Can Roger Federer Win Another Major?

By Eugene Joh on March 21, 2014

Roger Federer is no longer the best tennis player in the world. Really, he hasn’t been for many years. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where Federer’s game can reach the heights that it once did, when he was dominating the competition pre-2008. But just about three months ago, fellow Swiss countryman and 2014 Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka proved that you don’t have to be the best in the world to win a major title– you just have to be the best that week.

 

Federer has experienced a rejuvenation in form after a 2013 season marred by inconsistent play; and rather consistently bad results. After losing the semi-final of the Australian Open last year in a five-set thriller against Britain’s Andy Murray, Federer went on to bow out rather meekly in the ensuing three majors.

In the French Open quarterfinals, he was dusted off in straight-sets by Frenchman J0-Wilfried Tsonga. Even worse, he actually looked tired after about a set and a half, unprecedented for a man who has always been renowned for making the game look effortless.

At Wimbledon, where Federer was the defending and seven-time champion, unranked Sergiy Stakhovsky serve-and-volleyed his way into a four-set upset where Federer couldn’t seem to do anything against a predictable strategy. Then, at the US Open, Federer succumbed to Spaniard Tommy Robredo in straight sets in the fourth round. Prior to that match-up, Federer held a 10-0 record against Robredo, and lost only three sets in total before losing that same amount of sets in one match. When it was all said and done, Federer registered one title for 2013.

At 32 years old, people started calling for Federer’s retirement. They said that he simply wasn’t the maestro anymore, and anything other than excellence would be unacceptable. Federer’s ranking dropped–first from 2 to 5 and then from 5 to 8. Federer, like usual, said nothing of his troubles on court besides remarking that he had lost some confidence, that things were not going his way. No word was given from him about back issues, fitness problems, or the wear and tear of 16 years on tour.

Fast forward to the present-day, and many of the same people who were harping for retirement are proclaiming that Federer is back. After a solid effort at the Australian Open where he defeated Andy Murray in the quarters and a winning effort against Djokovic in Dubai to start the year, Federer has looked like the model of consistency that we were used to– and perhaps getting too comfortable with. Even in his most recent loss this past Sunday against Djokovic in the Indian Wells final, where he lost a third-set tiebreak, Federer was looking much more comfortable on the court than he was a year ago, someone who can still compete at the upper echelons of the sport.

But we should be careful not to get carried away. The old Roger Federer, the one who competed in 18 out of 19 major finals between 2005 and the beginning of 2010, is gone. And he’s never coming back. The new (or old?) Federer has only been in 2 out of the past 13 majors contested, including his most recent major win at Wimbledon in 2012.

The top dog now is Rafael Nadal, who was just starting to look human in 2011 and 2012, but came back in 2013 and absolutely steamrolled the competition, picking up the French Open and US Open trophies while also picking up 8 other titles en route to reclaiming the world No. 1 spot. Nadal has had some mixed results this year, getting to the Australian Open final before losing to Wawrinka in four sets and beating Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov to take the title in Rio. Nadal couldn’t get the better of the Ukranian two weeks later, however, as Dolgopolov took Nadal out in the Indian Wells third round in a riveting three sets.

Of the big four comprised of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray, the latter is the only one so far without a title. Murray, coming off of back surgery, has struggled to find his form as of late and suffered some confidence-damaging losses in the beginning part of the season.

As opposed to the dominance of Djokovic in 2011-2012 and Nadal’s stranglehold in 2013, 2014 seems to be more open to fair game– and it could benefit Federer, who now fills the role of wily veteran. Federer has already recorded a victory over Murray in a major contest this year, and in convincing style. Up a break in the third after breezing through the first two sets of their Australian Open quarterfinal, Federer was seemingly minutes away from putting Murray down in straights. An inspired effort by the Brit forced a fourth set, but the Swiss would not be denied.

He’s also recorded a victory against Djokovic this year, in the Dubai semifinal. Federer nearly got away with a victory over Djokovic for the second time this year, coming back from a break down in the third set of the Indian Wells final to force a tiebreak, but ultimately lost. Still, it has to be encouraging to fans to see how much better Federer is competing against his replacements this year.

But, of course, there’s Rafa. The simple fact is that Federer has met Nadal in a major 11 times, and only twice has he walked out with a victory, both at Wimbledon. The last of these victories was in the 2007 final. Despite a relatively competitive over four sets, Nadal happily thumped his forehand to Federer’s backhand at this year’s Australian Open semifinal and grinded out another ugly win against a more and more distant rival. Federer hasn’t exorcised the demon that is Rafael Nadal in a grand slam match in over 6 years, and if he wants to win one this year, it might be the only way.

The reason I say this year is because Federer’s recent form seems to be his last push. He’s dumped Paul Annacone in favor of former tennis great Stefan Edberg to coach him, and it seems like he’s taking more chances moving forward to good success thus far. He’s gotten a racquet with a bigger frame size, trading accuracy for more margin of error. But the reason he’s doing it doesn’t seem to be to buy himself a fresh start– he looks more like a man who wants to finish his career without being defeated.

If the beginning of this season is any indication, everyone at the top is vulnerable right now. Federer stumbled to Djokovic at Indian Wells, but also lost inexplicably to another aging legend in Lleyton Hewitt at the Brisbane International. Wawrinka, who looked to build on his maiden major title success, meekly bowed out to South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in the next tournament he played at in Indian Wells.

Nadal, who seemed to be on his way to continuing his tear from last year, was stopped at Indian Wells by a Dolgopolov who didn’t even have to play that well to earn it. Djokovic, while salvaging his season with a trophy in Indian Wells, lost in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open as three-time defending champion. Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion and perennial big four threat, has pulled out of Miami and his season is in doubt.

The resulting picture shows a 2014 season that could be littered with upsets and major breakthroughs. Stanislas Wawrinka’s grand slam victory, the first by someone outside of the big four since Del Potro in 2009, gave hope to all the underdogs out there on tour. En route to his championship, Wawrinka had to beat Djokovic, then Tomas Berdych, and finally Rafael Nadal, whom he’s never beaten, to complete the Cinderella story.

Coming off of a dominant win over Federer in the semi-final and carrying a 12-0 record against Wawrinka without the loss of a single set, Nadal seemed to have nothing to do but show up on court to win his 14th major championship. But Wawrinka didn’t buckle under the pressure of being expected to lose. He started swinging freely, hitting winners off both sides and rattling the 2009 champion. Then, he stunned the world and knocked a tennis god off his pedestal, if only for a moment.

If Federer is able to capitalize on the shaky foundation of his contemporaries by being the most solid through the next few months, he could be the next one to shock the world, again. But the reality is, the tennis world hasn’t been on this even of a playing field in years, and anyone could be next. Something crazy might just be on the horizon for someone who never had a chance like Stanislas Wawrinka, and that someone could very well be another Swiss underdog who’s had his number owned by Rafael Nadal.

 

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format