Questions About Federer’s Future In 2013

The world no 2 Roger Federer is not playing at Miami masters 2013 due to limited tournament schedule of 2013.  He lessened the tournament of schedule to take more rest in order to give more impressive performance in 2013.  But tables have been turned when he suffered early exit against low ranked Julien Bennetau at Rotterdam, Tomas Berdych at Dubai semis despite of having match points and adding insult to injury Rafael Nadal ousted him in quarterfinals of Indian Wells masters. 

Now tennis world is again thinking that

1)aIs Federer’s gas in the tank has finished?.  

2) Is He no more the same player as he was three or four years ago? 

3)Another question tennis fans especially Federer’s fans are asking that will Federer add one or more grand slams in his already decorated CV?  All these questions are valid especially after the poor performance of Federer in 2013. 

The answer of the first question is “no”.  Because Federer’s gas in the tank has not finished yet.  He is still amoung the top players in the world and have no 2 ranking.  Moreover, the loss in two or three tournaments does not mean that all the season will continue in the same way.  Federer has achieved almost every thing that a tennis player or an athlete should win.  He has 17 grand slam titles in his exceptional career and he is reigning Wimbledon champion.  He cruise in the early rounds in every tournament despite of his old( so called) age.  He only susceptible to  the top player like Djokovic, Murray or Nadal.  All these and other top players have to work really hard to beat Federer.  So, Federer still has so much gas in the tank that he can achieve bigger goals (even grandslams)  at any stage.  He can never be counted out in any tournament. 

The answer of the second question is “yes”.  Federer is not the same player as he was in his prime.  His backhand is not as strong as once it was.  His serve and forehand are no more devastating as once they were.  But it does not mean that his serve, forehand and footwork are no more devastating.  They are still very dangerous.  He can still hit more winner from his forehand and can fire more and more aces from his big serve.  He can also get cheap points by his well pointed and heavy serves.  He can still manage to change the match from any moment  of the match.  Therefore Federer has to rest more and put his attention to his weak wing i-e backhand. 

The answer of third question is still yes.  He can win any grand slam at any stage.  We have to admit that Federer is king of open era and grand slam tennis.  He knows more than anyone that how to use better techniques to win a grand slam.  He can still show his master class performance to win another grand slam ( probably in 2013).  And as I said in my last articles that his best shot will be at Wimbledon 2013, where he is a defending champion also.  He is man to beat there. 

The bottom line is Federer has still two or three years to achieve more goals, break more records and make new records.  But tennis fans want him in action more and more they want that he should come back in action again.  Lets see what will happen at Madrid 2013.

Andy Murray And David Ferrer Will Collide For Miami Title

The no 2 seed british no 1 Andy Murray and Spanish no 2 David Ferrer will compete each other for the second masters 1000 event of 2013 season.  Andy Murray was runner up to Djokovic here last year.  Now he has again qualified for the final in second straight year.  But this time he has to face his old foe David Ferrer.  In the semis Andy Murray beat Richard Gasquet in an epic match despite losing the opening set.  He defeated Gasquet by 6-7(3) 6-1 6-2.  In this match both men were struggling with their serves therefore there were 10 breaks of serve in 2 hours battle.  Murray broke Gasquet seven time whereas Gasquet broke Murray three times in the match.  After winning first set in the tie break Gasquet lost his concentration completely because Murray raised the level of his game.  He won next two set by double break and hold his serve more efficiently than the first set.  He again showed why he is an elite player. 

In the other semi final David Ferrer beat Tommy Haas.  In this match Ferrer also came from a set down as Murray did.  He beat Tommy Haas by 4-6 6-2 6-3.  David Ferrer fired 7 aces despite of his small height.  He is not a big server but he showed that he is capable of some huge serves.  Although his first serve %age was not so good.  He make good use of important points of the match and sealed the victory in two hours and two minutes.  After this victory Ferrer is now 3-0 head to head against Tommy Haas.  Haas had a good chance to make it 2-1 but he could not jump upon the opportunities despite winning first set.  But overall he displayed a good tennis in the tournament.

Andy Murray leads head to head series by minor 6-5.  They are 1-1 in their last two meetings.  In which Ferrer downed Murray at 2012 French open and Murray beat Ferrer at Wimbledon quarterfinals.  Both of these meetings were on non hard surfaces.  Andy Murray leads 2-0 in their last two hard court meetings.  In Shanghai 2011 and at Australian open 2011 semi finals.  In this way we can say that Murray will prevail but anything can happen in tennis match because both opponents have to start form 0.

Djokovic, Murray And Ferrer Face Tougher Test At Miami 4th Round

The world no 1 Navak Djokovic, no 2 seed Andy Murray and no 3 seed David Ferrer will be in action on tuesday at Sony Ericson Open 4th round.  This time they have to face the tests which are tougher to some extent as compared to the previous rounds.
First of all David Ferrer will take court against Asian no 1 Kei Nishikori.  David Ferrer and Nishikori are tied at 2-2 head to head at atp world tour.  Both met two times in grand slams, their first meeting was at Australian open where Ferrer prevailed, the other meeting was at US open where Nishikori won in epic five setter.  The other two meeting were at London Olympics where Nishikori won and other meeting was at Tokyo where Ferrer won.  So overall both of these guys have pretty much even record.  So no solid prediction can be given about this match.  I think no one will take risk to bet against Nishikori because he has ability to come on the top at any stage.

After that Murray will be in action against Italian Andreas Seppi.  Andy Murray leads head to head against Seppi by 4-1.  His only defeat by the hands of seppi was in 2006 Notingham open in three sets.  After that all the meetings were one sided in which Murray won in straight sets.  Their latest meeting was at Rome in 2010 where Murray won by 6-2 6-4.  In this match Murray have to avoid those mistakes that he committed in previous match because Seppi is the man who always jumps upon the opportunities.  If he gives any chance to Seppi as he gave to Dimitrov then he has to pay the price.
In the night session Djokovic will lead the show, when he will take on against Tommy Haas.  Tommy Haas got the Atp award of most improved player last year.  In his compaign last he was the only man in 2012 who beat Federer on grass court at Gerry Weber open.  Djokovic leads head to head against Haas by 6-2.  Tommy Haas beat Djokovic twice in 2009 Wimbledon and at 2009 Gerry weber open.  Both events were on grass, and at that time Djokovic was not the same man as he is now.  All meetings on other surfaces were won by Djokovic.  Their most recent meeting is in 2013 Hopesman cup in which Djokovic thrashed Haas by 6-2 6-0.  In today's match same thing is expected but in tennis any thing can happen because both players have to start from 0.

The other matches of the day include Gasquet vs Almagro, Tsonga vs Cilic and Berdych vs Querry.

Murray And Berdych Advance In Miame 4th Round

The world no 3 and no 2 seed at this tournament beat Dimitrov by 7-6(7-3) 6-3.   In the opening set Murray was looking a bit off colour, beacause he handed Dimitrov a break of serve.  Dimitrov played a good tennis until he was leading by 5-3 and serving for the first set.  But he lost his concentration, and lost his serve due to 3 double faults.  He has a history against top players, that when he face most important moments of the match always felt so much pressure that is harmful for him.  Same thing was happened to him when he was playing against Djokovic.  So he has to improve that area of his game.  After breaking back Murray came back into the game and took first set tie break by 7-3.  In the second set Murray was not looking like that who was in the first set.  He took second set without facing any scare by 6-3.  Murray committed 22 unforced errors as compared to Dimitrov's 38.  The match continued 1 hour and 54 minutes and it has seen many ups and downs.  Anyhow Murray passed this test and he will now face Italian Andreas Seppi who beat Thomas Belluci i 3rd round by 7-5 4-6 6-2.

In the bottom half of the draw the no 4 seed Berdych again survived a huge scare of A Falla.  He had to save two match points to reach in the fourth round.  He beat Falla by 2-6 7-6(8-6) 6-4.  In the first set there was Falla everywhere in the court.  He showed an epic display and took that set comprehensively by 2-6.  In the second set Berdych improved his service game a little bit and managed to hold all the serves.  And that set went into the tie break.  In this Berdych had to face two match points but he saved those and proved that he is an elite class player and can handle toughest situations like this.  He took that tie break by 8-6.  In the third set Berdych mend his game well and served good.  He need only one break of serve to close out the match in deciding set by 6-4.

In other matches,  Tsonga beat Neimen by 6-3 6-3.  He will face Marin Cilic who beat Isner by 6-3 7-6(7-3) in the 4th round.  Another French man 8th seed Richard Gasquet beat Mikhail Youzhny by 6-3 6-4 in the 3rd round.  Now he will face Nicolas Almagro who beat Goffin by 6-3 6-4 in fourth round.
The most interesting thing is that thirteen of top sixteen seed will compete in 4th round of Sony Ericson Open. Lets see what will happen at this stage. 

Djokovic And Ferrer In Action On Sunday At Miami

World no 1 Novak Djokovic is back in action after breezing through second round against Lukas Rosol.  Where he got victory just losing only one game.  Now he will play against Samdev Devarman.  This is their first meeting of the career.  Samdev Devarman reached in 3rd round by beating Roger Vassiline when he was a set down.  He got victory by 4-6 6-4 7-5.  Samdev is an Indian but he is resident in America.  His highest ranking was no 62 in 2010.  Djokovic never lose in third round of Miami masters.  Also he is riding on 13 match winning streak at this tournament.  And tennis world is expecting that he will extend this streak in this match.  Samdev best record here was in 2010 when he reached in 4th round but was lost by Nadal.  Now he has to face another gruelling test against the man to beat since last two years.

David Ferrer is most advantageous man so far in the tournament due to two reasons.  No 1 is that he reached in this round without lifting a racket.  The no 2 reason is that his draw is open now because of del Potro's exit in the 2nd round.  Now his way to the semi final is looking very clear.  His 3rd round opponent is Fobio Fognini.  Ferrer is leading head to head by 5-0 against him.  And the same result is expected in this match.  Ferrer is more fresh because of last round walk over.  Fognini has 18-31 record in tournaments of masters 1000 level.  Ferrer is little beast of tennis, he is little tennis machine.  He work very hard for each point.  He wins the match by exhausting the other player.  The main issue for Fognini to beat Ferrer is to maintain the stamina from start to the end of the match.  Otherwise Ferrer will cruise.

Murray Passes Tomic Test Comprehensively

2012 Sony Ericson Open runner Andy Murray made a pefect start in the 2nd round of Miami masters and beat australian young man Bernard Tomic.  He beat Tomic by 6-3 6-1.  In this match Murray fired 8 aces and his first serve percetage was 70%.  And he won 80% of the points when first serve made its mark.  He also won 60% of the second serve points also.  He faced 3 break points in the whole match and he saved all  those break points.  His return game was also impressive.  He produced 5 break points and converted  4 of them.  These were some statistics of Murray which showed that he is playing at a high level.

Tomic's bad defeat was due his first serve percetage that was only 58% and he could not make use of break point oppotunities.  He has to work hard to compete with elite class players.  He has potential to do so, and he beat Djokovic at Hopeman cup also.  But the level he is playing is not enough to compete with top players.  Andy Murray's next opponent will be Dimitrov.

In another match, the no 4 seed Tomas Berdych was looking off colour is in his first match at Miami.  He beat Gimeno-Traver 5-7 7-6(3) 6-2, when he was a set down.  Gimeno Traver stepped into the court as a most ambitious person, who want to made a second upset of the tournament.  He did so in the first set and after hard fighting, he came on the top and won it by 7-5.  In the second set Berdych was more concentrated than before but Traver's mission was strong.  The whole set was pretty much tight.  And a tie break was needed to decide this set.  Berdych took that tie break by 7-3, and took that set by 7-6.  After losing second set tie break Traver was looking exhausted and it was the begining of end of Trave.  Berdych broke Gimeno Traver's twice in successive games and closed the deciding set by 6-2.  That was a big scare but at last Berdych handled it well.  Next Berdych will face Falla who beat Verdasco by 6-3 7-6.

Djokovi Breezes Del Potro Stunned At Miami Masters

The world no 1 Novak Djokovic again showed that why he is number one player of the world.  He defeated Lukas Rosol by losing just one game by 6-1 6-0.  Djokovic dominated the match from the start to end, and gave no chance to Rosol to even get his rythm.  In the first set Djokovic got early break and immediately got 3-0 lead.  After that Rosol managed to hold serve with big serving, this was the only game he was able to win against king of hard courts.  Djokovic again broke Rosol and closed the set by 6-1.  In the second set,  there was Djokovic all around, he broke Rosol serve in the first game of second set.  This break depressed the Rosol hopes in the match.  And he could not win a single game in this set.  Djokovic won this set by love.
In this match Djokovic hit 21 winners and fired 4 aces.  That was truely a champion's performance.
In the other match on day session.  Del Potro was stunned by Kamke in a rain inturrupted match.  This was a huge upset of the tournament.  After becoming runner up at Indian Wells he was favourite to win this tournament.  But in the game of tennis anything can happen.  And just the same thing was happened in this match.  In the first set Del Potro showed good game and with a break of serve he lead the set by 5-3.  But he lost his concentration when he was serving for the set.  So that set went into the tie break.  In which he was still leading a mini break of serve.  But he could not close out set in his favour.  And Kamke won that set by 7-6(7-5).  This was the beginning of end of del Potro.  He struggled a lot in the second set.  Kamke broke Del Potro twice and closed the match by 7-6 6-1.  In the match del Potro only managed to convert 1 out of 6 break points and he could save just two out of  5 break points that he faced.  That was key to success for Kamke.  This was Kamke's only second victory at Masters 1000 level tornament.  So that was shocking for tennis world.
In the top half of the draw the no 3 seed David Ferrer got a lucky walkover.  Dimitrove pulled out of the match due to some stomach problems.  So Ferrer advanced in 3rd round without lifting a racket.  His next opponent will be Fobio Fognini who beat Llodra by 6-3 6-1.  

Djokovic And Del Potro Will Take Court At Miami

On Friday 22 march 2013, the top players in the top half of the draw will be in action in Miami.  At first David Ferrer will get in action against qualifier Dmitry Tursunov.  This is their first meeting in the career.  David Ferrer has most wins in 2013 season so far.  He has a 21-4 record in 2013 season.  He is one of most busiest athelete on tour.  He has won 2 titles this season.  He was semi finalist here in 2005 and 2006.  Unfortunately he has to suffer a defeat by the hands of Kevin Anderson in 2nd round of Indian wells masters last week.  But his overall record is good in this season.  His opponent is not a stranger in Miami.  He has reached to 4th round of this tournament in 2006 and 2008.  So he is familiar to these courts.  Therefore he will not so easy to handle by Ferrer, who in shock of last week defeat.
Secondly, Juan Martin Del Potro will take court against Kamke.  Del Potro is playing good tennis this season so far.  He has won a title and has 16-4 record so far.  At this tournament he 13-5 record.  He was semi finalist here in 2009, where he lost to Andy Murray that time.  Del Potro undoubtedly played a high level tennis last week.  If he plays at the same level, he will surely cruise into the next round without any trouble.  Because Kamke has qualified for this tournament.  And he has 1-5 record in the tournaments of Masters 1000 level.  Therefore it is difficult to believe that he can create problems for del Potro.
In the night world no 1 Novak Djokovic will play against Lukas Rosol.  Novak Djokovic is bidding for his third straight title here.  He has won this title three times in his career and won two title in 2011 and 2012 in a row.  He was defeated by del Potro at Indian Wells.  He is 24-4 at this tournament.  Lukas Rosol is not stranger to the tennis world.  He reached in the 2nd round by beating Muller by 7-5 6-4.  In this match he served 14 aces and saved 7 break points that he faced.  This is their first meeting on tour.  Lukas made the headline by beating Rafael Nadal in five sets in 2nd round of Wimbledon 2012, which shows that he is tricky player and he can create difficulties for Djokovic.

Del Potro Is Favourite To Win At Miami Masters

After showing a stunning performance in Bnp Paribas Open 2013, Juan Martin Del Potro the Argentinian veteran is ready to take court at Miami Masters.  In the absence of Federer and Nadal in the draw, del Potro has huge chance to come as winner of the tournament for the first time in his career.  del Potro is in a very good form from the start of 2013.  He won Rotterdam ( Atp 500).  He was semifinalist at Dubai open, where he lost to Djokovic.  In the Indian wells he beat both Murray and Djokovic consecutively to reach in the final.
Juan Martin Del Potro has ability to win bigger tournaments.  And he knows how to beat top players at any stage.  He defeated Federer twice in last two meetings at Basel and London.  He also proved again and again that he will become top players at least in big.  He stunned the tennis world in 2009 US open, when no one could even imagine of winning a grand slam tournament except Federer and Nadal.  He defeated both of those guys in a row and claimed the title.  This time he is the only man on tour except big four( Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Murray) who has grand slam title in his record books.  Unfortunately he has to face a wrist injury, which kept him away from court for a long period.  Altthough he came back but he was not the same del Potro.
He worked hard again and again to reach that level and despite suffering defeats against top players he did not lose heart and countinue his struggle.  This is the time where his game is looking to click, and he proved it at Indian wells masters.  Another thing from which del Potro can gain courage is that Federer fans like del Potro more than any athlete.  If  Federer does not play a tournament, fans support del Potro.  Del potro has huge serve, forehand and great height.  He will be the biggest problem for guys in the draw.  He will be probably winner at this tournament.

Miami Masters 2013 "The Draw"

The Indian Wells masters is in history books.  Now it is time for Miami Masters.  In this tournament, the big news is that Federer and Nadal is skipping this tournament.  Federer 2013 schedule does not contain this tournament.  Whereas Nadal is acting upon his doctor's advice to rest his knees after skipping this tournament.  Nadal is Champion at Bnp Paribas Open, but his decision is very wise for the future.  Especially for the clay season.  Where he have to defend stack of points.  He is defending champion at Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid and French Open.  So the king of clay will be more fresh at his beloved clay in the month of April.  And surely will the man to beat in 2013 also.

Without Federer and Nadal the draw is comfortable for low ranked players.  And it is chance for them to increase their ranking points by going deep into the tournament.  Lets take a brief look at second Atp Masters 1000 event of 2013.

Novak Djokovic Quarter:

Novak Djokovic is defending champion at this tournament.  He is bidding for his fourth Miami Masters title.  He ousted in semis of indian wells by Del Potro.  This time he has to face some tricky opponents in early rounds.  In the second round his possible opponents may be Muller or Lukas Rosol.  In the third round he may face Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez.  In the fourth round, he can face either Tommy Hass or Alexander Dolgopolive.  Who are very tricky opponents.  In the quarters he can face Janko Tipserevic who is out of form these days.  Overall Djokovic is seeming to stroll into the semis.

Prediction: Djokovic bt Tipserevic

David Ferrer Quarter:

David Ferrer is seeded no 3 at this tournament.  He is looking to come back strong again after disappointing loss in 2nd round of Indian Wells by the hands of Kevin Anderson.  Now he has to face a qualifier in the 2nd round.  In the third round his possible oppenent will be Fobio Fognini.  In the 4th round he can face Asian no 1 Japanese Kie Nishikori.  Who has ability to defeat higher ranked players.  In the quarters he has to face a huge test Juan Martin Del Potro who is in form and runner up at Indian Wells last week.  

Prediction: Del Potro bt Ferrer

Tomas Berdych Quarter:

Tomas Berdych is seeded no 4 this year.  He has to face a very tough route to go deep into the draw.  In the 2nd round he can face Denis Istomin.  In the 3rd round he can face Fernando Verdesco.  In the fourth round he can face big serving Milos Raonic or Sam Querry.  In the quarters he could face French guy Richard Gasquet.  Tomas Berdych was finalist here in 2010 to Andy Roddick.  He can go deep into the draw and looking to reach in the semis.

Prediction: Berdych bt Gasquet

Andy Murray Quarter:

Andy Murray is seeded no 2 this year.  He is champion here in 2009 by beating Djokovic and was runner up to Djokovic last year.  He has to face a tough test of Australina youngstar Bernard Tomic who beat Djokovic ealier this year in 2nd round.  After passing this test he could face Dimitrov.  In the 4th round his possible opponent can be Jerzy Janowicz or Andreas Seppi.  In the quarters he is lined up with Jo Wilfried Tsonga.  Tsonga is looking off colour these days but the French man can acquire a high level at any time.
Prediction: Murray bt Tsonga
Semi Finals Predictions:
i) Djokovic bt Del Potro
ii) Murray bt Berdych
Final Prediction:
Djokovic bt Murray    

Nadal Won Indian Wells But Del Potro Is Hero Of Tournament

Rafael Nadal make a strong comeback as it was expected.  He remained away from tennis courts for ten months, he is well rested and well prepared now.  He always makes a strong comeback when he returns to court after long time.  He did that once when he lost at French Open semi final to Robin Soderling, he skipped that year's Wimbledon and some other tournament.  But he made a strong comeback and won three grand slam titles in 2013.  He is looking as fit as once he was.  He can now come to the top of the ranking again.
In the Indian Wells masters he defeated Del Potro despite losing the first set by 4-6.  But after that he made a great fight back and won the other two sets by 6-4 6-4.  He proved again that he a greatest fighter in the game of tennis.  Del Potro gave every thing that he has to win this tournament for the first time in his career, but Nadal was so much commited this time.  He played a great game especially at important points.  He won two and half hours battle in three tight sets.  Del Potro was in such a good position to win the tournament but Nadal broke the Del Potro dreams of winning first ever indian wells title.  He won this title for the third time in his career.  The most positive thing for Nadal is that he won his first ever hard court title after winning 2010 US open title.  And he has completed his 600th win.  He now become the only man with Federer to win 600 or more matches on tour.
As far as Del Potro's performance is concerned, he showed that he has a champion in himself.  He defeated Andy Murray in quarters and Djokovic in the semis.  And he defeated both of these guys when he was a set down against them.  Murray and Djokovic plays at such a high level that it is difficult to imagine that if they are leading a set, they will lose.  But Del Potro proved that he can do it.  Unfortunately in the final he took a set from Nadal but Nadal was the man on a mission.  Although Del Potro is runner up, my in my sight he is real hero of the tournament.

Semi Finals Has Been Set At Indian Wells Masters

The Indian Wells Masters is on its peak.  It has seen the exit of  Federer by the hands of Nadal.  In this half there is Tomas Berdych, who beat Kevin Anderson to reach in the semis of Indian wells for the first time in his career.  Now he has to face Rafael Nadal to qualify for the finals.  Rafael Nadal is looking in a very good form after beating Federer comprehensively and looking like a man to beat.  But it would be not an easy task to get rid of Berdych so easily.  Because his performance so far in 2013 is good.  He is only defeated by Djokovic in Australian Open and Dubai.  He defeated Federer in Dubai and reached in the finals.  This shows that he has capacity to beat top players including Nadal.  Though Berdych does not hold a good record against Nadal but anything can happen at this semi finals.
Prediction: Nadal bt Berdych in three tight sets
In the other half of the draw tables have been turned by Del Potro when he beat Murray when he was a set down.  And Djokovic beat Tsonga in straight sets and he is man to beat in 2013.  Djokovic is yet to drop a set at Indian Wells.  As far as Del Potro's victory against Murray is concern, that was a fight back victory.  Therefore, it will be not so easy as it is expected that he will lose against Djokovic as the other opponents did.  Although Djokovic is in his prime and playing at a high level that can not be caught by another player.  But Del Potro has proved time and time again that he has ability to beat top players.  At US open 2009 when no one could think of winning a major by another player other than Federer or Nadal, he defeated both of them in semis and final to take that title.  He has a huge forehand and height.  Therefore,  he will be tough test for king of hard courts.
Prediction: Djokovic bt Del Potro in straight sets.
Final Prediction: Djokovic bt Nadal 

What's Next For Federer In 2013 After Indian Wells loss

Roger Federer after losing to resurgant Rafael Nadal may be in worst season of his career after his prime.  Because he did not make a single final in any tournament and lost in quarters and semis twice.  This shows the huge decline in his performance.  His 2013 schedule is consisted of lesser number of tournaments as compared to previous seasons.  So his no 2 ranking is under a huge threat right now.  He was defending champion at Indian Wells, but he lost in the quarters.  Which means he had lost a stack of points.  So Andy Murray has a lot of chances to become no 2 player in the world.  In the next week rankings Federer may remain at no 2 because of Andy's early exit by the hands of in form Del Potro, who defeated him, when he was a set down by 7-6 6-3 6-1, exceptoional performance that was.  But the ranking of Federer will not remain intact for longer period, it will change hands in a week or two.
Coming back to Roger's 2013 season.  According to Federer's 2013 schedule, he is not playing in Miami.  So Federer's next tournament is Madrid on clay.  In this way, he has approximately two months of rest.  He should take rest and focus on his back, which can create huge problems for his future.  Federer has to learn from his mistakes, that he made in previous tornaments.  The gone time will never come back, but the coming time can be caught with a good prepration( Federer always did so).  I think he will do it again when he will come back at Madrid on clay as defending champion.  Anyhow he is true champion and history is huge evidence of this, his records book is huge evidence of this.
After clay season he has scheduled to play Gerry Weber Open(250 event).  Where he was runner up to Tommy Hass last year, it is hoped that he will win it this year.  After that he has a best shot to win a record extending an 18th grand slam and a record making 8th Wimbledon Tiltle.  The main thing Federer should do is rest, rest and rest.  Because his career is based on his health.  In this age, to play at a very high level, he should keep himself as fit as possible.  In coming 2013 tournaments,  Federer will lose his no 2 ranking.  And i don't think he will go deep in French Open.  But he will have best chance at Wimbledon 2013 at his beloved grass.

Ailing Federer Crushed By Nadal In Indian Wells

The world no 2 Roger Federer is ousted by his long time rival Rafael Nadal.  Nadal defeated Federer by 6-4 6-2.  This was their 29th meeting.  And with this win Nadal is now leading head to head against Federer by 19-10.  This is for the first time since 2003 that Federer ousted from this tournament before semis.  And again it was done by the hands of Nadal.  Nadal always remained issue for Federer.
In this match the start was with the serve.  Federer serve was a bit shaky but he managed to hold serve and first set goes to 3-3.  After that Nadal broke Federer serve to lead 4-3, and consolidated the break and lead the set by 5-3.  Nadal serve was excellent and he lost only fraction of points on serve and continue teasing Federer on his serve.  Nadal had two set points when Federer was serving to stay in the set.  But Federer saved those break points and forced Nadal to serve it out.  Nadal instantly reaches at 40-15 and got two set points.  By luck Federer saved one of them, when ball hit at the net and dropped in Nadal's side.  That was a champion's luck.  But luck always not helps the man in tennis and Nadal got the set by 6-4.
In the second set Federer was looking completely exhausted.  And he was at the mercy of Nadal.  Nadal broke Federer serve twice and countinued his outstanding serve and took that set by 6-2.  In the whole match Nadal key to success was obviously Federer's weak backhand.  Federer could not hit winners from this wing, but he commited a lot of unforced errors.  Nadal took a lot of advantage of this wing, and hit all of his serves to Federer's backhand.  And perhaps he did not face any break point.  In the rallies Nadal again and again attacked Federer's backhand.  

Roger Federer And Rafael Nadal Are One Step Away From Clash

Roger Federer the no 2 seed and Rafael Nadal the no 5 seed will play their fourth round match today.  If both players win their matches, they will meet in epic encounter of the quarters.  To do this they have to face not very tough( but also not so easy) tests.
Roger Federer will face his countryman and his doubles partener, Stanilas Wawrinka.  They head to head record is purely in favour of Federer.  Federer leads the head to head series against Wawrinka by 11-1.  The only defeat that Federer has to suffer against him was on clay courts.  Wawrinka never defeated Federer on hard courts.  And tennis fans are expecting the same thing from this match.  Tennis fans especially
Federer's fans are expecting that Federer will move into the quarters without any trouble, as he won in previous rounds.  So far Federer's performance is master class, he gave no chance to his opponent to catch him in the match.  I don't think same will happen against Wawrinka, because he is a very tricky player especially when he is in form.  He pushed the Djokovic to limits at this year's Australian Open.  In that match
he played a high level tennis especially with his backhand and pushed Djokovic to five epic sets.  Therefore it
is pre mature to say that Federer will easily win this match.  However if Federer maintain his performance as he showed in previous rounds, then it would be difficult for Wawrinka to even tease Federer.  Any how the time will tell.
Rafael Nadal has to face Gulbis against him he never lost on tour.  He has 4-0 head to head against him.  And it is expected that same this will happen.  Because it is very tough for Gulbis to catch the player of such a caliber (and well rested after third round bye) like Nadal. Gulbis can have a chance against Nadal if he attack on Nadal's weak serve and focus on his own serve.  Nadal is one of the best returners in the game of tennis.  If Nadal breaks the Gulbis serve he should not lose heart and try to take chances and get the break back.  The only thing that can take Gulbis close to the victory is the make full use of chances in the match.  Otherwise Nadal will move into quarters without any serious trouble.
The bottom line is nothing can stop the elite players to meet for 29th time in the career but they themselves.

Federer Breezes And Nadal Advance In Last 16 Without Lifting Racket

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are one step away from meeting in quarters of indian well masters.  Rafael Nadal moved into the last 16 due to Mayer's withdrawl.  Nadal was ready for the competition and he practiced a lot for this match.  But at eleventhe hour it was announce that Mayer is withdrawing.  Nadal was not happy with this development.  But he was very sorry for all tennis fans who were waiting for this match.  Anyhow he is now in 4th round.  He has gained a huge advantage that he would be much fresher in the coming rounds.  In the next round he will face, Gulbis who defeated Seppi by 5-7 6-3 6-4.
Roger Federer cruises into the 4th round, after comprehensive victory against croatian Ivan Dodig.  He got this victory by 6-3 6-1.  In the first set federer needed only one break to seal the set by 6-3.  In the second set there was all over Federer, he broke the Doding serve twice and won that set also by 6-1.  In the 4th round, he will face Stanilas Wawrinka again whome he has a good record.  He never lost to wawrinka on hard courts.  He suffer only defeat in the hands of Wawrinka was on clay.

Djokovic And Murray Survive Their First Tests

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray advance into the 3rd round of Indian Wells.  But that was not so easy as it was expected by tennis fans.  Andy Murray beat Donskoy by one set down 5-7 6-2 6-2.  Andy Murray's performance was not very impressive.  He landed only 54% of his first serves.  Due to which he had to rely upon his second serves.  That was the reason that he had to face 10 break points in the match, out of which he saved 7 break points.  But still his serve was broken thrice by Donskoy.  His return game was also not very impressive accourding to his caliber.  He produced 16 break points and counverted 6 of them.  After stumbling in the first set, Murray came back strong and closed the other two sets comprehensively as shown by scoreboard.  With this victory, there is a good news for Murray that he has won his first match at this tournament since 2010.  Also it is good news for Donskoy that despite his defeat he proved that he can be the future champion, and his future is bright.
Novak Djokovic survived the scare of Fobio Fognini by 6-0 5-7 6-2.  This match was a strange one.  Because in the first set there was all over Djokovic.  He won that the first set by 6-0.  In the second set the Italian veteran come back surprisingly and focused on his serve,  and he made full use his break point opportunity and sealed the set by 7-5.  In the third set Djokovic again come back strong, and won that set comprehensively by 6-2.  Although Djokovic has advanced in the next round but dropping of the set against a low ranked player is not a good thing for man of such a caliber like Djokovic.  Especially after winning first by love, how Fognini came back and tied the match.  Djokovic has to think in this regard.

Djokovic And Murray Will Take Their Court At Indian Wells Today

The world no 1 Novak Djokovic and word no 3 Andy Murray will face their 2nd round oppenents after 1st round bye today.  Andy Murray will take the court at first in stadium 1.  He will face Russian veteran Evgeny Donskoy.  These two will face each other first time on tour.  Donskoy reached in the second round by beating Ito Tatsuma by 6-2 6-1, which shows he is in form and can create problems for Murray.  Andy Murray did not win a match at Indian Wells since 2010.  Therefore, his moral will not be at its peak.  This is the main thing of which Donskoy can take the advantage.  If Donskoy succeed to catch Murray's nerves a little bit, then there will be a big chance for him to draw a huge upset.  But if Murray took control of the match at first, then it would be impossible for Donskoy to come back in the match.  Althoug we can expect that Murray will breeze into the next round .  But if we take last two year's performance of Murray into consideration, then we can  also say that anything can happen. 
As far as Djokovic's first match is concerned he has to face Italian Fobio Fognini against whome he is leading head to head by 3-0.  Which shows that Djokovic would have a huge mental edge against Fognini..  Moreover, Djokovic is the man to beat in 2013.  He is going to repeat his 2011 season, which was epic.  In that season he won Oz, Dubai, Indian Well, Miami, Madrid, Rome, Wimbledon and Rogers cup.  In 2013 he has already won Oz and Dubai, and looking like a man who is unbeaten.  I think it would be litterly impossible for Fognini to win this match.  But he can create some problems for top seed by focusing on his serve and take a set or two in tie breaks.  There will be little chance that he can take set in tie break.  Otherwise, in front a player of such a caliber, Fognini's all efforts will be in vain.    Fognini reached in 2nd round by beating Aljaz 6-4 6-3

Federer And Nadal Advance At Indian Wells

Roger Federer showed a master class performance in his first match at Indian Wells master.  He showed that he is the man to beat at this tournament.  He defeated Istomin by 6-2 6-3.  He started very strongly as it was expected and broke Istomin serve in the very first game of the match.  After that his serve was very impressive, He landed 72% of his first serves in, and lost only one point on his first serve.  And lost only three points on his second serve.  His forehand was impressive, he fired a lot of winner from his forehand down the line.  He commited only 9 unforced errors.  His return game was also impressive, he converted 4 out of  7 break points and gave no chance to Istomin to come back in the match.  In the second set when Istomin was serving to stay in the match, Federer broke his serve by a bellistring volley and get the victory.    This comprehensive victory shows that he is very much determined to show the tennis world that he has so much gas left in the tank that he can win any tournament at any stage.  Although his path towards the victory is not easy, because he may have to face Nadal in the quarterfinals.  But if he countinue his such a high level performance, then he will surely win this tournment.  In the third round he will face Dodig, which was not expected because won against Bennetau by 6-4 6-2.
Rafael Nadal made first hard court victory of the season against home favourite Ryan Harrison.  He defeated him by 7-6 6-2.  In the first set Nadal could not show his master class performance, yet he took the tie break break to win the first set.  In this set both players exchange breaks of serve.  Rafael Nadal landed 71% of first serves in with just one ace.  He saved 4 out of 5 break points which was the key.  And converted 3 out 7 break point opportunities.  In the second set he took countrol of the match and broken Harrison serve twice to seal his first victory on hard courts since last year's Miami withdrawl.  

Federer And Nadal Will Face Their First Tests

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will face their 2nd round opponents today.  Where Federer will face Denis Istomin, and he is leading head to head by 3-0 against him.  For Istomin it is looking impossible to defeat Federer and do huge early upset of the tournament.  Federer never lost before semi finals since 2003 at this tournament.  And he has an impressive record against low ranked players.  So it is expected that he will make short work of Istomin.  But taking his performance into consideration, Istomin may take advantage and provide him a tough challenge.  However he can not defeat him at such a stage.
Rafael Nadal's first opponent is home favourite Ryan Harrison.  It is their first meeting in the career.  For Ryan Harrison, the only hope is that, Rafael has not been playing on hard courts since last year's Miami.  And he can take full advantage of that defeciency of Rafael Nadal.  Recently Nadal has won two tournaments but these were on clay.  He is two time former champion of this tournament and very much optimistic about his return on hard courts.  He may struggle a little bit against American hope, but he can handle Ryan Harrison very well.  And he will win this match in straight sets comprehensively.  Ryan Harrison will create excitement but that will be of no use against the man of such a caliber like Nadal.

5 Thing Federer Must Do To Win At Indian Wells

Roger Federer reached at Indian Wells masters 2013 at defending champion.  His 2013 compaign is disappointing so far for his fans.  Because he could not defend his titles at Dubai and Rotterdam, and he had to suffer an early exit in both of these tournaments.  At indian Wells his road towards the victory is not easy, but there are a lot of abstacles in his way.  The biggest obstacles in his way, is quarterfinal clash with Rafeal Nadal.  If Federer wins this title he will become third man in his of tennis(open era) who has won 77 titles tie with American legend John Macnoroe, behind Ivan lendl and Jimmy Connors.  Despite his performance in 2013, he still has potential to win at any stage.  At indian wells he has to do following 5 things to win this title.
1) Increase His First Serve Percentage.
There is no doubt that  Federer has one of greatest serves in the history of the game, but with increase in age there comes a little deficiency in this regard.  Despite this deficiency, his is still the man whose serve has been broken least number of times and most successful 2nd serve on tour.  For Federer the key to success is his first serve.  The more his first serve percentage, the more will be his chances to win the match easily.  If his first serve percentage is decreased then he has to rely on his second serve, which will be more risky.  Because at second serve he can not get cheap points, but has to struggle for each point which is not suitable for aging Federer.
2) Use His Forehand More Frequently.
Federer's forehand is perhaps greatest in the history.  His forehand is still so much powerful and lethal that it can change the whole match.  In the rallies he has to use his forehand more frequently than his backhand.  Because he commits more unforced errors with his backhand than his forehand.  As well as his 90 percent winners are of his forehand.  Thererfore, if he uses his forehand as much as possible, he will be able to win long rallies,. and important points of the match, which is always the key of a match.
3) Use Slice Backhand.
Another key to success for Federer is the use of slice backhand more frequently than the topspin backhand. Federer backhand is considered as his weak wing.  His backhand is not the so storng as once it was.  And his top rivals always point to his backhand in long rallies to draw unforced errors.  To avoid these unforced errors, Federer has to use his slice backhand, because when he uses slice backhand he place the balls gently into the court, due to which the probability of unforced errors is decreased efficiently.
4) Make Full Use Of Break Point Opportunities.
Federer return game is not so much efficient as his top rivals like Djokovic, Murray or Nadal.  But he is still best returner in the game of tennis.  He can neutralize huge serves and put them back in the court.  He can produce a lot of break points in a match.  But the main issue is to convert these break points.  At Dubai open
he has plenty of break points against Berdych at 5-5 to serve for the match, but he could not convert a single one.  And later he lost that match.  At Indian Wells, he has to make use of these opportunities to make his success easy.  Otherwise, even a low ranked player can be dangerous for him.
5) Make Short Work Of Early Rounds Opponents.
Federer has to win early round matches as quickly as possible to compete against difficult oppenent in later rounds.  If he wins all early round matches comprehensively in straight sets, then he will have so much gas in the tank to beat his top rivals.  But in case of  long matches, he can not compete so much effectively as he has to.

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Indian Wells Master " The Draw"

First of all there are two things which tennis fans are looking for are the return of Nadal in action on hard courts and the number two ranking of Federer is on the line at this tournament.  Because, if Andy Murray wins the tournament, he will become no 2 player in the world.  It can also happen if Andy Murray reaches in the final and Federer loses in the semis.  Therefore it would be very interesting.  Now take a brief look on Indian well draw.
Novak Djokovic Half:
Djokovic's may have to face Jo Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals, which would be an interesting match up, because Last year at French open Tsonga could not win even having match points against Djokovic.  If we follow the seedings, there is no real obstacle for no 1 seed. In the semi final he could face his rival Andy Murray who is fallen in his half this time, therefore it can be epic, if they happen to meet in semis.  But if we see history, Andy Murray has not won a single match here since 2010.  Therefore, he did not play in whole of February, to keep his focus on this tournament.  In the way Murray has to face tough test of Juan Martin Del potro. Djokovic is riding 18 match winning streak since his loss at paris masters.  After that he won year ending championship, Australian Open and recently the Dubai open.  So if somehow Andy Murray reaches in the semis, it would be very tough for him to beat Djokovic.
Prediction: Djokovic d Andy Murray
Roger Federer's Half:
Roger Federer has to face the old foes in his draw.  He has to face the ghost of the past.  He can face Julien Bennetau to whome he lost in Rotterdam this year.  He can also face Wawrinka or John Isner in the forth round.  The most interesting early rounds encounter will the Match between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.  Because he has fallen in his Quarter.  It will happen for the first time since 10 year that both will meet before semis in a tournament.  Nadal is back on hard court since last year's Miame masters.  So his early round matches could be very interesting.  In his way he can face American Ryan harrison, Janko Tipserivic.  All are out of form this time, which will be advantageous for Nadal.  Also in this half are David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych.  Who will likely to meet in the quarter finals.  It will be great chance for both of these guys to reach in semis of this tournament for the first time in their carrers.
Prediction: Federer d Tomas Berdych
The Final Prediction;
Federer d Djokovic

Federer Will Come Back Strong At Indian Wells

Federer's 2013 start was not so appreciable for his fans.  But there is a lot of tennis to come in 2013 season.  Although Federer did not performed well so far, but his is still no 2 player in the world and has ability to come to the top.  Therefore it will not easy to count him out in any tournament.
The next tournament will be Indian Wells Masters event starting from the 7th of March.  Federer is defending champion here.  He defeated Nadal in Semis and John Isner in the final last to claim his 4th Indian Wells title.
Now he is bidding to win his 5th title here.  Despite his disappointing performance at Rotterdam and Dubai, he will come back stroger and will go deep into the draw.  In the draw there will be all top players waiting for him.
It is true that Roger Federer is not the same player that once he was, but he has enough gas in the tank that he can beat his top rivals.  His experience is more than any other players on the tour.  He is mastrer class and
he always proved his critics wrong, when they counted him out.  So lets see what will happen at indian wells, but Federer has ability to defend this title.

What's Next For Nadal?

Rafael Nadal back in action of Clay courts about a month ago.  He showed a strength there again.  Although he participated in three Atp events which were not big tournaments but he won two of those three tournaments, which gave him a  lot of confidence.  He won two clay title Brazil open(250 event) and Acaulpo open(500 event).  In the Acaulpo open he defeated the defending champion and clay court specialist David Ferrer by 6-0 6-2, which shows that he is again the man to beat on clay.  So this year's clay courts season again seems to belong the "King of Clay" Rafael Nadal.
Next tournament is first masters 1000 event of 2013 season.  In which there is a doubt either he will participate or not.  The probability is that he will skip this tournament and will keep his focus on clay court events.  His main focus is the coming clay court events i-e Monte Carlo, Madrid, Barcelona, Rome and French Open.  Clay court season is always remain a safe heaven for nadal. Last year he won all clay court events except Madrid which was held on blue clay(if it was held on red Nadal surely won it). He won French open and became the first man in the history of Tennis to win French open seven times. This shows he is unbeatable.
Nadal ranking has been fallen to 5th.  Therefore the draws of coming events will be very interesting because he is not the one of top four. Each top four man would pray to avoid him in the quarters.  So this time Nadal's ultimate focus is the eighth French Open title.

Djokovic Won 4th Dubai Open Title

The world no 1 Novak Djokovic won Dubai Open title for the fourth time in his career.  He defeated Tomas Berdych in the final by 7-6 6-3.  Tomas Berdych reached the final after beating Roger Federer and had very much confidence.  But Djokovic again showed that he is the king of hard courts. He landed 70% of his first serves in and with 8 aces did great job to avoid a tough test of Berdych.  He broken Berdych serve three times in the match and saved 4 out of 5 break points which was key to the victory.
The main difference between a true champion and other tennis players is the absorption of pressure in tense moments. And Novak Djokovic is doing this with very much confindence in himself at this time.  If he continue his performance with the same confidence and he will surely do so.  Then his 2013 will be the same epic as of 2011.
But in the presence of Nadal and Andy Murray in the draw of next tournaments the things become very much tricky.  The next tournament is Indian Wells Masters. Where Federer is defending champion.  I don't think that he will defend his title successfully by looking at his previous performance in 2013. Novak Djokovic will be hot favourite here again . Because Andy Murray is not so much effective on these slow hard courts and Federer is fading.  So his 2013 compaign will not be much different from 2011.But anything can happen.  Lets wait, the time will tell.

Federer Ousted and Djokovic Advances

Roger Federer the second seed suffer a loss to Tomas Berdych for second time.  In the start federer took control of the match and only one break was necessar to close out the first set. He won that set by 6-3.
In the second he stumbled a little bit and lost his serve and set goes to the stage where Tomas Berdych was serving for the set.  But federer showed master class and broken Berdych serve to come back in the set and hold serve to take set at 5-5.
In the next game federer was 15-40 up and had two break point chances to serve for the match but Tomas Berdych put two huge serves to save those Break points and took that game. At last second set went in tie break.
In that tie break at first Berdych took the lead 5-2 but Federer again come back and won five consecutive points to get to the match point and could not convert it.  After that he had two more match points but unfortunately he was not able to convert these points. Berdych won that tie break by 10-8.
That was the turning point of the match.  Berdych took control of the deciding set and broke federer serve once and hold his serve until the end of the match.  After winning Berdych was pretty much excited and Federer had to face another disappointment loss.
On the other hand Djokovic defeated Del Potro by 6-3 7-6. In the first set Djokovic got full advantage of only lose service game by Del Potro. Del Potro had to pay  a heavy price and lost that set.  In the second set both of the guys show strength on serve and whole of the set countinue without break of serve.  In the tie break Djokovic showed that why he was world no 1. And he took that tie break comprehensively and reached into the final of Dubai Open.  

Federer and Djokovic advance In Semis

In the Quarters of the Dubai duty free Tennis Chamapionship.  The top two seeds advance comprehensively into the semi finals.  In the semis they have to face huge obstacles.  Federer has to face Tomas Berdych and Djokovic has to face Rotterdam champion Juan Martin Delpotro.
Both of these are capable of beating these top seeds.  Tomas Berdych defeated Federer in US open semi final very recently in their last meeting.  So he can never be counted out against Federer.  Juan Martin Delpotro is going stronger and stronger as the passage of time so he will be difficult to handle by Djokovic.
Federer defeated Nickolay Devyndenko by 62 62. And Djokovic defeated Seppi in straight sets by 60 63.  So if both of these guys continue to play at such a high level.  Then they will be difficult to be stopped to meet in the epic final.