Looking back (April 23) | Roger Federer def. Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo
Fresh off his first tournament title of the year Sunday at the Estoril Open in Portugal, world No. 1 Roger Federer found himself staring down a 1-5 deficit in the deciding third set of his first match of the Master Series Monte Carlo yesterday to world No. 137 Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo. But the tournament's top seed battled back in stunning fashion, storming through the third-set tiebreaker to take the match 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (1) to advance.
Federer overcame an uncharacteristic 55 unforced errors as he secured a third-round date with Ga?l Monfils of France. Last season, Federer had made it to the finals at Monte Carlo, which serves as a prelude to the sport's biggest clay-court event, the French Open. But Federer could not come away with the victory, falling to world No. 2 Rafael Nadal. Nadal also played yesterday, cruising to a 6-0, 6-3 win over Mario Ancic of Croatia to also reach the round of 16.
A loss this season would have put Federer at 16-5 on the year with one title. At the conclusion of the Master Series Monte Carlo last year, the world No. 1 was 18-3 with two titles, including the 2007 Australian Open, leading some to believe that the Swiss is in the midst of a down year.
With Federer eyeing his first French Open title next month at Rolland Garros, his performance on red clay this season might offer an early indication of his chances. While the shaky play against Hidalgo on the Swiss' part might foretell difficult times for Federer at the French, it is worth noting that his win at Estoril this season also occured on red clay.
Looking ahead (April 26) | Men's Lacrosse at Middlebury
The men's lacrosse team will travel north to Vermont this Saturday to face the seven-time defending conference champion Middlebury Panthers in a game with potentially huge NESCAC Tournament ramifications. Tufts is currently tied with Wesleyan for second place in the conference standings with a record of 6-2, one game ahead of Bowdoin and one game behind Middlebury.
Entering the weekend, the Jumbos are still within striking distance of the top seed in the NESCAC Tournament, which begins Sunday. If Tufts defeats first-place Middlebury and 3-9 Bates pulls off an upset of Wesleyan, the Jumbos will be assured of their second consecutive regular season conference crown. The team would then receive the top seed in the NESCAC Tournament and a first-round bye. If Tufts loses on Saturday, it would fall to the third seed, but would still earn a home game in Sunday's first round.
Not only is the NESCAC regular-season crown at stake, but the matchup will also renew a intra-conference rivalry that has intensified in recent years. In the 2006 NESCAC semifinals, Tufts battled back from a 10-7 fourth-quarter deficit only to fall 12-11 in a classic triple-overtime contest. But the Jumbos got their revenge in the 2007 regular season finale, getting a goal from then-sophomore midfielder Chase Bibby 1:45 into overtime en route to their first victory over Middlebury in 40 years. The Panthers would get the last laugh, however, eliminating Tufts from the NESCAC Tournament one week later.
