PEHARA KAO DALMATINACA - KRUEL DE FEDERER
Kakva je ovo luda sedmica bila iza mene, toliko da ni valjan osvrt na finale Majamija nisam stigao napraviti. Skoro pa jednako luda kao ona prije nje za Federera koju je švajcarski teniski mag krunisao novom Masters titulom. Samo finale bilo je brutalna demonstracija sile nad sirotim Iznerom koji je i prije povrede koja je bacila malu sijenku na meč, bio apsolutno inferioran, iako do finala nije izgubio ni set. Ali u samom finalu nije imao šansu - 6:1, 6:4 za Federerovu 101. titulu u karijeri i njegov četvrti pehar u Majamiju. Ovom pobjedom Federer je ujedno postao i prvi teniser koji je u 2019. upisao više od jedne titule, a sasvim zasluženo našao se i na čelu Trke za London, nakon 3 mjeseca tenisa predvodi karavan igrača, i pokazuje da su godine za njega samo broj.
Iako je do finala Džon došao pobijedivši u svim odigranim tajbrekovima i imao je veliko samopouzdanje Federer ga je slomio već na startu. Prvi poen bio je pokazatelj u kojem smjeru će meč ići, Izner je pogrešno procijenio Federerovu defanzivu, a onda asevima spasio dvije brejk lopte no ne i treću i Rodžer je poveo. Njegovi blok riterni izluđivali su američkog dvometraša i čestim izlascima na mrežu nije dobijao ništa do savršene pasing šotove Federera. Brejk je uskoro postao dupli (upravo nakon jednog takvog pasinga Švajcarca), a potom i trostruki za prvi set u džepu. Drugi set je bio izjednačeniji. Bodrio se Veliki Džon poslije svakog dobrog poteza, vjerovao i držao nekako svoj servis. Ali onda se pojavio bol i nije mogao više osim časnog poraza. Nije predao meč protivniku i govorio o svojim problemima previše, veliki profesionalac do kraja bio je momak iz Grinsboroa. Pauziraće mjesec dana zbog frakture kosti u lijevom stopalu, no nadamo se da će biti spreman za Rolan Garos i za njega omiljeni dio - sezonu trave.
A što se tiče našeg junaka kakva je to sedmica bila na Floridi, na novom (meni ružnom) kompleksu Dolfinsa. Nakon one rudarske pobjede protiv Albota (u 4 posljednja meča turnira imao je manje neiznuđenih zbirno nego li u samom duelu protiv Moldavca) kao da je postigao nivo više, igrao tenis kakav smo gledali od njega na Hopman Kupu, pa i u završnici Dubaija, a sada i ovdje. Indijan Vels je bio samo na mahove dobar, a u Majamiju je vezao 4 meča u kojima je apsolutno poništio rivale, servere poput Andersona i Iznera ostavljao na zbirno 1 (slovima: JEDAN) gem u setu i zaista ispisao prelijepu novu stranicu Majamija turnira koji mu je donio puno radosti samo u najranijim, a potom evo i poznim godinama karijere. Valja još pomenuti i da će ovaj meč biti upamćen i po svega 3 izgubljena poena na svoj servis, čime je izjednačio svoj rekord od ranije. Sad svi sa nestrpljenjem čekamo sezonu šljake i ko zna možda neke nove dalmatince... ovaj titule
"It's easy to say that last year didn't work out, so I won't come back this year," said Federer. "And as I'm playing clay, maybe add rather another clay-court event. But I felt like let's extend the hard court season. Let's see the new venue. To be honest, I think that was something also I was excited to see... So I'm happy with the team we took the right decision.
"Of course you feel fortunate when you come all the way to the end of the event and you can sit here with the trophy. It's definitely a moment you appreciate a lot, because you know it could have turned out very different.
"And also the secret was I was more positive this year after losing in Indian Wells over last year. Because last year I was, I don't want to say frustrated, but I think I was down on myself. I think it cost me a little bit on confidence because I was so down. So maybe this year I didn't feel that way. Let's go to Miami and have a good tournament. And I did."
"The other three [Miami titles] were very special in many ways," Federer added. "I felt like it reflected who I have become until that moment. These Masters 1000s are hard to win. They are really a test for me, especially later in my career. So I know these don't come around very often, so when they do, it's a bit of a surprise for me. That's why this one feels really cool in many ways.
"Being able to fight back [vs. Nadal in the 2005 final] and find a way to win, I ended up playing unbelievable tennis. I really feel like it was a big moment for me in my life and in my career there. The final against Ivan [Ljubicic] was just during the time when I was dominating so much and I was thinking how many times could I beat Ivan in a row. All these things were happening. It was just a matter of extending whatever you can and for as long as you can.
"And then of course the win here two years ago, maybe as much as it didn't come as a surprise for people, for me it still did, because I felt like the tank was empty. I had a tough week here against Berdych and Kyrgios, as well. And I also didn't expect this one, to be honest. I lost in a very close final in Indian Wells and it was a new venue. I didn't know what to expect."
"I'm not very confident going into this clay court season, I can tell you that. I didn't even remember how to slide anymore. I'm taking baby steps at this point. I didn't play one point - not one shot - on clay last year. Two years ago I played two days. Three years ago I played not feeling great in Monte-Carlo and Rome and all that. It's been so little that I really don't know what to expect.
"What this win does for me is it just takes even more pressure off from the clay-court season. That's what I'm looking at now the next four or five weeks, figuring out how we are going to go about it. I'm very excited. It's a good challenge, a good test."