2014 Indian Wells Masters Final: Federer v. Djokovic

[MargaretMcAleer]

I thought Vajda would be going to Miami with Novak?

 

[Denis]

I thought Vajda would be going to Miami with Novak?

Novak said in the post match interview that Becker will be in Miami. They could both be there of course.

 

[nehmeth]

^ More like this I reckon

I like this picture of Becker better.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I thought Vajda would be going to Miami with Novak?

Novak said in the post match interview that Becker will be in Miami. They could both be there of course.

Thanks....I would prefer Vajda alone.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Novak's hard court game (and especially return game) continues to remain a force.
He lost two service games today and both due to mental issues primarily and not due
to actual game.

The first one he lost with butterfly in the stomach at the beginning. The last one
he lost due to nervousness of closing down the match (like WTA players). But, unlike
before, now the nervousness is palpable.

The major issue that I saw with Fed today was that the percentage of first
serves in steadily decreased over the course of the match. I think that was the
primary reason for his downfall, apart from the poor TB.

But, I enjoyed the Chip and Charge today. That made my day.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

I just finished the match, I always watch on a 30 minute delay to scroll the abusive commercials.

Highly enjoyable last two sets. Surprised Roger could not keep the pressure on.

Novak went from VERY shakey to ROCK solid.

I was at his very first practice session at IW and all the way through the tournament
he was not happy..no smiles, no relaxed gait, just tension, and he looked like it was a job out there
throughout the tourney. There was obvious relief at the end.

I even speculated there may be personal issues. He had not appeared this sullen and out of sorts for a while.

In the end, he woke up, some of the defensive play he exhibited today was pretty much unparalleled.

 

[Front242]

Likewise regarding serve. First set he served well and was able to follow up with aggressive shot making. He had too many 2nd serves after that and either Novak dictated most of the rallies thus tiring Fed out in the process, or he simply had no game plan as nothing is as instinctive with first serves hitting the net. I also think Fed made some horrible choices of shots today like ill-timed drop shots and hitting back to the same part of the court time and time again when the opposite side was wide open and begging.

 

[Denis]

Likewise regarding serve. First set he served well and was able to follow up with aggressive shot making. He had too many 2nd serves after that and either Novak dictated most of the rallies thus tiring Fed out in the process, or he simply had no game plan as nothing is as instinctive with first serves hitting the net. I also think Fed made some horrible choices of shots today like ill-timed drop shots and hitting back to the same part of the court time and time again when the opposite side was wide open and begging.

Roger was slicing a lot cross-court. It wasn't hurting him too much, which is worrying from a Djokovic perspective.

 

[Denis]

^ More like this I reckon

I like this picture of Becker better.

Easy nehmeth. No need to insult this little four-legged fella

 

[Front242]

Both had patches where they played well but there wasn't anywhere near enough from either guy. Fed calling it an incredible match at the end was hilarious.

 

[Denis]

Both had patches where they played well but there wasn't anywhere near enough from either guy. Fed calling it an incredible match at the end was hilarious.

That's probably the best way to summerize the whole match. Although it definetely was a highly viewable and competitive match.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I am sure somebody will write in the brain-game or tactical tennis blogs about this.

The key way in which Roger got the break at the end is by forcing Novak to come
into the net. He did not try this technique until that point.

One thing that is clear is that Roger cannot be winning matches against Novak
by indulging in lengthy rallies (same problem with Rafa too). With Murray coming
in to the net seems to work. But, both Novak and Rafa are not allowing Fed to
come in that much.

 

[Moxie]

^ More like this I reckon

I like this picture of Becker better.

Easy nehmeth. No need to insult this little four-legged fella

At least he comes by his muck honestly.

 

[Denis]

Novak won one point more than the Fedster btw. 99-98

 

[Front242]

Both had patches where they played well but there wasn't anywhere near enough from either guy. Fed calling it an incredible match at the end was hilarious.

That's probably the best way to summerize the whole match. Although it definetely was a highly viewable and competitive match.

Oh definitely very viewable and competitive alright. More than anything I'd have felt happier with Fed losing more respectably 7-5 in the TB than the terrible showing he put in there. After playing so well to get the break he really was crap in the TB which was poor for fans and him.

 

[Front242]

^ Obviously happier still if he won naturally

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

roger was mega aggressive in the 1st set..but I think in sets 2 and 3 he somehow got bogged down with too much baseline play which allowed djokovic to find some flow to his tennis..

good win for novak..first big trophy of the year, roger needs to remember the first set here and play more like that..:idea: which I'm sure Stefan will be telling him pretty soon.

 

[Moxie]

Both had patches where they played well but there wasn't anywhere near enough from either guy. Fed calling it an incredible match at the end was hilarious.

That's probably the best way to summerize the whole match. Although it definetely was a highly viewable and competitive match.

Oh definitely very viewable and competitive alright. More than anything I'd have felt happier with Fed losing more respectably 7-5 in the TB than the terrible showing he put in there. After playing so well to get the break he really was crap in the TB which was poor for fans and him.

Fed made the error of going off his first set game plan. He had Djokovic off-balance. Also, Djokovic start serving really well, and Federer's first serve percentage went way down. It was a nail-biter, but Federer reaped what he sowed in that TB: he waited too long to get aggressive again. If you start early and keep it up, you'll get passed sometimes, but force the error on Novak, too. Federer left that aggressiveness late, and Djokovic had no fear to pass him. Too little too late, I'm afraid.

 

[Front242]

Yeah, I really don't know why in the hell he deviates from a working plan. I guess more than anything it's the lack of first serves that makes him alter the game plan as he can hardly be that successful with an imposing aggressive game with only 2nd serves all the time. Work on his serve more as he served a lot better in set 1.

Even without first serves though he'd have had some chances in a few rallies if he'd been more aggressive but he went far too passive after set 1. I also think that being relegated to only 2nd serves a lot of the time after set 2 made him visibly a bit fatigued as he engaged in far too many rallies after that and obviously your game goes off when you get gassed.

Moral of the story: serve better, rally less. Fed's old in tennis terms, his opponent today isn't and you can't expect to go toe to toe rallying with a guy a good deal younger and in his prime, even if today didn't feel anywhere near his prime.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Novak won one point more than the Fedster btw. 99-98

Not just that. Almost all stats are too close.