Federer def. Stepanek, 6-3, 7-6
written: 11:50 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008

Who says I can't turn my Roger Federer obsession into a positive force? If there had been no live tennis match, I would've slept at 1-something. As it stands, my paper has over 2000 words! How did that happen? Apart from sheer will and abject desperation, the thought of watching Roger play for the first time since the US Open kept me going. I was cheering really hard for Lopez to beat David Ferrer (whom I think is oh so Hot. Actually, so is Lopez. Nadal is the most unhot Spanish tennis player ever) so that they could finish their match ASAP and vacate the court for Roger to come on, and when Lopez nailed the tie-break and the match, I ran back to my room in excitement and wrote a few more lines for the paper and at 2.30 a.m., went out to prepare myself for some Federer Magic.

When I saw Wawrinka instead, I was like, What the fuck? I like Wawrinka, but I love Federer, and with all due respect, I didn't stay up to watch Wawrinka! Thankfully I finally connected to some random wireless network (my parents turn off our Internet at night), just in time to save my head from exploding and in time to learn that Roger only got on court at 5 minutes to 3.

I was all ready to sleep if it turned out that they weren't going to show the Federer match, but they did! Happiness became me when I turned on the TV again (very inconvenient to not have a TV in my room. Really) and saw Roger walking out carrying his bags, dressed in a white polo t-shirt and black shorts.

Fuck, he looked damn good. Nike is so good to him. The shirt fits, the shorts fit even better, and he simultaneously gives off a vibe of tranquility and serenity and an air of confidence and dominance. He looked like he just rolled out of the How to Make a Perfect Human Being machine - he's just so amazingly well put-together.

As for the actual tennis. Roger completely dominated the first set, and it helped him too that Stepanek was making errors left, right and centre. Roger broke him early - during Stepanek's first service game - which laid my worries to rest, at least for the first set. Stepanek never once got anywhere close to breaking Roger; Roger's serve was freaking on fire and he dropped at most 5 points on his serve in the first set which he bagged with ease. Ease. He changed the definition of ease; it was that easy.

The second set, though, wasn't so smooth-sailing for him. Stepanek got his groove back and kept scoring winners with these drop shots and low volleys at the net, which soooo pissed me off. Stepanek never really offended me prior to this; I merely found him uncomfortable to watch because he looks tragic and he's always sweating and when he played against Roger in the US Open, I actually felt bad for him that he was almost getting thrashed. I don't like feeling bad for Roger's opponents, so I wasn't too excited about the Stepanek match-up. But after last night, though, I swear, if I have to watch him again, I will fucking stab my eye with a fork. He is so obnoxious. He does the obnoxious Nadal multiple fist pump, but takes it to another level. He does the multiple fist pump, then runs around the court like he owns the place, and after every tough point he scored he reacted like he'd just won the lottery.

I mean, seriously. Have some self-respect. Just because it's Roger Federer, doesn't mean that you look any less retarded skipping up and down when Roger hit a return wide after this intense short rally at the net. And what was with that stupid rolling motion he did with his arm? What made me laugh out loud was when Stepanek started jumping up and down like some kid when he evened the tie-break after Roger hit a return wide, then when he was serving and tried the same drop shot to Roger's backhand, Roger hit it back, over the net, and Stepanek's return found nothing but net.

HA. HA. HA. HA. HA. Even better? Stepanek then went on to double-fault to give Roger a match point. Roger had a match point before that but squandered it (can't remember how), so his second match point was Exciting! because I really wanted to sleep and so really wanted him to close this stupid match. Roger served, a rally ensued, and Stepanek hit a return long. Game, set, match, Federer.

My favourite point of the whole match was this amazing forehand winner that Roger hit. Stepanek hit a return to his serve, then, without even waiting for the ball to bounce, Roger leapt into the air (like Michael Jordan!) and fired the ball to Stepanek's backhand side - a clear winner. Absolutely beautiful, that shot. I was waiting for the replay but there was no replay and yet they kept replaying Stepanek's winners. SO IRRITATING.

I didn't think Roger played his best tennis though. It was good, but pretty average for his standard. In fact, I thought he looked kind of bored at times, like he was doing exactly enough to win the match in straight sets. He was hardly aggressive and frequently engaged in long rallies, waiting for Stepanek to make the error. Stepanek was the one that kept attacking, especially at the net, and it paid off pretty well for him I must say.

Still, even when Stepanek's playing damn good tennis (even though he's SO irritating), even when Roger's merely playing tennis, Roger is just too good. Just too good. The commentator, when he was actually talking about the players and not the members of the audience (like I gave a shit that some Olympic gold medalist was there, or that some Real Madrid player was there. The Real Madrid guy wasn't Iker Casillas so yeah I don't care. Wait, does Casillas still goalkeep for Real?), referred to Roger as "the world number one" - an honest mistake that rolled off his tongue so easily because it's what people are accustomed to. It's what Roger Federer is. If he didn't have mono this year, he'd still be #1 now.

And the icing on the cake? With this win, Roger has surpassed Pete Sampras' record of all-time high career earnings. YAY! I love Roger so much.

Anyway, the order of play is out, and once again, Roger is scheduled for a "NOT BEFORE 8 P.M." match. Oh crap. Well, I guess I'll get to do my paper at least and not go to bed at 1. He's playing Tsonga and I can't wait!!! And simultaneously I'm damn scared!! It'll be infinitely more watchable than the Stepanek match so I can't wait!

Right, I need to go dig up cases now. How exciting.

before sunrise // before sunset

Previously:
- - Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017
I'm moving. - Sunday, Jul. 11, 2010
In all honesty - Tuesday, Jul. 06, 2010
What I want for my birthday... - Sunday, Jul. 04, 2010
On Roger's behalf. - Friday, Jul. 02, 2010