Wawrinka Sets Up Djokerer 39.0 After Tanking to Federer ~ BreakPoint

Djokovic Straight-Sets Ferrer

In the first semi-final today the Djoker defeated Ferrer 6-4, 6-4 in a relatively straightforward match. Again I felt that the Djoker was not at his best and wasn’t playing attacking enough, but looks can be deceiving when it comes to the Djoker, because he still straight-setted a player who is notoriously hard to put away. The Djoker seemed to be content with hanging back and hitting short balls at times, but that could also have to do with the camera angle. I don’t think Ferrer played badly anyway.

Yesterday I said that the Djoker has not impressed me so far but that it could change with a straight set win over Ferrer. So I guess I have to stick with that. The guy is so good and he has such a huge lead in the rankings that even if he isn’t at his best he can still find a way to win. He is now on a 22-macth winning streak again and the only guy who can stop him is Roger.

Wawrinka Tanks Shamelessly to Federer

Well, what a disappointing match this turned out to be after the first semi-final of the day was already pretty boring. Stan quickly raced to a 3-0 lead and then completely collapsed, handing Roger the 6-4, 6-2 win. I was hoping to at least see a three-set match, but I guess Stan had other things on his mind. He really is quite a strange player. I like the guy, but these tank jobs are very strange. He did the same against Dimitrov in Monte Carlo. Just shameless tanking.

“You were a good boy Stan”

I mean why bother going up 3-0 and then stop playing? Some of the shots he missed was just unreal. It looked like he was trying his best to hand Roger the match. Just a complete meltdown. I don’t know if it is helping Roger before a match with the Djoker either. He has now played two consecutive matches against players who just went away after going up an early break. He hasn’t been tested, whereas the Djoker had three matches that went the distance.

Djokerer 39.0

Well after the disappointing semi-finals we at least have another Djokerer final and it will be their first ever final on clay! Roger already did very well just to make the final, and who would have thought the quarters and semis would be such routine wins for him? That is just how unpredictable tennis is. Having come this far, it would be a nice story if Roger could finally win one of the Masters he could never win before. But it would also be another big disappointment if he fails like he did last year in Monte Carlo.
It was also disappointing how early he lost in Monte Carlo and Madrid. Even if he loses tomorrow he would have already made up for those losses and it’s great to see he is still in great clay court form after that loss to Kyrgios, as I predicted he would be. If he loses tomorrow he will still be one of the favorites in Paris, but his stamina has been a problem in slams of late and therefore he has to at least try and win the smaller titles. It won’t be easy though. The Djoker has already won this title three times and he is still winning.

This is the main problem Roger has to deal with tomorrow. It doesn’t really matter that the Djoker is not looking as confident as before because he is finding ways to win. And that breeds confidence. Already he had a cleaner win over Ferrer, who come to think of it did play well. But if indeed he is not in peak form that gives Roger his only chance. I know Roger beat the Djoker on clay in 2011 when the Djoker was peaking, but it’s four years later and the Djoker is the favorite on slower courts these days.
I do think Roger has a great shot though. He has looked very sharp all week while the Djoker has looked vulnerable. If he plays just about perfect attacking tennis like he has so far and the Djoker plays too short and defensive like he has then I’d definitely give Roger a great chance. But which Djoker will come out tomorrow? One thing you can be sure of is we won’t see another choke or tank job like we saw from Berdchoke and Stank…