Something must be wrong with Tennis Channel
 
There’s a full moon in the sky tonight, and the Dawgs are howling. John Isner outplayed Roger Federer badly today when it counted and beat “the greatest of all time” in four sets to give the United States a dominating 2-0 lead over Switzerland in Fed Cup World Group play.
 
Isner had never beaten Federer and had won a career total of one set from Federer (2007 US Open). The match started predictably, with Federer cruising through the first set holding serve. The second set tiebreak is where Isner came alive and Federer started to unravel. In the beginning of the third set, Isner played quick points and simply refused to allow Federer to ground out long rallies. On at least two occassions, the first bounce of Isner’s serve bounced so high that Federer had no chance to return and Fed looked like he was three feet tall.
 
Mardy Fish provided the other point in the American lead after taking out 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Stanislaus Wawrinka in five sets.
 
The bounces of the ball on the uneven court could have been a factor, but if so, it should have worked against Isner’s big serve. It didn’t work out that way and the home turf actually appeared to be a big disadvantage to Federer.
 
Is there any way the USTA could bring that crooked court home? It’s charmed. 
 
 
 

2 responses to “Bizarro World: Isner Dominates Federer on Swiss Soil at #FedCup”

  1. I am sorry if I came across as hilgstly biased against Nadal…blame that on my admiration for Federer’s natural grace. I never thought, I will see artistry like McEnroe’s, till Federer came along.But you are right when you say that, if it was any other period, Nadal would already have been Number 1. Even now, I believe he will deserve it when he attains it as he has not only been consistent, but steadily improving on all courts. The single most factor that makes me a Rafa fan is his humilty off court, which is all the more evident when he blogs before the Grand Slams.When I commented, I guess I was a hilgstly p*****d off with so many of the so called experts starting to write Fed off. No one expected his dominance to last, but when the time comes, we should be thankful for what he showed could be done with a tennis racket. Sheer poetry…Hope I don’t come off as some rabid Nadal hater, ’cause I actually like the guy :)Over to the Olympics and the US Open.Cheers,RahulPS: Sorry for that one smiley – I know you hate smileys

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  2. Congratulations to Nadal, but Fed is goin to be back. to all those people who write the teipaph of such a sublime player, who has been in all the Grand Slam semifinals since more than a few years need to understand what it means to do that consistently. Also, Fed had around 57 unforced errors in the match and if not for those 50+ unforced errors…Nadal would still be looking for that Wimbledon trophy. I am biased…but has there been a more complete player than Federer? Fed is looking human this year, but that is only when you compare it to his own stratospheric record. Like you mentioned, even now his win-loss record is much better than that of Sampras. And all those proclaiming that Nadal is the actual Number 1, should look at what Fed did to achieve his status of Number 1…he didn’t get it as a gift, he worked towards it and extended his lead over all others by clinically destroying all in his sights. Well, if Nadal needs the Number 1 title, he needs to earn it…and it is not just a matter of a couple of Grand Slams on the trot, he needs to be consistent thru a longer period of time.Don’t get me wrong…I like Nadal for his singleminded focus, his ability to retrieve what would be natural winners for his opponent and his humility off court, but in my opinion he has way to go before he can be called the undisputed Number 1 of the world.But, one of the best match (in any sport that I follow) I have seen in a long time.Nice observations, Jai.Cheers,rahul

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