ATP Doha: Roger Federer - "It was worth all the effort"
And in the end it was almost as always:Roger Federer hit a dream ball at a critical moment on Center Court. He threw up his arms, he had kept his nerve, he had taken the risk and had been rewarded with the 1243rd victory in the 1514th match of his long professional career.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Mar 10, 2021, 11:15 pm
However, on March 10, 2021 nothing was as usual for Federer : Because the 7: 6 (9), 3: 6, 7: 5 victory of the 39-year-old grandmaster against the British Dan Evans in Doha had everything else than the character traits of an everyday victory in an opening round at a smaller ATP tournament. Federer triumphed on this mild winter evening in Qatar's capital after the longest and most difficult forced break in his job, exactly 405 days lay between his semi-final defeat at the Australian Open 2020 against Novak Djokovic and the laborious, but emotionally highly valuable experience of success against the uncomfortable rascal Evans. "I'm just happy to be back on the field," said Federer, who used his second match ball at 8.46 p.m. local time, "that I have won is, of course, an even better feeling."
The satisfaction with the hard-fought comeback victory was unmistakable and unmistakable for Federer in the first minutes after the successful starter coup. Relieved, the 20-time Grand Slam champion waved into the audience, around 2000 spectators were allowed to enter the main square in the Khalifa complex under strict Covid protocols. During the obligatory quick interview on the court, Federer said he was “very relieved to see how well everything went”: “I'm tired, but very satisfied. And I'm excited to see how I'll feel tomorrow. ”Federer's quarter-final game against Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili ( live on tennisnet ticker from 4:00 pm ) is already on the program this Thursday.
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In his first reaction, Federer also said that it had been a “hard, long way” to this game in the last few months, “probably the biggest challenge I had to face.” Also the first, real competition after that many training hours and practice sets was tricky and demanding, no wonder: Evans is ultimately number 28 in the world rankings, an iron painter, one who always fights for victory to the last breath. Federer had recently even trained with Evans in Dubai for several days, and in the match it was evident more than once how well the two colleagues and rivals knew each other.
Federer wins big points
After a perfectly balanced course, Federer got the first set in the typical way in the tie-break, quite the man for the big points. First he fended off a set ball at 5: 6, then he was the more daring player, looked for the decision and used the point to 10: 8 and thus to lead the set 1: 0. The game then flattened out, Evans leveled 6: 3 to make a 1-1 draw. And Federer immediately had to approach the power reserves over the full distance.
In the decisive act, he showed that Federer has not forgotten his determination in tight, controversial matches even after this long injury break. In the 3-3 tie, he fought off a breakball from the Briton before he took the first with his own 5-4 lead Match point played out. Evans was able to ward off the impending disaster with a spectacular volley, but in the next service game, at 5: 6, he was no longer able to cope with the pressure of Federer. An outstanding longline backhand from Federer set the perfect end to the game. "To feel this atmosphere at a match, to be able to experience this fight out there again - it was worth all the effort," said Federer afterwards.
The game between Federer and Basilashvili will be live in the tennisnet ticker from 4:00 p.m.
Here the single tableau in Doha