Flashback: Federer’s Triumph On Madrid’s Blue Clay

Roger Federer’s run on the blue clay of the 2012 Mutua Madrid Open nearly ended before it truly began.

The third seed nearly was ousted in his first match of the ATP Masters 1000 event. Standing across the net was a 21-year-old Canadian armed with rocket serve, who consistently pierced the blue dirt: Milos Raonic.

Raonic had pushed Federer to three sets just two months earlier at the BNP Paribas Open. Once again, he proved himself a tough opponent for the Swiss superstar.

“I knew it was going to be an extremely difficult match for me. He’s already played plenty of clay-court tennis,” Federer said. “It’s [at] altitude, it’s really quick and he really has a great serve, so obviously it worked for him here.”

Raonic won 86 per cent of his first-serve points that Wednesday against Federer, and he only faced two break points in 17 service games. It still wasn’t enough, as Federer crushed a forehand return winner to clinch the final-set tie-break after two hours and 14 minutes.

“For a long time it didn’t look like I was going to come out of it,” Federer said. “I just hung in there, got a little lucky at times, served well at the times and at the end I played a really good tie-break in the third. I’m extremely happy.”

Federer found his footing as the tournament wore on, winning his next three matches without losing a set. He defeated then-World No. 18 Richard Gasquet, against whom he lost in Rome the previous year, World No. 6 David Ferrer and World No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic to reach the final.

While tournament favourites Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic lost early on the blue surface, Federer rode his serve to success. The Swiss did not lose serve against Gasquet, Ferrer or Tipsarevic.

That set the stage for a championship clash against big-hitting Czech Tomas Berdych, the sixth seed, who had not lost a set in the tournament.

Berdych won the first set against Federer, leaving the third seed no room for error. Federer rose to the occasion, rallying past Berdych 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 after two hours and 38 minutes to lift the trophy.

“[I am] very happy. It was tough. I was down almost the whole time and then finally I got the break in the third and then he broke back and things got really tough again,” Federer said. “But look, I played great. It was tough conditions obviously as we know. It was slippery and stuff, and I could have lost in the first round. This is always special, winning a title 7-5 in the third when things get tough. The crowd was amazing, and I’m very happy.”

Federer arrived in Madrid without playing since Miami, where Andy Roddick upset him in the third round. But more than a month off didn’t stop the Swiss from claiming his 20th Masters 1000 title.

“It’s an amazing comeback and everything is positive right now,” Federer said. “I’m just feeling really happy and hope I can keep it up for the weeks to come.”

Madrid was the start of a run of consistency for Federer, who fell short of the semi-finals just once the rest of the season, winning titles at Wimbledon and Cincinnati.