The Green Mile
Bionic Poster
Their first Career meeting. I watched this live over 10 years ago, and had been wanting to watch it again. Recently got hold of it, and uploaded it to YouTube. My 4th time ever seeing Novak play.
When I watch a match, I write notes while watching, just so I can go back to them if my memory gets a little hazy. Usually in some detail. It was a interesting read looking back at my notes over 10 years old. Here they are if you're interested. It is quite long.
When I watch a match, I write notes while watching, just so I can go back to them if my memory gets a little hazy. Usually in some detail. It was a interesting read looking back at my notes over 10 years old. Here they are if you're interested. It is quite long.
2006 Monte Carlo R1 - [1] Roger Federer vs [Q] Novak Djokovic. Roger wins 6/3 2/6 6/3.
Roger #1 in the world, Novak #67 in the world. Pascal Maria is the Umpire. Novak holds to 30 for 1-0. Settle some nerves. Quite the confident start form Novak, has nothing to lose really, so going for his shots. Great backhand dtl for the winner. Missed forehand from Fed and it's deuce. Good serve and forehands from Fed, and he levels it at 1-1. A couple of poor errors from Novak, and it's love 30. Forehand into the net and Fed has 3 BPs. Poor game here. Novak saves 2 BPs. Brilliant forehands into Fed's backhand side, pushing him further back. Deuce. 4th BP. Chip backhand from Fed on the return not enough. Deuce. Mishit from Novak, and Fed has a 5th BP. Novak very aggressive, but finally misses a forehand inside out. Fed breaks for 2-1. Solid hold for 3-1. Spreading the court nicely. Novak with a solid hold. 2-3. Love hold for Roger. 4-2. Novak just a bit too inconsistent off the ground right now to make any big damage. Fed playing solid. Brilliant point to close out that 6th game though. Finishing it off with a great transition to the net. Good touch on the drop volley. Fed starting to come alive a bit more. Big inside out forehand, and it's 30-30. The forehand from Federer just lands in and skids off the baseline, making it impossible for Novak to play it. BP Fed. Poor backhand from Fed and it's deuce. Great hustle from Novak, and he holds on for 3-4. Fed had a decent chance to break again. A few more errors from Fed here. 15-30. Serve and forehand combo, finishing it with a drop volley. 30-30. A couple of good 1st serves and Fed holds for 5-3. Novak seems to struggle around the forecourt. Love 30 here. Massive injection of pace from Fed, and he has 2 SPs. Fed forces the forehand error, and breaks for 6/3. Novak just looking outclassed right now. Needs to keep the errors down. Fed still can raise his level a couple of gears, but overall a decent set from Fed. Could serve much better, only at 48% in. 9-15 for Fed, to Novak's 4-15 in terms of winners-UEs.
Brilliant hold from Fed. Backhand flick pass at 40-15. Majority of Fed's placement going to the backhand side of Novak. Massive forehand dtl from Novak from well out, and he holds for 1-1. A couple of forehand misses from Fed, and Novak has 15-30. Good forehand dtl from Novak, forces Fed to hit a defensive backhand reply which floats long. 2 BPs. A 3rd forehand error, and Djokovic has the early break in the 2nd. Didn't see that coming. Novak looks lost at the net. A lot of room for improvement there. Playing some nice tennis from the baseline right now though. Big forehands. Nice hold to 30 for 3-1. Fighting hard. Fed needs to sharpen his game, especially off that forehand side. Novak ripping forehands right now. High intensity from him. 15-30. Making great use of this momentum he has built. 30-30. 2nd serve and volley from Fed catching Novak off guard. 40-30. Fed holds on for 2-3. Fed in a little bit of a slump right now. Spraying errors. Great forehand approach from Fed, but a terrible forehand volley. Djokovic holds to 15 for 4-2. Keeping the error count very low. Brilliant return from Novak off the backhand side, and he has love 30. Looking extremely confident right now. Great serve and backhand combo from Fed, and it's 30-30. Drop shot from Novak, Fed gets there, but nets the backhand pass attempt. BP Novak. Forehand long, and Novak breaks for 5-2. Excellent fight from this guy. Fed looks ready for the 3rd set. Not putting much effort into this return game. Big forehand skids off the line from Novak, and he has 3 SPs. 2 saved. Novak a little tight trying to serve it out. Big forehand miss, and it's deuce. Forehand wide from Fed, and Novak has a 4th SP. Fed comes in after a big forehand approach and completely shanks the volley. Novak has the 2nd set. A much cleaner set than the 1st from Novak. Playing more freely as well. Fed looking poor, especially off that forehand side. 3rd set will be interesting. Fed 8-15 to Novak's 7-6. Fed's not that different from the 1st, but the FEs seems lower in the 2nd set for Novak. Fed only at 55% 1st in, but winning only 50% on 1st and 2nd. Djokovic serving at 54% 1st in, but with much better numbers.
30-30 on Fed's serve. Novak's forehand just long. 40-30. Nice serve out wide, and Fed holds to start the final set. Novak has to be careful here. Sneaky drop shot attempt from him lands in the net. Forehand shank and it's 15-30. 30-30. Court was open for Fed there. Poor drop shot from Novak, and Fed rolls it dtl but it lands wide. The Fed forehand now with 6 winners and 22 UEs. Really needs to get that side going. Novak maybe a bit too impatient at times. Deuce here. Fed has BP here. The Novak forehand letting him down in that game. Fed breaks for 2-0. Looks like experience will come through right now. Novak spraying more errors here. He's come a long way though, since I saw him 1st at the AO last year against Safin. Fed cruises to 3-0 lead. Novak can't keep up that form he was showing in the 2nd. 15-30 here, Novak serving. Novak falling apart in the 3rd set. 2 BPs. Fed not doing anything special by any means. Good response from Novak, and it's deuce. Signs of frustration from Fed for the 1st time. Novak manages to hold for 1-3. Just hanging in there. Fast love hold for 4-1. Fed has 15-30 here. Forehand looking better now. Deuce. Novak toughens out the hold for 2-4. Fed races to a 5-2 lead. Fed closing in. 30-30. Massive DF from Novak, shanked the serve. MP for Fed. Good serve and forehand combo to save it. Deuce. Novak comes through another tough service game. Fed to serve for the match. Novak with a huge forehand approach, but hits the backhand volley right back to Federer who drives it dtl for the passing shot winner. 30-0. Novak headbutts the net, haha. 3 MPs for Fed. 2 saved. Novak hits his forehand long, and Fed wins. A good opening test for Roger this match. Wasn't the cleanest match by any means, especially on the serve and forehand. Should raise his level as the tournament progresses. Novak fought well, and displayed some great skills, especially in that 2nd set. Fun match all round.
8/10.
Time: 1 hour, 48 minutes.
Stats
Federer: 1 Ace, 0 DFs, 51% 1st, 72% 1st won, 63% 2nd won, 25 winners, 37 UEs, 3/11 BPs won, 87 points won.
Djokovic: 1 Ace, 4 DFs, 64% 1st, 58% 1st won, 59% 2nd won, 21 winners, 39 UEs, 2/2 BPs won, 78 points won.
Roger #1 in the world, Novak #67 in the world. Pascal Maria is the Umpire. Novak holds to 30 for 1-0. Settle some nerves. Quite the confident start form Novak, has nothing to lose really, so going for his shots. Great backhand dtl for the winner. Missed forehand from Fed and it's deuce. Good serve and forehands from Fed, and he levels it at 1-1. A couple of poor errors from Novak, and it's love 30. Forehand into the net and Fed has 3 BPs. Poor game here. Novak saves 2 BPs. Brilliant forehands into Fed's backhand side, pushing him further back. Deuce. 4th BP. Chip backhand from Fed on the return not enough. Deuce. Mishit from Novak, and Fed has a 5th BP. Novak very aggressive, but finally misses a forehand inside out. Fed breaks for 2-1. Solid hold for 3-1. Spreading the court nicely. Novak with a solid hold. 2-3. Love hold for Roger. 4-2. Novak just a bit too inconsistent off the ground right now to make any big damage. Fed playing solid. Brilliant point to close out that 6th game though. Finishing it off with a great transition to the net. Good touch on the drop volley. Fed starting to come alive a bit more. Big inside out forehand, and it's 30-30. The forehand from Federer just lands in and skids off the baseline, making it impossible for Novak to play it. BP Fed. Poor backhand from Fed and it's deuce. Great hustle from Novak, and he holds on for 3-4. Fed had a decent chance to break again. A few more errors from Fed here. 15-30. Serve and forehand combo, finishing it with a drop volley. 30-30. A couple of good 1st serves and Fed holds for 5-3. Novak seems to struggle around the forecourt. Love 30 here. Massive injection of pace from Fed, and he has 2 SPs. Fed forces the forehand error, and breaks for 6/3. Novak just looking outclassed right now. Needs to keep the errors down. Fed still can raise his level a couple of gears, but overall a decent set from Fed. Could serve much better, only at 48% in. 9-15 for Fed, to Novak's 4-15 in terms of winners-UEs.
Brilliant hold from Fed. Backhand flick pass at 40-15. Majority of Fed's placement going to the backhand side of Novak. Massive forehand dtl from Novak from well out, and he holds for 1-1. A couple of forehand misses from Fed, and Novak has 15-30. Good forehand dtl from Novak, forces Fed to hit a defensive backhand reply which floats long. 2 BPs. A 3rd forehand error, and Djokovic has the early break in the 2nd. Didn't see that coming. Novak looks lost at the net. A lot of room for improvement there. Playing some nice tennis from the baseline right now though. Big forehands. Nice hold to 30 for 3-1. Fighting hard. Fed needs to sharpen his game, especially off that forehand side. Novak ripping forehands right now. High intensity from him. 15-30. Making great use of this momentum he has built. 30-30. 2nd serve and volley from Fed catching Novak off guard. 40-30. Fed holds on for 2-3. Fed in a little bit of a slump right now. Spraying errors. Great forehand approach from Fed, but a terrible forehand volley. Djokovic holds to 15 for 4-2. Keeping the error count very low. Brilliant return from Novak off the backhand side, and he has love 30. Looking extremely confident right now. Great serve and backhand combo from Fed, and it's 30-30. Drop shot from Novak, Fed gets there, but nets the backhand pass attempt. BP Novak. Forehand long, and Novak breaks for 5-2. Excellent fight from this guy. Fed looks ready for the 3rd set. Not putting much effort into this return game. Big forehand skids off the line from Novak, and he has 3 SPs. 2 saved. Novak a little tight trying to serve it out. Big forehand miss, and it's deuce. Forehand wide from Fed, and Novak has a 4th SP. Fed comes in after a big forehand approach and completely shanks the volley. Novak has the 2nd set. A much cleaner set than the 1st from Novak. Playing more freely as well. Fed looking poor, especially off that forehand side. 3rd set will be interesting. Fed 8-15 to Novak's 7-6. Fed's not that different from the 1st, but the FEs seems lower in the 2nd set for Novak. Fed only at 55% 1st in, but winning only 50% on 1st and 2nd. Djokovic serving at 54% 1st in, but with much better numbers.
30-30 on Fed's serve. Novak's forehand just long. 40-30. Nice serve out wide, and Fed holds to start the final set. Novak has to be careful here. Sneaky drop shot attempt from him lands in the net. Forehand shank and it's 15-30. 30-30. Court was open for Fed there. Poor drop shot from Novak, and Fed rolls it dtl but it lands wide. The Fed forehand now with 6 winners and 22 UEs. Really needs to get that side going. Novak maybe a bit too impatient at times. Deuce here. Fed has BP here. The Novak forehand letting him down in that game. Fed breaks for 2-0. Looks like experience will come through right now. Novak spraying more errors here. He's come a long way though, since I saw him 1st at the AO last year against Safin. Fed cruises to 3-0 lead. Novak can't keep up that form he was showing in the 2nd. 15-30 here, Novak serving. Novak falling apart in the 3rd set. 2 BPs. Fed not doing anything special by any means. Good response from Novak, and it's deuce. Signs of frustration from Fed for the 1st time. Novak manages to hold for 1-3. Just hanging in there. Fast love hold for 4-1. Fed has 15-30 here. Forehand looking better now. Deuce. Novak toughens out the hold for 2-4. Fed races to a 5-2 lead. Fed closing in. 30-30. Massive DF from Novak, shanked the serve. MP for Fed. Good serve and forehand combo to save it. Deuce. Novak comes through another tough service game. Fed to serve for the match. Novak with a huge forehand approach, but hits the backhand volley right back to Federer who drives it dtl for the passing shot winner. 30-0. Novak headbutts the net, haha. 3 MPs for Fed. 2 saved. Novak hits his forehand long, and Fed wins. A good opening test for Roger this match. Wasn't the cleanest match by any means, especially on the serve and forehand. Should raise his level as the tournament progresses. Novak fought well, and displayed some great skills, especially in that 2nd set. Fun match all round.
8/10.
Time: 1 hour, 48 minutes.
Stats
Federer: 1 Ace, 0 DFs, 51% 1st, 72% 1st won, 63% 2nd won, 25 winners, 37 UEs, 3/11 BPs won, 87 points won.
Djokovic: 1 Ace, 4 DFs, 64% 1st, 58% 1st won, 59% 2nd won, 21 winners, 39 UEs, 2/2 BPs won, 78 points won.
