We have the best possible final in Basel: Roger-Delpo.
Federer – Mathieu 7-5 6-4
Strange match here as Roger wasn’t at his best to play a very conservative tennis. There was the impression that something was not 100% for the Maestro. Either he didn’t feel confident about his tennis or he was coping with some problems (tired? injured?). So Roger opted for a very safe tennis that was engough to get to the final.
Still struggling a bit with his returns, Roger was spotless in his service games to blast 10 aces on 11 service games, win 80% points on his first serve (68% on the second) without conceding a single break point.
The match ended after 1 hour and 26 minutes, Federer won “only” 69 points vs. Mathieu’s 60.
“I think the last couple matches give me good confidence. At least I know where my game is now, whereas the first couple rounds of any tournament, you’re not quite sure,” said Federer.
Del Potro – Gasquet 6-2 6-2
Great Delpo, once again. The Argentine capitalized with a very solid tennis against a very nervous Gasquet.
The Frenchman was not up to the task. Delpo was coming from a tiring 10 days where he played back to back Vienna (where he won) and here in Basel. The last match with semifinal. So Richard had to move him around .. but he couldn’d do that to end up rallying backhand vs backhand, not a good strategy as Delpo can easily cope with high balls on his backhand (actually he loves it).
The match ended after 1 hour and 7 minutes. Delpo won 55 points vs Gasquet’s 35
The Final
Head to Head is 13-2 for Federer (6-0 for Roger in 2012!). The last 2 matches were super tough with Federer winning the semifinal at the Olympic Games 3-6, 7-6(5), 19-17 and recovering from a 2 set downs at the Roland Garros to win 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 in the quarters
From Federer
“I thought I’ve played a couple good matches. I’m excited about playing Juan Martin in the final. It’s great seeing him backing up his win in Vienna. We’ve played six times already this season. We had a couple of tough ones at Roland Garros and the Olympics. We can look back at some great matches and hopefully live up to another one tomorrow. I’m ready to go.”
From Delpo
“I played better than yesterday. I know I have to play better tomorrow if I want to win this tournament. I’m going step by step and enjoying this victory against Gasquet. It’s going to be a difficult final for me but I will be ready to play.”
Our pick… Roger in 3 sets!
