With his victory Monday over Andy Murray, Roger Federer finally won his 13th Grand Slam title. When the season began, most people thought the U.S. Open would bring his 15th or at least his 14th, but that just wasn’t the case. He had a down year – for him, that is. Federer was right in his interview after his semifinal loss to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open when he said that he had “created a monster” by being so good for so long; things had gotten to the point where he was expected to win every time.
Last year we saw some chinks in the armor, as Roger dropped nine matches – as many as he had in 2005 and 2006 combined! Still, he won three of the Slams, went to the French Open final, and won the Tennis Masters Cup. Sure, he seemed to be losing his focus in some of the lesser tournaments, but when he was on the big stage he shined brightly. Not so this year. He lost to Djokovic in straight sets in the Australian semifinal and was thrashed by Rafael Nadal in the French Open final. He had several early exits from tournaments, and his only two titles until Monday were in minor events – events he hadn’t even competed in last year.
Meanwhile, Rafa was on a run. Oh, he didn’t start off that great. In fact, he was doused by Mikhail Youzhny 6-0, 6-1 early in the year. And for the second straight year he was smashed in the Australian Open, this time 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semifinals. Then there was the perplexing finals loss to Nickolay Davydenko in the Miami Masters. As is his custom, however, he caught fire during clay court season, and then came that incredible victory over Federer at Wimbledon. By August he was #1, ending Federer’s historic streak at 237 weeks – and his own stretch at #2 at 160 weeks.
Despite Nadal’s great year, though, most people attributed Federer’s fall to his own problems rather than improvements by Rafa. Oh, everyone had an opinion: Fed was sick, unfocused, spooked, lackadaisical, etc. What? It is undeniable, however, that he was slipping by his own standards. Coming into the U.S. Open he had 12 losses – the most since 2003 – and he wasn’t rolling over people too often anymore. The chatter about Fed not being “The Mighty Federer” began when his third round match at the Australian Open against Janko Tipsarevic went five sets. He had cruised the Australian the previous year without dropping a set. After that, the hits just kept on coming: the straight sets loss to Djokovic in the final, the blowout loss to Mardy Fish at Indian Wells, the upset loss to Radek Stepanek in Rome, and his increasing troubles with Nadal on clay.
The French Open final was the one that had every expert shaking his head. Federer had looked pretty good, but Nadal gave him a beatdown like he hadn’t suffered in years. How could Federer win only four games in the match? He had performed well against Nadal in the 2006 final, and at least took a set off him in the 2007 final. This time, he came up horribly empty. Still, he was optimistic, and refused to say that his confidence was dinged in any way. He bounced back with an excellent grass court season that culminated in a final with Nadal at Wimbledon. On his way to that final, he didn’t lose a single set.
It’s interesting to look back and see how the whole perspective of the tennis season swung on one match. If Federer had won that title, he would have two Grand Slams this year rather than Nadal, and his career total would be at 14 – tied with Pete Sampras for best all time. But that’s not what happened. Nadal was able to escape with that fifth set 9-7 as they played in darkness. Federer showed some heart, though. He clearly was being outplayed after the first two sets, but got it together and made a run. He had his chance to win, that’s for sure. Leading 4-3 in the fifth set he had a break point at 30-40. Had he converted that, he would have served for the match.
The loss at Wimbledon combined with some other lackluster performances caused Federer to lose his #1 ranking. After Wimbledon he failed to match his performances from 2007 at either the Canada Masters or the Cincinnati Masters. He also came up short at the Olympics, losing in the quarterfinals to James Blake, a man he has traditionally blown out. Here he was, coming up on the U.S. Open with only two titles and zero Grand Slams.
It’s interesting, though, that the Olympics helped Federer out in a way no one could have anticipated. He may have come up short in singles, but he teamed with Stanislas Wawrinka to win the gold medal in doubles. That experience made him more confident at net, leading him to come to net much more often at the U.S. Open. He victimized Andy Murray by coming to net quickly after serving, as Murray was playing several feet behind the baseline to return.
The tournament was not a Federer masterpiece like last year’s Australian Open or the 2006 Wimbledon, but he finished with a flourish. He did drop only three sets, but two of them were to #23 Igor Andreev in the fourth round. He struggled with qualifier Gilles Müller in the quarterfinals but came through in straight sets. Then Federer caught fire; in both the semifinals and finals he opened and closed with gems. He frustrated Djokovic with some great serving (20 aces) and really whacked him in the fourth set 6-2. His first sets against both Djokovic and Murray were just clinics.
I think that the fact that Federer won in dominant fashion is almost as important as his winning at all. He showed that he still had that extra gear – the gear that seemed to be missing this year. He rose to the occasion against Djokovic and Murray, knocking them off center stage even though they had beaten him earlier in the year. He showed that at 27, he can still be The Mighty Federer.
The truth is that Federer is still the most consistent player at Grand Slam events – a testament to how difficult it is to take three sets off him. He has now reached the last three finals, and that’s the longest current streak! Nadal’s best so far has been two – Federer’s record is 10! His amazing streak of Grand Slam semifinals continues to roll on; it’s now at 18. By comparison, Nadal’s current streak is at four, and Djokovic’s best of five ended at Wimbledon this year. John McEnroe put this phenomenal streak into perspective when he said, “How many guys have even played in 18 straight Grand Slam tournaments?”
Is it possible that he’s now hungrier than ever? I certainly think so. Not only does he want Sampras’s record, he wants to prove to everyone that he can still play at the elite level that characterized his stint at #1. He wants to show that he’s still the best when he needs to be. I look for him to finish 2008 with some strong performances; look for him to dominate at the Tennis Masters Cup.
1 Comment
September 27, 2008 at 2:58 am
It was only a matter of time before he bounce back and thats what happened in US open.
Roger you are the greatest player ever to play tennis.