Roger Federer wins Cincinnati for the 4th time. August 22, 2010 © GEM Tennis

Federer Wins Cincy In a Tremendous Final

by Parsa Samii, GEM Tennis (parsa@gemtennis.com)

Cincinnati, USA: Federer d Fish 6-7(5), 7-6(1), 6-4 — Roger Federer and Mardy Fish produced some spectacular tennis ahead of the US Open today in Cincinnati. Right from the beginning it was Federer who was the aggressor and it was Fish, who has been battling in every match this entire summer, that was fighting to survive. Fish saved 4 break points in the first set to hang tough. He finally was able to take control of the first set late in the tiebreak in which he won by using the exact formula that had put him in the final today; hardwork, patience, and aggressive tennis when it counted most.

Even though Fed had outplayed Fish in the first set, he found himself down a set. In the second set Federer had to raise his level even more to push the match into a third set. He did exactly as he needed to. He served an outstanding 74% 1st serve percentage while hitting 21 winners from the baseline to only 8 unforced errors, all the while playing very aggressive tennis. The momentum was shifting as the physicality of the match was increasing. “Maybe I was also just a touch fitter than him today,” Federer explained, “He had maybe tougher matches.” Federer completed the momentum shift in the second set tiebreak by snatching it with tremendous returns and shotmaking.

In the third set it was Fish, who once again was under fire. Fish’s cool and calm demeanor and tremendous serving allowed him to hang around. He even had a few chances on Federer’s serve by reaching 30 a few times, but as Fish explained to the crowd, Federer was too good. “He gets me everytime [with big serves] at 30 all,” Fish said under his breath on the court to the few that could hear him. Finally in the 9th game of the set Fish succumbed to all the pressure that Federer had been applying to him the entire match as he was broken. The very next game Federer confidently closed out the match as he has 63 other times on the ATP World Tour. Congratulations to Federer!

Stay tuned to GEMTennis.com for coverage of the 2010 US Open in 1 week! Thank you for being a part of a great summer for GEM Tennis!

Roger Federer and Mardy Fish embrace at the net after a tremendous championship match in Cincinnati. August 22, 2010 © GEM Tennis