Roger Federer still has a bill open with Indian Wells
Roger Federer is the easy favorite in the final of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells against Dominic Thiem. The Swiss experienced disappointment last year.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Mar 17, 2019, 09:10 am
By winning the ATP Tour 500 event in Dubai, Roger Federer released himself from the pressure to finally win the 100th tournament in his career. Well, the maestro did not take so many attempts after his 99th triumph in the autumn at the home tournament in Basel: the return to Paris-Bercy ended in a semi-final loss (against Novak Djokovic) as well as the appearance in the ATP final in London, where Federer lost to Alexander Zverev in the semi-final.
At the beginning of the year Federer failed at the Australian Open in the round of 16 against Stefanos Tsitsipas, but the Swiss returned the revenge in the Dubai final. After 20 successes with majors and a total of 100 titles on the tour, one could assume that Roger Federer can no longer upset anything. In fact, however, it is memories of scarce defeats that produce surges for the 37-year-old Basel bidder. Like the bankruptcy against Juan Martin del Potro last year in the Indian Wells final when Federer won the racket.
Roger Federer likes Dominic Thiem's style
Roger Federer wants to finally use this notch in the final against Dominic Thiem in 2019, well recovered after Rafael Nadal's withdrawal before the semifinals. Federer has so far been completely convincing in the tournament, only had to give up his serve once against Peter Gojowczyk. In the quarter-finals against Kyle Edmund, the maestro did not look sovereign towards the end, but the success against the British was never jeopardized.
For Federer there is another entry in the record books in Indian Wells: If he succeeds Thiem, against whom he has won two in four meetings so far, he would be the first player to win the title six times in Indian Wells. Thiem, on the other hand, has no experience in the California desert yet, the Austrian contests his third final of an ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
Federer is still warned. "I think Dominic is playing very well at the moment," said the easy favorite on Saturday. “He uses his kick serve very effectively. The spin balls jump really high here in the desert. He is one of the fittest guys on the tour and hits the ball with the hardest. ”To put it in a nutshell:“ I like his style! ”