Federer-Murray - Cincinnati 2015 MS - SF

[tennis_pro]

First meeting since their 2015 Wimbledon SF in which Fed played a perfect match. Who's your pick here?

STORYLINE:
1) Federer's coming into this match in fantastic form, hasn't dropped his serve even so far. Murray isn't too shabby either (won Canada beating Djokovic in the final), although his endurance might be questionable having played a lot of 3-setters in the last couple of days

2) First meeting since 2015 Wimbledon when Fed won 7-5 7-5 6-4 - when he was in sublime form. H2h = 13-11 for Federer, Fed won the last 4 meetings dating from the 2013 AO semi-final. Fed has won 10 of the last 11 sets (and it should've been 10 out of 10, really if Rog served out the match at the AO in 2014)

3) Federer needs to beat Murray AND (probably) Djokovic in the final if he wants to be seeded 2nd for the US Open. Murray will like to prevent that from happening of course.

 

[Feather]

Roger Federer in two sets

 

[NatF]

I think Federer is winning this. I expect Murray to put up a fight. Maybe 6-4 6-4 or something to that effect.

 

[The_18th_Slam]

Federer in 2.

 

[Deleted member 512391]

I'm going with the old man. He's been the most impressive player in this tournament, hasn't lost a serve (if I recall) and has a great record against Andy on fast surfaces.

Murray, on the other hand, should have and would have lost that match he played against Dimitrov to any top 10 player (I mean, set and two breaks down), has been broken multiple times by all opponents he's faced and his 3-meters-behind-the-baseline court position will just kill him against Federer.

 

[Fed881981]

Fed in 3. Murray looked tired to me and it will be difficult for him to beat a fresher Fed. Murray, however, knows that a win here will guarantee him #2 seed at the USO, so a lot is on the line.

 

[Noleberic123]

Federer in 2

 

[Chanwan]

I think this thread needs a 2nd poll:

How many times will Fed half volley Murray's 2nd serve?

 

[ultradr]

Is this battle for #2 seed at US Open ?

 

[Chanwan]

I'm going with the old man. He's been the most impressive player in this tournament, hasn't lost a serve (if I recall) and has a great record against Andy on fast surfaces.

Murray, on the other hand, should have and would have lost that match he played against Dimitrov to any top 10 player (I mean, set and two breaks down), has been broken multiple times by all opponents he's faced and his 3-meters-behind-the-baseline court position will just kill him against Federer.

I'll repeat myself from the match thread:

"I actually don't think Fed looked that unbeatable from the baseline today - he did make some random errors and shanks. But Lopez' forehand was just not a stable weapon today, so he had very little to 'deal with'.
Murray, regardless of playing poor, standard or good, will give Fed a lot more balls to hit.

I do think Fed takes it, but I'm not exactly expecting a blow-out.
Also, will be interesting to see how Fed deals with his serve coming back after facing a mere 3 BP's (all in the same game) this week."

All that said: Fed in 2 fairly close sets, perhaps 3. A Murray win would slightly surprise me given their form and recent meetings and this being Cinci

 

[Mainad]

I just can't see how Murray can beat Federer tomorrow. He's played too much in the last few months and Cincy is just a step too far. He's completely jaded, has very little gas left in the tank and is facing a Federer who is on top form and fresh as a daisy. It's bad luck for him that he can't be at his best tomorrow against a goating Federer who hasn't dropped a set all week. Hopefully he can manage to avoid another complete beatdown but this match is just going to be 1 too many for him. Frankly, I won't be at all surprised if he withdraws ahead of tomorrow's match!

He's done well to make the semis and force Federer to defend his title in order to get the number #2 ranking back.

 

[Sysyphus]

Feder won all the real slams

 

[Chanwan]

I just can't see how Murray can beat Federer tomorrow. He's played too much in the last few months and Cincy is just a step too far. He's completely jaded, has very little gas left in the tank and is facing a Federer who is on top form and fresh as a daisy. It's bad luck for him that he can't be at his best tomorrow against a goating Federer who hasn't dropped a set all week. Hopefully he can manage to avoid another complete beatdown but this match is just going to be 1 too many for him. Frankly, I won't be at all surprised if he withdraws ahead of tomorrow's match!

He's done well to make the semis and force Federer to defend his title in order to get the number #2 ranking back.

Come on now Mainad, have some faith in your man!
There's no sign of injury whatsoever, why would he withdraw? Exhaustion? Really? If Fed's in blitzing mode, the match only takes an hour or so anyway


Quit with the pre-match excuses, Murray's in splendid form and if this week has shown us anything, it's that he doesn't go down easily

 

[Inanimate_object]

I expect a straights sets win from Federer. I do think Murray will be able to break his serve though.

HumbleBrag vs the Dog for the title!

 

[Al Czervik]

Murray is in some weird zombie mode where he won't quit. I think he wins in three sets. Like everyone else is saying, I hope he is not shooting his wad for a third round exit in Flushing Meadows.

 

[Sysyphus]

I just can't see how Murray can beat Federer tomorrow. He's played too much in the last few months and Cincy is just a step too far. He's completely jaded, has very little gas left in the tank and is facing a Federer who is on top form and fresh as a daisy. It's bad luck for him that he can't be at his best tomorrow against a goating Federer who hasn't dropped a set all week. Hopefully he can manage to avoid another complete beatdown but this match is just going to be 1 too many for him. Frankly, I won't be at all surprised if he withdraws ahead of tomorrow's match!

He's done well to make the semis and force Federer to defend his title in order to get the number #2 ranking back.

 

[Pagoo]

Murray and Djokovic have the possum act down to a T.I do not think he is exhausted or anything like that.

You can't keep playing and winning long matches when you're exhausted. I'm not buying it.

 

[Mainad]

Come on now Mainad, have some faith in your man!
There's no sign of injury whatsoever, why would he withdraw? Exhaustion? Really? If Fed's in blitzing mode, the match only takes an hour or so anyway


Quit with the pre-match excuses, Murray's in splendid form and if this week has shown us anything, it's that he doesn't go down easily

You didn't see him sitting slumped in his chair at the end of the Gasquet match trying to draw breath? Well, I did! He's gassed. That's why he's been struggling to put away his last 2 opponents. Tomorrow, he's facing the world number #3 who is in scintillating form and with bags of energy. I hope for a miracle, I really do, but I think it's going to take one. The writing has been on the wall for Andy all week. Cincy has just been one tourney too far. I really think he should have skipped it and rested up before the really big one in New York!

 

[jm1980]

If Murray shows up he wins this in 2, maybe 3

If Murray decides to tank then Fed wins

 

[Inanimate_object]

If Murray shows up he wins this in 2, maybe 3

If Murray decides to tank then Fed wins

Ok so 0 chance that Federer beats a Murray who actually wants to win. Good to know.

 

[Deleted member 512391]

I'll repeat myself from the match thread:

"I actually don't think Fed looked that unbeatable from the baseline today - he did make some random errors and shanks. But Lopez' forehand was just not a stable weapon today, so he had very little to 'deal with'.
Murray, regardless of playing poor, standard or good, will give Fed a lot more balls to hit.

I do think Fed takes it, but I'm not exactly expecting a blow-out.
Also, will be interesting to see how Fed deals with his serve coming back after facing a mere 3 BP's (all in the same game) this week."

All that said: Fed in 2 fairly close sets, perhaps 3. A Murray win would slightly surprise me given their form and recent meetings and this being Cinci

I think that Fed is going to play differently that he did today - he will attack much, much more. Lopez simply gives you no rhythm and approaches the net as soon he can, while Murray has been playing way too defensive . If he chooses to play like that tomorrow and to just return every ball he gets - with no ambition to attack, and I'm very sure he will, since he hasn't shown any signs of "going forward", he is going to lose. And, his second serve still his biggest problem. How many times has he lost his serve to the average returners like Gasquet or Dimitrov? Even Fish has broken him three times.

 

[Mainad]

Why not? Fed's supporters are very quick to come up with some whenever he loses to Andy!

 

[killerboi2]

Obviously Murray doesn't want to burn himself out before the US Open, but this talk of him being tired is disturbing and worrying to me as a fan of his. I mean Djokovic has played around the same amount of matches in the past couple of weeks, and nobody is talking about him being tired.

If Murray starts becoming a pigeon to a 34 year old, or doesn't have the hunger and intensity to at least give a 34 year old a game tomorrow and get revenge for his humiliating beatdown at wimbledon then he can forget about winning the US Open tomorrow. This might sound harsh but i'm just trying to keep it real.

 

[Sysyphus]

If Murray shows up he wins this in 2, maybe 3

If Murray decides to tank then Fed wins

Pathetic stuff.

I guess Murray's been fond of tanking against Feder in recent encounters, and I also guess that Gasquet and Dimitrov are just some levels tougher.

 

[Chanwan]

You didn't see him sitting slumped in his chair at the end of the Gasquet match trying to draw breath? Well, I did! He's gassed. That's why he's been struggling to put away his last 2 opponents. Tomorrow, he's facing the world number #3 who is in scintillating form and with bags of energy. I hope for a miracle, I really do, but I think it's going to take one. The writing has been on the wall for Andy all week. Cincy has just been one tourney too far. I really think he should have skipped it and rested up before the really big one in New York!

I did, but I also saw him keep on sprinting after that. Murray looks gassed in every long match he plays yet aside from a few matches vs. Djokovic, I rarely ever see him lose a match due to being more gassed than his opponent (did you see Gasquet? Now there's a guy who couldn't run any longer).

If Murray shows up he wins this in 2, maybe 3

If Murray decides to tank then Fed wins

that's exactly it yes. No other outcome seems possible.
End thread/

 

[Pagoo]

Obviously Murray doesn't want to burn himself out before the US Open, but this talk of him being tired is disturbing and worrying to me as a fan of his. I mean Djokovic has played around the same amount of matches in the past couple of weeks, and nobody is talking about him being tired.

If Murray starts becoming a pigeon to a 34 year old, or doesn't have the hunger and intensity to at least give a 34 year old a game tomorrow and get revenge for his humiliating beatdown at wimbledon then he can forget about winning the US Open tomorrow. This might sound harsh but i'm just trying to keep it real.

I don't think you have anything to worry about. Some overzealous Murray fans just like saying he's tired. Yesterday, he was supposedly tanking to Dimitrov, but as soon as he got into the match, he became brilliant and the second best player in the world.

If the way Murray played yesterday is tanking, heaven help us!

 

[Chanwan]

I think that Fed is going to play differently that he did today - he will attack much, much more. Lopez simply gives you no rhythm and approaches the net as soon he can, while Murray has been playing way too defensive . If he chooses to play like that tomorrow and to just return every ball he gets - with no ambition to attack, and I'm very sure he will, since he hasn't shown any signs of "going forward", he is going to lose. And, his second serve still his biggest problem. How many times has he lost his serve to the average returners like Gasquet or Dimitrov? Even Fish has broken him three times.

You're right and I agree completely. I haven't been 'scared' before a Murray match since quite a bit pre surgery. Am not afraid of tmr either (Murray can still win of course - just feel Fed has the tools to win and the match on his racquet).

 

[Sysyphus]

Why not? Fed's supporters are very quick to come up with some whenever he loses to Andy!

Strong logic.

Others completely disregard the speed limit, so why shouldn't I? etc etc etc etc etc

***

Feder is the better player, and he still is when both show up.

Will not need a tired, exhausted, aching, hurt and postpartum depressed Murray to win.

If Murray pulls it off, credit to him. Amazing stuff.

 

[jm1980]

Ok so 0 chance that Federer beats a Murray who actually wants to win. Good to know.

Don't worry though, it's very clear Murray has no intention of winning this tournament. He has been basically just showing up and his opponents have imploded.

Fed will win against an exhausted and unmotivated Murray, and his fanbase will claim this is proof that prime for prime he would have destroyed him. Typical.

 

[zagor]

If Murray shows up he wins this in 2, maybe 3

If Murray decides to tank then Fed wins

Luckily for us, this isn't a slam meeting so Murray might decide not to tank afterall and we'll get ourselves a match.

 

[cc0509]

I like Murray but I hope Federer wipes the floor with Murray tomorrow just as he has in their past few encounters (sorry decent Murray fans.)

 

[cc0509]

Luckily for us, this isn't a slam meeting so Murray might decide not to tank afterall and we'll get ourselves a match.

LOL. Good one!

 

[Mainad]

I did, but I also saw him keep on sprinting after that. Murray looks gassed in every long match he plays yet aside from a few matches vs. Djokovic, I rarely ever see him lose a match due to being more gassed than his opponent (did you see Gasquet? Now there's a guy who couldn't run any longer).

It's not so much his movement but his erratic serving and returning which become more and more erratic the more tired he becomes. That's how his fatigue has showed this week. Every time he forces an early break he immediately hands it back. Last week in Montreal, he was sharp in all his matches and his opponents had to play well in order to break him. This week his opponents have had to do very little. He's just been gifting them back. He can't afford to be a gift horse tomorrow. Federer is unlikely to return the favour.

 

[Russeljones]

Murray in 3 tight sets? I don't know, to be honest. He has the belief now, I don't see why he can't use that against Roger.

 

[Inanimate_object]

Don't worry though, it's very clear Murray has no intention of winning this tournament. He has been basically just showing up and his opponents have imploded.

Fed will win against an exhausted and unmotivated Murray, and his fanbase will claim this is proof that prime for prime he would have destroyed him. Typical.

Agreed Murray has been winning by accident. You can see how frustrated he is that he hasn't lost yet. He keeps trying to shank all his shots, but for some reason they are all finding their way into court. It's utterly baffling. He tried to bend over to Dimitrov, but Dimitrov was like "please, brah, I have an image to maintain." Then he tried to give up against Gasquet, but Gasquet was like "please, brah, no one gives up better than the French."

I bet Federer will throw the match tomorrow so he can start humble-bragging, "I even throw matches better than Murray! Go figure!"

 

[jm1980]

Pathetic stuff.

I guess Murray's been fond of tanking against Feder in recent encounters, and I also guess that Gasquet and Dimitrov are just some levels tougher.

If you have watched his matches against Gasquet and Dimitrov it's pretty clear he's nowhere near 100%. Looks disinterested and tired.

 

[Mainad]

I like Murray but I hope Federer wipes the floor with Murray tomorrow just as he has in their past few encounters (sorry decent Murray fans.)

I naturally hope for the opposite. It's high time Murray wiped the floor with Fed to get some payback for recent encounters. But that won't happen, not tomorrow at any rate. But why can't you be content with a simple win? Why do you want Fed to wipe the floor with him (again)?

 

[The_18th_Slam]

If Murray shows up he wins this in 2, maybe 3

If Murray decides to tank then Fed wins

Bet on Murray tanking, then.

 

[The_18th_Slam]

Fed will win against an exhausted and unmotivated Murray, and his fanbase will claim this is proof that prime for prime he would have destroyed him. Typical.

17>2. Demolition.

 

[Al Czervik]

If you have watched his matches against Gasquet and Dimitrov it's pretty clear he's nowhere near 100%. Looks disinterested and tired.

Wut. He was down a set and 4-1 (two breaks) against Dimitrov. Grigor was on fire. Murray had no business getting back into that match, especially after winning Montreal. He simply got angry and decided to will himself to victory. It was an unbelievable display of effort.

 

[Sysyphus]

If you have watched his matches against Gasquet and Dimitrov it's pretty clear he's nowhere near 100%. Looks disinterested and tired.

He's not tanking.

He hasn't been amazing, no, but against Grigor, it was mostly a case of the Bulgarian playing well (and then choking it away). Against Gasquet, Murray played mediocre.

But Murray isn't tanking (or he'd obviously be out—unless he completely sucks at tanking), won't be tanking tomorrow, and is well enough to show up.

Feder is more than good enough to handle Murray, even in the much more demanding and prestigious BO3 format, and everyone knows it.

 

[The_18th_Slam]

If you have watched his matches against Gasquet and Dimitrov it's pretty clear he's nowhere near 100%. Looks disinterested and tired.

He can't be disinterested. That's an impossibility.

 

[tipsa...don'tlikehim!]

If Murray was fresher he would definitely have a solid shot
But now, 3 hours match against Dimitrov and 3 sets against Gasquet I don't think he's winning this.

 

[cc0509]

I naturally hope for the opposite. It's high time Murray wiped the floor with Fed to get some payback for recent encounters. But that won't happen, not tomorrow at any rate. But why can't you be content with a simple win? Why do you want him to wipe the floor with him (again)?

I'm cruel! Watching Federer dismantle Murray at Wimbledon 2015 was a beautiful sight to see. As a Fed fan I have to take what great performances I can get these days from Federer.

Don't worry, I'm sure Murray will offer some payback soon. Who knows, it may even occur tomorrow.

 

[Mainad]

Feder is the better player, and he still is when both show up.

Except when he loses of course. Then the old excuse machine gets into gear!

Will not need a tired, exhausted, aching, hurt and postpartum depressed Murray to win.

Now don't talk crap. You well know that an in-form Murray has a solid history of beating (a very fit and healthy) Federer in Masters events including in 2 finals

If Murray pulls it off, credit to him. Amazing stuff.

Amen to that.

 

[cc0509]

If you have watched his matches against Gasquet and Dimitrov it's pretty clear he's nowhere near 100%. Looks disinterested and tired.

He looks anything but disinterested. He would have tanked a lot earlier and saved himself a lot of energy and aggravation. He's obviously in it to win it at this point. Stop making dumb excuses.

 

[bjsnider]

It would be funny if the two of them killed each other to get the #2 ranking, and then drew into the same half at the Open anyway.

 

[Pagoo]

He looks anything but disinterested. He would have tanked a lot earlier and saved himself a lot of energy and aggravation. He's obviously in it to win it at this point. Stop making dumb excuses.

It's amazing what length some people will go. Not sure why some Djokovic fans are bitter against Fed.

I mean their man is winning everything, and they are still disgruntled. Mind boggles!

 

[Sysyphus]

Except when he loses of course. Then the old excuse machine gets into gear!

No, Federer has always been the better player, and their overall records reflect that pretty neatly. Doesn't mean he has to win every match he plays. He's a much better player than, say, Berdych too, despite having lost several matches to him (more than once in slams too, unlike to Murray).

I don't care if some unnamed others have made excuses: (1) they are not me, so it's irrelevant, and (2) it's—noch ein mal—a completely silly reason for doing the same vice yourself.

Now don't talk crap. You well know that an in-form Murray has a solid history of beating (a very fit and healthy) Federer in Masters events including in 2 finals

Geez, and where did I say anything to the contrary? Oh, how about nowhere. Stop arguing straw men.

I said that Federer doesn't need a disabled Murray to win, and given their respective top levels, that much is abundantly clear.[/QUOTE]

 

[swordtennis]

Fed in 2 however he will be the winner no matter what. Murrovic or no player for that matter truly wins against fedal.