Federer deserves better

Says, San Francisco Chronicle's Bruce Jenkins

Federer just beat America's James Blake last night in the U.S Open QF. He looked vulnerable at times against Blake, but not for long.

Still, asks Lisa Dillman in the Los Angeles Times, "How often does that look of relief appear on Roger Federer's face after a match?" Here's how it looked last night: "Federer raised his racket in the air and stuck out his tongue, looking like a little kid who knew he might have escaped punishment. In this case, punishment would have meant going five sets with James Blake, flirting with the possibility of a rare quarterfinal loss at a Grand Slam."

The New York crowd pulling for Blake, led by his group of J-Block supporters high in the stands wearing blue shirts, would have been thrilled to see the American put Federer away. It's something the Swiss native has become used to, playing in foreign lands where fans are always pulling for their underdog to beat the best player in the world. "Roger Federer has no real audience," says the San Francisco Chronicle's Bruce Jenkins, who thinks the player deserves better. "Not once has he played before a massive, deafening crowd cheering deliriously for him in a really important match. He crafts his paintings in solitude, makes hauntingly beautiful music in silence. He seems resigned to his fate, a lonely Swiss moving steadily from one stop to the next, building a reputation that might someday anoint him the greatest of all time."

I whole-heartedly agree to Bruce's comments, I want to see once, Federer win in front of a crowd that cheers deafeningly for him in a crucial grand slam final, like how the French would support Nadal in the French Open, or Americans would cheer Roddick in the U.S Open, or how the English consistently support even Henman in the Wimbledon every year, or....

However, we would be in for some nice action this weekend. A showdown between Andy Roddick and Roger Federer, who beat James Blake in four sets last night, could be in the making, but a pair of little-known Russian tennis players stands in the way.

Go Roger!