Roger Federer Fights Off Injuries And SEVEN Match Points To Miraculously Stay Alive At The Aussie Open
Federer def. Sandgren 6-3 2-6 2-6 7-6(10-8) 6-3
I mean what in the world just happened? How can the possibly continue to do this? Roger Federer was finished. He couldn't move in the 3rd set. He lost back to back sets 6-2 6-2 to the American Tennys Sandgren. Sometimes you just get old and you can't help it. It's life. The thing is that Roger Federer does not answer to father time. What a goddamn warrior that man is.
So what happened in the match? Pretty much everything. For starters, Federer got a code violation for cursing which I don't think I've ever seen happen to him. He approached the lines judge to ask what he said, visibly frustrated with how the match was going and annoyed with the woman tattletalling on him to chair umpire. Again, never seen that before. That stare he gave through this woman's soul is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.
He then went up to the head chair umpire to ask what he said. She just laughed, saying she could not repeat it.
This sparked the internet to demand who this beautiful woman was. Don't worry folks, I discovered her last year during the Aussie Open. That would be Serbian umpire Marjana Veljovic. She is lovely.
Amidst his "outburst" Federer fell down 3-0 in the 3rd set and called for the trainer. He very rarely calls for the trainer and hates doing it because he believes it shows a sign of weakness. I mean he could barely move. I bet if you asked him to bend down and pick up a ball he could not do it. His movement was severely restricted and his first serve speed was down to 107 mph. That might sound fast to you, but for him that's alarmingly slow.
I mean Fed was cooked. It happens when you're as old as he is and are playing a sport so physically demanding to the human body. At some point his body has to give out. It's how being a human works. After the match he said it was a combination of his groin and tightness in his leg that was giving him so much trouble.
On a positive note it's not his back, but a groin injury isn't great. He went on to lose the 3rd set 6-2. It was just a formality at this point that he would be going home. A normal player would have quit. Novak Djokovic would have been home already. Not Roger Federer. One of the more impressive things about Federer is that he's never retired from a match in his career. No matter how he's feeling he powers through for the fans and his own pride. You want to beat him you have to finish him off yourself. True Mamba Mentality shit right there.
As the 4th set rolled on, everyone watching pretty much accepted it was over. Everyone except Federer. That stubborn motherfucker would not go away. He hung around long enough for his medical treatment to kick in. Eventually his serve speed ramped back up and Federer from the first set was back.
He managed to force a tiebreak, fighting off several match points along the way. In the tiebreak a ball girl ran into Tennys Sandgren during a changeover. Knee right to his calf. It's absolutely impossible she didn't see him. I mean what in the world was she doing? Someone had to have slipped her $100 from Fed's player box to try and pull a Nancy Kerrigan. I respect it. If Federer wins the tournament I hope she's up there with him hoisting the trophy.
Federer survived SEVEN match points in the set, including coming back from 6-3 down. He was absolutely finished, but refused to give in. He battled back to win the tiebreak 10-8, forcing a deciding 5th set. The time stamp for this video should be when the tiebreak starts. Just watch how crazy it was. I'm speechless. How the fuck did he win this?
From there it was over. The American Tennys Sandgren had nothing left. Federer was no longer feeling his injury and instead was powering off adrenaline. He'd win the match 6-3 in the 5th set to pull off one of the more remarkable comebacks of his career given all the circumstances.
The guy is just the best. It's impossible to comprehend how he's still doing this at 38 years old. In tennis years he's pretty much 100. There's no one better. Djokovic might end up with the most grand slams ever, but he's no Federer. He can't do what Roger Federer just did.
Mamba Mentality. Awaiting him in the semifinals will likely be Novak unless we wake up and Raonic pulled off a crazy upset. Live to fight another day baby.
P.S. I don't like rooting against Americans, but when you're up against Federer obviously my hands are tied. I feel bad for Tennys Sandgren as this would have been his first grand slam semifinal. He just ran out of gas and couldn't close. No shame in that, I hope he's able to keep making runs in grand slams moving forward.