Playing one of his contemporaries on a big stage in just his seventh tournament of the season (his record in the previous six: 0-6), I had a feeling Juan Carlos Ferrero would seize this opportunity, if only for a few games. As it turned out, Ferrero's moment lasted longer than that, and it was better late than never. The 32-year-old's inspired play pushed Roger Federer to an unexpected third set, but no more, as the world No. 2 won in the end, 6-2, 5-7, 6-1.
If matches played out as they are previewed on paper, the first set made the author look like a soothsayer. Federer, riding his hot streak, completely controlled play from the start and made Ferrero look every bit of his age. But with that set behind him, and perhaps some early jitters as well, Ferrero loosened up and hit out on his shots whenever possible. If his big groundstrokes—which he still can smack—didn't end the point, they pushed Federer back while allowing him to creep closer inside the baseline. When Ferrero was in those positions, he dictated play, and his service games, somewhat dodgy in the first set, weren't as taxing.
A flat-ball hitter, Ferrero made his move at 5-5, after dodging three break points beforehand. He unleashed a backhand down the line that Federer could only graze with his racquet after a full slide, earning his first break point of the set. At the end of a rally in which Federer looked tentative, likely in response to Ferrero's sniper-like showing in recent games, the Swiss bungled a forehand into the net moving forward, clinching the break. Combined with some Federer errors, Ferrero's surge earned him the set, his first against his peerless peer in their four matches on clay.
It was a turn-back-the-clock set of games for Ferrero, but it was Federer who did something similar in the third set. His backhand became his dominant shot, both during rallies and in terminating them. After a quick hold at the onset, Federer crushed two backhands down the line for winners, claiming two break points. He'd need but one, using his forehand to send another ball down the line, uncontested, in case we forgot how it's done.
Up 2-0 and soon 5-1, there was little Federer could do wrong in closing out this match. Except for one thing: A clean whiff on a backhand that left the crowd stunned, the commentators silent, and Federer bemused. But call it tennis' version of golf's practice stroke: In the very next game, from nearly an identical position, Federer connected with that backhand for a clean winner on game point.