Roger Federer has lost his air of invincibility this week. Maybe it’s his adorable twins Charlene and Myla keeping him awake at night, maybe he is suffering from the overlong tennis season that has been much debated, or perhaps his opponents have just stepped up their game.

Roger Federer was not himself at the ATP World Tour Finals (c) Adam Bowie http://www.flickr.com/people/adambowie/

It’s probably a combination of all three that resulted in Roger losing not once but twice at this week’s ATP World Tour Finals, firstly in Thursday night’s encounter with Juan Martin Del Potro (which I was lucky enough to watch live) and then again in Saturday’s semi final against Nikolay Davydenko.

But it’s true that in spite of the amazing year he has had, reclaiming his Wimbledon title and world number one spot and adding the French Open crown to his CV, that the Federer magic has diminished slightly.

There were flashes of his usual brilliance against Del Potro on Thursday, and as he made an earlier than planned exit against Davydenko, but mostly he was making uncharacteristic errors, his negative body language telling tales of an extremely frustrated man.

Federer is still unarguably the greatest player of all time and the greatest player around at the moment, as his ranking testifies. But there are now a whole series of guys lining up behind him, who now really believe they can beat him.

Not Roger’s day

Tim Henman said in his commentary of the match that it would have taken a brave person to predict the final line up today, and he is right. Who would have thought that the last tennis match of the season on the tour would be contested between the 21 year old Del Potro and the little known Russian, Davydenko?

If the crowd at the O2 had had their way it would have been Federer all the way, perhaps the international London crowed would even favour him over our very own Murray, such is the admiration he receives everywhere he goes in the world.

Normally us Brits cheer for the underdog, but Thursday night’s audience may as well have been Swiss for all the impartiality, or rather partiality they showed. Or maybe they just saw that Federer had turned into the underdog.

Anyway Federer was not the star of this week’s show, the two surprise finalists were. US Open winner Argentinean Juan Martin Del Potro was perhaps not such a shock and is certainly one to watch out for in the future.

The Unknown

But what about the victorious Nikolay Davydenko? Are the great British public are going to take this week’s champion, the unknown Russian into their hearts and minds?

Probably not – because we don’t know anything about him and his performances in the tennis world, consistent as they are, have gone virtually unnoticed outside the sphere.

As Andrew Castle shrewdly pointed out on the BBC today the final was not exactly “box office”, meaning that the average tennis spectator, the casual fan, would have perhaps been turned off by the tie.

That’s because, aside from the tennis, the public want the big names, the glamour of Federer, Nadal and Roddick and the home interest of Murray. They want to watch those with big personalities who they can relate to both on and off the court.

Despite his achievements at the O2 this week, Davydenko will probably never be a big star of the tennis world, especially in this country unless he makes an impact at the slams, which he has never threatened to do.

He made an appeal to the crowd for fans in London and they politely clapped but realistically most will probably forget his name by tomorrow, if they have even managed to retain it for this long.

And in reality this is probably the way Davydenko wants it to be. He hasn’t invited the media into his life, and will most likely want it to stay this way. In the little he has been interviewed he has said that he likes being under the radar and getting the job done. Which is exactly what he does.

So life will probably not change for Nikolay Davydenko after yesterday’s win but what about Federer? Questions will undoubtedly be raised about his performance, whether he is past his best and if his heart is still in the game.

The Christmas break will allow Federer to regroup and enjoy spending time with his new family, before being back in action at the Australian Open in January. My guess is that this isn’t the last or the best we have seen from Roger. I’m pretty sure he’ll be back on top before we know it.

Davydenko wins!

I wish I was there to witness it.  Nikolay Davykendo, one of the best players on tour without a Grand Slam, took out the last big event of the tennis calendar, ATP World Tour Finals, by defeating US Open winner Juan Martin del Potro in the final, 6-3, 6-4.

When the tournament began, few gave the No. 7 (out of 8 men in the draw) a chance, and he stumbled out of the gates, losing to Novak Djokovic in his opening round robin match.  However, he managed to regroup and defeat Aussie Open winner Rafael Nadal and French Open finalist Robin Soderling to advance to the semi-finals.  There, he finally beat French Open, Wimbledon winner and World No. 1 Roger Federer for the first time ever (in 13 career meetings).

So congrats to Davydenko, one of those underrated guys who plays consistently well but never seems to be able to pull out the big games against the top players.  That said, he had actually won all 5 of his championship matches in 2009, the last (before this one) coming at the Shanghai Masters, which he needed to qualify for the end of year tournament.

Did Federer tank his match against Del Potro?

I’d just to take a step back for a moment back to the round robin section of the tournament to talk about Roger Federer (who finished the year ranked no. 1).

The ATP World Tour Finals has a strange (not not overly complex) system where the top 8 players are split into Group A and Group B, with the top 2 from each group advancing to the semi-finals.  As each player has 3 matches in the round robin, it is not uncommon for players to end up with identical win-loss records.  Where there are 3 players with identical records (as was the case this year in both Groups A and B), the tie-breaker provides that the 2 players with the highest percentage of sets won will advance.  If that does not resolve things, then it’s the top 2 with the highest percentage of games won.

In his final round robin match, Federer lost to Del Potro 6-2, 6-7 (7-5), 6-3.  This meant Federer, Del Potro and Murray all finished with a record of 2-1 in the round robin round.  All three men also had identical set records of 5-4.  This meant that the tie-break came down to the percentage of games won.  Federer ensured he would go through by winning 44 from 80 games (55%), thanks in part to a couple of 6-1 sets in his wins against Verdasco and Murray.  Del Potro, the other man to make it through, won 45 out of 88 games (51.1%), knocking out Andy Murray, who had won 44 out of 87 games (50.6%).  If Federer had taken just 1 more game against Del Potro, Andy Murray would have been the one to make it through instead.  Just 1 game!

Though the conspiracy chatter has been relatively subdued (and mostly in jest), there are those who believe Federer tanked the last 3 games of his match against Del Potro in order to knock Andy Murray out of the tournament.

In the final set, with the score tied 3-3, Federer fell apart, losing 3 straight to end the match.  However, it was the way Federer lost those games that began raising eyebrows.  As a furious friend told me after the match in an email entitled “Federer is a disgrace”:

“I watched the entire match, and he played entirely different in the last 3 games.  He double faulted, charged the net kamikaze style (ala Andy Roddick) and got passed, dumped return of serves into the net…I don’t understand why he did it but he is not a sportsman.  So upset by this!“

I admit, it does sound a little far-fetched that Federer would do this, and even more far-fetched that he could purposely lose in a way that would knock Andy Murray out.  Nevertheless, the way in which Federer played to end the match is highly uncharacteristic, especially the way he botched his service game when down 3-4 in the final set to hand the match to Del Potro on a platter.

It is probable that before the match Federer and his team would have done some calculations to see what he and the other players in his group needed to advance (and remember that Murray’s game finished first).  Federer admitted that he knew he had to win the second set or else he would be knocked out (which explains his celebratory fist pumps after winning it 7-6). As he said himself:

“I knew I couldn’t lose in two sets because I knew that was going to knock me out.  That’s why I was very excited.”

However, if Federer did indeed make such calculations, then he must have also known that even a 0-6 third set would not have stopped him from advancing to the semi-finals.

Federer’s post-match words are somewhat telling:

“I asked Juan Martin myself at the net, ‘Did you make it or not?’  He said, ‘I don’t think so.’ … Of course, you got to feel sorry for the guy who didn’t make it.  At the same time, Del Potro beat the No. 1 player in the world in the group, and I guess also deserves to go through.  There’s only two places, and that’s the way it is.”

Notice how Federer had only questioned whether Del Potro had made it – which means he had no doubt that he had already made it through himself (ie confirms calculations were made).  And notice how he suggested that Del Potro deserves to go through (instead of Murray) because Juan Martin had beaten the ‘No. 1 player in the world’ (ie himself).  Maybe it’s just my imagination (and it’s not the image of Roger I want to have), but it’s not out of the realm of possibility, is it?

If Federer did indeed attempt to tank his match against Del Potro, even just a little, then I suppose you could say karma struck back.  With 12 straight victories against Davydenko, you could be forgiven for thinking the match was in the bag.  Who would have thought Davydenko would finally get him on try number lucky 13?

El título en Auckland. La mejor manera para empezar el año y borrar lo antes posible el trago amargo que significó la experiencia de la Davis en Mar del Plata. Delpo era el máximo preclasificado y ratificó sin problemas su condición de favorito.

El Abierto de Australia. Después de Guillermo Vilas y David Nalbandian, Juan Martín Del Potro se convirtió en el tercer argentino en alcanzar instancia de cuartos de final en el primer grand slam de la temporada en toda la era abierta. La derrota con Federer fue dura, pero el tandilense repitió lo hecho en el US Open y volvió a ser protagonista en un torneo importante.

Delpo saluda a Nadal después de vencerlo en Miami

La victoria ante Nadal en Miami. Hasta el Masters 1000 de Miami, Del Potro nunca había llegado a la semifinal de un torneo grande y tampoco le había ganado a Nadal, Federer, Murray o Djokovic, los cuatro fantásticos del circuito. Pero en cuartos de final el argentino se cruzó nada menos que con el número uno, Rafael Nadal, y lo dejó eliminado del certamen con un ajustado 7-6 en el tercer set.

El triunfo sobre Murray en Madrid. Del Potro seguía creciendo y su techo ya no eran los cuartos de final sino las semis. El estigma con Murray se rompió después de tres derrotas y el tandilense volvió a figurar entre los mejores cuatro de un Masters 1000.

Las semis de Roland Garros. En una semifinal para el recuerdo, Juan Martín Del Potro le perdió por fin el respeto a Roger Federer y estuvo a punto de dejar al suizo sin final. ¿Hay lugar para uno más en el grupo de los cuatro mejores?

Del Potro sostiene el trofeo del torneo de Washington

La serie de Copa Davis en Ostrava. Más allá de la eliminación de Argentina en manos de República Checa, Delpo se lució y consiguió sus dos puntos de single para el equipo capitaneado por Tito Vázquez. No alcanzó, pero Del Potro transmitió seguridad y solidez.

La re-conquista de Washington. Al igual que el año anterior, “La Torre de Tandil” se adjudicó el ATP de Washington, sumando de esta manera el sexto título de su carrera. Como en la final de Los Angeles ‘08, la víctima en la final fue Andy Roddick.

La primera final de Masters 1000. En Montreal, Del Potro accedió por primera vez al partido cumbre de un torneo de esta categoría. El cansancio pudo más en la final, pero aún así el tandilense estuvo muy cerquita de llevarse la corona.

Sueño cumplido: campeón del US Open

El US Open. Después de dos semanas de ensueño, Juan Martín Del Potro se alzó con el título en Flushing Meadows. Le ganó su primera final de grand slam al número uno del mundo, Roger Federer, sin derrotas en el torneo desde 2003, y se unió a Guillermo Vilas, Gabriela Sabatini y Gastón Gaudio en la lista de los argentinos que ganaron títulos de grand slam.

La final del Masters. Un solo game de diferencia le dio la clasificación a semifinales a Delpo, que ante Federer consiguió su tercera victoria de la temporada sobre un número uno del mundo. No tuvo muchas posibilidades en la final ante Nikolay Davydenko, pero eso no le impidió finalizar el año en la quinta posición del ranking de la ATP, y dejar la sensación de que su techo todavía está lejos.

Nikolay Davydenko capped a magical week by defeating Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 6-4 earlier today in the season-ending ATP World Tour Final at The O2 in London. Davydenko, seeded sixth and ranked No. 7 in the world, defeated the winners of all four Grand Slam championships in 2009 enroute to the title, the first big tournament win of his career. The Russian routed Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal in round-robin play on Wednesday and topped French Open and Wimbledon winner Roger Federer for the first time in 13 matches in the semis yesterday. No. 5-ranked Del Potro won the U.S. Open in September. “For me it was amazing,” Davydenko said. “Coming here as No. 7 and winning the tournament, it was surprising for myself.” Davydenko was dominant from the back of the court, blasting winners both down the line and cross court. “He’s very fast,” said Del Potro. “He plays like PlayStation. He runs to everywhere. It’s very difficult to make winners.” The 28-year-old Russian edged the big Argentine 25-20 in winners and committed just 15 unforced errors to his opponent’s 19. Davydenko also served effectively, losing only five points on his serve in the first set and eight in the second. He saved two break points with aces and a third with a service winner wide to Argentine’s backhand. Del Potro won the battle of aces, 8-7. “Maybe I had good concentration,” Davydenko said. “I was surprised I was coming in from the first point (with) 100 percent concentration. It was, I think, important for this match today.” The title was Davydenko’s fifth of the year and ties him with Novak Djokovic and Nadal for second most on tour. Andy Murray ends the year with six. Davydenko will move up one notch to No. 6 tomorrow when the final rankings come out. “I don’t think, ‘Now I’m No. 1,’ because I beat Federer,” Davydenko said. “But I know now in confidence, if I beat everyone then I can play very well.”

"Why yes, this trophy is larger than I am."

Return of Gangsta Davy.

1. I am really bad at predicting things. 53.33%…that’s…not very good.
2. Robin Soderling is (according to the informative London commentators)
   • “one of the biggest clubbers in town.” Can’t you just imagine him all covered in glitter dancing to Womanizer?
   • a germaphobe. He opens doors with his elbows. So, imagine him coming out of all those London club bathrooms ELBOWS FIRST.
   • very protective. I went to go follow Robin on my twitter account (not yourvolleyssuck) when I find out that the little SOB had BLOCKED ME. I began to sob at the thought of not being immediately notified of Robin’s latest tweet about granola bars or sunglasses when it hit me. He blocked me because I insulted his sunglasses. Yes, these sunglasses. I may or may not have told him that he looked good in his girlfriend’s glasses. Apparently, he finds an insult about his sunglasses more offensive than whores.
3. English commentators are just as informative and knowledgeable about tennis as American commentators. Take a look at some of their great quotes throughout the week:
   • “Both guys have been creaming the ball.”
   • “Kafelnikov was always a big boy.”
   • “Always a good way to make money off Kafelnikov [by playing golf] because he always thought he was better than he really was.”
   • “You know [Soderling's girlfriend] pretty well, is she wife material?” “Yeah, Jenny’s pretty athletic.”
   • “Swedes will have 3 or 4 kids before considering marriage.”
   • “Oil painting of a forehand.”
   • “You know, when Federer beat Verdasco in Miami, [Federer] really wasn’t playing his best tennis. At all.”
   • “We were talking about the embarrassment about being 5-0 down.” [in regards to the Murray-Del Potro match]
   • “Murray needs to assert himself more…that’s where the TOP TOP guys are good…guys who win majors.”
4. The first set is kind of important. Looking at you, Federer.
5. No one beats Nikolay Davydenko 13 times.
6. Andy Murray is really suave and totally not the type of person who would have their foot uncomfortably stuck in a fireplace during a photoshoot. Not at all.
   • Speaking of Andy Murray, he and long time girlfriend, Kim Sears have broken up. This makes me genuinely sad. I’m going to miss their romantic moments like when
     

     he gave her a matey high- five after his triumph at London’s Queen’s Club – and kissed his mum Judy instead.

     :’( RIP. At least I’ve still got Roger and Mirka for a PDA-filled relationship.

7. Fernando Verdasco is kind of bad at tennis. GIF made on behalf of talulah21 (it’s a YVS exclusive ):

Coming up…a new Better Know an ATP Player!!! I know you’ve missed those. Have a lovely end of 2009, everyone!

Robin Söderling hade igår goda chanser att slå Juan Martín del Potro för att sensationellt ta sig till final i ATP-slutspelet där han skulle fått möta Nikolaj Davydenko (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). Efter att ha spelat drömtennis mot Rafael Nadal och Novak Djokovic hade Söderling 1-0 i set mot del Potro.

Men någonting hände och plötsligt kändes Söderlings spel lika medelmåttigt och tafatt som vi är vana vid att se när han slåss mot de bästa. Trots tre serveess och inget dubbelfel lyckades inte Söderling hålla sitt fjärde servegem i det andra setet. Breaket var ett faktum och del Potro servade snabbt hem för 1-1 i set.

I tredje set lyckades visserligen Söderling bryta relativt tidigt, men del Potro bröt tillbaka omgående. Och i det avgörande tiebreaket slarvade Söderling i egen serve och del Potro kunde vinna matchen efter att ha fått fyra matchbollar.

Och det är väl detta som, tyvärr, fått symbolisera Söderlings tennis när han ställs mot den absoluta toppen. Slarv. Förstaserven håller verkligen världsklass, men andraserven har dålig kick (toppspinn) och han har lite att sätta emot när det kommer till baslinjedueller mot spelare som del Potro eller allroundspelare med hög variation som Roger Federer.

Forehanden är ganska tung, men han bränner ibland enkla bollar och tenderar att få många unforced errors. Backhanden är hyfsat säker, men i och med att den är tvåhandad har han inte samma möjlighet att varva raka slag med långa slicade bollar som exempelvis Federer. Och när han går fram på nät slarvar han lite med placeringen. Igår hade han exempelvis tre nät-/halvnätbollar i ett av del Potros servegem med bra lägen som han dessvärre brände.

Ser man till statistiken talar den sitt tydliga språk. 42 % vunna andraservar mot del Potros 64 %. Totalt 41 unforced errors mot del Potros 23. Det har varit guldtennis hela veckan för Söderling, men efter att ha vunnit första set mot del Potro kändes det som luften gick ur lite granna. Men, men. För att ha halkat in på ett bananskal då Andy Roddick tvingades ge upp sin plats på grund av skada var detta mycket mer än vad någon kunde förvänta sig. Och det kommer nya tävlingar nästa år.

Simon Hedlin Larsson, som vill påpeka för de som tycker att Roger Federer är gammal och tror att detta är slutet på hans era att de bör erinra sig om att han föll i semifinalen mot Nikolaj Davydenko som inte precis är någon ungdom men verkar spela sitt livs tennis

Grupos

En la última fecha del la fase de grupos de la Masters Cup, Novak Djokovic campeón de la edición anterior quedó eliminado pese a sus dos victorias.  Murray también quedó fuera pese a vencer a Verdasco.

Los que si clasificaron fueron Del Potro venciendo en tres sets a Federer y Davydenko derrotando a Soderling. Del Potro y Davydenko clasificaron por ganar más games durante la primera ronda que el británico y el serbio respectivamente.

Semifinales

El número 1 del mundo cayó sorpresivamente ante Nikolay Davydenko por 6-2/4-6/7-5. Federer no ha jugado un gran torneo y perdió sus últimos dos partidos. El otro finalista es el argentino Juan Martín del Potro, quien derrotó 6-7(1)/6-3/7-6(3) a la revelación del torneo el sueco Robin Soderling.

So this Tuesday, Sports Illustrated, the greatest magazine ever invented, will announce its annual choice for Sportsman of the Year. It’s one of the few announcements of awards I still get a little excited about. When I was a kid, the Sportsman of the Year issue was always huge, a double issue at the end of the year. I also remember that my first ever issue I got as part of the subscription my Grandpa got me when I was 9 was the Mary Lou Retton/Edwin Moses Sportsman of the Year issue, from Dec., 1984 (I’ve been getting SI ever since).

Anyway, unlike last year, when a blind sea turtle could’ve predicted it would be Michael Phelps after his eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, this year doesn’t have a clear-cut winner.

So, in case SI needed my help, here’s my Top 5 for 2009:

1. Roger Federer: He would deserve one as a lifetime achievement award even if he did nothing this year (He absolutely could’ve won it in 2006 (they gave it, oddly, to Dwyane Wade) or 2007 (even more bizarrely, they gave it to Brett Favre). But the guy has been sensational this year in re-juvenating his slightly leveled off career. After a crushing loss to Rafael Nadal in the Aussie Open finals, he won his first French Open, completing the career Grand Slam, then outlasted Andy Roddick in five sets in Fed’s second consecutive epic Wimbledon final. In so doing, he broke the career mark for Grand Slams won by a male, with 15.

He’s also the classiest guy you’ll meet, and he fits the true definition of sportsman.

2. Usain Bolt: I know his big year was the Olympics in 2008, but the guy was even more phenomenal in 2009. He shattered his own track and field world records in the 100 meters and 200 meters, two marks that should’ve stood for years, not months. He made people care about track in a non-Olympic year, and that’s damn hard to do.

3. Kobe Bryant: I know, I know, I hate the guy and think he’s egotistical and a jerk and maybe even a rapist, although that, sadly, was never brought to a court of law in Colorado. But he did will his team to the championship of the NBA, and did it without Shaq.

4. Sidney Crosby: Won a Stanley Cup on the road, in a Game 7, against the Detroit Red Wings. Hard to do. He’s so young, and his Pittsburgh Penguins have a lot more winning to do.

5. Kim Clijsters: All she did was unretire, play a few tournaments, and then win the U.S. Open. Her smile lit up Flushing Meadows, and she’s such a wonderful story, a mother rediscovering her love for the game after a few years away. She won’t win the award, but she certainly is worthy.

Since it’s Thanksgiving weekend, the grandest time of year to eat leftovers, here are a few leftover thoughts from my brain after four days in NYC (yeah, I know, that was a REAL stretch for a segue there.)

***I cannot get over the 1,000 percent improvement in the bathrooms at Penn Station. When I went there as a kid, and then again when I worked in NYC from 2000-2002, the bathrooms were atrocious. Dirty, smelly, dark, with this crap powdered soap that never came out above the sinks. It was truly an unpleasant experience.

Now? It’s like a hotel bathroom or something. Clean, bright, with no terrible smell. Actual, real sinks, not one big trough, and actual, real soap coming out of the dispensers. Bravo, New York City.

***I love riding the subway. I know it’s probably one of those things where if I did it all the time like I used to, I’d take it for granted and not think twice about it. But that’s another major improvement in cleanliness and safety by New York City. All the subway maps are clearly marked and easy to read, the cars are well-lit, and I just never once felt at all unsafe.

**I raked leaves for an hour Saturday. It was actually fun, I hadn’t done it in so long. We don’t do much leaf-raking in Central Florida. It made me miss fall even more, but this was a good temporary fix.

And my question is this: Is there ever an age when you’re too old to rake a big pile of leaves, then jump happily into them, spraying them everywhere?

Didn’t think so.

This Nikolay Davydenko. He under promises and over delivers, if I may quote Chase Jarvis (he’s totally unrelated to tennis but I thought of Kolya when Chase said that). For a consistent top 10 player, he flies very low on the tennis radar and no one really picks him to win anything. In this week’s WTF, Kolya showed everyone why he’s in there with the big boys even though he’s not quite big. He played a quality match against Novak Djokovic to open his round robin play then handily defeated Rafael Nadal 2 days later. To book a semifinal place, he gutted out a 3-set win over Robin Soderling. Then today, over delivered when he took out Roger Federer, someone he’s never defeated in 12 tries, to get to the WTF finals.

Juan Martin del Potro snuck his way into the semis and the next thing you know, he’s in finals. From the craziness that was Day 5 where DelPo made it out of the round robin safely by a mere game to winning a come from behind match against Robin Soderling in the semifinals earlier, blink or rather suffer a few heart attacks and he’s playing for the final title of the season.

Images via Getty

(Credit to the witty ptenisnet for the post title. I should have used it tomorrow, but I may just want to say “:(“, so …)

Nikolay Davydenko d. Roger Federer, 62 46 75

 I will never get sick of Kolya emerging from the smoke with a sheepish smile.

What a match from Kolya. What a match. After saving two break points in his opening service game, he quickly raced to a double break over a sluggish Federer. Roger broke back for 4-2, and it looked like that might buy him the time he needed to get his game together, but Kolya immediately reasserted his double break and served out a rather comfortable opening set.

Roger being Roger, however, the second set was much more closely contested, and after pressuring Kolya’s serve, he finally broke to 30 to take it 6-4. The third set was fantastic, with Kolya repeatedly coming to the net with great effect, and when Federer got to 0-30 on Kolya’s serve at 4-5 courtesy of a lucky netcord and one of his patented trick-shot ridiculous-get winners, it looked like it might go the way of the second. Kolya gutted out a great hold, fashioned himself a break point in the next game, and took it on an absurd backhand return winner.

I couldn’t quite believe that Kolya was really about to get his first win against Federer in 13 attempts, and when Federer produced a sublime backhand winner to get to break point as Kolya was serving for the match, it looked like the impossible would remain just that. Kolya responded with a scorching cross-court forehand to save the break point, though, and took the match when Federer found the net.

12-1, bitches.

Juan Martin del Potro d. Robin Soderling, 67(1) 63 76(3)

I remember a time, not so long ago, when it was a truism of the fandom that Elf wasn’t a fighter. It’s one of the many reasons that matches like this give me a warm, warm glow inside.

I thought the overall quality of this match was higher than that of Federer-Kolya; in fact, I think Peter Fleming said it best when he said after the match, “These guys should be drug-tested, gene-tested, tested to see if they’re aliens from outer space.” They both played fantastically well, serving at ridiculously high percentages and treating the London crowd to brutal, magnificent hitting. And up until the final tiebreak, you simply could not pick a winner. Elf started off stronger, but couldn’t capitalise on any of the 5 (?) break points he earned in the first set, and then played possibly the worst tiebreak I’ve ever seen from him, going down 7-1. Indeed, he was visibly frustrated throughout the match by Soderling’s amazing serving at key moments.

A sublime lob eventually took him to a break point that Soderling’s serve couldn’t save, though, and he broke with a forehand return and held for the set.

The third was a total cracker and you honestly couldn’t choose between them. Soderling returned Elf’s serve better and better as the match went on and earned a well-deserved break with a couple of absolutely sublime returns for 4-2. A sledgehammer cross-court forehand, two unforced errors on the Soderling forehand and some brilliant defence saw him recover the break and we headed inexorably to a third-set tiebreak.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Elf defend quite so brilliantly as he did in this match, although it frustrated me immensely that he was spending so much time doing just that, but it was his transition from defence to attack and into a sweet backhand winner which actually raised kittens from the dead worldwide that won him the initial minibreak. Soderling battled valiantly but couldn’t work his way back into it, and another cross-court forehand after a marathon exchange earned Elf four match points. Soderling saved the first with an ace, and it was an ace of his own that earned Elf the win, a victory yell and a happy smile.

It was a heartbreaker for Soderling, who played a quite amazing match and has been one-of-the-if-not-the form player(s) this week. But I can’t deny I’m more than a little bit orgasmically ecstatic for Elf. His form after the US Open has been so dismal, and his first couple of matches so lacklustre, I could never have expected that he would make it to the final. But by the skin of his brand-new teeth, and the strength of his Mr Ticklesque arms, he has.

He also took the time to announce in his post-match interview that he’s single. So form an orderly queue, ladies and gentlemen.

Behind me, of course.

Nikolay Davydenko continues his stellar play in the fall with a three set 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 defeat of Roger Federer. It seems like everyone is beating Federer these days but Federer was impressed with Davydenko’s performance. The final set was close with Federer only two points away from taking the match. “I was a couple of points away, but just couldn’t get it done.” Daydenko was pleased with the win saying he wanted to beat Federer for the first time, perhaps by 2011. Federer claimed the number one ranking position on the ATP tour struggled with his serve and that gave Davydenko all the encouragement he needed to win today. Davydenko moves onto the ATP Final match on Sunday against either Del Poto or Soderling.

1:30

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Sendung vom 27. November 2009

Vorwürfe können dem einzigen nationalen Sender viele gemacht werden. Ausser einem. Sie haben es nie verpasst, möglichst schnell ein Auge auf die wenigen leuchtenden Sterne am Schweizer Sporthimmel zu werfen. Allerdings kommt uns das SF jeweils ein wenig so vor, wie der Fischer, der einmal, aber wirklich nur einmal einen grossen Fang getätigt hat und danach für den Rest des Lebens nicht mehr vom Superlativ loskommt. Beim SF äussert sich dies zudem auch so, dass sie am Nachthimmel noch Licht sehen, wo wir nur noch die schwarze Unendlichkeit zwischen uns und den Quasaren wahrnehmen: Da werden Ruderer und Kanuten und Fechter gefunden, die die Welt noch nicht gesehen hat. Eben, weil sie leistungsmässig unsichtbar sind. Nur das SF sieht in den unendlichen Weiten des Sportweltalls das weisse Kreuz auf rotem Grund leuchten. Wer Dinge sieht, die es nicht gibt, und darüber auch noch redet, ist oft religiös, und dass das SF uns die Birne vollpredigt mit Swissness, während wir viel lieber den Eishockeyspitzenkampf aus Russland sehen möchten, ist bekannt.

An einem Punkt berührt sich die manchmal auch schon peinliche Sehnsucht nach Weltläufigkeit am Leutschenbach mit von Superlativen verwöhnten. Es gibt kaum einen helleren Stern am aktuellen Sporthimmel als Roger Federer (haben Sie sich auch schon gewünscht, er möge in St.Louis, knapp hinter der Basler Grenze zur Welt gekommen sein?). Und dieser unser Roger, der nach eigenen Angaben nur noch um Rekorde spielt, trifft nun ausgerechnet auf Nikolai Davidenko, der in neun Jahren Spitzentennis (40 Finalmöglichkeiten an Grand Slams und Masters) genau drei Mal unter Verdacht der Manipulation (wetten dass es um Wetten ging?) und ein einziges Mal im Finale stand. Siege? Nada. Rogers Meinung zur Halbfinal-Qualifikation und den möglichen Finaleinzug: «Ich habe jetzt die Chance auf den Titelsieg!». Titelsieg? Roger, we love you!

Trimphator: Nicht der Sieg zählt. Nicht der Titel. Sondern der Titelsieg.

P.S. Einsamer Höhepunkt der Sendung war der coole Happy-Paddy, der mit seinem Ostschweizer Froschmaul drei Berner Fans in der Eishalle imitierte. Komm, Paddy, sag noch einmal Häne o Fäbu! (L.T.)

THE ATP World Tour Finals in London seem to be widely acknowledged as a great success.

But with Andy Murray exiting the tournament via the Duckworth-Lewis method, along with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, how will the competition fare as it reaches the knockout stages?

Based on the crowd frenzy created by the round robin’s final – and on paper its least glamorous – clash between Robin Soderling and Nikolay Davydenko, the organisers have little reason to worry.

Tennis fever only usually strikes the UK during Wimbledon, but the World Tour Finals offer many things that the showpiece grand slam cannot.

The world’s best eight players (although technically eight of the best nine with Soderling coming in for the injured Andy Roddick) each playing at least three games against each other is a big attraction.

Of the World Tour Finals competitors, Roger Federer only defeated Soderling on his way to the Wimbledon title this year.

The grand slam tournaments typically comprise Federer, Nadal, Murray, etc routing their much lower-ranked opponents in the earlier rounds before meeting each other in the impossible-to-get-tickets later rounds.

Although tickets at the O2 Arena are not cheap, for world class sport they are fairly priced and every game has featured two great players – it is all killer, no filler.

In some way it seems unfair that London is hosting this event with it already possessing Wimbledon.

But with all games, Murray or no Murray, being well supported by a full arena, the event has showed that the British public has a year round passion for tennis.

And with such an array of top players facing each other, then long may it continue to be held on British shores.

Das ATP World Tour Final in London mit folgenden Halbfinalen :
28 Nov 14:15 Roger Federer v Nikolay Davydenko
28 Nov 20:45 Juan Martin Del Potro v Robin Soderling

Beide Spiele sind im kostenlosem Livestream zu sehen.

Der Russe Davydenko ist nach einem tollen Fight gegen den Schweizer Federer im Endspiel von London !!!

Nikolay Davydenko pulled off an upset of Robin Soderling 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 to knock out Novak Djokovic who had beaten Rafael Nadal, earlier today. He’ll face Roger Federer. Soderling had aleady secured his spot in the semi finals on Saturday and he’ll face Juan Martin Del Potro. Everything is pointing to the same match as the US Open. Maybe a chance for Federer to avenge his loss.

Federer and Del Potro use Wilson Rackets, Soderling uses the Head Microgel Radical MP while Davydenko uses the Prince Ozone Pro Tour racket.