Roger Federer meets Somdev Devvarman
for the second time in the second round of the French Open 2013 on Wednesday, the
29th May. Federer easily defeated Devvarman in straight sets 6-3 6-3
when they met in Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2011. Devvarman has since
suffered injuries and his game has deteriorated to the point that he has to
enter tournaments through qualification.
Devvarman at his best is a poor man’s
Gilles Simon. He is utterly defensive in his approach to the extent that some
critics have labeled him as a pusher. Everything about his game is defensive, minimizing
unforced errors, retrieving ball one time more, putting serve in the box
without bothering too much about aces and playing percentage game to the limit
of becoming predictable. He succeeds against those who tend to self destruct
themselves through uncontrolled aggression. He does not like to come to the
forecourt for a put away.
Federer has had little trouble with
those who play defensive game. David Ferrer and Lleyton Hewitt are the examples
of this type of game. He is able to open up the court against such opposition
and finish the point either from the baseline or from the net. His troubles
come from those who either have well controlled aggression or super defensive
play with ability to convert defence into offence. Devvarman does not fit
into that category.
Federer may not lose even if the happenings
take the shape of “bolt from blue” or a sensational occurrence. Devvarman can
win if a miracle were to take place on that day without the stars foretelling such event.
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