Roger Federer wasn't as dominant during today's quarterfinal as he was in his two previous matches at the Paris Masters, but then the game and gritty Juan Monaco put up much more resistance than did the over-manned Adrian Mannarino in the second round and the somewhat sketchy Richard Gasquet in the third round.
The final score was 6-3, 7-5 to Federer, who in the on-court interview after the match, had an interesting explanation for his slow start, in which he fell behind a break at 1-3.
“It’s always hard to come on the court after a fabulous match,” he said, referring to Tomas Berdych’s thrilling victory over Andy Murray. “It almost seems as if some of the magic is gone.”
Neverthless, Federer got the break back quickly, going to 3-3, and then got another to go ahead 5-3, finishing the set on a five-game run.
In some ways, the story of the match was the eighth game, when Federer earned that second break. To get to 30-30, Federer hit a winning, down-the-line forehand that left Monaco shaking his head as if to say, “Why did I hit that shot cross-court and give him the opening?” On the next point, Monaco hit a deep approach shot, only to have Federer reply with a terrific cross-court backhand pass that he couldn’t control on the volley.
The Argentine then lost the game on a double fault.
As stern a challenge as Monaco put up—and his sense of belief was much greater than at this year's U.S. Open, when he was drubbed in the fourth round by Federer, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0—there was still a sense of it all being a bit of a show. Particularly in the second game of the second set, when Monaco chased back a lob—you just knew he wouldn't hoist a defensive lob. Indeed, Monaco didn't, instead preparing for and hitting a tweener. Federer won the point with a second volley, later saying he probably didn’t deserve to win it.
The second set was much more competitive. Although he didn’t face a break point, Federer had to work hard to win service games, especially at 4-5 when he needed three deuces.
In terms of the match stats, Federer’s 25 to 35 ratio of winners-to-unforced-errors wasn't up to his standards, nor was his 42 percent of points won on second serve. But he had to be happy with winning 17 of 20 points at net. Federer was masterful in front of the appreciative French crowd at concluding points by taking the ball on the fly.
In Saturday’s semifinal, Federer will face Berdych. The Swiss holds a 9-4 advantage over the Czech, but Berdych has won three of their last four matches, including a straight-sets win in the Cincinnati quarterfinals in August.
“I haven’t played that well against him,” Federer said. “I thought he played really well in Cincinnati, so I’ll have to think about how I’ll play him this time.”
—Tom Tebbutt