Tomic discovers Federer Gap

Well everyone knew what the ending would be but we didn't want to spoil it so we just watched the story unfold chapter by chapter, hoping for a twist in the plot.  However, Roger Federer is a stickler for learning his lines and remaining true to the script.  His fourth round match against Australia's great hope Bernard Tomic would at the very worst provide the teenager with another experience of Grand Slam level tennis against an elite player - the Djokovic quarter final at Wimbledon certainly hasn't hindered his rise in the game, so neither should this, whatever the result.

On form alone, Roger entered the contest with the only real entitlement to favouritism.  He had disposed of his opposition in a Federer-like fashion, spending as little time on court as he deemed necessary, not wanting to spend too long away from his family.  Bernard is not yet at a level where he can choose how long he takes to win his matches - it is a battle to ensure that he even achieves victory, so how many sets or how many hours it takes is of no consequence.  What this Open had shown though is a greater propensity for the teenager to fight from adversity, and he had been there in all his 3 matches before the Roger round.

Federer and Tomic each stepped watchfully along the first set road, and nothing untoward blocked their paths, with basic back of the court rallies setting the scene and not a lot of initiative shown by either to pick up the pace.  Clearly Roger had a much easier time holding serve, but the scoreline did not reflect this until later in the set, when Federer did break the Australian's serve, the single blemish enough for Bernard to surrender the set 6-4.

After that, any semblance of competitiveness disappeared and we could have been watching Roger conducting a tennis clinic for young players with potential.  The best parts of Bernard's game at the moment have been in Roger's possession for years except that he has crafted them to an art form.  So it is problematic to the nth degree when you are using the same weapon against a guy who with it is a far better shot.

Roger's patience in rallies drew many errors from a growingly frustrated Tomic in the second set, and Bernard could only applaud the multiple winners flying past him from a seemingly freed up Federer, now with a set and 2 breaks in hand.

To his credit, Tomic stayed in the match trying whatever he could within the limitations placed upon him by Federer and the occasion.  The third set even saw Tomic break the Swiss serve, and give hope for something out of the match, the hope lasting a microsecond as he lost his own serve immediately.

Rather than being dressed up as a match that Tomic lost in 3 sets by a big margin, this fourth round contest should be put sharply in perspective and seen as another example of Roger Federer playing the brand of tennis we know that he does most of the time, in order to reach Grand Slam singles quarter finals, which he does all the time. (31 times out of the last 31)

Federer 6-4 6-2 6-2 - will play Del Potro on Tuesday.