Madrid joined the Masters 1000 caravan in 2002, settling into the latter part of the season as the penultimate round of the series. It had been hosted on the indoor hard court of the Madrid Arena for seven years before changing venue, surface and venue in the calendar in 2009, replacing Hamburg as the Masters 1000 clay court tournament.
La Caja Magica at the Manzanares Park Tennis Center brought together the best players in the world for this first edition. We had Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin del Potro and Roger Federer in the semi-finals, with fascinating encounters leading up to Madrid’s first winner on clay.
Roger needed an hour and 21 minutes to fire the Argentinian 6-3, 6-4 for a chance to play for his first title of the season after some tough losses to Nadal, Djokovic and Murray in Doha, Melbourne , Indian Wells, Miami and Rome.
It was their fifth meeting, and Roger had yet to give up a set against the promising youngster, ousting del Potro 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 a few months earlier in Melbourne in the one-minute game. less than this one. ! Almost all of the numbers were on Roger’s side, being the most efficient player on first and second serve and dominant on the pitch.
The Swiss kept the points on his racquet and did not allow Juan Martin to pull his forehand out of the comfort zone. Additionally, Federer was a more creative player on the pitch, developing points well in a mix of well-placed serves, attacking, throwing and net covering, picking up the pace of his rival’s shots and forcing him to think. constantly where the next point was going. Earth.
Del Potro had four break opportunities in the first three return matches, but once he squandered them it was all over for him as Roger moved through the remaining service matches to keep the pressure on the other side of the net.
Roger Federer defeated Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets at Madrid 2009.
The Swiss stole 39% of the return points and beat Juan Martin once in every six break chance set to cross the finish line.
Federer had a 21-11 advantage in the service winners, which allowed him to play aggressive tennis and blast 25 winners against del Potro’s 12 to create another massive difference. Roger was reliable on both wings and his volley, while Juan Martin could only rely on his forehand.
Federer had 46 winners against Argentina’s 23, a huge advantage before taking a look at the errors department. The Swiss wanted to keep the points on his racquet, who had to shoot a few errors, pulverizing 19 unforced errors while del Potro stayed on smaller 11.
Additionally, Roger had ten forced errors in getting Juan Martin to hit seven (mostly from his backhand), which is not enough for the 20-year-old to have an impact and win a more favorable result. . It was a quick and smooth game on a fast-paced Madrid clay, and 61% of the points ended in the shortest range with a maximum of four strokes, with Roger having a 40-33 advantage.
They were neck and neck in the mid-range five-to-eight shootout rally (18-17 for Federer), and the Swiss prevailed in the longer 8-3 points to complement his rock solid performance and stand qualify for the title match against Rafael. Nadal.
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