Roger Federer Won Qatar Open

The 2011 men’s season is off to a fast start and Roger Federer is already making waves.  The Swiss, currently ranked second, and the defending champion at Melbourne claimed his first tournament of the year at Doha, Qatar.  In the finals, Federer posted a straight set win over Russian Nikolay Davydenko, who downed Nadal and Federer in successive matches here last year.

After defeating Nadal in the semi-finals, Davydenko sought to repeat the feat for the third time in his career.  The second seed stole the momentum at the 3-0 start and played virtually error free tennis in recording the 6-3, 6-4 triumph.  The win marked Roger’s 67^th ATP title and 3^rd at Doha, where his match record is a phenomenal 23-3.

Federer is very much in form.  Since losing to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the 2010 U.S. Open, The Swiss has won 26 of 28 matches including the prestigious Barclays’ ATP World Finals where he upset his rival Nadal.

At Doha, Davydenko did not play poorly.  The determined Federer simply never opened the door.  However, Davydenko is a dangerous foe and will be a player to watch in Melbourne.

Fifth ranked Robin Soderling started his year well with a convincing victory over second seeded American Andy Roddick at the Brisbane International.  The table was turned on Roddick as Soderling won 35 of 39 first serves and never faced a break point.  On the other hand, the American struggled with his biggest weapon, allowing 10 break points.  When Andy is not on serve, he is in trouble.

The 6-3, 7-5 win had other ramifications for Soderling who now takes over as the number four ranked player in the world, supplanting Andy Murray. The Brisbane triumph marked Soderling’s seventh title.  Roddick took the loss in stride and recognizes his need to improve his first serve.

Switzerland’s other tennis power, 21^st ranked Stanislas Wawrinka made amends by claiming the Aircel Chennai Open title, where he was runner-up last year.  For Wawrinka it was his first hard surface championship.  His other two WTA championships came on clay.

Wawrinka defeated Belgium’s Xavier Malise 6-4, 5-7, 6-1.  The 2007 champion could not stop Wawrinka’s all court pressure game in the final set.  In the end, it was the Belgian’s inconsistent serve that worked against him.

In anticipation of the upcoming Grand Slam in Melbourne, many of the top seeded men are foregoing the tournament in Sydney this week.