The "Conquering Federer" Quiz

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... Super-Federer. But not always. He IS mortal, after all.



This Backspin Quiz focuses on the times when King Roger has come face-to-face with a little Kryptonite...

>>>THE QUESTIONS<<<

1. Federer has appeared in thirteen slam singles finals of the Men's and Junior competitions in his career. His record in those finals is 11-2. Who beat him?

a. Rafael Nadal & David Nalbandian
b. Rafael Nadal & Andy Roddick
c. Rafael Nadal & Marat Safin
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2. Federer's current streak of grass court wins is an all-time best 48. Who was the last player to defeat him on grass?

a. Mario Ancic
b. Goran Ivanisevic
c. Pete Sampras
d. Mark Philippoussis
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3. In 2006, Federer's 55-match North American winning streak came to an end when he was defeated by whom?

a. Andy Murray in Los Angeles
b. Rafael Nadal in Washington, D.C.
c. Andy Murray in Cincinnati
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4. What commentator raised Federer's ire last year when they wondered aloud whether the world #1 really "cared" about one of his non-slam losses?

a. Mary Carillo
b. John McEnroe
c. Brad Gilbert
d. Pam Shriver
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5. Andy Roddick is 1-13 in ATP tour singles matches against Federer. When and where did that single victory occur?

a. 2000 U.S. Open
b. 2002 Houston
c. 2003 Montreal
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6. Federer failed to win the Gold Medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. In what round did he lose?

a. in the Final
b. in the SF
c. in the QF
d. in the 2nd Round
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7. Who beat him?

a. Thomas Johansson
b. Nicolas Massu
c. Tomas Berdych
d. Tommy Haas
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8. Federer reached his first ATP singles final in Marseille in 2000. He lost in a final set tie-break to which player?

a. Wayne Ferreira
b. Greg Rusedski
c. Marc Rosset
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9. Guillermo Canas' victories over Federer in this year's Indian Wells and Miami events made the Argentine the fourth player to pull off the feat of wins over Federer in back-to-back tournaments. From the list below, pick the other three to do so:

a. Marc Rosset
b. Pete Sampras
c. David Nalbandian
d. Lleyton Hewitt
e. Andre Agassi
f. Thomas Muster
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10. Since Federer lost in the 2005 Australian Open SF to Marat Safin, he's played 55 grand slam singles matches. He's 1-2 against Rafael Nadal in those matches. What is his record in the other 52 matches against the field?

a. 50-2
b. 51-1
c. 52-0
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BONUS: In 2000, Federer lost the Olympic Bronze Medal match in Sydney to which Frenchman?

a. Arnaud Di Pasquale
b. Arnaud Clement
c. Sebastien Grosjean
d. Cedric Pioline
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>>>THE ANSWERS (2 pts each unless noted)<<<

1. a. Nadal defeated Federer in the 2006 Roland Garros final, while Nalbandian won the 1998 U.S. Open junior final.
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2. a. Ancic defeated Federer in the 1st Round of Wimbledon in 2002.
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3. b. Murray defeated Federer in the 2nd Round in Cincinnati.
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4. a. Mary Carillo.
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5. c. Roddick's single victory over Federer came in the '03 Montreal SF.
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6. d. He lost in the 2nd Round...
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7. c. ...to Tomas Berdych.
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8. c. Marc Rosset.
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9.(2 pts. for each of three correct answers) a,c,d. Rosset in 2000, Hewitt in 2002 and Nalbandian in 2003 accomplished the same feat Canas did in 2007.
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10. c. Federer has gone 52-0 against everyone other than Nadal in slam matches since the '05 Australian Open, winning six titles.
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BONUS: (4 pts.) Arnaud Di Pasquale won the '00 Olympic Bronze Medal match.
============================

>>>THE SCORING<<<

20-28 - Rafael Nadal vs. Federer, on clay
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12-18 - Guillermo Canas vs. Federer, post-drug suspension
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10-16 - Tomas Berdych vs. Federer, in Athens
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0-8 - Andy Roddick vs. Federer, in Montreal... after 2003
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All for now.

The (Long Overdue) Maria Sharapova Quiz

>>>THE QUESTIONS<<<

1. Sharapova appeared in her first WTA event when she was granted a wild card into the main draw of Indian Wells in 2002. She reached the 2nd Round before losing to...

a. Monica Seles
b. Martina Hingis
c. Kim Clijsters
============================
2. In 2003, 16-year old Sharapova won her first WTA singles title. Where did she do it?

a. Tokyo, Japan
b. Sydney, Australia
c. Warsaw, Poland
============================
3. Who did she defeat in the final?

a. Jelena Kostanic
b. Aniko Kapros
c. Lina Krasnoroutskaya
============================
4. In the SF of Indian Wells in 2005, Lindsay Davenport defeated Sharapova 6-0/6-0. How long did the match last?

a. 29 minutes
b. 49 minutes
c. 59 minutes
============================
5. Sharapova defeated Serena Williams in the final of the 2004 WTA Championships in Los Angeles, 4-6/6-2/6-4. From what deficit did she stage her comeback in the 3rd set?

a. 3-0
b. 4-1
c. 4-0
============================
6. Sharapova reached the junior finals of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2002, losing both matches. From the following sets of pairs, pick the two correct players who defeated her.

1... Vera Dushevina or Vera Zvonareva?
2... Daja Bedanova or Barbora Strycova?
============================
7. Sharapova won her first grand slam title at Wimbledon in 2004, a year after she'd recorded her first grand slam main draw singles match victory in the 1st Round there. Who did she defeat in that 2003 match?

a. Ashley Harkleroad
b. Ainsley Cargill
c. Alexandra Stevenson
============================
8. For how many weeks did Sharapova hold the #1 singles ranking in 2005?

a. 1
b. 7
c. 14
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9. Sharapova won in her first six appearances in WTA singles finals from 2003-04. Her first loss in a final came in Zurich in October '04. Who beat her?

a. Elena Dementieva
b. Anna Smashnova
c. Alicia Molik
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10. Of the sixteen other Russians ranked in the WTA singles Top 100 (as of September 25, 2006), Sharapova has played twelve of them during her pro career. She has a winning record against all but two. Who are they?

a. Kuznetsova & Myskina
b. Safina & Dementieva
c. Myskina & Zvonareva
============================

>>>THE ANSWERS (2 pts each unless noted)<<<

1. a. Monica Seles
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2. a. Sharapova's first title came when she swept both the singles and doubles crowns at the Japan Open in Tokyo in October '03.
============================
3. b. Aniko Kapros, 2-6/6-2/7-6(5)
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4. b. 49 minutes
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5. c. With Williams injured and firing away winners from the baseline, Sharapova fell behind 4-0 in the 3rd set before winning the final six games of the match to take the title.
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6. (2 pts. for each of two correct answers) 1...Dushevina won the '02 Wimbledon junior final; 2...Strycova won the Australian Open junior final in '02.
============================
7. a. Ashley Harkleroad
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8. b. 7 weeks, beginning in August '05. She was the first Russian woman to be ranked #1. She finished the season at #4.
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9. c. Molik won, 4-6/6-2/6-3
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10. a. Kuznetsova & Myskina, the only other Russians besides Sharapova to win slam singles titles, both currently hold 3-2 advantages over her in career meetings.
============================


>>>THE SCORING<<<

15-22 - You Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty
-----------------------------
11-14 - You're Making Nearly Every Shot a Power Shot
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7-10 - Don't Choke on that Banana Yuri Told You to Eat
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0-6 - No Cell Phone Reception Here
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All for now.