Tennis matches can be won by the smallest of margins; history forever altered by a moment of brilliance, a lapse in judgment or a slice of good fortune.
In “Turning Points,” we take a look at the pivotal moments that changed the course of sets, matches and championship runs at the US Open.
In this edition, we look back at a crucial moment from Roger Federer’s 2008 title defense in New York.
When big-hitting Russian Igor Andreev approached the net to play Roger Federer's short, floated return at the start of the fifth set, he had two options: go big with a forehand winner to the open court, as he had been all evening, or showcase his guile and touch with a drop shot.
If his decision to play the drop shot while facing break point was ill-advised, the execution with that shot was catastrophic. It left him down, 2-0, in the decider, undid hours of grinding out baseline rallies and ultimately cost him a chance to upset Federer in the prime of his career.
Almost three hours into their fourth-round match on the second Tuesday of the 2008 US Open, Andreev and Federer were locked in a tense five-set battle inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The Round-of-16 match had swung back and forth, with Andreev winning the first set, Federer capturing the next two and Andreev restoring parity behind a sublime effort in the fourth.
Federer, the four-time defending champion, was riding a remarkable 30-match win streak in the Big Apple, but the No. 23-seeded Russian was matching the Maestro blow for blow from the back of the court. Federer was frustrated, while Andreev, after cruising through the fourth set, now had momentum back on his side.
Matches as close as these often hang on a single point, regardless of how straight-forward the contest initially appears when the draws are made. And when Andreev made his crucial fifth-set mistake, equal parts tactical and physical, in the middle of the court, that momentum, as well as the score, swung wildly in Federer's favor.
The turning point came with Andreev serving at 0-1 in the deciding set, having already saved two break points and staring down the barrel of a third in a seven-minute service game.
Andreev boomed a 123-mph serve out wide to the Federer backhand. The Swiss, lunging instinctively to his left, got enough racquet on the ball to block it back short cross-court into the service box on the ad side, slipping behind the baseline as he tried to push off with his left foot to change direction.
"It was a good moment. I think the moment of the night." — Roger Federer
But Andreev, almost on top of the net and in two minds of which shot to play, put way too much on his dropper, giving Federer enough time to dart from the back of the court to get to the ball with enough time to flip a lob down the line.
Already retreating a few steps, Andreev was immediately on the defensive from a seemingly advantageous position, and his double-handed backhand sailed long and wide to give Federer a 2-0 lead he would never relinquish.
Such was the moment, it elicited a roar of approval from Federer, a rare show of emotion at this stage of a major from a player who usually personified calmness.
“It was huge to get the first break in the fifth set,” Federer said. “All I remember was just I was hoping to get the ball back in play, and I had the feeling I had kind of a good contact, but I wasn't sure if it was high enough to make it over the net.
“As I was turning around, I looked and I saw him actually attempting to do a drop shot, so I just started to run. I just thought, 'You know what? I think even if he can get to it as a volley, he has to backhand smash it, which is probably not his favorite shot,' and he went in, he missed it. It was a good moment. I think the moment of the night.”
Andreev, who only came into the net a handful of times throughout the match, had chances to get back into the contest—he squandered four break-back points with Federer serving at 4-2—but the Russian never got within two games again, and Federer went on to win his fifth consecutive title six days later.
“I had a good chance to hit the forehand, and that's all,” said Andreev, whose one-two punch of a big, wide serve followed by a booming forehand was a large reason for pushing Federer as hard as he did. “But I thought, 'He's out of the court, make a drop shot,' and he just arrived well. And when the lob was going, crowd started to cheer in very loud, so you just can't concentrate at this point. I was a bit angry after I missed that shot, but it still was kind of my mistake.”
Added Federer, who saved 13 break points against Andreev, the most he has ever saved in 103 matches in New York: “It's hard for him, every shot, you know, to hit winners all the time. So I just hoped to make a little bit less mistakes, and then maybe come up with something when I had to. That's exactly what happened. The fifth set was quite a thriller.”
