Benneteau stuns Federer
Reuters - Thu, 12 Nov 05:00:00 2009
Julien Benneteau produced one of the greatest performances of his career to send Roger Federer crashing out of the Paris Masters 3-6 7-6(4) 6-4.
There was no sign of the shock that was to come when Federer breezed through the first set, but the Frenchman brought the home crowd into the game by taking the second set.
His serve was the bedrock of his display and he secured an early break before withstanding a storm of pressure from Federer to secure victory 6-4 in the third set - sealing the win with an ace.
Top seed Federer, who had a first-round bye, made unusual unforced errors to fall to the unseeded Benneteau, ranked 49th in the world.
The elegant Swiss, who has never advanced past the quarter-finals of the indoor event, started well but then struggled, losing the second set in a tiebreak and falling a break down early in the third set.
Cheered on by a partisan crowd, Benneteau, who has never won a title, took his chances and hit some amazing winners. He sealed victory with an ace on the first match point to set up a third-round match against fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils.
"I can definitely play much better but I can also play much worse," said Federer.
"It wasn't a bad performance. I think Julien went out and got the victory. I definitely had chances. I missed them.
"I'm not looking for excuses," added the Swiss. "It's just tough. I don't have a good record here at Bercy and that showed maybe a little at the end. I was not feeling that comfortable."
World number two Rafael Nadal saved five match points before overcoming Nicolas Almagro 3-6 7-6(2) 7-5 in a thrilling all-Spanish second-round battle at the Paris Masters.
Nadal, who has been hampered by injury worries and has not won a title since May, looked rusty at first on the fast indoor court of the Bercy hall but then recovered and braved the pain from a blister on his right foot.
"One positive thing I've had in my career is my ability to win matches even when I'm not playing very well," said Nadal, who saved his five match points in the second set to force a tie break he won. "That's important and that's what I did today."
Almagro, who had his own problems and received treatment on a sore left thigh during the decisive set, fought until the very end and twice served for the match but clearly struggled to move around the court in the last few games.
The unseeded Almagro was clearly on top in a one-sided first set but the second was a lot tighter, Almagro saving a set point at 5-4 down before breaking Nadal in the next game to serve for the match.
Nadal then saved the five match points with some brilliant winners to capture his opponent's serve and force a tiebreak which he won 7-2 before needing treatment for a blister on his right foot.
The pair traded breaks in the decisive set, Almagro serving for the match again at 5-3 before being broken, until Nadal managed the telling break in the eleventh game.
Pain and exhaustion meant Almagro could hardly move when Nadal earned his first match point after three hours and 14 minutes of exciting tennis.
Nadal, who has won the French Open four times on the other side of town but never the Paris Masters, now plays another Spaniard in Tommy Robredo, who moved past former champion Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-4 6-4.
Serb Novak Djokovic had earlier survived a fightback by Argentine Juan Monaco to win 6-3 7-5 and reach the third round.
The 22-year-old world number three, who beat world number one Roger Federer in the Basel final on Sunday to win his fourth title this year, next faces French qualifier Arnaud Clement, who beat 16th seed Tommy Haas 5-7 6-3 7-6(6) in the German's first match back after a bout of swine flu.
Number 15 seed Monfils proved much too good for fellow Frenchman David Guez, winning 6-4 7-5, Marin Cilic needed three sets to see off Lukasz Kubot 6-7 6-4 6-2 and Radek Stepanek beat Viktor Troicki 6-4 6-0
Swede Robin Soderling, seeded ninth, kept alive his slim hopes of making the November 22-29 World Tour Finals in London by beating towering Croatian Ivo Karlovic 6-4 7-6 to set up a third-round match against Russia's Nikolay Davydenko.
The day also witnessed the last game of former world number one Marat Safin, who ended his career with a brave 6-4 5-7 6-4 defeat by US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro amid warm cheers from the Paris crowd, who have always loved the gifted but erratic Russian.
This site is Copyright © 2010 Yahoo! and Eurosport. All rights reserved.
- Terms of Service
- Updated Privacy Policy
- Copyright/IP Policy
- Remarks and Suggestions
- Corporate info
- Jobs at Eurosport
Notice: We collect personal information on this site. To learn more about how we use your information, see our Privacy Policy.
Comment 52 - 71 of 71
haha federer
As i said a couple of days ago,my man's not a Paris material,never fared there very well,and whoever beats Tsonga,will lift the trophy,this is my first prediction,let's see how it goes,Federer played really well though,80%first serves in,48 winners compared to 26 for the french man,0 doubles to 2,that should have been enough with most players,i think Federer will be a contender for the Masters Final . We'll see.
Of course there's the best player in the world according to Mr Reed,so ...
Its a pity ROGER was not feeling well and had to basically forfit this match, I was hoping he would meet with MANDY HURRAY and show him who's the BOSS!!! GRANDSLAMS EQUAL ....ROGER 15 and MANDY HURRAY 0
Of course Federer's not an average player. Stop the @#$%. It's just his approach and performance which is full of errors and dog fighting rather then artistic show he's been producing in his height days. I still see that he came much weaker from that ominous 2008 and it was Nadal who developed and learned more.
te.rabbit, I don't doubt the power of money, but I do believe that these people know who to put their money behind, and for that there has to be a reason. And that reason is again, MONEY, because they're backing the BEST player (possibly) in the history of tennis. Do you ask yourself why Rolex, Wilson, Nike etc. don't put their money behind someone else? Do you think when Federer started playing tennis these sponsors were behind him? Your statements are prone to be ridiculed. Federer will never be an average player, even if/when he starts losing every match he plays. If you understand tennis, no matter whose fan you are, if you really love the game, you will acknowledge Federer's greatness because he is the one setting the goals and standards that the rest of the players are trying to achieve. And by getting close to achieving them, they becomes greats, aswell. So please...
LilBee have you ever watched world? couse if have, you would not doubt power of money
te.rabbit, have you ever watched tennis? Cause if have, you would not doubt Federer's greatness.
who is goat? is that important?
Lol
cause its the media that are convincing us he is the best ever not all the achievement he made thought out his career.
So tell me who is the real goat for u?
Hope its not Murray or Djokovic.
i forgot rolex
explanation- tennis= money(wilson, atp, nike....) with his fake smile, and his artificially disciplined temper, he's perfect candidate for money-making-machine, and therefore he will be remembered as the goat, not couse he is one, but because media is paid by "tennis" to convince us that he "truly is the best player ever"
te.rabbit
Can y explain to me what is a gift from tennis? The other players lost on purpose so that Federer break Sampras' record?
Sounds very ignorant to make such a comment.
Reminds me the final he lost to Djokovic in Basel where all of a sudden Nole became the best in the world and everyone forgot how he was beaten by Fedex back to back in Cincinnati and the US Open
What is wrong with some people - don't get me wrong everyone is entitled to their opinions but as soon as Federer loses a match that is it, he is then described as a has been finished tennis player, when really he is above all of this human, and it is not unfortunately humanly possible for him to win every match and tournament he takes part in. Let's not also forget that he is the greatest tennis player of all time, and what a privilege it really is to watch him play, and how lucky we all are if we say we enjoy tennis as much as we do. He was in all of the major grand slam finals this year, won Wimbledon for a record six time the pinnacle of the sport, beat Pete Sampras's record that was said would never be broken. Won the French open and it does not matter that is was not Rafa he beat that is an insult to Rafa. I hope for myself that one day I get to see Federer play live and not just on TV. Please remember this as well what I have said is just an opinion what something that is gospel
As I already sad, I think that this is beginning of the end of Roger Federer. It is time for the New Kids on the Block... I`m big fan of Novak Djokovic,so GO NOLE!
federer now is just an awerage player, only thing is rest of the players have to realize that, like del potro did, and dont make a big thing out of it when they beat him, and those two gs, that was a gift from tennis to him and to their wallets
How can anyone say he is on his way down when the guy has won 2 GS and lost 2 GS finals in 5 sets and regained the number 1 spot. Benneteau produced an outstanding tennis yesterday to win and Fedex was unlucky to be the one on the otherside of the court. Bercy is the tournament where all the surprises come because all the top players are drained mentally and physically.
Anyway this tournament is packed with all the big names in tennis you have complete line-up there excluding Roddick. It should have been a must for each one of those players to honour the attendance. That's why I wonder how Federer could have just let it go. He got all the motivation - never won there, great company of competitors. I fear what he has to show to us next week in London.
Can't respect almagro the way he allowed Nadal to get so many easy points after dominating most the match. Just seems he can only play against non spanish opponent.
I have been a long time Federer fan but I think he has reached his peak as a player . He has been losing to players he should NOT have lost to under any circumstances . I also think that Nadal is losing a step or two because of his injuries caused by his aggressive style of play . Whether some tennis fans like it or not BOTH Federer and Nadal will be taken over by younger players . It will only be a matter of time when we see the names of Murray,Del Potro and Djokovic (not in any particular order) occupying the top three spots in the rankings . If Federer wants to overtake Samprass as the player with most Grand Slams he needs to get his act together,very soon !!
Benneteau and Almagro's games are only comparable to the fact that they both somehow outplayed the two tennis gods but one - Almagro - couldn't cope with this idea and having been injured he lost the already won match. he may have squandered 5 MPs but still came up strong into the third set and broke Nadal to take the victory. It didn't happen coz he wasn't able to sustain the pressure. On the other hand Benneteau played poorly in the first, then got hold of in the second and dominated the third. Still Federer was given the same opportunity as Nadal - to break his oponent back in the decider and thus change the mental fight in his favor. It never happend because Federer is no longer quite capable of doing it.
Please login to post a comment
Not already a Yahoo! user ? Sign up to get a free Yahoo! Account