Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Roger Federer overcame a momentum-changing second set Friday, recovering to beat Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in the quarter finals of the Western 038; Southern Financial Group Masters. Federer will face Lleyton Hewitt in the semi-finals. Hewitt coasted through a 6-2, 6-4 win over a heat-sapped Carlos Moya earlier in the day.
For a few minutes, it appeared that a tournament full of upsets might have the most stunning one yet. The 21-year-old Almagro got the crowd behind him during the second set, when he matched Federer shot-for-shot, moved him around the court and won the only break point of the set. It was only the second set he8217;d ever won off Federer, who is 5-0 career against the Spaniard. It was the only one he would win on this day.
Federer quickly regained control, breaking Almagro8217;s serve to go up 2-0 in the third set. After Federer held serve to go up 4-1, Almagro tossed his racket away in frustration, then got his left calf massaged during the break.
Nothing in Almagro8217;s past suggested he could give Federer such a tough time. He hasn8217;t played well on hard courts 8212; 4-17 on the surface 8212; and had only taken one set off him in their previous matches. This time, he took him to the limit.
In the earlier quarter final, Hewitt looked much fresher than Moya at the end of an oppressively hot week. The 26-year-old Australian had a lot more energy in his game, which has been sharp lately. 8220;On any given day, I feel I8217;m capable of beating anybody in the game,8221; said Hewitt, currently ranked No. 19.
Moya served to open the match, fell behind 0-40 and was broken, setting the tone. Hewitt had only two unforced errors and made 64 per cent of his first serves during the opening set. He broke Moya to open the second set, leaving the Spaniard shuffling around court with his head down. Trailing 3-0, he took an injury time-out to have a blister on his right foot treated. Moya then rallied briefly before Hewitt finished him off.
Ninth-seeded James Blake also advanced the semifinals by beating Sam Querrey 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 on Friday night in a match-up of Americans. He8217;ll face fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, who beat David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4.
