Tennis Atlantic

Federer wins ATP Madrid and reclaims number 2 ranking
by Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com

 
Roger Federer won a tough three set battle over Tomas Berdych on Sunday, recovering from a set down to capture his 20th Masters series title,  3-6 7-5 7-5. By doing so, he reclaims the number 2 ranking from Rafael Nadal (who slips to number 3) and appears to be in top form as the French Open approaches.
 
Federer notched impressive victories over Milos Raonic in three sets, Richard Gasquet and top 10 players David Ferrer and Janko Tipsarevic before taking out Berdych in the final.  Tipsarevic had upset world number 1 Novak Djokovic to reach the semis.
 
Berdych beat Kevin Anderson, Gael Monfils, Fernando Verdasco, who shockingly upset Nadal in the previous round, and Juan Martin Del Potro before falling to Federer.
 
The Polish duo of Matkowski and Fyrstenberg won the doubles title over Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau, 6-3 6-4.
 

As for the blue clay, reviews were mixed as expected, with many on the spectator/fan side having a positive of view of it because it appears better on TV. Many players spent the week complaining about it with the main issue being the slipperiness. That may not be due to its color, but rather the fact that it was a fresh surface.  Nadal, who has never been terribly fond of Madrid, mentioned that he may skip the event next year if the surface doesn’t change. Djokovic had similar gripes.  The ultimate irony, besides all the upsets this week, was that the ultimate traditionalist Roger Federer ended up taking the title.