Roger Federer's struggles continue. And the once-impeccable and unflappable champion is showing signs of cracking.Trailing in the third set to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open, the 13-time Grand Slam champion unleashed his frustration on his racquet after missing a surefire winner into the net. The mangled mess of a racquet did not change the momentum of the match, as Djokovic cruised to a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Later in the third set, the usually reserved Swiss -- we expect this from Andy Roddick or Fernando Gonzalez or Lleyton Hewitt, but not Federer -- flipped his empty water bottles behind his seat in disgust. He even forgot to shake the umpire's hand after the match. Totally out of character and a window into Federer's fragile state.
Video of Federer's tantrum after the jump.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-04-2009 @ 2:40PM
markstlcard said...
Yeah, Serena was beaten by a 19 yr. old. Wonderful news.
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4-07-2009 @ 12:35AM
zap49 said...
The champion is getting unglued very quickly because he is quite frustrated by his game. He should have made that shot and yet he missed it. Two years ago, he would not have broken his racket if he had missed the same shot because he had the confidence to bounce back. Now he doesn't. Instead, he is relapsing back to when he was a junior player by throwing tantrums.
It goes to show how cool and collected someone can be when they're on top of their game and then turn into an ugly person when the going gets rough.
Federer is not dead yet. He needs to get out of this funk that he's in. I hope it comes soon because TIME is not on his side.
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4-11-2009 @ 12:01PM
tennisdivas22 said...
grow up!!!!!!!!!!! How does it feel to lose!!!!!!!!!
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