The Hindu : Sport : Roger Federer marches on

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Sunday, Jun 26, 2005

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Sport

Roger Federer marches on

Nirmal Shekar

London: In sport, beauty is mostly an illusion. And Roger Federer is the single most gifted active illusionist. He makes you believe that he is an artistic genius lost on his canvas, one with his art, oblivious to the surroundings, creating exquisite beauty while, in actual fact, he engages himself in the business of destruction, taking apart the opponent's game, destroying his will, turning his nerves into jelly and forcing him to throw his arms up in absolute surrender.

You come away from a Federer show wonderfully satiated, feeling light and almost flying, as if you have just walked out of a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. On the other hand, the truth is, you have just witnessed a ruthless demolition, one where a man has taken his opponent apart mercilessly, almost humiliating the victim with his own superior powers.

Of course, in the day-to-day business of professional tennis, the degree of humiliation differs. On Saturday, the German Nicholas Kiefer, determined not the crawl when forced to bend, managed to retrieve a few tiny, broken pieces of his honour and self-esteem from the centre court at Wimbledon before Federer marched through to the fourth round with a 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-1, 7-5 victory in two hours and 35 minutes.

An illusion

And that was because, on a dank afternoon, Federer seemed to adopt a Humphrey Bogart-like brooding posture, unsure of his own appetite for the kill, uncertain, on occasion, about the efficacy of his weapons. But, that, again, was an illusion. For, when the prey seemed set to escape from his sights — Kiefer was up 5-3 in the fourth set — the champion gathered speed and soon got his teeth in.

To be sure, there wasn't a hint of smouldering intensity, no rapid-fire urgency; simply, the odd did-he-really-hit-that-shot crosscourt backhand or the running forehand that creates the illusion that gravity itself is an illusion. Soon Kiefer was bleeding to death, although, surely, the German must have thanked Federer on the way back to the dressing room for making it quick in those last four games.

But, then, Federer, for all his ruthlessness, does not put his victims through slow torture. "I have a feeling I should have won in three, but in the end I am happy to have won in four, really,'' said the gifted Swiss after a match in which the shifting moods of conflict kept a star-packed Royal Box in good cheer.

In fact, as Federer threw away the golden gloves and stepped down from his pedestal to engage in a spot of bare-knuckle boxing on losing the second set tiebreak from a seemingly winning position, the occupants of the Royal Box — among them Sean Connery and Sir Cliff Richard — saw it fit to join in the Mexican waves.

"We have played each other several times. He has beaten me a few times, once on grass. I knew it was going to to tough,'' said the champion who has not lost a grass court match in three years.

Coasting

Federer appeared to be coasting, taking the first set after breaking early and then leading 5-2 in the second set tiebreak. But the champion's backhand temporarily took leave of him and Kiefer, all pumped up, won five points in a row to close out the second set.

Promptly came the response. With breaks in the second and sixth games, Federer pocketed the third set in under half an hour but trouble loomed when he hit two double faults to go 3-5 down in the fourth.

Enter the sorcerer. Suddenly doubts were planted in Kiefer's mind. "Hey, I am not supposed to be doing this, I am not supposed to be in this position,'' the German seemed to think. The set was back on serve and, before long, Kiefer had lost a second service game in a row.

In Federer's game, the beauty lies in the illusion of beauty. That is what makes for aesthetic appeal. The truth of the beauty, on the other hand, is pure murder.

And, this is precisely where Federer's greatness lies. He magically brings about a union of opposites: beauty and mayhem, athletic creation and athletic annihilation. But don't ask him how he does it. He doesn't know that; for, if he did, he wouldn't be doing it half as well. It is an act independent of thought, untouched by thought's dirty hands.

Playing beautifully may be rewarding in itself for an amateur. But Federer is a pro. He plays to win. If, in the process, an illusion is created, all very well.

The following are the fourth round pairings in the top half of the men's draw: Roger Federer vs Juan Carlos Ferrero; Fernando Gonzalez vs Mikhail Youzhny; Lleyton Hewitt vs Taylor Dent and Mario Ancic vs Feliciano Lopez.

Easy for Sharapova

The defending women's champion, Maria Sharapova, had to raise her game a notch in the second set to get past the talented Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik 6-2, 6-4 in an hour and 31 minutes. The time spent on court was way past the average of the first two matches but Sharapova wasn't really complaining as she geared up for the tougher challenges of the second week.

Meanwhile, two full days after first stepping on court for the men's doubles first round match, Leander Paes and his partner Nenad Zimonjic completed a 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3 victory over Lucas Arnold of Argentina and Daniele Bracciali of Italy. The teams were tied at a set apiece on Thursday. Yesterday, the match could not be played because of rain.

Paes, who is still not fully fit, braved physical discomfort to play with tremendous confidence and the pair steered clear of drama to go through to the second round.

In the mixed doubles event, India's Mahesh Bhupathi and Mary Pierce of France made a confident start as they beat David Sherwood and Elena Baltacha of Britain 6-3, 6-4 in a first round match. They will play the second seeds, Wayne and Cara Black of Zimbabwe in the next round.

Sania-Aspelin through

Sania Mirza and Sweden's Simon Aspelin, watched by dozens of Indians on the No.4 court where the walkway was packed three or four deep leaving hardly any room for movement, beat Gaston Etlis (Argentina) and Lisa McShea (Australia) 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-5 in a mixed doubles first round match.

Sania and Aspelin broke serve in the 11th game of the decider with a forehand down the middle from the Swede doing the trick before the Indian teenager served out the match.

Mixed day

It was a mixed for the Indian juniors. While Sanam K.Singh outplayed Christopher Llewellyn of Britain 6-0, 6-2 in a boys singles first round match, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan promised a lot before going down 7-5, 4-6, 1-6 to Myles Blake of Britain.

Jeevan played confident attacking tennis to win the first set and then found an early break in the second to go 2-1 up before two double faults saw him lose his own serve in the fourth game. The slide began there and the youngster from Chennai never recovered.

THE RESULTS

Prefix denotes seeding

Men's singles: Third round: 23-Juan Carlos Ferrero (Esp) bt Florian Mayer (Ger) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-1; 31-Mikhail Youzhny (Rus) bt Jonas Bjorkman (Swe) 7-5, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(9); 1-Roger Federer (Sui) bt 25-Nicholas Kiefer (Ger) 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-1, 7-5; Max Mirnyi (Bel) bt 28-Jiri Novak (Cze) 5-7, 7-5, 6-4, 7-6(2); 9-Sebastien Grosjean (Fra) bt Novak Djokovic (SEM) 7-5, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4; 12-Thomas Johansson (Swe) bt Janko Tipsarevic (SEM) 6-2, 6-3, 6-1; Dmitry Tursunov (Rus) bt Alexander Popp (Ger) 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-2; 2-Andy Roddick (U.S.) bt Igor Andreev (Rus) 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4).

Women's singles: Third round: 12-Mary Pierce (Fra) bt 19-Ana Ivanovic (SEM) 6-1, 6-4; 8-Nadia Petrova (Rus) bt Cara Black (Zim) 6-4, 6-3; Kveta Peschke (Cze) bt Conchita Martinez (Esp) 6-4, 6-1; 2-Maria Sharapova (Rus) bt Katarina Srebotnik (Slo) 6-2, 6-4; 1-Lindsay Davenport (U.S.) bt 30-Dinara Safina (Rus) 6-2, 6-1; 14-Venus Williams (U.S.) bt 20-Daniela Hantuchova (Slo) 7-5, 6-3; 16-Nathalie Dechy (Fra) bt Alyona Bondarenko (Ukr) 6-1, 6-4; 15-Kim Clijsters (Bel) bt Roberta Vinci (Ita) 6-3, 6-4; 26-Flavia Pennetta (Ita) bt Eleni Daniilidou (Gre) 6-4, 6-3.

Men's doubles: Third round: Stephen Huss (Aus) / Wesley Moodie (RSA) bt 9-Frantisek Cermak / Leos Friedl (Cze) 6-2, 6-3, 6-4; 4-Wayne Black / Kevin Ullyett (Zim) bt 14-Gaston Etlis / Martin Rodriguez (Arg) 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(3).

Second round: Dominik Hrbaty / Michal Mertinak (Slo) w/o Feliciano Lopez / Rafael Nadal (Esp); 14-Gaston Etlis / Martin Rodriguez (Arg) w/o Jean-Francois Bachelot / Arnaud Clement (Fra); Ivo Karlovic (Cro) / Rogier Wassen (Ned) bt Mark Hilton / Jonathan Murray (G.Br) 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, 7-5; Xavier Malisse / Olivier Rochus (Bel) bt 12-Fernando Gonzalez / Nicolas Massu (Chi) 6-1, 7-6(7), 6-2; 2-Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan (U.S.) bt James Auckland / Daniel Kiernan (G.Br) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; 11-Cyril Suk / Pavel Vizner (Cze) bt Mariusz Fyrstenberg / Marcin Matkowski (Pol) 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(8), 1-6, 7-5.

First round: 5-Leander Paes (Ind) / Nenad Zimonjic (SEM) bt Lucas Arnold (Arg) / Daniele Bracciali (Ita) 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3.

Mixed doubles: First round: Jonathan Erlich (Isr) / Bryanne Stewart (Aus) bt Jamie Delgado / Amanda Janes (G.Br) 6-4, 6-4; Mahesh Bhupathi (Ind) / Mary Pierce (Fra) bt David Sherwood / Elena Baltacha (G.Br) 6-3, 6-4; Mariano Hood / Gisela Dulko (Arg) bt Andrei Pavel / Andreea Vanc (Rom) 5-7, 6-4, 11-9; Brian MacPhie / Abigail Spears (U.S.) bt Jordan Kerr (Aus) / Evgenia Linetskaya (Rus) 6-4, 6-4.

Junior boys singles: First round: Sanam Singh (Ind) bt Christopher Llewellyn (G.Br) 6-0, 6-2.

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