Monday, May 10, 2010

Roger Federer, no match for Estoril defending champion, Alberto Montanes

I'm starting to get a little bit worried about Roger. His game, was way off in this match against Montanes and the French Open is only a few weeks away. Roger, said in his post match interview, that he wasn't worried about the loss and that the French Open was still far off but as things currently stand, it seems unlikely that he's gotten enough match practice, to be set, for Roland Garros. He also, has to worry about keeping his #1 ranking, which will be up for grabs after Madrid. Federer, is currently 3,950 points ahead of Nadal. which would ordinarily be a huge lead, but he has to defend all of his points from Roland Garros and Wimbledon. That, combined with Madrid, means he'll have 5,000 points to defend. Nadal, only has to defend a relatively modest 580 points. Put simply, if Nadal wins RG and Madrid and Federer fails to reach the finals in one and the semis in the other, he will lose the #1 ranking. So as you can tell, this is a very precarious position for him to be in. On top of all that, he's 5 weeks away from breaking the record for longest reign at #1.

Federer's, first opponent in Madrid will be Benjamin Becker, who just squashed an out-of-form Carlos Moya in straight sets. I'm thinking this could be a tough opponent for Roger, given that Becker played a great match against Moya. He's also a huge server, with an explosive forehand. His game isn't best suited to clay but it could still present some serious obstacles for Federer. This match should be telling, as to how ready Roger is for the French Open.

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