Roger Federer rolls into the semi-final of the Sony Ericsson Open
World number three, Swiss Maestro Roger Federer reached the semi-finals after his opponent, world number 27 Gilles Simon of France had to retire due to a stiff neck during their quarterfinal clash at the Sony Ericsson Open on Thursday.
The Swiss was leading 3-0 in the opening set when his opponent decided to quit the match.
Federer broke Simon in the first and third game of the opening set, taking a 3-0 lead. The French managed to capture just 2 of the 14 points in the first three games. The 26-year-old called the doctor at that moment and after the
medical break he decided to forfeit the match, shaking hands with the umpire and Federer before leaving the court in disappointment.
During the three games of play, Federer hit 60 per cent of the first serves and converted 67 per cent of them into points. On the other hand, Simon delivered 67 per cent of the first serves, winning just 17 per cent of the points
on them. The French could not save any of the 2 break points he faced during the three games. The match last for just 10 minutes.
After quitting the match, Simon said, "I tried to relax after the warm up. I tried everything. I mean, anti-inflammatories, hot cream, just trying to feel better. Just after the second forehand, I tried to hit it very hard; I felt
it very hard also. I knew I had no chance to play today."
Federer said, sympathizing to his opponent, "It's not a whole lot fun honestly because you see the guy being booed off the court, which he clearly doesn't deserve. I understand the frustration from the people paying a lot of money
to come see us play for multiple hours potentially, and then it's over within 10 minutes. It's not great."
Coming into this match, Simon was one of the very few players who have a positive head-to-head record against the Swiss legend. Before this match, the French led Federer 2-1 in the three meetings between these two.
In their first match, the right-handed fought back after losing the first set to beat Federer 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the round of 32 at the Rogers Cup in 2008. After a gap of few months, Simon clinched his second straight win over the
Swiss, beating the former world number 1 in three sets 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the round robin match at the ATP World Tour Finals. Federer won a hard fought contest as he defeated Simon in five thrilling sets 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3 when these two met for the last
time in the second round at the Australian Open this year.
The Swiss is slated to play top seed Rafael Nadal of Spain in the semi-finals. The arch rivals will meet for the 23rd time. In their last meeting, Federer prevailed over Nadal in three sets 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the final
of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals last year.
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