Stopper

A stopper in the sport of tennis is a player who has enough game to be able to beat a top seed but isn’t able to replicated the same game. This is the case with Sergiy Stakhovsky. Stakhovsky was able to beat Federer but lost to his next match. He joins the six other players able to beat Federer including Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Tomas Berdych, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray.

To be classified as a stopper may or may not be a compliment for some. One thing is certain though, that to be able to beat a top seed will make any player feel the high for the longest time. The victory will be forever put on record and taken to their advantage even if it means not being able to play the same winning game on their next match.

There is a special feeling attached to beating a top seed such as Roger Federer. Although he is no longer ranked number 1, being able to defeat such a player especially on a court they are said to be a master of is a wonderful accomplishment for the player in the lower rank. In fact, it is considered to be an impossible feat for some. One other player that was able to beat Federer and beat another top seed, Nadal, two days later was Djokovic during the 2011 US Open.

The stopper’s shortcoming that often results to a loss in the next scheduled match is when they attach too much meaning to the victory. In the case of Stakhovsky, his match with Melzer that ended with his loss was due to getting carried away with the success of the Federer victory. What all tennis players must understand is that not all styles of playing will win with another player. What worked with Stakhovsky in beating Federer, did not work against Jurgen Melzer.

Many spectators and fans of the sport will always cheer for the stopper. The stopper is a person that was able to put a thrill to the sport, albeit for only a moment in time. In fact, in an interview Stakhovsy was reported to say that he would rather experience the victory over Federer and lose the next match again than not being able to beat Federer at all.