Oops, he did it again.
For the fourth time this season, Roger Federer has lost a match in which he held a match point. It happened at Indian Wells (against Marcos Baghdatis), Miami (against Tomas Berdych), the U.S. Open (against Novak Djokovic) and now the Paris Indoors, against Gael Monfils.
Today's loss can't compare to his failure at Flushing Meadows, but it's one Federer can't possibly forget. Amazingly, Federer didn't win any of the five match points he earned, even though Monfils was forced to hit a second serve on the first four occasions. The main culprit was Federer's forehand, which went awry at the worst possible times. It might be the strangest defeat of his career; it's up there with last year's collapse at the Canadian Masters, when Federer led Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 5-1 in the third set, yet lost.
On the other side, this is almost certainly the biggest win of Monfils' career. The Frenchman spared the Parisian fans more heartbreak—Michael Llodra lost in Ryan Harrison-esque fashion earlier in the day to Robin Soderling—by pulling the escape act. Monfils was a mental champion today: He didn't cave in when teetering on the cliff's edge, he won two tiebreakers, and most importantly, he played aggressive tennis, a sharp contrast to his mostly defensive style. The fast court dictated that Monfils play closer to the baseline, and it resulted in some wonderful winners, including forehands that moved like first serves. We identify the French with the slow terre battue, but really, they have some of the best fast-court players in the world.
Back to Federer. Although this loss will sting, he's well past the point where losing a Masters match is the end of the world. Federer looked irritated throughout this match, and he's spoken about the rigors of the endless ATP season. Frankly, I think he just wants this season over with, and after what's happened post-Australian Open, who can blame him?
—Ed McGrogan