Day 10 – Vs. Roger Federer

Fans Wednesday evening at Key Biscayne saw play that rivaled a Grand Slam Final. Andy came up literally points short in an epic match against Roger Federer 3-6, 6-4, 4-6. The nail bitter drew record attendance at the Sony Ericsson Open.

The opening set saw the American firepower struggle slightly with a few unfortunate mis-hits while Federer’s smooth ground-stroke caught the lines. Andy was broken in the fifth game giving Federer the 3-2 lead. He wasn’t able to regain the momentum and at 3-5, Andy’s powered a forehand long and the first set drew to an end 3-6 in forty five minutes.

The crowd had vocal fans from both camps yelling “Common Andy,” and “Common Roger” nearly every point. At 1-2 Andy found himself in a very deep hole, down 0-40 on his own serve. He dug deep, displaying the patience and determination of a Grand Slam Champion, attacking the net to level the match at 2-2. What felt like only moments after Andy may have seen the second set slip away, he broke Federer. It was as surprising to Roger as it was to the fans, as Andy fought tooth and nail from 0-40 again to earn the break. The pair traded holds and Andy served out the set 6-4.

With fans out of their seats, Andy and Roger headed into the deciding set, and it exceeded everyone’s expectations. The two comfortably held their opening service games with some impressive aces. At 3-3 Andy earned two break points. Roger’s fluid ground-stroke’s once again proved near impossible to run down and he fought back to hold. Andy looked to his box in angst, knowing the missed opportunity while Roger found a second wind and gave a rare yet very audible “Cmon.” The stadium was on the edge of their seats as Andy served 4-5 to stay in the match. Once the reached deuce, the tension on Stadium court was intense. It truly was a match that could have gone either way, and Wednesday evening, that way was Roger Federer’s. After two hours of play Andy charged the net on a break point and a blistering passing shot just caught his racket, game set match. The pair traded a brief moment at the net, appreciating the effort and pure skill each other brought to the sold out stadium.

Recap Source: AndyRoddick.com