On Goes the Ballad of Federer and Roddick

It will be an eminently familiar sight tomorrow in Basel when Roger Federer and Andy Roddick take to opposite sides of the tennis court to duel for a spot in the tournament final. Their "rivalry" has been on a bit of a hiatus, what with their not having met in a competitive match since last year's legendary Wimbledon epic, but there will surely be nothing foreign to either man about what awaits him across the net. The stakes will not be nearly so high as those underlying many of their previous clashes, and yet they are still hefty enough to bring out the competitive fire in most any player- for Federer, a chance to reclaim the title he lost last year on his beloved home turf, and for Roddick, the possibility of an eighth consecutive qualification for the year-end championships.

In searching for an apt analogy to the dynamics of the Federer-Roddick series in other media, I fear one might all too often find his or her thoughts straying towards the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" films. In 21 professional encounters between these two, Roddick has emerged victorious but twice, and those only narrowly, while Federer has blown through over half of their meetings in straight sets. However, it may be pointed out that things have been somewhat different in the last few additions to this ledger; Roddick has taken at least a set off Federer in four of their last five meetings, including a win (2008 Miami) and, most recently, a near-stunner in a Grand Slam final (2009 Wimbledon).

I have not seen much of Federer's play thus far in Basel, though his results indicate that he is by no means at his worst. His strokes look clean and confident in the portions of his match with Radek Stepanek which I have viewed. However, he has been thoroughly erratic in recent months, and clean rallying against a lower-tier opponent has not always translated into the same in his big matches.

Roddick's form this week been surprisingly strong, given the illness-and-injury problems which have plagued him over the last several months. He has defeated two dangerous opponents in Sam Querrey and David Nalbandian, has not dropped a set and has only lost serve once en route to the semifinals, and has projected an air of confidence and assertiveness on the court that was missing all through this summer.

I believe that, if he brings the same level of play to the court against Federer as he did today in defeating Nalbandian, Roddick should give Federer trouble and will have a "live" shot at pulling the upset. To me, it will feel like justice if he does just that.