Federer Being Challenged, And Loving It

Roger Federer battled No. 23-seed Igor Andreev for three hours and 32 minutes on Tuesday evening, winning 6-3 in the fifth set after dropping the first and having to take Andreev into a tie-break to avoid going down 2-set to love. It was a match that could have gone either way, could have easily stopped Federer’s streak of four US Open titles and would have put an exclamation point on the struggles Federer has had all year.

But for all the people in Arthur Ashe Stadium who found it far more interesting that the defending champion was in a dog fight, being tested to the limit, it may be a surprise to hear that in profound ways Roger Federer was one of them.

The sheer fun that Federer gets from being pressed to the brink of elimination is likely enhanced, maybe even predicated, on the fact that he came out on top in the match. But after the match, listening to Federer talk, observers had a peek into just how much Federer loves the game, and the battle, the latter perhaps the surest sign that he may well come to dominate the men’s game again.

“It was really entertaining, not only for the fans, but for both of us,” Federer said afterward, trying and failing to recall the last time he had played a five-setter that wasn’t interrupted by rain here at the Open. “I don’t usually get the chance to play five sets. It’s different, it’s fun for a change.’’

“[Five-setters] can be tough physically and mentally,’’ Federer went on. “But in five sets you go through different stages of feelings, of playing well, playing bad.”

Federer’s attitude toward his match with Andreev is also a good way of understanding how the former No. 1 is handling 2008, a year that is being framed by just about everyone as a disappointment. He failed to defend his Australian Open title, losing in the semis to Novak Djokovic, and lost to Rafael Nadal in the final of the French Open and Wimbledon.

But again, while there are plenty who expect reams of words about how frustrated Federer is, how he can’t believe he hasn't won at least one Grand Slam so far this year, or a gold medal in singles at the Olympics, Federer sees his situation in a decidedly nuanced light.

Just his attitude about losing to Nadal at Wimbledon in an epic five-setter is illustrative of an attitude rare among top athletes today. Was he bummed about losing at Wimbledon, to his nemesis Nadal, and just barely missing out an a record 6th-straight Wimbledon?

“After Wimbledon, you know, maybe I was a little bit disappointed, but it's still ‑‑ the buzz was bigger about the great match we just played, so I couldn't really look at this match and be completely disappointed,’’ Federer said.

O.K., how about his dismal summer, where he lost in the second round of Cincinnati, the third round of Canada, and then the quarters of the Olympic games?

“I went through maybe the summer and didn't win a whole lot of matches, but I won the Olympic gold in doubles,'' Federer counters. "So I guess I always had sort of a good spirit.”

The fact is, all the challenges to Federer’s stronghold on the game had to be hard to swallow for a guy who held the top ranking for a record 237 straight weeks until this past August 18, when he relinquished it to Nadal. But it has also, in some profound ways, and even in understandable ways, made the game more interesting.

“It hasn't been that frustrating, you know, to be quite honest,’’ he says about 2008. “I think I'm at a stage today where I just really enjoy playing, you know, much more again. Whereas maybe for a while it was quite, always the same for me ‑- go on court, you win all the time, so maybe you don't take it for granted that much anymore.”

Federer next takes on Gilles Muller, a qualifier, in the quarterfinals. Muller, will come out swinging, having less to lose against Federer than most other players. But Federer accepts the challenge, and sets his site on a title that would change everything for Federer. Because for all the talk of his love of competition, Federer is looking to regain not just the No. 1 ranking, and not just another Grand Slam, but, in what is also, no doubt, equally fun, perhaps the funnest thing of all, a prevailing, wide sense of invincibility.

“That’s the advantage I have,’’ Federer says. “If I were to win a big tournament, you know, again, one of those Slams, whatever, right away I have the invincibility factor again.’’

A Pumped Roddick Set to Meet Djokovic in the Quarters

No. 1 Rafael Nadal, No. 2 Roger Federer and No. 3 Novak Djokovic, the 2007 US Open finalist who Andy Roddick will face in the quarterfinals on Thursday night, all had huge struggles in their fourth-round matches.

But Roddick had an easy time in his fourth-round match, where he blew out Fernando Gonzalez in straight sets. The American appears to have rediscovered the form that led him to the Dubai title in March, where he knocked out both Nadal and Djokovic, and to his first win over Federer in nearly five years in Miami.

Injuries to his neck and shoulder set him back in the late spring and early summer, but despite a mediocre US Open Series, Roddick is looking all the part of an outside threat to win the title. Firing blinding serves and taking advantage of nearly every short ball, Roddick only dropped nine points on serve in his 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 wipeout of Gonzalez.

He looked much more comfortable and lethal on court than the chronically limping Djokovic, who had to go the wall and over it to defeat Tommy Robredo, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

But that does not mean that the Serbian will not recover in two days' time, as he has spent much of his Grand Slam year digging out long wins. Such is his style and perhaps that's the way he's mentally the most comfortable: physically put upon and thereby emotionally empty, yet fresher. Even though he didn't look like a No. 1-to-be in his marathon wins of Marin Cilic and Robredo, he was lethal in the clutch, and as steady as a Coast Guard boat in rough waves.

Robredo accused Djokovic of overplaying his injuries, which included an injured hip and ankle. Roddick has his doubts, too.

"Back and a hip?" asked Roddick. "And a cramp. Bird flu. Anthrax. SARS. Common cough and cold?

But the top American wouldn't say that the Serbian is faking.

“If it's there, it's there,” Roddick said. “There's just a lot. You know, he's either quick to call a trainer or he's the most courageous guy of all time.”

The 21-year-old Djokovic is nothing if not resourceful. He's also is master return of server, not because he puts so much heat on the ball, but because he can slap back nearly every kind of serve deep. He's extremely accurate off both wings from the baseline and can rip winners when called upon. Roddick knows that in order to grab the win, he's going to have to serve just as big as he did against Gonzalez, keep his approach shots deep and close quickly at net.

"He goes to work pretty much every point, and, my service game, he's going to put returns in, he puts guys in pressure," Roddick said. “It seems like a lot of times there'd be breaks back and forth with him. You know going in that you're going to have to go to work.”

Roddick and Djokovic have faced each other twice, a victory for the Serbian last year in Canada and a win for Roddick this year in Dubai. The American has to try as much as possible to keep the points shorts, as Djokovic is sure to try to exhaust him from the backcourt and entice him into zany net rushes.

“Couple of points, I probably played more aggressively in Dubai than I did in Canada,” Roddick said. “He kind of took it to me in the breakers in Canada, and might have been the other way around in Dubai. It's going to be close, because I think it's a pretty good match-up, and he returns pretty well. I serve pretty well. It will come down to momentum one way or the other.”

Djokovic says that he should be fresh by the time the first ball is tossed on Thursday night. He's a pretty good-natured guy who has respect for his foe. On Arthur Ashe Kid's Day, the two traded hilarious impersonations of the other.

“Roddick, he's former US Open champion, couple times Grand Slam finalist and No. 1," Djokovic said. "So he has all the things under his belt that he needs to have. He's playing in front of his crowd, on his favorite tournament. It's always a difficult one to play against Roddick wherever, but especially here."

Somewhat surprisingly, despite some tremendous runs in New York including his 2003 title sprint, Roddick said that the reigning Australian Open titlist is the favorite. He said it with a wry smile, but stuck to his point.