Roger Federer earns a gold medal shot at London Olympics – Tennis News
Reigning world number one, Roger Federer succeeded in the Olympics semi-finals against the Argentinean, Juan Martin Del Potro at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon on Friday.
Federer played for four hours and 26 minutes, making a record of the longest three-set match in the history of the Olympics, with a 3-6, 7-6 (5), 19-17, victory to reach the gold medal match of the tournament. Federer had to pass
from a tough test to claim the winning spot. Both players have met 15 times in the past, where the Swiss legend takes a head-to-head lead of 12-2 until now.
After the match, the top seed Olympian told the media in a press conference: “I definitely got a sense that it was something special. The deeper we went into the match, the more I thought, Wow, this is so cool to be part of a match
like this.”
The Swiss Maestro exhibited excellent performance against the former US Open champion to come out as the deserving winner. Federer’s game gradually picked up momentum after sloppy start in the opening set of the match. He was about
to secure a bigger hole in the middle of the second set but faced a break point. He then had to shift to his rage mode in order to maintain a 3-2 lead in the set. The 30-year-old Swiss stumbled terribly from there onwards and eventually lost the opening set
at 3-6.
Nonetheless, Federer was confident and tried hard to find his winning groove. The top seed Swiss managed to bag the second set at 7-5 to level the match score at 1-1. The historic third set took a total of 46 games to complete
and the Swiss Maestro coming out as the winner at 19-17.
Del Potro after the match told the media, "It's not an easy situation. ... Someone always has to win these matches, and today it was his turn."
The 23-year-old Argentinean will play for the bronze medal against the second seeded Serb, Novak Djokovic, at London Olympics. The Argentinean has great capabilities to thrash even the best in business.
The 17-time Grand Slam title bearer is hopeful to bag home his first ever men’s singles Olympic gold medal. His performance at the Olympics this season has been splendid. Previously, he defeated the number one American, John Isner
in a straight set match.
For the finals, the four-time Olympian has assured himself a silver medal. He will be contesting against the British number one, Andy Murray on Sunday. The Scot, in the semi finals upset the Serbian Novak Djokovic, by winning
a straight set match of 7-5, 7-5.
Federer being the top favourite for the Olympic gold this season has the greatest edge. He will play to the best of his abilities and mark an emphatic end to his Olympic career.
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