Australian Open 2005, Round 2: Federer v. Suzuki
written: 11:40 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 09, 2008

But oh my god, he really put Roger to the test - in so many more ways than one. Of course, it was never in doubt who the superior player was, but the number of times Roger yelled out in frustration and swung his racquet around in irritation after missing shots was quite a testament to the extent to which Suzuki tested his patience. Suzuki has about a grand total of one trick in his bag: the serve-and-volley. (Commentators called it 'chip and charge' but yeah, pretty much the same thing.) But damned if he didn't do it damn freaking well. He rushed the net a ridiculous number of 95 times the last the statistics showed the total number of net points won by each player, sometime close to the end of the match, and for someone who professed that the chip-and-charge was to be his strategy against the Roger Federer, he really, really had the net damn well covered. Volley winners after volley winners, and he guarded the net so tightly that Roger struggled to make passing shots at one point in time.

But of course, the superior player prevailed in the end - aptly with a running forehand cross-court passing shot that took the words out of my mouth. The reason I bought this match, though, was because of this YouTube clip I watched of an amazing around-the-post shot that Roger made that broke Suzuki in the second set. Against someone else, the Suzuki shot that Roger returned - sharply angled to Roger's forehand side's single sideline - would have been a clear winner, but against Roger Federer? Yeah, he ran around the post and returned a clean winner. AMAZING. Still, I think match point was even more amazing, if only because Roger finally got rid of this annoying guy. He knew he could do it; it was just taking a really long time.

Having said that, for once since I became a Federer Fangirl, for about a third of a split second I almost found myself wanting Suzuki to maybe claim a set from Roger. Not win the match, of course, but...yeah, just to claim a set. The spirit with which he played the match, enjoying the experience for the sake of it, was really quite heart-warming to watch. I almost wished he hadn't gotten broken in the third set, but he sealed his own fate when he hit a forehand return long. Suzuki - this match - was probably the first time ever since I started watching Roger's matches that I saw someone play against Roger with his heart. Sounds cheesy, but Suzuki did. He really did. Not even Gilles Muller, the qualifier in this year's US Open, gave me the same feeling, and he was the only other player I was interested in during the American tournament. At the beginning of the match, I thought he was this fugly guy that irritated me; but as it wore on, he won me over. He also won over a lot of the fans at the Rod Laver Arena that night, because he clearly played with his heart and gave Roger a run for his money, and it was just great fun to watch.

But then, like I said, he only had one tool in his kit. His groundstrokes were actually pretty weak, which was why he relied on the volley so much. But hey, whatever works, right?

***

I went shopping again today but I'm too tired to write about it, so maybe tomorrow.

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