It’s Roger no.300 and that was not easy. The world no.1 had a daunting task against his friend. In fact, even if Roger was 11-1 up in the head to head matches he came here in Shanghai not in perfect form and Stanislas did not have anything to lose (Roger… a lot!).
The Match
Wawrinka was very inspired from the very beginning with a great aggressive tennis and a lot of confidence under his belt. A crucial moment was when he won 8 straight points on a 2-3 scoreline in the first set to give to Stanislas a decisive 4-3 and break up lead.
In the second set Roger started well to conquer a break and lead 3-1. Then Wawrinka broke him back immediately. As the set went on Wawrinka had an important break point in the 9th game (4-4) that could not convert. Eventually Roger won a relatively comfortable tiebreak at 4.
Then Wawinka imploded in the third set. Actually he just tanked blasting whatever he could without giving a damn anymore of the match. A very unprofessional way to end up a match like this and a huge lack of respect toward the fans and Federer himself (well… he might have been happy that). The decider ended in just 16 minutes 24 points for Federer and 5 for Wawrinka. It couldn’t be any clear way Federer is a tennis myth and Wawrinka isn’t.
From Roger
“I consider myself a little lucky,” said Federer. “I never stopped believing, pushed till the end, then got off to a good start in the third set. Basically that was it. It was a tough match. He was the better player for basically two sets. It’s great finding a way out that way, that’s for sure.”
Next with Cilic
Roger will play Cilic in the next round. Head to head is 3-0 for Federer. The Swiss is definately the favorite, but he is not playing at his best. If he can make it, he it very difficult that he is going to win this tournament especially with a Djokovic in such a good form. But we are talking about the Swiss Maestro and… everything is possible with him.
Another nice chapter in Roger’s career.
Good stuff!
