2012 Roger Federer tennis season

2012 Roger Federer tennis season

Federer at a press conference in Doha.
Singles
Season record	34–4 (89.47%)
Calendar titles	4
Current ranking	No. 3
Ranking change from previous year	0
Grand Slam results
Australian Open	SF
Doubles
Season record	0–1
Calendar titles	0
Current ranking	No. 1300
Ranking change from previous year	1165
Davis Cup
Davis Cup	1R (rel. to WG PO)
Last updated on: 1 June 2012.

Roger Federer's 2012 tennis season officially began on 2 January with the start of the 2012 ATP World Tour.

Year summary

Early hard court season and Australian Open

Qatar Open

Federer began his ATP World Tour season at the Qatar Open, where he was defending his title. After straight-set victories over 2011 finalist Nikolay Davydenko and qualifier Grega Žemlja, Federer won a hard-fought, error-prone match over eighth-seeded Andreas Seppi.^[1] Federer was scheduled to play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a rematch of the previous year's semifinal, but was forced to withdraw due to a back spasm problem. This marked only the second time in Federer's career (after the 2008 Paris Masters) that he withdrew from a tournament because of injury.^[2]

Australian Open

Federer next traveled to Melbourne for the first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open. The Swiss advanced through the first four rounds without the loss of a set, starting his campaign by defeating qualifier Alexander Kudryavtsev,^[3] receiving a walkover into the third round when Andreas Beck withdrew with a lower back injury prior to their second round match,^[4][5]and beating Ivo Karlović to improve to a 10–1 head-to-head record against the Croat.^[6] Federer then faced Australian teenager Bernard Tomic and downed him in less than two hours to extend his record streak of Grand Slam quarterfinals consecutive appearances to 31.^[7] In the quarterfinals, Federer faced world no. 11 Juan Martín del Potro in his 1000th career match. It was their first meeting in a major tournament since Del Potro defeated Federer in five sets in the 2009 US Open men's final. As the tight match slowly progressed, Federer took control and flew by del Potro in straight sets.^[8] With his win, Federer becomes the first player at age 30 and over to reach the Australian Open semifinals since Andre Agassi, and extends his match winning streak (started in September 2011) to 24 consecutive victories. Federer played world no. 2 and archrival Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. He opened up the match by winning the first set, but ultimately lost momentum and dropped the next three sets after a failed attempt to get back in the match by taking the third set, committing 63 unforced errors. Federer's loss to Nadal saw his winning streak of 24 consecutive matches end and his record against Nadal slip to 9–18.^[9]

Rotterdam Open

Federer went to the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam for the first time since he won in 2005. He faced Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in the first round and defeated him in straight sets. He then received a walkover against Mikhail Youzhny, and then defeated Jarkko Nieminen in the quarterfinals in two tight sets. In the semifinals, Federer dropped his opening set to an agressive Nikolay Davydenko, but rallied to win the match in three sets.^[10] He beat Juan Martín del Potro in the final to clinch his second title in Rotterdam.

Dubai Tennis Championships

Federer next played in the Dubai Tennis Championships. He played Frenchman Michaël Llodra in the first round and defeated him in straight sets after a tight second set went to a tiebreak.^[11][12] He then faced Feliciano López and, after a slow start, defeated him in straight sets.^[13] He next played Mikhail Youzhny and flew to a straight-sets victory after dropping only fourteen points on serve.^[14] In the semifinals, he defeated Juan Martín del Potro in two tight tiebreaks.^[15] He beat Andy Murray in the final to clinch his fifth title in Dubai, his second consecutive title, and his second title of the year.^[16] He also finished the tournament without dropping a set.

BNP Paribas Open

Roger Federer won his fourth championship in Indian Wells, his first in six years.

Immediately following his win at Dubai, Federer began his trip to the United States with an appearance at the BNP Paribas Showdown, playing an exhibition match against Andy Roddick. After two very tight sets, Federer was defeated by Roddick in the second-set tiebreak.

Federer next participated in the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Federer had come down with flu-like symptoms prior to his opening match due to a virus that had spread around the players at the beginning of the tournament.^[17] After receiving a bye into the second round, he faced American qualifier Denis Kudla, and dispatched him in straight sets.^[18] He next faced young up-and-coming Canadian Milos Raonic. Raonic grabbed a tight first set after winning the set tiebreaker, but Federer came back strong with two break points in the second set to level the match. Federer found a break point late in the third set and held to secure a close three-set win over Raonic.^[19][20] Still recovering from his illness, Federer played Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, who had received a walkover from the third round, the day after his match with Raonic. Bellucci took advantage of a shaky Federer to win the first set, but Federer found his rhythm and fought back to win the next two sets and the match with two crucial break points, one of which was also match point.^[21] Federer then played Juan Martín del Potro for the fourth time in the season in the quarterfinals. After winning three break points throughout the match, Federer defeated del Potro in 69 minutes, earning his 250th career Masters 1000 win.^[22] He then faced archrival Rafael Nadal, whom he had last played in his loss in the Australian Open semifinals. Rain delays kept the two rivals off the court for a few hours, but when they began playing, Federer got off to a fast start, securing two break points to win the set with ease. He then capitalized on two more break points to give himself a big lead. After fending off a late comeback by Nadal and waiting out a short rain delay after drawing match point, Federer sealed the match with an ace, recording his tenth career win over Nadal.^[23] In the final, Federer met American John Isner, who had beaten him in their last meeting in the Davis Cup, and defeated him in straight sets, clinching a record-tying 19th Masters 1000 title.^[24]

Sony Ericsson Open

Federer next played at the Sony Ericsson Open. Federer opened in the second round against wildcard American Ryan Harrison after taking a bye in the first round. Federer controlled much of the match and avoided a late comeback by Harrison to win in straight sets after a second set tiebreak.^[25] He next played perennial rival Andy Roddick in the third round. Federer dropped the first set tiebreak, but came back strong with three break points in the second set. The third set saw Roddick save four break points in the second game and pull momentum from Federer, who gave up a break in the next game. Federer's serve faltered, and Roddick held his next four service games to win the match and defeat Federer for only the third time in his career, the first time since he last defeated Federer at the 2008 Miami Masters. This loss ended Federer's 16-match winning streak.^[26]

Clay court season and French Open

Mutua Madrid Open

Federer started off his clay court season with the Mutua Madrid Open. He received a bye to the second round, where he faced Milos Raonic. After dropping the first set, Federer saved seven break points in the next two sets to hold off Raonic and win the match in the third-set tiebreak.^[27] Federer then played Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the third round, and flew to a win in less than an hour, winning in straight sets.^[28] In the quarterfinals, Federer defeated Spaniard David Ferrer in straight sets, losing only six points on his serve, and extended his undefeated record against Ferrer.^[29] He defeated Janko Tipsarević in the semifinals in straight sets in just over an hour, and also extended an undefeated record against him.^[30] In clinching a spot in the final, Federer broke Ivan Lendl's record for the most combined Championship Masters Series finals, which includes his finals appearances at Masters 1000 events, and stands alone at 32 finals reached. In his 104th career final, he defeated Tomáš Berdych in three sets after dropping the first set. With his win, he regained the world no. 2 ranking from Spaniard Rafael Nadal. He also won his third Madrid Masters title and tied Nadal's record of 20 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles.^[31]

Internazionali BNL d'Italia

Federer next played at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. He received a bye into the second round where he met and comfortably beat Carlos Berlocq of Argentina in straight sets.^[32] In the third round, he played 2001 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero and defeated him in three sets after Ferrero had won the second set by converting a break.^[33] Federer then faced hometown favorite Andreas Seppi in the quarterfinals, but defeated him by a comfortable margin, dropping only three games en route to a straight sets win.^[34] Federer next lost to first-seeded Novak Djokovic in the semifinal in straight sets, after failing to gain enough momentum to overcome Djokovic in the second-set tiebreak.^[35] As Nadal ultimately won the tournament, Federer dropped back down to the world no. 3 ranking.

French Open

Federer will end his clay court season with the French Open in Paris, his 50th career major championship. He played German Tobias Kamke in the first round, and won in straight sets. With his win, Federer recorded his 50th match win at the French Open and tied Jimmy Connors' record for most career Grand Slam match wins at 233 wins.^[36] He next played Adrian Ungur of Belgium, and defeated him in four sets after dropping a third-set tiebreak on a backhand error. With this win, Federer broke Connors' record for the most career Grand Slam match wins, earning his 234th win.^[37] He next plays against Frenchman Nicolas Mahut.

Davis Cup

Federer returned to Switzerland to represent his country for their first-round Davis Cup meeting with the United States. He played his first rubber at Fribourg against John Isner after Mardy Fish had beaten his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka in the first rubber. After taking the first set, Federer struggled to capitalize on break points and lost the next three sets to Isner, giving the Americans a 2–0 advantage.^[38] He next played with Wawrinka in the doubles rubber against top doubles player Mike Bryan and Fish. Federer and Wawrinka won a tight first set, but were run over by Bryan and Fish in the next three sets, losing the rubber and the match-up.^[39] The Americans advanced to the quarterfinals, while Switzerland was relegated to the World Group Play-offs. Federer was scheduled to play Mardy Fish in the first of the reverse singles rubbers, but Federer and Fish were taken off the schedule, as the Americans had already won the match-up.

All matches

Singles matches

Tournament	Match	Round	Opponent/Rank	Result,	Score
Qatar Open Doha, Qatar ATP World Tour 250 Hard, outdoor 2–7 January 2012	994	1R	Nikolay Davydenko / #41	Win	6–2, 6–2
	995	2R	Grega Žemlja / #116	Win	6–2, 6–3
	996	QF	Andreas Seppi / #38	Win	6–3, 5–7, 6–4
	–	SF	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga / #6	Withdrew	N/A
Australian Open Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam Hard, outdoor 16–29 January 2012	997	1R	Alexander Kudryavtsev / #172	Win	7–5, 6–2, 6–2
	–	2R	Andreas Beck / #93	Walkover	N/A
	998	3R	Ivo Karlović / #57	Win	7–6(8–6), 7–5, 6–3
	999	4R	Bernard Tomic / #38	Win	6–4, 6–2, 6–2
	1000	QF	Juan Martín del Potro / #11	Win	6–4, 6–3, 6–2
	1001	SF	Rafael Nadal / #2	Loss	7–6(7–5), 2–6, 6–7(5–7), 4–6
Davis Cup World Group: United States vs. Switzerland Fribourg, Switzerland Davis Cup Clay, indoor 10 February 2012	1002	–	John Isner / #17	Loss	6–4, 3–6, 6–7(4–7), 2–6
ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament Rotterdam, Netherlands ATP World Tour 500 Hard, indoor 13–19 February 2012	1003	1R	Nicolas Mahut / #83	Win	6–4, 6–4
	–	2R	Mikhail Youzhny / #31	Walkover	N/A
	1004	QF	Jarkko Nieminen / #46	Win	7–5, 7–6(7–2)
	1005	SF	Nikolay Davydenko / #49	Win	4–6, 6–3, 6–4
	1006	F	Juan Martín del Potro / #10	Win	6–1, 6–4
Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Dubai, United Arab Emirates ATP World Tour 500 Hard, outdoor 27 February – 3 March 2012	1007	1R	Michaël Llodra / #40	Win	6–0, 7–6(8–6)
	1008	2R	Feliciano López / #15	Win	7–5, 6–3
	1009	QF	Mikhail Youzhny / #34	Win	6–3, 6–4
	1010	SF	Juan Martín del Potro / #10	Win	7–6(7–5), 7–6(8–6)
	1011	F	Andy Murray / #4	Win	7–5, 6–4
BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells, United States ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Hard, outdoor 12–18 March 2012	–	1R	Bye
	1012	2R	Denis Kudla / #185	Win	6–4, 6–1
	1013	3R	Milos Raonic / #27	Win	6–7(4–7), 6–2, 6–4
	1014	4R	Thomaz Bellucci / #50	Win	3–6, 6–3, 6–4
	1015	QF	Juan Martín del Potro / #9	Win	6–3, 6–2
	1016	SF	Rafael Nadal / #2	Win	6–3, 6–4
	1017	F	John Isner / #11	Win	7–6(9–7), 6–3
Sony Ericsson Open Miami, United States ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Hard, outdoor 19 March – 1 April 2012	–	1R	Bye
	1018	2R	Ryan Harrison / #73	Win	6–2, 7–6(7–3)
	1019	3R	Andy Roddick / #34	Loss	6–7(4–7), 6–1, 4–6
Mutua Madrid Open Madrid, Spain ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Clay, outdoor 7–13 May 2012	–	1R	Bye
	1020	2R	Milos Raonic / #23	Win	4–6, 7–5, 7–6(7–4)
	1021	3R	Richard Gasquet / #18	Win	6–3, 6–2
	1022	QF	David Ferrer / #6	Win	6–4, 6–4
	1023	SF	Janko Tipsarević / #8	Win	6–2, 6–3
	1024	F	Tomáš Berdych / #7	Win	3–6, 7–5, 7–5
Internazionali BNL d'Italia Rome, Italy ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Clay, outdoor 14–20 May 2012	–	1R	Bye
	1025	2R	Carlos Berlocq / #38	Win	6–3, 6–4
	1026	3R	Juan Carlos Ferrero / #47	Win	6–2, 5–7, 6–1
	1027	QF	Andreas Seppi / #30	Win	6–1, 6–2
	1028	SF	Novak Djokovic / #1	Loss	2–6, 6–7(4–7)
French Open Paris, France Grand Slam Clay, outdoor 28 May – 10 June 2012	1029	1R	Tobias Kamke / #78	Win	6–2, 7–5, 6–3
	1030	2R	Adrian Ungur / #92	Win	6–3, 6–2, 6–7(6-8), 6–3
	1031	3R	Nicolas Mahut / #89	Win	6–3, 4–6, 6–2, 7–5
	1032	4R	David Goffin / #109

Doubles matches

Tournament	Match	Round	Partner	Opponent/Rank	Result	Score
Davis Cup World Group: United States vs. Switzerland Fribourg, Switzerland Davis Cup Clay, indoor February 10, 2012	197	–	Stanislas Wawrinka	Mike Bryan / #1 Mardy Fish / #118	Loss	6–4, 3–6, 3–6, 3–6

Tournament schedule

Singles schedule

Federer's 2012 singles tournament schedule is as follows:^[40]

Date	Championship	Location	Category	Surface	Prev. result	Prev. points	New points	Outcome
2 January 2012– 7 January 2012	Qatar Open	Doha (QAT)	ATP World Tour 250	Hard	W	250	90	Withdrew before semifinal match (against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga)
16 January 2012– 29 January 2012	Australian Open	Melbourne (AUS)	Grand Slam	Hard	SF	720	720	Semifinals (lost to Rafael Nadal, 7–6(7–5), 2–6, 6–7(5–7), 4–6)
10 February 2012– 12 February 2012	Davis Cup World Group: United States vs. Switzerland	Fribourg (SUI)	Davis Cup	Clay (i)			10	United States def.  Switzerland, 5–0 Switzerland relegated to 2012 WG Play-offs
13 February 2012– 19 February 2012	ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament	Rotterdam (NED)	ATP World Tour 500	Hard (i)	A	0	500	Winner (defeated Juan Martín del Potro, 6–1, 6–4)
27 February 2012– 3 March 2012	Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships	Dubai (UAE)	ATP World Tour 500	Hard	F	300	500	Winner (defeated Andy Murray, 7–5, 6–4)
12 March 2012– 18 March 2012	BNP Paribas Open	Indian Wells (USA)	ATP World Tour Masters 1000	Hard	SF	360	1000	Winner (defeated John Isner, 7–6(9–7), 6–3)
19 March 2012– 1 April 2012	Sony Ericsson Open	Miami (USA)	ATP World Tour Masters 1000	Hard	SF	360	45	Third round (lost to Andy Roddick, 6–7(4–7), 6–1, 4–6)
7 May 2012– 13 May 2012	Mutua Madrid Open	Madrid (ESP)	ATP World Tour Masters 1000	Clay	SF	360	1000	Winner (defeated Tomáš Berdych, 3–6, 7–5, 7–5)
14 May 2012– 20 May 2012	Internazionali BNL d'Italia	Rome (ITA)	ATP World Tour Masters 1000	Clay	R16	90	360	Semifinals (lost to Novak Djokovic, 2–6, 6–7(4–7))
28 May 2012– 10 June 2012	French Open	Paris (FRA)	Grand Slam	Clay	F	1200
11 June 2012– 17 June 2012	Gerry Weber Open	Halle (GER)	ATP World Tour 250	Grass	A	0
25 June 2012– 8 July 2012	The Championships, Wimbledon	Wimbledon (GBR)	Grand Slam	Grass	QF	360
27 July 2012– 5 August 2012	2012 Summer Olympics	London (GBR)	Olympic Games	Grass	QF	100
6 August 2012– 12 August 2012	Rogers Cup	Montreal (CAN)	ATP World Tour Masters 1000	Hard	R16	90
13 August 2012– 19 August 2012	Western & Southern Open	Cincinnati (USA)	ATP World Tour Masters 1000	Hard	QF	180
27 August 2012– 9 September 2012	US Open	New York (USA)	Grand Slam	Hard	SF	720
8 October 2012– 14 October 2012	Shanghai Rolex Masters	Shanghai (CHN)	ATP World Tour Masters 1000	Hard	A	0
22 October 2012– 28 October 2012	Swiss Indoors Basel	Basel (SUI)	ATP World Tour 500	Hard (i)	W	500
29 October 2012– 4 November 2012	BNP Paribas Masters	Paris (FRA)	ATP World Tour Masters 1000	Hard (i)	W	1000
5 November 2012– 11 November 2012	Barclays ATP World Tour Finals	London (GBR)	ATP World Tour Finals	Hard (i)	W	1500
Points as of Internazionali BNL d'Italia						2440	4225	1775 difference
Total year-end points						8170

Doubles schedule

Date	Championship	Location	Category	Surface	Prev. result	Prev. points	New points	Outcome
10 February 2012– 12 February 2012	Davis Cup World Group: United States vs. Switzerland	Fribourg (SUI)	Davis Cup	Clay (i)				United States def.  Switzerland, 5–0 Switzerland relegated to 2012 WG Play-offs

Yearly records

Head-to-head matchups

Ordered by number of wins

Finals

Singles: 4 (4–0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	71.	02012-02-19February 19, 2012	Rotterdam, Netherlands (2)	Hard (i)	Juan Martín del Potro	6–1, 6–4
Winner	72.	02012-03-03March 3, 2012	Dubai, United Arab Emirates (5)	Hard	Andy Murray	7–5, 6–4
Winner	73.	02012-03-18March 18, 2012	Indian Wells, United States (4)	Hard	John Isner	7–6(9–7), 6–3
Winner	74.	02012-05-13May 13, 2012	Madrid, Spain (3)	Clay	Tomáš Berdych	3–6, 7–5, 7–5

Earnings

Figures in United States dollars (USD) unless noted.

See also

• 2012 Rafael Nadal tennis season
• 2012 Novak Djokovic tennis season

References

External links

• Roger Federer at the Association of Tennis Professionals