CINCY MASTERS FINAL.
written: 11:25 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 24, 2009

3-0. YAY.

*

1.03 a.m.:

5-0.

Roger's playing the #4 player in the world. This is just...he's making Djoke look like a mug. And Djoke is actually a really good player.

I swear, Roger is NOT from this planet. His anticipation at the net is just incredible - absolutely spot-on and precise. And he's only made 2 unforced errors so far. That is amazing.

Hope he takes the first set 6-0. Save everyone some time, yes?

*

1.10 a.m.:

6-1. The relief was written all over Djoke's face when Roger gifted him that one game.

This is just...I really am just amazed. What the fuck is happening?

Oh yeah, Roger Federer is back.

*

1.26 a.m.:

OMG the second set is disastrous. 3-0 to Djoke?!

NOOOOO. =(

*

1.33 a.m.:

Okay, not so disastrous. Roger played a 45-second service game (two service winners, two aces, in that order), then attacked Djoke's serve and totally broke back.

YAY. There's hope yet for this to end in straights!

*

1.47 a.m.:

Boo no break. But Roger's playing pretty phenomenal today. Tennis masterclass indeed.

*

2.29 a.m.:

Game, set, match, championship, Federer. 7-5 in the last set.

YESSSSS.

I'm actually quite baffled at how Roger managed to win 12 titles in a year. 12 freaking titles. It's August already and he's only ("only") won 4. Hard to believe he suffered a eight-month long titles drought before he won in Madrid.

The match was quite good actually. After Djoke got his game back in the second set, it became quite competitive. It was competitive the way the Murray match wasn't, because Djoke is very capable of playing attacking tennis, and he does play attacking tennis quite often. Watching two attacking players play each other is infinitely more exciting than watching an attacking player trying to break down a freaking retriever. Djoke played some magnificent shots (that cross-court defensive pass to give himself break point in Roger's opening service game of the second set, for instance) and some of the exchanges at the net were really exciting.

Still, Roger really owned the match from start to finish. His first serve percentage was lower than Djoke's, but oh my god, Djoke's second serve was just tragic. He won like, 30-something percent of the points on his second serve. You can't win a match with that kind of shit percentage.

Of course, the argument could always be that Roger was just too good. And he was. Absolutely. The scoreline doesn't reflect the kind of trouble Roger gave to Djoke on Djoke's serve. I think Djoke had a grand total of ONE easy service game the entire match (also the one he won in the first set). Roger was relentless from the get-go. Definitely lost his intensity in the second, but kept it up enough to get the win. Some of his shots were just...seriously, my brain cannot comprehend how anyone can play like that. A shot that is supposed to be a defensive one suddenly becomes a winner. The anticipation at the net, the soft touch at the net to create such perfect, acute angles, his near-perfect timing, and that lethal forehand. I love his inside-in forehands almost as much as his inside-out ones. Those down-the-line shots are just magnificent, even if the opponent manages to hit them back. And because they're so hard to nail, when Roger makes them, they're truly a sight to behold.

YAY ROGER. Can't wait for him to win in New York. That'd totally make me unspeakably, indescribably ecstatic.

*

Okay, sleep time!

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