Which bothered him more Monday, that he played poorly in a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 fourth-round exit against 11th-seeded Gael Monfils of France — or that the match continued as dusk descended?
“Obviously they’re both frustrating, and both contributed to my frustration,” said Roddick, the last U.S. man in the tournament. “He handled the conditions better than I did.”
The match was the last of the day on Court Suzanne Lenglen, and play didn’t begin until 7:47 p.m. Roddick began complaining to chair umpire Enric Molina in the second set that it was too dark.
After losing that set, Roddick told Molina: “I’m having trouble seeing the ball. I can’t see the ball.”
Roddick, never before past the third round at Roland Garros, missed several volleys and at least one overhead shot. After one miscue, the partisan crowd roared, and Monfils egged the spectators on, waving his hands as if to say, “Get louder!”
“The crowd did a good job supporting me. At times, I asked them to wake up and try to bury Andy. They responded, and I think he was a bit annoyed,” said Monfils, who’ll play Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. “As for Andy, I apologize for that.”
Roddick didn’t complain.
“It’s certainly his right,” the 2003 U.S. Open champion said. “It’s his advantage to use.”
While bemoaning his own play — “I felt like I made the right decisions and just messed up the execution,” Roddick said — he also heaped praise on Monfils, calling him one of the best athletes to ever play tennis.
“He covers so much ground,” Roddick said.
The Frenchman finished with a 45-18 edge in winners and a 17-4 advantage in aces. Monfils also saved nine of the 10 break points he faced.
“He served really big,” Roddick acknowledged, “and he served really big at the right times.”
Roger Federer knows full well, of course, that Rafael Nadal is no longer around this year to befuddle him, to beat him, to stand between him and a French Open title.
Federer insists he is not thinking about that, not thinking ahead. Still, Federer sure did play as if preoccupied for the better part of two hours Monday, dropping the first two sets of his fourth-round match against 63rd-ranked Tommy Haas of Germany.
One point from letting Haas serve for the victory, Federer conjured up one particularly spectacular forehand that managed to change the entire flow of things. That shot spurred a run of nine consecutive games for Federer, sending him to a 6-7 (4), 5-7, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 victory over Haas and a berth in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.
“I knew I was going to look back on that shot. That saved me,” Federer said. “I was in quite some danger.”
But he escaped. With two more victories, Federer will reach a fourth consecutive final at the French Open, the only Grand Slam championship he hasn’t won. Federer lost to Nadal in each of the past three finals and in the 2005 semifinals, but the Spaniard’s 31-match winning streak at the clay-court major tournament ended Sunday against Robin Soderling.
Michel Euler / APSwitzerland's Roger Federer reacts during his victory over Germany's Tommy Haas in the fourth round on Monday.
“You’re aware of it,” Federer said. “Definitely changes it up, if I were to make the final. But we’re not there yet, so honestly it hasn’t changed a whole lot for me.”
Federer now tries to reach the semifinals at a 20th Grand Slam event in a row, which would extend his own record, when he meets Monfils.
Federer's 13 major championships are one shy of Pete Sampras’ record. With Nadal, Roddick and No. 4 Novak Djokovic all gone, Federer is the only man left with a Grand Slam title.
“For a lot of players,” Federer said, “I think it must be quite a big opportunity, and their heads must be spinning right now.”
The other matchup on his half of the draw is No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina against No. 16 Tommy Robredo of Spain — two men who are a combined 0-6 in Grand Slam quarterfinals. Del Potro beat No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-4, and Robredo eliminated No. 29 Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-2.
“Expectations? Everyone has expectations, even myself,” Robredo said.
There are two ways to look at what Nadal’s loss means for Federer. A potential obstacle is out of the way. And now Federer is expected to win the title, which could be a burden.
Consider: Dating to 2005, Federer is 0-4 against Nadal at the French Open, 27-0 against everyone else.
“It kicks the door open for Roger, but suddenly: ’Yeah, step up.’ Now the pressure’s really on,” three-time French Open champion Mats Wilander said. “The pressure before was to just give Nadal a good match. Now, it’s like, ’Hey, listen, if you can’t win it now, then you’re definitely not considered the greatest player of all time — until you do.”’
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Asked about Nadal, Federer joked: “Um, he didn’t retire, right?”
“My dream scenario is to beat Rafa here in the finals,” Federer continued, “but I’ve got to concentrate on my part of the draw and make sure I come through like today.”
Good as he was at the start against Haas — Federer won the first 24 points on his serve — there were moments when his signature forehand let him down. Federer missed two in a row to fall behind in the opening tiebreaker.
When Haas took the second set, too, the prospect of the No. 2-seeded Federer following No. 1 Nadal on the way out was a distinct possibility. Then came the third-set point both Federer and Haas considered pivotal: With Federer serving at 3-4, 30-40 — five points from losing — he ran around his backhand side for an inside-out forehand winner that landed right near a line.
“We both knew there was a chance for me to finish him off,” Haas said. “Just got to tip your hat and say, ’That’s why he’s Roger Federer.”’
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