Roger Federer defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for his record sixth ATP Tour Finals championship, his 70th title overall, in a hard-fought 3 set battle. And after an up and down week of matches in London that saw some great tennis, a withdrawal, and a few unlikely blowouts, this was actually a very fitting and satisfying end to the ATP season.
Roger seemed ready to waltz to the title in straight sets until a funny thing happened. He became human. He lost his concentration and let his guard down (visualizing himself in the locker room with Mirka, the twins and the trophy) while serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set. Haven’t we all done that at some point MINUS the twins, trophy and Mirka?
Jo-Wilfried seized this opportunity to break Roger and stay in the match. After not having a single break opportunity for the entire match, Tsonga suddenly found himself with 3 (after some fierce forehands brought Roger back to reality) and converted one for the break. He then held for 6-5 to set up the inevitable tiebreak. Roger wasn’t about to concede the set, though, as Tsonga needed to fight off a match point in the tiebreak with more clutch hitting. But after losing that match point, the momentum officially shifted as Jo-Wilfried won the tiebreak and took the match into a dramatic third set.
Even with his second set lapse (and increasing woes with his first serve) there was a palpable sense that Roger would still prevail. His first serve may not have been firing properly, but his second serve more than made up for it with some easy service holds. Jo-Wilfried competed admirably in the third, but seemed to struggle with his own service games a bit more than Roger. So it came to pass in the 9th game, as a woeful service effort finally gave up the all-important break for Roger to go up 5-4. This time there would be no miscues!
Tsonga played some brilliant tennis during the ATP World Tour Finals, only losing one other match the entire week…also to Federer in 3 tough sets. His fall season was a bit mixed with some really good results punctuated by a couple of stinging losses (i.e. 0-6 2-6 4-6 to Rafa Nadal in Davis Cup and first round loss to Kei Nishikori in Shanghai). There is no doubt, however, that he is primed and ready to make 2012 his breakout year!
He has no fear of the top 4 guys, and believes in his power game. Whereas a player like Tomas Berdych can get really tight on the big points, Tsonga seems to thrive; taking his chances as he did against Roger at the tail end of the second set. JW hasn’t been to a final since his Australian Open loss against Novak Djokovic, but you have to like his chances more and more now that he’s fitter and more mature. If he keeps up this level of play we may see him in the Aussie final again. That would be sweet indeed! And oh so deserving.
And what more can be said about Roger Federer that hasn’t already been said? In a year where he failed to win even one Grand Slam, he ends the year with an 18-0 record, three titles in a row, and almost 5.5 million dollars in earnings. He’s fit, playing well, and looks ready to add to his total of 16 Grand Slam singles titles.
That’s in stark contrast to the man he just replaced at number three (Andy Murray) and the two guys above him (Rafa and Novak). Murray seems more and more like a man incapable of living up to the moment. Maybe that will change when he finally breaks through. But any breakthrough seems unlikely as long as Novak, Roger, and Rafa are fit and ready.
Speaking of Rafa and Novak, we can certainly all appreciate the performances they put on for our immense pleasure over the course of 2011. Wimbledon and the US Open were excellent examples of how wonderfully dramatic tennis can be at that level. They were also excellent examples of just how brutal tennis can be when played at the most extreme edge of the sport.
At the end of the US Open it was clear that neither had anything left in the tank (though none or us realized at the time that it would affect them through the remainder of the season). Their rallies often looked more like a prize fight than a tennis match. Visually, they seemed to look like prize fighters themselves by the of the match with one big difference. Novak had nothing left physically-speaking, but Rafa had nothing left in terms of his spirit and motivation.
By the time London came around, however, the distinction was moot as both slumped to 1-2 records in group play. Neither made it to the semifinal round. They were both “done”! And who could blame them for their poor showings?
In the end, I guess it was fitting that the final title of the year was decided between a player who is finally delivering on his early promise (Tsonga) AND a player who has had a career of historic proportions (Federer). The best part is that both could continue their achievement into the new year. As for the others (Murray, Nadal, and Djokovic)?
Only time will tell…about four weeks to be exact.