⇒ French Open 2011 update 5: Epic Semis

stayed out all night watching Rafa v Murray and Federer v Djokovic.
I can't watch a choppy stream of this, too awesome to miss!

First up was Rafa v Murray. Ok match. Murray performed about as well as you'd expect on clay; his weapons come up short and Rafa mostly dictated play with his forehand finding its range.

Rafa took out a very dogged Murray 6-4, 7-5, 6-4
BTW, happy 25th, Rafa. 9 slams and counting...

Then, starting well after 1am, Federer v Djokovic.
Alot on the line; pride, ranking and a chance at the Coupe des Mousquetaires.

Federer set the tone early, incredible clutch serving, running around his backhand, cutting angles, wrongfooting Djokovic at every chance and playing aggressive and impressive backhand flicks under pressure.

Mostly vintage Federer (f#ck yeah)!

Both netted/shanked alot of standard shots and the stats were very very close.

Rallies mostly went to Djokovic who outgunned Federer with sharper angles and playing closer to the lines (though both covered every corner of the court in rallies).

Federer reduced deficits with unretrunable serves and aces. Djokovic was also clutch serving, often diggin himself out of 0-40 and 15-40 holes.

The first and fourth set were neck and neck--no idea who would take it.

In the 4th set, they played to deuce about 10 times at 4-4. Eventually the 1st and 4th went to tiebreaks. So nerve-wracking. Federer's clutch serving again the difference, earning him easy points.

Getting to 6-3 in the 4th set tiebreak, Nole saved 2 match points on his serve.
Federer won the match with an ace, 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5), snapping Nole's winning streak and his own 3 match losing streak to Nole. Federer was incidentally the last person to beat Nole before his hardcourt rampage.

Never felt so tense watching a match. This was probably the best clay match I've ever seen and best match of the year! It was really close and mostly very good play from both for almost 4 hours.

It felt like Federer came out with a point to prove in this match--he raised 1 finger after winning key points in the match. Clearly signalling 'still better than you' to Djokovic (at least that's how I saw it).

I see what Djokovic is doing differently now. He's playing each point itself--he's mostly unaffected by previous games and sets. That's pretty much how he could play closer to the lines, even at 0-40. Old Djokovic usually got tentative and locked up or would move onto the next game but this one plays every point. Very dangerous. Hitting very fast groundstrokes (often caught Federer offguard); clutch serving; wide, wide angles, attacking Federer's backhand and improved mental toughness.

I don't think this loss will affect him too much. His face seemed to indicate he was ok with 'losing' while he as behind in the 3rd set. Nole has definitely had his next milestone. There's very little standing between him and #1. If Federer beats Nadal (and it could happen), he will be #1. He's only defending a semi and a runner-up in the other 2 slams for the rest of the year, while Rafa's still defending 3 titles.


Onto the 8th Rafa-Federer Grand Slam Final!
Should Rafa win this, he ties Borg with 6 French Open titles and keeps #1 ranking.
Should Federer win, he finally breaks his Roland Garros duck against Rafa, joins Rafa and Wilander as the only players to win multiple slams on all 3 surfaces, and Nole gets #1.

♥♣♦♠