ATP Finals Flashback: Roger Federer writes history with a double bagel against Gaudio

The Masters Cup moved back to Shanghai in 2005, settling into a fantastic Qizhong Tennis Center with a unique roof shaped like a magnolia flower that staged the last Masters Cup on the carpet surface. Rafael Nadal withdrew before the tournament due to a left foot injury, and the Argentines were the dominant nation with four players in the season-ending elite event. Roger Federer, a two-time defending champion had to battle against three of them in four out of five encounters, losing to David Nalbandian in that thrilling title match. In the semis, Roger wrote the Masters Cup history after becoming the first player with a double bagel by his name, toppling Gaston Gaudio 6-0, 6-0 in 50 minutes on November 19! Like most South Americans, Gaston played his best tennis on clay and finished his career with just 14 ATP wins on the carpet surface. Two of those came that weel in Shanghai, sending him into the semis and offering a chance to battle against the world's leading star.

It was their fifth and last meeting, and Federer was victorious in all of them, including two triumphs on clay. The Swiss dominated from start to finish in the Shanghai clash to destroy the opponent and advance into the third straight Masters Cup final. One of the reasons for the Argentine's pale performance lies in the fact that he played a long match against Fernando Gonzalez the night before the semis. Gaudio fended off three match points in a 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory, having nothing left in the tank for the most formidable possible opponent on the next day. It wasn't a flawless performance from Roger, who made the same number of mistakes as his rival, still keeping the match's strings firmly in his hands as the natural attacker and a much better mover on this kind of surface. The Swiss mixed his shots nicely, defending his backhand correctly and using the slice approach to move Gaudio from the ideal position to finish the points with his picture-perfect volleys.

In 2005, Roger Federer stormed over Gaston Gaudio with a double bagel.

Federer dominated with his serve and forehand, making the crucial advantage in the shortest rallies where he overpowered his rival completely. The Argentine couldn't impact his serve or the initial groundstroke that would move Roger from the ideal hitting zone, never finding open space and closing the clash with no direct points from his forehand wing! We already mentioned they had the same number of errors, but it all came because Federer had a positive result all the time, earning the freedom to attack and take the rhythm off his opponent. Looking at the scoreboard, Gaston probably deserved to win at least one game, with seven deuces in total and two game points, one of those on Roger's serve. Still, he failed to produce a couple of good points in a row and put his name on the scoreboard. Roger landed 11 service winners while Gaudio hit four, missing those free points badly after having nothing to work with from the court.

Also, the difference in the field's direct points was enormous, with 17 winners for Roger (eight from forehand and volley each) and just three for Gaston. Overall, the Swiss fired 28 winners in comparison to his opponent's seven, an excellent illustration of his dominance. Things were not that bright for world no. 1 in the errors department, closing the match with 12 unforced mistakes while Gaudio stayed on eight. On the other hand, it was 10-6 for the Argentine in forced errors, bringing the tally of errors to 18 for each. Gaston's game was plagued with double faults, hitting nine and ruining his chances of taking at least one game. Gaston managed to stay in touch with Roger in the most extended exchanges, winning 14 out of 34 to show why he reached the semis. Nonetheless, Federer forged his triumph in the shortest rallies up to four strokes, taking 35 out of 46 thanks to a better serving and efficient forehands right after the initial shot that left Gaudio with no answer.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2JoJObO