If your cup of tea is tennis that mimics a chess match, where one break of serve is akin to an unsuspecting knight capturing a bishop, then you may not have enjoyed the majority of Friday’s quarter-final matches at the Monte Carlo Masters series.

Don’t get me wrong, the tennis itself was as calculated as ever, much like grand masters Kasparov and Fischer would strategise and plot many moves in advance. However, the actual score of the matches wasn’t as elegant. Back-and-forth duels were instead replaced by stampedes, like you’d see in checkers with “kinged” pieces. For example:

  • - Tomas Berdych won his last 12 games in a row to defeat Robin Soderling 5-7, 6-3, 6-0.
  • - Roger Federer won his last nine games in a row to defeat David Ferrer 6-4, 6-0.
  • - Rafael Nadal continued to roll, defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 6-3.


The only really close quarter-final was Richard Gasquet against Juan Carlos Ferrero, which went the distance. Ferrero closed out the match in set three when Gasquet finally ran out of gas, falling by a score of 5-7, 7-5, 6-2. Gasquet’s loss prevented a rematch with Federer, who faced each other in a class 2005 Monte Carlo quarter-final. But for tennis historians, the other hotly-contested replay, Nadal vs Berdych, would thankfully occur.

For all that went right for the Czech in his final set against Soderling, it went all wrong in the first set against Nadal. Rafa asserted his dominance quickly, and the 6-0 bagel in the opening set must have been even sweeter considering it was against someone who the normally reserved Rafa had some harsh words for (after Madrid ’06). I bet Nadal said “Vamos!” to himself after every point he won. In fact, I’m confident of it, considering the circumstances.

The second set was far more competitive, but Nadal eventually secured the deciding break of serve at 5-5, thanks to a double fault from Berdych. Rafa held, shook Tomas’ hand at net, and reached the final for the third year in a row. For Berdych, it was a great tournament, and by far his best showing of 2007. For all the Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic talk, it was good to see Berdych and Gasquet really affirm themselves, reminding us that they aren’t just chopped liver.

In the other semi-final, Federer took on Juan Carlos Ferrero, who came into the match with a string of impressive wins under his belt (against Tim Henman, Nicolas Massu, Igor Andreev and Gasquet). From the onset, Ferrero looked like he might really trouble Federer, even to the point of an upset. It was 3-1 to the Spaniard, and I believe he had points to go up two breaks of serve. But from that point forward, the momentum shifted to the Swiss thanks to improved serving (precision, not speed), and better timing of his shots.

His confidence showed in the two-set victory, especially in the 33 winners that came from his racket. Still, the 26 unforced errors should be a concern for Roger, which will not cut it in the final against a far trickier Spaniard.

During the telecast, one of the ATP commentators said that he’d handicap the final at 60/40 in Nadal’s favour. I think that’s pretty accurate, and for Federer fans, I think you have to be happy with those odds. Coming into Monte Carlo, I think 75/25 was the best you could hope for, considering how dominant Nadal is on clay, and due to the recent struggles of Federer in Indian Wells and Miami.

But Roger has looked comfortable for the most part on the dirt this week, and as previously acknowledged from the world number one, he’s completely dedicated the first half of 2007 to the clay season. Obviously, Roland Garros is the goal, but Roger has maintained that he wants to play very well at Monte Carlo, Rome, and Hamburg.

With all of this clay talk, I wonder if, when all is said and done, clay will actually be Roger’s best surface of 2007. It may be an afterthought, considering he’s already won the Australian Open, is a mortal lock for Wimbledon, and has won the U.S. Open three years running. But Federer’s concerted effort to succeed on the surface that has been his only “weakness” (and I use that term lightly) makes me believe that he wants to make a big statement on clay this year. A victory over Nadal on Sunday would be a great start, but it obviously will be very difficult.

One thing that Roger has going for him - he’s won his last two matches against Nadal (last year’s Wimbledon final and the Tennis Masters Cup semi-final). But, as any Nadal fan will remind you, those weren’t on clay, and Roger went 0-3 against Rafa on the dirt last year.

Check back after the final for some thoughts. In the meantime, I encourage you to check out the first instalment of “By the Letter”, which is a piece that I will be doing every Friday for Tennis.com, one of the best tennis websites online.

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