Federer will recover from his lapse in the Haas match!

[federerhoogenbandfan]

I could have possably imagined Haas taking Federer to 4 or 5 sets, but not after the first two sets. It was very uncharacteristic to see him lose his focus and intensity and complicate a match on his own doing as Mary Carillo likes to put. Even though it happened this one time it wont happen again. This will be good for Roger. It will remind him that you can never get complacent when things are going comfortably for you. I will be surprised now if he has another match this tough.

 

[8PAQ]

I could have possably imagined Haas taking Federer to 4 or 5 sets, but not after the first two sets. It was very uncharacteristic to see him lose his focus and intensity and complicate a match on his own doing as Mary Carillo likes to put. Even though it happened this one time it wont happen again. This will be good for Roger. It will remind him that you can never get complacent when things are going comfortably for you. I will be surprised now if he has another match this tough.

What if he bagels Nalbandian in the 2nd set of the final?

I can't explain what happened to Fed in the 3rd and 4th set but it almost looked to me like he choked. Maybe he started thinking about this being his 400th victory, or that this will be the 1st time he beats Haas in Australia, or that is his toughest match of the tournament before the final, or that he finally be even with Sampras with slams count by same age, or who knows what he was thinking about. I just hope he doesn't do it again because I almost gave up at one point and started thinking how much guys like TS or devila must be enjoying this Fed meltdown....

 

[federerhoogenbandfan]

What if he bagels Nalbandian in the 2nd set of the final?

I can't explain what happened to Fed in the 3rd and 4th set but it almost looked to me like he choked. Maybe he started thinking about this being his 400th victory, or that this will be the 1st time he beats Haas in Australia, or that is his toughest match of the tournament before the final, or that he finally be even with Sampras with slams count by same age, or who knows what he was thinking about. I just hope he doesn't do it again because I almost gave up at one point and started thinking how much guys like TS or devila must be enjoying this Fed meltdown....

Yeah I do think he choked just a bit, but not enough to lose the match. Haas sensed whatever vurnerabilitly Federer had and stepped it up as well. I do think he was thinking of alot of the implications of the match when he started feeling a bit too comfortable.

 

[Grimjack]

I really don't see this as a "lapse."

Fed does this a lot. A LOT. He very rarely loses the first set, but once he has a lead, he often lets up a bit. He had scads of matches last season when he got out to one or two set leads, then gave up at least a set, before shrugging, getting on with it, and winning routinely when he needed to.

The only time in recent memory where it came back to haunt him was in the Master's final, where he followed the exact same pattern -- get up a couple sets, let up, allow the opponent to catch up, then finish him off. Except this time, after all but "finishing off" Nalbandian, he DID fall back a second time to lose the match.

I think it was a bit of a wakeup, but all it probably means to him is that he really DOES have to concentrate in that final set against a good player in order to dispatch of him with very little final-set drama. Letting a player creep back into the match, only to handle him routinely in the last set -- like he did with Haas yesterday -- is just business as usual. Fed may take players and matches less seriously after he gets up quickly and easily, and he may let them back into the matches, but so long as his head is where it needs to be, these players pose no real threat once Fed decides to finish the match.

That's what I saw in the Haas match. A fun matchup with lots of good tennis, but no time when Fed was actually in any danger of losing. He's fine.

 

[Bama'sBest]

Remember....use *spoiler* in the title if you're giving up the outcome of a match (for those that are watching on delay)

 

[federerhoogenbandfan]

I really don't see this as a "lapse."

Fed does this a lot. A LOT. He very rarely loses the first set, but once he has a lead, he often lets up a bit. He had scads of matches last season when he got out to one or two set leads, then gave up at least a set, before shrugging, getting on with it, and winning routinely when he needed to.

The only time in recent memory where it came back to haunt him was in the Master's final, where he followed the exact same pattern -- get up a couple sets, let up, allow the opponent to catch up, then finish him off. Except this time, after all but "finishing off" Nalbandian, he DID fall back a second time to lose the match.

I think it was a bit of a wakeup, but all it probably means to him is that he really DOES have to concentrate in that final set against a good player in order to dispatch of him with very little final-set drama. Letting a player creep back into the match, only to handle him routinely in the last set -- like he did with Haas yesterday -- is just business as usual. Fed may take players and matches less seriously after he gets up quickly and easily, and he may let them back into the matches, but so long as his head is where it needs to be, these players pose no real threat once Fed decides to finish the match.

That's what I saw in the Haas match. A fun matchup with lots of good tennis, but no time when Fed was actually in any danger of losing. He's fine.

Interesting perspective. You could be right on all. One thing though is that I dont agree the Nalbandian match in the Masters Cup was similar to this Haas-Federer match in Australia. In the Nalbandian match he barely won the first 2 sets, and in fact he might have deserved to lose both but wont he big points, he was firmyl controling and dominating the play like he was by the end of the 2nd set of this Haas match.