Australian Open 2019: Greek Celebutante Tsitsipas prevails over Roger Federer
Do you play Tennis? Do you have any problem with your ball toss? - Don't panic. But you don't find a solution here. Anyhow, if you were Stefanos Tsitsipas, actually it's good that you have some such problem! At Rod Laver Arena, on a bright Sunday evening, I just wonder if anyone in the crowd noticed it at all that Tsitsipas had to apologise to his opponent on the other side of the net quite often, in fact twice, thrice, in one and the same service game. It did not matter. His opponent was none other than the legend, Roger Federer.
The 20-year-old Tennis sensation has grown up, watching Federer in action, watching Federer play sublime Tennis. He must have been a great admirer of Federer's brand of Tennis, the Serve and Volley (S&V as they call it) style that is only fast disappearing. He could hardly believe what he had done on Sunday, because the on-court interviewer John McEnroe had to repeat his very first question twice, twice! The Greek superstar Tsitsipas blew Federer away 6-7(11) 7-6(3) 7-5 7-6(5) in their fourth-round showdown down under, as if he tossed the great champion for a win, in just under four hours.
The match was a nerve-wracking contest, not for the Swiss but for Stefanos and the packed Rod Laver Arena crowd. Probably, every other person in the crowd wanted to see it. Even John McEnroe made an announcement to that effect: “You’re watching the changing of the guard”, he said. But whenever a Nadal or a Djokovic plays against rising stars of the next generation, the spectators and the commentators sound doubly confident of the seniors pulling through!
They are right. Earlier in the day, Nadal was simply ruthless in his win against Berdych (he had already beaten three young Australians on the way), and everyone knows how Djokovic downed Shapovalov on Saturday. On the other hand, Federer did give the impression that it might just be Tsitsipas' day as he squandered as many as 12 break point opportunities during the course of the match.
At times, the 193cm (6 ft 4 in) boy from Greece made Federer do different things with his backhand. However, the typical Roger ‘run-around-forehand down the line’, the ‘baseline-backhand-flick’ and the ‘half-volley-forehand pick up’ were missing for the most part of the encounter. After all, Federer did not manage to get enough time on the ball as Tsitsipas kept pressing, coming to the net on numerous occasions. His 68 net approaches could only be likened to a Wasim Akram's warm-up run-up, rushing to the bowling crease when he was given the second new ball before starting his third spell in an inconsequential dead rubber!
Stefanos must have said a ‘yes’ to himself and started running towards the net every time compulsively with seemingly no real conviction. But his move nevertheless affected Federer and affected him strangely enough that he made a whopping 55 unforced errors.
Tennis Grand Slams are played every year. Age withers any Tennis player, and Federer, the oldest in the Men's Singles draw, is no exception. The young guns are going to take over. Perhaps, that is why Nadal plays the way he does, play games in terms of points and matches in terms of sets. The top players know that when Nadal puts them under pressure, he never allows them to recover. In Federer's case, against Tsitsipas, at some point, he was waiting for his opponent to make mistakes. But the man from Nicosia refused to oblige.
Federer fought hard, and by the time he won the first set, Tsitsipas had made some impact. Remember, Nick Kyrgios made his debut as a commentator after getting beaten by Milos Raonic in the opener. When he was asked to rate the forehands on tour, he 'lumped' for Federer. He remarked, "I think if he’s feeling good then Roger is definitely one." Unfortunately, Federer's forehand failed to work its magic on this occasion. As Michael Beattie rightly pointed out in his match report, “...the stroke accounted for 33 of his 55 unforced errors", a definite chink in Federer's armour in this match.
The fourth and the final set as it turned out, was a teasingly close contest between Tsitsipas’ confidence and Federer’s resilience. In the end, Roger did not have the answers to the young talent’s penetrating rallies and his single-mindedness on the court.
Back Live! Federer has lost. The defending champion is out. Is Federer's Tennis battery out of juice? Who knows! First things first. Let this defeat heal. French Open can wait!