Cox
    - James Blake will be hoping it's 9th time lucky tomorrow as he faces a man he's never beaten in 8 previous attempts for a place in the medal rounds. Blake has had the measure of Nadal several times but he's only taken a set off Federer once

    Blake could be in with more of a chance though, thanks to the gruelling tennis schedule. The players are competing non-stop all week since Sunday and Federer was complaining of fatigue after his win over Berdych “”They've made it very hard on us players,“ he said. ”It's difficult, winning six matches in seven days, plus doubles if you want to win gold there as well.“

    Blake's first task will be to make it more competitive than usual. They've always played on big occasions in slams or masters series and each time Blake hasn't been able to rise to the occasion. Federer has twice denied him masters series titles, in Indian Wells 2006 (7-5, 6-3, 6-0) and Cincinnati 2007 (6-1, 6-4). They also played in the 2006 masters cup final, Blake was in the form of his life having outplayed Nadal but went down 6-0, 6-3, 6-4. The only time it's been reasonably close was in the 2006 US Open quarters, Federer winning 7-6(7), 6-0, 6-7(9), 6-4.

    The American remained upbeat about his chances and argued that with so much pressure riding on the match anything could happen ”Obviously, Roger is going to be the favorite because he's gotten me every time. But honestly, at the beginning of each of those matches, I felt like I could come out on top. If he's too good for me, he's too good for me, but I know I've got a chance to get to a medal round tomorrow, and I'm really excited about that.“

    Prediction: Federer to make it 9-0 on head-to-heads and move ever closer to that elusive medal

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