You have to admire Roger Federer’s optimism.
The Swiss has lost four of his past five duels against Novak Djokovic, all finals, including Wimbledon and the US Open, and he trails the world No 1 by 7,945 points on the ATP Tour rankings.
Yet, when asked about Djokovic’s dominance of men’s tennis and the distance between him and the Serb, the world No 3 said: “I don’t think I’m that far off.
“Then again, let’s speak in two days,” said the Swiss, who started his 14th consecutive ATP World Tour Finals campaign with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph of Tomas Berdych on Sunday.
Federer’s next opponent is the three-time defending champion Djokovic, who notched his 15th straight finals win, another record in the 45-year history of the year-end championship, with a merciless 6-1, 6-1 demolition of No 8 seed Kei Nishikori.
Federer said his match against Djokovic tonight “is not the match that I care the most about, to be quite honest” and that “it’s going to be interesting to see how I play that one. I’m curious to find out myself”.
Federer, of course, can be excused for not sounding terribly excited about his 43rd duel against Djokovic.
Thirty-seven of their past 38 matches have been either semis (21) or finals (16) – the lone exception is their opening Group B clash on Day 2 of the 2013 World Tour Finals.
Since then, Djokovic and Federer have played each other 11 times, excluding last year’s Tour final when an injured Federer conceded a walkover, and the Serb has a slight 6-5 lead in head-to-head meetings during this period, during which he has lost only 13 of 153 matches, won 17 titles, including four of his 10 grand slams and 10 of his 26 Masters 1000 titles, and hogged the No 1 ranking.
Who is next best on that list with most wins against Djokovic during the past 24 months? Stan Wawrinka with two from six matches.
Andy Murray, the current No 2, has only one win in 11 attempts against Djokovic during this period, while Rafael Nadal has one win from six matches. So much for that elite Big Four, or Big Five now, we reminiscence about.
So Federer, as these numbers suggest, is not really being delusional in saying he is “not that far off”.
He is the only player to consistently trouble Djokovic during his run of dominance, particularly in best-of-three set matches.
The Serb has won the big ones – two Wimbledon and a US Open final – but the Swiss has won five of the eight best-of-three-set matches, including three at the Masters.
Remember the Indian Wells final between the two earlier this year? Djokovic was serving at 5-4 in the second set tie-break after winning the first 6-3, but double-faulted twice in row.
The Serb did go on to win the match in three sets, but as he sat on his chair after losing that second set, he struggled to take a sip off his bottle because his hands, usually the steadiest pair in the business, were shaking violently. Earlier in that match, the usually unflappable Djokovic wrecked a racquet in a fit of rage.
Then in August, in the final of the Cincinnati Masters, Federer unleashed his SABR (Sneak Attack by Roger) on an unsuspecting Djokovic, which involves him moving forward towards the edge of the service box on an opponent’s second service, and cruised to victory in straight sets.
The world No 1 has won 23 matches in succession since and could stretch that streak further tonight, but Federer does manage to upset his Zen-like rhythm as much as anyone.
So, while he might not have sounded too excited about this clash, it should still be an engrossing battle.
arizvi@thenational.ae
Follow us on twitter at @NatSportUAE
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
UAE SQUAD
Khalid Essa, Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammad Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoon Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
