Switzerland’s Roger Federer gestures after a point against France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Photograph by: KENZO TRIBOUILLARD, AFP/Getty Images
A point from losing the first set of his French Open quarter-final, Roger Federer shanked a routine forehand, sending the ball 10 feet beyond the opposite baseline.
The Court Philippe Chatrier crowd roared with approval, then loudly chanted the last name of Federer’s opponent, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
That shot was a clear indication that Federer was hardly Federesque on this day. There were plenty of others: He argued with the chair umpire about a call. He dumped overhead smashes into the net. And in a truly rare ungraceful moment, he failed to put a racquet to — or get out of the way of — a backhand flip by a sliding Tsonga, instead getting hit on the back.
All in all, Federer looked lost out there Tuesday against the sixth-seeded Tsonga, who pounded his way to a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 victory over the 17-time Grand Slam champion in a 1-hour, 51-minute mismatch remarkable for its lopsidedness and brevity.
“I struggled a little bit everywhere. To be honest, personally, I’m pretty sad about the match and the way I played. But that’s how it goes. I tried to figure things out, but it was difficult. And Jo does a good job keeping the pressure on,” Federer said.
“He was just … better in all areas,” continued Federer, whose lone French Open title, in 2009, allowed him to equal Pete Sampras‘ then-record of 14 major championships. “He returned better than I did. Served better than I did. I struggled to find my rhythm.”
These days, Federer sure does seem more human on a tennis court than he used to. – The Vancouver Sun
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