Roger Federer vs Mardy Fish – Group B RR Preview: Barclays ATP World Tour Finals 2011
Round Robin in the Group B of the Barclays ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Finals will be concluding on Thursday night, featuring two singles matchups at the O2 Arena in London. The Opening match pits the defending
champion, Roger Federer of Switzerland, and the eighth ranked American, Mardy Fish, in their third Round Robin match.
No matter what the outcome will be in the Thursday’s battle, Federer has already qualified for the semi-final round of the season ending grand finale in London. The fourth ranked Swiss maestro has registered emphatic victories
in his earlier two singles clashes to lead the Group B 2-0.
Federer took down sixth ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after a tight call in the opening matchup on Sunday night but went on absolutely ballistic against his arch rival, world number two, Rafael Nadal, in the second clash to make it
through to the semis. He ravaged the second seed Spaniard 6-3, 6-0, in the one-sided affair to keep his hopes high for successfully defending his title at the mega event.
The Swiss maestro has already lifted the prestigious circuit finale on five prior occurrences, levelling with the legendary Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras. Federer has been labouring hard to get back his vintage form all ATP season
and he finally looks to have some in the few recent weeks. The Swiss is currently on a 14-match winning streak, winning Swiss Indoors Basel and the BNP Paribas masters titles in succession, and appears in a perfect shape to lift the ATP World Tour title for
the sixth time.
On the other hand, eighth seed Fish is the debutant at the season finale and has already lost his opening two matches in Round Robin. He was dumped by Rafael Nadal and then by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to fall 0-2 in Group B. Having sidelined
from the race to the semi-finals, Fish is hoping to upset Federer to register at least one victory in the mega event.
Prior to his arrival in London, Fish claimed that since it is his debut at the elite eight-man event, he will be feeling the least of pressure in his matches but it has gone the other way in his opening two matches. The American
has been found struggling under the intense pressure situations of the matchup, coughing a number of unforced errors to let his opponents fly away with comprehensive victories.
“With the lights back, dark, it makes for good tennis. Conditions are absolutely perfect. That took a little bit of getting used to, I guess 20 minutes or so,” commented Fish about the conditions at the O2 Arena. Frittering away
the precious opening 20 minutes in a contest against a lethal player like Federer might prove extremely taxing for Fish, as the Swiss maestro is feared by all for his belligerent approach right at the beginning.
Federer leads 6-1 against Fish in singles matchups, with four victories on hard courts. Their last encounter was in the finals of the Cincinnati Master in 2010 edition, with Federer winning in a close three setter. Federer is hot
favourite for winning the Thursday’s matchup in straight sets.
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