Sony Ericsson Open, Miami: Roger Federer Falls To Rafael Nadal In The Semi-Finals

Roger Federer met his nemesis for the 23^rd time in the Sony Ericsson Open at Miami and lost 6-3 6-2. Rafael Nadal is through to the second successive final against the same Novak Djokovic who is on unbeaten streak in 2011.

The match promised much but did not live upto the expectation and fell into predictable path. It appeared that Roger Federer did not have a game plan and was only trying to do the things he does in the best possible ways. He was not allowed to do that by Nadal who was a different player this day. Nothing would exemplify this better than the first serve percentage of 80 he managed to achieve. Roger Federer, on the other hand, did not appear to have the tenacity against the determined Nadal. In his anxiety to convert backhand into forehand, Federer was committing mistakes. Nadal, as usual, was going on  pounding the backhand incessantly. Nadal was winning the baseline points at the rate of 2:1. Federer tried to go to the net for serve and volley and failed in the fifth game. He also tried to hit with power repeatedly instead of slicing with backhand as is his wont these days and committed unforced errors. By the fifth game, Federer was already forced to play at 100% of his capacity which was getting unmanageable for him and he was missing some easy shots like one easy volley in the seventh game. 18 unforced errors was the story of the first set. Nadal’s focus was evident from the percentage of the first serves which stood at 83% in the first set. This was in sharp contrast to 25% he was seen serving at Indian Wells in the last two sets against Djokovic. He won both the break points that came his way in the first set and took the set 6-3.

The second set started going towards a bagel, riding high on the number of unforced errors from Federer’s racquet. In the fourth game, Federer managed to save the first break point in four. He was making unforced errors at the rate of two per game. His first serve percentage dipped in the second set but still it was not the main issue. The main issue was that he did not have the self belief to prevail over his so called nemesis. The match was over in one hour and nineteen minutes.

There is no reason for Federer to be distraught at this juncture. It is not the same situation as in 2008-09 when the defeats at unexpected places reduced him finally to tears at the Australian Open. The expectations are not high from him. He is always the underdog when he goes against Nadal. The same situation is now likely to be there whenever he would step into the court against Novak Djokovic. However, he is not at the same position yet which the great Pete Sampras was in 2002. He will remain in fray atleast till London Olympics with a few more titles.