Time is ripe for Federer to go the Sampras way

As a fan of Roger Federer, I was happy to see him win the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals beating Jo Wilfred Tsonga 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.

I was even more happy for the fact that Federer regained that extra zest in him to win the match after he failed to seal the match on the championship point in the second set.

Ever since he lost out to Djokovic in the US Open semi-finals where he failed to convert couple of match points, Federer has been on a roll with a 17-match winning streak thanks to an out-of-form Nadal and injuries to Djokovic and Murray. At the same time, there is no denying the fact that a break from the Hong Kong and the Shanghai Masters has done a lot of good to Federer’s form.

While hoping that Federer will continue this dream run well into 2012 and win a couple more  Grand Slams, fans must be wary of the fact that ‘The Light That Burns Twice as Bright Burns Half as Long’. More so in the context of a demanding sport like tennis at its highest level and an ageing champion who has turned 30.
Federer last won a Grand Slam in 2010 at the Australian Open and has not won a single slam in 2011 and the best was reaching the final of the French Open where he as usual lost to Nadal.

While Federer has not won a single Grand Slam this year (the first time since he won his first title at Wimbledon in 2003), the cause for worry is whether he will be able to sustain his energies for five-set battles. Twice in 2011 at Wimbledon (QF against Tsonga) and at the US Open (SF against Djokovic), Federer squandered a two sets to love lead to end up as the loser.

The emergence of strong contenders like Tsonga, Berdych, Ferrer, Del Potro and Tipsarevic along with Djokovic, Murray and Nadal make Federer’s task of winning a Grand Slam all the more difficult.

In sport, seeing your idols as mere mortals and not as champions can be a torturous experience. Less than a decade ago, I went through the same kind of emotions when Pete Sampras, the greatest Wimbledon champion who won seven of eight championships between 1993 and 2000, went down in five sets to a lesser known player called George Bastl with a world ranking of 145 in 2002.

What hit me hard was not Sampras losing the match but the impact it had on the man who is known to walk with drooping shoulders.

But two months later, Sampras rose like a phoenix to win the US Open beating Agassi 3-1 and that was the last match he played as a Pro. Not many champions have had the privilege to leave Centre Court like Sampras did.

Given the current form, Federer too for all his records, both on and off the field, deserves such a `Grand’ finish.

Rise of Djokovic - A blessing in disguise for Federer fans

There is no denying that it was heartbreak time for Federer fans like me after his 2nd successive five-set US Open semi-final loss. That too after the great champion was leading Djokovic two sets to love. But then, most of the fans take heart from the fact that Federer lost to someone who has had an incredible year 2011 with a 62-2 win-loss record coming to US Open.

While fans of both Nadal and Federer might find it difficult to accept the rise of Djokovic (who till the end of 2010 was not perceived as a threat to either of them) as a `super player' and his dominance over the former World No.1s who shared a record 24+ grand slams between them in the last seven to eight years, Federer fans can still come to terms with Djokovic defeating their hero if the latter defeats Nadal in a Grand Slam final.   

The reason, Nadal with 10 Grand Slams in his kitty and with age on his side is a major contender to outlast Federer as the GOAT (Greatest Tennis Player of All Time).   

From a rivalry point of view or shall we call it `trivalry' (Djokovic, Federer & Nadal), while Nadal proved to be the `nemesis' of Federer, the former has one turning out in the form of Djokovic.   Although Djokovic trails the Spaniard 16-12 in their all-time series, Djokovic’s 5-0 record this year includes a finals win at Wimbledon and hard court Masters Series victories in Miami and Indian Wells, California, where he rallied from a set down against Nadal both times. The other two wins came on Clay at Rome and Madrid against of the Masters Series.   

Djokovic now gets a chance to avenge his four-set loss to Nadal in last year’s US Open final. On current form and with more than 180% win percentage (Djokovic leads Nadal 9-5) on hard courts, Djokovic is the clear favorite to win US Open 2011at Flushing Meadows.

Gladiators to fight it out on grass

The Wimbledon 2011 final will be a cracker of a contest. More so, in the light of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic swapping their titles of World No.1 and 2 respectively a day before their `Battle Royale'.

Djokovic had an incredible run this year till the French Open semi-final where Federer spoiled his party before succumbing to the eventual winner, Nadal. Till then, Djokovic won everything that came his way including two back-to-back victories over Nadal on clay (Nadal’s favorite surface) at ATP Masters in Rome and Madrid.

Going by current form and as the newly crowned World No.1, Djokovic is the favorite to lift the trophy on Sunday and if he does this will be his first Wimbledon title.

Djokovic has never been in a Wimbledon final though he has made it to the semi-finals couple of times. In 2007, Djokovic lost (retired hurt) to Nadal trailing by 2 sets to 1 and in 2010 he lost to Thomas Berdych in three straight sets.

Djokovic’s overall grand slam win percentage stands at 50. Till date, he has appeared in 4 finals. While he won two Australian Open titles {against Tsonga (’08) and Murray (’11)}, he lost two US Open Finals {to Federer (’07) and Nadal (’10)}.

Nadal on the other hand has made it to the Wimbledon finals 5 times including 2011 and has won and lost the title 2 times each and has never lost to Djokovic at Wimbledon.

Nadal’s overall grand slam win percentage stands at a staggering 83.33%. Nadal is appearing in his 13th grand slam final in which he will bid for his 11th major title and third at Wimbledon.

While Nadal is struggling a bit on the fitness front, Djokovic’s temperament is not at the same level as it was before the French Open 2011. The new tag of No.1 may also add to the pressure in addition to being in his first Wimbledon final.

However, both of them hate to lose and will come hard at each other especially Nadal, having lost his No.1 ranking. It will be no less exciting than Gladiators fighting it out at a mini Colosseum with grass surface.

Like any other Tennis fan, I just can’t wait to see when the Chair Umpire announces `Play'.

The match that I wanted my favorite player ‘Federer’ to lose

I was and still a big fan of Roger Federer ever since I watched him beat Pete Sampras in a 4th round match at Wimbledon in the year 2000. However, for first time in the last 11 years, I wanted him to lose the semi-final to Djokovic at the French Open 2011.

The reason, I can’t see Nadal pulverizing Federer as has been the case in three French Open finals so far. With Nadal already having booked his berth for the final on Sunday, I wanted Djokovic to beat Federer as he (Djokovic) has bettered his game and is lot more confident facing Nadal as compared to Federer. Djokovic has proved it recently by beating Nadal in back-to-back ATP Finals at Rome and Madrid.

Even though Roger Federer is often written about as the greatest men’s tennis player of all time, it’s Rafael Nadal who is the most dominating between the two in head-to-head match-ups. In fact, even though the two men are closely tied to one another as the top players in the sport for the last decade, it’s Nadal who holds a decisive 16-8 advantage in decisions over the course of their career.

Federer, 29, is currently the No. 3 singles player in the world while Nadal is the No 1. Both Djokovic who is World No.2 and for that matter World No.4 Andy Murray face Nadal better both on Clay and Hard Courts with double-fisted backhand. One of the biggest drawbacks for Federer against Nadal is his single-handed backhand which just gets nullified against the topspin ground strokes of Nadal. Federer’s lack of footwork while playing back-hand shot against a rising topspin shot from Nadal adds to his deteriorating confidence level as the match progresses and the 16-slam champion just looks like a pedestrian on the Centre Court after an hour long battle.

Nadal has won both of this year’s match-ups and three of the last four. In fact, going back to 2008, Nadal has won eight of the last ten, including their last match-up in Roland Garros in 2008 — a straight sets victory for Nadal and a nightmare finish at the French Open for Federer that year.

Still Federer is obviously playing well and knows how to win at Roland Garros. In Grand Slam finals, Nadal holds the advantage 5-2, which makes him even more of a favorite heading into Sunday’s final. Federer wasn’t supposed to take out Djovokic, however, and did so quite convincingly. For once, Can he do it against Nadal this time at Roland Garros 2011?