Basel Special – Roger Federer versus Juan Martin Del Potro
Roger Federer was at his aggressive best in the demolition of David Goffin in Basel.
David Goffin was no match for Roger Federer
Roger Federer won 50% of the points on return games and broke David Goffin four times, from ten opportunities, while facing no break points himself. Roger’s serve was on song, and he won all but eight point in is service games. Federer’s aggressive tennis was in full flow and kept points short and controlled them entirely from the get-go.
The match lasted 60 minutes, and Goffin never got a chance to get into it. With this win, Roger Federer improved his head-to-head to 6-0 against David Goffin and booked a spot for himself in the finals against Juan Martin Del Potro. Federer is now only one match short of breaking Lendl’s 94 titles record.
Juan Martin Del Potro takes down Marin Cilic
Like Federer, Juan Martin Del Potro is also vying to win his second consecutive final, and avenge his defeat to Roger at the Shanghai Masters. He had a relatively straightforward semifinal encounter with Marin Cilic. However, unlike Federer, Del Potro’s serve was broken twice by Cilic, and Cilic had his broken four times in return. This was Del Potro’s tenth win, in twelve chances, over Cilic and he clinched it with an ace. Cilic finished the match with twenty-one winners and thirty-one unforced, as compared to twelve winners and fifteen unforced by Juan Martin Del Potro.
Basel’s special – Roger Federer versus Juan Martin Del Potro
Del Potro, with his win over Cilic, reaches his third final at the Basel Open and in both those occasion, he beat Roger Federer to claim the title. Will he make it a third time here against the mighty Federer?
The 17-6 head to head between them favors Roger Federer, but Juan Martin is perhaps the only player on the circuit who can consistently hit through Federer and shake Federer’s unseeingly perfect balance on the court. He took out Roger at the US Open this year and was then beaten by Federer at the Shanghai Masters, which must make him a little hungry for revenge. Del Potro’s forehand can cause much damage on the court and Roger has to find a way to neutralize that wing of his to win the final convincingly. Del Potro has a better chance than Djokovic and Nadal to beat Roger Federer in Roger’s current form.
Off course, if Roger can play at the same level as he played against David Goffin yesterday, Juan Martin may not stand a chance but any lower would make Federer’s life a little complicated out there.
Outcome: Roger Federer in three sets over Juan Martin Del Potro