Federer v. Verdasco Liveblog

6:00|  No such luck seeing Roddick one more time. Now it is time to stop watching the Tennis Channel ,and start watching some football. Thanks for reading my live blog, and have a good night. 


5:58| The post-game report is next, and I am sticking around for one more commercial break to maybe see Andy Roddick again. 


5:57| Federer cruises in his final service game. he won the game at love and locked up the match. He won the final set 6-1. 


5:55| Verdasco finally gets on the board. Nothing to write home about. 5-1 Federer


5:53| This match is so boring now. Verdasco is playing awful.


5:50|  Federer holds serve again. Damnitt Verdasco!!! I knew you were gonna blow it!! 5-0 Federer

5:49| Wow! Verdasco is on the verge of having an epic collapse. Federer breaks Verdasco again easily, and looks to have this match in control. 4-0 Federer.

5:43| I can't stop listening to "Down by the River" by Neil Young.

5:42| I think that was the shortest game of the match. Federer hit four winners in that game to win it without any real resistance. 3-0 Federer


5:41| Federer does break Verdasco in the longest game of the match. It's going to be hard for Fernando to stop the Fed-Express now. 2-0 Federer.


5:39| I have decided the computer screen and the television are making my eyes hurt. I put on some sunglasses to remedy that problem.

5:37| Verdasco fought back hard to force a duece point. 


5:35| Verdasco seems to be in trouble this game. Federer smashed two backhands cross-court that just blew Verdasco off the court.

5:33| Federer won the game at love. He hit an ace to add insult to injury at 40-0. 1-0 Federer.


5:31| Federer will open the third set serving to Verdasco.


5:30| Verdasco had to take a pee break before the second set. Unbelievable they need to get this train-a-movin'.


5:25| Verdasco didn't seem to be handling the pressure in that decisive game. He got broken at 40-15 and lost second set to Federer. First Set: 6-4 Verdasco, Second Set: 7-5 Federer. One more to go.

5:20| Federer pulls the game out. He barely holds serve and Verdasco is looking to close the match out in two sets. 6-5 Federer.

5:18| Verdasco missed a couple very close shots to let Federer go up 40-30. He then forced a duece point.

5:17| Verdasco hits a miracle lob over Federer's head to go up 30-0 on Fed's service game. 


5:16| Verdasco wins a huge point with a Federer unforced error at 30-30.  He then hits a huge forehand to hold serve. 5-5.

5:12|  I see something new every time that Roddick commercial is on. It never gets old.


5:11| Federer holds serve with ease again. Verdasco is really having a tough time winning any points on Fed's serve. 5-4 Federer


5:08| Verdasco rallies to win four points in a row to hold serve. 4-4.


5:06| Federer goes up 0-30. Could be trouble

5:04| Too busy looking up Roddick commercials and forgot to watch this game. 4-3 Federer.

5:03| My new favorite commercial

5:00| Federer plays a really strong game. Verdasco responded nicely with a few big shots on some very important points. Verdasco takes a very tight game. 3-3.

Live Blog: Federer v. Verdasco, Sunday 11/22

The first round of the Barclays ATP World Tour Final is on Sunday.

The two matches are between Andy Murray v. Juan Martin Del Potro, and Roger Federer v. Fernando Verdasco

The Federer match will be on the Tennis Channel at 2:00 PM (EST). I plan on watching the entire match, and relaying my comments on Breaking Back throughout.

I think it will be a lot of fun, and I hope you guys all tune in

[Images via Perunotas and Carine06]

What I'm Reading: Link Round-Up for Monday 11/16

This weekend held the final of the last Masters Series event in Paris before the year end round robin event in London.

Novak Djokovic narrowly beat Gael Monfils in a three set thriller. Monfils had a good shot at taking this match down, and I think he is finally starting to come into his own.

Next week is the beginning of the end of the year Masters Event in London. Only the top 8 ranked players in the world qualify for the tournament.

The tournament should be exciting considering all the big names that will be playing in this event. The complete list of players includes Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Roger Federer, and Djokovic.

The Bleacher Report provides a preview on the event. The article thinks Djokovic has a good shot at it being the defending champion.

For more information, Ricky Dimon at Tennis Talk will write a preview of what we can expect to see from every player at the final tournament. He starts with profiling Fernando Verdasco.


I just can't see Federer not winning this event, even though he went out early in Paris. His only real challenge would come from Andy Murray, but he seems to still be suffering from a lingering injury.


Speaking of Federer, Paul Kimmage of the Times Online writes a great article on Federer's life as a new father. It's nice to see just how human these professionals really are.


Plus, Tim Henman is mentioned. Yeah!

[Image via Sports Illustrated]