Ah night time tennis on a national holiday in the Big Apple. The combination of the three make it must watch television but what happens when Roger Federer is thrown into the mix. The ageless one has been ripping through the men’s draw but faces an opponent that could play havoc with his return game. Big John Isner is his opponent and should provide quite the challenge for him this evening.
Rested
It is somewhat ironic that the key for this match is for John Isner to come into this one well rested. He got through his last round in quick fashion after his opponent withdrew after two sets. The reason why this is so important is that Isner has to be utterly on to over power Federer at every opportunity. There are two methods to beat Roger and John has one of them. Win every service game and go riverboat gambler on Roger’s serve is the only one that John can do.
Shortage of Weapons
One of the methods that keeps Roger winning despite his advanced age his is very aggressive return of service. His hands and reactions are still very sharp. Instincts take over and he gets to put so much pressure early on against the opposition. Against Isner, creeping in might not be possible. Not only would it increase his ace percentage, but overload all aspects of the Federer game.
Ironic that it is the mindset of Federer that could make or break our wager today. Most of the time he does not get to face someone that he has this much of a talent advantage over. Instead he must seek to defuse this one trick pony. Unless John Isner is absolutely zeroed in, any rally of length is advantage Roger. The idea is to advance and askew the style points in this one. Wager the over on games as John should actually take a set and force a tie break in another. Over 39 is the bar you should seek for our free pick of the day. Good fortune to all of you today and have a Happy Labor Day.