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Federer 🎥 Krajinovic (Basel)

Thiem 🎥 Bemelmans (Vienna)

Tiafoe 🎥 Nishikori (Vienna)

RESULTS 🎾

💥 = Beatdown \\ 🤕 = Injury \\ ‼️ = Upset

Featured Match:

Federer d Krajinovic: 6-2, 4-6, 6-4

Federer had an uneasy start, facing two early break points at 1*-2. But after saving both of them to level the opening set at two-all, the Swiss seemed to settle in and relax. Fed plugged the leak of unforced errors that had plagued his first three games (his forehand and serve were misfiring badly), and went on to start dismantling Krajinovic with some tactically sharp tennis. Federer broke serve for a 3*-2 lead thanks to a combination of patient slice backhands to his opponents weaker backhand wing, and a willingness to wait for the right ball to attack. With the break in hand Fed never looked back, suddenly succeeding with some of his riskier shot selection and generally overpowering Krajinovic, to take a comfortable one set lead. The Swiss finished the first set with some borderline abysmal numbers, landing just 37% of his 1st serves in, winning 47% of his 2nd serve points (8/17), and hitting 8 winners to 12 unforced errors. But luckily for Federer those stats were somewhat skewed by his very poor start, which he quickly remedied, and the Swiss played the big points (saving 2/2 BP’s and also converting 2/2 BP’s) very well. A strange but successful set for Federer.

The beginning of the 2nd set featured Federer initially looking like he had finally settled into a rhythm from the baseline, making fewer errors and breaking Krajinovic immediately to go up the early lead. But the Swiss’s serving performance still resembled a slightly drunken version of his usual self, landing just 45% of his 1st serves in the 2nd set, once again creating an unusual amount of pressure on serve. A loose game at 3*-2 handed more break point chances to Krajinovic. This time the Serb rose to the task, converting his 3rd break point of the 2nd set with a nice volley. All of a sudden, after spending much of the first hour of the match failing to hit beyond the service box, Krajinovic found some exceptional depth on his groundstrokes. The Serb looked to be in the ascendancy and errors were once again creeping into Federer’s game. With Federer serving at 3*-4, Krajinovic was provided with another break opportunity at 30*-40. Fed sprayed another forehand very long and Krajonovic hungrily went up the break to lead 5*-3. Given that the rest of this match so far had made very little sense, it was far from surprising that Federer would go on to break back immediately, to love, with a beautiful backhand down the line winner, and then immediately follow that up by losing his serve yet again (at 4*-5), to concede the 2nd set 4-6. Overall, another very strange set of tennis. Krajinovic had improved, especially on return (winning 0% of 1st serve returns in set 1 and 38% in set 2), but Federer was all over the place (hitting 7 not-even-close forehand unforced errors and still landing only 45% of his 1st serves in).

On to a third set and, just like the 2nd, Federer started strong. The Swiss set up three break points at one game all, thanks to a fantastic half-volley backhand pass (GIF below). Fed converted the third opportunity, after a wild Krajinovic forehand error, and the Basel crowd (and tournament organisers) heaved a heavy sigh of relief. Krajinovic bravely fought back, creating yet another break opportunity in the very next game, only to miss long and succumb to a 1*-3 deficit. More chances came the Serb’s way with Federer serving at 3*-2, but once again he could not convert, even with the help of a ludicrously good forehand pass down the line (GIF below). Fed continued looking out of kilter, shanking some atrocious forehands, but scraped through his service games and managed to secure a double break to serve for the match. Despite this scoreboard advantage, Federer then lost his serve yet again (for 5-3) after his forehand fell apart. At the second time of asking the Swiss finally served out the match at 6-4, but not before spraying some questionable errors in the final game to take it to deuce.

A bizarre match with both players committing some pretty awful errors throughout the evening, intertwined with some very fun cat-and-mouse points that entertained the crowd. Federer’s serve is a concern going forward, with his best 1st serve in % all night coming in the 3rd set at a mediocre 57% (avg for the match was 47%). Fed has been broken more times in his last 4-5 matches than I can ever remember happening on indoor/fast conditions. His forehand was also a liability all evening, spraying 20 unforced errors off that wing alone. I assume the Swiss will come good as the week progresses (he meets Struff next), but a three setter in the 1st Round is not what he needed given how jaded he looked, after some similarly tough early rounds in Shanghai, a couple of week ago.

Key 📊’s

1st Set: Federer landed just 37% of his 1st serves in. Started awfully.

1st Set: Fed won only 8/17 points on 2nd serve.

1st Set: Fed saved 2/2 break points and converted 2/2 break points. Played a poor first set, especially the first few games, but played the big points well and finished strong.

Krajinovic also struggled on serve, landing 45% of his 1st serves and winning just 45% on his 2nd.

2nd Set: Krajinovic much improved on return: won 0% of 1st serve return points in 1st set and 38% in set 2).

2nd Set: Federer still poor on 1st serve, landing just 45% in. Lost his serve 3 times.

3rd Set: Landed an improved, but still mediocre 57% 1st serves in. Still winning low no’s of 1st serve points: 62%.

3rd Set: Once again played the big points well, saving 5/6 break points.

—

Also:

Basel🇨🇭:

Struff d Millman : 7-6(3), 6-2

Seppi d Daniel : 6-0, 6-4

Medvedev d Marterer: 6-3, 7-5

Really competitive 2nd set but Medvedev too solid on the big points. Marterer hit some lofty peaks for portions of the match but also committed too many soft errors late in the 2nd set. Medvedev riding high on confidence right now. Wasn’t the Russians best performance but still won in straights.

Popyrin d Ebden : 7-6(4), 6-4

Gojowczyk d Jarry : 1-6, 7-5, 6-3

Simon d L.Mayer: 6-3, 6-3

🎾

Vienna🇦🇹:

Nishikori d Tiafoe: 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-2

Kei was very good until the end of the 2nd set and then took foot off the gas while serving for the match. 3rd set was impressive facing 0 break points and creating 6 (taking 4).

Thiem d Bemelmans: 7-5, 7-6(5)

Solid from Thiem. Had a few shaky moments on serve but played the big points well and came up with some huge serves when he needed them (saving 3/3 break points). Abused Bemelmans 2nd serve (winning 55% of return points).

Querrey d Tsonga: 6-3, 3-6, 6-3

Tsonga, still early into his comeback from injury, looked a bit rusty from the baseline and struggled with depth. Couldn’t get a read on Querrey’s serve at all, winning just 3/45 1st serve return points.

Verdasco d Herbert : 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4

Fognini d Dzumhur : 6-4, 6-3

Isner d Norrie: 6-7(1), 6-4, 7-6(7) (🤕 = Isner had an MTO for his right knee)

Norrie had a match point and hit a relatively routine forehand wide. Never recovered. Probably should have won against an ailing Isner.

Pouille d Kohlschreiber: 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4

SHOTS OF THE DAY 😮

— Wonderful volley-lob from Krajinovic early on.

— Brilliant forehand whip from Federer.

— This point ended with a error from Krajinovic, but this backhand dig from Federer was pretty sweet.

— Incredible defence from Krajinovic and then the sneak into the net! This converted one of the Serb’s MANY break points today.

— Outrageous punched backhand pass from Federer to set up three break points at the beginning of the 3rd set (Slow-mo in ‘Extra’s’ Section)

— Insane pass from Krajinovic.

— Wonderful touch on this lob from Federer and then the simple volley. Secured him a double break (which came in handy!) in the 3rd set.

— Nice half-volley to finish the point from Tiafoe (vs Nishikori).

— Unplayable 1-2 punch from Thiem (vs Bemelmans). Wasn’t even a bad return!

— Norrie made life very hard for himself by going straight back to Isner, but he finished with a great volley.

INTERVIEW & PRESS BEST BITS 🎤

Federer post-win:

“I didn't serve very well today. I think I was misfiring the corners, I was not hitting the lines enough. Clearly you make your life more difficult, but still I was up 6-2, 3-1, break points, so things could have ended very quickly today, even though I didn't have the best serve percentage stats. But maybe that's exactly what caught up to me eventually. It's just getting used to it. This is where the first rounds can be tricky.” Source

Nishikori after beating Tiafoe in 3 sets:

“I absolutely love the conditions here (in Vienna): Medium speed and a high bounce. The match wasn’t easy mentally, but I’m happy that I managed to play with a good level in the third set.” Source

Tsitsipas after his title run last week in Stockholm: (Video🎥)

“I feel very strong and very sure of what I’m doing on court most of the time… I think my improvements are mostly mental compared to last year…I don’t have too many expectations fo this week in Basel, I like to enter tournaments with low expectations.”

Medvedev after his win over Marterer (Video🎥):

“Winning so many matches recently has helped my confidence. I feel like now I am playing a few matches where I’m not playing my best but my momentum is still carrying me through. I know how to manage crucial moments to win matches.”

OOP: DAY 3 (WEDNESDAY) ⏰

Match to watch: 🔥

—

Basel - Centre Court

(3pm local🇨🇭, 2pm UK🇬🇧, 8am CT🇺🇸)

🇱🇻 Gulbis vs Sock 🇺🇸 (H2H: 1-1) (Hard Court H2H: 1-0) 🔥

Prediction: Gulbis in 3

🇬🇷 Tsitsipas vs Chardy 🇫🇷 (H2H: 0-1) (Hard Court H2H: 0-1) 🔥

Prediction: Tsitsipas in 2

🇩🇪 A. Zverev vs Haase 🇳🇱 (H2H: 2-2) (Hard Court H2H: 1-2) 🔥

Prediction: Zverev in 3

🇭🇷 Cilic vs Copil 🇷🇴 (H2H: 2-1) (Hard Court H2H: 2-1)

Prediction: Cilic in 2

🎾

Basel - Court 1

(1pm local🇨🇭, 12pm UK🇬🇧, 6am CT🇺🇸)

🇪🇸 Bautista Agut vs J Sousa 🇵🇹(H2H: 2-2) (Hard Court H2H: 2-1)

Prediction: Bautista Agut in 2

🇫🇷 Mannarino vs Lajovic 🇷🇸 (1st Meeting)

Prediction: Mannarino in 3

🇺🇸 Fritz vs Laaksonen 🇨🇭(1st Meeting)

Prediction: Fritz in 3

Vienna - Centre Court

(1pm local🇨🇭, 12pm UK🇬🇧, 6am CT🇺🇸)

🇫🇷 Monfils vs Johnson 🇺🇸 (H2H: 1-0) (Hard Court H2H: 1-0)

Prediction: Monfils in 3

🇷🇺Khachanov vs D. Novak (1st Meeting)

Prediction: Khachanov in 2

🇧🇬 Dimitrov vs Kukushkin 🇰🇿 (H2H: 1-1) (Hard Court H2H: 1-1)

Prediction: Dimitrov in 2

🇿🇦 Anderson vs Melzer 🇦🇹 (H2H: 2-1) (Hard Court H2H: 1-0)

Prediction: Anderson in 3

🇭🇷 Coric vs Pouille 🇫🇷 (H2H: 1-0) (Hard Court H2H: 1-0)

Prediction: Coric in 3

🎾

Vienna - Next Gen Court

(1pm local🇨🇭, 12pm UK🇬🇧, 6am CT🇺🇸)

🇬🇧 Edmund vs Schwartzman 🇦🇷 (H2H: 0-1) (Hard Court H2H: 0-1)

Prediction: Schwartzman in 3

🇮🇹 Fognini vs Fucsovics 🇭🇺 (H2H: 1-0) (Hard Court H2H: 1-0)

Prediction: Fognini in 2

EXTRAS 🔍📊🎤

— Slow mo of the backhand punch in the ‘Shots Of The Day’. No follow through. 🥊

— Update on Rafa’s participation in Paris & London.

🇷🇺 This week is the 1st time two Russians (Khachanov & Medvedev) have been in the Top 20 since Nov 2010 (Youzhny & Davydenko). 🇷🇺

— That 2nd part is a worrying stat if you’re a Federer fan. His serve has been so reliable over the years, especially during the Asian/indoor stretch of the season. Not so at the moment.

LOL 😂

— Sir Shankalot was in rare form tonight.

—Renzo Olivo (while losing to Christian Garin in the Lima Challenger) casually booting his racquet onto a main road mid-match. (doublefault28)

— Novak when he heard there was a 24-hour gluten-free bakery in Monaco. Source

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GAME, SET, MATCH 👋

— The Racquet is created, and written, by Matt.

— You can find me on Twitter here.

See you tomorrow for Basel & Vienna Day 3 (Subscribers only)!