PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI
Roger Federer, a 6-time Champion in Cincinnati, warms up prior to his match with Kevin Anderson. Pete Ziebron Images
A wild day of ATP tennis concluded with calm and business as usual for Roger Federer at the Western & Southern Open as he dropped just 2 games to #15 seed Kevin Anderson 6-1 6-1 in 55 minutes.
However the match that preceded Federer on Center Court saw 2013 Cincinnati Champion Rafael Nadal lose a 3rd set tiebreaker 7-3 to countryman Feliciano Lopez. Despite the fact that Nadal broke Lopez as he served to stay in the opening set, the #8 seed was sent packing 5-7 6-4 7-6(3).
Night session ticket holders were treated to a rare Nadal-Federer double bill on Center Court, while world #2 Andy Murray played concurrent to Nadal's match out on Court 3. Thus, this jam packed schedule in Cincinnati allowed fans to see Nadal, Murray and Federer all play in the same hour of the day.
Many fans hustled to Court 3 immediately after Nadal's loss to watch Murray battle with Grigor Dimitrov. Arriving spectators were treated to an incredible battle as Murray staved off elimination as he denied Dimitrov when he served for the match late in the 3rd set.
Within 20 minutes of watching the Nadal-Lopez 3rd set tiebreaker on Center Court, tennis fans nearly saw another 3rd set breaker between Murray and Dimitrov. Murray would dig deep for a 4-6 7-6(3) 7-5 victory over the tournament's #16 seed.
Concurrent to the Murray - Dimitrov action in the latter part of the 3rd set, Roger Federer raced to a 5-0 lead in just 18 minutes on Center Court. Once Murray was able to serve out his match, nearly everyone sprinted back to Center Court to watch the 6-time Cincinnati Champion Federer dismantle Anderson.
Earlier in the day, world #1 Novak Djokovic showed some uncharacteristic behavior on court as he smashed his racquet repeatedly after losing a point to David Goffin early in the 2nd set. Djokovic, who won the opening set 6-4, was not happy with his play and after the destruction of his racquet, proceeded to drop the 2nd set 2-6. Goffin, the #13 seed, continued his fine form and raced to a 3-0 lead in the 3rd set, breaking Djokovic twice in the process.
Despite the deficit, Djokovic found his way back and won the last 6 games of the match to win 6-4 2-6 6-3. Following the match, I asked Goffin about that stretch of play: "I was happy with the way I played today. He just raised the level of his game considerably at 0-3. This is what the top players do. This is why he is #1."
Djokovic and Murray were not alone in their brushes with elimination in Cincinnati. Earlier in the day, 2015 Roland Garros Champion Stan Wawrinka staved off a Match Point against Ivo Karlovic on Grandstand Court to ultimately win the match 6-7(2) 7-6(5) 7-6(5). The pro-Wawrinka crowd was roaring with support on each and every point of the 3rd set breaker. After Wawrinka won both service points when he served at 4-5 in the breaker, Karlovic, despite hitting 35 aces in the match, picked a poor time to hit his 7th double fault to lose the match.
Richard Gasquet in action in the 2nd set against Marin Cilic. Pete Ziebron Images
Grandstand Court was not kind to 2014 US Open Champion Marin Cilic, as the #7 seed fell in straight sets to #12 seed Richard Gasquet 7-5 6-3. Both men held serve throughout the opening 11 games of the match. Cilic saved 2 set points when he served to stay in the set but double faulted at deuce and Gasquet would take the next point as well as the set to lead 7-5.
Gasquet saved 2 break points in the opening game of the 2nd set, while Cilic held serve with ease. Next, Gasquet would be broken on the second of two break points in his next service game, however Cilic, despite saving 2 break points in the 4th game of the set, would be broken right back as the set stood at 2 all.
After both men held serve for the next 4 games, Cilic served at 15 all when Gasquet significantly raised the level of his game and won the final 7 points of the match to advance to the quarters 7-5 6-3.
Action in Cincinnati gets underway with a rematch of the 2015 Roland Garros final as Stan Wawrinka takes on Novak Djokovic. Since Feliciano Lopez defeated Nadal, fans were denied the 34 meeting between Roger Federer and Nadal. Instead, Federer will face Lopez. Andy Murray and Richard Gasquet will also meet for a berth in the semifinals.
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