Federer def. Cilic 6-3, 6-4
written: 1:00 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 31, 2008

(Thanks to Tsonga and Djoker who slogged it out in a three-setter, Roger's match started late so I got to watch it! Yay. But boo that Djoker lost! He seems to be struggling a bit and I wouldn't be surprised if he slipped in the ranking next year. I would've really loved to watch the Tsonga/Djokovic match though. The live scores made it seem really exciting. But too bad the live stream died.)

He did the bare minimum and it was enough to earn him a straight-sets win. The back-and-forth deuce in the second last game on Cilic's serve was a tad annoying though. Even though Roger had two match points, I knew he wasn't going to convert; he wasn't playing like he particularly cared to convert. So Cilic kept missing and double-faulting and giving Roger match points and I was like, Seriously, just hold your damn serve already and let Roger serve it out.

Thankfully, Roger finally hit a shot long (never thought I'd say this!) and after dropping the first point on his serve, he served out the match with ease, clinching it with an ace. And it was not just an ace; it was a second serve ace. Very well done! It was the second time I've seen him serve an ace on the second serve.

He did the whole signing camera lens thing and smiling and waving, but unlike yesterday, he looked a bit tired today. He kind of looked like he was sleep-walking through it a little. It makes me wonder why the organisers put him down for an earlier match today when he was down for a late match yesterday, while Nadal had an early one yesterday and will have a late one today. How nice.

Oh well, Roger won, so no complaints. Cilic kind of unravelled after a while, which was quite sad to watch. Roger played defensively and Cilic allowed him to by making 31 unforced errors (all of which I cheered at. Um, sorry). I think he tried attacking but he just wasn't good enough. Whenever Roger plays against these young guys (Cilic's 20), his opponents start coming apart after a while and making all kinds of weird errors and basically handing the win to Roger. You can even tell Roger's not playing particularly hard; sometimes he even seems a bit bored. Tonight Cilic broke him back by way of a missed Federer return immediately after Cilic got broken, and Roger just kept on playing like nothing happened. No shift in gears, no sudden aggression, just casually hitting like he was practicing.

But! That's gonna end tomorrow. He's facing James Blake, who ended his Olympics singles gold dream in August. Get your revenge Roger! I think I'd be too freaked to watch it live (assuming it's shown live); there's way too much at stake! Roger's never advanced past the quarter-final in this tournament, so if he does tomorrow, that'd be his best showing yet! And if he goes on to win...well! That'd be his first Masters Series win of the year.

Right, shan't think too far. I will trust in the Magic of the Federer Forehand and leave it all to him.

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