He also gave me my favorite moment of the tournament so far. At 5-5 in the third, Federer stood at the baseline and held up a new ball to serve. The packed house began to stir. Baghdatis, feeling the old feeling again, raised his arm and gave Federer a quick thumb’s up—“Here we go.” The crowd roared louder.
Every match is about the winner, but not every match involves Federer as the loser. Last night he was starkly honest rather than gracious in defeat. More important to me, though, was that he was mad. There’s been talk about whether Federer “cares” about the Masters events at this stage of his career. Anyone who saw his ashen face after last night’s loss knows the answer. He cares.
Federer was angry, and that should make us happy.