2021 Roland Garros...ATP 2000...Paris, France

[arturohernandez]

Roger looked great on clay. His opponent as you say could not have been hand picked any better. Roger is a great clay court player, for many years, the 2nd best clay court player in the world. Who knows how many FO's he could have won if Nadal were not around? His match vs Nadal in 2019 was Nadal's toughest match that FO. All that being said, as great as he is, it is hard to be optimistic about his chances of advancing deep into this tournament.

And yet, we had no expectations in 2019 and he made the semis. The champions find ways to win. He might surprise us and himself once again.

Here is hoping...

[stroke]

Berrettini up 2 sets vs Coria looking like a real contender. His forehand is on the short list of best out there after Nadal. His serve is a real weapon. His drop shots off both sides are great, a real contrast to his power game. His slice backhand is as good as any 2 hander's out there. And like Fed, he can hit his drop shot with the same looking shot as his typical slice backhand.

[stroke]

The ol pro's pro, Kohl up 2 sets vs Karatsev. Kohl has never been past the quarters of any Major. He seems to be an awfully good tennis player to not have had better results at the Majors, but obviously has had to deal with the 3 great ones his whole career, and has a terrible record vs them.

[don_budge]

The ol pro's pro, Kohl up 2 sets vs Karatsev. Kohl has never been past the quarters of any Major. He seems to be an awfully good tennis player to not have had better results at the Majors, but obviously has had to deal with the 3 great ones his whole career, and has a terrible record vs them.

"Cabbage Patch Kid" up two sets to love but down a break in the third. Can he get the horse in the barn? This particular horse is a tough as nails Russian who has shown patterns of inconsistency at times. Kohlshreiber looking particularly good off of the backhand side. Here he just hit a sweet little drop shot and he holds with Karatsev serving at 4-3.

[don_budge]

Match of the Day...Roger Federer vs. Marin Cilic

Roger wins the first 6-2, then Cilic wins the second by the identical score. Roger goes up a break in the third but eventually wins the set in a tie-break...with a Cilic double fault. So Cilic has shown a bit of nerves on his serve although for the most part he has been really tough. Here Roger is up a break in the fourth at 1-4, Cilic serving. He is in position to serve out the match. So interesting it comes down to this. He failed to serve out the match in his last outing. Does he have control of his nerves? It's making me nervous just thinking about it.

[don_budge]

Match of the Day...Roger Federer vs. Marin Cilic

Roger wins the first 6-2, then Cilic wins the second by the identical score. Roger goes up a break in the third but eventually wins the set in a tie-break...with a Cilic double fault. So Cilic has shown a bit of nerves on his serve although for the most part he has been really tough. Here Roger is up a break in the fourth at 1-4, Cilic serving. He is in position to serve out the match. So interesting it comes down to this. He failed to serve out the match in his last outing. Does he have control of his nerves? It's making me nervous just thinking about it.

He holds at love for 5-2. Textbook.

[don_budge]

He doesn't have to...he breaks Cilic for the match. Federer really slipped into gear in the final set. He struggled with his form but found a way to win. His ability to adapt to the circumstances were remarkable in this match. On to the third round. Every match a blessing...great for the tournament.

[stroke]

Roger looks very good. As we all know, no one has the total tennis game he has. If he gets to 4th round, he will probably have a massive ask vs Berrettini. It is tough out there.

[stroke]

Alcaraz looked very physically strong taking out Bash in 3.

[don_budge]

Roger looks very good. As we all know, no one has the total tennis game he has. If he gets to 4th round, he will probably have a massive ask vs Berrettini. It is tough out there.

That's right stroke...the honeymoon is about over. One more round and the foreplay is over and we are into the meat of the tournament. Two perfect matches for the Swiss Maestro...the first a routiner and the second was much more pressure. Cilic was hammering everything. Roger looked like he was getting rocked quite a bit of the match but he found a way to win around his serve. Which held up quite well under the returning barrage of Cilic. Probably a good match if he should get to the fourth round and Berrettini does too. It's all about Roger's serve as to how long he sticks around. At 39 years old that was a remarkable serving performance. Can he keep it up? Can it get any better? He is making this tournament all the more interesting.

[stroke]

Nadal is just ruthless in a 1st set bagel on poor Gasquet. That is about as bad a beatdown as one is going to see at a Major in 2nd round.

[stroke]

That's right stroke...the honeymoon is about over. One more round and the foreplay is over and we are into the meat of the tournament. Two perfect matches for the Swiss Maestro...the first a routiner and the second was much more pressure. Cilic was hammering everything. Roger looked like he was getting rocked quite a bit of the match but he found a way to win around his serve. Which held up quite well under the returning barrage of Cilic. Probably a good match if he should get to the fourth round and Berrettini does too. It's all about Roger's serve as to how long he sticks around. At 39 years old that was a remarkable serving performance. Can he keep it up? Can it get any better? He is making this tournament all the more interesting.

Roger did what he usually does vs Cilic. Great forehands, great backhands, both topspin and his slice, which is the best ever to me, just ahead of McEnroe. And great volleying. And of course he served well. Basically. he is just a better tennis player than Cilic.

[stotty]

Roger seemed to be in imperious form in the bits and bobs I managed to watch today. He won the first set with our braking a sweat. Quite unique how makes very difficult shots look so incredibly easy. He is so good at conserving energy, which does by being aggressive and cutting play short at the first opportunity...works a treat. I can't think of another player past or present who can cut rallies in half like Roger does. He can win games in under a minute on his own serve and under two minutes on his opponent's....knife through butter.

We are nearly at the more watchable stage...some interesting games on the horizon if everything pans out. Sinner v Rafa...can't wait...hoping for that to pan out.

[don_budge]

Federer's Play...against bouncy/bouncy Cilic

It was a tense psychological battle with Marin Cilic yesterday. Cilic was hammering everything he could get his racquet on. Roger was shanking more than his share of shots. Cilic is now an official member of the bouncy/bouncy club with the two most notorious members/cheaters. Novak Jerkovic and Fafa Nadal. Marin was clocking in with thirteen or fourteen bounces on each and every serve. I don't understand why receivers put up with this. The server is making them wait and wait and wait until they are good and ready to pull the damn trigger. What to do?

Roger has been discussing how it is to return to competition after such a long layoff. Getting used to the conditions and all of the extra things. The subtle things. Unseen to the untrained eye. He talked of doing the interviews and taking his time through the match. Thinking his way through situations. Well he came up with a stroke of genius and I haven't heard it discussed much.

At some point in the third set I think it was he strolled across the court after a point to get his towel to give his face a brush of the cloth. The umpire called him for it and gave him a penalty which put him in position to lose a point if called for it once more. Something to that effect. I am not up on the details of the rules. But after getting called for this infraction...taking too much time, he put up a lengthy beef. He even called Marin Cilic in on the discussion asking Marin if he was playing too slow. What a joke! Roger plays at a steady pace. He gets to the service line without undue stalling and he immediately gets to the task of getting the ball in play without all of the rigamarole.

At first glance it seemed that Roger was belabouring the point. He really made a point of sticking to the conversation and it seemed to go on for a rather lengthy spell. But what he did was very clever. He made Cilic aware that he was milking the shot clock and everyone knew it. Maybe it got just under Cilic's skin just a little. He was being called out by the King. Imagine calling Roger for slow play while the other moron is bouncing and bouncing the ball endlessly before he serves. I was glad to see him do it. It may have looked a bit out of character for a guy like Roger to put up a beef over a seemingly trivial detail but he was very clever in what he did.

Later in the evening it was "The Rafa Numbskull" show against Richard Gasquet. He was putting on a terrific ass kicking on the French man in front of absolutely nobody. An empty stadium. Yet he goes through the same ritual every single time on first and second serve. My wife always asks me...what is he doing? He's cheating...that is what he is doing. Stefanos Tsitsipas said that Nadal makes you play bad and that is a talent. He is looking at the shot clock all the time looking to how much time he can milk out of it and make his opponent wait. If I was playing him I would do something. I wouldn't let him play me like that. For sure, I would get thrown out. For sure. But I wouldn't let that MF get away with the BS...if you know what I mean.

Jerkovic and Nadal are two of the top players in the world. Their nonsense is appalling and it gives the sport the pansy reputation that it has had forever. No wonder. What a contrast Roger is. He looks even better because he is surrounded by a ship of fools. Everyone standing around afraid to say anything. Stefanos Tsitsipas tip toed all around it in that interview after he lost to Nadal. He doesn't have that great a serve, he said. I know what he was getting at.

[arturohernandez]

Roger did what he usually does vs Cilic. Great forehands, great backhands, both topspin and his slice, which is the best ever to me, just ahead of McEnroe. And great volleying. And of course he served well. Basically. he is just a better tennis player than Cilic.

I saw the highlights and was reflecting on something my daughter's coach told me. He said that the factor that makes good players great is the fact that they can read the other player. They know that given this ball, the other player will give me this ball back. They can read the situation and the other player better.

I then asked the coach if serving and volleying makes you better at anticipating where the ball was going. The other day I had my daughter serve and volley in practice and then later she stayed back. She had no trouble reading my returns after serving and volleying.

Her coach said that serving and volleying definitely makes people better at reading the ball and player.

Federer made some unbelievable gets and his anticipation was spot on especially at the net.

I am feeling 2019 all over again here. Low expectations, playing with the house's money. Federer might surprise us as he jets into form. This is all just match practice to him. He is not really expecting to win.

Just like Pete wasn't expecting to win in 2002 and then pulled off the best two of weeks of tennis out of hat.

Here is hoping we can see Roger do the same.