Roddick Tries To Foil Federer In Basel; Querrey Upsets Tsonga, Faces Del Potro In Valencia

by Sean Randall | November 4th, 2011, 12:55 am
  • 46 Comments

Does Andy Roddick have any chance of beating Roger Federer on his home court? I think he does. A slim one, though. Today, Roddick edged Radek Stepanek in three sets 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 to set up the showdown with Federer in the quarterfinals at Basel Friday.

In their long series, Federer has absolutely dominated Roddick 20-2 in their head-to-head. But Federer, who lost his first career set to Jarkko Nieminen on Wednesday, has been shaky, and Roddick may ride the emotion from the loss of his agent a few weeks ago.

“It’s certainly not easy,” reflected Roddick on Ken Meyerson’s passing. “You go back to, ‘what would he have wanted me to do?’ and he was always up for me playing. That’s what he enjoyed. I think the easiest times I’ve had are where my mind is occupied with something. It’s those times when you’re not doing anything that it’s hard. This obviously occupies my mind a little bit.”


Still, it’s awfully tough to go against Federer in his fiefdom. Yet, if Roddick can serve well…and yada yada yada, you know the rest.

Not to play second fiddle, top ranked Novak Djokovic is alive and well at the event and will play Marcos Baghdatis tomorrow.

“It’s a great tournament, obviously very strong main draw that we have, a lot of top players coming out; this year five of the Top 8 were playing in the tournament,” Djokovic said. “It’s great attendance. People really appreciate and love tennis in Basel.”

In the other two quarters, the strengthening Kei Nishikori clashes with Kukushkin and Florian Mayer meets the other Swiss, Stan Wawrinka.

“I would like to maintain my Top 30 ranking and eventually get into the Top 20,” said Nishikori. “I am working hard on my serve and physical conditioning.”

In Valencia, American Sam Querrey continued his road back from an elbow injury by stunning JW Tsonga 7-6, 6-2. What a great win for Sam and a poor loss by Tsonga who may be looking ahead to Paris next week.

“It’s huge. He’s playing well right now,” said Querrey. “I came out there and kind of played with nothing to lose. I served really well and took advantage of the big points. I thought I played great.”

Next for Sam is another comeback player Juan Martin Del Potro who was strong in a 6-4, 6-4 win over Kevin Anderson. Del Potro needs every win he can get to keep his slim London hopes alive.

Top seed and defending champion David Ferrer is also on tomorrow against former Top 10 Nikolay Davydenko.

Tennis Channel will have live coverage of Basel starting at 9am ET with taped matches from Valencia in the early evening at 5pm ET.

FRIDAY BASEL SCHEDULE

CENTER COURT start 14:00
[WC] K Nishikori (JPN) vs [LL] M Kukushkin (KAZ)
Not Before 16:00
[1] N Djokovic (SRB) vs M Baghdatis (CYP)
Not Before 18:00
F Mayer (GER) vs S Wawrinka (SUI)
Not Before 20:00
[7] A Roddick (USA) vs [3] R Federer (SUI)
R Haase (NED) / F Mayer (GER) vs [2] M Mirnyi (BLR) / D Nestor (CAN)

VALENCIA FRIDAY SCHEDULE

AGORA start 2:00 pm
M Granollers (ESP) vs [3] G Monfils (FRA)
Not Before 4:00 PM
[6] J del Potro (ARG) vs S Querrey (USA)
[1] D Ferrer (ESP) vs N Davydenko (RUS)
Not Before 9:00 PM
[WC] J Monaco (ARG) vs J Ferrero (ESP)
[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) vs F Cermak (CZE) / F Polasek (SVK)


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Federer Needs Three To Advances In Basel; Upsets Continue In Valencia As Isner Gets Chopped Down
Berdych, Wawrinka Bomb Out Of Basel, Federer In Action Wednesday; Gulbis v Isner In Valencia
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Murray Upset in Valencia; Roddick, Federer Basel Winners

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46 Comments for Roddick Tries To Foil Federer In Basel; Querrey Upsets Tsonga, Faces Del Potro In Valencia

Swiss Maestro Says:

” Not to play second fiddle, top ranked Novak Djokovic is alive and well at the event. In a rematch of their Australian Open final, Djokovic plays Marcos Baghdatis tomorrow. ”

definitely not the AO final on planet earth. Wake up Sean, have some coffee. Fed and baggy played an AO final, not joker n baggy.


Sean Randall Says:

You got me, it’s late!

Novak played Tsonga, Federer played baggy!


trufan Says:

ITs Djoke-Fed final on sunday. Hardly any chance of anyone derailing that. And in best of 3, I think Fed will win – Djoke has got to be rusty, more than Federer. Plus home town.

Paris should be interesting. I really think Fed will go all out for it, since it is one of the few masters he hasn’t won – and its the only tournament left where he can gain any points (he could gain 640 points if he wins Paris). Otherwise he has no chance of moving his ranking up again. At the minimum, he would want to desperately protect his No 4 ranking – if he drops below that, his chances of winning another slam are just about gone.


jane Says:

trufan, Baggy may prove you wrong; he’s a tough player, and he is beating Nole quite handily right now. Nole always has trouble in their matches; the H2H is misleading.


carlo Says:

I’m so freaking happy! Del Potro into the semi-final Valencia.

Sam played some great tennis 2nd set but Juan was not going to lose.

Sam should be top 20 again next year if he keeps going like this. He really does have a good game.


carlo Says:

Bit of a nail-biter for Djokovic fans the way he had a slow start. But he made it. He and Federer are definitely not top form – for different reasons.


carlo Says:

Lol, is that the Roger Federer theme song they keep playing in Basel?

I want it all
I want it all
I want it now

repeat…


Tennis Vagabond Says:

Del Potro gets 180 for making semis, good enough for 10 or 9th place. If he makes the finals or wins he will be within spitting distance of Fish and Tsonga. if Fish pulls out or DelPo gets a round or two further in Paris, DelPo will be in London WTF. It will be quite a story, but I’ll feel bad for Fish or Tsonga who have been two of the best this summer. Seems off that Berdych is ahead.


jane Says:

Nole bounced back well in that match. Good job by him. It’s amazing his H2H with Baggy is 6-0 as all of their matches are so close. Similar case with la Monf; they often have good contests.

Delpo is doing very well at Valencia. Was hoping to see JMDP vs. Monfils but nope. Looking like a Delpo vs. Ferrer final there???


carlo Says:

Del Potro top 10!

His forehand was the best I’ve seen since the injury. He hit some backhand winners too, served well, and moved well for the big guy. Looking good. As much as I want him at WTF, I don’t want him there if he’s not up to it. If he wins Valencia, he’ll have to likely beat Ferrer – which would mean, he is up for it!


Tennis Vagabond Says:

Its funny how a guy like Ferrer can be so firmly established as number 5, yet no one would give him a realistic chance at a Slam, because we really can’t imagine him beating the top four in a best of 5 (the once-in-a-lifetime match that took out Rafa is really the shocking exception that proves the rule). Yet guys with less consistency but a higher top end, who have shown they can run with the bulls every once in a while, will (correctly in my view) get build-up as potential dark horses for Slams: Tsonga, Del Potro, Soderling and Berdych.


El Flaco Says:

Ferrer’s overall record against Nadal isn’t very good, but he has won 2 of 3 in grand slam play and beat him in the TMC. He also has multiple wins against Djoko and Murray although going forward I think his W/L record will get worse against these guys. Fed is the only top guy that Ferrer has never beat at least not yet.


El Flaco Says:

Ferrer can beat one of the big 4 in a slam, but the problem is he will probably have to beat 3 of the 4 to win a slam which is highly unlikely.


El Flaco Says:

Delpo isn’t out of the race for the WTF yet, but it is still a long shot. If he wins Valencia then he will be only 195 points behind Fish. Then he will have to get to the semis of Paris and hope that Fish doesn’t get any further than the 3rd round.


carlo Says:

It’s true, I have never given Ferrer a realistic chance at a slam – like Davydenko. And yet I think Ferrer’s best chance out of the top 4 going forward is against Federer, though his record is poor against him. But I wouldn’t pick either of them, Federer or Ferrer, for a GS win.

Also would guess Berdych and Soderling join Fish and Davydenko as being past their peaks enough to not win a slam. I give Tsonga another year, Murray another 2 years. Took me a long time to give up on Nalbandian.

Murray will get a GS! That’s my 2012 mantra.


carlo Says:

El Flaco – if Tsonga, Fish and Berdych earn it in Paris and del Potro doesn’t, that’s fine. All I hope is that it’s good competition at WTF. That’s why I was hoping Almagro wouldn’t make it. Nothing against Nico, he’s great during clay court season. But he’d be useless in London.


jane Says:

Roddick is playing too passively; he is too far behind the baseline most of the time imo. Couple that with the fact that he can’t buy a first serve at the moment (he’s at 41%) and this will be over in a flash.


carlo Says:

It’s too bad. Roddick is beaten before the match starts.


Ben Pronin Says:

I simply cannot get over how much I love watching Federer play. Even today I still think he has the best forehand I’ve ever seen, and the rest of his game isn’t too bad, either.

Interesting match between Baghdatis and Djokovic today. Baghdatis looked great in the first set and a half, untouchable on his serve. But it also looked like Djokovic wasn’t really giving it his all. You could really tell which one of these guys has just won a bunch of slams and which one values a spot in the semis of Basel as much as anything.

But huge credit to Baghdatis for really dominating that first set. Djokovic didn’t run for a lot of balls you’d normally see him go after but I think that has a lot to do with the surface and how flat Baghdatis hits as opposed to Djokovic’s intensity. He was certainly thrilled to get that break in the second set. And it typical Djokovic fashion, he just stormed through 7 straight games between the second and third sets before Baghdatis realized he was actually losing.

It’s amazing how defense Roddick plays. Really amazing. Federer looks like he’s about to explode every time he plays a point, constantly trying to move forward or hit a winner. Roddick just chills behind the baseline doing nothing. He just makes it too easy for Fed. I think, should the seedings hold, Federer and Djokovic will play a great match and I think Federer is the favorite as of now, based on what we’ve seen this week, anyway.


jane Says:

I know Ben: Roddick’s serve was not a weapon today (I think he finished with below 40%) but why does he stay 6 feet behind the baseline? I cannot figure it out. Is he trying to draw Fed in for the pass or is he just being passive or what? He did seem to make it easy but Fed looked sharp as well.

Wawa seems to be cruising along: don’t think he can beat Fed but he can maybe keep it close. Nishikori played Nole closely at the FO once, not sure what to expect of their meeting here since Nole has been so uneven, but no doubt Kei is talented.


mat4 Says:

There are two very interesting articles about Roddick on the tennischick site.


Kimmi Says:

Poor roddick! happy for fed but i was hoping roddick will make it close. I think apart from playing defensive, he also has federer in his head. his biggest weapon the serve wasnt there. I read he made lots of UE too. Seriously, this is the easiest match for federer this week, and to come from a great player like roddick is sad.

Yay delpo! go go go. great run for nishikori too, coulda shoulder won in two but glad he was able to regroup and play well in the third.


Kimmi Says:

Paris draw is out. bracket challenge anyone???


Kimmi Says:

“coulda shoulder”..make that shoulda


jane Says:

Mat4, those were interesting but especially the one on labelling a player this or that. It could have, indeed must have, weighed heavily.

Kimmi, when can we make our picks?


Swiss Maestro Says:

@BP :

That’s the greatness of RF. He’s one of those few sportsmen who can transform sport from a barbaric dog fight to an art form. GENIUS!

He makes playing one of the most athletically demanding sport at it’s highest level look like a walk in the park. At the same time he elevates the game to an art form. Like mozart’s/beethoven’s symphonies or MJ’s dancing.


Kimmi Says:

You can make anytime jane. the deadline is monday 7th nov 10 am GMT


jane Says:

Thanks Kimmi: might as well go for it, last one!


Kimmi Says:

kamakaze style again jane?


jane Says:

That didn’t work out so well, ha ha. Nah Kimmi, I will think about the picks a little more. Although I did get the final winner right in my kamikaze draw – it was Murray. Is he a good pick for Paris? Or who? Fed, Nole, JMDP, Tsonga??


skeezerweezer Says:

SM,

Great analogy on Fed comparisons to MJ, etc…. ;)…One of a kind!


Fot Says:

Hey Jane! Long time no hear! lol! Anyway – I’ve been around reading…just not posting much. But it’s good to see you are still around here!


Kimberly Says:

I have a feeling the Paris winner might be random. I did some wild picks. Right now other than delpo many are looking rusty and or tired. Would pick Murray to win but for his pain on the ass!


Kimberly Says:

Maybe tsonga he does will in front of the home crowd!


Kimmi Says:

so tough this week. I will wait for valencia and basel to finish. it might give us the idea….


jane Says:

I think Tsonga won Paris once, didn’t he? I have to look at the draw still…

Hey Fot, saw your other post, earlier, and was surprised to see you back. But it is a good time to be watching as I remember you’re a Fed fan. :) Yep, i still post too much… sigh.


mat4 Says:

Jane,

it was three years ago. Tsonga was in great shape then.

It is troubling that French players have so little success. Almost thirty years without a slam, and, if I remember well, one MS in the last ten years.

The FFT earns a lot of money at Roland Garros and invests a lot in young players. But there are almost no results. The talents are here: Tsonga, Monfils, Gasquet, who were excellent juniors, but then, no results on the main tour.


Kimberly Says:

Monfils was in the final last year


mat4 Says:

Spain does probably less for his players, although the infrastructure and the tradition exists there too, but when we compare, we see that Spaniards won at least a slam every five years.

Even without Rafa, the results are outstanding: I remember Orantes (who was so elegant), Bruguera, Costa, Moya, Ferrero have won a slam (most of the time Roland Garros).


mat4 Says:

Kimberly:

Monfils was in the final the last two years. He lost in 2009 against Djoko and last year against Soderling.

Then, there is no really “French” school of tennis. There is a Spanish school, easy to recognize. Then, there is an american school, also easy to recognize. But nothing like this in France.


margot Says:

France is more about nurturing individual talent, which of course is a very “French” thing to do :)
Nishikori is a bit like Ferrer, small, no big shots but will run and run and run.
I expect Delpotro will stamp all over Granollers but he has been playing some delightful tennis at the net, lovely touch.
btw Ferrer has beaten Andy on clay, but would be surprised if he could still do that.
Carlo: love your 2012 mantra, just gonna shut my eyes and start chanting..;)


Kimberly Says:

btw Ferrer has beaten Andy on clay, but would be surprised if he could still do that

I wouldn’t. Ferrer is much more accomplished on clay than Murray. Murray was lucky not to lose to Troicki and struggled with Chela. Ferrer is much more confortable on the surface and has pushed Fed and Rafa beaten Djoko. If I had to handicap the match I would put it 60-40 in Ferrer’s favor.

However on hard or grass I would put it 95-5 in Murrays favor any day. Unless Murray has a total no-show Donald Young Alexander Bogomolov day I just don’t see how he could lose that match.


Kimberly Says:

I have a feeling Paris is the masters of attrition. If there is a tournament to pick upsets this is it. I have Murray winning the tournament but I’m not confortable with this pick as I’m not even sure he will play!


margot Says:

Kimberly: Andy is getting better on clay, has just had his best year, Ferrer is getting older, I rest my case.
Yes, Paris picks very hard. By no means certain Andy will play.
Was just going to post Djkovich far too strong for Nishikori and the massive difference between the top players and all the rest when….
Nishikori breaks Nole’s serve, but, but Nole calls for the trainer. Commentator seems to think it’s the serving shoulder again, bummer :(


jane Says:

That shoulder has been an issue off and on since 2009. It was the reason for all the adjustments he tried to do with Martin that didn’t work. I think it will always be a potential issue for him, unfortunately. :( Unless he tries to change his motion, but at this point in his career, that seems unlikely??

Kei is playing better second set.

Agree with you margot that Murray is getting better on clay.


margot Says:

jane: r u watching, don’t quite know where to post!

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