Federer, Murray, Roddick and Haas Advanced to the Semis

Roger had very little trouble getting past 6'10" Karlovic

Roger Federer made pretty quick work of Ivo Karlovic in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon making it 21 straight grand slam trips to the semifinals.  In straight sets, Federer broke serve twice on the usually dominant service juggernaut, Karlovic.  Until he met Roger today, Karlovic had a tournament record 157 aces coming into the quarterfinal matchup with the world No.2 player in the world.  Karlovic seemed bothered by the bright sunshine and wore sunglasses through the second set before becoming frustrated with Federer’s flawless play, tossing a sunglasses on the ground after Federer held serve to bring the second set to 5-5.  The set settled at 6-6 and began the first and only tiebreaker of the match.  Karlovic didn’t dominate like many thought he would on his own service game and Federer took advantage of some predictable placement by the Croatian, almost reading his mind and returning tough after tough serve and looking brilliant doing it.  Then, the five-time Wimbledon champion started to get into a groove.  This is the way that Federer likes to play.  He prefers to keep a certain pace and systematically dissect his opponent’s game plan. In a match featuring short points and few rallies, Federer conjured up a few great returns to break the 6-foot-10 Croat twice and secure a 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (3) victory on another sunbaked day at the All England Club.

Haas upsets Novak Djokovic

In other quarterfinal action today, the 24th-seeded Tommy Haas saved three straight set points against Novak Djokovic after going down 6-3 in the second-set tiebreak. He broke in the fourth game of the fourth set and sealed the win when Djokovic netted a forehand return on the first match point.

The result wasn’t a complete surprise: 54 ranked Haas beat the fourth ranked Djokovic in the grass-court final at Halle, Germany, last month.

Haas led Federer two sets to love in the fourth round of the French Open, only to lose in five. He said he hopes to make amends on Friday.

“That would be nice,” he said. “I’ll give it my best shot. There’s not much he [Federer] can’t do. He’s obviously the favorite to win the title. I’m going to go out there and try to annoy him a little bit and see what happens.” Haas is 31 years old and could very well be the comeback player of the year.  Lleyton Hewitt, also a leading candidate for comeback player of the year is a former No.1 player in the world, and has had an extraordinary year. Haas and Hewitt are both playing great tennis.  Tommy still has a chance to make a huge splash in history if he’s able to beat Roger Federer and go on to play the semi final winner in the upper bracket, the winner in the battle of the Andy’s.  Andy Roddick will square off against the Great Britain hope, Andy Murray of Scotland.  Should be a fascinating match and will surely have a lively crowd cheering Murray hopefully on to a Wimbledon final against either Federer or Tommy Hass.

Murray keeps Great Britain hoping

The third-seeded Murray swept Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 to reach his first Wimbledon semifinal and keep up his bid to become the first British player to win the men’s title since Fred Perry in 1936.

Murray will face the sixth-seeded Roddick, who served 43 aces and outlasted 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-7 (10), 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-4 in the day’s most competitive match. Hewitt battled back from two sets to one down, before Roddick broke for 5-4 in the fifth and then served out the match — which ended after 3 hours, 50 minutes when the Australian popped up a forehand half-volley past the baseline.

“It’s a testament to the type of player he is that he kept going and made it such a fight,” said the 26-year-old Roddick, who lost to Federer in the 2004 and ‘05 Wimbledon finals. “I think there’s a lot of respect there. We used to get into it a little bit when we were younger, but I think we definitely earned each other’s respect. Now we’re just a couple of old married dudes, so maybe we’ve grown up a little bit.”

Hewitt, who had 21 aces himself, said he did all that he could to deal with Roddick’s rocket serves.

“You know you’re going to get aced a lot,” he said. “I knew that going into the match. You’re going to get some break points and you’re going to see them go pretty quickly as well. It was a matter of trying to hang in there as much as possible and make him play that extra shot. I was nearly able to do it.”

Murray broke Ferrero five times, served 18 aces and lost serve only once. Murray had 49 winners, compared to 20 for the Spaniard, a former No. 1 and only the third wild card to reach the Wimbledon quarters.

It was a dominant performance by Murray, the first Brit to reach the semifinals since Tim Henman did it for the fourth time in 2002.

“I feel confident because I’ve won a lot of matches on the grass,” Murray said. “But every day, when I get up to play the matches, I know that I’m going to have to perform very well, and that gets the nerves and the adrenaline going and makes me play better.”

Andy Roddick has hopes of their time charm in Wimby final but Murray stands in the way.

NBC & ESPN Starving Tennis Fans from Wimbledon

Where Is the BBC When We Need Them?  ESPN and NBC Making a Disaster Of Wimbledon Broadcasting.

Well, NBC and ESPN are making it as difficult as possible to watch Wimbledon with any sense of assurance.  Now that we are down to the quarterfinals, DirecTV has been forced to drop their coverage on interactive TV.  For the first four rounds, DirecTV has been covering the grand slam tournaments by providing six channels of tennis coverage, all different matches so that the viewer can choose which matches they would like to watch and those they would rather not.  The unfortunate part is that by contractual regulations, ESPN and NBC have assumed coverage and now the matches can only be seen on those two networks, one match at a time.  Because several matches are being played at the same time, tennis fans are precluded from watching any of the matches but those chosen by NBC and ESPN.  For instance, in the quarterfinals this year, NBC chose to televise the ladies match between Venus Williams and Victoria Azarenka.  While Novak Djokovic and Tommy Haas were playing simultaneously on another court, fans were forced to watch the ladies match or not watch tennis at all.  Also, Roger Federer played Ivo Karlovic today, but it wasn’t covered in its entirety because of the earlier match chosen by the networks to televise the Williams and Azarenka match.  Andy Roddick played Lleyton Hewitt, a match that was also played without live coverage.  Lastly, Andy Murray who played Juan Carlos Ferrero also got spurned in favor of the ladies match this morning.  I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with playing a quarterfinals match for the ladies draw on live TV. I just think it’s lousy that NBC and ESPN gave the viewers no choices on which matches they would like to watch.  ESPN has several channels to choose from.  ESPN 2 and several regional affiliates that can be seen on most cable television packages as well as digital satellite television.  I hope that ESPN and NBC can do something about it in the future if they continue to compete for the contractual rights to the grand slam tennis events each year.  It’s very disappointing to have so many options through DirecTV and some other cable and satellite packages, but when it gets down to the big matches in the quarterfinals, semifinals and such that the viewers have less options than they did when unranked players were fighting just to qualify for the grand slam draws in each of the big tournaments.

On delayed television, the Tennis Channel will televise their daily program called “Wimbledon Primetime” which is a highlight program that chronicles the days matches and shows abbreviated versions of the days matchups, usually omitting the first two sets.  Real tennis fans don’t want “Fast Food Tennis”.  What they want is the “Full Meal Deal”. This is indicative of the hundreds of Internet blogs discussing how sad it is that tennis isn’t telecast more regularly and live matches, not the continuous replays of the vintage matches from yesteryear and even some highly insignificant exhibition matches including former pros. Yawn!  The tennis Channel has a chronic problem of telecasting old tournaments while live tournaments are going un-televised.  Again this could be lack of funding in order to contract to televise some of the events going on internationally, or it could be a lack of endorsement financial support, but it does seem silly to keep re-televising tournaments that were played two decades ago and have very little historical significance.  I’ve personally watched Jim Courier played Pat Cash in exhibition tennis matches so many times I can’t count them.  I’m not the only one with this problem, either.  Tennis fans all over the planet are complaining on tennis blogs on the Internet and this is becoming an ongoing problem for tennis junkies all over the world; Spain, England, Portugal, Ireland, Scotland, Argentina and of course the United States are all in agreement that tennis just isn’t giving us it’s best and the networks are doing a lousy job of bringing this exciting sport to the fans that keep it alive. Without the international tennis audience, there would be no Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Venus Williams or Maria Sharapova.  The endorsements keep these tennis pros on the circuit and without the consumers of products that are being advertised throughout the matches, professional tennis would cease to exist.  The game of tennis is here forever, but professional tennis of the ATP and WTA would disappear like dust in the wind.

On the positive side of the net, there are some dynamite tennis matches going on right now on the grass courts of London.  Novak Djokovic is going to be tested by a revived and comeback player, German… Tommy Haas.  Another comeback player  is former number one Lleyton Hewitt, of Australia.  Hewitt will take on No.6 player in the world, Andy Roddick.  Roddick feels that the grass at Wimbledon suits his game and so far the critics agree, so do his opponents thus far at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.  Roddick has experience at the Wimbledon finals, playing Roger Federer twice and unfortunately for Roddick, losing to the Swiss phenom both occasions.  However, there’s no substitute for playoff experience and Roddick feels he has more than a good chance to nab a Wimbledon trophy on his third try.  Third time just might be a charm for the Austin, Texan, Andy Roddick.  Andy said he feels more fit than in any of his earlier campaigns and new coach Larry Stefanki has Roddick playing perhaps his best tennis of his career.

Roger Federer takes on the behemoth from Croatia, Ivo Karlovic and his 6′10″ frame.  This will be a test of wills and who can break serve on the other.  Roger Federer is a master volleyer and feels comfortable on all four corners of the court.  Karlovic is limited in his mobility by his huge frame, but make no mistake, this man can do more than just serve ace after ace.  He does have a dominant serve, perhaps more dominant than any player before him, but he can also hit the ball back-and-forth at times. If he ever improves enough to serve and volley, he could become a very dangerous player to some players who don’t match up well against taller players. For if Karlovic can become a serve and volley player, his ability to protect the net is improved by his wingspan.  His arms are longer than his body is tall when he spreads them side to side. Roger Federer catches up pretty darn good against most players.  The only player they can consistently give Roger fits, isn’t in the tournament, I’m sad to say.  Rafael Nadal, when he’s healthy, can beat everyone and that includes the Swiss player with 14 grand slams to his name.  Some players just don’t match up well against others and Nadal is a problem for Federer and his one-handed backhand.  Nadal likes to mix up his game speed and he has an awesome weapon most players just can’t counter.  Nadal is a natural right-hander, that is in everything in his life except for playing the game of tennis.  He has a left handed weapon that utilizes the physicality that Nadal plays with throughout his matches.  Rafa has a wicked two-handed backhand and will also use a hard left-handed slice to the righties backyard.  This typically takes the opponent off the right-hand side of the court, then the Spaniard will counter with a hard inside-out forehand with that incredible topspin that Nadal generates.  This puts a right-handed player in a world of hurt.  His opponent is usually already off the court on the right side after trying to contain one of Nadal’s pounding backhand shots that grabs the surface and takes a hellacious leap sometimes over a player’s head, and if you are like Federer and utilize a one-handed backhand, it’s nearly impossible to hit a backhand shot that is almost over your head.  If, by some miracle, you have the ability to get the ball back over the net, it usually drops short or at least without much velocity and this is where Nadal seeks and destroys.  When the ball is returned short or at least slow, he will come in and with a ferocious topspin inside out forehand, he will blast a shot over the net to the left side of the court… far from where the opponent returned his backhand across the court.  This is how you beat a champion like Roger Federer.  You find a chink in the armor of the great player and exploit a weakness.  Every player has a weakness, but it’s difficult to execute shots that great players find it difficult, or everyone would be doing it and he wouldn’t be a great player anymore. Nadal found one of Roger Federer’s weaknesses.  He as filed others, as well.  But the Spaniard holds his secrets close to his chest and continues to dominate Roger. I had a thought about future matchups, but unfortunately the matches didn’t go the way I thought they would.  My thought was that perhaps Fernando Verdasco had the tools to beat Federer.  He’s left-handed, he uses a left-handed slice to the righties back and and also possesses a respectable forehand topspin.  But alas and unfortunately for him, he was beaten by Ivo Karlovic and his unbreakable service game. Verdasco played Dr. Ivo very close, but once he was broken, the handwriting was on the wall.  This is a man that is very difficult to break serve on.  Once Fernando slipped up, it was over for him.  Now, Federer and Djokovic will face inferior players in Karlovic and Ferrero, respectively.  There are no certainties when you’re playing in the semi finals of a grand slam, but things are looking rather tidy for the world No.2 and No.4 players in the world.  This Wimbledon is not turning out as many prognosticators thought it would, but nonetheless, this will still be the Wimbledon championships and they are always exciting. The semifinal will be unlike any semifinal I’ve ever seen at Wimbledon.  There could be a rerun of Rogers success, there could be a new champion of high rank and there is still room for a giant upset on center court on the last Sunday of the tournament. The biggest news in London would be a fairytale championship for Andy Murray who has been virtually adopted by the people of Britain, even though Andy Murray is a native of Scotland and lives in Spain.  Stranger things have happened, but there are millions of Andy Murray fans in Great Britain and rumor has it, that if Andy Murray advances to the Wimbledon final, there just might be a VIP of great notoriety sitting at center court cheering on the 21-year-old Scot… Queen Elisabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor has cleared her schedule on Sunday and just might be there to cheer on the pride of Great Britain… Andy Murray.  My God… can we all stomach it?

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor

Federer Stays Sharp: Nadal “I’ll be back!”

With Rafael Nadal out of the way for the time being, Roger Federer eyes the number one ranking that Once belonged to him.

Federer desperately wants top-rank back from Rafa

Roger Federer Eliminates Swede In French Open Rematch

Roger Federer came in after the middle Sunday break at Wimbledon and looked every bit as sharp as he usually does on the lawn of the all England club, playing the Swede Robin Soderling.  Soderling has had a certain degree of success over the last couple of weeks, beating Rafael Nadal at the French Open, albeit a tournament in which the king of clay (Nadal) wasn’t healthy.  Soderling took advantage of an injured Nadal, hammering him with hard backhands and putting the clay master in a difficult position to return a backhand to his right side.  Nadal was not himself, but nonetheless, Soderling advanced to the final at Roland Garros, losing to Federer in straight sets.

Good, but good will beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon

Roger Federer, taking Soderling in the first two sets in the fourth round at Wimbledon 6-4 and 7-6 in the second set tiebreaker, looked fresh and had a clean service game, but so did the Swede.  In the third set not much changed, both Robin Soderling and Federer held serve throughout the set and again, played a tiebreaker to determine the outcome of the match and whether or not Soderling could take the Swiss number one to a fourth set. Soderling and Federer battled in the tiebreaker and at 5-5, Soderling choked and served up a double fault putting Federer at 6-5 and match point.  With a second serve, Federer went wide and Soderling (with a passing shot across the court) dropped the ball just millimeters out, handing Roger Federer the victory 6-4 7-6 7-6.  This puts Roger Federer just three matches away from a chance at another title at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, but first he’ll have to beat the hard serving Croatian, 6′10″ Ivo Karlovic.  Karlovic is crushing the Wimbledon record for most aces in the tournaments.  Karlovic is an imposing player standing almost 7 feet tall and appearing to serve down over the net and what may seem even more difficult is that he’s not all that bad of a player during rallies.  He’s not going to get Roger with the serve and volley that you see from some of the tall players, he just doesn’t have that kind of mobility.  But, the Croatian sensation will put pressure on Roger because you just simply can’t lose your serve.  Because, breaking his serve is virtually impossible with the kind of success he has found in a very unpredictable and powerful service game.  If Roger wins this years Wimbledon would be Federer’s 15th major putting him all alone as the record-holder for most grand slam titles in a career.  Another Wimbledon title would also give Roger six Wimbledon trophies in his career. While Nadal is idle, back in his hometown Majorca, Spain resting and rehabing his knees, Federer will likely reclaim his number one ranking back from Nadal. A title at Wimbledon and perhaps a Masters tournaments shortly after, Roger Federer should be able to amass enough points to overtake Nadal’s No.1 rank.

Lookout! Rafa Nadal will we'll return 100% before U.S. Open, Says Doctor.

Rafael Nadal: “I’ll be back!”  Nadal is expected to miss perhaps the Rogers cup or maybe even the Cincinnati Masters in Ohio before returning.  Nadal’s doctor told him to expect to miss 3 to 4 more weeks after the Wimbledon tournament has concluded.  His physician has said that he will likely be back for one or two masters events and should be 100% by the time the Olympus U.S. Open, the last slam of the year and the only major that Nadal has never won.  Nadal could likely be back to defend his championship at the international German open in Hamburg, Germany. That would be in late July. If he could return in late July or early August, he would also have the opportunity to defend his title in Toronto at the Rogers cup.  Last year, he also went to the finals of the Cincinnati Masters, but exhausted after winning  Roland Garros, Wimbledon, Hamburg, and the Rogers cup consecutively, Murray’s fresh legs were too much for the weary Spaniard.  However, Rafa is getting a much needed rest after a quick start to the 2009 season. This is great news for Nadal fans, but you have to wonder if he will be in playing condition taking so much time off for rehabilitation.  If anyone can overcome this kind of adversity, it is a player like Nadal who is a tireless worker and will do everything he can to return to the courts of the ATP tour. You’ve got to know that Nadal has his eyes trained sharply on the U.S. Open.  He wants it bad and he has never had any rest going into this last slam of the season.  Usually, Nadal has had many successful tournaments, winning his share and getting almost no rest between events;  That will not be the case this year.  Nadal should be well rested and if he can put his game together quickly without having to take several tournaments to get back into playing condition, he could be a very dangerous player at a tournaments he desperately would love to add to his three other slams; Australian open, French Open and Wimbledon titles.  He needs just the U.S. Open trophy to complete his career slam at 23 years old.  Roger Federer just completed his career slam winning at Roland Garros finally, at nearly 29 years old. Many people put a lot of credence on Federer’s victory at the French Open.  I’m not one of them.  Rafael Nadal shouldn’t have even entered that even.  He was already suffering from tendonitis in both knees and should have withdrawn from the event before you started.  I personally don’t believe a trophy has all of its magnificence when a player who dominates the tournament isn’t there because of injury. I know that many people are happy for Roger that he finally got the monkey off his back, but the monkey wasn’t the French Open.  The monkey is named Rafael Nadal.  Roger Federer was asked after his disastrous defeat at Roland Garros last year at the hands of Nadal whether he had troubles with the surface and that’s why he was unable to bring away a trophy from that tournament.  Roger Federer responded “I don’t have a clay-court problem, I have a Rafael Nadal problem”. Roger Federer has reached the finals at Roland Garros for four straight years.  Three of those years he met Nadal in the final and lost miserably in all three matches.  It was only when Rafa Nadal was injured that it cleared away for Federer to win the trophy.  This could also be said about the 2009 Wimbledon trophy.  Nadal is not there to defend his championship.  Some credit should be given to Federer for keeping healthy for so many years and keeping his body fit to avoid injury, but it’s more of a case that Federer plays a different style of tennis then Rafael Nadal.  Rafa is a workhorse and will power you until you beg for mercy.  He beats up his opponents, but also that style takes a toll on his own body.  Federer is more graceful.  He’s like Muhammad Ali; He floats like a butterfly, and stings like a bee. He is truly a graceful tennis player and he makes it look so effortless and easy.  Nadal frustrates him because he forces Federer to get down and dirty and play a Nadal style of tennis.  It’s just not the way that Federer constructs his game and that’s why Rafa has been so successful playing the 14 grand slam trophy winner.  He’s the only player that gives Federer fits and it is a huge problem for Roger to overcome.  When Nadal is healthy “LOOKOUT”.  Nadal is getting healthy.  Make no mistake about it, he will return and he will be ready to compete and conquer the best players in the world.  This is his mission, this is hands passion and without that passion tennis is dead. Rafa Nadal’s trophy room needs only a U.S. Open cup to complete the career slam and Nadal will do everything to make that happen.

Andy Roddick has never looked better and he's hungry to beat Federer this time.

Players that have survived week one after the middle Sunday all have big-time potential to push for a title at Wimbledon.  Certainly Andy Roddick has the potential.  He has already appeared in two Wimbledon finals, but his championship chances were dashed by five-time champion Roger Federer.  In their second meeting on center court, Andy Roddick was cruising to what looked like a huge upset.  But the Swiss grass master pulled another rabbit out of the hat and sent the American packing for a second straight year.

Roddick is much more fit than any of his previous years playing with the world’s top players.  With his new coach Larry Stefanki, Roddick has reinvented himself, but still wields that lightning fast service came and will be a very worthy adversary to whomever meets him in the Wimbledon final should he advance that far.  Roddick has several new things in his life.  As I pointed out, Roddick’s coach is new, but he also has a few other things to add to his repertoire of tennis prowess.  He has a brand-new flattened out two handed backhand that he is using with great success right now.  His forehand has also flattened out and he has become much more aggressive and patient at the same time.  Falling behind early has not hampered Roddick in the slightest.  He doesn’t panic in his game like he used to, going to his strongest talent, his serve.  Now, he is quickly becoming one of the better returners and tennis.  Usually, the best returners have been players like; Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stanislaus Wawrinka and of course Roger Federer.  Now Andy is really learning to anticipate unpredictable service games and he’s getting the ball back into play and deep enough to be able to position himself for long rallies.  Andy really came to play this year and the results are speaking for themselves.  He is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Murray is hoping for center Court crowd support BIG time

The big buzz is going around Andy Murray’s rise to world number three.  Novak Djokovic has been bumped to number four in the world with the onslaught of huge tournaments from Andy Murray of Scotland.  If you asked anyone in England, they would tell you they’re pulling for Andy Murray because he’s from Great Britain, but make no mistake, Murray is a Scot.  He does enjoy the support he receives when he plays at Wimbledon. Murray has got the attention of every tennis fan in Western Europe.  It’s been several decades since a Brit has won the Wimbledon trophy.  Now, all the weight of England, Ireland and Scotland is on Andy Murray’s shoulders.  It’s got to be a huge weight of expectation for the 21-year-old Murray.  However, he seems to be weathering all this excitement and attention like a polished veteran.  Murray has an all court game and seems to be relatively comfortable on all surfaces, as well.  If Murray comes away with a Wimbledon trophy, you can forget the name Tim Henman.  Until now, Henman has been the most successful brit to come along in decades.  I think Andy will win several grand slam trophies, but I’m not sure he has what it takes to win a four or five set match against the likes of Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal.  These are the big boys and there is a considerable drop-off after mentioning Nadal or Federer.  Andy Murray will have his day in the sun, I just don’t think 2009 will be that day for Murray.

Djokovic: Novak is the pride of Serbia and Wimbledon contender

Novak Djokovic also has huge talent and many shots that frustrate and puzzle players.  He has a big game mentality at big moments and that is what makes him number four in the world.  Novak came from war-torn Serbia, formerly Yugoslavia, but Belgrade, Serbia has produced some of the best tennis players in the world, while not being the best location world to support world-class tennis players.  Novak Djokovic, Janko Tipserovic, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, and Frank Denkovic are all players that came out of the smoke and dust of Belgrade, Serbia.  Quite extraordinary in the world of such chaos and violence. Novak Djokovic is the real deal.  This year he has had a slow start and many people believe that it’s because he chose a new racquet manufacturer to endorse and switched from a Wilson racquet to a Head racquet.  His confidence is not high, though that changes faster than the weather with the 21-year-old.  In big matches, he’ll be pumping his fist on one play and throwing his racquet down in disgust on the next play.  If Novak can get control on his emotions a little bit and hang on to his confidence, he can become a very dangerous player.  He has some respiratory problems and can disappear later and long for and five set matches, particularly in the heat and humidity.

Darkhorse Verdasco is Nadal style threat to righthanders.

One of the players that has emerged as sort of a “Johnny come lately” is Rafael Nadal’s fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco. The 29-year-old Fernando Verdasco has a similar game to Rafael Nadal, with a left-hand slice and a follow-up topspin forehand to the righties backend.  He could be a very difficult task for Roger Federer should he meet the Spaniard in the Wimbledon tournament.  Roger Federer is one of the players that has been so successful at Wimbledon due to his expertise with a one-handed backend.  Not many players utilize a one-handed backhand, but it is very effective on grass because the ball doesn’t jump as high on the grass as it does on clay or on the hard court events.  One problem for Roger Federer is that players like Nadal have been so successful against him because of the left-handed slice to his backhand, causing him to take the ball practically off court and then Nadal will follow up with a forehand to the Federer a one-handed backhand.  Typically this would be an advantageous situation for Federer, but because of the heavy topspin that Nadal and Verdasco put on their left-handed forehand, the ball jumps off of the grass very high and one-handed backhand shots are highly ineffective against a ball at eye level or higher.  Federer loses all of his velocity on his backhand allowing players like Nadal and Verdasco to come to the net and play a volley to the left side of the court or even a drop volley if Federer is still too far past the baseline to make it to the net in time.  Nadal has had a lot of success against Roger Federer using this exact technique on clay courts and particularly on grass courts.  He is one of the only players in tennis that has a winning record against the tennis great.  Fernando Verdasco could use this same game plan, as it worked for Nadal, but he must mix it up more.  He doesn’t have the physicality that Nadal uses on his opponent.  He must swing through the shots and follow through so that the shots will land where he wants them to.  Nadal is a master at breaking the flow of the game.  He will slow down his service came and break up a players momentum.  He can also speed up his pace and surprise his opponent.  One thing is for certain, whomever plays Roger Federer, whether it’s in the quarterfinals, semifinals or even the finals, you must keep Roger guessing.  Otherwise, he will hone in on your game and start to pick it apart.  He’s a master at this and just like Nadal, he is a problem solver on the court.  He can take a player he’s never played before and feel him out in the first set and then go for the throat.  You’ve got to find the chink in the armor of a great player like Roger.  I think Verdasco has a chance if he can follow in the footsteps of Rafa.  There is a huge difference between those players, but the technique is somewhat similar.  They’re both left-handed tennis players and they both rely heavily on topspin forehands and backhand slices.