The Crowd is Untruth

Hmmm, first Li Na reaches the women's final, then Francesca Schiavone joins her there. Now, it's Roger Federer in the men's final. Just like everyone thought, right?

Seriously, how stupid were we?

"The crowd is untruth." - Søren Kierkegaard

This 2011 version of Roland Garros has had its share of memorable moments, but few matches came as pre-packaged a keepsake for history than today's men's semifinal match-up between world #2 Novak Djokovic and #3 Roger Federer. The Serb was on a 43-match winning streak stretching back to last December, his 41-0 mark this season was a single victory away from tying John McEnroe's 1984 season-opening men's record (a streak, by the way, that was ended in Paris), and if he could reach the men's final he'd assure himself of becoming the twenty-fifth man to be ranked #1 on the ATP computer. Of course, all Federer has done in his career is win more slam titles than any other man in history. Not that that fact mattered much going into this Roland Garros. All the talk was about either Djokovic or five-time RG champ Rafael Nadal when it came to who'd eventually walk away with the title. Federer was barely an afterthought. He hadn't played in a major final in over a year, had dropped to #3 in the rankings, was 0-3 this year against Djokovic, was "busy" and "content" being a recent father to twins and, as is often the case when tennis players stare down the big 3-oh, he was often being called "old."

But Friday was a case of history winning out over the present-day. And no player's place in history is more secure than Federer's. With Djokovic as his stepping stone, Federer crafted yet another magical entry in his career-long journal. In a match that oh-so-closely resembled some of Federer's slam finals in his dominating heyday, the Swiss Mister outshined his opponent on one of the world's biggest stages... for about two sets. After that, it became a case of Federer trying to outrun his on-the-verge opponent, and beat the encroaching darkness into the lockerroom with a victory.

Federer came into the semi having not lost a set in the tournament, and he wasn't quite ready to put a blemish on his spotless record. He broke Djokovic's service game the first time he faced it. The Serb broke back, then did it again to take a 4-2 lead. But Federer answered with a break of his own to get the set back on serve then, down 5-4, overcame a rash of missed 1st serves and going down 15/40, saving two set points. By winning the eventual tie-break that decided the seventy-minute set, Federer pushed his RG set streak to sixteen. Then, with Djokovic often listless, out of sorts and frustrated in the face of Federer's game, the Swiss vet ran it to seventeen by taking the 2nd at 6-3.

Federer had a 174-0 record in slam matches in which he was up 2-0. But it wasn't going to be that easy.

With his back against the wall, Djokovic finally got pumped up. As Federer's first serve percentage went down, the Serb's fortunes rose. He quickly raced to a 3-0 lead in the 2nd set, and claimed the stanza 6-3. After three sets, Federer was still in the lead, but his 3-for-22 mark in break point attempts was worrisome as 2011's best player seemed to be in the process of once again finding the game that has made him a juggernaut for the last six months.

With the light of Friday fading on Chatrier Court, the 4th set became a case of three forces meeting in one place -- Federer, Djokovic and the oncoming night. Federer still had time to close out the match, but if Djokovic could knot the contest and force a 5th-set-for-the-final meeting on Saturday the advantage would suddenly shift in the Serb's direction if he was going to get one night to charge himself up in order to achieve his life-long goal of becoming #1 just a few hours later. After falling behind earlier, Djokovic got a break to close to within 5-4, then held serve to get to 5-5. With Djokovic serving down 6-5, Federer got to within two points of claiming the match, but the Serb held again to force a tie-break as the clocks read 9:30 pm a short distance away in downtown Paris.

With the crowd decidedly on his side and having chanted his name during the match, Federer got to 3-2 in the tie-break. But when his drop shot attempt fell short to tie the score at 3-3, the feeling that the past and the present might be passing on the edge of night was palpable. Then the still-dependable Swiss luxury liner rammed the Serbian speedboat. Up 4-3, Federer served an ace to go up 5-3, then pounded a service winner to get to 6-3 and triple match point. A Djokovic shot dribbled off the net cord, and a scrambling Federer wasn't able to get it back over the net. Then the Serb smashed an ace to save match point #2.

Standing at the baseline with the final on his racket, Federer was then designated in the fading light to once more try to call up the glory of his legacy. If he could. In Rome a few weeks ago, Andy Murray had had the opportunity to hold serve and halt Djokovic's winning streak at thirty-five. He couldn't do it. Federer stepped up and hit an ace, winning 7-6/6-3/3-6/7-6.

As he walked toward the net, Federer shook his index finger in a knowing, "you should have known better than to count me out" sort of way, then he let loose with a victory scream to relieve himself of any of the pressure he might have felt in the moment. Not that anyone had noticed that he'd been feeling ANY at all. At nearly 30, Federer's obviously not finished his dance with history. Not yet.

Federer's win keeps McEnroe's name in the record books, keeps Guillermo Vilas (and his record 46 straight wins) from having to sweat out the grasscourt season, and preserves Nadal's #1 ranking for at least a few days longer. I guess, even if you've had a pretty good career in your own right, it's not a bad idea to have maybe The Greatest of All Time in your corner, too, whenever your goals intersect with his own.

Awaiting Federer in the final, naturally, will be Nadal. For the fourth time in Paris (a record), the eighth time in a slam (another record) and the nineteenth time (one off the all-time men's mark) in their careers. A win and Federer joins Rod Laver and Roy Emerson as the only men in history with multiple wins at all four slams, but if he could accomplish the feat against Rafa it would be worth even more than that in history's eyes. Previously, the only blank line in Federer's career resume was his lack of a Roland Garros title. He took care of that in '09, but it came without having to face Nadal, who'd lost to Robin Soderling in what is still his only career loss in Paris in forty-five matches. Federer now has the chance to change that, and prevent Nadal from tying Bjorn Borg's mark of six career RG championships, as well.

No one was really pointed toward such a moment two weeks ago... but bring it on.



*CAREER SLAM FINALS - ACTIVE*
23...ROGER FEDERER (16-6)
12...RAFAEL NADAL (9-2)
5...Andy Roddick (1-4)
4...Novak Djokovic (2-2)
4...Lleyton Hewitt (2-2)

*MOST RG TITLES - SINCE 1925*
6...Bjorn Borg (1974-75,1978-81)
5...RAFAEL NADAL (2005-08,2010)
4...Henri Cochet (1926,28,30,32)
3...Gustavo Kuerten (1997,2000-01)
3...Ivan Lendl (1984,1986-87)
3...Rene Lacoste (1925,27,29)
3...Mats Wilander (1982,85,88)

*MOST RG FINAL LOSSES IN CAREER*
3...Jaroslav Drobny (1946,1948,1950)
3...Gullermo Vilas (1975,1978,1982)
3...ROGER FEDERER (2006-08)

*CAREER SLAM MATCH WINS*
232...Jimmy Connors
224...Andre Agassi
222...Ivan Lendl
219...ROGER FEDERER (post-SF)
203...Pete Sampras

*MOST ATP FINAL MATCH-UPS*
[overall]
20...Ivan Lendl vs. John McEnroe
19...ROGER FEDERER vs. RAFAEL NADAL (w/ 2011 RG)
16...Andre Agassi vs. Pete Sampras
16...Boris Becker vs. Stefan Edberg
15...Jimmy Connors vs. John McEnroe
[slams]
8...ROGER FEDERER vs. RAFAEL NADAL (w/ 2011 RG)
5...Andre Agassi vs. Pete Sampras
5...Ivan Lendl vs. Mats Wilander
4...Bjorn Borg vs. Jimmy Connors
4...Bjorn Borg vs. John McEnroe
4...Roger Federer vs. Andy Roddick

*TWO-OR-MORE TITLES AT ALL 4 SLAMS - M/W*
[AO-RG-WI-US, years]
Margaret Smith Court [11-5-3-5, 1960-73]
Roy Emerson [6-2-2-2, 1961-67]
Chris Evert [2-7-3-6, 1974-86]
Steffi Graf [4-6-7-5, 1987-99]
Rod Laver [3-2-4-2, 1960-69]
Martina Navratilova [3-2-9-4, 1978-90]
--
NOTE: Roger Federer [4-1-6-5, 2003-10]

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