Roger Federer disposes of James Blake to reach the round of eight – Western & Southern Open 2011
Former world number one, Roger Federer, powered his way to the quarter-finals of Western and Southern Financial Group Masters, after defeating 84th ranked James Blake of the United States in the third round clash on
Thursday afternoon.
Being played on the outdoor hard courts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, near Cincinnati, United States, the contest ended with the Swiss maestro registering his 42nd victory of the year. Federer wrapped
up his comprehensive victory at 6-4, 6-1, taking merely 54 minutes of play to make it to the round of eight of the ATP (association of Tennis Professionals) Masters Series event.
Both men faced each other after two years’ time and Federer continued to extend his individual record over the American competitor. The Swiss defeated Blake in their last meeting in 2009 at the Madrid Masters, where Federer made
it to the quarter-finals of the tournament by disposing off the American in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. Federer’s victory on Thursday extended his all-time head-to-head lead against Blake by 10-1 and sends him to the quarter-finals of Cincinnati Masters.
The difference in ability between the two contestants was apparent in the contest, with Blake struggling all the way to finish on the losing end. Federer put up a magnificent show of sheer dominance over his opponent and displayed
his vintage class to outplay Blake in straight sets. The Swiss maestro’s serve game lacked something to be desired in the matchup, as he delivered just 54 per cent of his serve on target, which is far below his standards. Federer clinched 18 out of 22 firs
serve points en route to victory, while the American wildcard excelled over him with 22 out of 37 points, yet losing the matchup.
Federer was off to a blistering start in the opener, breaking Blake in the very first game of the match and then gave away just three points on his serve in the rest of the set. He held his all the way, with Blake failing to register
a serve break and first set fell to Federer at 6-4.
The following set was stuffed with a total of five serve break points from both men. Blake broke the Swiss in the second game but four consecutive break point conversions from Federer left the American helpless in the game, finishing
off the second set at 6-1.
Federer will take on the world number nine, Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic, in the next matchup for a place in the semis of Cincinnati Masters.
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